m I *>>,< * *A'/ ^A< V.' '^/ w '"■' ■■" " 35 c. u. Biblical Refe CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Barnes Hall Library PRESENTED BY ALFRED C. BARNES. NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE ROOM. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 342 769 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092342769 A COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES : CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETICAL, WITH SPECIAL KEFERENCE TO MINISTERS AND STUDENTS. BY JOHN PETER LANGE, D. D. PROFESSOR OF THE0L067 IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN, ASSISTED BY A NUMBER OP EMINENT EUROPEAN DIVINES. TRANSLATED, ENLARGED, AND EDITED BY PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D. PROFESSOR OP SACIIED LITERATURE IN THE UNION THEOtOGICAL SEMINAnr, NEW YORK. IN CONNECTION WITH AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SCHOLARS OF VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS. VOLUME II. OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS AND LEVITICUS. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743-745 EKOAD-WAY. EXODUS; OE, THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES. BY JOHN PETER LANGE, D.D., PEOFESSOE OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN. TRANSLATED BY CHARLES M. MEAD, PH.D., PEOFESSOE OP THE HEBEEW LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAEY AT ANDOVEE, MASS. NEW YORK. CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743-745 BROADWAY. Copyright, 1876. jiT SCRIBNEK, ARMSTRONG & CO. PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR. Dr. Lange's Commentary on Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers was not published till 1874. Dr. Scheoedeb's Deuteronomy was issued in 1868. The two corresponding English volumes were begun several years ago. The present volume contains : — 1. A general and special Introdiwtion to Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It unfolds Dr. Lange's original and ingenious view of the organic unity and trilogy of the three Middle Books of the Pentateuch and their typical import. The translation is by Eev. Howabd Osgood, D. D., Professor in Kochester, N. Y. 2. The Commentary on Exodus by Dr. Langb, translated, with many additions, by Re^r. C. M. Mead, Ph. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. The Textual and Gram- matical notes, some of which are very elaborate (e. g., pp. 72-75), belong wholly to the American Edition, there being no corresponding part in the German of Lange. The "Doctrinal" and " Homiletical," which in the German edition are put together at the end of Numbers, have been appended to the Commentary proper. 3. The Commentary on Lemiicas by Eev. Pbederic Gardiner, D. D., Professor in the Berke- ley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn. This part differs in one respect from most of the series. It was alreaay far advanced before the commentary of Langb appeared, and it then seemed best to complete it on the plan begun, incorporating into it as much as possible of the German work of Lange. For the general structure and arrangement of this commentary, therefore, Dr. Gardi- ner is responsible ; but the greater part of Lange, including every thing of importance, and espe- cially every thing in which there is any difference of opinion, has been translated and included in the work. Nearly the whole of Lange's "Homiletical," and a large part of his "Doctrinal," have been distributed to the several chapters to which they pertain. Every thing from Lange is care- fully indicated by his name and by quotation marks; all matter not so indicated is by the trans- lator, and is not marked by his initials, except in the case of remarks introduced into the midst of quotations from Langb. A large part of the translation was prepared by Eev. Henry Fergu- son, of Exeter, N. H. The Commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy will appear in a separate volume early in au- tumn. The remaining parts of the Old Testament division are also fast approaching completion. PHILIP SCHAFF. UsioK Theol. Seminaet, New Yoek, \ April 2Sth, 1876. J IlfTRODUOTION TO THE If , m ill ill lis i 11 Piiffl BY JOHK PETER LAFGE, D.D., PEOFESSOE OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVEESITY OF BONN. TRANSLATED BY HOWARD OSGOOD, D.D., EOCHESTEE, N. T. NEW TORE: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743-745 BEOADWAY. THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH. A. GENERAL INTRODUCTION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE LAW CONSIDERED AS A WHOLE. 2 1. THE EELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OP THE PENTATEUCH TO THE WHOLE PENTATETJCH. While the Pentateuch describes the Law of the Lord in its whole compass as the symbolical, typical, fundamental law of the kingdom of God, its universal basis stated in Genesis, and its universal purpose in Deuteronomy, it appears to be the unique character of the three middle books to set forth this law as the law of Israel strictly considered. They are the fixed, written, literal law of God for this people his- torically bounded and defined. But since this people should not live egotistically for itself, but be a blessing of the nations, and also a type of the nations to be brought into the kingdom of God, its law is not merely a law for the Israelites. Throughout it has a typical meaning as far as its ordinances and shadows indicate the principles of spiritual life and the divine regulations for all the nations of the kingdom of God, for all Christian nations. Israel is the type of Christian nationalities. Israel's law is the type of Christian theocratic systems in their ethical, ecclesiastical and political regulations. It is therefore both one-sided and erroneous to mistake either the national and directly popular meaning of the Mosaic law in earliest times or the Judaizing and superficiality con- cerning this law in the Kationalistic era. This last view Kationalism has held equally with the Pharisees. Paul had this in view in his opposition to mere legality. The law of the three middle books is literally and particularly the law of the people of Israel; but this peo- ple Israel is essentially a type of the people of the kingdom of God ; not only of God's peo- ple in general, but also of national institutions, of Christian nationalities. The significance of Israel in respect to Christian nationalities has been excellently set forth by Pastor Bram of Neukirchen. Concerning the significance of nationalities in the Christian Church, comp. my Vermischfe Schri/ten, New Series 11, p. 185, and W. Hofiinann, Deutschland, 1870, Vol. 2. We may consider the special religion of the patriarchs as the subjective religion of the individual conscience led by divine grace, as a walk before and with God directed by special instruction from God and by complete obedience of faith. But now commences the predo- minantly objective form of religion in which the people of Israel, as an individual, are led by an external social code of laws and by mysterious external tokens of God. The patriarchal religion as compared with the Mosaic is more subjective, which gives it a gleam of New GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. Testament or of Protestant evangelical freedom and joy (Gal. iii.), as we see portrayed in the life of the Sethites : whilst the religion of Moses is that of promise contained in the training of the people, and therefore the external law and symbols are chiefly employed; as in a similar manner in the Middle Ages Christendom served for the elementary training of the nations. But on the other side a great progress is shown, in that now for the first time a whole nation is made the people of God, instead of a holy family living by them- selves, and in that the simple word of God and the simple covenant of circumcision unfold into a complete code of laws and an organization of worship and of society. It is also an ex- ceedingly important fact that Deuteronomy again points out the spirituality of the law, or throws a bridge over to the prophetic era — a fact frequently mistaken. Comp. Gen. Introd. p. 49. I 2. THE PAETICULAE RELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE B00K8 TO GENESIS. According to the preceding, it is not correct to speak of Genesis as the introduction to the following books. According to that view, the Old Testament was designed as a particu- lar and national Bible for the Jews. It is rather the archives of the foundation of the uni- versal and indestructible kingdom and people of God, whose coming is prefigured by the typical people of God, Israel, and by the typical kingdom of God, the theocracy. For it is the high destination of Israel that in becoming the representative of the concentration or contraction of God's kingdom in process of development, it should prepare and bring about the expansion or enlargement of the real and complete kingdom of God as it is promised in the blessing of Abraham (Gen. xii. 3), but especially in the second part of the prophet Isaiah (chap, xliii. 21 f ). Yet ^^^ Catholicism of Genesis tends to this typical speciality by defining narrower circles for the Messianic promise. The first circle is the universe itself in the sig- nificant religious contrast, heaven and earth. The second circle is the earth, ■ Adam with his race. The third circle is the nobler line of Adam in the Sethites in contrast to the line of Cain. The fourth circle is the family of Noah baptized with the water of the flood and uivided into the pious and blessed family of Shem and the humanitarian and blessed people of Japhet. Then the distinctive genealogical speciality is begun by the setting apart of Abraham. His posterity is ennobled by a series of exclusions ; Ishmael, the children of Keturah and Esau, are shut out from the consecrated circle of Israel. Indeed within this circle great distinctions are indicated, though in the three books the tribes of Judah and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) stand far behind that of Levi. Thus Genesis, which in its Catholicism is one with the loftier Genesis, the Apocalypse, ends with the foundation of the Jewish nationality, with the seed-corn of the typical people of God in the house of Jacob. The three middle books in relation to Genesis are the record of the first typical fulfill- ment of the divine promise which was given to Israel, and through Israel to mankind (Gen. XV. 13, 14). They inform us how a people of God grew out of the holy family, a people born amid the travail of oppression and tyranny in Egypt. This people, consecrated to God, come out through the typical redemption, which first makes them a people, and which is based upon the fact that the Almighty God (El Shaddai) appears under the name Jehovah, and proves Himself Jehovah. For in the revelation of God as Jehovah, as the covenant God who ever remains the same, and ever glorifies Himself by His faithfulness, there inhere two very diverse revelations, since by the first it was not proved that he would continue to return. As in geometry we must have two separate points in order to determine the dis- tance of a third point, so in the region of faith we must have two indications of salvation in order to conclude assuredly that the covenant-God will continue to return. In this way for the first time the name Jehovah obtained its full significance, though it was known in ear- lier times in connection with the prevailing name El Shaddai : just as at the Reformation the word "justification'' was invested with a new meaning, though it had been known before. On this redemption the theocracy (Ex. xix.) was founded, and appeared not in abstract forms, but in concrete, historical characteristics, in ethical, ecclesiastical and politi- cal laws. This code of laws was a boundary separating Israel from all other peoples, placing J 3. THEIR PARTICULAR RELATION TO DEUTERONOMY. 3 them in strongest contrast to other peoples, making them particularly the executioner of the Canaanites, who had come to ruin through the practice of unnatural lust. By this Israel would have become actually, according to the idea of the Pharisees, " odium generis hu- mani," had they not been predestined to be educated as the teacher of the peoples and as the mediator of their salvation. 2 3. THE PAETICITLAR EELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS TO DEUTEEONOMY. Doubt has been expressed whether the man Moses who, in the spirit of the severe jurist, issued the code of laws contained in the three middle books, could also be the author of the essential parts of Deuteronomy. Doubts of this sort appear to pre-suppose that a law- giver should make his own ideals, his loftiest thought a code for his people. But very false conceptions of the best legislation lie at the foundation of this view. A wise lawgiver will approve himself by the manner and mode in which he accommodates his. toftiest views of right to the culture or want of culture of his people. Moses therefore might have given a law to his people corresponding to their culture as he found it, by mere external form, the very letter of the law, and the enlargement of the bald form by picturesque representations of a ceremonial worship which appealed to the senses and thought, not less than by a strong organization of the whole people. All this Moses might have done in the character of a Jewish Solon. But his giving an ethical, ecclesiastical and civil national law which was throughout a transparent representation, the symbol and type of the kingdom of God, proved him to be a prophet led and illumined by the Spirit of God. Throughout his whole course Moses had been educated equally as a Jewish specialist of his times and as a catholic embracing all future humanity. As the adopted child of the daughter of a Pharaoh, he was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, the most renowned cen- tre of human culture of that time, and he also became familiar among the sons of the desert, the Midianites, with a noble patriarchal house. But as he was a true spiritual heir of Abra- ham, his personal experiences formed the basis for the catholic enlightenment imparted to him. But as a prophet of Jehovah it could not be hidden from Moses, that with the institution of the covenant-religion in the forms of the external law, there was danger that the majority of his people might go astray in the mere letter of the law and in seeking righteousness by works. This danger of misunderstanding his law he met by bringing out in the second law, in Deuteronomy, the germs of spirituality which lay in the first law, and thereby opened a way from the isolation of Israel by its code to the spiritual catholicity which was to be de- veloped in the prophets. Such a transition is unmistakably shown in the original portions of Deuteronomy which we distinguish from the final compilation. We are not called to treat of this compilation, or to ofier any review of treatises upon it (e. g. Kleineet's Treatise, Das Deuteronomium und der Deuteronomiher). In the first place, there is throughout Deuteronomy a solemn prophetic tone. Then there is the historical account of the miraculous leading of Israel in the light of Jehovah's grace, who pardoned the transgressions of the people, and even made Moses a typical substitute for the sins of the people (chap. iii. 26, 27). Israel and the law do not appear here in the lightning-flame of Sinai ; Israel is the glorious people among the nations (chap. iv. 7), and the fiery law by which Jehovah made Himself known to Israel is comprised in the words : " Yea, he loved the people " (chap, xxxiii. 3). Respecting the form of the reve- lation on Sinai, not the terrors at the giving of the law are recalled, but the fact that Israel heard only the words of God ; they did not see His form, in order that the danger of making images of God might be averted (chap. iv. 15). Thus decidedly were the people directed in the way of spiritual worship. The command against image worship in its length and breadth becomes a long-continued, positive demand for spirituality in religion. In the repetition of the ten commandments (chap, v.), in the tenth, the wife is placed before the house, and the critics have greatly troubled themselves with the question whether this posi- tion (chap. V. 21) or the reverse in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 17) is the right one. This alter- native would make no essential change ; for in Exodus the lawgiver speaks, but in Deutero- GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. nomy the prophet who interprets the law. According to the law the wife is part of the house and the property of the man; according to her spiritual relations, she is above the house. By the law of the Sabbath (its importance as regards worship in Leviticus must be distinguished from its ethical value, Ex. xx.) the principle of humanity, which was stated in the first sketch of the civil law (Ex. xxiii. 12), is further developed (Deut. v. 14, 15). Especially remarkable is the expansion of the first commandment in the declaration : Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (chap, vi. 5). The covenant-sign of circumcision is here referred to the circumcision of the heart, regeneration (chap. x. 16; xxx. 6). In Leviticus, after the curse and the blessing, come a few words of promise of the resto- ration of'israel (chap, xxvi.) ; but here how greatly is that promise expanded in prophecy (Deut. chap, xxx.) 1 This prophetic tendency in Deuteronomy is not obscured by the severe enactments against the Canaanites (chap, vii.) ; they are rather, on the one side, moderated (chap. vii. 22), and, on the other side, the reason for them is given (ver. 22). If more is said in this book of the Levites than of the priests, it is a proof not of the exaltation, but of the lessening of the priesthood, a step towards the general priesthood. To these are added the laws of a genuine humanity in the laws of war (chap, xx.) and also in various commands touching forbearance and morality. And finally the solemnity of the song and of the blessing of Moses. The grand antithesis between the song and the blessing makes these chapters the flower of Deuteronomy : in the song the curse referred to culminates ; in the blessing, the promise. As Genesis from a universal basis converges to the particularity of the three middle books, so Deuteronomy diverges in the direction of catholicity. This shows that the particularity of the three books is economical and temporary, and that a golden thread of spiritual significance, of symbolical, typical suggestion runs through the whole law. For the distinction between Deuteronomy and each of the three middle books, comp. the article "Pentateuch'' inB-ERZOa'a Real- Ikeyclopxdie. i 4. THE EELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE LAW TO EACH OTHER. The internal, essential relation of the three middle books of the law to each other is not defined with sufficient theological exactness either by the Hebrew names which are the first words of the books, H'lDE' n7S, K^p?!- ^IIP?, or by the Greek names of the Septnagint rep- resenting the principal subjects of the books (comp. Habtwig's Tabellen zur Einleitung des Alten Testaments, 2 Aufl. S. 28). An approximate distinction is found in the old division of the law into the moral, cere- monial and civil law. Yet these three forma do not sufficiently correspond to the concrete character of the three books. But in perfect accord with the distinguishing marks of Messianic prophecy, we may designate the first book (Exodus) as the prophetic book of the theocracy, the second (Levi- ticus) as the priestly book, the third (Numbers) as the kingly book, the book of the army, its preparation and marches, and service of the heavenly king. In the sequence of these books there is mirrored the sequence of the offices of Christ, whilst in the history of Israel the rule of the prophets (judges included) comes first, then the rule of the kings, and lastly the rule of the priests.* That in the preparation of the three books this distinction was intentionally maintained appears from the plainest marks. A cursory consideration might, for instance, ask : why do we not find the large section containing the erection of the tabernacle in Leviticus rather than in Exodus, since the tabernacle is the holy place of Levitical worship ? According to the explanation of the Scriptures themselves, the tabernacle is primarily not the house of the oflerer, but of him to whom the offering is brought ; not the priest's house, but God's house, • Ewald greatly mlBunderstanda the matter when he makes the following order: God's rule, kings' rule, saints' rule. God's rule, or the theocracy, is not a form of government; it is the principle of government; but in permanent sovereignty it controlled all the three forms of government until they ended with the destruction of Jeiiisalem. ? 5. ORGANISM OF THE THREE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY, ETC. r, the temple-palace of Jehovah, where He is present as law-giver, and maintains the law given on Sinai ; we might say, it is the Sinai that moves with the people ; and therefore it is the house where Jehovah ever meets with His people through the mediation of His representa- tives. The significance of the tabernacle as the place of the revelation of the glory of God comes out very clearly at the close of Exodus {"'J^.'in 'TIS and Jinjjn hTlit). But we must more exactly define the two parts of Exodua. The first part (chaps. i.-xviii.) narrates the formation of the people of Israel up to the foundation of the theocracy by their redemption, that is, the typical redemption and creation of the people of God and the typical foundation of the kingdom of God. The second part (chaps, xix.-xl.) comprises the giving of the law, the ethical law, and the tabernacle as the dwelling-place of the Law-giver. To this is added in Leviticus the law of worship and in Numbers the political law, for the most part illustrated by examples. The first part (chaps. i.-xviii.) is therefore the real foundation of the three books, the sin- gle trunk which is further on divided into three codes of laws. But the preponderance of the prophetical and ethical law, of the decalogue over the law of worship and the civil law is shown by its place in the foundation, and it also appears from the fact that with the deca- logue the outline of the three-fold code of laws is given (Ex. xx.-xxiii.). In accord with the same law of a definite characteristic distinction of the books, we find in Leviticus the laws of the festivals arranged. All those festivals are placed before them as priests (chap, xxiii.). The Sabbath appears here not in an ethical point of view as the day of rest but in its relation to worship as the day of the great assembly and as the basis of all other festivals ordained by God (chap, xxiii.). But all these festivals are preceded by the distinc- tive mark of Leviticus, the complete directions concerning the great day of atonement (chap, xvi.). In like manner the ten commandments and all the statutes are conformed to the priestly idea (chap, xix.); and so the fourth book of Moses, the book of the army of God and of the beginning of its marches, true to its character, commences with a muster of the people fit for war. Numbers therefore stands with the impress of the kingly revelation of Jehovah. It forms the foundation for the conscription of the army of the Lord (chap, i.-iii.). And if the Levites are again mentioned here, it is because they are now appointed to sanctify the march of the people of God and their wars (chaps, iii. 44 — chap. iv.). The laws of purification, which were inculcated in Leviticus with respect to worship, are repeated here that the camp of the army of God should be kept clean, in order that the army may be invincible (chap, v.). All directions with respect to sacrifice which are repeated here are given more or less for this end (chaps, vi.-x.). And therefore the two silver trumpets, which sounded the inarch, form the last of all these regulations. But the ofiences of the people, their calamities and judgments, afford visible proofs that it is the typical march of the people of God and the divine guidance of the people which are set before us (chaps. xi.-xvii.), and that by severe, yet gracious interposition, the errors of the people are removed. And then, preceded by new Ordinances for purification, and, since the assembly needed a new incitement, by the death of Miriam and Aaron in due time, and by the purification of Moses himself with the assem- bly through great perturbation at the waters of Meribah (chap, xx.), the great conquests of Jehovah (one had long before taken place) follow, though these are again interrupted by new transgressions by the people (chap, xxi.-xxv.). The second enumeration of the people marks the end of the preliminary foundation of the state (chap, xxvi.), and hence there fol- low sketches of the political and ci-vil law (chap. xxvi. f ). The regulations of the festival again occur here, because of their relation to the civil order of the state. All further di- rections are merely outlines of the future typical state (chaps, xxx.-xxxvi.). §6. THE ORQASISU OF THE THBEE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY AND THEIR SEPARATE PARTS. The ethical and prophetic legislation of Exodus is based on the formation and redemp- tion of the people of God : it is also the prophecy of the better legislation, the erection of a true spiritual kingdom of God by the vivifying laws of the Spirit of Grod. The typical, sac- GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. rificial rites of Leviticus are connected with this prophecy by internal relations. Then on the basis of consecration through sacrifice, the army of God, according to the book of Num- bers, comes together in order that, being led by God in its marches and purified by peculiar judgments, it may execute judgment upon the world and lay the foundation of (jod's state. In accordance with the three-fold division Moses appears most prominently in Exodus (Exodus is therefore peculiarly the book of Moses), Aaron in Leviticus, and the princes and leaders of the twelve tribes in Numbers. We have already mentioned that this three-fold division becomes four-fold because we must distinguish in Exodus the general fundamental portion (chaps, i. — xviii.) from that which is special. The organism of Exodus — The theocracy as prophetic and ethical, or as the sole foundation of worship and of culture. Exodus is divided in general into two parts ; the first part (chaps, i. — xviii.) narrates the formation and redemption of the people of God, more strictly, the formation of the people of God and their redemption until the institution of God's state or the theocracy ; the second part (chaps, xix. — xl.) narrates the institution of the covenant and the ethical and propheti- cal law of God by itself, a compendium of the whole law as special training unto Christ, until the completion of the habitation of the ever-present Law-giver. The first larger division is divided again into the history of the typical origin and re- demption of Israel (chaps, i. — xii.), and into the history of the confirmation of the redemp- tion by the typical consecration (chaps, xiii. — xviii.). The fundamental thought of the first part of the history of redemption is deliverance through suffering, a deliverance marked by the institution and celebration of the passover, with the solemn exodus begun with the re- past of the exodus, the passover (chap, xii.). The fundamental thought of the second part, or of the history of the confirmation of the redemption, is the separation of Israel from the Egyptians by the passage through the Red Sea, accomplished by means of the pillar of cloud and of fire (chap, xiv.), celebrated in Moses' song of victory, and taking shape in the prepa- ration for the theocratic covenant. The first part describes merely the pangs of birth until the birth, the second describes merely separations or typical consecrations. The second larger division (chaps, xix.— xl.) is divided into the history of the covenant of the first legislation (chaps, xix. — xxiii.), of the institution of the covenant (chap, xxiv.), and of the ordering of the tabernacle together with the reception of the written law (chaps. XXV. — xxxi.) ; further into the history of the apostasy in the setting up of the golden calf, of the restoration of »he covenant through chastisements, and of the law renewed partly in severer, partly in mi der terms (chaps, xxxii. — xxxiv.) ; finally into the history of the erec- tion of the tabernac! 3, by which Mount Sinai or the house and the revelation of the Law-giver is brought within th congregation of God (chaps, xxxv. — xl.). Remark. — Some commentators and writers of Introductions never give themselves the trouble to discover the arrangement of these books, but, on the contrary, tell us the sources whence they were compiled. This is plainly scientific aberration, the result of an ambitious but owl-like criticism, an anatomical history of literature, which without right desires to be called theology. However thoroughly one may pursue the question of the sources, that will not release us from the duty of understanding 'the books aa they are according to their logical structure and religious intention. The organism of Leviticus — The theocracy as priestly; after the dedication of the covenant-con- gregation to Ood follows the dedication of the covenant-people to Jehovah, the holy covenant- Ood, by means of theocratic consecration, for the purpose of manifesting theocratic holiness. The fundamental thought of this book is ofiering, but offering as atonement or the typi- cal atonement with God (chap. xvi.). Both the principal divisions correspond with this. First, the holy rites (chaps, i.— xvi.) ; second, the holy life (chaps, xvii.— xxvii.). In the first section the various offerings are set forth in order, beginning with the burnt offering and ending with the peace offering (chaps, i. — vii.). It is worthy of remark that in this book it is repeatedly said, " when one brings an offering," whilst the ethical decalogue speaks abso- I 5. ORGANISM OP THE THREE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY, ETC. 7 lutely " tkou shalt." In the second section follow the directions concerning those appointed to the oflfice of mediation by sacrifice, the priests, i. e., of those who in a typical sense are worthy to draw near to God in behalf of the sinful people (Jer. xxx. 21) chaps, viii. — x. Then follow the directions concerning the animals of the typical offering, clean beasts which as distinguished from unclean beasts are alone fit for an offering (chap. xi.). Then is described the typical cleanness or purification of the offerers, i. «., of the Israelites bringing the offering. With these directions is reached the festival of the yearly offering for atone- ment, the central point and climax of worship by offerings (chap, xvi.) Hence there now follow in the second division the typical consequents of the typical offering for atonement, the precepts for maintaining holiness, a. All killing and eating of flesh becomes in the light of the offering for atonement a thank offering (chap. xvii.). b. Since the table of the Israelite as a priest is hallowed, so is also his marriage (chap, xviii.). This priestly holiness pertains to all the relations of life; first, positively (chap, xix.) ; second, negatively (chap. xx.). Above all it demaads a typical positive maintenance of holiness in the priestly ofiBce itself (chaps, xxi. — xxii. 16), as well as perfection in the very animals to be offered (chap. xxii. 17-33). To the keeping holy the animals for offering is joined the keeping holy the festivals on which the offerings are brought (chap, xxiii.) : so also the acts of offering (chap. xxiv. 1-9). The keeping holy the name of Jehovah is inculcated by an instance of punishment (chap. xxiv. 10-23). The very land of Israel must be kept holy by the Sabbatic year and the great year of jubilee (chap. xxv.). The general law of the typical holy keeping is then followed, as a conclusion, by the sanction or declaration of the holiness of the law itself; the promise of the blessiog, the threatening of the curse (chap. xxvi.). But why does ch. xxvii. speak of special vows ? Here also the law points beyond itself. Vows are the expressions of a free, prophetic, lofty piety. They point to a higher plane, as the consilia evangelica of the Middle Ages sought to do this, but could do no more because they made the law of the spirit of Christ a mere external law of the letter, and just as the longings inspired by the consilia evangelica found their solution in a life of evangelical faith, so the desires expressed by Old Testament vows found their solution in the New Testament. But under the law they were to be regulated according to law. Yet even in the great day of atonement there were two ceremonies which pointed beyond the Old Testament ; first, an offering for atonement in accordance with all legal offerings ; second, the putting of the un- known, unatoned sins on Azazel * in the desert. The organism of the Booh of Numbers — The theocraey as kingly in its relation to the world. Tlie army of Ood. Its preparation. Its march to take possession of the inheritance of Qod. Its transgressions, its defeat and rejuvenescence under the discipline of its king Jehovah and under the leading of Moses to the border of the promised land. The fundamental thought of the book of Numbers is the march of the typical army of God at the sound of the silver trumpets, the signals of war and victory for directing the wars of Jehovah, until the firm founding of God's state, and the celebration of the festivals of vic- tory and blessing of Jehovah in the land of promise (chap. x. 1-10). Around this centre are grouped the separate parts of the book. The conscription and the order of the camp of the holy people form the first part : at the same time the Levites are assigned to lead the army of God (in a symbolical sense as a banner, not in a strategic sense, chap. iii. 22) ; they are also mentioned here as being the servants of the ark of the covenant, the symbolic banner of the army, to precede the army (chs. i.-iv.). Upon this in the second part follow the directions for the typical consecration of the army, especially for putting away whatever would defile (chap, v.), and for self-denial on the part of the army (chap. vi. 1-21) ; then the solemn blessing of the army (chap. vi. 22-27), and the gifts and offerings which the leaders of the army brought for the tabernacle as the central point (staff and head-quarters) of the army of God (chap vii.). Then in conformity with this high purpose the splendid lights of the tabernacle and those who were to serve them, the Levites, are spoken of (chap. viii.). In addition to these consecrations there are enact- • [See note, p. 43]. 8 GENEKAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. ments for keeping clean the army by the feast of the passover and the supplementing of the law of the passover by that of the second passover for those unclean at the first, stragglers in the holy march, and by the law for strangers eating the passover (chap. ix. 1-14). The third part, the central point of the book, forms a special section. It describes the pillar of cloud and of fire over the tabernacle as the divine signal for the marches of Israel, and the blowing of the silver trumpets as the human signal following the divine (chap. ix. 15— X. 10). Then in the fourth part the departure of Israel from Sinai and the first division of its marches, its chastisement by a series of calamities, transgressions and judgments, which proves that this army of God is only symbolical and typical. This occasions the institution of a new purification of the people by the sprinkling of water, mixed with the ashes of a red heifer, which has been made a curse. This section ends with the death of Miriam and of the high-priest Aaron (chap. x. 11— chap. xx.). This part includes the march to Kadesh and the long sojourn there till the departure of the new generation for Mount Hor. Special incidents are, the burning in the camp and the miraculous gift of food by manna and quails; the boasting of Aaron and Miriam against Moses ; the dejection of the people at the report of the spies and their defeat afterwards in their presumption ; a new regulation of the peace- oflferings, which encloses a new prediction of the promised land ; a violation of the Sabbath and the judgment accorded to it; the rebellion and destruction of Korah's faction; the mur- muring of the people against the judgment which had overtaken the &ction, and the deliver- ance of the people from the judgment intended for them by the incense offered by Aaron, at which time the position of the priesthood is still higher advanced. And finally, apart by itself comes the catastrophe at Meribah, when both Moses and Aaron sinned and were punished. The fifth part describes the second division of the march of the Israelites, which appa- rently is to a large extent a return ; but it now begins to be a march of victory, though some great transgressions of the people are followed by great punishments. On this march, which begins at Mount Hor and continues through a great circuit around the land of the Edomites to the encampment of the Israelites at Shittim in the plain of Moab, Eleazar the new high- priest stands by the side of Moses ; at last Joshua comes forth more positively as the repre- sentative of Moses (chaps, xxi. — xxv.). The two transgressions of Israel, their murmuring because of the long journey, and their thoughtless participation in the revels of the Midi- anites in the land of Moab, are punished by suitable inflictions, which are again followed by theocratic types of salvation. The blessings of Balaam form the central point of the exalta- tion of Israel now beginning. With the sixth part begin the preparations for entrance into Canaan. First there is a new enumeration of the now purified people, the new generation. Then an enlargement of the law of inheritance, especially in reference to daughters who are heirs. Then the conse- cration of Joshua as the leader of Israel. The directions with regard to the offerings which are now made more definite are a presage of the march into Canaan, or of the beginning of a time when Israel will be able to bring these offerings. The new law of the feasts given here bears a similar signification. The seventh new moon, the great Sabbath of the year, is made chief of all, as a sign that Israel now enters into its rest. Here also the sphere of the vow appears as one of greater freedom, and above that of the legal offerings ; but at the same time it must be brought under the rule of law. A last blow against the heathen, the campaign for vengeance on the Midianites, by which Israel is purified, forms the conclusion of these preparations (chaps, xxvi. — xxxi.). The seventh part contains the commencement of the settlement of Israel in Canaan. First, the settlement of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, are described. This is followed by a retrospect of the wandering in the desert; and by an anti- cipation of the future, consisting of an encouragement to enter the land, defining the bounda- ries of the land and those who should allot the land, at the same time particularly mentioning the cities of the Levites and of refuge. Finally the inheritance of the tribes is ensured against division (chaps, xxxii, — xxxvi.). I 6. RELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO HOLY SCRIPTURE IN GENERAL. 9 § 6- THE BELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO HOLT SOEIPTUEE IN GENEEAL, AND TO THE NEW TESTAMENT IN PAETICOLAB. These three middle books are in an especial sense the law books, or the law of the Jewish people. But even for the Jewish people they are not books of a mere external law for the regulation of an external state. With such a view these books would be read as the heathen law books of a powerful heathenism, and the Jewish people would be regarded as a heathen people among the heathen. In fact the Jewish people who made the law a covenant of the partiality of God and of righteousness by works, has been shattered as a, nation, and cast out among all people. In conjunction with the special legal and national signification, these books, as books of revelation, have a symbolical side ; in their literal commands and historical features they present in symbol lofty spiritual relations. The law of circumcision announced in Genesis becomes the symbol of a circumcision of the heart. This symbolical side of the law in limited construction, becomes further on through the law in broader construction, the larger revela- tion of God in prophecy, till the latter passes away in the morning beams of the Spirit. But, thirdly, the three books have a typical side ; they set forth the future real, i. e., spi- ritual redemption and its fruit, the new covenant and the real kingdom of God, that is, the New Testament in preparatory and fundamental outlines. If we regard merely the symboli- cal and typical, that is the spiritual side of the three books, we have the New Testament in the Old, the beginnings and foundations of the eternal revelation of salvation (Heb. xi. 1 f.); if we regard only the exterior we have the national law of the Jews, whose burden and im- possibility of fulfillment must lead to Christ (Acts xv.). But regarding both sides at once, we have the picture of a strong concentration or contraction of the kingdom of God as a pre- paration for its future unlimited expansion and catholicity. The positive side of this history of legislation is the lofty spiritual aim and significance of the law, its prophetical and Messianic bearing. Its negative side consists in its bringing out prominently that the law as law cannot give life, but that under the law the people con- stantly stumble and fall, and only by divine chastisements and grace, by priestly intercession and atonement, by true repentance and faith, do they again reach the path of salvation. Within this law — irrespective of its expansion in Deuteronomy — there is great progress and growth, as is shown in the diflference of the relations before and after the setting up of the golden calf, between the first and second tables of the law. At the first giving of the law the people see the lightning and hear the thunder on the mount, and in mortal fear hurry away. Moses alone must speak with God for the people. But Moses was able so far to quiet the people, that after the giving of the law Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders, with Moses, were able to approach the top of the mount, and there behold God, and eat and drink (Exod. xxiv.). At the second sojourn of Moses on the mount, we do not hear of these fearful signs. From mysterious concealment and silence, he comes forth with shining face, before which Aaron and the princes, who at the first giving of the law beheld God, retreat ; and their slavish fear, and that of the people, is again quieted by covering Moses' face with a vail. Jehovah Himself, also, in order to reassure the people, makes known from Sinai the meaning of the name Jehovah ; that He was " God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in grace and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, but leaving nothing unpunished, and visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation." But on the other hand, it is now determined that Jehovah will accompany the people, not as Jehovah Himself, in the midst of the people, but in the form of an angel- before them, that is, in the form of Old Testament revelation and law. Asa mark of this positive separation, Moses removes his tent as a provisional tabernacle outside the camp ; an act which brings to mind John the Baptist in the wilderness ; and the congre- gation in the camp is by that declared unclean. 10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. J 7. THE RELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO THE KECOKDS ON WHICH THEY WERE FOUNDED. The logical connection and the organic unity of these three books are exhibited in unde- niable precision, clearness, and beauty. And not less clear is it that this whole complex of the Jewish national law is arranged not according to the strict requirements of history but of religion ; a sacred tabernacle though made of historical materials ; not a mere didactic composition, but a concrete didactic dispo- sition strung upon the threads of history. Separating the historical from the didactic ele- ments we find that the first historical portion (Exodus, chaps, i. — xviii.), makes a book by itself. Joined to this, as a second book, is the second part of Exodus ; the book of propheti- cal and ethical legislation. Leviticus contains no trace of historical progress ; it is simply the law-book of Levitical worship. The first section of Numbers (chaps, iv. — x. 10), forms the outline of the theocratic, kingly legislation. Then at the blast of the silver trumpets the people depart from Sinai. And now follow, the second historical part of the whole work, the march from Sinai to the plain of Moab, and various new legal precepts, as special circumstances occasioned them. Thus the three books arranged according to theocratic pur- poses make five books, a smaller Pentateuch in the greater. Though we raay not lay special stress upon the sacred trinity of this law, yet it is worthy of remark, that the ethical legisla- tion progresses through the stadia of development, that the legislation concerning worship from beginning to end is a finished system, which is further on supplemented by the civil legislation, while this last is enlarged as historical occasions required, in accordance with the usual course of civil legislation. But that this concrete unity did not proceed from a single human author under divine inspiration, appears from many proofs, as well as from the very nature of these books. First of all, this is shown by the connection with Deuteronomy, in which it is plain that previously-existing records were arranged by a subsequent editor. Such records are also iu these books quoted or presupposed, for instance, the songs (Numb. xxi. 17 ff., 27 fi".) : the history and especially the prophecies of Balaam. In general we cannot with certainty decide between those parts which had Moses for their author (as for instance Bleek does in his Introduction, recognizing many such parts), and those which are due to a later revi-sion or addition ; but from satisfactory proofs we make the following distinctions : 1, Those originals which are fundamental, to wit, the primary, traditional and written records of the genesis of the people — especially of Joseph — then the outlines of the theocratic legislation (the passover, the decalogue, the tabernacle, the law of offerings, etc., songs, forms of blessing, encampments) ; 2, the arrangement of the law into three parts by the hand of Moses ; 3, a final later revision, which, by arrangement and addi- tion, sought to present the complete unity of the Pentateuch. That such collected originals were the foundation of these books needs no argument. But that Moses himself distributed the materials into three parts, appears from the great sig- nificance of this organic three-fold unity with its Messianic impress, from the designation of the tabernacle, not for Levitical but for ethical legislation, as well as from the break in the whole construction before the death of Moses. It is particularly to be remarked that the three legislations manifest their theocratic truth by their interdependence ; either by itself would present, judged by common rules, a distorted form. That these three books were made by dividing up a larger book which enclosed within itself that of Joshua, is a modern scholastic view without any proof. As regards the distinc- tion between Elohistic and Jehovistic portions, it may have some importance for Genesis. But maintaining the great importance of the revelation in Exod. vi., thenceforth the distinction between the two names must rest only on internal relations, not upon portions to be critically distinguished. For instance, when, from the calling of Moses (Ex. iii.) and from the inter- course of Jehovah with him (Exod. vi.) it is asserted that this is a compilation from two dif- ferent accounts, the assertioa is made at the expense of the internal relations of the text, which plainly show a perfectly logical progress from one section to the other. In consequence of the decided refusal of Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go for a religious festival in the desert, and on account of the increasing oppression of the people which brought them to g 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OP THB THREE BOOKS. H despair, Jehovah, aa the covenant-God of Israel comes forth in the full glory of His name. With this new significance which He gives to His name, He repeats previous promises (Exod. iii. 8-15) and assures the redemption of the people by great miracles and judgments, and their admission into a peculiar covenant relation. That the first general account anticipates some particulars of the second transaction is not an argument against it. In view of the totality of the Mosaic legislation the fundamental law asserts itself, that as already mentioned, the essential parts are in the highest degree interdependent. Mose«, as the author of the decalogue only, would no longer be Moses ; but a system of offerings which was not founded upon this ethical basis, would seem to be an institution of sorcery. The preparations recorded in the book of Numbers, without these conditions precedent, would have to be regarded as measures for a conquest of the world by war. The proof of this com- pact organism of the Pentateuch is the complete interdependence of the separate parts. For the sources of the Pentateuch, especially of these three books, see Bleek, Introd. to Old Test. The various views, see in "Uebersicht der verschiedenen Vorsiellungen uber Vrsprung und Zusammenaeizung des Pentateuchs," page 172. According to Ewald, the Mosaic sources are diflBcult to disentangle. The defenders of a single authorship are indicated in Haetwig's Tabellen, pp. 28, 29. Comp. Bunsen's Bibelwerk, 2 Abtheilung, Bibelurkunden, p. 108. § 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. The Bange of this History. Cheonology. — ^In these books of the Pentateuch we have narrated the history of the birth of the people of Israel up to its complete development as a nation. As the typical his- tory of the people of God, it is a miniature of the birth of Christianity. The course of the history begins with the theocratically noble origin of the people, and continues until they be- hold their inheritance, the promised land. Betwixt these is the history of an obscure embry- onic condition, in which they gradually become a people, though at the same time they sink deeper and deeper into slavery, and of a birth as a nation in the midst of severe pangs, by which redemption is accomplished, and which is then confirmed by the discipline of the law and God's guidance of them through the desert, where the old generation dies away and a new generation grows up. The narrative is joined to Genesis by the recapitulation of the settlement of Israel in Egypt, and of the death of Joseph, and continues to the time of the encampment in the plain of Moab, shortly before the death of Moses. According to Exod. xii. 40, the Israelites dwelt in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. To this must be added the sojourn in the desert, forty years (Numb. xiv. 33 ; xxxii. 13). The whole period of this history is therefore four hundred and seventy years. But out of this long period only a few special points are marked. The origin of the people dates from the death of Joseph to the commencement of the oppres- sion. Of this interval we learn nothing. It is a period covered with a veil like that which covered the birth of Christianiiy from the close of the Pauline epistles to the great perse- cutions of the second century. The duration of Israel's oppression cannot be accurately defined ; itbegan at an unknown date, which preceded the birth of Moses and continued till his mission to Pharaoh. Then Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old (Exod. vii. 7). To this must be added the forty years of the march in the desert (besides the period in which Egyp- tian plagues occurred), and accordingly Moses at his death was one hundred and twenty years old (Deut. xxxiv. 7). That Moses was forty years old when he fled into the wilderness, and then lived in the wilderness forty years with Jethro (Acts vii. 23-80) is the statement of Jew- ish tradition. See Comm., 1. c. The undefined period of the Egyptian plagues, which from their connection followed one another quickly, is terminated by the date of the exodus. The period from the departure from Egypt to Sinai, and from Sinai through the desert to Kadesh, is clearly marked. De- parture on the 14th (15th) Abib or Nisan (Exod. xii. 17) ; arrival at Sinai in the third month (Exod. xix. 1 ) ; departure from Sinai on the 20th day of the 2d month of the 2d year (NumU 12 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE JJOOHIS. X. 11) ; arrival at Kadesh Barnea in the wilderness of Paran ia the 2d year (the spies' forty days, Numb. xiv. 34) ; abode at Kadesh (Numb. xxi. 1 ; Deut. i. 46) to the arrival at the East bank of the Jordan thirty-eight years. In the fortieth year of the exodus they came to Mount Hor, where Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month (Numb. xxxiiL 38). On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses delivered his parting words to Israel (Deut. i. 3). Goethe was therefore right when he said thatlsrael might have reached Canaan in two years. But he did not understand God's chastisement, nor, we may add, the human saga- city of Moses, which together occasioned a delay of thirty-eight years. And so Goethe's de- nial of Moses' talent as a ruler is a proof that he utterly misunderstood the exalted and sanc- tified worldly wisdom of Moses. But quite in accord with Goethe the Israelites, against the will of Moses, did make an attempt to take possession of Canaan (Numb. xiv. 40). The endeavor to fill up the obscure interval between the death of Joseph and the history of Moses by the supposition of revelations proceeds from the idea that Old Testament reve- lation must be made continuous, agreeing with the continuity of the biblical books. But this would obliterate the distinction between periods and epochs made in Old Testament history, as well as the peculiar import of revelation at chosen times. It is only through a perception of the spiritual rhythm in the history of the kingdom of God (of the distinction between the XP^'^O'; in which a thousand years are as one day, and the nacpol^ in which a day is as a thousand years) that we reach an understanding of the great crises of revelation. Schiller's words : " es gibt im Mensohenleben Augenblicke" etc., may be paraphrased thus : there are moments in human life when it is nearer than at other times to the spirit of reve- lation, to eternity, to the other world. Concerning the strictures of De Wette, Vatke, and BEtTNO Bauer on the "great chasm " in the chronology, see Kurtz's Hist, of Old Covenant, VoL II., p. 21. Yet in that obscure interval came forth the special significance of the name Jehovah as already mentioned. On making the length of the sojourn in Egypt four hundred and thirty years, see this Comm. on Gen. xv. 13. This Comm. on Gen. xiii. Delitzsch, Gen., p. 371. This Comm. Acts vii. In relation to the various readings in the Septuagiut, Samaritan Codex, and in Jonathan (the sojourn in Egypt 430-215 years), see Kurtz, Eiet. of the Old Covenant, Vol. II., p. 135, as well as concerning the statement of Paul (Gal. iii.), which Kurtz explains by his citation of the Septuagint, while we date from the end of the time of promise. The objections which are made to the chronology of the Septuagint see examined in Kurtz as above. On the amazing conjectures of Baumgarten, see Kurtz, Vol. II., p. 143. Accord- ing to BuNSEN, the limit of the sojourn in Egypt is too short; according to Lepsius it was only ninety years. We compute as follows : the whole sojourn was four hundred and thirty years. The thirty years were not counted because the oppression did not immediately begin ; therefore four hundred years of oppression. But as the four hundred and thirty years (Gal. iii.) are apparently counted from Abraham, it would appear that the period in which the promises were made to Abraham and the patriarchs ended with the death of Jacob. Egypt. For the description of this land, where the Israelites became a nation, we must refer the reader to the literature of the subject, particularly to the articles on Egypt in Winer's Bihl. Bealworti-rbueh ; Zeller's 5i6/. WoHerbuch ['Egy^t) ; Herzog's Beal-Eneyclopadie ; Bun- sen, Egypt's Place in History; Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Mosts, with Appen- dix, Berlin, 1841 ; Uhlemann, Thoth, odtr die Winsenschaften der alten Egypter, Gottingen, 1855 ; Ebeks, Egypten und die Bucher Moses', Vol. I., Leipzig, 1868 ; Brugsch, Reiseberichte ausEgypten, Leipzig, 1855; Brugsoh, Die Egyptische Qrabervelt, ein Vortrag, Leipzig. 1868- 8am. Sharpe, History of Egypt, 2 Vols., London, 1870 ; A. Knoetel, Cheops, der Pyramiden- erbauer, Leipzig, 1861 ; Travels, Schubert [see also the maps in the Ordnance Survey under direction of Sir Henry James, F. E. 8.], Strauss, Sinai und Oolgotha, etc. Bee the bibliog- ? 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. 13 raphy of the subject in Kurtz, Hist, of the Old Covenant, Vol. II., p. 380. Also, in Dans, Egypt, Egyptians. For a sound knowledge of the history of Israel in Egypt one must consult the maps, etc. Eiepert, Atlas der alien Welt ; Henry Lange, Bible-atlas in Bunsen's Bibelwerk ; Chart and Conspectus of the written characters in BauciflCH. £eiseberichte. Long's Classical Atlas, New York, 1867. God's providential arrangement that Israel should become a nation in Egypt is shown by the following plain proofs : 1. The people must prosper in that foreign land, and yet not feel at home. This was brought about, first, by a government which knew Joseph, that is, by national gratitude ; then by a government which knew not, or did not wish to know Joseph, and which made the sojourn in Egypt very oppressive to the people. 2. The rapid growth of the people was favored by the great fertility of Egypt, which not only supplied abundant food, especially to a pastoral people living by themselves, but also revealed its blessing in the number of births. 3. A people who were to be educated to a complete understanding of the great antithesis between the blessing and the curse in divine providence could be taught in Egypt better than elsewhere to know the calamities attendant upon the curse. Here too were found the natural prerequisites for the extraordinary plagues which were to bring about the redemp- tion of the people from slavery. 4. The capacity of Israel, to receive in faith the revelations of salvation and to mani- fest them to the world, needed as a stimulus of its development, contact and attrition with the various civilized nations (Egypt, Syria, Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome). The first contact was pre-eminently important; by it the people of faith were pre- pared by an intercourse during centuries with the oldest civilized nation. Their lawgiver was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, and the conditions of culture for the development of the religion of promise as a religion of law, the knowledge of writing, education in art, possession of property, etc., formed a great school o£ instruction for the people of Israel. The external culture of the theocracy and the Grecian culture of sesthetics grew from the same stock in Egypt. 5. And yet the national as well as the spiritual commingling of the people with Egypt must be precluded. The people were preserved from a national commingling by the antipa- thy between the higher Egyptian castes and that of shepherds, and by Israel's separate abode in Goshen, as well as by the gloomy, reserved character of the Copts and by the constantly increasing jealousy and antagonism of the Egyptians. The spiritual commingling was ob- viated by the degradation of the Egyptian worship of animals and the gloominess of their worship of the dead to a people who had preserved though but an obscure tradition of mono- theistic worship of God. That the people were not altogether free from the infection of Egyptian leaven is shown by the history of the golden calf; yet this infection was in some degree refined by a knowledge of the symbolic interpretations held by the more cultured classes of Egypt, for the golden calf was intended to be regarded as a symbol, not as an idol, as was the case in later times among the ten tribes. Israel in Egypt, the JSyhaos, Pharaoh. The date when the Israelites settled in Egypt has been, in earlier and later times, variously given, and with this indeflniteness of times has been joined the relation of Israel to the Hyksos mentioned by the Egyptian historians, who migrated into Egypt, and were afterwards driven out. For the Biblical Chronology we refer to the exhaustive article by Roesch in Herzog's Beal-Eneyclopddie. "Among chronologists who accept the scriptural accounts Scaliger, Calvisitjs and Jacob Cappbl place the exodus in 1497, Petavius in 1531, Marsham in 1487, Usher in 1491," etc. De Wette makes the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt to be from 1921 to 1491 B. C. [Bihlische Archdologie, p. 28). Various computations are found in the treatises, Biblische Chronologic, Tubingen, 1857 ; Becker, Eine Zarte der Chronologic 14 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. der Hdligen Sahnft, Leipzig, 1859 ; V. Gutschmid, Beitrage zur Geschichte des Alien Orients zur Wurdigung von Bunaen's Egypten, Bd. 4 and 5. The chronology of Manetho is exhaus- tively treated by Ungee, Chronologie des Manetho, Berlin, 1867. Some chronologists of the present day by the combination of Egyptian traditions have arrived at results very different from the above. According to Lepsius (see Kuktz, Vol. II. 409), the Hyksos came into Egypt as conquerors about the year 2100 B. C, and after a sojourn of five hundred and eleven years were driven back to Syria. " After this about two hundred years pass away before the immigration of the Israelites into Egypt, which, as well as their exodus about a hundred years after, took place under the nineteenth dynasty." Sethos I. (1445-1394, by the Greeks called Sesostris) was the Pharaoh under whom Joseph came to Egypt: his son Eamses II., Miamun the Great (1394-1328), was the king at whose court Moses was brought up ; and his son, Menephthes (1328-1309), the Amenophis of Jose- phus, waa the Pharaoh of the exodus, which took place in the year 1314. See the remarks by Kurtz and this Comm., Introd. to Genesis. According to BimsEN (Bibelwerk, Bibelurkunden Theil I., ? Ill), the Israelites lived in Egypt many hundred years before their enslavement. Then a few centuries more passed until the oppression culminated under Ramses II., and under King Menophthah (1324^1305) the exodus took place. Here Biblical Chronology is made entirely dependent on conjec- tures in Egyptology. It does not speak well for the infallibility of the research, that one requires only ninety years, the other about nine hundred years, for the sojourn of the Israel- ites in Egypt. In this connection the following questions are to be considered : 1. What is the solution of the difference between the four hundred and thirty years as given in Exodus and the period shortened by the two hundred and fifteen years of the patri- archs, as given by the Septuagint and the Samaritan codex ? 2. What is the solution of the statement of the Bible that the building of Solomon's tem- ple was begun four hundred and eighty years after the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt (1 Kings vi. 1)? 3. What relation does the history of the Israelites bear to the account by Manetho of the Hyksos and the lepers? As to the first question, we refer to the explanation in this Comm., Genesis xv. 14. Comp. Kurtz, Vol. II., p. 133. As to the second question, see this Comm. ; The Books of Kings by Baehr, 1 Kings vi. 1. The reconciliation of this statement with other chronolo- gical statements of the Bible is found, first, in the view that many of the periods mentioned in the Book of Judges are to be regarded as contemporaneous ; second, in the indefiniteness of the four hundred and fifty years of the judges (Acts xiii. 20). The third question has become the subject of various learned conjectures. The account of Manetho concerning the expulsion of the Hyksos and the lepers from Egypt seems hith- erto to have obscured rather than illustrated the history of Israel in Egypt. According to the first account of the Egyptian priest Manetho (Josephus, c. Apion I. 14), people from eastern lauds invaded Egypt under King Timaus, conquered the land and its princes, and ruled five hundred and eleven years. They were called Hyksos, that is, shepherd-kings. At the end of this period they were overcome by a native king, and finally having capitu- lated, were driven out of their fortress, Avaris, by the king's son Thummosis. They then retreated through the desert to Syria, settled in Judea, and there built a city (Hierosolyma) which could hold their entire host (240,000 persons). Josephus referred this tradition to the exodus of the Israelites. The second account of Manetho tells of an expulsion of the lepers (o. Apion, I. 26). Ame- nophis, an imaginary king, desired to see the gods. He was commanded by another Ameno- phis first to clear the country of all lepers. From all Egypt he collected them, eighty thou- sand in number. The king sent them first into the eastern quarries, later into the city Avaris, where the Hyksos were said to have entrenched themselves. A priest from Heliopolis, chosen by them, taught them customs which were opposed to those of the Egyptians. Then he called the Hyksos from Jerusalem to a united struggle against the Egyptians. King i 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THBEE BOOKS. Amenophis marched against the united forces with 300,000 men. But fearing the gods, ne retired to Ethiopia, while the enemy committed the greatest atrocities in Egypt. The priest (Osarsiph) who led the lepers, now called himself Moses. After thirteen years Amenophis came with Ethiopian confederates, defeated the shepherds and the lepers, and pursued them to the Syrian boundary (see the full account in Kurtz, v. 2, pp. 380-429). These utterly fabulous stories are well fitted as a stage for the higher learning. According to Josephus and many others, the Hyksos were the Israelites, according to others the Hyksos lived with the Israelites, and if so, according to one view, they were the protectors and de- fenders of Israel, according to an opposite view, they were the oppressors of Israel (Kurtz, vol. 2, p. 380). According to Lepsius, the Hyksos were expelled two hundred years before the immigration of the Israelites. According to Saalschutz, the destruction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and the destruction of the dynasty of the Hyksos, occurred at the same time ; but the expulsion of the Hyksos took place later. In a careful consideration of the stories of Manetho great difficulties arise against every conjecture. If the Hyksos left Egypt for Jerusalem before the Jews, then history must show some trace that the Jews in their march through the wilderness to Palestine came upon this powerful people who preceded them in migration. If the Hyksos left Egypt after the Isra- elites, then the Hyksos in their journey to Jerusalem must have met with the Israelites. Finally, if these pastoral people were together in Egypt, the shepherd-kings could not have preserved an entire separation from the Jewish shepherds. Kurtz supposes that the Hyksos were Canaanites, and the immigration of Israel took place under their supremacy. He also finds in the legend of the lepers a reference to the Israelites, a view which requires some modification, if Manetho's connecting the lepers with the Hyksos points to the Mosaic ac- count that a mixed multitude joined themselves to the departing Israelites. Hbngstenbekg, in his work "Egypt and the Books of Moses,'' with an appendix, "Mane- tho and the Hyksos," opposes the prevailing view that Manetho was the chief of the priesthood in Heliopolis, the most learned in Egypt, and wrote the history of Egypt by order of king Ptolemy Philadelphus, using the works which were found in the temple. His reasons are the following : evidences of striking ignorance of Egyptian mythology, of geography, etc., remarkable agreement of his account of the Jews with the statements of writers like Chsere- mon, Lysimachus, Apion, Apollonius Molo, all of whom lived under the Roman empire. There are no other witnesses who corroborate his statements. Manetho was a forger of later times, like Pseudo-Aristeas. In later times there was a large number of Jews who cast off their nationality, only retaining the national pride and antipathies, of whom Apion was an example. Accordingly Hengstenbeeg holds the view, " that the Hyksos were no other than the Israelites, that no ancient Egyptian originals formed the basis of Manetho's accounts, but that the history preserved by the Jews was transformed to suit Egyptian national vanity." If we grant the statements concerning the historical character of Manetho it is still pos- sible that there arose in Egypt false traditions of the sojourn of the Israelites and of their exodus. It is easily conceivable that the national pride of the Egyptians did not perpetuate this history, as it really was, on their monuments : and it is just as conceivable that the un- pleasant tradition of this history was transformed in accordance with Egyptian interests and with different points of view. The legend of the Hyksos intimates the origin, mode of life, and power of the Israelites, that by them great distress came upon Egypt, and that they went away to Canaan and founded Jerasalem, while the legend of the lepers, to please Egyptian pride and hatred, has made of the same history a fable. The names Avaris and Hierosolyra , as well as other marks, prove that these two legends are very closely connected. A. Knoetei, in his treatise " Cheops " presents a peculiar construction of Egyptian history, which pro- ceeds upon the supposition of the untrustworthiness of Manetho. That the shepherd kings came from Babylon, and imposed upon the Copts the building of the pyramids and the wor- ship of the dead, is a surprising statement in a work showing great research. That an intimate acquaintance with Egypt is shown in the Pentateuch, is proved by Hengstenbeeg with great learning in the work quoted above. He has also manifested un- deniable impartiality, as his departures from the orthodox traditions prove in his history of 16 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. the sacrifice of Isaac, of Balaam, of Jephthah's daughter, and in the paragraphs on " The signs and wonders in Egypt," " Traces of Egyptian customs in the religious institutions of the books of Moses." That his purpose was apologetic cannot obscure the worth of these inves- tigations. The influence which Egyptian art and science must have exerted upon the culture of the Israelites, as well as the antagonism between Israelitish and Egyptian character, has been treated in a summary way by Sam Shaepb in his History of Egypt* How much the Israel- ites owed to Egypt in respect to science and art is an interesting chapter in ancient history ; and here something should be said on the relation of the religion of Egypt to that of Israel. Moses, whose name is Egyptian, and means " son of water," was brought up in the neighbor- hood of Heliopolis, the chief school of Egyptian philosophy, and, according to the legend, received through Jannes and Jambres most careful instruction in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, while many Israelites had given themselves to the idolatry and superstition of the land. This is the reason, according to Manetho, why so many Egyptian customs are expressly forbidden in the Mosaic law, whilst others, which were harmless, are accepted in it. A comparison of the customs of both nations would throw much light upon their relative posi- tions. The grand purpose of the separation of the Israelites from other nations was the un- equivocal maintenance of monotheism. Moses therefore declared that the gods which were commended to the veneration of the ignorant masses by the Egyptian priests were false gods. The Egyptians worshipped the stars as the representatives of the gods, the sun by the name Ea, the moon as Joh or Isis ; but among the Israelites a worshipper of any of the heavenly bodies was stoned. Among the Egyptians sculpture was the great support of religion ; the priests had the god hewn out in the temple, and there prayed to it ; they worshipped statues of men, of irrational beasts, birds, and fishes ; but the Israelites were forbidden to bow down before a chiseled or carved image. Egyptian priests shaved ofi" their hair, but the Israelites were forbidden to make a bald place, or even to cut the ends of the beard. The inhabitants of lower Egypt cut marks on their bodies in honor of their gods, but the Israelites were for- bidden to cut their flesh or to make any marks in it. The Egyptians put food in the grave with the corpses of their friends, and on their behalf sent presents of food into the temples ; but the Israelites were forbiddenf to put any food with a corpse. The Egyptians planted groves in the courts of their temples (like the later Alexandrine Jews in the courts of their synagogues) ; but the Mosaic law forbid the Israelites to plant any tree near the altar of the Lord. The sacred bull, Apis, was chosen by the priests of Memphis on account of black color and white spots, and Mnevis, the sacred bull of Heliopolis, bore nearly the same marks ; but the Israelites were ordered in preparing the water of purification to take a red heifer, perfect and young. Circumcision and abstention from swine's flesh was common to both Egyptians and Israelites; but the Egyptians ofiered swine's flesh to Isis and Osiris, and ate of it once a month, on the day after the full moon, after the sacrifice. In addition to their knowledge of nature, the Egyptian wise men were acquainted with sorcery and magic, which they used for the deception of the common people. When Moses came before Pharaoh with signs and wonders, their magicians imitated him in some cases" The Egyptian sorcerers and magicians exerted a great and often injurious influence on the spirit of the nation ; they spoke as if they were the messengers of heaven ; an abuse which two thousand years after the law could hardly restrain, though it condemned to punishment any who asked their advice. But the Mosaic law empowered the people to punish those who would seduce them, and commanded them to stone any who practised magic or witchcraft. We must now speak of some things which the Israelite law-giver borrowed from the land he left. The Egyptians inscribed the praises of their kings and gods on the inner and outer sides of the walls of their buildings, and in the same manner the Israelites were commanded to write the chief commands of their law upon the posts of their doors and gates. The Egyp- tians adorned the carved images of their gods with wings ; the Israelites were commanded to place at each end of the ark a cherub with outstretched wings. In a picture of a religious * [I have boea unable to veriiy this rererence in the last edition of Sbabpe's Egm^U—B.. 0.] t Ps not the author mistaken as to any prohibition of this ?— H. 0.] I 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. 17 procession in the time of Eameses III., there is a representation of a statue of the god Chem being carried, which measures two and a half cubits in length, and one and a half cubit in height, agreeing in form and measure with the ark which the Israelites made for the taber- nacle. When the Israelites in the desert were bitten by serpents, Moses made a serpent of copper, and fastened it upon a pole, that those bitten might look upon it and be healed ; similar serpents are often seen on Egyptian standards ; and finally, when the Israelites fell into idolatry, and demanded that Aaron should make them a god, he made them a golden calf, the same animal they had frequently seen worshipped at Heliopolis under the name Mnevis, and which they themselves perhaps had worshipped. The Israelites brought with them from Egypt a knowledge of the art of writing, and in the perfection of the alphabet and the mode of writing, as well as the more important matters of religion and philosophy, they soon surpassed their teachers. The Egyptian hieroglyphics, at first representing syllables, made no further progress except that later they were used as phonetic signs of syllables. In the enchorial character (current hand) on papyrus, the more clumsy signs were omitted, and all strokes were made of equal thickness by a reed pen. Un- fortunately Egyptian religion forbade all attempts at change or reform, and therefore in all ornamental and important writings the hieroglyphics were retained, which otherwise would probably have been changed to signs of letters. The enchorial writing was used only in cur- rent hand ; but it never reached the simplicity of a modern alphabet. The Hebrew square characters were derived directly from the hieroglyphics, and the world owes it to the He- brews that instead of writing in symbols an alphabet was formed by which a sign expresses a sound. The Israelites admired the grand buildings of the Egyptians, but made no attempt to imitate them. They early saw the great pyramids, and might have known when and how they were built, but they probably satisfied themselves with the remark, that giants built them. That Israelite religion and philosophy were not derived from the valley of the Nile appears from the following : among the Israelites there was no encouragement to trade, for the taking of interest was forbidden by law; women were not permitted to be priests; the reward of the good and the punishment of the wicked was not, as among the Egyptians, ex- pected after death, but here on earth ;* religious mysteries were as foreign to the Israelites as to the Egyptians the thought that the earth could be deluged by rain. In general, Helio- polis, from its close connection with Chaldea, received far more science and instruction from Babylon than it returned thither. On the similarity between Egyptian and Israelite cus- toms comp. Thoth by UHLEMAins', p. 7. Ebbbs, Egypten und die Bucher Moses, Vol. I., Leipzig, 1868. Orowlh of Israel in Egypt. If we regard the sojourn of Israel in Egypt as so short in duration as Lepsius would * [This i8 the common view, but it does not accord with some of the plainest facts of revelation. At the beginning of the Pentateuch stands the account of the death of Abel by the hands of Cain. Accepted aa righteous by God (Gen. iv. 4; Heb. xi. 4), the younger brother, for no crime on his part, is murdered by the elder; and this murderer, though under a curse, lives to become the head of a long line of descendants, "who enjoy in rich abundance the good things of this world. The righteous is cut off in early youth. The wicked lives in security and wealth. If there were no other revelation on this subject in the Pentateuch, this account would be sufficient to teach every believer in God, who is just, that His re- wards and punishments are not confined to this world, but must be expected beyond death. Enoch was righteous before God, but he had not lived to half the age of the other patriarchs before the Flood when he was translated. Was his reward here 1 Heb. xi. 5, 6. The expectations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as to their reward, were utterly deceived, if they were confined to this world. And what was the reward of Moses on earth ? He tells us in the 90th Psalm that after three-score years and ten the strength of man is "labor and sorrow;" and in Deuteronomy he rehearses to the people the panics of the burden he had borne in leading the people, and declares that death on the eastern side of the Jordan was to be his punish, ment for his sin at Meribah. No, all these patriarchs prove by their lives the truth of Paul's words respecting all believers that "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Their latter days must have been shrouded in impenetrable gloom if they looked for their reward here — and in that gloom the promise of God mu?t have var- nished for them and for us. Bat the New Testament plainly says that all these men were men of faith. "Now faith is as- surance of things hoped for, a conviction of tilings not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. ***** But without faith it is impossible to please God ; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Bewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Heb. xi. 1, 2, 6. Jesns says the doctrine of the resurrection was taught by Moses (Matt. xxii. 32 ; Ex. iii. 6), and the Epistle to the Hebrews asserts that both Abraham and Moses believed it (Heb. xi. 13- 19, 26). The only rational solution of their lives is a belief in rewards and punishments after death. The earliest revela- tion, in the first four chapters of Genesis, was enough by itself to establish this faith. — H. 0.] 2 18 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. make it, then it would not have been possible in that time for Jacob's family to become a great nation. But if, on the other hand, we accept twice the length of time given in the Bible it would be questionable whether the people, through so long an oppression, could have preserved their Jewish peculiarities and religious traditions, as in this interim, they were left to natural development on the basis of patriarchal revelation. " It has been argued from 1 Sam. ii. 27 that there was not an interruption of divine revelation during the stay in Egypt. But the argument is unsound. The meaning of the words, ' I plainly appeared unto the house of the fathers, when they were in" Egypt, in Pharaoh's house,' efc., is fully ex- hausted if we suppose them to refer to the last year of the sojourn of the Israelites there. At the same time it is a strong proof that religious consciousness was kept alive in the hearts of the people, that in so many of the proper names which were given during that period (Numb, iii.) the name of God la found as one of the component parts." Kurtz, Vol. II., p. 177. Moses found existing among his people an organization of the tribes, heads of tribes, who as elders exercised authority in their tribes (Ex. iv. 29). The religious zeal which Levi first manifested in fanaticism (Gen. xxxiv.) seems to have remained in a purer form in the tribe of Levi, as appears from the call of Moses, from the course of the sons of Levi at the punishment of the idolatry of the golden calf, and from the blessing of Moses. A tendency of the Jews to dispersion, the opposite pole to their strong coherence in their peculiarities, in its loftier motive prefigured by the emigration of Abraham (Gen. xii.), first shows itself in the separation of Judah (Gen. xxxviii.), and seems to have been felt fre- quently during the settlement of the Israelites in Goshen. Concerning an earlier emigra- tion (1 Chron. vii. 21) of some of the sons of Ephraim to Canaan, and a colonization of some of the sons of Judah in Moab (1 Chron. iv. 22), comp. Kurtz, vol. 2, p. 177. The Danites in the time of the Judges (Judg. xviii.) left their home and conquered the city Lais in northern Canaan, and gave to it the name Dan. Later the tribe of Simeon left their narrow bounds within the tribe of Judah and disappear among the other tribes (1 Chron. v. ) : a circum- stance which throws light on the last statement of the tradition in the blessing of Moses in which Simeon's name is wanting. Even in Egypt many Israelites seem to have exchanged their home in Goshen for settlements among the Egyptians, for in this way alone could arise the familiar relations with Egyptian neighbors, which appear in the presents to the Jews of articles of silver and gold. Similar to the tax-gatherers under the Romans in the time of Christ were the Jewish scribes and bailifis whom the Egyptians obtained among the Jews themselves to confirm their despotic rule over them. In like manner the two midwives, who probably were the heads of a class of midwives (Ex, i. 15), are described as Hebrews. ? 9. MOSES. Comp. the articles under this title in Winer, Heezog, Zeller (bibl. Worterbuch), and the index of the literature further on. We regard as the peculiarity of Moses, legal consci- entiousness in a highly gifted nature under the leading of the revelation of God. Hence he stands in the history of the kingdom of God as /car' e^ox^, the servant of God in contrast to the Son in the house, who in a yet higher, the very highest sense, was the servant of God (Heb. iii.). Hence his renunciation of the world is based upon his " respect to the recom- pense of the reward " (Heb. xi. 26). As a champion of the law, but in misunderstanding of the law, he smote the Egyptian (Ex. ii. 12) ; then he became the protector of the oppressed women in the desert. For forty years he maintained his faith clear ; then he thought he had failed of the conditions of his call, and felt that by the wrath of God he was brought near to death because his Midianite wife had probably long been a hindrance to the circum- cision of his sons (Ex. iv. 24). It is specially remarkable that though he governed the people in the desert with a strong hand by the law, he condemned himself because for an apparently small omission or transgression (Numb. xx. 12) he saw' prescribed by Jehovah his great punishment, which indeed he prescribed for himself,* that he should not with the people • [There is no warrant for this in Numb. xx. 12; xxvii. 14; Deut. xxxii. 51, 62 j Psalm cvi. S3, or elsewhere, that I am aware ot Moacs' death was not brought about by his remorse, but was accomplished as God had foretold and by Sod.— H. O.J 2 9. MOSES. 19 enter the land of promise. This is the legal conscience of an eminently ethical mind. Moses thus stands in strong contrast to a fanatical spiritualization, which, like the company of Korah, would anticipate New Testament relations, as well as to the soulless perversion of the law into mere rules, else he could hardly have broken the iirst tables of the law, or have come down with the second tables from Sinai with his face shining, or in the original docu- ments forming the basis of Deuteronomy, have drawn the lines of a spiritual inter- pretation of the law. Aaron, who could play the fanatic (Ex. xxxii. 5), as a man of mere legal rules, together with Miriam, at times opposed Moses (Numb. xii.). As the faithful steward of the law, Moses stands in harmonious contrast to the Gospel economy; only a temporary and intermediate evangelist, who on Sinai (Ex. xxxiv.) had heard Jeho- vah's exposition of His name ; the faithful theocrat, who by law and symbol pointed to Christ (Numb. xi. 29). As nature points beyond itself to the region of spirit, as the law points beyond itself to the Gospel and its royal law of freedom (James i. 25 ; ii. 8), the law of the Spirit (Rom. viii.), so the mediator of the divine law points beyond himself to the Prophet of the future (Deut. xviii. 15). At the beginning and the end of his declaration of the ethical law in the de- calogue there are the germs of the coming law of freedom, " who brought thee out of the house of bondage," " thou shalt not covet." Besides Moses' relation to Christ we must mark within the Old Testament his relation to Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is the Old Testament counterpart of Moses on the side of legal retribution ; but Elisha is the expounder of Moses as to the spirituality of the law, its gentle- ness and mercy, the coming gospel. The grandeur of the genius of Moses appears in striking contrasts, pre-eminently in the contrast of his firm conscientiousness with his prophetic power as a seer ; then in the contrast of his eminent worldly wisdom, with his inner spiritual life ; in the contrast of his delicacy with his heroic vigor ; in the contrast of his deep sensitiveness to the signs of the curse and the signs of the blessing ; and finally in the opposite traits of the mildest humanity, yea, of priestly self-sacrifice (Ex. xxxii. 11, 31 ; Numb.: the laws of humanity) and of the inexora- ble firmness of the law-giver (Ex. xxxii. 27; Numb. xiv. 28; chap. xiv.). That Moses should not be identified with Jewish superficial legality, with the letter of the law that " killeth," though as a national law-giver he was compelled to exercise specially the ofiice of death (2 Cor. iii. 7), that this was not his whole oflSce (as Luther would lead us to infer), is apparent from the fact that by the side of the ethical law he has placed the law of atonement, the theocratic reform of the traditional law of ofierings. And that he did not intend to establish a real hierarchy is proved by his laying the basis of civil rights, the first article of which regulates the emancipation of slaves. We judge the Papacy too leniently and wrongfully when we assert that it is a return to the Old Testament priesthood — a priest- hood that would absorb utterly all prophecy and all political authority 1 Among the great law-givers of antiquity Moses stands in solitary grandeur. He alone gave to others the two most popular offices in national life : the high-priesthood to Aaron, the chief command of the army to Joshua. As prophet he points beyond himself and his institutions to the future; he does not obliterate the hope of the future which Abraham had impressed upon his religion, but filled it with life and unfolded it chiefly through symbols. But it was the Spirit of God who, in addition to his great genius, and by means of special direction, made him capable of these great things. The common characteristic of all mighty men of God and of faith, who made known the revelation of God, unconquerable patience aud endurance, the sign of the victorious perseverance of the kingdom of God, especially of Christianity, as it appeared in many individuals, the firmness of Noah, Abraham, Jeremiah, but pre-eminently the patient and long-suffering perseverance of the Lord, these also appear in typical traits, and though imperfect, yet in peculiar beauty, as the special marks of the character of Moses. Hence in his old age a single act of impatience, reflecting the severely punished impatient act of his earlier years, was sorely requited, though this single false step was so turned by God as to give to his life a solemn and glorious ending on the eve of enter- 20 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. ing Canaan (Deut. xxxiv.). He was not allowed to pass into obscurity behind Joshua, the general, or to close his life without solemnity at an unimportant time. Finally there is one trait in the character of Moses to be considered which has been almost entirely overlooked, because, in the interest of an abstract supranaturalism, or of a criticism which resolves them into myths, his miracles have been discussed without respect to their means. If we believe in a charisra, that is, that a gift of nature is always the basis of a gift of grace, and this gift of nature becomes a charism by being purified and inspired by the Spirit of grace, we will find this synthesis constantly appearing in heroic proportions in the sphere of revelation. And accordingly it was a sense of nature grand and deep, an instinctive sensibility for nature which Jehovah made the exponent of His revelations in nature in Egypt and the wilderness, the miracles of Moses. For if every scriptural miracle is a miracle both of knowledge and of power, then in the miracles of Moses there is surpass- ing knowledge, a piercing into the depths of nature which the Spirit of the Lord opened to him. His power is a dauntless trust in God, by which he lifts his rod, which accomplishes the miracle, not as by magic, but as a symbol, pointing to the strong arm of the Lord. With respect to Moses' knowledge of the deep things of nature, we can distinguish his knowledge of natural history, of the earth, of geology, of psychology, and of the laws of health; but each of these the Spirit of revelation had made a charism. § 10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANITES. It seems to be a primary law of the divine economy and instruction that the people of God should be born in servitude and brought up in the desert (Hos. ii. 14; ix. 10). For not only did the nation of Israel come forth from the house of bondage and take its stamp in the desert, but also Israel's reformation after the Babylonian captivity under Ezra, its second Moses ; and Christians grew to be the people of God under the despotism of the old world and in the great desert of asceticism, and the Christian Reformation was compelled to pass through servitude and the desert. For the German Reformation the desert was prepared by the devastations of the thirty years' war ; the French Reformation received its purification in the Church of the desert. As the land arose out of the earlier formation of the sea (Gen. i.), so the deserts, like the steppes, appear to have come forth by changes in the formation of the sea, as though they were bottoms of seas, rocky, stony, salt and sandy plains, without water or vegetation. The old world is to a large extent covered with deserts, and the Arabian desert, with which we are concerned, with its many parts and projections, is pre eminently the desert (see Winee, Worterbuch), having, in connection with the great stretch of desert from the northwest coast of Africa to northern Asia, two great wings, the desert of Sahara in North Africa and the desert of Zobi in Northern Asia. The desert is nearly allied to the region of the dead, to Hades ; it forms dead places of the living earth, and is the place of death to many pil- grims who attempt to cross it. Yet water has won for itself many parts of the desert (as the earth has won a portion of the sea by the formation of islands), steppe-like pasture-lands, real shepherds' commons (I^HD) and spice-bearing oases. The most remarkable conquest has been that of the Nile, the father of Egypt, over the desert on its right and left bank. The Red Sea also intersects the desert. As to the configuration of the Arabian desert, we refer to the articles in the lexicons on the desert and Arabia, as well as to the most important narratives of travels and to maps. The Midianites, to whom Moses fled, snd among whom he was prepared for his calling, seem to have been a nomadic branch of an Arabian tribe, descendants of Abraham and Ke- turah (Gen. xxv. 2-4), which had its home on the eastern side of the Elanitic gulf, where the ruins of the city of Madian still testify to their settlement, and which carried on the caravan-trade between Gilead and Arabia, from eastern lands to Egypt, whilst another branch extended eastward to the plain of Moab. Thus they became closely interwoven with the history of the Jews. Midianite merchants brought Joseph as a slave to Egypt ; with the nomad Midianite prince, Jethro, Moses found a refuge for many years; and Jethro exerted important influence even in the organization of the Mosaic economy, and assisted the mis- J 10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANITEB. 21 sion of Moses by a fatherly care for his family (Ex. xviii.). On the other hand, it was the Midianites who, in league with the Moabites, by means of their wanton idolatrous festivals, almost brought the people of Israel to destruction (Num. ch. xxv. and xxxi.), so that Moses found it necessary to take vengeance on the Midianites, that his people might be freed from their customs, as they previously had been freed from Egyptian customs by the passage through the Red Sea. Again, later in the time of the Judges they were a scourge of the Israelites, from which the Israelites were delivered by the victory of Gideon (Judg. ch. vi. and 8). In Isaiah Ix. 6 a nomad Midianite people is mentioned, part of whom were peace- ful shepherds in the desert, and others formed a band of Arabian robbers. Comp. the art. "Midian " in Winer and Kuetz II. 192. The March through the Desert, For a comprehensive synopsis of the literature, see Kurtz II. 860 ; BRiEM, Israels Wan- derung von Oosen bis zum Sinai, Elberfeld, 1851 ; Ebers, Durch Oosen zum Sinai, Leipzig, 1872. From the Indian Ocean the Arabian gulf stretches north-westwardly, and divides Asia from Africa until it reaches the isthmus of Suez. Its eastern side bounds Arabia, and its western side bounds Ethiopia, Nubia and Egypt. On the north it branches fork- like; the left prong, the Sea of Sedge, or the Hero opolitanic Gulf, extends towards the Mediterranean with which, as is shown by the Bitter lakes and a Mediterranean gulf, it is loosely connected, while the right prong, the Gulf of Akabeh, or the Elanitic gulf, seems by a long reach to seek the Dead Sea, with which it is connected by the long ravine of the Arabah. Between the two gulfs is the Arabian desert, through which lay a great part of the journey of the Israel- ites. This journey was first along the Gulf of Suez, and then by the west shore of the Ela- nitic gulf, and through the Arabah to Kadesh ; then it returned to the head of the Elanitic gulf. The smaller division of the journey begins with the crossing of the Arabah at the head of the gulf, in order to pass around the mountains of Seir and in the plains of Moab to exchange the toil of the pilgrim for the march of war. In the adjustment of the minute, but not very clear accounts of the journey through the desert (Ex. ch. xiv.-19; Deut. x. 12-21, 33), we must, as Von Eaumer rightly remarks, distinguish between days' jotirneys and encampments or days of rest, as well as between mere encampments and long settlements. So also we must distinguish between the stations of the encampments of the people and the marches of the army. It seems also very important to distinguish between the two sojourns of the array (not of the mass of the people) in Kadesh. The true key for the solution of the greatest difficulty in the determination of the stations appears to be in Deut. i. 46 : " So ye abode in Kadesh " (again) "many days," " according unto the days that ye abode there,'' (0^?^] It^X D''a\3, baa( nori ^fiipa; heK&-&Tja-9s). The Vulgate has only " multo tempore." According to Kno- BEL this means: they remained still in Kadesh a long time, to wit, just as long as they did remain. But we prefer to translate : equal to a time ye wished to make it your abiding resi- dence. The two sojourns in Kadesh will not seem so improbable, if, as according to Von Eaumer's map, the people twice went over the route from the Elanitic gulf to Kadesh. In Deut. i. 46 we are told, the Israelites at the first time left Kadesh to pass into Palestine j but when they were smitten by the Amorites, they settled in Kadesh (Num. xx. 1). The first division of the whole journey in the Arabian desert extends to the first settle- ment of Israel in Kadesh in the desert of Paran (Num. xiii. 1 ; Deut. i. 19). The sections of this journey are as follows: 1. Journey from Barneses to Succoth and Etham, and turninar in the direction of Pi-hahiroth on the sea-shore ; 2. Passage through the sea and journey to the encampment in Elim ; 3. From Elim to Sinai, and encampment before Sinai (Ex. xiii. 17 — six. 1) ; 4. Departure from Sinai, and journey parallel with the western coast of the Elanitic gulf to Hazeroth and to Kadesh in the desert of Paran (Num. x, 12 — xiii. 1) ; 5. Certain incidents of the first settlement in Kadesh ; the spies ; the insurrection of the people against Moses ; the decree of God that that generation should die in the desert, and that the 22 GENERAL INTKODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. wandering should last forty years (Num. xiv. 34) ; the fool-hardy march of the people and their rout to Hormah, to which the supplementary account returns (Num xx. 1) : " And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, carae into the wilderness of Zin ;" so that they returned from Hormah back again to Kadesh. The second division of the journey through the desert includes the obscure thirty-eight years' abode in Kadesh (Deut. i. 46). The de- cree of Jehovah was fulfilled in this period. After this comes the journey to Mount Hor, the chain of mountains forming the eastern boundary of the Arabah (Num. xx. 23), and not lying in the land of Edom. After that Moses was compelled by the threatening attitude of the Edomites to give up the attempt to reach the eastern side of the Dead Sea from Ka- desh across the Arabah (Num. xx. 20). The death and burial of Aaron on Mount Hor (for another name of the place, see Dt. x. 6) necessitated a longer sojourn (Num. xx. 29). It is again related that the kiug of the Canaanites at Arad fought Israel when he heard that they would force their way into the land by the way to Atharim. The Vulgate translates : " by the way of the spies," and exegetically this is doubtless right; it is the same history which is told in Num. xiv. 45, as appears from the locality, Hormah (Num. xxi. 3). But the fact is again mentioned because with it is joined the assertion that Israel received satisfaction for this defeat. The first countermarch was from Etham to Pi-hahiroth, the second from Hormah to Kadesh and Hor, and the third makes a complete return from Hor to the head of the gulf of Akabeh, "to compass the land of Edom" (Num. xxi. 4; Deut. ii. 1). In the neighbor- hood of Elath and Ezion-geber the road led them between the gulf of Akabeh and the end of the Arabah onwards to the desert of Moab. With the crossing of the brook Zered the decree of the wandering was accomplished, and therefore the whole period of this wandering is stated at thirty-eight years (Deut. ii. 14). The words " the space " (of time) " in which we came from Kadesh-barnea,'' plainly indicate the first departure from Kadesh towards south- ern Palestine, and the second long sojourn in Kadesh is included in the thirty-eight years. The Israelites were not to pass through the centre of Moab (Deut. ii. 18), or through the ter- ritory of Ammon (ver. 19). From the wilderness of Kedemoth, near by a city of the same name in what was afterwards the territory of Reuben, the conquests begin. The embassy to Sihon at Heshbon asks permission for a peaceful passage through his land, though Moses foresaw the hostile refusal aad its consequence, as he had when he asked Pharaoh to permit the people to go into the desert to hold a feast (Ex. v. 1). This policy is justified by the consideration that the grant, though highly improbable, would have obliged the grantor to keep his word. After the conquest of Heshbon east of Jordan over against Jericho, northern Gilead from Wady Arnon to Mount Hermon was the fruit of the victory over Og, King of Bashan, who made the first attack (Num. xxi. 33 ; Deut. iii.). The conquered country was apportioned, and the army returned to the "valley over against Beth-peor" (Deut. iii. 29; Num. xxii. 1), where Moses gives his last orders before closing his course in mysterious soli- tude on Mount Nebo (Deut. xxxiv. 6). Here at Beth-peor, or in the plains of Moab, the people were brought into great danger by Balak, the King of Moab. He did not succeed in cursing Israel, but in enticing them by the counsel of the false prophet Balaam, who had just before been made to bless them (Num. xxxi. 8). In Beth-peor they were near to the temple of their idol, where obscene idol feasts were held. The enticement was accomplished by the Moabites and by that branch of the Midianites which had its home in the mountains to the east ; but the war of vengeance which Moses ordered, and which was intended to pre- vent the moral degeneracy of the young generation who had so grandly begun their mission was called a war against the Midianites, perhaps in tenderness to Moab. The war was con- cluded, and Moses' work was done. There were the best reasons for the circuitous marches of the people. For the first cir- cuit the reasons are given. Had they gone direct through the desert to Canaan, they would have been compelled to fight with the Philistines, and they were not prepared for this (Ex. xiii 17) In addition to this, there was a second purpose in the counsel of God ; Israel mast 2 10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANITES. 23 pass through the Red Sea, that thereby destruction might come on Pharaoh pursuing them (Ex. xiv. 1). For the second circuit there are also two reasons. As Israel at first would not venture, even with Jehovah's aid, to enter southern Palestine, and then made the attempt presump- tuously without Jehovah, and was punished with defeat, their courage, the courage of the old generation, was broken. But when the new generation strove to march through Edom to attack Canaan from the east, they were forbidden to do so on account of their relationship to Edom ; and hence the motive for their great circuit and return to the Red Sea. And again they must make detours in order to avoid war with Moab and Ammon. On this march the way led them between Moab and Ammon, so that the capital of Moab was on the left and the territory of Ammon on the right. The desert through which Israel passed, Arabia Petrsea, is divided into a succession of separate deserts, of Shur, of Sin, of Sinai, of Paran, etc., stretches of sand, of gravel, of stones and rocky wastes. For the geography of Edom and the lands east of Jordan, see the articles Seir, Moab, Ammon, in the Bible Dictionaries ; and the numerous books of travel, Vosr Schubert, Strauss, Palmer, Teistam, Porter, Burton; the geographical works of Bitter, Dan- iel and others, especially the geography of Palestine by Von Raumbe, Robinson and oth«rs. On the differences in the indications of the lines of March, comp. Winer, Arabisohe Wilste, though he does not adhere to the simplicity of the Biblical narrative. In order to harmonize these statements, we must suppose that the list (Num. xxxiii.) contains not only the encampments and day's journeys, but also lesser way-stations, and we must also remem- ber the oriental custom of giving several names to the same object, and in addition, there may be interpolations in places not well understood. As has been remarked, there were two sojourns in Kadesh, but not as they are usually conceived from a misunderstanding of Num. xiii. 1 ; xx. 1, and xxxiii. 36. The station Moseroth (Num. xxxiii. 31) must be identical with Mount Hor, where, according to Num. xxxiii. 88 (comp. Dent. x. 6 ; Num. xx. 22), Aaron died, and if we accept the list of stations as without error (Num. xxxiii.), the sojourn in Kadesh must have been near Moseroth (Num. xxxiii. 31). The verses 36 to 40 appear to be an explanation which perhaps was taken from the margin into the text. According to Num. xxxiii. 31 the Israelites came from Moseroth to Bene-jaakan ; but according to Deut. x. 6, they came from Bene-jaakan to Mo- sera. This contradiction is solved by supposing that on their journey northward, they came from Moseroth to Bene-jaakan, and marching southward, they removed from Beeroth Bene- jaakan to Moseroth, which agrees with the shorter narrative. It appears then from the parallel accounts that Aaron died at Mount Hor on the return march to Moseroth, and fur- ther, that the sojourn in Kadesh is to be sought in the well-watered country of the sons of Jaakan. It is also plain that we can speak as truly of the sojourns in Kadesh as of one. There were two sojourns of the army in Kadesh, since after its march from Kadesh towards Canaan, it was brought back to this encampment ; but the mass of the people had remained there. The following is the list of stations (Num. xxxiii.) and the parallel statements: 1. From Rameses to Red Sea, Pi-hahieoth. Ramesefi. Suceoth. Etham. Pi-hahiroth. i. Fbom Red Sea to Sinai. Marah. Elim. Red Sea. Desert of Sin. Dophkah. Altish. Rephidim. Sinai Exodus. Suceoth. Etham. Pi-hahiroth. Desert of Shur; Marah. Elim. Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai (Quails (anticipated on account of the mauaa, see Num. xi.), Manna, Sabbath). 24 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. 5. Feom Sinai to Ezion-gebee, and thence to Bene-jaakan, (Kadesh). Kibroth-hattaavah. Hazeroth. Kithmah.. Bimmon-parez. Libuah. Rissah. Kehelathah. Mount Shapher. Haradah. Makheloth. Tahatk. Tarah. Mithcah. Hashmonah, Moseroth. Bene-jaakan (Kadesh). 4. Feom Kadesh to Ezion-oebeb. Hor-hagidgad (Moseroth ?). Jotbathaho Ebronah. Ezioa-geber (vers. 36-40, later addition). 6. From Ezionhsebeb oe Mount Sbir on its East Side to boundary of moab. Zalmonah. Pun on. Oboth. Oboth. Ije-abarim. Ije-abarim. Feom the boundabt of Moab to the plains ov Moab Brook (Valley) of Zered. opposite Jericho. Arnon. Dibon-gad. Beer. Almon-diblathaim. Matt an ah. Abarim near Nebo. Nahaliel. Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho. Bamoth. Mount Pisgah. Plains of Moab. Num. xi. Prom Sinai to Desert of Paran. Taberah, Kibrotli-hattaavah (Qoalls). Hazeroth. Desert of Paran and Kadesii-barnea (Deut. i 19), especially Zin (Kadesh, Deut. i. 46). Kadesli-Hormah, Nam. xiv. 45. Hormah-Kadesh. Num. zx. 22. Kadesh, Hor. Bed Sea. The statements of the Book of Numbers are more clearly defined by those of Deutero- nomy. 1. General direction from Horeb or Sinai to the mount of the Amorites {Kadesh, Deut. i. 6). March through the desert to Kadesh-barnea, ver. 19. 2. Sortie from Kadesh to the mount of the Amorites. Defeat and return to Kadesh. Settlement there for a long time, ch. i. 43-46. 8. Return by Mount Seir to the Red Sea, chap. ii. I. 4. From Elath and Ezion-geber march northward on the eastern side of Mount Seir. March through desert of Moab, chap. ii. 8. Passage of brook Zered. March through the boundary of Moab. Avoidance of the territory of the Ammonites. Passage of the Arnon, chap. ii. 24. Special notice, chap. x. 6, 7, concerning Aaron and the priesthood. These verses appear to be an interpolation, as ver. 8 refers to ver. 5. At this time, by the ordination of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the tribe of Levi was entrusted with the priesthood, chap. x. 8. March from Beeroth-jaakan (Kadesh) to Mosera (Mount Hor). Thence to the stations Gudgodah and Jotbath (Hor-hagidgad and Jotbathah, Numb, xxxiii.). The whole narrative is made clearer by the well-founded view that Mount Hor is used in a wider and in a narrower signification. According to the first, it signifies the range of Seir, while the Hor on which Aaron died is also called Moseroth, near Hor-hagidgad or Gudgodah. Similarly Kadesh, in its narrower signification (Kadesh-barnea) must be distinguished from Kadesh in its wider signification. ? 11. THE SOJOURN OF THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS IN KADESH. 25 The common interpretations make the people to have marched twice from Ezion-geber to Kadesh, and twice from Kadesh to Ezion-geber. This contradicts Deuteronomy. After the decree of Jehovah that the old generation should die in the wilderness, there could be no purpose in the people's making long marches hither and thither. They must have moved only so far in the desert of Paran around the central point, Kadesh, in the de- sert of Zin, as the mode of life and the sustenance of a nomadic people required. On the question, whether Horeb or Serbal, see Ebers, Burch Oosen zum Sinai, Leip- zig, 1872. § 11. THE SOJOURN OP THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS IN KADESH. In the midst of the marvellous journey through the desert there is a period, Hke that between Joseph and Moses, hidden in obscurity. We only know that Jehovah left the peo- ple to their natural development, so that the old generation trained in Egyptian servitude died in the desert, and a new generation of brave sons of the desert grew up. The troubles of Israel correspond to this difiference between the old and the new generation. The sins of the old generation are pre-eminently sins of despondency : as the displeasure of the Israelites in Egypt at the mission of Moses (Ex. v. 21; vi. 9); the lamentation of the people at Pi-hahiroth (Ex. xiv. 10, 11) ; the murmuring at the bitter water of Marah (Ex. XV. 23, 24) ; the longing for the flesh-pots of Egypt in the desert of Sin (Ex. xvi. 3) ; the murmuring on account of the want of water at Massah and Meribah (Ex. xvii. 7) ; the flight of the people from the mount of the law (Ex. xx. 18) ; the cowardly motive in setting up the golden calf (Ex. xxxii. 1) ; the sin of impatience (Numb. xi. 1) ; the pusillanimous longing for flesh to eat (Numb. xi. 4-10) ; the perversion of the law to a mere set of rules by Miriam and Aaron (Numb. xii. 1) ; finally the faint-heartedness of the majority of the spies and of the whole people (Numb. chap. xiii. — chap. xiv. 1 f ), which they sought to atone for by a presumptuous attempt. During the sojourn in Kadesh there occurred the rebellion of Korah's company (Numb. xvi. If.), the rebellion of the whole people (Numb. xvi. 42), and the second rebellion on ac- count of the want of water (Numb. xx. 11). Here appears a youthful, presumptuous self- assertion. The old generation demanded a hierarchy (Ex. xx. 19) ; on the other hand, the new generation would anticipate the universal priesthood. The sins of the new, strong generation that marches from Kadesh have the impress of presumption. At first they were vexed because of 'the way and the food (Numb. xxi. 4, 5), and they were punished with fiery serpents. Then, later, in Shittim, they took part in the idolatry of the Moabites, and committed whoredom with their daughters (Numb. xxv). Soon after this the tribes of Eeuben and Gad make demands for separation, which only the authority of Moses suflSces to direct aright (chap, xxxii.). As regards the long middle period of the sojourn in Kadesh, Kurtz supposes a period of defection or of exclusion for thirty-eight {Lehrbuch der heiligen Oeschichte, p. 89) or thirty- seven years [Hist, of Old Covenant). " The theocratic covenant was suspended, and therefore the theocratic history had nothing to record. Circumcision, the sign of the covenant, was omitted ; they profaned the Lord's Sabbaths, despised His laws, and did not live according to His commands (Ezech. xx.). Bumt-oflferings and meat-offerings they did not bring, but they carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of their god Remphan (Saturn), figures which they made (Acts vii. 43 ; Amos v. 25, 26). But the Lord had compassion on the outcasts, and restrained His anger, so as not to destroy them. He fed them with manna, and gave them water from the rock to drink." KuRTZ, in his History of the Old Covenant, rightly says, that as the people could not have found food at one place for thirty-seven years, the mass of the people must have been, after the decree against them, scattered in small bodies over the whole (?) desert, and must have settled in the oases found by them until by the call of Moses they were collected again at Kadesh. But we must distinguish between falling away, exclusion, and repentance. A people feUen away is not fed with manna and by miracle given drink from the rock. A peo- ple under excommunication is not disburdened of the excommunication by a promised ter- 26 GENERAL INTRODDCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. mination of it. A repentant people is not one falling away. As regards the passage quoted from Ezekiel, it speaks first of sins in Egypt (chap. xx. 8), which are not now under conside- ration; the more general sins in the desert (ver. 13) do not belong here; not until the fif- teenth verse is there an obscure hint of the time of punishment in Kadesh ; and ver. 21 speaks of a new generation, which was afterwards delivered to the service of Moloch (vers. 25, 26; comp. chap, xxiii. 37). But this corruption is joined with the worship of lust, and hence we can suppose that the mention of it refers to the great sin in Shittim. To the same great sin, in all probability, Stephen refers in his speech, Acts vii., where he quotes the pas- sage in Amos. That the sins of omission of the sacrifices and meal-oflferings and circumcision were general, is explained by the temptations of their trials in tbe desert. The worship of Moloch and that of Saturn are allied as the gloomy antithesis of the more cheerful worship of Baal or of Jupiter, and yet they are connected with them. The history of the company of Korah, which occurs at this time, shows that the covenant of Jehovah with Israel was not suspended at this period. For the position of Kadesh, see the Lexicons and Travels in this region. g 12. KELIGIOUS AND SYMBOLIC MODE OF EEPEESENTATION — ESPECIALLY THE POETICAL AND HISTORICAL SIDE OF THE THB.EE BOOKS. In general, we refer to what was said in this Comm. Introd. to Oenesis. But we must reiterate that the religious mode of representation requires repetitions and insertions which are foreign to a scientific exact treatise ; as, for instance, the mention of Aaron, Deut. X.; the insertion of Kadesh, Numb, xxxiii. 36, etc. More important is the consideration of symbolic expression. We have before (Comm. OenesU, page 23) distinguished it plainly from the mythical and the literal. It cannot be understood without a perception of its specific character, as it is used to define clearly (e. g., the Nile became blood), to generalize (bringing the quails), to hyperbolize (Egyptian darkness), but constantly to idealize (words of Balaam's ass), for the vivid repre- sentation of the ideal meaning of facts. The mythical conception disregards not only the essential constancy of the facts, but also their perennial religious effect ; the literal concep- tion, on the other hand, disregards entirely their ideal meaning, as well as the spirit and the mode of statement, the theocratic-epic coloring. Both are united in being opposed to the peculiar mysterious character of revelation. This is specially true of the miracles of the Mosaic period. The highly poetic and yet essentially true history of the leading of Israel to Canaan cul- minates on its poetical side in its songs (Sack, IHe Lieder in den historischen Buehem des Alien Testaments, Barmen, 1864). The first lyrical note in Genesis is heard in God's words on the destiny of man (Comm. Oen. i.), then in the song of Lamech and in other portions. Again we hear it in Moses's song of redemption (Ex. xv.), and again, after the afflictions of the old generation, it awakes with the new generation. In close connection with the original poetic works [Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. xxi. 14) come the songs of victory and festival (Numb. xxi. 14, 15, 17, 18, 27-30) ; the blessings of Moses (Numb. vi. 24-27 ; x. 35, 36) ; blessings even out of the mouth of Balaam, their enemy. Tbe crown of those lyrics is formed at the close of Deuteronomy by the two poems, the Song of Moses and the blessing of Moses, the solemn expression of the fundamental thought of the whole law, especially of Deuteronomy, blessing and curse. The first poem is well-nigh all shadow, the last is full of light. The historical side of the three books culminates in the lists of generations, in the direc- tions for building the tabernacle, in the list of encampments, in the statutes, and, above all, in the decalogue. We must also remark that the history of Moses would be entirely misun- derstood if we should regard it as the beginning of the history of the Israelites, or if we should sunder it entirely from the history of the patriarchs. Moses and his legislation are only un- derstood in connection with Abraham and the Abrahamitic basis of his religion. By this measure those new theological opinions are to be judged which would commence this history with Moses. 2 13. MIRACLES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. 27 ^18. MIRACLES OF THE MOSAIC PEEIOD. Abraham prayed to God under the name of El Shaddai, God Almighty. He learned to know God's marvellous power by the birth of Isaac (Rom. iv. 17), and manifested his trust in His omnipotence by his readiness to sacrifice his only son (Heb. xi. 17). Thus the foun- dation was laid for belief in miracles under the theocracy. The miracles of the Mosaic period appear as peculiarly the miracles of Jehovah. He is ever present with His miraculous help in the time of need. All changes and events in the course of nature He orders for the needs of the theocracy, for the people of God but lately born, to whom such signs are a necessity. The prophet as the confidant of God has not only the natural presentiment, but also the supernatural, God-given prescience of these great deeds of God. Yet, since they are to serve for the education of the faith of the people, he is not only to mate them known beforehand, but performs them in symbolical acts as the organ of the omnipotence of Jehovah. Hence we may call these miracles double miracles (see Life of Christ, Vol. II., Part 1, p. 312). The whole series of miracles is begun by a glorious vision. Moses beholds the bush burning with fire, and yet not consumed, but glowing in the bright flame. This was Israel, his people, and how could he doubt that this vision would be fulfilled in the people of God (Exod. iii.)? Also the three miracles of attestation which Moses at this time received (Ex. iv.) appear to be miracles in virion and served to strengthen the faith of the prophet. The second siga, the leprosy and its cure, is not used by Moses afterward, and the third, the change of the wa- ter into blood, became one of the series of Egyptian plagues. He only uses the miracle of the rod ; doubtless it comprehends a mysterious fact in symbolical expression ; the swallow- ing of the rods of the sorcerers being called " destroying their works." The natural basis of the Egyptian plagues has been well explained by Hengstenberg. They were all plagues usual in Egypt, but were made miracles by their vastness, their close connection and speedy se- quence, by their gradation from stroke to stroke, by the prophetic assurance of their predes- tination and intentional significance and use, and finally by their lofty symbolic expression. In their totality they reveal the fearful rhythm in which, from curse to curse, great punitive catastrophes come forth. Symbolic expression is also found in their number, ten. It is the number of the historic course of the world. Their sequence corresponds to the course of nature. 1. Water turned into blood. 2. Innumerable frogs. 3. Swarms of gnats (mosquitoes). 4. Dog-flies. 5. Murrain. 6. Boils and blains. 7. Storm and hail. 8. Locusts. 9. Darkness for three days (Hamsin). 10. Death of the first-born (pestilence). For particulars see Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Boohs of Moses ; Kurtz, History of the Old Covenant, Vol. II., 245-288. The contest of theocratic miracle with magic represented by the Egyptian magicians is very significant. It is an opposition of symbolic and allegorical significance, continued through New Testament history (Acts viii.; Simon Magus; chap, xiii.; Elymas- 2 Tim. iii. 8 ; Jannes and Jambres), and still through Church history to its last decisive contest, when the false prophet shall be destroyed together with his lying wonders (2 Thess. ii.; Rev. xiii. 13). To the miracles of the Egyptian plagues, which culminate in the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host, is opposed the miracle of the passnge of the Red Sea, the typical baptism of the typical people of God, by which they were separated from Egypt, a reminiscence of the flood 28 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. and a type of Christian baptism (1 Cor. x. 1, 2; 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21). This miracle also has a natural basis, as the Scriptures more than once mention. The Lord caused tbe sea to go back by a strong east wind (Ex. xiv. 21). That a natural occurrence forms the basis of this miracle is shown by the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites into the sea — for they would hardly have ventured into it if there had been an absolutely miraculous drying up of the sea; just as the natural explanation of the Egyptian plagues became the snare of Pharaoh's unbelief. But on the other side, the Egyptians could hardly have made so great a mistake in taking advantage of a natural occurrence : the ebb-tide* was miraculously great, just as the sudden turn of the flood-tide was miraculously hastened, and therefore rightly celebrated in the Song of Moses (Ex. xv.), and often afterwards (Ps. Ixvi. 6; cvi. 9; cxxxvi. 13-16; Zech. X. 11). In the investigation of the passage of the Red Sea there is a conflict between those who seek to belittle the miracle and those who would enlarge it. Of those who take the first po- sition, K. VON Raumer is one of the champions. The leading of the people to the Red Sea is accomplished by the angel of the Lord in the pillar of cloud and of fire. At the sea the cloud came between the Israelites and the Egyptian host, so that they were separated by the cloud before they were separated by the sea. For the distinction which the Hebrews made between this cloud and the pillar of cloud see Ps. Ixviii. 8-10 ; 1 Cor. x. 2. The pillar of cloud was a mystery, in which were united the manifestation of the angel of the Lord and the flame ascending from the sanctuary. Af- terwards the ark of the covenant as a symbol led the people, and over it the glory of the Lord was revealed in the cloud, and in New Testament times (Isa. iv. 5) it was to cover Zion with its brightness. If we grasp these two miracles, the pillar of cloud and of fire and the Red Sea, we shall gain some idea of the harmonia prmstabilUa between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of nature, as it emerges at great decisive epochs in iueflable glory. The healing of the water at Marah from its bitterness is accounted for in the Scriptures by natural means. The Lord showed Moses a tree (see the exegesis) by which the water was made sweet. Here grace and nature work together, and here too a general idea, an ethical law, is connected with the extraordinary fact; Jehovah will be the Physician of His people if they will obey His voice (Ex. xv. 23-26). The miracle of healing is followed by the miracle of feeding the people with manna. The gift of quails appears to have been introduced into the account of the manna by a gene- ralizing attraction (Ex. xvi. 11-13). In Numb. xi. 31 the gift of quails appears as an entirely new event : and they were far past Sinai then. The miracle of the manna enclosed a special mysterious occurrence, which was made the symbol of the true relation between the labor of the week and the rest of the Sabbath. The law also was symbolized, in that the food of hea- ven was common to all (Ex. xvi. 18). Concerning the natural basis of the miracle of manna see exegesis. * [By the plain and repeated words of Go 1 we are prohibited from assuming an extraordinary ebb and flood tide in this miracle. The account is that " the Lord caused the sea to go (back) by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground ; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left." " But the children of Israel walkrd upon dry land in the midst of the sna : and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left." Ex. xiv. 21,22,29. J,'p3— here translated "divided"— is also used of "clearing" wood (Gen. xxii. 3; ISam. vi. U; Ps.cxli.7j Eccles. X. 9). "the ground clave asunder" (Numb. xvi. 31), of "rending," "ripping up," making a breach in a wall, fte. A very close parallel to the use of this word in Ex. xiv. 21, etc., is found in Zech. xiv. 4: "And the mount of Olives shall cleave" (Niph. J'p^J— be cleft, divided) "in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a great valley, and half of the mountain shall remov^^ toward the norfi, and half of it toward the south." The word is here confined to this signification of division, cleaving asunder, by the additional and repeated statement that " the waters were a wall unto thera on their right hand and on their left," which utterly excludes the idea of an ebb and flood tide, or that the waters were driven out of a shallow arm of the sea by the wind. (Robinson's Raearohea, I. 64-69.) The same representa- tion is thrice repeated in Ex. xv. 8: "With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together" (i.e., piled up); • the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea." See also in Ps. Ixxviii. IS. Comp. with this the account in Josh. iii. 13-17, where it is said the waters of the Jordan to the north of the passing host ■■ stood and rose up upon an heap." It is vain to indulge in theories to explain a miracle. The division of the waters of the Jordan, descending an incline of three feet to the mile, laughs at all theories to account for it In order to allow two or three millions of people, men, women and children, to pass over (eaatwaid six or eight miles) in a night, there must have been a cleft in the sea several miles in width from north to south.— H. 0.| I 13. MIEACLES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. 29 At Eephidim, the last station before the encampment at Sinai, the faihire of water for the murmuring peuple was the occasion of a miraculous gift of water from a rock in the Horeb range of mountains. Paul, the Apostle, calls Christ the Kock from which Israel drank in the desert (1 Cor. x. 4), and by this leveals the prophetic meaning of the springs from the rooks and the desert. This event at Rephidim stands in a certain opposition to a similar mi- racle which took place during the sojourn in Kadesh. At liephidim, Moses was ordered to strike the rock ; at Meribah he was ordered, with Aaron, only to speak to the rock, and it was accounted as his great sin that he twice smote it The victory also over the Amale- kites was miraculous in its character, as it was obtained through the intercession of Moses (Exod. xvii.). There is also a striking contrast between the occurrences at the reception of the first and of the second tables of the law. The reception of the first tables is introduced by the words : "And all the people saw the thunderings and lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar oif," Ex. XX. 8. But after the reception of the second tables, Moses descended the mountain, and his face shone with a briglitness before which Aaron retired afirighted, and Moses was compelled to put a veil upon his face that the people might draw near him (Ex. xxxiv. 30). The glory of the holy law, so fearful in its majesty, shines out from Moses himself as soon as he heard the explanation of the gracious name of Jehovah given by Jehovah on Sinai (Ex. xxxiv. 6) ; but even in its human mediation and beauty the law affrighted the unsanctified people as well as the externally sanctified priests. The pillar of cloud and of fire over the tabernacle consecrated it as the typical house of God (Ex. xl. 34). Over against this shining mystery is set the darkness of the death of the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, by fire, because they brought strange fire in their censers to the altar (Lev. x.). They died by fire {ver. 6 — Bunsen speaks of an execution) — and it is remarkable that these words are addressed to Aaron : " Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die." Au extraordinary doom became forever afterwards the symbol of the putting away of all strange fire; that is, of fanaticism, of extravagance, of mere sensual enthusiasm in the ser- vice of the sanctuary, which required the pure flame of a holy inspiration. Miriam's leprosy, the punishment of her fanatical rebellion against Moses, stands, in its spiritual significance, on a plane with the doom of the sons of Aaron (Numb. xii.). The departure of the children of Israel from Sinai is followed by the destruction of some of the people by fire from the Lord at Taberah, to punish them for complaining to Jehovali and longing for the flesh pots of Egypt. Then follows, in striking contrast to the manna, the miraculous gift of flesh to eat, the flight of quails, which settle down over the camp. While there was this murmuring among the people, there arose the opposite disposition on the part of some near Moses : not only did the seventy elders, chosen by Moses to be his helpers, begin to prophesy under the inspiration of the Mosaic spirit, but two other men in the midst of the camp prophesied. This opposition of the inspired exaltation of chosen men to the rebellious ill-humor of the people is well founded in the psychology of the theocratic congregation. The greedy eating of flesh is followed by a new and naturally pecessary judg- ment, from which the place itself takes its name, Kibbroth-hattaavah, the graves of lust. In this increase of theocratic inspiration, the following events may have their founda- tion. First, the legal, fanatical opposition of Aaron and Miriam to the mixed marriage of Moses, whose wife is spitefully called a Cushite, but who was probably an Egyptian, a spi- ritual disciple of the prophet (Num. xii. 2). Miriam is smitten with leprosy to mark her as the one chiefly responsible for the opposition. Nevertheless this new agitation continued, and was shown in the despair of the people at the report by the spies of the strength of the Canaanites, and then in the presumptuous and disastrous attack by the people in opposition to the command of God, which was followed by a second and greater commotion. After the well-deserved defeat of the people, Moses drew the reins of government more tightly by a series of legal precepts and by a stricter maintenance of the law of the Sabbath. It is again in accordance with the psychological oscillation of the life of the people that this is followed 30 UJSJXEKAL IJNTilUUUUTlON TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS. by the insurrection of Korah'a company, which, in the interest of an universal inspiration, threaened to put away the authority of Moses and Aaron (ch. xvi.). The revolt and the miraculous de.-truction of Korah's company belong to the second sojourn in Kadesh ; and connected with these is another punishment of the people and Aaron's staff that blossomed (ch. xvi. 17). The revolt of Korah's company was three-fold, and brought on one of the most danger- ous crises in the history of Israel. The Korahites, as Levites, revolted especially against the priestly prerogative of Aaron ; the sons of Eliab, descendants of Reuben, Jacob's first-born, were offended at Moses' position as prince ; but the people themselves were so puffed up with their fanatical claims that even after the destruction of the company, they murmured again, and brought upon themselves a new chastisement. The Korahites seem to have been led into temptation by great natural gifts ; at any rate, we find in later times, what was appa- rently a remnant of them, the sous of Korah, employed as chief singers in the service of the temple. The blossoming staff of Aaron indicated by an obscure, yet symbolic event the con- firmation of the Aaronic priesthood, and even by this fact it was with difficulty that the excited spirit of the people was pacified (ch. xvii. 12, 13). The most important fact was that the staffs of all the princes of Israel paid homage to the staff of Aaron. It is a striking con- trast to find the people who before had demanded a hierarchy now submitting to the estab- lished hierarchy with impatience and ill-humor. The second murmuring about water, the occasion of the second miraculous gift of water, so momentous for Moses and Aaron (Num. xx. 12), occurred in the beginning of the second sojourn in Kadesh. The narrative in Num. xx. 1 is retrospective, for the want of water in the desert of Zin, the northern part of the great desert of Paran (see Bible Diet. Paran and Zin) would be found out on their entrance, not after a long sojourn. Their entrance into the desert of Zin is particularly recorded, because the name of the desert of Zin, the assembling of the whole people, and the long settlement there bring into prominence the want of water. The murmuring of the people and the impatience of Moses show that the discord which arose at the defeat at Hormah and at the insurrection of Korah's company still continued, but subsided in the darkness of the thirty-eight years over which the narra- tive draws a veil. The history of Balaam and his ass forms a miraculous episode in the narrative of the exodus. It is in truth a double psychological miracle ; the miracle of the trance of a sordid prophet, who by inspiration is lifted above his covetous intention, and beholds the ethical relations of the future of the theocracy ; a fact which is repeated again and again in litera- ture, and even in the pulpit ; and the miracle of the influence of spiritual powers on the sensorium of animals, in order that they may make symbolic utterances. It is interesting to observe how Baumgakten, in the second volume of his commentary (against Hengsten- berg), adheres to the letter, as he had done earlier in the six days of creation. The whole series of miraculous events, which made the exodus of Israel through the desert one great miracle of providence, is grandly closed by the mysterious death of Aaron on Mt. Hor and the mysterious death of Moses on Mt. Nebo. In both cases God's summons home and the heart of the dying man agree ; freely and gladly he goes home. The mystery of Moses' death recalls the passing away of Enoch, the taking up of Elijah, and the last words of the dying Christ ? 14. THE LEGISLATION OP MOSES IN GENERAL. We must ever remember that there is a distinction to be made between Moses the law- giver and Moses the prophet, for the true prophet or philosopher is never lost in the law- giver ; but his higher intelligence must accommodate itself to the culture and the moral capability of his people as he finds them. Further we must regard the legislation of Moses in general : 1, According to its three divisions, which are plainly marked in the outline, Ex. xx.-xxiii., and are represented in the three books, of the prophetical, of the sacerdotal, and of the civil law; but each of these legislations, if considered by itself, would lose its theocratic impress. 2. According to its i 15 THE TYPOLOGY OP THE WRITINGS OP MOSES. 31 three evolutions : a. the outline, Ex. xx.-xiiii. ; b. the distinct form of the three books ; and also the just modification of relations between the first and second tables of the law acccording to the Epistle of Barnabas. 3. According to the interpretation of the letter of the law by prophetic inspiration in Deuteronomy as an introduction to the New Testament law of the Spirit. Literature. — Lakge, Mosaisches Licht und Btcht; D. Michaelis, Das Mosaische Becht; Bertheau, Die aieben Qruppen mosaischer Gesetze ; general title, Zwr Oeachichte der hrael- ilen, Gottngen, 1840; Bluhme, Cullati-o legum Romanorum et Mosaioarum, 1843; Saal- BCHUETZ, Das mosaische Recht. Berlin, 1846 ; Riehm, Die Oeselzgebung im Lande Moab, Gotha, 1854; George, Die dlterea judischen Feste mit einer Eritik der Qenetzgebung des Pen- tateuch, Berlin, 1835; J. Schnell, Das isradiache Recht in seinen Orundzugen, Basel, 1855; EoBERT KuEBEL, Dos alttestamentUche Oesetz und seine Vrkunde, Stuttgart, 1807 ; Franz Eberhard Kuebel, Die soziale und volkslhiimliche Oesetzgebung det Alten Tentaments, Wiesbaden, 1870 ; Mayes, Die Rechte der Israeliten, Athener und Romer, mit Ruckaicht auf die neueren Oesetzgebungen, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1866. g 15. THE TYPOLOGY OF THE -WRITINGS OF MOSES. On the types and symbols of Scripture, see this Commentary on Revelation, Introd., and Genesis, Introd. As this subject must be treated when we come to consider the Mosaic ritual in Leviticus, we refer to that. For the works on the types, see Danz, p. 971. On the brazen serpent, see this Comm., John iii. 14, 15. Hiller's work, Neues System aller Vor- bilder Jeau Chriati durch das ganze Alte Testament und die Vorbilder der Kirche des Neuen Testaments in Alten Testament, was reissued in a new edition by Albert Knapp, Ludwigs- burg, 1857-8. It was written carefully and with a devout spirit, but defends some mistaken views, e. g. that the scape-goat signified Christ's new life ; that the blood of the sacrifices was burnt, and the significance of the red heifer is overstrained. B. SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. 1. EXODUS.— The first query, not only of this book, but of the whole trilogy of legist- lation, as indeed of all the historical books of Holy Scripture, is the right determination of the connection between the facts and their symbolic meaning. The symbolism of the books of legislation by Moses must be distinguished from the general significance of symbolism in all religious history. If Moses was the great instructor directing men to Christ, it follows that his legislation must also be pre-eminently symbolic; for instruction has two sides — ^le- gislative and symbolic. Hence, above all things, we must distinguish between the mere le- gal force of the laws of Moses, and their symbolic significance ; and as respects the latter, between a wider and a contracted symbolism, the first of which is divided into allegorical, symbolical and typical figures. EGYPT. The history of Egypt has an especial charm, because Egypt was the earliest home of culture in the old world, and because of its relation to the origin of the people of Israel, and to the history of the kingdom of God. See the article on Egypt in Winer's Bihl. Worter- 32 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THRBK BOOKS. buck, and those of Lbpsius on Ancient Egypt, and of W. Hoffmann on Modern Egypt, in Herzog's Real-Encyklopddie. In the last article there is a list of the later works of travels in Egypt. There is also a full catalogue of the literature of the subject in Bbockhaus' smaller Gonversationslexicon, p. 68. The article in Schenkel's Bihellexicon has specially treated Egypt's place in Old Testament prophecy. Every comprehensive history of the world, in treating the history of antiquity, must especially treat of Egypt. Hegel, in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History, has enlarged on the history of Egypt ( Werke, Vol. IX. p. 205) ; and on the religion of Egypt under the title "Die Religion des Bdthsels," in his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion ( Werke, Vol. XI. p. 343). It would be a superfluous comment if, in a history of occidental philosophy, Egyptian mythology were spoken of as dualistic, since no mythology has been found which had not a dualistic basis; and this comment would be altogether erroneous if we should regard the worship of the dead and of graves as an exotic growth imported into Egypt (Knoetel, Cheops). We have regarded the Egyptian mythology as occupying a middle position between the Phoenician mourning for the dead and the Grecian apotheosis of men. Bunsen's work, EgypCs Place in History, has largely served to spread the knowledge of Egyptology. See also Gfboereb, Die Urgeschiehte des Menschengeschlechts, Schaffhausen, 1855. Beugsch, Reiseberichte aus Egyplen, Leipzig, 1855. Uhlemann, Israelilen und Hyksos, Leipzig, 1856. G. Ebers, Egypten und die Bucher Moses', Leipzig, 1868. G. Ebers, Durch Gosen turn Sinai, Leipzig, 1872. HISTORY OF ISBAEL. This history in the literature of the present day is obscured in a twofold manner. First, by separating the religion of Moses from the promises to the patriarchs. But Moses, with- out the religion of Abraham, cannot be understood (Rom. iv.; Gal. iii.). If the patriarchs are remitted to the region of myths, Moses is made a caricature, a mere national lawgiver, and nothing but a lawgiver, like Solon, Lycurgus, and other.i. On this theme, which, with- out further notice, we entrust to the tlieology of the future, frivolous correctors of the history of Israel's ancient religion may expend their thought at their pleasure. Secondly, this his- tory is greatly disparaged by a severely literal interpretation of the narrative in entire disre- gard of its historical and symbolic character. This severely literal interpretation is only a detriment to orthodoxy, because it serves negative criticism as a pretext for invalidating the sacred history. Bishop Colenso came to doubt the historical truth of the books of Moses tiy the candid doubt expressed by one of his converts, who was assisting him in translating the Bible. His first step was honest and honorable — he would not be a party to deception in the exercise of his office. He sought counsel and help from his theological friends in Eng- land — and received none. The German theological works which he ordered gave him no help. And so he gradually passed from a noble unrest of candor to the tumult of skepticism. He passed the line which runs between a discreet continuance within a religious community that cannot reduce its treasure of truth to the capacity of a special period or of a single indi- vidual, that is, between the continuance and quiet investigation of a pastor, a bishop, and the tumble of an impatient spirit, which, after the first break with servility to the letter, finds no rest in doubt. Yet, with all this, Bishop Colenso bears a very favorable comparison w.th those novices who think they have reached the peak of critical illumination while they really fall into the dense darkness of boumiless negation. As regards later criticism, we refer to the distinction previously made between originals or records and the final compilations which were also under the guidance of the prophetic spirit. Joseph and Moses, the mediators between Egyptian culture and theocratic tradition, are said to have written little or nothing. It is a similar supposition to the one that the Apostle John never before his old age recalled the discourses of Jesus, nor ever used records. Theological criticism, like classical philology, should above all things free itself from the mere idea of book-makiag, from all plagiarism and literary patch-work, and estimate the books of Scripture in their totality, as well as make itself familiar with the idea of a synthetic inspiration, one of the canons of which is, if the idea of the book is inspired and MOSES AND IMMORTALITY. 88 the book itself appears in divine-human harmony as a literary organism, the whole book is inspired. For the literature, see the bibliography, p. 49. MOSES. As in the life of Christ we must assume that there was no motion of Deity in Him with- out a corresponding motion of His ideal humanity, so we must assume with respect to Moses, though most persons rend asunder his mysterious personality ; some by making him merely the servant of an absolutely supernatural divine revelation of law ; others by making him only a human lawgiver of great political sagacity, or of great incompetence. For this reason it is the more necessary to assert with respect to Moses the synthesis of the divine-hu- man life. In this regard we must ascribe to him a deep sympathy with nature. Who among the men of antiquity was more sensitive to the life of nature — ^its signs and omens? Who had such clear vision of the harmonia prsestabilita between the course of nature and the course of the kingdom of God ? As to the moral law, he was as firm and unyielding as the mount of revelation, Sinai itself. That he should not enter Canaan, the object of his hope, because in impatience he had struck the rock twice, is not only God's decree concerning him, but also an expression of his heroic conscientiousness, the last subtle, tragical motive of his lofty, consecrated life, a life which had been full of tragical motives, and whose crowni according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, was a resolute self-denial, illumined by a steadfast trust in the great reward. It was pre-eminently in this that Moses was a type of the coming Christ. MOSES AND IMMOETALITY. This Moses, who, in the effulgence of the promise, passed from Mt. Nebo to the other world, is said to have been ignorant of immortality, and his people are said to have remained ignorant of it until in the Babylonian captivity they came in contact with the Persians. This is Lessing's view in his Erziehwng des MenmshengescMechts. With respect to this fact, "God winked at the times of this ignorance," Acts xvii. 30. The Jews came out of Egypt, the land of the worship of the dead, where the doctrine of another world, a fancied immor- tality, was taught, and yet they are said to have been ignorant of immortality. What this derivation of Moses and his people availed is shown by the fact that even heathenism held a defective doctrine of the other world ; and this reappears in the mediaeval teaching and in the worship of the dead by the Trappists. It was all-important that Moses should guard against Egyptian heathenism, and make the sacredness of laws for this world, the revelation of Jehovah, of His blessing and His curse in the present, fundamental articles of faith. Be- sides, Moses wrote of the tree of life, of Enoch, of Sheol, of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of the antithesis of prophecy in Israel to consultation of the dead, and of the resto- ration of a repentant people from waste places of the world. In this matter we must distin- guish between the metaphysical or ontological idea of immortality and the ethical idea of eternal life, and then mark that the ethical idea is the main point for theocratic faith, but it always presupposes the metaphysical idea of immortality. In the ethical view the sinner is subject to death, the immeasurable sojourn in Sheol, because, in the metaphysical idea, his continued existence is immeasurable. If this distinction is not made and maintained, con- fusion is sure to arise, as in the work of H. Schultz, Die Voraussetzungen der christlichen Lehre von der Unsierblichkeit, LATEST ■WORKS ON SINAI. See Die neue evangel EHrchenzeiMmg, Dec. 28, 1872, "Die neuesten Forschungen uber die Lage des hiblisohen Sinai." Palmee, in his work. The Desert of the Exodus, has decided against Serbal (Lepsius, Bartlett, Heezog) and for Sinai. So also the work of the Bri- tish Ordnance Survey. The London Athenwum has said that the question is decided. Yet Professor Ebers, in his work, Durch Gosen ztim. Sinai, maintains the hypothesis of Serbal. Eitter and Ewald maintain that it is not yet decided. Eittee remarks : " Since the fifth century there have been two opposite views — the Egyptian, which is for Serbal; and the Byzantine, for the present Sinai." 3 34 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. THE LAW. Since it is certain that the ethical law of the decalogue is identical with the law of the conscience (Eom. ii. 14) — and it is also certain that the decalogue logically requires the law of worship and sacrifice, as well as the law for the king, for the state, and for war it follows that these last two legislations are symbols and types of the imperishable norms of man's inner life, of the individual spirit as well as of the spiritual life of mankind. In the New Testament the whole law of sacrifice is converted into spiritual ideas, and Christians are represented as the spiritual host of their royal leader, Christ, or as the soldiers of God who, through warfare with the kingdom of darkness, shall gain the inheritance of glory (Eph. vi. 11 f.). The law was always two-fold. On the one side it must develope as the law of the Spi- rit ; on the other side, as a law of the letter, it could become a law of death — that is, in this apparent contrast between its spirit and external form it must reveal itself. The solution of this contrast is brought about by catastrophes which, on the worldly side, appear as the consummation of tragedy; on the divine side, as the consummation of the priesthood. The law as the principle of life is one, the law of love, of personality ; the law as the principle of society is two-fold, the law of love of God and love of man, the harmony of wor- ship and culture. The law as the statute of the kingdom is three-fold— prophetical, sacer- dotal, royal. The law as the statute of the kingdom is given under ten heads, the number of the complete course of the world, and from this basis spring its multiplied ramifications, the symbolism of all doctrines of faith and life, a tree of knowledge and a tree of life ; rami- fications which Jewish theology of the letter has attempted to number exactly. Jehovah's law is in exact correspondence, not only with the natural law of morals, but also with the moral law of nature ; and it is a one-sided view to regard these legal precepts as either only abstract religious statutes, or as mere laws of health and of common weal, with a religious purpose. In this respect there has been great confusion, as, for example, in Hengstenbeeg's works. The development of the legislation was in accordance with the need for it — a fact which must not be overlooked. The hierarchical law of worship is required because the people were afraid to enter into immediate communion with Jehovah (Ex. xx.). After the people's fall into idolatiy, the law of the new tables is illustrated in two ways, by mildness and by severity, by the announcement of Jehovah's grace, and by punishment. As the priests were called to maintain the warfare of Israel within the people, so the array of God was called to carry the law of God into the world as a priesthood ad extra. The unfolding of the spiritual character of the law was provided for in Deuteronomy. According to John vi.. Acts xv., and Jewish theology, the basis of Mosaic legislation was a still more ancient law — 1, the so-called Noachic patriarchal law ; 2, the Abrahamic patri- archal law of faith. The so-called commands of Noah are a tradition connected with the general principle of monotheism, which forbids idolatry, and with the fundamental law of humanity, which forbids murder. The first law of the Abrahamic covenant is circumcision, which, as a type of regenera- tion, signifies the consecration of the family to regeneration (Gen. xvii.), and in Exodus this law is renewed by means of a striking fact (Ex. iv. 24). In patriarchal faith it was the sa- crament of consecration. It contains the germ of the monotheistic law of marriage. By Abraham's great sacrifice, commanded and directed by Jehovah, Gen. xxii., the traditional and corrupt ancient religious sacrifices were changed to a hallowed custom, and this takes the form of law in the institution of the Passover, the sacred celebration of the covenant with the house of Israel. The Passover is not only the central norm of all forms of sacrifice, but it is also the basis of legislation ; for on it depend the ethical laws of the worship of God, of the hallowing of His name, of the consecration of the house, of festivals, and of religious edu- cation, of the consecration of the first-born and of the Levites, and lastly the civil law, by the regulation of the festivals and of the principal offices of the theocratic state. THE TABERNACLE. 35 The three phases of religion, its prophetic, sacerdotal, and voluntary or kingly charac- ter, appear under peculiar forms in the sphere of law. Prophecy becomes command, resig- nation becomes sacrifice, exaltation to royal freedom from the world and in communion with God is the entrance into the army of Jehovah. It has been remarked above that these three phases are logically dependent upon each other and inseparable. The relation of the law to the ideal, the law of the Spirit, is three-fold. First, the law bounds life with its plain requirements, and each one who is in accord with it receives its blessing, — ^he is a good citizen. But as the law is the representative of the moral ideal, it is impossible for sinful men to avoid coming short of its requirements. Before the transgressor there are two ways ; if he continues in malicious transgression, the law spews him out, — he becomes " cherem,'' accursed ; but if he confesses his transgression, the law accounts his guilt as an error, and points him to the way of sacrifices of atonement. By the presentation of his sacrifice he expresses in symbol his longing after righteousness. Yet through these very sacrifices a consciousness is awakened in candid minds of the insuflSciency oi!. animal sacri- fices, of the blood of beasts. On the part of the insincere, the bringing of a sacrifice was a mere service of pretence, instead of an earnest prayer. The sincere offerer was directed to the future, and in hope of the coming real expiation his sacrifice became typical, just as the law itself seta forth this typical character in the great sacrifice of atonement. Thus the son of the law becomes a man of the Spirit, a soldier of God for the realization of His Kingdom, though only in typical form. The decalogue may be regarded as the sign-manual of Christ in outline ; the law of sacrifice as the type of His atonement ; the march of Israel as the leading of the people of God under His royal orders. Considered as to its essential character, the law is a treasure-house of veiled promises of God's grace, since every requirement of God is an expression of what He gave man in Paradise, and what He will again give him in accordance with his needs. In addition to the literature already given, see the articles in Herzog and in Schen- kel's Lexicon. In Winbk's Beal- Worterhuch will be found a very full list of the lite- rature. THE TABEENACLE. The idea that there was no central holy place before the Levitical tabernacle, gives rise to certain critical assumptions. But one might as well doubt that there was a tabernacle in the wilderness. The idea of the tabernacle arises from the relation of the law to the life of Israel, or from the requirement of a three-fold righteousness or holiness. The requirement of social or legal holiness, of legal civic virtue, is the requirement of the court. But as civic virtue cannot be separated from the religious and moral intent which is its spiritual basis, so the court cannot be separated from the sanctuary. The court where sacrifices were brought was one with the Holy place and the Most Holy place. The theocratic court was possible only in its relation to the sanctuary. The Holy Place by its conformation was imperfect, as the place of self-renunciation, of aspiration, of prayers, of moments of enlightenment of the soul, hence an oblong structure, which finds its complement in the square of the Most Holy Place, the place where God reigned supreme, where were the cherubim, the place of the per- fect satisfaction of the divine law or of atonement, and of a vision of God which did not kill but made alive, the Shekinah. This gradation recurs in all sanctuaries. In Catholic, Greek, and Eoman temples the most holy place is, after the manner of the ancient sanctuary, more or less shut off. In the churches of radical Protestants the chancel as the place of the sacra- mental assurance of atonement for those who partake of the Supper is made level with the floor of the church, which has no court. See W. Neumann: Die Stiftshutte in Bild und Wort, 1861. Riggenbach: Die mosa- ische Stiftshutte, 1863. He treats of the tabernacle also in the appendix to his pamphlet : Die Zeugnisse des Evangelisien Johannes, 1867. J. Poppbe : Der bihlische Bericht uber die Stiftshutte, 1862. Wangemann : Die Bedeutung der Stiftshutte, 1866. Concerning the form of the tabernacle and the symbolism of the colors, see this Comm. on Eev. xiii. Wangemann calls the number five, which is the basis of the measurement of the court, the number of unfulfilled longing after perfection. But this longing does not 36 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. reach perfection in the parallelogram of the sanctuary. We have called five the number of free-choice, Rev. xi. On the materials of the tabernacle, see Wangemakn, p. 7 ; also on the coverings, p. 8, where the relation of the hidden to the revealed, according to the law of theocratic appearance, is to be emphasized. The taste of the world presents the best and most beautiful side without ; the sesthetics of the theocracy turns the most beautiful side within. For the symbolism of the three places, and of the priestly attire, we refer to the exegesis. 2. LEVITICUS. Biblical Allegory, Symbol and Type.— The theory of the figures of Holy Scripture belongs in general to the hermeneutics of Scripture from Genesis to Eevelation, but in a special sense it belongs to an introduction to Leviticus. To avoid repetitions we refer for the general theory to this Comm. Introd. to Matt xiii.; for the special theory to Introd. to Eev. These points will be touched upon in the exegesis of the three books. See also my Dogmatik, p. 360 f. As the symbolism of Leviticus is largely treated by many authors, we append a list of the more important works. Spencer: De legibus Hebrseorum ritualibus earumque rationibus, Tubingen, 1732. HiLLER, Die Yorbilder der Kvrche des Neuen Testaments (see above). Baehe: Die symboKk des mosaischen Kullus, 1876. Baehr: Der salomonische Tempel, 1841. Friedrich: Symbolik der mosaischen StifishvMe, 1841. Hengstenberg : Beitrage zur Einleitimg ins Alte Testament. The same: Die Opfer der JSeiligen Schrift, 1852. LiSCO: Das Oerem/mialgesetz des Alien Testaments. Darslellung desselben und Nachweis seiner Erfullung im Neuen Testament, 1842. KasTz: Das mosaische Opfer, 1842. The same: Beitrage zur Symbolik des mosaischen Kultus, 1 Bd. {Die Kultus-statte), 1851. The same: History of the Old Covenant, Clark, Edinburg. The same: Der alUestament- liehe Opferkultits, 1 Theil {Das Kultusgesetz), Mitau, 1862. The same : Beitrage zur Sym- bolik des alttestamenllichen Kultus, 1859. Sartorius: Ueber den all- und neutesiamentlichen KuUtis, 18f>2. The same: Die Bundeslade, 1857. Kliefoth: Die Gottesdienstordnungen in der deuischen Kirche, 1854. Kabch (Cath.) : Die mosaischen Opfer als Grundlage der Bitten im Vater- Unser, 1856. Kuepfer : Das Priesterthum des Alten Bundes, 1865. Wan- GEMANN: Das Opfer nach der Heiligen Schrift, alien und neuen Testaments, 1866. Tholuck: Das alte Testament im neuen Testament, 1868. Bramesfeld: Der alttestameniliche Ooltes- dienst, 1864. Hoff : Die mosaischen Opfer nach ihrer sinnbildlichen und vorbildlichen Bedeu- tung, 1859. Bachmann : Die Festgesetze des Pentateuch, 1858. Scholtz, Die heiligen Al- terthumer des Volkes Israel, 1868. Sommee: Biblische Abhandlungen, 1846. Thiersch: Das Verbot der Ehe innerhalb der nahen Verwandtschaft, 1869. This part of Biblical theology is greatly in need of clear explanation to free it from the confusion which frequently attaches to it. Allegorical figures ought to be carefully distin- guished from those which are typical or symbolical. We are to avoid the confusion which results from commingling the exegesis of real allegories with an allegorizing of histories that are not allegorical. Nor, to satisfy our prejudices, are we arbitrarily to allegorize history and precept, or interpret severely according to the letter unmistakable allegorical figures, — a mode of exegesis in which Baur of Tiibingen excels. (See this Comm. Introd. to Eev.) The distrust aroused by this arbitrary allegorizing has led to a long-continued misunder- standing of all really symbolical and typical forms. But even when these forms are in gene- ral rightly understood, the types may be permitted to pass away into mere symbols ; that is, the classes of typical representations of the future into the classes of symbolical representa- tions of similarity, although both sorts of representations should be carefully distinguished. As an allegory, the priest was a pre-eminent representative of his people ; as a symbol, he was the expression of their longing after righteousness in perfect consecration to God; as a type, he was the forerunner of the perfect High Priest who was to come. sacrifice or typical worship. The antecedent and basis of sacrificial worship, of the typical completion of religious consecration, is religion itself or the relation between God and man, who answers the end of SACRIFICE OR TYPICAL WORSHIP. his being by self-consecration to God. The expressed will of God ia therefore the foundation of sacrifices, and He manifests Himself to the offerer by His presence, deciding the place and time of sacrifice, and by His ritual of sacrifice and His word, which explains the sacrifice. The sacrifice needs explanation because in the life of the sinner it has taken the form of a symbolic act. God, as the Omnipresent, primarily and universally demands the entire consecration of man, the sacrifice of his will, as is proved by the sacrifice of prayer "the calves of the lips," and by the daily sacrifice of the powers of life in active service of God (Eom. xii. 1). Man's religious nature, conscious of the imperfection of this spiritual sacrifice, has set up religious sacrifices as a sort of substitution. Therefore, from the beginning they have been only conditionally acceptable to Jehovah (Gen. i.) ; they had their influence on the natural development of heathenism, and in heathenism sank to the sacrifice of abomination ; for this reason, when Jehovah initiated the regeneration of man, He took them as well as man himi- self under his care (Gen. xxii.). Hence in His first giving of the law He did not prescribe but regulated by a few words a simple sacrificial worship (Ex. xx. 24) ; He accompanied the sacrifice with His explanation, and gradually caused the antithesis between the external act and the idea of sacrifice to appear (1 Sam. xv. 22 ; Psalm li.) ; afterwards he proclaimed the abomination of a mere external sacrifice (Isa. Ixvi.), as he had from the beginning abhorred the sacrifice of ,self-will (Isa. i.) ; but finally, with the fulfilment of all prophecy of sacrifice, in the obedience and death of Christ, He made an end of all external sacrifices (Heb. ix. 10, 14). Sacrifice can no more be turned by man into a mere outward act than religion itself. If he does not offer to God sacrifices that are well-pleasing, he offers sacrifices of abomina- tion, even though they may not bear the name of sacrifices in the Christian economy. The theocratic ritual of sacrifice was the legal symbolic course of instruction which was to edu- cate men to offer to their God and Redeemer the true sacrifices of the heart as spiritual burnt-offerings and sacrifices of thanksgiving. The immediate occasion of sacrifice is God's manifestation of Himself by revelation and personal presence, which arouses man to sacrifice. Its symbolic locality was indicated by a sign from heaven. Gen. xii. 7; xxviii.'12, or was a grove. Gen. xiii. 18, a hill (Moriah), af- terwards, when established by law, the sanctuary, the tabernacle, the temple. The temple was not merely the place for sacrifice, but primarily the dwelling-place of Jehovah, indicated by the laver in the court, by the golden lamp-stand in the Holy Place, by the cherubim and the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. But, secondarily, it was the place for sacrifice, as was shown by the brazen altar, by the altar of incense in the Holy Place, by the mercy-seat in the Holy of Holies. Thirdly, the temple was the place where man came most closely in communion with God. In the court every priest, and so relatively every Israelite (in the peace-offerings), had his part in the sacrifice; in the Holy Place this communion with God was represented in the show-bread ; and in the Holy of Holies He was granted the vision of the glory of God (the Shekinah). The decisive act in the performance of the sacrifice was, on man's side, his approach to God (Jer. xxx. 21), to God's altar with his sacrifice; on God's side, it was the reception of the offering by fire ; the divine-human union in both acts was the burden of the temple praises and of the priest's blessing. As the temple was the holy place of sacrifice, bo the festival days of sacrifice were made holy. Yet every week-day, according to the ideal, was a day of festival, over which the the- ocratic festivals were exalted as epochs, the higher symbolic units of time, just as all Israel- ite houses, from the tents of Abraham and Moses, were houses of God which weie united and transfigured in the temple. The Passover was celebrated in houses, and so the principal sacrifice, the burnt- offering, was offered daily, and not only on the Sabbath. The season of festivals had its three ascents, just as the temple had its three courts ascending one from the other. On the basis of the Sabbath appears the Passover in connection with the feast of unleavened bread ; then the festival of weeks or Pentecost, and finally the great festival of 38 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles, founded on the 'great day of repentance, the day of atonement. In the Sabbatic year man and nature rested, and the great year of Jubilee was a symbol of the restoration of all things. The year of Jubilee was a diminutive Eon. THE OEIGIIJ OF SACRIFICE. It is no more true that sacrifice was the product of the childlike conceptions of the ori- ginal man, as a supposed means of obtaining the favor of God, than that it was intended by man as a means of atonement, and contained a confes.iion of the sinner's guilt; nor is a magical effect to be ascribed to it, so that it became the source of superstition. Comp. Winer, Ueber die verschiedenen Deutungen des Opfers, The basis of sacrifice is the use and waste of life in work and pleasure, both of which, according to the original destiny of man, should be, but are not in reality, sanctified to God. There is this consciousness in man, and external sacrifice, as a prayer and as a vow, ia the confession of debt — a debt never paid. But as the heathen, by reason of his carnal mind, changed God's symbols into myths (Rom. i. 21), so also he changed sacrifice into a pretended meritorious service, and as he had acted against nature and his myths, his sacrifices became abominable. On the contrary, theocratic sacrifice was exalted until it found its solution in the holy human life of Christ. This exaltation was accomplished by a clearer explanation of its spiritual meaning by the word of God, whilst heathen sacrifice was covered with gross misinterpretation, and given over to the corruption of demons. The first explanation of sacrifice is found in the revela- tion and promise which precede sacrifice ; the second, in the principal of all sacrifices, the Passover-lamb, the spiritual meaning of which is plainly told (Ex. xii. 26) ; the third, in the distinctions and appointments of separate sacrifices in their relation to definite spiritual conditions ; the last explanation, in prophecy accompanying the sacrifice. As respects the significance of the sacrifices, we distinguish a legal, social and judicial, a symbolic, with special purpose of instruction, and a typical, prophetic significance. The legal aspect of sacrifice consists in the offerer's maintaining or restoring his legal relation to the theocratic people. This maintenance of law as respects the people by sacrifice Pharisa- ism charged to the acquiring of merit before God, and many in these days have attributed this heathen conception to sacrifice. The symbolic significance of sacrifice is the chief point of worship by sacrifice. The offerer expresses by the sacrifice his obligation to render in spirit and in truth the same sur- render which is represented by the animal to be sacrificed, that is, his sacrifice is a visible act representing a higher and invisible act, to wit, his confession, his vow and prayer, as the act of faith in hope with which he receives his absolution in hope [Trdpeai^, Rom. iii.). The typical significance of sacrifice corresponds to the general character of the Old Testament. The type is a description of that which is to come in prefigurative fundamental thought. And since the religion of Israel was a religion looking to the future, all its aspects were pre- monitions of its future. We distinguish typical persons, typical acts, typical customs and mental types. At the centre stand typical institutions, whose inner circle is sacrifice, and the ultimate centre the sacrifice of atonement on the great day of atonement. Mental types form the transition to oral prophecy, and often surround oral prophecy with significant expression as the calyx the bursting flower (Gal. iii. 16). THE DESIGN OF SACRIFICE. The design of sacrifice was its fulfilment in New Testament times. Similarly the law of worship as well as the law of the state was not abolished by being destroyed, but was ele- vated, exalted to the region of the Spirit. Thus Christ, in the first place, is the High Priest (see Ep. to Hebr.), and the Temple (John ii.), yea, the mercy-seat, llaarvpum, in the Holy of Holies, brought out of the Holy of Holies, and set before all men, that all may draw near (Rom. iii., see Coram.). Every kind of sacrifice is fulfilled in Him; He is the true Passover (John i. 29; 1 Cor. v. 7), the THE PURPOSES OF SACRIFICE AND THE VARIOUS KINDS OF SACRIFICES. 39 great burnt-oflfering for humanity (Eph. v. 2), the altar of incense by His intercession (John xvii. ; Heb. V. 7); He is the trespass-offering (Isa. liii.) and the sin-offering (2 Cor. v. 21; Bom. viii. 3) ; on one side the curse (Gal. iii. 13), on the other the peace-offering in His Sup- per (Matt. xxvi. 26), the sanctified, sacrificial food of believers (John vi.). As He by entrance into the Holy of Holies of heaven has become the Eternal High Priest (Heb. ix. 10), so He accomplished His life-sacrifice by the eternal efficacy of the eternal Spirit. In Him was per- fected the oneness of priest and sacrifice. The High Priesthood of Christ imparts a priestly character to believers (1 Pet. ii. 9). By union with Christ they are built up a spiritual temple (1 Cor. iii. 16 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5), their prayer of faith is an entrance into the Holy of Holies (Rom. v. 2), and they take part in the sufferings of Christ in their spiritual suffering in and for the world (Rom. vi. ; Col. i. 24). They keep the true Passover (1 Cor. v.), which is founded upon the circumcision of the heart, regeneration (John iii.). They consecrate their lives as a whole burnt-offering to God in spiritual worship (Rom. xii. 1), and offer the incense of prayer ; they are a holy, separate people by their seclusion from the world, a sacrifice for others (Heb. xiii. 13), as opposed to the unholy separation of the world &om God. By repentance they partake of the condem- nation which Christ endured for them, and find their life in His sin-offering and atonement, whilst they pray for deliverance from guilt, not only for themselves, but also for others (the Lord's prayer) ; they enjoy their portion of the great sacrifice of peace and thanksgiving, and in life and death present themselves as a thank-offering. This life grows more and more manifest as life in the eternal priestly spirit, which is proved by obedience and conse- cration. THE PURPOSE OP SACEiriOE AND THE VAEIODS KINDS OF SACEIPICES. The Purpose. It must not be forgotten that the sacrifices of the Israelites were not derived from rude and untaught men, but that they presuppose circumcision or typical regeneration, and com- mence with the celebration of the Passover, that is, of typical redemption. Hence it is just as one-sided to behold in each bloody sacrifice an expression of desert of death, on account of the blood, which signifies life, and not death, and as sacrificial blood signifies the conse- cration of the life to God through death, as it is to deny that each sacrifice, even of thanks- giving, presupposes the sinfulness of man as a liability to death, and that therefore each the- ocratic sacrifice is of symbolical significance. Israel predestinated to be the holy people of the holy God, built upon a holy foundation, the covenant with Jehovah, should ever be holy unto Him. This holiness presupposes typi- cal purity. Hence this holy life must be surrounded with the discipline of the law of puri- fication. This holiness consists on the one side in utter rejection of sin and of that which is unholy ; on the other side, in positive consecration to God ; and both these aspects concur in every sacrifice (John xvii.). We can distinguish between the negative, exclu.sive sacri- fices (trespass-offering, sin-offering and atoning sacrifices), to which belong also the restora- tive sacrifices, and the positive consecrating sacrifices (burnt-offerings, peace-offerings and food-offerings). But the distinction between the ideas of sin and guilt must precede that between the different kinds of sacrifices. Sin is opposition to law regarded as a purely spi- ritual state ; guilt is sin conceived in its whole nature, in its consequences, a burdensome indebtedness which calls for satisfaction, suffering, expiation or atonement. Sin of to-day is guilt to-morrow, and perchance forever. The father's sin becomes the guilt of the family. The sin of the natural man falls as guilt on the spiritual man. Sin is ever guilt, and, by reason of the social nature of man, it falls not only on the transgressor, but also on his neighbors. Guilt also is generally sin ; but in individuals it may be reduced to the minimum of sin and indebtedness. In the sphere of love, through sympathy it falls as a burden most upon the less guilty and the innocent through the medium of natural and historical connection ; hence the touch of a dead body made one unclean. The sinner must suffer, and his innocent companion must suffer; but the suffering of the sinner, while he persists in Bin, is quantitative, dark, immeasurable, while the suffering of his companion is qualitative. 40 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THKEE BOOKS. illumined and efficacious expiation (CEdipus, Antigone), and thus there are innumerable subordinate atonements in the history of the world which point to the only true atonement. With sharper indication of their relations, we can distinguish three kinds of sin : 1. Sins, which not only bring guilt upon the tiansgressor, but also cast a burden of guilt on others; 2 Guilt which arises from the connection of the sinner with the usages of the world ; 3. Trangressions, in which both of the above kinds more or less inhere, yet so that the idea of error is pre-eminent (nJJ?*). A certain degree of error and possible exculpation was com- mon to all sins committed unwittingly, not in conscious antagonism (with uplifted hand); these were objects of theocratic expiation, and did not make the transgressor a curse (cherem). As regards this curse (cherem), it may be asked, how far it belongs to the category of sacrifice as it is the antithesis of all sacrifices? Doubtless just so far as it is made sacred in accordance with the decree of God, and not aa an object given over to a miserable destruc- tion. Hence this curse (cherem) is not an absolute destruction, but only a conditional de- struction in this world. Among the first-born of the Egyptians who were made cherem on the night of the Passover, there may have been innocent little children. The Canaanites were made cherem because they were an insuperable stumbling-block to Israel. Even on the great day of atonement, when all the sins of which the people were unconscious were to be put away, there yet remained a hidden remnant of unpardonable sins, an anathema in Israel which was sent away with the goat of Azazel to Azazel in the wilderness, not as a theocratic sacrifice, but as a curse together with Azazel* under the decree of God (1 Cor. v. 3-5). Thus the curse in Israel sank out of sight into the depths of its life till it brought Christ to the cross in spite of all Levitical expiations. Then by the ^dctory of grace the vipeaii became afeaii. THE VAKI0U9 KINDS OF SACRIPICES. 3%e Chief Sacrifices by Fire; the Burnt-Offering and the Lesser Sin-Offerings and Trespass- Offerings. Lev. i. and Hi. The bumt-ofiering derives its name from the fact that it was wholly burnt ( 'V^), only excepting the excrement. So also the real sin-ofiering. Yet this distinction marks a con- trast ; the bumt-ofiering, its fat and flesh, was burned on the brazen altar ; while of the sin- ofiering of him who had brought guilt on others (Lev. iv. 3) only the fat, which, like the blood (and the kidneys and caul), especially belonged to the sanctuary, was burned on the altar; but of the sin-offering of a priest, or of the whole congregation, the entire body (the skin, flesh, etc., ch. iv. 11) was burned without the camp on the ash-heap in a clean place. The flesh of the sin-ofiering of a prince or of a common man was not burned (the priest should eat it, ch. vi. 26) ; only the fat was burned. In thank-oflerings the fat, kidneys and caul were burned. Of the meal-offerings only a handful was burned, the rest was for the priest; but the meal-offering brought by a priest was wholly burned, as was all the incense with each meal-offering. The lesser sin-oflerings were treated just as the trespass-offerings (ch. V. 6) ; the poor man brought a pigeon or a dove for a burnt-ofiering, and one for a sin- offering. In the class of trespass-offerings, in which trespass and sin coincide (ch. v. 15 f.), the burning took place just as in the lesser trespass and sin-offerings ; the flesh was the priests'. These offerings were also burdened with regulations of restoration and compensa- tion. More prominent still is the burning on the day of atonement of the goat which fell to Jehovah by lot ; as a sin-offering of the congregation it was wholly burned. The red heifer, slaughtered and cut in pieces without the camp was also without the camp wholly burned (Num. xix. 3). The extreme contrast to these is found in the burning of the remnants of the Passover, which seem to have served in a certain way as an illumination of the Passover- night. The offerings by fire form a contrast to the offerings of blood, the offerings by death, since they indicate the extinction of life by divine interposition. This interposition may be that of love and of the Spirit, taking up Elijah in a chariot of fire, or that of condemnalion, ♦ See note, p, 43. PEACE OFFERINGS. 41 burning up the cities wliich were accursed, the bodies of those stoned to death (Josh. vii. 26) and the bones of malefactuis. The burning of the red heifer was, by these flames of the curse (eherem), to the Israelites a warning that the unclean must be cleansed with the water for purification, which was min- gled with the ashes of the red heifer as a sin-offering (Num. xix. 9), Either the one fire or the other, says Christ (Mark ix. 43-49). Hence it is the calling of the Christian to offer his life as the burnt-offering of love and of the Spirit under God's leading, not willfully, but willingly, in accordance with the symbolic representation of sac- rifice. THE OFFERINGS OF BLOOD, THE GEEAT SIN-OFFEEINGS, TEESPASS-OFFEKINGS AND SACEIFI0E8 OF EXPIATION. With some commentators the offerings by fire retreat in just the degree in which the offerings of blood become prominent; with others the offerings by fire aod those of blood are equally prominent. Blood is the symbol of life and the soul ; hence the positive statement of the Lord con- cerning life and death (Lev. xvii. 11). But the offering of blood expresses the giving up of the sinful life to God through the death decreed by God, which is the wages of sin. The gradations in the movement of the sacrificial blood towards the mercy-seat in the Holy of Holies mark the solemn progress from devoted suffering of death to real atonement. The blood of the burnt-offering remained in the court ; it was sprinkled upon the altar. The blood of the lesser sin-offering was partly poured upon the brazen altar and partly put upon the horns of the same altar. This appears to be the regulation also for the trespass- offering. The greater sin-offerings, the offerings for the priest who had sinned, or for the whole congregation, seem to be the especial offerings of blood. In these only a part of the blood is poured out on the brazen altar; the other part was carried into the sanctuary, and not only were the horns of the golden altar touched with it, but the priest was to sprinkle of this blood seven times towards the curtain before the Holy of Holies. With what reserve and timidity is the hopeful longing after the perfected typical atonement expressed in this act (ch. iv. 1-21). On the great day of atonement the blood of atonement came into the Holy of Holies. First, Aaron must atone for himself with the blood of the bullock by significant symbolical sprinklings (ch. xvi. 14). Then he must atone for the sanctuary, because it, in a typical sense, is answerable for the uncleanness of the children of Israel and for their transgression, that is, this sacrifice was to supplement the imperfection of all ritual atonements, and by that point prophetically to the true sacrifice. PEACE -OFFEEINGS. These offerings which are divided into the three classes, of thanksgiving and praiae- offerings, of offerings because of vows, and of offerings of prosperity or contentment (ch. vii.), have little in common with the offerings by fire or the offerings of blood. The fat on the intestines, the two kidneys with their fat, and the caul upon the liver were to be burned. The blood was sprinkled on the altar round about. The priest received his portion of the fiesh as well as of the meal-offering, of which a part was burned on the altar. The remainder was for the offerer and his friends to feast upon. The thank or praise offering was to be held as especially sacred. None of it was to be left till the next day. This occasioned the calling in of poor guests. Both the other offerings might remain for a feast on the second day, but not on the third. All remains of the peace-offerings were to be burned ; they were thus distinguished from common feasts. These individual solemn offerings point to the fes- tival offerings in a wider sense. Festival-offerings in a wider sense are those in which com- mnnion with God is celebrated. The first general festival-offering is the Passover, the offer- ing of communion with God through redemption; the second general festival-offering ap? 42 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. pears at the extraordinary solemnization of the legislation on Sinai (Ex. xxiv. 11), and was continued by ordinance in the new meal-offering at Pentecost (Lev. xxiii. 16), and then in the weekly offering of the show-bread, which was brought every Sabbath in golden dishes according to the number of the tribes of Israel (Ex. xxv. 30 ; Lev. xxiv. 5, 6 ; Num. iv. 7 ; 1 Sam. xxi. 6). The burnt offerings of usual worship were always attended by their meal and drink-offerings (Lev. xxiii.). Besides these meal and drink-offerings of usual wor- ship, there were also the special meal and drink-offerings. THE CONCRETE FORMS OF OFFERINGS. The originally simple or elementary forms of offerings become concrete forms of offerings throu"-h the religious idea. In the bloody offerings man brings to Jehovah his possession ; in the unbloody, the meal and drink-offerings, he brings the support of life. The best of his possessions and the best of his food are the expressions of the devotion of his whole being, with all that he possesses and enjoys. Hence each offering is, to a certain extent, an epitome of all the other offerings. This universality appears most plainly in that offering, which is the foundation of all the rest, the Passover lamb. The great fire-offering, or burnt-offering, which forms the centre of all offerings, is supplemented by various kinds of meal-offerings, which are again supplemented by oil, salt and incense. But since the meal-offering in great part was given to the priest, it became a peace-offering, except the meal-offering of the priest. The drink-offering is peculiarly an expression of this totality, for it was not drunk in the temple-enclosure, but was poured out on the altar. On the contrary, in the Passover, the cup is the centre of the feast. Even in the great sin-offering, the chief parts of which were burned without the camp, as a cherem, besides the expiation by sprinkling of the blood, the fat of the animal was made a burnt-offering; but of the lesser sin-offerings and trespass-offer- ings a part was taken as food for the priest. Besides the concrete acts of sacrifice, the ele- mentary forms are also represented ; the meal-offering with the drink-offering in the show- bread, the fire-offering in the daily burnt-offering, the peace-offering in the slaughtering of animals for food before the tabernacle finally the cherem in theocratic capital punishment. Over the offering rose the offering of incense as the symbol of prayer. It is plain from the distinct expressions of the Holy Scriptures (Ps. cxli. 2 ; Eev. viii. 4) that the offering of incense upon the golden altar is a symbolical and typical representa- tion of the sacrifice of prayer. The basis of the incense-offering is the incense of the offer- ings which rose from the sacrificial fires, "the sweet savor," Eph. v. 2, particularly of the burnt-offering. There was no burnt-offering without incense, for no consecration to God is complete without a life of prayer, and this life of prayer was the soul.of the offering. Hence it is placed in a class by itself, in the incense-offering on the altar of incense (Ex. xxx. 7, 10). And for this reason also it accompanies the various offerings, the meal-offering and drink-offering (Lev. ii. 16), and the offering of show-bread (Lev. xxiv. 7). Finally the offer- ing of incense appears most prominently in connection with the offering on the great day of atonement. Then the high-priest was to envelop himself in the Holy of Holies in a cloud of incense lest he die (Lev. xvi. 13). Thus the offering of incense constantly pointed towards the spiritualization of the offering, that is, from the law to prophecy. THE ORGANISM OF SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP. All the various phases are contained in the Passover-offering. The fact is important, that in the offering of the Passover the father of the family acted as priest. The idea of the universal priesthood therefore is the foundation of all the offerings, and this proves that the office of the priesthood was only a legal and symbolical representation of the whole people. The atoning blood, with which the door-posts of the house were smeared, was the tnost important part of the Passover-offering. On one side of this was the cherem, the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians ; on the other side was the peace or thank-offering of which the family partook in the Passover meal. On the one side were the slaughterings of animals for food before the tabernacle and the use of them in the meal at home ; on the other, the OFFERINGS EXPRESSIVE OF COMMUNION. 43 legal cherem of theocratic capital punishment extended in the death bringing curse which, with the fall, came upon all men. The most important part of the Passover was concluded by the burning of the remains of the feast. From this basis are developed the various divisions of the offerings, to be united again in the single apex of the great offering of atonement in connection with the feast of taberna- cles. By this apex Old Testament offerings point beyond themselves, making a plain dis- tinction by means of the goats between pardonable sin and unpardonable sin, which was given over to the wilderness and Azazel.* Between the basis and the apex of the offerings are found their numerous divisions. "We distinguish between initiative, that is, offerings at times of consecration, and those expressive of communion, and offerings at times of restoration, with a parallel distinction between ordi- nary and extraordinary offerings. The distinction between bloody and unbloody offerings, or meal offerings, belongs to the offerings expressive of communion. The meal-offerings and drink-offerings may be regarded as the best expression of communion. They are connected with the burnt-offerings. One of the chief distinctions is found between the usual offerings in the worship of the congregation and the casual offerings. Op the other hand there is a correspondence between the prohibition of unclean animals and that of some unbloody objects (honey, leaven). 1. OFFEKINGS AT TIMES OF CONSECKATION. 1. The covenant-offering consisting of burnt-offerings and thank-offerings (Ex. xxiv. 5) performed by young men from the people ; 2. The heave offering, or tax for the building of the tabernacle (Ex. xxxv. 5) ; 3. The anointing of the tabernacle, its vessels, and the priests (Ex. xl.: Lev. viii.); 4. The offerings at the consecration of the priests, consisting of the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the offering of the priest for thanksgiving (Lev. viii.), and, in connection with these, the offerings of the people as priests (Lev. ix. 3; ch. xv.) ; 5. The offerings of the princes, as heads of the state and leaders in war, for the temple- treasury (Num. vii. 1 ; the offerings at the consecration of the Levites (Num. viii. 6) ; the offerings for the candlestick and the table of show-bread (Lev. xxiv.). 2. OFFERINGS EXPEES9IVE OF COMMUNION. a. Continual Offerings in the Temple by the Congregation. 1. Daily offerings (the fire never to be put out, Lev. vi. 13). 2. Sabbath-offerings. 3. Passover, Daily offerings for seven days. The sheaf of first-fruits, Lev. xxiii. 4. Pentecost. The wave-loaves. A burnt-offering of seven lambs, two young bullocks, one ram, a he-goat for a sin-offering, two he-lambs for a thank-offering. 5. Day of Atonement, the great Sabbath on the tenth day of the seventh month. Lev. xxiii. The atoning offering of this day plainly belongs to the restorative offerings. The feast of tabernacles on the fifteenth of the seventh month. Daily offerings for seven days from Sabbath to Sabbath. Fruits, branches of palm trees, green boughs. By the sabbatic year and year of jubilee the symbolic offerings pass into figurative ethi- cal acts (Lev. xxv.). So also the tithes form a transition from the law of worship to the civil law, or rather indicate the influence of ecclesiastical law in the state. Offerings expressive of communion, closely considered, are those from which the priests received their portion as food. Of these the principal was the show-bread ; then the meal- offerings and various other offerings. • [The ftnthor, togother with many commentators, reEttrds the word azazel, which oconrs only in Lev. xvi. 8, 10, 28 m a proper name. Its position of antithesis to " Jehovah " lends some color to this assumption. But with equal exuctness of philology, it may be a common noun, meaning " removal," or " utter removal." If we assume it to be a prop r name, we enter into difflcalties of interpretation that are insuperable : if we take it as » common noun, the meaning and intep pretation are very plain and simple. — H. 0.] 44 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. b. Individual, Casual and Free-will Offerings expressive of Communion. The centre between the preceding and this division is formed by the Passover, supple- mented hj the little Passover (Num. ix,), which was at the same time universal and indivi- dual. Connected with it in universality is the offering of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 13 f., burnt- oflFering, sin-offering, thank-offering). In the middle stands the burnt-offering. On one side of the burnt-offering stand the peace-offerings, of three kinds. a. Offerings in payment of vows. b. Thank-offerings. c. Offerings of prosperity. Beyond these were the slaughtering of animals for food before the tabernacle, which bore some similarity to a sacrifice, and marked the food of flesh as a special gift from God. On the other side of the burnt-offering stand the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, of three kinds. a. Sin-offerings. b. Trespass-offerings, related to trespasses that became sin. c. Trespass-offerings in the strict sense. Beyond these was the curse, the cherem. The transition to the cherem was formed by the burnings without the camp, as of the great sin-offerings, and particularly of the red heifer from which the water for sprinkling was prepared (Num. xix.). 3. KESTOSA.TIVE OFFERINGS, EBSTOEING COMMUNION. The series of these offerings, which were preceded by purification, begins with the offer- ing of women after child-birth (Lev. xii.). This was followed by the offering of the healed^ leper and the offering for houses cleansed of leprosy (Lev. xiii. and xiv.). All offerings of restoration culminate in the mysterious offering of the great day of atonement (Lev. xvi.). To the casual offerings of this kind belong the offering of jealousy and the water causing the curse (Num. v. 12 f ) ; the offering of a Nazarite made unclean by contact with a dead body (Num. vi. 10) ; the water mingled with the ashes of a red heifer (Num. xix.). The cherem serves to distinguish the capital punishment with which those who sinned with uplifted hand were threatened, from the offerings for atonement of those who sinned unwittingly, in order to restore the purity of the people. Death is threatened against all conscious opposition to the law, whether of omission or of commission ; the symbolic, significant putting away from the congregation of the living. The common offerings, the wave-offering and heave-offering, the tithes for the offerings, and the supply of the oil for the light are closely connected with the life of the Israelite con- gregation, in which everything becomes an offering, the first-fruits of the field, the first-born of the house, the tithes of the harvest, the host for war. The extraordinary offerings exhibit the tendency of the offering towards a realization in the ideal offering. The Passover and the offerings at times of consecration, the offerings of the Nazarite, the offering of the red heifer, and even the offering of jealousy, were designed to exhibit the ideal host of God The offering of atonement, of all the offerings in this class, encloses within itself the most complete types. THE MATEEIAL OF THE OFFERINGS AND THE COEEESPONDENCE OF THE OFFEEING TO THE GUILT. The chief of these is the Passover-lamb according to the legal conditions (Ex. xii.). The bumt-offeriiig was to consist of a male animal without blemish (Lev. i. 2). For spiritual worship there was required the manly spirit of positive consecration (Rom. xii. 1). Even when the offerer brought a sheep or a goat it must be a male (Lev. i. 10). But the poor, instead of these, might bring doves or ynung pigeons. The sin-offering of the anointed priest, as well as that of the whole congregation, was a young bullock. The sin-offerin^ of THE PORTIONS OF THE OFfEEINGS FOB THE PKIESTS. 46 a prince must be a male ; when from the flock, it must be a he-goat. On the other hand, one of the common people might offer a female, a she-goat; a very important scale of responsibility for transgressions. The transgression of the high-priest was equivalent to the transgression of the whole congregation, and greater than the transgression of a prince. For the simple trespass-offering the least was required, a female of the flock, sheep or goat; or, when from the poor, two doves or young pigeons; and, if he was not able to get these, he might bring the tenth of an ephah of fine flour. But, for trespass-offerings, which were ordained for great transgressions, a ram must be brought, and in addition to the resto- ration of that which was unjustly acquired, the fifth part of the same must be given. This tax is uniform as respects affairs of the Church, religious laws and private property. In peace-offerings it was optional with the offerer to offer an animal of the herd or of the flock, male or female, provided that it was entirely without blemish. The meal-offerings consisted of fine flour, uncooked, or baked, or roasted, with the accompanying oil and frankincense and salt. Honey and leaven were prohibited. At the consecration of Aaron and his sons, at the beginning of the eight days of conse- cration, a bullock was offered as a sin-offering and a ram as a burnt-offering ; in addition to these, a ram of consecration (Lev. viii. 22) and " out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord" "one unleavened cake, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer;" and at the end of the eight days there was offered a young calf as a sin-offering and a ram as a burnt-offering. The congregation of Israel also offered a he-goat as a sin-offering, and a calf and a lamb of a year old as a burnt offering. And, as expressive of the estimation of the priesthood by the congregation, they offered a bullock and a ram as a thank-offering. Even on the great day of atonement the high-priest must first atone for himself with a young bul- lock as a sin-offering and a ram as a burnt-offering. But the congregation, as a confession of their subordinate and less responsible spiritual position, offered two he-goats as a sin- offering, and a ram as a burnt-offering. THE KITUAL OF THE OFFERINGS. Por the ritual of the Passover, see this Comm., Matt. xxvi. 17-30. For the ritual of the offerings generally, we refer to works on archaeology and our exegesis. The duties of the offerer were : 1. The right choice of the animal ; 2. To bring it to the priest in the court of the tabernacle ; 3. To lay his hand upon the head of the animal as the expression of his making the animal the typical substitute of his own condition and intention ; 4. To slay the animal; 5. To take off the skin. The duties of the oflSciating priest were : 1. The reception of the blood and the sprinkling of it ; 2. The lighting of the fire on the altar ; 3. The burn- ing of the animal, and with this, 4. Cleansing the altar and keeping the ashes clean. Spe- cially to be marked are : 1. The gradations of the burning ; 2. The gradations of the sprin- kling of the blood ; 3. The gradations of the solemnity of the feast ; 4. The gradations of the cherem. THE POBTIONS OF THE OFFERINGS FOR THE PRIESTS. The greater part of the meal-offerings was given to the priest; but his own meal-offering he must entirely burn up Lev. vi. 23. The flesh of the sin-offerings (except the great sin- offering of a priest or of the whole congregation, Lev. vi. 20) was given to the priest who performed the sacrifice ; only the holy could eat it in a holy place Lev. vi. 27. and the same was true of the trespass-offering, Lev. vii. 7 ; comp. the directions concerning the meal- offering, ver. 9. Of the burnt-offering the priest received the skin, Lev. vii. 8. Of the meal- offerings connected with the peace-offerings the priest received his portion. Lev. vii. 14. Of the thank-offering he received the breast and the right shoulder. Lev. vii. 31, 33. These portions of the offerings could support only those priests who officiated in the temple, not their families, or the priests who were not officiating. Their support they received under the ordinance respecting payments in kind, particularly the tithes paid by the people. 46 SPECIAL INIRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. THE STRICTNESS OF THE KITUAL OF THE CFFERIUaS AS THE EXPEESSION OF THE DISTINCTNESS AND IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OP THE OFFERINGS. As respects the Passover, it is to be remarked, that the law threatened death to those who should in the seven days of unleavened bread eat bread that waa leavened, and thus typically obliterate the dividing line between light and darkness. The significance of the unleavened bread is the separation of the life of the Israelites from the worldly, heathen, Egyptian life. Leaven is also excluded from the meal-offerings, not because in itself it rep- resents the unclean and the evil (see this Comm., Matt, xiii.), for at Pentecost two leavened loaves were offered upon the altar. Lev. xxiii. 17, but because in the holy food all participa- tion in the common worldly life even of Israel should be avoided. Thus too honey is strin- gently prohibited from the meal-offering, probably as an emblem of Paradise, which was typified by Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey ; and so it was an expression of the fact, that in Paradise offerings should cease, Lev. ii. 11. The assertion that leaven and honey were prohibited, because of their quality of fermentation, is at variance with the per- mission of wine. The portion of the meal-offerings accruing to the priests were to be eaten only by them in the temple-enclosure ; for it represented communion with the Lord. There was also a decided prohibition against eating of the thank-offering on the third day after it was offered. Lev. vii. 18. Also no unclean person should eat of the flesh of the offering, nor should one eat of the flesh of an offering which had become unclean ; it must be burned with fire. A sacred feast of two days might easily become secularized by the third day. The Passover-lamb must be eaten on the first day. There was also a stringent provision that those about to be consecrated as priests should during the consecration remain seven days and nights before the door of the tabernacle. Lev. viii. 35. The sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, were smitten with death because they brought strange fire on their censers before the Lord. The service in the sanctuary excluded all self-moved and purely human excitation • and for this reason the sons of Aaron were to drink neither wine nor any strong drink during service in the sanctuary on pain of death. There was also a stringent provision that the high- priest when he went into the Holy of Holies should surround himself with a cloud of incense lest he die. The atonement was perfected only in the atmosphere of prayer. Lev. xvi. Even over the common slaughtering of animals for daily food there was the threat of death. Unthankful enjoyment of the gifts of God was punished with death, Lev. xvii. 4 • and so with the eating of blood, Lev. xvii. 10, 11. Besides, not only must the offerer be typically pure, and offer only that which was typically pure, but there was the constantly repeated requirement that the animal must be without blemish and in exact accordance with the requirements of gender and age. Eating blood was forbidden because it bore the life, the life of the flesh, Lev. xvii. 10. The fat also ofbeasts fit for sacrifice waa appointed for sacrifice; it belonged to the Lord, Lev. iii. 17; vii. 23, 26; xvii. 6. As respects the offering for atonement particularly, we must refer to the exegesis. The special point to be marked is the distinction between this offering as the culmination of all purifications and of the series of festivals. The typical contrast between clean and unclean, on which all the laws of purifications rest, is of great significance. See the treatise of Sommer in the synopsis of the literature. Uncleanness was the ground for all exclusions from the holy congregation, and delivering over to the unholy world without. Cleanness was the warrant of adhesion to the holy con- gregation. The particular means of purification waa lustration, the theocratic type which developed into the prophetic idea of sprinkling with clean water, into John's baptism and finally into Christian baptism. ' The heathen having been previously circumcised might by lustration become a mem- ber of the theocratic congregation, and gradually, under the influence of this fact the court of the Israelites was enlarged for a court of the Gentiles.* ' * [If by •■ lustration •■ the author me.na sprinkling, that wo^ ordainsd only in certain specifled cases for those already wlthm the congregation, >. e„ at the cleaning of the leper. Lev. xiv.; at the consecration of the Levitee, Numb vili 7 Md at the cleansing of the Israelites made unclean by touching a dead body, Numb, six.— H. O.J THE STRICTNESS OF THE RITUAL OF THE OFFERINGS, ETC 47 Corresponding to the classification of clean and unclean men was that of clean and unclean animals. The conceptions of the Pharisees concerning washing with unclean hands as well as the antiquated ideas of Peter, Acts x., show us how the idea of cleanness, as well as the idea of the law itself, might become materialized. It is not unimportant that the first form of uncleanness, the uncleanness of a woman in childbirth, appears as a fruit of the excess of natural life. With this excess of life correspond diseases. Among unclean ani- mals are found, on the one side, those most full of life ; on the other side, those which creep'. Cleanness by cleansing in water is only negative holiness ; it became positive only through sacrifice. For holiness has two sides : separation from the unholy world and consecration to the service and fellowship of the holy God. On the laws of purification see Joachim Lange, Mosaisohes Licht und Recht, p. 673 f. That all the holy observances are connected with that requiring purity of blood, and consequently of the relations of the sexes, is undeniably of great significance. Concerning the forbidden degrees of intermarriage we must refer to the exegesis and the works on this subject, especially to those of Spoendli and Thiersch. We must also mention the noble codex of theocratic duties of humanity. Lev. xix. It is only in the light of these laws of humanity that the punitive laws. Lev. xx., are rightly seen. They are in the service of ideal humanity not less than the others. The theocratic sanctity of the priest, Lev. xxi., is quite another picture of life, like the sanctity of the priest after Gregory VII. and during the Middle Ages. We must refer to the Exegesis and an abundant literature respecting the ordinances of the beautiful festivals of Israel, and respecting the special emphasis of the sanctity of the light in Jehovah's sanctuary and the prophetic and typical Jubilee of the year of Jubilee. The antithesis of the proclamation of the blessing and the curse assures us, that here we are dealing with realities which must continue though the religious interpretation of them should entirely cease. The law's estimate of the vow points to the sphere of freedom, in which everything is God's own, committed to the conscientious keeping of man. NUMBERS. The most important points in the first section of the book of Numbers are the following: 1. The typical significance of the Israelite army; 2. The significance of the service of the Levites with the army and in the tabernacle ; 3. Rules for preserving the camp holy ; 4. The offering of jealousy and the water which brought the curse, or the hindrances of married life in the holy war ; 5. The vow of the Nazarite, or the significance of the self-denying warriors in the holy war; 6. The free-will ofierings of the princes (chief men and rich men) ; 7. The care of the sanctuary; 8. Worship in the wilderness and God's guidance of the host, ch. ix.; 9 The signals of war and of peace, the trumpets. After the commencement of the march we are brought to see the sinfulness of God's host, their transgressions and punishments in their typical significance ; especially the home- sickness for Egypt ; the seventy elders to encourage the people as a blessing in this distress. Against this blessing stands in contrast their calamity in eating the quails. Mixed marriage on its bright side, ch. xii. Concerning the spies, the abode in Kadesh, the rebellion of Korah and his company, the significance of the mediation of Aaron and of his staff that blossomed, of the rights of the priests and Levites, the ashes of the red heifer, and the failure of Moses at the water of strife, we must refer to the Exegesis. For our views with respect to the second departure from Kadesh, which we trust will serve to correct some errors, we must refer to the exegetical sections on the King of Arad, the passage of the brooks of Arnon, the over-estimated prophecies of Balaam, the great dan- ger of Israel's addiction to a worship of lust, and especially the revision of the views con- cerning the stations of the march, ch. xxxiii. The second census of the people illustrates the necessity and value of theocratic statistics. The daughters of Zelophehad form a station in the history of the development of the rights of women — rights which had been greatly marred by sin. The ordering of the festivals in the book of Numbers shows us that the solemn festivals are also social festivals, and that they are of great significance in the life of the people and in the state The subordination of the authority of woman in respect to the family, to domestic ofierings, to external afiairs. 48 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. is of special significance for our times when woman has well-nigh freed herself. Concerning the war for vengeance on the Midianites, we must also refer to the Exegesis. The treatment of the tribes of Keuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manaaseh was a master-piece of theocratic policy, aa well as a strong testimony to the great blessing of the nation's unity. The Old Testament limits and enclosure of the law by the boundaries of Cajiaan is also a testimony against the claims of the absolute supremacy of the law. Concerning the legal signifi- cance of the free cities, see^the Exegesis. The close of this book which treats of the state significantly protects the rights of the tribes, and illustrates a doctrine of signal impor- tance for churches, states and nationalities in strong contrast with the notion of old and new Babel that the uniformity of the world is the condition and soul of the unity of the world. The plan of encampment will be seen by the following sketch : WJSST. EPHEAIM, 40,600. MANASSBH, 36,200. BENJAMIN, 36,400. OS o QBBSON. ta s a H i TABi:RirACI.E. ^ M •sisaiad w a > w ZBBTJLON, T6,000. ISSAOHAK, 64,400. .JUDAH, 74,000. JEAST. This, despite severe criticism, proves itself by certain marks to be a very ancient record. Benjamin is separated from Judah, and is under the leading of Ephraim. Nothing is said of a division of the tribe of Manasseh, and its position is far from that of Reuben and Gad. Ephraim appears as one of the smaller tribes. The abundant care for the poor in Israel has been treated at length by Zellek, Super- intendent of the School for the Poor in Beuggen, in the Monatshlatt von Beuggen, August, 1845, No. 8. On Kadesh see Tuch on Gen. xiv. in Zeitschrifi der deutschen morgenlandischen THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE OP THE THREE BOOKS. 49 Oesellschafi, 1847, p. 179 f. Also see the articles on Kadesh in Heezog's Enaychpeedie and Schenkel's Bibellexicon. The most important works on the Book of Numbers are quoted as occasioa requires; G. D. Kkummachek; Menken, Die eherne Sohlange; Hengsten- BEEG, Balaam; Eiehm, et al. See also Danz, Universalworterbuch, p. 699. Winek, I., p. 202. theological liteeatttee of the theee books. See this Comm., Indexes of the Literature in Introduction to Gen. and to Matt. ; Heideggee, Enchiridion, p. 15 ; Walch, Bihlioth. iv. 437 ; Winer, 134 ff., 202 ; Appendix, p. 27-31 ; Danz, p. 745 ff.; Suppl. p. 81; Haetwig's Tabellen, p. 29; Hagenbach, pp 186, 199 ; Works by J. J. Hess, Kuinoel, G. L. Baube, De Wette, Jost, Leo, Beetheau, E-WALD, Lengeeke and others. Later, Bunsen's Bibelwerh, DiECHSEL's Bibelwerk, Bees- LAU, Duelfee. Comprehensive treatises on the three books are found in histories of Old Testament religion, of the kingdom of God and in compendiums of biblical theology. We must also include in this list the writings of JosEPHUS, Philo, Oeigen, Eusebius, Jeeomb and others which refer to this subject. Lexicons. — Schbnkel's Bibellexicon. Biblical Theology. — Betjno Bauee, Religion des AUen Testaments: Vatke, Baue, Schultz, von dee Goltz; Ewald, Die Lehre der Bibel von Gott, Vol. I.; Die Lehre vom Worte Ooites, Vol. II. ; Die Olaubenslehre, erste haelfte, Leipzig, 1871 ; Diestel, Geschichte des Alien Testaments in der Ghristlichen Eirche, Jena, 1869 ; Zahn, Ein Gang dureh die Heilige Geschichte, Gotha, 1868 ; Baue, Geschichte der alttestamentlichen Weissagung, 1 Theil, 1861; ZlEGLEE, Bisforische EntwicMimg der gottlichen Offenbarvmg ; DeWette, Die biblisehe Geschichte als Geschichte der Offenbarwng Gottes, Berlin, 1846. Consult the works of earlier writers, as Aeetius, Beenz, Geotius, Osiandee, Dathe, Vater, Haetmann. Mve Books of Moses, Berleburger Bibel, new ed., Stuttgart, 1856 ; Clbeicos on Pentateuch, Amsterdam, 1693 ; Joachim Lange, Mosaisches lAcht und JRecht ; Hengstenbbeg, Ohristology of the Old Testament, Egypt and the Books of Moses, Balaam, Die Opfer der ITeiligen Schrift, Die Geschichte des Reiches Gottes ; Bleek, Introduction to the Old Testament; Baumgaeten, Kommenlar zum Alten Testamient, 2 Theil e; Kuetz, History of the Old Covenant, 3 vols.; Knobbl, Kommentare zu Exodus, Leviticus und Humeri; Keil and Dblitzsch, Biblical Oommeniary, Pentateuch, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Works by Jev7s. — Salvadoe, Histoire des Institutions de Moyse et du peuple hebreux, 3 vols., Paris, 1828; Philippson, Die Israelitische Bibel, Der Pentateuch, Leipzig, 1858; ZUNZ, Uebersefzung des Alten Testaments ; R. S. Hiesch, Der Pentateuch ubersetzt und erlau/- tert, Frankfurt, a. m., 1867-9; Haezheimee, Die 24 Bucher d^r Bibel, Pentateuch, Leipzig; Mandelbaum, Die Bibel neu ubersetzt und erkldrt, Mnleitung in dem Pentateuch, Berlin, 1864. Historical Works. — AenAXTD, Jje Pentateuch mosaique, d^fendu contre les attaques de la crUique negative, Paris, 1865 ; Fxteest, Geschichte der biblischen Literatur, 2 Bande, Leipzig, 1867 ; H. Weight, The Pentateuch with * * TranslaUon, specimen part. Gen. i.-iv., London, 1869 ; Beaem, Israel's Wanderung von Gosen bis zum Sinai, Elberfeld, 1859 ; Colbnso, The Pentateuch, 1863 (a sample of traditional, abstractly literal interpretation). In opposition to COLENSO, The Historic Character of the Pentateuch Vindicated, Lond.,1863; The Mosaic Ori- gin of the Pentateuch, by a Layman, London, 1864 ; GeAP, Die geschichtlichen Bucher des Alten Testaments, Leipzig, 1866; HiTZiG, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Ijeipzig, 1869; Ebees, EgypUn und die Bucher Moses; writings of Beugsch, Lipsius and Gtttsohmid, Beitrdgezwr Geschichte des AUen Orients zur Wurdigung von Bunsen's Egyplen, 1857 ; J. Beaitn, Histo- rische Landschaflen, Stuttgart, 1867 ; K. VON Eaumee, Der Zug der Israeliten aus Egypten nach Kanaan, Langensalza, 1860 ; Voeltee, Das heilige Land und das Lan-I der israelitschen Wanderung; Holtzmann und Weber, Geschichte des Volkes Israel und der Entstehung des Christenthums, Leipzig, 1867 ; Noeldeke, Die alttestamentliche Literatur in einer Reihe von Aufsdtzen, Leipzig, 1868; Bunsen, God in History; BuscH, Ur geschichte des Orients, 2 Banrle, Ijeipzig; Stier, Heilsgeschichte des Alten Testaments, Halle, 1872; Laboede, Com- 4 50 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS. mentaire giograpUque sur VExode et lea Hombres, Paris, 1841; Faiebaibn, The Typology of Scripture, Edinburgh, 1854 ; Mills, Sacred Symhology, or an Inquiry into the Principles of the Interpretation of the Prophetic Symbols, Edinburgh, 1853 ; Beke, Origines Ublicae, Lon- don, 1854. Special Treatises. — Eanke, Untersuchungen ; 'S'ett'E.Ij'ES., Studien uber die ^chtheitdes Pentateuchs, MUnster, 1867 ; Kohn, Samaritanische Studien, Breslau, 1866 ; Tbip, Tkeopha- nien in den Oeschichts biichern des Alten Testaments, Leiden, 1858 ; TuCH, Sinaitische Inschrif- ten, Leipzig, 1846 ; Appia, JEssai biographique sur Moyse, Strasburg, 1853 ; Chapptjis, De Vandea Testament, considtri dan ses Rapports avec le Ghristianisme, Lausanne, 1858 ; Salo- mon, Moses der Mann Ooties, 1835 ; Siegel, Moses ; Boettcher, Exegetische ^hrenlese zum Alten Testament, Leipzig, 1864; Friederioh, Zur Bibel; Haetmann, Historisch Kritische Forschungen. Berlin, 1831; Huellmann, Staats!verfa,ssung der Israeliten; Unqee, Chronolo- gie des Manetho, Berlin, 1866; treatises of a popular character by Kiechlofee, Statjdt, Steglich, Postel and others ; special articles in Herzog's Encyclopxdie and in the Jahr- bucher fur deutsche Theologie from 1858-1872, and in the Studien und Kritiken, 1872. On Hebrew art, see the Archaeologies by Keil and others. On Hebrew poetry Lowth, Herder, Saalschuetz, Sack, Taylor. On the relation of the Old Testament to Assyria, Scheader, Die Kdlinschriften und das Alte Testament, Giessen, 1872. EXODUS. THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES. (niOB' rhii); 'E^odo<:: Exodus.) THE PB0PHETIC0-ME8SIANIC THEOCRACY— OR THE GENESIS, REDEMPTION AND SANCTIFICATION OP THE COVENANT PEOPLE. FIRST DIVISION: MOSES AND PHARAOH. THE TTPIOAILT BIONIFIOAHT REDEMPTION OF ISEAEl OUT OF HIS SERVITUDE IN EGYPT AS PRELI- MINART CONDITION OF AND PREPARATION FOE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TYPICAL KINGDOM OF GOD (the theocracy) BY MEANS OF THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION — OR THE THEOOEATIO FOUNDATION FOR THE LEGISLATION OF ALL THE THREE BOOKS. Chapters I.— XVIII. FIRST SECTION. The Qenesis of the Covenant People of Israel, of their Servitude, and of the Pore- tokens of their Redemption as one people. An analogue of the Development of Mankind as a unit, of their Corruption and the Preparation for their Salvation. The calling of Moaes and his twofold Mission to bis people and to Pharaoh. Chaps. I.— VII. 7. A.— GROWTH AND SERVITUDE OP THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT— AND PHARAOH'S PURPOSE TO DESTROY THEM. Chap. I. 1-22.* 1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel which [who] came into 2 Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, 3, 4 and Judah ; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin ; Dan, and Naphtali, Gad and 5 Asher. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls ; 6 for [and] Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, 7 and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled 8 with them. Now [And] there arose a new king over Egypt which [who] knew not 9 Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel 10 are more and mightier than we. Come on [Come], let us deal wisely [pru- dently'] with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there falleth TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. * [Ver. 10. riD3nn3. Lange, Oesonins, Arnbelm, and Pbilippson, translate this uberUsUn, "outwit." But the Hithp. ■form occurs, besides here, only in Eccl. Tii. 18, and there has the signification proper to the Hithpael, viz., to deem one's- • [The Authorized Version is followed in the translation from the Hebrew, except that " Jehovah " is everywhere sub- stituted for " the Lord." In other cases, where a change in the translation is thought to be desirable, the proposed emen- dation is inserted in brackets. — Tb] EXODUS. out any war [when a war occurreth], they join also [they also join themselves] unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up [and go up] out of the 11 land. Therefore they did set [And they appointed] over them taskmasters, to afflict them with their burdens ; and they built treasure-cities [store-cities] for Pha- 12 raoh, Pithom and Eaemses. But the more [lit., And as] they afflicted them the more [lit., so] they multiplied and grew [spread]. And they were grieved because 13 of [horrified in view of] the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the chil- 14 dren of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage [service] in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all'' their service wherein they made them serve was [which they laid on them]^ 15 with rigor. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew mid wives (of' which [whom] the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah), 16 And he said. When ye do the office of a midwife to [When ye deliver] the He- brew women, and see them, [then look] upon the stools ; if it he a son, then ye 17 shaJl kill him ; but, if it 6e a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded, but [and] saved the 18 men-children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto 19 them. Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive ? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh,' Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyp tian, for they are lively [vigorous], and are delivered ere the midwives come in 20 unto' them [before the midwife cometh in unto them, they are delivered]. There- fore [And] God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and waxed 21 [grew] very mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared Grod, that 22 he made them houses [households]. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and . every daughter ye shall save alive. self wise, to act the part of a wise man. Here, therefore, It is better to render it in nearly the same way. — njt^'lpri, a plnral verb with a singular subject. Knobel, following the Samaritan version (UXTpH), translates wird \ms Ireffen, ''shall befall us." But there is no need of this asBumption of a corrupt text. See Ewald, Ausf. Gram.^ g 191 c. — Tr.J. ^ [Ver. 14. Lange, with many others, takes HX here as a preposition, meaning " together with," "besides." and sup- plies " other " before ** service." Grammatically this is perhaps easier than to take it (as we have done^ as the sign of the Ace. But it requires us to supply the word on which the whole force of the clause depends. — Ta.]. 8 [Ver. 19. Lange translates, nnaccoontably, nj?'13~ 7X as being equivalent to a genitive: die. Hebammen des Pharaoh, " Pharaoh's midwives." — Tit.]. EXEQETICAi AND CEITICAL. Vers. 1-'. Fulfillment of the promise, Gen. xlvi. 3. Also fulfillment of the prediction of suf- fering for the descendants of Abraham, Gen. XV. 13. Vers. 2-4. The names of the children are given according to the rank of the mothers. So Gen. XXXV. 23-'26. Ver, 5. The small number of seventy souls (vid. Gen. xlvi. 27) who entered Egypt, illustrates the wonderful increase. At the exodus 600,000 men, besides children, etc. Vid. oh. xii. 87. On the terms denoting increase, IX'IE'] ?1£) 13T_ see Gen. i. 28 ; viii. 17. Ver. 8. A neiv king. — Dp'1 has a special significanoe. He rose up, as a man opposed to the previous policy. The LXX. translate ly^^ by Jrcpof. Josephus and others inferred the rise of a new dynasty. — Who knew not Joseph, «'. «., cared nothing for his services and the re- sults of them, the high regard in which his peo- ple had been held. Vera. 9, 10. " They are greater and stronger than we," says despotic fear, " Come, let us be more prudent (more cunning) than they," is the language of despotic craftiness and malice. Des- potic policy adds, that in case of a war the peo- ple might join the enemy. A danger to the country might indeed grow out of the fact that the Israelites did not become Egyptianized. The power of Israelitish traditions is shown espe- cially in the circumstance that even the descend- ants of Joseph, though they had an Egyptian mother, certainly became Jews. Perhajis it was dislike of Egyptian manners which led the sons of Ephraim early to migrate towards Palestine, 1 Ohron. vii. 22. An honorable policy would, however, have provided means to help the Jews to secure a foreign dwelling-place. Ver. 11. Taskmasters. — The organs of op- pression and enslavement. " That foreigners were employed in these labors, is illustrated by a sepulchral monument, discovered in the ruins of Thebes, and copied in the Egyptological works of Rosellini and Wilkinson, which repnesentg laborers, who are not Egyptians, as employed in making brick, and by them two Egyptians Vfith rods, as overseers ; even though these laborers may not be designed to represent Israelites, as their Jewish features would indicate " (KpiI). See also Keil's reference to Aristotle and Livy, CHAP. II. 1-25. 3 (p. 422)* on the despotic method of enfeebling a people physically and mentally by enforced labor. Store-Cities. — For the harvests. See Eeil (p. 422) on Pithom (Gr. Tl&rovfioe, Egypt. Thou, Thoum), situated on the canal which connects the Nile with the Arabian gulf. Baemses, the game as Heroopolis. Ver. 12. Horror is the appropriate designa- tion of the feeling with which bad men see the opposite of their plans wonderfully brought about. Hengstenberg: Sie katten Ekel vor ihnm. "They were disgusted at them." But this was the case before. On |'

t—TB.]. ' *' • "i ™" CHAP. 11. 1-25. 22 and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a [bare a] son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger [A sojourner have 23 I been] in a strange land. And it came to pass in process of time [lit. in those many days], that the king of Egypt died ; and the children of Israel sighed by rea- son of the bondage [service], and thw cried ; and their cry' came up to God by rea- 24 son of the bondage [service]. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered 25 his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them [lit. knew them^J. • Ver.23. DflJ^IE? "cry for help "—a different root from that of ths verb IpJ^rV— Te.]. T [Ver. 25. Lange translates : TJnd Gott mh an die Kinder IsraeU, und ah der GoUheit war's zhm bawuaat (er durchachauttt Ik una Om SUualum). "And God looked on the children of Israel, and it was known by Him as the Godhead (He saw through them and their situation)." This translation seems to be suggested by the emphatic repetition of D^n*7K. But better to find the emphatic word in _J?^^1 " God haew (them),'' t. e., had a tender regard for them — a frequent use of IfT Comp. Ps. cxliv. 3. Or, simply, "God knew," leaving the object indefinite, aa in the Hebrew. — Tr.] EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 1. And there went. — ^/D, according to Keil, serves to give a pictorial description. Inasmuch as the woman had already borne Mi- riam and Aaron, it vrould mislead us to take the word in this sense. The expression properly means that he had gone ; he had, in these dan- gerous times which, to be sure, at Aaron's birth had not yet reached the climax (he was three years o'der than Moses) taken the step of enter- ing the married state. — The descent of these pa- rents from the tribe of Levi is remarked. Ener- getic boldness had distinguished it even in the ancestor (Gen. xlix. 5 ; Ex. xxxii. 26 ; Deut. zxxiii. 8). Although originally not without fa- naticism, this boldness yet indicated the quali- ties needed for the future priesthood. Ver. 2. She recognized it as a good omen, that the child was so fair (3113 airmof LXX. ; vid., Heb. xi. 23), Josepbus traces this intuition of faith, which harmonized with the maternal feel- ing of complacency and desire to preserve bis life, to a special revelation. But this was here not needed. Ver. 3. The means of preservation chosen by the parents is especially attributed to the daugh- ter of Levi. It is all the more daring, since in the use of it she had, or seemed to have, from the outset, the daughter of the child-murderer in mind. The phrase T\2!^ designates the box as a miniatwe ark, a ship of deliverance. On the pa- per-reed, vid. Winer, Real-worterbuch, II., p. 411. The hox, cemented and made wafer-tight by means of asphalt and pitch, was made fast by the same reed out of which it had b»en constructed. This extraordinarily useful kind of reed seems by excessive use to have become extirpated. Ver. 4. And his sister. — Miriam (xv. 20). The sagacious child, certainly older than Aaron, early showed that she was qualified to become a prophetess (xv. 20) of such distinction that she could afterwards be puffed up by it. Ver. 5. "The daughter of Pharaoh Is called Qtpfiov&tQ (Josephus et al.) or Uep/ii;. . . . The bathing of the king's daughter in (he open stream is contrary indeed to the custom of the modern Mohammedan Orient, where this is done only by v/omen of low rank in retired places (Lane, Man- ners and C'lstoms, p. 336, 5th ed.), but accords with the customs of ancient Egypt (comp. the copy of a bathing-scene of a noble Egyptian wo- man, with four female attendants, in Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, Vol. III., Plate 417), and be- sides is perhaps connected with the notion held by the ancient Egyptians concerning the sacred- nessofthe Nile, to which even divine honors were paid (vid. Henqstenberq, Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 113), and with the fructifying, life-preserving power of its waters." (Keil). Ver. 6. The compassion of Pharaoh's daughter towards the beautiful child led her to adopt him ; and when she did so, making him, therefore, prospectively an Egyptian, she did not need, we may suppose, to educate him " behind the king's back" [as Keil thinks. — Tk.]. We might rather assume that this event more or less neutralized the cruel edict of the king. Ver. 9. Nor is it to be assumed that the daugh- ter of Pharaoh had no suspicion of the Hebrew nationality of the mother. How often, in cases of such national hostilities, the feelings of indi- vidual women are those of general humanity in contradistinction to those of the great mass of fanatical women. Ver. 10. She brought him unto Pha- raoh's daughter. — The boy in the meantime had drunk in not only his mother's milk, but also the Hebrew spirit, and had been intrusted with the secret of his descent and deliverance. Legally and formally he became her sou, whilst he inwardly had become the son of an- other mother ; and though she gave him the Egyptian name, " Mousheh," i. e., saved from the water (Josephus II., 9, 6), yet it was at once changed in the mind of Divine Providence into the name " Mosheh ;" the one taken out became the one taking out. (Kurtz). For other expla- nations of the name, vid. Gesenius, Knobel, Keil. Thus the Egyptian princess herself had to bring up the deliverer and avenger of Israel, and, by instructing him in all the wisdom of Egypt, pre- pare him both negatively and positively for his vocation. Ver. 11. When Moses was grown. — Had become a man. According to Acts vii. 23, and therefore according to Jewish tradition, he was then forty years old. He had remained true to his destination (Heb. xi. 24), but had also learned, like William of Orange, the Silent, to restrain himself, until finally a special occasion caused 6 EXODUS. the flame hidden in him to burst forth. An Egyp- tian smote one of his brethren. — This phrase BUggests the ebullient emotion with which he now decided upon his future career. Ver. 12. That Moses looked this way and that way before committing the deed, marks, on the one hand, the mature man who knew how to control his heated feeling, but, on the other hand, the man not yet mature in faith ; since by this act, which was neither simple murder nor iimple self-defence, and which was not sustained by a pure peace of conscience, he anticipated Divine Providence. It cannot be attributed to " a carnal thirst for achievement " [Kurtz] ; but as little can it be called a pure act of faith ; al- though the illegal deed, in which he was even strengthened by the consciousness of being an Egyptian prince (as David in bis sin and fall might have been misled by feeling himself to be an oriental despot) was a display of his faith, in view of which Stephen (Acts vii.) could justly rebuke the Hnbelief of the Jews. Vid. more in Keil, p. 431. Ver. 14. The Jew who thus spoke was a repre- sentative of the unbelieving spirit of which Ste- phen speaks in Acts vii. Yer. 16. The Midianites had made a settle- ment not only beyond the Elanitio Gulf near Moab, but also, a nomadic branch of them, on the peninsula of Sinai. These seem to have re- mained more faithful to Shemitio traditions than the trading Midianites on the other side, who joined in the voluptuous worship of Boal. "Reuel" means: Friend of God. He does not seem, by virtue of his priesthood, to have had princely authority. Ver. 16. By the well. — A case similar to that in which Jacob helped Rachel at the well, Gen. xzix. Ver. 18. On the relation of the three names, Reuel, Jethro (iii. 1) and Hobab (Num. x. 29) vid. the commentaries and Winer. The assump- tion that tnn, used of Hobab, means brother-in- law, but useJ of Jethro ("preference," like Reuel's name of dignity "friend of God") means father-in-law, seems to be the most plausible. Jethro in years and experience is above Moses ; but Hobab becomes a guide of the Hebrew cara- van through the wilderness, and his descendants remain among the Israelites. Vid. also Judg, iv. 11 and the commentary on it. Ver. 22. Oershom. — Always a sojourner. So he lived at the court of Pharaoh, so with the priest in Midian. Zipporah hardly understood him (vid. iv. 24). As sojourner he passed through the wilderness, and stood almost among his own people. Yet the view of Canaan from Nebo be- came a pledge to him of entrance to a higher fatherland. Ver. 23. Also the successor of the child-mur- dering king continued the oppression. But God heard the cry of the children of Israel. He re- membered his covenant, and looked into it, and saw through the case as Ood. C— THE CALL OF MOSES. HIS REFUSAL AND OBEDIENCE. HIS ASSOCIATION WITH AARON AND THEIR FIRST MISSION TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. Chaptees III., IV. 1 Now Moses kept [was pasturing] the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian ; and he led the flock to the back side of [behind] the desert, and came 2 to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a [the] bush ; and he looked, and behold, 3 the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside [Let me turn aside] and see this great sight, why the bush is 4 not burnt. And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses I And he said, Here am 5 I. And he said. Draw not nigh hither ; put off thy shoes from off [from] thy feet, 6 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover [And] he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of 7 Jacob. _ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And Jeho- vah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [who] are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters ; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 [Ver. T. ''33D may be rendered more literally "from before," tbe people being represented aa followed up in tUelr work by the taakmasteiB.— Ta.]. CHAP. III. 1— IV. 31. with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the 9 Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the 10 oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth [and bring thou forth] my 11 people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of 12 Israel out of Egypt ? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a [the] token unto thee that I have sent thee : When thou hast brought [bring- 13 est] forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them. The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall say 14 to me. What is his name ? What shall I say unto them ? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And he said. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 15 I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations [lit. to genera- 16 tion of generation]. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited [looked upon] you, 17 and seen that [and that] which is done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, 18 unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall [will] hearken to thy voice ; and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews, hath met'' with us, and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that 19 we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. And I am sure [know] that the king of 20 Egypt will not let you go, no [even] not' by a mighty hand. And IwUl stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst 21 thereof; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians ; and it shall come to pass that, when ye go, ye shall not 22 go empty. But [And] every woman shall borrow [ask] of her neighbor _ and of her that sojoumeth in her house jewels [articles] of silver and jewels [articles] of gold and raiment [garments] ; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoU the Egyptians. Chap. IV. 1 And Moses answered and said. But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice ; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto 2 thee. And Jehovah said unto him. What is that [this] in thine [thy] hand ? And he 3 said, A rod. And he said. Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, 4 and it became a serpent ; and Moses fled from before it. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, 5 and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand : That they may believe that Je- hovah, God [the God] of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and 6 the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And Jehovah said furthermore unto him. Put now thine [thy] hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bo- 7 som'; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said. Put thine [thy] hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again, and plucked [took] it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as « [Ver. 18. mp3 is taken by EosemnaUer, after Borne of the older versions, as = NT;pJi voaUw super rwa. But, aa Winer remarks, ito mmm irOolerabUis ImUologia ineH in verbis Dn3;;n 'TlSX;" The LXX.' translate 7rpoo-/ce'«Ar)Tai ij^M, —which makes better sense, but is grammatically still more inadmissible, as ill [33 is thus made = X1J5-— Tk-]- a [Ter. 19. «h) is rendered by the LXX., Vulg., Luther, and others, "unless."' But this is incorrect. The more obvi- oos translation may indeed seem to be inconsistent with the statement in the next verse, " after that he will let you go." But the difficulty is not serious. We need only to supply in thought " at first " in this verse,— Ta.]. EXODUS. 8 Hs other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither [nor] hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the 9 latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also [even] these two signs, neither [nor] hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out 10 of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And Moses said unto Jehovah, O my Lord, [O Lord], I am not eloquent [lit. a man of words], neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant ; but [for] I am slow of speech [mouth] 11 andof a slow [slow of] tongue. And Jehovah said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the [maketh] dumb, or deaf, or the seeing [or see- 12 ing], or the blind ? [or blind ?] Have [Do] not I, Jehovah ? Now therefore go, and 13 1 will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my 14 Lord [O Lord], send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said. Is not Aaron, the Le- vite, thy brother ? I know [Do I not know Aaron, thy brother, the Levite,] that he can speak well ?* And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth 15 thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words [the words] in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and 16 will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman [shall speak for thee] unto the people, and he [it] shall be, even Ithaf] he shall be to thee instead of 17 [for] a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of [for a] God. And thou shalt 18 taiie this rod in thine [thy] hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs [the signs]. And Moses went, and returned to Jethro [Jether] his father-in-law, and said unto him. Let me go, I pray thee,^ and return unto my brethren which [who] are in Egypt, and see whether they be [are] yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 19 And Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt ; for all the men 20 are dead which [who] sought thy life. And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them [made them ride] upon an [the] ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. 21 And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And Jehovah said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thy hand [consider all the wonders which I have put in thy hand, and do thera before Pharaoh] ; but I will harden his heart that he shall [and 22 he will] not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith 23 Jehovah, Israel is my son, even my first-born. And I say [said]' unto thee. Let my son go that he may serve me ; and if thou refuse [and thou didst 24 refuse]' to let him go : behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born. Audit came 25 to pass by the way in the inn, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him. Then [And] Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut ofi'the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [a bridegroom of blood] * [Chap. IV. Ver. 14. We have ventured to follow the Vulg., Luther, Cranmer, the Geneva Version, De Wette, Gla''re, and K.Hlisch, in tbia rendering ; for, tliongh grammatically the reading of the A. V. i.s more natural, yet it is difBcnIt to aae the force of the question, " la not Aaron thy brochor ?' FUrst, Arnhoim, and Murphy, t-'V to «void the difQcoIty by rea- dcriog, '• l8 there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite?" etc. This, however, ia putting in what is not in the original. Kush, following Bashi, trausla'es, "la not Aaron thy brother, the Levite?" and nnderstaude the question to in'imate that, in consequence of Moses' reluctance to obey the divine commission, the pricsthooil, which otherwise would have been con- ferred on him, will be given to Aaron. As nothing iasai'l about the prie8thood,it is hard to see how the phrase "the Le- vite," at this time, before any priesthood had been established, could have been understood in this way. Kuobel, trans- lating in the same way, nnderst«nds it as pointing forward to the doty of the priests to give public instruction. But the same objection lies against this, as agaiLst the previous explanation ; Moses was a l>evite as much as Aaron was. Lanire, translating also th > s.ime way, understands the meaning to be : Aaron is a more genuine Levite than Moses. But in tbia cai,e the deiinite article is quite out of place ; and even without it such a thought would be very obscur.'ly expressed. Keil, follovring Baumgarten, finds the significance of the question In the etymological meaning of 'iS, rfa., to join, associate one's-selfto. This certainly has the advantage of snggeating a reason for the use of the phrase "the Levite," which on othr theories seems to be superfluous. But the definite article is out of place on this hypothesis also. Besides, as the special point here is Aaron's ability to toZft, the notion of asanciatifm is not just the one needed to bd suggested by the term, to say nothing of the subtlety of the made of conveying either conception.— Tr.J. 6 [Ver. 18. NJ~nD7N 1^ not to be understood as a request, as the A. V. seems to imply, especially by the phrase, "I pray thee," which corresponds to NJ. Wo have exactly the same form in ill. 3, where Mosos said SJ-TTIpN, " I will turn aside," or, " Let me turn aside."— Ta.]. v •. t " [Ver. 23. lpj "» being a verbal form inclu- ding a pronominal element, an expression of personality : I am — Sf. is. Jehovah is the living God, the God who reveals Himself to His people, and holds a personal relation to them. — 1£.] of the psychological process. If Pharaoh grant ed the request, he would be seen to be in a benevo- lent mood, and they might gradually ask for more. If he denied it, it would be well for them not at once, by an open proposal of emancipa- tion, to have exposed themselves to ruin, and introduced the contest with his hardness of heart, which the guiding thought of Jehovah already foresaw. Moses knew better how to deal with a despot. Accordingly he soon in- creases his demand, till he demands emancipa- tion, vi. 10; vii. 16; viii. 25; ix. 1, 13; x. 3. From the outset it must, moreover, have greatly impressed the king, that the people should wish to go out to engage in an act of divine service; still more, that they should, in making their offering, desire to avoid offending the Egyptians, viii. 26. But gradually Jehovah, as the legiti- mate king of the people of Israel, comes out in. opposition to the usurper of His rights, ix. 1 sq. Moses, to be sure, even during the hardeniug process, does not let his whole purpose distinctly appear ; but he nevertheless gives intimationa of it, when, after Pharaoh concedes to them the privilege of making an offering in the country, he stipulates for a three days' journey, and, in an obscure additional remark, hints that he then will still wait for Jehovah to give further directions. Ver. 19. Even not by a mighty hand. — Although God really frees Israel by a mighty hand. Pharaoh does not, even after the ten plagues, permanently submit to Jehovah; there- fore he perishes in the Bed Sea. Ver. 20. Announcement of the miracles by which Jehovah will glorify Himself. Ver. 21. Announcement of the terror of the Egyptians, in which they will give to the Israel- ites, upon a modest request for a loan, the most costly vessels (Keil : "jewels"). Theannounce- ment becomes a command in xi. 2 sq. On the ancient misunderstanding of this fact, vid. Keil, p. 445 sq., and the references to Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Beinke ; also Commentary on Genesis, p. 29. " Egypt had robbed Israel by the unwar- ranted and unjust exactions imposed upon him ; now Israel carries off the prey of Egypt. A pre- lude of the victory which the people of God will always gain in the contest with the powers of the world. Comp. Zeoh. xiv. 14" (Keil).* Chap. iv. 1. Four hundred years of natural development had succeeded the era of patriarchal * [The various explanations of this transaction are given by Hengstenberg, i>i8seftatimii on the PelitaJeuch, p. 419 sqq. Briefly they are the following : (1) That God, being the st>- vereign disposer of all thinge, had a right thus to traof-fer the property of the Egyptians to the Israelites. (2) Ttiat the Is- raelites received no more than their just due in taking these articles, in view of the oppressive treatment they bad under- gone. I'd) That, though the Israelites in form asked for a loau, it was understood by the Egyptians as a gift, thern being no expectation that the Israelites would return. ^4) That the Israelites borrowed with the intention of returninf;, being ignorant of the Divine plan of removing them from the coun- try so suddenly that a restoration of the borrowed articles to their proper owners would be impossible. — These explana- tions, uneatis&ctory as they are, are as good as the case would admit, were the terms "borrow" and "lend," derived from the LXX. and reproduced in almost all the translations, the equivalents of the Hebrew words. But the simple fact is that the Israelites are said to have asked for the things, and the Eeyptians to have given them. The circumstances (xii. 33 sqq.) also under which the Israelites went away makes it seem every way probable that the Egyptians never expected a restoration of the things bestowed on the Israelites. — Tr.]. 12 EXODUS. revelations, and the people were no longer ac- customed to prophetic voices. The more ground therefore did Moses seem to have for his anxiety lest the people vrould not believe him. Jehovah, moreover, does not blame him for his doubts, but gives him three marks of authentication^ The symbolical nature of these miraculous signs is noticed also by Keil. Vers. 2-5. The casting down of the shepherd's rod may signify the giving up of his previous pastoral occupation. As a seemingly impotent shepherd's rod he becomes a serpent, he excites all the hostile craft and power of the Egyptians. Pharaoh especially appears in the whole process also as a serpent-like liar. But as to the ser- pent, it is enough to understand by it the dark, hostile power of the Egyptians which now at first frightened him. It is true, the enemy of the woman's seed, the old serpent, constitutes the background of the Egyptian hostility ; but here the symbol of the Egyptian snake kind is suffi- cient. When Moses, however, seizes the serpent by the tail, by its weaponless natural part, as is illustrated in the Egyptian plagues, it becomes a rod again, and now a divine rod of the shepherd of the peoplo. Vers. 6-8. The white leprosy is here meant. Comp. Lev. xiii. 3. " As to the significance of this sign, it is quite arbitrary, with Theodoret and others, down to Kurtz, to understand the hand to represent the people of Israel ; and still more arbitrary, with Kurtz, to make the bosom represent first Egypt, and then Canaan, as the hiding-place of Israel. If the shepherd's rod symbolizes Moses' vocation, it is the hand which bears the rod, and governs. In his bosom the nttendant carries the babe," etc. (Keil). The leprosy has been explained, now as signifying the miserable condition of the Jews, now as the contagious influence upon them of Egyptian im- purity. Through the sympathy of his bosom with the leprosy of his people Moses' hand itself becomes in his bosom leprous ; but through the same sympathy his hand becomes clean again. The actions of his sympathy cause him to ap- pear as an accomplice in the guilt of Israel; and he really is not free from guilt ; but the same actions have a sort of propitiatory power, which also inures to the benefit of the people. Jeho- hovah raises the voice of this second, sacerdotal sign above the voice of the first. Ver. 9. As the first miraculous sign symbo- lized a predominantly prophetic action, the se- cond a sacerdotal, so the third a kingly kind. It gives him the power to turn into blood the water of the Nile, which is for Egypt a source of life, a sort of deity ; i. e., out of the very life-force to evoke the doom of death. Let us not forget that a whole succession of Egyptian plagues pro- ceeds from the first one, the corruption of the Nile water. As these miraculous signs are throughout sym- bolical, so, in their first application, they are probably conditioned by a state of ecstasy. Yet the first miracle is also literally performed before Pharaoh, and in its natural basis is allied with the Egyptian serpent charming. Vid. Hengst. [Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 100 sqq.]. The third sign, however, is expanded in the result into the transformation of the water of the Nile into blood. This, too, has its connection with Egypt ; therefore there must doubtless have been some mysterious fact involved in the second sign, inasmuch moreover as the text reports that Moses did the signs before the people, and thus authenticated his mission before them (iv. 30, 31), although indeed in iv. 17 the signs seem to be reduced to signs done with the staff. Vers. 10-12. There were wanted no more signs, but, as Moses' modesty led him to feel, more oratorical ability. How could Moses have exercised his slow tongue in his long isolation in the desert, associating with few men, and those who could but little understand him ? This dif- ficulty Jehovah also regards. He will impart to him the divine eloquence, which from that time through the history of the whole kingdom of God remains different from that of the natural man. He ordained for him his peculiar organs, and the organic defect of a heavy tongue, as all or- gans and organic defects in general, and will know how to make of his tongue his divine or- gan, as the history of the kingdom of God has so richly proved. Vers. 13, 14. It cannot be said (with Keil) that now the secret depth of his heart becomes open, in the sense that he will not undertake the mission. If this were the case, Jehovah would no longer deal with him. But the last sigh of his ill-humor, of his despondency, finds vent in these words, which are indeed sinful enough to excite the anger of Jehovah, and so also to make him feel as if death were about to overtake him. We are reminded here of similar utterances of Isaiah (ch. vi.), of Jeremiah, (oh. i.), of the de- tention of Calvin in Geneva by the adjurations of Farel, and similar scenes. The anger of Je- hovah is not of a sort which leads him to break with Moses : and in the further expression of it it appears that the hesitation on account of the slow tongue is still not yet overcome. — Is not Aaron thy brother ? — "The Levite" means probably a genuine Levite, a model of a Levite, more than Moses.* With the cautious genius a more lively talent was to be associated. Also he seems, in reference to the affairs of the Israel- ites, to be more prompt than Moses ; for he is already on the way to look for Moses (doubtless in consequence of divine instigation). Vid. ver. 27, where the sense is pluperfect. Moses, then, has two things to encourage him : he is to have a spokesman, and the spokesman is already coming in the form of his own brother. For a similar mysterious connection of spirits, vid, Acts X. Vers. 15, 16. The fixing of the relation be- tween Moses and God, and between Moses and Aaron, must have entirely quieted the doubter. The relation between Moses and Aaron is to be analogous to that between God and his prophet. This assignment does not favor the notion of a literal verbal inspiration, but all the more de- cidedly that of a real one. It accords with the spirit of Judaistic caution, when the Targums tone down D'ilSx'? into S^S "for a master or teacher. "!• * [Oq this point comp. nnder " Textual and Grammatical." — Te.I- t [Ihe A. V. also softens the expr^ sslon by using the phrase CHAP. III. 1— IV. 81. 13 Ver. 17. And this atafi. — Out of the rnstio shepherd's staff was to be made a divine shep- herd's staff, the symbolic organ of the divine signs. This ordinance, too, must have elevated his soul. Here there was to be no occasion to say, " gentle staff, would I had ne'er exchanged thee for the sword I" Ver. 18. This request for a leave of absence is truthful, but does not express the whole truth. This Jethro could not have borne. His brethren are the Israelites, and his investigating whether they are yet alive has a higher significance. Ver. 19. AH the men are dead. — This dis- closure is introduced with eminent fitness. Among the motives which made Moses willing to undertake the mission, this assurance should not be one. He had first to form his resolution at the risk of finding them still living. Moreover, he has on account of these men at least expressed no hesitation. Vers. 20-26. What is here related belongs to Moses' journey from Jethro's residence to the Mount Horeb, i. c, from the south-eastern part of the desert. Ver. 20. His sons. — Only the one, Gershom, has been named, and that because his name served to express Moses' feeling of expatriation in Midian. The other, Eliezer, is named after- wards (xviii. 3, 4). But his name is introduced here by the Vulgate (according to some MS3., by the LXX.), and by Luther. Moses went on foot by the side of those riding on asses, but bears the staff of God in his hand. " Poor as his outward appearance is, yet he has in his band the staff before which Pharaoh's pride and all his power must bow " [Keil]. Ver. 21. On the way from Midian to Horeb, towards Egypt, Jehovah repeats and expands the first commission, as it was in accordance with Moses' disposition to become absorbed in medi- tations on his vocation. All the '«7onders. — D'naan-Sa. The repara, or the terrible signs vthich are committed to him constitute a whole ; and accordingly he is to unfold the whole series in order (on miracles vid. the Comm. on Matt., p. 153). And why ? Because this is made neces- sary in order to meet the successive displays of obduracy with which Pharaoh is to resist these terrific signs. But, that he may not on this ac- count become discouraged in his work, he is told thus early that God himself will harden the heart of Pharaoh with his judgments, for the purpose of bringing about the final glorious issue ( Vid. the Comm. on Bom., ch. ix.). The three terms expressive of hardening, ptn, to make firm (ver. 21), riiyp, to make hard (vii. 8), and 133, to make heavy or blunt (x. 1), denote a gradual progress. The first term occurs, it is true, as the designation of the fundamental notion, when the hardening has an entirely new beginning, and a new scope (xiv. 4; xiv. 17). It is rightly ** instead ofi" whereas the Tlebrew would more exactly be rendered, " He shall be a mouth to thee, and tliou shall be a God to him." We have here languasn similar lo, and illus- trated by, that in vii. 1, " See, I have madu thee a God to Pha- raoh; and Aaron thy brother shall bu thy prophet." As the prophet (irpoifi^Ti)! one who speaks /or another) is the spokes- man (mouth) of God, so Aaron is to receive and communicate messages from Hoses. — TE.j. brought forward as a significant circumstance by Hengstenberg, Keil, and others, that the harden- ing of Pharaoh's heart is ten times ascribed to God, and ten times to himself. Pharaoh's self- determination has the priority throughout. The hardening influence of God presupposes the self- obduration of the sinner. But God hardens him who thus hardens himself, by furthering the pro- cess of self-obduration through the same influ- ences which would awaken a pious spirit. This he does as an act not mei^ely of permission, but of judicial sovereignty. Vid. Keil, p. 458 sqq. Ver. 23. Israel is my son, my first-born. Comp. Deut. xiv. 1, 2 ; Hos. xl. 1. The doctrine of the Son of God here first appears in its typi- cal germinal form. Keil makes the choosing of Israel begin with Abraham, and excludes from it the fact of creation,* as well as the spiritual generation, so that there remains only an elec- tion of unconditional adoption and of subsequent education, or ethical creation. But tbe applica- tion of these abstractions to the Christology of the N. T. would perhaps be difficult. Vid. Com. on Bom. viii. The expression, first-born son, sug- gests the future adoption of other nations. I ■will slay thy son. — This threat looks forward to the close of the Egyptian plagues. Ver. 24. Seemingly sudden turn of affairs. Yet it is occasioned by a previous moral incon- sistency, which now for the first time is brought close to the prophet's conscience. He who is on his way to liberate the people of the circumci- sion, has in Midian even neglected to circumcise his second son Eliezer. The wrath of God comes upon him in an attack of mortal weakness, in a distressing deathly feeling (Ps. xc). Proioably Zipporah had opposed the circumcision of Eli- ezer; hence she now interposes to save her hus- band. She circumcises the child with a stone- knife (more sacred than a metallic knife, on account of tradition) ; but she is still unable to conceal her ill-humor, and lays the foreskin at his feet with the words: "A bridegroom of blood art thou to me."f Ver. 26. Zipporah seems to be surly about the whole train of circumcisions. Probably Moses is thereby led to send her with the chil- dren back to her father to remain during the re- mainder of his undertaking. For not until hij return to the peninsula of Sinai does his father- in-law bring his family to him. Ver. 27. On the one hand, Moses is freed from a hindrance, which is only obscurely hinted at, by the return of Zipporah ; on the other hand, a great comfort awaits him in the coming of his brother Aaron to meet him. * fliange's language is : "Eeil lUssI di', ErwtLWimg IsraeU mil Abraham anfangea, und sehlieafil von ihr auB auf dv' Tliat^ aache dp.r Sclioj^fung" etc. In translating we have ignored the preposition " ok/," which, if recognized, would require the sentence to read: " Keil . . . infers from it [the fhoosiiig of Israel] the fact of creation," ete. But this would certainly bo a misrepresentation of Keil, even if it would convny anv cleat sense in itself. We conclude that "auf" is inserted by a typographical error.— Ta.]. f [The text and the commentary bo'h leave it somewhat doubtful whether these words are addressed to Moses or thd child; but there can be little douit that Moses is the one. The meaning is that Moses had been well-nigh lost to hir by disease. She regains him by circumcising th« son ; Imt the bloody eifect excites her displeasure, and by fhn sav- ing, "A bridegroom ot blood art thou to me," she means that she has, as it were, regained him as a husband by tlie blo..J of her child.— Tr. J. 14 EXODTTS. "Ver. 29. They went. — This ia the journey from Horeb to Egypt. Vers. 30, 31. The elders of the people, after hearing Aaron's message, and seeing his signs, believingly accept the fact of Jehovah's oomiris. sion, and bow adoringly before His messengers. Thereby the people organized themselTes. They accepted the vocation of being the people of Je- hovah. D— MOSES AND AAEON BEFORE PHARAOH. THE SEEMINGLY MISCHIEVOUS EF- ' FECT OP THEIR DIVINE MESSAGE, AND THE DISCOURAGEMENT OF THE PEOPLE AND THE MESSENGERS THEMSELVES. GOD REVERSES THIS EFFECT BY SO- LEMNLY PROMISING DELIVERANCE, REVEALING HIS NAME JEHOVAH, SUM- MONING THE HEADS OF THE TRIBES TO UNITE WITH MOSES AND AARON, RAISING MOSES' FAITH ABOVE PHARAOH'S DEFIANCE, AND DECLARING THE GLORIOUS OBJECT AND ISSUE OP PHARAOH'S OBDURACY. Chapters V. 1— VII. 7. 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in [came] and told [said unto] Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, God [the God] of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a 2 feast imto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not Jehovah, neither will I [and moreover 3 I will not] let Israel go. And they said. The God of the Hebrews hath met with [met] us : let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto Jehovah our God, lest he fall upon us with the pestilence, or with the sword. 4 And the king of Egypt said unto them. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let 5 [release] the people from their works ? get you unto your burdens [tasks]. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them 6 rest from their burdens [tasks]. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the 7 taskmasters of the people, and their officers [overseers], saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore ; let them go and gather straw 8 for themselves. And the tale of the bricks which they did make [have been making] heretofore, ye shall lay upon them ; ye shall not diminish aiigkt thereof: for they be [are] idle ; therefore they cry, saying. Let us go and sacrifice to our 9 God. Let there more work be laid upon the men [let the work be heavy for' the men], that they may labor therein [be busied with it] ;° and let them not regard 10 vain [lying] words. And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers [overseers], and they spake unto the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will 11 not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it ; yet [for] not aught 12 of your work shall be diminished. So [And] the people were scattered abroad 13 throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of [for] straw. And the taskmasters hasted [urged] them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, 14 as when there was straw. And the officers [overseers] of the children of Israel, which [whom] Pharaoh had set over them, were beaten, and demanded [were asked]. Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday 15 and to-day as heretofore? Then [And] the officers [overseers] of the children of 16 Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying. Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants ? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say unto us. Make brick ;* and, behold, thy servants are beaten ; but the fault is in thine own people TEXTUAL AND QEAMMATICAI,. 1 [Ver. 3. This expression is the same as the one in ill. 18 (on which see the note), except that here we have NIpJ, Instead of H^^pJ* But the interchange of these forms is so fV-equent that it is most natural to understand the two words tI: ■ as equivalent in sense. — Tr.] s [Ver. 9. Literally "upon," the worlt being represented as a burden imposed upon the Israelites. Tr.J 2 [Ver. 9, Literally, " do in it," i. e. have enough to do in the work given, — Tr.J * [Ver. 10. If we retain the order of the words as thf^y stand in the original, we got a much more forcible translation of the first part of this verse: "Straw, none is given to thy servants; and * Brick,' they say to us, 'matLe ye.' " This bringa out lorcibly the antithesis between " straw " and " brick.' —TB.] CHAP. V. 1— Vn. 7. 15 17 [thy people are in fault]. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle [Idle are ye, idle] ; 18 therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice [and sacrifice] to Jehovah. Go there- fore now [And now go], and work ; for [and] there shall no straw be given you ; 19 yet shall ye [and ye shall] deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers [overseers] of the children of Israel did see that they were in [saw themselves in] evil case [trouble], after it was said, Ye shall not minish [diminish] aught from your bricks 20 of [bricks,] your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the 21 way [who were standing to meet them], as they came forth from Pharaoh : And they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge ; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, 22 to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated [thou done evil to] this people ? why is it that thou hast [why hast thou] sent me ? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. Chap. VI. 1 Then [And] Jehovah said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh ; for with [through]' a strong hand shall he let them go, and with 2 [through] a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake 3 unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of [as]' God Almighty, but by' my name 4 Jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also [I also] established my cove- nant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage 5 [sojourn], wherein they were strangers [sojourners]. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage ; and I 6 have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid [deliver] you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched- 7 out arm and with great judgments. And I will lake you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God ; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, which 8 [who] bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land concerning the which [the land which] I did swear to give it [to give] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give it you for 9 an heritage [a possession] : I am Jehovah. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel : but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish [vexation] of spirit and 10, 11 for cruel bondage. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying. Go in, speak unto 12 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hear- kened unto me; how then [and how] shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircum- 13 cised lips [uncircumcised of lips] ? And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel and unto Pharaoh kine; 14 of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. These be [are} the heads of their fathers' houses (their ancestral houses) : The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel ; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these be [are'] the 15 families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon ; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Thad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a [the] Canaanitish woman ; these are 16 the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations [genealogies] ; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari : and the years 17 of the life of Levi were an [a] hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Ger- 18 shon : Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath : Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel ; and the years of the life of Kohath 19 were an [a] hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari : Mahali, and Mushi : These are the families of Levi according to their generations [genealo- 20 gies]. And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife ; and she bare ' [Chap. VI. Ver. 1. I. e. by virtue, or in consequenoe, of Jehovah's strong hanci, not Pharaoh's, aa one might imagine. — Tr.] • (V.T. 3. Literally, "lappeared ... in Gori Almighty "—a case of 2 estmtial, meaning "in the capacity of. Vio Ewald. Am/. Gr. J 299, b ; Ges. Heb. Or. i 154, 3 a (7).— Te.] f [Ver. 3. Tlie original has no preposition. Literally: "My name Jehovah, I was not known.'' — Ta.] 5 15 EXODUS. him Aaron and Moses : and the years of the life of Arnram were an [a] hundred 21 and thirty and seven years. And the sons of Izhar : Korah, and Nephez, and 22 Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri [Sithri]. 23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to 24 wife ; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah : Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph : these are the families of the Kor- 25 hites. And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife ; and she bare him Phinehas : these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites 26 according to their families. These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their 27 armies [hosts]. These are they which [who] spake unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt : these are that Moses and Aaron. 28 And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spake unto Moses in the land of 29 Egypt, That Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, I am Jehovah : speak thou unto 30 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say unto thee. And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold I am of uncircumcised lips [uncircumcised of lips], and how shall [will] Pharaoh hearken unto me ? Chap. VII. 1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god [God] to 2 Pharaoh ; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee ; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh that he send 3 the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and 4 multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall [will] not hearken unto you, that I may [and I will] lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people [my hosts, my people], the children 5 of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth mine [my] hand upon Egypt, and 6 bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as 7 [did so ; as] Jehovah commanded them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pha- raoh. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 1. Afterward Moses and Aaron went. — Their message is quite in accordance with the philosophical notions of the ancients, and especially with the Israelitish faith. Having accepted the message from Horeb, Israel became .Tehovah's people, Jehovah Israel's God; and as Israel's God, He through His ambassadors meets Pharaoh, and demands that the people be re- leased, in order to render Him service in a reli- gious festival. The message accords with the situation. Jehovah, the God of Israel, may seem to Pharaoh chiefly the national deity of Israel; but there is an intimation in the words that He is also the Lord of Pharaoh, of Egypt, and of its worship. Under the petition for a furlough lurks the command to set free ; under the recognition of the power of Pharaoh over the people, the declaration that Israel is Jeho- vah's free people ; under the duty of celebrating a feast of Jehovah in the wilderness, the thought of separating from Egypt and of celebrating the Exodus. The words seemed like a petition which had an echo like a thunder tone. Per- haps the instinct of the tyrant detected some- thing of this thunder-tone. But even if not, the modest petition was enough to enrage him. Ver. 2. Who is Jehovah ? — As the heathen had the notion that the gods governed territo- rially, the Jews seemed to fall under the domi- nion of the Egyptian gods. They had no land, had moreover in Pharaoh's eyes no right to be called a nation ; therefore, even if they had a deity, it must have been, in his opinion, an anonymous one. This seemed to him to be proved by the new name, Jehovah (which there- fore could not have been of Egyptian origin). But even disregard of a known foreign deity was impiety ; still more, disregard of the un- known God who, as such, was the very object towards which all his higher aspirations and conscientious compunctions pointed.* Thus his obduracy began with an act of impiety, which was at the same time inhumanity, inasmuch as he denied to the people freedom of worship. He was the prototype of all religious tyrants. Vei>. 3. He is glorified by us. — [This ia Lange's translation of ^y/J^ K'\py].f The cor- * [Thl8 is putting a rather fine point on Pbarnoh'a wick- edness. A bad man cann<^t, as bucm, bo required to hava aspirations towards anv hitli^rto unknown god of whom he may chance to hear, and to have such aspirations just 6e- cattse he has never before heard of him. It is enough to say that, (IS a polytheist, he ought to have respected the religion of the Hebrews.— Tr.] t [See under " Textual and Grammatical." It is tnie that iT^ p J would he the usual form for the meaning " has met;" but on the other hand it is certain that Nip sometimes is — mpi and the analogy ofiii. 18 points almost unmistakably to such a use. Moreover, even if this were not the case, it is hard to see how the Hebixw can be rendered : " He is glori- fied by us." For NTpJ does not mean "is glorified," and ^ybj? does not mean " by ns." If the verb is to be taken in its ordinary sense, the whole expression would read: •He is called upon ns," i. e. we bnar his name, though evei this would b - only imperfectly expressed. — Ts ] CHAP. V. 1— vn. 7. 17 rectiou: "He hath met us" (mp), weakens the force of a siguitioaiit word. They appeal to the fact that Jehovah from of old has been their fathers' God ; and also in their calling them- selves Hebrews is disclosed the recollection of ancient dignities and the love of freedom grow- ing out of it. — Three days' journey. — Keil says: "In Egypt offerings may be made to the gods of Egypt, but not to the God of the He- brews." but see viii. 26. In the "three days' journey " also is expressed the hope of freedom. — With the pestilence. — A reference to the power of Jehovah, as able to inflict pestilence and war, and to His jealousy, as able so severely to punish the neglect of the worship due Him. 2Iat without truth, but also not without subtile- neas, did they say, "lest He fall upon us;" in the background was the thought: "lest He fall upon thee." Clericus remarks that, according to the belief of the heathen, the gods punish the neglect of their worship. Yer. 4. Wherefore, Moses and Aaron. — He thus declares their allegation about a mes- sage from Jehovah to be fictitious. He conceives himself to have to do only with two serfs. — Release the people. — And so introduce an- archy and barbarism. The same objection has been made against propositioos to introduce freedom of evangelical religion. — Get you to your burdens. — To all the other traits of the tyrant this trait of ignorance must also be added. As he thinks that Moses and Aaron belong among the serfs, so he also thinks that servile labor is the proper employment of the people. Yer. 6. The people of the land (peasants). The simple notion of countrymen can, according to the parallel passages, Jer. lii. 25 and Ezek. vii. 27, denote neither bondmen nor Egyptian countrymen as a caste. Although both ideas are alluded to in the expression, a people of pea- sants, who as such must be kept at work, espe- cially as there are becoming too many of tbem. The perfect sense, " Te have made them rest," is to be ascribed to the fancy of the tyrant. Yer. 6. The same day. — Restlessness of the persecuting spirit. The D;?a D'fe'jj, or the " drivers over them," are the Egyptian over- seers who were appointed over them ; the D'IBt!', or the scribes belonging to them, were taken from the Jewish people, officers subordinate to the others, in themselves leaders of the people. Yer. 7. " The bricks in the old monuments of Egypt, also in many pyramids, are not burnt, but only dried in the sun, as Herodotus (II 136) mentions of a pyramid " (Keil). The bricks were made firm by means of the chopped straw, generally gathered from the stubble of the har- vested fields, which was mixed with the clay. This too is confirmed by ancient monuments. Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., p. 80 sq. — Hereto- fore. — Heb. : "yesterday and the day before yesterday." The usual Hebrew method of de- signating past time. Yer. 9. Regard lying words.— IpEJ n3^ — Thus he calls the words of Moses concerning Jehovah's revelation. Yer. 10. Even the Jewish scribes yield with- out opposition. They have become slavish tools of the foreign heathen despotism. Yer. 16. Thy people is in fault {or sin- neth). — According to Knobel, the phrase "thy people " refers to Israel ; according to Keil, to the Egyptians. The latter view is preferable; it is an indirect complaint concerning the con- duct of the king himself, against whom they do not dare to make direct reproaches. " nXDFI is a rare feminine form for nSDn fsee on Gen. T : T ^ xxxiii. 11) and D£ is construed as feminine, as in Judg. xviii. 7; Jer. viii. 5" (Keil).* Yer. tl. Ye have made our savor to be abhorred (Heb. to stink) in the eyes. — The strong figurativeness of the expression is seen in the incongruity between odor and eyes. The meaning is : ye have brought us into ill-repute. Yer. 22. Augustine's interpretation : Hsdc non contumacix verba sunt, vtl indignationis sed inquui- tionis et orationis, is not a sufficient explanation of the mood in which Moses speaks. It is the mark of the genuineness of the personal relation between the believers and Jehovah, that they may give expression even to their vexation in view of Jehovah's unsearchable dealings. Ex- pressions of this sort run through the book of Job, the Psalms, and the Prophets, and over into the New Testament, and prove that the ideal religion is not that in which souls stand related to God as selfless creatures to an absolute des- tiny. Chap. YI. 1-3. Knobel finds here a new ac- count of the call of Moses, and that, by the Elo- hist. A correct understanding of the connec- tion destroys this hypothesis. Moses is in need of new encouragement. Therefore Jehovah, first, repeats His promise, by vigorous measures to compel Pharaoh to release Israel, in a stronger form (comp. iii. 19; iv. 21); and then follows the declaration that this result is pledged in the name Jehovah, that the name Jehovah, in its significance as the source of promise, surpasses even the name God Almighty. If the fathers, in the experience of His miraculous help, have be- come acquainted with Him as God Almighty, they are now to get a true knowledge of Him as the God of helpful covenant faithfulness. This is the reason why he recurs to the name Jeho- hovah. Comp. Keil, p. 467. f * [The opinion of Knobel, here rejected, is held also by Glair-i, Arnheim, FUrst and othera. The meaning, according to this, id: "Thy people (i. e, the Israelites) are treated as if guilty." The LXX. understood nNIDH ^s «< ^erb in the second person, and r-'n ered afiiK^trei? rov ^adr aov, " thou doest wrong to thy people.*' Still other explanations have been r sorted to ; but the one given by Lange is the most natural, and is quite satisfactory. — Ta.J f [Notice shouH be taken of the fact that from ver. 3 it has been inferred by many that the name Jehovah had actually (or, at least, in the opinion of the writer of this paB- sage) never been known or used before this time; conse- quently that wherever the name occurs in Genesis or Ex. i.- T,, it is a proof fhat the passage containing it was written after the time here iodlcated. This is hn important element in the theories concerning the authorship of the Pentateuch. Certainly if we press the literal meaning of the last clause of ver. 3, it wuuld seem to follow th-it the name Jehovah (Tahveh) was now for the first- time made known. But, to say nothing of the fact that the name Jehovah is not only familiarly used by the author of the book of Genesis, but is also put into the mouths of the earliest T'atrinrchs (all which might be regarded as a proleptic use of the word, or a careless anachronism), it is perhtipa sufflcient to reply, that such an inference from the papsage liefore us betrays a very superfi- cial view of the siynifirance of the word " natue," as used in the Bible, and especially in the Hebrew Scriptures. The natne of a person was co ceived as repreaen io^ his character^ 18 EXODUS. Ver. 4. Tid. tbe promises, Gen. xvii. 7, 8 ; xxvi. 3 ; XXXV. 11. 1'2. Ver. 6. I am Jehovah. With this name He begins and ends (ver. 8) His promise. With the name Jehovah, then. He pledges Himself to the threefold promise: (1) To deliver the people from bondage ; (2) to adopt them as His people ; (3) to lead them to Canaan, their future posses- sion. With a stretched-out arm. A stronger expression than nj:3m T. Comp. Deut. iv. 34 ; T. 15 ; vii. 19. Ver, 9. For vexation of spirit. Gesenma : Impatience. Keil: Shortness of breath, i. e., anguish, distress. Vers. 10, 11. While Moaes' courage quite gives vpay, Jehovah intensifies the language descrip- tive of his mission. Ver. 12. On the other hand, Moses intensifies the expression with which he made (iv. 10) his want of eloquence an excuse for declining the commission. — Of uncircumcised lips. Since circumcision was symbolic of renewal or regene- ration, this expression involved a new phase of thought. If he was of uncircumcised or unclean lips (lua. vi. 5), then even Aaron's eloquence could not help him. because in that case Moses could not transmit in its purity the pure word of God. In his strict conscientiousness he sin- cerely assumes that there must be a moral hin- derance in his manner of speaking itself. Ver. 13. This time Jehovah answers with an express command to Moses and Aaron together, and to the children of Israel and Pharaoh toge- ther. This comprehensive command alone can beat down Moses' last feeling of hesitation. Vers. 14-27. But as a sign that the mission of Moses is now determined, that Moses and Aaron, therefore, are constituted these prominent men of God, their genealogy is now inserted, the form of which shows that it is to be regarded as an extract from a genealogy of the twelve tribes, since the genealogy begins with Eeuben, but does not go beyond Levi. Ver. 14. ni^N-iTa. "Father-houses, not fa- ther-house" [Keil]. The compound form has becnme a simple word. See Keil, p. 469. The father-houses are the ramifications of the tribes. The tribes bramch offfirat into families, or clans, or heads of the father-houses ; these again branch ofiF into the father-houses themselves. The Am- ram of ver. 20 is to be distinguished from the Amram of ver. 18. Seethe proof of this in Tiele, Ohronologie des A. T; Keil, p. 469.* The text, his personality. When .Tacoh's name was changed, it was sai'i : " Thy name shall be c;Llled no more Jacob, but Israel ;" anflth^' re;i3on given tor the chanjre is that lie has now entered into a new relatiou with God. Yet, notwithstanding ttie new appellation, the na-ne Jaco'i continued to be n=:e'l, and even more frequently than Israel. In the case before us, then, the statement respe'.ting the names amounts sim- ply to this, that God had not been luidersttnd in the character lepresented by the name Jehovah. Tlie use of the phrase "my name" instead of "(ftc name,"' itself points to tiie pre- vious use of the name. — Tr.] * [The proof, as given by Tiele, is this: "According to Num. iii. 27 sq., the Kohatbitea were divided (at the time of to be sure, does not clearly indicate the distinc- tion. " The enumeration of only four genera- tions— Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses— points un- mistakably to Gen. XT. 16 " (Keil). Ver. 20. His father's sister — Tliat was be- fore the giving of the law in Lev. xviii. 12. The LXX. and Vulg. understand the word Xrm of the daughter of Ihe father's brother. According (o ch. vii. 7, Aaron was three years older than Moses; that Miriam was older than either is seen from the history. Ver. 23. Aaron's wife was from the tribe of Judah. Vid. Num. ii. 3. Ver. 25. HtaS ''t^NI. Abbreviation of 'tyST T " T " T nUX jTO ["heads of the father-houses"]. Ver. 26. These axe that Aaron and Moses. — Thus the reason is given for inserting this piece of genealogy in this place. Ver. 28. Resumption of the narrative inter- rupted at ver. 12. What is there said is here and afterward repeated more fully. In the land of Egypt. — This addition is not a sign of another account, but only gives emphasis to the fact that Jehovah represented Himself in the ver / midst of Egypt as the Lord of the country, and gave Mces, for the furtherance of his aim, a sort of divine dominion, namely, a theocratic dominion over Pharaoh. Chap. VII. 1. What Moses at first was to be for Aaron as the inspiring Spirit of God, that he is now to be for Aarou as representative of God in His almighty miraculous sway. So far Aaron's position also is raised. It must not be overlooked that, with this word of divine revelation, Moses' growing feeling of lofty confidence and assunince of victory corresponds ; it was developed in Egypt itself, and from out of his feeling of in- ability. " For Aaron Moses is God as the re- vealer, for Pharaoh as the executor, of the divine will" (Keil). Ver. 2. That he send. — Keil's translation, "and so he will let go," does not accord with the following verse. Ver. 4. My hosts. — Israel becomes a host of Jehovah. Vid. xiii. 18, and the book of Num- bers. This is the first definite germ of the later name, God, or Jehovah, of hosts; although the name in that form chiefly refers to heavenly hosts; these under another name have been mentioned in Gen. xxxii. 2. Moses) into the fonr branches : Amramites, Izharites, He- hronitps, and Uzzielites ; tuese together constituted 8,6un men and boys (women and girls not being reckoned). Of these the Amramites would include about one fourth, or 2,150. Moses himself, according to Ex, xviii. 3, 4, had only tw. I sons. If, therefore, Amram, the son of Kohath, the an- cestor of the Amramites, were identical with Amram. the father of Moses, then Moses must have had 2,147 brothers and brothers' sons (the brothers' daughters, the sisters aud sisters' children not being reckoned). But this being quite an impossible supposition, it must he conceded that it is de- monstrated that Amram the son of Kohath is not Moses' f*. th-r, but that I'Ptweon the former and his descendant of the same name an indefinitely long list of eenerations haa fallen out."— Tk.]. CHAP. VII. 8-25. 19 SECOND SECTION. The miracles of Mosea, or the result of the nine Egyptian Plagues, preliminary to the last. Pharaoh's alternate repentance and obduracy. Chaps. VII. 8— X. 29. A.— MOSES' MIKACULOUS EOD AND THE EGYPTIAN MAGICIANS. THE FIRST PLAGUE INFLICTED WITH THE ROD: CHANGE OF THE WATER INTO BLOOD. Chaptee VII. 8-25. 8, 9 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying. When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you [yourselves] : then thou shalt say uuto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become [let it 10 become] a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as Jehoff'ah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and 11 before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then [And] Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers : now [and] the magicians of Egypt, they also did in 12 like manner with their enchantments [secret arts]. For [And] they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents ; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their 13 rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart [Pharaoh's heart was hardened]', that 14 [and] he hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had said. And Jehovah said unto 15 Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened [hard]^ he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come [to meet him]; and the rod which was 16 turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine [thy] hand. And thou shalt say unto him, Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto 17 thou wouldest not hear [hast not heard, i. e., obeyed]. Thus saith Jehovah, In this thou shalt know that I am Jehovah : behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine [my] hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned 18 to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink ; and 19 the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of [drink] the water of [from] the river. Aud Jehovah spake [said] unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine [thy] hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers [canals],' upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood ; and that there may [and there shall] be blood throughout all the 20 land of Egypt, both in vessek of -wood, and in vessels of stane. And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah commanded ; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his ser- 21 vants ; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died ; and the river stank ; and the Egyptians could not drink of [drink] the water of [from] the river ; and there was blood throughout 22 all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchant- ments [secret arts] : and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he [and he did 23 not] hearken unto them; as Jehovah had said. And Pharaoh turned and went TEXTUAL AND GEAMMATICAL. > [Ver. 13. The same form here, pTp', as in ^er. 22, where the A. V. correctly renders it intransitively. Literally, " was firm, or strong," i. «., unyielding, nnimpresBible.— Th.J. j ,.■ t m „„ „..h ™.„»„f » [Verl 14. The Hebrew has here I different word, 133. Literally, ' heavy "-the same word which Moses used reapeotr '°^ s'[Ve° W°'Dnni«^!piiral of the word which is used almost exclusively of the Nile. Here probably it signifies th« artiflclal canals leading from the Nile —Tn.]. ^, ^ ^ _ii, nv.i * [Ver. 23. Or, according to the English idiom : " nor did he lay even this to heart. — TB.J. 20 EXODUS. into his house, neither did he [and he did not] set his heart to this also [even t( 24 this].* And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink 25 for they could not drink of the water of the rive^. And seven days were fulfilled, after that Jehovah had smitten the river. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. On the whole series of Egyptian plagues, see the Introduction. But we reckon not nine plagues (with Keil), but ten, as a complete num- ber symbolizing the history of the visitation. Moses' miraculous rod forms the prologue to it ; the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, the epilogue. 1. Moses' miraculous rod in contest with the divining rods of the Egyptian wise men, vers. 8-] 3. Vers. 8, 9. Shew a miracle for yourselves. — It is a general assumption, shared also by the Egyptians, that an ambassador of God must at- test his mission by styns, miraculous signs. Ta e thy rod. — Aaron's rod is Mosea' rod, whii h, however, passes over into his hand, as Mosjs' word into his mouth. — A serpent. The He- brew is ['SO. LXX. Sp&Kuv. According to Keil the expression is selected with reference to the Egyptian snake-charmers. He says, " Comp. Bochart, Hieroz. III., p. 162 sqq., ed. Rosenmiil- ler; and Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books, etc., p. 100 sqq. Probably the Israelites in Egypt designated by t'^J^i which occurs in Deut. xxxii. 33; Ps. xci. 13, in parallelism with |n3, the snake with which the Egyptian serpent-charmers chiefly carry on their business, the Hayeh of the Arabs." Of the so-called Psylli it is only known that they are able to put serpents into a rigid state, and in this sense to transform them into sticks. This then is the natural fact in relation and opposi- tion to which the sign, by which Moses attested his mission, stands. The relation between the mysterious miracle of Moses and the symbolical development of it is rather difficult to define. Ver. 11. " These sorcerers (D'SMD), whom the Apostle Paul, according to the Jewish legend, names Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. iii. 8), were not common jugglers, but D'pjn, wise men, . . . and D'SP'in Ispoypa/i/iaTel;, belonging to the caste of priests. Gen. xli. 8" (Keil). Vers. 12, 18. Verse 13 does not stand in di- rect relation to the close of ver. 12. The hard- ening of Pharaoh cannot well relate to the fact that Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of the sorcerers, although this is probably to be under- stood metaphorically, but to the fact that the Egyptian sorcerers do the same thing as Aaron does. The essential difference between the acts of God and the demoniacal false miracles is not obvious to the world and the worldly tyrants. 2. The transformation of the water of the Nile into blood, vers. 14-25. Ver. 16. Lo, he goeth out unto the wa- ter. To worship the Nile. Ver. 17. " The transformation of the water into blood is, according to Joel iii. 4 [ii. 31], according to which the moon is changed into blood, to be conceived as a blood-red coloring by which it acquired the appearance of blood (2 Kings iii. 21), not as a chemical transformation into real blood. According to the reports of many travellers, the Nile water, when lowest, changes its color, becomes greenish and almost unJrinkable, whereas, when rising, it becomes red, of an ochre hue, and then begins to be more wholesome. The causes of this change have not yet been properly investigated" (Keil). Two causes are alleged: the red earth in Sennaar, or, according to Ehrenberg, microscopic infusoria. Even the Rhine furnishes a feeble analogue. The heightening of the natural event into a miracu- lous one lies in the prediction of its sudden oc- currence and in its magnitude, so that the red Nile water instead of becoming more wholesome assumes deadly or injurious properties. Ver. 19. That blood should come into all the ramifications of the water, even to the stone and wooden vessels, is evidently the result of the pre- vious reddening of the Nile. Kurtz exaggerates the miracle by inverting the order of the red- dening of the water. His notion is refuted by Keil, p. 479.* Ver. 22. How could the Egyptian sorcerers do the like, when the water had already been all changed to blood ? Kurtz says, they took well- water. But see Keil in reply.-j- According to the scriptural representation of such miracles of darkness, they knew how, by means of lying tricks, to produce the appearance of having made the water. In this case it was not difficult, if they also used incantations, and Ibe reddening of the water subsequently increased. Ver. 26. Seven days were fulfilled. The duration of the plague. The beginning of the plague is by many placed in J une or July, ' ' accord- ing to which view all the plagues up to the killing of the first-born, which occurred in the night of the 14th of Abib, ». e., about the middle of April, must have occurred in the course of about nine months. Yet this assumption is very insecure, and only so much is tolerably certain, that the seventh plague (of the hail) took place in Feb- ruary (see on ix. 31 sq.) " (Keil). Clearly, how- ever, the natural basis of the miraculous plagues is a chain of causes and effects. * [The point made by Keil is fhnt, according to Kurtz's theory, the vessola of wood and of stone ou?ht to hare been mentioned immediately after the " pools of water."— Te.]. .<• ' i;^*" "'^P'^ ™"'° ''y *■*■' (""^ avery pertinentone) is thut if the Egyptians already had well wnter there would bave been no need of their digging wells (ver. 24) in order to o'- tain dnnkable water. Keil understands that the phnises in ver. 19 are not to be interpreted so strictly as to imply that absolutely all water, even what had already i een taken from the JSile before the miracie, was turned intb l,lood. Mnrpliy and Kalisch prefer to assume that the magicians dug wells, and practiced their arts on the water drawn from them.— Tb.], CHAP. VIII. 1-15. 21 B.— THE FROGS. Chaps. VII. 26— VIII. 11 [in the English Bible, Chap. VIII. 1-15]. 26 [1] And Jehovah spake [said] unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, 27 [2] Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou 28 L3] refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders' with frogs. And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly [swarm with frogs], which [and they] shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into ^he houses of thy servants, aud upon thy people and into thine 29 [4] ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs : And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.^ Chap. VIII. 1 [5]. And Jehovah spake [said] unto Mi ses. Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine [thy] hand with thy rod ovtr the streams, and over the livers [ca- nals], and over the ponds, and cause frogs [the frogs] to come up upon the land 2 [6] of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and 3 [7] the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did .so with their enchantments [secret arts], and brought up frogs [the frogs] upon 4 [8] the land of Egypt. Then [And] Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat Jehovah, that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice [may sacrifice] 5 [9] unto Jehovah. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory [Have thou honor] over me :' when [against what time] shall I intreat for thee, and for thy ser- vants, and for thy people to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that 6 [10] they may remain in the river only? And he said, To-morrow [Against to- morrow]. And he said, Be it according to thy word ; that thou raayest know 7 [11] that there is none like unto Jehovah our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, aud from thy servants, and from thy people ; 8 [12] they shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out trom Pharaoh, and Moses cried unto Jehovah because of the frogs which he had 9 [13] brought against Pharaoh. And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses : and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages [courts], and out of 10 [14] the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps [piled them up m 11 [16] heaps] : and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite,* he hardened* his heart, and hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had said. TEXTUAL AND GEAMMATICAL. 1 rVII. 27 (VIII. 2). 'jUi here, aa often, has a wider meaning tliau border ; it is equivalent to onr " territory."— la.]. 2 [VII. 29 (VIII. 4). This' sounds more plennastio than the original, where the order of the words ia reversed : " Upon thee, and upon thy people . . . shall the frogs com« up."— Te.]. , ^. . , ,. ,,, tth, <■ i rVIII. 6 (9). ^^(^i■^^ is variously rendered. Uesenius and JUrst assume a root aistmot from the one the Hithp. ol which means to 6oa«(, and render it " prescribe," " declare." " Prescribe for me when I shall intreat," ete. The LXX. and Vule Kive it the same meaning. Othi-rs understand the meaning t" be : " Take to thyselt honor ; forwh. n shall Imtre»r efc it I will give thee the honor offlxing the time when the plague shall cease. These two explanations yield neatly the same sense. Others have been resorted to (e. g., " Give glory over me," v. e., I will run the risk of a failure, by allowing thee to fix the tiffl"), but are less plausible.— Tb.]. ..^„...-i « rVIII. 11 (16). nniin has the article, and the sentence reads, "saw that the respite (literally, breathing-space) tt: T_ """''[VIII.*!! (15)!° 133rn""And he made heavy." Comp. note on vii. 14. The Inf. Abs. is used for the finite verb. EXEGETICAL AND CEITICAL. VTI. 26 [VIII. 1] sqq. The second plague; the frogs. They come up out of the mire of the Nile when the water falls, especially from the marshes of the Nile. On the small Nile-frog called rana Mosaka or NUotica by Seetzen, see Keil.* How did the natural event become a mi- racle? (1) By the announcement of the extra- * [Keil gives no innn is poorly reproduced in the A. V. This verb in the Hithpael la oJwajB followed by 3 with the name of a jperson. The meaning of it is, " to do one's pleasure with." Except here, and 1 Sam. vi. 6, the phrase is used in a bad sense, e. g^ 1 Sam. xxxi. 4, " lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abate me." Oomp. Judg. xix. 25. Here, therefore, the meaning is, " how I did my pleasure with the Egyptians."— Te.]. 30 EXODUS. 17 sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you. Now therefore [And now] forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat Jehovah your God that he 18 may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and 19 entreated Jehovah. And Jehovah turned a mighty [very] strong west wind, which [and] took away the locusts, and cast [thrust] them into the Red Sea: there re- mained not one locust in all the coasts [borders] of Egypt. But Jehovah hard- ened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not [and he did not] let the children of Israel go. 20 EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Yer. 1. I have hardened bis heart. — Ac- cording to shallow rationalistic views, this be- trays a low state of intelligence; viewed from the ethical relations of life, it indicates a very high one. Pharaoh's acts of self-hardening pre- ceded this ; but after the seventh one, his sen- tence was determined; the following plagues, therefore, must complete hia obduracy. Moses must know this beforehand, in order that he may not be discouraged respecting his mission. But that, under divine revelation, he can foreknow it, is characteristic of the man who, being emi- nent in religious conscientiousness, has a won- derfully profound insight into the justice and judgments of God. The general prediction of ch. vii. 3-5 is now for the first time completely fulfilled ; hence it is here repeated. Ver. 2. That thou mayest tell. — " How Is- rael related these miraculous signs to children and children's children, is shown in Ps. IxxWii. and cv." (Keil). Ver. 3. To humble thyself. — Jehovah speaks now in a severer tone. After so many apparent failures, this is a proof that Moses has his con- fidence and his word from God. Analogous is the heathen legend of the Sibyl who, for the prophetical books twice reduced in number, kept asking the same price. Ver. 4. The antithesis is sharp. Similar forms in ix. 17 and viii. 17 [21]. It is not merely the antithesis between a divine and a human ac- tion; the almighty personality of Jehovah con- fronts the defiant personality of Pharaoh. The assurance with which the locusts are predicted for the morrow marks the miracle, as also after- wards the sudden removal of them at Moses' in- tercession. Ver. 5. The face [lit. eye] of the land. — " This phraseology, peculiar to the Pentateuch, and occurring elsewhere only ver. 15 and Num. xxii. 5, 11, rests on the ancient and genuinely poetic conception, that the earth with its floral ornamentation looks upon man " (Keil). Ver. 6. Fill thy houses.— F«. Joel ii. 9. On locusts finding their way into houses, vid. the quotations in Keil. Ver. 7. Pharaoh's servants. — The courtiers begin to tremble. But they are governed by no noble motive to intercede for Israel, but by the fear that by resistance Egypt may go to ruin. — A snare. — In whose fatal toils they are be- coming entangled to their destruction. Ver. 8. For the first time Pharaoh enters upon negotiations before the plague; yet without con- sistency. — Who are they? (lit. who and ■who) 'pi 'n. Immediately the timorous policy of the tyrant withdraws more than half of the concession. Ver. 9. To make a festival are needed not only the whole assembly, old and young, but also the cattle and possessions in general, on account of the ofi'erings. Pharaoh suspects that freedom also is involved in the plan. According to Keil, the women, who are seemingly omitted, are designed to be included in the " we." They are also included in the phrase "young and old." Ver. 10. The thought, "Jehovah be with you on your journey, ' is transformed by Pharxoh into mockery : As little as I will let you go with your children, so little shall ye go on your jour- ney, 80 little shall Jehovah be with you. Inas- much as he has been obliged to refer the pre- ceding experiences to Jehovah, his audacity here passes over into blasphemy. Ver. 11. Go now, ye men. — Q'^^JH. The expression forms an antithesis to the D'ttf JKH, ia the use of which the servants proposed the re- lease of the Israelites in general. But that he is not even willing to let only the men go is shown by the fact that the messengers of God were at once driven out. The expression " ye men," " ye heroes," may involve a scornful allu- sion to the power with which they have risen up against him. Also in the form X3 oS the irony (according to Keil) is continued. — They were driven out. — As we should say, they were turned out of doors. " The restriction of the right of departure to the men was pure caprice, inasmuch as according to Herodotus II. 60 the Egyptians also had religious festivals in which the women were accustomed to go out with the men " (Keil). Ver. 12. Stretch out thy hand.— Accord- ing to ver. 13, with the rod in it. Was it in or- der that they might rise up like a hostile military force? More probably the idea is that they are to rise up in the distance like clouds carried by the wind. With the wind, brought by it, locusts are wont to come. Vid. the citations in Keil. Ver 13. And Jehovah drove.— Jehovah Himself is the real performer of miracles. When He seems in His government to follow Moses' suggestion, while, on the other hand, the action of Moses is only a symbolical one resting on pro- phetic foresight, this all signifies that God's do- minion in nature answers to God's dominion in His kingdom, therefore, also, in the mind of Moses. It is a pre-established harmony, in which the outward things of nature are made serviceable to the inward necessities of the spi- ritual life. Vid. Matt, xxviii. 18.— An east wind, D"1p^-nn. "Not vdm (LXX.), south wind, as even Bocharl [merozoicon III,, p. 287) CHAP. X. 21-29. 31 thought. For although the swarms of locusts come to Egypt generally from Ethiopia or Libya, yet they are sometimes brought by the east wind from Arabia, as has been observed, among others, by Denon, quoted by Heugstenberg, Egypt, etc., p. 12.5" (Keil). Vers. 13—15. Further miraculous features: (a) that the locusts come from so far (the wind blew twenty-four hours) ; (6) that they cover the whole land, whereas they generally attack only particular regions. Among the va- rious forms of the preludes of the final judgment, (blood, fire, war, pestilence, darkness), the plagues of lo(!U3t^ are also especially prominent. According to Joel, the fundamental sigaificanco of them is the incesdant destruction of the flesh on all sides.* * [This ia obscnre. It ia true that ttiQ invasioa of the lo- cnsta is daacribed by Joel as the precuraor of " the d'iy of Jehovah " (i. 15 ; ii. 1) ; but where or in what sense he ropr - seats them aa destroying thejlfjih, it is impossible to see. Cer- tainly if the literal language of Joel la referred to, there ia nothing of the sort. Aa 1 no more ia there any indication that Joel means to intimate that locusts symbolize the de- struction of the fieah, Lan^e moreover leavei us in dou'it whether be Ujiea the word "fleab " in the literal or figurative sense. — ^Ta.]. Vers. 16, 17. And Pharaoh called in haste. — This is his second confession of sin, more distinct than the first, ix. 27. For (he third time he implores Moaes' intercession ; viii. 24 (28), ix. 28, and here. His penitence, however, again exhibits the character of an insincere sub- mission, attritio; he begs Moses' forgiveness, but wishes him to intercede with God to avert this death, this deadly ruin, which he sees in the plague of locusts. He condemns himself, how- ever, for what follows, inasmuch as he anks for exemption only this once. Ver. 18. Moses' intercession has a twofold sig- nificance: It is, first, an expression of divine forbearance; secondly, I he attestation of the miracle displayed in the plague of locusts. Ver. 19. The east wind is changed to a west wind, or, more probably, to a northwest wind. " That the locusts perish in the sea is variously attested. Oregatim aublatse vento in maria aut slagna decidiml , says Pliny" (Keil). For Pha- raoh the help may have been ominous, 'as he himself afterwards with his host was to peristi, like the locusts, in the Red Sea, I.— THE DARKNESS. Chap. X. 21-29. 21 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thine [thy] hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over i;he laud of Egypt, even darkness which may be 22 felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; and there was a thick 23 darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had 24 light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said. Go ye, serve Jehovah ; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed [kept back] ; let your 25 little ones also [also your little oaes shall] go with you. And Moses said. Thou must give us also [Thou shalt also put into our hands] sacrifices and burnt-offer- 26 ings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an [a] hoof be left behind; for thereof [from them] must we [shall we] take to serve Jehovah our God ; and we know not with what we muft 27 serve Jehovah until we come thither. But Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's hearr, 28 and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for in that [the] day thou seest my face 29 thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast Siioken well ; I will see thy face again no more. EXEQETICAL AND CRITICAL. Vers. 21-2.3. The natural phenomenon under- lying this mi»!ioulous infliction of Egyptian dark- ness is generally taken to be the Chamsin, the scorching hot south wind (in Italy the Sirocco, in Switzerland the Fohn^, "referred to appa- rently by the LXX., where they render "'^K'n 'T':??? ^y "tfirof Kol yv6(tioc, nal iJiieXXa. This wind, which in Egypt is accustomed to blow be- fore and after the vernal equinox, and generally lasts two or three days, usually rises very sud- denly and fills the air with such a mass of fine dust and coarser sand, that the sun ceases to shine, the sky is covered with a thick veil, and the obscuration becomes so nocturnal that the darkness of the thickest fog of our late autumn 32 EXODUS. or wiater days is not to be compared with it (vid, Schubert's Reise, II., p. 409)." (Keil). See fur- ther citations in Keil. Hengstenberg interprets the darkness in Egypt as the image of the divine anger, the light in Goshen as image of the divine grace. But the preceding plagues also were at least signs of the divine anger. The judgment of darkness doubtless expresses more specifically the fact, that the wisdom of Egypt has become transformed into a spiritual night, in which the night of death soon to follow is pre-announoed, whereas the light in Goshen in contrast with it may signify the dawn of a higher wisdom which finally brings freedom. The miracalousness of it consisted, first, in its following the symbolic action and prediction of Moses ; secondly, in its intensity and the exceptional condition of Goshen. — In their d^vellings. — Keil correctly refers this, in opposition to Kurtz, to the coun- try ; whereas the latter understands that the Egyptians were even unable to illumine their houses. But one might as readily infer that the Israelites obtained light only by artificial means. — Darkness ■which may be felt. — Beautiful hyperbolic expression ; yet the dust brought by the tornado could indeed be felt by the hand. Ver. 24. Pharaoh, frightened, makes a new concession, but again with a shrewd reservation. The concession consists, strictly speaking, of two parts, and the reservation is very lurlively in- serted between the two. — Go ye, he says at fii-st, this time not only the strong men ; and at last, as if with the intention of entrapping Moses by the excitement of his emotions: Also your little ones shall go with you. — Nevertheless all their cattle were to be left in the hands of the Egyptians as a pledge of their return. "JX\ aistatur, be stopped, kept in certain places under the charge of the Egyptians as a pledge of your return" (Keil). Ver. 25. Moses invalidates Pharaoh's demand by reference to the religious duty of his people. They must make an offering, must therefore have their cattle with them. But, together with the claims of religious feeling, those of justice are also insisted on, in the utterance which has even become parabolical: " There shall not a hoof be left behind." This bold utterance, on the other hand, is softened by the declaration that they did not know what offerings (and how many) they would have to bring to Jehovah. Ver. 28. The negotiation becomes more and more unequivocal. The one intention has strug- gled with the other in carefully chosen terms up to the point of decision. The tyrant's' defiance now flames up, and Moses, with a calm conscious- ness of superiority, tinged with irony, assents to the decree that he shall not again, on penalty of death, appear before Pharaoh. It is an indirect announcement of the last plague. But its first consequence win oe that Pharaoh must take back his threat, xii. 31. THIRD SECTION. Announcement of the last or tenth plague, the immediate miraculous interposition of Ood. The commands respecting the indemnification of the Israelites, and the Pacsover, as the festival preliminary to their deliverance. The midnight of terror and of the festival of deliverance. The release and the exodus. The legal consequences of the liberation : the Passover, the consecration of the first-born, the feast of unleavened bread. Chaps. XI. 1 — XIII. 16. A.— ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LAST PLAGUE. Chapter XI. 1-10. 1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one' plague more [One more plague will I bring] upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt ; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall [will] surely thrust you out hence alto- 2 gether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow [ask] of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels [articles] of silver, and 3 jewels [articles] of gold. And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, 4 in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith Jehovah, About [At] midnight will I go out into the midst of 5 Egypt: And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shsQl die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth u"on his throne, even [throne], unto the first-boru of the 6 maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout [in] all the land of Egypt, such as thare was none like it [the like of which hath not been], nor shall be like it [nor shall be] any CHAP. XI. 1-10. 33 7 more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move [sharpen] his tongue, against man or beast ; that ye may know how [know] that Jehovah 8 doth put a difference [doth distinguish] between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves [bow down] unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and after that I will go out. And he -went out from Pharaoh iu a great [burning] anger. 9 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall [will] not hearken unto you ; that 10 my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh ; and Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not [and he did not] let the children of Israel go out of his land. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 1. And Jehovah said. — According to Keil, Jehovali's address to Moses here reported was made before the interview with Pharaoh re- corded in X. 24-29, but is given here by the nar- rator because it explains Moses' confident answer in X. 29. But we cannot suppose that Moses would have preannounoed the tenth plague be- fore Pharaoh's obduracy in reference to the ninth had showed itself. Also, it is clear from ver. 8 that the announcement made in vers. 4-8 imme- diately follows Moses' declaration in x. 29. The difference between this announcement and the former ones consists in the fact that this last one is made immediately after Pharaoh's obdurate answer. By a sort of attraction other particu- lars are added to this central part of the section : Vers. 9 and 10 as a recollection which the theo- cratic spirit loves to repeat. Vers. 1-3, how- ever, are put before vers. 4-8, evidently from pragmatic considerations ; in historical order they form ihe immediate consequence of what is there related. Only the matter of the silver and gold articles seems to have been often talked of: the idea is advanced as early as iii. 21. Ver. 8. That follow thee. — Here for the first time the thought appears, that the people are to form a military host. — In a burning anger. — Patience is exhausted, andtheprophet's anger breakingforth is a foretoken of judgment. Vers. 9, 10. What Jehovah has predicted (iv. 21; vii. 3) has thus far all been fulfilled. The pause before the last thunder-bolt has inter- vened, and occasions a review. Vers. 4, 6. At midnight. — The day is not fixed, only the dreadful hour of tlie niglit. Keil correctly observes, in opposition to Bauaigarten, that the institution of the feast of the Passover does not come till after the announcement of the last plague, and in accordance with this direc- tion at least nine* days, according to xii. 3, must *JProbably a misprint for "four," i. e., tho four days inter- vening between the lOtli and tlie 14th of the month. Mur- phy agrees with Baumgarten that the midnight liere spolten of is the one foliowing the announcement of the plague, which, therefore, according to xii. 6, 29, must have taken place on the 14th. This of course requires us to assume that the injunction of xii. 1-3 preceded this announcement. In itself considered, however, there is certainly no more diffi- culty in this than in the view held by Keil respecting xi. 1-3, vie., that chronologically it belongs before x. 24-29. — 1ft, j. have preceded the Passover. Also the indefi- nitely protracted expectation of the stroke must have heightened the fear in Egypt, and made the stroke the more effectual. At midnight will I go out. — The servant with his symbolic action retires; Jehovah will Himself step forth from His hidden throne, and march through the whole of hostile Egypt injudicial majesty. The judg- ment will be BO severe that even Moses with his rod must reverently retire, all the more, as in this last scene there is to bo made manifest on Israel's part also a relative complicity in guilt, which can be expiated only by the blood of the paschal lamb. Moses must here retire on ac- count also of the infliction of death on the first- born children of Egypt. — The maid-servant that la behind the mill. — Prom the king's son down to the lowest female slave. A still stronger expression ii used for the latter extreme in xii. 29.*— All the first-born.— The first- born are the natural heads, representatives, priests, and chief sufi'erers, of families ; and to the first-born as priests correspond the first-born of beasts as offerings [vid. xiii. 2). Here, it is true, the oflfering spoken of is the curse-offering, DT'.n. According to Keil, the beasts also are mentioned because Pharaoh was going to keep back the men and the cattle of the Israelites. But this judgment goes so deep that the first- born Israelitish children must likewise be atoned for ; therefore also faultless lambs must be of- fered. The first-born among lambs cannot have been meant. Ver. 7. Not a dx)g sharpen his tongue. — A proverbial expression, signifying that not the slightest trouble could be experienced. Hence, loo, not even the cattle of the Jews were to suf- fer the least disturbance (vid. Judith xi. 19). The proverbial expression may seem strange in this connection ; but the thought readily occurs, that the Egyptians, in this great calamity which they had to experience on account of the Israel- ites, might come against them with revengeful purpose. But even this will so little be the case that rather all of Pharaoh's servants will fall at Moses' feet and beg him to go out together with his people. * [Where prisoners are substituted for grinders. But, as Keil remarks, according to Judg. xvi. 21 ; Isa. xlvii. 2, it was not uncommon to employ prisoners aa grinders. — Ta.j. 31 EXODUS. B.— THE DIVINE ORDINANCE OF THE PASSOVER. Chaptek XII. 1-20. 1, 2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months ; it shall be the first month of the 3 year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying. In [On] the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to 4 the house of their fathers [according to households], a lamb for a house : And if the household be too little for the [a] lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls ; every man according to his 5 eating, shall [shall ye] make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be [ye shall have a lamb] without blemish, a male of the first year [one year old] : ye shall 6 take it out [take it] from the sheep, or from the goats. And ye shall keep it up [keep it] until the fourteenth day of the same [this] month : and the whole assem- 7 bly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike [put] it on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post 8 [the lintel] of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night roast [roasted] with fire, and unl avened bread ; and [bread] : with 9 bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not [nothing] of it raw, nor sodden at all [boiled] with water, but roast [roasted] with fire r his [its] head with his [its] legs, 10 and with the purtenance [inwards] thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn 11 with fire. And thus shall ye eat it : with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste': it w the Lord's 12 pasaover [a passover unto Jehovah]. For [And] I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast ; and against all the gods of Ejrypt I will execute judgment : I am Je- 13 hovah. And the blood shall be to you for a token [sign] upon the houses where ye are : and when I see the blond, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you [there shall be no destroying plague upon you], when I 14 smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep [celebrate] it a feast to Jehovah ; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever [celebrate it as a perpetual ordinance]. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even [yea, on] the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses ; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the 16 first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you [on the first day ye shall have a holy convocation, and ou the seventh day a holy convocation] ; no manner of work [no work] shall be done in them ; save [only] that which every man must eat [is eaten by every man], that 17 only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in [on] this self-same day have I brought your armies [hosts] out of the land of Egypt ; therefore shall ye [and ye shall] observe this day in [throughout] your TEXTUAL AND GEAMMATICAL. '[Ver, U. pisna. Lango translates: in Pluchlrbereitschaft, "in readiness for flight," condemning De Wette's tender- ing, JSiV/rriigrSeif, "haste," "prGcipitation." But in the only other two pasaaares where the word ocourB, Lange's transla- tion is hardly admiaaible. Dent. xvi. 3, " Thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, Tir^nS-" It could not be piiid, " Thon earnest forth in readiness for flight." So Isa. lii. 12, " Ye shall not go out with baste (VuSnB), t^°^ go liy flight," Here the -word also denotes anxious haate. The verb TSn likewise everywhere conveya the notion of hurried- n'3% or anxiety conne&ted with haato. — Ta.], CHAP. XII. 1-20. 35 18 generations by [as] an ordinance forever. In tbe first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth 19 day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses : for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even [leavened], that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a hiranger [sojourner] 20 or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 1 sqq. Institution of the Passover. As ChristenJom reckons its years ao^ordiug to the salvatioa in Christ, so the Israelites were to reckon the months of the year from the first month of their redemption. The first mouth, in which the redemption took place, Abib (month of green ears) or Nisau, was to become the first mouth of tlieir year. Hereby likewise the feast of the Passover was to be made the foundation of all the Jewish feasts, and the Passover sacri- fice the founlation of all the various kinds of offering. The feast, however, becomes a double one. The Passover, as the feast of redemption, lasis, together with the day of preparation, only one night; thefeastof unleavened bread (including the Passover) seven days. Since the feant of the great day of atonement also coalesces with the feast of tabernacles which follows close upon it, it wou'd seem that the feast of Pentecost, al-o, as the feast of ingathering, requires to be cou- pled with something. The institution of the feast of the Passover, connected with the an- nouncement of the destruction of the first-born of Egypt, is narrated in vers. 1-14; in 15-20 the iostitution of the feast of unleavened bread The two feasts, however, are so thoroughly blended into one, that the whole feast may be called either the Passover, or the feast of unleavened bread. The festival as a whole signifies separation from the corruption of Egypt, this being a symbol of the corruption of the world. The foundation of the whole con- sists in the divine act of redemption celebrated by the Passover. The result consists in the act of the Israelites, the removal of the leaven, which denotes community wi-h Egyptian princi- ples ( Vid. Comm. on Matthew, pp. 245, 289). We have here, therefore, a typical purification based on a typical redemption. Vera. 1,2. In the land of Egypt. — It is a mark of the dominion of Jehovah in the midst of His enemies, that He established the Jewish community in the land of Fgypt, as al.^o the Christian community in the midst of Judaism, and the Evangelical ootnmunity under the domi- nion of the Papacy. To the triumphant assu- rance in regard to the place corresponds the triumphant assurance in regard to the time: the Passover, as a typical festival of redemption, was celebrated before the typical redemption itself; the Lord's Supper before the real redemp- tion; and in the constant repetition of its cele- bration it points forward to the final redemption which is to take place when the Lord comes. Keil calls attention to this legislation in the land of Egypt, as the first, in distinction from the legislation on Mt. Sinai and the fields of Moab. — The beginning of months. — It does not definitely ioiiow from this ordinance that tlf! Jews before had a diffi;renl beginning of tlij year; but this is probable, inasmuch as thu Egyptians had a different one. Vid. Keil, Vol. 11.. p. 10. Nisau nearly corresponds to our April. Ver. 3. Unto all the congregation of Israel. — As heretofore, through the elders. — A lamb. — A Inmb or kid. — According to households. — The companies were not to be formed arbitrarily, but we?e to be formed ac- cording to families. Vid. ver. 21. — On the tenth day of this month. — Vid. ver. a. Ver. 4. Of course more than two families might unite, if some of them were childless. Also perhaps the gaps in smaller families might be filled by members from excessively large ones. Later tradition fixed upon ten as the nor- mal number of participants. Ver. 5. Quality of the lamb: without blemish, male, one year old. For divergent opinions, see Keil, Vol. IT., p. 11.* That the lamb, as free from blemish, was designed to represent the moral integrity of the offerer (Keil), is a very doubtful proposition, since moral integrity needs no expiatory blood; it might, with more propriety, be taken to represent theocratic in- tegrity. Also the requirement that the lamb be a male can hardly [as Keil assumes] have ex- clusive reference to the first-born sons [for whom the lambs were substituted]. The re- quirement of one year as the age prob.ably is connected with the necessity that the lamb be weaned; furthermore, it was for a meal which was to suffice for an ordinary family. The first- born of beasts which were sacrificed on other occasions than at the Passover needed only to * [The age of tlie lamb is expressed ia Hettrew by the phrrtse: " Bon of a year." The Eabbinical interpretation is that this meand a > ear old or less, and in practice it has been applied 1 1 lambs from the age of eight dayd to that uf one year. Apparently our translators liad that interpret.a- tion in mind in rendering: "of the first year." But not- witlistanding the wide currency of this view (adcpted even bv Ko^enniiiiler, Baunigarten, Mnrpby and other modern commeutators), it seeais to be almost stupidly incorrect, hs Knobel very clearly shows. Murphy says: "The phrase 'son of a year ' mefins of any age from a montii to a full year," and refers to Gen. vii. 6, 11. i!ut why "from a infmihf" Wny not "eight days" as well? Why not one day, or one second, from the time of birth ? Isaac, we are told in Gen. xxi. 4, waj circumcised whnn he was the "son of eight days." How old was he? In Lev, xxvii, 6 we read: "If it be fro u the sod of a month unto the son of five >ears," where the A. V, reads correctly "a month old," ai.il " five years old." It wou^d he a sinnular way of fixing two limits, if both expre.-sioos are so indeterminate as the Rub- biniial interpretation would make t lem. If the "son of a vear" may be as young as eight days, and the "son oi a month " may tie tw.'nty-nino days old, what is the use of the phrase " son of a month " atall? Or what is the sen^e of using the latter phrase as the eary limit? Why not say simply: "If it be the sou office years?" whifh, accordini^ to the Rabbinical iuterpretalion, ought to cover the wuole period. — Tr.] 86 EXODUS. be eight dnys old. As the lamb was of more value tliau the kid, it la natural that for this occasion it became more and more predomi- nantly used. Ver. G. Ye shall keep it. — Does this mean simply : ye shall keep it in store ? Probably it is intimated that the lamb was designed either to represent the persons, or to be held in custody for them. Why did this keeping of the animal last from the lOlh to the 14lh of Nisan ? " Which regulation, however, Jonathan and Baschi re- garded as applicable only to the passover slain in Egypt" (Keil). According to Hofmann, the lour days refer to the four generations spent by the Israelites in Egypt. In that case the whole analogy would lie in the number four. If the 10th day of Nisan was near the day of the com- mand, and Moses foresaw that the last plague would not come till after four days, it was natu- ral for him not to leave so important a prepara- tion to the last day ; the four days, moreover, were by the ordinance itself devoted entirely to wholesome suspense and preparation ; in ano- ther form Fagius refers to this when he says: "ut occasionem habermt inter se. colloquendi et dispu- tandi," etc. Vid. Keil. — The whole assem- bly of the congregation of Israel. — Although every head of a family killed his lamb, yet the individual acts were a common act of the people in the view of the author of the rite. Israel was the household enlarged ; the separate house- hold was the community in miniature. Hence later the lambs were slain in the court. — In the evening {literally "between the two eve- nings"). This regulation, which distinguishes two evenings in one day, is explained in three ways: (1) between sunset and dark (Aben-Ezra, the Karaites and Samaritans, Keil and others) ; (2) just before and just after sunset (Kimchi, Kiisohi, Hitzig); (3) between the decline of the day and sunset (Josephus, the Mishna, and the practice of the Jews). Without doubt this is the correct explanation; in favor of it may be ad- duced xvi. 12; Deut. xvi. 6; Johnxiii. 2. Accord- ing to this passage, preparation for the Passover was begun before the sun was fully set. Consi- derable time was needed for the removal of the leaven and the killing of the lamb. According to the Jewish conception of the day as reckoned from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M., there was in fact a double evening: first, the decline of the day of twelve hours; secondly, the night-time, begin- ning at 6 P. M., which, according to Gen. i. 5 and Matt, xxviii. 1, was always evening in the wider sense — the evening of the day of twenty- four hours — which preceded the morning, the day in the narrower sense.* * [GinaliurK in Alexander's Kitto'a Cyclopsedia, Art. Pasg- over, hue shown that the second of the thrfe views about " tlie two evenings " was not held by Kimchi and Raachl (otherwise called Jarchi), but that they agreed with the great mass ot Jewish comnientatoTS in adopting the third view. Tile phrase itself is so vague that from it alone the meaning cannot with certainty be gathered. Most modem Christian commentators, it should he said, adopt the first view. Deut. xvi. 6, where the time for sacrificing the Pas- sover is fixed " at the going down of the sun," is quot' d as fav-oring that view, while Lange quotes it on the other side. Whatever msy have been the exact meaning of the phrase originally, it is probable that the very early Jewish practice corresponded with the Kabbinlcal interpretation. The trans- actions recorded in 1 Kings xviii. indicate this. There we read (ver. '2&) that the prophets of Baal called on Bual from Ver. 7. Take of the blood. — The two door- posts, as well as the lintel of the door, denote the whole door; the threshold is excepted be- cause the atoning blood should not be trodden underfoot. " The door," says Keil, "through which one goes into the house, stands for the house itself; as is shown by the frequent ex- pression: 'in thy giites,' for 'in thy cities,' cU. XX. 10, etc." It is here assumed that every house or tent had a door properly so called. " Expiation was made for the house, and it was consecrated as an altar" (Keil). This is a con- fused conception. It was the household that was atoned for; the buildino; did thus indeed be- come a sort of sanctuary ; but in what sense was it to be an altar? For here all kinds of offerings were united in one central offering: the D|in, or the slaughter of the Egyptian first- born ; the expiatory offering, or the blood sprin- kled by the hyssop-branch on the door-posts (Lev. xiv. 49; Num. xix. 18), which, therefore, as such represent the several parts of the altar; the thank-offering, or the Passover-meal ; the burnt-offering, or the burning of the parts left over. Because the door-posts themselves stand for the altar, the smearing of them was after- wards given up, and, instead, the lamb was killed in the court; and this change must have been made as soon as there was a court. Ver. 8. On that night. — The one following the 14th of Nisan. Why only on the same night? Otherwise it would not have been a festive meal. Why roasted? The fire (itself symbolically sig- nificant) concentrates the strength of the meat; by boiling a part of it passes into the water. The unleavened bread has a two-fold significance. When eaten at the Passover, it denotes separa- tion from the leaven of Egypt (Matt. xvi. 6, 12; 2 Cor. V. 8) ; as a feast by itself, the feast of unleavened bread, called bread of affliction, denotes remembrance of the afflictions which were connected with the flight from Egypt (Deut. xvi. 3). This is overlooked, when it is inferred from ver. 17 that the ordinance of the feast of unleavened bread was made at a later time (as Keil does, U., p. 20). — With bitter herbs. — D'l'lO, jrofpMef (LXX.), lactucse agnstet (Vulg.), the wild lettuce, the endive, etc. Vid. Keil II., p. 15, Knobel, p. 99. " According to Russell," says Knobel, "tliere are endives in Syria from the beginning of the winter months to the end of March ; then comes lettuce in April and May." According to Keil, "the bit- ter herbs are not called accompaniments of the meal, but are represented as the principal part of the meal, here and in Num. ix. 11." For morning till noon, and afterwards (ver. 29) from mid-day " until tbe time of the offering of the evening sacrifice" (more exaiitly, "until towards the time"). According to Ex. xxix. 39 the evening sacrifice also was offered "between the two evenings." If the meaning were " from mid-day till sunset," there would seem to be no reason why it should not have been so expressed. Besides, it is intrinsicEdly improba- ble that the howlings of tbe false prophets continued through the whole day. Especially Is it difficult, if not impossible, to find time enough in the evening of that day for the events which are narrated to have followed, viz. Elijah's prayer, the consumption of the burnt-offering, the slaying of the false prophets, the return from the Kishon, the prayer for rain, the servant's going seven times to look, Elijah's going to Jezreel.— Tb.] ' CHAP. XII. 1-20. ST 7J^, he says, does nut mean almg with, together with, but retains its fundamental meaning, upon, over. In this way the following strange sym- \)olic meaning is deduced : " The bitter herbs are to call to mind the bitterness of life ex- perienced by Israel in Egypt, and this bitterness is to be overcome by the sweet flesh of the lamb." If only the bitter herbs did not taste pleasant! If only the lamb did not form a meal of thank- offering, and in this meal were not the chief thing! May not the lamb, according to the usual custom, have lain upon a, setting of bitter herbs? In the passage before us only the un- leavened bread is said to be put upon the biiter herbs. The modification of the arrangement in Num. ix. 11 is unimportant. It Is a strange noliua that the bitter herbs and the sweet bread formed ■' the basis of the Passover-meal " (Keil). In that case the "sweet" bread ought to have made the "sweet" flesh of the lamb superfluous. Moreover, the opposite of sweet is not bitter, hut sour. According to Knobel, the bitter herbs correspond to the frankincense which used to accompany many offerings of grain, inasmuch as they had, for the most part, a pleasant odor. But frankincense has a special reference to prayer. If the bitter herbs are to be interpreted as symbolic, we may understand that they sup- plement the negative significance of the unlea- vened bread by something positive, as being health-giving, vitalizing, conseoratory herbs. Ver. 9. Its head with its legs. [" From the head to the thighs," is Lange's translation.] "I.e., as Basohi correctly explains, whole, not cut in pieces, so that the head and legs are not separated from the animal, no bone of him is broken (ver. 46), and the inward parts together with the (nobler?) entrails, these of course first cleansed, are roasted in and with the body."* The unity of the lamb was to remain intact; on which point cjmp. Biihr, Symbolik des Mosaiachen Cultiis II., p. 635, Keil, and others. -j- The sym- bolic significance of the lamb thus tended to- wards the notion of personality and inviolability, that on which rested also the fact and continu- ance of the unity of the family which partook of it. Ver. 10. Let nothing of it remain, " But what nevertheless does remain till morning is to be burnt with fire" (Keil). But was any of it allowed to remain till morning? Vid. my hy- pothesis, Life of Christ, Vol. IV., p. 262.J Ver. 11. And thus. The preparation for the journey is here at once real and symbolic. The readiness to start is expressed by three marks : the loins girded (tucked up) ; the travelling shoes on the feet ; the walking-stick in the hand. " That even the 0. X. ritual was no rigid ordinance is proved * [Ttiis sentence is markei ai a quotation by Lanire, but the source, as very often in tlie German original, is not indi- cated ; and in this case 1 have not been able to trace it out.— Tr.J. f [B'4hr, 1. c. say>i on this point : " This had no other o^jent than that all who received a part of that one intact lamb, i. e., who at-i of it, sliould regard themselves as a unit and a whole, as a community, just like 'hose who eat the New Tes- tament Passover, the body of Christ (1 Gor. v. 7), of whi«* the Apostle, in 1 Cor. x. 17, says, 'For we b'^ing many are one bread and one body ; for we are all partakers of that one bread.' "— Tn.]. X [The hypothesis is that the remains of the paschal lamb, if there were any, were burnt up the same night, and there- fore were not allowed to remain till the next day. But this seems to conflict with the plain language of the verse. — Ta.]. by the remarkable fact that at the time of Christ they ate the passover lying on couches. — In haste. [" In readiness for flight," Lange.] A meal could hardly have been taken in " anxious flight" (Keil), or in "anxious haste" (Knobelj.* — It is Jehovah's Passover. Not the Puss- over unto Jehovah, as Keil takes it, referring to XX. 10, xxxii. 6. For the Passover designates Jehovah's own going through, going hy, passini/ ooer (sparing), as symbolically represented and appropriated by the Passover festival. The feast, it is true, is celebrated to Jehovah ; but it cele- brates Jehovah's act, and in the place where the rite is first instituted, it cannot appear as al- ready instituted. f The LXX. say: 7rao-;^o earl Kvpl<^. TheVulg. "es< enim Phase (id est tran- situs) domini. On the meaning of nD3 vid. the lexicons, and Keil II., p. 17. The pesach is pri- marily the divine act of "passing over;" next the Iamb with the killing of which this exemp- tion is connected; finally, the whole eight days' festival, including that of unleavened bread (Deut. xvi 1-6), as, on the other hand, the latter feast also included that of the Passover. That this first Passover was really a sacrificial feast, Keil proves, in opposition to Hofmann, II., p. 17. Comp. Hofmann's Schriflbeweis II., p. 271. J Vers. 12, 13. Explanation of tlie Passover. And I. The counterpart and prototype of the Passover festival are historic facts. First, Jeho- vah, as judge, passes through all Egypt. Se- condly, He visits upon the young life in the land a plague whose miraculousness consists especially in the fact that the first-born fall, the * [Why not in " anxious haste ?" A man can surely eat in haste as well as do anythiog else in haste. That there was to be a " readiness for flight" is sufficiently indicated by the precept concerning the girdles, sandals, and staves. Vid. under " Textual and Grammatical." — Ta.J. f [We have let the A. V. reading stand ; neverthelpss it is by no means so clear that Keil is not right. He certainly is supported not only by many of the best versions aivt commentators, but by the Hebrew, which literally rendered can read only, " It is a Passover to Jehovah," or *' It is a Passover of Jehovah." The latter ditfers from Lange's translation as making " Pussover " indefinite, whereas " Je- hovah's Paasover" is equivalent tn '^iJie Passover of Jeho- vah." Furthermore, the subject of the sentence naturally, if not necessarily, refers to the lamb ; but the lamb cannot tie called Jehovah's passing over. The last point made in opposition to Keil is not jnat, inasmuch as Keil does not render (as Lange makes him) " the Passover unto Jebovah," but distinctly leaves the noun indefinite, so that there is no implicit^on that it was an already existent institu- tion.— Ta ]. J [HofJDaann takes n^T in xii. 27 in the general sense of slaughter, instead of the ceremonial sense of Bocrifice, and argues that, as the lamb was killed in order to be eaten, it was in no proper sense an njfering to Jehovah, although ihe killing and eating of it was divinely commanded. He dis- tinguishes also between the original ordinance and the later celebration of it. Keil, on the contrary, lays stress nn the fact that n3T and nilT everywhere, except Pruv. xvii. 1, and 1 Sam, xxviii. 24, denote s'icrijice in the narrow ceremo- nial sense, and that the Passover in Num. ix. 7 is calli-d T3"lp, offering. Knobel likewise says, " Without doubt the Passover was a sort of offering." But he contends that it was not fas Keil and others hold) a sin-offering, for the rea- sons : (1) that the 0. T. gives no indication of such a charac- ter ; (2) thar. the mode of observing the rite differed from that belonging to the sin-offering, particularly in that the lamb was eaten, whereas none of the animal constituting the sin-offering was e.tten ; and (3) that it was a joyous fes- tival, whereas everything connected with the sin-offering was solemn. He classes it, therefore, rather with the burnt- offering. But the latter was not eaten, and had {though not exclusively, yet partially) an expiatory character. Fid. Lev. i.4.— Tb.]. 38 EXODUS. infliction beginning with (lie house of Pharaoh. The result is that all the gods of Egypt are judged by Jehovah. What does that meau ? Keil says : the gods of Egypt were spiritual powers, 6at/j.6via. Pseudo-Jonathan : idols. Knobel compares Num. xxxiii. 4, and says: "We are to think espe- cially of the death of the first-born beasts, since the Egyptians worshipped beasts as gods," (!)etc. The essential thing in the subjective notion of gods are the religious conceptions and traditions of the heathen, in so far as they, as real powers, inhere in national ideals and sympathies. Le- gends in point, vid. in Knobel, p. 1»jO. Thirdly, Jehovah spares the first-born of the Israelites. — The blood shall be to you for a sign. The expression is of psychological importance, even for the notion of atonement. It does not read : it shall be to me for a sign. The Israelites were to have in the blood the sacramental sign that by the ofi^ering of blood the guilt of Israel in connection with Egypt was expiated, in that Jehovah had seen the same blood. This look- ing on the blood which warded off the pestilence reminds us of the looking up to the brazen ser- pent, and of the believer's contemolation of the perfect atonement on the cross. Keil says, " In the meal the sacrificmm becomes a sacramentum." Ver. 14. The solemn sanction of the Passover. — As an ordinance for ever. The Institution of the Passover continues still in its completed form in the new institution of the Lord's Supper. Ver. 15. The solemn institution of the seven days' feast of unleavened bread. It was con- ti'mporaneous with the Passover ; not afterwards appended to it, for this is not implied by ver. 17. (See above on ver. 8). The real motive was the uniform removal of the Egyptian leaven, a sym- bol of entire separation from everything Egyp- tian. Hence the clearing away of the leaven had to be done on the first day, even before the incoming of the 16th of Nisan, on the evening of the 14th. Vid. ver. 18. Hence also every one who during this time ate anything leavened was to be punished with death. He showed symboli- cally that he wished to side with Egypt, not with Israel. The explanation, " The unleavened bread is the symbol of the new life, cleansed from the leaven of sin," (Keil), is founded on the fundamentally false assumption, revived again especially by Hengsteuberg, that the leaven is in itself a symbol of the sinful life. If this were the case, the Israelites would have had to eat unleavened bread all the time, and certainly would not have been commanded on the day of Pentecost to put leavened bread on the altar (Lev. xxiii. 17). The leaven is symbol only of transmission and fellowship, hence, in some cases, of the old or of the corrupt life. " Leaven of the Egyptian character," says Keil himself, II., p. 21. Ver. 16. On the first day. This is the day following the holy night, the second half of the 15th of Nisan. Like the seventh day it is ap- pointed a festival, but to be observed less rigidly than the Sabbath. According to Lev. xxiii. 7, the only employments forbidden are the regular labors of one's vocation or service, and food may be prepared according to the necessities of the day ; this was not allowed on the Sabbath. Ver. 17. For on this self-same day. Strictly speaking then, the days of unleavened bread began with the beginning of the 15th of Nisan, and in commemoration of the exodus itself, whereas the Passover was devoted to the com- memoration of the preceding dreadful night of judgment and deliverance, the real adoption or birth of God's people Israel. Ver. 18. On the fourteenth day of the month. This is the feast of unleavened bread in the wider sense, including the Passover. The Passover, according to the very idea of it, could not be celebrated with leavened bread, i. e., in connection with anything Egyptian, for it repre- sented a separation, in principle, from what was Egyptian. Ver. 19. Also the foreigner, who wishes to live among the Israelites, mustsubmit to this ordi- nance, even though he has continued to be a fo- reigner, i. «., h,as not been circumcised. The one born in the land is the Israelite himself, so called either in anticipation of his de.stined place of settlement, or in the wider sense of nationality. Keil approves Leclerc's interpretation: quia oriundi erant ex Isaaco et Jacobo, [** because they were to take their origin from Isaac and Jacob."] Ver. 20. Eat nothing leavened. Again and again is this most sacred symbolic ceremony enjoined, for it symbolizes the consecration of God's people, a consecration based on their redemption. C— THE INSTITUTION OF THE FIRST PASSOVER. THE LAST PLAGUE. THE RE- LEASE AND THE PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE. Chapter XII. 21-36. 21 Then [And] Moses called for all the f Iders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw [Go] out,' and take you a Jamb [take you lambs] according to your families, aud TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 [Ver. 21. " Draw out," as the rendering of Oli'D, is acquiesced in by Ltinge, De Wette, Wordsworth, Murphy, aad Tanon Cook (in the Speaker's Commentary), and is d'-fendi^d by Kali-ich and Bush. The latter, in a note on Judg. iv. 6, attiruis tliat "^"QJO never means *' to approacli." He assigns to it there the meaning "to draft," or *' enlist," ac. soldiei-p for his army — a meaning which certainly is no where else (therefore not "frequently," as Bush says) to ho found. That "V^*^ CHAP. XII. 21-86. 39 22 23 kill the passover. And ye shall [And] take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts [two posts] with the blood that is in the basin ; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For [And] Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts [two posts], Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suifer the destroyer to 24 come in unto [come into] your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thine; 25 for [as] an ordinance to [for] thee and to [for] thy sons fir ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be [are] come to the land which Jehovah will give you, at^- 2(5 cording as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to 27 pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah's passover [the passover of Jehovah], who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head [bowed 28 down] and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away [went], and did 29 [did so ;] as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass that at midnight [at midnight that] Jehovah smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said , Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, 32 b )th ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone ; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out 34 of the land in haste ; for they said, We be [are] all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in 35 their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses ; and they borrowed [asked] of the Egyptians jewels [articles] of 36 silver, and jewels [urticles] of gold, and raiment. And Jehovah gave the people fa- vor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that [and] thoy lent unto them such things as they required [they gave unto them] : and they spoiled [despoiled] the Egyptians. may be used intransitively, Bush does not deny ; and indeed in Judg. xx. 37 he himself follows the rendering " drew them- selves along," and explains it as descriptive of a mass of men "stretching themselves out in a long tram and rapully nriting their way to tho city." This certainly is not far from the meaning which he denies to the word. What signihcance 30 31 the lambs were not drawn by lot. It could mean only " take "—a meaning which, thouEh assigned to it here by K*liscn, tho word no where else has, and which, if it had it, would be the same as that of the following word. There is theretore little doubt that we are to understand the word, with the LXX., Vulg., Gesenins, Filrst, Bunsen, Amheim, Alford, Keil, Enobel, and othere, as used intransitively. — Tr.] None of you shall go out.— They are pro- tected only in the house, behind the propitiatory blood. Ver. 23. The destroyer to come in. — Comp. the blo^pciiov of Heb. zi. 28 with 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; Isa. xxxvii. 36. So Keil and others, whereas Knobel and others take l^nE/D as ab- Btrack=deatruction. Knobel's reasons (p. 105) are easily refuted ; e.ff., though Jehovah Him- self goes through Egypt, yet it does not thence follow that He might not make u-'o of an angel of judgment in the judicial inflictions (to be un- derstood symbolically, vid. Ps. Ixxviii. 49); Ho Himself, however, distinguishes bel ween His peo- ple and the Egyptians. Vers. 24-26. The establishment of the Passovpr festival is again enjoined, and at the same time there is connected with it an injunction to in- struct children concerning it. The Israelitish child will not unthinkingly practice a dead wor- ship; he will ask: What does it mean? And the EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. The narrative evidently transports us to the 14th day of Nisan, the days of preparation being passed over. Ver. 21. For this reason we do not translate UK/D intransitively, "go hence," etc. The pas- chal lambs have been for four days in a special enclosure; now they are to be drawn out, seized and slaughtered. Hence also the injunction pro- ceeds at once to the further directions concern- ing! tfifi transaction. Ver. 22 A bunch of hyssop. — A handful, says Maimonidea. Hys.-op "designates proba- bly not the plant which we cill hyssop, not tlie hyssopiis officinalis, it being doubtful whether this is found in Syria and Arabia {vid. Ritter, Erd- kunde, XVII., p. 686), but a species of the oriffa- nwm similar to the hyssop" (Keill. — That is in the basin — i. e., in which the blood was caught. 40 EXODUS. Israelitish fathers must not suppress the ques- tions of the growing mind, but answer them, and thus begin the spiritualizing of the paschal rite. Ver. 27. Worshipped. — Expression of faith, allegiance, joy, and gratitude. Ver. 28. Brief reference to the festive meal of faith in contrast with the dreadful judgment now beginning. At midnight.— According to Keil, we have no occasion here to look for any natural force as underlying the punishment, but to regard it as a purely supernatural operation of divine omnipotence, inasmuch as here the pestilence is not named, as in 2 Sam. xxiv. 15. Also (he says) Jehovah administers the last plague without Moses' mediation. But here too Moses' prophetic prediction has a place; and also the teleological design of the facts. And this was the main feature of all these punitive miracles, provided we do not conceive Moses' rod as having itself wrought them. According to Knobel, the miracle consisted in the pestilence " which from the oldest time to the present day has had its chief seat in Egypt." He gives a series of examples, p. 106. Also statemenis con- cerning the season in which the pestilence is ac- customed to appear in Egypt : December, Febru- ary, March. " It is most destructive from March to May." "Quite in accordance with the facts, the series of plagues ends with the pestilence, which generally lasts till the Nile inundation." "The pestilence spares many regions, e.g., the deserts (Pruner, p. 419)." On the death of the cattle: "According to Hartmann [Erdbeschreibung von Afriha, I., p. 68), the dogs in Cairo almost constantly have the pestilence; and when it rages among them, it ceases to prevail among men." According to Knobel, the occurrence was expanded by legendary tradition into a mi- racle. But miraculous are: (1) The prediction of the fact, its object, and its results; (2) the sud- den spread of the plague over the younger gene- ration, the first-born, especially the first-born of the king, being singled out; (3) the fact that both beasts and men suffered; (4) the liberation of Israel. That the religious expression of this great event has its peculiarity, that it makes ge- nefalizations, and leaves out subordinate fea- tures in accordance with its idealizing tendency and symbolic design — on this point one must shape his views by means of a thorough herme- neutical apprehension of thereligious style. Even Keil cannot quite adopt the assumption of Cor- nelius a Lapide, that in many houses grandfa- thers, fathers, sons, and wives, in case they were all first-born, were killed. But literally under- stood, the narrative warrants this. But the per- fect realization of the object aimed at lifts the event above the character of a legend. Vers. 30, 31. The great lamentation which in the night of terror resounds through Egypt be- comes the immediate motive for releasing Israel. And he called for Moses. — We need not, with Calvin, lay any stress on the fact that Pharaoh, X. 28, had commanded the men not to show them- selves again to him, as if a humiliating incon- sistency of the tyrant with himself were not cha- racteristic, aud as if in the history of despotism it were not a frequent feature. This crushing humiliation Pharaoh could not escape. Moses aud Aaron had to receive the permission from his own month. And we cannot call it mere permission. He drives him out by a mandate which bears unmistakable marks of excitement. Serve Jehovah, as ye have said. — These words involve the promise of complete libera- tion, and at the same time the intention to re- quire the Israelites to return. As ye have said — he repeats — and finally he even begs for their intercession: "bless me also." According to Keil, every thing, even the request for their blessing, looks to a manifest and quite uncondi- tional dismissal and emancipation. But this thought is expressed more positively in the be- havior of the Egyptians, who were the most ter- rified." Ver. 33. At all events the Israelites had a right to understand the dismission as an eman- cipation, although formally this right was not complete until Pharaoh hostilely pursued them. Keil refers to xiv. 4, 5. The report brought to the king, that the people had fled, seems, how- ever, to imply that in the mind of the Egyptians there had been no thought of unconditional emancipation, but only of an unconditional fur- lough. And when Pharaoh was disposed vio- lently to take back even this promise, that was a new instance of hardness of heart, the last and the fatal one. We are all dead men: as it were, already dead. Expression of the greatest consternation. Ver. 34. And the people took their dongh, before it was leavened. That is (ac- cording to Keil): "The Israelites intended to leaven the dough, because the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days had not yet been made known to them." But the text evi- dently means to say just the opposite of this: they carried, in accordance with the command, dough which was entirely free from leaven. They had already put enough for seven days into the baking-pans, and carried these on their shoulders, wrapped up in their outer garments, or rather in wrapping cloths, such as might be used for mantles or wallets. Vers. 35, 36. Vid. iii. 21 and Comm. on Gene- sis, p. 83. D.— THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. LEGAL ENACTMENTS CONSEQUENT ON LIBERATION. Chaptek XII. 37— XIII. 16. 37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hun- 38 dred thousand on foot, that were men [the men] beside [besides] children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them ; and flocks, and herds, even very much CHAP. XII. 37— XIII. 16. 41 3y cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because they were tbrust out of Egypt, and 40 could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. Now the SDJouriiing [d veiling, i. e. time ot dwelling] of the childien of Israel, who dwelt 41 [which they dwelt] in Egypt, was fiur hundred audthiny years. And it came to pass at thi end of the [end of] four liuudred and thirty years, even [on] the self- same day it came to pass, that all the hojts of Jehovah went out from the laud of 42 Egypt. It is a night to be ra.uch observed [of solemnities] unto Jehovah for bring- ing them o it from the land of Egypt : this is that night of Jehovah to be observed of [night of solemnities unto Jehovah for] all the children of Israel in [through- 43 out] their generations. And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the 44 ordinance of the Passover : There shall no stranger [foreigner] eat thei-eof : But every man's servant [every servant] that is bought for money, wheu thou hast cir- 43 cumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner [stranger] and an [a] hired 46 servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten ; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a b )ne 47, 48 thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep [sacrifice] it. And when a stranger [sojourner] shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the [sacrifice a] passover to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep [sacrifice] it : and he shall be as one that is born in the land : for [but] no 49 uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to [shall there be for] him 50 that is home-born, and unto [for] the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel] ; as Jehovah commanded Moses, so did they. 51 And it came to pass the self-same day, that Jehovah did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies [according to their hosts]. Chap. XIII. 1, 2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying. Sanctify unto me all the [every] first-born, whatsoever openeth the [any] womb among the children of 3 Israel, both of man and of beast : it is mine. And Moses said unto the people. Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage : for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place [ihence] : there 4 shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came [come] ye out in the month 5 Abib. And it shall be, when Jehovah shall bring thee into the land of the Ca- naanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, 6 that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unlea- 7 vened bread ; and in the seventh day shall be a feast to Jehovah. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven [the seven] days ; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters 8 [borders]. And thou shalt show [tell] thy son in that day, saying. This is done [It is] because of that tvhieh Jehovah did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine [thy] hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that Jehovah's law may be in thy mouth : for with a strong 10 hand hath Jehovah brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore [And thou li shalt] keep this ordinance in his [its] season from year to year. And it shall be, wheu Jehovah shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto 12 thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee. That thou shalt set apart unto Jeho- vah all that openeth the matrix [womb], and every firstling that cometh [every first-born] of a beast [of beasts] which thou bast ; the males shall be Jehovah's. 13 And every firstling [first-born] of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb ; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck : and all the first-born of 14 man among thy children, shalt thou redeem. And it shall be, when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him. By strength of hand Jehovah brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage : 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Jehovah slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast : therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that openeth the matrix [womb], being 16 [the] males ; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine [thy] hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes ; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt. 42 EXODUS. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 37. And the children of Israel jour- neyed. — On the journey see the Introduction, Keil II., p. 26, the literature above quoted, and Keil II., p. 28, Note, Knobel, p. Ill sq.— About 600,000 on foot. — " '/Jli as iu Num. xi. 21, the Infantry of an army, is added, because they ■went out as a warlike host (ver. 41), and in the number given only the men able to bear arms, those oyer twenty years of age, are reckoned; D'lJjn is added because of the following 13/ ntSD : 'besides the little ones.' HH is used here in the wider significance of the dependent part of the family, including wife and children, as in Gen. xWii. 12 ; Num. xxxii. 16, 24, and often, those who did not travel on foot, but on beasts of burden or in wagons" (Keil). On the round number, as well a- the increase of Israel in Egypt, comp. Knobel, p. 121, Keil, I. c, and the Introduction. On the fruitfulness of the land of Goshen, tee Keil II., p. 29. Kurtz and Ber- theau have suggested as an explanation of the great number, that we may assume that the seventy Israelites who emigrated to Egypt had several thousand men-serynnts and maid-ser- vants. Keil insists that only the posterity of the seventy souls is spoken of. But compare the antithesis in Gen. xxxii. 10: "one staff" and "two bands." In Israel the faith consti- tuted the nationality, as well as the nationality the faith, as is shown by so many examples (Rahab, Kuth, the Gibeonites, etc.), and Israel had iu its religion a groat attractive power. Ver. 38. And a mi:sed multitude. — D^J^ 31. Vulg. ; vulgua promiscuum ; Luther: vlel Pubelvolk, " a great rabble" — "In typical ful- fillment of the promise. Gen. xii. 3, without doubt stimulated by the signs and wonders of the Lord in Egypt (comp. ix. 20; x. 7; xi. 3) to seek their salvation with Israel, a great mul- titude of mixed people joined themselves to the departing Israelites; and, according to the gov- erning idea of the Jewish commonwealth, they could not be repelled, although these people afterwards became a snare to them. Vid. Num. xi. 4, where they are called 'IpiJpS, medley" (Keil). Literally, a collection.' Comp. Dent, xxix. 11. Ver. 33. Vid. ver. 34. It does not mean that they bad no time to leaven their dough, but that they had no time to prepare themselves other provisions besides. The deliverance came upon them like a storm; they were even thrust out of Egypt. Ver. 40. Vid. the Introduction, Keil II., p. 80, Knobel, p. 121. Ver. 41. On the self-same day. — Knobel Bays very strangely, that the meaning is that Jacob entered Egypt on the same day, the 14th of Abib. Keil understands the day before de- pignated, vers. 11-14. We assume that "day" here denotes " time" in the more general sense. Ver. 42. Keil renders: night of preservation. Knobel: a festival. Both ideas are involved in *ipty, and evidently the text aims to express the antithesis indicated in our translation [Lange renders: featliche Wacht, "festive vigil." — Tr.] Vers. 43-45. The ordinance of the Pas- sover. — npn, i. q. pn, law, statute. As Israel now begins to become a people and a popular congregation, the main features of their legal constitution are at once defined. It all starts with the Passover as the religious communion of the people, for which now circumcision is prescribed as a prerequisite. As circumcision constitutes the incipient boundary-line and sepa- ration between Israel and the life of secular peo- ple, so the paschal communion is the character- istic feature of the completed separation. First, the congregation is instituted ; then follows the preliminary institution of the priesthood in the sanctification of the first-born ; then the first tiace of the fixed line of distinction, in the ordi- nance of the feast of unleavened bread; then the first provision for the permnnent sacrificial service, in Jehovah's claiming for Himself the first-born of beasts, xiii. 12, while a distinction is at the same time made between clean and unclean beasts, ver. 13; and finally the intima- tion is made that the natural sacerdotal duty of the first born shall be redeemed and transferred to a posiftVe priesthood. The circumstance that Israel thereby came into a new relation to fo- reigners, " that a crowd of strangers joined themselves to the departing Israelites" (Keil), can only be regarded as one of the occasions f"r that fixing of the first features of the law which was here quite in place. — No stranger. — What is said of the "UJ'IS, or non-Israelite, in gene- ral, is more particularly said of the sojourner O^^Pi) and of the hireling, day-laborer ("I'D!!'}. The latter, if not an Israelite, is a 1J who re- sides a longer or shorter time among the Israel- ites. Yet the exclusion is not absolute, except as regards the uucircumcised; every servant, on the other hand, who submits to circumcision (for no one could be circumcised by force, although circumcision was within the option of all) assumes the privileges and obligations of the communion. Thus, therefore, the distinc- tion of classes, as related to the communion of the people of God, is here excluded. Ver. 46. In one house shall it be eaten, — A new enforcement of the law that the com- munion, as such, must be maintained. The sig- nificance of the words: "Thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad," the mediseval Church had little conception of.* Vers. 50, 61. The next to the last verse de- clares that this became a fixed custom in Israel; and the last one recurs again to the identity of the festive day with the day of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Oh. XIII., ver. 1. Sanctify unto me every first-born. — ".The sanctification of the first- born is closely connected with the Passover. The Passover effects (?) the exemption of the first-born of Israel, and the exemption has as its aim their sanctification " (Keil). But the thing meant is sanctification in the narrower * [Tlie reference is to tlio Corpiis-Christi festival, charac- terized by the public procest. ona whicii are lield in hooot of the liost— Te.] CHAP. XII. 37— Xr.I. 16. 48 seuse, the preparation of the sacerdotal order and of the offerings ; for the general sanctification com- prised the whole people. Here we have to do with sanctification for the specific service of Jehovah. It is assumed that the firiit-born are representa- tives and sureties of the whole race, and that therefore, without the intervention of grace and forbearance, the first-born of Israel also would have been slain. Accordingly, the phrase : "it is mine," refers certainly not only to the fact that Jehovah created the first-born, as Kurtz maintains, but still more to the right of posses- sion which this gracious favor establishes. Keil denies this. It refers, he says, according to Num. iii. 13 ; viii. 17, to the fact that Jeho- vah, on the day when he slew the first-bora of Egypt, sanctified the first-born of Israel, and therefore spared them. An ultra-Calvinisti'o dis- position of things, which seems to ground the exemption on Jehovah's caprice. While the sanctification cannot be dissociated from the exemption, as little can the exemption be disso- ciated from the creation. The election of Israel is indeed the prerequisite of the exemption of the Israelitish first-born; but this exemption again, as an act of grace, is a condition of the special sanctification of the first-born. Ver. 3. Remember this day. " In vers. 3-10, the ordinance respecting the seven days' feast of unleavened bread (xii. 15-20), is made known by Moses to the people on the day of the exodus at the station Succoth" (Keil). We h*ve already above (on xii. 8) poinled out the incorrectness of this view. It is all the more incorrect, if, with Keil and others, we find in the leaven a symbol of sinfulness. The leaven which the Jews had heretofore had was connected with the leaven of Egypt, and was thus fitted to serve as a symbol of the fact that they were connected with the sinfulness of Egypt, and that this con- nection must be broken off. If now they had not been driven out so hastily, they would have had time to produce for themselves a pure and specifically .Tewish leaven, and this perhaps seemed the more desirable thing, as the un- leavened bread was not very palatable. But for this there was no time. With this understand- iug of the case, we render the last clause of ver. 3, " so that nothing leavened was eaten." [This trinslation, however, is hardly possible. — Tk.]. — The house of servants. Servants of private persons they were not, it is true, but all Egypt was made for them by Pharaoh one house of slaves. Vers. 4, 5. The urgency in the enforcement of this feast is doubtless owing to the fact that there wai no pleasure in eating the unleavened bread. Il^nce the festival is represented as chiefly a ser- vice rendered to God. The meals accompanying thank-offerings preserved the equilibrium. Ver. 6. On the seventh day. In the line of the feast-days the seventh day is specially meationed as the festive termination ; on it work ceased, and the people assembled together. Ver. 9. For a sign upon thy hand. Ac- cording to Spencer, allusion is made to the heathen custom of branding marks on the fore- head or hand of soldiers and slaves. Keil, re- ferring to Deut. vi. 8 and xi. 18, assumes that we are probably to understand bracelets or frontlets. But in the passages quoted a much more general inculcation of Moses' words is meant. Inasmuch as the Jews were to observe several great festivals, it is not to be assumed that they were to be required to wear the signs only on the feast of unleavened bread ; all the less, as the day was so definitely fixed. We therefore regard the expression both here and in Deuteronomy as symbolic, but suggested by a proverbial phrase borrowed from the nations of antiquity. Our language has a similar pro- verbial, but less elegant, expression. That the Pharisaic Jews afterwards actually made them- selves such phylacteries grew out of their slavery to the letter of the law. See more in detail in Keil, II. p. 37. Ver. 12. Every first-born of beasts. First, the text recurs to the common statute respecting the first-born of men and beasts; hence: "all that openeth the womb." According to Keil, the term "^'^J^H, to set apart, offer, is used to point a contrast to the Canaanitish custom of con- secrating the first-born to Moloch ; he quotes Lev. xviii. 21. But the verb seems to express a more original and general separation of what is offered from what is not offered ; or it means to let depart. — The males. With this matter, therefore, the female first-born have nothing to do. The first-born son is the head of the young house, the heir of the old house. As the heir of the old house he also assumes its guilt ; as the head of the young house he must represent it. More particular specifications concerning the first-born male clean beast are given in xxii. 29 (30), Deut. xv. 21. Ver. 13. The germ of the distinction between clean and unclean beasts. The substitution of a sheep or kid for the ass is a proof that the unclean beast signifies not the evil, but the profane, that which is not fitted to serve as a religious symbol. Ver. 14. 'When thy son asketh thee. Even in the theocracy the ceremonial worship is to be not a dumb one, repressing, or even suppressing, questions and instruction, but is to be spiritualized by questions and instruction. Ver. 15. All the first-born of my children. Keil opposes the view, very prevalent of old, that the sanctification of the firet-born is to be derived from the destination of the first-born to be priests. But he afterwards (II., p. 30) himself brings forwards reasons which refute his own view, founded on that of Outram and Vitringa, especially by citing Num. iii. Nothing cau be clearer than Num. iii. 12.* Ver. IB. Also in reference to the phylacteries we hold to the symbolical interpretation of the Caraites in opposition to the literal one of the Talmudists; so Keil II., p. 37. * [ Keil pays ; " In what way thpy ware to consecrate their life to the Lord dep ncied on the Lord's dinction, which pre- scribed that they should porfonn the non-sacerdotal labors ronni'Cted with the fanctnary, and so be the priests' servants in the sacred service. Yft fven this service was afterwards transferred to the Levites (Num. ill.) ; but in place of it the people were required to redeem their first-born sons from the service which was incumbent on them, and which had heen transferred to the Levitfs who were substituted for them, i. e., to ransom them by the payment to the priests of five shekels of silver for every person. Num. iii. 47 ; xviii. 16." Num. iii. 12, above referred to as confuting Keil's view, says simply that the LmiUes were substitut d for the first born, but does not say that the first-born were originally destined to be prieals. Lange's statement, therefore, seems to be unwarranted. — TE.J. 44 EXODUS. FOURTH SECTION. Direction of the Exodus. The Pursuit. The Distress. The Red Sea. The Song of Triumph. CHAPTEKa XIII. 17— XV. 21. A.— DIRECTION OF THE MARCH. THE DISTRESS. PASSAGE THROUGH THE RED SEA. JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE. Chap. XIII. 17— XIV. 31. 17 And it came to pass, wlieii Pharaoh had let the people go, that G d led them not through [byl ths way of the land of the Philistines, although [ior]' that was near ; for God said. Lest peradventure the [Lest the] people repent, when they 18 see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about ihrouyh [by] the way of the wilderness of the K.ed Sea. And the children of Israel went up har- 19 nessed [armed] out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph w.th him; for he had straitly [strictly] sworn the children of Israel, saying, God 20 will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And they took their journey [they journeyed] from Succoth, and encamped iu Ethara in 21 [on] the edge of the wilderness. And Jehovah went before them by day in a pil- lar of a cloud [of cloud], to lead them the way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, 22 to give them light ; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud [of cloud] by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from betbre the people. Chap. XIV. 1, 2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn [turn back] and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Mig- dol and the sea, over against [before] Baal-zephon ; before [over against] it shall 3 ye encamp by the sea. For [And] Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They 4 are entangled [bewildered] in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall [and he will] follow after them, and I will be honored [get me honor] upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that [and] 5 the Egyptians may [shall] know that I am Jehovah. And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled : and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this [What is this that we have done], that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6, 7 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every 8 one [all] of them. And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, 9 and he pursued after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with an [a] high hand. But [And] the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots [chariot-horses] of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 rXIII. 17. " For that was near." A. V., Mnrphy, Ealiecb, Gesenins. GJaire, Alford retain the rendering "although" for ^3 in this sentence. But such a meaning tor ^2 cannot be well substantiated. Ps. xlix. 10, adduced by Fiirdt, is cei> tainly not an instance of such use. Pa. cxvi. 10 is more plausible. The A. V. rendering : " I believed, therefore ['3] have T spoken," is incorrpct. But it is not necessary, with some, to translate: "I believed, although I speak." The particle here probably lia-i the meaning "when." In Ps. xlix. 19, adduced by Gesenius (Thesaurus), it means " because," the »ijo- dosis following in ver. 20. The same may be said of Gen. viii. 21; .lob xv. 27-29; Zech. viii. 6. The rendering *'\vhen" siifflces in Jer. iv. 30 ; xxx. 11 ; xlix. 16 ; 1. 11 ; li. 63 ; Mic. vii. 8 ; Ps xxvii. 10 ; xxi. 12. The rendering " for " snfficfs in Hob. xiii. 15; Nab. i. 10; Deut. xviii. 14; xxix. 19; Jer. xlvi. 23; Ps. Ixxi. 10; 1 Chron. xxviii. 5. The rendering " where- as," or " while," may be adopte t in Mai. i. 4 ; Bccl. iv. 14. Probably these comprise all the passages in which (he meaning " though " can with any plausibility be maintained. ^J) can be assumed to have the meaning " although " only as being equivalent to ^3 DX "even when." Even though this should be assumed sometimes to occur, still the case before us is not of that sort. The true explanation of such constructions is to assume a slight ellipsis in the expression : " God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, [as might have been expected], seeine that was near." Or": " for that V as near [and return to Egypt in caau of danger Wuuld be more readily resorted to]." — Tr.] CHAP. XIII. 17— XIV. 31. 45 10 overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians [Eiiypt] marched after them ; and they were sore afraid : and the 11 children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah. And they said unto Moses, Because [Is it because] there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou [that thou hast] taken us away to die in the wilderness ? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with [what is this 12 that thou hast done to] us, to carry [in bringing] us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell [spake unto] thee in Egypt, saying. Let us aloue, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been [is] better for us to serve the 13 Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will shew to [work for] you to-day : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall 14 see them again no more forever. Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall hold 15 your peace. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak 16 unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But [And] lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine [thy] hand over the sea, and divide it : and the children of 17 Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them : and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horse- 18 men. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have gotten [get] 19 me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the an- gel of God, which [who] went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the pillar of the cloud [of cloud] went [removed] from before their face 20 [before them], and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [and darkness], but it gave light by night to these [it lightened the night] :^ so that [and] 21 the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and Jehovah caused the sea to go back [flow] by a strong east wind all that ni^ht, and made the sea dry land [bare ground]' and the waters were di- 22 vided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their 23 left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, 24 even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass that in the morning watch Jehovah looked unto [looked down at] the host of the Egyptians through [in] the pillar of fire and of the cloud [of cloud], and troubled 25 the host of the Egyptians, And took off [turned aside] their chariot wheels, that they drave them [and made them drive] heavdy : so that [and] the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel ; for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thine [thy] hand over the sea, that the waters may come again [back] upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon 27 their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea re- turned to his strength [to its course] when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it ; and Jehovah overthrew [shook] the Egyptians in [into] 28 the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen and [of]* all the host of Pharaoh that, came into the sea after them ; > [XrV. 20. n'7''^n~r\N IK'I ^tJ^nni t^J'i^ 'T'- ''*' construction is difficult. The only literal rendering is : "And it was (or, became) the clourand'the darkness, and' it illumined the night." The difficulty is gotten over by Knohel and Ewald by altering IJK^nni into l]'2/nm, reading : " And it came to pass as to the cloud, that it made darkuew. B-it even with this conjectural change, it is' no less necessary to assume an ellipsis of " to the one " and "to the other," or " on the one side ' and " on the otiier," as is done by A. V. and the great majority of versions and coramentatorn. i lie arti- cle may be explained as pointing bnck to xiii. 21 : "And it was the cloud and the darkness which have been already de- scribed." Or it is even possible to take ^nSd (ver. 19) as the subject of the verb ; " And he became the cloud and dark- ness: hut he illumined the night," TR.] , j„j J., J *T, ^ „4. «o. 8 [XIV.21. The Hebrew word here used, naiH, is ditferent from the one rendered « dry ground ' in the next verse ; and there is a clear distinction In the meaning, asTs^uite apparent from a comparison of Gen viii. 13, where it is said that on the first day of the first month the ground was 3in, with ver. 14, where it is said, tbat on the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earlh was 1!;3'. The fir«t mean'^s : free from water, drained ; the second means : free from moisture, dry. The distinction is generally, clear, though sometimes not exactly ohserved.—TE.I .• , « [XIT 28 The preposition 4 Ocriainly cannot here be rendered '-and;" but it may have a sort ot resumptive toice, equivalent to "even," " namely," " in Ehort."'— Ta.] 46 EXODUS. 29 there remained not so much as one of them [of them not even one]. But the chil- dren of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea ; and the waters were a 30 wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus [And] Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians 31 dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that [thtj] great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah and his servant Moses. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. Cliap. xiii. 17. Not by the way of the land of the Philistines. Decidedly wise, theocratic polio? on llie part of Moses, rightly ascribed lo God. The people, disheartened by servitude, could not at once maintain a conflict with the warlike Philistines, without being driven back to Egypt. They must first acquire in the wilderness the qualities of heroes. Aud that, according to Goethe, was accomplished in a few years ! On the exodus, comp. Introduc- tion; Keil, TI. p. 42; Knobel, p. 131. Ver. 18. Led the people about. It is a quesiion whether the round-about way spoken of has reference simply to the absolutely direct route through the Philistine country, or to another more direct one which they had al- ready begun to take, but which they were to give up. According to xiv. 2, the latter is to be assumed. Moreover, reference is made not only to the small distance to the Red Sea, but to the whole distance through the wilderness along the Red Sea, first southward along the Gulf of ISuez, then along the Elanitio Gulf northwards, (see Knobel, p. 131). For we have here to do with an introductory and summary account. It was natural that nothing but the prophetic divine word of Moses should have the control of the march, inasmuch as the people would have rushed impetuously towards the old cara- van road of their fathers. Moses himself was further influenced by his former journey to Sinai and tlie revelation there made to him. '• From Raemses to the head of the Gulf would be a distance of some 35 miles, which might e.sily have been passed over by the Israelites in three days" (Robinson I., 80). The deviation from the direct way must, however, be taken into con.^iilcration, even though it may have added little to the distance. On the three routes from Cairo to Suez, see Robinson, p. 73.— Of the Red Sea. See the Lexicons, Travels, Knobel, p. 131, sqq* — Especially as the chil- dren of Israel went up armed for battle. So we understand the force of the 1 before D'K'on- A march in order of battle would have looked like a challenge to the Philistines. Moreover, WOT\ signifies, among other things, to provoke to anger.j- * [Knnbfil nfter a leirned discussion comes to th^ conclu- sion that the Hebrew name for the Red Sea, C]^D-D^ (lite- rally " sea of sedge ") was probably derived from some town on the sea, named from the abundance of sedge growinp; near it. He tiikes this view in preference to the ono which derives the name of the sea din^ctly from the sedge, for the reason that the sedge is not a general feature of the sea, and from the uuiform omission of the article before ci^Q. — Ta. I. f [It is hardly possible to translat-^ the simple conjunction 1 by " cBpecialiy as." It any such connection of thought had Ver. 10. The bones of Joseph. Another testimony to the tenaciiy with which the Isra" elites retained moral impressions and old tradi- tions. The vow, 480 years old, aud the oath which sealed it, were still fresh. Vid. Gen. i. 25. On the fruitfulness of the land of Goshen, see Robinson, p. 76. "From the Land of Goshen to the Red Sea the direct and onlyroute was along the valley of the ancient canal" (Ibid. p. 79). Ver. 20. From Succoth. Inasmuch as they had already, according to chap. xii. 37, gone from Raemses to Succoth in battle array, Succoth (Tent-town, or Booths) would seem to designate not the first gathering-place of the people (Keil), but the point at which the first instinctive move- ment towards the Philistine border was checked by the oracle of Moses, and by the appearance of the pillar of fire and of smoke. While they at first wished to go from Succoth (say, by the northern extremity of the Bitter Lakes, or even farther on), directly to Palestine, they now had to go along on the west side of the Bitter Lakes towards the Red Sea. Thus they come from Suc- coth to Etham. " Etham lay at the end of the wilderness, which in Num. xxxiii. 8 is called the wilderness of Etham; but in Ex. xv. 22, the wilderness of Shur, that is, where Egypt ends andthedesert of Arabia begins" (Keil). "Etham is to be looked for either on the isthmus of Ar- bek, in the region of the later Serapeum, or the south end of the Bitter Lakes. Against the first view (^ihat of Stickel, Kuriz, Knobel), and for the second, a decisive consideration is the distance, which, although Seetzen went from Suez to Arbek in eight hours, yet according to the statement of the French scholar, Du Bois Aym^, amounts to 60,000 metres (16 hours, about 37 miles), a dis- tance such that the people of Israel could not in one day have traveled from Etham to Hahiroth. We must therefore look for Etham at the south end of the basin of the Biiter Lakes, whither Israel may have come in two days from Abu Keisheib, and then on the third day have reached the plain of Suez between Ajrud and the sea" (Keil). Abu Keisheib is Heroopolia near Raemses ; Ajrud is thought to be identical with Pi-Hahiroth. Tid. Num. xxxiii. 5 sq.* been intended ^3 would more probably have been used. Be- sides, such a statement would be almost contradictory of that in tlie preceding verse. The fact that they were armed, would make them leas likely to be afraid of war than if they were unarmed. The remark that U^DH siguifies, among other things, to provoke to anger, bafi little force in this con- nection, for the reasons : ( 1) that it is doubtful whether that is its etymological sigiiiftcance ; (2) that, even if this were its etymological significance, it ia a meaning nowhere found in actual uae ; (3) that this meaning cannot possibly have any application here, eince the participle is pasS'Ve, and we should have to translate, " went up provoked to au- g^r."— Ta.l. * [Notice may here be taken of a theorv of the ExodM propounded by Brugsch at the Internatlj'nal Congri'sa of CHAP. XIII. 17— XIV. 31. 47 Ver. 21. And Jehovah went before them. According to Keil this first took place at Etham; but it is to be observed that the deoisive more- ment began at Succoth. Keil says indeed that in verse 17 it reads that Elohim [God] led them, not till here that Jehovah went before them. But Jehovah and Elohim are not two different Gods. Jehovah, as Elohim, knew the Philistines well, and knew that Israel must avoid a contest with them. God, as Jehovah, was the miracle-working leader of His people. — By day in a pillar of cloud. — " This sign of the divine presence and guidance has a natural analogue in the caravan fire, viz. small iron vessels or stoves containing a wood fire, which, fastened on the tops of long poles, are carried as way- marks before caravans, and according to Curtius (de geatia Alex. mag. V. 2, 7), in trackless regions, are also carried before armies on the march, the smoke indicating to the soldiers the direc- tion by day, the flame, by night. Gomp. Har mar. Observations II., p. 278, Pococke, Descrip- tion of the East, II., p. 33. Still more analogous is the custom (mentioned by Curtius III. 8, 9) of the ancient Persians, who carried before the marching army on silver altars a fire quern ipn sacrum et seternum vacant. Yet one must not identify the oloudy and fiery pillar of the Israel- itish exodus with such caravan or arnvy fires, and regard it as only a mythical conception or embellishment of this natural fact " (Keil). He opposes Roster's view, that the cloud was pro- duced by an ordinary caravan fire, and became a symbol of the divine presence, thus setting aside also Kuobel's theory (Comm., p. 184) of a legend which was derived from this usage. Here too Keil is concerned about supernataralism in the abstract, and about something purely outward, so that we do not need here to move in the sphere of faith, of vision, of symbol and of mystery. The internal world is left out of con- fideration, while the inspired letter has to serve as evidence for the miraculous appearance. According to him the phenomenon was a cloud which inclosed a fire, and which, when the Orientalists in London, Sopt. 1874, also puolished at Alex- andria in French ("ia S»-(i« ie« Bebreux d' EggpU et leu mnnw- menti Egyjfliem"). T.ie theory is state! and criticised by Dr. J. P. Thompson in the Bibliofheca Sacra for Jan. 1875. In brief it is as follows : Rameses he identities with Zan, the Zoan of the Scriptures, situated near the mo^ith of the Tnnitic branch of the Kile Sa coth is idenifled with Thukut, a place mentioned on the E^ptian monuments as lying to the right of the Petusiac branch of the Nile. Etham is found in the place knuwa by the Egyptians as Khat m, east of Lake Menzaleh. Migdol is identified with the town called Mau- dolos by the Urepks, a fortress on the elge of the desert, not ar from the Mediterranein. Thus Brngsch holds that the line of the journey lay much farther north than is com- monly assumed. And tho ssa which the Israelites crossed wai, according to him, not the Bed Sea, but Lake Serbonis between wuich and the Mediterranean the Israelites marched in their flight from Pharaoh, and in which the latter with his host was destroyed. The principal objections to thii theory are stated by Dr. Thompson : (1) In order to n-aoh their rmdeimm, the Israelites, according to Brngsch, must have travelled nearly twenty miles north, crossing the PeliHiac branch of the Nile ; and then on the next day must have recrossed it— a great improhahillty. (2) It would have been a blunder in strategy for Moses to have led the people Into the treacherous S=rbonian bog. (3) The sacred narra tive plainly declares that the Israelites were commanded not to go by the way towards the Philistine country (Ex. xni. 17), whereas this way led directly towards it. (4) The scriptures declare that it was by the wny of the Bed Sea that J™ I'raelies were to go (Ex. xiii. 18). and that it wast the Ked Sea through which they passed (Ex. XT. 4). — Tb.J. 7 Israelites were on the march, assumed the form of motion [" a dark pillar of smoke rising towards heaven," Eeil], but, when the taberna- cle rested, " perhaps more the form of a round ball of cloud," It was the same fire, be says further, in which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses out of the bush (iii. 2), and afterwards descended upon Sinai amidst thunder and light- ning. He calls it the symbol of the divine fiery jealousy. Even the Prophets and Psalms are made to share in this literalness (Is. iv. 5 sq. ; xlix. 10; Ps. xci. 5 sq. ; cxxi. 6). A sort of solution is cited from Sartorius in hia Medita- tions, to the effect that God, by special ac'Jon on the earthly element, formed out of its sphere and atmosphere a body, which He then assumed and permeated, in order in it to reveal His real presence. But is not that Indian mythology as much as is the modern theological doctrine of the Khuaic ? We leave the mystery in its unique- ness suspended between this, world atid the other, only observing that the- problem will have to be solved, how, in later timies, the smoke of the ofi'ering which rose up from the tabernacle was related to the pillar of cloud. Likewise the question arises: What was the relation between the light of the perpetual lamp, or the late ex- piring and early kindling fire of the burnt-offer- ing, and the pillar of fire ? Vid. Ex. xxix. 89 ; Num. xxviii. 4. The burnt-offering derives its name from the notion of rising ; comp. especially Judg. xiii. 20. The ark, as the central object in the tabernacle, which generally preceded the host, retired in decisive moments behind the host, according to Josh. iv. 11 ; so the pillar of cloud here, xiv. 19. Rationalism finds nothing but a popular legend in the religious and sym- bolic contemplation of the guidance of the living God ; literalism seeks to paint the letters with fantastic, golden arabesques. Assumption (as- cension) of a cloud in the form of a ball whose interior consists of fire ! XIV. 2. Turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth.* — In Num. xxxiii. 8 Hahiroth; Pi is the Egyptian article. This camping-place is identified by many with the place named Ajrud or Agirud, " now a fortress with a well two hundred and fifty feet deep, which, how- ever, contains such bitter water that camels can hardly drink it, on the pilgrims' road from Cairo to Mecca, four hours' distance northwest * [The significance of the term 3^E^, used here and in Num. xxxiii. 7, is generally overlooked or unwarrantably modified by the commentators. Knobel (on ch. v. 22 and here) argues that It means here only to turn ; but the passages he adduci'S (among them one, Ps.xxxv.ll (P^alm xxxv. 13?), in which the word does not occur at all) are none of them in point. The word uniformly means to turn back, return, espe- cially when physical motion is intended. It merely turrdvg mide ha I been meaut, 1^0 or riJi) would have been used. TT The use of this word is conclusive againRt the hypothesis, that Etham lay on the west of the Bitter Lakes. Ewald (Hist, nf the People of Israrl, II. p. 68) argues that the use of it also disproves the more current view of Bobinson and others, that it lay south of the basin of these laki s. Possibly, how- ever, this is not necessary; for Etham, being in the "edge of toe wildern''S8," may have been just east of the line of the Gulf or canal (as Robinson snsgests); and if Pi-hahiroth is to bo found in the present Ajrud, the people may, indeed, in poing from Etham thither, have had to turn " back." Still there is no ronclusive evidence that Etham may not have been north or north-east of the Bitter Lakes, and that, in stead of pa"8ing down on the e«st side of the basin, they tnrnod hack, and went along the west side. So, among others, Canon Cook (in the Speaker's Commentary).— lE.j 48 EXODUS. of Suez, comp. Niebuhr, Eeiae I., p. 216 ; Burck- bardt, Syria, p. 626, and Robinson, Researches I , p. 68. From Ajrud there stretches out a plain, ten miles loog and as many broad, towards the sea west of Suez, and from the foot of the Atakah to the arm of the sea north of Suez (Robinson I., p. 65). This plain very probably served the Israelites as a oamping-place, so that they encamped before, i. e. east of Ajrud towards the sea. In the neighborhood of Hahiroth (Aj- rud) must be sought also the other places, of which thus far no trace has been discovered" (Keil). On Migdol and Baal-zephon, vid. Keil II., p. 43. Since the names Migdol and Baal- zephon are without doubt designed to mark the line of travel, it is natural to assume that they indicate the whence and the whither of the route. According to Robinson (I., p. 64) a rooky defile called Muntula leads to the region of Ajrud (Pi- hahiroth) on the left, and Suez on the right, on the Red Sea. Strauss {Sinai und Oolgotha, p. 122) called the defile Muktala, and identifies Baal-zephon with Suez. The question about the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea is obscured by theological bias in both directions. It is regarded as a natural event, raised by legendary tradition into a miracle, by Knobel, p, 135 sq., where the historical remarks on the Red Sea and the analogies of the passage are very noteworthy. Karl von Raumer, on the contrary (Paldstina, p. 478, under the head, Zug der laraeliten aus Egypten nach Kanaan), regards as rationalistic even the view of Nie- buhr, Robinson and others, that the passage took place at Suez or north of Suez, quoting the opinion of Wilson and o'her Americana (p. 480). He adopts the view of Schubert, Wilson and others, that the Israelites marched south of Spez by Bessantin to the Red Sea. Robinson's re- mark, that the hypothesis that the Israelites passed over from the plain of Bede (Wady Ta- warik) is overthrown by the circumstance that there the sea is twelve miles wide, and that the people did not have but two hours for the pas- sage, Von Raumer overthrows by means of a dictum of Luther s concerning the miraculous power of God. Von Raumer also will not hear to any natural event as the substratum of the miracle. "The Holy Scriptures," he says, " know nothing of a N. N. E. wind, but say that an east wind divided the waters, that they stood up on the right and the left like walls; there is nothing said about an ebb, hence the duration of the ebb is not to be taken into account." He seems even to be embarrassed by the fact that there is an alternation of ebb and flood in the Red Sea; and in places where others also, in individual cases, at the ebb-tide have ridden through, he holds that the passage could not have take place, e. g. where Napoleon in 1799 crossed the ford near Suez, and thus endangered his life (Robinson I., p. 85). Even the co-ope- ration of the wind, he holds, can be taken into account only in the interest of the magnified miracle, although it is designated not only in ver. 21 as the cause of the drying of the sea, but the like fact is also referred to in Moses' song of praise (xv. 8 ; comp. Ps. cvi. 9 and other passages). Hence, too, he holds, the east wind must not be understood as being, more exactly, a north-east wind.* Similar biblical passages are given by Knobel, p. 139. The objection that north of Suez there is not water enough to have overwhelmed Pharaoh's host, is removed by the observation of Stickel and Kurtz, that, according to travellers, the Gulf of Suez formerly extended much farther north than now, and in course of time through theJ}lowing in of sand has become shorter, and hence also more shallow (Knobel, p. 140). Also Strauss (Sinai und Golgotha, p. 123) regards the hypo- tbesis that the passage took place as far south as below the mountain Atakah, where the sea is nearly twelve miles wide, as inadmissible, although he insists, on the other hand, that natural forces are insufficient to explain the event. While the subject has been very care- fully examined in this aspect, two principal fac- tors of the miracle have been too little regarded: (1) the assurance and foresightof the prophet that in the moment of the greatest need a miracle of deliverance would be performed ; (2) the mira- culously intensifitd natural phenomenon, corre- sponding to the harmonia prsestabiliia between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of nature, such that an extiaordinary ebb, by the aid of a continuous night-storm which blew against the current, laid bare the whole ford for the entire passage of all the people of Israel with their flocks, and that an equally violent wind from the opposite direction might have made the flood, hitherto restrained, a high tide, which must have buried Pharaoh. He who in all this sees only a natural occurrence will of course even press the letter of the symbolic expression, that tlie water stood up on both sides like a wall.-|- Ver. 3. For Pharaoh ■will say. — We must here remember the law regulating the writing of theooratic history, according to which, as the record of religious history, it puts foremost the divine purpose, and passes over the human mo- tives and calculations, by means of which this purpose was effected, yet without leaving, in t be spirit of an abstract Bupernaturalism, sueh motives out of the account. Here, accordingly, Moses cannot from the first have had the inten- tion, in marching to the Red Sea, of alluring Pharaoh to the extreme of obduracy, and thereby into destruction. But he may well have antici- pated that Pharaoh, pursuing him on the high- way around the sea, might be quite as danger- ous to him as a collision with the Philistines. As one long acquainted with the Red Sea, he saw only a single means of deliverance, viz., the taking advantage of the ebb for his people, who then by means of the returning flood could get * rHengstenbsrg also, Hvsbrry of the Kingdom of God, H. p. 292, wliile agreeing with Roliinsou, against Wilson, Von Ball- mer, etc., in reg.ird to tlio place of tlie passage, rejects tbe tlie ry of au ebb tide, aided by a nortbeast wind, asserting that D^Tp never denotes anything but an east wind. — Tr.] t [This seems at first sight almost self-contradictory. Those who see in the events described only natural occur- rences would seem to be just those who, disbelieving in Hiiy- tliing supernatural, would not press, or would reject, tliB Biblical statement, that the water stood up as a wall on both sides. But probably Lange means that the literal, prosaiJ cast of mind which could not discern the supernatural elp- nient in the apparently natural phenomena, would also be unable to discern In the Biblical style the poetico-symbolio element, an'i sn, whether accepting the Biblical staicmenU or n' it, would under»taiid them only in their most literal, prosaic stnse. — Tk.J. CHAP. Xni. 17— XIV-81. 49 a long distance ahead of Pharaoh, in case he should follow them. So fur human calculation could reach ; but it received a splendid trans- formation through the Spirit of revelation, who disclosed to the prophet, together with the cer- tainty of deliverance, the ultimate object of this form of deliverance, viz , the finul judgment on Pharaoh, which was yet to be inflicted. — They are bewildered la the land. — The round- about way from Ethara to the sea might seem like an uncertain marching hither and thither. — The wilderness hath shut them in. — They cannot jjo through, and are held fast. The section vers. 1—4 is a comprehensive summary. Ver. 6. That the people fled.— This state- ment probably preceded Pharaoh's judgment, that the people wished to flee but wer« arrested. So much seemed to be proved, that they were not thinking only of a three days' journey in the wilderness in order to hold a festival. — The heart of Pharaoh . . . was turned. — Pha- raoh may have been stirred up alike by the thought of a fleeing host, and by that of one wandering about helplessly. For they seemed to be no longer a people of God protected by God's servants, but smitten at the outset, and doomed to slavery. But the king and his cour- tiers needed to use an imposing military force in order to bring them back, seeing they were at least concentrated and armed. All the more, inasmuch as his pledge, their right, and the con- sciousness of perjury, determined the tyrant to assume the appearance of carrying on war against them. Whatever distinction may in other cases be made between camping-places and days' journeys, the three stations, Succoth, Etham and Pi-hahiroth, doubtless designate both, that there may be also no doubt concern- ing Pharaoh's injustice.* Useless trouble has been takeu to determine when Pharaoh received the news, and pursued after the Israelites ; also where he received the news, whether in Tanis or elsewhere. According to Num. xxxiii. 7 they pitched in Pihahiroth; but this was probably not limited to an encampment for a night. Here then after three days' journey they were to celebrate a feast of Jehovah in the wilderness in a much highgr sense than they could before have ima- gined. Vers. 6, 7. And he made ready his cha- riot. — The grot.e>, "Strength, might; not praise and glory" (Keil). But that strength which the poet experiences, that which becomes in him a fountain of song, is his inspiration. Jah, concentration of the name Jehovah, perhaps a more familiar form of the awe-inspiring name. Vers. 3-8. Jehovah as a warlike hero in contrast with Pharaoh. — A man of war.— As such he had become Israel's consolation and reliance by his annihilation of Egypt's dreadful military power, which Israel alone could not have resisted. Thy right hand, Jehovah (ver. 6) does not form a contrast with what is said of Jehovah as a man of war, but is a further celebration of the warlike power of Jehovah as displayed against his foes. Vers. 9, 10. Pharaoh, Jehovah's enemy, as the persecutor of Bis people, in his arrogance, in con- trast with Jehovah. — I will pursue. — The spirit of the eager enemy is pictured in a masterly way by the incomplete sentences following one another without the copula. — They sank (plunged). ^SSx is translated by Knobel : "they whirled." But lead falling upon water does anything but whirl around. Keil translates TTi here "sank ~T into the depths," referring to TvlVi and n71J?D. the abyss of the sea, and alleging that lead oast into water can neither whii; nor whirl. Yet it might cause the peculiar sound of water desig- nated by the words dash, splash, etc. The ques- tion might be asked, whether a new picturesque expression would not be preferable to the repe- tition of the thought of ver. 5. But this is de- cided by the consideration that they did not fall upon the water, but the water came over them. Vers. 11-13. Jehovah therefore has shown Himself to be the Qod of Bis people Israel. — Who is like unto thee. — The germ of the name Michael. Jehovah appears here as the exalted God of God's people, before whom the god-s (the hea- then — and anti-Christian — forms of religion) cannot stand. — Who is like unto thee, again in fine repetition, for now Jehovah is celebrated as He who glorifies Himself (or is glorified) in holiness. He is made glorious by His holiness, by the august distinction of His personality from all hostile elements, of His people from the Egypt- ians by the waters of the Red Sea, of His ligl>t from darkness. The passage through the Bed Sea has made manifest the holiness of Jehovah, who henceforward through His revelation will sanctify His people, as was fii'St typically pro- mised by the deluge; comp. Ps. Ixxvii. 14 [13].* — Fearful in praises. — The obscure expression ribnri XII'J means not only summe venerandus, but also that "man, because God performs fear- ful miracles, can sing to Him praises worthy of his wonderful deeds only with fear and trem- bling" (Keil). But can one sing praises with fear and trembling ? Yet songs of praise them- selves may disseminate fear and terror in the kingdom of darkness ; at any rate, Jehovah can reveal His dreadfulness so as to call forth songs of praise from His people. — Doing wonders. — The notion of the miraculous likewise here first appears more marked, as that of something new and extraordinary, which through God's creative power transcends the extraordinary phenomena of the ancient natural world. — Only a stretching out of His hand, and the earth swal- lows them up. The words, says Keil, have no- thing more to do with the Egyptians, but with the enemies of the Lord in general, since the Egyptians were swallowed by the sea. But the contrast is between God's outstretched hand in heaven and the absolute subordination of the whole earth, which certainly includes the sea. — In thy mercy. — Here the notion of grace be- comes more definite in connection with the typi- cal deliverance. — Unto thy holy habitation. — See above. According to Knobel, this expres- sion indicates that the song was composed at a later period. Noticeable is the expression tynp nU. The Bed Sea being the boundary- line between Egypt and God's people, the region or pasture (HIJ) of holiness began on the other shore of the sea. Keil refers the phrase to Ca- naan, the leading of the people into that land being now pledged to them, so that .the expres- sion, like many others, would have to be under- stood in a prophetic sense. Vers. 14-16. The terrifying effect of this exploit of Jehovah among the heathen. — Even the singers at the Bed Sea could proclaim this effect as an accomplished fact. Burners of wars and victo- ries even in the East circulate rapidly, and the facts, through the reports, assume an imposing form. Vid. Josh. ii. 9 ; ix. 9. The ramification of this eff^ect is entirely in accordance with the plan of the journey, comp. Num. xx. 18 sqq. ; xxi. 4; Deut. ii. 3, 8. See above.— Still as * [Where EflpS, the same expresBino which in Ex. xv. 11 is rendered "in holiness," is in the A. V. incorrectly rendered " in the sanctuary." — Ta.] f,4 EXODUS. :i atone. — DDH may mean either to ttand still, or to be rigid and gilent. We regard the first sense as the more probable. As Israel must march among the stones of the wilderness, so he wishes also to march through the nations clean to his goal. To this refers also the two-fold nj^^-n;; ["pass over"], which Knobel refers to the crossing of the Jordan — a proof of the degree of senselessness to which modern criti- cism can attain in its prejudices. Vers. 17, 18. Concluding prayer and doxolngy. — A part of ver. 17, as an original conclusion, could not be at all dispensed with. — Thou shalt bring them in. — According to Knobel, the futures are preterites ( ! ) ; according to Keil, they should not be read as wishes, but as simple predictions. Predictions in reference to Jeho- vah's actions! — In the mountain of thine Inheritance. — According to Knobel, this is the mountain-region of Canaan ; according to Keil, the mountain which Jehovah had chosen, by the offering of Isaac (Gen. xxii.), as his dwelling- place, his sanctuary, Ps. Ixxviii. 54. There is no ground for regarding this expression as a vaticinium post eventum ; it seems, however, also very one-sided to refer the prophecy directly to the definite locality of the sanctuary on Moriah. How long the tabernacle first stood in Shiloh, how often the ark changed its place 1 In sym- bolical language a mountain is a secure height on which the people of Israel, Jehovah's posses- sion, gained a firm lodgment. The centre of this mountain is, on the one hand, the dwelling- place of Jehovah ; on the other, the sanctuary of the Lord C'J'IS) for His people. The brief concluding sentence forms a worthy close ; n. simple expression of unlimited conQdence : Jehovah shall reign for ever and ever. Vers. 19, 20. Transition to the antiphimy of Miriam. — The horses of Pharaoh. — Keil un- derstands that Pharaoh rode on his horse in front of the army. But this is neither ancient nor modern custom. Moreover, DO evidently refers to chariots and horsemen. — The pro- phetess. — "Not ob poeticam et musicam faculta- tern (Rosenmiiller), but on account of her pro- phetic gifts " (Keil). It is not well to distinguish the two kinds of endowment within the theocracy so sharply, in so far, that is, as the question of endowment is concerned. — The sister of Aaron. — So in Num. xii. 1-6, where, together with Aaron, she takes sides against Moses. According to Kurtz, she is so called because she was co-ordinate with Aaron, but subordinate to Moses. She stood, as the leader of Jewish wo- men, appropriately by the side of the future conductor of the religious service. According to the New Testament, it was also customary to name younger children after the older ones {e.g. Judas of James). — The timbrel in her hand. — The tabor, tambourine. — And ^ith dances. — Here first appears the religious dance, intro- duced by Miriam with religious festivities, but probably not without Aaron's influence. The frequent occurrence of this dance is seen from a concordance.* Ver. 21. Sing ye to Jehovah. — From this derives the antiphony in the Old Testament and New Testament, t. g. Judg. xi 34; 1 Sam. xviii. 6; xxi. 11; xxix. 6. Is not the occasion great enough in itself, that the orgin of the antiphony should have been looked for in Egypt ? For the rest, vid. on the ancient Egyptian female dancers with tambourines, Keil, Archdologie, § 137, Note 8. * r According to some, tlie word here rendered "dances" really denotes a musical instrument used in connection with dances, bo, e.g.^ Pro£, Marks in Smith's BibU DiUionary^ Am. Ed., p. 638.— Tb. 1. FIFTH SECTION. The journey through the wilderness to Sinai. Want of water. Marah. Elim. The Wilderness of Sin. Quails. Manna. Rephidim (Massah and Meribah). The Amalekites. Jethro and his advice, a human prelude of the divine legislation. Chap. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. THE STATIONS AS FAR AS SINAI. 1. Marah. Chapter XV. 22-26. 22 So [And] Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the ■wilderness of Shur ; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no 23 water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the [drink the] waters of Marah, for they were bitter ; therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24, 25 And the people murmured against Moses, saying. What shall we drink? And he cried unto Jehovah, and Jehovah showed him a tree, which, when he had cast [and he cast it] into the waters, the [and the] waters were made sweet : there he 26 made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved [tried] them, And' CHAP. XV. 22— XV III. 27. 65 said, If thou wilt diligently [indeed] hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his command- ments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these [the] diseases upon thee, which I have brought [put] upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that healeth thee. 2. Elim. Chap. XV. 27. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells [fountains] of water, and three- score and ten palm trees : and they encamped there by the waters. 8. The Wilderness of Sin. [The Manna and the Quails.) Chapter XVI. 1-36. 1 And they took their journey from Eliin, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt, 2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and 3 Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them. Would to God [Would that] we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and [flesh-pots,] when we did eat bread to the full ; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with 4 hunger. Then said Jehovah [And Jehovah said] unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you ; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate [a daily portion] every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my 5 law, or no [not]. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall pre- pare that which they bring in ; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then shall ye 7 know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt. And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah ; for that [since] he heareth your murmurings against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? 8 And Moses said, This shall be, when [And Moses said. Since] Jehovah shall give you ia the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full ; for that [since] Jehovah heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him, and [against him,] what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against 9 Jehovah. And Moses spake [said] unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before Jehovah : for he hath heard your mur- 10 murings. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the 11 glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel : speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and 13 ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God. And it came to pass that at even [at even that] the quails came up, and covered the camp : and in the morning the 14 dew lay round about the host [camp]. And when the dew that lay [the layer of dew] was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay [the wilderness] 15 a small round thing, as small aa the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna [What is this?],^ for they wist [knew] not what it was. And Moses said unto them. This is the 16 bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat [for food]. This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded. Gather of it every man according to his eating, an oraer for every man [a heafi], according to the number of your persons ; take ye 17 every man for them, which [that] are in his tents [tent]. And the children of 18 Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete [And TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. • fXVI. IB. Nin I'D' Gosenius and Knobel derive |D from [JO. *o ajjporfion ; FUrst (Concordmce) from the San- Bcrit mani. But most scholars, following the evident implication of the narrative itself, regard ja as the Aramaic equiva- lent of nn. Even Furst so renders It in his " lauslrirtt Fraoht-Bibel." Comp. Michaelis, Supplemmta ai Umm Eebraiea, -Te.] 56 EXODUS. they measured] it with an [the] omer, he [and he] that gathered much had no- thing over, and he that gathered little had no lack ; they gathered every m-an 19 according to his eating. And Moses said [said unto them], Let no man leave of 20 it till the morning. Notwithstanding [But] they hearkened not unto Moses ; but some of them [and some] left of it until the morning, and it bred worms,^ and 21 stank : and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, 22 every man according to his eating : and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man [each man] : and all the rulers of the congregation came and told 23 Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken. To mor- row is the rest of the holy sabbath [is a day of rest, a holy sabbath] unto Jehovah : bake that which ye will bake to-day [bake], and seethe [boil] that [that which] ye will seethe [boil] ; and that which [all that] remaineth over lay up for you to be 24 kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade : and 25 it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said. Eat that to-day ; for to-day is a sabbath unto Jehovah : to-day ye shall [will] not find it in 26 the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but on the seventh day, which is the [on 27 the seventh day is a] sabbath, in [on] it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to [day to] gather, 28 and they found none. And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep 29 my commandments and my laws ? See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sab- bath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye 30 every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the 31 people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna : and it was like coriander seed, white ; and the taste of it was like wafers 32 made [like cake] with honey. And Moses said. This is the thing which Jehovah commandeth, Fill an omer of it [An omer full of it] to be kept for [throughout] your generations ; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the 33 wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot [basket], and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay 34 it up before Jehovah, to be kept for [throughout] your generations. As Jehovah 35 commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna [the manna] forty years, until they came to a land inhabited ; they did eat manna [the manna], until they came unto the bor- 36 ders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. 4. Rephidim. The place called Massah and Meribah. Chapter XVII. 1-7. XVII. 1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys [journey by journey], according to the com- mandment of Jehovah, and pitched in Rephidim : and there was no water for the 2 people to drink. Wherefore [And] the people did chide with Moses, and said. Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye 3 with me ? wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah ? And the people thirsted there for water ; and the people murmured against Moses, and said. Wherefore is this that thou hast [Wherefore hast thou] brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our 4 children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto Jehovah, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to [a little more, and tliey 5 will] stone me. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go on [Pass on] before the people, and take with thee of the elders of the people; and thy rod wherewith thou smotest « [XVI. 20. "And it bred worms;" D'JJ^l'JI D;1'1. T1"> Heb. word seems to be the Fut. of Dn defectively written, and therefore to mean : " rose up Into (or with) worma," Kalisch says, that the form QTil is used instead of D^'l *« (how that it comes from n:31 (DOT) in the sense of 2)!i/re/>. So Maurer and Ewttld (dr., § 281, (i). nut it is doubtfU whether DDT (assumed as the root from which comes HBT " worm ") really means putre/i/ at all. FUret defines it by " crawl." Moreover, it would be Inverting the natural order of things to say, that the manna herjime putrid with worms; the worms are the consequence, not the cause, of the piitridneas. Ro-enmllller, Filrst, Arnheim and others render by ** swarm," •' abound," but probabh as a free rendering lor " rose up." De Wette : da wuchsen Wurmer The A Y ^onde^ ing may stand aa a subitantlally correct reproduction of the sense.— Tb.]. ' ' " CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 57 6 the river, take in thine [thy] hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that [and] the people may [shall] drink. Aad Moses did so in the sight 7 of the elders of I-rael. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not ? 5. Amalek. The dark side of heathenism. Chaptek XVII. 8-16. 8, 9 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek : to-morrow I will 10 stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine [my] hand. So [And] Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek : and Moses, Aaron, 11 and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed : and when he let down his hand, Amalek pre- 12 vailed. But Moses' hands were heavy : and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going 13 down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge 14 of the sword. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a [the] book, and rehearse [lit. put] it in the ears of Joshua : for [that] I will utterly put 15 [blot] out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an 16 altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi : For [And] he said. Because Jehovah hath sworn that [For a hand is upon the throne of Jah ;'] Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. 6. Rephidim and Jethro. Tlie bright side of heathenism. Chapter XVIII. 1-27. 1 When [Now] Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and [how] that Jehovah had brought Israel out 2 of Egypt ; Then [And] Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, 3 after he had sent her back [after she had been sent away]. And her two sons ; of which [whom] the name of the one was Gershom ; for he said, I have been an alien 4 [a sojourner] in a strange land : And the name of the other wots Eliezer ; for the God of my father, said he, was mine [my] help, and delivered me from the sword 5 of Pharaoh : And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped [was encamped] at the mount 6 of God : And he said unto Moses, I thy father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee, 7 and thy wife, and her two sous with her. And Moses went out to meet his father- in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him ; and they asked each other of their wel- 8 fare ; and they came into the tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and [sake] all the travail [trouble] that had come upon them by the way, and how Jehovah 9 delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for [over] all the goodness [good] which Jehovah had done to Israel whom he had delivered [in that he had delivered them] 10 out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said. Blessed 6e Jehovah, who hath * fXVII. 16. We have giTen the most literal rendering of this difacult passage. But possibly ^3, instead of meaning "for" (or "because "), may (as on oftpn in Grf»ek) be the mere mark of a quotation, to be omitted in the translation. The meaning of the expression itself is very doubtful. The A. V., following some ancient a-ithorities, takes it as an oath; but for this there is little ground. Kelt interprets : "The hand rais-d to the throne of Jehovah in heaven; Juhovah's war aEalnst Amalek," i. e. the hands of the Israelites, like those of Moses, must be raised heavenward towafds Jehovah's throne, while they wage war against Amalek. Others interpret: " Recause a hand (viz. the hand of the Amalekites) is against the throne of Jab, the. efore Jehovah will torever have war with Amalek." This interpretation has the advantage over Eeil's of giving a more natural rendering to 7 V, which indeed in a few cases does mean " up to." but only when it is (ae ft is not here) connectud with a verb which requires the preposition to be so rendered. Others (perhaps tho miijority of modern exegetes) would read DJ ("banner"), instead of 03 ("throne"), and interpret: ' The hand upon Jehovah'a banner; Jehovah has war," ete. This conjecture is less objectionable than many attempted improvements of the text, inasmuch as the name of thealt»ir, " Jehovah-ni^si " ("Jehovah, my banner "), seems to require an explanation, and would receive it if the reading were QJ, instead of D3— Te.]. 68 EXODUS. delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, 11 who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all [all the] gods : for [yea], in the thing 12 wherein they dealt proudly he was above [dealt proudly against] them. And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law 13 before God. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the peo- 14 pie : and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said. What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself aloue, and all the 15 people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father- 16 in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God : When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make 17 [I make] them know the statutes of God, ^nd his laws. And Moses' father-in-law 18 said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee : for this [the] thing is too heavy for thee ; thou art not able to perform it thyself [able to do it] alone. 19 Hearken now unto my voice I will give thee counsel, and God shall be [God be] with thee : Be thou for the people to God-ward [before God], that thou mayest 20 bring [and bring thou] the causes [matters] unto God : And thou shalt teach [And teach] them ordinances and laws [the statutes and the laws], and shalt shew [and shew] them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover [But] thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness [unjust gain] ; and place siuih over them, to he [as] rulers of thousands, and [thousands,] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, 22 and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons [times]: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they [they themselves] shall judge : so shall it be [so make it] easier for thyself, 23 and they shall [let them] bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt [wilt] be able to endure, and all this 24 people shall also [people also will] go to their place in peace. So [And] Moses 25 hearkened to the voice of his father in-law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, 26 rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons [times]: the hard causes [matters] they 27 brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. And Moses let his father-in-law depart ; and he went his way into his own land. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. General Survey of the Section. Israel's jour- ney from the shore of the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai. The host enters the wilderness of Shur (the same as the wilderness of Elham), and its first camp- ing-place is hy the bitter waters of Marah. The second is Elim. Next comes the encampment on the Red Sea recorded in Num. xxxiii. Still later the entrance into the wilderness of Sin, and the encampment in it. With this is con- nected the sending of the manna and of the quails. Then follows the stay in Rephidim with three leading event'C the water from the rock, the victory over Amalek, and Jethro's advice concerning an orderly judicial system. Accord- ing to Num. xxxiii. it must be assumed that the people encamped on the Red Sea just as they touched the wilderness of Sin; for it was not till after this that they entered the wilderness (ver. 11 1, as they also at the first entered the wilder- derness of Shur, on the borders of which they found themselves at the Tery oatset. Between the encampment on the Red Sea and that in Re- phidim we find in the Book of Numbers Dophkah and Alush ; and it is said that they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin to Dophkah. Enobel observes that these two stations, not mentioned in Exodus, are omitted because nothing of his- torical importance is connected with them. Also about this journey from Ay un Musa to Sinai there has been an immense deal of discussion, as well as about the journey from Raemses to the Red Sea. Vid. Robinson I., p. 90, Bi'am, Israel's Wan- derung von Gosen bis zum Sinai (Elberfeld, 1859); Strauss, Sinai und Golgotha, p. 124; von Bau- mer, Palastina, p. 480; Tisohendorf, Aus dm heiligen L'mde, p. 23 ; Kurtz, History nf the Old Covenant III., p. 15sqq.; Bunsen V., 2, p. 155; and the commentaries. There is general agreement as to the locality of the first stations. It is assumed that Israel, after the passage of the sea, encamped at Ayun Musa (the Wells of Moses), opposite the high mountain Atakah, on the other side of the Red Sea. The next camping-place, Marah (Bitter- ness;, is found about sixteen and a half hours, or CHAP. XV. 22— XVm. 27. 69 a iiree days' journey beyond, by the well Howara or Hawara, of which Robinson says: "The basin is six or eight feet in diameter, and the water about two feet deep. Its taste is unpleasant, saltish, and somewhat bitter. . . . The Arabs .. . consider it as the worst water in all these re- gions" {Pal. H., p. 96). Cf. Seetzen III., p. 117, and Keil II., p. 58, who quotes divergent opinions of Ewald and Lepsius. — The next camping-place, EUm, is two and a half hours further south, in what is now the Wady Qhurundel, with a beau- tiful vegetation consisting in palms, tamarisks, acacias, and tall grass. — a prominent stopping- place on the way from Suez to Sinai. " The way from Howara to this place is short, but the camping-places of an army in march, lilce that of the Israelites, are always determined by the sup- ply of water" (Keil). The fourth stopping-place, called in Num. xxxiii. 10 the one on the Bed Sea, is found at the mouth of Wady Taiyibeh (Robin- son I., p. 105), eight hours beyond Wady Ghu- ruudi"l. From th'S point the route becomes less easy to fix. In Nam. xxxiii. 11 we read: "They removed from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin." * Here in Exodus it is said that the wilderness lies between Elim and Sinai. This addition seems designed not only to give the general direction (since that would be quite Buperfluons), but to designate the middle point between EUm and Sinai. The chief question here is, whether the wilderness of Sin as tra- versed by the Israelites, is to be located further south on a sea coast, where the plain is for the most part a good hour wide, as is assumed by many (not aU, as Br'am says), or whether the high table land el Debbe, or Debbet en Nasb, with its red sand and sand-stones, is to be talsen for the Wilderness of Sin (Knobel). Accord- ingly, there are two principal routes, of which the first again branches into two. By the coast route one can go along the coast as fir as Tur (Gwald), and from that in a northeast direction come to, Sinai; or more directly (i. e., at first in an inland direction from the fountain Murkha) enter through the waJies Shellal and Badireh (Butera) into the wadies Mukatteb and Peirau, and reach Mt. Horeb (de la Borde, von Raumer, and others).-)- The other route, the mountain or highland route (Burckhardt and others) turns from Taiyibeh " suulheast through Wady Shu- beikah over a high table-land, with the mountain Sarbut el Jemel, then through Wady Ilumr upon * Inasm'ioh as P^tusium, as being a marshy city, is called S'W, an 1 S nai, heiiig a rocky moantain, is jnst tite opposite, the que^tiim arise-) : Wtiat is the common feature of a marshy wildomeas, and of a rocky mountain range? Possibly, the points and den'iculations of tlie thorn-bush. An old inter- pretation chUh Sinai itself a thorn-bush, fr tm the thorn-bush \T\i^) in which Jehovah revealed Himself to Moses. The Btony wilde-npsa may have the thorn-bush in common with the marshy fens. t f Lange omits another way which might have been taken, UK., fro-n el-Murkhah along the coast, and thence up Wady Feiran, instead of »he more direct way through the wadies Shellal and Mulcatteb into Wady Feiran. This is the course which the mnmbers of the Sinai Survey Expedition unani- mously decided ti be the mist probable, inasmuch as the road over the pass of Nagb Buderah, bitweon the wadi s Shel- lal and Mukatteb, must have lieen consrructed at a time pos- terior to the Exodus (B. H. Palmer: Tim Desert nfthe Exodus, p. 276), Robinson also mentions this route as at least eqnallv probable wiih the other (I., p. 107). Palmer is quite decided that no other route afforded facilities for a large caravan such afl that of the sraelites,— Tb.] the wide sandy plain el Debbe, or Debbet en Nasb " (Keil), and on through several wadies directly to Horeb. For and against each of these routes much may be said. Of Knobel, p. 162 sqq. ; Keil II. p. 61. According to the latter view, advocated by Knobel and Keil, the camp- ing-place in the wilderness of Sin is to be sought in Wady Nasb, where among date-palms a well of ample and excellent water is to be found. The second seacoast route was taken by Strauss and Krafft {Sinai und Golgotha, p. 127). Also the last time by Tischendorf {Aus dtm hdligen Lande, p. 35). The same way is preferred by Bram in his work " Israel's Wanderung," etc. Likewise Robinson regards this as the course taken by the Israelites, though he himself took the one on the table-land. To decide is not easy, and is of little importance for our purpose. But the following observations may serve as guides: (1) If, as is most probable, the names Sin and Sinai are connected etymologically, this is an argument for the table-land route, especially as it also seems to lie more nearly midway between Elim and Sinai ; (2) the water seems here to be, though less abundant, yet better, than in most of the salty fountains on the seacoast, whose tur- bidness also is easily to be explained by its situ- ation on the coast {vid. Robinson, p. llO) ; (3) on the table-land, in the depressions of which ve- getation was everywhere found, there was cer- tainly better provision for the cattle than on the seacoast, where they were often entirely sepa- rated from pasture land by mountain barriers ; (4) if the encampment in the wilderness of Sin was also an encampment on the Red Sea, the preceding encampment could not, without causing confusion, be designated by the term " on the Red Sea." So much for the mountain route. Ritter has argued against the view that the jour- ney was made on the table-land through Wady Ntsb, in the Evangeliseher Kalender. Vid. Kurtz III., p. 61. For the rest, each way had its pecu- liar attractions as well as its peculiar difficulties. The mountain route allowed the host to spread itself, as there was much occasion for doing ; it presented grand views, and prepared the people for a long time beforehand for its destination, Sinai. It is distinguished by "the singular and mysterious monuments of Surabit el-^hadim" (Robinson I., p. 113; Niebuhr, p. 235). By the way which runs half on the seacoast, half through the mountains, we pass through the re- markable valley of inscriptions, Mukatteb, and through the grand valley Feiran, rich in tama- risks, in whose vicinity lies the lofty Serbal, re- garded by Lepsius as the mountain on which the law was given. On the inscriptions on the rocks and cliffs in the valley Mukatteb, see Ti- schendorf, "Ausdemh. Lande," p. 39 sqq.; Kurtz III., p. 64. By these they are ascribed for the most part to Nabatsean emigrants and to pilgrims going to attend heathen festivals. On the "rock of inscriptions" see also Ritter's reference to Wellsted and von Schubert, Vol. XIV., p 459. On the former city Faran in Feiran, see Tischen- dorf, p. 46. The camping-place in the wilder- ness of Sin is, as follows from the above, vari- ously fixed; according to some it is the plain on the sea south of Taiyibeh, which, however, must then be called the wilderness of Sin up to the 60 EXODUS. mountain range, if (he camping-place is to be distinguished from the one on the Red Sea; ac- cording to Bunsen and others, the camping-place was in the place called el Munkhah. According to others, it is the large table-land el Debbe or Debbet en Nasb. The camping-places in the wil- derness of Sin being indeterminate, so are also the two following ones at Dophkah and Alush (Num. xxsiii. 12). Conjectures respecting the two sta- tions beyond the wilderness of Sin are made by Knobel, p. 174, and Bunsen, p. 156. The last station before the host arrives at Sinai is Rephi- dim. This must have been at the foot of Horeb, for "Jehovah stood on the rook on Horeb, when He gave water to the people encamped in Rephi- dim (xvii. 6), and at the same place Moses was visited by Jethro, who came to him at the mount of God" (Knobel). This is a very important point fixed, inasmuch as it seems to result from it, that Serbal is to be looked for north of, or be- hind, Rephidim and Horeb, but the Mt. Sinai of the Horeb range in the south. * The great plain at the foot of Horeb, where the camp of the Is- raelites is sought, is called the plain er-Raha (Knobel derives D'TSI, "breadth," "surface," "plain," from 131, to be spread). | For a refu- tation of Lepsius, who finds Rephidim in Wady Feiran, and Sinai in Serbal, see Knobel, p. 174. On Serbal itself (Palm grove of Baal) vid. Kurtz III., p. 67. Between Serbal and the Horeb group lies Wady es-Sheikh. From the mouth of this wady towards Horeb the plain of Rephidim is thought to begin. Other assumptions : The de- file with Moses' seat, Mokad Seidna Musa, or the plain of Suweiri. Perhaps not very dif- ferent from the last mentioned [vid. Keilll., p. 79; Strauss, p. 131). The most improbable hypothesis identifies Rephidim with Wady Feiran (Lepsius). J 1. Marah. Chap. xv. 22-26. On the wilderness of Shur, vid. Keil II., p. 57. Particulars about Howara [Hawara (Robinson), Hawwai-a (Palmer)], Knobel, p. 160. — The bitter salt water at Marah.^ The miracle here consists * fThii is not perspicuona. Inasmuch as Serbal is not mentioned in the Bible, no inference can be drawn from these eircumatancea respecting its location. Moreover, Serbal is not north of Sinai (Jebel Musa), bnt nearly east — a little north only. And why is "north" called "behind' ? The " hinder " region, according to Hebrew conceptions, is in the went. — Tr.] t [The theory that Rephidim is to be Bouffht in er-Raha (advocated by Knobel, Keil, Lange, and others), is certainly open to the objection that that plain is close by Mt. Sinai itself, and is in all probability the camping-place " before the mount," mentioned in xix. 1, 2, Palmer (p. 112) and Rob- inson (T., p. T55) are emphatic in the opinion that the plain of Set>ai' eh, south-east, of Jebel Musa, is quire insufjicient to have accommodated the Israelitish camp. Repliidim, there- fore, being (ac -ordmii to xix. 2) at least a day s march from the place whence Moses weot up to receive the law, cannot well have been er-Baha, Stanley (Sinai muL PaUsi'Tie, p. 40) and Palmer defend the old vit^w that it is to be looked for at Feiran, ne.ar Mt. Serhal, Palmer argues that the distance, apparently much too great to have been traversed in a single day, is no insuperable objection, provided that by "the wil dernesB of Sinai" we understand the mouth of Nagb Hawa, which may have been reached in a single day by the direct route from Teiran. — Tr.] t [On 1 his point see the last note. A good map of the whole peninsula is to be found in Smith and Grove's Atlas of Ancient Geography. — Tr.] § "The Arabs call the well exitiimi, intAritua, probably in accordanr e with the nofiou rhat that which is bitter is deadly (2 Kings iv. 40)." Knobel. The Arabs may make humorous remarks about bad weils of water, like the Germans on bad in great part in the fact that Jehovah showed Moses a tree by which the water was made drink- able. That the tree itself was a natural tree is not denied by the strictest advocates of a literal interpretation. A part of the miracle is to be charged to the assurance of the prophetic act, and the trustful acceptance of it on the part of the people. Various explanations: The well was half emptied, so that pure water flowed in (Jo- sephus) ; the berries of the ghurlud shrub were thrown in (Burokhardt). According to Robin- son, the Beduins of the desert know no means of changing bitter salt water to sweet. ■' In Egypt," as Josephus relates, "bad water was once puri- fied by throwing in certain split sticks of wood" (Bram). This leads to the question, how far the salt water might have been made more drinkable by Moses' dipping into it a crisp, branchy shrub, as a sort of distilling agent. For this the numerous clumps of the ghurkud shrub which stand around the well, and whose berries Burokhardt wished to make use of, are very well suited. The distillation consists in the art of separating, in one way or another, salt, from water, especially by means of brush- wood; generally, for the purpose of getting salt; but it might be done for the opposite pur- pose of getting water. In proportion as a bunch of brushwood should become inerusted with the salt, the water would become more free from the salt. For the rest, Robinson observes, concern- ing the water of the fountain Hawara, "Its taste is unpleasant, saltish, and somewhat bitter; but we could not perceive that it was very much worse than that of Ayun Musa." It must fur- ther be considered that the Jews had the soft, agreBable Nile water in recollection. Kurtz has even found an antithesis in the fact that Moses made the undrinkable water at Marah drinkable, as he had made the sweet water of the Nile un- drinkable. We are here also to notice that the effect of Moses' act was not permanent, but con. siated only in the act itself, the sume as is true of the saving eflFect of the sacraments in relation to faith. Here, too, is another proof that Moses had a quite peculiar sense for the life of nature, a sense which Jehovah made an organ of His Spirit. With the curing of the well Jehovah connected a fundamental law, stating on what condition He would be the Saviour of the people. Bram (p. 114) points out, with reason, that the Israelites, in drinking salty water, which has a laxative effect, might well apprehend that the much-dreaded sicknesses of Egypt, the pesti- lence, the small-pox, the leprosy, and the inflam- mation of the eyes, caused by the heat and the fine dry sand, together with the intense reflection of light, might attack them here also in the wil- derness, the atmosphere of which otherwise haa a healing effect on many diseased constitutions. Therefore, in curing that well, Jehovah esta- blished the chief sanitary law for Israel. It is very definite, as if from the mouth of a very careful physician well acquainted with his case. General rule: perfect compliance with Jehovah's direction ! Explanation of it: if thou doest what is right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes (in re- wines, in hyperbolical expressions wt.ioh are not to be taken literally. CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 61 ference to the means of spiritual recovery, diet- etics), then I will put none of the diseases upon thee which I have put upon the Egyptians, for I am Jehovah, thy physi- cian. — But how can it be added, "and there he proved them?" The whole history has been a test of the question, whether the people would obey the directions of Jehovah given through Moses, and particularly whether, after the sin- gular means employed by Moses, they would drink in faith. Every test of faith is a tempta- tion for sinful man, because in his habituation to the common order of things lies an incitement not to believe in any extraordinary remedy, such as seems to contradict nature. But out of the actual temptation which the people had now passed through, proceeded this theocratic sani- tary law, as a temptation perpetually repeating itself. There is even still a temptation in the principle of the theocratic therapeutics, that ab- solute certainty of life lies in absolute obedience to God's commands and directions. According to Keil, the statute here spoken of does not con- sist in the divine utterance recorded in ver. 26, but in an allegorical significance of the fact itself: the leading of the Israelites to bitter water which the natural man cannot and will not drink, together with the making of this water Bweet and wholesome, is to be a pil, that is, a sta- tute and a law, showing how God at all times will lead and govern His people, and a BBU'D, that is, an ordinance, inasmuch as Israel may continu- ally depend on the divine help, etc. If this is so, then the text must receive an allegorical inter- pretation not obviously required. Furthermore, it is a question whether, after the tremendous excitements through which the peo- ple had passed, bitter and salty water like that at Marab, might not have been more beneficial than hurtful to (hem. Salt water restores the digestion when it has been disturbed by excite- ment. Notice, moreover, the stiff-neckedness or stubbornness peculiar to the disposition of slaves just made free, as it gradually makes its appear- ance and increases. It was in their distress at Pi-hahiroth that they first gave utterance to their moroseness; true, they cried to Jehovah, but quarrelled with Moses. They seemed to have forgotten the miracle of deliverance wrought in the night of Egypt's terror. Here they even murmur over water that is somewhat poorer than usual. The passage through the Red Sea and the song of praise seem to be forgotten. In the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation mur- murs against Moses and Aaron, i.e., theirdivinely appointed leaders, from fear of impending fa- mine, probably because the supplies brought from Egypt were running low ; — the ample re- freshment enjoyed at Elim seems to be forgotten. In Rephidim they murmur on account of want of water; — the miraculous supply of manna and quails seems to be forgotten. On the other hand, however, the wise augmentation of severity in the divine discipline becomes prominent. At Marah nothing is said of any rebuke uttered by Jeho- vah, as is done later. Num. xi. 14, 20. Espe- cially noticeable is the great difference between the altercation at Marah, in the wilderness of Sin, and the mutiny at Kadesh, J^um. zx. The altercation there is expressly called a striving with Jehovah, ver. 18. 2. Mim. Chap. xv. 27. A fine contrast with Marah is afforded here, both in nature, and in the guidance of the peo- ple of God, and in (he history of the inner life. In Elim, IBaumgarten and Kurtz find a place expressly prepared for Israel, inasmuch as by the number of its wells and palm trees it bears in itself the seal of this people: every tribe having a well for man and beast, and the tent of each one of the elders of the people (xxiv. 9) having the shade (according to Baumgarten, the date.q) of a palm-tree. Even Keil finds this too su- pernaturalistic; at least, he observes that, while the number of the wells corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel, yet the number of the palm trees does not correspond to that of the elders, whiib, according to xxiv. 9, was much (?) greater. On neither side is the possibility of a symbolical significance in the numbering thought of; without doubt, however, the em- phasis given to the number seventy is as signifi- cant as that given to the number twelve. Keil's allusion to the 23d Psalm is appropriate. See particulars about Elim in Knobel, p. 161 ; Tisch- endorf, p. 36.* 3. The Wilderness of Sin. Chap. xvi. 1—36. Notice first the aggravated character of the murmuring. Now the whole congregation mur murs. And not against Moses alone, but against Moses and Aaron, so that the murmuring is more definitely directed against the divine commission of the two men, and so against the divine act of bringing them out of Egypt, .that is, against Jehovah Himself. Moreover, the expression of a longing after Egypt becomes more passionate and sensual. At first they longed resignedly for the graves of Egypt, in view of the danger of death in the desert. The next time, too, they say nothing about their hankering after the Nile water in view of the bitter water of Marah. But now the flesh-pots of Egypt and the Egyp- tian bread become prominent in their imagina- tion, because they conceive themselves to be threatened with famine. Corresponding to the aggravation of the murmuring are the beginnings of rebuke. Says Knobel, "What the congre- gation had brought with them from Egypt had been consumed in the thirty days which had elapsed since their exodus (ver. 1), although the cattle brought from Egypt (xii. 38) had not jet all been slaughtered or killed by thirst (?), since after their departure from the wilderness of Sin they still possessed cattle at Rephidim, which they wished to save from thirsting to death (xvii. 3). For the herds had not been taken merely to be at once slaughtered; and meat could not take the place of bread. In their vexation the people wish that they had died in Egypt, while filling themselves from the flesh- pots, 'by the hand of Jehovah,' i. e., in the last plague inflicted by Jehovah upon Egypt, rather than gradually to starve to death here in the * [Wilson, (Lands of the Bible, Tol. I., p. 174), would iden- tify with Elim, not Wady Ghurimdel, but Warty Waseit (IJseit), five or six miles Bouth of Wady Ghurundel.— TK.]. 62 EXODUS. wilderness." In the verb used (|n Niph.) is expressed a murmuring just passing over into contumacy. Yet here too Jehovah looks with compassion upon the hard situation of the peo- ple, and hence regards their wealtness with indulgence. The natural substratum of the double miracle of feeding, now announced and brought to pass, is found in the food furnished by the desert to nomadic emigrants. The manna is the miracu- lous representative of all vegetable food ; the quails denote the choicest of animal prey fur- nished by the desert. The first element in the miracle is here too the prophetic foresight and assurance of Moses. The second is the actual miraculous enhancement of natural phenomena ; the third is here also the trustful acceptance of it : the miracle of faith and the religious mani- festation answering to it. The ultra-superna- turalistio view, it is true, is not satisfied with this. It holds to a different manna from that provided by God in nature, and ought, in con- sistency, to distinguish the quails miraculously given from ordinary quails. In this case, too, the trial of faith was to be a temptation (ver. 4), to determine whether the people would appropriate the miraculous blessing to themselves in accordance with the divine pre- cept, and so recognize Jehovah as the giver, or whether they would go out without restraint and on their own responsibility to seize it, as if in a wild chase. Here, therefore, comes in the establishment of the fundamental law concerning the healing of life ; and this is done by the or- daining of the seventh day as a day of rest, the Sabbath. As man, when given over to a merely natural life, is inclined to seek health and re- cuperation without regarding the inner life and the commandments of God, so he is also inclined to yield himself passionately and without re- straint to the indulgence of the natural appetite fur food, and, in his collection of the meant) of nourishment, to lose self-collection, the self- possession of an interior life. As a token of this the Sabbath here comes in at the right point, and therefore points at once from the earthly manna to the heavenly manna, (tiirf. John vi. ).* The announcement of the miracle. I 'will lain. The first fundamental condition of the feeding: recognition of the Giver, comp. James i. 17. — From heaven. Though this in general might also be said of bread " from the earth," yet here a contrast is intended. From the sky above, i. e., as a direct gift. — The people shall go out and gather. A perpetual harvest, but limited by divine ordinance. — A daily portion every day. Reminding one of the petition, ■"Give us this day,' etc. An injunction of con- tentment. — On the sixth day. They will find, on making their preparation of the food, that the blessing of this day ia sufficient also for the seventh. — At even. A gift of flesh was to precede the gift of manna. Thereby they are to understand that Jehovah has led them out of Egypt, that He has provided for them a substi- tute for the flesh-pots of Egypt. But on the next * Further on follows the fundamental law of warfare in B"If- defence ftirnlnat heathen enemies, as well a^ the fundamental law for the unhes ta'ing appropriation of heathen wisdom. morning they shall see the glory of Jehovah, i. e. they shall recognize the glorious presence of Jehovah in the fact that He has heard their mur- muring against Moses and Aaron, and has ap- plied it to Himself, in that He presents them the manna. — For -what are we ? Thus do the holy men retire and disappear behind Jehovah. — But the people also mubt come to this same con- viction, must repent of their murmurings, and feel that they have murmured against Jehovah, not against His servants. Thus with perfect propriety is a sanction of the sacred office inter- woven into the same history into which the his- tory of the Sabbath is interwoven. Hence it follows also that the true sacred office must au- thenticate itself by miraculous blessings. Both are sealed by a specially mysterious revelation. It is significant that in this connection Aaron must be the speaker (ver. 9), that he must sum- mon the people before Jehovah to bumble them- selves before His face on account of their mur- muring. Equally significant is it, that the con- gregation, while Aaron speaks, sees (he mani- festation of Jehovah's glory in the cloud. Especially significant, however, is it, that they see this glory rest over the wide wilderness, as they turn and look towards it. A most beauti- ful touch ! With the wilderness itself the way through the wilderness is transfigured at this moment. If we assume (with Keil) thai the summons to appear before Jehovah is equivalent to a summons to come out of the tents to the place where the cloud stood, then it must be further assumed, that the cloud suddenly changed its position, and removed to the wilderness, or else appeared in a double form. Neither thing can be admitted. Hereupon follows the last solemn announcement of the miraculous feeding, as the immediate announcement of Jehovah Himself. The double miracle itaelf. — The quails came up. — This narrative has its counterpart in the narrative of the quails in Num. xi. 4 sqq., just as the chiding on account of want of water at Rephidim has its counterpart in the .story of the water of strife (Meribah), distinctively so-called in Num. xx. The relation of the narratives to one another is important. The murmuring of the people in the beginning of their journey through the wilderness is treated with the greatest mildness, almost as a child's sickneiis; but their murmuring towards the end of the journey is regarded as a severe offence, and is severely punished; it is like the offence of a mature man, committed in view of many years' experience of God's miraculous help. At the water of strife even Moses himself is involved in the guilt, through his impatience; and the gift of quails in abundance is made a judgment on the people for their immoderate indulgence. Another difference corresponds to the natural features of the desert: the quails do not keep coming ; but the people find themselves accom- panied by the manna till they are tired of eating it. — Came up. — nSjf. The coming on of a host of locusts or birds has the optical appearance of a coming up. — l7t?n, " with the article of ft word used collectively of a class " (Keil). LXX. CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 63 oprvyo/i^rpa, Vulg. cotumicei. Large quails, whose name in Arabic comes from their fatness — 17^, fat. SaysKnobel: "They become very fat, increase enormously, and in the spring mi- grate northward, in the autumn southward. Here we are to conceive of a spring migration. For the events described took place in the second month, i. e. about our May (xvi. 1 ; Num. x. 11), and the quails came to the Israelites from the gouth-east, from the Arabian Gulf (Ps. Ixxviii. 26 sq. ; Num. xi. 31). In his journey from Sinai to Edomitis in March, Schubert (II., p. 860 sq.) saw whole clouds of migratory birds, of such extent and denseness as never before ; they came from their southern winter quarters, and were hastening toward the sea-coast (?). Probably they were quails, at lenst in part." Further particulars on the abundance of quails in those regions, see in Knohel (p. 1G6) and Keil {XI., p. 66). " They are sometimes so exhausted that they can be caught with the hand" (Keil). Some identify the fowl with the kata of the Arabs [a sort of partridge]. Of course it must be assumed that the Israelites in the wil- derness were no more confined to the quails for meat than to the manna for bread. The mama. Vers. 13, 14. A layer of dew. A deposit or fall of dew. — A dust, i. e. an abundance of small kernels. If the OTraf Tie-/. DSippn is explaiaed simply according to the verb*'iDn, to peal off, scale off, we get the no- tion of scaly or leaf-shaped kernels, but not that of coagulated kernels. But perhaps the notion of shelled kernels of grain is transferred, in ac- cordance with appearance, to these kernels. "According to ver. 31 and Num. xi. 7," says Knobel, " the manna resembled in appearance the white coriander seeds (small, round kernels of dull white or yellowish green color) and the bdellium (resin)." Again he says: "According to the Old Testament, the dew comes from hea- ven (Deut. xxxiii. 13, 28; Prov. iii. 20; Zeoh. viii. 12; Hag. i. 10); with it the manna de- scended (Num. xi. 9) ; this seems therefore like bread rained down from heaven, and is called 'corn of heaven,' ' bread of heaven ' (Ps. Ixxviii. 24; cv. 40)," Further on Knobel relates that the ancients also supposed, that honey rained down from the air ; hence he should more exactly distinguish between the notions of at- mosphere and of heaven as the dwelling-place of God, comp. John vi. 31, 32.— Man hu.— The explanation that JD is to be derived from [JO. to apportion, and that this expression therefore means: "a present is that" (Kimchi, Luther, Gesenius, Knobel. Kurtz), does not suit the con- text, which would make Moses repeat what the people had said before him, to say nothing of the fact that the derivation of the notion " pre- sent" from the verb is disputed. On the con- trary, the interpretation of the LXX., Keil and others, ri iari tovto, perfectly accords with the connection. They said: "What is that?" be- cause they did not know what it was. " ]n for riD belongs to the popular language, and is pre- served in Chaldee and Ethiopic, so that it is indisputably to be regarded as an old Shemitic form" (Keil). 8 The natural mnnna and the miraculous manna. — Comp. the articles in the Bible UictioBarics. Keil says: "This bread of heaven was given by Jehovah to His people for the first time at a sea- son and in a place where natural manna is still found. The natural manna is now found in the peninsula of Sinai usually in June and .luly, often even as early as in May, most abundantly in the vicinity of Mt. Sinai, in Wady Feiran and Es-sheikh, but also jn Wady Ghurundel and Tayibeh (Seetzen, Reisen, III., p. 76, 129), and some valleys south-east of Mt. Sinai (Bitter, XIV., p. 676), where it in warm weather oozes by night out of the branches of the tarfa-tree, a sort of tamarisk, and in the form of small glo- bules falls down upon the dry leaves, branches, and thorns which lie under the trees, and is gathered before sunrise, but melts in the heat of the sun. In years when rain is abundant, it falls more plentifully for six weeks; in many years it is entirely wanting. It has the appear- ance of gum, and has a sweet, honey-like taste, and when copiously used, is said to be a gentle laxative (Burokhardt, Si/ria, p. 600 ; Wellsted in Bitter, p. 674). There are thus presented some striking points of resemblance between the man- na of the Bible and the tamarisk manna. Not only is the place where the Israelites first re- ceived manna the same as that in which it is obtained now, but the time of the year is the same, inasmuch as the 15th day of the seco d month (ver. 1) falls in the middle of our May, 01? even still later. Also in color, form and ap- pearance the resemblance is unmistakable, since the tamarisk manna, though of a dull yellow color, jet when it falls upon stones is described as white ; the resemblance is likewise seen in the fact, that it falls in kernels upon the earth, is gathered in the morning, melts in the sun, and tastes like honey. While these points of agreement indubitably point to a connection be- tween the natural and the Biblical manna, yet the differences which run parallel with all of the resemblances indicate no less clearly the miraculous character of the heavenly bread." Thus Keil leaves the matter, without reconciling the two positions. The miraculous manna, he says, was enjoyed by the Israelites forty years long everywhere in the wilderness and at all seasons of the year in quantity equal to the wants of the very numerous people. Hengsten- berg's theory {Oeschichte des Bileam, p. 280) that the natural manna which is formed on the leaves of the tarfa-bush by the sting of an insect (according to a discovery of Ehrenberg's), is the natural substratum of the miraculous abun- dance of manna, is combated by Kurtz III , p. 84. Kurtz can conceive that the people lived at Kadesh thirty-seven years in apostasy, and that nevertheless during all this time they received regularly their portion of manna for every man. By this method of distinguishing the miraculous from the natural manna, we come to the hypo- thesis, that the people of Israel were fed with two kinds of manna ; for it will certainly not be assumed that the natural fall of manna during all this time was supernaturally suspended, as in a similar manner Keil on xvi. 10 makes out two pillars of cloud. Von Raumer and Kurtz, we may remark, go as much beyond Keil, 64 EXODUS. as Keil does beyond Hengstenberg. Vid Keil, p. 72, and the note on the same page. Between the baldly literal interpretation and the embellishments of wonder-loving legends the view above described recognizes nothing higher; it does not understand the symbolic language of the theocratic religion, nor see how an under- standing of this lifts us as much above the mythi- cal as the literal interpretation. The defect of the latter consists, as to substance, in the circum- stance that it identifies the conception of nature with that of the common external world raised by a Providential government only a little above a material system: as to form, it is defective in that it identifies the word and the letter, and can- not understand and appreciate the specific dif- ference between the heathen myth and the sym- bolical expression of the theocratic spirit as it blends together ideas and facts. Kurtz refers to the miracle in John ii., without clearly appre- hending that this miracle would be the merest trifle, if his notion of the miracle of the manna is the correct one, to say nothing of the evident conflict of this with John vi. 32. Knobel, whose learned disquisition on the manna (p. 171 egg.) should be consulted, thus states the distinctive features of the miraculous manna, which he re- gards as a legendary thing: (a) The manna, ac- cording to the Biblical account, "comes with the mist and dew from heaven (xvi. 14) ;" — so Kurtz III., p. 28 But since the mist does not come down from the throne of God, the meaning is simply that it comes from above, not from below, (b) " It falls in such immense abundnnce that every person of the very numerous people daily receives an omer (vers. 16, 36)." The omer, however, is a very moderate hand measure, the tenth part of an ephah, originally hardly a defi- nite quantity, vid. Keil II., p. 74. (o) Further- more, " those who gather the manna collect al- ways only just what they need, no more and no less." This is clearly to be symbolically ex- plained of contentedness and community, (d) " The manna fills only on the six working-days, not on the seventh day, it being the Sabbath (ver. 26 sq.)." On this is to be observed that this exlraordinaryfaot was needed only once, in order to sanction the Sabbath; the fact may also be explained by the circumstance that on the day before an extraordinary, double fall of manna took place, (e) "The manna which is kept over from one working-day to another becomes wormy and offensive (ver. 2 )), whilst that preserved from the sixth day to the seventh keeps good (ver. 24), for which reason, except on the sixth day, the manna must always be eaten on the day when it is gathered." This too is a singular, enigmatical fiot; but it is cleared up by looking at it in its rich i leal light. The supply which heathen providence lieaps up breeds worms, de- cays, and smells offensively: not so the supply required by the Sabbath rest, sacred festivities, and divine service, (f ) " It is ground in the hand-mill, crushed in the moriar, and cooked by baking or boiling, made e. g. into c:ikes (ver. 23, Num. xi. 8). (g) It appears in general as a sort of bread, tasting like baked food (ver. 31, Num. xi. 8), and is always called DnS. even ]J1 (vid. ver. 15), to say nothing of the miraculous dou- bling of the quantity (vers. 5, 22)." This latter feature comes at once to nothing, if we assume that on the sixth day there was a double fall of manna.* How far the manna, which contains no farinaceous elements, but only glucose, was min- gled with farinaceous elements, in order to be used after the manner of farinaceous food, we need not inquire; at all events the Israelites could not afterwards have said, of a properly farinaceous substance, and that too of a superior kind, " Our soul loatheth this light food." The splendor with which faith, wonder, and grati- tude had invested the enjoyment of the miracu- lous food had vanished. According to Keil, the connection of the natural manna with the miracu- lous manna is not to be denied, but we are also not to conceive of a mere augmentation, but the om- nipotence of God created from the natural sub- stance a new one, " which in quality and quan- tity as far transcends the products of nature as the kingdom of grace and glory outshines the kingdoms of nature." But Christ, in John vi., speaks of a manna in the kingdom of grace and glory, in contrast with the Mosaic manna. — Ac- cording to Kurtz, who, especially in opposition to Karl Ritter, follows the opinion of Schubert, the manna was prepared by a miracle of omnipo- tence in the atmosphere; according to Schubert, that "tendency to the production of manna which at the right time permeated the vitalizing air, and with it all the vital forces of the land, has propagated itself still, at least in the living thickets of the manna-tamarisks." The natural manna, then, is a descendant of the Biblical manna, but a degenerate sort, developed by the puncture made by the cochineal insect in the branches of the tarfa-shrubl We are specially to consider further (1) the preservation of a pot, containing an omer of manna, in the sanctuary; (2) the specification of the time during which the use of manna by the Israelites lasted. As to the first point, the ob- ject was to preserve the manna as a religious me- morial; hence the expression of the LLX., OTiji- voQ ;|;pi;aot)f, is exegetical. "The historian here evidently anticipates the later execution of the charge now given. Comp. Hengstenberg, Pen- tateuch II., p. 169 sqq." (Kurtz). As to the se- cond point, it is expressively said that Israel had no lack of the miraculous manna so long as they were going through the wilderness; but Kurtz infers from Josh. v. 11, 12, that the Jews did not cease to eat manna till after the passover in Gil- gal, though they had other food besides The correct view is presented in the Commentary oa Joshua, oh. v. 12, where stress is laid on the con- trast between Jehovah's immediate preservation of the food of the wilderness, on the one hand, and the historical development that took the place of this, on the other hand, i. c, the natural order of things which belongs to civilized life; corresponding to the fact that the ark took the place of the pillar of cloud and fire, as leader of the people. The question whether in this narrative the fThis reply, apparently not very rlpav, is the same »! the on« made abnvo to epecificatioii (d) of Knobd. L .iigo distinguishes between a miraeid ms liill and an extraaraiaary fill, and supposes Ijesldes that theoxtraordiuar.i (double) foil may ha\ e been limiied to one occnsion.— Te.] CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 65 Sabbath is instituted for the first time (Heng- Blenberg), or again renewed (Liebetrut), is thus «ccided by Kurtz (III., p. 42): The observance of the Sabbath was instituted before the law, nay even in Paradise, but " the law of the Sab- bath first received a legal character through the revelation on Sinai, and lost it again through the love whioh is the fulfilling of the law, in the new covenant (Col. 11. 16, 17)." In the fulfilment nothing indeed is lost, but every law becomes a liberating principle. It is noticeable how in the history of Moses, patriarchal customs, to which also probably the Sabbath belonged, are sanc- tiooed by miraculous events and receive a legal character ; as has already been seen in various instances (festivals, worship, sanitary laws, offi- cial ranic, the Sabbath). a. Bephidim and the place called Temptation and Strife. Following the route of the mountain road the Israelites now came out of the region of the red sandstone into that of porphyry and granite (Knobel, p. 174). They came thither " accord- ing to their day's journeys," i. e., after several day's journeys. In ^um. xxxiii. 12 the two sta- tions Dophkah and Alush are mentioned. On the conjecture of Knobel (p. 174) concerning these places, vid. Keil II., p. 76. According to Knobel (p. 176), "popular tra- dition transfers the occurrence here mentioned tu Eadesb, therefore to a later time, (Num. zx. 8)." It is a universal characteristic of modern scientists that, not being free from the propen- »ly to give predominant weight to sensible things, they are easily carried away with exter- nal resemblances, hence with allegories, and so may disregard the greatest internal differences 0f things. Thus as the external resemblance of man to the monkey is more impressive to the naturalist than the immense inward contrast, so Biblical criticism often becomes entangled in this modern allegorizing ; even Hengstenberg pays tribute to it in identifying the Simon of Bethany with the Pharisee Simon on the Lake of Galilee, and so, the Mary of Bethany with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus. As the sending of the quails in Num. xi. 5 eqq., forms a companion-piece to that in Ex. xvi., so the water of strife in Num. xx. 2 sqq., to the water of strife in Rephidim. There is a resem- blance even in the sounds of the names of the deserts Sin (pD thorn?), and Zin (|S low palm). So also the want of water and the murmurs of the people, ami in consequence of this the seem- ingly identical designation of the place; also the giving of water out of the rock. Aside from the difference of time and place, the internal features "t the two histories are also very different ; even the difference in the designations is to be ob- served, the place Massah and Meribah (temp- tation and strife), and the water Meribah, over which the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and He was sanctified (shown to be holy) among them. In the first account Jehovah is only tempted by the people ; in the second. He is almost denied. In the one, Moses is said to amite the rock, away from the people, in the presence of the ciders; in the other, he and Aaron are said to speak with the rock before all the people. Also the summary description of the journey in Dent. i. 37, leaves no doubt that the second incident is entirely different from the first. Likewise in Deut. xxxiil. 8, two different things are mentioned, and the temptation at Massah is distinguished from the strife at the water of strife, (oomp. Ps. xcv. 8). It lies in the nature of the case that the religious mind would celebrate in » comprehensive way its recollection of the most essential thing in the two events, viz., the miraculous help of Jehovah, Deut. viii. 15, Is. xlviii. 21, Ps. Ixxviii. 15, 20, cv. 41, cxiv. 8, Neh. ix. 15. Why chide ye with me? — The true significance of this chiding with him Moses at once characterizes : it is a tempt- ing of Jehovah. This he could do after what he had affirmed in xvi. 8, 9. After the giving of the quails and the manna, designed to confirm the divine mission of Moses and Aaron, they had now to do with Jehovah, when they quar- relled with Moses. But how far did they tempt Jehovah? Not simply "by unbelieving doubt of the gracious presence of the Lord" (Keil). They sinfully tested the question whether Jeho- vah would again stand by Moses, or would this time forsake him. Hence their reproach against Moses reaches the point of complaining that he is to blame for their impending ruin — a com- plaint which might well have been followed by stoning. Jehovah's command corresponds with this state of things. Moses is to go confidently away from the people to the still distant Horeb, but to take with him the elders of the people as witnesses, and there to smite the rook with his rod. But Jehovah is to stand there before him on the rock. Does this mean, as Keil represents, that God humbles Himself like a servant before his master ? He rather appears as Moses' visible representative, who rent the rock and produced the miraculous spring The rock that followed them, says Paul, was Christ (1 Cor. x. 4). Thence again is seen the divine human nature of the miracle, a mysterious synthesis of natural feeling and prophecy of grace. On Tacitus' in- vidious narrative of Moses' having discovered a spring of water by means of a drove of wild asses, see Kurtz III., p. 48. b. Rephidim and Amalek. Hostile Heathen- dom. As in the account of Amalek we see typically presented the relation of the people of God to the irreconcilably hostile heathendom; so in that of Jethro their relation to heathendom as mani- festing a kindly disposition towards the theo- cracy. Exhaustive treatises on the Amalekites may be found in the dictionaries and commentaries, especially also in Hengstenberg (Pentateuch IL,p. 247sqq., and Kurtz IIL, p. 48). In the way nations used to be formed, Amalek, a grandson of Esau, might quite well have become a nation by Moses' time {vid.. Gen. xxxvi.),_ Edomite leaders forming a nucleus around which a con- glomerate multitude gathered. The Edomite ten- dency to barbarism was perpetuated in Amalek, and so in his descendants was developed a nation of Bedouin robbers, who might have spread from EXODUS. Idumea to Sinai, and perhaps in their capacity as waylayers had come to give name to a moun- tion of the Amalekitea in the tribe of Ephraim (Judg. xii. 15). Thua might a little people, which was kindred to Israel in the same way as Edom was, after Israel was regenerated to be the people of God, be the first to throw them- selves hostilely in their way, and thus become the representative of all hostile heathendom, as opposed to the people and kingdom of God. In accordance with this was shaped the theocratic method of warfare against Amalek. and the typical law of war (see Keil II., p. 77). It is significant that the Midianites in the branch represented by Jethro should present heathen- dom on friendly terms with Israel, although the relationship was much less close. On the denial of the identity between the Amalekites and the above-mentioned descendants of Esau, see Kurtz III., p. 49. The descendant of Esau might, how- ever, have received his name Amalek by transfer from the Bedouin horde which became subser- vient to him. Then came Amalek. According to Dent. XXV. 18, the attack of the Amalekites was a des- picable surprise of the feeble stragglers of the Israelites. " We have to conceive the order of the events to be about as follows: The murmur- ing on account of want of water and the relief of that want took place immediately after the arrival at Rephidim of the main part of the host which had hurried forward, whilst the rear, whose arrival had been delayed by fatigue, was still on the way. These were atiacked by the Amalekites" (Kurtz). The several features in the contest now beginning are these: Joshua with his chosen men ; Moses on the mountain ; the victory; the memorial of the fight; the altar Nissi and its typical significance — eternal war against Amalek! Joshua. Jehovah is help, or salvation. Thus, according to Num. xiil. 16, his former name, ffoshea {help, or salvation) was enriched; and perhaps the present war and victory occasioned the change. — Choose us out men. It was the first war which the people of God had to wage, and it was against a wild and insidious foe. Hence no troops of doubtful courage could be sent against the enemy, but a select company must fight the battle, with Joshua at the head, whose heroic spirit Moses had already discovered. Precipitancy also was avoided. They let the enemy remain secure until the following day. The host of warriors, however, had to be supported by the host of spirits in the congregation interceding and blessing, as represented by Moses in con- junction with Aaron and Hur. See my pamphlet " Vom Krieg undvom Sieg." The completed victory was to be immortalized by the military annals (" the book ") and by the living recollections of the host ("in the ears of Joshua"). — The altar JV/ssj (Jehovah my banner), however, was to serve the purpose of inaugura- ting the consecration of war by means of right military religious service. Accordingly, the two essential conditions of the war were, first, Jeho- vah's summoning the people to the sacred work of defense, secondly, Jehovah's own help. And also the war against Amalek is perpetuated until he is utterly destroyed only in the sense that Amalek typically represents malicious hostility to the people and kingdom of God. " Hur comes repeatedly before us (xxiv. 14, xxxi. 2) as a. man of high repute, and as an as- sistant of Moses. Josephus [Ant. III. 2, 4), fol- lowing a Jewish tradition, of the correctness of which there is much probability, calls him the husband of Miriam, Moses' sister" (Kurtz). According to xxxi. 2, he was the grandfather of Bezaleel, the architect of the tabernacle, of the tribe of Judah, and the son of Caleb (Chron. i. 17.) It is clear that the transaction with the rod of Moses was in this case too a symbolic and pro- phetic, a divine and human, assurance of victory. Therefore the rod must be held on high, and in- asmuch as Moses' hands cannot permanently hold it up, they must be supported by Aaron and Hur. In the holy war the priesthood and no- bility must support the prophetical ruler. Thus is produced an immovable confidence in Jehovah Nissi, afterw.ards called Jehovah Sabaoth (of hosts). From His throne, through Moses' hand, victorious power and confidence flow into the host of warriors. The book begun by Moses, in which the victory over Amalek is recorded, is important in reference to the question concerning the autho- rity of the Bible. " When Jehovah further com- mands Hoses to intrust to Joshua the future ex- tirpation of Amalek, it becomes evident eT*n now that he is destined to be Moses' successor" (Kurtz). A conjecture about the hill where Moses stood may be found in Knobel, p. 177; Keil, II., p. 79. Subsequent wars waged against Amalek by Saul and David are narrated in 1 Sam. XV., xxvii.,xxx. Kurtz regards the elevated hand of Moses not as a symbol of prayer to Jehovah, but only of victorious confidence derived from Jeho- vah, III., p. 51. Keil rightly opposes the sepa- ration of the bestowment of victory from prayer, p. 79, but goes to the other extreme when he says, " The elevated rod was a sign not for the fighting Israelites, since it cannot even be made out that they, in the confusion of battle, could see it, but for Jehovah." In all human acts of benediction prayer and the impartatiou of the blessing are united. c. Jethro, and heathendom as friendly to the people of God. Inasmuch as chap. xix. records the establish- ment of the theocracy, or of the typical kingdom of God, it is in the highest degree significant that the two preceding sections fix the relation and bearing of the people of God towards heathen- dom. Out of one principle are to flow two op- posing ones, in accordance with the twofold bearing of heathendom. The heathen, repre- sented by Amalek, who are persistently hostile, wage war against Jehovah Himself; on them de- struction is eventually to be visited. The hea- ihen, however, represented by Jethro, who aie humane and cherish friendship towards the peo- ple of God, sustain towards Christianity, as it were, the relation of catechumens. The people of God enter into commercial and social inter- course with then] under the impulse of religion and humanity ; similarly James defines the rela- tion of Christianity to Judaism. [There is no- thing about this in his E[ istle. Is the reference to Acts XV. 20, 21 ?— Tr.] CHAP. XIX. 1-25. (i.) The pious heathen as guest, relative, and protector of Moses' family, and as gu-ardian of the spiritual treasures of Israel. Vers. 1-4. It seems like too legal a conception, when Keil calls Jethro the "first-fruits among the heathen that seek the living God," and incidentally ad- duces his descent from Abraham. Jethro did not become a Jevr, but remained a priest in Midian, just as John the Baptist did not become, properly speaking, a Christian, but remained a Jew. It is more correct, when Keil says that Amalek and Jethro typify and represent the two- fold attitude of the heathen world towards the kingdom of God. In opposition to the special conjectures of Eurtz and Banke, especially also the assumption that there was not time enough in Bephidim for this new incident, see Keil, II. p. 84.* fii.) The pious heathen as sympathetic friend of Moses and of the people of God in their victo- ries. Vers. 5-9. Notice the delicate discretion which both men observe, with all their friendship towards each other. Jethro does not rush impetuously for- ward; he sends word of his approach. Moses receives him with appropriate reverence, but first leads him into his tent; for whether and how he may introduce him to his people, is yet to be de- termined. (iii.) Religious song and thank-oflfering of the pious heathen. Vers. 10-12. The lyrical,! festive recognition of the great- ness of Jehovah in His mode of bringing the Egyptians to confusion through their very arro- gance does not involve conversion to Judaism ; * [Kurtz's conjecture is that what led Jethro to visit Moses was the report of the victory of the Ismelites over Amaielc ; to which the reply is that uotbing is sai I of this, hut, on t'^e contrary, that it was the report of the deliverance fr m Dgypt that occasioned the visit. Banke's conjecture is that Jethro'B visit took place after the giving of the law, on the ground that the stay at Bephidim wa^ too short; to which it is replied that, if (as is assumed from xvi. 1 and xix. 1) half a month intervened between the arrival at the wilderness of Sin and the arrival at the wilderness of Sioai, ample time is afforded for all that is recorded in chap, xviii. — Te.] f [Lauge regards xviit 10, IL as poetic In form. — Is.] neither does the burnt-offering and the I hank- offering: but they do indicate ideal spiritual fel- lowship, aside from social intercourse. (iv.) The religious and social fellowship of the people of God, even of Aaron the priest, and of the elders, with the pious heathen. Ver. 12. A proof that the religious spirit of the Israelites- was as yet free from the fanaticism of the later Judaism is seen in the fact that Aaron and the elders could take part in a sacrificial feast with Jethro. Common participation in the Passover meal would have been conditioned on circum- cision. ( V. ) The political wisdom and organizing talent of the pious heathen thankfully recognized andl humbly used by the great prophet himself. Vers.. 13-26. Jethro' s advice given to Moses, like political institutions and political wisdom, is not a gift of immediate revelation, but a fruit of the sensus communis. But observe that Jethro acknowledges the prophetic vocation of Moses, and Jehovah's revelation in regard to all great matters (ques- tions of principle), just as Moses acknowledges the piety of his political wisdom. Moses and Jethro came nearer together than the mediaeval church and ordinary liberalism. Vers. 17 and 18 contain very important utterances conoerning the consequences of such a hierarchy. On the distribution of the people according to the deci- mal system, see Keil, II., p. 87. The decimal numbers are supposed by him to designate ap- proximately the natural ramifications of the people [ten being assumed to represent the average size of a family]. A further development of the in- stitution (comp. Deut. i. 9) took place later, ac- cording to Num. xi. 16. (vi.) Distinct economies on a friendly footing with each other. Ver. 27. Analogous to this occurrence is the covenant of Abraham with Abimelech; the friendly rela- tions maintained by David and Solomon with Hiram, king of Tyre, the queen of Sheba, etc. SECOND DIVISION: MOSES AND SINAI. FOUNDATION IN THE LAEGER SENSE. Chapters XIX.— XXXI. FIRST SECTION. The Anival at Sinai and the Preparation for the Giving of the Law. The Covenant People and Covenant Kingdom. Institution of the Covenant. Chap. XIX. 1-25. 1 In the third month when [after] the children of Israel were gone forth out of 2 the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed [And they journeyed] from Rephidim, and were come [and came] to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched [and encamped] in the wilderness, and there 3 Israel camped [was encamped] before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of [from] the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou 68 EXODUS. 4 say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel : Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto 6 myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenent, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people [peoples] : for ail the 6 earth is mine : And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an [a] holy nation. 7 These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces 8 [before them] all these words which Jehovah commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said. All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses 9 returned [brought back] the words of the people unto Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee and believe [trust] thee for ever. And Moses tuld the 10 words of the people unto Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for [for on] the third day Jehovah will come 12 down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up [Beware of going up] into the mount, or touch [touching] the border of it : whoso- 13 ever toucheth the mount shall be surely [surely be] put to death. There shall not an [no] hand touch it [him],' but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whe- ther it be beast or man, it [he] shall not live : when the trumpet soundeth long, they 14 shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the peo- 15 pie, and sanctified the people ; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people. Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives [near a woman]. 16 And it came to pass on the third day, in the morning [when morning came], that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the [a] trumpet exceeding loud ; so that [and] all the people that was 17 [were] in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with [to meet] God ; and they stood at the nether part [the foot] of 18 the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke [all mount Sinai smoked], because Jehovah descended upon it in fire ; and the smoke thereof ascended as the 19 smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder [And the voice of the trum- pet waxed louder and louder], Moses spake [speaking] and God answered [answer- 20 ing] him by a voice.^ And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, on [to] the top of the mount ; and Jehovah called Moses up to the top of the mount ; and Moses went 21 up. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break 22 through unto Jehovah to gaze [behold], and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which [who] come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah 23 break forth upon them. And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai : for thou chargedst [hast charged] us, saying, bet bounds about 24 the mount, and sanctify it. And Jehovah said unto him. Away [Go], get thee down ; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee : but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon 25 them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto [told] them. TEXTUAL AND GEAMMATICAL. ^ [Ver. 13. The repetition of the word " touch " (J,* J J) naturally suggestfl the thought th.it the olyect la the same as In the preceding veree, viz., " mount." But this cannot be the case. For (1) if this were so, it is not probaMe that the wori " hand " would be used, espscially after the more general prohibition. The second prohibition would be weaker than tbo first, for one would most naturally touch the mountain with the foot, not the hand. But (2) more decisive still is the con- Bideration that the conjunction ^2 does not admit of this construction. It can here only have tike meaning "but" in the sense of the German " sondern," i. e, " but on the contrary." As the verse stands in A. V., a reader would most naturally unders'and '* but" to be equivalent to " but that," and the meaning to b", " N > hand shall touch it without his bein)? stoned," t-tc., which, however, cannot have been the meaning of the translators, and certainly not of the Hebrew author. On the other hand, it makes no sense to say, "No hand shall touch the m'^untain, but on the contrarv he shall be stoned." The meaning must be : " No hand shall touch him," t. «., the offender ; " but he shall be killed without such contact by being stoned or shot." — Tr.]. ^ [The last two verbs in this verae are in the Imperfect tense, and hence express continued action. The Hebrew does not say, " when the voice .... waxed louder and louder, [then] Moses spake," etc., especially not, if " when " is under- stood to be equivalent to " after." We have endeavored to give the true sense by the participial rendering. — TB.] CHAP. XIX. 1-25. 69 EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. 1. Sinai and the Arrival there. A full geographical treatise on the whole Ho- reb group, and especially Sinai, is given by Ritter VIII. 2, p. 627 sqq.; Robinson, 1., p. 140 sqq.; ■ Tisohendorf, Aus dem heiligen Lande. p. 61 sqq.; Strauss, p. 133 sqq. See also the lexicons and commentaries. We quote from Zeller's Biblisches Worterbuch, II., p. 482: "A few remarks on the question respecting the scene of the giving of the law. There are two different localiiies which have their advocates. Some find the place in Sinai proper, .Tebel Musa and tUe plain es-Se- baiyeh lying south of it; others, in the north- ern terrace of Sinai, that which is now called Horeb, especially the peak of Ras es-Safsafeh, with the plain er-Rahah. which stretches out before it in the north. Both plains would be in themselves suitable for the purpose; for they are about equally large, and furnish room for the marshalling of a lirge multitude. Each is so shiirply distinguished from the mountain rising up from it that the latter might in the most literal sense be said to be touched by one in the plain; — which gives an excellent illustration of the ex- pression used by Moses (Ex. xi?. 12): 'whoso- ever touclielh the mount,' etc. Yet perhaps the weight of the evidence is in favor of the southern plain, es-Sebaiyeh. For (1) the mountains within which the plain reposes, like a secluded asylum, rise up from it in an amphitheatrical form and very gradually, and therefore its slopes ooul I have been used for the marshalling of the people if at any time there was not quite space enough in the plain itself; whereas the mountains bor- dering on the plain er-Rahah are so abrupt and steep that they could not have been used for this purpose. (2) TnepIainer-Rahahhasawater-shed from which the ground to the north falls away more and more, so that to the view of those stand- ing there, Ras es-Safsafeh must have become less and less prominent, whereas the plain es- Sebaiyeh rises higher and higher towards the south, and Jebel Musa or Sinai becomes more and more majestic in appearance. (3) The view on the south side of Sinai, where this moun- tain towers up perpendicularly nearly 2000 feet, like an immense altar, is decidedly more grand, (4) In Ex xix. 17 it is said that Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet Qod. Now we can hardly conceive a place better fitted for a camping-place than the plain er-R#hah with the valleys and pastures of the environs, espe- cially the wady es-Sheikh closely adjoining it. But if this was the camping place, and at the same time the place where the people were drawn up at the time of the giving of the law, how are we to conceive of that bringing forth out of the camp? This expression would have no mean- ing. Whereas this expression becomes full of appositeness, if we assume the plain er-Rahah on the north of Horeb to be the camping-place, but the plain es-Sebaiyeh south of Jebel Musa to be the standing-place of the people when the law was given. From that northern plain 600,000 men (for children and minors, as well as women and old men doubtless remained behind in the aamp) might well have gone in the course of a day through the short wadies es-Sebaiyeh and Shoeib into the southern plain, and back again into the camp ; for the distance is only a short hour's journey." — On the difficulties attending the combination of both places, see Eeil, II., p. 91. The expression, "Israel camped before the mount" (ver. 2), is certainly opposed to the as- sumption of two camps over against two moun- tains. Comp. the graphic description in Strauss. On the relation between the names Sinai and Horeb, oomp. Knobel, p. 188. Note: (1) that the whole region is named, after the mountain where the law was given, sometimes Sinai, some- times Horeb; (2) that Horeb, being reached while the people were in Rephidim, may include Sinai; (3) that Horeb, as a separate mountain, lies to the north of Sinai, and therefore was first reached by the Israelites. See also Keil, p, 90, and Phi- lippson, p. 403. — This group of lofiy granite mountains cannot primarily be designed to serve as a terror to sinners; it rather represents the majesty and immovable fixedness of God's moral revelation, of His law, in a physical form; it is therefore a positive, imposing fact, which disse- minates no life, yet on which the sinner's false life may bedashed to destructijn. — "Lepsius' hypo- thesis, that Sinai or Hoieb is to be looked for in Mt. Serbal, has rightly met no approval. In op- position to it consult Dieterici, Reisehilder, II., p. 53 sqq.; Ritter, ^/-f^Aunrfe, XIV., p. 738 sqq.; and Kurtz, History, etc., 111., p. 93" (Keil). The Arrival at Sinai. — In the third month. Two months then have passed thus far, of which probably the greater part belongs to the encamp- ment in Elim and Rephidim. The same day. — Aocording to the Jewish tradition this means on the first day of the third month, but grammati- cally it may be taken more indefinitely =j " at this time." 2. Jehovah's Proposal of a Covenant, and the Assent of the People. Vers. 3-8. And Moses ■went up. — On Sinai Moses re- ceived his commission from Jehovah to lead out the people. Therefore he must now again appear before Jehovah on Sinai, to complete his first mission, and receive Jehovah's further com- mands. It is a characteristic feature of the fol- lowing transaction concerning the covenant, that Jehovah calls out to Moses as he goes up. A covenant is a coming together of two parties. It has been said indeed, that iT'lS, (5iai?^/o/, testa- mentum, means, not covenant, but institution. It is true, the divine institution is the starting- point and foundation, but the product of this in- stitution is the covenant. This is true of all the covenants throughout the Bible. They every- where presuppose personal relations, recipro- city, freedom ; i. e., free self-determination. So here the people are induced by Jehovah's proposal to declare their voluntary adoption of the covenant (ver. 8), After this general adop- tion of the covenant, there follows a special adop- tion of the covenant law, xxiv. 8. Not till after this does the solemn covenant transaction take place, in which the people again avow their as- sent, their free subjection to the law of Jehovah (xxiv, 7). This relation is so far from being an absolute enslavement of the human individuality 70 EXODUS. by .the majesty of the divine personality, as He- gel imagines (Vol. xi. 2, 4B), that on tlie basis of this relation the notion of a bridal and conju- gal relation between Jehovah and His people gradually comes to view. But the characteristic feature of the law is, that it rests, in general, on B, germ of idealiiy, of knowledge, of redemption, but, in particular, everywhere requires an un- conditional, and even blind, obedience. Hence it may be said: In general it ia doctrine (Thorah), in particular it is statute. The ideal and empiri- cal basis is the typical redemption : I am Jeho- vah, thy God, that have brought thee out of Egypt, Ktc, as a fact of divine goodness and grace ; and the spirit of it is expressed in the rhythmically solemn form in which the covenant is proclaimed in vers. 3-6. The parallel phrases, "House of Jacob," and "Children of Israel," pi-eseut in conjunction the natural descent of the people, and the spiritual blessings allotted to them. Ye have seen. — A certain degree of religious experience is essential in order to be able to enter into covenant relations with Jeho- vah. This experience is specifically an experience of the sway of His justice over His enemies, and of His grace over His chosen people. Eagles' vrings. — " The eagle's wings are an image of the strong and affectionate care of God ; for the eagle cherishes and fosters her young very carefully; she flies under them, when she takes them out of the nest, in order that they may not fall down upon rocks and injure themselves or perish. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 11, and illustrations from profane writers, in Bochart, Hieroz. II., pp. 762, 765 sqq." (Keil).— And brought you unto myself. — Knobel: to the dwelling-place on Sinai. Keil; unto my protection and care. It probably means ; to the revelation of myself in the form of law, symbol- ized indeed by the sanctuary of the lawgiver, viz., Sinai. But that is a very outward conception of Keil's, that the pillar of cloud probably retired to mount Sinai. No^y therefore, if ye Twill obey my voice indeed. — According to Keil the promise precedes the requirement, " for God's grace always anticipates man's action; it de- mands nothing before it has given." But here evidently the requirement precedes the promise ; and this is appropriate to the legal religion of Moses in tlie narrower sense. In the pa- triarchal religion of Abraham the promise pre- cedes the requirement; under Moses the require- ment precedes the promise, but not till after the fulfilment of a former patriarchal promise, an act of redemption, had preceded the requirement. Tlie requirement is very definite and decided, accordant with the law. — The promise is, first: fe shall be a peculiar treasure unto me. — Keil says : H^JD signifies not possession in gene- ral, but a prec\ou3 possession, which one saves, lays up ( 'JD), hence treasure of gold and silver, 1 Chron. xxix. 3, etc. Ckao^ irepiovaiog, etc. Mai. iii. 17; Tit. ii. 14; 1 Pet. ii. 9). We translate, "above all people," not, "out of all people," in accordance with the tollowing words: for all the earth is mine. — "This reason for choosing Israel at once guards against the exolusiveness which would regard Jehovah as merely a national God" (Keil). It may be observed that the peo- ple are to be as distinctively the lot [Kkijpnc;) of Jehovah, as Jehovah desires to be the lot of His people. — In the second place, the first promise, or the n^Jp, is explained: "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests. — The LXX. trans- late, paalTiUov IspaTev/ia ; so Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 9. Onkelos: "kings, priests." Jonathan: "crowned kings, ministering priests." According to the Hebrew text, the kingdom as a unit, or the realm as a body of citizens, is a nation of priests. The individuals are priests ; the unity of their com- monwealth is a kingdom, whose king is Jehovah. It is therefore a kingdom whose royal authority operates every way to liberate and ennoble, to sanctify and dignify ; the priests are related to the king; in their totality under the king they constitute the priesthood, but only under the condition that they offer sacrifice as priests. The N. T. term, "a royal priesthood," derived from the LXX., merges the several priests in the higher unity of a single priesthood, whose attri- bute, "royal," expresses the truth that the king, through his royal spirit, has incorporated him- self into the midst of his people. All this, now, the Israelites are to be, in their general attitude, first in the typical sense, which points forward to the actual fulfilment, and prophetically in- • eludes it. Keil, therefore, is wrong in saying that " the notion of theocracy or divine rule (re- ferring to the preceding explanations, II., p. 97), as founded by the establishment of the Sinaitic covenant, does not at all lie in the phrase r\yTOn D'Jn3 ['kingdom of priests']. The theocracy established by the formation of the covenant (chap, xxiv.) is only the means by which Jeho- vah designs to make His chosen people a king- dom of priests." Whilst here the theocracy is made not even a type, but only the medium of a type, of the New Testament kingdom of heaven, the people of Israel are raised high above their typical significance (p. 98), much as is done in the Judaizing theories of Hofmann and others. The relations are rather quite homogeneous: a typical people, atypical kingdom of God, a typical law, a typical sacri- fice, etc. On the other hand, Keil's sentiment, that Israel, as a nation of priests, has a part to act in behalf of other people, is every way acctvd- ant with the Old Testament prophecy and with the New Testament. (Isa. xlii. ; Rom. xi. 16; XV. 16.) And a holy nation. — The notion of the holiness of Jehovah first appears in chap. xv. Here the Aotion of a holy people. The holiness of Jehovah is the originating cause of the crea- tion of a holy people. On the various explana- tions of the notion of holiness, vid. Keil, p. 99. Neither the notion of newness or brilliancy, nor that of purity or clearness satisfies the concrete import of holiness. Jehovah keeps Himself 7 nvt in His personality. He protects His glory by Uis purity. His universality by His particularity — thus is He the Holy One. And so He creates for Himself a holy people that in a peculiar sense exist for Him, separated from the ungodly world, as He in a peculiar sense exists for them, and keeps Himself aloof from notions and forms of worship that conflict with true views of His per- sonality. The opposite of E'np is Sh, itoiviic, CHAP. XIX. 1-25. 71 jtrofanua" (Keil). See the passages 1 Pet, i. 15; somp. Lev. xi. 44 ; xix. 2. — And all the people nns'wered together. Thus a historical, posi- 1176, consciouii obligation is entered into, rest- iug, it is true, on an obligation inherent in the nature of things. 3. ProvUiona for the Negotiation of the Covenant, Vera. 9-13. First : JehoYah will reveal Himself to Moses in the thick cloud. The people are to listen while He t'llks with Moses. Keil seems to assume that the people also are to hear with their own ears the words of the fundamental law. But vers. 16-19 show what is meant by the people's hearing. The sound of thunder and of the trumpet which the people hear sanctions the words which Moses hears. In consequence of this the people are to believe him for ever. The perpetual belief in Moses is the perpetual belief in the revelation and authority of the law. What follows shows that mediately the people did hear the words. Secondly : The people, in order to receive the law, are to be sanctified for three days, i. e., are to dispose themselves to give exclusive attention to it. The symbolical expression for this con- sists in their washing their garments, ceremo- 'nially purifying them. It shows a want of ap- preciation of propriety to include, as Keil does, the explanatory precept of ver. 15 among the im- mediate requirements of Jehovah. Thirdly : The people are to be kept back by a fence enclosing the mountain. That is, the re- straining of the people from profaning the moun- tain as the throne of legislation serves to protect tliem; comp. the significance of the parables in Matt. xiii. The transgressor is exposed to capital punishment ; but inasmuch as his transgression fiads him on the other side of the limit, no one could seize him without himself becoming guilty of the transgression ; hence the direction that he should be killed from a distance with stones or darts.* Consistency requires that the same should be done with beasts that break through. Reverence for the law is thus to be cultivated by the most terrifying and rigorous means. When the trumpet. 'ja'D, S^'n pp^isW. "To draw out the horn [as the Hebrew expresses it] is the same as to blow the horn in prolonged notes" ( Keil). Vid. Winer, Realworterbuch, Art. Musilca- liscke Inatrumente. It is a question when the pro- hibition to come near the mountain was to be terminated. According to Keil, a signal was to be given summoning the people to approach, and that then the people, as represented by the elders, were to ascend the mountain. But nothing is anywhere said of such » signal. It is simpler, with Knobel, thus to understand the direction : "When at the close of the divine appearances and communications an alarm is sounded, and so the people are summoned to start, to separate. "f When the tabernacle was finished, this became the sacred meeting-place of the people, to which they were called. , Soon afterwards the trumpets * This is perhaps in general the reason for stoning. t [There aefms to be no iiiooosistency between Knobel's view and that of Keil. Tne latt-^r understands the S'mad of tlifi trumpet (ver. 13) to be the signal, and so does Knobel, And bo'h assume that the signal wa^ to follow the promulgation of the liiw.— Ta.]. summoned them to set forth, perhaps re-enforced, on account of the importance of the occasion, by the jubilee horn, or itself identified with it. 4. The Preparation of the People. Vers. 14, 15. The direction given by Jehovah respecting the sanctiflcation of the people is further explained by Moses. The distinction between the divine revelation and the human expansion of it appears here as in 1 Cor. vii. 5. The Signa accompanying the Appearance of Jehovah, the Lawgiver, on Sinai. Vers. 16-19. And it came to pass on the third day. Here is another prominent element in the mira- cle of Sinai, that is generally overlooked, vii., the fact that Moses through divine illumination 80 definitely predicted that the miraculous occur- rence would take place in three days. By iden- tifying him all along with God's revelation the miraculous mystery of his inner life is oblite- rated. That there were thunders and light- nings. — All this animated description of the miraculous event Keil takes literally, and follow- ing Dent. iv. 11, v. 20 (23), expands the account, although if the mountain was burning in the literal sense of the word so that its flame as- cended up to heaven, there would be no place for clouds and cloudy darkness. In a thunder-storm are united both nocturnal darkness and fiaming light. Keil quotes various conjectures concern- ing the trumpet sound. No reference is had to the trumpet sound made by the voice of God in the ghostly sphere of the remorseful con- science of a whole people. But comp. John xii. 29. That the darkness indicates the invisibility and unapproachableness of the holy God who veils Himself from mortals even when He dis- closes Himself, is evident from all the analogies of clouds up to the sacred one in which Christ ascended. Fire has a twofold side, according to man's attitude towards the divine government ; it is therefore, as Keil says, at once the fire of the zeal of anger and the zeal of love. To unite both ideas in one, it is the fire of the power that sanc- tifies, which therefore purges, transforms, vivi- fies, and draws upward, as is shown by the as- cension of Elijah and the phenomena of the day of Pentecost. The same is true of thunder. Since the law is now given for the first time, this can have nothing to do with the thunder of the last judgment. Vid. on Revelation, p. 197. — All the people trembled. While in this mood they are led by Moses out of the camp to the foot of the mountain. It is, lo be sure, tiardly to be supposed that this denotes a march from the plain of Rahah into that of Sebaiyeh. " The people, i.e., the men," says Keil, — a limitation for which there is little reason. — And all mount Sinai smoked. — The view of the scene is renewed and intensified, the nearer the people come to the foot of the mountain. Moses speaking, and God ans'wering. — Glorious definition of the nature of law 1 All of God's commands are, BO to speak, answers to the commands and ques- tions of God's chosen servant; they grow out of a reciprocal action of God and the inmost heart of humanity. 6. The Calling of Mosea alone up to the Mount, etc. Vers. 20-25. And Jehovah said unto Moses.— There muit be some significance in the fajt that Mosea EXODUS. is required again to descend from Sinai, in order repeatedly to charge the people not to cross the limit in order to gaze, because by this sin many might perish. This direction is now even extended to the priests; and in accordance with their posi- tion they are exposed to the sentence of death even in the camp unless they sanctify themselves; only Aaron is permitted to go up in company with Moses. So sharp a distinction is made between the theocratic life of the people, between the sphere of eacerdo'al ordinances (which, there- fore, already exist), and the sphere of revelation, of which Moses is the organ. That Aaron is al- lowed to acco'upany him when the first oral reve- la'ion of the law is made, indicates that in and with him the priests, and gradually also the whole priestly nation, which begins to assume a priestly relation to mankind in the near pre- sence of the law, are to be lifted up into the light of revelation. Various views of this passage, especially a discussion of Kurtz's opinion, are to be found in Keil. Knobel finds here "an interpo- lation of the Jehovist." Inasmuch now as the narrative makes the law of the ten commandments follow immediately, whilst Moses seems to be standing below with the people, a literal interpretation concludes that Jehovah communicated the ten commandments down from Mt. Sinai immediately to the people, and so " the fundamental law of the theocracy has a precedence over all others" (Knobel; see also Keil, p. 106). The fact that Jehovah has already given answer to Moses on the mountain, is overlooked; as also the passages xxiv. 16 sqq. ; xxxiv. ; Dent. v. 5, xxxiii. 4, to say nothing of Gal. iii. and other passages. It is true, the re- presentation here is designed to make the im- pression that the law of the ten commandments, although mediated by Moses, has yet the same authority as if Jehovah had spoken it directly to the people from Sinai ; and no less does il ex- press the pre-eminent importance of the ten commandments. The following distinclions are marked : As oral (or spiritual) words Moses re- ceives the divine answers on the mountain (xix. 19), Then God addresses the same words from Sinai in the voices of thunder to the people at the foot of the mountain; and Moses who stands below with the people, is the interpreter of these voices, as is clearly shown by Deut. v. 5. This oral, spiritual law of principle?, which is echoed in the conscience of all the people, as if Jehovah were directly talking with them, is the founda- tion for the establishment and enforcement of the- written law engraved on the stone tablets. SECOND SECTION. The Threefold Law of the Covenant for the Covenant People on the Basis of the Prophetic, Ethico-religious Divine Law of the Ten Commandments. Histo- rical Prophecy. Chapters XX.— XXXI. A.— THE TEN WORDS, OR THE ETHICAL LAW; AND THE TERRIFIED PEOPLE, OR THE RISE OF THE NEED OF SACRIFICIAL RITES. Chapter XX. 1-21. 1, 2 And God spake all these words, saving, I am Jehovah thy God, which [who] 3 have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou 4 shalt have no other gods before me [over against me].^ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 [The exact meaning of ' JjJ-Sj? here and In Dent. v. 7 is disputed. Tlie rendering " Ijefore me " was donbt ess meant by our Translators to convey the notion, "in my presence" = ■'ish- Perhaps the ordinary reader is apt to understand it - to mean, " in preference to me." Luther, Kalisch, Gedde-, Keil, Kno'hel, 'Bunsen, and Eiggs {Suggeslpd Emend(ama\ follow- ing thu LXX. (irAijr e^oO), translate, " besides me." De Wette, Rosenmailer, Maurer, Philippson, FUrst, Arnheim, Bush, Murphy, Cook (in Spealier's Commentaty), and Lange, following the Vulgate (" coram me "), translate " before me," ». e., in my presence. In order to a satisfactory settlement of the question, it is necessary to investigate the use of the phrase 'Af '.!? '° general. An examination of all the passages in which it occurs yields the following result : The phrase, fol- lowed by a Genitive or a Pronominal Suffix, occurs 210 times. In 125 of these cases, it has its I itnral si-a'K nf " upon the fice (or surface) of:" at, e.g., % Sam. xvii, 19, " The woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth ;' Gen. 1. 1, " Joaepb fell upon his father's face j" or It is merely a longer form for the simpler ^7^ (upon) ; as, e. g.. Job T. 10, " Who . . . seudetli waters upon the fields." The remaining 85 cases are divided as follows: (1) 28 times 'JS-Sj? is used in describing the rOaUan of locaJitiei In e.ach other. R g., Judg. xvi. 3, " Samson .... carried them up to the top of an hill that is before He- bron." Sometim»s (and more properly) in such cases the phrase is rendered "over against" In the A. V. The other pas- CHAP. XX. 1-21. 5 that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto [upon] 6 the third and [and upon the] fourth generation of them that hate me ; And show- 7 ing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my command- ments. Thou shalt uot take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain ; for Jehovah sages in which 'J3-74? is thns used are Gen. xxiii. 19 ; xxt. 9, 18; xlix. 30; 1. 13; Num. xxi. 11; xxxiii. 7 ; Deut. xxxii. 49 J xxxiv. 1 i Josh. xiii. 3, 25 ; xv. 8 ; xvii 7 ; xvfH. 14, 1 6 ; xix. U ; 1 Sam. xt. 7 ; xxti. 1, 3 ; 2 Sam. ii. 24 ; 1 Kings xi. 7 ; xTii. 3, 16 ;, 2 Kings xxiii. 13 ; Ezck. xlviii 10, 21 ; Zech. xiv. 4. It is a mistake to suppose, as some do, that in thi'So con- nections ' jg-^^ means " to the east of," according to the Hebrew mode of conceiving of the cardinal points. For in Josh. XTiii. 14 we read of " the hill that lietb before ('']3-'7_J?) Beth-horon smithuiard;" and in Josh. xv. 8, of " the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward." We are rather to suppose that the phrase indicates such a re- lation of two places as is expressed by *' over against," the physical conformation of the localities naturally suggesting such a description/— (2) We observe, next, that 13 times ''JS-'?^? is used of the position of Odngi in relation to buildings. E. g., 1 Kings vi. 3, " the porch before the temple.'* In the same verse 'J3~ 7^* occurs twice more in the same sense. The other passages are 1 Kings vii. 6 (bis) ; viii. 8 ; 2 Chron. Hi. 4 (bis), 8, 17 ; v. 9 ; Ezek. xl. 15 j xlii. 8. In these cases the meaning is obvious : " on the front of," " confronting."— (3) Six times ' J 3-'7_J? is used in the sense of " towards " or " down upon " after verbs of looking, or (once) of going. E.g., Gen. xviii. 16, "The men looked toward CiS'h^, down upon) Sodom." So Gen. xix. 28 (bis), Num. xxi. 20; xxiii. 28; 2 Sam. xv. 23. Here 'JS-Sj^ may be regarded as a fuller form of 7j; as sometimes used after verbs of motion. — (4) Five times it is used after verbs signifying " pass by," and is rendered " before." Kg ,'Ex. xxxiii. 19, " I will make all my goodness pass before thee." So Ex. xxxiv. 6 ; Gen. xxxii. 22 (21) ; 2 Sam. XV. 18 ; Job iv. 15. In these passages ^J3~7 V differs from ''JB 7 as used, e. g., in 2 Kings iv. 31, *' Gehazi passed on before them;" where ^^37 indicates that Gehazi went on tnadvaTic? of the others; whereas, «. g., in 2 Sam. xv. 18, the meaning is that the king stopped, and the others went by him. — (5) In 12 passages '*J3~7J7D is used after verbs meaning to "cast out," and is usually rendered "from the presence (or sight) of." They are 1 Kings ix. 7; 2 Kings xiii. 23; xvii. 18, 23 ; xxiv. 3, 20 ; 2 Chron. vii. 20 ; Jer. vii. 16 ; xv. 1 ; xxiii. 39 ; xxxii. 31 ; lii. 3. Possibly also Gen. xxiii. 3, "Abraham stood up from b^ore his dead," i. e., went away from the presence of; but we may understand it more literally, viz., " stood up from upon the fiice of." There is a manifest difference between *J3"7J^D and ^J370. The former is used of a remo- val from a state of juxtaposition or opposition. The latter is used in the stricter sense of " from before." E. g., in Deut. ix. 4, "For the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee (?T^J37D)." Here it is not mfant ' VT : • that the relation between the Jews and the other nations was to be broken up, but rather that it was nevpr to be formed ; whereas, «. g., in Jer. vii. 15, " I will cast you out of my sight," the implication is that the people had been near Jehovah, but were now to be banished. — (6) Pour times " J3-7J? is nsed with the meaning, " to the fece of." E. g.. Is. Ixv. 3, "A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face." So Job 1. 11 (parallel with ii. 6, where ']3-7N is used) ; vi. 28 (as correctly rendered); xxi. 31. Here the notion of hostiliii/, often expressed by the simple 7J?, is involved — Similar to these are (7) the three passages, Ezek. xxxii. 10, Nah. ii. 2 (1), and Ps. xxi. 13 (12), where ■" J3~7J? is used after verbs descrip- tive of hostile demonstrations, and means either, literally, " against the face of," or " over against," in defiance.— (8) In Ex. XX. 20, where the A. V. renders, " that his fear may be before your faces," the meaning clearly is the same as in such ex- pressions as Ex. XV. 16, where the simple Sj' i« used. So Deut. il. 26.— (9) In one case, Ps. xviii. 43 (42), ''iS'l^ is used of the dust " before " the wind, just as 'JB^ is nsed in Job xxi. 18, " They are as stubble before the wind. '—(10) The pas- sage, Job xvi. 14, " He breaketh me with breach upon ("J3~7J?) breach," has no precise parallel. But here, too. it is most natural to understand ' JB-Sj? as a fuller, poetic form for ^p. Comp. Gen. xxxii. 12 (11), " the mother with (7^) the chil- dren;" Amos iii. 15, "I will smite the winter-honse with (7J,', i. e., together with, in addition to) the summer-house."— (11) There are three passages (possibly four), in which '33-*7J? has a pecnliar meaning, as denoting the relation of two persona to each other. Haran, we are told, Gen. xi. 28, " died' before OiQ-hy) his iather Terah." This seems to mean, "died before his iather did." But though such a priority is implied, it is not directly expressed. 'J37 is sometimes used to denote such priority in time, «. J., Gen. xxx. 30; Ex. x. 14; Josh. ji. 14; but "jg-^iMs nowhere clearly used in this sense, so that it is mot« natural to understand it (as the commentators do) here to mean either "in the presence of," or "during the life-time of The next passage. Num. iii. 4, illustrates the meaning: "Bleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the Bight of Cjg-Sj?) Aaron their father." It is hardly possible that pains would be taken to lay stress on the fact that Aaron •aw them acting the part of priests, especially as the verb [HS hardly means anything more than " to be priest." Not more admisBibl.! is the interpretation of Gesenius and others, who here translate ' J3~7;^ " under the supervision of." There is not the fcintest analogy for such a meaning of the phrase At the same time, It is hardly supposable that it can be lite- rally translated, " during the life-time of." The notion of physical presence, or nearness, is so uniformly involved in ' J3"7J7 that we must, in strictness, here understand it to mean, " over against," " in view of," the point of the expression, boweve-, not consisting in the circumstance that Aaron watched them in their ministrations, but that they performed theia over against him, i. e., as coupled with him, together with him, (and so) during his life-time. Here belongs also probably Deut. 74 EXODUS. 8 will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the eab- 9 bath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of [a sabbath unto] Jehovah thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, 11 nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. xxi. 16 " He may not make the son of the beloTed flrst-bom before ('JS-^J?) the son of the hated." One might natDrallj xmderatand "before" here to mean, " in preference to ;'' and this certainly would yield an appropriate sense— a sense cer- tainly involved, yet probably not directly expressed. At least there is no clear analogy for such a meaning, unless we find it in the passages now under consideration, «*., Ex. xx. 3 and Dent. v. 7. The best commentators understand 'ip'lp In Dent. xxi. 16, to mean " during the life-time of." An analogous use of 'JST is found in Ps. Ixxii. 6, where it is said of the king, "They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure," literally "before CJS/) ^^^ ™o ^'^^ moon." Similarly ver. 17.— The other of the fonr passages above mentioned is Gen. xxv. 18. Thor» we read : " He (i. e., Ishmael) died (literally, fell) in the presence of CJiJ^Sj?) his brethren." There is now, however, general unanimity in translating 733 here "settled" rather than "died," so that the paspage is to bei-eckoned in the following class, in which also the relation of persons in each other is expressed, but in a somewhat different sense.— (12) Knobel explains 'JS'^J.^ In Gen. xxv. 18 as = " to the east of." So Del., Lange, Keil, Manrer, De W., and others. Bnt, as we have already seen, "33-7^? does not have this meaning. This passage is to be explained by the parallel one, Gen. xvi. 12, where it is also said of Ishmael, " He shall dwell in the presence of 033~Sy) all his brethren." Here the context is, " His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him ; and he shall dwell ''J3~^J? all his brethren." Keil and Lange are nnable to satisfy themselves with the interpreta- tion " east of" here ; and it is clear that that would not be a statement at all in place here, even if '*}2~J)J ordinarily had the meaning " east of." Evidently the angel expresses the fact that the Ishmaelites were to dwell ot-er against their brethren as an independent, defiant, nation. If so, then xxv. 18 is to be understood in the same way, as a statement of the fulfilment of the prophecy here made. In addition to these two passages there are three others in which the relation of persons to each other is expressed. They are Lev. x. 3, Ps. ix. 20 (19), and Jer. vi. 7. In the first we read that Jehovah ■aid, "Before {'^2~/V) ^H the people I will be glorified;" this is preceded by the statement, "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me." The verse follows the account of the dpstrnction of Nadab and Abihu. To render " in view of," or " in the presence of," would makw good and appropriate sens^' ; and certainly it is implied that by the summary punirhment of the presumptuous priests Jehovah intended to glorify Himself in the sight of His people. Yet, while men are frequently represented as being or acting before CJS/) Jehovah, it is extremely unusual to speak of Jehovah as being or doing anything before (in the sight of) men. And since, if that were here meant, ^J37 would probably have been used, it is much better here to understand the meaning to be " over against," implying separation and contrast. Likewise Ps. ix. 20 (19) : '' Let the heathen be judged in thy sight (T33~7,Jt)." Certainly the meaning cannot simply be : Let the heathen be judged, while God looks on as a spectator, God is Himself the judge ; and the heathen are to be judged oticr against Him ; L «., in such a way &>* to exhibit the contrast between them and Him. There remains only Jer, vi. 7, " Before me Ci3~lV) con- -" T T tinually is prief and wounds." The context describes the prospective destruction of .Terusalem. Her wickedness is described in ver, 7: "As a fountain castetb out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness ; violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds (sickness and blows)." Undoubtedly this implies that the manifestations of the wickedness of the people were in Jehovah's sight; but here, too, there Is implied the notion that these things are over against Him : on the one side, Jehovah in His holiness ; on the other, Jerusalem in her wickedness. This conception is naturally suggested by the representation that Jehovah is about to make wnr upon her. Having now given a complete exhibition of the use of *J3*S>* in all the other passages, we are prepared to consider what It means In the first commandment. Several things may be regarded as established : (i) ^J3-^l? is fer from being synonymons with '33 7- The latter is used hundreds of times in the simple sense of " before " in reference U persons ; the former is used most frequently of places, and in all cases Sj? has more or less of its ordinary meaning, " upon," or " against " (over against), (ii) The phrase has nowhere unequivocally the meaning " besides." The nearest approach to this is in Job xvi. 14, under (10), where 'J3~7J? may be rendered " in addition to." But this is not quite the same as " besides," and the phrase has there evidently a poetic use. A solitary ra»e like- tlii", where too not person", bnt things, are spoken of, is altog ther insufiiciBnt to establish the hypothesis that '33-7j; in the first commandment means " besides." (ill) The most general notion conveyed by the phrase In question Is that'of one object cmfrnnUng another. Leaving out of account, as of no special pertinency, those instances in which it verges npon the literal sense of " upon (or against) the face of," and those in which the meaning of S;? predominates, (iiti., classes (3), (6), (7), (8), (10), we find that all others are sufliciently expluinsd by this generic notion of crmfrmtting. Thus, in all the cases where places are spoken of as 'JB-^^y one another, class (l)i where objects are described as in front of buildings, class (2) ; and where persons are spoken of 'as passing in fhint of othen, clam (4).— So, too, in the cases in which 'JB-Sj^O is used, class (6), in every instance It follows a verb which implies a pie- Tl n" state of hottiWy ; men are to be removed from being mar against Jehovah, from cmfrrmting Him with their ofrensiv" deede,-So the instance In Ps xviii. 43 (42), class (9) ; the dust before the wind Is compared with God's enemies dostrojoil CHAP. XX. 1-21. 75 12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which 13, 14 Jehovah thy God give'th thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit 15, 16 adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 17 neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thoa shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, 18 nor anything that is thy neighbor's. And all the people saw the thunderings, aud the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when 19 the people saw it, they removed [reeled backward], and stood afar off. And thev said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with 20 us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces [upon you], that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. by Him ; the dust confronting the wind illnstrates the powerlessnesB of men bonfronting an angry God. — So the examplpa nnder (12). The translation "over against" satisfies all of the ca^es. A relation of contrast and opposition is impl'ed. — Likewise, also, the three paflaages under (11). The eon of the beloved wife (Deut. xxi. 16) is not to be invested with tlie lighiB of pvimogevituT6 over against the sou of the hated one, z.e., in contrast with, distluction from, the other one, while yet by natural right the latter is entitled to the privilege. The phrase 'JSJ-Sj? may here, therefore, be understood to mean "in preference to," or " In the life-time of," hut neither one nor the other literally and directly, yet both one aud the other by Implication, In Num. iii. 4 Aaron^s sons are represented as being priests aver against their father, i. e., not succeydieg him, but together with him, as two hills, instead of being distant from one another, are, as It were, companions, confronting each other. So In Gen. xl. 28 Haran is said to have died over agaimt his &ther. In his death he confronted his father, i. '., did not, as most naturally happens, die after him, when his father would have been taken away from being with him By thus anticipating his father in his decease he, as it were, passed in front of him, confronted him, so that this case is quite ana'o- gous to those under class (4). In this case, therefore, as in some others, the meaning of \33~7J? closely borders upon that of ^J37, yet is not the same. The application of this discussion to Ex. xx. 3 and Deut. v. T is obvious. Israel is to have no other gods " over against " Jehovah. The simple meaning " before," i. e., in the presence of, would have little point and force, and besides would have been expressed by 'JsS- The meaning "besides" would have been expressed by n.J^Sa, 'flSu, or some other of the phroaes having that m^eanlng. The meaning " over against," the usual meaning of the phrase, is perfectly appropriate here. All false gods are opposed to the true God. The worship of them is incompatible with the worship of Jehovah. The com- mand therefore is, " Thou shalt have no other gods to confront me," to be set up as rival objects of service and adoration. All that is pertinent in the other two renderings is Involved here. Gods that are set up over against Jehovah may be said to be before Him, in His sight ; that they are gods besides, in addition to, Him, is a matter of course : but, more than this, they are gods opposed to Him. — Ta.J, Tbia first legislation, the law or book of the covenant in the narrower sense, is evidently the outline of the whole legislation. The presenta- tion of the piophetico-ethioal law is found in the ten commandments (xx. 1-17); the outline of the ceremonial law and the reasons for it fol- low on (vers. 18-26); in conclusion comes the third part, the outline of the social laws of the Israelites (xxi -xxiii.). Three questions are here to be settled: (l) How are the several acts of legislation related to the history? (2) How are the several groups of laws related to each other? (3) How is there indicated in this relation a gradual development of legislation? As to the ten commandments in particular we are to consider: (1) the form of the promulga- tion- (2) the relation of the law in lixodus to the phase it presents in Deuteronomy; (3) the analysis of th« ten commandments themselves. That the laws are not artificially introducn,! into the history of Israel, as e. g. Bertheau as- sumes, is shown by their definite connection witii the historical occasions of them. Thus, e. or'8 wife, and coveting his possessions, are two quite distinct sins; hence he regards th« use of two distinct verbs for the two sins in Deuteronomy as the most accurate fonu of the cmnmandzaents, and there- relation between the fifth and the tenth com- mandment is less marked, yet it may be said : a genuine pupil of a pious house will not covet his neighbor's house. The house of God in the pious family keeps peace with the house of the neigh- bor. Every house is to the pious man a house consecrated by justice, like a house of God. The Effect. Vers. 18-21; Deut. v. 23-33. According to Keil, the frightful phenomena under which the Lord manifested His majesty made the designed impression on the people. It was indeed de- signed that the people should be penetrated with the fear of God, in order that they might not sin ; but not that in their fear they should stand off and beg Moses as their mediator to talk with God. Hence it is said, "God is come to try you." A trial is always a test, which, through the influence of false notions, may occasion a twofold view of it. That; the Jews as sinners should be startled by the p^henomena of the ma- jesty of God, was the ihteotiof this revelation ; but that they should retire trembling and desire a mediator, was a misundferatanding occasioned by their carnal fear and spiritual sluggishness. Here, therefore, is the.- key to the understanding of the hierarchy. The ftzy feeling of the people desired a media,t\Tig grieathood, which the person of Moses first had to represent. For the priest is the man who can dare to approach God with- out being overwhelmed with the fear of death (Jer. XXX. 21). The people now, although they have found out by experience that men can hear God speak without dying, yet yield to the fear that they will be destroyed by fire when in im- mediate intercourse with God (Deut. v. 24, 26). And because this is now their attitude of soul, Jehovah complies with it (Deut. v. 28), just as He afterwards gave to the people a kiog. This origin of the Old Testament hierarchy explains why immediately afterwards mention is made of altars. In consequence of that arrangement, therefore, the people now stood henceforth afar off: Moses had for the present assumed the whole mediatorship. fore conjectures that through some copyist the text of Exo- dus has been changed. He confesBes, however, that there is no external evidence of any weight in favor of the conjec- ture.— Tb.] B.— THE FIRST COMPENDIOUS LAW OF SACRIFICE. Chapter XX. 22-26. 22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel 23 Ye have sesn that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with 24 me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.' An altar of earth TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. • fTer. 23. If we follow the Ma^oretio punctuation, the literal translation would be : " Te shall not ™»''^„^''^.„^? ' gods of silver and gods of gold y,i shall not make unto you." With this dvviaion of the verse un obj.-ct must »" suPP"™ in the first clause, e. g., " Te shall not make anything," i. e., any Rods, " with me," t. e., to be ob.iecr8 of worship together with me. In fiiTor of tfiis construction ulso is the consideration that in Ih- renderina: of the A. V. an ""™'J™*™ f'™?";^^^^ seems to be made between " gods of silver " and " gods of gold." On the other hand, however the paluUehsm of the o auses favors the rendering of the AT V. The latter 14 adopted by LXX. (where, however, we find v/iij. instead of av^ .^o.; ana Vulg. (Where 'flX is left entirely untranslated). But the majority of sob lars prefer the other division.— in., 82 EXODUS. thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen : in all places where I record my name I 25 will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make [thou make] me "an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone ; for if thou lift up thy tool 26 upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. ■We have to do here with an altogether peculiar seotion, the germ of all Leviticus, or even of the whole ritual law. This is too little recognized when Keil gives as one division: chaps, xx. 22- xxiv. 2, under the title, " Leading Features in the Covenant Constitution," and then makes the suhdivisiou: (1) The general form of Israel's worship of God ; (2) The laws of Israel. Knobel has observed the turning-point in one respect at all events: "The frightful phenomena amidst which .Jehovah announces the fundamental law of the theocracy, fill the people with terror ; hence another mode of revelation is employed for the further divine disclosures. They beg that Moses rather than God should speak with them, inasmuch as they are filled with mortal diead and fear for their lives. In this way the author explains why Jehovah revealed the other laws to Moses, and through him brought them to the people, whereas He had addressed the ten com- mandments immediately to the people." How little more was needed in order to discern the genesis of the hierarchical mediatorship. Vers. 22, 23. Have talked with you from heaven. — This is the b.isis for the negative part of the theocratic ritual, and at the same time the explanation of the worship of images and idols. This rests on the fancy that Jehovah cannot ap- proach men from heaven, and that man cannot hear the word of Jehovah from heaven ; that therefore images of gods and heavenly objects are necessary as media between the Deity and mankind. It is to be inferred from the forego- ing that this prohibition does not exclude the mediatorship of Moses, still less the mediatorship of Christ in the New Covenant, for it is through this real mediation that heaven is to be brought to earth, and humanity united in the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, it is to be noticed that this prohibit tion la given here as a law respecting worship wliereas in the decalogue it has a fundamental ethical significance. Hence we read here: ''Ye shall not make "nN, with me," by which is desig- nated the adoration of images in religious ser- vices, as involving the germ of idolatry. It Is here incidentally suggested that images are pro- hibited because Jehovah was veiled in a cloud, and, " as a heavenly being, can be pictured by no earthly material." (Keil.) Ver. 24. The positive law of worship. Regard- ing it as certain that there had been already a traditional service of God, connected with sacri- ficial rites, we cannot fiiil to discern here a design to counteract extravagances, and to present in the simplest pc^sible form this ritual devoted to theocratic worship. It may be taken as signifi- cant for the service of the Church also, that this fundamental, simple regulation did not exclude further developments, or even modifications. Of course the modifications of this outward mani- festation of piety must have an inward ground. How then did tlie altar of the tabernacle grow out of the low altar of earth or of unhewa stones ? First, it is to be considered that the altar of the tabernacle was threefold: the altar of burnt-offering in the court (xxvii. 1); the altar of incense in the sanctuary (xxx. 1); and tlie mercy-seat in the Holy of holies (xxvi. 34; xxv. 21). The altar of burnt-offering was of acacia wood, overlaid with copper, and three cubits high. The altar of incense, also of acacia wood, was overlaid with gold; finally, the mercy-seat was of pure gold. This gradation points back from the gold through the gilding and the copper to the starting-point, the altar of earth or of stone. This primitive form continued to be the normal type for the altars which, notwithstanding the fixed centre in the exclusive place of wor- ship, were always prescribed for extraordinary places of revelation (Deut. xxvii. 5; Josh. viii. 30; Judg. vi. 26). Not only the right, but also the duty, of marking by altars real places of re- velations, was therefore reserved ; the worship in high places easily followed as an abuse. Only in opposition to this abuse was the central sanctuary the exclusive place of worship; but it was to be expected that a permanent altar in the sanctuary could not continue to be so much like a natural growth, but had to be symbolically conformed to its surroundings in the sanctuary. An altar of earth. — "The altar, as an ele- vation built of earth or unhewn stones, symbolizes the elevation of man to the God who is enthroned on high, in heaven" (Keil). Most especially it is a monument of the place where God is re- vealed; then a symbi)l of the response of a hu- man soul yielding to the divine call, Gen. xii. 7; xxii. 9; xxviii. 18; Ex. iii. 12, etc. Hence it is said: ''In all places where I cause my name to be remembered." "Generally," says Knobel, "the passage is referre.l to the altar of the taber- nacle, which subsequently was to stand now here, now there. But this will not do. For (1) The author in no way points to this single, particular altar, but speaks quite generally of any sacrificial worship of Jehovah, and gives no occasion to bring in the tabernacle here contrary to the con- nection. (2) The altar of burnt-offering in the tabernacle was not made of earth, but consisted of boards overlaid with copper (xxvii. Isq ). (3) Jehovah could not say that He would come to Israel at every pl.ace where the tabernacle stood, because He dwelt in the tabernacle, and in it went with Israel (xiii. 21 sq., etc.)." But though the tabernacle denotes the legal and sym- bolical residence of Jehovah, yet that does not mean that Jehovah in a human way and perpe- tually dwells in the tabernacle. The tabernacle was only the place where He was generally to be found, more than elsewhere, and for the whole people; but Jehovah was not confined to the ta- CHAP. XXI. 1— XXIII. 83 bernaole. The designation of the altar of burnt- offering as one of copper shows that a rising scale was formed : from the earth to stone, and from stone to copper, and from this still higher to gold plate and to solid gold. So in the way of self- surrender, of offerings under the fire of Qod's self-revelation, out of the man of earth is formed the second man, the child of golden light. On the original form of altars, earth en- closed with turf, vid. Knobel, p. 211. As simple as the original form of the altar are the original forms of offerings: burnt-offerings and thank- offerings. Both constitute the first ramification of the Passover, which in the Levitical ritual branches out still further. Ver. 25. An altar of stone. — The aspiration of religious men after more imposing forms of worship is not prohibited by Jehovah, but it is restricted. The stone altar was to be no splen- did structure. By any sharp iron (S^n, gene- rally sword) the stone is desecrated — i. e., under these circumstances; for how can the worship- per, when receiving a new revelation from God, be thinking of decking the altar? "The precept occurs again in Deut. xxvii. 6 sq.; and altars of unhewn stone are mentioned in Josh. viii. 31 ; 1 Kings xviii. 32; 1 Maco. iv. 47. They were found also elsewhere, e. g., in Trebizond." (Kno- bel.) The opinion that hewn stone was looked on as spurious can hardly be maintained, coua - dering the recognition of culture and art in other relations. But vid. Knobel, p. 212.* Connected with the first restriction in regard to the splendor of the stone altar is the second: Neither . . . by steps. — The more steps, the more imposing the altar; therefore no steps ! The reason is: "that thy nakedness be not uncovered before it." Be- fore it, as being the symbol of God's presence. [But the Hebrew says: "on it." — Tb.] As the sacrifice symbolically covers the sin of man be- fore God, so the nakedness of the offerer should remain covered, as a reminder of his sinfulness before God and before His altar. The ethical side of the thought is this: that a knowledge of this exposure might disturb the reverence of the offerer. But inasmuch as the later altar of the ritual service in the tabernacle was three cubits high and therefore probably needed steps (Lev. ix. 22), the priests had to put on trowsers (xxviii. 42). * [" It would seem that the stone which waa unhewD, therp- fore uninjured and unfashioned, found in the condition in which the Creator left it, was regarded as unadulterated and pure, and was therefore required to be used. Similar are tiie reasons for the commands not to offer castrated animals (Lev. xxii. 24), to receive into the congregation a mutilated man (Deut. xxiii. 1), to propagate mongrel beasts and grain (Lev. xix. 19), nor to put on the clothes of the opposite sex (Deut xxii. 5)." Knobel, I. a. — Tb.] C— FIRST FORM OF THE LAW OF THE POLITICAL COMMONWEALTH. Chapteb XXI. 1— XXIII. 33. a. Right of Personal Freedom [according to Bertheau, ten in number). 1 Now these are the judgments [ordinances] which thou shalt set before them. 2 If [when] thou buy [buyest] an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve : and in 3 the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came [come] in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were [be] married, then his wife shall go out with 4 him. If his master have given [give] him a wife, and she have borne [bear] him sous or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go 5 out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, 6 and my children ; I will not go out free : then his master shall bring him unto the judges [God] ; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door-post ; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl ; and he shall serve him forever. 7 And if [when] a man sell [selleth] his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not 8 go out as the men-servants do. If she please not her master who hath betrothed her to himself,Hhen shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation 9 he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. And it he have betrothed [betroth] her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner ot 10 daughters. If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty ot TEXTUAL AND GEAMMATICAL. I [Ver. 8. The Hebrew here, amirding to the K'thibh, is vh, and If this were followed, we should have to transla^ with G6dde8,RosenmUller and others: "so that he hath not betrothed (or will not betroth) her." The KM 'eads V7, " unto him " or " unto himself." This yields much the easiest sense, and is especially confirmed by the consideration that ■}y^ of itself means, not "betroth," but "appoinV "destine." Followed by the Dative, it may in the connection convey th7notion of betrothal ; but used absolutely, it cannot convey it.— Tb.] 84 EXODUS. 11 marriage [marriage due] shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free [for nothing], without money. b. On Murder and Bodily Injuries. Sina againtt the Life of one') Neighbor. (Ten in number, accord- ing to Sertheau.) 12 He that smiteth a man, 80 that he die [dieth], shall be surely put to death. 13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand [make it happen 14 to his hand^] ; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. But [And] if [when] a man come [cometh] presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him 15 with guile ; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. And he that 16 smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. And he that steal- eth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to 17 death. And he that curseth [revileth]' his father, or his mother, shall surely be 18 put to death. And if [when] men strive together, and one smite [smiteth] another [the other] with a stone, or with his fist, and he die [dieth] not, but keepetb 19 his bed : If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit : only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be 20 thoroughly healed. And if [when] a man smite [smiteth] his servant, or bis maid, with a rod, and he die [dieth] under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished : for he is 22 his money. If [And when] men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her [depart], and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished [fined], according as the woman's husband will [shall] lay upon him : 23 and he shall pay as the judges determine.* And if any mischief follow, then thou 24 shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25, 26 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And if [when] a man smite [smiteth] the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish 27 [and destroyeth it] : he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth ; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. c. Injuries resulting from Relations of Property. Through Property and of Property. Acts of Carelessness and Theft. {Ten, according to Bertheau.) 28 If [And when] an ox gore [goreth] a man or a woman, that they die, then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten ; but the owner of the ox 29 shaU be quit. But if the ox were [hath been] wont to push with his horn [to gore] in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in [keepeth him not in], but that he hath killed [and he kUleth] a man or a woman; 30 the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money [ransom], then he shall give for the ransom [redemption] 31 of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have 32 gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push [gore] a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall give unto their master 33 thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if [when] a man shall open a pit, or if [when] a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an 34 ass fall therein ; The owner of the pit shall make it good, and [good; he shall] give 35 money unto the owner of them ; and the dead beast shall be his. And if [when] one man's ox hurt [hurteth] another's, that he die [dieth] ; then they shall sell the live ox, 36 and divide the money [price] of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if ' [Ver. 13. nils cannot mean "deliver," and no object is expressed. It is therefore unwarrantable to render, with A. v., " deliver him," or even with Lange, " let him accldentnlly fall into his hand." The object to bo supplied is the indfr finite one suggested by the preceding sentence, viz. homicide.— Xa.J ' [Ver. 17. 77p, though generally rendered "curse" in A. V , yet differs unmistakably from TIX 'n being used not merely of cursing, but of evil speaking in general, e. g. Jndg, ix. 27 and 2 Sam. xvl. 9. The LXX. render it correctly Ij KaKoAoyeu. And this word, where the passage is quoted in the Kew Testament, is rendered by the same Greek word, vs. Matt. XV. 4.— Tk.] * [Ver. 23. The Heb. reads 0^77533, lit. "with Judges" or " among judges." Some render "unto the Judges;" othen "before the judges;" but the preposition does not naturally ronvey either of these senses. The A. V. probably the true meaning; " with judges," i. e. the fine being judicially imposed.— Tb,] CHAP. xxr. 1— xxiir. 33. 85 it be known that the ox hath used to push [hath been wont to gore] in time past. and his owner hath not kept him in ; he shall surely pay ox for ox ; and the dead shall be his own. Chap. XXII. 1 If [When] a man shall steal [stealeth] an ox, or a sheep, and kill [killeth] it, or sell [selleth] it ; he shall restore [pay] fiveoxen for an ox, and four sheep 2 for a sheep. If a [the] thief be f >und breaking up [in], and be smitten that he die 3 [so that he dieth], there shall no blood be shed [no blood-guiltiness] for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall he blood shed [blood-guiltiness] for him ; for he [him ; he] should make full restitution ; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold 4 for his theft. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, 5 or ass, or sheep ; he shall restore [pay] double. If [When] a man shall cause [causeth] a field or vineyard to be eaten [fed upon], and shall put in his beast [letteth his beast loose], and shall feed [and it feedeth] in another man's field; of the best 6 of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If [When] fire break [breaketh] out, and catch [catcheth] in thorns, so that the stacks of corn [grain], or the standing corn [grain], or the field, be [is] consumed therewith; he [consumed; he] that kmdled the fire shall surely make [make full] restitution. d. Things Entrusted and Things Lost. 7 If [When] a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to kee^, and it be [is] stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges [unto God], to see whether he have put [have not put] his hand unto his 9 neighbor's goods. For all manner of trespass [In every case of trespass], whether it he for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost [any lost] thing, which another challengeth to be his [of which one saith. This is it], the cause f of both parties shall come before the judges [God] ; and [he] whom the judges 10 [God] shall condemn, he [condemn] shall pay double unto his neighbor. If [When] a man deliver [delivereth] unto his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die [dieth], or be [is] hurt, or driven away, no man seeing 11 it: Then shall an [the] oath of Jehovah be between them both, that [whether] hw hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods ; and the owner of it shall accept 12 ), which would well har- monize with the reference to food and raiment. It is therefore assumed that under the conditions imposed she has in the house of her servitude a much better position than if she should be dis- missed, especially if she has borne children who be- long to the permanent members of the household. 4. On Murder, Homicide, and Bodilg Injuries. (1) Homicide proper, vers. 12-14. (o) Sim- ple homioide in consequence of beating ; (4) un- intentional, resulting from misfortune and mis- take ; (c) murder proper. (2) Spiritual homi- cide, (a) Smiting of parents; (6) deprivation of freedom (as spiritual fratricide) ; (c) cursing of parents (spiritual suicide). (3) Bodily inju- ries, (a) Of uncertain, perhaps fatal result ; (t) to a free man ; (») a man-servant or maid-ser- * [Tlie reasons are thus stated by Keil : " If tlie languige in ver. 9 is referred to the son, so '8 to mean, * whm he take* to liimself another wife,' then there must be assumed a change of subject of which there is no indication ; but if ws understand the language to mean that the father (the pn^ chaser) talces to himself another wile, then this precept ought to have been given before ver. i)." — TB.] CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 33. 89 -rant. ; (Hi) a pregnant woman, in which connec- tion is to be noticed that the Jiia talionia is laid down in close connection with an extremely hu- mane law of protection, vera. 22-25 ; (6) local injuries to men-servants or maid-servants. Yer. 12. He that smiteth a man. — Says Keil : " Higher than personal freedom stands life." It may then be asked, why is capital punishment prescribed (ver. 16) for the violent taking away of freedom? The slavery treated of in the preceding section was no innovation, but as a traditional custom it was restricted, and moreover in great part was based on guilt or voluntary assent; it had besides an educational end. It is true, the law of retaliation, as in- stituted in Gen. ix. 6, underlies all this section; but it is noticeable that this law is expressly prescribed just where the protection of a preg- nant woman is involved. It is repeated (Lev. xxiv. 17) in connection with the ordinance that the blasphemer shall be stoned. The reason for the repetition is the piinoiple that in respect to these points perfect equality of rights should be accorded to the stranger and the Israelite ; and it was occasioned by the fact that the blasphe- mer was a Jew on his mother's side, but an Egyptian on his father's side. So that he dieth. — Three oases are specified : first, the se- vere blow which in fact, but not in intention, proves mortal ; secondly, the unfortunate killing through mistake, a providential homicide ; thirdly,' intentional, and hence criminal and guileful, murder. Yer. 13. And if a man lie not in 'wait. — When, therefore, not only the murderous blow, but any blow, was unintentional, so that the case is one of severe divine dispensation. I will appoint thee a place. — A place of refuge, with reference to the avengers of blood who pursue him. A check, therefore, upon the cus- tom, prevalent in the East, of avenging murder. It is worthy of notice, from a critical point of view, that no place is now fixed ; this was done later, vid. Num. xxxv. 11 ; Deut. xix. 1-10. Here too the innocent homicide is expressly distin- guished from the violent one. Num. xxxv. 22 sqq. Together with the prescribed place of refuge for the one who kills by mistake is found the stern provision that a real murderer, who has com- mitted his murder with criminal and guileful intent, cannot be protected even by fleeing to the altar of the sanctuary, as it was customary in ancient times for those to do whom vengeance rightly or wrongly pursued, because, as some would say, the altar was a place of expiation. Even from the altar of God he is to be torn away. The expression HJ' is not adequately re- presented by "behave viciously, or arrogantly." It denotes the act of breaking through, in ebul- lient rage, the sacred restraints which protect one's neighbor as God's image. Partioulnr oases, Num. xxxv. 16, Deut. xix. 11. Murder could be expiated only with death. Num. xxxv. 81. Examples of fleeing to the altar, 1 Kings i. 60; ii. 28. This was also customary among the Ver. 15. Smiteth his father. — The simple act of smiling, conamitted on a father or mother, is made equivalent to man-slaughter committed on one's neighbor. " Parricide, as not occur- ring and not conceivable, is not at all mentioned" (Eeil). Similar ordinances among the Greeks Romans, and Egyptians are mentioned by Eno- bel, p. 217. The two following provisions rest on the same ground. The parents are God's vicegerents for the children ; the neighbor is God's image ; hence a violent abuse of his per- son is equivalent to murder, vid. Deut. xxiv. 7. We explain the insertion of the prohibition of man-stealing between verses 15 and 17 by the fact that in cursing his parents the curser mo- rally destroys himself, vid. Lev. xx. 9, Deut. xxvii. 16. The order is: undutif ul ness, man- stealing, self-destruction.'^ See various views of ver. 16 in Keil, p. 133. Yer. 18 sq. And when men strive. — The section concerning bodily injuries as such is dis- tinguished from the section beginning with ver. 12 in that there injuries are spoken of which re- sult in death. The injuries here mentioned would accordingly also be punished with death if they resulted in death. This is shown espe- cially by ver. 20. Here, then, an injury is con- templated which only confines the injured one to his bed. The penalty is twofold : First, the offender must make good his sitting still, i. e. what he might have earned during this time ; secondly, he must pay the expenses of his cure, ver. 19. In the case of a man-servant or maid- servant a different custom prevailed. If man- slaughter took place, the manhood of the slain one is fully recognized, i. e. the penal retribution takes place. Probably sentence was to be ren- dered by the court, which was to decide accord- ing to the circumstances. According to Jewish interpretations capital punishment was to be in- flicted with the sword; but vid. Kuobelfor a dif- ferent view.-)- On the one hand, the danger of a fatal blow was greater than in other relations, for it was lawful for a master to smite his slave (vid. Prov. X. 13 ; the rod was also used on chil- dren) ; but on the other hand an intention to kill could not easily be assumed, because the slave "had a pecuniary value. Furthermore, the owner is exempted from punishment, if the beaten one survives a day or two ; and the pun- ishment then consists in the fact that the slave was his money, i.e. that in injuring the slavehehas lost his own money. The Rabbins hold that this applied only to slaves of a foreign race, accord- ing to Lev. XXV. 44. This is not likely, if at the same time, in case of death, execution by the sword was to be prescribed ; also according to this view there would have been a great gap in the law as regards Hebrew slaves. It is true, reference is here had only to injuries inflicted by the rod. When one was killed with an iron instrument, an intention to kill was assumed, and then capital punishment was inflicted un- conditionally, Num. xxxv. 16, Lev. xxiv. 17, 21, * [This pxplanatinn of the order of the verses can hardly he regarded as satisfactory. In fact, any attempt to discover deep metaphysicul or psjohologlral reasons for the order and number of these laws is open to suspicion as implying a degree of subtlety ani regard for logical order which w;ia qoite alien from the Hebrew spirit — Ttt J f [Tin. that the omission of the direction, " he shall surely be put to death," implies that his punishment was something milder ; aa does also the spirit of the precept in ver. 21.— TB.J 90 EXODUS. Deut. xix 1 i sqq. On the Egyptian, Greek, and Koman legislation, see Kuobel, p. 219.* Vers. 22-26. Special legal protection of preg- nant women. It might often happen that in quarrelling men would injure a pregnant woman, since wives on such occasions instinctively inter- pose, Deut. XXV. 11. In the latter passage the rudenesses which the woman, protected by law, might indulfje in are guarded against. — So that her fruit depart. Literally : so that her chil- dren come out; i. e., so that abortion takes place. According to Keil, the expression designates only the case of her bearing real children, not a fetus imperfectly developed ; i. e., a premature birth, not an abortion, is meant. " The expres- sion mT is used for the sake of indefiniteness, since possibly there might be more than one child in her body." Strange interpretation of the precept, according to which the plural in in- dividual cases denotes indefiniteness I Accord- ing to this view, the moat, and perhaps the worst cases, would not be provided for, since women far advanced in pregnancy are most apt to guard against the danger of such injuries. The plural may also indicate that the capacity for bearing was injured. " If no other injury results from the quarrel, reparation is to be made, according as the husband of the woman imposes it on the perpetrator, and the latter is to give it ' with judges,' t. e., in company with, on application to them, in order that excessive demands may be suitably reduced. The amount of indemnity de- manded doubtless was determined by the consi- deration, whether the injured man had many or few ohildrea, was poor or rich, elc. The law stands appropriately at the end of the cases which relate to life and the inviolability of the person. The unborn child is reckoned as be- longing to, and, as it were, a part of, the mo- ther" (Knobel).— Ver. 23. And if any mis- chief follow. It is to the credit of the legisla- tion that the law of retaliation {vid. Lev. xxiv. 19, Deut. xix. 21) is here bo particularly laid down. In its connection it reads: The injury of such a woman must be most sternly expiated according to the degree of it. But even this ex- plication of the law of retaliation must be guarded from a lifeless literalism, as is shown by the pro- visions in vers. 26 and 27. It would surely have been contrary to nature to put out the eye of a master who had put out his servant's eye, or to make him lose tooth for tooth. Keil says, " The principle of retaUation, however, is good only for the free Israelite, not for the slave." In the latter case, he adds, emancipation takes place Emancipation, even on account of a tooth knocked out, has nevertheless the force of retaliation, which, even in the relations of free Israelites, could not have been everywhere literally applied, e. g., in the case of burns. On the jus talionu in the ancient heathen world, and generally in the Orient, vid. Knobel, p. 220. c. Injuries resulting from Property relations Spedally from acts of Carelessness. Chs. xxi. 28— xxii. 6. * [According to whom, the Bgyptians punished nil mnrdera with death ; the Greeks pnniahed all murders, but punished the mnrdor of a si ive only hy requiring certain expiatory rites; tbeEom m law, however, until thetimeof the**nipf*ror8, allowed musters to treat their slaves as they pleased.— Tit.] We follow in general Bertbeau's classiScatioo, which makes property the determining thought. Keil and Knobel divide otherwise. Keil with the words, " Also against danger from cattle is man's life secured." The conflict between life and property, and the subordination of property is here certainly everywhere observed. In a critical respect it may not be without signifi- cance that there is here no trace of hof ses ; also the dog is not mentioned. At the time of Solo- mon and Ahab the case was quite different. First are to be considered the accidents occa- sioned by oxen that hook, vers. 28-32. But this list is connected with the following one, which treats of the misfortunes which men may suffer in respect to their oxen or asses through the fault of neighbors, in which case a distinction is made between the injuries resulting from care- lessness and those resulting from theft, ver. 3.3-xxii. 4. Then follow injuries done to fields or estates through carelessness in the use of cat- tle or of fire, vers. 5 and 6. Then the criminal misuse of goods held in trust constitute a sepa- rate section, vers. 7-17, which we do not, like Bertheau, make a subdivision of the division (c), but must distinguish from it. Ver. 28. First case. And if an oz. — The in- stinct of oxen to hook is so general that every accident of this sort could not be foreseen and prevented. Therefore when an ox has not been described to the owner as properly a goring ox, the owner is essentially innocent. Yet for a possible want of carefulness he is punished by the loss of his animal. But the ox is stoned to death. Legally it would involve physical un- cleanness to eat of the flesh. But the stoning of the ox does not mean that the ox is " lainted with capital crime" (Keil), but that he has In- come the symbol of a homicide, and so the vic- tim of a curse (D.'in). It is therefore an appli- cation of Gen. ix. 6 in a symbolical sense, on account of the connection of cattle with men. Comp. also Lev. xx 15. Similar provisions among the Persians and Greeks vid. in Knobel, p. 220. Ver. 29. Second case. The owner has been cautioned that his ox is given to hooking. In this case be himself is put to death as well as his ox. This is the rule. But as there may be mitigating considerations, especially in the case of tbe injured family; as in general the guilt was only that of carelessness, not of evil inten- tion, the owner might save his life by means of a ransom imposed on him by the relatives of the man that had been killed. Probably with the mediation of the judges, as in ver. 2i. Refer- ence to the Salio law made by KnobeL Ran- som. — "^33, covering, expiation. Ver. 31. Third case. The son or the daughter of a freeman are treated in the same manner as, according to the foregoing, he himself is treated. Ver, 32. Fourth case. The ox gores a man- servant or a maid-servant to death. The stoning of the ox is still enjoined, but the owner in this case is not doomed to death. He must pay the master of the slave 30 stiekels of silver. "Pro- bably the usual market price of a slave, since the ransom money of a free Israelite amounted to 50 shekels, Lev. xxvii. 3." (Keil). On tha CHAP. XXI. 1— XXIII. 33. 91 Talne of the shekel (/pBf iri/cAof) vid. Winer, RealworteTbuch, p. 433 sqq.* The result of the perplexing investigation is that its value is 25 or 26 silver groschen.f The shekel afterwards used for the revenue of the temple and of the king was different from that used in common life. This legal inequality [between the slave and the freeman] is to be explained by the con- sideration that the capital punishment inflicted on the owner formed an offset to the revenge to which otherwise the relatives of the mur- dered man might resort. But this revenge for bloodshed was in no danger of being exer- cised in the case of a murdered slave, since he was removed from the circle of his relations. The seemingly great difference in the penalty amounts finally to this, that the ransom money for a free man was 50 shekels, and that for a slave 30 shekels. On the estimate of the Attic slave, vid. Knobel; but the great difference in the period of time must be taken into account. "In the legal codes of other ancient nations also are found laws concerning the punishment of beasts that have killed or injured a man. Comp. Clerious and Knobel on this passage. But no nation had a law which made the owner of such a beast responsible, because none of them had recognized the divine image in human life" (Keil). The responsibility of the owner could certainly be grounded only on the myste- rious solidarity of the Hebrew household (" thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cat- tle"), a unity which was not taken into account where a more atomistic view of liberty prevailed. Vers. 33, 34. Fifth case. And when a man shall open a pit (cistern). This is connected with the foregoing cases as coming under the head of punishable carelessness. The ox or ass are named as examples of domestic animals in general. In this case only property is destroyed ; and the careless man has to pay for it, but re- ceives the dead beast, of which he could only use the skin and other such parts, since the flesh was unclean. Ver. 35. Sixth case. A specially fine provision. In the ox that has killed another ox there is nothing abominable, but yet a stain ; the sight of him is obnoxious. He is therefore sold and comes into another place where his fault is not known. But the two owners share the price of sale and the dead animal. This is an alleviation of a misfortune that is common to both parties. Without doubt the dead ox also must have hooked. Ver. 86. Seventh case. But here too is to be considered the special circumstance that the ox may have been a notorious hooker. In this case the owner must make full oompeasatiou for the loss with a live ox, in return for which he re- ceives the dead beast. Chap. xxii. 1-4. Eighth case. The cattle- thief Five-fold indemnity for the stolea ox; four-fold for the stolen sheep or goat. In the case of the five-fold indemnity any kind of large animal may be delivered over. The difference of five-fold and four-fold points to the greater * [See also Smith's MbU Dklirmary, Art. Weights avd Mea- mirei.— Ttt.] t |I. e., about 60 or 62U cents. Mr. Poole, in the article ahove referred to, mak^s the silver shekel ■= 220 grains, i. e., about 63}^ cents, or 2 shillings and 2 ponce.— Ttt.]. guilt of the greater theft. "The four-fold re- stitution is also mentioned in 2 Sam. xii. 6 : the seven-fold, Prov. vi. 31, is not to be understood literally, but only in a general way as manifold" (Knobel). From the five-fold and four-fold re- stitution is distinguished the two-fold, which is prescribed in case the thief has not yet slaughtered or sold the animal, but is able to return it alive. The reasons for this distinction are differently given; vid. Keil; also his note, II; p. 187.* In the latter case the thief had not carried out his purpose to the full extent, espe- cially as he has not put the object of his theft out of the way. The case differed therefore ma- terially from the other. Vid. Knobel on the Bo- man laws. Others indicating the value set on ploughing oxen, Knobel, p. 222. Vers. 2, 3. If the thief be found break- ing in. — This is obviously an incidental interpo- lation, which properly belongs to the class (6). There shall be no blood to him; i. e. no blood-guiltiness is incurred by the homicide; vid. Num. xxxv. 27; Deut. xix. 10; Job xxiv. 16. One might understand this chiefly of an attack on the fold, since the topic is the stealing of cat- tle; at all events a nocturnal irruption is meant, vid. ver. 3. Accordingly the watchman, or the one who is awaked, is in a condition of defense. He must protect his property, and therefore fight ; and the thief is liable to become a robber and murderer. If the sun be risen upon him. — It might be thought that this refers to the early dawn or early day, when he might re- cognize the thief, or frighten him away unre- cognized, or with the help of others capture him. But inasmuch as further on it is assumed that the thief has really accomplished his theft, the expression probably means: If some time has elapsed. If in this case the owner kills the thief, he incurs blood-guiltiness; but on account of the great variety in the cases the sentence of death is not here immediately pronounced upon him. Since the life of the thief is under the protection of the law, the case comes before the criminal court, vid. xxi. 20. For Calvin on the " ratio disparitatis inter furem nocturnmn et diur- num," vid. Keil, p. 137. The real punishment for the thief is determined by the law concern- ing restitution, xxii. 1, 3. But in case the thief can restore nothing, he is sold for the theft, for that which is stolen, i. e. for the value of it. " This can mean only a sale for a period of time. The buver reckoned the restitution which the thief was to render, and used the thief as a slave until the whole loss was made good" (Knobel). Similar arrangements among the Romans vid. in Knobel, p. 2;i3. Likewise laws concerning theft, p. 224. The thief could not be sold to a foreigner, according to Josephus, Ant. XVI. 1 , 1. * [" The difFerenci"," says Keil, I. c, " cannot be eiplained by the considerfttion ' that the animal slaughtered or sold was lost to it^ owner, while yet it may have had for him a special individual value' (Knobel), for such regard for personal feelings is foreign to the law, to say nothing of the fact that an animal when sold might have been regainnd by purchase j nor bv the consideration that the thief in that case baa rar- ried his crime to a higher point (Baumgarten), for the main thing was the stealing, not the dispoiition or consumption of the stolen object. The reason can have lain only in the educational aim of the law, viz., to induce the thief to think of himself, recognize his sin, and restore what he has sto- len."— IB.] 92 EXODUS. Ver. 5. Ninth eaae. A field or a vineyard to be fed upon. — There are various views of this. (1) Si Iseserii quispiam agrum vel vineam, etc. (Vulg.). Luther: " When any one injures a field or vineyard, so that he lets his cattle do damage." (2) Knobel: "When one pastures a field or a vineyard by sending his cattle to it." (3) Keil: "When any one pastures a^eld or a vineyard, and lets his cattle loose." Vnjt) bears either meaning, to send away, or to let go free ; but according to the connection only the latter can be meant here. The sense given to it by the Vulgate might accordingly be accepted : he injures the field or vineyard of his neighbor so that (in that) etc. But it is more obvious to as- sume an incidental carelessness to be meant. The beast feeds on his field (perhaps also on the grass between the grape-vinesj ; from this pas- ture ground he lets him pass over so that he does damage to his neighbor. Knobel even af- firms that an intentional damage is meant. And yet only a simple, though ample, indemnity is to be rendered from the best of his field and of his vineyard. Keil rightly contends against Kuobel's theory. Talmudic provisions on this point are found in Saalschiitz, Mosaisches Recht, p. 875 sq. Ver. 6. Tenth case. This is about a fire in a field, which might the more readily sweep over into the neighbor's field, inasmuch as it was likely to be kindled at the edge of the field, in the thorn-hedge. Clearly an act of carelessness is meant ; comp. Is. v. 5. He that bath kin- dled the fire. — The carelessness is imputed to him as a virtual incendiary, because he did not guard the fire. d. Things entrusted and lost. Ver. 7. First case. The money or articles or stuff (on D'70 see Deut. xxii. 5) left for safe keeping are stolen from the keeper, but the thief is discovered. The affair is settled by the thief being required to pay back double, vid. ver. 4. Ver. 8. Second case. The thief is not disco- vered. In this case suspicion falls on the keeper ; he may have embezzled the property entrusted to him. Therefore such a case must come before the court, which was es- teemed a divine court, hence the expression, DTI^Nn-TX. The penalty is paid according to the decision of the case. The man under suspicion must approach unto God. Such an approach produced an excitement of conscience. The true high-priest is the one who may approach unto God. In case the keeper is adjudged guilty, he has to pay double. Ver. 9. The foregoing provision is designated as an example for a general rule. The cleansing of the suspected man was probably often effected by an oath of purification. The LXX. and Vulgate interpolate Kal b/ieiTai, etj'urabit. In all cases in which the concealer made a confession, an oath was unnecessary. Also dishonesty re- specting objects found is placed under this rule. On the oath among the Arabs and Egyptians, see Knobel, p. 225. Knobel seems to assume without reason that the plaintiff also is meant in the words, " whom God shall condemn." etc.* Vers. 10, 11. Third ease. This is about beasts put in others' care, which die in their possession, or are mutilated in the pasture, or injure them- selves, or are driven away by robbers. Here the oath is positively required, in case the guar- dian alone has seen the thing ; but it is also de- cisive. On a similar Indian law vid. Enobel. Ver. 12. Fourth case. Stolen from him.— It is assumed that the thief is not found. " Here," says Knobel, " restitution is prescribed, but not in ver. 8, because he who has an animal in charge is the guardian of it, whereas he who has things in charge cannot be regarded as ex- actly a watchman." But according to ver. 9 the judges could even adjudge a double restitution, while here only simple restitution is spoken of. There a complication was referred to, in which the approach of the master of the house- hold to God and the attitude of his con- science formed the main ground for the judicial sentence. In the case described in vers. 10 and 11 the oath determines the main decision; in the present case the simple restitution is prescribed upon the simple declaration : "stolen." Ver. 13. Fifth case. The production of the animal torn by a beast of prey (not, "or a part of it," as Keil says) proved not only the fact itself, but also that the guardian had watched, and had driven off the beast of prey by a violent exertion. From this we see the severity of La- ban who, according to Gen. xxxi. 39, required his son-in-law in such cases to make the loss good. Comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 34, Amos iii. 12. On the Indian law, vid. Enobel, p. 2J7. Ver. 14. Sixth case. A hired beast is injured, or dies, when the owner is not present. The sentence requires restitution, because neglect may be presumed. Ver. 15. Seventh case. The owner is present when the accident occurs. In that case it be- longed especially to himself to prevent the acci- dent, if prevention was possible. Eighth case. The borrower is in the hired service of the owner of the beast. In this case he gets the dead beast instead of his pay ; it Is subtracted from his pay. For the owner as a hired laborer would have had to do only wltli himself; and a hired servant with a hired beast cannot be meant. It is therefore a day-laborer to whom the animal of the owner has been en- trusted. TJiJ^ can hardly (with Stier and Keil) be referred to the hired beast. Knobel has a forced explanation, in which the hired servant becomes the one who lets the beast.* I * [This is a mistake. Knnbel translates ; " If G'xi makes (one) a malefactor, (i. e. if the court decides that a mla^e- mt;anor has been comm'tted), then he shall restore double to his neighbor." And in opposition to the translation. " whicti- ever one God condemn", he shall restore double," he aayaj " How could the plaintiff be condemned to make resUlvtion, if he, eV'-D though the complaint was ungrounded, had y" taken nothing from the other f '* — Tr.] * [The miijority of interpreters (like the A. V.) regsri ^32/ as referring to the beast, not the borrower. Kuobel explains thus : " If the beast was not merely lent out of Idnd- ness, but let for pay, the loss comes upon the hire by the ifr ceipt of which the owner is paid. In fixing the hire he hid regard to tho danger of the loss, and, when the lose t»W place, must content himself with the hire." So Keil. 1"' explanation of Knobel's al>ove referred to by Livngei i^^ second one, evidently not preferred by Knobel, but merely stated as possible, especially in view of the fact that T3ff everywhere else is used of men.-— Tr.] CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 33. 93 Ver. 16. Ninth case. The seducer of an unbe- trothed virgin (the case is different with the sedaction of a betrothed one (Deut. xxii. 23), who has entrusted to him the wealth of her vir- ginity, valuable not only in a moral, but in a oivil point of view, must make restitution to her by marrying her, and to her father by giving a dowry. Ver. 17. Tenth ease. The seducer himself can- not refuse the settlement ; but the father of the seduced maiden may have reasons for refusing it. In this case the seducer must pay him the dowry [vid. Gen. xxxiv. 12), with which she is, in a sort, reinstated as a virgin, and as after- wards a legally divorced woman. The case is not differently provided for in Deut. xxii. 28, as Enobel affirms. There only the price of sale is fixed, viz., at 60 shekels ; the right of the father to refuse his daughter to the seducer is simply not repeated. The dowry was not properly a price of sale. " The precepts in ver. 18 and onwards," says Keil, " differ in form and contents from the fore- going laws; inform,by the omission of "3 [when], with which the foregoing are almost without ex- ception introduced ; in substance, by the fact that they impose on the Israelites, on the ground of their election to he the holy people of Jeho- vah, requirements which transcend the sphere of natural law." Yet the two divisions are not to > be distinguished as natural and supernatural. j But Keil has correctly found a new section here, whilst Knobel begins :>. new section, poorly de- fined, with ver. 16. e. Unnatural Crimea. Abominations committed against Religion and Humanity. Ver. 18. First offence. The sorceress is con- demned to death. This term is not to be made synonymous with witch, as Knobel makes it. The medieval witch may practice, or wish to practice, sorcery; but she may also be a calum- niated woman. She gets her name from the popular conception, whereas the sorceress gets her name from the real practice of a lying, dark art. She operates on the assumption that demo- niacal powers co-operate with her, and so she promotes radical irreligion. She injures her neighbor in body and life, as being the instru- ment of hostile passions, which she nourishes ; or, when she enters into the mood of the ques- tioner, she nourishes ruinous hopes (Macbeth) or despair (the soothsayer of Endor), and often from being a mixer of herbs becomes a mixer of poisons (Gesina). "The sorceress is named in- stead of the sorcerer, as Calovius says, not be- cause the same thing is not punishable in men, but because the female sex is more addicted to this crime" (Keil). According to Knobel the expression, "not suffer to live," intimates that perhaps a foreign sorceress might be punished with banishment; but Keil supposes fliat she may have been allowed to live, if she gave up her occupation. Sorcery was connected not only with simple idolatry, but in many ways with the worship of demons, and the sorceress was re- garded as seducing to such things. B Ver. 19. Second offence. Sexual intercourse with a beast. Comp. Lev. xviii. 23 ; xx. 15 ; Deut. szvii. 21. This unnatural thing also was pun- ished with death, like the kindred one of sodomy, a prominent vice of the Oanaanites, Lev xx. 13. Ver. 20. Third offence. Idolatry. Keil's expla- nation, " Israel must not sacrifice to foreign gods, but must not only tolerate foreigners in the midst of them," etc., almost seems intended to intimate that the heathen in Israel had an edict of tole- rance for their offerings. Opposed to this con- ception is tne Sabbath law, and the ordinance in xxiii. 24. In both cases, however, the explana- tion is that a public worship of strange gods was not tolerated in Israel ; but an inquisition to ferret out such worship secretly carried on is not coun- tenanced by the Mosaic law. The words are: " whosoever sacrificeth unto any god." The ad- dition, "save unto Jehovah only" (as likewise XX. 24), is a mild expression also as regards the theocratic offerings, and also secures a right un- derstanding of the word "Elohim." — He is to be devoted, i. «., to the judgment of Jehovah sentencing him to death. Here the notion of D'ln {hherem, ban) comes out distinctly. Every capital punishment was essentially a hherem; but here is found the root of the notion; an idolater by his offering has withdrawn from Jehovah the offering due to Him alone ; he has, so to speak, re- moved the offering away from the truedivine idea, and perverted it into its opposite. " He is to be devoted by death to the Lord, to whom in life he would not devote himself" (Keil). It may be that a sort of irony lies in the notion of the hherem; as being consecration reversed, it se- cures to God the glory belonging to Him alone; but it does this also as being consecration to the judging God in His judgment. "No living thing," says Knobel, " devoted to Jehovah could be redeemed, but had to be destroyed. Lev. xxvii. 28 sq. ; 1 Sam. xv. 3." But only when it was a case of hherem, vid. Deut. xiii. 12 sqq. Ver. 21. Fourth offence. A beautiful contrast to the foregoing is formed by the statement of offences against humanity. Maltreatment of the foreigner is put first of all. He must not be wronged, "for ye were strangers," etc. A moral principle which re-appears in the N. T. (Matt. vii. 12), as also in Kant. The particular rules concerning the treatment of aliens are given by Knobel. p. 228, who also gives the appropriate references to Miohaelis and Saalschiitz. Vid. iii. 9, Dent. xxvi. 7. Knobel says, " The per- sons meant are the Canaanitish and nonCa- naanitish strangers who staid as individuals among the Israelites ; the Canaanites as a whole are, according to this lawgiver also, to be extir- pated (vid, xxiii. 83)." It belongs to the defini- tion of the "stranger," that he is dissociated from his own nationality, and has become sub- ject to another, i. e. here, to the national laws of the Israelites. The failure to affix a penalty to this law implies that the noble emotion of gra- titude was probably depended on to secure its ful- filment. Vers. 22 24. Fifth offence. Against widows and orphans. On this point see Knobel's collec- tion of the various passages, p. 229. God takes the place of the deceased fathers and husbands by His special protection ; whence follows that they on their part when living are to exercise a divine protection in the house over wife and 94 EXODUS. children. And because, through the selfishnese of the strong, widows and orphans were so liable to be oppressed, being easily despoiled on ac- count of their impotence, chief prominence is given to the significance of their crying. This need not always be a conscious prayer uttered in one's extremity, for crying, on the part of living things and before God, has a special meaning, even down to the crying of the young ravens. The threatened punishment, in the first place, is con- nected with the guilt, and in the second place corresponds with it. Despotism begins with the oppression of the weak (widows and orphans), and reaches its consummation in unrighteous wars and military catastrophes, out of which again widows and orphans are made. Vid. Isa. ix 17. Ver. 25. Sixth offence. Prohibition of usury, by which the exigency of the poor is abused, Lev. XXV. 36. Two grounds : the poor man be- longs to the people of God as a free man, and has lost his freedom through his troubles. By usury he is burdened. Vers. 26, 27. Seventh offence. Excessive taking of pawn. The lender may require a pledge of the creditor, but his covering (outer garment) he must return to him before sunset, lest he suffer from the nocturnal cold. The mantle marks the extreme of poverty in general, vid. Deut. xxiv. 6 sqq. The compassion which J ehovah here pro- mises to the helpless ones that cry has an ob- verse side for the pitiless. The expression in ver. 27 becomes even a rhetorical plea for the poor. Matt. v. 7, James ii. 13. "The indigent Oriental covers himself at night in his outer gar- ment. Shaw, Travels, p. 224, Niebuhr, Arabien, p. 64" (Knobel). On the pawning of clothes, see Amos ii. 8, Job xxii. 6, Prov. xx. 16, xxviL 13. Ver. 28. Eighth offence. Contempt of the Deity and of princely magistrates. Keil says, "Elo- him means neither the gods of the other nations, as Josephus (Avt. IV. 8, 10, contra Apionem II. 33), Philo (vita Mos. III. 864) and others explain the word in their dead and Pharisaic monothe- ism; nor the magistrates, as Onkelos, Jonathan, Aben Ezra and others think; but God, the Deity in general, whose majesty is despised in every transgression of Jehovah's command3,and should be honored in the person of the prince. Comp. Prov. xxiv. 21; 1 Pet. ii. 17," etc. So Knobel. This explanation is certainly favored by the con- text, particularly the following; especially also by the fact that the prince (the exalted, the high one) is mentioned next to God. Yet this is to be observed in the line of Josephus and Philo's opinion, that the theocracy does not reject the divine element in the religions themselves, but the false ideal images of the gods (Elilim), and the actual idols, and that even in this sphere there are reservations in reference to Satan (Epistle of .lude). There are two reasons for it : first, the element of truth which, underlies the errors; secondly, the moral injury of the reli- gious feelings of the neighbor who is in error. We prefer to render, "the Deity;" at all events the reviling of the Deity, which may have many degrees, is sharply distinguished from the posi- tive reviling of Jehovah (Lev. xxiv. 15, 16). The world of to-day would perhaps invert the order of guilt in this relation. Luther's translation transposes the meanings of the verbs \_"Den Got tern .... nicht fluehen, und den Oberiten . . , nicht Idstern," " not curse the gods, and not re- vile the magistrates"]. The princes are under God as His vicegerents. Passages relative to the defamation of princes are given by Knobel. The word 77p comprehends all forme of evil-speaking of God. Vers. 29, 30. Ninth offence. Holding back of the natural products due to the sanctuary. "nxSo means the produce of grain (Deut. xxii. 9), and the word i^p'l, which occurs only here, properly 'tear,' something flowing, liquor atillans, is a poetic designation of the produce of the wine- vat, the wine and the oil, comp. daupvov tOv 6h- rf/DUV. Theoph.: arhorum laerymse; Pliny XI. 6." (Keil.) Firf. xxiii. 19; Deut. xxvi. 2-11 ; Num. xviii. 12. These gifts to the temple retained their festal character and their value only as they were freely and joyfully presented. The first- born of thy sons. — Repetition of the precept to sanctify the first-Tjorn to Jehovah, xiii. 2, 12. In the passage before us, however, the precept is put under the point of view of the civil com- monwealth. This needs religious institutions in order to its perpetuity. Knobel attempts in vain to make out a difference between this passage and others which prescribe the redemption of the first born. A week of existence with the dam must also be secured to the sacrificial victims taken from the cattle and from the sheep or goats. Ver. 31. Tenth offence. Use of unclean meat. As men of holiness consecrated to the sanctuary, they must refrain from the use of unclean meat, especially of that which is torn of beasts. The carcass is to be given to the dogs, whose charac- teristic here appears. Comp. xix. 6 ; Lev. xvii. 15, /. Legal Proceedingt. Chap, xxiii. 1. First precpt. Against rashness in cherishing and uttering suspicions. Comp. Lev. xix. 16 ; Deut. xxii. 13 sqq. Vid. the refer- ences to Michnelis and Saalscbiitz in Knobel. Second precept. No one shall allow himself to be misled by wicked men into the utterano of false witness. Ver. 2. Third precept. Base compliance with the judgment of the multitude. Ver. 3. Fourth precept. Not to favor the poor man in his suit. Atieolation in sympathy with the lowly. The error of many modern minds. Against Knobel's conjecture, vid. Keil.* Ver. 4. Fifth precept. To keep even an enemy from suffering loss. One's enemy is in this case a brother, according to Deut. xxii. 1. Neglect of this duly is positive and culpable violation of law. Ver. 5. Sixth precept. It is still harder to la- bor in company with the enemy (the hater), ui * [Knobel's conjecture ia that iDBtsHd of ^Tl (" a"* » 1"°' man ") we should read 7*1J (" a great man ")— since in lev. xix. 15 It is the " might; " who is not to be " honored," anj partiality to the poor " was not to be anticipated, and neeaea not to be forbidden." Keil r pltes thsit this is HiifBclentlj an- swered by the fact that the same passage hiis a command not to " respect the person of the poor." — 'Te.] CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 83. 95 order to help him in his extremity. In this case the inclination to avoid the enemy must be over- come. On the pun see Gesenius under 213>. Comp. Bertheau, p. 41. The neglect of this dif- ficult self-denial also comes into the category of violation of law. Ver. 6. Seventh precept. Of thy poor. — The poor must be the- protegS of the rich. But the temptations to violate his rights, to pervert it this way and that, is strong, since he is defence- less. Hence Moses puts him specially under the protection of the law. Comp. Deut. xxvli. 19; 1 Sam. viii. 3; Lam. iii. 36. Ver. 7. Eighth precept. This looks like the first. But there the subject is false testimony — here, the false judge; because his conduct may possibly bring death to the innocent man. Here, therefore, judicial murder is specifically treated of, with the declaration that God will not acquit the wicked one, i.e., will judge him; and the wicked judge is probably meant. Bertheau, di- viding this one precept into two, fails to make out the tenth — wherefore Keil is led to pro- nounce his hypothesis of decades to be arbitrary throughout. Ter. 8. Ninth precept. Prohibition of the taking of presents in law-suits. Out of such presents corruption grows. They pervert the cause of the righteous — make right wrong. Ver. 9. Tenth precept. This is not identical with the general precept in xxii. 21, since here the question is about law-suits. It should be considered especially in courts of law how a stranger feels. He is timid, faint-hearted, and readily surrenders a part or the whole of his just claim before the mighty judge. Israel is to learn this from his experience in Egypt. Vid. Deut, ixiv. 17; xxvii. 19. g. Ordinance concerning Featt-days and Days of Rest. Vers. 10, 11. First ordinance. The land must rest the seventh year. It is the Sabbath of the years, the continuation of the Sabbath of the months, as of the Sabbath of the days, while they all look back to the Sabbath of God's creation, and look forward to the Sabbath of the genera- tion, the great year of jubilee, the type of the future foundation and completion of the Sabbath by Christ. The civil side of the religious ordi- nances here made should nut be overlooked, as is done by Keil and Knobel. In Lev. xxv. the ordinance bears a predominantly religious as- pect. What the land produces of itself, without euUurfe, belongs to all as a common possession to be freely enjoyed; likewise to the stranger and to the cattle, and even to the wild beasts. Thus this festal year forms a reflex of Paradise. And if this festal year in point of fact was poorly ob- served in Israel, critics may well infer that this law was written long before the time of the later national life of the Israelites. In its ideal signi- ficance, however, it belcngs to all times: not only the field, but also the forest, the river, and the mine, may be spoiled by unintermittent labor. Vers. 12, 13. Second ordinance. Man and beast must rest on the seventh day. The humane ob- ject of the Sabbath in its civil aspect comes out prominently in the text. Mention is first made 10 even of the rest needed by the ox and the ass, then of the hand-maid's son, i. e., the one born a slave, and the stranger; they must on the Sab- bath have a breathing-spell, as the verb properly means. Ver. IB enjoins the proper celebration for this sacred list of feast-days, strictly ex- cluding the names of all heathen deities, and containing a suggestion for the revision of the Christian calendar in view of the medieval deifi- cations. Says Knobel: "The most important point is the exclusive adoration of Jehovah. The Hebrew is not even to mention — i. e., utter — the name of another god; not to take it into his mouth, still less recognize or reverence such a god. So, too, the strict worshippers of Jehovah did (Ps xvi. 4; Hos. ii. 17; Zech. xiii. 2). Ac- cordingly the Hebrew was to swear only by Je- hovah (Deut. vi. IB; X. 20; J«r. xii. 16). So the Phenician could not swear bpKovg ^evMoiig (Josephus c. Apionem I. 22)." But we must dis- tinguish between the proper meaning of this command and the superstitious Jewish interpre- tation of it, which has even imposed a penalty on the utterance of the name of Jehovah. The so-called "killing by silence" ITodtschweigen], generally a sin, has therefore here, too, its mo- ral side. Ver. 14. Third ordinance. Three annual festi- vals are to be celebrated in accordance with the wants of God's people in their civil capacity. At the head stands the feast of unleavened bread, as the festival of freedom ; then follow the two prin- cipal harvest festivals, of which the second at the same time marks the close of the year with reference to the notion of the civil year. Vid. xxxiv. 23 ; Deut. xvi. 1 6 ; 2 Chr. viii. 13. "Other- wise," says Knobel, "the Elohist, on which point see Lev. xxiii." But it must be observed that there the festivals are spoken of in their re- Isition to religion and religious rites. Therefore, at that place special prominence is given to the Passover and the day of atonement. The arrange- ment of the three festivals, however, was, for the most part, prophetic, since in the wilderness there could be no harvesting, nor even sacrifices, vid. Lev. xxiii. 10. Ver. 15. Fowth ordinance. The feast of un- leavened bread as the birth-day festival of the people and of their freedom; whereas the Pass- over stands at the head of their religious offer- ings, uirf. xii. 40 sqq. On Hitzig's view in his "Oatern und Pfingsten," vid. Knobel,* p. 233; Bertheau, p. 57. — "Not empty," i.e., not with empty hands, but with sacrificial gifts. Even the" general festival offerings had to come from the sacrificial gifts of the people — a fact which Knobel seems to overlook; to these were adiled the peace-offerings madfe by individuals. So the Oriental never came before his king without pre- sents; vid. the citations from .^lian and Paulsen in Keil. The offering is the surplus of the gain « FHitzig I. c. holds that aUNn E?n'n meuns the new moon, of the month of grpen cars— to which Knobel replies that in that case the' phlrase " time appointed " would be hu- perflnoas ; that the Hebrew expression, if W'Vn means " new moon," would have to be retldered " new moon of the green ears " — a very improbable translation ; and that according to Lev. xxiii. 6 the festival was to begin on the fifteenth day of the month, i, e.,' at the time of the full moon,— Tb.] 96 EXODUS. which God has blessed, and by the effort to se- cure this surplus a barrier is built against want in civil life. While the offerings serve to main- tain the religious rites, they also serve indirectly to maintain the common weal. The same holds of the true church and of its wants. Ver. 16. Fifth ordinance. The feast of har- vest. — Here named for the first time, as also the third feast, vid.. Lev. xxiii. 15 : Num. xxviii. 26. Also called the feast of weeks, because it was celebrated seven weeks after the feast of unlea- vened bread ; or the feast of the first fruits of the wheat-harvest, because the loaves offered as first-fruits at that time were to be made of wheat flour, xxxiv. 22. On the Pentecost, see the lexicons. Sixth ordinance. — The feast of Ingathering. — Gathering or plucking characterizes this har- vest: the fruit-harvest and vintage. Further particulars, as that it is to be held on the 15th day of the 7th month, seven days like that of unleavened bread, a feast of rich abundance in contrast with that of great privation, see in Lev. xxiii. 34, Num. xxix. 12, Winer, Realworterbuch, Art. Laubhutienfest, [Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Tabernacles, Fea.it of]. In the end of the year. — Knobel, on account of this passage, as- sumes that the Hebrews had two new-years, the one in autumn, when the agricultural season of the year ended with the harvesting of the fruits, and the following one, beginning with the ploughing and sowing of the fields. The for- mer, he says, seems to have been the usual mode of reckoning in the East ; and he cites many proofs, p. 235. His view that this is a contra- diolion of the Elohist, who puts the beginning of the year in the spring (xii. 2), is not perspicu- ous ; neither, on the other hand, is Keil's — that reference is here made only to the agricultural year, by which he must mean the natural sea- sons, II. p. 148. We find here a new proof that the Mosaic law distinguishes the civil from the religious ordinances. But because the civil is subordinate to the religious, the determinative regulation proceeds from the feast of Passover, as is Been especially from Num. xxix. 12. That in Lev. xxiii. 34 the date is religious, is self-evi- dent. Ver. 17. Seventh ordinance. Three times In the year; i. e. of course at the three above- mentioned feasts. The place where the Israel- ites are to appear before .Jehovah, i. e. in the place where He reveals Himself, is not yet fixed, an omission explained by the fact that they were still wandering. That only the males are held obliged to do thii, shows the civil side of this legislation. 10T for 131, thy males. "Proba- bly," says Keil, "from the twentieth year and upwards, those who were included in the census, Num. i. 3. But this does not prohibit the ad- mission of the women (comp. 1 Sam. i. 3 sqq.) and boys (Luke ii. 41 sqq.)." More exactly: by the side of the civil ordinance the religious custom was developed in a natural way. Kno- bel thinks he finds here another discrepancy, p. 235. Ver. 18. Eighth ordinance. Not offer with leavened bread. — The duty of keeping sacred things pure is enjoined especially by references to the feast of the Passover. The connection of the feast of unleavened bread with the Passover is here assumed. Backwards and forwards the paschal feast is to be kept pure in view of the fact that the blood of the offering (i. e. of the offering emphatically so called, the Passover offering) belongs to Jehovah, that therefore the surrender must be unmixed. In reference to the past, therefore, everything leavened must be removed (xii. 15, 20). In reference to the future, the fatty parts of the paschal offering, which alsu belong to Jehovah, must not remain over night, and so serve for ordinary food. They must therefore be burned in the night. That cannot mean, as Knobel understands it, that the fatiy pieces are to be at the outset separated from the paschal lamb, as was done with other offerings, since the lamb was to remain whole; but it was natural that the fatty parts would be for the moat part left over ; and then they were to be burned with the other things left over. Thus these fatty remains, which, however, were not burnt on the altar, became a type of the fatty pieces which were from the first designed for the altar. So then this regulation is made to refer to the more detailed laws of the festivals as found in Lev. ii. 11, etc. As the Passover was to be con- trasted with the ordinary mode of life, so also with the feast of unleavened bread. The three stages are : (1) the old life (leaven) ; (2) the of- fering of life (Passover); (3) the beginning of the new life (unleavened bread). Ver. 19. Ninth ordinance. Precept in refer- ence chiefly to the feast of weeks, or the first feast of harvest, but with a more general significance. " The Pentecostal loaves (Lev. xxiii. 17) are meant," says Knobel. Keil with reason under- stands the precept of a bringing of firstlings in general, vid. Num. xviii. 12, Ut. xxvi. 2 sqq. " The sheaf of barley which was to be offered on the second day of the feast of unleavened bread (Lev. xxiii. 10) belongs to the same" [Keil]. It niay be asked how the expression '1133~n''E'!<'l is to be understood ; whether, according to the LXX., followed by Keil, as the first of the first fruits, the first gathering of the first fruits; or, accord- ing to Aben Ezra and others, including Knobel (p. 236), as the best, the choicest, of the first fruits. Inasmuch as not the very first that came to hand was also the best, the latter explanation is to be taken as a more precise statement of the other: the first, provided it was the best, or the first-fruits, properly so called (for not even every first-born beast was a true firstling). The chro- nological element in the term " first," however, takes precedence, and forbids every delay and sequestration, according to xxii. 29. The mean- ing of these offerings is seen from the liturgical forms prescribed for them in Deut. xxvi. 3 sqq., 13 sqq. Everything is a gift from Jehovah; there- fore the first fruits are brought back to Him, and their acceptance is effected by the priest, vfho, however, represents also the Levites, the widows and orphans, and the stranger. As in the N. T. Christ pictures Himself to His church as poor, in the person of the poor and the little ones, so Je- hovah in the 0. T. symbolically pictures Himself as in a human state of want, in the priests under whose protection all, especially all needy CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 33. 97 ones stand. So then the church ought conti- nually to care for the poor, as a religious du.y. Ver. 19. Tenth ordinance. Not boil a kid. — This precept seems strange, probably for the reason that it may be in a high degree symboli- cal. First, we must pronounce incorrect Lu- ther's translation : "Not boil the kid while it is at its mother's milk" [vid. 1 Sam. vii. 9). Other incorrect interpretations see in Enobel: (1) not to cook and eat meat and milk together; (2) injunction not to use butter instead of the oil of trees; (3) prohibition of an odious barbarity and cruelty. According to Knobel there is a re- ference to a custom of heathen religions which is to be kept away from the worship of Jehovah. Vid. his commentary, p. 237, where are accounts of Jewish opinions and Arabian usages. "Aben Ezra and Abarbanel," he says, "mention the boiling of the kid in milk by the Arabs of their time ; and they are right. Up to the present day the Arabs generally boil the flesh of lambs in sour milk, thus giving to it a peculiar relish (Berggren, Eeisen, etc.)." Further on Knobel, following Spencer, professes to give proofs that a peculiar superstition underlay the custom. But the heathen element, if there was one in the practice, might have been excluded without pro- hibiting the practice itself. If we assume that the precept in ver. 18 referred to the first feast, and was designed to prevent the profanation of the offering, and that the one in ver. 19 referred to the second one, and was designed to prevent the neglect of the peace-offering and the priest- hood with its family of Levites and of the poor, it is natural, with Abarbanel and others, to refer this precept especially to the third feast; and because this was in the highest degree the joy- ous feast of the Israelites, it is furthermore pro- bable that this prohibition was designed to pre- vent a luxury which was inconsistent with sim- ple comfort, and which moreover was hideous in a symbolical point of view, the kid here being, as it were, tortured even in death by the milk of the dam. The same precept condemns all the heathen refinements of festive gormandizing, such as are still practiced (e. g. roasting live animals). This epicurism might also pitch upon the eating of unclean animals or other haul goat; vid, Deut. xiv. 21, where the same prohibition is connected with the one before us. Keil's expla- nation, that the practice marked a reversal of the divine order of things in regard to the rela- tion between old and young, is less intelligible than that the kids were a very favorite article of food, according to Gen. xxvii. 9, 14; Jndg. vi. 19, xiii. 15 ; 1 Sam. xvi. 20. To be sure, the usage considered in its symbolical aspect was a sort of unnature such as the keen sense of natural fit- ness which characterized the Mosaic laws re- jected in every form, so that it even denounced the production of hybrid animals and grains, the mixing of different materials in cloth, as well as human misalliances, Lev. xix. 19, 20. h. The Promises. Vers. 20-33. That this last division also of the religio-oivil legislation relates to the political commonwealth, is seen from the whole contents of it, especially from vers. 22, 24 sqq., 27, 33. Knobel calls them " Some more promises ;" Keil, " The con- duct of Jehovah towards Israel." The promises here given are not some, but a whole ; not, how- ever, the whole of .Jehovah's promises, but the sum of the civil and political blessings condi- tioned on good behavior. (1) Protection of an- gelic guidance, of the religion of revelation ; and invincibility founded on religious obedience. (2) Victory over the Canaanites, Possession of the holy land on condition of their purifying the land from idolatry. (3) Abundance of food. (4) Blessing of health. (5) Fertility of man and beast. (6) Long life. (7) The respect and fear of all neighboring peoples. (8) Mysterious con- trol of natural forces in favor of Israel, ver 28. (9) The subjected Canaanites themselves made to serve for the protection of the growth of Israel. (10) Wide extent of territory and sure possession of it on condition of not mingling with the Canaanites and their idolatry. Vers. 20-22. Mrst promise. I send an angel. — That which the people, as the religious con- pregation of God, afterwards have imposed upon them as a check on account of their misbeha- vior (chap, xxxiii.), is here promised to the civil congregation as a protection. This cannot well be an anticipation, and cannot, with Knobel, be accounted for on the theory of "another narra- tor" who calls this angel DiiT \33. For in xxxiii. 2, 8 two forms of revelation are clearly dis- tinguished. In xxxiii. 18, 19 this distinction is between the glory of Jehovah and the goodness of Jehovah. Further on it is said that no one can see the glory in its full display, i. e. Jehovah's face, but can see its reflected splendor as it passes by in sacred obscurity (ver. 23). It is therefore a private relation between Jehovah and Moses, when Jehovah speaks with him face to face (xxxiii. 11), and hence in Moses' con- sciousness the two degrees of revelation go to- gether. The prophet Moses stands as Abra- ham's son higher than Moses the lawgiver. So Paul (in Gal. iii.) distinguishes positively be- tween the form of revelation which Abraham re- ceived and the form of revelation by which the people of Israel received the law (vers. 16 and 19). This difference in degree is presented an ■ tithetically as early as in Jer. xxxi. 32-34. It harmonizes entirely with this distinction, when the angel of Jehovah first appears to Hagar, Gen. xvi. 7 ; also in the circumstance that he directs her to return to the household to which, she legitimately belonged. Comp. Gen. xxi. 17. Later also the immediate revelations made by God to Abraham are distinguished from the appear- ance of the angel of Jehovah in a legal aspect. Gen. xxii. 1, 11. The difference resembles that between inspiration and manifestation, as these two through ecstatic vision are made to assume forms different in degree. The angel of Jehovah is therefore the revelation of Jehovah for the people of Israel in a predominantly legal rela- tion; hence also the form of the political theo- cracy as it is instituted through the mediation of Moses and Aaron, chiefly of Moses. The sal- vation of the people will depend on their obedi- ence to the theocratic religion, as shaped by the higher form of the ceremonial revelation. This angel prepares the way for the Israelites, and conducts them to their goal. His counte- 98 EXODUS. Dance in the theocratic legal institutions is turned towards Israel ; Jehovah's name, the re- velation of His essential being, is within him, under the cover of this angelic form. He re- quires awe ; he can he easily offended ; he pun- ishes acta of disloyalty, for he is legal ; hence he goes before Israel as the terror of God to in- timidate the enemies. Knobel identifies this Angel of the Lord with the pillar of cloud and fire; and in fact this was a sign of the hidden presence of the angel, xxxiii. 9. Vers. 23, 24. Vid. Gen. xv. 18 sqq. Annihila- tion of the public heathen worship in Canaan af- ter its conquest by Israel. That the system of worship was connected with the morals, which were horrible and criminal, is even thus early made prominent. Vid. the parallel passages in Knobel, p. 2-38. Ver. 25. The pure service of Jehovah is the condition of well-being and health; vid. xv. 26; comp. Lev. xxvi. 16, 25; Deut. xxviii. 20. Bread and water, the most important articles of nutri- tion, symbols of all kinds of welfare. Ver. 26. Prevention of miscarriages. Only one item in a whole category: diminution of the population through miscarriages, unohastity, conjugal sins against procreation, exposure of children, f,tc.; oomp. Lev. xxvi. 9; Deut. xxviii. 11; XXX. 9; virf. Is. xxv. 8 ; Ixv. 23. Respecting the blessing of long life, vid. chap, xx.; Deut. v.; 1 Cor. XV. 51. Ver. 27. My fear. — This marks the sphere of intimidating influences exerted by the religious power of Israel on the heathen in general; whereas the hornets (ver. 28) represent the ter- rifying or destructive effects of this power in particular. Vid. Gen. xxxv. 5; Ex. xv. 14; Ps. xviii. 41 (40); xxi. 13 (12); Josh. vii. 8, 12. Ver. 28. Hornets.— Firf. Deut. vii. 20; Wis- dom of Solomon xii. 8. Says Knobel: "Accord- ing to Josh. xxiv. the kings of the Amorites, Si- hon and Og, were driven out not by Israel's wea- pons, but by the ni>")!t. Elsewhere neither the word nor the thing occurs in the 0. T." Differ- ent explanations: (1) The promise is literally meant. So Jarchi, Clericus, and others. (2) Plagues in general. So Saadias, Michaelis, and others. (3) The expression is figurative. So most modern interpreters. Yet the text evidently does not mean to identify the hornets with the great general terror of God, as Knobel holds, but distinguishes them from it as small, isolated, but very powerful evils, as Keil, following Augus- tine, has correctly observed. It is a question even whether the hornets are not meant to repre- sent the same thing as the bees, Deut. i. 44; Ps. cxviii. 12 ; Isa. vii. 18. The bee frightens by the multitude of the irresistible swarm; the hornets by the frightful attack and sting of the indivi- dual insect. In the petty religious and moral conflicts between Judaism and heathenism, civil- ized Christian nations and barbarians, Indians, and other savages, it is just these hornets, these thousand.fold particular sources of terror, moral thorns, and even physical stings, under which the enemies gradually succumb. The three Canaan, itish nations which are here named denote the totality; perhaps, however, in the heathen tri- nity may be found a reference to the spiritual impotence of heathenism. Ver. 29. Not in one year. — Comp. Deut. vii. 22; Lev. xxvi. 22; Ezek. xiv. 15, 21 ; 2 Kings xvii. 25; Josh. xiii. 1-7. From this it appears that the destruction denounced by Jehovah on the Canaanites was intended primarily for them in their collective and public capacity, not for the individuals. The individuals, in so far as they submit, Jehovah will allow, as individuals, to live ; and to live, in so far as they remain heathen and enemies, for the purpose of preventing the wild beasts from getting the upper hand and di- minishing the number of the people of Israel, which as yet is far too small to subdue the wild beasts, and the wildness of nature in general. The higher races of mankind are still indebted for this service to the lowest races throughout the five continents. Even savages constitute still a sort of barrier against what is monstrous in na- ture, which without them would lapse into wild- ness. These Canaanites serve this purpose only as being incorrigible. In proportion as nature is reclaimed, they sink away. It was therefore not the fact that these individuals continued to live in Israel, but that the Israelites mingled with them, which led to ruinous consequences. Comp. Judg. i. and ii. Ver. 31. Set thy bounds. — Vid. Gen. xv. 18. The Bed Sea on the south — the sea of the Philistines, or Mediterranean Sea, on the west — the Arabian desert on the east (Deut. xi. 24), the Euphrates on the north. These ideal boundaries are assured to the Israelites, in so far as they conduct themselves in relation to the heathen according to the ideal standard. Forming al- liances with the heathen and recognizing their political existence would not of itself be actual apostasy, but it would be a snare to the Israelites through which they would be drawu into idola- try by way of false consistency in the policy of > toleration. The lesson is to be applied even at the present day. The several precepts are given by Knobel, p. 241. CHAP. XXIV. 1-8. 99 D.— THE FEAST OF THE COVENANT COMMANDED. CffAP. XXIV. 1-2. 1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and 2 Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall [let Moses alone] come near Jehovah : but they shall not [let them not] come nigh ; neither shall [and let not] the people go up with him. darknesa of the mountain; by which, however, is not exactly meant that he waa on the mountain (xx. 21). It ia therefore not to be supposed (with Keil and Knobel) that Moaea, according to XX. 21, had again betaken himself to the mountain ; for in thia case it would have to be assumed that the descent bad been forgotten. But no wan ascend- ing to Jehovah takes place, with most significant distinctions. lUoses, the prophet, alone is per- mitted to go to the top of the mountain, and ap- proach Jehovah. At the declivity of the moun- tain the priests must stop, represented by Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu; and with a like limitation, but also with a like right, the state, the popular assembly, represented by the seventy elders. They occupy a middle position between the prophet above and the people below. On Nadab and Abihu vid. Lev. x. 1 sqq. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. The connection of this passage with the fore- going is correctly stated by Keil in opposition to Knobel. In xx. 22 God spoke through Moses to the people. What He now speaks at the end of the giving of the law iafor Moses himself, al- though he must communicate with the people about it. After Jehovah has proclaimed the law of the covenant to the people, the feast of the covenant must be celebrated. It is presupposed, first, that Qod has spoken from Hinai the ten commandments to Moses and the people at the foot of the mountain (xix. 26). Then that He gave the ceremonial laws and the civil laws for the people, while the latter had removed from the mountain, but Moses was standing in the E.— RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT. Chap. XXIV. 3-8. 3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judg- 4 ments [ordinances] : and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath said [spoken] will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under 5 the hill [mountain], and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. A.nd he sent young [the young] men of the children of Israel, which [and they] offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen [bullocks] unto Jehovah. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins ; and half of the blood he 7 sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the au- dience [hearing] of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath said [spoken] 8 will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said. Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words. evidently the report must have included the whole threefold law (therefore not only the deca- logue), because the covenant now to be con- cluded was to relate to the whole law. But it is also self-evident that Moses was a better hearer of the ten commandments than the people were, and had to be for them a mediator of the law which they th^maelves had heard. Once more the assent of the people ia given to the law of the covenant unanimoualy — with one voice ; prac- EXEQETICAL AND CRITICAL. Ver. 8. And Moses came. — That is, ont of the darkness of the mountain, not exactly from the mountain itself. And told the people. — " Not the decalogue (as Delitzsch holda, JBehrder- brief, p. 414), for the people had beard this im- mediately from the mouth of God, but the words of XX. 22-26, and all the laws" (Keil). But TOO EXODUS. tieally, the third expression of compliance (vid. XX. 19 and xix. 8). How then can there be any more thought of despotic subjection of the peo- ple ? Thus far everything has been done orally ; aud for the first time Moses makes a provisional copy of the law. — Ver. 4. The covenant is con- cluded, and DOW it is sealed by the feast of the covenant. Moses builds early on the follow- ing morning an altar (for Jehovah), and in addi- tion twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. "As the altar,-' says Keil, "being the place where the Lord comes to bless His people (xx. 24), indicates the presence of Jehovah, so the twelve pillars, or signal stones, were not to serve as mere memorial signs of the ratification of the covenant, but, as the dwelling-place of the twelve tribes, to represent their presence." Vid. Gen. xxviii. 18, xxxi. 45 (Knobel on Gen. xxi. 31), Josh. iv. (memorial stones). Josh. xxii. 11 sqq. (the altar a symbol of unity). Ver. 6. And be sent the young men. The young men must officiate in offering the sa- crifices of ratification. Why ! Different views : (1) As first-born children, who constitute the natural basis for the priesthood (Onkelos), or even the sons of Aaron (Augustine). (2) Vigor- ous men, as Moses' assistants in making the offering (Knobel: first-born youths). (3) As representatives of the youthful people (Kurtz III., p. 143). The young men of the nation stand midway between the children and the men ; they share with the first their innocence, and with the latter their strength, and, as being the bloom of the national life, are the fittest re- presentatives of an incipient national life. When the national life is to be restored by wars of liberation or defence, the young men enter the lists. Thus Israel concludes its covenant with Jehovah through the bloom of its national life, the young men — according to a general law of the life of nations, which Kurtz has at least sug- gested (but criticised by Keil, note 1, p. 157).* It is, however, an observation needed only by the high-churchly, when Kurtz lays stress on the fact that the bringing and slaying of the victims was not a sacerdotal function. For as yet " the universal priesthood" officiates, although Moses alone as yet exercises the function of high-priest. Archaeological notes on the young men offering, vid. in Knobel, p. 242. — Burnt-oSerings and peace -ofierings. The burnt-offerings symbol- ize Jehovah's part of the festive solemnities ; the peace-offerings that of the people. — Bullocks. The great covenant cannot be ratified by the sa- crifice of sheep or goats. — Half of the blood. On the division of the blood, djU Keil, p. 158. f We * The English edition omits the note. Keil argues that there is nowhere any indication that a nation in general ap- proaches Jehovah through an offer! ne. These young men nl-ficiated, he thinks, merely ns Moses' assistants, as is indi- cared hy the circumstance that he nent them (ver. 5). — Ta. t fKeil, ;. c. says ; " The halving of the blnod has nothing in couiraon with the heathen customs rited by Bahr (Sym- boh'kf II., p. 421) and Koobel (on this passage) according to which the contracting parties mingled their own blood. For it is not two different kinds of blood that are mixed together, t'Ut oiu blood, and that, sacriQcial blood, in which animal life is taken away instead of human life Inasmuch ob the blood is divided only because what is sprinkled on the altar cannot be taken up again from the altar and sprinkled have no hesitation, in spite of superstitious in- terpretations of the Lord's Supper and of the ritual, to conceive of the one-half of this blood as a sacrifice, and the other as a sacrament typi- cally foreshadowed. In accordance with this reference the sacrificial element is traceable in the burnt-offering, the sacrament in the D'D7B', peace-offerings, or thank-offerings. Keil, refer- ring to Bahr and Knobel, rightly opposes the adducing of the analogy of heathen usages, in so far as thereby an ideniification of the usage is intended [vid. Knobel, p. 243) ; but an affinity of the profane with the theocratic sacrificial usages cannot be denied. Keil is also incorrect, when, in reference to these offerings, he speaks of expiation in the proper sense of the word. This could least of all be applied to the peace- offerings, or festive-offerings. The offerings in general, it is true, rest on the consciousness of the sinfulness which leads man. with his good will, and in symbolic form, to bring to God, as con- fession, prayer, and vow, what in his real condi- tion as sinful in his spiritual life he cannot bring Him — in the burnt-offering the sinless consecra- tion of his whole life, in the peace-offering the sinless consecration of all his prosperity and en- joyment. It is quite in accordance with the legal stand-point that Moses at first pours out the blood designed for God at the altar of God; thereby he symbolically effects a general and complete surrender of the people to God. But not till after he has read the book of the cove- nant, the laws of chs. xx.-xxiil., and the people have given their fullest assent {vid. the transla- tion), does he sprinkle the people with the other half of the blood of the offering, which till then was kept in the basin, while he calls it the blood of the covenant that has been completed. It can hardly be correct, with Keil, to understand the blood to have been halved only because the blood sprinkled on the altar could not be again taken from it and sprinkled on the people ; but he is right in assuming that the halves belong together. Clearly there is formed out of the identity of the blood a contrast in actu. In this contrast, however, the thought comes out that surrender in general, in accordance with the conditions of grace, must precede obedience in particular, according to the law. This is the patriarchal and evangelical seal impressed on the law, such as also introduces the decalogue — the language about the redeeming God. The expression, "blood of the covenant," is, it is true, a marked one, denoting an ideally symboli- cal exchange of blood, as a foundation for blood relationship. But no human blood is here used, and still less can there be any thought of real blood of God, although, as sacrificial blood, it comes from God (and so far forth is a typical mystery), and is sprinkled upon men, symholi- cally expiating them and devoting them to aano- tification, vid. xxix. 21, Lev. viii. 30. on the people, the two halves of the blood are to be regarded as belonging together and so forming fme blood, which is firlt sprinkled on the altar and then on the people, as was really done at the consecration of the priests, xxix. 21, Lev. Till. 30."— TB.| CHAP. XXIV. 9-11. 101 P.— FEAST OF THE COVENANT. Chap. XXIV. 9-11. 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders 10 of Israel : And they saw the God of Israel : and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone [as it were work of bright sapphire], and as it 11 were the body of heaven [the very heaven] in his clearness [for clearness]. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand : also [and] they saw God, and did eat and drink. covenant, and the subsequent darkening of the mountain by cloud and fire which took place when the law was drawn up. The Tision of Jehovah in its several stages of development is marked by Isa. vi. 1 and Ezek. i. 26, Dan. vii. 9-13 (comp. Num. xii. 8). During the feast of the covenant at the declivity of the mountain (according to ver. 1 prescribed before the covenant was formed) the representatives of Israel saw the God of Israel. It was a vision, for which no objective image is furnished. But the sign of the objective image is called the image of a work or footstool under God's feet, of brilliant sapphire, of sky blue there- fore, like the heaven in its full brightness, as is added by way of further explanation. This ethereally delicate picture of the vision of the co- venant God of Israel in His grace and covenant faithfulness has been coarsened and obscured in two directions. According to Knobel, the figure under God's feet is "like a work of sapphire slabs ;" and he refers to Ezek. i. 26, and reads njab, vid. p. 244. According to Baumgarten there was no image of God, because the vision of the men was imperfect. According to Hofmanu the fire was separated from the cloud and turned into a form. According to Keil they saw also a form of God, which, however, is not described, "inas- much as Moses, according to Num. xii. 8, saw the form of Jehovah." But here we are told of a vision of the supermundane God as the God of Israel, not of a vision of Jehovah becoming in- carnate. This is the first contrast. The second is the fact that at the feast of the covenant the cloud and the darkness are entirely gone, that the heavens open themselves, as it were, to the transported gazers in the full splendor of the heavenly blue, as at the baptism of Jesus; whereas immediately afterwards, at the beginning of the drawing up of the law, the mountain was obscured again, even more than before, as was the case when the ten commandments were first proclaimed. This is now again a phenomenal image of the glory of Jehovah as a law-giver, the same one who also in ch. xxxiii. does not show Moses, the law-giver, the face of His glory, but only its reflected splen- dor. The exegetical assumption that an external image must correspond to a vision of God, or that the sight must always be an external seer ing, has no Biblical basis, although even here the inward vision is connected with the sight of an outward corresponding sign. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. A wonderfully beautiful, sublime, but also mysterious feature of the history of the giving of the law. In it we see the significance of the sprinkling of the blood further carried out. It is the communion festival of the law — a commu- nion of the Israelites, in the persons of their no- blest representatives, with Jehovah, — the other side of the picture presented by the communion of Moses, his brother Aaron, and the elders, with Jethro, Moses' heathen father-in-law, after the latter offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and doubtless also, as here, peace-offerings, xviii. 12. — A prophetic form of the communion feast is given by Isaiah, ch. xxv. 6-8. The first reali- zation of it, the celebration of the Lord's supper, frequently made to point figuratively to the last supper of the kingdom of Christ (Matt. xix. 28), finds its last fulfilment in the marriage of the Lamb, Rev. xix. 7-9. Ver. 9. Therefore the representatives of Israel went up, according to the prophetic, ceremo- nial, and political elements of the community. Aaron's sons mark the genealogical succession of the Levitical priesthood ; the prophets have no genealogical succession ; the elders must grow up to attain their dignity, and from the whole of them seventy are chosen as representa- tives, according to the sacred number seventy. Vid. Gen. xlvi. 27. Ver. 10. And they saw the Ood of Israel. It is not said that they saw Jehovah, though He is meant ; for Jehovah is the God of Israel. Therefore not niiT' 1'I33, as Knobel conceives, referring to xvi. 10. He says, "According to the chief narrator this favor was shown only to Moses, and that too later than this, and at his special request." Two discrepancies are said to be found here : (1) That Moses " does not see the glory of Jehovah till afterwards, xxxiii. 18;" (2) That "according to the chief narrator the people themselves at the proclamation of the ten commandments perceived only thunder, light- ning, clouds, noise of trumpets, and the voice of Jehovah;" but here also the ninnf33 [glory of Jehovah], according to ver. 17 1 The narrative evidently brings out two marked contrasts. The first is the seeing of Elohim, and the seeing of Jehovah; the second is the heavenly clear- ness above the mountain during the feast of the 102 EXODUS. Yer. 11. He laid not his hand. It ia dan- gerous for sinful man to approach God, because the holiness and justice of God repel him ; hence the true priest is he who can summon courage to approach God (Jer. xxi. 21). But the view of the countenance of Jehovah annihilates, as it were, the sinful man (slays the old man) ; hence the Jewish popular saying, that no one can see God without dying, vid. Judg. xiii. 22. At that very place the error in the popular notion is cor- rected by Manoah's wife; yet the full revelation of Jehovah is still dangerous and agitating even for one who sacerdotally approaches and sees Him (yid. Rev. i.). Hence to the legal mind of the narrator it is an astonishing and joyous wonder of grace that the God of Israel did not punish the no- bles of Israel for their temerity. In the enjoy- ment of this theocratic peace of God " the nobles of the children of Israel" received a pledge that the people of Israel themselves were also called to this dignity. They received this peace for the benefit of Israel, And they saw God. — Luther's translation makes the sentence describe two successive events: "and when they had seen God, they ate and drank." But the two are simultaneous ; the seeing of God and the eating and drinking are intimately connected, forming a prelude of sacramental enjoyments. Fear might report: "they saw God and died;" but instead of that faith reports: "they saw God, and ate and drank." In ver. 14 is found an in- dication that the nobles of Israel were on a de- clivity of the mountain, which, as contrasted with the summit, might be regarded as in the valley, and from which they could keep up their con- nection with the people. According to Keil, Moses also had first left the mountain with them, and afterwards ascended it again. This assump- tion may be favored by the fact that Joshua now comes into company with Moses. Moses needed his servant, since there was now to be a longer stay on the mountain. Knobel also under- stands the command, " Tarry here," of the stay at the foot of Sinai. O.— THE SUMMONS TO COMMIT THE LAW TO WRITING. Chapter XXIV. 12-18. 12 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there : and I will give thee [thee the] tables of stone, and a [the] law, and commandments [the commandment] which I have written, that thou mayest teach [written, to 13 teach] them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up 14 into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again [back] unto you : and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you : if anv 15 man have any matters to do [whosoever hath a suit], let him come unto them. And 16 Moses went up into the mount, and a [the] cloud covered the mount. And the glory of Jehovah abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days : and 17 the [on the] seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight [appearance] of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top 18 of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount : and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. was added a new, grand task : the construction of the tabernacle. The law (or, the instruc- tion) and the commandment. Not as two parts, but as two fundamental forms of the legisr lation. The law is originally oral instruction (tiiutions of the temple, not one of the special offerings of the people. "The table," says Knobel, "stood in the holy place on the north side (xxvi. 36), while the candlestick belonged on the south side (ver. 85), and the altar of incense in the mid- dle (XXX. 6)." Archaeological observations vid. in his Comm, p. 266, especially on the dishes. On the use to which the pitchers and the goblets or bowls were put, Keil and Knobel come to op- posite conclusions, the latter with grammatical proofs.* 8. The Golden Candlestick. Vers. 81-40. First is to be considered the form of the golden * [Their conclusions are diflferent only as regards the nityp and tV^yO, Keil making the first mean the bowls from which the wine was poured out as a drink-offering ; the se- cond, the pitchers in which the wine stood on the table. Knobel reverses this relation, arguing that H^pJD is derived from npj, to pour out. With him agree Gesenius and '''' - rarBt.— Tr.]. 116 EXODUS. candlestick; next, its use; finally, its signifi- oanoe. The candlestick has been often described and pictured (vid. Thenius, Bucher der Konige, Tab. IIL, 11)- Comp. Winer, RealUxieon; Zel- ler's Worterbuch, and the Commentaries. [More especially, Eeland, de Spoliis templi Hieroaolymi- tani in arm Titiano, Tr.]. On the base, which must necessarily have had feet, stood the can- dlestick, first as a single thing. It extended upwards in the form of a middle shaft, which had on each side three shafts in one plane, bend- ing around in the form of quarter-circles,— a unit, therefore, branching out into the sacred number, seven. The general form is easily pictured: a base ; a perpendicular central shaft, the trunk, as it were, of the luminous tree; and proceeding out of it at regular distances three branches on either side. The description is made obscure or difficult by the ornaments. The principal feature of the ornamentation is the almond-shaped cup; it is divided into the knob, or apple, and the flower. The main shaft has four such cups ; out of the lowest proceeds the shaft itself, as well as the first pair of branches. Out of the second pro- ceeds the second pair of branches ; out of the third, the third ; its fourth cup is its top. The six branches, or side shafts, have each three cups. The one forms the top ; the second may have been in the middle of the curve of the branch ; the third seems to have lain against one of the three divisions, or cups, of the main shaft. The seven cups which form the top stand in a horizontal line ; the lamps are set up into their flowers. But the explanations of the diffi- cult passage are various.* But the main shaft is distinguished by having four cups. So the one unit branches into the three, the three into the seven, and the seven into the twpnty-two. " The golden candlestick was placed on the south side in the holy place of the tabernacle. For the south is the direction from which the light comes, and is therefore called also DITH. The seven lamps of the candle- stick were set up every evening at the time of the evening incense offering, and were kept burn- ing until morning" (Knobel). They lighted the whole sanctuary, but cast their light especially * [According to some («. g.^ Philippson) the line connect- ing the seven lamps formed a curve, not a straight line. It wonld Beem probable that the ornamental flowera were not crowded together on the central abaft, os Lange conceives, but put at equal intervals from one another. It is fllso pro- bable that there wpre three flowers on each branch bi^tween the main shaft and the lamp, and that the fourth flower of the main shaft was between its lamp and the upper branch. — TlJ. northwards towards the altar of incense and the table of shew-bread ; for the life of prayer and the communion of salvation are conditioned on the light of revelation, enlightenment. Keil's explanation of the candlestick is, in our opinion, as mistaken as that of the table: "In the shining lamps, as receivers, bearers of light, Israel is to present itself continually to Jehovah as a people that lets its light shine in the night of this world." Did tbe nocturnal darkness of the sanctuary symbolize " the night of this world ?" Israel is indeed appointed to bear light, but the light which it is to diffuse is the light of the revela- tion of Jehovah, and the bearers of the light are primarily the select ones, the prophets of God. Keil himself urges that the oil is a symbol of God's Spirit, as also the olive-tree described in Zech. iv., and the seven candlesticks in Rev. i, 20. The significance of the saored numbers, as well as that of the pure gold, is obvious. On the almond flowers, comp. Keil and Knobel. On the appurtenances of the candlestick see Knobel 4. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself. Chap. xxvi. 1-30. i. The Component Parts of the Tent as to Form. a. The tent itself. (1) Ten curtains of byssuB each 28 cubits long, and 4 cubits wide. (2) Fifty loops to each curtain, to connect together five curtains. (3) Five times fifty golden clasps, to connect the loops * b. The covering of the tent. First covering, of goats' hair: eleven curtains, each 30 cubits long, and 4 cubits wide, divided into sets of 5 and 6. For them 60 [or rather, 100] loops and 50 copper clasps. One curtain is folded double on the front side of the tent. The surplus cubits hang over on the two sides. A similar excess hangs over on the back end of the tent. — Second covering, rams' skins dyed red. — Third covering, the outer one, seal-skins. c. The supports of the tent. The boards of acacia wood. Each board 10 cubits long, IJ cubits wide. Two tenons in each board. Twenty boards on the south side resting on forty silver sockets (feet). — Twenty boards on the north side with the same number of sockets. Six boards for the rear. Two boards for the corners of the rear. In addition, the bars (cross-bars or con- necting bars), 5 for each side, the middle ons passing the whole length of the framework. The bars and boards gilt. Also the rings for the bars.f * [This is incorrect. Fifty loops to each curtain would make five hundred loops, whereas there were only one I ui> dred. For these loops were not to connect the flve cnrtaiM to one another, as Lange says, but to connect the one c"*'" made up of five (coupled together we are not told how) witu the curtain made up "f t'le other five. Accordinely, »ls». there were only fifty clasps, not two hundred and flfty.-^Xll.J t [Lange says nothing about the shape of the tabsrnado, m about the manner in which the curtains are arranged. ItiB a vexed question. Tbe following are the principal views: (1) It being clear and undisputed that the board framework m" 30 cubits long, 10 broad, and 10 high, one theory is that IM ten curtains, called "the tabernacle" in xxvi. 1, w«K "J joineil toge'her si'Ie to side »s to form two curtains of e?"*' size, each 28 cul.its long, and 20 cubits broad; that these two were looped 'ogetlier (ver. 5), and the whole was spread nnti- zontally over the top-t of the boards, thus hanging down it cubits on eHCli side, ». e., within one cubit of the ground, sinM the two sides (each 10 cubits) and the width (10 iubito).ti> I gather are equal to 30 cubits. The breadth of both cultaii» CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 117 ii. The Component Parts as to material. Bys- sus, linen, goats* -hair, and the two kinds of skin. Acacia wood, gold, silver, copper. ili. The Colors. Especially significant. The covering proper of the lent contains the four co- lors: white, purplish-blue, purplish-red, crimson. being 40 cubits, and the leniith of the woofien structure nnly 30, ai)'l tbe entrance ("CcordinE to vera. 9 and 36) being pro- vided with a special cuitaiu, it follows that 10 cubits must havf^ hung down un the west (back) end, and so the curtaia just reached the ground. (2) Another view (brought into favor by Bahr) differs from this in that the lower (linen) cur- tttind are conceived aa hanging down Inside, not outs de, of the boards. (3) SaalschlUz supposes that tbe curtains formed {t roofed tf-tU above the boards, the bottom of the uudtr^cur- tain juBt touching the top of the boards. This roof would reach about 13 cubits above the top of the boards, tlie ridpre having an angle of about 40°. Paine's theory is somewhat similar, but in its details is so fiiutastical and arbitrary aa hardly to merit a full statement. (4) Fergusson (in Smith'rt Jiible Dictionary, Art. Temple) also holds that there was a ridge above the boards and half-way between tht-m, so that the goats'-hair curtain formed a tent proper (as it is called in xxvi. 7, where A. V. mistranslates, "covering"). But his view differs from that of Saalschiitz, in that he makes the. angle at the ridg« a right angle (the more natural angle for a roof), so that the two sides of the roof projected beyond the boards, the lower point being 5 cubits above the ground and 5 cubits horizontally from the boards. He also assumes that the roof extended 5 cubits beyond the boaids in the front and in the rear, so that the extra 10 cubits did not hang down at all over the west end. The accompanying diagram exhibits a section of the tabernacle according to Fergusson's theory. The apparent absence of all allusion to a ridge-pole Ferguason would supply by explaining "the middle bar" of ver. 28 as .^9 vy (A *v y t ca ID \ « OB 3 O 6 CUBITS 10 CUBITS referring not to a bar like the otln ya at the side, but to the ridge-pole. He supposes also (though no express mention is made of it) that the sides of the verandah and the western end were enclosed with curtains, and that the ridge-pole must have been supported at the middle by a pillar. — The princi- pal reasons urged by Mr. Fergusson for this theory are the following : (1) According to the common view only about one- third of tbe inner or ornamental curtain would have been visi- ble. Bahr's theory obviates this aifficulty, but creates ano- ther, viz., by making out that the gilded boards were aliriost entirely covered up. If so, why so expensively constructed ? (2) The curfaini spread flat over the boards would have been no protection against the rain. ThH skins above tbe cloth and hair curtains would, when wet, only have depressed the centre and torn the curtains under them. (3) The com- mon view contradicts the description in xxvi. 9, 12, 13, ac- cording to which oniy two cubits of the goats'-hair curtain hung over at the went end, and onK one cubit at ear.h side ; whereas the other theory assum'S that 10 cubits hung down on every side but the front.— The latter arKument may be met by the supposition that the Biblical statements referred to only assert that the goats'-hair curtain hung over the tabemaole^ i. e., the linen curtain, half a cubit at the we^t end, and one * ubit at each side. — The second reason is un- doubtedly the strongest one. The tabernacle, according to tbe traditional view, is «n ungainly structure, ill protected against rain or snow, and unlike either house or tent ; white yet a partof it is distinctly culled a tent.— Mr. Atwater points out rhe most obvious objection to Mr. Fergussou's theory, viz.. that, according to xxvi'. 33, the veil of the Holy of holies w»s hung under the clasps that connect the two parts of the co- vering. Thes'i must have been 20 cubits from the front of the building, and 10 cubits from the rear, according to th« tra- diUoDol view, entirely in accordance with the supposed posi- iv. The Work of the Curtains. The work of skilful weavers, i. e., with figures interwoven, v?2., with figures of cherubim. V. The different kinds of woven work. 5. The Veil. Vers. 31-37. The division between the holy place and the Holy of holies. Accordingtomodern notions there is no difference between the wide, savage world and the court, no difference between the court and the holy place, none, in fine, between the holy place and the most holy. The Biblical no- tions are infinitely purer and finer. Even be- tween the holy place and the most holy hangs a thick curtain, as between the Old and New Tes- tament. The passage from the holy place into the Holy of holies has been made free to Hia people by Christ. As the heaven of heayens is to be conceived as a high heaven consisting of individual heavens, the age (xon) of ages [seons) as an age which consists of individual ages, the Sabbath of Sabbaths as one whose several week days are seven Sabbaths; so the Holy of holies is a sanctuary of sanctuaries, D^K'lp. ^IPt ^"^ so, most holy. Especially is it to be obsrrved that the three principal features of the holy piace, viz., the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, and the altar of incense, here coalesce into one. As there were three altars, so three curtains. The first screened the court ; the second, the holy place; tbe third, the Holy of holies. The latter was the principal one. Keil and Knobel give details about the construction and arrange- ment of the curtain, as also about the Arab tents and Egyptian temples.* tion of the veil, the Holy of holies being in tbe form of a cube, 10 cubits in every direction, while the holv place was 20 cubits long. But Fergusson's theory would bring thn clasps 15 cubits frooa each end, though lie distint-tly ad pt-i rhe view that the veil was 10 cubits fnioi the western (nil. This difficulty seemK entirely to have esca^ied his atteurion. Mr. Atwater calls it " fatal," and deems it uselews to cousiiii-r rhe theory any further, remarking that "nothing is mo'e certain in regard tn the tabernacle, than that the two apart- ments into which it was divided by this partition-veil were of unequal pize, the eastern being thirty feet long and fifteen wide, and the western an exact cube of fifteen feet in dimen- sion." It might be asked, however, how is it ma le so cer- tain that the two apaituients were of the size specified? The Bible nov/heie gives the slightest information respecting this matter, excepting the statement of xxvi. .S3 above cited. Where the clajps were, depends on what disposition was made of the curtains ; and it we choof e to adopt Mr. Fergus- son's theory ^e^,d.— Tb.] living God, who was the King of Israel, and after whose will Israel was always to inquire. Hence it was the high-priest's duty, when the prophetic voice was wanting, always to give answer when the people asked what was to be done. Herein the priest was the vicar of the prophet, as iu other cases the reverse happened. But because the priest was a hereditary one, he was as such neither prophet nor king, and could therefore give answer only through a special medium, the oracle of the Urim and Thummim. In many cases the answer of Jehovah was at once light and right; in favorable cases, when the inquirers were pious, as is assumed in the case mentioned in Num. xxvii. 21, it was Urim ; also in the worst case, such as is implied in John xi. 61, the de- cision, necessary in all cases, took the form of Thummim in bringing on judgment. It was re- garded as a condition of peculiar distress when there was at hand neither a prophet, nor a king, nor the priest with Urim and Thummim (Ezra ii. 63; Neb. vii. 65), or when the oracle Urim gave no answer — a circumstance which might grow out of the institution itself (1 Sam. xiv. 37) or out of a variance between the high-priest and the inquirer. As to the question what the Urim and Thummim were, they could not have consisted in the stones of the breast-plate themselves, which, as Josephus and Saalschiitz suppose, in- spired the high-priest as he looked down upon them ; still less in two small oracular images, te- raphim, which, as Philo probably or perhaps con- ceives, were inserted in the orifice of the breast- plate. The Urim and Thummim must certainly have been an object distinct from the breast- plate itself, and something which Moses was to put into it. The Rabbins conceived that in the inside of the breast-plate was the sacred tetragrammaton (Jehovah), and that this illuminated the names on the breast-plate; the Cabbalisis assumed, in- stead of this, two similarly efficacious names of God. Ziillig understands the object to have been two diamond dice to be used in drawing lota (Apokalypae, I. p. 408). So much is established, that the phrase " to ask of Jehovah " may be ex- plained both by the phrase "ask of the Urim and Thummim," and by the notion of decision by lot (1 Sam. X. 20 ; xiv. 36). It is noticeable that in 1 Sam. xxviii. 6 the lot is not mentioned in connection with Urim. Comp. on the lot Winer, Realworlerbuch, II. p. 31. On the derivation of the Urim and Thummim from an Egyptian judi- cial symbol, vid. Winer, II. p. 644 [and Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Urim and Thummim]. Re- ference can only be assumed to something ana- logous in the Egyptian institnticn. The main point is that the resolute spirit of the Holy Scrip- tures regarded hesitation as the evil of evils— e. g., in the life of Saul and of Judas. Hence the lot, hence the need of decision. In accordance with his coarse anthropopathic conceptions. Kno- bel holds that the precious stones were in the proper sense to remind Jehovah of Israel, p. 287. The directions concerning the Urim and Thum- mim seem to have been intentionally made very brief and kept mysterious. Vid. more in Knobel. The outer robe, ver. 31. Luther's translation is here very arbitrary, but was probably occa- sioned by the desire to leave the breast-plate CHAP, XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 121 unoovered : " Thou shalt also make the silk robe under the uoat all of yellow silk." For if a 'j'^n, a covering (not to be absolutely confounded witii the ordinary /'J^D), was made for the ephod, such an over-garment must necessarily have co- vered the breast-plate also, if it was a long robe closely fitting (according to Keil), reaching to the knees, and, according to the Alexandrians, even reaching, as nodiipriq, to the feet. Against both assumptions is not only the fact that in that case the breast-plate would have been covered, but also the manner in which the robe was put on, via., over the head, by means of an opening (as in the case of a coat of mail) — which also implies the absence of sleeves. Besides, there would then come two girdles at nearly the same place, since the coat had its own ■girdle, vid. ver. 39. The representation in Lev. viii. 7 seems, it is true, somewhat inexact.* The significance of this hyacinth-colored, dark-blue, purple orna- ment may be sought in this, that the burden of the high-priest symbolized by the ephod was not to be made a spectacle to the world, but was to be hidden by a symbol of the royal splendor of his vocation. Two questions are raised by this con- ception of the covering for the ephod. First : If the robe was so short, what was the case with the rest of the garments? This is answered by ver. 39 and the parallel description, xxxix. 27. They made the coats (^i^3r\) of white byssus. Secondly : How could the bells ring, if they lay so high up that even the breast-plate was to be exposed? This question Is solved if we take I'SlE' ["its skirts"] in its original sense, i.e., not as its hem, but its train, and assume that the robe was so cut that it left the breast-plate free, while it flowed out sidewise in trains. On the various interpretations of the bells and pomegranates, vid. Keil.f According to Keil or Bahr, the pomegranates are symbols of the word and testimony of God ; the bells, with their ring- * [Lange's notion of the robs Beems to be rather ppculiar, w!2.,that it was a very short garment, covering the Khoulder- piecea of the ephod, but leaving the breast-pUte exposed un- der it. He se»ms to assume that the ephod and breast-plate were to be put on before the robe, though for what reason it is difiicult to imagine. The reason cannot be found in the circumstance that the robe is described aft&r the ephod and breast-plate; tor the coat is described still later, and the linen breeches last of all. Besides, we have in Lev. viii. Y a clear indication of the order in which these articles were put on. .losephus {Ant. IH. 7, 4) s«ys that the robe, though without sleeves, had arm-'>oles, and this sufficiently harmo- nizes nil the apparent dilficulties. — Tr.] t [Keil rejects the view propounded by the son of Sirach ixlv.9, "that as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in ttie temple, for a memorial to the children of the people "), on the ground that the last clause of the verse is evidently borrowed from Ex. xxvlii. 12, where the stones of the epliod are spoken of, and aiso on the ground that the clause " tnat he die not " is not explained by tnis hypothenis ; for the assumption is that the high- priest's life would be endangered if he went into th*- Holv of holies without being accompanied by the prayers of his peo- ple—which would make his life depend on their capri' e, ir- resppctive of his own character. He also rejects as trivial the notion that the ringing of the bells was intended to lie equi- valent to rapping at the door, so as not to enter into the pre- sence of Jehovah unannounced, as well as Knobel's notion that the sound was to stand for a reverential greeting and a musical ascription of praise. Keil holds that the reason for Aaron's not dying lies " in the signiflcauce that belongs to the ringing of the bells or the garments of Aaron, witli their appendages of artificial pomegranates and ringing bolls."— Te. J ing, symbols of the sound of this word. But in this case Moses the prophet would have abdi- cated his functions to Aaron the priest. The sym- bolic meaning of the pomegranate is very hard to fix (vid. Friedrich, Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur); perhaps the most natural assumption is that in the alternation of pomegranates and bells is to be discerned the connection of nature, as represented in its abundance and beauty by the pomegranate, with the theocracy as designed to manifest itself in the sacrificial vocation of the high-priest through holy time, and through the awakening voice of the thunder, the trumpet, and the bells. The gifts of nature and of grace are the offerings which the high-priest brings to Je- hovah over his shoulders. The clause, " that he die not," can hardly mean that sudden death would follow the neglect of the precept, but that this would be an ofBcial misdemeanor worthy of death, an offence con- sisting chiefly in contempt of Jehovah and of the customs of the sanctuary, but also particularly in the fact that the connection between Jehovah and the congregation is not only effected in general by means of these bells, but is also enlivened by the sacred moment [the advent of which they announce]. From the farthest distance, as it were, the sound of the bells is heard, indicating holy time (as the organ indi- cates the holy place), although the large bell is not immediately derived from an enlargement of these small ones. The plate of gold for the forehead, ver. 36. A plate of gold fastened to the turban by a dark- blue purple string, with the inscription, " Holi- ness (or holy) to Jehovah," and designated iu xxxix. 30 as the holy crown. The meaning is that Aaron is to bear the expiation ([1^,, i. e., ex- piation of the guilt) of the gifts of the sanctuary, which the children of Israel shall hallow, etc. That is, the high-priest has to effect the expia- tion of the expiations before Jehovah. The chil- dren of Israel also bring expiatory offerings of all kinds before Jehovah ; but guilt cleaves even to their offerings; the high-priest, however, is symbolically to accomplish the expiation of all these guilt-stained expiations. Thus, then, the high-priest's plate of gold points to the chief function which he was to discharge on the great day of atonement, on which day, even on his en- trance into the Holy of holies, he had, if not ex- actly to supplement, yet to complete, the whole abundance of the expiatory offerings of the chil- dren of Israel, to cleanse them from the stain of guilt (the negative guilt of deficiency, and the positive guilt of wrong-doing) which cleaves to them. How rich in instruction this sym- bol is in its relation to the high-priesthood and sacrifice of Christ! From the instituting of this plati to the fulfilment of the prophecy in Zech. xiv. 20 is a great distance. The general fulfilment is announced in John xvii.: the eseha- tological fulfilment is pictured in Revelation, oh. jxi. Knobel, referring to ancient heathen cus- toms, resolves the thing itself wholly into sensu- ous conceptions, speaking of "external lapses of the children of Israel in connection with their offering of gifts— the conciliatory appearance of the high-priest," and referring to a custom of the ancients, in offering sacrifices to put garlands 122 EXODUS. on themselves and on the victims. But vid. the quotation from Calvin in a note in Keil, II. p. 204 : ['' The iniquity of the saored offerings was to be borne and cleansed by the priest. It is a frigid explanation to say that whatever error crept into the ceremonies was remitted through the prayers of the priest. For we must look further back, and see that the iniquity of the of- ferings was obliterated by the priest for the rea- son that no offering, so far as it is man's, is wholly free from defect. It sounds harsh and almost paradoxical to say that holy things themselves are unclean, so as to need pardon ; but it is to be held that there is absolutely nothing so pure but that it contracts some stain from us. . . Nothing is more excellent than the worship of God; and yet the people could offer nothing, even when it was pre- scribed by law, without the intervention of pardon, which they could obtain only through the priest."] Aaron's coat, ver. 39. The tunic proper, with which also his sons were clothed. It reached to the ankles, and was also provided with sleeves. It was made of white byssus ; but Aaron's coat was di-stinguisbed by being more artistically wrought. The girdle of his coat was also of variegated work. According to Josephus {Ant. III. 7, 2) purple and crimson flowers were woven into the linen girdles of the priests. The clothing of the sons, ver. 40. Of Aaron's assistants, or the ordinary priests. It consisted in the coat of white byssus, the girdle, and the cap. These articles are not included in the de- scription of Aaron's clothing, because there were differences. The sons do not receive the preroga- tives of the high-priest; and Aaron's head-gear is the turban with the gold plate, while the sons receive caps. " nU3J0 is only used of the head- dress of the common priests, xxix. 9; xxxix. 28; Lev. viii. 13. The word is related to JTiJ, gob- let, cup (rxv. 31), so that these head-tires seem to have had a conical form. This was also customary in reference to other sacerdotal per- sons of antiquity" (Knobel). The passage, 1 Sam. xxii. 18, seems to merge the whole family of priests into one, as inheriting in that capacity the high-priesthood, and therefore the ephod. A different point of view would lead critics to make a sharp distinction between the time of the original giving of the law and the time of Samuel. The investment, anointing, and consecration of the priests, ver. 41. This equipment is common to all, but conferred wholly by Moses, not even in part by Aaron after he himself has been equipped. Nor does Aaron anoint even his sons, but the prophet does it. That which was genea- logically tranimitted from Aaron to his de- scendants must therefore be continually sup- plemented by the transmission of spiritual life in the theocracy. The clothes denote the dignity and burden of the oflBee; the an- ointment is a symbol of the Spirit; the hands filled are the signs of the sacrificial giftsfurnished by the congregation, — of the emoluments which they themselves first of all have to bring as an offering to Jehovah, With this investment is completed the potential sauotifioation or conse- cration; the strict, actual consecration of the priests is yet to follow. The breeches and the object of them, vers. 42, 43, This ordinance forms a transition to the actual consecration of the priests. It is significant that it follows the official investment. The offi- cial clothing in the narrow sense conferred dig- nity and ornament; these, on the other hand, were only to avert dishonor and disgrace. The reason for this covering, according to Baumgar- ten, lay in the fact that "the sins of nature have their principal seat in the 'flesh of nakedness!' " According to Keil the physical membiTB men- tioned, " which subserve the natural secretions, &Te pudenda, or objects of shame, because in these secretions is made evident the mortality and cor- ruptibility of the body which througli sin has permeated human nature." Neither the first theosophic explanation, nor the latter, most pe- culiarly orthodox one, can be derived from Gen. iii. The organs of the strongest impulses, those which through sin have been morbidly deranged, belong, even physiologically, to the dark side of life, and are therefore to be kept mysterious, like births themselves, in conuec- nection with which there can be no thought of lust ; but in an ethical respect, affecting the whole human race, they are not objects of a dispassion- ate aesthetic contemplation, but confusing to the senses, for which reason also there is a difference between naked children and naked adults ; reli- giously considered, finally, they are indeed signs of the moral nakedness of man, of his natural and hereditary guilt. Furthermore, " religious reve- rence demands that, when they officially approach the altar, they should cover still more the above- mentioned parts, which, even in common life, through natural bashfulness are carefully covered, whereas for the rest of the body a single cover- ing suffices" (Knobel). But in a sense the altar also becomes to the mind of the priest, accord- ing to chap, xxiii., u symbol of God as seeing. This duty, too, is declared to be most holy for ever, and so it obtains also a symbolic character, signifying that everything sexual is to be avoided in the service of the sanctuary. Itmarks the oppo- site extreme of thevoluptuousritesof the heathen, and of the commingling of sexual passion with the religious fanaticism. But as shamelessness in worship is particularly designated as a capital of- fence, so in general every other shameless act, 3. The Consecration of Hie Priests, xxix. 1-36. The direction here given for the actual conse- cration of the priests is not carried out till Lev. viii.-x. This raises two questions : First, why does not the execution of the precept, as of all the preceding ones, follow in Exodus, where it might be regarded as simply omitted in ch. xxxix. ? Secondly, why nevertheless are the calling and investment of the priests, which have been here- tofore considered, described in Exodus ? As to the first question, we see from oh, xl. that even the sanctuary had to be erected and arranged, and con- secrated by the first-fruits of the offerings, not by Aaron, but by Moses, the royal prophet himself, j ust as he had also called and invested, or prepared^ the priests. For the tabernacle was designed in a universal sense for Jehovah as presiding over all three forms of revelation, the prophetic, the ritual or Levitical, and the princely or royal, i.e., Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; but the initia- tive belonged to the prophetic office. This rela- CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 123 tion would have been wholly altered if the actual consecration of the priests had preceded the erec- tion of the tabernacle. Thus is answered also the second question, why the actual consecration of the priests is prescribed so early? The answer lies in the fact that the priesthood has a, more universal significance than the merely ritual one. In relation to the prophetic ofBce the priesthood has to represent symbolically reli- gious ideas in itself, in its clothing, and in its functions; in relation to the ritual worship, how- ever, it has not only to symbolize the ethical idea's of sacrifice, but also to conduct the edu- cational training of the people of Israel — in the Middle Ages of the Old Testament — by means of the sacrificial service and the administration of the laws of purification; but in relation to the politi- co-theocratic side of the theocracy, the high-priest carries on his breast, for times of exigency, the oracular Urim and Thummim, which make good the temporary failure of the prophetic word and the royal government; and the Levites as bearers of the ark of the covenant have to at- tend to the banners of the host of the Lord. But since nevertheless the sacrificial worship is the chief vocation of the priests, the actual consecra- tion of the priests serves to introduce the sacrifi- cial system as developed in Leviticus. — Keil finds it most Suitable to his purpose not to explain the consecration of the priests till Lev. viii. On this point, however, Knobel has yielded to the requirements of the text. The preparation of the offerings which Aaron and his sons are to bring, vers. 1-3. The three fun- damental forms of offering, already involved in the Paschal rites, are here indicated by the ani- mals specified in the command : (1) The bullock is appointed for a sin-offering, the great sin-offer- ing such as the guilty priest has to bring accord- ing to Lev. iv. ; in this sin-offering the more spe- cific sin-offering, the trespass-offering and the sin- offering of a lower grade, are implicitly included. The first ram is then made the centre of all the offerings. (2) The burnt-offering has likewise its ramifications, viz., in the morning and evening sa- crifices, in daily offerings, in offerings for the Sab- bath and feast-days, according to Num. xxviii. The other ram is designed for an offering of abun- dance or heave-offering of the priests from the peace-offerings of the children of Israel, i. e., it is the peace- or thank-offering of the priest, who has no property or means of earning it, and whose hands must therefore be filled by the con- gregation with a heave-offering or sacred tribute which is regarded as a surplus from the peace offerings of the people. (3) The peace-offering also is subdivided into three parts : the thank- offering, the vow, and the free-will offering (Lev. vii.). A basket holds the three principal formi of the meal-offering or bloodless offering, aa originally connected with the burnt-offering. The principal material of the three kinds of baked articles is wheat flour, prepared in three ways, but always unleavened. The bread and the cake are mixed with oil ; but the wafer or flat cake is to be smeared with oil (on the prepa- ration of them vid. Lev. ii. 4 sqq.). The meal- offering is subdivided still further into the meal-offering in the narrow sense, the drink- offering, and the offering of baken flour and of roasted fruits, and is to be as scrupulously sup- plemented with salt, oil, and frankincense, as it is to be kept free from honey and leaven, the last being excepted in case of the feast of har- vest; on which point more hereafter. The washing and the investment. Moses has to bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent, i e , into the court, and there administer to them a symbolic ablution. It is an interpolated notion of Eeil's, that Moses had them wash themselves; and he also misconceives the symbolic nature of the initiatory act, when he says: " without doubt the whole body, not only the hands and feet." Were they to bathe themselves, or at any rate exhibit themselves naked, in the presence of the iisaembled congregation in the court? The wash- ing is the symbolic expression of purification from the stains and defilement incurred in real life, whilst the sacrifices removed not only the daily weaknesses, but also the guilt of life down to its foundation in the sinful nature; vid. John xiii. 10. In the description of the investment every article is specially mentioned, and its im- port emphasized. The unction. As the clothes symbolize the burden and the dignity of ofEce, so the anointing with oil, profusely poured out on the high-priest's head, symbolizes the promises of official grace, of endowment with the Spirit of God. The anointing of Aaron's sons is not here treated of, as Keil assumes. Nor in Lev. viii. 10, where yet further on reference is made to a sprinkling of the sons of Aaron with the blood of the ram of consecration and with anointing oil, in connection with the sprinkling of their father, ver. 30. It is also a strange notion of Keil's (II. p. 337) that the vessels of the sanctuary were by the sprinkling made media and vessels of the blessings of grace and salvation. Still harsher seems Keil's explanation of the notion of sanctifying. Even of the altar of burnt- offering, he says : " To sanctify means not merely 10 set apart to sacred uses, but to endow or fill with powers from God's sanctifying Spirit." Here is not only all distinction between the 0. and N. Testaments obliterated, but also all distinc- tion betw een the altar and the priest, to say nothing of the distinction between the different altars. The investiture of Aaron and his sons as priests, vers. 8 and 9. The characteristic garment of the common priest is the white wrought coat, and with it the girdle of the coat, of embroidered work ornamented with the four colors of the sanctuary, and the white cap of the priest. In the girdle is exhibited the likeness of the com- mon priest to the high-priest; in the white coat and the conical cap* is exhibited the likeness of the high-priest to the common priest. The dress in which, according to Lev. xvi. 4, the high- priest is to enter the Holy of holies is even )ntV- rior to that of the common priest. And thougli Aaron is distinguished by having the high- priestly unction, yet at the sacrifice by whicli he is purified and consecrated he must he aa- * [This can refer only to the materiiit of the cap, not its form. At least, the head-iear of the high-prieBt is always called by adiffereat name (nSJVO) from "lat "f "i« '=°'^- mon priest (n;;3JD). The former is commonly (also by Lange) called a tiirhan, and therefore can hardly be con- ceived as conical. — Tr.J 124 EXODUS. sociated with his sons. Also his bands must be filled together with those of his sons. ["Fill the hands of" — the literal translation of the Hebrew phrase rendered in A. V. " consecrate," e.g., xxviii. 41]. For the poor priest has nothing of his own; the congregation must provide for him, and, first of all, even the sacrificial gifts which he needs to offer. Thus then the hands of him and his sons are filled, they being declared to be the owners of the objects of sacrifice. And so Aaron does not make himself a priest. Moses, the servant of God, commissioned by Jehovah, must consecrate him to the office. The prophet stands as high priest over against the candidate for the priestbood; the future high-priest stands over against the prophetical Levite almost in the attitude of a layman. The bullock for the sin-offering, vers. 10-14. Not every sacrifice ia a confession of mortal guilt ; but every sacrifice is a confession of such a culpa- bility of the life as makes it unable, in real spi- rituality, to satisfy the righteousness of God ; for which reason the symbolic representation of satisfaction by means of sacrifice is introduced, — sacrifice as a confession of guilt, as a longing after willingness to surrender one's self to the divine judgment, as a prayer for pardon, and as a vow. But as soon as the congregation of God is organized as symbolically holy, sacrifices as- sume a threefold purpose. (1) As national off'er- ings, they assume the form of the discharge of a legal obligation, the expiation of a violated na- tional law ; and iu this sense they may also be said to work justification. (2) As Mosaic off'er- ings, they become a symbolic expression of moral offences against the law, and of the need of ex- piatory surrender. (3) As the continuation and symbolic expression of the Abrahamic faith, they become a typical adumbration of the absolute realization of the sacrificial idea in the future kingdom of the Messiah. Vid. Comm. on Oene- sis, pp. 256, 470. In the act of laying his hand on the victim the offerer confesses as his own the debt of guilt which the animal pays for him as his symbolic substitute. The loss of the animal, the animal's innocence, its dying pain, form in their union an emphatic expression of his condition ; the ani- mal symbolically takes the place of his life. In all oases he lays symbolically his guilt and his deficiencies upon the animal — even in the case of the peace-offering. The hand in this con- nection is the symbolic and mystical conductor of the soul's life; as in other cases, of its spiritual fulness, so here, of its defects and need of ex- piation. The killing of the animal is done by Moses be- fore the Lord, i. e., before the door of the taber- nacle. But even the sin-offering is not the sym- bol of a death-sentence, but the expiation of a guilt which would have led to death if it had not been atoned for before the gracious Jehovah. For a known mortal sin (Num. xv. 30) is not expiated by offerings, but is punished with death ; it makes the sinner a hherem. The system of sacrificial expiation in general is instituted only for sins committed in weakness (Lev. iv. 2, 27). Hence the sin-offering is composed of different elements. First, the offering of blood. With- out the shedding of blood there is no expiation (Heb. ix. 22) ; it designates the deathly earnest- ness, the death-defying courage, by means of which all the disorders of the religious and moral nature are rectified. A part of the blood of the sin-offering is put on the horns of the altar, thus perfecting the sinner's refuge: the greater part of it is poured out at the base of the altar; i. t., submission to the judgment of God constitutes expiation. It is an incorrect representation of Keil's that, "whereas, according to the general rule for the sin-offerings whose flesh was burned outside of the camp, the blood was brought into the holy place itself (Lev. vi. 23 [30]), it is here only put on the altar of burnt-offering, in order to give this sin-offering the character of a consecra- tory offering." Tuis is contradicted by Lev. iv. 7, 18, 25, 30. The blood was always poured out at the foot of the altar of burnt-offering, while only a little of it comes into the holy place, espe- cially upon the horns of the altar of incense, vH. Lev. iv. 7 sqq. The difference, therefore, can be only that here the blood of sprinkling was put upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and it is to be remarked that nothing has yet been said of the altar of incense. — And the fat. The bloom of life, even iu the case of the tragi- cally guilty, — that which is deposited on his entrails, his physical nature, on his liver or on his nobler affections, on his reins, which through their effects might symbolize the conscience (Ps. xvi. 7), — this falls to Jehovah as His part; that it has ministered to Him in His actual govern- ment of men, is expressed by their being offered to Him in fire on the altar. Thus one feature of the burnt-offering belongs also to the sin-offer- ing. The fat of the offering, or the bloom of life, all falls to Jehovah as His part (Lev. iv. 31, 85). But the sin-offering has also one feature that belongs to the hherem: the flesh, skin, and dung of the sin-offering are burnt outside before the camp; they are given back to the old earth of the old man as a symbol of the sinner's outward mode of life. — It is a bnrnt-oSering, vers. 15- 18. The first ram denotes the offering up to Jehovah of the whole conduct of life, not through death, but in life itself (Bom. xii. 1). Here the blood is sprinkled round about on the altar: this expresses one's complete, voluntary surrender, and readiness to die while yet living. The whole ram (after the removal of the skin and the un- clean parts) is cut in pieces and burnt upon the altar together with the inwards and thighs; it all goes up in the fire of that gracious sovereignty which saves while it judges ; and surely such an offering of life is a sweet savor, a fire-offering to Jehovah. The other ram, designed as an offering of consecration, or as Aaron's peace-offering, or as a welfare offering (vers. 19-28), is likewise offered in accordance with its design. The blood, or the readiness for death, is first of all put upon the ear-lap of Aaron and his sons: obedience, as spiritual hearing, is the first duty, especially of the priests. Next, the hand, as symbolizing human activity, is specially consecrated by being sprinkled with blood; finally, the great toe of the right foot, as symbolizing the walk of life in general. After this the blood, which in this case also is sprinkled around the altar, in order to express the most complete surrender, is taken again in part from the altar, and together with CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 125 Bome of the anointing oil is sprinkled upon Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. Devotion to Ood and to a spiritual life is to con- secrate, first of all, the priests' character, tut also their official life. Next follows the burnt- offering as a fiictor in the conseoratory offering of the priests. Together with the fat already specified, the ram's tail also and the kidneys themselves are devoted to the fire; i. e., the vigor of life, comfort, and conscientiousness are conse- cratea to God, being united with a part of the meal-offering, closely related as it is to the peace-offering, viz., with three different articles from the basket. These sacrificial gifts, how- ever, are not at once burnt up. It must be made evident that they are offerings of the priests; hence they are laid upon their hands. But, to- gether with their hands, they are waved, i. e., moved to and fro. What does that mean? It costs labor, a struggle, a shaking loose, before the priests are ready voluntarily to give back their emoluments, their fulness, to Jehovah ; as history teaches. All the more then what is really offered is a sweet savor before the Lord, a fire- offering to Him. But now Moses himself gets his part of the priestly offering, the breast of the ram. History also amply proves that this part of the fulness of the sacerdotal revenue that is given back to the prophet and prince, to the spiritual and political lite in the theocracy, must be waved, must be shaken loose. The thigh, however, falls to Aaron and his sons; in this connection the waving is less prominent than the heaving, or is altogether given up. As nothing is said of the disposition of other parts of the ram, it is probable that the neck and head were joined with the breast for Moses, and that all the rest of the body went with the tliigh. In this sense the heave-offerings were to revert to Jehovah; they are tKken away from the peace- offerings and heave-offerings of the children of Israel, and He gives them to His priests. Vid. also ver. 3'2. The prerogatives of the priests, vers. 29-35 (vid. also ver. 28.) In the foregoing verse the reversion of the greater part of the conseoratory offering to the priest is designated as also belongiug to the sacerdotal prerogatives. It is the central item in his revenue, the particvilars of which are specified afterwards. In what now follows the hereditary prer gatives of the priests are first named. The sacerdotal dignity of Aaron passes over, with its symbol, the sacred garments, to his sons, according to the right of primogeniture of course, and gives them a right to the anoint- ing and to the filling of the hands. The rite of consecration is to last seven days. During this time Aaron and his sons live on the offering of consecration in the court; their food is exclu- sively sacred food belonging to priests and to fes- tivals; hence what is left over is burnt. Further- more one bullock a day is slaughtered as a sin- offering. 4. The Sanctification of the Altar. Vers. 36-46. The consecration of the priests is acRompanied by that of the altar. When Moses brings the sin- offering for the priests, he at the same time niakes atonement for the altar, which, although hnly in itself, was built by sinful men, and in a tyiuboiic sense is to be cleansed from defilement. ( Vid. Keil on Lev. viii. 15) [who explains the cere- monial uncleanness of the altar as caused by the sinfulness of the officiating priests]. But as yet there can be no reference to this source of im- purity; for in that case how could the priests ever make atonement for the altar ? It was to be consecrated by two acts: negatively, by the atonement, positively, by the anointment. The anointment of the altar can signify only that it is to be dedicated exclusively to the spiritual life, to the spiritual object of the altar service. At the same time the altar is declared to be designed for permanent use. Two yearling lambs are offered each day, one in the morning, the other at evening, i. e., in their tender youth the peo- ple of God are to dedicate themselves to Jeho- vah, not only for the life of the day, but also for that of the night. The meal-offering, like the sacrifice, is the same for the morrjing as for the evening. The tenth part (of an ephah), or the issaron (an omer), as a measure of grain or flour is variously reckoned (vid Knobel, p. 295): pro- bably, according to Knobel, somewhat more than a Dresden measure, or 2\ Dresden pounds.* The oil with which the flour is mingled is to be ob- tained by pounding. "In the case of no other offering is beaten oil prescribed " (Knobel). The hin, as a liquid measure, is the sixth part of a bath, and contains 12 logs, reckoned by Thenius (Studien und Kritiken, 1846) as equivalent to 3 Dresden cans [such a can containing nbuut 71 cubic inches, or about 1 English qiiartj. The wheat symbolizes vital force, or even fat; the wine always symbolizes joy. This burnt ottering is the whole-offering, signifying that the life all goes up in self-surrender to Jehovah; hence also this will be responded to by a complete si-lf- communication of Jehovah, a revelation of His glory, this itself having been in fact the cause of Israel's self-surrender or holiness (vers. 43, 44). The text plainly distinguishes a higher kind of panctiflcation from the symbolic one of the law, which proceeds from man. That higher sancti- fication is to proceed from Jehovah Himself. The place of the offering is to be sanctified by the glory of Jehovah; in particular, the tent, the altar, the high-priest and his sons. The aim of this institu- tion points on into the N. T. and the Apocalypse: Jehovah desires to dwell in the midst of Israel and to be the God of His people. 5. The Altar of Incense Chap. xxx. 1-10. The reason why the directions concerning the altar of incense are given so late is seen in the design of it, which puts it among the things direc'ly connected with the ritual worship; also in the fact that it marks the last point iu the movement of the priest towards the Holy of ho- lies, the highest point in the ritual before the entrance into the Holy of holies. This eminent position is even indicated in the circumstance that, being slender in form, gilt all over, adorned besides with a golden rim, furnished with golden rings, even with golden staves to carry it with, it stands at the middle of the veil of the Holy of holies, bearing a direct relation to the mercy- seat. For this reason we would rather find a * [Accordinff to Smitti*B Bible Diotioimry, Art. Weights and JtfflfWMrejt, pnibably H litile )eP8 ihan two quarts. But Jo»e- phua makoH it about twice as much. — Tr.]. 126 EXODUS. theological idea than an arohseologioal error in that passage of the Epistle to the Hebrews (;x. 4) which puts it in the Holy of holies. For this is the altar which by its incense symbolizes the prayer of the high-priest (Rev. t. 8; Heb. v. 7J. On the day of atonement (according to Lev. xvi. 13) the incense is to be carried into the Holy of holies and fill the whole room. The morning and evening sacrifice on the altar of burnt-ofi'er- ing are here to find their higher expression in the fragrant incense which Aaron has to offer morning and evening in the holy place ; and it is not without significance that this incense is intimately connected with those sacrifices. In the morning he is to burn incense when he (rims the lamps, and in the evening when he lights them; for without illumination and the light of knowledge even his prayer does not attain its higher form of sacerdotal intercession. The incense, moreover, is to be a perpetual one before Jehovah, and so to continue throughout the future generations. This implies the exclu- sion, in the first place, of common incense, for not all prayers are true prayers, e. g. those of selfishness and fanaticism ; secondly, of the burnt-oflFering, for here the material point is the offering of the heart, not mortifications of the body ; finally, of meal-offerings and drink-offer- ings, for prayer requires abstemiousness. Fi- nally, the altar of prayer is to have its horns sprinkled once a year with the blood of the sin- offering as an atonement. This doubtless was si- multaneous with the sprinkling of the mercy-seat, but had not the same meaning. The expiation is offered to the mercy-seat; the altar of incense is covered with the expiation newly dedicated by it. 6. The Assessments for the Temple. Vera, 11-16. It should be here observed that in this section there is no reference to the temporary work of building the tabernacle, but to those things which enter into the regular ritual service which is to continue through future time. It is there- fore certainly an error when Keil and Knobel start out with the notion that the shekel or half- shekel of the sanctuary is to be expended once for all on the erection of the tabernacle. The tabernacle itself was to be built from voluntary contributions (xxxv. 5), not from legally imposed taxes, and in this voluntary way more was given than was needed (xxxvi. 5 sqq.) Moreover, the designation of the use of the money, •\ym Sns rmy_-^yi_ ["for the service of the tent of meeting," ver. 16], does not mean: for the work of the building, but : for the perpetual service of God in the building. This is implied also in Luther's translation [and in the A. V.]. Moreover, it is said, that this tax is to be col- lected from the Israelites when the census of the adult males is taken. But such an enumeration did not take place till after the tabernacle was erected (Num. i. 1-18).* These enumerations, too, had to be repeated from time to time. The question is easily solved when we reflect on the * [Keil and Knobel infer from xxxviii. 26 that a census was talteo before tlie tabernacle was flnlsbed, and that the one mi-Titioned in Num. i. la the same thing more formally executed and recorded. The identity of the numbere in xxxviii. 26 and Num. i. 46 aeems to favor tliis supposition. —IE,] continuous pecuniary demands made by the sacrificial service. Besides the personal occa- sions for special offerings (Lev. i. sqq. ), a per- pelual sacrificial service was ordained. For this service (xxix. 38 and in this place.), which is to be distinguished from the great offering at the dedication of the tabernacle (Num. vii.), and not less from the consecratory offerings or heave-offerings for the priests (Ex. xxix. 9sqq. ). a legally-imposed tax for the temple was necessary ; for the priests had them- selves no means for it. This explains also hoir this contribution serves for expiation (ver. 12) ; it did not do this directly, but because it served for the permanent expiation of the people by means of the offerings. In this connection it is important to observe the directions, that only adult men make the contribution for this expia- tion, and that every man, as representative of the whole congregation of the people, without distinction of poor and rich, contributed the same amount, vii. half a shekel. As a conae- quence of the census this tax had also to be paid by the Levites. The sacred shekel, differ- ent from the common one, is afterwards more exactly defined; and as the half-shekel amounted to 13 groschen [t. e., 31 cents, or 1 shilling and 3 pence ; but vid. note on p. 91], the tax could not fall heavily on any man able to bear arms. Only it is to be remarked, that the taxation— as well as the census itself — is imposed on the adult members of the political congregation of the people. By this payment the consecrated congregation of the people is distinguished from a people in the unoonsecrated state of nature.- 133 is the term applied to the payment on account of the nse for which it was designed. So also the enumeration is indirectly an enume- ration, or review, which Jehovah institutes with His people. It is true that in the voluntary gifts of silver for the building of the sanctuary the precept concerning the half-shekel was taken as a standard.* 7. The Laver. Vers. 17-21 (xxxviii. 8). The command concerning the copper laver is not, as some would think, to be regarded as a supplementary direction: it is connected with the foregoing as being the last thing through the medium of which the regular services of the tabernacle were carried on. The expiation which the Israelites have to pay for with the half-shekel applies to the Levites and priests (comp. Matt. xvii. 25, where no exception seems to be made). Besides this there were special expiations for the priests, when they were con- secrated, and on the day of atonement. But all this was not sufficient to make them appear as pure men in reference to their daily deportment. They were obliged on penalty of death to wash their hands and feet, when they were about to enter the inner sanctuary, or even only to ap- proach the altar of burnt-offering to minister. * [This refers to the abovG-mantioned correspondence Iw- tween xxxviii. 26 and Num. i. 46. Lange apparently nw^«8 tlie fni mer describe the voluntary contributions of the people lor the construction of the tabernacle. But if it was, it w sinaular that a purely volumary contribution, when BnmmM up, should have proved to amount to exactly one-half a ehekel for each adult male. — Tr.] CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 127 This washing symbolizes a purification from the daily (even unconscious) defilements. Later the Pharisees applied the practice of washing the hands also to preparation for the daily meals (Mark yii. 3 sqq. ); and little as Christ sanc- tioned this ordinance, He yet made the washing of the feet a highly significant transaction be- fore the Passover meal and the first Lord's sup- per, — Ah to the base (|3) of the laver in parti- cular, the passage xxxviii. 8 has led to extended discussions. The expression nS")D3, etc., may mean "from [of] the mirrors,'' as the LXX. and Vulg. translate. This explanation is re- duced to an ascetic or pietistic form by Heng- stenberg, who says that what heretofore had served as a means of gaining the good-will of the world was henceforth to become a means of gaining the good-will of God. According to this, then, there ought to be no mirrors in pious households, and especially none in a pastor's robing-room. We would confidently [witli Bahr] render : " [provided] with women's mirrors," were it not that brass itself had been used for metal mirrors, and that 3 might also mean "as," "in the chiracter of," according to which the passage would mean: "to serve as mirrors for women."* — Observing here again the general connection, we see that the topic is not the erec- tion of the tabernacle, but life in the tabernacle as marked by the sacred utensils permanently belonging to it. Firrthermore, it is clear that reference is made to crowds of women who were to come into the cciurt. Keil, it is true, observes with regard to the character of these women: "The ni53il are indeed, according to 1 Sam. i. 22, women; not washer-women, however, but women who devoted their lives to pious exercises," etc. But, it may be asked, might not the pious exer- cises consist just in the washing of the sanctuary and keeping it clean ? Or could not the women who did the washing be pious women ? Luther, it is well known, thought otherwise. Knobel remarks, with entire correctness, that before the erection of the tabernacle there could be nothing said of women coming into the court of the tabernacle; but he adds a most singular explanation of the passage. Furthermore, we must ask, what could here be the use of the ex- * [This certainly is not a Batisfactory explanation. Not to meDtion ttiat grammatically it is the lea«t probable, it is almost inconceivabln that it should be sai'i, that the laver was made of brass in order thai it might sene as a mirror for the women who ministered at the tabernaclel If Ileng- stenberg'a interpretation partakes of a pietintio spirit, surely this is the opposite extreme. Knobel renders nJ<"1D, etc., by " Anblicken," i .e., views, or flgnrcs, "of women marking np to the door of the tabernicle." He adds: "Pmbahly they were Levite women who nt particular times preiented themselves in a sort of procession at the sanctuary, in order there to wash, to clean, to furliish." But we can hardly agree with him that "such figures were appropriate on the vessel which was for the priests to wash from. Grammati- rallv too this ri-ndering is open to the same objection as tha,t ofBahr's, Ufa. that 3 cannot naturally tie rendered "with, in the sense of "accompanied tiy" or "furnished with." Keils statement, that 3 "never signifies vnth m the sense of ontward addition," Is too stron? (comp. Ps. Ixvi. 13) ; but certainly that is a rare use of the preposition. The transla- tion, " made the laver of brass .... of the mirrors, etc., is the eapio»t ; but it is not necessary in adopting it to adopt ■aangatenberg's theory of the significance of the thing. •>-TB.l 12 pression, "out of the mirrors of the women," since it is related beforehand that all the mate- rials for the building and its furniture were fur- nished voluntarily and in the mass?* The LXX. seem first to have invented this ascetic notion — one which in the connection has no sense at all. As to this ciinnection, however, , we are to ob- serve that this base sustained the laver of the priests. If now they had to cleanse themselves in preparMtioQ for their service, is it uot to be expected that a similar command was imposed on the women who kept the court in order? To be sure, they could not wash themselves in the court, at least not their feet, from considera- tions of modesiy; and they did not need to do it, since they did not have to touch the altar. But they were quite fittingly reminded of their duty to appear comely by the mirrors of the base,f on which the laver rested, and in which the priests were to cleanse themselves. It is easy to see that this use of the base was for the purposes of symbolic admonition rather than of the toilette. We also find it more natural that the mirror, at its first appearance in the Scriptures, should receive this higher symbolic significance, according to which the law is al-o called a mirror, than that it should at the outset be proscribed with the remark, that henceforth- the pious women used no more mirrors. In its- spiritual sense the washing of the priests is alsoi a perpetual ordinance. 8. The Holy Anointing Oil. Vers. 22-33. In the case of the anointing oil, it is at once obvious that it is not designed to be used simply at the erection of the tabernacle. In the first place, direction is given of what materiuls and in what proportions it shall be compounded ; next, the use of the oil is stated, i. e., to anoint the several parts of the sanctuary; finally, there is enunciated the sternest prohibition against any imitation of this sacred anointing oil for common use. The number four being the mun- dane number [the four points of the Compass], the union of four fragrant spices with olive oil indicates that the sanctuary is to be dedicated with the noblest of the world's products, as com- bined with the oil of unction, the spirit of the sanctuary. If one were to look for pairs of op- posites. myrrh and cinnamon might be taken as related to one another; so calamus and cassia. It might be said of the myrrh, that it denotes that fine, higher kind of pain which enables one to overcome natural pain ; cinnamon denotes the warmest feeling of light and life; the bitterness of calamus might also be noticed; but the signi- ficance of the cassia is difficult to determine. * [The use of the observation was to state a fact. And this supposition is in no way interfered with by the circum- stance that the cootributions for the tabernacle were maile Toluntirily.— Tr.] t [Lange understands that only the base, not the whole laver, was made to serve for this purpose. The attempt made in what follows to meet the obvious objection to his theory, viz that the use attributed to this copper base is quite out of keeping with the tenor of the narrative, is rather strained. The symb-)lic use certainly cannot exclude the lite al use. The declaration, therefore, must stand that the base (or the whole laver) waa made in order to serve for the purpose of mirrors for the attendant women. But if the symbolic use was the chief or only oue, why confine it to the women ? Did not the priests need such admonition as well aa they* -e, should bo adopted only as a last resort. Against both the others it is to be said : (a.) The phrase " the tent '' is not easily to be accounted for. If it was Atoses' teut, why not i7^^{, "bia tent?" If another, nowhere else hinted at, T: t why BO indefinite a desiKnation of it? As Rosenmuller pertinently observes, it cannot well be Mobpb' own tent, since he is represented as '^oing iulo it only for the sp-cial piirpo-.n of commuuing with God. (b) B»ou on either of these two hypo- tbes -ti there is an interruption in the narra ive aa real, if not as strange, as on the theory that we have here an account of what was dnne with the real tabernacle before it was built. Ver. 12 is clearly a resumption of ver. 3— Moses' iiitercees on with Jehovah. That vern. 7-11 should here intervene, not by way of an announetment on Jehovah's part of Ui^ purpose^ but as a kistfincal account of the ordinary subsequentyac/, is extremely unnatural, especially as at the close of it, the same tone of entreaty and personal intercourse is resumed, (cj It seems improbable that anything bur the real Tent of meeting Bhould have het-u called 8uch before the real one was built, (d) The fact that the verbs in this section are future furnishes a natu- ral solution of the whole difficulty. So far as I have observed, no one baa noticed this fact at all except Knobel and Bottcher (Lehrbuch der Hub. Spraehe., II., p. 162). Knot)el simply refers to the case in xv. 5 as a parallel. But there, bt^ says cor- rectly, the Kuture is used as a graphic form lor the Present. This is an explanation not satisfa'tory here, where there is DO pottry, and where the very uuifi^rmity and frequency of the Tuture verbs are sufficii-nt to overthrow tiny sut;h theory. B6ttctier more plausibly classes this amont; the instances in which cu-tomary past actions are described by the use of the Future. But even on this assumption we get no reli^^f from the vaious p rplexities above described. Now by simply translating tbe Futures as Futures we at once see light. We thus make ita continuation of ver. 5 (ver. 6 being pureath' tical). The reasons for so translating are simple and cogent : (l)Itis the most natural and obvious way to render the verbs. The burden of proof rests with those who render them otherwise. (2) It relieves us of the necessity of supposing thac the section is out of place. (3) It relieves us of the necessity of drawine on our imagination for ''the tent" so mysteriously introduced. It is neither " his (Moses') tent," nor some unheard-of old tent with sacred associations, but simply " the tent " which has been so minutely described and which is soon to be built. (4) The section thus translated is in excellent ha.mony with the context. In ver. 5 God says to the people, *'Put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee." What follows in vers. 7-11 is a description of what God will do unto ihem. It contains a general direction concerning tbe way in which God is to lead the people. This is the question considered in xxxii. 34-xxxiii. 3. In what now follows (ver. 12 sqq.) the same theme is still discusspd. Moses* language, " See, ihou sayest unto me, Bring up thin people," obviously points back to vers. 1-3. What intervener is only an expansion of tbe statement of ver. 3, " I will not go up in the midst of'thee." The antithesis is between going in the midet of^ and going far ffffrorri: According to ver. 7 the tent was to be pitched " afar off from the camp ;" there J'hovah mip;ht be sought and found : and there (v r. 9) Jeho- vah talked with Moaes. We thus see thac the angel spoken of in xxxii. 34 and xxx ii. 2 is not s«^t over against Jehovah as a 8U,hBtitute for Him : tbe angel himself is not to go "in the midst of," but '■ before" tbe people. It remains to notice some objections: (1) Joshua was to remain in the tent, whereas, according to Num. iii. 10, 38, xviii. 7, only the pri* sts besides Moses could enter it.— But lo this it may be replied that, ir Joshua, as Moses' confidential servant, could go with him to the mountain top whf n the law wns to be given, he might accompany him into theaancfuary; and this fact would ueed no special mention in the pa'-sages just referred to. — (2) The object of this tent f-eema to be dif- ferent from that of the sanctuary ; no m'^ntion is ma^ie of Aaron and the sacrifices, but only of Moses and the people going to it to meet with Gr 'd.— But this ia all that it is necessary or proper to mention in this connecti'in. A nd the same thing U a'po said of the real Tent of meetinir ; e. g., xxv. 22, " There [by the mercy-seat] I will meet with thee [Moses "J ; xxix. 43, "And there fat tbe tabernacle] I will meet with the children of lBrael."~(3) These verses do not seem to be the language of Jehovah, being immediately preceded by the historical statement (v^r. 6), " the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments." — This difficulty is easily removed by regarding ver. 6 as parenthetical, thus making ver. 7 sqq. a con- tiniialinn of the direi^tion-i b' gun in. ver. 5. Examples of such a construction, in which a historical statement immediately cotinccted with the topic treated of is interpolated in the midst of language quoted from another, are abundant. An exact parallel is found in Ex. iv. 4, 5, " And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine band, and take it by the tail. (And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:) That they may believe that the Lord bath appeared unto thee." Precisely ao, iv. 7, 8; Matt. ix. 6; Mark ii. 10; Luke v. 24. In the paseage before us the statement of ver. 6 is naturally introduced in immediate connection with the corresponding command of ver. 5.— (4) The preceding objection seems to be strengthened by the consideration, th»t if vers. 7-11 are the words of Jehovah it is unnatural that both Jehovah and Moses should be spoken of here in the third pf.rson. — But such changes of person are too numerous in Hebrew to occa- sion any serious perplexity. In ver. 5 itself we have an instance of a looseness of this sort. We read: "Jehovah said unto Moset, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiflf-necked people:wereI [t. e., Moaes is to aay to the people, 'werel'] to go up in the midst of thee,*' €(c. The prophetical writings are full of similar instances of interchange of persoas. Ia 138 EXODPS. C —JEHOVAH'S DETERMINATION MODIFIED IN CONSEQUENCE OF MOSES' INTER- CESSION. THE PEOPLE HAVE A isHARE IN THE GEACE SHOWN TO MOSES. Vers. 12-23. 12 And Moses said unto Jehovah, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom [him whom] thou wilt send with me. Yet thou h^st said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now, therefore, I pray thee, if [Now therefore, if indeed] I have found grace in thy sight, show me now [I pray thee] thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find ] 4 grace in thy sight : and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My 15 presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy 16 presence go not with me, carry [take] us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here [whereby now shall it be known] that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be [with us, and that we shall be] separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon 17 the face of the earth ? And Jehovah said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken : for thou hast found grace in ray sight, and I know thee by 18 name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me [said. Shew me, I pray thee] thy glorv. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness [excellence] pass before thee, and 1 will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee : and will [I will] be gracious to whom 20 I -nill be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst notsee my face,for there shallnoman[forman shall not]see me, and live. 21 And Jehovah said. Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a [the] 22 rock : And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in 23 a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine [my] hand, and thou shalt see my back parts [back] : but my face shall not be seen. Ex. xxxiv,, J18 frfqxiently elsewhere, we have also instances of Jehovah speaking of Himself in the third person, vid. vers. 10, 14, 23, 24, 2G. — (ii). The real tabernacle was not in fact sot up at a distance irom the camp, but in the centre of it, according to Num. ii. 2 sqq. But if we assume, as we must, that the sternness of Jehovah's regulations was relaxed ia consequence of Moses' imporiunato petition in ver. 12 sqq., there is no difQculty in the case. — T£.] EXEGETICAL, AND CRITICAL. This is one of the most mysterious chapters in all the three books of the covenant. It charac- terizes the Mosaic Middle Ages in the Old Tes- tament as essentially a theocratic conflict of the pure lave with the guilt incurred by the people through their idolatry. The people are par- doned; but their pardon is hierarchically condi- tioned. The first limitation consists In the fact that Jehovah will not go in the midst of the peo- ple to Canaan, because in that case they would expose themselves to condemnation through their transgressions; but that He will go before them by sending, or in the form of, an angel. The second limitation consists in the fact that Moses removes the provisional tabernacle out of the camp, by which act even the camp of the people of God, as being a place needing purification, is distinguished from the sanctuary. The third limitation consists in the fact that Moses himself, needing on account of his vocation a more dis- tinct revelation, is to behold, in the angel, the face of Jehovah — the gracious form in which Je- hovah reveals Himself; yet only in such a way that he is to see the glory of Jehovah in this apo- calyptic form not in a front view, as the face of the fnce, but from behind, i. «., in the after-splen- dor of the sudden phenomenal effects produced by Jehovah, and rapidly passing by the prophet's covered eyes. The first of these limitations marks the veiled revelation; the second, the increased difiiculty of holding communion with God; the third, the fact that the knowledge of sacred things is removed from the sphere of intuition, — is to be not so much an original perception as a matter of practical experience. — In his hunt for contra- dictions Knobel imagines that he has discovered several contradictions in this chapter. — "Accord- ing to the Elohist," he says, "Jehovah was going to dwell in the midst of Israel in the tabernacle; otherwise this account." According to the Elo- hist, he says again, the tabernacle was made from contributions; whereas here the ornaments delivered up were used in building the taber- nacle (!). Here, then, the real tabernacle is im- plied to be in existence before the time when it was afterwards built. According to the Elohist only the priests, besides Moses, could enter the tabernacle; here Joshua is represented as dwell- ing in it, etc. a. — Appointment of the Angel. Vers. 1-6. Ver. 1. ATway, go up. — Since the tables of the law were broken, and the tabernacle was not yet built (for the erection of it presupposed the existence of the new tables), the pardon of the people appears again in this command as a very limited one. God still says, "Thou and the people which thou hast brongiit up out of the land of Egypt," etc. (as in xxxii. 7). And be- CHAP. XXXIII. 1-23. 139 cause Jehovah is still determined to keep His word and to give the laud of Canaan to Abraham's seed, He will also help them to conquer it. He will send an angel of terror before the marching host to drive out the Canaanites, so that they shall come into the land that flows with milk and honey (md iii. 8). But it is not said that this angel is to be the angel of Jehovah in the most special sense of that term, the angel of His pre- sence, or of the covenant (the one in whom Je- hovah's name is, according to xxiii. 21); for the revelation of God has veiled itself again. The people obtain primarily only life, the ailvantnge over the Canaanites, and the promise of the land of Canaan "flowing with milk and honey," to shame them for their ingratitude. Ou the other hand Jehovah declares, "I will not go up in the midst of thee," etc. This, too, like the promise of the angel, is an obscure utterance. At all events, it implies the temporary suspension of legislation and of the building of the tabernacle. But after the people repent, the form of the angel becomes richer in significance, and access to the tabernacle is refused to the people only as a common matter. The reason assigned is, that the people in their stifF-neckedness cannot endure the immediate presence of Jehovah with- out incurring a sentence of destruction through their continual transgressions. This announce- ment of the obscuration of revelation — of the curtailment of the promise — falls on the people as a heavy infliction. Therein is recognized Is- rael's religious temperament, as also in the first pyinboUo expression of the common repentance of the people, ver. 4. How many heathen na- tions would have rejoiced, if God had declared that He would not dwell in the midst of them! This recognition of the fact that the people are in mourning and do not put on their ornaments as at other times, is not followed (in ver. 5), as Keil conceives, by another threat from Jehovah. It is nearly the same language as that in ver. 3, but yet is now used to give comfort. It would be the destruction of them, if He should go with them in the fullness of His revealed glory, in full fellowship, because this is simply beyond their copaoily, because they are born and grown up as a sliff-necked people. Here is found a key to the understanding of the Catholic Middle Ages, and of the parables of our Lord in Matt, xiii. How many a pietistic Christian, in conse- quence of an excess of religious fellowship and edification, in connection with a coarse nature, has fallen! — Nevertheless Jehovah gives them hope by turning into a precept their repentant act of laying off their ornaments. So then the children of Israel strip themselves of their orna- ments. TVe translate the words 3']l.in ino, "on account of mount Horeb," i. c, on account of the guilt here contracted, and of the divine punishment denounced from Horeb.* Horeb rests on them now as a burden. As to the explanation, "from mount Horeb onwards," * [This aeems to be an original interpretation of the phrase. Some understand it to mean: "returning from Horeb to tlieir camp;" others (with A. V.): "by Mount Horeb;" but the most; "from IMount Horeb onwards," i, e., the people from this tim.» on refrained from usins; them. To say, " from Mount Horeb," is certainly avery enifymatical way of saying " on account of the sin committed at Mt. Horeb." — Tb.J one cannot but ask, what is the terminus ad quern ? The terminua a quo also would be open to misunderstanding. " They put on none of th^ir rings, bracelets, jewels, or other ornaments, as was done on festive occasions, but went about as mourners. During the time of mourning it was customary to avoid all pomp, au'l not to deck one's self again till it was over (Ezek. xxiv. 17 ; xxvi. 16; Judith i. 8 sq ) " (Kuobel). 6. Removal of the Tent of Revelation, or Central Tent, as a sort ofTradint nal Tabernacle, before the Camp. The Theocratic Chastisement. Vers. 7-11. The people are not restored to full communion with God ; but in the person of Moses this is re- served even for the people. Hence the new, pro- visional order of things. Moses removes his tent outside of the camp. Emphasis is laid on the fact thdt it was set up far from the camp, and also, that it was called by Moses the tent of meeting, showing that it was not the tabernacle iiself which had been before prescribed. The same is also shown by the fact that Joshua re- mains permanently in this tent to keep guard, and that Moses keeps up the oonnpction between the camp and the t-nt by remaining a part of the time in the camp, doubtleiss to maintain order, and a part of the time in the tent of meeting with Jehovah, to receive His reve. lations and commands.* Thus Moses has se- cured a new standpoint design!-d to bring the penitent people to a renewed life. The people must go out to him outside of the camp (Heb. xiii. 13), and there seek Jehovah. The effect of this is shown, first, in the fact that individuals among the people go out in order to seek and consult Jehovah at the tent of meeting (ver. 7) ; next, in the expression of reverence with which all the people accompanied Moses' going to the tent (ver. 8) ; but especially in tlie fact that all the people cast themselves on their faces, when the mysterious pillar of cloud appeared before the tent, i. e., where at a later time the .altar of burnt-offering stood, and beyond the cloud Je- hovah talked with Moses face to face, i. e., in the perfect intercourse of God with the friend of God, not in the full revelation of His glory (vid. ver. 19). Thus the people are consecrated in preparation for the restoration of the covenant, vid. Num. xii. 8; Deut. v. 4. Knobel finds here again a contradiction. He says, " Reference is made not to Moses' tent (LXX., Syr., Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Piscator, Baumgarten), or to another sanctuary used before the completion of the ta- bernacle (Clericus, J. D. Michaelis, Vatablus, Rosenmiiller), but the tabernacle," etc. That the camp must from the first have had a central tent, religious head-quarters, is in this chase after contradictions never dreamed of.f A strange assumption it is, too, that the people delivered up their ornaments to Moses to build the taber- nacle with. c. Modification of JehovaKs Determination in con- sequence of Mose^' Intercession. Vers. 12-23. Moses' humble request that Jehovah would * [But where did he sleep and eat ? Where was his proper abiding-place, if his own tent could be used only when he needed special revelations? — Tr.] t [On this point vid, under " Textual and Grammatical." — Te.] 140 EXODUS. express Himself more definitely respecting the promise of angelic guidance is founded partly on the progress of repentance manifested by his people, but partly and especially on the assu- rance of lavoi- which he had personally received. As before he would not hear to a destruction of the people in which he should not be inTolved, so now lie cannot conceive that he has found grace in Jehovah's eyes for h-mself alone; ra- ther, in this personal favor he finds a reference to his people — a hopeful prospect which he must become acquainted with. But he at once draws the inference that Jehovah must again recognize ns His people those whom He has before called thxi (Moses) people [xxxii. 7]. If I am Thine, 1ft tiie people be Thine also — this is again the sa- cerdotal, mediatorial thought. Here [ver. 13] is to he noticed the difi^erence between 'U ["na- tion"] and □;> [" people"]. The former term, derived from nU, denotes a feature of nature, in which is involved the contrast of mountain and valley; the latter, derived from QiD;;, denotes a commonwealth ethically gathered and bound to- gether. In reply to this petition Moses receives the declaration, " My presence [lit. face] shall go." The indefinite angel (ver. 2), therefore, now becomes the face of Jehovah, i. e., at least, the angel by whom He reveals Himself, the oneof- ten manifested in Genesis and afterwards (angel of God, angel of Jehovah, an angel, Jehovah's face, vid. Comm. on Genesis, p. 386 sqq.) ; for which reason Isaiah combines both notions and speaksof theangelof Hisface["presence" A.V.]inlxiii.9. In Mai. iii. 1 occurs the expression, ''uugel [A.V. "messenger"] of the covenant." Moreover God here no longer says, "He shall go before thee," but "heshallgo,"gooutandgivethee rest. Here, then, the discourse is about something more than mi'k and honey. But the form of revelation is still obscure, and the promise is connected with the person of Moses, though now the people are at the same time included. But Moses is con- sistent with himself, and firmly seizing hold of Jehovah's promise, he again at once gives it a turn in favor of the people. He takes it for granted that, with him, the people also have found grace with Jehovah; thereon he founds the entreaty that this may not remain concealed, that Jehovah may make it manifest by distin- guishing him and his people, in His guidance of them, from all other nations on earth. To this also Jehovah assents, but explains that He does it for Moses' sake. But Moses in his prayer grows bolder and bolder, and now prays, "Let me see thy glory!" Heretofore all of Moses' requests have had almost more reference to the good of the people than to his own. We must there- fore conjecture that there is such a reference here. But it is entirely excluded by Keil, when ho says, " What Moses desires, then, is to behold the glory, i. e., the glorious essence of God." But the two notions, glory and glorious essence, must not be confounded. The glory (1133 66^a) is the apocalyptic splendor of the divine essence, and is to be distinguished from this essence it- self; it is the revelation of God in the totality of Sis attributes, such as that of which a dim vision terrified Isaiah (Isa. vi.), and such as was ma- nifested in its main features in Christ (John i. 14). According to Keil, Moses desires a view such as cannot be realized except in the other world; but there is nothing about that here. Yet it is true that the revelation of Jehovah in His glory is fulfilled in the N. T. in Christ. And Mosee unconsciously aims at this very thing, and as much in behalf of his people as of himself. For only in the fulfilment of the promises can Jeho- vah's glory be revealed. This seems indeed to be contradicted by Jehovah's declaration, "Thou canst not see my face, for man shall not see me, and live." But we are to infer from this that the notion of the perfect revelation of God's glory in the future life, of the great Epiphany, is to he sharply distinguished from the revelation of the glory in its original form. This distinction, ne- vertheless, belonged to a later time than that of Moses. But this original form of the glory, the grace revealed in the N. T., which is what Moses must have had chiefly in mind, he was to behold at least in a figure. So then his petition is granted according to the measure of his capa- city, while at the same time he is made to under- stand that God's glory in its perfect revelation transcends his petition and comprehension. — And be said, I mt-IU make all my goodness pass before thee (should we render "beauty" instead of "goodness?" The Greek includes the good in his notion of the beautiful; the He- brew, the beautiful in the good — but not first or chiefly the beautiful*). Accordingly He will expound to him Jehovah's name, whose most es- sential significance is eternal fidelity in His eter- nal grace — a second promise, whose fulfilment is related in xxxiv. 5 sqq. When now Jehovah further says, " Thou canst not see my face," re- ference is made to His face in the highest sense, as also to His glory, which means the same thing, or even to the visibility of God Himself. — "For man shall not see me, and live." That here there is an occult intimation of existence in an- other world, should not be overlooked. A glory which no one in this life sees, or a view which can be attained only by losing this life, certainly could not be spoken of, if it were not man's goal in the future life to attain it. Preparation is now made for the vision which Jehovah is going to vouchsafe to Moses. Moses is to stand in a ca- vity of a rock. Jehovah's glory is to pass by. But while it is coming and passing by, Jehovfih is to hold. His hand over his eyes until His glory has passed by, lest he be overcome by the sight, and perish. But then he may look after the glory that has passed, and see it on the back side in the lingering splendor of its effects, i. <>., see all the goodness of Jehovah, the eternity of HiB grace. Who, moreover, could see Him in His frightfully glorious appearance and dominion without being crushed and snatched away from earth! When Christ, uttering* the. words, "Itis finished," saw the full glory of God on His cross, He bowed His head and died. Over His eyes, too, was gently placed the hand of Omnipotence, as He cried out, " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ?" So the hand of Omnipo- * [2^Q is nsecl unquestionably in both Beusea ; but as onr word "goodness" liaa a limited e -nse, we have substituted "excellence'' in the tranelati'm, ua rompreheD iing both tlie notion of moral goodness and that of majesty.— Tft.J CHAP. XXXIII. 1-23. 141 tenoe covers the eye of the pious man with fear and terror, with sleep and faintness, with night and darkness, whilst the heavenly day of God's glory passes over the world's stage in His light and in His judgments; afterwards faith discerns that everything was goodness and grace. On the realization of the vision, which took place after Moses ascended the mountain, vid., chap, xxxiv. Probably Moses saw beforehand in images the glorious meaning of Jehovah's pro clamation. Of Jehovah's grace in its manifesta- tion nothing more can he said than that Moses himself saw only the after-gleam of the mysteri- ous revelation ; yet It wag the after-gleam of the glory. But it is a wonderfully grand and beau- tiful fact, that Moses the law-giver, and Elijah the zealot for the law, both received in a cave in frightful Sinai the vision of the fulness of good- ness and grace, the vision of the gentle rustling* — the vision of the Gospel. Is this the same Sinai which has been so often pictured by me- diaeval doctors and ascetic*? "How He loved the people, with His fiery law in His hand," we read in Deuteronomy xxxiii. 3.f Ver. 12. Thou hast said, IknoTv thee by name. — Not every word of Jehovah to Moses neeils to have been reported beforehand. Ac- cording to Knobel, interpreting as usual with a literalneas amounting to caricature, this means, " Thou art my near and intimate acquaintance." The name is in God's mind the idea of the being, and accordingly this declaration of Jehovah's expresses a very special, personal election of Mosi'S. But Moses knows also, according to ver. 13, that his election and the grace shown to bim involve a determination to promote the good of his people. Ver. 15. He will be led to Canaan only under the direction of the gracious countenance, or not at all. Better to die in the wilderrieas than to reach his goal without that guidance. * [This phrase, des savftPn Sausens^ is from Lather'a trans- lation of npT nODT Sip in 1 Kings xix. 12, ein stales It- tt; 1 tanffes Somen; in the A. V., "a s'ill small voice;" literally, "a voice of gentle rttillueaa.*' — Tr.] t [A somewhat free "trans'ation and inversion of the last part of ver. 2 and the fir^t part of ver. 3, the former, more- over, of very doubtful meaaing.— Tb.] Ver. 18. On the climax in reference to the seeing of Jehovah comp. Keil, II. p. 236; but ob- serve the distinction between God's glory and His essence, as also between the primary vision of His glory in the New Testament and the vision of His glory in the other world. Ver. 19. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious [Lange : I have been gra- cious, or I am gracious to whom I shall be gracious]. The LXX. invert the order of lime; " I will be gracious to whom I am gracious " The Vulg. led to Luther's translation [ Wnn ich gnddig bin, dem bin ick gnddig — " I am gracious to him to whom I am gracious "] by rendering, ''miserebor cui voluero." Paul, in Rom. ix. 15, follows the LXX. At all events the text, taken literally, does not involve an expression of abso- lute freedom of choice, still less of caprice. It distinguishes two periods of time, and thus be- comes an interpretation of the name Jehovah, which compreliends the three periods of time. Accordingly the Hebrew expression affirms: " My grace is in such a sense consistent and per- sistent that, wherever 1 show it, it is based on profound reasons belonging to the past.' The expression in the LXX. implies essentially the same: "As I am gracious to one to-day, so will I show myself gracious to him continually." Luther's translation restores the distinction be- tween grace and compassion, which the Vulgate has obliterated.* Concerning the cave on Sinai, as well as the smaller one situated lower down, in which Moses, according to tradition, and Eli- j*h, according to conjecture, stood, vid Keil, 11. p. 239.f * [This discussion is singularly infelicitous. The two verhs are in rhe Hebrew both Future (the first made such by the Vav Ooiispcutive), so that Lange's stAtement, that the text " distinguishes two periods of time," and his own translation, *' I have been (or am) gracious to whom I shall be gracious," convey a misrepresentation which it is \et impossible to im- pute either to his ignorance ol" Hebrew or to conscious un- liiiruess. His comment on tho analogous exprf-ssion in iii. 14 is open to the same critici *m. Vid. the note on p. 11. Ap- parently Lange's theo y of the meaning of the name mn^ and of the nature of the divine attributes has led him uncon- sciously to put into the Hebrew what cannot be got out of it.— Tr.] f [This makes the impression, for which Keil is not respon- sible, that both Moses and El^ah have been supposed to have stood in the lower cave. There is no evidence of this. Comp. Bobinson, I., p. 152' Palmer, Desert of the Exodus^ pp. 106, 130.— TE.J 142 EXODUS. THIRD SECTION. The New Tables of the Law for the People prone to a Hierarchy. Clearer Revela- tion of God's Grace. Sterner Prohibition of Idolatry. Stricter Commands concerning the Passover, the First-born, the Sabbath, and the Feasts. Return of Moses with the Tables. Moses' Shining Pace and his Veil. Chap. XXXIV. 1-35. A.— THE NEW STONE TABLES FOR THE DIVINE VVRITINa. Vers. 1-4. 1 And Jehovah said iinto Mosos, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon th'-se [the] tables the words that were in [on] the first table.?, 2 which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come [go] up in the morn- ing unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in [on] the top of the mouDt. 3 And no man shall come [go] up with thee, neither let any [and also let no] man be seen throughout [in] all the mount ; neither let the flocks nor [also let not the 4 flocks and the] herds feed before that mount And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first ; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took [him : and he took] in his hand the [hand] two tables of stone. B.— .TEHOVAH'S GRAND PROCLAMATION OP JEHOVAH'S ORACR ON MOUNT SINAI- HENCEFORTH AN ACCOMPANIMENT OF THE TABLKS OF THE LAW. Vers. 5-10. 5 And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed 6 the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jeho- vah, Jehovah God, merciful [Jehovah, a God merciful] and gracious, long-suffer- 7 ing, and abundant in goodness [kindness] and truth, Keeping mercy [kindness] for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will [sin: but he will]' by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children [of fathers upon children] and upon the [upon] children's children, unto 8 [upon] the third and to [upon] the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and 9 bowed his head toward [himself to] the earth, and worshipped. And he said. If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Jehovah, let my Lord [the Lord], I pray thee, go among us ; for it is a stiff-necked people ; and pardon our iniquity and our 10 sin, and take us for thine inheritance. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation : and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Jehovah : for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 [Ter. 7. The A, V. here entirely Deflects the ncf^entuation, and thup almost creates a paradox out of these antithetic clauses. By translating np31 "8 a relative clause (and that will, etc.), it makes the impression that the same conBtruotion is continued, whereas not only does the Athuach precede it, bnt, instead of the p'irticiple of the preceding clause, we haW here a finite verb without the Relative Pronoun. The A. V., moreover, makes the chief division of the verse before " 'i'lt* ine," contrary to the Hebrew accentuation, which, quife in accordance with the sense, connects the last clause with the declaration : " he will not clear," etc.; the contusion of thought is thus made complete.— TR.J. CHAP. XXXIV. 1-35. 143 C— THE GOLDEN CALF AN OCCASION FOR A MOST STRINGENT PROHIBITION OF INTERCOURSE WITH THE HEATHEN CANAANITES. THE MORE DEFINITE ES- TABLISHMENT OP THE ISRAELITISH COMMONWEALTH IN ITS NEGATIVE RE- LATIONS. Vers. 11-17. 11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day : behold, I drive out before [from before] thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Periz- 12 zite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a co- venant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for [become] 13 a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy [tear down] their altars, break 14 their images, and cut down their groves [Asherim] :^ For thou shalt worship no other God : for Jehovah whose name is Jealous, is [Jehovah — his name is Jealous ; 15 he is] a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do [and] sacrifice unto their gods, and 16 one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice ; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go 17 a whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. D.— LEADING POSITIVE FEATURES OF THE RELIGIOUS COMMONWEALTH OF IS- RAEL. SUPPLEMENTARY LAWS LIKEWISE OCCASIONED BY THE NEWLY ARISEN NECESSITY OF EMPHASIZING THE DISTINCTIONS. Vers, ia-24. 18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat un- leavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time [set time] of the month Abib : 19 for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix [womb] is mine : and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is 20 mak [all thy male cattle, the first-born of ox and sheep]. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb : and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-bom of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall 21 appear before me empty. Six days thou shalt work, but ou the seventh day thou 22 shalt rest : in earing [ploughing] time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast 23 of ingathering at the year's end. Thrice in the year shall all your men-children 24 [thy males] appear before the Lord God [Jehovah], the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before [from before] thee, and enlarge thy borders : neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go [goest] up to appear before Jehovah thy God thrice in the year. E.— THE THREE SYMBOLIC PRINCIPAL RULES FOR THEOCRATIC CULTURE. Vers. 25, 26. 25 Thou shalt not oflfer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven [leavened bread] ; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. 26 The first of the first-fruits of thy land [ground] thou shalt bring unto the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not seethe [boil] a kid in his [its] mother's milk. F.— MOSES' LOFTY AND INSPIRED MOOD AT THE RENEWED GIVING OF THE LAW. CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PRESENT AND THE OTHER DESCENT FROM THE MOUNTAIN. Vers. 27-35. 27 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words : for after the tenor of 28 these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there ' [Yer. 13. The word HIE'X, here ^d elsewhere rendered "groves" in the A. V., always refers either to a heathen goddeSa or to images representing her— commonly the latter, pspecially when (as here and most frequently) it ia used in the plural (DniffK)- It must denote the goddess, e. g. in 1 King< xv. 13, whore it is said: "She had made an idol for Aaherah'VA T " in a grove "). This goddess sometimes seems to be identical with Ashtaroth. For particnlars i»d. the lexicons and'Encyclopedins. That the word cannot mean "grpvo" is sufflaenlly shown by such passages as 2 Kings xvii. 10, where ihe Asherim are said to have been set up in every high hill and under ever;/ green tree; and 2 Kings xxip. b, Where it is said that Jobiah " brought out the Asherah frcm the lumae of the Lord. — Ta.J. 13 144 EXODtJS. with Jehovah forty days and forty nights ; he did neither eat bread nor drink wa- ter. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten command- 29 ments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of [of the] testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist [knew] not that the skin of his face shone' while he talked 30 [because of his talking] with him. And when [And] Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold [and behold], the skin of his face shone ; and they were 31 afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them ; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him : and Moses talked with [spake unto] 32 them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh ; and he gave them in 33 commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking [And Moses left off speaking] with them, he [and he] 34 put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out. And he came out and spake unto the 35 children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. 8 [Ver. 29. Thp verb |1p occurs only in this section in Kal ; it is used otice (Pa. Ixix. 31) in Hiphil, where it means "to have horns," while the noun |"^p ordinarily means "horn." Hence originated the Latin translation of the Talgate "comuta," "horned;" and this arcnunta for the notion, incorporated in art representations of Mos'-s, that he had homa growing out of his face The point of reuemblance is in the appearance of the rays of a lumiuary shooting out lilie faoros. — Tb.]. presupposed the preparation of the tables of the law and a covenant-feast. Since now nothing is said of a new covenant-feast, Keil's assump- tion may in some sense be admitted. For the covenant is not simply restored ; it is at the same time modified. The law is now made to rest on pardon, and is accompanied by Jehovah's proclamation of grace ; yet nevertheless in many of its provisions it is made stricter in this chap- ter. The relation between the tabernacle and the camp is made more hierarchical; and in relation to His form of revelation, Jehovah dis- tinguishes more sharply between His face and the display of His essence. But with the notion of the face* is introduced ali ; the weaver who works together the different colors (Dp'l) ; and the plain weaver (J^.**)- Chap, xxxvi. 6. And they spake unto Moses. — On all sides there is a superfluity of building material, so that Moses has occasion to cause a proclamation to be made in the camp, asking the contributions to be suspended. A rare instance in the history of collections, though also mediseval and evangelical institutions have often attained an excess gf prosperity. Knobel remarks on this point: "The Elohist has a more favorable opinion of Israel in Moses' time than the later narrator has." But his archaeological knowledge ought surely to have presented him here too with examples of how a nation in great crises is lifted above its ordinary level. FOURTH SECTION. The Work of the Building and the Priests' Ornaments. oal Sacred Structure. The Elements of the Typl- Chapteks XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31. A.— THE CURTAINS OF THE TENT AND THE COVERINGS. Vers. 8-19. 8 And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the taber- nacle made ten [work made the tabernacle with ten] curtains of [curtains : o/] fine- twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubims [cherubim] of 9 cunning work [the work of the skilful weaver] made he them. The length of one [each] curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain 10 four cubits ; the curtains were all of one size [had all one measure]. And he cou- pled the five curtains one unto another : and the other five curtains he coupled one 11 unto another. And he made loops of blue on the edge of one [the on^] curtain from the selvedge in the coupling [at the border in the first set] : likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second [the same ] 2 made he at the edge of the outmost curtain in the second set]. Fifty loops made be in one [the one] curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second [which was in the second set] : the loops held one 13 curtain to another [were opposite one to another]. And he made fifty taches [clasps] of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches [clasps] : so it became one tabernacle [and the tabernacle became one]. 152 EXODUS. 14, 15 And he made curtains of goats' hair for the [a] tent over the tabernacle; ele- ven curtains he made them. The length of one [each] curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one [each] curtain : the eleven curtains were of 16 one size [had one measure]. And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six 17 curtains by themselves. And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling [upon the edge of the outermost curtain in the owe set], and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second [cur- 18 tain, the second set]. And he made fifty taches [clasps] of brass [copper] to couple 19 the tent together, that it might be one. And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above thoA [seals' skins above]. B— THE FRAME-WORK OF THE TENT. Vebs. 20-34. 20 And he made boards [the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood, 21 standing up. The length of a board wcw ten cubits, and the breadth of a [each] 22 board one cubit and a half. One [each] board had two tenons, equally distant one 23 from another : thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And he made boards [the boards] for the tabernacle ; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards ; two sockets under one board for his [its] two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its] 25 two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle which is toward the north 26 corner [tabernacle, the north side], he made twenty boards. And their forty sockets 27 of silver ; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And 28 for the sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. And two boards 29 made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides [the rear]. And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring [double be- neath, and they were together whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring] : thus 30 he did to both of them in [at] both the corners. And there were eight boards ; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver [sockets of silver, sixteen sockets], 31 under every board two sockets. And he made bars of shittim [acacia] wood; five 32 for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle. And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the 33 sides [rear] westward. And he made the middle bar to shoot through [pass along 34 at the middle of] the boards from the one end to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be [for] places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. C— THE VEIL AND THE SCREEN. Vers. 35-38. 35 And he made a [the] veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work [cherubim, the work of a skilful weaver 36 made he it]. And he made thereunto [for it] four pillars of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold : their hooks were of gold ; and he cast for them four 37 sockets of silver. And he made an hanging [a screen] for ••the tabernacle door [door of the tent] of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, of needle- 38 work [linen, embroidered work] : And the five pillars of it with their hooks : aad he overlaid their chapiters [capitals] and their fillets [rods] with gold ; but [and] their five sockets were of brass. D.— THE ARK AND THE MEBCY-SEAT,* AND THE CHERUBIM. Chap. XXXVII. 1-9. 1 And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits and a half wm the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the * [Lange renders JTli] J " lid of expiation," and remarks that the term " is as difflonit to translate with one word " is the name H'lnV" Luther's rendering, OnademtuM (" mercy-seat "), he commends as conyeying substantially the right impre'sion. But it is questionable whether one can properly combine the literal and the topical in a translation, as langs does.— Tn.] CHAP. XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31. 153 2 height of it : And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a 3 crown [rim] of gold to [for] it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by [gold, on] the four corners of it [its four feet] ; even two rings upon the 4 one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shit- 5 tim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the 6 rings by [on] the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. Aud he made the [a] mercy- seat o/pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and 7 a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, beaten out of one piece [of beaten work] made he them, on [at] the two ends of the mercy- 8 seat. One cherub on the end on this side [at the one end], and another [one] che- rub on the other end on that side [at the other end]: out of [of one piece with] the 9 mercy-seat made he the cherubims on [at] the two ends thereof And the cheru- bims [cherubim] spread out their wings on high [upwards], and covered [covering] with their wings over [wings] the mercy-seat, with their faces one to [towards] ano- ther: even to the mercy -seatward [towards the mercy-seat] were the faces of the che- rubims [cherubim]. B— THE TABLE AND ITS VESSELS. Vers. 10-16. 10 And he made the table o/shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits was the length thereof, 11 and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown [for it a rim] of gold round 12 about. Also [And] he made thereunto [for it] a border of an [a] handbreadth round about; and made a crown [rim] of gold for the border thereof round about. 13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon [in] the four corners 14 that were in [on] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border were the 15 rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. And he made the staves o/shit- 16 tim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes [its plates], and his spoons [its cups], and his [its] bowls, and his covers to cover withal [its flagons to pour out with], of pure gold. P.— THE CANDLESTICK AND THE UTENSILS BELONGING TO IT. Vees. 17-24. 17 And he made the candlestick of pure gold : of beaten work made he the candle- stick ; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same [the candlestick, its base, and its shaft : its cups, its knobs, aud its flowers were 18 of one piece with it] : And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the 19 candlestick out of the other side thereof: Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in [Three cups made like almond-blossoms on] one branch, a knop [knob] and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in [almond-blossoms en] another branch, a knop [knob] and a flower : so throughout [for] the six branches 20 going out of the candlestick. And in [on] the candlestick were four bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-blossoms], his knops [its knobs], and his [its] flowers : 21 And a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] 22 the six branches going [that go] out of it. Their knops [knobs] and their branches were of the same [of one piece with it] : all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. 23 And he made his [its] seven lamps, and his [its] snuflTers, and his [its] snufi'-dishes, 24 of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof. G.— THE ALTAR OF INCENSE AND ITS APPURTENANCES. Vers. 25-29. 25 And he made the incense altar [altar of incense] of shittim [acacia] wood : the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit ; it was foursquare ; and two. cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece with 26 it]. And he overlaid it with pure gold, both [gold,] the top of it, and the sidea 154 EXODUS. thereof round about, and the horns of it : also he made unto [for] it a crown [rim^ 27 of gold round about. And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown [rim' thereof, by the two corners [on the two flanks] of it, upon the two sides thereof, to 28 be [for] places for the staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves o/ shittim 29 [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary [spices, the work of the perfumer]. H.— THE ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERING WITH ITS UTENSILS, AND THE LAYER. Chap. XXXVIII. 1-8. 1 And he made the altar of burnt-offering o/ shittim [acacia] wood : five cubits wag the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three 2 cubits the height thereof. And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it ; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece with it] : and he overlaid it with 3 brass [copper]. And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the fleshhooks, and the fire-pans : all the vessels thereof made 4 he of brass [copper]. And he made for the altar a brazen grate of network [a grating of network of copper] under the compass [ledge] thereof beneath unto the 5 midst of it [reaching to the middle of it]. And he cast four rings for the four ends [corners] of the grate of brass [copper grating], to be [for] places for the staves. 6 And he made the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with brass 7 [copper]. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it 8 withal ; he made the altar [made it] hollow with boards. And he made the laver of brass [copper], and the foot [base] of it of brass [copper], of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled [the serving women, who served] at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]. I.— THE COURT. Vers. 9-20. 9 And he made the court : on [for] the south side southward the hangings of the 10 court were of fine-twined linen, an [a] hundred cubits : Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen [copper] sockets twenty ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets 11 [rods] were o/ silver. And for the north side the hangings were an [side a] hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass [copper] twenty ; the 12 hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten ; the hooks of the 13 pillars and their fillets [rods] o/ silver. And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits ; their pillars three, and 15 their sockets three. And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand [So for the other side ; on this hand, and on that hand, by the gate of the court], were hangings of fifteen cubits ; their pillars three, and their sockets 16 three. All the hangings of the court round about were of fine-twined linen. 17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass [copper] ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver ; and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals] of silver ; 18 and all the pillars of the court were filleted with [joined with rods of] silver. And the hanging [screen] for the gate of the court was needlework [embroidered work], of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen : and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable [corresfionding] 19 to the hangings of the court. And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass [copper] four; their hooks o/ silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals] 20 and their fillets [rods] of silver. And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass [copper]. J.— AMOUNT OF THE METAL USED. Vers. 21-31. 21 This is the sum of [These are the amounts for] the tabernacle, even the tabernacle of [of the] testimony, as it was [they were] counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the CHAP. XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31, 155 22 priest. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made 23 all that Jehovah commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisa- mach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman [a skilful weaver], and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. 24 A-ll the gold that was occupied [used] for the work in all the work of the holy place [sanctuary], even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and 25 seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an [a] hundred talents, and n thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the 26 sanctuary : A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be [passed over to them that were] numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousacid 27 and five hundred and fifty men. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil ; an [a] hundred sockets of 28 [for] the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hun- dred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chupi- 29 ters [capitals], and filleted them [joined them with rods]. And the brass [copper] of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. 30 And therewith he made the sockets to [for] the door of the tabernacle of the con- gregation [tent of meeting], and the brazen [copper] altar, and the brazen grate 31 [copper grating] for it, and all the vessels of the altar. And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate [gate of the court], and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about. K.— PEEPAEATION OF THE PRIESTS' TEBTMENT. Chap. XXXIX. 1-31. 1 And of the blue, an purple, and scarlet, they made cloths [garments] of service, to do service [for ministering] in the holy place and made the holy garments for Aaron ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 1. TheEphod. 2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined 3 linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires [threads], to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, 4 wUh cunning work [linen, the work of the skilful weaver]. They made shoulder- pieces for it, to couple it together [joined together] : by [at] the two edges was it 5 coupled [joined] together. And the curious girdle of his ephod [the embroidered belt for girding it], that was upon it, was of the same [of one piece with it], accord- ing to the work [like the work] thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 6 fine-twiaed linen ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold, graven as signets are graven [graven with the 7 engravings of a signet], with the names of the children of Israel. And he put them on the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod, that they should be stones for a me- morial to [ephod, as memorial stones for] the children of Israel; as Jehovah com- manded Moses. 2. The Breaat-plate. 8 And he made the breast-plate of cunning work [with the work of the skilful weaver], like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 9 fine-twined linen. It was four-square; they made the breast-plate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row: [stones: a row of sardius, topaz, 11 and emerald was the first row]. And the second row, an emerald [a car- 12 buncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row, a ligure, an agate, 13 and an amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl [chrysolite], an onyx, and a jasper: 14 thenj were inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold in their inelosings. And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to 166 EXODUS. tteir names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to 15 [for] the twelve tribes. And they made upon the breast-plate chains at the ends 16 [chains like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. And they made two ouches [settings] of gold, and two gold rings [rings of gold] ; and put the two rings in [on] 17 the two ends of the breast-plate. And they put the two wreathen chains of gold 18 in [on] the two rings on [at] the ends of the breast-plate. And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in [put on] the two ouches [settings], and 19 put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, before it [on the front of it]. And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breast-plate, upon 20 the border of it, which was on [toward] the side of the ephod inward. And they made two other [two] golden rings, and put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the forepart of it, over against [close by] the other [the] coupling thereof, above the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the 21 ephod. And they did bind the breast-plate by his [its] rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of [em- broidered belt] the ephod, and that the breast-plate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 3. The Robe. 22, 23 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, [And the opening of the robe in the middle of it was] as the hole of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], tirith a band [binding] round about the hole [opening], that it should not rend [might, not 24 be rent]. And they made upon the hems [skirts] of the robe pomegranates of blue, 25 and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen [scarlet, twined]. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem [skirts] 26 of the robe, round about between the pomegranates ; A bell and a pomegranate,_a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe [upon the skirts of the robe round about], to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 4. The Coat, Breeches, and Oirdle. 27 And they made coats [the coats] of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for 28 his sons. And a mitre [the turban] of fine linen, and goodly bonnets [the goodly 29 caps] o/fine lineo, and linen [the linen] breeches of fine-twined linen, And 'a [the] girdle of fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle work [scar- let, embroidered work] ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 5. The Plate of Gold. 30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a 31 writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. And they tied unto it a lace [cord] of blue, to fasten if on high upon the mitre [turban]; as Jehovah commanded Moses. b. The Frame-work of the Tent, vers. 20-84; vid. xxvi. 15-30. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. a. The Curtains of the Tent and their Cover- ings. Chap, xxxvi. 8-19. Vid. chap. xxvi. 1-14. Jaoobi, in his pamphlet, Die Lehre der Irvingiten (Berlin, 1853), p. 52sqq., has told how the Ir- vingites interpret, in a fantastic, allegorical way, the curtains of the tabernacle as pointing to their offices; and, in general, their arbitrary trifling with Old Testament symbols. In a simi- lar way they deal with the Apocalypse. Vid. Stockmeyer, Kurze Nachricht Uber den Irvingis- mm, p. 18. Keil observes that the verbs TiW}} in ver. 8, latTI in ver. 10, and iJ'^Jl in ver. il, etc., a,re in the third Pers. Sing, with an indefinite subject. But this is not borne out by ver. 8, where Hiffj; first stands in the plural. It is more likely that the whole work is called BezaleeVs. c. The Veil and the Screen, vers. 35-88; vii. xxvi. 31-37. Ver. 38. Not the whole of the pil- lars of the screen was overlaid with gold, but only the tips, and the rods running across the up- per ends. The other pillars of the court only had their tips and cross-rods overlaid with silver. a. The Ark, the Mercy-seat, the Cherubim, xxxvii. 1-9; md. xxv. 10-22. It is called the master-workman Bezaleel's own work. e. The Table of Shew-bread and its Vessels, vers. 10-16 ; vid. xxv. 23-80. In the direction the dishes are called n'i;;?p, T\33, rttop, and nVpjS! the same here, except that the order of the last two is inverted. CHAP. XXXIX. 32-43. 167 f. The Candlestick and the Utensils belonging to it, vers. 17-24; vid. xxv. 31-40. g. The Altar of Incense with its Appurte- nances, vers. 25-29; vid. xxx. 1-10. The An- ointing Oil and the Incense, xxx. 22-28. h. The Altar of Burnt-offering, with its Im- plements, and the Laver, xxxviii. 1-8. On the Altar vid. xxvii. 1-8. On the Laver vid. xxx. 17-21. Knobel's notion about ver. 8 is very strange [vid. above, p. 127]. He thinks that on the base there were fashioned figures of the wo- men who, as Levite women, came into the court to wash and furbish. [But Enobel does not re- present the figures as on the 6a»e.] i. The Court, vers. 9-20: vid. xxvii. 9-19. j. Summation of the Metal used, vers. 21-31. "The eslimatious" (ver. 21). Keil, "The enu- merated things." The duty of counting the amount was committed to the Levites under the direction of Aaron's son, Ithamar. Ver. 24. The Gold. Thenius and Keil reckon it at 87,730 shekels, or 877,300 Thaler,— a, gold shekel being estimated as =r 10 Thaler [ = 7 Dol- lars and 20 cents. Poole, in Smith's Bible Dic- tionary, makes it a little more. — Te.] Vers. 25-28. The Silver. "Of the silrer there is reckoned only the amount of the atone- ment money collected from those who were numbered, a half-shekel to every male, the vo- luntary gifts of silver not being mentioned" (Keil). It is not to be supposed that amidst the voluntary contributions of gold, copper, etc., a legally imposed tax would hv specified. But it may well be conjectured that (he standard, after- wards fixed for the tax for the sanctuary, served as a guide in the voluntary contributions, as has been already remarked [p. 126] Ou the abun- dance of gold and silver among the ancient Ori- entals, as showing the possibility of the actual correctness of these accounts in opposition to modern doubts, vid. Keil, page 261; Kuobel, page 383. k. Chap, xxxix. 1-31. "The preparation of the priestly garments, to the description of which a transition is formed by a statement of the ma- terials for them and of the design of them. Tlie ephod, vers. 2-7, corresponds to xxviii. 6-12; the breast-plate, vers. 8-21, to xxviii. 15-29 — the Urim and Thummim, which needed no special preparation, being passed over. The robe, vers. 22-26, answers to xxviii. 31-34; the coats, head- pieces, breeches, and girdles for Aaron and his sons, vers. 27-29 to xxviii. 39, 40 and 42. The head-covering of the common priests in xxviii. 40 Cni;;3JD) is here (ver. 28) called nj?3J0n nN3 ornamental caps" (Keil). Vid. Knobel for ar- chaeological notes, p. 334. FIFTH SECTION. The Religious Presentation of all the Component Parts of the Sanctuary, and Moses' Blessing. Chaptee xxxix. 82-43. 32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacleof the tent of the congregation [tent of meet- ing] finished: and the children oflsrael did accordingto all thatJehovah commanded 33 Mos°s, so did they. And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his [its] furniture, his taches [its clasps], his [its] boards, his [its] bars, and his o4 [its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the 35 covering of badgers' [seals'] skins, and the veil of the covering [screen]. The ark of 36 the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat, The table, and all the 37 vessels thereof, and the shew-bread. The pure randlestick. with the lamps thereof, even with the [thereof, the] lamps to be set iu order, and all the vessels [utensils] 38 thereof and the oil for light [the light]. And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging [screen] for the tabernacle-door [door 39 of the tent of meeting]. The brazen [copper] altar, and his grate of bras^ [its cop- per grating], his [its] staves, and all his [its] vessels, the laver and his foot [its 40 base], Th°, hanginss of the court, his [its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, and the hanging [screen] for the court-gate his [its] cords, and his [its] pins, and all the vessels [furniture] of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation 41 [of meeting]. The cloths [garments] of service to do snrvice [for ministering] in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, 42 to minister in the priest's office [to minister in as priests]. According to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made [did] all the work. 158 EXODUS. 43 And Moses did look upon [saw] all the work, and, behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded, even [commanded,] so had they done it: and Moses blessed them. EXEQETICAL AND ORITIOAL. Besides the minute enumeration of the several parts of the tabernacle, is especially noticeable the repeated observation that they had done everything according to Jehovah's command- ment, vers. 32 and 43. The enthusiasm and the joy in making offerings was at the same time a punctilious obedience to the law — an obedience which, being rendered primarily to Moses, shows that the new order of things, or the Old covenant, is again established. Vers. 33, 34. "By '^HSn are meant the two tent-cloths composed of curtains, the purple one and the one made of goats' hair, which made the tabernacle (JSE'O) a tent (7ns). It thence follows beyond a doubt that the variegated cur- tains formed the inner walls of the tabernacle, or covered the boards on the inside ( ? how then could they be stretched?). On the other hand, the goats' hair curtains farmed the outer cover- ing" (Keil). The colored curtains formed the in- side even if they were stretched over the boards. Ver. 43. "The readiness with which the peo- ple had brought in abundance the requisite gifts for this work, and the zeal with which they had accomplished the work in half a year or less {vid. xl. 17), were delightful signs of Israel's willingness to serve the Lord ; and for this the blessing of God could not fail to be given" (Keil). SIXTH SECTION. The Erection of the Tabernacle and its Dedication as the Place of the Revela- tion of the Glory of Jehovah. (Analogies: Abraham's Grove at Mamre; Jacob's Bethel ; Solomon's Temple ; Zerubbabel's Temple ; Temple Dedication of Judas Maccabeus; Christ in the Temple.) Chaptek XL. 1-38. A.— THE COMMAND. Vers. 1-15. 1, 2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying. On the first day of the first month 3 shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation [of meeting]. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil. 4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it [set it in order] ; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light 5 [set up] the lamps thereof And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the mcense [golden altar of incense] before the ark of the testimony, and put [set up] the 6 hanaing [screen] of the door to [of] the tabernacle. And thou shalt set the altar of the [of] burnt-ofiering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the con- 7 gregation [of meeting]. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the con- 8 gregation [of meeting] and the altar, and shalt put water therein. And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court-gate [put up 9 the screen of the gate of the court]. And thou shalt take the anointing oil, aud anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the ves- 10 sels furniture]thereof: anditshallbeholy. And thou shaltanointthealtarofthe[of] burnt-offering, and all his vessels [its utensils], and sanctify the altar : and it shall 11 be an altar most holy [and the altar shall be most holy]. And thou shalt anoint 12 the laver and his foot [its base], and sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and 13 wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and [garments; and thou shalt] anoint him, and sanctify him : that [hmi, that] he may 14 minister unto me in the priest's office [be priest unto me]. And thou shalt bring CHAP. XL. 1-38. 169 15 his sons, and clothe them with coats : And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office [be priests unto me] : for [and] their anointing shall surely be [shall be to them for] an ever- lasting priesthood throughout their generations. B.— THE EKECTION OF THE BUILDING (NOT THE CONSECRATION OF IT). Vbks. 16-33. 16 Thus did Moses: according to all that Jehovah commanded him, so did he. 17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the 18 month, that the tabernacle was reared [set] up. And Moses reared [set] up the tabernacle, and fastened his [its] sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put 19 in the hars thereof, and reared [set] up his [its] pillars. And he spread abroad [spread] the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon 20 it; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark : 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering, and covered [screened] the ark of the testimony ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation [of meeting], upon the side of 23 the tabernacle northward, without the veil. And he set the bread in order upon it 24 before Jehovah ; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation [of meeting], over against the table, on the side of the 25 tabernacle southward. And he lighted [set up] the lamps before Jehovah ; as 26 Jehowah commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of the con- 27 gregation [of meeting] before the veil: And he burnt sweet inctnse thereon; as 28 Jehovah commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at [put up the screen of]' 29 the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar of burnt-offeriug hy the door oF the tabernacl^ of the tent of the congregation [of meeting], and offered upon it th.*' burnt-ofiering, and the meat-offering [meal offtring] ; as Jehovah commanded 30 Moses. And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation [of meeting] 31 and the altar, and put water there, to wash udthal. And Moses and Aaron and 32 his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat [therefrom] : When they went into the tent of the congregation [of meeting], and when they came near unto the 33 altar, they washed ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And he reared [set] up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging [screen] of the court-gate. So Moses finished the work. C— THE DIVHE DEDICATION OF THE TABEaN.iCLE ANTERIOR TO THE HUMiN DEDICATION. Vers. 34-38. 34 Then a [the] cloud covered the tent of the congregation [of meeting], and the 35 glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation [of meeting], because the cloud abode thereon, and the 36 glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from 37 over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys : But if [whenever] the cloud were [was] not taken up then they journeyed not till the 38 day that it was taken up. For the cloud of Jehovah was upon the tabernaile by day, and fire was on [in] it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, through- out all their journeys. of the arrangement of the parts. As to the time, the first day of the first month, Nisan (of the ?e- cond year of the exodus) is selected, as if in order that it might be ready for the first Passover fes- tival in the middle of Nisan. Ver. 3. The ark of the testimony is the real soul of the sanciuary. It represents the presence of Jehovah. Next to it the veil is the most important, since it expresses the unap- EXEGETICAL AND CEITICAL. 0. The Command to Erect the Building. Chap. xl. 1-15. Ver. 1. Though Moses knows that the taber- nacle is to be erected, yet he must receive .Teho- Tah's command in reference to the time and order 14 ICO EXODUS. proaohabltneas of Jehovah, and protects the ark from profanation, but still more protects from the sentence of destruction those who approach without authority. Ver. 4. Next comes the table. With the table Jehovah comes, in a limiieddegree, outof theHoly of holies into the holy place. By this symbolic communion with the priests He discloses to the people the hope of fellowship with Him, the fel- lowship of His Spirit, of His blessings. Then the lamps are lighted as if for a feast; for en- lightenment is dependent on the communion of the heart with God. Ver. 5. As Jehovah comes, with the table, in a sense into the holy place, so the priesthood of Israel on its part comes in a sense into the Holy of holies with the altar of incense which symbolizes prayer. These holy things, too, which denote and illustrate communion with Jehovah, must be screened by the curtain of the holy place. Ver. 6. As the altar of incense bears a relation to the door of the Holy of holies, so the altar of burnt-offering to the door of the holy place. The laver stands nearer the holy place than the altar does, because it is for the priests, and con- tains, in the water, the means of purification for the sacrificial service — in which circumstance is disclosed an adumbration of the N. T. baptism, which separates animal offerings from the temple. Ver. 8. The court also has its screen, for the court, too, is an enclosed vestibule of the holy pjace, as contrasted with the profane heathen world aiHl dttiled Israelites, or even such as approach wi'h empty hands. Ver. 9. The anointing of the dwelling and all of its individual parts expresses the truth, that all the worship in this house depends on the life of the spirit — is from the spirit and for the spirit. But in what sense is the altar of burnt-offering, standing as it does in the court, most holy, [lite- rally, "holy of holies"]? Because the offering of sacrifice, and the self-surrender which consists in trustful obedienc, and which underlies the offer- ing, are the fundamental condition of the genu- ineness of the whole ritual worship. According to Keil, the phrase designates the fact that the allar is not to be approached by the people who offer sacrifices.* Ver. 1ft. Aaron's sons also are anointed to- gether with hun, because they represent the iierediliiry perpetuity of the priesthood. Keil holds that the consecration of the priests was not contemporaneous with the erection of the tabernacle, hut took place later. But here too aly the rommand is first given, and then the i-ection of the tabernacle precedes its execution, nobel says: The statement [of ver. 1(5] antici- iites Lev. viii. If we distinguish between oom- and and cicecution, the anticipation is only ;eming, or at least only grows out of the Bum- ariness of the narrative. b. The Ertction of the Building. Vers. 16-33. Ver. 17. And it came to pass. — "Inasmuch I from the arrival of the Israelites at Sinai in * \I. e., aa beinjt, on account of its position, more exposed the contact of laymen than tlie other sac od objects, whicu ?re where no layman was allowed to come at all.— Te.] the third month after the exodus (xix. 1) until the first day of the second year, when the work was delivered to Moses complete, not quite nine months elapsed, all the work of the building was done in less than half a year" (Keil).* Ver. 19. He spread the tent over the ta- bernacle. — By the "tent" here Keil correctly understands the two principal coverings; by the " covering," the two outer coverings. Ver. 20. The testimony. — The tables of the law, as records which were to bear perpetual wit- ness to the divine will orally revealed to the people. Knobel refers it to the whole revelation so far as then existent — which Keil rightly disputes. Ver. 23. On the arrangemi-nt of the twelve loaves in two rows, vid. Lev xxiv. 6. Ver. 30. Bet'vireen the tent of meeting and the altar. — "Probably more to one side, so that the priests did not need to go around the altar" (Keil.). The offering of sacrifice, ver. 20, and the burning of incense, ver. 27, are to be regarded as extraordinary acts of Moses, the founder of the system of worship, and not belonging to the ordinary worship of the people, which pre- supposed the anointing of the sanctuary, and which began with » sin-offering, whereas here only burnt-offerings and meal-offerings are spoken of. Ver. 33. The court was not only a court; it enclosed the tabernacle. According to Josepbus {Antq. III. 6, 3) the tabernacle stood in the middle of the court. c. The Divine Dedication of the Bvilding Ante- rior to the Human Dedication. Vers. 34-38. Ver. 34. If anything is fitted to exhibit (he LeviticHl ritual as a transitory one, as an edu- cational institution designed for the training of the people up to the time of their maturity, it is the fact that the completed tabernacle forms the conclusion of Exodus, not the beginning of Leviticus; that Moses offered sacrifices and burned incense in it before Aaron the priest did; but especially that Jehovah Himself conse- crated the sanctuary by His manifestation of Himself in the sacred cloud before it was conse- crated by the priesthood. In the Middle Ages it was a saying that a church was consecrated by angels in the night before it was going to be consecrated by priests. Perhaps the saying was a reminiscence of the mystery here recorded. For Jehovah's manifestation ot Himself is some- thing very mysterious, a holy token, viewed only by the eyes of faith. Above the tabernacle the cloud appears, and covers it, in order to remove the glory of Jehovah, which fills lite dwelling, from the view of all, even of Moses, It is not said that this condition became a per- manent one; on the contrary, the tabernacle soon afterwards became accessible, except as regards the regulations concerning the Holy of holies. But up to that time it was unapproach- * [This is made ont by dednciing from the nine monllil the eighty days (xxiv. 18 ; xxxiv. 28) spent by Moses on tie mounl^in, the time spent in preparation'for the giving of the law, and in the ratification of the covenant (xix. 1— xxi'' 11), and the interval between Moses' first and his second Bl»; on the mountain (xxxii. and xxxili.).— Tk.] DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX. 161 able, locked up, aa it were, and had to be un- locked by sacerdotal expiations according to the Levitical rites. At the close is given a general atatement con- cerning the future of the tahernaole, which, however, also discloses' the design of it. "The Future verbs designate the action as a rppeated and perpetual one " (Knobel). ft was designed ns a divine token for the people on their march. When the cloud rose up from the tabernacle, this was the signal for starting — an expressive signal; for the divine token then visibly sepa- rated itself from the sacerdotal dwelling; Jeho- vali seemed to abandon it, as He in truth in the strictest sense did leave the temple in the Jew- ish war. It was the signal for the people to break camp and move onward. But the cloud only showed the way, in order, at a new stop- ping-place, to rest down again on the tabernacle, and thus to order a halt. Thus the book closes with the profoundest thought concerning the history of the kingdom of God, expressed in a, symbolic form and so graphically as to be ap- prehensible by a child. The pillar of cloud above the tabernacle by day; the fiery brightness in it by night — before the eyes of all Israel; — thus was made sensible lo the people that presence of their covenint-God which accompanied them in all their journeyings. Comp. the consecra- tion of the temple, 1 Kings viii. and Ezek. xliil. 4; Num. ix. 16. DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX. FIRST DIVISION: DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL REFLECTIONS. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The division of the Bible of which we are treating, the Thorah (law) in the narrow sense, was in former times used much more as a source of doctrinal and ethical rules and of homiletical observations than now-a-days. The cau'ies of this changed attitude of theology and the Church to the Law lie in the change of views on Old Testament Judaism and the Old Testament itself, on inspiration, on hermeneutics, and on the wants of the Christian Church. The disregard of the Old Testament scheme of revelation, which prevailed almost universally among the Gnostics, drove the Church in the other direction, to an over-estimation of the stage of religious development exhibited in the Old Testament, so that it was almost put on an equality, and in many ways was confounded, with the New Testament. The common warfare which heathen and Jewish Christians had to wage against heathenism tended very early to beget Judaizing forms of Christianity in theo- logy, forms of worship, and polity. To this opposition between the Jewish and the heathen was added the opposition between the divine and the human, which through the unconscious influence of heathen conceptions so emphasized the divine side as to lead to a onesided theory of inspiration, which caused the Old Testament to appear as substantially one with the New rather than as contrasted with it. But the dif- ficulties which thus arose were bridged over by the allegorical style of interpretation. This was done in two ways : In the form of a philoso- phical allegorizing of the heathen myths, it mediated between the ancient superstitious hea- thenism and the later skeptical heathenism; in the form of the Alexandrian allegorizing of .Jewish history, it mediated between the Old Testament and the Hellenic literature and style of thought. Thus then Christian theology also was led to make a bridge, by allegorical means, between the Old and the New Testament. By this means the Old Testament, already in great part Christianized, was made wholly Christian, the children of the two Testaments in a sense exchanging forms. For just as far as the Jews were pushed forwards and made Christians, the Christians were pushed backwards and made a sort of Jews. On account of the manifold confusion of ideas which thus arises, let it be here remarked that, by the allegorizing method of interpretation, we do not mean the thorough explanation of passages really intended to be allegorical, but the style of exposition which perverts the historical and di- dactic meaning of the Scriptures into what is claimed to be a higher and more spiritual one by sporting with analogies. In consequence of this Judaizing theology the Old Testament, and particularly the three books of the law, became a deep fountain of Christian and religious reflections, especially an inex- haustible mine for Christian mysticism and the- osophy. Following, however, the extreme legal ten- dency, which transformed Christian ministers into Levites, bishops into descendants of Aaron, the Christian churches into laymen, the eucha- rist into a sin-offering, churches into temples. 1^2 EXODUS. and which w:is destroyed only in its central features by the theology of the Reformation, came the great reaction of the critical school, which passed over more and more into the ex- treme of rationalism. Now, therefore, the Old Testament, and with it the Old Tesl.iment religion itself, was more and more degraded and caricatured by many mon- strous disfigureujenis bearing witness to arrogant ignorance. lu connection with this there grew out of the single product of Old Testament, inspi- ration a meagre mesh of human legends, fictions, historic i-erainiscena-'S and errors, with the de- struction of winch the youthful criticism carried on its child's play. But the science of herme- neutics rejected, logetlier with the allegorizing theory, more and more decidedly also the sym- bolism and typology which were veiled in it ; and while it rightly laid down the law of gram maticu-historical interpretation of the Scrip- tures, it yet at once, and more and more, fell into the mistake of taking the letter according to the narrowest literal sense, and the historical matter as only an unessential modification of earlier be- ginnings of history. For this new theology there were no new spirits, no new things, no new words. Side by side with this theological revolution there has, to be sure, maintained itself the work- ing of the old allegorizing spirit — sometimes carried even to the pitch of absurdity. What, e. g. have not the Irvingites been able to make out of the skins which covered the tabernacle! But n new epoch has dawned in theology and the Church, an.l is gradually taking shape in a more successful attempt correctly lo estimate the Old Testament. The general statement of the oor- rectrelatinn between the Old and the New Testa- ment may be made in a few words: Oneness of substance, contrast in the form of development as regards both ihe records and the tacts of re- velation underlying them. Yet as, in this view, the Old Testament is Christianity in the germ, so thus far the correct theology and exegesis of the Old Testament are in a germinant condition — a condition subject to many oscillations connected with defective dis- tinctions. In the first place, not distinction enough is made hetween the .Judaism of Ihe Jewish people, as the vehicles of ihe Old Testament revelation, and the sacred history of the revelation itself. So the French Encyclopedists identified Ohrw- tendom and Christianity, especially Roman Catho- lic Christendom. Again, not distinction enough is made between the symbolic forms of the Old Testament and the mythical forms of the heathen world [iiid. Comm. on Genesis, p. 23sqq.). This is connected with the fact that, on the other hand, still less distinction is made between the Hebrew (theocratic) and the Hellenistic (clas- sic) mode of conception and description. Ac- cording to the latter, history is a presentation of facts in their outward relation of cause and eflfeot for the gratification of a love of knowledge ■ poetry is its own object, and ministers to the enjoyment of the beautiful; and didactics minis- ters to scholastic knowledge ; whereas theocratic history presents historic facts in the light of eternal ideas, and hence in symbolic significance ; theocratic poetry allows art to be merged in the service of holiness; and didactics does not deal with abstract formulas, but with concrete con- ceptions, because it aims not at developing a school, but at building up a church. Very imperfect also is frequently the distinc- tion made between the prophecy of events or of types and the prophecy of ideas or of words. That ihese two forms depend on one another; that without the actual reference of Israelilish his- tory to the future of the work of salvation, there- fore without the line of prophetic formations or lypes unknown to man, but well known to the Spirit of God, there could also be no conscious ideal or verbal prophecies; and that, conversely, the forward movement of the actual mental life of the people in typical persons, experiences, instilulious and emotions, is conditioned on ideal guides, i t. on verbal prophecies; — this fact is founded on the indissoluble interaction between an ideal and a life. According to a young man's ideals, his life's aim is shaped; and his ideals, rising up out of his life's aims and attainments, assume a form more and more distinct and pure. Most of all do men misunderstand those forms in which the verbal prophecy is still inclosed like a bursting bud. in the integument of typical significance. E.g. that mankind, in his hostility to the serpent, shall bruise its head, is a verbal prophecy; but the expression respecting the woman's seed is in a high degree typical. So the passage about the son of the virgin in Isa. vii. must be divided into elements of verbal pre- diction and those of typical meaning. But in general there is connected with every blossom of verbal prophecy a leaf of lypical foliage, as also, on the other hand, over all typical repre- sentations there floats a meaning full of prophetic presentiment — The theology of the present time, however, would suffer a complete relapse, should that confusion become stationary which often appears with regard to the distinction between the different periods of development in the Old Testament, particularly between the patriarchal and the Mosaic periods. Especially, when the whole patriarchal period is consigned to a vague tradition, and the Israelilish religion is made to begin with Mosaisra, there is an end of a tho- rough under-'-tanding not only of the Old Testa- ment, but of all Ihe Bible, and in fact of the whole kingdom of God. Without the foundation laid in Abraham's faith in the promises, Mosa- ism also, according to Rom. iv. and Sal. iii., is entirely unintelligible, as also the legality of the Middle Ages is made into a gloomy caricature, unless it is conceived as a process of training for the people, based on the apostolic and an- cient Catholic Church. The consequence of this one-sidedness is seen in the fact that the normal progress of Mosaism towards Messianic prophecy cannot be appreciated, but is misinterpreted, just as the Reformation of the Middle Ages is denounced as a revolution. But if the periods of Old Testament revelation are correctly appreciated, then one will be able to determine more accurately the difference be- tween the canonical and the apocryphal periods of the Old Testament, according to their charac- teristic features. The one characteristic feature of the apocryphal literature is the national ele- DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIU APPENDIX. 163 ment which abandons the theocratic classicalness or canonioity ; a form such as in ita way ap- peared in the Grseoo-Roman literature, and in modern literature threatens to appear every- where. In the period of the Hebrew popular literature, Judaism and Alexandrianism fall apart; and inwardly faith is blended with fana- ticism, superstition, and sliepticism, while out- wardly the Messianic anticipations retreat be- hind the contrasted elements of Alexandrian spiritualism and Jewish literalism. A right estimate of the Old Testament periods will also disclose the great significance of the difference between the epochs and the periods of the time of revelation, and much that is in- comprehensible will become more nearly intelli- gible, «. q. the great difference between the epochs abounding in miracles and the periods in which there were none — a difference the reflex of which is still perceptible in the contrast be- tween ihat half of the age of the church which was characterized by festivals and that which was without them. The theology of the present will therefore still have coQsiderable obstacles to overcome. But it cannot possibly return to the medisBval and early Protestant style of dealing with the Old Testament, and must none tlie less leave behind the rationalistic relapses of negative criticism anil of pseudo-hiHtorioal exegesis. It will set forth tlie divine and miraculous revelations as they gradually made their appearance, according to the degrees of the human development on which they rested, in the fulness and beauty of their successive factors. , So then in the service of a new method of in- terpreting the .Mosaic law, a method which may be briefly termed the Christologieal. as being the due appreciation of divine truth in a human coloring and form, the old shafts of this rich mine, in various ways filled with obstructions, will be re-opened; and instead of the merely glistering half metals of exegetical disquisitions there will be found for Christian instruction and edification a yield of the richest metals. A. QENEEAL KBMARKS ON THE DOCTRINES OF THE LAW. As to the law of Moses as a whole, we cannot go back to the old position, that it still serves as a moral law in its entirety, i. e., entirely in this its oulward form especially the law of the Sab- bath, and many also of the civil laws, e. g,, the law of tiihes, and of capital punishment for the blasphemer; but the New Testament truth, that the law is done away by the law for the Chris- tian (Gal. ii.), must not be so interpreted as to imply that the Mosaic law is wholly abrogated. It will rather be seen that it has been freed by Olirist, as to its spiritual elements, from the limitations and forms of the Jewish economy, that it in this very way has become a type de- signed to represent and illustrate the funda- mental principle of Christianity in its details (vid. Mitt. vi. ; Rom. iii. 31). In like manner the Jewish people are no more to be regarded as, abstractly considered, the people of God overtopping all the other nations, as even yet in the New Testament period they are sometimes looked on as a nation of priests which has lost its privileges, but which is destined to become again the nobility of Christendom. But little as the whole nation is to be estimated according to its elect ones, so little should it be estimated according to the appearance of its degenerate masses, as is often done by rational- ists, and in general by modern writers. As the first-fruits in the religious development of tbe nations, Israel must become more an t more a type for elect nations of the New Testament era, for the idea of election in all nations, for the significance of nationalities, of national life within the king- dom of God, and of the shape given by Chris- tianity to national institutions. This process of two-edged or two-sided antag- onism against the extremes will have to be car- ried on in all the points in which biblical theolo- gy, in a Ohristologioal aspect, relates to the law. The dogmatic peculiarity of the Mosaic law is its crystalline distinctness of form and its trans- parency, or its unpoetic precision and its sug- gestive symbolicalness. The absence of figures in the Mosaic law also marks its style, which everywhere and in the smallest details avoids tha obscurity of an imaginative diction. This pro- saic precision is all the more striking, inasmucli as it is here and there interrupted by high'iy poetical passages, and finally is supplemented by the lofty'style of the prophetic book of Deut«!- ronomy. But out of thij very distinctness, seem- ingly related only to civil affairs, there shin? forth everywhere the suggestive thoughtfulne.-a and symbolicalness which gives to Mosaism the character of a typical institution throughout. The fundamental doama of Mosaism is this: Elohim is .Jehovah, or, Jehovah is Elohira, as the fundamental dogma of the New Testament is this: Jesus is the Christ, or, the Christ is Jesus. The God of all the worlds. Elohim, is Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel; the covenant God of Israel is .also none the less the God of all the worlds. Religious catholicity and religious par- ticularism thus complement each other, although a narrow view of things keeps trying to bring them into antagonism. On the basis of this dogma come first of all into clear prominence the idea and the law of personality. Jehovah is holy, i. e., He keeps His personality, in which idea and essence are one, pure and unmixed, and for this reason He trains up Lsrael to be His holy people, a people of per- sonal worthiness. Again and again this covenant fellowship between the absolute and the limited personality is emphasized, also, therefore, the sonship for which Israel is called into existence. The idea that Israel, or humanity, is akin with God, is more conspicuous in the stern ma- jesty of the lav than even in the dogmatics of the church. The Canaanites are rejected for the reason that tbey have ruined the worthiness of personality in the double form of voluptuous rites and of offerings to Moloch. With the notion of personality and holiness to which Israel is called in his fellowship with God are inseparably connected the necessity of expia- tion and the consecration of sacrifices. The con- secration of sacrifices ; for man always follows the impulse to make expiatory offerings. If he does not do this in a manner pleasing to God, he does it as a heathen in horrid caprice. To bodily l'3i EXODUS. suicide corresponds iu this respect intellectual suicide, ibe total deuiai of immortality, respect- ing whicli it. is falsely asserted that Moses knevr noiliiiig of it. Moses, who had brought his peo- ple out of figypt, out of the laud where men wor- ship the dead and the other world, had first of all to wean the people from Egyptian coucep- tious, aud to train tlieui chiefiy to sanctify, as they ought, the things of this world, as being the proper foundation for a true view of the oacred- ness of the other world. The idea of immorta- lity, as someihing presupposed, is sufficiently obvious in the Mosaic religion. As to the law itself, we must not overlook its divisions, nor the various e-oinbinaiions that re- sult trom Iheai. Altnough the law is a unit, yet the old tiistinction between the moral, ceremo- nial, aud civil law is well founded. Hence thj command of the day of rest is given in two con- nections : as an etnical law of humanity in the decalogue, and as a ceremonial law among the regulations lor festivals in Leviticus. If this connection is overlooked, the Levltical ceremo- nial Sabbath will be transferred to the ten com- mandments, and on the other hand the Sabbath law of Leviticus will be treated as a mere Jewish ceremonial law. A similar combination is found in the ordinance of the day of atonement. Le- vitically it was the culrainntion of all the feasts; socially it was the fast-day of priparalion for the feast of tabernnoles. The Messianic seal of the three books (Exo- dus, Leviticus, and Numbers), which is discerned in the various institutions of the law, is found unmistakably impressed on the three books : Exodus is the book which sets forth the Messiah as prophet; in Leviticus the MessiRtiic high-priest- hood is typically portrayed : while the book of Numbers describes the organization, appearance, and guidance of God's host, whose military and victorious prince is Jehovah in His Messianic future. See details in the Introduction. Iiiterature. Here belong, besides general commentaries, works on biblical theology (wiW. Coram, on Genesis, p. 62Fqq.). Vid. a list in VonCoWn'sBiblische Theo- Itffie, I. p. 19. Likewise in Hagenbach's-Bncycfo/ja- dif, p. '214. [Darling's Ci/clopedia, Smith's Bible Dirjionary , Am. Ed.]. Hagenbach puts here Ilof- mann's Sckriftbeiveis deft Glauhevs. — On the King- dom of God, and, in particular, Christology, vid. Comm. on Genesis. Most recent works: Von d. Golz: GnWs Of- feribarung durch heilige Geschicht', liasel, 1868. Ewald, Die Lehre von Gntt. oder Theolngie des Al- ten und Neum Textamenis, Vol. I. Die Lehre vom Worte Goltes. Leipzig, 1871. Oehler, Theology of the Old Testament [Clark's Foreign Theological Library, 1875, 2 vols.]. Here belong works on special dogmatic and ethical questions, on the Israelitish character and beliefs, especially on the Jewish belief in im- mortality, on typology, and on Jewish laws. In reference to the general character of the Israelites, there are, in opposition to the scoffs of Feuerbach and the depreciatory judgment of Re- nan, Richard Wagner, and others, to be consi- dered both Jewish and Judaislio over-estimates (e. g., of Baumgarteu and others), aud likewise correct estimates. Monographs. On the name Jehovah vid. Tho- luck, Vermiachle Sehriften. I., p. 377 sqq. The article by Oehler, in Heizog's Real-enajclopddie ; Danz, p. 425. [Reland, Decas exerciiationumj etc. ; Keiuke, Philognsc/i-historiscke Abhandlung iiber den Gottesnamen Jehooah; the above-mentioned arti- cle by Tnoluck, translated by Dr. Robinson in the Biblical Repository, Vol. IV., 89-108; E. Bal- lautine, Interpretation of Ex. vi. 2, 3; ibid., Vol. Ill , p. 730 sqq. See also Hengstenberg, Authen- ticity of the Fentateuch, I., p. 213 sqq. ; Kurtz, Die Miahdt der Generis, p. xliii. sqq. ; Macdonald, Introduction to the Pentateuch, I., p. 165 sqo — Te.]. On the Mosaic law. Vid. the older writings ia Walch's Bibliotheca, I. p. 119. Also the article oa this topic, and a list of works, in Herzog'si?ea/-en- cyclopadie. Langen, Mosaisehes Licht und Recht, Halle, 1732; Salvador, Gesehichte der mosaischen Institutionen ; Bluhme, CoUatio legum Romanarum et Mosaicarum, 1843 Schnell, Das israelilische Recht in seinen Grundziigen dargestellt, Basel, 1853 ; Bunsen, Inhali und Epochen der moeaiscken Geseizge- bung {Bihelurkunden, I. p. 229) : R'ehm, Die (ie setzgebung in Lande Moab, Goiha,, 1854. [Micbaells, Laws of Moses; Saalschiitz, Das ■mosai.iche Reck; Wines, Commtntary on the Laws uf the Ancient Hebrews. — Tb.]. R. Kiibel, Das alltestamentliche Gesetz und seine Urkunde, Stuttgait, 1867; F. E. KUbel, Die soziale und volkswirthschaftliche Gesetzgebung des Alten Bundes, Wiesbaden, 1870. On the Mosaic doctrine of immortality, Oehler, Veteris Testamenti sententia de rebus post mortem futuris, Stuttgart, 1846; Brecher, Die Unslerb- lichkeitslehredesisraeldiichen Voiles, Leipzig. 1857; Engelbert, Das negative Verdienst des Alten Testa- ments urn die Vnsterblichkeitslehre, Berlin, 1867; Hcrm. Schultz, Die Voraussetzungen der christ- lichen Lehre von der Unsterblichkeit, Gottingen, 1861; K.\osternia.nn, Hoffnung kiinftiger Eribsung aus dem Todeszustande beaviest; (8) in the miraci:- loua augmentation of natural calamities peou- liar to the earth and the country, and in tkz oonneolion of these with the movements of the world of mind, the joyful testimonies of the pious, the bad conscience and horror of the 'odless; (4) in the correspondence between the sudden precipitation of the crises of the earth's physical history, and that of the crises )f the kingdom of God; (5) in the exalted symbolic form of God's deeds in sacred his- tory. The false miracles by which the Egyp- tian sorcereis soueht to neutralize the effect of Moses' miracles nave their reflex in the most various forms eveu in New Testament times and in the history of the Church (2 Tim. iii. 8). So Julian instituted an anti-Christian order of preachers and similar things. So in modern times the itinerant preaching of the Gospel, the oliuroh-holidays, and religious associations have been imitated in one direction and another. But the unholy imitations can never keep pace with the holy originals. — This, too, remains true in the spiritual world, that God's plagues as such are limited entirely to the enemies of His people. — The institution of the Passover-meal on the night of Egypt's terror is a type of the institution of the Lord's Supper on the momentous night of the betrayal of Christ. This lofty festival of victory in the midst of the terrors of death and of the abyss is one of the most unmistakable of God's grand thoughts of love and of peace, and would never have been conceived, still less carried out, by the selfish heart of man. 6. The Passover. In the Passover all the forms of offering are concentrated and explained. First, it takes the place of the curse-offering, the hherem, which was inflicted on the Egyptian first-born ; secondly, it is a sin-offering made by the act of sprinkling the blood, by which the door is marked with the divine direction, " Pass over," for the angel of destruction ; thirdly, ho wever, it is most emphati- cally a peace-offering, as being the Old Testa- ujent eucharist, for which reason also the passo- ver was slain by all the heads of houses, and eaten by all the inmates of the house ; finally, it is made complete, as a burnt-offering, in the burn- ing of all the parts which are left over from the sacred meal. — On the significance of carrying away the silver and gold articles, vid. Comm. on Genesis, p. 83. In every great judicial crisis a part of the goods of this world, or of a spiritual Egypt, falls to the people of God, as, e.g., at the time of Constantine, the time of the Reformation, and other times; — not by cheating and robbery, but through mental agitation; agitated souls cast it into the hands of the representatives of the victorious spirit. 7. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Together with the Passover is instituted the feast of unleavened bread, characterized, on the cue hand, as a denunciation of the world, and, on the other, as a renunciation of worldliness, or yoluntary abstinence for the sake of the Lord. This does not make leaven as such a symbol of evil (vid. Comm. on Malt. xiii. 33), but it makes the leaven which is qualified by some reference to the world (the Egyptians, the Pharisees, etc.), a symbol of the contagious and overpowering in- fluence of participation in an injurious enjoy- ment. As the Passover feast obligates to a tem- porary festival of unleaveuod bread, so the Lord's Supper obligates to a permanent avoidance of ruinous associations. — Participation in the Pass- over is conditioned on circumcision xii. 48) ; and a participation in the Lord's Supper on the rite of baptism. — The religious education of the young has from the outset a connection with the sacraments (xiii, 14), and finds itself at once enjoined, whenever a religious congregation is formed. — To guide the weak young cougregaiion of God through the wilderness is safer than tc guide them through the land of the Philistines. Here is figuratively represented the import of asceticism (xiii. 17, 18). 8. Joseph's Bones. A boundary line between the theocracy and the world is formed not only by the sacraments and feasts, but also by the consecrated burial. So the church-yard has also its ecclesiastical significance. But as the political community has a part in the bells in the tower, so also in a church-yard as God's field, and only Christian wisdom, not fanaticism, can correctly apprehend the distinction. 9. The Pillar of Cloud and Fire. As the same pillar over the sanctuary is a pil- lar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, so it stands now before the host as a sacred van- guard, now behind them as a protecting rear- guard separating Israel from the pursuing ene- my. To this divine separation of Israel from the world, following the sacramental separations, is next added the greai actual separation by means of the Red Sea. It is a double protection lor the con- gregation of God, that not only the congregation is hidden from the pursuing worldly power, but also the frightful equipments of this power are in great part hidden from the congregation by the miraculous phenomenon of the pillar of cloud and fire. By day the pillar of cloud is more visible than the fiery pillar; by nighi the fire is more visible than the cloudy pillar. When one walks in the light of knowledge, he needs to be made secure by the symbolical obscurity of the mysteries of the church ; when one walks through the night of temptation, he is made secure by thi fiery tokens of the animating presence of the Lord. — The policy of falsehood, of selfishness, of arrogance, and of treachery, has plunged more than one Pharaoh into destruction from the ear- liest times down to the history of Buonaparte. 10. The Bed Sea. In their extreme distress the Israelites cast themselves in view of the oppressors into the Red Sea, but do so at the bidding of God and of the rod of Moses. Here, too, the natural substratum is to be taken together with the divine deed. (Ex. xiv. 21; Ps. cvi. 9). The terrestrial crisis is united with the crisis of the kingdom of God, Moses' prophetic spirit with his symbolic miraculous 170 EXODUS. agency. The Red Sea stands midway between the deluge (1 Pet. iii. 20) and baptism (1 Cor. x. 2) In all three cases the redemption of the new man is effected through judgment on the old; there takes place a separation, by means of which the destructible part falls a prey to real or appa- rent destruction, and the salvable part is trans- ferred to a condition of life and salvation. The first separation constitutes a universal historical type, and in its magnitude, as the destruction of the firat world (in a sense also as a sequel of the catastrophes of creation), points to the second and third separations, but also beyond them to the last great separation at the end of the world. The second separation is a theocratic typical institu- tion, which makes the .Tews Israelites; the third constitutes a symbolic and real dividing line be- tween the church and the world, and, in so far as it is inwardly expressed and realized, be- tween the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The seeming downfall of the church of God is always succeeded by a higher rise, as the seeming triumph of the power of darkness indicates its actual overthrow. 11. Tht Song of Moses. The song of Moses is the first form of reli- gious service in the church of God, proceeding from the experience of the first miraculous typi- cal redemption, and hence is of perpetual signi- ficance for nil worship celebrating redemption and for all songs up to the last redempt on at the end of the world (Rev. xv. 3) The Old Tes- tament is acquainted with two great redemptive facts: the redemption out of the bondage in Egypt, and out of the Babylonish captivity; the New Testament proclaims the two greatest: the primal redemption accomplished by Christ, and the final one in the other world which He will accomplish at His appearing. It is noticeable that in the song of Moses the attribute of God's holiness ia for the first time celebrated together with others. This indicatestheearly origin of the fong, and particularly the period of holiness, which from this time on becomes Jehovah's most characteristic attribute; the attribute of justice, which predominates more at a later time, here appears only incidentally, as it were, in a con- fession of sin on Pharaoh's part. The freedom which even in the Old Testament appears in its first free form of worship, in spite of its re- straints, is especially evidenced by the fe- male choir, which Miriam leads, particularly by the instrumental music of the tambou- rines, and even the festive dance. What a sorry Bpeoiacle certain restrictions in the worship of the old Reformed Church present by the side of this, while yet that church professes to be of an eminently New Testament type. 12. The First Stopping-places. The first encampment of the children of Israel by the twelve fountains and under the seventy palm-trees at Elim makes, with Moses' triumphal song after the deliverance, one whole. But a preliminary goal reached in the way of salvation heralds a new contest. The great weakness of the new congregation is dispLayed in the fact that, in spite of those rich experiences of deli- verance, as soon as they begin to suffer want, they begin again to murmur. But just because the congregation is so young auJ so weak, Jehovah is indulgent towards them, and presents them in the wilderness of Sin with the miracu- lous bread of manna (the gift of quails seems here to be anticipated, xvi. 13), and at Rephidim with water from the rock. Both facts are closely related to one another and to the foregoing pas- sage through the Red Sea. At a later time Jehovah cannot exercise the same indulgence towards the old and more experienced company when they murmur in like manner; even Moses' subtle error is now severely punished (Num. xi. 31 sqq. ; xx. 1 sqq.). Repetition in the divine training of children is no more a tautology than in the human training of them. 13. Amalek and Jethro. The first war of the Israelites is a war of de- fence against the Amalekiles ; but the victory depends on three forces: the people's recent experience of deliverance, Moses' intercession, and Joshua's generalship (vid. my pamphlet, Vom Kricg und vom Sieg). Amalek ttius becomes u type of the anti-theocratic worldly spirit, as Egypt was before (xvii. IB). But that tliere are two kinds of heathenism, and accordingly a two- fold relation of the people of God to it, is shotvn by the deportment of Jethro, Moses' lather-in- law and a Midianite priest, as compared with Amalek. He has kept Moses wife and sons in his charge during Moses' mission in Egypt ; he brings them to him now, and rejoices in Israel's redemption and God's great deeds with hearty sympathy; nay, his confession that the glory of Jehovah is abovn all the gods is enough even to warrant Aaron and the elders in holding reli- gious communion with him ; they eat bread with him before God, as also Moses at the very first had received him with reverence and cordiality — -a circumstance fitted to put to shame those Christians who like to seek for the essence of communion in the excommunication which is appended to it. Nay, the great law-giver even adopts at the suggestion of this Midianitish priest a reform (xviii. 13 sqq.), which, as being a tes- timony of superior human reason against the dangers of a one-sided centralization in govern- ment, even significantly precedes the giving of the law itself. 14. Israel's Voluntary Assent to the Covenant with Jehovah at Sinai. Thus the congregation has come to Sinai, and here the people are summoned to enter, by means of a voluntary covenant with Jehovah, into a peculiar relation to Him, to become Jehovah's people under His theocracy. Here now the sacred history itself stands clearly opposed to a series of distortions of it. In the first place, we see that the giving of the law on Sinai is not the beginning of the Old Testament; Israel, rather, came to Sinai as a typical, consecrated peoplCi in whose rise and redemption Jehovah has pro- visionally fulfilled the promise given to Abra- ham (mrf. Gal. iii. 16 sqq.). Secondly, we see that the people were by no means involuntarily DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDfX. 171 made slaves under the law (as Hegel con- ceives). Thirdly, we see that even the rigorous fencing off of the lofty mountain, the thunder and lightning, and the cloud on the mountain, are not to be pronounced so one-sidedly a mani- festation of Jehovah's angry jealousy aa was often done by tlie older theologians, and as was charged upon the Old Testament in gross carica- tures in the rationalistic period. Even Deutero- nomy has presented a more catholic, free, and, one may say, New Testament view of the mani- festation of the divine majesty, power, and holi- ness which encompasses the origin of the law, anil which is continually to attend it in its pvvay (Deut. xxxiii. 1-3). As to the covenant (which is not merely an institution, as Hofmann holds), there should be specially noticed the repeated questions put to the people and their answers of assent (xix. 7, 8; xxiv. 3). The revelation of Jehovah's holiness in order to the sanctificalion of Israel to he His people makes Mount Sinai a symbolic sanctuary. This is expressed by the mountain's being made in- accessible to men and beasts (chap. xix. 12 6qq ). Even the priests must not be in haste to pa»s the boundary (ver. 24). With the holy place is connected a holy time of three days, and for the consecration of this time there are also special prescriptions. There is deve- loped further on a two-fold distinction of degree : the people remain in the valley; Aaron and his sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders cele- brate the feast of the covenant on the slope of the mountain ; Moses alone loses himself in the darkness of the summit (xxiv. 9 sqq.). So high does the prophetic here stand above the priestly office. 15. The Oiving of the Law. The legislation on the mountain is to be divided into three groups. The first is the law as an outline, as the summary of the words of the law; tlie second is the law as legislation (xxiv. 12 — xxxi. 18) ; the third is a modified restoration of the law. and the fixing of it by means of the building of the tabernacle (to the end of Exo- dus) The first group comprises the whole law in its outlines ; and the division into three parts, moral law (xx. 1-17), ritual and sacrificial law (XX. 18-26), and civil law (xxi. 1 — xxiii. 33), appears distinctly. This group is concluded by the ratification of the covenant (xxiv. 1—11). Before the covenant was concluded^ the law was enacted only in oral words; not till after the cove- nant was concluded was it written on the tables of stone; and not til) then could the building of the tabernacle be ordered, as the place where the stone-tables were to remain, and where ■lehovah was to be enthroned ; for Jehovah can dwell as a covenant-God only among a people that have voluntarily surrendered themselves to Him, But the tabernacle is not simply a temple or place of sacrifice; It is likewise, and first of all, the palace of the King Jehovah, the central place for all the three groups of laws, the place of the covenant and of the meetings between Jehovah and the people. This legislation re- quires Moses to remain forty days on the moun- tain. But the people cannot endure this invisi- bility of their religion, and make themselves the golden calf for their symbolic sanciuary. Thus a restoration of the law becomes necessary, through (1) a great expiation, (2) a severe modification, (3) the actual erection of a visible sanctuary, the tabernacle. II. The Outline of the Law. 1. The Ethical Law in Outline. Ch. xx. 1-17. Here is concentrated a heavenly fulness of divine thoughts, hence also an immense treasure of expositions, an account of which is given in the commentaries, theological systems, cate- chisms, sermons, and hymns. The law of the tn commandments is to be considered in its relations to the natural law of the conscience (Rom. ii.) and to the law of the Spirit (Rom. viii.), especially as a transition from the one to the other. Analytically and literally considered, the law is incomplete (2 Cor. iii. ; Epistle to the Hebrews), especially in the hands of human ad- ministrators ; as a type of the law of the Spirit, it is complete — the description of man as he should be, of humanity, of the living image of Christ. Analytically considered, it is predomi- nantly educational ; symbolically considered, it is an outline of Christian ethics. That it is a law for the inner life appears unmistaka- bly in the preface, as also in the first, se- cond, and tenth commandments, but especially in the law: "Thou shalt noc covet" [vid. Comm. on Rom. vii.). As the foundation of the whole legislation, it is divided into laws that are predominantly religious or ceremonial, and laws that relate predominantly to social or moral life — a proof that it itself, as being the thto- cratic doctrine of life, or outline of rules for the sanctificalion of personal life, comprises the elements of dogmatics and ethics. In its practi- cal application, Christian dogmatics has rightly ascribed to it three uses, of which the first \usus civilis'] is permanent in the Christian state, the third \usus normativus'] is permanent in the Christian Church, and the second [msus elenchticus'] declares the permanent connection between the other two. The integrity of the ten commandments must be maintained with all earnestness. The prohibition of images is by no means a mere prohibition of idols; the com- mand respecting the Sabbath is by no means merely identical with ihe ceremonial law of Leviticus; it is an imperishable law of humanity as much as is the law: "Thou shalt not kill." As to the division into two tables, the enumera- tion of the commandments, the distinction be- tween the prohibitions in the commandments, and the commandments in the prohibitions, the reduction of the ten commandments to two fun- damental ones (Matt. xxii. 38), and of the two to one (Rom. xiii. 10; James ii. 10), we refer to the appropriate theological discussions, only remarking further, that as early as in Deutero- nomy the spiriiualization of the ten command- ments, in the direction of the prophets, is begun. We may also refer to the feature presented in an exegetical view of the narrative, that Moses, when the ten commandments were sounded oui, stood as an interpreter amongst the people ; according to which, this moment is to be re- 172 KXODUS. garded as myatcrious in the highest degree. — The ten cnrnmnndments as tlie ten words (of the Spirit, nngelic words). As the ten fundamental doctrines of heavenly wisdom. The ten words as the ten commandments of God : ten rocks of the earth, ten lightnings of heaven. — As the ten thunders which resound through all spaces and times. As the testimonies of God in behalf of the dignity and high destiny of man, but also as the testimonies against his sin. As the testimo- nies both of his (formal) freedom and his (mate- rial) bondage.* As characteristic features of personality. 2. Outline of the Sacrificial Rites. Chapter xx. 18-26. The enslaved feelings of the people in their terror at the manifestations of the majesty and justice of God, are, primarily, the source of the lay order, the desire for a mediator between th m and God ; secondly, the source of an out- ward sacrificial system; thirdly, the source of the hierarchy. Fleeing from God and standing afar otf, in other words, slavish fear, makes laymen. " Speak thou with us, and we will hear." And the reason is: "lest we die." The true priest runs the hazard of dying as he approaches God. Thus Aaron stands with his censer of incense between the dead and the living (Num. xvi. 48). But the perfect higb-priest comes near to God tlirough the fiery flame of the great judgment (.ler XXX. 21). — Also the lay feeling looks on the protective terrors of the law as deterrent terrors (vcr. 18). The fear of death is, to a certain de- gree, wholesome, but is also a dangerous source of a slavish disposition (Heb. ii. 15). — In the terrors of the law lies an element of temptation on account of man's fear of death ; but in them- selves these terrors are designed only to test men and to fill them with the pious fear of God which avoids sin. Moses emers, as a true mediator of his people, into the darkness before God. That he is a true priest without priestly dignity, much more than Aaron is, he has shown by his inter- cessions. The same holds of all true prophets, even in the philosopher's mantle; they have more sacerdotal worth than all merely nominal priests. Nevertheless the enthralled state of the people's heart necessitates the institution of sa- crifices and of priests. Yet it is strictly limited. Firft, the people are never to forget that Jeho- vah has spoken with them immediately from lieaven, that He therefore may so speak again in the future, and that therefore all mediation must have for its object this immediate intercourse. Hence most of all the false, pretended mediation through idols must be rejected. Sacrifices, how- ever, are mediatory. But a simple altar of earth is declared to be sufficient for the sacrificial ser- vice. Extravagance is excluded from the sacri- ficial rites. Here, moreover, there is nothing caid, by way of anticipation, about sin-offer- ings. But all places at which Jehovah manifests Himself as a covenant and redeeming God are to be sanctuaries. As an enhancement of the * [By formal freedom U meant the natural ability to choose between right and wron^; hy material (otherwise called by German writers real) freedom, is meant the actual confor- iiiity of the will to the requirements of duty. Material bon- d.iKe ( Unfreihp.it, " imfreedora ") therefore means a state of disinrliDHtioa to obey the law. — Te.J dignity of the altar, it is allowed to be made of stones, but this permission is limited in two par, ticulars (vers. 26, 26). The Spirit of revelation has foreseen that men's disposition to make a merit of works may transform the altar, the place where God holds sway as a Judge and a Saviour, into a theatrical stage for the exhibition of hn- man pomp. So unostentatiously does the Levitical sacrificial system begin, and begins with the assumption that the people have long before felt the need of offering sacrifices, and that this feel- ing is to be checked rather than increased, ffe must, however, everywhere distinguish between the sacrifi ial rites and the priesthood whicli Jehovah takes under His charge, and the barba- rous outgrowths which have in fact sprung from these religious impulses. •3. Outline, of the Civil Law for the Regulation of thi Social Life of the People. Chaps, xxi -xxiii. It is a noticeable feature of this law that U begins with a regulation concerning the emanci- pation of the Hebrew serf. While the idea of emancipation is conditioned and limited by the traditional customs and laws, yet it is evident from the first breath of the law that it breathes freedom, that freedom is its end and aim. To this corresponds also the heading. Though the first verse may be translated, " These are the legal ordinances, or the punitive regulations"— yet through the whole section the idea prevails, " These are the rights." It is not acts of injus- tice that are chiefly treated of, but rights, the protection of human worth, the sanctity and inviolability of life, as opposed to the assaults of sin and unrighteousness. Thus then this section also, like the ethical law and the ritual law, points to the New Testament, the New Testa- ment freedom. a. Men-servants' and maid-servants' rights of freedom, xxi. 1-11. b. Inviolability of life, especially as relates to regard for parents and pregnant women, vers. 12-23. c. Inviolability of the body and its members, vers. 24-27. d. Protection against injury to life, to ser- vants, and even to cattle, caused by the careless- ness of others, vers. 28-36. «. Protection of property against theft, injury to fields, and infidelity to trusts; and the settle- ment of collisions and distinctions thus arising, xxii. 1-15. /. The rights of a seduced virgin, vers. 16, 17. g Maintenance of theocratic morals, or pro- tection of the moral dignity of the Israehtes. vers. 18-20. h. Inviolability of strangers, widows, and or- phans, vers. 21-24. i. Protection of the poor against usurers, vers. 25-27. J. The rights of magistrates andof the sanc- tuary, vers. 28-30. k. Sanctity of the use of flesh for food, ver. 3.. I. Saoredness of courts and testimony, even to the exclusion of a false philanthropy towaril' the poor, xxiii. 1-3. DOCTRTNAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX. 173 m. Self-respect as shown in noble-minded con- duct towards enemies and the poor, in the avoid- ance of fellowship with the persecutors of the in- nocent, and in abstaining from bribery, and from contempt for strangers, vers. 4-9. n. Sanctity of the theocratic land, of the Sab- bath, of religious speech (avoidance of the names of the gods), of the three great annual feasts, vers. 10-17. 0. Preservation of the purity of the sacrificial rites, of the harvest, of the eating of flesh (par- ticularly by avoiding lieatheuish luxury, oj'rf. the exegesis), vers. 18, 19. p. Sacredness of the angel of revelation, or of the divine guidance of Israel, vers. 20-22. q. Sacredness of the promised land. Strict exclusion of all idolatry, accompanied by all kinds of blessings from Jehovah (abundance of food, health, blessing of children, long life, dread- fulness and invincibility for enemies), and the gradual expulsion, through superior moral force, of all enemies, vera. 23-31. r. Avoidance of ruinous religious fellowship with the heathen, vers. 32, 33. These laws are evidently all rich in religious and moral lessons which can, when generalized, be homiletically appropriated without taking away from them the poiiitedness of the concrete expressions. Thus, un the basis of this section, one may speak of the leading features of the dig- nity and rights of man, of the right of freedom, and the limitations of it (referring to Paul's state- ment of domestic duties), and of the inviolability of bodily life. Also of reverence for woman, the protection of virgins, of carefulness, of the law of moral distinctions. It will not be necessary to call special attention to all the individual ideas of the section. In the exegetical remarks we have already observed that the much misunder- stood law of retaliation ("eye for eye," etc.) does not here appear to be dictated by a judi- cial demand for punishm'Ut, but by a desire strongly to express the inviolability of the dig- nity of man. 4. Ratification of the Covenant. Chap. xxiv. The legal coven.ant among the covenants be- tween Jehovah and His people (Rom. ix.4). — The common feature of all covenants. All proceed from God as institutions of free grace. All pre- suppose a voluntary compliance on the part of men. In all of them God's faithfulness and free gift tower up ahove man's unfaithfulness and needinesa. But all of them may, througii human unfaithfulness, be invalidated for genera- tions. All have a peculiar character in reference to the divine promise and human obligation, although the promise is always God's word, and the obligation assumed by man is faith. In all of them the general object is heavenly salvation, but in every covenant this object has a special form. The series of successive covenants indi- cates the successive developments of revelation, or of the foundation of the kingJom of God. a. The great sacredness of the covenant, indi- cated by the several degree"? of nearness of ap- proach to Jehovah, vers. 1 and 2. It is one of the lofty strokes of Old Testament descrip- tion, that Moses in his approach to God is made to disappear from the woild. The priests do not attain the height of the prophet; they mast worship fnim afar, and do not ascend one step higher than the seventy elders, the repre- sentatives of the people. 'I' he people who are represented by this Old Testament mediation are primarily represented by the prophetic media- tion of Moses. b. The voluntary assent of the people. In the church of God there should be no thought of a traditional, or of an enforced, assent; none espe- cially of one violently compelled or secured by craft. The unanimity of the covenant comicunity is a beautiful picture, but soon darkened. t. The covenaat agreement, ver. 4. Riligious I ovenants have to do nut with merely vague feelings, but with definite (even written) words, vows, and decisions. d. The ratification of the covenant, vers. 4-8. The altar, with the twelve pillars, denotes an expression of faith embracing the whole of God's people. Only young men, only spiritual youth, are fitted to negotiate a new form of faith and covenant. They begin their sacrifices not with sin-offerings, for here is nothing factitious, but with burnt- offerings and peace-offerings, — with the feeling, "To God alone in the highest be honor !" But on the basis of so sacred a covenant the need of sin-offerings will soon appear. — The covenant offering is spiritualized by reading from the book of the law. Where the intelliuibie word of God is wanting, true sacrifices also are want- ing. The blood of the covenant, too, is effica- cious only when a half of it is sprinkled on the congregation, i. <-., on their conscience (Heb. x. 22). What else is meant by the sprinkling of the altar with the blood, than that man promises to Jehovah a surrender of himself with his pos- sesnions and his blood? e. Feast of the covenant, vers. 9-11. A glo- rious type of the New Testament. Here Moses, the priests, and the elders are united. When will the time come when the prophets and priests and elders of the church of God are wholly united? They ascend together to the heights of the mountain; but how high? A mystery of blessed experience for God's church! They see the God of Israel, and do not die. Under His feet is no cloud, no thunder and lightning, but the crystal-clear, blue groundwork of God's abso- lute fidelity. They do not die from the sight of God; they eat and drink, they celebrate a sacred festive meal before God — a testival introductory to the festivals of thousands of years. /. The forty days and forty nights which Moses spent on the mountain, or the covenant writing, vers. 12-18. The dayti, or hours, of the first in- spiration pass by; then begins the sacred work, which is to transform inspiration into disposi- tion. This law of life holds for the church of God in general, as well as in particular. Moses seems to have disappeared in the darkness of the mountain. Jesus seems to have disappeared in the wilderness, the Spirit of the church in the monasteries, Luther on the Wnrthurg. Thisisthe time of trial. He labors on the height of the moun- tain, in the depths of prophetic souls. Meantime Aaron and Hur attend to the duties of their subor- dinate office at the foot of Sinai. But again the top of the mountainis now concealed. Moses seems to be lost in the cloud, as if in the other world, and the 174 EXODUS. glory of the Lord on the lop of the mountain seems again to the people like a consuming fire. Meanwhile Moses, the genius of the congrega- tion, goes into the midst of the cloud. But very often does the dangerous waiting time of forty days and nights recur. III. The Idea (or Vision) and the Ordinance of the Tabernacle. Chaps, xxv.-xxxi. 1. The Spiritual and Elementary Prerequisilps for the Tabernacle or Dwelling-place of Ood. Vers. 1-8. The one fundamental requisite is the heave- offering, the contributions furnished by Israel, at Jehovah's suggestion indeed, but the free gift of faith and love. Voluntariness is to be, and continue to be, the soul of the house of God. The material requisites represent all nature, as the fundamental requisite represents the una- nimity of the congregation. The noblest materials from the mineral king- dom: gold, siver, copper, precious stones. The noblest from the vegetable kingdom : acacia wood, cotton, oil, spices, incense. The noblest from the animal kingdom: costly skins and hair- cloths. Thus the finest materials, together with the most beautiful and significant colors, are to be used on the building. Jehovah wishes His people to honor themselves also by giving Him tiis honor in a decent dwell- ing. But lie also wishes to have a dwelling not essentially better than those of His people, namely, provisionally a tent (vid. 2 Sam. vii. 7). It ia an extreme, therefore, when a church dishonors itself in its style of wo-ghip, and gives no indication that the Lord is its .ring; but it is also an extreme, when the pomp of the worship or of the temple divests the Lo.'d of His loving- kindness. For, that He desires to dwell amongst His people is another way of saying that He wishes to exhibit the reconciliation of His abso- lute majesty with His kind condescension. 2. The Image or Pattern on the Mount. Ver. 9. Here, where theocratic art most closely bor- ders on the general idea of art, appears distinctly the thought of the ideal image as the real soul of art. The tabernacle is to rest on an ideal: this is the idea of art. But the ideal is one given by God ; and this is the iJea of sacred art. In this, however, theocratic art is distinguished from that of common men, that it makes beauty subserve a sacred purpose. But the object of the tabernacle, in so far as it is a symbol, is to serve as the image of the kingdom of God ; in so far as it is a type, it is the seed-kernel out of which the New Testament kingdom of God is to grow. It is a fundamental law of all religious ar- tistic and architectural plans, that beautifulforms must be blended with religious and moral ends. 3. The Organic Development of the Tabernacle. Chaps. XXV. 10-xxx. The essential thing, as well as that towards which everything points, in the sanctuary, is the ark of the covenant, the symbol of the cove- nant, of the re-union of the people with God, the place where Jehovah makes His abode and His revelations. It has two meanings: it is Jeho- vah's throne, but it is also Israel's highest altar. From the throne the movement is downwards to the table of shew-bread and the candlestick. Corresponding to this direction of Jehovah's descent is the dwelling, the tabernacle itself, S3 divided into the holy place and the Holy of ho- lies. To this descent of Jehovah from above towards the people corresponds the move- ment of the people from below upwards. Their starting-point is the altar of burnt-offering, whose place was in the court. From here the priests in the name of the people approach Jehovah in the symbolic sacerdotal garments, in consequence of their consecration. From the altar of burnt-offering they go out with the sac- rificial blood and with the incense into the holy place as far as to the altar of incense. From this point only the high-priest can go further, and approach Jehovah in the Holy of holies with the blood of atonement on the day of atone- ment. But the movement of the priest depends not only on this chief condition, the sacrificial blood, but also, first, on his filled hand, tbe heave-offering of the Lord ; secondly, on the priestly ablution, and the laver serving this end; thirdly, on the anointing of the sanctuary and of all its utensils, and on the incense. — Jeho- vah's temple, therefore, is a composite thing, the place of meeting between Jehovah and His people, ideally the residence of Jehovah as well as of the people. So also every church. But before everything else the manifestation of God is there, — the foundaMnn before any human ser- vice is rendered. So, in the church, the sacra- ments and the word of God. Jehovah lets the people >feel His nearness by His dwelling in the Holy of holies. Here is accomplished the sym- bolical union with the people through the high- priest. At the table of shew-bread is accom- plished the symbolical fellowship or communion of the priests under the divine illumination of the seven-fold candlestick. — The three altars in the temple of the Lord, and their significance, viz. the altar of burnt-offering, the altar of in- cense, the mercy-seat over the ark. — The three rooms of the sanctuary and their significance: the court, the holy place, and the Holy of ho- lies. — The three sacred things in the court, and their significance: the laver, the mirrors, and the altar of burnt-offering. — The three sacred things in the holy place, and their significance; the altar of incense, the table of shew-brend. and the golden candlestick.— The three sacred things in the Holy of holies, and their signifi- cance: the cherubim, the ark of the law, and the mercy-seat. — The three acts of the religious festivals: the offering up of the most valuable things in the court, the surrender of the heart at the altar of inocnsa, of prayer, and the pro- phetio representation of a surrender of the life, of the expiatory hiood for the effecting of re- union with God and of a vision of God.— The three significations of sacrifices : sacrifices as something rendered to tbe laws of the congregation, sacri- fices as a symbol of the movement of the heart, sacrifices as a type of the future perfect saorifioe. As the cherubim hover over the ark of the l»w, so does God's dominion in the world protect His law. His law and His Gospel, the latter repre- sented by the mercy-seat. The mercy-seat de- DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIO APPENDIX. 175 notes the ezpiatioa of the law by means of the sacrificial blood. The altar of incense stands midway between the altar of burnt-offering and the mercy-seat ; for prayer, symbolized by the incense (the sacrifice of the lips), is the living soul of all sacrifices. — The one general signifi- cance of the whole temple : the symbolico-typi- cal arrangement and educational use of the ritual for the whole congregation. — As such in all its features exposed to misunderstanding : as if the notion of a local dwelling-place of God excluded His omnipresence, the feeling of which alone can give significance to that notion (1 Kings viii. 27) ; as if the court were designed to exclude those who are not Jews, when it is designed to attract them (Isa. Ivi. 7); as if sacrifices were a meri- torious service, and not rather a confession of poverty of spirit; as if the priests were to keep the people far away from Jehovah, and not rather train them up for Him. — The significance of the forms of the tabernacle, of the utensils, especially of the colors; vid. the Introduction to Kevelation. 4. Sezaleel, the Religious Master-Workman. Chap. xxxi. The gift of art, of artistic genius, a gift of God. A gift of God in the narrower, but also in the wider sense. — The cultivation of the gift till mastery is attained. The assistants of the master-workman. The artist's vocation, akin to that of the priest. — The law of artistic creation : it must in everything proceed from the funda- mental thought of the work, from its end and object, ver. 7. — The Sabbath as a condition of the building of the holy sanctuary. — Even the most common work is not to be profaned through the want of the Sabbath. Through the Sabbath all the works of believers are to acquire a festal character, a Sunday brightness. 5. The Tables of the Law. Ver. 18. These were not the beginning, but the conclu- sion, of the covenant-transaction. Their two- sidedness: of stone, and yet full of myterious writings of God; pieces of rock, breaths of hea- ven; inexorable demands, God's thoughts of peace. One law, and yet two tables, compre- hending all duties to God and to man. — The law a work of God, a gift of God, a testi- mony of God. IV. The Breach of the Covenant, or ike Oolden Calf. Chap, xxxii. In the history of the kingdom of God is always found this contrast of mountain and valley (Moses lost, as it were, on the mountain, the rush for the false worship of the golden calf in the valley; the prophets in their visions, the people wavering between apostasy and legality; Christ on the mount of transfiguration, the disciples at their wits' end; and the scene of apparent defeat at the foot of the mountain, Luther on the Wart- Ijurg, and the inhabitants of Zwickau, Carlstadt, even Master Philip in the valley). Whenever the people are making themselves a golden calf, mysterioua things are taking place on the moun- tain between God and His elect. Whenever Moses seems on the mountain to be lost in God, the people at the foot of the mountain prepare for themselves a golden calf. — He delayed on the mountain: things do not move fast enough for the spiritually sluggish people. " Make us gods," images of God. Apostasy always begins with the religious worship of images ; it is the first step on the downward road of apostasy. Therefore, also, the second commandment must continue to be distinct from the first. According to Bom. i., moreover, idolatry results from the downward ten- dency of the use of symbols. This does not im- ply the prohibition of everything symbolic in re- ligion, but it does show that it should be put under the control of God's Spirit. But from the earliest times pictorial representations of God, as well as the religious veneration of sacred images in general, have led to idolatry. — " For we know not." They wish to know when they ought to believe; hence they fall a prey to a superstitious belief when they ought to know. Weak priests have always been inclined to help a sensuous people in their tendency to image-worship. — The priest in vain seeks to suppress the demands of the people by the crafty policy of requiring great sacrifices. Bad priests increase these require- ments of offerings of gold and silver and pennies till they become enormous, and the darkened spirits of the people acquiesce in the extremest demands made upon them. Weak priests ima- gine that in the requirements of offerings they impose a restraint on the idolatrous propensity. Faithful priests sacrifice themselves in heroic resistance ; but they are rare. Sensuous men will make contributions to false systems of wor- ship a thousand times rather than to a true one. The golden calf grows out of the memories of Egyptian heathenism. The Israelites, it is true, do not intend, like the Egyptians, to worship the image of the ox, but only to have in it a symbol of Jehovah. Immediately, however, they cry out, " These are thy gods," not, •" That is a symbol of thy God." Aaron, on the other hand, calls out and proclaims a feast of Jehovah. So in a degene- rate religion that craves images there are always two opinions and two religions : the theologian talks in one way; the people talk in another. In this worship, as in heathenism, chief emphasis is given to the worldly carousal which follows the religious ceremonies : eating, drinking, dan- cing, etc. — Jehovah's utterance respecting this unseemly conduct is, " Thy people have cor- rupted." Corrupted what? Nothing less than everything. "Thy people," not "My people.'' Jehovah does not recognize Himself in the object of the image-worship, ver. 8. God's judgment on the people after this seemingly very religious festival, ver. 9. " Let me alone, that I may consume them." This is the normal conse- quence of the carnal transformation of religion into outward forms : if the people are not soon enough healed of it, they must infallibly go to ruin religiously, morally, and physically. — "I will make of thee a great nation." The value of a people consists in their choice men, those that are faithful to God; and it is natural to think of a holy race of elite men. But mercy rejoiceth against (glorieth over) judgment.— In Moses' intercession the true priest appears. Moses (like 170 EXODUS. Abraham and Ju Jab) ia his intercession, a type of Christ. Analysis of Moses' intercession. "Jeho- vah repented," e. «., through Moses' intercession the situation had been essentially altered. In human repentance is mirrored a seeming ohange- ableness in the unchangeable God. — Moses' de- scent from the mount compared with the subse- quent descent, chap, xxxiv. Here Moses is sad, whilst the people below are jubilant; there he de- scends with radiant face to the mourning people. — The tumult of the people, and the two interpreta- iations of it, that of Joshua versed in war, and that of his master versed in the workings of men's hearts. — Moses' anger, and the expressions of it. First, the breaking of the tables. For such a people, so fallen away, God's revelation has uo more value. Next, the destruction of the golden calf Bather no religion, if possible, than such a caricature! From this negation a neiv life must proceed. — Aaron's miserable excuse. The miserable excuses of weak priests. — Lastly, the greac punitive infliction, ver. 25 sqq. Its relative necessity at that time, and the spiritual application of this fact. But only the choice part of the congregation can punish the congregation. And the punishment continues to be sacred only through repeated intercession before God. — Moses' offer, ver. 32, and Jehovah's answer. Suffering in behalf of others is conditioned on the hope of their fellow-suffering. Forgiveness con- ditioned on a previous visitation. V. The Miidified Restoration of the Covenant. Chaps, xxxiii., xxxiv. The Israelites must break camp and wander, in order in the future to find again their salva- tion, to reach the promised land. So Chris- tians must break loose from the world and wan- der, in order to gain the new Paradise (home — native land). So Adam and Eve had to enter on their long pilgrimage. So Abraham (and the patriarchs generally^. So the Christians from Jerusalem. So the church from the East to the West. So the Reformation. And so faith again and again. God's summons to Israel was a so- lemn token of grace. (1) The promise of Ca- naan was thus renewed. But (2) indication was given of God's future visitations destined to attend their course. So the man of faith must wander in order to be refined, but also in order to be perfected. — The three great chastisements inflicted on the fallen Israelites. — Moses' three great intercessions, and the answer to them. — Jehovah' s three great tokens of grace. 1. The Chastisements. Vers. 1-11. a. The greatest and severest. The Israelites must go to Canaan without Jehovah's going in the midst of them. b. They must for a season lay off their ornaments, o. The preliminary tabernacle, Moses' tent, is moved out of the camp, 80 that the people seem to be put under a sort of ban (of the first degree). — Because they wished to see God with the eyes of sense in the golden calf, they are now made dependent on the gui- dance of the angel of God's face, the visions of His prophet. Because they wasted the splendor of their golden ornaments ou image-worship. they must no longer appear before Jehovah even with simple decorations. Because they wished arbitrarily to institute their own form of divine service, they must now look from afar, with awe and longing, towards the tabernacle of God. — The impression of the declaration of God, "Iwill not go up in the midst of thee:" (1) The people dimly felt that it was an evil announcement, a punishment for their guilt. (2) Wherein lay the punishment? In God's refusal to go with them in the relation of immediate spiritual fellowship, " Thy religion," He says, " cannot yet be a re- ligion of the Spirit, for thou art a stiff-neoked people," 1. e., intractable and refractory towards the easy yoke of the word, of the spirit, of love. (3) And yet there was clemency in the punish- ment. The spiritual condition of the people of God was such that they could be led only by the angel of God's face in the form of the Ian and the divine tokens received through the media of visions. An immediate and unlim- ited manifestation of God would have scattered and annihilated the people. Even at the Chris- tian Pentecost the religion of the Spirit involved the people in the danger of ruin. So also many Christian nations have remained for a long time shut up under the guidance of visions, and they, too, not without positive fault on their own part. So also to many Protestants a spiritual religion has become dangerous. — The sentence requiring ornaments to be laid aside seems to have been suspended when Aaron was clothed with the sa- cerdotal ornaments. So also the ban of the provisional tabernacle seems to have ceased with the erection of the tabernacle proper. The pious and humble deportment of the people under chas- tisement is an indication of their re-adoption«- The reconciliation of the three utterances, " My face shall go with thee;" ''Jehovah talked with Moses face to face;" "Thou canst not see my face," ver. 20. — In the first case the face is the angel of the face, the vision form (Tro^wpiiiruf). In the second case, the duiinctne»» comprehmiibh- nese, and familiarity of God's words (TroAti/iEpuf). In the third case the real beholding of the divine glory is meant (vid, the exegesis). — Joshua, the faithful guardian of the sanctuary. 2. Moaea' three new great intercetsory Petitioni. Vers. 13-23. The first petition: "Show me thy way," efc Also in behalf of Jehovah's people. Answer: My face, as guide to the way, shall be the liying way (John xiv. 6). — Second petition : Make it evident that Thou Thyself art going with us, when Thy face guides us before all the world by distinguishing signs. Answer: Divine assent on the ground of Moses' intercession and acoepts- bleness. — Third petition : Let me see Thy glory. The divine answer : Conditional assent [vH. tte exegesis). Observe the refusal in the assent, and the assent in the refusal (Gethsemane?). The old saying: Man cannot see God without dying, (1) true in the sense of divine revelation; (2) always false as conceived by the popular su- perstition. Only by this dying of the natural man under the sight of God does man come to the true life — Observe how God's answers mako the human petitioner bolder and bolder* hov. DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX. 177 nevertheless, even the boldness of the human petition is continually controlled by divine wis- clom and that, for the petitioner's owd good.^ The believer stands on the rock — even in the protecting cleft of the rook close to God, and sees all His goodness pass by. Not iu one single view, but piece by piece, does the believer behold the glory of the Lord. Even the faint impres- sion of the manifestation of the glory of God in the sphere of our life's vision might overpower and kill us, if Jehovah did not place us in a cleft of a rock and hold His hand over ua (the roek- olefts of joyous youth — of dark night— of civil security— of childlike freedom from care, e(c.).— The great afterward. The sequel of experience, of the hour of death, of the end of the world. Not till the evening of the world do all the pe- riods of the world back to its morning come truly to light. "At evening time it shall be light. ' 3. The Three great Transformations of Anger to Grace. Chap, xxxiv. 1-35. a. Tke gift of new tables of the law, in connec- tion with which Moses' co-operation is more positively brought out. b. Sinai glorified by Jehovah's proclamation of Jehovah's grace, c. Moses' shining face upon his return from the mountain with the new tables of the law. — The new tables of the law in their relation to the first. (1) They are as to contents entirely like the first, as if nothing had happened in the mean- time. (2) They are not like the first in their relation, for they presuppose the apostasy that has taken place. Hence they are supplemented by the proclamation of grace. — Jehovah's grand proclamation of Jehovah's grace. Jehovah pro- claimed not only His law from Sinai, but also His grace. The history of this fact is an eter- nal testimony against all distortions of the Old Testament Jehovah, of the law, of Sinai. Like- wise the erroneous notion of many favorably in- clined to the church and to Christianity, that Sinai and the law proclaimed only a curse, is corrected in this history. True, this grand pro- clamation of grace does not annul the law, jus- tice, and judgment, but it puts this revelation of God's severity in the right light. — ^The two parts of the grand proclamation of Jehovah from Sinai. The first part, concerning Jehovah's mildness: merciful, gracious, long-suffering, etc. The se- cond part, concerning His severity: He lets no one go unpunished (and so, nothing unpunished), and visits the misdeed of fathers upon children and children's children, etc. {vid. chap. xx. ). — The threefold expression for the forgiveness of sin: He forgives iniquity (perverseness), trans- gression (apostasy, desertion), and sin (failure). — The surprise of the lawgiver, to whom at this moment Sinai has become a throne of graoe ; and his humble prostration and adoration. Compare Elijah's gesture, when Jehovah passed by him with a still, small voice (1 Kings xix.). After this experience Moses comes back once more to his pe- tition, " Jehovah, go with us, in the midst of us " Jehovah's reason for not doing so, viz., that He cannot go in the midst of them because they are a stiff-necked people, Moses reverses: just be- cause they are stiff-necked, he prays Jehovah to go with them. He almost forgets for awhile Jehovah's character as lawgiver under the im- pression of the proclamation of grace, as was also the case with many at the time of the Ueforma- tion, and as is still often the case, when there is a deficiency of spirituality. But Jehovah, while denying the request, offers a rich compensation. Instead of the quiet religion of the spirit, which cannot yet come, they are to be distinguished by a grand religion of miracles (which is a prere- quisite of the future religion of the spirit, in no sense a contradiction of it). But the greatness of this promise is limited by the demands on which the theocratic covenant is founded, vers. 11-26 {vid. the exegesis). — In conclusion it is said, " Write thou these words;" for every cove- nant with God, especially this one, is a very definite thinj;. — Moses' marvellously exalted mood on the mountain. The forty days and nights, which lire fast-days only because they are feast-days (vid. Comra. on Matt. iv.). — Again ten words. The law infiniiely simple, but in its very simplicity in- finitely profound. — The glorious picture of Moses descending from the mount. Comparison of this wilhthefirstdescent. The situation ischangediu two respects : the people have repented, and Jeho- vah has proclaimed His grace (at the first descent he may have had, to speak dogmatically, the usus primus of the law iu mind; at this descent there was a presentiment of the usus tertius; the usus secundus he -prohsMy had in roindboth times). He did not know that the skin of his face shone. The effect of his shining face, ver. 30 sqq. For the people this reflection of Moses' intercourse with Jehovah seemed almost more puoitive than the gloomy expressions of the law. For the common people and for rude sensibilities in all classes this is still the case: monastic rules rather than evangelical joy (oomp. 2 Cor. iii.). With such a radiant face should preachers espe- cially descend from the pulpit. But how many afterwards appear as if they had spoken in a state of somnambulism or a factitious ecstasy. But with all the faithful the feeling always is, "How lovely are the feet," even the feet, still more the peaceful splendor on the countenance. VI. TTie Erection of the Tahemacle. Chaps, xxxv.-xl. The erection of the tabernacle pre-supposes the restoration of the covenant between Jehovah and His people, and therefore the integrity of the theocratic religion. This prerequisite is iu substance fulfilled at every erection of a house of God, But there are splendid temples which are in a true sense founded on the decay and disfiguration of religion; and the tendency to such establishments appears also in our own time. — The three parts of the tabernacle have a permanent significance: the court is continued in the room for catechetical instruction, in bap- tism and confirmation ; the holy place is repre- sented by the nave and the sprmon; the Holy of holies by the mystery of the choir. The mediae- val church sought to shut off the choir again, as if it were an Old Testament Holy of holies; modern Protestantism tends to reduce the choir to a mere part of the nave and to abolish church disoipliue and the distinction between auditors and communicants. — The sacred forms symbo- 178 EXODUS, lize the legal ordinances of the kingdom of God ; the sacred colors symbolize the moods and cha- racters which animate that kingdom (blue=: fidelity, purple=royal splendor, scarlet^blood and devotion, white=purity and righteousness). On the constituent parts of the temple, vid. the exegesis. As the tabernacle became a temple, so ought the temple in the New Testament times to become again a simple tabernacle (Amos ix. 11, 12). — The tabernacle as the original form and mother of all true temples, churches, cha- pels, and houses of prayer. All golden things denote that which is pure, permanent, eternal; all silver things, that which is valuable and glittering to human view; all brazen things, that which is strong and durable. 1. The Sabbath as the prime requisite of all festi- vals, all religious fellowship, all houses of God. Without the Sabbath, no church. Ch. xxxv. 1-3. 2. Voluntariness, especially the voluntary of- ferings and co-operation of all, is the basis on which the house and service of God are founded. Vers. 4^29. 3. Consecrated art in the service of religion, vers. 80-35. It is not itself religion. Nor does it domineer over religion. But it is also not di- vorced from religion, least of all hostile to it. Immoral painting, music, poetry: the most odi- ous mockery of true art. True art with its works, a great gift of God. The noble industry of the laborers on the house of God, xxxvi. 1-7. "The people bring too much," a censure, and yet a praise. 4. The preparation of the dwelling, vers. 8—38. According to the divine idea, the ark was the first thing, the dwelling the last. In the human execution of it, the dwelling takes precedence. 5. The ark, xxxvii. 1—9. The staves of the ark: the ark is transportable, it is not abso- lutely fixed to any place. The cherubim, which protect the law, represent the fundamental forms of God's sovereign rule (are certainly not repre- sentative forms of terrestrial creatures). The cherubim hold sway over not only the law, but especially also the mercy-seat (the Gospel). 6. The table, vers. 10-16. A table for hea- venly food (certainly not for human works). 7. The candlestick, vers. 17-24. The spiritual flower of earth adorned with the spiritual stars of heaven. 8. The altar of incense, y era. 2h-29. In prayer the heart is dissolved, as it were, through sighs, renunciations, vows, home-sickness, and tears, into a cloud of smoke ascending to God. 9. The anointing oil, ver. 29. Symbol of the Spirit, mild, soft and healing; burning, con- suming, refining. Designed for the anointing of all the objects in the sanctuary, since every- thing is to be consecrated to the Spirit. 10. The altar of burnt-offering, xxxviii. 1-7. The place where the fire of the divine authority consumes human offerings is a holy place. But it is a wild notion that it signifies the fire of hell, or perchance the fires of the Inquisition. Rather might we invert the thing, and see even in the fire of hell a work of divine compassion ; yet we are not to obliterate the distinction : fire of the loving, and fire of the judicial, visitation. 11. The laver, and the mirrors of the women on its base, xxxviii. 8. The priests, like the women, should present themselves in a worthy manner before God; these purified from the dust of worldliness, those adorned with a consecration which can appear before the eyes of God. 12. The court, vers. 9-20. The court is larger than the sanctuary ; it embraces the whole. But fanaticism recognizes only fanum and profanum, no intermediate transitional space ; yet it deems itself able violently to extend its fanum over all space, and conceives that it transforms the court itself into a fanum by its market for sacrifices. 13. The estimation of the expenses of the sanctuary, vers. 21-31. Church-property, church-taxes, church-accounts, the work of church-architects, should be kept away from the control of hierar- ehical caprice and hypocritical misuse, and ex- amined and consecrated as if before the eyes of God. 14. The priestly garments, xxxix. 1-81. 15. The completion of the work, and the presenta- tion of it, vers. 32-41. The joy over a well- finished house of God. The inspiring event of a church founded without defects, and at last completely erected. Not always are churches constructed without defects (falling arches, towers out of line, disproportions). With all changes of forms the idea of the sanctuary should always continue to be the regulating principle. Yet the abundance or splendor of the symbolic element may imperil the spirituality of worship itself. 16. The erection of the tabernacle, and its mira- culous dedication, ch. xl. Three particulars are clearly distinguished: u. The erection itself, in connection with which the date is significant: on the first day of the first month (of the second year). The ark again takes precedence in the order, and the sacerdotal ornamentation comes last. b. The human dedication begins very significantly with the jurning of incense; then follows the burnt-offering with the sin- offering, c. But the completion of the dedica- tion proceeds from Jehovah; in symbolic forms He conies down over and into the dwelling. And this same sign, the pillar of cloud and fire, represents the life and movement of the taber- nacle, its theocratic dignity and sacredness, vers. 36—38. On the other hand, temples aban- doned by God and the spirit of worship are the most desolate of houses. Thus Christ designated the temple, while it was being re-built, as a tem- ple going to ruin. Flourishing temples of the heart make flourishing temples; and these really flourish when in turn they make flourishing temples of the heart. ADDITIONAL HOMILETICAL HINTS FROM STAEKE. IVom the Preface to Exodus. The use of this book and of its contents is described by Dr. Luther, in his Preface to the Old Testament, as follows: There are three kinds of pupils of the law: (1) Those who hear the law and despise it, and lead a profligate life without fear. To these the law does not come, and they are denoted by the calf- worshippers in the wilderness, on whose account Moses broke the tables in two, and did not bring the law lo them (ch. xxxii. 6, 19). (2) Those who under- DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX. 179 take to fulfil it with their own strength, without grace. These are denoted by those who could not look on Moses' face when he brought the tables the second time (xxxiv. 30). To these the law comes, but they cannot bear it ; there- fore they put a veil over it, and lead a hypocri- tical life with outward works of the law, which life, nevertheless, is all made sin by the law when the veil is taken away; for the law shows that our power is nothing without Christ's grace. (3) Those who see Moses clearly without a veil. These are those who understand the meaning of the law, how it demands impossible things. There sin walks in its strength ; there death is mighty; there Goliath's spear is like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighs six hundred shekels of iron, so that all the children of Israel flee before him, except that David alone, Christ our Lord, redeems us from all Here faith and love must have the mastery over all laws, and hold them all in their power. The main goal of this book is, in general, Christ, who Is the man about whom it all has to do. He is in this book portrayed before our eyes by many types, as e. g. by the redemption out of Egypt, by the Passover-lamb, by the manna, by the rock which gave the water, by the tabernacle and its many utensils. For all these images were to serve more distinctly to image forth the future character and office of the promised Redeemer. It is Christ for whose sake the Israelites enjoyed so many divine bene- fits, were preserved during oppression, led out of Egyptian bondage, fed with manna in the wilder- ness, and furnished with water from the rock, saved from ruin, notwithstanding their idolatry, and received back into the covenant; the sanc- tuary of God was erected among them, and their frequent murmuring and disobedience borne by God with great patience and long-suffering. (From H. E. Rambach.) In particular, the ob- ject of this book is: (1) to exhibit the truth of the divine promise of the increase of Abraham's seed, in its fulfilment; (2) to promote God's honor, which revealed itself in the case of Pharaoh by frightful angry judgments, in the case of the Israelites, by manifold miracles in their exodus from Egypt, in their preservation in the wilder- ness, and at the giving of the law: (3) to strengthen the faith that God knows how to save His church from complete suppression and to deliver it from temptation ; (4) to give an ont- line of the future experiences of the church in this world. For why should God have had the bondage and oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, their redemption from it, and their being led in the wilderness, so particularly described, and the tabernacle with its instruments and ves- sels even twice described, except in order the more distinctly to portray Christ's work of re- demption, and the redemption and guidance of His church in general, and of a soul in particu- lar, out of the spiritual Egypt? For the church of the New Testament after Christ's death first had rest, and was edified, and multiplied greatly (Acts ix. 31), like the Israelites after the death of Joseph. Thereby it came into a state of op- pression, and had to endure tea persecutions • when it had been refined thereby, and cried for deliverance, it was delivered in the time of Con- stantino the Great, saw its enemies overthrown and itself exalted, was refreshed with manna, the bread and water of life. But in its prosper- ous days it did not long remain pure in its doc- trine, lapsed finally even into idolatry and ordi- nances of men, till God by the Reformation destroyed such idolatry, and the pure doctrine and the true divine service was erected as the proper sanctuary of God So it is with a soul which lives at first in outward rest and peace : but if God begins mightily to call it out of the domi- nion of sin and of Satan, then Satan begins to rage and to oppress more violently. Oa i. 11 (from the Hallische Biblische Ges- chichte). Egypt had heretofore been «, good refuge ; now it became to them a prison ; and they at last perceived what their forefathers had brought on them in selling Joseph into Egypt as a slave: they themselves are there made slaves. Those who before had been honored as lords are now despised as slaves ; those whom one Pharaoh raised up the other sought to op- press. They were divided into certain gangs: over ten Israelites, as it seems, was put an Is- raelitish ofEcer, and over ten such officers an Egyptian task-master. The Israelitish officer had to control his gang, keep them at work, daily secure the required amount of work and tale of bricks, and deliver it over with the reck- oning to the Egyptian task-master, or be re sponsible for it (chap. v. 14). At first they must have had to pay heavy taxes in mo- ney, and after they were impoverished, they had to do servile labor. — Pithom* was the name of a monstrous serpent which came forth out of the marshy morass of the Nile, and wrought great destruction of men and beasts. This city (Raemses) is said to be the same as was after- wards called, and known in ancient geography, as Pelusium, According to some, the new Egyp- tian king was named Raemses, and gave his name to the city. Whether this city was newly built, or enlarged, or only fortified, cannot certainly be said. The taxes and the servile labor were employed in so preparing the two cities that in case of need there might be kept in them the treasures of the kingdom, the armory, and a strong garrison. And because both cities lay in the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelt, these two strongholds were built against the Israelites themselves, in order that they might be the better kept under and retained in the land. It was praiseworthy indeed in the peo- ple, that, whereas they were under so great and almost intolerable oppression, and at the same time were almost superior to the Egyptians in number, and hence might have risen up in arms and freed themselves, or at least have gone away armed, they did no such thing, but under the government of God, who had destined for them an extraordinary redemption, calmly en- dured all their trouble. * [Spelled Fithon in Luther's Bible, and apparently con- founded with the classical Pj/^Aon.— Te.J THE END. LEVITICUS: OE, THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES. BY FREDERIC GARDINER, D.D., PKOFESSOE OP THE LITERATURE AND INTERPRETATION OP THE OLD TESATMENT IN THE BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN, CONN. IN •WHICH IS INCORPORATED A TEANSLATION OF THE GEEATER PART OF THE GERMAN COMMENTARY ON LEVITICUS, BY JOHN PETER LANGE, D. D., PROFESSOR OP THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OP BONN. NEW YOEK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743-745 BROADWAY. COPIEIGHT, 1876. Bt SOEIBNEB, ABMSTEONG & CO. LEVITICUS. THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES. ( K1p*5 ' ^ ^utrtxov ; Leviticus. ) " Thi Book of the Sacerdotal Theocracy, or of the Priesthood of Israel, to set forth its typical HollnesB.* " The religious observances by which God's people might be made holy, and kept holy."— Lanqe. INTRODUCTION. i 1. NAME, CONNECTION, OBJECT, AND AUTHOESHIP. The writings of Moses have reached us in a five- fold division, the several parts of which have come to be commonly known by the names given to them in the Septuagint and Vul- gate. In the Hebrew the whole Pentateuch is divided, as one book, into sections [Paraghi- yoth) for reading in the synagogues on each Sabbath of the year, and the several books are called by the first word of the first section contained in them. Thus the present book is Klpjl = and he called; it is also called by the Eabbins in the Talmud D'jrisn B^IB ^ Law of the Priests, and ^i^^lj? n^'in 130 =; Booi of the Law of offerings. In the Septuagint and Vulgate this central book of the Pentateuch is called AevtnKiv [pip'Kiov) and Leoiticus (liber) because it has to do with the duties of the priests, the sons of Levi. The Levites, as distin- guished from the priesta, are mentioned but once, and that incidentally, in the whole book (xxv. 32, 33). As appears from the Hebrew name, the connection of this book with the one immedi- ately preceding is very close. The tabernacle had now been set up, and its sacred furniture arranged ; the book of Exodus closes with the mention of the cloud that covered it, and the Glory of the Lord with which it was filled. Hitherto the Lord had spoken from the cloud on Sinai ; now His presence was manifested in the tabernacle from which henceforth He made known His will. It is just at this point that Leviticus is divided from Exodus. The same Lord still speaks to the same people through the same mediator ; but He had before spoken from the heights of Sinai, while now He speaks from the sacred tabernacle pitched among His people. At the close Leviticus is also closely connected with, and yet distinctly separated from, the book of Numbers. It embraces substantially the remaining legislation given in the neighborhood of Sinai, while Numbers opens with the military census and other matters preparatory to the march of the Israelites in the second year of the Exodus. Yet on the eve of that march a number of additional commands are given in Numbers intimately associating the two books together. The whole period between the setting up of the tabernacle (Ex. xl. 17) and the final departure from Mt. Sinai (Num. x.ll) was but one month and twenty days. Much of this was occupied by the events recorded in the earlier chapters of Numbers, especially the offer- ings of the princes on twelve days (Num. vii.) which must have almost immediately followed the consecration of the priesta and the tabernacle (Num. vii- 1 with Lev. viii. 10, 11), and the celebration of the second Passover (ix. 1-5) occupying seven days, and begun on the four- teenth day of the first month. All the events of Leviticus must therefore be included within less than the space of one month. INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS. The object of the Book is apparent from its contents and the circumstances under which it was given, especially when considered in connection with the references to it in the New Testament. Jehovah, having now established the manifestation of His presence among His people, directs them how to approach Him, Primarily, this has reference, of course, to the then existing people, under their then existing circumstances ; but as ages rolled away, and the people were educated to higher spiritual capacity, the spiritual meaning of these direc- tions was more and more set forth by the prophets ; until at last, when the true Sacrifice for sin had come, the typical and preparatory character of these arrangements was fully declared Lange (Hom. in Lev. General) says " Leviticus appears to be the most peculiarly Old Tes- tament in its character of all the Old Testament books, since Christ has entirely removed all outward sacrifices. It may certainly be rightly said that the law of sacrifice, or the ceremo- nial law has been abrogated by Christianity. But if the law in general, in its outward his- torical and literal form has been abrogated, on the other hand, in its spiritual sense, it has been fulfilled (Gal. ii. ; Eom. iii. ; Matt, v.) ; and so it must also be said in regard to the law of sacrifices. The sacrificial law in its idea has only been fully realized in Christianity ;— in its principle fulfilled, realized, in Christ, to be realized from this as a basis, continually in the life of Christians." In the Epistle to the Hebrews the character of the sacrificial system in general, and particularly of that part of it contained in Leviticus, is clearly set forth as at once imperfect and transitory in itself, and yet typical of, and preparatory for, " the good things to come." A flood of light is indeed thrown back from the anti-type upon the type, and for this reason the Old Testament is always to be studied in connection with the New; yet on the other hand, the converse is also true, and Leviticus has still a most important purpose for the Christian Church in that it sets forth, albeit ia type and shadow, the will of an unchangeable God in regard to all who would draw nigh to Him. Much of the New Testament, and especially of the Epistle to the Hebrews, can only be fully understood through a knowledge of Leviticus. To this general object of the book may he added the special purposes, already necessarily involved, of preserving the Israelites alike from idolatry 1 y the multiform peculiarity of their ritual, and of saving them from indolence in their wor- ship by the exacting character of the ceremonial. The Christian Fathers, as Eusebius, SS, Augustine, Leo, Cyril, as well as Origen and many others, speak of the book as setting forth in types and shadows the sacrifice of Christ ; while many of them also, as Teetullian, HS. Clement, Jerome, Chrysostom, and others, speak of the inferior purpose just men- tioned. Of the authorship of this book there is little need to speak, because there is really no room for doubt. This is not the place to combat the opinions of those critics who, like Ki- I.ISCH, hold the whole Pentateuch to have been a very late compilation from fragments of various dates, and the Mosaic system to have been one of gradual human development. The portions assigned by Knobel to another author than the "Elohist" are x. 16-20; xvii.-ix.f xxiii , part of ver. 2 and ver. 3, vers. 18, 19, 22, 29-44; xxiv. 10-23 ; xxv. 18-22 ; and xxvi.j but the reasons given " are too transparently unsatisfactory to need serious discussion." Generally, it may be said that even those critics who question most earnestly the Mosaic authorship of some other portions of the Pentateuch are agreed that Leviticus must have proceeded substantially from Moses. There is really no scope in this book for the Jehovistie and Elohistic controversy ; for although Knobel delights to point out the distinct portions by each writer, yet the name D'il /K never occurs in Lev. absolutely, but only with a pos- sessive pronoun marking the Deity as peculiarly Israel's God. (It is however once used, xix. 4, for false gods). The book contains every possible mark of contemporaneous author- ship, and there are constant indications of its having been written during the life in the wilderness. The words used for the sanctuary are either ]3pa (4 times) or f^)0 ^i^<^ (36 times) and never any term implying a more permanent structure. For the dwellings of the people, n'a in the sense of a house, is never used except in reference to the future habitation of the promised land, which is the more striking because it occurs thirty-seven times in this sense, and in all of them with express reference to the future, except xxvii. 14,15, where this reference is implied; Sui. ]i;>a, and T^}: do not occur at all ; Srix tent, occurs once, while the J 2. UNITY AND CONTENTS OP LEVITICUS. indefinite word 3B''lO is found eight times ; nsp, which is neither house nor tent, but booth, occurs four times in the commands connected with the observance of the feast of tabernacles, and with especial reference to Israel's having dwelt in booths at their first coming out from Egypt (xxiii. 43). The use of all these terms is thus exactly suited to the wilderness period, but not to any other. The use of S'H for the feminine, so frequently changed in the Sama- ritan to '''H, and so pointed by the Masorets ; the use of ^^J^? for the people, so common in Ex., Lev., Num., and Josh., and so infrequent elsewhere ; the usual designation of them as the children of Israel, a phrase so largely exchanged for the simple Isrotel in later writers ; and many other marks point to the earliest period of Hebrew literature as the time of the composition of this book. The book itself repeatedly claims to record the laws which were given to Moses in Mount Sinai, or in the wilderness of Sinai (vii. 38 ; xxv. 1 ; xxvi 46 ; xxvii. 34), and in one instance (xvi. 1), the time is sharply defined as after the death of Aaron's two sons, and sometimes (xxi. 24 ; xxiii. 44) the immediate publication of the laws is men- tioned. There are frequent references to the time " When ye be come into the land of Ca- naan" as yet in the future (xiv. 34; xix. 23; xxiii. 10) ; and laws are given for use in the wilderness, as e. g., the slaughter of all animals intended for food at the door of the tabernacle as sacrifices (xvii. 1-6), which would have been impossible to observe when the life in the camp was exchanged for that in the scattered cities of Canaan, and which was- actually abro- gated on the eve of the entrance into the promised land (Deut. xii. 15, 20-22)v In this abro- gation no mention is made of the previous law, but its existence is implied, and the change is based on the distance of their future homes. There is frequent reference in the laws to the " camp " (iv. 12, 21 ; vi. 11 ; xiii. 46 ; xiv. 3, 8 ; xvi. 26, 27, 28), so thiat in after times it became necessary to adopt as a rule of interpretation that this should' always be understood in the law of the city in which the sanctuary stood. Throughout the book Aaron appears as the only high-priest (although this term is never used) and provision is repeatedly made for his son, who should be anointed, and should minister in his stead ; and Aaron's sons appear as the only priests. The Levites have not yet been appointed, nor are they ever mentioned except in one passage in reference to their cities in the future promised land (xxv. 32, 33). Not to dwell further upon particulars, it may be said in a word that we have here, and here only, the full sacrificial and priestly system which is recognized as existing in the two fol- lowing books of the Pentateuch, and all subsequent Hebrew literature. For an excellent summary of the evidence, see Warrington's "When was the Pentateuch written?" (London: Christian Evidence Oom. of Sac. P. O. K ). The only passage presenting any real difficulty in regard to the date of the book is xviii. 28, "That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you." For the true sense of these words, see the commentary; buc even taking it as it stands in the A. V., and supposing the whole exhortation, vers. 24-30, to have been added by divine direction when Moses made his final revision of the work on the plains of Moab, we can easily understand the language. Already, the conquest of the trans- Jordanic region was accomplished, and that of the rest of the land was to be immediately entered upon with the clearest promise of success. God warns the people through Moses, when all shall be done, not to follow in the ways of the Canaanites, lest they also themselves suffer as their predecessors had sufl'ered. It is simply a case of the Lord's speaking from the stand-point of an accomplished work, while the work was in progress, and assuredly soon to be com- pleted. It is to be noted that in the book itself the claim to Mosaic authorship is distinctly made in the last verse of chap, xxvi., and again of the appendix, chap, xxvii. (comp. Num. xxxvi. 13). \ 2. UNITY AND CONTENTS OF LEVITICtTS. The Book of Leviticus is marked on the surface with these elements of unity : it is all centred in the newly-erected tabernacle ; and only a few weeks passed away between its be- ginning and its close. There is necessarily much variety in so considerable a collection of laws, and something of historical narrative in connection with the immediate application of those laws ; but the main purpose is everywhere apparent and controlling — the arrangements INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICOS. whereby a sinful people may approach, and remain in permanent communion with a holy God. This will better appear in the following table of contents. The arrangement of the book is as systematic as the nature of its contents allowed. In regard to one or two alleged instances of repetition (xi. 39, 40 compared with xxii. 8, and xix. 9 with xxiii. 22) it is suffi- cient to say that they were intentional (see the commentary) ; and in regard to several chapters supposed to be placed out of their natural connection, (as e. g., chaps, xii. and xv.,) it simply does not appear that the thread of connection in the mind of Moses was the same as in that of the critic. In fact, in the instances alleged, the great Legislator seems to have taken especial pains to break that connection which is now spoken of as the natural one, and has thus, for important reasons, separated the purification after child-birth from all other purifications which might otherwise have seemed to be of the same character. Such points will be noticed in detail in the commentary. Nevertheless, it is to be remembered that Le- viticus was given at Sinai in view of an immediate and direct march to Canaan, which should have culminated in the possession of the promised land. When this had been prevented in consequence of the sin of the people, a long time — above thirty-eight years — passed away before the encampment on the plains of Moab. During this period the law was largely in abeyance, as is shown by the fact that its most imperative requirement, circumcision, was entirely omitted to the close (Josh. v. 5-8). After this long interval, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the writings of Moses would have been revised before his death, and such clauses and exhortations added as the changed circumstances might require. These passages, however, if really written at that time, so far from being in any degree incongruous with the original work, do but fill out and emphasize its teachings. The contents of Leviticus are arranged in the following table in such a way as to show something of the connection of its parts. BOOK I.— Of approach to Qod. (Chaps. I. — XVI.). FiEST Paet. (i.^vii.) Laws of Sacrifice. i 1. General rules for the Sacrifices, (i. — vi. 7). A. Burnt offerings, i. B. Oblations (Meat offerings), ii. C. Peace offerings, iii. D. Sin offerings, iv. — v. 13. E Trespass offerings, v. 14 — ^vi. 7. 1 2. Special instructions chiefly for the Priests, vi. 8 — vii. 38. A. For Burnt offerings, vi. 8-13. B. " Oblations (Meat offerings), vi. 14r-28. C. " Sin offerings, vi. 24-30. D. " Trespass offerings, vii. 1-6. E " the Priests' portion of the above, vii. 7-10. P. " Peace offerings in their variety, vii. 11-21. G. " the Fat and the Blood, vii. 22-27. H. " the priests' portion of peace offerings, vii. 28-36. Conclusion of this Section, vii. 37, 38. Second Part. Historical, (viii.— x.). g 1. The Consecration of the Priests, viii. 2 2. Entrance of Aaron and his sons on their office, ix. I 3. The sin and punishment of Nadab and Abihu. x. J 8. THE RELATION OF THE LBVITICAL CODE TO HEATHEN USAGES. 5 Thied Paet. The Laws of Purity, (xi.— xv.). g 1. Laws of clean and unclean food. xi. ? 2. Laws of purification after child-birth, xii. I 3, Laws concerning Leprosy, (xiii., xiv.). A. Examination and its result, xiii. 1-46. B. Leprosy in clothing and leather, xiii. 47-59. C. Cleansing and restoration of a Leper, xiv. 1-32. D. Leprosy in a house, xiv. 33-53. B. Conclusion, xiv. 54-57. § 4. Sexual impurities and cleansings. xv. FouETH Paet. The Day of Atonement, xvi. BOOK II. — Of continuance In communion with God. (Chaps. XVII. — ZZVI.), |. FiEST Paet. Holiness on the part of the people, (xvii. — xx.). Iv' 2 1. Holiness in regard to Food. xvii. : ■ i 2. Holiness of the Marriage relation, xviii. § 3. Holiness of Conduct towards God and man. xix. ' 4. Punishment for Unholiness. xx. Second Paet. Holiness on the part of the Priests, and holiness of the Offerings, xxi., xxii. Thied Paet. Sanctification of Feasts, (xxiii. — xxv.). § 1. Of the Sabbaths and Annual Feasts, xxiii. i 2. Of the Holy lamps and Shew-bread. xxiv. 1-9. 2 3. Historical. The punishment of a Blasphemer, xxiv. 10-23. 2 4. Of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, xxv. FoTJETH Paet. Conclusion. Promises and Threats, xxvi. Appendix, Of vows, xxxvii. 2 3. THE EELATION OF THE LEVITICAL CODE TO HEATHEN USAGES. Widely divergent views have been held by different writers upon this subject. Spencee {De legibus Hebrceorum) was disposed to find an Egyptian origin for almost every Mosaic in- stitution. Babhe [Symbolik des Mosaisehen Oultus) has sought to disprove all connection between them. The d, priori probability seems well expressed by Maesham {in Can. chron. ^ypf; P- 154, ed. Leips.) as quoted by Eosenmuellee {Pre/, in Lev., p. 5, note). " We know from Scripture that the Hebrews were for a long time inhabitants of Egypt ; and we may suspect, not without reason, that they did not wholly cast off Egyptian usages, but rather that some traces of Egyptian habit remained. Many laws of Moses are from ancient customs. Whatever hindered the cultus of the true Deity, he strictly forbade. Moses abro- gated most of the Egyptian rites, some he changed, some he held as indifferent, some he per- mitted, and even commanded." Yet this legislation by its many additions and omissions, and the general remoulding of all that remained became, as Eosenmtjellee also remarks, peculiarly and distinctively Hebrew, adapted to their needs, and sharply separating them from all other people. INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS. It can scarcely be necessary to speak of what the Mosaic law taught in common with the customs of all people at this period of the world's history. The aim of the law was to elevate the Israelites to a higher and better standard, but gently, and as they were able to bear it. Certain essential laws were given, and these were insisted upon absolutely and with every varied form of command which could add to the emphasis. The unity of God, and His omnipotence, were taught with a distinctness which was fast fading out from the world's recollection, and which we scarcely find elsewhere at this period, except in the book of Job, which may itself have been modified in Mosaic hands. So, too, the necessity of outward sacra- mental observances for the whole people, whereby communion with God through His Church should be maintained, were strongly insisted upon, as in circumcision and the Passover, and other sacrifices. But when we come to consider the conduct of the ordinary life, we find the universally received customs of the times not abrogated, but only restrained and checked according to the capacity of the people. All these checks and restraints were in the direction of, and looking towards, the higher standard of the morality of the Gospel, as may be seen in the law of revenge, where unlimited vengeance was restricted to a return simply equal to the injury received; in the laws of marriage, which imposed many restrictions on the freedom of divorce and of polygamy ; in the laws of slavery, which so greatly mitigated the hardships of that condition. But in these, as in many other matters, their Heavenly Father deaK tenderly with His people, and "for the hardness of their hearts" suffered many things which were yet contrary to His will. The same general principles apply to the retention among them of very much of Egyp- tian custom and law. It is more important to speak of these because the Israelites lived so long and in such close contact with the Egyptians from the very time of their beginning to multiply into a nation until the eve of the promulgation of the Sinaitic legislation. Par- ticular points in which this legislation was adapted to the already acquired habits and ideas of the people, will be noticed in the commentary as occasion requires. It is only necessary here to point out on the one hand how apparent laeuncB in the Mosaic teaching may thus be explained, and on the other, how largely the Egyptian culius itself had already been modified, in all probability, by the influence of the fathers of the Jewish people. By consideration of the former it is seen, e. g., why so little should have been said in the Mosaic writings of immortality and the future life. This doctrine was deeply engraven in the Egyptian mind and interwoven as a fundamental principle with their whole theology and worship. It passed on to the Israelites as one of those elementary truths so universally received that it needed not to be dwelt upon. The latter is necessarily involved in more obscurity; but when we consider the terms on which Abraham was received by the monarch of Egypt ; the position occupied at a later date by Jacob ; the rank of Joseph, and his intermarriage with the high- priestly family ; and remember at the same time that the priesthood of Egypt was still in possession of a higher and purer secret theology than was communicated to the people— we see how Israel could have accepted from the land of the Pharaohs an extent of customs, (to be purified, modified, and toned by their own Sinaitic legislation) which it might have been dangerous to receive from any other people. Yet plainly, whatever of detail may have been adopted from Egyptian sources, it was so connected and correlated in the Mosaic legislation that the whole spirit of the two systems became totally unlike. ? 4. LITERATUEB. The ancient versions are of great value in the interpretation of the technical language of the law. The Samaritan text and version (which however sometimes betray a want c£ familiarity in detail with the ritual as practised at Jerusalem) often give valuable readings; so also the Septuagint, the Chaldee Targums, and of later date, the Syriac and the Vulgate. The New Testament, especially the Epistle to the Hebrews, supplies to a large extent an inspired commentary upon Leviticus. The various treatises of Philo, and the antiquities or Josephus, give also fully the ancient explanations of many single passages and views oi larger sections. Since their time the literature of Leviticus is voluminous, consisting of commentaries, J 4. LITERATURE. of special treatises upon the subjects with which it is occupied, and of archaeological investi- gations illustrating it. Of special treatises sufficient mention will be made in connection with the subjects to which they relate, and it is unnecessary here to particularize works of arohseology. Of commentaries the following are those which have beea chiefly used in the preparation of the present work : Okigen : iSeleeta in Lev and Horn, in L' v. Theodoret, Qmst. in Lev. Augustine, Qucest. in Lev. Biblia Max. versionum, containing the annota- tions of Nicolas de Lyea, Tikinus, Mekochius, and Estius, Paris, 1660. Calvin, in PentcUeuahum. Critici Sacri, London, 1660. PoLl, Synopsis, London, 1689. Michaelis, Bibl. Hebr., Halle, 1720. Calmet, Wircesbur^ii, 1789. Patrick, London, 1842, and freq. RosENMUELLEE, Leipsic, 1824. Of more recent date, Knobel (of especial value), Leipsic, 1858. BooTHROYD, Bibl. Hebr., Pontefract (no date). Barrett's Synopsis of Criticisms. London, 1847. Kalisch, Leviticus, London, 1872. Otto von Gerlach on the Pentateuch, translated by Downing, London, 1860. Wordsworth, London, 1865. Keil and Db- litzsch on the Pentateuch; (Keil), translated by Martin, Edinburgh, 1866. Murphy on LeuitiaiM, Am. Ed., Andover, 1872. Clark, in the Speaker's Commentary, New York, 1872. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, London, 1871. To which must be added, as containing much of commentary on large portions of this book, Baehr, SymboUk del Mosaischen Cultus, Heidelberg, 1837-39, 2te Aufage, Erster Band, Heidelberg, 1874. OuTRAM on Sacrifices, translated by Allen, London, 1817. Hengstenberg, Die Op/er des heil. Schrift, Berlin, 1839. Kurtz on Sacrifice, Mitau, 1864. Hermann Schultz, AUtestamentliohe Theologie, Frankfurt a M.. 1869, 2 vols. GEhlee, Iheologie des Alien Testa- ments, 2 vols., Tubingen, 1873-74 (a translation is in the press of T. & T. Clark). Of Langb's own commentary (1874) as much as possible, and it is believed everything of importance, has been introduced into this work, which was already well advanced before its publication. Such portions are always distinctly marked. In several of the chapters his commentary is given in full; in others, nearly so. PRELIMINAET NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. PRELIMIMRY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. Leviticus properly opens with the law of sacrifice, because this was the centre and basis of the Divinp service in the newly-erected tabernacle. But since sacrifices have to do with the relations of man to God, they can only satisfactorily be considered in connection with the established facts of those relations. Of these facts three are fundamental : the original condition of man in a state of holiness and of communion with God ; the fall, by which he became sinful, and thus alienated from God ; and the promise, given at the very moment of man's passing from the one state to the other. The promise was that in the future the wo- man's Seed should bruise the serpent's head — that in the long straggle between man and the power of evil, one born of woman should obtain the final victory. This promise was ever cherished by the devout in all the following ages as the anchor of their hope, audits realiza- tion, as seen at the birth of Cain and of Noah, was continually looked for. The expectation of a Deliverer, Redeemer, Messiah, became the common heritage of humanity, although as time rolled away, it tended to become faint and obscure. Therefore there came the call in Abraham of a peculiar people, in whom this hope should not only be kept -alive, but, as far as possible, saved from distortion and misconception. It was distinctly the blessing of Abra- ham's call, the birthright renewed to his son and grandson, and the reason for the choice and the care of a peculiar people. From the circumstances under which this promise was given, and the way in which it is constantly treated in Revelation, it is plain that the restoration of man to fall communion with God could only be brought about by the restoration of man's holiness ; it was only in obedience to the Divine will that man could obtain at-one-ment with his Maker. This might seem to be sufficiently plain as a truth of natural religion, but it was also abundantly taught in history and in Scripture. Not only was it shown by the great judgments upon transgres- sion in the deluge, in Babel, in the overthrow of Sodom, etc., but constantly the relative and partial attainment of holiness, as in the case of Enoch, Noah, and others, was made the ground of a relatively larger bestowal of the Divine favor. Abraham's acceptance was ex- pressly grounded upon his faith — necessarily including those works without which faith is dead— and so with the other heroes recounted in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Later, Moses in his parting exhortations in Deuteronomy, constantly and strongly urges the neces- sity of a loving obedience springing from the heart, and this is more and more fully unfolded by the prophets from Samuel down, as the people were able to bear it. Meantime from the first, in the case of Cain and Abel, and probably still earlier, and then among all nations as they arose, sacrifices were resorted to as a means of approach to God. From their universality, it is plain that they were looked upon as in some way helping to bring about that restoration of communion with God which should have been reached by a perfect holiness ; but since man was conscious he did not possess this holiness, sacrifices were resorted to. As they never could have been offered by a sinless being, they necessarily involve confession of sin. Whether sacrifice in its origin was a Divine institution, or whether it sprang from a human consciousness of its propriety, is here immaterial. Lange takes the latter view. It speedily received the Divine sanction and command. Theoretically the sa- crifice could have had no intrinsic value for the forgiveness of sin. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (ix. 13 ; x. 4) has abundantly shown that while sacrifices might have in themselves a certain absolute value for purposes of ceremonial purification, there was yet no 16 10 LEVITICUS. congruity or correlation between the blood of bulls and goats and the removal of human sin. Hence, theoretically also, sacrifices, while they received the Divine approbation, must have been a temporary institution, in some way useful to man for the time being, but looking for- ward to the true atonement by the victory of the woman's Seed over evil. Thus sacrifices are in their very nature typical ; having little force in themselves, and yet appointed for the accomplishment of a result which can only be truly attained in the fulfilment of the primeval promise. How far this true nature of sacrifices may have been more or less dimly perceived by man from the outset, it is not necessary here to inquire. It is obvious that from this point of view the intrinsic value of the sacrifices was entirely a secondary matter ; their whole efficacy resulted jfrom the Divine appointment or approbation of them. The tendency of man apart from Revelation to corruption in his ideas of God and of the means of approaching Him is nowhere more marked than in regard to sacrifice. The gods of the heathen were, for the most part, deifications of nature or her powers ; they represented natural forces, and instead of originating are themselves governed by natural laws. This is true, whether their creed were polytheistic, as that of the Greeks and Romans, or pantheistic^ as that of Buddhism. In Hebrew law, on the other hand, God appears " as the Creator and omnipotent Ruler of the universe, a personal Lord of an impersonal world, totally distinct from it in essence, and absolutely swaying it according to His will; but also the merciful Father of mankind." "Therefore the sacrifices of the Hebrews have a moral or MM, those of other nations a purely cosmical or physical character ; the former tend to work upon mind and soul, the latter upon fears and interests ; the one strives to elevate the offerer to the sanctity of God, the other to lower the gods to the narrowness and selfishness of man." Kalisch. Moreover, among the heathen, God was regarded as alienated, and to be propi- tiated in such ways as man could devise ; sacrifices were considered as having a certain satis- fying power in themselves, as in some sort a quid pro quo, and as an opus operafum, inde- pendent of the moral life of the offerer. Hence as the occasion rose in importance, the value of the sacrifice was increased even to the extent of sometimes using human victims. Among the Israelites, sacrifices were known to be of God's own appointment as a means of approach to Him. They had a shadow, indeed, of the heathen character, as offering actual compensa- tions for certain offences against the theocratic stat«, but this was very secondary. Their main object was to bridge over the gulf between sinful man and a holy God. Although the law of sacrifices necessarily stands by itself, yet the same Legislator everywhere insists upon the necessity of a loving obedience to God. Hence, however costly sacrifices might be allowed, and even encouraged as Free-will, and Peace, and Thank-offerings, and more numerous vic- tims were required at the festivals and on other occasions for burnt-offerings, the Sin-offering must (except in certain specially defined cases) be of the commonest and cheapest of the domestic animals, and even this always, as nearly as might be, of a uniform value. There was no gradation in the value of the offering in proportion to the heinousness of the offence; the atonement for all sins, whatever the degree of their gravity, was the same. Even the morning and evening sacrifice for the whole people which, although not strictly a sin-offering, yet had a somewhat propitiatory character, was still the single lamb. By this the typical nature of sacrifice as a temporary and, in itself, ineffectual means, was strongly expressed. That the ancients had the idea of sin as a moral offence against God, has indeed been called in question ; but seems too certain, at least among the Egyptians, the Hindoos, and the Israelites, to require proof. It is abundantly expressed in the book of Job. It may be well, however, to point out some of the heads of the evidence that sacrifice was regarded as a propitiation for such sin, i. e., as a means for obtaining the Divine pardon for its guilt. Pro- minent in this evidence is the fact just mentioned, that there was no proportion between the offence and the value of the sacrifice ; since the idea of compensation was thus excluded, it remains that what was sought for was forgiveness. Calvin (in Lev. i.) justly remarks that the idea of reconciliation with God was connected under the old dispensation with sacrifice after a sacramental fashion as with baptism now. Historically, this idea of sacrifice as a means of obtaining forgiveness is clearly brought out in the sacrifices of Job, both for his children in the time of his prosperity (Job i. 5), and for his friends after his affliction (xliL PRELIMINAEY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 11 8). Tholuck, following Scholl, has shown (Diss. II., App. Ep. Hebr.) that the idea of Buch propitiation was prevalent throughout all antiquity ; that clean animals were changed in their stoiiw on the express ground of their being " a sin-offering," ''an atonement," so that the parts of them not consumed upon the altar might be eaten only by the priests, and their remains must be burned, or else the whole burned, without the camp (Ex. xxix. 14 ; Lev. iv. li; 12, 21 ; vi. 30 ; xvi. 27, 28, etc.) ; that the idea is distinctly brought out in Lev. xvii. 11, and in parallel passages. " The life of the flesh is in the blood : and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls;'' that in the case of a murder by unknown hands (Deut. xxi. 9) the guilt of the crime must rest upon the whole neighborhood until the people had symbolically transferred that guilt to a victim, and this had been offered in sacrifice ; and finally, that the ritual of the day of atonement necessarily involves this idea. (See on chap, xvi.) " The notion of internal atonement .... formed a distinctive feature of the theology of the Pentateuch." Kalisch, I. p. 161. On passing from these more general considerations to the particular system of the Levi- tical sacrifices, it needs to be constantly borne in mind that these, far from being a new institution, were in fact a special arrangement and systematizing of one of the most ancient institutions known to man. The change from the one to the other was strictly parallel to the course of divine operations in nature. The earlier is ever the more general and compre- hensive ; the later the more specialized both in structure and functions. At the same time the law was not merely an evolution, a normal development of Divine teaching previously received, but it was distinctly " added because of transgressions until the promised seed should come." We must therefore be prepared to find in it especial safeguards for the chosen people against those misconceptions which became common among the heathen, and also a constant relation to its final cause and its terminus when " the Seed should come." It will help materially to a clear idea of the Mosaic sacrificial system if we examine the various words used for sacrifice before and under the law, having regard also to the subse- quent usage of the same words and to their various translations in the ancient versions. The earliest word that occurs is also the most general in its original sense, though under the law it acquires a strictly technical signification : nnJD, given by the lexicographers as from a root not used, n3n=nJ0==fo distribute, to deliver, and hence to make a present of, to give. IntheLXX.it is' translated before the law only by the words d&pov (Gen. iv. 4; xxxii. 13, 18, 20, 21, etc.) and Bvaia (Gen. iv. 3, 5 only) ; in the law, where it occurs very fre- quently, only by evaia or by the combination iapov Bvaia, and this is the case also in Ezekiel (although twice. Lev. ii. 13; Num. xviii. 9, the form is evalaa,ia), except in the single in- stanceoice^idaXii, Lev. ix. 4. After the books of the law both these translations are fre- quently employed, and also ^po<,opi once (Ps. xxxix. 9), f^'o^ three times, and frequently the Hebrew word is simply expressed in Greek letters i^amd. The Vulg. translates by mu- nus, mmusculum, ablatio, oblatio sacrificii, and sacrificium ,■ but in the law ablatio and sacri- fldum are the terms commonly employed. In the A. V. meat-affering, or simply offering, is the only translation in Ex., Lev., Num. and Ezek.; \,vit present, gift, sa,crifice and oblatwn are used elsewhere as well as these, usually according to the sense implied by the context. The word is used outside of the law in the general sense of a propitiatory gift or tribute to any one, and hence of such a gift to God, or sacrifice in its most general sense. It is used of the offerings of both Cain and Abel, the one unbloody, the other bloody. In the prophets it is used as a word for sacrifice in general. It is used frequently in the historical books of gifts or tribute from man to man as from Jacob to Esau, to Joseph in Egypt, of the Moab- ites and Syrians to David, and distinctly of tribute, 2 Kings xvii. 3, 4, etc. In the law (Ex., Lev., Num., to which must be added Ezek.) it has a strictly defined technical signification and is applied only to the oblation (A. V. meat-offering) except in Num. v where it is used (six times) of the unbloody jealousy-offering of barley. It is always therefore in the law a bloodless offering, and being nearly always an accompaniment of a bloody offering may be regarded in its original sense of a gift to God, offered along with a sacrifice more strictly so called. In the few instances in which it stands alone it never appears as offered for the pur- pose of atonement. In the case of the sin-offering of flour allowed in extreme poverty ^Lev. 12 LEVITICUS. V. 11-13) this is expressly distingaished from the nhprp in that the remainder should belong to the priest, nnpSS. The word which comes next in the order of the record is nSj', derived from iy!V, to ascend, to glow, to bum. It means uniformly throughout the Old Testament: the whole burnt-sacrifice, so specifically indeed that twice (Deut. xxxiii. 10 ; Ps. li. 19 [21] ) ''73= whole is substituted for it. In a few cases it is variously translated by the LXX. (once each admia avd^aat;, avafopa, six times Bvaia, thirteen times Kapn-ufia, three times mpTcaaig), but in the vast majority of cases by some term signifying the holocaust, S^KapTra/^a (three times), dXonaoTruais (eleven times), dloKaiiru/ja (most frequently), i'XoKavraai.t (seventy-three times). In the Vulg. the only renderings are holooaustum (seldom holocautoma) and hostia, except a very few times obkUio ; in the A. V., always either burnt-offering or bwnirsaerifice, which are used interchangeably, and seem to have been intended to convey the same meaning. It is first used in Gen. viii. 20 for the sacrifices offered by Noah, and throughout Gen. xxii. It is also used three times in Exodus (x. 25 ; xviii. 12 ; xxiv. 5) in relation to sacrifices previous to those of the Levitical system. In the law itself it occurs very frequently, and also in the subsequent books. It constitutes the daily morning and evening sacrifice for the congrega- tion. It was always an animal sacrifice and was wholly consumed, except the skin, upon the altar. In signification it was the most general of all the sacrifices, and in fact was the only unspecialized bloody sacrifice of the law. It must be regarded therefore as including within itself, more or less distinctly, the idea of all other sacrifices ; it wad a means of ap- proach to God in every way in which that approach could be expressed. It was not dis- tinctly a sin-ofiering ; yet the fact that it should be accepted for the offerer " to make atone- ment for him" C??'?, Lev. i. 4) is prominent in its ritual, and the same idea is distinctly brought out in the (probably earlier) sacrifices of Job (Job i. 5; xlii. 8). There is a rabbin- ical maxim : " the burnt offering expiates the transgressions of Israel," and this idea is fclly expressed in the Targums. "The burnt-offering, as it is the most ancient, so also is it ihe most general and important in the Mosaic culius, apicrri d'iarw ij 616mvTog (Philo de vict., p. 838)." Tholuck (Diss. II. in Hebr.). Yet Tholuck afterwards separates this sacrifice quite too absolutely from the sin-offering. The latter indeed, as specializing one feature of the burnt-offering, had a different ritual, and was without the oblation ; as offered only for the expiation of sin, it carried with it to those who bore its unconsumed flesh a defilement which could not attach to the burnt-offering, since this included other ideas also within itself. But all this by no means forbids that in its general, comprehensive character, the burnt-offering should include the idea of expiation for sin which is distinctly attached to it in the law. It was often offered also as a praise or thank-offering (2 Sam. vi. 17, etc.). As already said, it was the one comprehensive sacrifice daily offered upon the altar of the taber- nacle (Ex. xxix. 38-42) ; it was doubled on the Sabbath (Num. xxviii. 9, 10), and multi- plied, with added victims of higher value, on the first of each month [ib. 11) ; and so also at the great yearly festivals {ib. 16 -xxix. 39). So far as the burnt-offering had a specific sig- nification of its own, its meaning is generally assumed by theologians to have been that of entire consecration to God. Such a meaning is certainly sufficiently appropriate; but ia never distinctly attributed to it in the Scriptures either of the Old or New Testament. It is however constantly described in the more general sense of a means of approach to God. n3I is used not so much for any particular kind of sacrifice aa for the victim for any sacrifice. It is frequently coupled with some other word determining the kind of sacrifice intended, especially Q'vha n_3j. When not so identified, it may mean any kind of sacrifice (although most frequently used of the peace-offerings), and does not therefore require parti- cular consideration. It occurs first in Gen. xxxi. 54 and xlvi. 1, and is generally rendered in the LXX. and Vulg. Bvaia and hostia. The verb is the technical word for slaughtering animals in sacrifice, nor is it ever used in any other sense in the Pentateuch except in Deut xii. 15, 21, where permission is given to those at a distance from the sanctuary to slay sacri- ficial animals simply for food. In the later books there are very few other exceptions to this usage: 1 Sam. xxviii. 24; 2 Chron. xviii. 2; Ezek. xxxiv. 3. From this word is derived PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 13 the Hebrew name for the altar, natp, not, as sometimes asserted, because sacrifices were originally slain upon the altar ; but because this was the place of destination for them. No other words for sacrifice occur until the time of the Exodus. There the various spe- cialized forms of the Mosaic sacrifices are described ; but before speaking of these the word TW^ must be mentioned, which is frequently rendered (chiefly in Lev. and Num.) offer or taerifice. It is not, however, properly a sacrificial term ; but merely a word of very broad signification— like jroiea or do — which is adapted in sense to its connection. It first occurs in the meaning sacrifice in Ex. xxix. 36. Therefore passing by this, the earliest especial sacrificial term of the law is ilDS, ndaxa, pascha, passover. It occurs first in Ex. xii. 11, and frequently afterwards, although only once in Lev. (xxiii. 5). The noun always means the lamb slain by the head of each house in Israel on the 14th Nisan, and eaten by him and his family the following evening, or at least the seven days' feast of which this was the begin- ning, and the characteristic feature. The history of its institution is fully given in Ex. xii. From the abundant references to it in the New Testament it was plainly designed as an especial type of Christ. It was distinctly a sacrifice, being reckoned a ]^'!\l in Num. ix. 7, 13, and slain in the place of sacrifice (Deut. xvi. 5, 6), and its blood, after the first institu- tion, was sprinkled by the priests (2 Chron. xxx. 16; xxxv. 11), as affirmed by all Jewish authorities ; indeed, it is in connection with the Passover that the mention of the treatment of the blood of sacrifice first occurs. It is classed by Outram among the Eucharistic sacri- fices, and is assimilated to them by the fact that its flesh was eaten by the offerer and his household ; but is distinguished from them in having nothing of it given to the priest. It was really a sacrifice appointed before the institution of the priesthood in which each head of the family oflered, and thus it perpetuated the remembrance that, by their calling, the whole nation were a holy people, chosen " to draw near to God." Its historic relations are always most prominent, and it was in fact the great sacrament of the covenant by which God had delivered Israel and constituted them His chosen people. Its celebration consti- tuted the chief of the three great annual festivals, and was the only one of them having a fundamentally sacrificial character. It thus became a fit type of the new covenant and of the deliverance through Christ from the bondage of sin. The aW (from OjUi) or peace-offering, is first mentioned Ex. xx. 24, in reference to the future offerings of the law, but in a way that seems to imply a previous familiarity with this kind of sacrifice. It is rendered in' the LXX. sometimes by dpijvuid;, but more generally by aorfipioVj and in the Vulg. by paeificua and salutare ; in the A. V. uniformly peace-offering. Under the law it was separated into three varieties : the thank, the vow, and the free-will offering. See under vii. 12. In Lev. vii. 12, 13, 15; xxii. 29, the thank-offering has the distinct name, mip, which does not elsewhere occur in the law, though frequent afterwards. This variety included all the prescribed thank-offerings. The idea of propitiation was less prominent in this than in any other sacrifice, although the sprinkling of the blood — which was always propitiatory— formed a part of its ritual ; but it was especially the sacrifice of communion with God, in which the blood was sprinkled and the fat burned upon the altar, certain portions given to the priests, and the rest consumed by the offerer with his family and friends in a holy sacrificial meal. In the wilderness no sacrificial animal might be used for food except it had first been offered as a sacrifice. It naturally became one of the most common ofall the sacrifices, and the victims for it were sometimes provided in enormous numbers, as at Solomon's dedication of the temple (1 Kings viii. 63). Peace-offerings were, for the most part, voluntary, but were also prescribed on several occasions, as at the fulfill- ment of the Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 17), and are constantly expected at the great festivals. "The peace-offering was always preceded by the piacular victim, whenever any person of- fered both these kinds of sacrifices on the same day. Ex. xxix. 14, 22; Num. vi. 14, 16, 17." Outram. Although the dW is not mentioned under its distinctive name before Ex. xx. 24, yet it cannot be doubted that sacrifices of the same character are included in the more general term, na?, at a much earlier period (see Gen. xxxi. 54 ; Ex. x. 25 ; xviii. 12), aa *ey were certainly common at all times among the heathen. In the New Testament they are alluded to in Phil. iv. 18 and Heb. xiii. 15, 16. 14 LEVITICUS. nxan (from the Pihel of KOH) in the sense of sin occurs in Gen. iv. 7 and frequen but in the sense of sin-offering is not found before the establishment of the Levitical syst The first instance of this sense is in Ex. xxix. 14, after which it is very frequent both in law and in the later books. Besides a variety of occasional translations, the usual rendei in the LXX. is d/japria^ and in the Vulg. peccatum. In the A. V. it is variously transli punishment, punishment of sin, purification for sin, purifying, sinner, sin and sin-offering; the last two are by far the most common. It is the distinctive, technical word in the for the piacular offering for sin. For its ritual see iv. — v. 13. The sin-offerings of wh the blood was carried within the sanctuary, and whose bodies were burned without the cai are particularly referred to in the New Testament as typical of Christ ; but more gent references to Him as our Sin-offering are frequent. Sin-offerings were prescribed (a) at ei new moon. Num. xxviii. 15 ; (J) at each of the three great festivals, Num. xxviii. 22, 1 xxix. 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 38; (c) at the feast of trumpets on the first day of the sevei month, and on the tenth day of the same, ib. 5, 11 ; (d) the sin-offering, tor' i^ox^ on ( great day of atonement, ch. xvi. ; (e) private sin-offerings, for a woman after child-birth, ) 6, 8 ; for the leper at his cleansing, xiv. 19, 22, 31 ; for a person cleansed of an issue, xv. 30 ; for the Nazarite accidentally defiled, Num. vi. 11, and at the time of the fulfillment his vow, ib. 14, 16 ; and on other special occasions, Num. vii. 16, 22, 28, 34, 40, etc.; besic the ordinary sin-offerings of Lev. iv. The ordinary victim was a she-goat or a ewe, replac for the high-priest or for the whole congregation by a bullock, and for a prince by a he-gc for reasons given in the commentary on Lev. iv. In case of poverty, for the ordinary ofi! ing might be substituted turtle-doves or young pigeons, or even an offering of flour. B besides regular victims, there were various others prescribed for those exceptional occasio which from their nature required some such discrimination. Thus at Aaron's entrance np( his sacred functions his sin-offering was a calf (Lev. ix. 1-8) ; at the end of the Nazarih vow (Num. vi. 14), and at the recovery of a leper able to bring this offering (Lev. xiv. 1 19), a ewe-lamb was the prescribed victim. Though not strictly sin-offerings, yet to tl same general category belong the red heifer whose ashes were used for purifications (Nui xix. 2-22), and the heifer to be slain in case of an unknown murder (Deut. xxi. 1-9). Y these were all peculiar and exceptional cases, and the rule remains that the ordinary sii offering was always the same. t5?i^ is first used Lev. i. 2, occurs very frequently in Leviticus and Numbers, and never used elsewhere except twice in Ezekiel. (With the pointing, |3"lp, it is also four twice in Neh.) There are but one or two variations from the translation^ iapov, in the LXX and donum in the Vulg. In the A. V. it is generally translated offering, but sometimes obli lion, and once (Lev. xxvii. 11) sacrifice. Its meaning is perfectly clear — ^that which is o fered (brought nigh) to God, whether as a sacrifice or as a dedicatory gift ; if, however, tt thing offered be a sacrificial animal, then of course it necessarily means a sacrifice. In eithf case, it is something given to God. Om, like the nearly related nxBn, has the double sense of trespass or guilt and trespm offering. It occurs once in Genesis (xxvi. 10) in the former sense, but is not found in ti latter earlier than Lev. v. 6. It is frequent in Leviticus, and less so in subsequent books i both senses. In the LXX. and Vulg. it has a considerable variety of renderings; hut th most frequent are LXX. ■K^/iiitXeca, and Vulg. delictum. For the distinction between tlii and the sin-offering, see iv. 1 and v. 14. There remains, as belonging to the list of the sacrifices, the incense, for which two word are used, neither of which occur before the giving of the law. nj'iaS first occurs Ex. xx) 34, and is uniformly translated in the LXX. Xi^owf (once, however, Xi^avuriif), and in th Vulg. thus ; it is always /rareAiwcera«e in the A. V. except in Isa. and Jer. where it is alway incense. It is "a costly, sweet-smelling, pale-yellow resin, the milky exudation of a shrub' (FuERST). rnpY^ which first occurs Ex. xxv. 6, on the other hand, is an incense com pounded of frankincense and various sweet spices (Ex. xxx. 34). It is usually translated ii the LXX. and Vulg. ffv/iiafm, thymiama, but sometimes aiivBcai^, compositio. In the A. V. i IB rendered either incense, or sweet incense, or a few times perfume. This incense was to b PRELIMINAET NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 15 burnt only within the sanctuary, twice daily on the golden altar (Ex. xxx. 7, 8), and also by the high-priest in the holy of holies on the day of atonement (Lev. xvi. 12, 13). The frank- incense was offered by the people as a part of their oblations, and was mostly burnt in the court. The burning of all incense was a strictly priestly act, and is constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as symbolical of prayer (e. £r. Eev. v. 8; viii. 8, 4). Pre-eminently does it typify the intercession of the true High Priest in heaven itself. The word nm=offerings made by fire, is not so much the name of a sacrifice as a de- scription of all sacrifices burned upon the altar. It is applied to various kinds of sacrifices, Lev. i. 9 ; ii. 3 ; iii. 5, ete. '^OJ=drink-offerinff is first used Gen. xxxv. 14, and is not pro- perly a sacrifice itself, but an accompaniment of other sacrifices. n3?3n=wave-offering, and nnn]Jl=heave-offering, refer to particular modes of presentation of certain offerings. The animals used for victims were either " of the flock or of the herd," or in case of poverty, doves or pigeons. These were all clean animals, and were consequently among those commonly used for food; the quadrupeds were from domestic animals, aud the birds thosemost easy of capture. (Domestic fowls are said not to have been known before the time of Solomon.) The ease and certainty of procuring these various victims seems a more likely reason for their selection than either their tameness— which certainly does not apply to the bull -or their value as property, since the cost of procuring wild animals would usually have been far greater. The idea that these animals were especially appointed for sacrificial victims because they were held sacred among heathen nations, and particularly among the Egyptians, although often advanced, is unsatisfactory for two reasons: first, because on this ground there is no reason why the number of sacrificial animals should not have been greatly enlarged ; secondly, because these very animals, for the most part, were used in sacrifice by the nations that also worshipped them. Whatever typical significance they may have had, this can hardly be considered as the reason for their selection, since in the typical language of the prophets various other animals (e. g. the lion and the eagle) are so largely used. la fact the lamb seems to be the only one of the sacrificial animals typically employed in pro- phecy, the dove being only an alternative victim for the poor. The public animal-sacrifices of the Israelites may be broadly separated into three great classes, according to the prominent purpose of each. I. The Burnt-offerings, or offerings of approach to God. The main idea of these, in so far as they had any especially distinctive idea, is generally considered to have been consecration to God's service as the necessary con- dition of approaching Him, and yet also including in a subordinate way the idea of expia- tion, without which sinful men might not draw near to God at all. This idea is represented outwardly and once for all in the Christian Church by baptism, and in its continual repeti- tion by the various acta of worship and efforts to conform the life to Christ's example. With the burnt-offering belonged the unbloody, eucharistic oblation, together with its incense gymbolizing prayer. II. The sin-offering, in its various forms, expressly provided for the purpose of atonement. Having no inherent efficacy, this yet clearly pointed forward to the only effectual atonement made by Christ Himself upon the cross. This sacrifice, as is most clearly shown in Hebrews, being efficacious for the forgiveness of all sin, can never be re- peated ; yet according to Christ's own command, we are to show forth His death until He come again in the Lord's supper, and thus historically the great sacrament of the Christian Church points back to that which the Levitical system prefigured. The central point of both dispensations is the same, but in the one case prophetic, in the other historic. III. The Peace-offerings were the ordinary means of communion with God through an external rite, and of expressing outwardly thanksgiving for His mercies, or supplication for His favors. They are to be considered not so much as typical definitely of any one thing in the new dis- pensation, but rather as meeting under the old a need which is now otherwise supplied ; yet still in common with all sacrifices, they serve to set forth in shadow Him " who is our peace," and on whom feeding by faith we now have peace with God. Besides these great classes of sacrifices, there were a multitude of others, mostly for indi- viduals, some of which are distinctly included under one or the other of these classes, while Others share the character of more than one of them, and others, like the Passover, have a, 16 LEVITiuua. character peculiar to themselves. These will be treated in their appropriate places. The is one of them which must be mentioned on account of its great importance — the red heii — but its treatment belongs in the following book, Num. xix. 1-10. In general it may 1 said, that as God's works will not conform very precisely to any human classification, sia each creature is an individual entity to the Infinite, but always there will be characteristi in one group allying the genera in which it is found to some other widely se parated grou so also in the works of the Divine word, we can only classify broadly and having regard i the most salient features, while, in view of less important characteristics, we might often 1: compelled to change the best classification that can be formed. The vegetable sacrifices, or oblations, were correspondingly varied. These were usuall; accompaniments of the animal-offerings, but sometimes were independent. This was th case not only with the alternative sin-offering (Lev. v. 11), and the jealousy-offering (Nnm V. 15), but also with the shew-bread, the Passover sheaf of barley and the Pentecostal wheatei loaves. Incense also was at times an independent offering. Drink-offerings appear excln sively as accompaniments of the animal sacrifices, and were of wine; but their ritual is no where prescribed. The mineral kingdom was represented in the sacrifices only by the salt with which al other offerings were to be salted. The ritual of the various sacrifices will be treated as they occur in the text. Suffice i here to say that three essential points are to be observed in all : First, that the victim shoulc be solemnly offered to God. This, as Outram clearly shows (I. xv. 4), was accomplishec by presenting the living victim or the oblation before the altar, and was the act of the offerer Second, that the offerer should lay his hand upon the head of the victim thereby personallj identifying himself with what he did. The exceptions to this are in the case of birds, foi obvious reasons, and in the case of the Paschal lamb, instituted before the Levitical system, and when this act was unnecessary as the offerer acted himself in some sort as priest. Third, the intervention of a priest, as the mediator between God and man, who must sprinkle the blood and burn the parts required upon the altar ; and in the case of the ordinary sin-offering as well as of many of the oblations, he must himself, as the representative of God, consume the remainder. It appears from constant Rabbinical tradition, as well as from the probability of the case, that prayer or confession on the part of the offerer always accompanied the sacrifice. Indeed, this is often spoken of in particular cases in Scripture itself, and language is there used in regard to the sacrifices which implies the universality of the custom. When the patriarchs built altars, they "called upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. xii. 8, etc.). Con- fession is required in connection with the sin and trespass-offerings (Lev. v. 5 ; Num. v. 7), and especially with the great propitiation on the day of atonement (Lev. xvi. 21). A form of prayer is prescribed for the oblation of the first fruits (Deut. xxvi. 3-10), and of the tithes (ib. 13-15). Sacrificing and calling upon God are often used as equivalent terms (1 Sam. xiii. 12; Prov. xv. 8, etc.), and the temple is indifferently called "the house of sacrifice" (2 Chron. vii. 12, etc.), and " the house of prayer'' (Isa. Ivi. 7, etc.), and frequently prayer and confession are mentioned in connection with sacrifice on particular occasions, or in a general way as showing that the one accompanied the other as a matter of course (1 Sam. vii. 9 ; Job xlii. 8 ; Ezra vi. 10 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 26 ; xxix. 10-21 ; 2 Chron. xxx. 22 ; Ps. Ixvi. 13-20 ; cxvi, 13, 17, etc.). For further details of the ritual, and especially for the Eabbinical traditions on the subject, the reader is referred to Otjtram, Kalisch, and other special treatises on sacrifice. Of the purpose and design of the whole sacrificial cultus, but little need be added to what has already been said. That in a theocratic state the expiatory offerings had, as an incidental object, the compensation for minor offences against that state, and the doing away with ceremonial hindrances to worship is undeniable ; but that they had also a farther and higher object is plain both from the study of the Mosaic legislation itself and from their treatment throughout the New Testament, especially in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Besides their typical value, they had a powerful educational use. " As we survey the expiatory offerings of the Hebrews, which for purity stand unrivalled in the ancient world, we are PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 17 bouod to admit that they were pre-eminently calculated to keep alive among the nation those feelings on which all religious life depends, and from which it flows as its natural source, the feelings of human sinfulness and the conviction of the divine holiness, by the standard of which that sinfulness is to be measured; they fostered, therefore, at once humi- lity and an ideal yearning ; and they effectually counteracted that sense of self-righteousness natural indeed to the pride of man, but utterly destructive of all noble virtues. They were well suited to secure in the directest and completest manner that singleness of life and heart which is the true end of all sacrifices. * * * Though bearing the character of vicarious- ness, the sin-offerings were far from encouraging an external worship by lifeless ceremonies ; in themselves the spontaneous offspring of religious repentance, and thus naturally helping to nourish the same beneficent feeling, they were the strongest guarantee for a life of honesty and active virtue." Kalisch I., p. 187 sq. It is, however, to be remembered that while sacrifices were abundantly provided for him who sinned inadvertently, on the other hand no sacrifice was allowed for him who sinned " presumptuously '' (Num. xv. 30, 31 ; Deut. xvii. 12), that is, with deliberate and high-handed purpose ; for the offender thus declared that he did not desire to be at one with God ; there was in him no -internal disposition to correspond with the outward act of sacrifice. Certainly nothing could show more clearly that the efficacy of sacrifice is connected with the disposi- tion of the heart. It was natural that many of the fathers, in the strong re-action of early Christianity from Judaism, should have thought the Jewish sacrifices were " instituted be- cause the people, having been long accustomed to such modes of worship in Egypt, could scarcely have been confined to the worship of the one true God without the indulgence and introduction into their religion of those rites to which they had been long habituated and were exceedingly attached " (Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Tertullian, Theodoret, Cyril of Alex- andria, as referred to by Otjteam). Nevertheless, they saw in them distinctly a typical reference to Christ, and Oeigen is elsewhere quoted as showing that this belonged to all the sacrifices because they all ceased with His sacrifice. Lange [Dogmatik in Lev.), after showing the connection between this and the prece- ding book, continues : " Leviticus then is right in treating first of the sacrifice. Nothing is clearer than that the sacrifice is not herein a new, positive. Divine command, but is a ground- form, true of natural religion, which as such depends originally on a spiritual impulse. It is said of Cain and Abel, that they offered sacrifice, but not that sacrifice was commanded them. Noah in the same way sacrificed from free inclination." [Is not something more implied in the command to take into the ark of the clean animals by sevens?] " It seems significant that only after the performance of the sacrifice is the divine satisfaction mentioned. Thus the theocratic sacrifice is the consecration of the natural sacrifice existing before. * * * This then is the meaning of the symbolic sacrifice ; it is the expression of the fact that the offerer, in his sin and sinfulness, feels his need of an inward resignation and confesses it with the offering of the symbolic sacrifice and requests that the grace of God may supply his need, t. e. may lead him by the sacrificial teaching to the completion of the sacrificial offering in faith. So there lies in the idea of sacrifice, as in the law, the spring of a positive movement; and as Christ is certainly the final cause of the law as the objective requirement of sacrifice, so is He of the sacrifice as the subjective law of life. The law and the sacrifice come toge- ther inseparably in the fulfillment which the life of Jesus Christ tas brought. * * * * On the various theories which concern sacrifice, compare the dictionaries, particularly Winee ; also the archseological works ; especially also the article by Oehlee in Herzog's Bealency- elopMU, entitled OpfercuUm im Alien Testament. For more detailed treatment of the sub- ject, see also my Positive Dogmatik. * * * First of all, the legal sacrifices are indeed, in the sacrificial system of worship, themselves real satisfactions, that is, the discharge of duties and the reparation for transgressions against the social law. But the social law would be entirely arbitrary if it had no higher sense ; this sense is the prayer for grace to complete it, for perfection. It does not come finally to a satisfactory end if it does not attain to the granting of the prayer, to the peace of Gnd, to expiation. In the first particular, the sacri- fice is a real performance in the court, which can be misconceived to be self-righteousness; 18 LEvmcns; in the second, it is a symbolic treatment of prayer as incense in the temple ; in the high particular, it is an act of the typical hope of faith, of the atonement in the holy of holi which the priest accomplished with hazard and inward resignation of his life under the fa effect of the sight of the majesty of God. " These three particulars are displayed in the three different forms of sacrifice, euehar fica, impetratoria, piacularia ; but so that whatever form predominates, the others are sb posed with it. The trunk-root or fundamental form, however, is furnished by the bun offering, for which reason all sacrifices are burnt-offerings in a narrower or wider sense; i are God's fire, God's bread, on the altar; hence, in the first case the Fire, as the symbol i the Divine power, may consume the whole sacrifice ( ''73) ; in the second case the Bh may signify the prevailing thought in sacrifice, as the symbol of the resignation of the soi the life ; the third case is the Holy food, the sacrificial meal, as a symbol of the consecratii of life's enjoyment in the midst of life itself. These three particulars are found fully co nected in the Passover, which forms the general theocratic hallowing of the natural prin( pie of sacrifice, and pre-supposes the symbolical new birth, i. e. the circumcision or physio cleansing. So too in reference to the curse-sacrifice : cherem." • * * The sacrifices " are themselves divided into pure and applied forms of worship. Tl pure cultus-sacrifices are divided into universal, fixed and carnal. The first are the Sabbai and the Feast-day sacrifices, normal sacrifices of all Israel ; the last are those occasioned 1 and commanded in various circumstances. Both kinds, however, are often interchange! absolutely as antitheses of the sacrifice of destruction, the Cherem. "1. The hallowed fundamental form of the sacrifice — the Passover. " 2. The central point of all sacrifices, the imperishable symbolical idea, the burnt-offerin] " 3. On the left hand of the burnt-sacrifice we find the sin and trespass-offerings, i which also the transition-forms come into consideration (see the Exegesis) ; on the rigl hand is the prosperity or salvation-offering — in the forms of the praise-offering, the voti\ (the prayer) offering, and that of the simple well-being — and besides generally, the hallowe slaying and the consecration of the blood. " 4. The summit of all sacrifices, the great propitiatory sacrifice, in which the antithesi of the salviition-offering with the curse-offering is rendered especially prominent in the hf goat of the Azazel." [But on this see the Exegetical, ch. xvi.] " As forms of the applied sacrifice, appear the covenant-sacrifice, the sacrifices at th consecration of the priests, the various sacrifices of purification, the central sacrifice of pari fication, or the ashes of the red heifer, and in antithetical position the jealousy-sacrifice an the sacrifice at the festival of a completed vow." * * * Lange then describes the sacrificial material and the sacrificial act, which are sufficient! treated in the commentary. In conclusion, he adds : " The line of the three altars, the alta of burnt-offering, the altar of incense, and the mercy-seat, is completed by still a fourth.hal lowed place of sacrifice without the camp, that is, the ash-heap of the red heifer, for th meaning of which Heb. xiii. 13 is a passage especially to be considered. Out beyond thi place lay the wilderness, also the place of death for the cherem, the curse-sacrifice. " With the gradations of the altar, the gradations of the sprinking of the blood ar parallel even to the sprinkling " [before] " the mercy-seat in the holy of holies. They stani in contrast to the gradations of the burning whose minimum appears in the meat-offering' [which was, however, in some cases wholly consumed (Lev. vi. 22)], "and whose maximut is in the burnt-offering. In the blood is expressed the entire resignation of man to death in the fire, the complete consuming, power of God over man's strength of life. " In the whole matter of sacrifice the idea of communion, of the feast of fellowship between God and man becomes prominent in many ways, and is especially represented h; the table of shew-bread, and by the portions of the priests. In reference to this communioii however, Jehovah has exclusively reserved to Himself the blood and the fat, and has excln sively forbidden leaven in the offering (though not in what was presented before God forth use of the priests) and honey. But the people are represented, too, in the whole priestl; communion, and receive the whole effect of their service : the blessing of Jehovah, which als PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 19 rises in distinct gradations, from the absolution in the court, the light in the temple, to the vi- sion of God in the holy of holies ; and thence comes back to the people under corresponding con- ditions : confession, prayer, consecration by means of death ( Tbdesvriehe). Thus also the fur- ther relations of the sacrifice are explained. The sacrifice of the heart unfolds itself in the sacrifice of the lips, in prayer, and in the sacrifices of the respective death-consecrations, or of the renunciation and dedication in vows by which the Nazarite was connected with the priests." In his Homiletik in Lev., Lange further says : " The Israelitiah sacrifice is taken into the care of Jehovah, is the sanctified offering, the symbol of the internal sacrifice, the type of the future completed sacrifice, the instruction which prepared for the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifices of Christianity. The difference between the outward and the in- ward sacrifice, between the symbol and the thought it expresses, is rendered definitely pro- minent even in the Old Testament. "Literature. — See Keil, Handbuch der biblischen Archaologie. Die gottesdiemtlichen Verhdttnisse der Israeliten, p. 47 ss. Das mosaische Opfer, p. 195 ss. Baehe (see above). Bramesfeld, Der alttestamentliohe Oottesdienst in seiner sinndbildlichen und vorhildlichen Bedeutung. Gutersloh, 1864. Hestgstenbeeg, Die Opfer der heil. Schrift. Berlin, 1859. Keil, Die Opfer des Alien Bundes (Guebicke's Zeitschrift, 1836, 37). Kliefoth, Die wsprungliche Gottesdiemtordnung der deutschen Kirche. 1. Bel. Schwfrin, 1858. Kurtz, Der alltestamentliche Opfereultus. Mittau, 1864. Neumann, Die Opfer des Alten Bundes. Oehler, Der Opfereultus, in Hbbzog's Realeneyclopddie. Sartobius, Ueber den ali-und nmtestamentlichen Kultus. Stuttgart, 1852. Tholuck, Das Alte Testament in Neuen Testament. Hamburg, 1849. LiSKO, Das Ceremonialgesetz des Alten Testaments, seine ErfHUung im Neuen Testament. Berlin, 1842. Wangemann, Die Opfer der heiligen Schrift naeh der Lehre des Alten Testaments. 2 Bde. Berlin, 1866. (Worthy of especial note is the catalogue of literature. Gen. Introd. A. I 5, B., and the statement in reference to the development of the ecclesiastical idea of sacrifice, ib. J 6)." Add: Philo de Victimis. OuTRAM, De sacrifieiis. London, 1677 (translated by Allen, London, 1817). Spencee, De legibus Sebrceorum, Tubingen, 1732. Maimonides, De sacrifieiis, London, 1683. CuD- WORTH, De Goena Domini, Leyden, 1773 (Vol. II., translation of Intel. System, Andover, 1837). A. A. Sykes, Essay on the Nature, Design and Origin of Sacrifices 1748. J. D. Ml- CHAELIS, Commentaries on the Laws of Moses (translated by A. Smith, London, 1814). EOSENMUELLEE, Exewrsus II. in Lev., Leipsic, 1824. Fabeb, On the Origin of Saerijice, London, 1827. J. Davison, Inquiry into the Origin and Intent of Primitive Sacrifice {Bemains). Tholuck, Diss. II. in App. to Ep. to the Heb. (Trans, by Eyland, Edinb., 1842). F. D. Maurice, The Doctrine of Sacrifice deduced from Scripture, Cambridge, 1854. Kalisch, Lev., Pt. I., London, 1867. Clabk, Introd. to Lev. (Speaker's Corn.), London and New York, 1872. Also further authorities cited by CONANT in Smith's Bih. Diet. Art Lev., Am. £d. LEVITICUS. THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES. :b tk' plu^a^ 1' Ver. 16. nnS J3 (Sam. Ifl— ) Is variously translated. In the LXX. and Vulg., as in the A. V., it is rendered fffl- T T : there ; in the Sam. Vers., however, the Chald. of Onkelos, of Jonathan, and of Jerusalem, and in the Syr,, the idea i» l*J food in the crop, or the filth connected therewith, as is expressed in the margin of the A, V. By Oeseidus and Faeist It is translated as filth or excrement in the crop ; "they consider it a contracted form of Part, Niph, of i_ of the person and IP of the thing (iv. 26, etc.) ; seldom with 3 of the thing (ch. xvii. 11). The phrase is used chiefly in reference to the sin and trespas* CHAP. I. 1-17. 29 offerings (chs. iv., v., vi. ) and but rarely in con- neotioa witli I lie burnt-oflferings. It is tiere used ia connection with the laying on of the hand of the offerer, not as in the case of the sin-offering [iv. 20, 26, 35) and the trespass-offering (v. 6, 10, 18, 18; vi. 7, etc.), witb the act of the priest, although in all cases the mediatorial function of the priest was, as here, necessarily involved. Ver. 5. He shall kill. — The killing, skin- ning, washing and preparation of the victim, were the duty of the offerer, or, according to Outram, of some clean person appointed by him. Lange : " This is also an expression of the free- will of the sacrificer. He must indeed slay his own offering himself, just as the devout can offer his will to God only in free self-determination. Only false priests took the sacrifice by craft or force into the court, and slew it themselves, or had it slain at their command. ' The functions of the priest were concerned with the presenta- tion and sprinkling of the blood, and the burning of the victim upon the altar. In the case, how- ever, of national offerings, the offerer's part also was undertaken by the priests assisted by th * Levites {'1 Chr. xxix. 24, 34), apparently not in consequence of their office, but as representa- tives of the whole people. So also in the case of the Passovers of Hezekiah (2 Chr. xxx. 17) and of Josiah (i6. xxxv. 10, 11) the Levites performed these duties on behalf of the people, because many of them were disqualified by uq- cleanness. Hence, as appears in the ancient versions, there has arisen a difference of opiniou as to the part performed by the offerer. Kill. — tsnty is a general word exactly ren- dered, and is frequently used for killing in sa- crifice. It does not therefore need to be changed. The teehnical word used only for sacrifice ia 031, while fl'DH = to put to death is never used in this connection. The bullock. —"Ip3 ]3 = lit, son of an ox, applied to a calf (ix. 2) and to a mature young bull (13 iv. 3, 14). , Before the Lord — i. »., in immediate view of the place where His presence was especiaDy manifested. Knobel {in loco) notes how the slaughtering of the victim where it might be con- sidered h bijiBakijmlg tov Beov was provided for among the heathen. And the piiests. — With the blood began the exclusively priestly functions. In the case of very numerous sacrifices the Levites might catch the blood and pass it to the priests (2 Chr. xxx. 16). but the "sprinkling" was always done by the priests alone. Sprinkle. — The word p^I is a different one from the T\U (more common in the Hiphil form ^'l\^) generally used of sprinkling with the finger or with hyssop, and refers to the throwing of the blood by a jerk against the sides of the altar from the plJD or bowl in which the blood of the vic- tim was caught. Bosenmiiller shows that the word cannot be translated, as some would have it. by pour. The LXX. usually, but not always, renders the former by wpocxe'tv, the latter by palvuv. There seems, however, no sufBoient rea- son for changing the translation of the A. V. 17 The priest was to sprinkle the blood against all the sides of the altar ; and this was done, ac- cording to Jewish tradition, by throwing it from the bowl successively against the opposite cor- ners of the altar, so that it sprinkled against each of the adjoining sides. The same law held for the peace-offerings (iii. 2, 8, 13 ; ix. 18), and trespass-offerings (vii. 2) ; but noc for the sin- offering (iv. 5-7). Lange: "The blood is the sym- bol of the spiritual life which is given up to Jehovah (at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation) but which may not be consumed with the body of mortality by the fire of God's appointment. As it is said ttiat it is * to be brought up,' it follows that the slaying belongs between the altar and the door of the court, where the station of the sacrificer is. That it must be poured out on the altar before the burnt- offering can be kindled, tells us plainly that no offering up of life or body is profitable unless the soul has first been given to Jehovah. But this lias been given up to the God of the altar, not surrendered to the altar -fire to destroy or change." Before the door of the tabernacle. — The altar was in full view of the gate-way or door, as it is expressed Ex. xl. 6 nr)3 'Jp^ Ver. 6. He shall flay. — The offerer skinned the animal, and the skin was the perquisite of the officiating priest (vii. 8). Kalisob, however, says that " the flaying was probably performed by a Levite under the direction of the officiating priest." Lange says, " With the slaying the life departs, with the skin goes the old appear- ance of life, under the conventionally commanded division disappears also the old figure of life, in the burning disappears the substance of the body itself. Only the blood, the soul, does not disap- pear, but passes through the purifying process of sacrifice, and goes hence into the invisible, to God. The pouring out, of the blood at the foot of the altar round about, can in no case mean 'the convenient disposal of the blood.' The blood goes through the sanctified earth to God." Cut it into his pieces — i. e., properly divide it according to custom. Vers. 7-9. The priests. — We here again come upon those essential parts of the sacrifice which could be performed by the priests alone. The direction to put fire upon the altar is under- stood by Knobel and others to refer only to the first sacrifice upon the newly-erected altar, as it was required afterwards (vi. 13) that the fire should be kept always burning upon the altar ; or it may be understood of po arranging the fire — when not in use, raked together — as to con- sume the sacrifice. The head is especially men- tioned in order that the whole animal may be expressly included, sin.-ie it would not be con- sidered one of the "pieces" into which the ani- mal was divided. The/a< 113 used only in con- nection with burnt-offerings (vers. 8, 12 ; viii. 20) probably means tbe fat separated from the entrails and taken out to wash. Boohart, a(f(?;;s a came sejunctua. All was to be laid in ordrr upon the wood; everything about the sacritioe must have that method and regard to propriety be- coming in an act of worship. According to Jew- 26 LEVITICUS. ish writers, the parts were so laid upon one an- other as to have the same relative positions as in the living animal. Outram I. 16, J 13. His inwards and his legs, which were to be washed, are generally understood of the lower viscera and the legs, especially the hind legs, below the knee ; it is doubtful whether the wash- ing was required for the heart, the lungs and the liver — LXX. iymiXia Kal ol nods;; Vulg., intes- tina et pedes. Lange: "Head and Fat. The knowledge of earth and its prosperity must first pass into the fiery death ; then also the purified organs of growth, nourishment, and motion," Shall burn. — "''E'pn ^ to cause to ascend in smoke, as incense. The word is used only of the burning of incense, of the sacred lamps, and of sacrifices, and is a very different one from 'llj? the word for common burning, which is applied to the victims, or parts of victims burned with- out the camp (iv. 12, 21, etc.). It connects the bloody sacrifice with the incense, and shows that the object of the burning was not to destroy the victim, hut rather, as declared just below, to cause its essence to ascend as a sweet savor unto God. An offering made by fire. — H^N a word applied exclusively to sacrifices (although some- times to the parts of them eaten by the priests. Bent, xviii. 1 ; Josh. xiii. 14), in xxiv. 7 applied to the incense laid upon the shewbread. The appearance of tautology, hardly to be avoided in the translation, does not exist in the original. The word is usually associated, as here, with the phrase "a sweet savour unto the Lord" (LXX. oaiiil Evucliac). This phrase is applied to all sacrifices, hut belongs peculiarly to the burnt- offering ; as the phrase to make atoneTnenthelonga peculiarly, but not exclusively, to the sin- offer- ing. Its intent is plainly to describe the divine pleasure in the sacrifice offered. Theodoret ( Qusest. 62 in Ex.) : " By human things he teaches Divine. As we delight in sweet odors, so he calls the sacrifice made according to the law a Bweet savor. But that this is not to be taken in the naked letter is shown both by the Divine na- ture which is incorporeal, and by the ill smell of the burnt bones. For what can smell worse than these?" Lange: "The conception is not exhausted in the conception of a sweet, pleasant smell. As in a pictorial sense, anger is repre- sented by the snorting of the nostrils, bo the re- signation of self to God and His rule is called a eavnr well-pleasing to the nose." Vers. 10-13. The burnt-offering from the flock. The law here being essentially the same as for the bullock is more briefly given, except in re- gard to the place of slaying. The offering might be either from the sheep or goats, but the former were probably more esteemed. Ver. 11. On the side of the altar north- vrard. — So also the table of shew-bread with the continual meat-offering stood on the north side of the holy place (Ex. xxvi. 35) The east side of the altar was the place for the heap of ashes on the side towards the door by which they must be carried out; the west side would have been inconvenient, being towards the holy place with the laver between; the south side had pro- bably (as Josephus says was the case in the se- cond temple. Bell. Jud. V. 5, 6, a-rrb /iea^/iPptafJ: ctt' avrov avoSog) the ascent to the' altar whicfc ' must be kept clear ; so that the north side alone remained. Lange : " Death is something be- longing to the mysterious night, and belongs as a night-side of life, to the night-side of the earth; just as also the priestly eating of the shew-bread must be considered as a night meal." In the same place were also to be slain the sin-offerings (iv. 24, 29, 33) and the trespass-offerings (vii. 2). There being ample room in the court for the sa- crifice of the smaller victims, which also required less time in their preparation, they were killed near the altar instead of at the door. Nothing is said of the peace-offerings which, acooriiingto Mishna, might be killed in any part of the court. When not too numerous, however, they would have been more conveniently slain in the same place. Ver 12. His head, etc. — is to be connected per zeugma with he shall cut, i. e., he shall out it into his pieces and (sever) his head and his fat. Vers. 14-17. The burnt-offering of fowls. From chap. v. 7-11 ; xii. 8, it is probable that this offering was for those who were unable to bring the more costly offerings. It might be either of turtledoves, or of young pigeons; but only one bird was required. The turtledoves (iurtur auritus) appear in vast numbers in Pales- tine early in April, and are easily captured; later in the season they entirely disappear. The common pigeon has been bred in the country from time immemorial, and also is found wild, at all seasons, in great abundance ; but when full- grown is difficult of capture. It has, however, in the course of the year, several broods of two each, which may be easily taken on the nest. Hence, in the case of the pigeon, the mention of the age. Knobel observes that the allowing of doves or pigeons in sacrifice was quite excep- tional among the ancient Orientals, and distin- guished the Hebrew law from others. We have then in this a fresh instance of the especial care for the poor in the Divine law. Ver. 15. And the priest shall. — In this case the offerer's part must be performed by the priest to prevent the loss of the small quantity of blood contained in the bird. No mention is made of the laying on of hands which was perhaps omit- ted on account of the diminutive size of the victim. Pinch off his head. — p'lD occurs only here and in v, 8, and its precise meaning has been much questioned. In v. 8 it is expressly limited by the provision that the head was not to be en- tirely separated from the body in the case of the bird to be eaten by the priest ; in regard to the other bird (v. 7, 10), it was to be treated as the bird for a burnt-offering. As there is no such limitation here, as it is implied that the treat- ment was different from that of the bird in v. 8, and as the head was to be immediately burned on the altar, while something further was to be done to the body, the precept must be unders'oi'' to require an entire separation of the head. So Outram, following the Mishna and other Jewish authorities. Lange, however, considers from the analogy of v. 8, that the head was not to CHAP. I. 1-17. 27 be disjoined from the body. He translates pSp, " cleave in two, so that death is produced and the blood can flow out as from a vessel. The closely related Vho means apparently to tear off; the closely related njS means to cleave, cut into." The LXX. has avoKvi^eiv in both places. The exact sense seems best expressed by tlie margin of the A. V. — pinch off the head with the nail. Pressed out against. — The small quantity of blood made it practically impossible to deal with it as in the case of the larger sacrifices. The sense of 'U1 nsOJ is that the blood of the T ; • bird should be thoroughly squeezed out against the side of the altar. Ver. 16. His crop with its filth. The ob- scure word nnVJS has occnsioned much differ- TT : ence of opinion ; see Textual Notes. The ren- dering here given is ably supported at length by Rosenmiiller. This was to be flun» on the heap of ashes and refuse east of the altar. Ver. 17. He shall cleave. — The priest was to split the binl open, (by its wings, or by means of its outspread wings, Lange), but so as not to separate the parts ; in the same way a fowl is now prepared for broiling. Lange : " The di- rection was given to take the place, as tar as possible, of the cutting in pieces of the burnt- offering, i. e., the destruction of the figure of the body." A sweet savour. — The repetition of the same words as in ver. 9 and ver. 13, shows that this humbler sacrifice of the poor was acceptable equally with the more costly sacrifice of the rich. DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. I. The ofi'erings mentioned in this chapter were purely voluntary ; yet when offered, the law in regard to them was strict and sharply defined. In this the Israelites were taught a general principle of the Divine will. Who- ever seeks to draw near to God must do so in the way of God's own appointment. That worship only is acceptable to Him which is in accordance with His will. Not that which may seem most effective, not that which may be thought best adapted to man's needs; but sim- ply that which God approves may be offered to Him. II. These offerings must be " perfect," 1i. «., without blemish, and the most scrupulous clean- liness was required in offering them. These re- quirements were of course necessary in view of the typical relation of the sacrifices to Christ ; but they also taught the general principle that in his offerings to God man may not try to put off upon Him what is of inferior value — the light coin, or the scraps of unoccupied time. God is to be served with the best that man can com- mand. And in this service regard must be had to the infinite purity and holiness of Him with whom we have to do. III. The sacrifice might not be completed by the offerer. Man, being sinful, was unworthy to offer propitiation to God for himself. The priest must intervene for the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the victim. In view of the peculiar virtue everywhere attributed to blood as "the life" (Gen. ix. 4, etc.), and the especial office of that "life" in connec- tion with the disturbed relations between God and man (oh. xvii. 10-12, etc.), and of the ap- pointment of the priest to this duty, it is plain that he here acts in a mediatorial capacity. As Cajvin (in loco) notes, "ministers of reconcilia- tion must be sought, made competent to their high function by Divine anointing. This points to Christ not only as the Victim offered for sin, but also (as is shown at length in the Ep. to the Heb.) as Himself the Priest." In general it es- tablishes the principle that they only may exer- cise authority on God's behalf whom He has commissioned for the purpose. IV. In the provision for a less costly burnt- offering, we see that while in His providence God distributes unequally the means of offering to Himself, He yet provides that an equally ac- ceptable offering shall be within the reach of all. The poor widow's two mites were greater in His eyes than the costly gifts of the rich. The same thing is true when the propitiatory character of the offering is considered. Before God all souls are alike precious, and all equally have the op- portunity of drawing near to Him. V. In the New Testament certain words and phrases are applied to Christ which are the Sep- tuagint translations of the technical words here and elsewhere used of the sacrifices. Thus He is called (Eph. v. 2) irpoaijiopav Kal Bvaian t( fef £if bidducees : Mark ix. 49, 50, Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another; 1 Cor. v. 7, 8; Col. iv. 6, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt ; Heb. xiii. 15, through Christ, Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. HOMILETICAL AND PEACTICAL. The oblation to God, though unbloody and among the least of the sacrifices, must still be the best of its kind, of fine flour. It must have upon it the oil of an act of the Spirit, and the sweet frankincense of prayer. That it may be truly a gift to God, and acceptable, it is only necessary that a mere handful of it be actually burned upon His altar ; the rest is still a gift to Him, although consumed by those who minister in His service. ** It is joined with the burnt- offering like blessing with faithful discharge of duty." Lange. Every variety of food, fit for the altar, must be sanctified by an oblation. We ever ask: "Give us this day our daily bread," and re- ceiving it, we are called upon to acknowledge the Giver by giving to Him an offering of that which is His own. Even the leaven and the honey, which, from their fermenting properties, may uot go upon the altar, may yet be offered as first-fruits. There is none of God's gifts which we may use ourselves, with which we may not show our gratitude to the Giver. In the worship of God " we may not adopt our own inventions, though they may be sweet and delicious as honey to our own palates. . . . Honey is good in its proper place, and heaven itself is typified by 'a land fiowing with milk and honey' (Ex. iii. 8; xiii 5); but if God for- bids it, we must abstain from it, or we shall not come to tbat heavenly Canaan." Wordsworth. That seasoning of salt which the apostle re- quires for our conversation (Col. iv. 6), may not be wanting from our gifts to God. They are not to be insipid, but having " that freshness and vital briskness which characterizes the Spirit's presence and work." Alford. Of first-fruits especially is an oblation to be brought. Not only should we give to God as He blesses us all along; but especially with each new harvest received from His bounty should a first portion be laid aside for His ser- vice. CHAP. III. 1-17. 33 C— PEACE-OFFERINGS. Chap. III. 1-17. 1 And if his oblation [offering'] be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he offer it of the herd ; whether U be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the 2 LoEB. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the [om. the'] congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests 3 shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat that 4 covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, 5 with [on'] the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron's sons* shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt-sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire : it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. 6 And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering unto the Lord be of the flock ; 7 male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb [sheep°] for 8 his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his band upon the head of his offering, and kill it before^ the tabernacle of the [om. the^] congregation : and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon 9 the altar. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat thereof, and the whole rump [fat tail'], it shall he take off hard by the back-bone : and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the 10 fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with [on*] the kidneys, it shall 11 he take away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire^ unto the Lord. 12, 13 And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the [om. the''] congregation : and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon 14 the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that 15 is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with [on'] the kidneys, it shall he take 16 away. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar : it is the food of the offer- ing made by fire for a sweet savour : aU the fat is the Lord's [as food of an offer- TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. I Ter. 1. |3'lp=off6ring, as in ch. ii. ' Ver. 2. See on i. 3, Text. Note ». 1 Ver. 4. Si> must here be translated on, not imlh, since the kidneys have just been mentioned. « Ter. 5. The Sem., LXX. and one MS. add the prietts. So also the LXX. and one MS. in ver. 8, and the Sam. and LXX. in Tor. 13. r « Ver. 7. 2\a3—^^3, according to Bochart (Bieroz. I. 33), a sheep of intermediate a?e between the n7t3-=lanib and the S'N of three years old. It is, however, often applied to the sheep of one year in which case the age is mentioned, as xiv. 10; Nnm. yii. 15, 17, 21, etc. In ProT. xivii. 26 it is described as yielding wool. In the A. V. the form W2^ is uniformly rendernd tamft.excf pt in Ex. xii. 5, while the other form is translated »*«ep nine times, and lamb four times. There is no ground for this distinction. « Ver.8. The locality for killing the victim is made' more definite by the insertion in one MS. and in the Syr.: "be- fore the Lord at the door of." The LXX. makes the samb insertion in vr. 13. ' Ter. 9. H'Sn, according to all interpreters the fat tail of the ovia latiamdala, a variety common in Arabia and Syria, but in mJdern Palestine -aid to be the only variety. The tail i» descrbed a^ of rich marrowy '"*! »''„*!'% !^'''tU °i- the hind quarter-, and often trailing on the ground. Th« worl occurs onlv in this connection (Jix. xxix. iji, i. • . , viii. 25; ix, 19), and is rendered by all the ancient versions, except the LXX. (6(r((.i;!), tail. So also JOJ. •»-'"^- '"•_'.• '• • Ver. 11. Tbe senne is expressed by the addition in 2 MS8. and in the LXX. of the words from i. 9, 13, 17, ninJ-n T (Ml Bweet-s-oelling savor.) 34 LEVITICUS. 17 iug made by fire for a sweet savour, shall all the fat he the Loed's']. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. 9 Ver. 16. The A. V. seemB unnecessarily complicated, as there are but two clauses in this verse. After "saYour" the Sam., LXX , and some JMSS. add " to the Lord.' EXEGETICAL AND CEITICAL. The peace-offering, like the offerings of the preceding chapters, is spoken of as already in common use, and the law is given for its proper regulation. The offerings of this, as of the pre- vious chapters, were voluntary. The peace- offering differed from the oblation in being ani- mal, and from the burnt-offering in not being wholly consumed, but after a small portion had been burned, and a portion given to the priest, the remainder reverted to the offerer for a sac- rificial mpal (vii. 11-21) ; a further difference is in that the burnt- offerings were only male, the peace-offerings either male or female; and still further, doves were not allowed in the peace- offerings, because they were too small for the necessary division, and for the sacrificial feast. The full form D'dSk' n3I used here, is nearly always employed in Leviticus ; but the peace- offering is probably intended by the simple n3I of xxiii. 37 (vii. 16, 17 docs not, and xvii. 8 may not mean peace-offering), and it certainly is by D'oSttf in ix. 22. The latter, as the de- termining word, is frequently used elsewhere alone, as Ex. xx. 24; xxxii. 6; Dent, xxvii. 7; Josh. viii. 31, etc. The word is variously de- rived and has various shades of signification attached to it: (1) Thank- offering, Gesenius, Fiirst, Luther, Rosenmiiller, Winer, Bahr, etc., 6vaia ;fapiiTT!?p/a, Jos. Ant. iii. 9, 2 ; (2) Meat-offering, Zunz ; (3) Salvation-offering, auTfj- piov, LXX. most frequently (i. e. in the Pent., Josh., Judges, Chron., Ezra, Amos), Pnito; (4) Peace-offering, eip?)VM6(, LXX. (in Samuel, Kings, Prov.), Aq., Sym., Theod., Vulg., A. V. The last two senses are very similar; the first seems less appropriate, partly because the strictly thank-offering appears as a special variety of this more general class (vii. 11, 12); partly because the O'tphw were offered not only in thanks for benefits received, but also in times of distress and in supplication for the divine help (Judg. xx. 26; xxi. 4; 1 Sam. xiii. 9; 2 Sam. xxiv. 2-5). Outram says: Sacrificia salu- taria in sacris Uteris shelamim dicta, ut gum semper de rebus prosperis fieri solerent. impetratis utique aut impctrandis. Lange brings together the several meanings in the name Heilsopfer, salva- tion or saving offering "in the common sense of blessing or prosperity-offering." In English the already accepted peace-offering seems to ex- press sufficiently the same sense, and is there- fore retained. The law (vii. 12-16) distinguishes three kinds of peace-offerings — thanksgiving, vow and free-will offerings ; the only difference in their ritual being in the length of time during which their flesh might be eaten. The peace-offerings are not called "most holy" like the oblation, but only "holy," and the priests' portion might be eaten by their families in any "clean place" (vii. 31 with i, 14; xxiii. 20). The portion which reverted to the offerer to be eaten as a sacrificial feast might be partaken of only by those who were legally "clean" (vii. 20, 21). The peace-offer- ings were prescribed on a variety of occasions, and as they were the necessary offerings of sac- rificial feasts, and hence of all solemn national rejoicings, they were the most common of all sacrifices. From Num. xv. it appears that, like the burnt-offering, they were always accompa- nied by the meat and the drink-offering. — Lange: " The peace-offering refers to prosperity as Jehovah's free gift in past, present, and future. As regards the past, it is a simple praise and thank-offering (an Eben Ezer, Amos v. 2i), In reference to a happy present, it is a content- ment, joy, or feast-offering. As it relates to a future to be realized, to an experience of salva- tion yet to come, to a deliverance or an exhibi- tion of mercy that is prayed for with a vow, it is a votive offering. The prescriptions in regard to the various kinds are different. Here it is said, that the animal to be slain may be either male or female, only it must be without blemish. In ch. vii. 15 sq. nothing of the praise-offering might be left over until the next day, whereas the vow, or free-will offering might be eaten also on the next day, but not on the third day." Lange then points out that in the case of those vow, or free-will offerings which were to be burnt-offerings, a male was required, xxii. 19, without blemish. "Even an abnormal forma- tion of the victim, too long or too short legs of the animal [vii. 22, 23] was enough to make it unsuitable for the vow-offering, but still not for the free-will offering. So every kind of pros- perity was to be hallowed to the Lord."* Sacrificial feasts were at least as old as the time of Jacob (Gen. xxxi. 54), and became com- mon among all nations; but the distinoti?e name of peace-offering first appears when Moses came down with the law from Mt. Sinai (Ex. xxiv. 5). The thing signified, however, must have been already familiar to the people, for the word recurs in connection with the idola- trous sacrifice of Aaron when Moses had again gone up into the Mount (Ex. xxxii. 6). Two kinds of victims were allowable: of the " herd," or of the " flock." Vers. 1-5. The peace-offering of the herd, !. «• a bullock or a cow. * In reisard to the question whether the peaoe-offMing embraces also the supplicatory offering, Lange says: *'It u understood that the vows themselves were supplicatioi s, irom which the accompanying offering might also be lalleo a supplicatory offering ; but a peculiar supplicatery offinng to strengtiien the supplication would have been priyadicial to the freedom of the divine hearing. It shows a tine dis- tinction that the free praise and thank-offeringa {Thorn), which were preceded by no vows, were exalted abo?e tbe vow-offerings and free-will offerings, inasmuch as theae l»t^ ter mghc be accompanied by a suit! h feeling." CHAP. III. 1-17. 35 Ver. 1. The viotim both in this and in the other kind (ver. 6) might be of either sex. Ac- cording to Herodotus, this was directly contrary to the Egyptian law, which forbade offering the female in sacrifice: 6i)lela^ m aiere it is required, and here worse than useless to the sense. It should be omitted as in nearly all the ancient ver- Bious. The 7:3 in both clauses is to be taken partitively. ^ Yer. 3. nOE'N / Prop. in£ const. Kal., and there used as a noun = io hring guilt upon. So most of the ancient ver- s'ons and the modern expositors generally. • Ver. 5. To anointed the LXX. and Sam. Vers, add whoae hand is conxecrated. The Sam. text has a similar addition. ^ Yer. 7. The Sam. and 8 MS3. prefix the article to □*!, while the Sam., 3 MSS., and Yulg., omit the hulloch. • Yer. 8. 2'^pT\~hy- This is translated in the A. V. and in the ancient versions as if it were "T\~r\i^ as in iii. 14. So it must be translated, and such is actually the reading in the Sam. and many MSS. ' Yer. 12. The Sam. and LXX. here have the plural. Of course th i high-priest did not do this with his own hands, but is said to do that which he caused to be done, according to common usage of all languages. s* Yer. 9. On. See iii. 4, Textual Note 8. 8 Yer. 13. Vd^'hs {congregation) Slip {assembly) the two words used here, and IjJlO Num. xvi. 2 and freq. have no difference in signification which can be recognized in translation. They are used in apposition. • Yer. 13. njE'. In the A. Y. em always in Lev. is the translation of NC3n. This being the only exception, should be XT T T changed. , , '» Ver. 13. D7J^3 has dagesh in the 7 here and in v. 2, 4 According to Delitzsch it is an old rule of pointing " that every consonant which followed a syllable terminating with a guttural should be pointed ^^ith dageih, if the guttural was to be read with a quiescent thma and not with chateph." Oomp. "IDX'l Gen. xlvi. 29 ; Ex. xiv. 6, D'7J?jT (according to some copies) P(<. x. 1. " Yer. 14. The Sam. and LXX. here add the " without blemish " so frequently expressed, and always to be un- derstood. 12 Yer. 14. nXtan'?. the word is used in both senses— a sin, and a sin-offering. The context requires the latter here. It has no article. " Yer. 14. The LXX. and Yulg. add the door of, which is implied. 88 LEVI..^ 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the b lock before the Lord : and the bullock shall be killed [one shall kill the bullocl 16 before the Lokd. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's bio 17 to the tabernacle of the [omi< the] congregation: and the priest shall dip hisfinj in some of the blood, aud sprinkle if^^ seven times before the Lord, even before t 18 vail. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar'" which before the Lord, that is in the taberuacle of the [omit the] congregation, and shi pour out all the [other] blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, whi 19 is at the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation. And he shall ta 20 all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. And he shall do with the bi lock as he did with the bullock for a [the"] sin offering, so shall he do with thi and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven thei 21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he bumi the first bullock : it'* is a sin offering for the congregation. 22 When a ruler [prince"] hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance [ii advertence'] against any of the commandments of the Lord his God eoncemh 23 things which should not be done, and is guilty ; or if [if perhaps™] his sin, wherei he hath sinned, come to his knowledge ; he shall bring his offering, a kid [a buck' 24 of the goats, a male without blemish : and he shall lay his hand upon the head c the goat, and kilP^ it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before tl 25 Lord : it is a sin-offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offerii) with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and sha 26 pour out^ his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. And he sha burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings : an the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall 1 forgiven him. 27 And if any one of the common people [any soul of the people of the land^] si through ignorance [inadverttiice' J while he doeth somewhatagamut auy ot the commaLi 28 mentsofthe Lord concernm^i/im^s which ought not to be done, and be guilty; orif[ perhaps™] his sin, which he hath sinned, come to bis knowledge : then he sha bring his offering, a kid of the goats [a she-goat^] a female without blemish, forh 29 sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the si 30 offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And tt priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns o the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the [other] blood thereof at tl " Ver. 15. The subject of OVWS is one of the elders. i» Ver. 17. The ellipsis supplied by U in the A. V. is filled out in the Sam., in one MS., and in the Syr., by "of tl blood," comp. yer. 6. Several other words are filled out lu the same yerdion in the following yei-ees from the precedii pani graph. 18 Ver. 18. The Sam. and LXX. unnecessarily specify " altar of incense." 17 Ver. 20. The article of the original shonld be retained as the reference is to the sin-offering of the high-priest. 18 Ver. 21. The Sam. and many MSS. have here again the later feminine form NTI- 18 Ver. 22. X^E^J. This word yariously rendered in the A. V. captain, chief, governor, prince, and ruler, occurs in U only here, but very frequently in Num., where it is translated cayfain in ch. ii. 02 times), chief in cbs. iii., iv. (5 timei once ruler, xiii. 2, and prince tliroughout the rest of tlie book (42 times) as well as tlironghout Gen. and Josh. lu Ex. occurs four times uniformly translated ruhr. In nearly all these places it refers to persons of subsiantially the same ras and it would be better therefore that its translation should be uniform. It means literally, an exalted persoti, andisapplt to the head of a tribe, or other large division of the people, whether of Israel or of other nations. Lange interpret it " the tribe chieftain," referring to Num. iii. 24. As prince is on the whole the most common rendering of the A. v., ai expresses very well the sense, it is retained here. » Ver. 23. The conjunction IK should be rendered if perhaps, Fuerat, Gesenins. The Syr. renders by if, the IX Kai, Vulg. et postea. 21 Ver. 23. Tj^Jy = o he-goat, generally understood of one older than the "[^i^^ or young he-goat used in the our and peace-offerings (Puerst, Knobel). It is often rendered Wd in the A. V. It is also rendered devil xvii. 7 ; 2 Chr. xi. where the reference is to tlie idolatrous worship of the goat, (or goat-like deity) and twice aatt/r in Isa. (xiii. 21; xxxiv. i' It is the kind of goat used in the sinMjffering generally. Bochart supposes it to mean a goat of a peculiar breed ; so m 22 Ver. 24. The Sam. puta the verb in the plnral ; so also in ver. 33. 2« Ver. 25. Tlie LXX. and 4 MSS. have all his blood, as in the other places. ^^ 2< Ver. 27. There seems no occa,sion here to deviate from the literal translation which la retained so far as peopw the land" is concerned, in xx. 2, 4; 2 Ki. xi. 18,19; xvi. 16. It was the common name of the whole people as distinguU" from the priests (in this case probably from the high-priest) and the rulers. 25 Ver. 28. ni'JJtJ' is simply the feminine of the word discussed under ver. 23. » Ver. 30. Two MSS., the Sam., and the Syr., unnevjssarlly add " of burnt-offering." The Sam. and the LXX. "" the same adoition at tlie end of v* r. 34. CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13. 31 bottom of the altar.'" And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings ; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the Lord ; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32 And if he bring a lamb [a sheep"] f >r a sin offering, he shall bring it a female 33 without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, 34 and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put li upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the [otlier] blood 35 thereof at the bottom of the altar : and he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb [sheep"] is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings ; and the priest shall bum them upon the altar, according to [upon'''] the offerings made by fire unto the Loed : and the prisst shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him. Chap. V. 1. And if a soul sin, and hear [in that he hear''] the voice of swearing [adjuration'"], and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known ofit; if he do not 2 utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if" a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast/" or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of uncleau creeping things, and tjit be hidden from him; he also shall be 3 unclean, and guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleau- ness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him ; when he kno w- 4 eth ofit, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing [speaking idly^^] with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce [speak idly"'] with an oath, and it be hid from him ; when he knoweth of it, then 5 he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guiltv^' in one 6 of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: and he shall bring his trespass offering [bring for his trespass^] unto the Lord, for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats [a sheep" or a she-goaf^], for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. 7 And if he be not able'' to bring a lamb [sheep"], then he shall bring for his tres- pass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the 8 Loed; one for a sin offering, and the other fir a burnt offering. And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, 9 and wring [pinch] off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder : and he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar ; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung [pressed'*] out at the bottom of the altar : it is a " Ver. 32. ty23 — a sheep, see Text, note 6 under iii. 7. " Ter. 35. 'tJ^X' h))- The sense is here as in iii. 5 upon. These be'ng special offerings, tlie daily burnt-iiffering wouM always have been upon the altar before them, and even if that wire already wholly consumed, the expression " upon " it conld still be naturally used. S" Chap. T. Ver 1 "Partioula 1 ante nVDE' hie usurpatur ainoKoyucm, estquevortenda pn'n, ei guid, utQen. xxyi. T ■■ It 12 ; Deut. xvii. 16." KoBenmueller. "> Ver. 1. n'^X- Commentators are generally agreed that this should be translated adjm-aUrm. The veib hi the Hiph. is translated ailjitre in 1 Sam. xiv. 2t. See Exeg. Com. The Heb. has no word for adjuration as distinct from mmring. It is expressed in the LXX. by ookhtjuoi). . j, -,.,(,* " Ver. 2. Tiie full form would be IK'S '3; accordingly ihe Sam. and some MSS. prefix 'J) here and add "lu'K in ver. 4. "' Ver. 2. See note i on xi. 2. 82 Ver. 4. Nt337, NI33', speoli idly, or ill-admsedly. Conip. jSaTToAoyeio, Malt. vi. 7. " Ver. 5. For DtyX' the Sam. and 20 MSS. here substitute KtSTV- " Ver. 6. DtyN, like JlXtSn, is us'd in the sense both of trespass and trespass-offering. The ancient versions have the question between them open. The Vulg. has simply agat pmitentiam, LXX. oicrei irepl Siv eTAijfijieAijire Kupi'io, while the Semitic versions leave the same doubt as the Hebrew. Modern commentators aie divided, but the weight of "P™'™ accords with the Exeg. Com. At the end of the verse the Sam.and t e LXX. have the fuller form, " and the prie,-t Bliall make an atonement for him, for his sin which be hath sinn-id, and ic shiill be forgiven him." "Ter. 7. IT J^'JO x'7~DNl lit. // his hand cannot acquire. The sense is well expressed by the A. V. " Ver. 9. nis'^ the translation of the A. V. wrung i"ight answer here, but aa the same word must be translated iir«iis Ver. 13. OMation. Comp. ii. 1, Textual Note 2, and Exeg. at beginning of ch. ii. EXEGETIOAL AND CRITICAL. The formula by which this chapter is intro- duced — And the LORD spake unto Moses — answering to i. 1, 2; v. 14; vi. I; vi. 8, etc., marks this passage as a distinct portion of the law. The offerings of chaps, i. — iii., when brought by individuals, were all voluntary, and are recognized as already familiar; but in chaps, iv., V. sacrifices are appointed (no longer volun- tary) for certain offences, and these sacrifices now for the first time receive names from the purposes for which they were commanded — Sin and Trespass offerings. These specialized sacri- fices were a creation of the Mosaic law, and are therefore naturally placed after the more gene- ral sacrifices of chaps, i. — iii. Lange says also: "The former class of sacrifices refer to innate sinfulness, and in so far forth to the general par- ticipation in guilt of the offerer (on which ac- count throughout a 133, a covering of the offerer, takes place) ; but does not have reference to pe- culiar persOLial transgressions to be atoned for by the sin and trespass offerings." In the present section we have to do only with the sin offering (iv. 1 — V. 13) ; yet this and the trespass offering are closely related, and are distinguished only as the sin or the trespass comes into the fore- ground, so that the line of separation is not al- ways strongly marked, and in particular cases might even be difficult to trace. "Sin is the transgression of the law," and may involve no further harm, and requires expiation only for its own guilt; while trespass is wrong done to ano- ther (whether God or man), and involves not only sacrifice for its sin, but also amends for its hurra. With neither were oblations or drink- offerings allowed ; and when, in case of extreme poverty, flour was permitted as a sin-offering, it must be without oil or frankincense (v. 11). Lange lakes a somewhat different view of the relation of these two offerings, and consequently of the proper analysis of (his whole passage, iv. 1 — vi. 7. The substance of his views may be ga- thered from the headings of his several sub- divisions as follows: The Sin offering and the Trespass offering (iv.— vi. 7). (a) The Sin-of- fering and the little Sin and Trespass offering (,iv.— V. 13). 1. The Sin offering (iv. 1-21). 2. The little Sin offering (iv. 22-35). (6) The Trespass offering. 1. The little Sin and Tres- pass offering, or the uucleannesa of the common people (v. 1-13). 2. The great Trespass offer- ing, or guilt offering (v. 14 — vi. 7). Accordingly he says: "The following considerations may serve somewhat to disentangle the question how the sections of the sin offering and the trespass offering are to be separated from one another, and whether v. 1-13 treats of the sin offering or of the trespass offering. There is, certainly, no question that all sin is at the same time guilt, a deed which has made itself into an actual stale of things which must be atoned for, or has be- come liable to punishment. And there is also no question that guilt in general is also sin, although as participation in guilt, it may be widely sepa- rated from the centre of sinfulness, as far as the disappearing minimum, even until it is said of the guiltless Messiah in Isa. liii. that He would give his life as a trespass offering — Asham; and from this arises also the possibility that two classes may be formed in which the one empha- sizes sin as such, while the other emphasises more the slate of guilt. The state of guilt may be very trifling, as being accessory to a guilty principal, or very evil as an original offence; in all cases it requires a proportionate penance (not expiation) or satisfaction. From the inde- terminate character of the antithesis, it also comes that there may be a transitional form be- tween the sin and the trespass offerings — a form of sin offerings which, at the same time, becomes elevated as a trespass offering. There are forms of the predominating participation in guilt, and one Buoh we find in the section chap. v. 1-13. On the other hand, in the strict trespass offer- ings which follow further on, we shall take up all cases in which the offence against the holy places and rights of Jehovah, or in regard to the property of a neighbor, amount to an offence that is a violation of right, which must be atoned for by restitution, punishment and sacrifioe. "In chap. iv. 3 the sin of the High Priest brings guilt on the people — that is, the guilt of participation in guilt. Luther translates Vi}}T\ n'DE^N"? that he scandalizes the people— AHim- oeption not very different from our own— fi^'' that he brings upon them liability of penalty w^ punishment. So it is also with the congregatii'* CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13. 41 of Israel : it becomes guilty through its sin (ver. 13). So also with the noble (ver. 22). So too, at last, with the oommoa Israelite (ver. 27). Ought now the section chap. v. 1-13 to be (as Knobel) only an example to illustrate the foregoing transaction in the case of the sin offer- ing of the common Israelite? Ver. 6 says: And he shall biing his trespass ofiering unto the IiORD for his sin." [This is pro- bably the key to the whole view of Lange. If, however, DI^K be here considered as standing not for trespass offering, but for trespass (see Text, note 34 on verse 6), the view before given seems preferable.] "It is true that both vers. 11 and 12 repeat the statement that his offering is a sin offering. But according to the context, the meaning of this is that this sacrifice must be treated entirely after the analogy of the sin of- fering. No incense nor oil are to be added to this sacrifice. The same rule is applied to the great trespass offerings that follow, chap. v. 14 sq. The first instance, chap. v. 1, has pecu- liarly the character of participation in guilt. The properly guilty person in this case is the blasphemer ; the participation in guilt comes from a soul hearing the curse and not cleansing itself from defilement by giving information. The view of the Heidelberg Catechism, that "by silence and looking on one may become a parti- cipant in such fearful sins," appears here. So the touching a corpse is set with the unclean states of men by its natural connection, and the rash swearing, by traditional and common cus- tom. That which is spoken of in the special greater crimes, as they are raised into a class by themselves by the introduction in ver. 14, is the gross violation of the law. Here, then, rightly appear the actions in which a man is guilty against Jehovah, i. e., against His holy things or His law. The fraud of which the sinner h^s at last become conscious must be atoned for in most cases by a restitution which was increased by one-fifth of the whole amount. But legal restitution alone was not enough ; it must be preceded (without mentioning the trespass offer- ing elsewhere prescribed) by a costly sacrifice of a ram worth two shekels. As religious atone- ment was of little value alone, when social resti- tution was directed, so also restitution, as a sup- plementary payment, was of little worth without religious atonement. "Now, on the one hand, we must not mistake the fact that the section chap. v. 14 sq. draws a distinction between those faults which at the same time have become debts or relate to customs (mostly legal transgressions of right, as viola- tions of the rights of property), and the purely religious faults in which throughout (with the exception of the case in chap. v. 17-19) the sin- ner has only to deal with God, and so far the newer division must be considtre 1 right, as in Knobel and Keil (and so also in Kurtz and others). But, on the other hand, it must not be overlooked that the subject has already been about the offering of the Asham in the section v. 1 sq. [?], and this is in favor of the older opinion which may be found in the headings of Stier's translation. There is also no question thst to reduce the whole guilt-idea to legal transgres- 18 sions will obscure very much the guilt-idea in the present case, as when Knobel wishes to leave out of consideration the passage Isa. liii. 10, when he says " Dt?X can be no actual tres- pass offering." According to Knobel, the Asham arises from the rights of neighbors. But here evidently it arises from the rights of Jeho- vah, which Keil also emphasizes, and Knobel states indirectly. But we should rather say that it arises from the absolute right which is consi- dered to be under Jehovah's protection, in hea- ven and earth, and which has been completely confused with the guilt-idea itself in the theology of the day, in which justice in its many forms is travestied by "Good disposition" (the substan- tive and the adjective are allowed to evaporate into the adverb). It would have been better to have found the key to the conception of guilt in Isa. liii. For just as the guilt of a sinner can extend over a community, so also the exculpation wrought by the Redeemer. The W'A expresses that man has become guilty, liable to punish- ment, towards Jehovah or towards bis fellow- man ; and the emphasis lies so strongly on the liability to punishment that the same word de- notes at the same time satisfaction; and con- versely, the Hiphil means not merely to give sa- tisfaction, but also to bring over others the b.an of guilt as a penalty. As concerns the varying distinction between the respective sections, we must especially notice that one must proceed from the difctinction between the universal guilt idea and the conception of a legal fault, falling;; into the theocratic judicial sphere. If this dif- ference be held to, we can certainly establish, the newer division ; for in the ritual of sa- crifice the distinction between the sin and trespass offerings is not to be mistaken. Kno- bel has stated this difference accurately, p. 394 sq. It is properly made prominent that the trespass-offering — as a religious offence makes the forgiveness of God necessary — may also be a sin-offering, so that it is frequently cited as a sin-offering " The trespas.s-offering, it may then be said, was always available only for the single Israelite, and was the same for all; while the sin-offering served also for the whole people, and varied according to the standing of the sin- ner in the Theocracy ; the trespass-offering con- sisted always of sheep, while in the sin-offering all sacrificial animals were allowed;, the tres- pass-offering must be worth a definite price, and was not modified, in the case of those who were unable to offer it, to a pair of doves or a meat- offering, as was the sin-offering ; in the trespass- offering, as in the burnt-offering and thank- offering, the blood was sprinkled on the side of the aliar of burnt offering (vii. 2); in the sin- offering, on the other hand, departing from the custom in all other sacrifices, it was brought before God (iv. 5); the flesh in the trespass- offering always belonged to the priest (vii. 6), while in the more especial sin-offerings it was burned." Then the distinction of the occasions may be expressed as follows: 1) Dishonesty against the revenues of the priests, as against the holy things of Jehovah. 2) Dishonesty in the due fidelity towards a neighbor (in a trust, in a deposit, in property found). 8) Dishonest 42 LEVITICUS. use of auth rity over a maid betrothed to ano- ther man (xix. iO). 4) Defeaudino in regard to the preference of the daughters of Israel over heathen women lEzra x. 19). Besides these, the VIOLATION of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines (1 Sam. vi. 3); imperillinq the con- gregation by the contagious leprosy (xiv. 12) ; DEFILEMENT of the Nazarite, as wealieuing the inviolability of his vow (Num. vi. 12). "Ac- cording to tliese examples the trespass-offering is distinguished from the sin-offering in the fol- lowing manner: it arises from the right of a neighbor, and rests upon a violation of this right." But Jehovah too claims satisfaction, " since He has iixed the rights of those pertain- ing to Him." Or also the right simply claims satisfaction: a particular instance is the case of a guilty person who has gone astray, through oversight or heedlessness, in a way that is known to no one but himself; who afterwards has an uneasy conscience, and then feels him- self burdened by his misdeed, and becomes con- scious of his guilt (v. 17, 18). Otherwise in- deed, he would be unable to atone, for instance, for his false oath. With the former division one could with propriety reverse the designa- tions, and term the sin-offering the trespass- offering, and the trespass-offering for the most part the sin-offering, the offering for real and ideal transgressions of right. In this confusion of ideas the manifold differences are not too prominent as tliey are cited in Knobel, p. 396, Keil, p. (53) 310, Winer (Schuld und Siindop- fer) and others. If we go back briefly to the ideal distinctions: sin, as sin, is indeed guilt, Kar' e^ox'/v, the particular evil deed ; guilt, as such, on the contrary, is the entire effect of sin in its cosmic sphere from the bad conscience even to death, to Sheol, to Hell. Guilt, as such, falls within the circle of evil, although the axiom " guilt is the greatest of evils" refers to sin. The sinfulness in guilt is the temptation to fur- ther sinfulness: it has, however, also a natural influence, aoi ording to which it reacts upon sin. See the article ''Schuld" in Herzog's JSeal- enrydopadie. Guilt rests in the legal effect, there must be siiti?fiiction for it ; in the ethical effect, evil eonscienc', false position towards God, temptation to new ein ; in the social effect, it lies as a burden upon the sphere of life that sur- rounds the sinner, whether he be high or low ; in the gewric effect, it is visited upon the chil- dren of the father.?, and becomes a universal might, a cosmic evil. Sin is solitary, guilt is common ("forgive us our trespasses"). It is obvious that ain in all cases is originally guilt; but guilt in distinction from ein is, in many cases, only participation in sin — aecessnriness. Hveu in the section of the great trespass-offer- ing, the force of participation in guilt may not be entirely wanting, for the severity of the Le- vitical relations, the temptations which adhered to the church goods and lands, to property, come into consideration. Under the law the ignorant man is touched on all sides, and is thus constituted in some measure a sinner, an acces- sory through greater sinners who made the law necessary. Sm is like a stone cast into a lake ; guilt like the wave-circles which go out from it, the circumference of that evil cen're. Sin, in its consequences, is ideally an infinitum, enmity against God; guilt, in itself considered, is a self-consuming ^rettem, so far as it is not changeil into a curse by its constant reciprocity with sin. Sin can only be done away through the reconci- liation of person to person ; it requires repent- ance. Guilt is to be done away by means of atonement (voluntary penance, not expiation), personal or vicarious restitution ; for, on the one hand, this of course is preliminary to the completed reconciliation, and, on the other hand, that breaks the way for expiation. See the history of Jacob : the vision of the heavenly ladder preceded the wrestling at the Jabbok. Keil says somewhat differently: "As in the sin-offering the idea of expiation or atonement for sin, indicated in the sprinkling of blood, comes forward, bo in the trespass-offering we find the idea of satisfaction for the parpoue of restoring the violated rightful order." In what follows, the views previously pre- sented will be followed, since the rendering of DE'X by trespass rather than by trespass-offering in V. 6 renders it unnecessary to enter upon much of the nice distinctions here drawn by Lange, and enables us clearly to separate the sections of the sin and the trespass-offering. Lange continues: "Ch. iv. 1. Sin, nNBri, as missing, is in Leviticus more particularly missing in regard to the holy fellowship with the holy God through transgression of His com- mand or violation of the reverence due Him. It must, as debt, be paid for by punishment. It makes the sinner unclean, so that he cannot appear in God's fellowship, and hence unclean- ness is a symbolic representation of sin, and the unclean needs, when cleansed, a sin-offering for a token and sign of his cleanness. It is under- stood that the sin offering that was introduced into the law by Moses preceded the given law; and so it is easily to be supposed that voluntary sin-offerings from compulsion of conscience most probably must be as old as the saoriSce in general, as certainly in the Passover the force of the sin offering may be plainly recog- nized." — [Lange must mean that the more gene- ral sacrifices of old often included within them ihe idea of the sin offering, as they did of every other sacrifice ; but the specialized sin offering itself, as already pointed out, is not menlioncd before Ex. xxix. 14, nor is there any evidence that it was used or known at an earlier date.]— " On the extra-theocratic sin offering see Kuo- hel, p. 386. But it is not correct to see with Knobel in the death of the sacrificial animal an actual satisfactio vicaria of the sinner, or to find in the death of the animal the expression that Ihe offerer had already deserved death. In regard to the first point, the sacrificial animal furnishes orily in the symbolical sense what the offerer ought to furnish personally, but cannot. And as to the second point, the death-punish- ment, in the peace-offering, it is self-evident, that the reference could not be to the punish- ment of death, and also in the sin-offering the difference between the Cherem" [Din— a curse, a thing devoted to destruction] " and' the propi- tiation through the sacrifice must be considered. That the divine Justice should have punisheii CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-12. 43 an inadvertence, njJK'3, with death is an ovur- TT : * straining of the confession (with which the sao- ' rifioer appeared before God), that by this over- sight or going astray he had entered the paths of death,* as this idea indeed belongs to par- donable sin. Otherwise an arbitrary distinction would have to be drawn between sin with up- lifted hand, and sin from inadvertence, under which head must be understood not only sins of ignorance and precipitation, but also natural weakness and heedlessness. The turning point of these sins lay in contrition. But the sacri- ficer could in reality hardly satisfy the theocratic order by his sacrifice; on the religious side his sacrifice was thus a confession of his inability to satisfy, an appeal for mercy ; and hence the sacrifice became a typical prophetic movement towards the future satisfaction " The sins for which sin offerings were to be presented were offences against the Divine law much more in its moral than in its ceremonial aspect. Great offences against civil society, such as involuntary manslaughter (Num. xxxv. 10-15; Deut. xix. 1-10), did not come within the scope of these sacrifices ; and minor breaches of the ceremonial law, such as uncleanness from contact with the dead bodies of animals (Lev. xi. 24, 28) or men (Num. xix. 11,19,20), were otherwise pro- vided for. The sin offering had relation much more to the individual conscience tlian to the theocratic state or the peculiar Hebrew polity. In Num. XV. 29 its privileges are expressly ex- tended to the *' stranger." liut it was not allowed to be offered in cases where no true penitence could be supposed to exist, and it was therefore not permitted in the case of presumptuous or defiant sins (Num. xv. 30, 31). The idea of vicarious satisfaction necessarily appears more clearly in this specialized offering for sin than in other sacrifices which were either more general in their character, or specialized for other purposes. (The word i^Xt3^ occurs several times in Genesis in the sense of sin, but never in the sense of ain offering, before Ex. xxix. 14). Hence, in view of the intrinsic insuificiency of animal victims to atone for moral offences, this sacrifice was emphatically typical of the true Sacrifice for sin to come. The object of all the divine dealings with man has been his restora- tion to communion with God by the restoration of his holiness; and the first step to this end was necessarily the putting away of his sin. Under the old dispensation, therefore, the typi- cal sin offering was the culmination of its whole syiitem, presented in the most emphatic form on the great day of atonement (chap, xvi.) ; just as under the new dispensation the culmination of Christ's worlj for the redemption of His people was His atoning sacrifice of Himself upon the Cross of Calvary. Unlike the preceding sacrifices, the victim in the sin offering varied according to the offender's rank in the theocracy. The ground of this is to be sought in the conspicuousness of the offence, not at all in its grossness. Here, as elsewhere, „ .* " -^^ ^^ *^o a strainiag of the text to render the words : in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou ehalt surely die," as meaning "thou shalt actually die the death." Religio- naoral defith realizes itself gradually. Indeed, the principle or death is the germ of death itself." there was no correlation between the value of the victim and the magnitude of the sin. Every sin, great or small, of the same class of persons was expiated by the same means; a victim of higher value was only required in consequence of official responsibility and position, and tbe consequently greater strain which offences brought upon the theocracy. There was no such gradation in the Trespass offering, which was related more to the harm done than to the sin committed. Four grades are prescribed: for the sin— (1) of the high-priest (3-12) ; (2) of the whole congregation (13-21); (3) of a prince (22-26) ; (4) of any of the people of the land (27-35). After this follows an enumeration of special sins for which confession should be made and sin offerings offered (v. 1-6), with the allowance of inferior offerings in case of poverty (7-13). Vers. 1, 2. The general condition of the sin offering. Ver. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel. — It is always to be remembered that these laws are given to a people already in covenant rela- tion to God, and the essential point of that cove- nant was the promise of the final victory over sin in the person of "the seed of the woman." The laws given until He should come are therefore necessarily based upon His coming, and look forward to Him. Any of the commandments. — S^D in a partitive sense. At the close of this verse must be understood some such clause as he shall bring nn offering for his sin. The actual apodosis of the verse is the whole following chapter, and not ver. 3, which relates only to the high-priest. Vers. 3-12. The sin offering of the high-priest. Lange here says: "It must be noticed that thi high-priest could become the most guilty of all, which the haughtiness of the hierarchy never thought of enough ; that the whole congregation was rated as one personality equal in rank to him ; that the prince was only considered siightly greater than the common man (the difference is he goats, she goats, or an ewe) ; and that for the poor, in the section v. 1-13, there were two more peculiar modifications." Ver. 3. The priest that is anointed. — LXX.: apxi^psvc, ii2')_m\}3= high-priest, Tar- gums. The high-priest is so called by reason of the peculiar authority by which he alone was consecrated to his office (Ex. xxix. 7; chap. viii. 12). The anointing of all the priests was indeed expressly commanded (Ex. xxviii. 41; xl. 15), and is recognized as having taken place vii. 36; i. 7 ; Num. iii. 3 : yet in the account of the con- secration, chap, viii., no other anointing of the common priests is mentioned than that Moses sprinkled both them and Aaron with " the an- ointing oil" and the blood from the altar. Ac- cording to the best Jewish authorities, however, the pricits were anointed with the finger upon the forehead. Ontram places the distinction in the fact that each successive high-priest was per- sonally anointed, while the others were only an- ointed once for all in the persons of Aaron's im- mediate sons. Whatever may be the truth in re- gard to these things, the high-priest is evidently regarded in a peculiar sense as anointed, and is 44 LEVITICUS. generally designated in Lev. (iv. 5, 16; vi. 22; XTi. 32) as the anointed priest. He is also called the VnJH [rl3n=^rOT( priest (ixi. 10; Num. XXXV. 25/28 bin; Josh. xx. 6), and in later times the head or chief priest (2 Kings xxv. 18 ; 2 Chr. xix. 11), or simply the priest, /car' i^oxv" (1 Kings ii. 35, etc.). Do sin. — Origen (Horn. II. in Lev. §1) ob- serves that inadvertence is not specified in the case of the high-priest. It must, of course, be supposed in view of the general principles on which sacrifices were allowed at all; but it pro- bably was not written in the law that the in- firmity of the high-priest might not be made too prominent. , To the guilt of the people, Di'ri nDEJiji^— i. «., to bring upon the people the guilt of his own transgression. It is an undue restriction of the sense of these words to limit them to the sins committed by the high-priest in his official capa- city. Such sins, of course, did brin' guilt upon the people (Lev. x. 17; Mai. ii. 7, 8) ; but over and above this, nothing can be clearer in his- tory, both under the old covenant and in the world at large, than that God bad so constituted men with a federal as well as individual relation, that the sins of the head, whether of the nation, the community, or the family, en'ail suffering upon its members. The high-priest as the head of the theocracy could not sin, but ihit the whole body of Israel should feel its effects. The dis- tinction may indeed be made between natural and moral consequences, between earthly and future punishments; still the two things are so intimately connected, a debasing of the moral sense of the community is so much the effect of the unfaithfulness of its head that the spiritual condition of the Israelites, following the general law, was largely affected by that of their high- priest, so that his sins did indeed "bring guilt upon the people." A young bullock -without blemish. — The high-priest's sin offering was the same as that of the whole congregation (ver. 14), not merely because of the conspicuousness of his po- sition and of the gravity of sin in one who should be the leader to all holiness; but especially (see ver. 3) because of his representative character and his federal headship mentioned above. Ac- cording to Jewish tradition, if the bullock of the high-priest and the bullock of the congregation stood together ready for sin offerings, the former had the preference in every way. There was a careful gradation of the victims for the sin offer- ing : the high priest and the whole congregation offered a male — a young bullock; the prince of- fered also a male, but of the goats (ver. 23) ; the people offered a female of either the goats (ver. 28) or the sheep (ver. 32). There was also a corresponding gradation, but with fewer steps, in the ritual in regard to the blood, and also in the disposition of the flesh. See below. Ver. 4. The presentation, laying on of hands, and slaughtering, were the same (vers. 4. 14. 15. 23, 24), as in the case of other sacrifices (i. 3-5). Vers. 5-7. And the priest that is anointed shall take . — At the point of the treatment of the blood the difference between the ritual of the sin c Jerings and the other sacrifices begins, and thij treatment differs somewhat in tlie several sin of- ferings themselves. In this case, the high, priest, who was himself the offerer, brought some of the blood to the tabernacle of the con- gregation; afterwards the person officiating is designated simply the priest. From this it has been argued that, as the high-priest was the one whose sin was to be atoned for, the service was here taken up on his behalf by another priest; but there is precisely the same change at the same point in the following offering for the whole congregation (vers. IG, 17), and the high- priest certainly officiated througboui on the great day of atonement (chap, xvi.); moreover, the fact of his offering the sin offering for himself as well as for the people is established by Heb V. 3. Ver. 6. Sprinkle of the blood. — The wor'l nin is different from pll used for sprinkle in chaps, i, and iii. in view of the much smaller quantity of blood used here. It is difficult to express this in English translation, though fh'! difference is observed in the LXX. and Vulg. Seven times. — -The seven-fold sprinkling of blood is frequently commanied (ver. 17: xvi. 17, 19; Num. xix. 4) always in connection with sin offering, or (xiv. 7, 27) with ihe purification of leprosy. In consecrations, too, there was a seven-fold sprinkling of oil (viii. 11; xiv.l6),anJ frequently the number seven is designated for tho victims in sacrifice (xxiii. 18; Num. xxiii. 1,4,14.29; xxviii. II, 19, 27; xxix. 2, 8, 13, 3')). The same number also appears in many other particulars connected with the divine ser- vice, and has always been considered as symbo- lical of completeness and perfection. The num- ber is so frequent in the divine word, as well a< in the ordering of nature, that it must be thought to have its foundation in some unfathomable heavenly relations. Its use in connection with the sin offering is plainly to give emphasis to the typical completeness of the propitiation. Before the veil of the sanctuary.— There is a variety of opinion as to precisely where the blood was sprinkled. The LXX : /card rd mra- Treraafia, and the Vulg.: contra velum, seem to have supposed it was upon the veil itself. It is more probable that the high-priest, dipping his finger in the blood at the entrance of the sanctuary, sprinkled it before him towards the veil as he advanced to the altar of incense. The object was plainly the presenting of the blood before Jehovah, the manifestation of whose pre- sence was on the ark just within the veil. "The objective point was not the veil, but the ark 01 the covenant." Lange. Ver. 7. Upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense — the golden altar which stood immediately before the veil. It was only in the case of the sin-offerings for the high-priest and for the whole people (ver. 18) that the blood was brought to this altar — doubtless on account of the especial gravity of the sins to be atoned for; in case of the other sin offerings the blood wafl put on the horns of the altar of burnt-offi'rin?i (vers. 25, .30, 34) which stood in the court witn- out. It was to be put in either case upon * horns of the altar because in these the sigmn- cauce of the altar culminated, and in the 8H CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13. 45 offering, as has already appeared, and will still more fully appear, the utmost emphasis was to be given to every part of the ritual of propitia- tion. Shall pour all the blood. — But very little of the blood had thus far been used ; the re- mainder — all the blood — was to be poured out at the foot of the altar of burnt-offering, the place to which all blood of the sacrifices not otherwise required was to be brought; it bad no sacrificial significance. During the life in the wilderness the blood of the comparatively smnll number of sacrifices was here absorbed by the earth ; later, in the temple conduits were arranged by whicii it was carried off into the valley of the Kedron. Vers. 8-10. The fat of the sin offering was to be treated in the same way as that of the peace offering, only that it is not said that it siiall be burned " upon the burnt offering " since when both were offered the sin offering came first (xvi. 11, 15, 24) ; neither is the burning of the fat described as " an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord." Vers. 11, 12. The disposition of the rest of the victim, i. e., of the whole animal except the blood and the fat, was the same in the sin offering of the high-priest and of the whole congregation (vers. 20, 21). The difference in the treatment of the flesh of these from that of other sin offerings is determined by the treat- ment of the blood (vi. 30). When the blood had been brought within the sanctuary, the flesh must be wholly burned ; yet not burned as a sa- crifice, the word 'l^tS' being never used in that sense. Without the camp. — No flesh of a sin-offer- ing might be burned upon the altar, because the nature of the offering was purely propitiatory, and it did not admit of being so used as to be called " the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord" (see on iii. 11). It is described as " most holy" (vi. 25), and unlike the flesh of any other sacrifice, affected everything with which it came in contact (vi. '26-2S) ; whatever it touched must either be destroyed or specially purified. This was the law for all sin-offering-i, and a further law comes into play in regard to those sacrifices (that of the high-priest and that of the whole congregation) whose blood was brought within the sanctuary (vi. 30). Their flesh was strictly forbidden to be eaten ; and it remained that it must be destroyed in some other way. Hence the command that it should be "burned without the camp." Yet this was not a mere convenience, resorted to because there was nothing else to be done with it. The burn- ing without the camp had a deep symbolical teaching of sufiScient prominence to be referred to in Heb. xiii. 11, 12, and applied to Christ. The ground of the law seems to be that the flesh of all sin offerings was in a peculiar sense " holy" — devoted, under the ban — because they were for the propitiation for sin; yet a gradation was to be observed between them in this as in other respects. Their blood had been offered before the Lord, but when the blood had been offered in a more peculiar and emphatic way by bring- ing it within the sanctuary itself; a correspond- ing emphasis must mark the treatment of the flesh by carrying it forth to burn without the camp. The red heifer, whose ashes were to be used for purification, (Num. xix.) was to be burned in the same way. The sinfulness of sin and the importance and saereduess of everything connected with its propitiation were thus set be- fore the people in the strongest light. Unto a clean place — not carelessly any- where, lest it might happen to be to an "un- clean place" (xiv. 40); but -where the ashes are poured out, which was not merely "clean," but being used only in conneetiou with sacred things, had itself acquired a certain sacred as- sociation. The word *)"]!?, as already noted, in- dicates that the burning itself was not sacrificial. The same word is used for the burning of the red heifer. Num. xix. 5. No especial sin offer- ing is provided for the ordinary priest. It was the spirit of the law to have as little as possible of the caste relation about the priests, and in all matters in which they were not necessarily se- parated by their official functions, to treat them as ordinary citizens. Their sin-offering was doubtless the same with that of " any one of the people of the land." Vers. 13-21, The sin-offering of the whole congregation. If the -TO-hole congregation of Israel sin. — Prominent among the ways in which a whole congregation might sin are these : The civil ruler might do that which involved the nation in sin, and brought down punishment upon if, as in Saul's slaughttr of the Gibeonites, or David's numbering of the people ; a single individual by an act which caused a breach of the divine com- mands given to the whole people, might bring sin upon them all, as in the case of Achan, Josh, vii. 1 ; or the people generally might commit some special sin, as in 1 Sam. xiv. 32, or f.all into some habitual neglect of the divine com- mands, as in regard to the Sabbatical year (2 Chr. xxxvi. 21), and the neglect of tithes and offerings for which they are so frequently re- proved hy the later prophets. Through inadvertence. — There were two kinds of such sin : first, inadvertence of conduct, where the sinfulness of the act would be ac- knowledged when attention was called to it ; and secondly, inadvertence of the law, when the act would not be known to be sinful until the law had been explained. In either case there would be no consciousness or intention of sin, and the thing would be hid from the eyes of the assembly. And are guilty. — Every transgression of the divine law brought guilt, whether through a faulty heedlessness of conduct, or a criminal ignorance of the law which had been given. This principle is abundantly recognized in the New Testament. Vers. 14-21. The ritual of the sin offering for the whole congregation is the same as that for the high-priest. The victim prescribed here is a bullock ; in Num. xv. 24 a kid in addition is required for sins of inadvertence of the congre- gation. Either the law was modified, which seems unlikely, or else the two requirements have reference to some distinction in the occa- sion or character of the sin, such as in one case 46 LEVITICUS. sins of omission, in the otlier of commission. Tliere was also another and very peculiar sin- offering for the congregation prescribed on the especial occasion of the great day of atonement (xvi. 5). The high-priest's sin offering isthere unchanged; but that for the people is highly altered in view of the especial purpose of the day. Vor. 1.5. The elders — since the congregation could only perform the acts required of thd of- ferer by means of their representative". Ver. 20. And the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be for- given them. — This naturally was not said in regard to the high-priest's own sin offering, hut is repeated in connection with those that, follow (vers. 26, 31, 35; y. 6, 10, 13), and elsewhere in the same connection (Num. xv. 2-3, 28); also in connection with the trespass offering (v. 16, 18; vi. 7; xix. 22). It is also used in connection with the purificatory offerings, the change being lu I'le from forgiveness to cleansing ns the result of the atonement (xii. 7, 8; xiv. 20, 53; Num. viii. 21). The use of the simpler form " make atone- ment for him" in connection with the burnt- offering has already been noticed. The priest in these oases unquestionably acted, and was un- derstood by the people to act, in a mediatorial capacity. "^33. as noticed under i. 4, means literally, to cover, io put mil of sight, to hide. Wh,at is promised here is of course not that God will cause to he undone the wrong that has been done ; but that He will so put it out of His sight that the sinner may stand without fault in His presence. See the various expressions to this effect in the prophets, e. ff., Ps. Ixxxv. 2; ciii. 12; xxxviii. 17; xliii. 25; xliv. 22; Jer. xxxi. 34; Ezel£. xviii. 22; xxxiii. 16: Mio. vii. 18,19, etc. This atonement was thus effectual in re- moving the guilt of all transgression (other tlian wilful) against the divine law. Hence the efB- caey of the sin-offering could only have been de- rived from its typical relation to Him who was the Propitiation for the sins of the whole world. (1 Jno. ii. 2). Vers. 22-26. The sin offering for a Prince. The ritual in this case differs from that in the previous cases, first in the selection of the vic- tim, which must now be a he-goat instead of a bullock ; and secondly, in that the blood was not presented within the sanctuary, which involved consequently a difference in the disposition of the flesh. Ver. 24. In the place Twhere they kill the burnt offering — i. e., the burnt offering "of the flock." on the north side of the altar, i. 11. Ver. 25. The horns of the altar of burnt offering — In this and the following cases, as the sin was less extensive in its effects, so the ritual was far more simple. There was no sprinkling of blood before the veil, and the great altar in the court was substituted for the allar of incense within the sanctuary. The fiit was burned as before; on the disposition of the flesh, see vi. 26-29. Vers. 27-35. The sin offering for one of the people. In this case the victim is changed to a female, but the ritual remains the same in all respects as in the sin offering of the prince An option was allowed as to the victim whether it should be of the goats, which seems to have been pre- ferred (vers. 28-31), or of the sheep (vs. 32-3.5). Chap. V. 1-13 Certain specified sins and the sin-offering for them. There is a difference of opinion among com- mentators as to whether this section should be connected with the ein-offerings which preiieile, or with the trespass offerings which follow. See Lange's discussion under iv. 1. The chief ar- gument for the latter is from the use of the word 'IDE'S, ver. 6 (see below), which, however, rightly understood, does not bear out the infer- ence. On the other hand, these verses are dis- tinctly a part of the same divine communication begun iv. 1, while another begins at v. 14 ; tbe word sin-offering is expressly used throughout (vers. 6, 7, 9, 11) ; and the idea of compensation for the harm done, prominent in the trespass offering (especially ver. 16), only slightly ap- pears (ver. 6) in these offerings. They are reckoned with the sin offerings by Knobel and Keil. They may perhaps be considered as some- what intermediate between the ordinary sin offering and the trespass offering, yet belonging in the category of the former. The sins for which they were to be offered were of a less flagrant character than those of ch. iv. Four partiouLir cases of inadvertent sins are first mentioned, vers. 1-4 (for vers. 2 and 3 are clearly to be distinguished); and then confession (ver. 5) and an offering (vers. 6-13) is required for each. The normal offering is prescribed in ver. 6, a substitute allowed in case of poverty, vers. 7-10, and a further substitute in case of extreme poverty, vers. 11-18. Only in regard to these substitutes is the ritual given, that for ihe normal sin offering having been already de- scribed in ch. iv. Ver. 1. The case here specified is that of a witness put upon oath who withholds testimony as to that which is within his own certain know- ledge — lj;_ Xini. It is the omissioh, according to our phraseology, " to tell the whole truth." It may cover also the case of neglect to testify when a public demand for information has been madu with an adjuration; St. Augustine (Quest. in Lev. I.) aud Theodoret extend it also to the case of hearing testimony, known to be false, given under oath. The case of giving positive false witness is quite a different one, and is treated in Dent. xix. 16-19. Adjuration. — In the forms of Jewish trial, the witness did not himself utter the oath, or express his assent to it, but was adjured by the magistrate. Comp. Matt. xxvi. 63 ; 2 Chron. xviii. 15. Whether he hath seen or known.— This covers both the cases of eye-witness and of knowledge derived from any other source. Bear his iniquity. — Until purged in the way herein provided. The expression is a very common one in the law (vii. 18; xvii. 16; xii. 8; XX. 17; xxiv. 15; Num. v. 31; ix- 13; xiv. 33, 34, etc.), and means that he shall endure tlie punishment of the sin, whether in its natural consequences or in positive inflictions. It " used both vvith reference to capital sins and also CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13. 47 to those which might be expiated hy sacrifioc. If the sacrifice were not offered, the sinner must bear the consequences of his sin. In this case confession (ver. 5) was a necessary condition of the sin-offering ; therefore if he do not utter it, for without this there could be no desire to be again at one with God, and hence no place for the offering of sacrifice. Ver. 2. The second case is that of unoleanness from touching the carcase of any unclean ani- mal, and was a sin of a ceremonial character. It be bidden from him. — For the unolean- ness of this and the following verse simple and speedy forms of purification were provided in ease immediate action were taken (xi. 24, 25. 28, 89,40; XV. 5, 8, 21; Num. xix. 22); but if it were neglected or unobserved, the defilement still actually existed, and as the offender was in danger of communicating his own uncleanness to others, and also of constant violation of the precepts of the law, it must be expiated by sac- rifice. On the'oonnection between uncleannet'S and sin, see preliminary note to ch. xi. Ver. 3. Orifhe touch the uncleanness of man. — A special case is made of this in order, as everywhere in the law, to emphasize the dis- tinction between man and the lower animals. Thus while observed impurity from contact with the carcase of an unclean animal was removed at even after washing the clothes (xi. 24, etc.), and neglected might be expiated by the sin- offering, the impurity from contact with the human dead body continued seven days, and rpquired repeated purifications (Num. xix. 11- 16) ; and neglected, the offender defiled the tabernacle, and must "be cut off from Israel." The various kinds of uncleanness in man are detailed in chs. xi.-xv. When he knovreth of it. — This expression is. to be taken in conneoiion with the " it be hid- den from him" of ver. 2. Of course while the defilement was "hidden" there could be no consciousness of guilt, nor of moral sin ; yet the transgression of the law was an existing fact, and entailed its consequences. When it was brought to the offender's knowledge, then he was guilty in the further sense that he was bound to remove the already existing guilt by confession and sacrifice. Ver. 4. The fourth and last case specified is that of careless or forgotten oaths, not embra- cing the breach of the third commandment ; but the neglect or forgetfulness to perform an oath (such as might be uttered in recklessness or passion).— To do evil, or to do good. — That is to do anything whatever. Comp. Num. xxiv. 13 ; Isa. xli. 23. Ver. 5. And it shall be, when.— A form to introduce the apodosis to each of the previous verses. He shall confess. — This applies to the par- ticular sins mentioned in the foregoing verses, not to the sin-offering in general. It is also required in the case of the trespass offering. Num. v. 6, 7. According to Jewish tradition a prayer and confession accompanied the laying on of the hand in all offerings. This is a dis- tinct acknowledgment of the particular fault, apparently before presenting the victim. Ver. 6. Bring for his trespass. — The He- brew being exactly the same as in the following verse, it seems better to give the same transla- tion. The A. V. has also the same translation in vers. 15 and 25 (vi. 6). The phrase is thus parallel to, and in apposition with, for his sin which he hath sinned. The sacrifice for this is expressly called a sin offering in this verse and vers. 7, 11, 12. By this rendering the sin an I the trespass offerings are kept distinct as they were certainly intended to be. A female from the flocis. — The victim and the ritual are precisely the same as in the sin offering for " one of the people of the land," and probably vers. 1-4 are intended to apply only to sins committed by them. Vers. 7-10. The alternative offering of the poor. As in the case of the voluntary burnt offering (i. 14-17), so in this of the required sin offering, the poor are allowed to bring pigeons or turtle- doves. One for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. — The two together evidently constitute the full sin-offering; but they are called by these names because the treatment of the two birds was different, and each after the analogy of the offering from which it is named. The bird being too small to admit of its parts being disposed of as a sin offering, two were required, oneof which was undoubtedly (although this is not expressed) to be eaten by tiie priest, as is stated in the Mishna, after the fashion of the flesh of the sin offering (vi. 26, 29 ; vii. 7) ; 4he other was to be burned on the altar like the fat of that sacrifice. Ver. 8. Finch off the head. — See under i. 15. In this case the head was not to be entirely separated, but pinched off enough to allow the blood to flow and to kill the bird. Ver. 9. Sprinkle of the blood. — This was not done in the case of the bird for the burnt- cffering. It could easily be accomplished by swinging the bleeding bird against the side of the altar. Pressed out at the bottom. — Where the blood of the other sin offerings was poured. In the burnt offering this blood (i. 15) was pressed out against the side of the altar. Ver. 10. The ritual of the second bird was to be the same as when birds were offered for a burnt offering (i. 15-17). The two birds toge- ther constituted a complete sin offering. From the fact, however, that two were required, it is plain that the part of the offering not required to be consumed upon the altar was still essential to the sacrifice. Vers. 11-13. The second alternative for the extremely poor. This was allowed, on account of the absolute necessity of the sin offering, in order to put it within the reach of all. Lange notes that the sins specified in this section are, for the most part, sins arising from the lowness and rudeness of the inferior people : the law seeks to refine them. Still it is to be remembered that this alternative offering was not only for the sins mentioned v. 1-13, but for all sins reached by the sin offering. The fact that it was unbloody is not opposed to the general significance of the shedding of blood in connection with the remis- 48 LEVITICUS. Bion of sin (Heb. ix. 22), since this alternative ■was altogether of an exceptional character and allowed only in case of necessity- It was also supplemented by the general sin offering on the great day of atonement. The tenth part of an Ephah. — The Ephah according to Josephus was about 1 1-9 bushels ; according to the Eabbins, rather less than half that amount. The tenth of an Eph.ah (called an Omer, Ex. xvi. 36) was therefore, according to the lower and more probable estimate, Tery nearly three pints and a half. He shall put no oil upon it. — The tin- ofFering of flour wns sharply distinguished from the oblation of the sam'^ (ii. 5) by the absence of the oil and frankincense, just as the other sin offerings were marked by the absence of the oblations. In both cases, the difference indi- cates that the offerer stood in a different rela- tion toward God, not that of one in communion with Ilim, but of one seeking atonement for the sin which separated from Him. Ver. 12. On the "handful" and "memorial" see on ii. 2. Ver. 13. In one of these. — As in ver. 5, one of the sins specified, vers. 1-4. As an oblation, i. e. as most holy. Comp. under ii. 3. The character of the sin offering in its two parts is still preserved in this its humblest form. DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. I. One of the plainest teachings of the sin offering is that everything opposed to the re- vealed will of God is Bin, whether done with the purpose of transgre.-ssing it or not. Butler has shown that this is in perfect accordance with the divine law in nature. St Paul considered himself the chief of sinners, because he "perse- cuted the Church of God;" yet as he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief (1 Tim. i. 13-16), so the sin-offering was pro- vided for those who put themselves io opposition to the divine will without intending to do so. It was on this principle that Jesus could pray for those who nailed Him to the cro»s : " Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke xxiii. 34) The great mass of human sin is incurred not for the sake of sinning, but in heedlessness, or through wrong judgment, or under the impulse of passion. It comes under the head of sins of inadvertence; but, as of old, needs the intervention of the blood of the atone- ment before the sinner can be restored to com- munion with God. II. In the law of the sin offering it appears clearly that under the old dispensation as well as the new the character of the sin was deter- mined by the animus of the sinner. For high- handed and defiant sin no sacrifice was allow- able ; he who committed this put himself out of the pale of reconciliation. But he who commit- ted sins — which might in themselves be far worse — " through inadvertence" might bring his of- fering and have " an .ilonement made for him." An excellent historical illustration may be found in oomparing ihe stories of th'i lives of Saul and of David; and the distinction between the two kinds of sin is expressed in the psalm of David (XIX. 12). III. In the sin offering the offerer must have already been in a state of mind which led him to desire the forgiveness of his sin, as is shown by his very act of bringing his victim to the priest; he was also ready to confess his sin ; yet still the offering was required. By this was taught in outward symbol to the people of the old dis- pensation what is BO clearly proclaimed in the Gospel, that for the forgiveness of sin there must be some propitiation outside and beyond the sin- ner himself; mere penitence, though an essen- tial prerequisite, cannot alone avail to restore the disturbed relations to God of one who has transgressed His law. IV. The inherent ineflicacy of these sacrifices to atone for sin has been already repeatedly no- ticed ; moreover, this inefficacy was constantly brought to the mind of the worshipper by the repetition of the sin offerings, as is especially noted in regard to the sacrifices of the day of atonement in the Ep. to the Heb. (ix. 6-8); still the sin offering is insisted upon in the law with an emphasis greater than belongs to any other sacrifice. Most clearly, therefore, does it point to the " Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." V. In the extension of the privileges of tho sin-offering in Num. xv. 29 to "the stranger" one of those many intimations is given, scattered everywhere throughout the Old Test., which the Israelites were so slow to understand, that tbe blessings of forgiveness and of approach to God were intended for all people, and that tbe nar- rowness of restriction to the children of Abia- ham after the flesh was on'y a temporary provi- sion "because of transgressions" until the promised Seed should come. But even while the restriction continued the stranger in Is-rael might present his sin offering, and Israel's priests must make atonement for him. VI. The sacramental va'ue of the sin offering is happily expressed by Calvin in Lev. iv. 22. "In truth they hold not the first rudiments of the faith who do not reci'gnize that the legal ce- remonies were sacraments. But in all sacra- ments, at least those which are regular in the church, there is a spiritual promise annextd. It follows therefore that forgiveness was tru'y pro- mised to the Fathers who reconciled themselves to God by the victims offered ; not that the slaughter of sheep could expiate sins, but be- cause this was a symbol, certain and impossible to deceive, in which pious souls might rest so that they could dare to appear before God in lalm confidence. In fine, as sins are now sacra- mentally washed away by baptism, so under the law also sacrifices were expiations, although in a different fashion ; since baptism sets before us Christ immediately, who was only obscurely sha- dowed forth under the law. Improperly indeed is that transferred to the signs which belongs to Christ alone, in whom is set forth to us the truth of all spiritual good and who finally did away sin by His single and perpetual sacrifice. But since the question is not what the sacrifices availed in themselves, let it suffice that they testi- fied of the grace of God of which they were figures." VII. The ritual of the sin offering was the most solema of all the sacrifices, and the blood CHAP. V. 14— VI. 7. 49 of this (except in case of tlie alternative doves) was always to be placed at least ou the bonis of the altar, while that of the greaest burnt or peaoe-otfering was only sprinkled ou its sides; thus the forgiveness of sin is shown to be the most fundamental and necessary part of the whole approach to God. VIII. No sin offerings, although some of them were "burned without the camp," were ever wholly burned upon the altar, and the common expression in regard to other sacrifices, " the food of the Loi'd " is never applied to these. Frankincense and oil were not allowed with the vegetable, nor an oblation with the animal sin ottering The whole ritual was stern and severe, until by the sacrifice itself propitiation had been made. By this symbolisTi is set forth the atti- tude of the Infinite in holiness towai-ds sin ; and thus is seen what must have been the conse- quences to the sinner, except for the Propitiation that is in Christ Jesus. HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL. The " exceeding sinfulness of sin " is shown in every possible symbolical way by this offering It has in it nothing of the oil of gladness, or the fragrance of frankincense ; it has nothing of festive joy, or of communion between the wor- shipper and God. Yet dark as the shadow of sin is hereby shown to be, it appears on all oc- casions when man comes into the presence of God. The sin offering was presented for "the peo- ple, on all the great festivals and days of solemn ooDVOcatiou, ou Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, on the Day of 5Ie- morial, on the first day of the seventh mouth, and on the Day of Atonement " (Kalisoh) and on many other public occasions. Besides all these, it was offered continually by individuals as the sins of their own lives were brought to their con- sciousness. So must man's approach to God ever be with the plea, "Have mercy upon me, a sin- ner." Coming in this temper, propitiation is provided for all. There was none so poor but that a sin offering was within his reach. And so the word of the great Propitiation is, "Him that Cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." " Ho is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him." Yet for high-handed and defiant sin, for sin that sets itself in opposition to the Divine way of salva- tion, there is no other way of forgiveness, " there remains no more sacrifice." Comp. Heb. x. 26. For the sin of the high-priest a higher victim was commanded, and with a higher ritual, be- cause he " sinned to the guilt of the people." Only for the sin of the whole people collectively the same offering was required. So it must ever be with those in positions of influence and au- thority ; when they sin, they drag others with them into guiltiness. There is ever a federal, as well as an individual relation between man and God, and though the latter may delerm ne his final condition, yet his individual rtlation itself is largely affected by his federal. Sins of omission are regarded as sins equally with those of commission. No one is so humble that the means of propi- tiation is not provided for him. Under the law this could only be symbolized by alternative of- ferings of different degrees, showing forth the freeness under the Gospel of the offer of the waters of life to all that are athirst. E.— TRESPASS OFFERINGS. Chaps. V. 14— VI. 7. Note.— In the division of chapters in the Hebrew Bible this section is rightly all included in Chap. V. 14, 15 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul commit a trespass [do a wrong'], and sin through ignorance [inadvertence^] in [takinff from^] the holy things of the Lord ; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with [according to*] thy estimation by shekels of silver, TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. > Ter. 15. b;7rD hj/OPi- The wor i be.ng ditferent from the OWH bo frequently recurring in this chapt r in a tech- nical Beuse, it is better to chango the translation. Otherwise cnmwit a trespass is a sufficiently good translation, as no Eng- lish word embodies the idea of secrecy or stealth conveyed by the original. ^ Ver. 15. njJE'3 *= through inadvertence. See Note i on iv. 2. ' Ver. 16. «"" 'ttflpD a oonalructio pra^ffnans — takine, or diminishing from the holy things. * Ver. 15. n31_J?3.' 'ihe preposition often hai the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word bnt one) seems here the better rendering. The evlden' sense is that the ram was tf> be of a certain value, an 1 this was to he determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in tbn following ver., and doesnot come into view here. The Sara, text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, bnt all the ancient versions, while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to ; they also neglect to translate the T| = thy. 50 LEVITICUS. 16 after the shekel of the sanctuary, f jr a trespass offering ; and he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done [sin that he hath committed*] in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest : and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. 17 Aud if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lokd ; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and 18 shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with [according to*] thy estimation, fjr a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance [inadver- 19 tence'"] wherein he erred and wist it not, aud it shall be forgiven him. It is a tres- pass offering : he hath certainly trespassed against the Lokd. Chap. VI. 1, 2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass [do a wrong'] against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour, in that [and deny to his neighbor that"] which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship [or a pledge'] or in [omit in] a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived [op- 3 pressed"] his neighbour ; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it [denieth it^] and sweareth falsely ; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning 4 therein : then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall re- store that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully [oppressively'] gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing 5 which he found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely ; he shall even re- store it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unio 6 him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.' And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, 7 with [according to*] thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest : and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord : and it shall be forgiven him for anything of all that he hath done in trespassing therein. s Ver. 16. This is the only place in Lev. in which KDH is rendered by any other word thau sin in theA. V. Tliifl Bhonld be conformed to the usage. fl Chap. VI. Ver. 2. ^n3 construed with a double 3 of the person and of the thing, = to deny a thing to a person. The word means to lie (xix H, etc.), but the other rendering expresses more exactly the sense here, and is the more usual ^ Ver. 2. n^ nOl^r^j'lK = o. thing given in pled^e^ apaum^ different from the trust just before. The coustraction ia T ..■ : . with the same verb, and is sufficiently expressed without the special translation of ^, so that the in of the A, V. may be t niittvd tbroughout. 8 Ver. 2. pU^J^ lit. to ^rfs.s, to squeeze, hence to oppress. A new verb being here introduced the construction with the series of 3 enJs. The derived noun piy^, ver. 4, bears the same sense => that which has been oppressively obtained. 8 Vor. 5. The Heb. word meaning either trespass or trespass offering, the marg. of the A. V. is hardly accurate in writing *' Heb. m the ilsiy of his trespass." EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. The general distinction of the trespass from the sin offering lias already been pointed out: in the trespass offering the idea of the harm done was more prominent, in the sin offering that of the sin commUt''d. Accordingly the trespass of- fering was usually accompanied by *' amends for the harm" — a fifth (a double tithe) being added as penalty. In case the person against whom the wrong was done was already dead without a kinsman to receive the compensation, the amends and penalty were to be paid to the priest (Num. y. 8). The ritual differed in several respects from that of the sin offering: the blood was treated as in the burnt and peace offerings; the only victim here allowed was a ram; there was no gradation either in the victim or the ritual according to the rank of the offender; nor were any alternative offerings allowed in case of po- verty. The reason for the last provision results necessarily from the nature of the offering. Elsewhere we find the same trespass offering prescribed for unchastity with a slave (xix. 2ft- ;22), and in later times offered by those who, on the return from the captivity, had taken strange wives (Ezra X. 19); the same also (not «, "he- lamb," as in the A. V. ) is commanded with a Bomewhatdifferent ritual on occasion of declaring the cleansing of a leper (xiv. 12, 21), and also with a ram of a year old for the victim in case of unintentional defilement by a dead body during a Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 9-12). Three cases are specified which demand a trespass offering — the first two having reference more directly to wrong done towards God (v. 15-19), aud the third, including several varieties of offence, having reference to wrong done to men (vi. 2-7). CHAP. V. 14— VI. 7. 51 Ver. 14. And the LORD spake. — This for- mula marks a fresh communication and distinctly separates tlie trespass-offering from the sin offer- ing which has occupied the whole of the previous communication from iv. 1. The whole law of the trespass offering is not, however, contained in this communication, but only that part of it re- lating to wrongs done toward God. Wrongs done toward man are the subject of a separate communication (vi. 1-7). Vers. 16-17. The first ease of the trespass offering. Ver. IS. Through inadvertence, as in iv. 2, 13, 22. In taking from the holy things. — See Textual note 3. The holy things were the first- fruits, tithes, or gifts of any kind connected with the service of the sanctuary or the support of its priests, by the withholding of which the Lord is said to suffer loss. The restitution and penalty are mentioned xxii. 14 without mention of this offering, vsUich is presupposed. A ram. — The invariable trespass offering (except in the special cases xiv. 12 ; Num. vi. i2) which does not at all appear in the list of victims for the sin offering in iv. 1 — v. 13. According to thy estimation. — See Text- ual note 4. — The pronoun thy must be considered as used impersonally ; or if it be taken person- ally, then it is addressed to Moses, and of course to any one to whom this duty should afterwards belong in bis place. Shekels. — The Vulg. and many commentators understand the plural to stand for two, as the A. V. has explained the plurnl in Ezek. xlvii. 13 ; others, as Aben-Ezra, Abarbanel, etc., understand it less definitely as meaning at least two shekels. The notion of Oehler (p. 478) and Keil (in loc.) that the value of the ram was purposely left in- definite, that there might be room to vary it ac- cording to the gravity of the trespass, although advocated by Michaelis (Art. 244), is clearly wrong It is opposed to the fundamental idea of all sacrifice, which excludes such correlation ; and is entirely unnecessary, since the compensa- tion and forfeit (ver. 16) were separately re- quired. Moreover, the variation in the value of the ram would be very small in comparison with the variation in trespasses. The text »as in- tended to fix the lowest limit of the value of .1 ram that could be allowed, and the estimutiou was for the purpose of determining whether he came up to the standard. " The plural is plainly to be uuderstood as meaning two shekels, or at least two shekels." Knobel. Shekel of the Sanctuary. — See Ex. xxx. 13 ; xxxviii. 24, etc. Ver, 16. And he shall make amends. — He shall give the first-fruits or tithes, or whatever he had withheld or taken from sacred dues, or its value. And shall add the fifth part thereto as a penalty or forfeit. — Theodoret here refers to the example of Zaccheus. The justice of such ad- ditional payment is everywhere recognized in the Hebrew and all other laws. It is in this, and not iu the ram, that the penalty is proportioned to the offence. This having been done, and reparation made, then, with the ram, the priest shall make an atonement. On the ritual of this sacrifice see vii. 1-6. Vers. 17-19. The second case of the trespass offering. This second ease probably differed from the first as sins of commission differ from those of omission. The formula by which the trespass is expressed is substantially the same as in iv. 22 and 27 in regard to the sin to be expiated by the sin offering. From its connection, and from its being expiated by the trespass offering, it is sup- posed to include all those transgressions against the theocratic law which could be compensated by money or other payment ; yet in this case alone no mention is made of compensation, partly because it was evident from the foregoing that it was required when it could be given, and partly because it included also eases in which pecuniary compensation could not be given, but punishment must be inflicted in some other way. (See xix. 20.) Lange, however, urges that this omission is a serious difficulty against the view of the trespass offering which has here been given. He considers that the trespass offering relates to participation in guilt in contradistinc- tion to an original offence, and thinks this is in. dicated by the description of these sins as "sins of ignorance." He says "these sins of ignorance belong specifically to the category of participation in guilt." It must be remembered, however, that all sins for which any offering was allowed were "sins of ignorance," or rather of inadvertence. VI. 1-7. The third case of the trespass offering. From the formula of ver. 1 this appears as a separate divine communication, on account of the different character of the sins enumerated. All sin is indeed against God, yet those which follow belong to that class of offences against Him which also work harm to men. The first three verses contain an enumeration of specific wrongs; vers. 4 and 6 provide for amends for the harm done with the added pe- nalty; and vers. 6 and 7 for atonement by means of the trespass offering. This communication bears the same relation to the foregoing which V. 1-13 bears to chap. iv. Ver. 2. If a man deny to his neighbor that -which viras delivered him. — "]np3 is a deposit, a thing entrusted to be kept. The sin in this case would consis.t either iu denying the receiving it at all, or denying that it was re- ceived in trust, or refusing to restore it. A pledge. — This differs from the former iu not being simply a trust, bnt a security, a pawn. It is not separately mentioned in ver. 4. Ver. 8. Svreareth falsely. — When he denies that he has found a lost thing, and is put upon his oath, he swears to his lie, IPBi-bj;. This false swearing refers also to all the wrongs men- tioned before, and the guilt of the false oath, added to the wrong done, brings the offence into the category of sins against the Lord. Ver. 6. In the day of his trespass o&ering. The amends for the wrong done was to be made to the person wronged at the same time that the offender sought the divine forgiveness. The penalty for the wrong and the ritual of the offering are the same as in chap. v. In Ex. xxii. 1-9 a series of wrongs is enume- rated much like those here mentioned with the 62 LEVITiuuHT general law that the restitution should be dou- ble (vers. 4, 9), while in particalar cases it rose to four and five-fold. The distinction between the penalty as given there and here appears to lie in the fact that there the offender was only brought to any restitution by a conviction "be- fore the judges" (ver. 9): while here, although it is not distinctly so declared yet. every thing implies that the acknowledgment of the wrong is voluntary. There is no mention of conviction, and the whole connection is with sins of inad- vertence or impulse which were afterwards ac- knowledged, and for which forgiveness was sought by the offender. DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. I. From the law of the trespass offering it is clear that guilt was not removed by the mere act of compensation (with penalty added) for the harm done; nor, on the other band, could an atonement be offered for that cuilt until such compensation had been made. Here are brought out the two principles whioli everywhere, under the oM and the new dispensation abke, are con- cerned in the forgiveness of transgression. There must be both the desire, as far as possible, to make amends for the harm done; and tlieie must be also the sacrifice divinely appointed for "the covering" of the sin. Neither of these can avail alone, because both are essential to that stale of holiness, that conquest over the evil, by which alone man can be at one with God. The sacrifice of Christ is all-sufficient for the forgive- ness of sin; but the sinner can only avail him- self of its benefits when, Christ-like, he himself seeks to conquer the evil. II. Wrong done to man is itself sin against God. It is impossible to separate the command to love God from that of loving our neighbor also. 1 J no. iii. 20, 21. III. In tho'e sins against others for which atonement was provided in the trespass offering, there was the additional sin of a false oath. This was certainly a moral offence — a sin in the full sense of the word. In view of this, it is impos- sible to look upon the offences for which sacri- fices were appointed as mere ceremonial or theo- cratic offences. They everywhere appear as true sins, moral transgressions, and this is most cliarly shown by including the false oath among them. HOMILETrCAL AND PRACTICAL. There is no true repentance for wrong done to man which is not accompanied by restitution— and none for having taken from the things of the Lord, or for having failed to give all that should have been given to Him, except in restoring it in overflowing measure; yet while this may make amends fir the harm done, forgiveness of the *m must still be sought through propitiation. In the trespass offering the ritual of the blood was like that of the hurnt or the peace offering — inferior to that of the sin offering. This s"hows that while wrong must of necessity involve sin, yet it does not, in itself considered, stand on tlie same footing as sin; the moral element in trans- gression is always the more important. One cannot indeed really offend against man without also offending against God ; yet the offence whicli has God directly for its ohjective point must ne- cessarily be more serious, since it involves a deeper lort than that which is directed only against man. The tin offering was lessened by successive stages for the poor, and the very poor, that it might be brought within the reach of all; for all must have propitiation for sin; but the trespass offering is unvaried, the same for all; because it one cannot make amends for the wrong he has done, it mus; be let alone, — an inferior gift can- not set things right. Wrong, like sin, may be committed through inadvertence. Still it must be atoned for. Good intentions will not repair the wrong. For sin done " with a high hand," presump- tuously, nu sacrifice was provided, because the offender deliberately set himself in opposition to God ; but for offences against man, such as those here enumer.itcd, some of which must have been done deliberately, a sacrifice is allowed, because even such intentional wrongs do not constitute the same attitude of opposition to God. They may be done, through passion or covetousuess, without reflection upon their moral bearings. Therefore, on repentance, restitution, and propi. tiation, they may be forgiven. Origen applies the law of trespass in abstract- ing from sacred things to the faithfulness re- quired of the Christian minister in regard to gifts for holy uses committed to his trust; and then further to the hearing of God's word as a sacred gift, for the use of which men are re- sponsible, and for the misuse of which they be- come guilty. CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 53 SECOND SECTION. Special Instructions chiefly for the Priests. Chap. VI. 8— VII. 38. "Standing Sacrificial Rites and Duties — especially of the Priests'' — Lange. A.— FOR BURNT OFFERINGS. Chap. VI. 8-13. 8, 9 And the Loed spake unto Moses, saying. Command' Aaron and his sons, say- ing, This is the law of the burnt offering: It^ is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar [This, the burnt offering, shall be upon the hearth upon the altar'] all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10 And the priest shall put on his* linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put* upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering [ashes to which the fire hath consumed the burnt- offering'] on the altar, 11 and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean 12 place.' And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in [on] it; it shall not be put out : and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it : and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar ; it shall never go out. B.— FOR OBLATIONS (MEAT OFFERINGS). VI. 14-23. 14 And this is the 1 iw of the meat offering [oblation*] ; the sons of Aaron shall 15 offer" it before the Lord, before the altar. And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering [oblation*], and of the oil thereof, and all the frank- incense which is upon the meat offering [oblation*], and shall burn it upon the 16 altar /or a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. And the remain- der thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat : with [om. with] unleavened bread [om. bread] shall it be eaten in the [a] holy place ; in the court of the tabernacle of the 17 [om. the] congregation they shall eat it. It'' shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire ; it is most TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. ' Ter. 9. li". ThsiSam. has 'IS, a form which occurs in MSS. with the pointing 'IV. ' Ver". 9, 17, 18, 22. XIH. The S.im, and many MSS. haye the later form NTI indicated by the Masoretic punctua- tion. This frequent variation will not hi-reatter bo noticed. The conjectural emendation of Houbigani:, 'in iQ the impe- rative, although expresBing the sense, is unnecessary. • 3 Ver. 9. The suggested translation is that given hy most critics ; of its general correctness there can be no doubt ; but the sense of mplD (which occurs only hero) may be either that of liearth, or of bwming. The masculine form, TpJD (which is found only Ps. cii. 4 (3), and Isa. xxxiii. 14), is translated in both ways in the A. V., but should have only the later sense. The weight of autliority as well as the context make hmrlh, the prof'erable translation hero. Knohel woulj make XIH the vtrb io«6e in tite impL-rative; but this is not sufficienfly supported. * Ver. 10. no- Tor the suffix on a noun in the constr. Knobel refers to xxvi. 42; Ex. xxvi. 25; Jer. ix. 2 (viii. 23); 2Sam. xxii. 33, however, reads 'IJO. ^ Ver. 10. The Sam. for ^3*?' has Vn' as in xvi. 4, which scarcely affects the s«iae. ' Ver. 10. The proprietv of this correction is obvions. Bp. Horsley's emendation : take up the ashea of the firs which hath consiimed— does violi-nce to the Heb. ' Ver, 11. The Vulg. has this curious addition: uaque adfaviWim consumi faciRt. ' Ver. li, etc. nrUD— oblation. See ch. ii. 1, Text, and Gram. Note (2). The Sam. has here "the law of the oblation of the drink offerings," whence the Vulg. : lex sacrificii et libamentorum, » Ver. 14. aipn, Infln. Abs. as in ii. 6j Ex. xiii. 3. 64 LEVITiuuis. 18 holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Loed made by fire : every one that [whatsoever*'] toucheth them shall be holy. 19, 20 And the Lord spake unro Moses, saying, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when he" is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for" a meat offering [an oblation*] perpetual, 21 half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.'' In a pan it shall be made with oil ; and when it is baken [fried'*], thou shalt bring it in : and the baken'' pieces'^ of the meat offering [oblation*] shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the 22 Lord. And the pritst of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it : it w 23 a statute forever unto the Lord ; it shall be wholly burnt. For every meat-offer- ing [oblation*] for the priest shall be wholly burnt : it shall not be eaten. C— FOR SIN OFFERINGS. VI. 24-30. 24, 25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of ihe sin offering : In the place where the burnt offering is 26 killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord : it is most holy. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it : in the [a] holy place shall it be eaten, in the 27 courtof the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou'* shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the [a] holy place. 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken : and if it be sodden in 29 a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. All the males among 30 the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And [But] no sin offering, whe'eof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation to reconcile [make atonement"] withal in the holy place, shall be eaten : it shall be burnt in the fire. D.— FOR TRESPASS OFFERINGS. Chap. VII. 1-6. Chap. VII. 1 Likewise [And] this is the law of* the trespass-offering : it is most 2 holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering : and the blood thereof shall he" sprinkle round about upon the altar. 3 And he shall ofier of it all the fat thereof; the rump [the fat tail'"], and the fat that 4 covereth the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with [on^'] the kidneys, it shall 5 he take away: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made 6 by fire unto the Lord ; it is a trespass offering;. Every male among the priesti shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the [a] holy place: it is most holy. 10 Ver. 18. HE^'X 73 might be undeiBtood either as every one that, as in the A. V., or as ei'ery thing that; but ss tUo latter is the necessary translation of the exactly parallel clause in ver. 27 fas in the A. T.), it is better to keep it here also, u Ver. 20. The Syr. here has the plural. ^ Yer. 20. The prep. 7, not in the Heb., is supplied by the Sam. and many MSS. 18 Ver. 20. The paraphrase of the Sam. D'^'lJ^n V2==between the evfnings, expresses the connection of this oblat'on with the evening sacrifice. 1-1 Ver. 2l. ri33lp, a word of very doubtful meaning, but should certainly have the same translation as in Tii. 12, where sf^e note. 16 Ver. 21. ''yBn, a word an-. Ae'y. to Which different significations are attached according to its supposed derivation. FUrst, deriving it from ni;^, gives the sense of the A. V. Gesenius also, deriving from ni3X, gives the sense of cooked. Othera derive it from an Arabic root, and give the meaning hroheti. So Targ. Onk. (which points '' Jl3^i^) and the Sam. i» Ver. 27. D3DlT T^^lV■ The sudden change of f erson, and the feminine sufBx in reference to a mascnline noun, — : T V T , are both avoided by the Sam. reading D33^ V7 V. " Ver. 30. ^£307. There may be but little difference in the sense of the two renderings ; but it is better to retain the same form always. Other instances of variation in the A. V. in Lev. are vi ii. 15 and xvi. 20 only. 18 YII. Ver. 1. The LXX. here has 6 vo/ios rov Kpiov, the ram being the only victim admissible for the trespass oifering. " Ver. 2. The Sam. here uses the plural. It cannot mean that the offerer sprinkled the blood, but rather aflsimilatM this verb to those going before on the supposition (as in i. 6, 12, etc.) that the priests also killed the victim. » Ver. 3. rriXri. See Textual Note * on iii. 9. 21 Ver. 4. S^^on. See Textual Note ' on ili. i. CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 55 E.— FOR THE PRIESTS' PORTION OF THE ABOVE OFFERINGS. VII. 7-10. 7 As the sin-offering is, so is the trespass offering : there is one law for them : the 8 priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offer- eth any man's birnt off ring, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the 9 burnt-offering which he hath offered. And all the meat-offering [oblation*] that is baken in the oven, an'l all that is dress d in the frying-pan [pot'^], and in the pan, 10 shall be the priest's th^t offereth it. And [But] every meat offering [oblation*] mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as nvuch as another. F.— FOR PEACE OFFERINGS IN THEIR VARIETY. VII. 11-21. 11 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which Tib'' shall offer unto 12 the Lord. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed 13 with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.^* Besides the cakes, he shall offt-r for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his 14 peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation [out of ea' h offering®] for an heave offering unto the Loed, and it shall be the priest's that 15 sprinkleth the blood of th^i p^ ace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peape offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered ; he 16 shdl not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offere h his 17 sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: but the re- mainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. 18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offer- eth it: it shall be an abomination,^* and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his 19 iniquity. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten ; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that poul shall be cut off 21 from his people. Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean ihing," and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of ppace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. G.— FOR THE FAT AND THE BLOOD. VII. 22-27. 22, 23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, 24 saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat of the beast [carcase'*] that dieth of itself, and the fat of that whicii is torn with 25 beasts, may be used in any other use : but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For who- soever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto •* Ver. 9. See Textual Note ' on H. 7. " Ver. 11. The Sam., LXX. and Vulg. with two MSS. have the plural. '* Ver. 12. n33^a. There is so much difference of opinion as to the meaning that it seems unsafe to attempt any changB in the A. V. '' rbrst says : " smelMng dipped in, mingled (hy moisteninK) ;" Lanije denies that it ronveys the some Of cooked; Keil trannlatps •'and roasted fine, flam- (see Ti. 14) mixed ax cakes with ml, i. e., cakes made of fine fluur roaste.l with oil, and thoroughly kneaded with oil." Others give varying interpretations. ffi Ver. 14. p-ip is to be uniformly translated ofertna. See ii. 1. The word ra&oie in the A. V. does not exp-ess the idea that one must be taken out of each of the offerings mentioned in the two preceding verses. » Ver. 18. Sua OCCUK only here and in xix. 7 ; Isa. Ixv. i ; Bzek. iv. 14, and is always applied to the sacrificial flesh. It is from the root 7j3, and signifies something unclean and fetid, LXX. fiCacriia. » Ver. 21. For Vntj(=are cibmmmhh animal fxi. 10, 12, 13, 20, 23, 41), the Sam., six MSS. of Kennicott and of de Bossi, larg. of Onkelos (JSTC)) and the Syr. read ^lE^-repfifes, marms (v. xi. 20, 29, 41). This would make a more systematic *flumeration of the sources of uncleanness, and is adopted by many. i8 Ver. 24. rh^i- The margin of the A. V. is better than the text. The HS^B of ^e next claufle-tora k. of T '* ! ^ ' Jiea-tB, is of course a wholly different word. 56 LEVITICUS. 26 the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your 27 dwellings. Whatsoever soul it he that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. H.— FOR THE PRIESTS' PORTION OF THE PEACE OFFERINGS. VII. 28-36. 28, 29 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying. He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord shall bring his oblation [offering^] unto the Lord of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before 31 the Lord. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall 32 be Aaron's and his sons'. And the right shoulder [leg^] shall ye give unto the priest 33 for an heave offermg of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of Aari n, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right 34 shoulder [leg™] for his part. For the wave-breast and the heave shoulder [leg"] hav3 I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from 35 among the children of Israel. Tnis is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons [This is the portion" of Aaron and the portion" of his sons], out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, in the daj when he^ presented 36 them to minister unto the Lord in the priest's ofBce ; which the Lord commanded to be given theaa of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations. CONCLUS'ON OF THIS SECTION. VII. 37-38. 37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering [oblation], and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacri- 38 fice of the peace offerings; which t'le Lord commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations [offerings"] unto the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai. 28 Yer. 29. The uniform translation of |3Tp must be retained here also, although giving an appearance of tautology which is not in xhe ori'^ina], his peace offerings bting expresayd simply by VD7ty. The translation of the A. V. may hare TT : been influoncpd by the rondi^ring in the Vu'g. : ojferat simvX et sacrijicium, id est, libamenta ejus ; bnt for this there ia no warrant, nor is it su itaiued by any other of the ancient vel3ioud. 30 Ver. 32. p\^ is uniformly rendered shftulder in the A. Y. wherever it is applied to sacrificial animals; in all other places it ia uaeii of men (Deut. xxviii. 35; ProT. xxvi. 7 ; Cant. v. 15; Isa. xlvii. 2; also Dan. ii. 33, Chald.; Ps. cxlTii, W), and is translated teg, or hip, r.r thigh. The A. V hiia hero followed the equally uniform practice of the LXX. and tlio VulK- It would seem that the word should have the same sense in both eases; there is no place in which teg is inapplicable;, bvit tlnj-e are several in whicli shmtlder is inadmiss ble. The testimony of Josephus (III. 9, § 2, ici^^^ij) is explicit in favor of Ipg ; so also Jewish tradition and the lexicons. Whether the fort^ or the hind leg is meant is a matter of difference of- opi- nion ; but the Heb. has a distinct word ^^')1'=arm for the shoulder or fore-leg (Num. vi. 19 ; Deut. xviii. 3), and that, too, o[ the sacrificial animal:^. SI Ver. 35. T]r\U^D- The word undoubtedly means anointing; but there is also good authority for the meaning jjordon T ; • . . which Kosenrailller considers undoubtedly the right tr,Tn8lation here, and which is so neceaeary to the sense that it is sop- plied in the A. V., which has followed the translation of the LXX. and Vulg. 82 Ver. 35. The Vulg. haa die g«a obtulU eoa Moyses vi sactrdotio fungwentar. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. The remainder of ch. vi., with the whole of oh. vii., form a distinct section occupied mainly with the duties and privileges of the priests in conneetioa with their sacrificial service. Al- though there is unavoidably a little repetition in thus speaking again of the same sacrifices from a different point of view and for a different ob- ject ; yet the gain in clearness and distinctness in thus separating the priestly duties from those of the laymen is obvious, both for the priests and for the people. The section consists of five di- vine oomraunications addressed through Moses to Aaron and his sons, as the former commu- nication had been to the children of Israel. It has already been noticed that in the Hebrew Bibles the chapter rightly begins with the begin- ning of this section. Here also begins a new Parashah, or Proper Lesson of the law, whiok extends to viii. 36. The corresponding Lesson from the prophets begins with Jer. vii. 21, in which " God declares the vanity of saorifioe without obedience." A. Vera. 8-13. Instructions for the priests m regard to the burnt-offeriiigs. This has refe- rence to the daily burnt-offerings of a lamb »' CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 88. 57 evening and al morning. There was no occa- eion for directions in regard to the voluntary burnt offerings as they involved no other priestly duties than those already expressed in chap. i. ; in that chapter nothing has been said of the re- quired burnt sacrifice, provided at the public ooBt, which is here treated of. Ver. 9. All night unto the morning. — The slow fire of the evening sacrifice was to be so arranged as to last until the morning; that of the morning sacrifice was ordinarily added to by other offerings, or if not, could easily be made to last through the much shorter interval until the evening. The evening sacrifice is natu- rally mentioned first because, in the Hebrew di- vision of time, this was the beginning of the day. It was offered "between the evenings," i. «., between three o'clock and the going down of the sun. The general direction for the daily burnt offerings has already been given in Ex. xxix. 38, and is again repeated in Num. xxviii. 3. As this offering was theoretically the com- prehensive type from which all other offerings were specialized, so practically it was always burning upon the altar, and all other sacrifices were offered " upon it." Ver. 10. His linen garment. — This was " the long tight-robe of fine white linen, or bys- SU8, without folds, covering the whole body, and reaching down to the feet, with sleeves, woven as one entire piece, and with forms of squares intermixed, and hence called tesalated" (Ka- lisoh). It is scarcely necessary to point out that linen, from its cleanliness, and from the readi- ness with which it could be washed, was selected as the priestly dress not only among the Israel- ites, but among many other nations also, espe- cially the Egyptians, whose priests are therefore often described by Roman poets as Unigeri. There were four parts of the priestly linen dress, of which two only are mentioned here, because all had been prescribed in Ex. xxviii. 40-43, and the girdle and the turban were of course to be un- derstood. The priests might not minister, at the altar in any other garments, nor might they wear these outside the sacred precincts. And take up the ashes. — As the priest must be in his ofiScial dress at the altar, it was of ne- cessity that he should temporarily deposit the ashes near by, until he had finished the ordering of the altar. Ver. 11. And he shall put off bis gar- ments. — The sacred dress was now to be laid aside as the priest must pass out of the taber- nacle and out of the camp. It has been ques- tioned whether the carrying forth of the ashes must necessarily be performed by the officiating priest himself. According to Jewish tradition it might be done by any of the priestly family who were excluded from officiating at the altar by reason of some bodily defect. The same tradi- tion also tells us that it was onlyrequired each day to carry forth a small quantity of the ashes — a shovel-full— allowing the rest to remain until the hollow of the altar below the grating was filled up, when all must be emptied and carried away. ITnto a clean place. — There was a fitness loo evident to require further reason, that the remains of what had been used for the holiest purposes should be deposited in a clean place. 19 — Without the camp, is a phrase belonging to the life of the wilderness, but easily modified to the requirements of the settled life in Pales- tine. Ver. 12. Shall barn wood on it. — The fire was to be maintained always whether the pre- vious sacrifice remained burning sufficiently or not, so that fresh supplies of wood were to be added. Great care was taken in the selection and preparation of this wood, and any sticks worm-eaten were rejected. And lay the burnt- oSering. — AU was to be arranged and the fire brightly burning before the time of offering the morning sacrifice. When this was laid upon the wood, the sacrificial day was begun, and the fat of the peace-oSerings and any other sacriSces that might he presented were placed upon it. Ver. 13. The fire shall be ever burning upon the altar. — The fire upon the altar was not. as is sometimes supposed, originally kindled by the "fire from before the Lokd" (ix. 24), since it had been burning several days before that fire came forth; yet that fire so marked the Divine approbation of the priestly order as they entered upon their office, that a continual fire in which that was always in a sense perpetuated, was a constant symbol and pledge of the Divine acceptance of the sacrifices offered upon it. So also, in later times, with the fire from heaven at the dedication of the temple (2 Chr. vii. 1). But besides this, " It is evident that the fire burning continually, which was kept up by the daily burnt offering (Ex. xxix. 38), had a symbolical meaning. As the daily burnt; sacrifice betokened the daily renewed gift of God, in like manner did this continually burning fire denote the un- ceasing, uninterrupted character of the same. Similar customs with the heathen had a different signification. Among the Persians (and among the Parsees in India at this day), fire was and is the visible representative of the Godhead ; the continual burning of it, the emblem of eternity. The perpetual fire of Vesta (the " oldest god- dess ") among the Greeks and Romans, was the emblem of the inmost, purest warmth of life, which unites family and people — the hearth, as it were, the heart of a house or of a State. In both is shown the essential difference which ex- isted between these and the Divine covenant re- ligion." Von Gerlach. Perpetual sacrificial fires were common among many ancient nations. It is obvious that during the marches of the life in the wilderness some special means must have been used for the preservation of this fire. On such occasions the altar was to be carefully cleaned and covered with a purple cloth and then with "badgers' skins." (Num. iv. 18, 14). Pro- bably the fire was carried on the march in a ves- sel prepared for the purpose. B. Instructions for the priests concerning ob- lations. This division consists of two portions, the former of which (vers. 14-18) is a part of the same divine communication as the preceding di- vision, and relates to the priestly duties con- nected with the oblations of the people, whether voluntary or required ; while the latter, (vers. 19-23), forms a separate divine communication, and relates to the special oblation of the high- priests themselves in connection with their con- secration. 58 LEVITICUS. The law of the oblation ia a repetition in part of that in ch. ii., because it was there applied only to voluntary oblations, while here it in- cludes all ; but there are also (in vers. 16-18) additional particulars not given before. Ver. 14. The sons of Aaron shall offer it. This presentation of the whole oblation by the priests, which seems to have been an essenti.al part of the sacrifice, has been already mentioned in oh. ii. 8, while ver. 15 merely repeats and ap- plies to all oblations the directions in ii. 2 for the private and voluntary oblation. Ver. 16. The following directions, which con- cern the duties of the priests, have not before been given. By their consuming the remainder of the oblation it became, like the sin-offering, a sacrifice wholly devoted to the Lord. See note on ii. 3. Only those of Aaron's sons might eat of it who were ceremonially clean. This is ex- pressed emphatically in regard to the peace offerings in vii. 21. The addition of the words with and bread in the A. V. singularly obscures the sense ; it should be read unleavened shall it be eaten in a holy place. Ver. 17. I have given it.— Not merely by appointment, as God is the giver of all that man enjoys ; but of my offerings, as of that which peculiarly belonged to God. — Most holy. See on ii. 3. Ver. 18. All the males. — Because they, and they only, were in the priestly succession. It includes both those who were actual priests, and their sons yet too young to officiate, but who at the proper age would become priests; and still further, those who were of priestly family, but were hindered by bodily defect or infirmity from ministering at the altar. Whatsoever touch- eth them shall be holy. — Two senses are pos- sible: (a) nothing shall be allowed to touch them which is not holy ; (b) whatever does touch them shall thereby become holy. The latter must be considered the true sense in ac- cordance with the analogy of vers. 27, 28, and Ex. xxix. 37, (comp. Hag. ii. 12, 13), and with this sense the command, understood of inanimate objects, as Calmet suggests, presents no diffi- culty. The LXX. and Vulg., however, (not the Semitic versions which of course present the same ambiguity as the Heb.), like the A. V., un- derstood it of persons, and so understood, it has occasioned much difficulty to commentators. Lange, following Theodoret, says " Whoever should touch this most holy flesh offering (and more especially the meat offering) should be holy, should henceforward be considered to be- long to the Sanctuary." He then gives various differing interpretations. It is belter to avoid the difficulty altogether as above. Ver. 20. In the day when he Is anointed. — The new communication in relation to the high- priest's oblation begins with ver. 19. Most com- mentators understand the time when this obla- tion was to be offered as at the end of the seven days of consecration, as the high-pripst was only then qualified to officiate. The word da;/ would then be understood as in Gen. ii. 4. Langp, how- ever, says "on each of the seven days, not only on the eighth day, when the consecration was ftnished (oh. viii. 34) this was to be offered." An oblation perpetual. — A few interpreters (as Kalish and Knobel) understand this of an observance to be always repeated at the conse- cration of each successive high-priest, and then only. More generally it is interpreted as refer- ring to a daily oblation always to be offered luorning and evening by the high-priest. Such is the uniform Jewish interpretation. It is pro- hably this offering that is referred to in Ecclu!>. xlv. 14; see also Philo, de Vict. Jos. Ant. iii. oh. 10 J 7. Several eminent Jewish authorities, as .Maimonides and Abarbanel, have supposed that the same offering was also required of every priest at his entrance upon his office; but this opinion, as it has not been widely adopted, so it seems to have no foundation in the law. The high-priest alone is distinctly designated in ver. 22. The tenth part of an Ephah. — The same n mount which was required for the sin offering of the poorest of the people in v. 11. This amount was to be presented by the high-priest - as a single offering which was to be afterwards divided and offered half in the morning and half at night. Ver. 23. It shall not be eaten. — In other ob- lations all was given to God, but in part through " the priest ; in the priestly oblation, he could not offer it to God through himself, and therefore it must of necessity be vyholly burnt. C. Instructions for the priests concerning sin offerings. Lange adheres to the view he has given in ch. iv., and makes this division include both the sin and the trespass offerings. For his reasons see oh. iv. He, however, calls the next division " The ritual of the trespass offering." We have here the third of the five divine com- munications contained in this section. The first includes the burnt offerings and oblations, wbile Ibe second, as an appendix to this, is occupieil with the special oblations of the high-priest; the present communication extends to vii. 21, anil embraces the directions to the priests concerning the various other kinds of sacrifice. In the or- der in which they are mentioned in chs. iii. — v. the peace offerings came before the sin and tres- pass offerings, while here they are placed after them ; the reason for this change is well ex- plained by Murphy, as resulting from the differ- ent principle of arrangement appropriate in llie two oases. In the instructions for the people the order of the sacrifices is that of their com- parative frequency, the burnt offering and obla- tion being constant (although not so as voluntary offerings), the peace offerings habitual, the ain and trespass offerings, from their nature, occa- sional ; here the principle of arrangement is in the treatment of the flesh, — the burnt offering, (with which the oblation is associated) was wholly consumed on the altar, the sin and tres- pass offerings were partly eaten by the priests, the peace-offerings both by the priests and the people. Ver. 25. In the place where the burnt offering. — It is evident from ver. 30 that thi» whole direction refers to the sin offerings of the people, not of the high-priest or of the whole congregation. These were to be killed in tbe usual place of killing the smaller sacrificial W' mals, on the north side of the altar. See not* CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 59 on i. 11. The sin offering for the high-priest and for the congregation, consisting of a buUook, was to be killed (i. 8) where the bullock for burnt offering was killed " before the door of the tabernacle." See note on i. 8. It is most h'oly. — See on ii. 3. Ver. 25. The priest that oSereth it. — For the exceptions see ver. 80. The flesh of the or- dinary sin-offering belonged, not to the priests as a body, but to the particular priest that of- fired it. It was, however, much more than he could consume alone, and therefore in ver. 29 all miles of the priestly family were allowed to eat of it, doubtless on the invitation of the offi- ciating priest, or by some established arrange- ment. Ver. 27. Shall be holy.— As in ver. 18. In regard to the peculiarly sacred character of the sin offering Lange says, " the complete surren- der to Jehovah is expressed in three ways : 1 ) Forbidding the flesh to the unclean ;" [But this, although to be supposed, ia not mentioned here, whereas it is very emphatically commanded in connection with the peace offerings, vii. 20, 21]. " 2) Washing the garments sprinkled with blood in a holy place, or in the court. Here the re- gard ia not for the cleansing of the garment, but for the blood, — it must not be carried on the garment out of the sanctuary ; 3) If the vessel in which the flesh was cooked was earthen, it had to be broken, if of copper, it had to be scoured and rinsed, so that nothing of the substance of the flesh should remain sticking to it." On the reason for the peculiar sacredness with which the flesh of the sin offering was regarded vari- ous opinions have been held. It seems unnecea- aary, however, to look for this reason in the sup- position that the victim was regarded as bearing either the sins of the offerer, or the punishment due to those sins. The simple fact that God had appointed the sin-offering as a means whereby ainfulness might "be covered," and sinful man might approach Him in His perfect holiness, is enough to invest that means, like the altar upon which it was offered, with a sacredness which needs no aualyaia for its explanation. The very important paaaage, ch. x. 17, usually referred to in ttiis connection, will be treated of in its place. Thou Shalt ^rash. — The second person is used beoauae the command is addressed to the priest. The garment referred to is probably that of the offerer ; it might easily happen that this would sometimes be stained by the spurting of the blood of the victim, but he was not to wash it himself ; no particle of the blood might be car- ried out of the sanctuary, and none might med- dle with it but the divinely appointed priest. Ver. 28. Bat the earthen vessel. — Vn- glazed earthenware would absorb the juices of tlie flesh so that they could not be removed ; hence such vessels must be broken that the flesh of the sin offering might not be profaned. The brazen pot probably stands for any metallic vessel, and these being less porous, might be perfectly freed from the fleah by scouring and rinsing. For the same reason the earthen vessel into which any of the small unclean animals when dead had fallen (xi. 33, 35), must be broken ; from its absorptive qualities it took the character of that which had been within it, and was unfit for other use. No direction is given for the disposition of the broken fragments. It is more likely that they were disposed of with the ashes from the altar, than that, as Jewish tradition affirms, the earth opened to swallow them up. No mention is made of any other me- thod of cooking the flesh of the sacrifice than by boiling. From 1 Sam. ii. 13-15, and from the allusion in Zeoh. xiv. 21, it would appear that the same meihod was observed also in later ages. Ver. 29. All the males. — Comp. Note on ver. 18. Ver. 30. But no sin offering whereof any of the blood is brought in the tabernacle. —Comp. iv. 5-7, 11, 12. 16-18, 21 ; xvi.27. This shows that from the foregoing directions the sin offerings for the high-priest and for the whole congregation are to be excepted ; for these no directions are here given, since the priest had nothing more to do with them than has already been provided for in ch. iv. D. Instructions for the -priests concerning trespass offerings, vii. 1-6^,. In the LXX. this and the next division (vii. 7- 10) form a part of ch. vi. This is certainly the better division ; but the A. V. has here followed the Hebrew, as in the division between ohapa. V. and vi., it followed the LXX. — in both cases for the worse. In the former directions for the trespass offer- ing (v. 14 — vi. 7) designed for the people, no- thing is said of what parts are to be burned on the altar, nor of the disposal of the remainder. The directions on these points are now given to the priests. The ritual is precisely the same as for the ordinary ain-offering except in the treat- ment of the blood. This was to be treated as that of the burnt and of the peace offerings, viz. to be sprinkled on the aides of the altar, instead of being placed on its horns as in the sin offering. See iii. 2, 8, 13 ; iv. 6, 30, 34. The Codex Middoth (iii. 1) is quoted for the tradition of the Jews that there was a scarlet thread or line around the altar just at the middle of its height; an^l that the blood of the burnt offering was sprinkled above, and that of the trespass offering below this line. No mention is made of laying on of hands in the trespass offering, either here or in v. 14 — vi. 7 (where it would more naturally occur). Knobelargues from this omission that it waa omitted in this offering ; it is more likely that there is no mention of it because it was a universal law in the case of all viftims and therefore did not require to be spe- cified. Ver. 3. The fat tail is specified because the victim in the trespass offering must always be a ram. For other pointa aee ch. iii. E. Instructions concerning the priests' por- tion of the above, vii. 7-10. Before proceeding to those sacrifices, of which a part was returned to be consumed by the of- ferer, summary directions are now given in re- gard to all the preceding offerings, which were wholly devoted to the Lord, whether by being wholly conaumed upon the altar, or partly eaten by the priests. Ver. 7. One lavT- for them — i. e., in respect to the matter here treated of, the disposil of their flesh. The priest that maketh atonement. 60 LEVITICUa. — The flesh of these victims did not become the common property of the priestly body, but was the peculiar perquisite of the officiating priest. He might, of course, ask others, and especially those who were hindered by bodily infirmity from officiating, to share it with him. Ver. 8. Shall have to himself the skin. — Since this was unsuitable for burning upon the altar, and yet the victim was wholly devoted. No directions are any where given in regard to the skins of the other offerings, except those which were to be burned with the flesh without the camp. The Mishna (Sebaoh 12, 3) says that the skins of all victims designated as "most holy ' ' were given to the priests, while those of other victims (i. c, the peace offerings in their variety) belonged to the offerer. This distinction, being in accordance with the character of the sacrifice, is probably true. Among the heathen, the skin of the sacrificial animals usually belonged to the priest, and was by them often perverted to super- stitious uses. See Patrick, Kalisch, and others. Some commentators trace the origin of the cus- tom in regard to the burnt offering back to Adam; it rather lies still further back in the nature of the sacrifice. Ver. 9. And all the oblation. — Except, of course, the "memorial," which was burned upon the altar, and which having been carefully provided for in chap, ii., did not require to be specified in this brief summary. In this verse all cooked oblations are assigned to the officiating priest; while in the next all that are uncooked are given to the priestly body equally. The former included all the oblations of ii. 4-10, and it is generally supposed that even these required to be consumed without delay ; the latter include the oblations of ii. 1, and probably that of ii. 15; also the alternative sin offering of v. 11, and the jealousy offering of Num. v. 15. Only the two latter come under the class of dry, the others being mingled ■with oil. Thus all oblations, except that of the thank offering (vii. 14) and the "memorial" in all cases, was in one way or the other consumed by the priests. A secondary object in the assignment of these sacrifices was the support of the priests. See Ezek. xliv. 29. F. Instructions for the priests in regard to the peace offerings in their variety, vii. 11-21. For the reason why the peace offerings are here placed last, see note on vi. 24. We here enter upon an entirely different kind of sacrifice from those which have gone before, and therefore there is a different ritual. The former had reference to the means of approach to God through the forgiveness of sin ; these are more closely connected with the idea of con- tinued communion with God, and hence, so far as their object is concerned, seem to belong more properly to the second part of the book. Never- theless, for the purpose of law, the stronger con- nefction is, as sacrifices, with the general laws of sacrifice, and hence they must necessarily be placed here. Moreover, they are not to be con- sidered altogether by themselves, but, as Outram has noted, as generally following piacular sacri- fices, and therefore as together with them form- ing the complete act of worship. The peace offerings might be of any animal allowed for sacrifice (except birds which were too small for the accompanying feast) as is pro- vided in chap. iii. They might be of either tlie herd or the flock, and either male or female. No limitation of age is given in the law, although Jewish tradition limits the age of those offered from the herd to from one to three years, and of those from the flock to from one to two years complete. On the place for the killing of the victims, see note on i. 11. Historical examples of these offerings are very frequent in the later books, e.g., 1 Sam. i. 4; ix. 13, 24; xi. 15; xvi. 3, 6 ; 1 Kings viii. 65 ; 1 CKron. xvi. 3, etc. Si- milar sacrificial feasts among the heathen are fa- miliar to all readers of Homer. Three varieties of the peace offering are dis- tinguished, or rather two principal kinds, the second of which is again subdivided — (a) Tlio thank offering, vers. 12-15, which included all the public and prescribed peace offerings; (b) the (1) vow, or (2) voluntary offering, vers. IB- IS, both of which were sacrifices of individuals. The two kinds were broadly separated from one another by the length of time during which it was lawful to eat the flesh, while the sub-varie- ties of the second kind are only distinguished in the purpose of the offerer. " There are three possible forms in which man can offer with re- ference to his prosperity or safety : praise and thanksgiving for experiences in the past; promi- sing in regard to a desire in the fut ure ; expressioa of thankful prosperity in the present." Lange. Vers. 12-15. The thank offering. Ver. 12. The thank offering was aocompanieil by an oblation of three kinds, to which a fourth was added (ver. 13) of leavened bread, which last is perhaps to be considered as an accompani- ment rather than a part of the offering, as it is doubtful whether it is included in the "heave offering" of ver. 14. Still, as none of this ob- lation was placed upon the altar, the leavened bread would not come under the prohibition of ii. 11 and of Ex. xxiii. 18; xxxiv. 25. The drink offerings prescribed with this and other sacrifices in Num. xv. (and alluded to in Lev. xxiii. 18, 37) ns to be offered "when ye be come into the land of your habitation," are not mentioned here, probably because they were not easily obtained during the life in the wilder- ness. The abundance of bread of various kinds here required was in view of the sacrificial meal to follow. Jewish tradition affirms that with certain peace offerings of festivals [Bagigah and Sheincah) no bread was offered. Ver. 14. One out of each offering — i-f-, one cake out of the number of each kind pre- sented, and perhaps one from the loaves of leavened bread. An heave offering. — Herein this oblation is strongly distinguished from tbe oblations accompanying the burnt offering. No part of them was placed upon the altar. Comp. the heave offerings of the Levites, Num. xviii. 26-30. It must be inadvertently that Lange says "one of the unleavened cakes was offered to Je- hovah on His altar as a heave offering ; all tbe rest of the meal offering fell to the share of the priest who sacrificed ;" for it is plain from the text that the one offered as a heave offering was not consumed, but belonged to the officiating priest, while the rest were returned to the of- ferer. The heave offering was waved in the CHAP. VI. 8— Vir. 38. Gl hands up and down before the altar, but not placed upon it. Ver. 16. Shall be eaten the same day. — Gomp. the similar provisioa in regard to the Paschal lamb, Ex. xii. 10, and also in regard to the manna, £x. svi. 19. The same command is repeated in regard to the thank offering in xxU. 29, 30; while the greater liberty allowed in the yow and voluntary offerings (ver. 16) is also re- peated xix. 6-8. In both cases Jewish traditiou affirms that the rule applied also to the accom- panying oblations. The difference of time al- lowed in which the flesh of these two kinds of peace offerings might be eaten evidently marks the one as of a superior sacredness to the other. Yet it is not easy to say wherein precisely the difference consisted. The general observation is that the thank offerings were purely unselfish, offered in gratitude for blessings already re- ceived; while the vow and voluntary offerings had respect to something yet hoped for, and therefore involved a selfish element. But it is not altogether clear that this was the case with the voluntary offering. Outram (p. 131 , Eng. tr.), on the authority of Maimonides and Abar- banel, makes the distinction to consist in the vow offering being general — a promise to present a certain kind of victim or its value, and this re mained in all cases binding ; while the voluntary offering was particular — a promise to present a particular animal, which became void in case of the animal's death. Under this interpretation both have respect to the future. If there were any accidental remainder of the thank offering after the first day, it was doubtless consumed (but not on the altar), as in the case of the Pas- chal lamb (Ex. xii. 10) and of the other peace offerings (ver. 17), and the consecration offerings (Ex. zxix. 34). Several reasons have been as- signed for the limitation of the time for eating. Outram says, "The short space of time within which the victims might be eaten, seems to have been designed to prevent any corruption of the sacrifices, and to guard against covetousness, " and he quotes Philo at length in support of this double reason. The incentive hereby added to the command to share these feasts with the poor, and especially the poor Levites, though en- tirely rejected by Keil, is made more or less pro- minent by Theodoret (who gives this reason only), Corn. 4 Lapide, Ealisch, Kosenmiiller, and others. "The recollection tliat in warm lands meat soon spoils, may give us the idea that the feaster was compelled in consequence to invite in the poor." Lange. It must be remembered also that the feast would rapidly lose its sacrificial as- sociations as the interval was prolonged between it and the offering of the sacrifice. Vers. 16-18. The vow and voluntary offerings. The distinction between these has already been pointed out. Both were clearly inferior to the thank offering. It is to be remembered that these did not belong to the class of expiatory of- ferings, and hence the vow offering of St. Paul (Acts xviii. 18 ; xxi. 23-26) had in it nothing in- consistent with his faith in the one Sacrifice for sins offered on Calvary. These offerings might be eaten on the two days following the sacrifice, but the remainder on the third day shall be burnt with fire. Ver. 18. The penalty for the transgression of this command was not only that the offering went for nothing — it shall not be accepted ; but further, it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his ini- quity. The sense is not, as many suppose, that the offering being made void, the offerer re- mained with his former iniquity unoleansecj; for these offerings were not at all appointed for the purpose of atonement, or the forgiveness of sin; but that the offerer, having transgressed a plain and very positive command, must bear the conse- quences of such transgression. The distinctions in regard to these offerings (as in the case of those which have gone before) embrace only the common sacrifices of their kind. There were other special peace-offerings (xxiii. 19, 20) which were otherwise dealt with. In later times, the place where the peace- offerings might be eaten was restricted to the holy city (Dent. xii. 6, 7, 11, 12) ; at present, there was no occasion for such a command, while all were together in the camp in the wil- derness. But all sacrificial animals slain for food must be offered as sacrifice to the Lord (xvii. 3, 4). Kalisch (p. 144 ss.) says: "The character of these feasts cannot be mistaken. It was that of joyfuluess tempered by solemnity, of solemnity tempered by joyfulness: the worshipper had submitted to God an offering from his property; he now received back from Him a, part of the dedicated gift, and thus experienced anew the same gracious beneficence which had enabled him to appear with his wealth before the altar; he therefore consumed that portion with feelings of humility and thankfulness ; but he was bid- den at once to manifest those blissful sentiments by sharing the meat not only with his house- hold, which thereby was reminded of the divine protection and mercy, but also with his needy fellow-beings, whether laymen or servants of the temple. Thus these beautiful repasts were stamped both with religious emotion and human virtue. The relation of friendship between God and the offerer which the sacrifice exhibited was expressed and sealed by the feast which intensified that relation into one of an actual covenant; the momentary harmony was extended to a permanent union ; and these notions could not be expressed more intelligibly, at least to an Eastern people, than by a common meal, which to them is the familiar image of friend- ship and communion, of cheerfulness and joy. .... Some critics have expressed an opposite view, contending that the offerer was not consi- dered as the guest of God, but, on the contrary, God as the guest of the offerer ; but this is against the clear expressions of the law ; the sacrificer surrendered the whole victim to the Deity (iii. 1, 6, 7, 12), and confirmed his inten- tion by burning on the altar the fat parts, which represented the entire animal. . . . The Apos- tle Paul says distinctly : 'Are not they who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar' or 'of the Lord's table?' " Vers. 19-21. The sanctity of even this inferior sacrifice is strongly guarded. Peace-offerings being representative especially of communion with the Most Holy, all uncleanness or contact with uncleanness is rigorously forbidden. 62 LEVITICUS. Yer. 19. And as for tbe flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof, — meaning, of course, the flesh in general — that which has not touched any unclean thing. The sense might easily be made more clear ; but there is no ground for altering the translation. Yer. 20. Shall be cut oB from his people, i. e. be excommunicated, cast out from the com- monwealth of Israel. This might sometimes, as in Ex. xxxi. 14, involve also the punishment of death, but only when the offence was also a civil one. Capital punishment is not intended by the expression itself. — That pertain unto the Lord. — This shows plainly enough that the Tictim, once offered, was considered as belong- ing to God, and hence that they who feasted upon it were the guests of the Lord. Yer. 21. Unclean beast, etc. This is to be understood of the dead bodies of these animals. Unoleanness was not communicated by their touch while living; but, on the other hand, it was communicated by the touch of the body, even of clean animals which had died a natural death, or as we should say, of carrion. Nothing is here said of the portion of the priests, that being the subject of a distinct di- vine communication (vera. 28-36). G. Instructions in regard to the Fat and the Blood. Yers. 22-27. From its importance, this group of commands forms the exclusive subject of another communication, and is addressed to ihei people^ because, while these portions were in the especial charge of the priests, it was neces- sary to warn the people very carefully against making use of them themselves. It comes ap- propriately in connection with the peace offer- ings, because it was only of these that tbe peo- ple eat at all, and hence here there was especial liability to transgress this command. Yer. 22. No manner of fat, of 03t, or of sheep, or of goat.— The prohibition of the eating of fat extends only to the sacrificial ani- mals, and is to be so understood in ch. iii. 17. The reason of this prohibition appears in ver. 25 : this fat was appropriated to burning upon the altar, and hence any other use of it was a profanation. While the Israelites were in the wilderness, all animals slain for food, which were allowed in sacrifice, were presented as victims, and their fat was burned on the altar. Afterwards, in view of the settlement in the promised land, this restriction was removed, Deut. lii. 15, 21. With that permission the prohibition of blood is emphatically repeated ; but nothing is said of the fat. Hence Keil ar- gues that in such case the eating of the fat was allowable, and this opinion is strongly confirmed by Deut. xxxii. 14, enumerating among the good things to be enjoyed the "fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan." Nevertheless, the language of universal prohibition is distinct in ch. iii. 17, unless that is to be understood only of animals offered in sacrifice. The gene- rality of commentators understand, in accord- ance with Jewish tradition, that the fat of the sacrificial animals was perpetually forbidden. In any case the prohibited fat was of course that which was burned on the altar, the separa- ble fat, not that which was intermingled with the flesh. Yer. 24. That which died of itself, its hlooj not having been poured out, and that which wag torn of beasts, was prohibited as food (xxii. 8), and if any partook of it, he must undergo puri- fication, and "be unclean until the even" (xfii 15). The fat of such animals therefore could no more be eaten than their flesh ; but since it was also unfit for the altar, it might be us«d in any other use. Nothing is said of the fai of fowls as no special use was made of this ou the altar. Yers. 26, 27. The prohibition of blood is ab- solute and perpetual, and this for the reasons given in xvii. 11. It has been urged that as nothing is anywhere said of the blood of fish, that id not included in the prohibition. More probably this was of too little importance to ob- tain particular mention, and the general princi- ple on which blood is absolutely forbidden must be considered as applying here also, notwitli- standing any tradition to the contrary. H. Instructions for the priests' portion of the peace offerings. Yers. 28-36. This, the final communication of this part of the book, is also addressed to the people, be- cause the priests' pordon was taken from that which would otherwise have been returned to them, and it therefore concerned them to under- stand the law. It stands here quite in its right place : " When the priest's rights in all the other sacrifices were enumerated, this was omit- ted, because the people here took the place of the priest in respect of the flesh. When tbe special nature of this offering in this respect has been made prominent, a new communicatioQ is made, addressed to the sons of Israel, and directing them, among other things, to assign certain portions of the victim to the priest." Murphy. Yer. 29. Shall bring his offering unto the Iiord. — Tbe object of this provision seems 10 be to secure an actual, instead of a merely constructive offering. As moat of the flesh Vfas to be consumed by the offerer, it might possibly have been supposed sufiScient merely to send in the consecrated parts ; but the law regards the whole as offered to the Lord, and therefore requires that it shall be distinctly presented before Him. Yer. 30. His own hands shall bring.— Still further to guard the sacrificial character of this offering, which was more in danger of being secularized than any other, it is required that the parts especially destined for the Lords use might not be sent in by any servant or other ■ messenger, but must be presented by the offer- er's own hands. Comp. viii. 27; Ex. xxix. 24-26; Num. vi. 19, 20.— The fat with the breast. — The construction of iy_ is as in Ex. xii. 8, 9. Breast ia that part between the shoul- ders in front which we call the brisket, and which included the cartilaginous breast-bone. A wave-offering. — The breast is to be a wave-offering, the right leg (ver. 31) a heave- offering.- These two kinds of offering are clearly distinguished in the law. Both are mentioned together in ver. 34. and frequently (X. 14, 15; Ex. xxix. 24-27 ; Num. vi. 20; xviii. 11, 18, 19, etc.) as distinct offerings; the heave- CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 63 offering is mentioned alone (xxii. 12 ; Ex. xxv. 2, 3; XXX. 13-16; xxxv. 6; xxxvi. 3, 6; Nuu). XV. 19-21; xviii. 24; xxxi.29, 41, 52, etc.), and so is the wave offering (xiv. 12, 21, 24; xxiii. 15, 17, 20; Ex. xxxviii. 24, 29; Num. yiii. 11. 13, etc.); although both apparently are sometimes used simply in the sense of offering and coupled together without distinction of meaning (Ex. xxxv. 21-24); both are here applied to the offer- ings of metal for the tabernacle, though the other offerings are only spoken of as heave offerings. The distinction is much obscured in the A. V. by the frequent translalion of both by the simple word offering, and sometimes without any note of this in the margin. In regard to the parts of the sacrifices designated by the two terms, the distinction is clearly marked ; the heave-leg belonged exclusively to the officiating priest, while the wave-breast was the common property of the priestly order. The distinotiou in the ceremonial between them it is less easy to make. That of the wave offering appears to have been the more solemn and emphatic, con- sisting in the priest placing his hands under those of the offerer (which held the offering to be waved), and moving them to and fro — some of the Rabbins say, towards each of the four quarters, and also up and down. The heaving, on the other hand, appears to have been a sim- ple lifting up of the offering, (dee authorities in Outram I. 15, J V.) In all cases of the wave offering of parts of animals, only the fat was burned, except in the peculiar cuse of the con- secration of the priests commanded in Ex. xxix. 22-26, and fulfilled in viii. 25-29, when the leg was also burned. In the case of the " waving " of the Levites (Num. viii. 11-19), they were wholly given up to God as the ministrants of the priests. Lange says : " The breast may repre- sent the bold readiness, the leg the energetic progress, which in the priest are always desi- rable." During the sojourn in the wilderness, where all sacrificial animals that were to be eaten were offered in saorifioe, the priests' portion was only the breast and the right leg ; afterwards, when permission was given to kill these animals for food in the scattered habitations of the people, and thereby the perquisites of the priests were greatly reduced, there was added (Deut. xviii. 8) "the shoulder (J?'1t) and the two cheeks and the maw.'' Ver. 34. A statute forever. — As long as the sacrificial system and the Aaronic priesthood should endure. Ver. 35. In the day when he presented them. — At the time when God, by the hand of Moses, brought them near to minister. The verb is without an expressed nominative in the He- brew as in the English. The conclusion of this part of the book. Vers. 37, 38. Ver. 37. The enumeration in this verse is to be understood not merely of the immediately pre- ceding section ; but of the whole law of sacrifice as given in all the preceding chapters. Of the consecrations. — Lit., "of the fill- ings" sc. of the hands. Comp. Ex. xxix. 19-28. The ordinance for the consecration of the priests has been given in full there; but still something of it has been directed here (vi. 19-23) so that ii must necessarily appear in this recapitulation. Ver. 38. In Mount Sinai. — That this ex- ■pression is used broadly for the region of Mt. Sinai, not distinctively for the mountain itself, is apparent from the concluding clause of the verse. DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL. I. In the stress laid upon the necessity of maintaining perpetually the fire divinely kindled on the altar, is taught the necessity of the divine approval of the means by which man seeks to approach God. The only Mediator under the old Covenant as under the new, is Christ ; but as the divine appointment was of old necessary to constitute the types which prefigured Him, and by means of which the worshipper availed himself of His sacritice, — so now, man may claim the benefits of Christ's work for his redemption only in those ways which God has approved. IL The priests, and the high-priest, like the people, must offer oblations and sacrifices. They were separated from the people only in so far as the functions of their olfioe required ; in the in- dividual relation of their souls to God, they formed no caste, and stood before Him on no dif- ferent footing from others. This is a funda- mental principle in all the divine dealings with man ; " there is no respect of persona with God," (Rom. ii. II, etc.). III. In the assimilation of the trespass to the sin offering is shown how wmng done to man is also sin against God ; while in the peculiar or- dinances belonging to the sin offering alone, we see the peculiar sinfulness of that sin which is committed directly against God. IV. The provision for a portion for the priests from the various offerings, and from the oblation accompanying the whole burnt offering sets forth in act the general principle declared in wordi in the New Testament, " that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the tem- ple." (1 Cor. ix. 13). V. The peace offerings are called in the LXX. frequently "sacrifices of praise" (ffvaiai rijg al- veaeuf) ; by the use of the same phraseology in the Ep. to the Heb. (xiii. 15) applied to Christ, He is pointed out as the Antitype of this sacri- fice : " By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacri- fice of praise [Svalav alviaeoic) to God continu- ally;" and again (ver. 10) " We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." VI. In the oblation accompanying the peace offering leavened bread was required. This could not be admitted for burning upon the altar for reasons already given ; nevertheless it must be presented to the Lord for a heave offering. Many things in man's daily life cannot, from thefr nature, be directly appropriated to the ser- vice of God ; yet all must be sanctified by being presented before Him. VII. In the strict prohibition to the people of the fat which was appropriated as the Lord's portion was taught, in a w .y suited to the ap- prehension of the Israelites, the general princi- ple that whatever has been appropriated to God may not rightly be diverted to any other use. 64 LEVITICDS. VIII. The various kinds of sacrifice here re- cognized as means of approach to God, and the provisions for their constant repetition, alike indicate their intrinsic insufEcienoy and tempo- rary character. Otherwise " would they not have ceased to be offered, because that the wor- shippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins ?" (Heb. x. 2). IX. The same temporary and insufficient cha- racter attached to the peace offerings, which ex- pressed communion with God. As Keil has pointed out, they still left the people in the outer court, while God was enthroned behind the vail in the holy of holies, and this vail could only be removed by the sacrifice on Calvary. And in general, as the office of the old Covenant was to give the knowledge of sin rather than, by any- thing within itself, completely to do it away ; so was it designed to awaken rather than to satisfy the desire for reconciliation and communion with Qod. In so far as it actually accomplished cither purpose, it was by its helping the faith of the worshippers to lean, through its types, upon the one true Sacrifice in the future. HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL. VI. Vers. 9-13. The ever-burning fire ; kin- dled by God, but kept alive by man ; the accept- ance of our efforts to approach God is from Him, but He gives or withholds it according to our desire and exertion. " Quench not the Spirit." (1 Thess. V. 19). The Spirit ^aoKom, but it is for us nva^anvpelv (2 Tim. i. 6) Wordsworth. Put on his linen garment ; the inward purity re- quired in those who are serving immediately at the altar is fitly symbolized by outward signs. Even that which is becoming in service of other kinds, as the carrying forth of the ashes, may well be replaced in duties which are more nearly related to the divine Presence. Vers. 14-18. The oblation. That is truly of- fered to God which is consumed in His service, though but the '■ memorial " of it and the frank- incense, typifying prayer and praise, can be ac- tually given directly to Him. Whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. — As there is a contaminating effect in contact with evil, so is thero a sanctifying effect from close contact with that which is holy. The woman in the Gospel by faith touched the holy One, and virtue went forth to heal her from her uncleanness. Origen (Horn. 4 in Lev.). Vers. 19-23. The high-priest must offer an ob- lation for himself as well as for the people. Man never reaches on earth a stage of holiness so high that he needs not means of approach to God; He alone who " was without sin" offered Himself for us. Vers. 24-80. Everything connected with the sin-offering is to be scrupulously guarded from defilement, and everything which it touches, re- ceives from it somewhat of its own character ; a fit emblem and type of the true Sacrifice for sins, Himself without sin. Whoever seeks the benefit of this Sacrifice, must " die unto sin," and who- ever is sprinkled by His all-availing blood be- comes thereby " purged from sin." Yet even so, the virtue of that blood may not be carried out of the sanctuary of God's presence ; they who, having been touched by the blood shed on Calvary, would depart from communion with God, must leave behind them all the efficacy of that atonement. VII. Vers. 1-6. Though the sin whose promi- nent feature is harm done, be less than that in which the offence is more directly against Qod, yet for the forgiveness of one there is essentially the same law as for the other. Both are viola- tions of the law of love, and love toward God and man are so bound together that neither can truly exist without the other (1 Jno. iv. 20), and there can be no breach of the one without the other. Vers. 11-21. The peace offering was at once communion of the offerer with God and also the opportunity for extending his bounty to his fel- low-men. So always there is the same connec- tion. It was said to Cornelius, " Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a, memorial." "To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Heb. xiii. 16). The thank offering has a higher, place than the vow or the voluntary offering: that is a nearer communion with God in which the grateful heart simply pours out its thanks- givings, than that in which, with some touch of selfishness, it still seeks some further blessing. Yet both are holy. But uncleanness allowed to continue, debarred from such communion; and sin. unrepented, in its very nature now forbids it. Vers. 37, 38. A summary of the law of sacri- fice in its variety. All these sacrifices were (as elsewhere shown) types of Christ; for it was impossible that the fulness of His gracious offices, could be set forth by any single type. He is at once the whole burnt offering of complete conse- cration of Himself, through whom also we "pre- sent our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept- able unto God ;" and He is, too, the oblation, as that which man must present to God with his other sacrifices, as it is in and through Christ alone that our sacrifices can be acceptable; He is the sin offering, as it is through Him alone that our sins can be "covered" and effectual atonement be made for us ; as trespass offering also, it is through His love shed abroad from Calvary, that we learn that love towards ourfel- low-men in the exercise of which only can our transgressions against Him be forgiven ; and so too is He the peace offering, for His very name is " Peace." His coming was " peace on earth," and by Him have we peace and communion with God. No one of these alone can fully typify Christ ; beforehand each of His great offices in our behalf must be set forth by a separate sym- bolical teaching ; but when He has come, all these separate threads are gathered into 0IW| and He is become our "all in all." PRELIMINART NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. 66 PART SECOND. HISTORICAL. Chapters VIII.— X. "7%e Sacrificing^ Priesthood: Its Consecration and its Typical Discipline shown by the Death of Nadab and Abihu,^^ — Lange. The law of sacrifices having now been given, and the duties of the priests in regard to them appointed, all necessary preparation has been made for carrjing out the consecration of the priests aa commanded in Ex. xxix. This histcrical sec- tion follows, therefore, in its natural order, and takes up the thread of events at the close of the book of Exodus, where it was broken off that the necessary laws might be announced. There is, first, the consecration of the priests (chap, viii.), oc- cupying seven days; then the record of the actual entrance of Aaron and his sons upon the discharge of their functions (chap, ix.); closing with the account of the transgression of two of those sons in their first official act, and their consequent punishment, together with certain instructions for the priests occasioned by this event (chap. x,). To euter understandingly upon the consideration of these chapters, it is necessary to have in mind the origin, nature, and functions of the priest- hood. These will be briefly discussed in the following PKELIMINAKY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. In the early days of the human race such priestly functions as were exercised at all were naturally undertaken by the head of the family, and hence arose what is called the patriarchal priesthood, of which the Scripture patriarchs are standing illustrations. When, however, families were multiplied and formed into communities or nations, the former provision was manifestly in- sufficient, and we meet with instances of priests for a larger number, as Jethro, " the priest of Midian" {for pruat seems here to be the proper rendering of [Hi). The chief priestly office was sometimes, and perhaps generally, associated with the chief civil authority, as In the case of "Melchisedec, king of Salem the priest of the Most High God" (Gen. xiv. 18), and among the heathen, Balak, who offered his sacri- fices himself (Num. xxiii.); a trace of this custom may perhaps be preserved in the occasional use of ins for prince (Job xii. 19 ; 2 Sam. viii. 18 ; xz. 26?), But in large nations the actual func- tions of the priestly office must necessarily have devolved chiefly upon inferior priests. In Egypt the Israelites had been accustomed to a numerous, wealthy, and powerful body of priests, at the head of which stood the monarch. It is unneces- sary to speak of these further than to note a few points in which they were strongly contrasted with the priests of Israel. In the first place, al- though the monarch was at the head of the whole priestly caste, yet as the popular religion of Egypt was polytheistic, each principal Divinity had his especial body of priests with a high- priest at their head. In contrast with this, mo- notheism was distinctly set forth in the Levitioal legislation, by the one body of priests, with its single high-priest at its head. The Egyptian priests maintained an esoteric theology, not com- municated to the people, in which it would ap- pear that the unity of the Self-existent God and many other important truths were taught; in Israel the priests were indeed the keepers and guardians of the law (Deut. xxxi. 9, He.'), but they were diligently to teach it all to the people (Lev. X. 11), to read the whole of it every seventh year to all the assembled people (Deut. xxxi. 10-13), to supply the king with a copy for him- self to write out in full (Deut. xvii. 18, 19), and in general to teach God's judgments to Jacob and His law to Israel (Deut. xxxiii. 10). While, therefore, from the nature of their occupation, they might be expected to have a more perfect knowledge of the law than the generality of the people, this knowledge was only more perfect as the result of more continued study, and might be equalled by any one who chose, and was actually shared by every one as far as he chose. The Egyptian priests were, moreover, great landed proprietors (besides being fed from the royal revenues. Gen. xlvii. 22), and actually possessed one-third of the whole territory of Egypt; the priests of Israel, on the contrary, were expressly excluded from the common inheritance of the tribes, and had assigned to them only the cities with their immediate suburbs actually required for their residence. The priesthood of Egypt culminated in the absolute monarch who was at their head, and in whose authority they in some degree shared ; in Israel, on the other hand, the line between the civil and the priestly authority and functions was most sharply drawn, primarily in the case of Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Eleazar, generally in the time of the judges (al- though in that troubled period this, like all other parts of the Mosaic system, was sometimes eon- fused), and finally under the monarchy. It is indeed sometimes asserted that the kings, by virtue of their prerogative, were entitled to exer cise priestly functions; but for this there is no real ground. The instances relied on are either C6 LEVITICUS. manifest oaaea of sacrifice offered at the command of the monarch (1 Kings iii. 15; viii. 62-64.) ; or of the simple wearing of an ephod (2 Sam. vi. 14), which by no means carried with it the priestly ofiBoe; or else are misinterpretations of a particular word (1 Kings iv. 2, 5 — see the Textual notes there; 2 Sam. viii. 18— the only case of real difficulty— comp. 1 Chr. xviii. 17). There are but two definite instances of the as- sumption of priestly functions by kings, and both of them were most sternly punished (1 Sam. xiii. 10-14; 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21). There was also the intrusion of Korah and his compa- nions on the priestly office and their exemplary punishment (Num. xvi.). In the later abnormal state under the Maccabees, it was not the kings who assumed priestly functions, but the priests who absorbed the royal prerogative. With these contrasts, it is plain that there was little in com- mon between the Egyptian and Levitical priest- hood, except what is necessarily implied in the idea of a priesthood at all, and is found in that of the nations of antiquity generally. They were, however, both hereditary (as was also the Brahminical priesthood) ; both were under a law of the strictest personal cleanliness, and there was a resemblance between them in several mat- ters of detail, as linen dress, and other non-es- sential matters. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were a people chosen — on condition of faithful- ness and obedience— »to be " a kingdom of priests and an holy nation" (Ex. xix. 6), and in accord- ance with this the paschal lamb was sacrificed by each head of a household, and eaten by him- self and his family (Ex. xii. 6), and the same idea was retained in this sacrifice always. Never- theless, the people were unprepared for so high a vocation, and soon after we find the existence of certain persons among the people recognized as priests "which oome near to the Lord" (Ex. xix. 22, 24), although they did not receive the Divine sancliou necessary to the continuance of their oflice. We have no knowledge of the na- ture of their functions, nor of their appointment. However this may have been, the people cer- tainly shrank from that nearness of approach to God implied in the office of priest (Ex. xx. 19, 21; Deut. v. 23—27), and sacrifices were offered by "young men" appointed by Moses, he re- serving to himself the strictly priestly function of sprinkling the blood (Ex. xxiv. 5—8). Such was the state of things at the time of the ap- pointment of the Aaronic order; there was no divinely authorized priesthood, and the need of one was felt. Meantime, in the solitude of Sinai, God di- rected Moses to take Aaron and his sons for an hereditary priesthood (Ex. xxviii. 1), and gave minute directions for their official dress, for their consecration and their duties (Ex. xxviii., xxix.). Emphasis is everywhere placed upon the fact that they were appointed of God (comp. Heb. V. 4). They were in no sense appointed by the people ; had they been so, they could not have been mediators. It has been seen that the Levitical system makes prominent the fact that the sacrifices had no efficacy in themselves, but derived their whole value from the Divine ap- pointment ; so also in regard to the priesthood. The priests appear as themselves needing atone- ment, and obliged to offer for their own sins; yet by the commanded unction and dress they are constituted acceptable intercessors and me- diators for the people. All was from God ; and while this gave assurance to the people in their daily worship, at the same time the priests' own imperfection showed that the true reconciliation with God by the restoration of holiness to man had not yet been manifested. The Levitical priest could be but a type of that Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent's head. Before the directions concerning the priests hood, given to Moses alone in the Mount, could be announced, occurred the terrible apostasy of the golden calf, when, at the summons of Moses " who is on the Lord's side?" the whole tribe of Levi consecrated themselves by their zeal on God's behalf (Ex. xxxii. 25-29). Subsequently (Num. iii. 5-10, 40-51), the Levites were taken as a substitute for all the first-born Israelites (who, under the patriarchal system, would have been their priests, and who had been spared in the slaughter of the Egyptian first-born) to mi- nister to the chosen priestly family. Of these nothing is said in this book, except the modifica- tion in their favor of the law concerning the sale of houses in xxv. 32-34) (see Com.). They may therefore be here wholly passed by with the simple mention that they never had sacerdotal functions, and were not therefore a part of the sacerdotal class. It is, perhaps, for the purpose of making this distinction emphatically that no mention is made of them in this book where it might otherwise have been expected. As, how- ever, they constituted the tribe from which the priests were taken, the latter are often called by their name, and thus we frequently meet with the expression in the later books, "the priests, the Levites," or even with "Levites" alone, meaning Levites, /car' i^oxv", or priests. But while there was an evident necessity thai a much smaller body than the whole tribe of Levi should be taken for priests; and while Aaron, the elder brother, and appointed as the "pro- phet" of Moses (Ex. iv. 14-17), and associated with him in the whole deliverance of the people from Egypt, was evidently a most suitable per- son for the office, the law that (he office should be hereditary must rest on other grounds. If we seek for these in any thing beyond the sim- ple Divine good-pleasure, we should readily find them in the general fact of the whole Mosaic system being founded upon the principle of heir- ship leading on to the fulfilment of the Messianic promise : and in the more special one that it was by this means the priesthood was in the main kept true to God during long periods of Israel's apostasy and sin. It is to be carefully observed that this heredi- tary office did not make of the priests a caste; in all things not immediately connected with the discharge of their functions, they were fellow- citizens with the other Israelites, subject to the same laws, bound by the same duties, and ame- nable to the same penalties. When not engaged in official duty, they wore the same dress, and might follow the same vocations as their fellow- citizens. They were only exempt from the pay- ment of tithes because themselves supported bj PEEHMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD. C7 them. In all this is manifest a striking con- tvast, not only with heathen priesthoods of an- tiquity, but also with the hierarchy of the Me- dieeval Christian Church. The especial function of the priesthood was to come near to Ood (vii. 3-5 ; x. 3 ; xxi. 17 ; Num. xvi. 6, etc.). They were to stand in the vast gap between a sinful people and a holy God, themselves of the former, yet especially sanctified to approach the latter. " Hence their chief characteristic must be holiness, since they were elected to be perpetually near the Holy One and to serve Him (Num. xvi. 6) ; they were singled out from the rest of their brethren ' to be sanctified ad most holy.' To hallow and to install as priests are used as correlative terms (Ex. xxix. 33; co np. vers. 1, 44; xxviii. 41; xl. 13). By neglecting what cuntributes to their sanctity they pr )f'an'? the holiness of God (Lev. xxi. 6-8) ; and the high-priest is himself the 'Holy One of the Lord' (Ps. cvi. 16)." Kalisoh. They sustained a distinct mediatorial character between God and His people. This appears in every part of the law concerning them. The golden plate inscribed "holiness to the Lord," which the high-priest wore upon his brow, ex- pressly meant that he should " bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow" (Ex. xxviii. 38) ; and the flesh of the sin offerings was given to the priests "to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord" (Lev. x. 17). Of course this could be done by human priests only symbolically, as they were types of the great High Priest to come ; and His all- sufficient sacrifice having once been offered, there could be thereafter no other priesthood in this relation to the people, or discharging this mediatorial function. The Christian ministry finds its analogy, not in the priests, but in the prophets of the old dispensation, although even here the likeness is very imperfect. Still, while the priests were required to preserve and teach the written law, it was left to the prophets to unfold its spiritual meaning, and to urge regard to it by argument and exhortation. It is a striking fact that the Greek word for priest, Upeiig, and its derivatives in the New Testament, while frequently applied to the priests of the old covenant and to Christ Himself, their Anti- type, are never used for any office in the Chris- tian Church, except for the general priesthood of the whole body of believers ; jrpo0;^r»)f=r/>ro- phet, however, and its cognates are thus used with great frequency. It is to be borne in mind that priest, in the Levitical sense of the word, and sacrifice are correlative terms; sacrifice pre-supposes a priest to offer it, and a priest must needs have "somewhat also to offer" (Keb. viii. 3). From these points flow all the duties of the priests, and in view of these their qualifications, and the other laws concerning them are fixed. The first and chiefest of all their duties was the offering of sacrifice, as this was the especial instrumentality by which men sought to draw near; to God. No sacrifice could be offered with- out the intervention of the appointed priest ; for the sacrifices having no virtue in themselves, and deriving their value from the Divine ap- pointment, must necessarily be presented in the way and by the persons whom God had author- ized. Hence it is that in the ritual of the sacri- fices an emphasis is always placed upon the declaration that the priests "shall make atone- ment." The apparent exceptions to this, in the case of Samuel and Elijah, are really but illus- trations of the principle, they being prophets directly charged from on high to do this very thing. In this, including the burning of in- cense, the priests were undoubtedly typical of the one true High Priest and Mediator. They stood, as far as was possible for man, between God and the people, and by their acts were the people made — at least symbolically — holy, and brought near to God. The acts of sacrifice which were essential and which therefore could only be performed by the priests, were the sprinkling or other treatment of the blood, and the burning of such parts as were to be con- sumed upon the altar. In the sin and trespass offerings, as well as in the oblations, which must be wholly consecrated to God. they were to con- sume the parts which were not burned. From this essential duty naturally were de- rived a variety of others. To the priests be- longed the care of the sanctuary and its sacred utensils, the preservation of the fire on the brazen altar, the burning of incense on the golden altar, the dressing and lighting of the lamps of the golden candlestick, the charge of the shew-bread, and other like duties. They were necessarily concerned in all those multitu- dinous acts of the Israelites which were con- nected with sacrifices, such as the accomplish- ment of the Nazarite vow, the ordeal of jealousy, the expiation of an unknown murder, the deter- mination of the unclean and of the cleansed lep- rous persons, garments and houses ; the regula- tion of the calendar; the valuation of devoted property which was lio be redeemed ; these and a multitude of other duties followed naturally from their priestly office. They were also to blow the silver trumpets on the various occa- sions of their use, and in connection with this to exhort the soldiers about to engage in battle to boldness, because they went to fight under the Lord. They were also, from their own familiarity with the law, appropriately appointed as the religious teachers of the people. From their priestly office they were charged to bless the people in the name of God; and from their privilege of consulting God especially through the Drim and Thummim, they were made arbi- ters in disputes of importance : " by their word shall every controversy and every violence be tried " (Deut. xxi. 5). All these secondary du- ties flowed from their primary one in connection with the sacrifices. Hence the influence and importance of the priests in the Hebrew com- monwealth varied greatly with the religions earnestness and activity of the nation. Nega- tively, it is important, to note that the priests did not, in any considerable degree, discharge towards the people the office of the Christian pastor, the spiritual guide, comforter and assist- ant of his flock. It is possible that if the people and the priests themselves had been prepared for it, something more of this relation might have resulted from the provisions of the law* 68 LEVITICUS. Still, they were not individually the priests of particular communities ; but rather, aa a body, the priests of the whole nation. From this it resulted that their connection with the people was little more than simply official and ministe- rial. In so far as the need of the pastor was met at all under the old dispensation, as already said, it was by the prophet rather than by the priests. The same thing is also true of their revenue. This was chiefly derived from the "second tithe," or the tenth paid to them by the Levites from the tithes received by them from the peo- ple. Tithes were stringently commanded ; but no power was lodged with any one for their compulsory collection. Their payment was left absolutely to the conscientious obedience of the people. The priests' support was supplemented by their share of the sacrifices, first-fruits, and other offerings of the people. Very ample pro- vision appears to be made for them in the law ; the Levites, who were much less than a tenth of the people, were to receive the tenth of all their increase ; and the priests, who appear to have numbered still much less than the tenth of the Levites, were to receive the tenth of the income paid to them. Practically, during the far greater part of the Hebrew history, their support ap- pears to have been precarious and insufficient, and we know that large numbers of them de- clined to return from the captivity of Babylon, and many of the descendants of those who did return did not exercise their priestly office or claim their priestly privileges. The qualifications for the priesthood were first, Aaronio descent ; to spoure this genealogi- cal registers were kept with great care (2 Chron. zxxi. 16, 17, etc.), and any one who could not find his descent upon, them was not allowed to minister in the priest's office or to receive its emoluments (Ezra ii. 62 ; Neh. vii. 64). Secondly, they must be perfect physically, free from any bodily defect or injury; otherwise, they might eat of the priests' portion, and receive his tithe, but they were forbidden to approach the altar, or enter the sanctuary (Lev. xxi. 17-23). Fur- ther, during the time of their ministrations, they must be entirely fre-i from any form of legal uncleanness (xxii. 1-7), and must practice frequent ablutions, espeeinlly on entering the sacred precincts (viii. 6; Ex. xl. 30-32), and they must carefully abstain from wine and strong drink (ch. x. 8-10); at all times they must maintain an especial symbolic purity, and particu- larly must never be defiled by the contact of a dead body, except in the case of the very near- est relatives (xxi. 2-4), even this exception being denied to the high-priest {ib. 10-12). No limit of age either for the beginning or the end of their service is fixed in the law ; but in the absence of such limitation, the age appointed for the Levites would probably have been gene- rally regarded as fitting. In later times there was great laxity in this respect, and Aristohulus was appointed high-priest by Herod the Great when only seventeen. In addition to these out- ward qualifications, exemplary holiness of life is everywhere required of the priests, and even in their families, violations of virtue were visited with more severity than among others (xxi. 9). In marriage the priests generally were only restricted in their choice to virgins or widows of any of the tribes of their nation (xxi. 7); later, marriage within the Aaronio family seems to have been preferred, and by the prophet Ezekiel (xliv. 22) the marriage with widovfs (except of priesis) was forbidden them. They were originally inducted into their office by a solemn consecration, and were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood and the holy anointing oil (ch. ix.); but, except for the high.priest, this one consecration sufficed for all their de- scendants, and was not repeated. While on duty in the sanctuary they were arrayed in robes of linen which might never pass beyond the sacred precincts ; and they must minister at the altar unshod. In the small number of priests at first, it was probably necessary that all of them should be constantly on duty; but when in later times they had greatly multiplied, they were divided by David luto twenty-four courses, each with a chief at its head, who should minister in turn (1 Chron. xxiv. 3, 4). This arrangement was maintained ever after, although on the return from the captivity, some of the courses were wanting from the returning exiles (Neh. xii. 1- 7; 12-21). The whole order of the priests was concen- trated, so to speak, in the high-priest. His office was also hereditary, but not with the same strictness. We find in the time of Eli that the high priesthood had passed to the house of Ithamar (Aaron's younger son), and from his descendants it was again by divine direction transferred back to the elder branch. The du- ties and responsibilities of the high-priest were far more solemn than that of the ordinary priests. " Pity and sympathy also, according to the Ep. to the Hebr., enter into the idea of the high- priest." Lange. There could be only one high- priest at a time, although a second, in some de- gree at least, seems to have been permitted during that abnormal period during the reign of David when the ark and the tabernacle were separated. The high-priest was restricted in marriage to a Hebrew virgin; bis official robes were of the utmost splendor, and on his breast he wore the precious stones on which were en- graved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, while on the golden plate on his forehead was inscribed "holiness unto the Lord;" he was originally consecrated hy a more ample anoint- ing than his brethren, and this was repeated for each of his successors, so that he is described as having " the crown of the anointing oil of his God upon him" (xxi. 12), and, as we have seen, is often designated simply as " the anointed priest;" he must have succeeded to his office at whatever age his predecessor died or became incapacitated, and continued in it to the end of his own life, which formed a civil epoch (Num. XXXV, 28, 32) ; no especial provision is made in the law for his support, and history shows tbat it was unnecessary to do so, as he was always amply provided for; the high-priest was forbid- den the contact with the dead and the customary marks of sorrow even in those few cases which were permitted to other priests (xxi. 10-12), anii that on the express ground of the peculiar oom- CHAP. VIII. 1-36. GO pleteness of his coasecration. But his chief diBtiaotion lay in his being the embodiment, as it were, of the whole theocracy, and the media- tor between God and the whole people. This was signified by manifold symbols on his robes ; ' it was shown by his duty of offering the sin offering for himself and for the whole people (the same victim being required for each) ; and especially by his most solemn duties on the great day of Atonement (oh. xvi.). From his position and religious duties necessarily flowed many others, as in the case of the ordinary priests, only that in the one case as in the other those of the high-priest were far higher and more important. In the Epistle to the Hebrews he is singled out not only as the representative of the whole priestly system, but as peculiarly the type of Christ, the one great High-Priest, Who alone could make effectual atonement, once for all, for the sins of all people. A " second priest," or vice high-priest, is mentioned Jer. lii. 24, and such an office is recognized by the later Jews. Literature : Kaiisoh, Preliminaiy Essay on Lev. VIII., and many of the worka already mentioned under Sacrifices. Kuepeb, Das Priesterthum des Alien Bundes, Berlin, 1865. FIRST SECTION. The Consecration of the Priests. Chap. VIII. 1-36. 1,2 And the Lord spake uuto Moses, saying. Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a [the^] bullock for the sin-offering, 3 and [the'] two rams, and a [the'] basket of unleavened bread : and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [pmit the] congre- 4 gatlon. And Moses did as the Loed commanded him ; and the assembly [con- gregation''] was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [pmit the] 5 congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed [bathed'] them with water. 7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious 8 [ewnoiM*] girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him : also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he put the mitre upon his head ; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put [and upon the mitre upon his forehead did he put"] the golden plate, 10 the holy crown ; as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle [dwelling-place'] and all that was therein, and 11 sanctified them.' And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and an- ointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. 12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, tosanc- 13 tify him. And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL. 1 Ver. 2. The Heb. has the article in all these cases, and it shonld be retained as referring to the commands given in Ex. xxix. « Ver. 4. muri- The word being precisely the same as in ver. 3, should certainly have the same translation. The Vulg. and Syr. prefix da, as in ver. 3. ' Ver. 6. ym»l. See Textual Note » on xiv. 8. * Ver. 7. 3E?n means simply girdle, and there is nothing in the Heb. answering to curtoiM, yet as this word is used only of the girdle of the Ephod, while there are several other words for the ordinary girdle, and as the A. V. has uniformly rendered it mirimt girdle, it may be well to retain the aAJeotive as the readiest way of marking in English the pecnlian.y of the girdle. It should, however, be iu italics. ' Ver. 9. The A. V. is unnecessarily complicated. For the second Dtfl, the Sam. reads jTI'V ' Ver. 10. \3m. See Textual Note » on xv. 31. ' Ver. 10. Throe MSS., followed by the LXX., read it in the singular. • Ver. 12. One MS., followed by the Vul?., omits the partitive Q. LEVITICUS. them with girdles [a girdle'], and put [bound] bonnets upon them ; as the Lord commanded Moses. 14 And he brought the bullock for the sin offering : and Aaron and his sons laid" 15 their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew U; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, 16 and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it [to atone for it"]. And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two 17 kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burnt it^' upon the altar. But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp ; as the Lord 18 commanded Moses. And he brought" the ram for the burnt offering : and Aaron 19 and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and 20 Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he cut the ram into 21 pieces ; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs ia water ; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it" was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and [omit atid] an offering made by fire 22 unto the Loed ; as the Loed commanded Moses. And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration : and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head 23 of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put U upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the 24 great toe of his right foot. And he" brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs [thumb^*] of their right hands, and upon the great toes [toe"] of their right feet : and Moses sprinkled the 25 blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the rump [the fit tail"] and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and 26 the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder [leg"] : and out of the basket of unleavened bread," that was before the Loed, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right 27 shoulder [leg"] : and he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, 28 and waved them for a wave offering before the Loed. And Moses took them fi:om off their hands, and burnt them^ on the altar upon the burnt offering : they were consecrations for a sweet savour : it^' is an offering made by fire unto the Loed. 29 And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord: far of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part ; as the Loed commanded Moses. 30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him ; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. 31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons. Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation^' : and there eat with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I [am^'] commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons 32 shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye bum <* Ver. 13. I0J3X In the sing. (The ancient versions, howeTer, have the plnral). An entirely different word from 3t!/n of ver. 7. 10 Ver. 14. The Heb. verb ^OD^I is in the sing. In the corresponding clause in ver. 18 it is plural, and ao it is mada here als ) by the Sam. and Syr. 11 Ver. 15. vSy ISoS It is better here, as in vi. 30 (23), and xvi. 20, to retain the almost universal renderiDg of "133 in the A. V. These three places are the only exceptions in Ex., Lpv., or Num. The sense is clearly ^ Ui rataW than upon it, and it is so rendered in the corresponding passage. Ex. xxix. 36, comp. 37. 12 Ver. 16. The missing pronoun is supplied in one MS. and the Arab. 18 Yer. 18. For ^Ip^l the Sam. reads Wi')- '< 1* Ver. 21. Five MSS., the Svr. and Vulg., omit the pronotm. 16 Ver. 24. TheLXX, says, Illoses brought. M Ver. 24, The singular, which is the Heb. form, is quite as accurate and expressive. 1' Ver. 25. See Text. Note ' on iii. 9. 1» Ver. 25. See Text. Note »> on vii. .S2. 1* Ver. 26. The LXX. here reads dwo toO Kavov t^s reXetbttrftoi. K> Ver. 28. The pronoun is supplied by one MS., the LXX., and the Syr. >i Ver. 28. This pronoun is wanting in two MSS., the Vulg. and Arab. M Ver. 31. The Sam. and LXX. add Iv riiiru oyitu. » Ver. 31. The A. V. follows the Mosoretio punotnation Ti'lS; but the LXX., Vulg. and Syr., that of ver. 35 'H'^lf- CHAP. VIII. 1-36. 33 with fire. And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the [omif the] congregation in seven days, until the days of your con-secration be at an end : for 34 seven days shall he consecrate you. As he hath done this day, so the Loed hath 35 commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the lomit the] congregation day and night seven days, 36 and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not : for so I am commanded. So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of day of atonement (ch. xvi. 4). This washing was obyiously Bymbolioal of the purity required in those wU,o draw near to God, and ia applied spiritually to the whole body of Christians, " made priests unto God " in Heb. x. 22. With this comp. Christ's receiving of baptism (Malt. iii. 13-16) before entering upon His public min- istry. Vers. 7-9. The robing of Aaron comes first, then the sanctiiication of the tabernacle and all it contained, especially of the altar, then the anointing of Aaron, and finally the robing of his sons. Neither here nor in Ex. xxix. 5 is there any mention of the " linen breeches " of Ex. xxviii. 42; xxxix. 28 probably because these were simply " to c iver their nakedness," and were not considered a part of the o£&cial costume. As Kalisch suggests, Aaron and his sons proba- bly put them on themselves immediately after their ablution. On the remaining articles of apparel see Ex. xxviii. Briefly, the coat was the long tunic of fine linen worn next the skin. According to Josephus {Ant. III. 7, ^ 2), it reached to the feet, and was fastened closely to the arms. It was to be " embroidered " (Ex. xxviii. 39), i. e., woven, all of the same material and color, in diaper work. From Ex. xxviii. 40, 41 ; xxxix. 27, this garment appears to have been the same for the high-priest and the com- mon priests. The girdle next mentioned is not the "CMnoMs girdle" of the Ephod (3Kfn), but the !333X described by Josephus {loe. cit.) as a long sash of very loosely woven linen, embroi- dered with flowfrs of scarlet, and purple, and blue, which was wound several times around the body and tied, the ends hanging down to the ankles ordinarily, but thrown over the shoulder when the priest was engaged in active duty. — The robe (Ex. xxviii. 31-35), wholly of blue, was woven without seam, apparently without sleeves, with a hole whereby it was put over ih-e head. It is supposed to have reached a little below the knees, and to have been visible below, and also a little above, the Ephod. The hem at the bottom was ornamented with " pomegranates, blue, and purple, and scarlet," with golden bells between them, which should sound as the high- priest went in and out of the holy place. Over this was the Ephod (Ex. xxviii. 6, 7; xxxix. 2-4), a vestment whose construction is imper- fectly understood. The word etymologically, means simply a "vestment." and a simple "lin- en Ephod" was worn by the common priests (1 Sam. xxii. 18), as well as by others engaged in religious services (1 Sam. ii. 18; 2 Sam. vi. 14; 1 Chr. XV. 27). The "vestment" or Ephod of the high-priest here spoken of, however, was a very difi'erent and much more gorgeous affair. Its material was W =fine linen (of which also EXEQETICAL AND CRITICAL. In the chapters of this section we have the only prolonged narrative in Leviticus, in fact the only historical matter at all except the pun- ishment of the blasphemer in xxiv. 10-23. Ver. 1. The IiORD spake. — A special com- mand to carry out now the command already given minutely in Ex. xxviii., xxix., and xl. Vers. 2-6 contain the preliminary arrange- ments. Moses takes Aaron and his sons, and the various things previously provided for their consecration, and brings tdem into the court of the tabernacle. The four sons of Aaron were brought, and the language would also include his grandsons, if there were any at this time of suitable age. The fact, however, that Eleazar entered the promised land, would make him less than twenty-one at this time, and therefore too young to have sons of suf&cient age, and no sons of Nadab and Abihu are ever anywhere men- tioned. The people were also gathered about the wide opening of the court, probably repre- sented by their elders in the nearest places, and the mass of the men generally standing upon the surrounding heights whica overlooked the taber- nacle. Lange : " This is the ordinance : first, the persons; then the garments as symbols of the office ; the anointing oil, the symbol of the Spirit ; the bullock for the sin oflfering, the sym- bol of the priest favored with the entrusted atonement, and yet needing favor ; the ram for the burnt offering, the symbol of the sacrificial employment ; the ram for the sacrifice of conse- cration, the symbol of the priestly emoluments in true sacrifices of consecration ; and the basket of unleavened bread, the symbol of life's enjoy- ments ef the priests, sanctified in every form by the oil of the Spirit." Ver. 2. The basket, according to Ex. xxix. 2, 3, 23, contained three kinds of bread all un- leavened, the loaf, the oil bread, and the wafer anointed with oil. Vers. 3, 4. The consecration was thus public, not only that Aaron might not seem "to take this honor unto himself;" but also that by their presence, the people might be assenting to the consecration of him who was to minister among them and for them. Vers. 6-13. The washing, anointing, and in- vestiture. Ver. 6. And bathed them •with v^ater. — Not merely their hands and their feet, which Moses must have already done for himsfflf, and which was always done by every priest who en- tered the tabernacle, or who approached the altar (Ex. xl. 31, .S2) ; but doubtless an ablu- tion of the whole body as seems to be intended in Ex. xxix. 4, and as was practised on the great 72 LKVITICUS. the tunic mentioned above was made), while that of the other Bphods was 13 or common linen of which the " linen breeches " were made. (The latter word, however, as the more general, is sometimes used for both, Lev. vi. 10 (3) ; xvi. 4, 23, 32). The Ephod of the high-priest ap- pears to have been made in two parts, one for the back and one for the breast, joined at the shoulders by two onyx stones set in gold, upon which were engraved the names of the tribes of Israel. To these stones were attached chains of pure wreathen gold for the support of the breast- plate. According to Josephus (_loc. cit., ^ 5), it had sleeves and a place left open upon the breast to be covered by the breast-plate. It was woven with gold thread and colors " with cunning work," and with its attachments was one of the chief parts of the high-priest's attire. Upon it, wrought of the same costly and gorgeous mate- rials, was the curious girdle of the Ephod, woven on to one of the parts, and passing round the body, holding them both together. On this was put the breast-plate (Ex. xxviii. 15-30), a separate piece of cloth woven of the same mate- rials, so that when folded it was " a span " square. By gold rings it was attached to the chains from the onyx stones on the shoulder, and by other gold rings it was tied with bands of blue lace to corresponding rings on the Ephod. To this breast-plate were attached by settings of gold, twelve precious stones, on each of which was engraved the name of one of the tribes of Israel. — Also he put in the breast-plate the Urim and the Thummim. — On these words many volumes have been written, and we can only here refer to the note on Ex. xxviii. 30. From the way in which they are spoken of both there (comp. vers. 15-21) and here, they appear to have been something different from the pre- cious stones before spoken of, and to have been placed, not on, but in the breastplate, i. n , in the receptacle formed by its fold, although a great variety of authorities might be cited for the opposite view. There is nowhere any direc- tion given for their preparation, and from the use of the definite article with each of them, it is likely that they were things already known. They were used as a means of ascertaining the will of God (Num. xxvii. 21; 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, etc.) ; but by precisely what process is not known, and there are now no means of ascer- taining. The many conjectures concerning them are conveniently arranged by Clark (Speaker's Com.) under three heads: (1) that the Divine will was manifested by some physical eflFect ad- dressed to the eye or ear ; (2) that they were a means of calling into action a prophetic gift in the high-priest; (3) that they were some contri- vance for casting lots. The Urim and Thum- mim were here formally delivered to Aaron, and passed on to his successors ; but the last re- corded instance of their use is in the time of Ba- vid, and they seem to have passed into disuse as revelations and teachings by prophets became more frequent. It is certain that they had dis- appeared, or their use had been lost, after the return from the captivity (Ezra ii. 63; Neh. vii. 65). And he put the mitre upon his head.— (Ex. xxviii. 37-39). The word mitre is here used in its etymological sense, of a twisted band of fine linen around the head, which might now be described as a turban. The golden plate, the holy oro^i7n, — a plate of pure gold having en- graved on it HOLINESS TO THE LoBD. This was attached to a " blue lace," whereby it was fast- ened to the mitre. It was the crowning glory of the high-priest's official dress, and its sym- bolism is fully expressed in the command for its preparation (Ex. xxviii. 38), "that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts ; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Loed." This completed the investiture of Aaron, and it is added as the LORD commanded Moses, both to show that the command had been ful- filled, and also that only that which was com- manded had been done. In this matter nothing was left to human device ; every particular was expressly arranged by minute Divine directions; for everything was symbolic and intended gra- dually to teach Israel spiritual truths, which as yet they were only prepared to learn by thesD sensible images. Vers. 10-12. The anointing of the sacred things and of Aapon. The composition of the anointing oil, and the careful restriction of its use had been minutely commanded (Ex. xxx. 22-33). The Rabbis say that the art of compounding it was lost after the captivity, and hence from that time its use was necessarily discontinued. The things to be an- ointed had all been made " after the pattern shown in the Mount" (Ex. xxv. 40; Heb. ix. 23) and expressly for their sacred uses ; yet there was a fitness, such as has always been recog- nized by the sense of mankind, that they should first be especially set apart by a solemn cereiro- nial for their holy purpose. The tabernacle and all that ■was therein. — In Ex. xxx. 26- 28, many of the things are specially mentioned, showing that Moses with the anointing oil must have passed not only into the holy place butinto thj holy of holies itself. Yer. 11. He sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times. — This refers to the brazen altar in the court, as is shown by the things enu- merated with it. On the seven-fold sprinkling see on iv, 6. And anointed the altar.— As this is a different act from the sprinkling, so does this special sanctifying of the altar seem appropriate to its use in the sacrifices. Ver. 12. He poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head. — Comp. Vs. cxxxiil. 2. "The anointing with oil was a symbol of en- dowment with the Spirit of God (1 Sam. x. 1,6; xvi. 13, 14; Isa. Ixi. 1) for the duties of the office to which a person was consecrated," Keil. The A. V. is quite accurate in marking the more abundant anointing of Aaron by the word poured. The symbolism of anointing is abun- dantly recognized in the New Test, as applied to Christ (Luke iv. 18; Acts x. 38, c(^:). There has been much question whether the sons of Aaron were also here anointed. On the one hand, it had been commanded that they should be anointed (Ex. xxviii. 41; xl. 15) "IhoushaU anoint them as thou didst anoint their father." and they are always recognized as having been CHAP. VIII. 1-36. 73 anointed (vii. 36 ; x. 7) ; and on the other hand, there is no mention here of this having been done (which could hardly have been omitted had It taken place) ; and as Aaron was first robed, and then anointed, while his sons were not yet Tobed, it seems necessary to consider their unc- tion as having been confined to the sprinkling with mingled oil and blood of ver. 30. This would be quite in accordance with the recogni- tion of the high-priest alone as the anointed priest and with all those passages in which his anointing is spoken of as something peculiar. (The word as in Ex. xl. 16 cannot, of course, be pressed — as Kalisch insists — to mean an exactly similar form of anointing). Ver. 13. Next comes the robing of Aaron's sons, all in accordance with the commands so often referred to. The bonnets were also a sort of turban, but it may be inferred from the difference in the Heb. word that they were pro- bably diiferently fashioned from that of the high- priest. Vers. 14-30. The sacrifices and accompanying ceremonies. In the order of the sacrifices the sin ofi^ering comes first, then the burnt offering, lastly the peace offering; this, the normal order, is al- ways observed (unless in certain exceptional cases) where the several kinds of sacrifice come together, as was evidently fitting in view of the special object of each. The victim and the ritual of the sin offering are the same as that appointed for the sin offer- ing of the high-priest in oli. iv. 3-12, except that the blood was not brought into the sanctuary nor sprinkled " before the vail." The reason commonly assigned for this is that the offering was not for any particular sin, but only for a general state of sinfulness. So Lange. But it is to be borne in mind that this sacrifice was not for Aaron alone, but for him and his sons toge- ther; also it was not for an already consecrated high-priest, but for one who was in the very act of being consecrated and not yet entitled to dis- charge the functions of the high-priest. In view of what he was to be, the victim might well be the same as that appointed for the ordinary sin offering of the high-priest ; in view of what be actually was, it was fitting that there should be a difference in the ritual as regards the blood. Moses took the blood and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, as was done in all sin offerings, only here the object of the act seems to have been, in part at least, the altar itself. This had been already sprinkled and anointed ; now by the blood it is still further purified, and also sanc- tified, and atonement made for it. On the ne- cepsity of the blood in addition to the oil, see Heb. ix. 21, 22. The application of this to the altar was for the same general reasons as in case of the tabernacle and its contents, only that there was especial emphasis in regard to the altar on account of its peculiar use. As all things in heaven and earth are reconciled unto God by the blood of the cross (Col. i. 20), so must these typical things be reconciled by the blood of the typical sacrifice. In all this service Moses, by a special Divine commission, acts as the priest. Hence he is 20 spoken of in Ps. xcix. 6 as " among His priests," and Philo calls him a high-priest. He did not, however, wear the priestly garments, and strictly he was not a priest at all. He had hitherto acted as priest (Ex. xl. 23), although he had not be- fore offered a sin offering ; but now he was both less and more than a priest. Less, in that with this consecration his priestly functions abso- lutely ceased ; more, in that he now acts on God's behalf as the Mediator of the Old Covenant (Gal. iii. 19). The Aaronic priesthood was continued with its powers by hereditary succession ; but all chains must have a beginning, and all au- thority must have a giver. Here the first link of the chain, the beginning of all priestly autho- rity, is given by Moses acting under an express commission for this purpose, from the Almighty. Ii is to be remembered that all these sacrifices were consumed by fire kindled in the ordinary way, the fire "from before the Lord' (ix. 24) not having yet come forth. Vers. 18-21. The burnt offering differed in nothing from the ordinary burnt offering, al- though the victim was of a kind less commonly selected. Vers. 22-30. The peace offering, or ram of consecration. Any sacrificial animal might be offered in the ordinary peace offerings ; but a ram, as here, was required along with a bullock for the priestly peace offering immediately after their consecration (ix. 4-8), and a rnm alone at tlie fulfilment of the Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 14, 17), and this also formed a part of the varied peace offerings of the princes after the dedica- tion of the altar and tabernacle (Num. vii. 17, 23. etc.). Ver. 22. The ram of consecration, lit. "the ram of the fillings," i. e. with which the hands of Aaron and his sons were to be filled for the wave-offering, ver. 27, and by this phra- seology is the idea of consecration usually ex- pressed according to the Hebrew idiom (comp. the verb in Judg. xvii. 5, 12; 1 Kings xiii. 33; Ezek. xliii. 26, etc.). The LXX. renders it Kptbv Telec Vers. H, 15. Leg. See Text. Note ^ on vii. 32. " Ter. 15. The Sam. and LXX. add and thy daughters', as in ver. 14. ^ Ter. 17. The Syr. reads in the 1st person, J have given. ^ Ter. 17. Thirteen MSS. read /or yoa in the 2d person. " Tor. 18. The Masoretio punctuation of WlbS tere indicates the article ; it would seem proper, however, to omit it Wording to invariable usage. All the versions make a distinction between the sanctuary, into which the blood bad not been carried, and the court where the flesh should have been eaten. We can only express this by a change oJtbe article. IS Ver. 18. Most of the versions have the passive, as I was commanded, and the LXX, ov rpoTiov fioi