YALE
DIVINITY SCHOOL
LIBRARY

Gift of
The Reverend Edward G. Dahl

t&sJLl

xUL ioLrA J(MjL<^

THE NEW-CENTURY BIBLE
?GENESIS, by the Rev. Prof. W. H. Bennett, Litt.D., D.D.
•EXODUS, by the Rev. Prof. W. H. BENNETT, Litt.D., D.D.
?LEVITICUS and NUMBERS, by the Rev. Prof. A. R. S. Kennedy, M. A., D.D.
'DEUTERONOMY and JOSHUA, by the Rev. Prof. H. Wheeler Robinson,
M.A.
•JUDGES and RUTH, by the Rev. G. W. Thatchee, M.A., B.D.
•I and II SAMUEL, by the Rev. Prof. A. R. S. Kennedy, M.A., D.D.
*I and II KINGS, by the Rev. Prof. Skinneh, D.D.
•I and II CHRONICLES, by the Rev. W. Harvey-Jeixie, M.A., B.D.
•EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER, by the Rev. Prof. T. Witton Davies,
B.A., Ph.D., D.D.
•JOB, by Prof. A. S. Peake, M.A..D.D.
•PSALMS (Vol. I) I TO LXXII, by the Rev. Prof. Davison, M.A., D.D.
•PSALMS (Vol. II) LXXIII TO END, by the Rev. Prof. T. Witton Davies,
B A.., Ph.D., D.D.
•PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, And SONG OF SOLOMON, by the
Rev. Prof. G. Currie Martin, M.A., B.D.
•ISAIAH I-XXXIX, by the Rev. Owen C. Whitehouse, M.A., D.D.
•ISAIAH XL-LXVI, by the Rev. Owen C. Whitehouse, M.A., D.D.
JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS, by Prof. A. S. Peake, M.A., D.D.
•EZEKIEL, by the Rev. Prof. W. F. Lofthouse, M.A.
DANIEL, by the Rev. Prof. R. H. Charles, D.D.
"MINOR PROPHETS: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, by the
Rev. R. F. Horton, M.A., D.D.
•MINOR PROPHETS: Nahdm, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
MalAchi, by the Rev. Canon Driver, Litt.D., D.D.
•i. MATTHEW, by the Rev. Prof. W. F. Slater, M.A.
•2. MARK, by the late Principal Salmond, D.D.
•3. LUKE, by Principal W. F. Adeney, M.A., D.D.
•4. JOHN, by the Rev. J. A. McClymont, D.D.
•5. ACTS, by the Rev. Prof. J. VERNON Bartlet, M.A., D.D.
*6. ROMANS, by the Rev. Prof. A. E. Garvie, M.A., D.D.
•7. I and II CORINTHIANS, by Prof. J. Massie, M.A., D.D.
•8. EPHESIANS, COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON, PHILIPPIANS, by the
Rev. Prof. G. Currie Martin, M.A., B.D.
•9. I and II THESSALONIANS, GALATIANS, by Principal W. F. Adeney,
M.A., D.D.
*io. THE PASTORAL EPISTLES, by the. Rev. R. F. Horton, M.A., D.D.
•1 1. HEBREWS, by Prof. A. S. Peake, M.A., D.D.
"12. THE GENERAL EPISTLES, by the Rev. Prof. W. H. Bennett, Litt.D.,
D.D.
•13. REVELATION, by the Rev. Prof. C. Anderson Scott, M.A., B.D.
[Those marked* are already published.']

THE NEW-CENTURY BIBLE
LEVITICUS and NUMBERS

OXFOBD : HOEAOE HART
PRINTEIt TO THE UNIVERSITY

. General Editor:
Principal Walter F. Adeney, M.A., D.D.
Eetriftcu* atrt> QtutnBera

INTRODUCTION
REVISED VERSION WITH NOTES
INDEX AND MAP

EDITED BY THE

REV. A. R. S. KENNEDY, M.A., D.D.
PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND SEMITIC LANGUAGES IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

NEW YORK: HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, AMERICAN BRANCH
EDINBURGH : T. C. & E. C. JACK

The Revised Version is prinied by permission of the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge

CONTENTS
LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
PAGE
A. Introduction to Leviticus and Numbers :
I. The Titles of the Books  3
II. Arrangement and Contents of the Books . . 4
III. The Modern View of the Pentateuch . . 12
IV. JE in the Book of Numbers . . . .16
V. The History of Israel's Theocratic Institu
tions (P*)  20
VI. The Holiness Code (H or P") .... 25
VII. Supplementary Codes (P') and Later Addi
tions (P8)  28
List of the Literary Symbols and Abbreviations . . 32
B. Leviticus : Text of the Revised Version, with
Annotations  33
C. Numbers: Text of the Revised Version, wiih
Annotations  183
Additional Notes :
A. The Day of Atonement  39°
B. Bibliography  391
C. On the Map of the Sinai Peninsula . . . 392
INDEX  393
MAP
"Sinai Peninsula and Canaan .... at front

THE BOOKS OF
LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
INTRODUCTION

THE BOOKS OF
LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
INTRODUCTION
I. The Titles of the Books.
' The third Book of Moses, commonly (so, R. V.) called
Leviticus, the fourth Book of Moses, commonly called
Numbers' — by these titles the reader is reminded that the
two books in question are not independent literary pro
ductions, but the third and fourth sections of a larger
whole, variously named 'the Torah ' (i. e. ' direction,'
1 instruction,' then ' law '), ' the five Books of Mose:s,' and
'the Pentateuch.' The last of these, the name now
generally adopted, is in origin a Greek term signifying
the ' five- volume ' book, and has reference to the separate
rolls on which the five sections of the Torah were in
scribed. This application . of the term Pentateuch goes
back to at least the second century of, pur era; the
corresponding Latin form, Petitateuchns {set/, liber), is
first found in the works of Irenaeus.
In our Hebrew Bibles the individual books of the Torah
bear titles consisting of one or more of the opening words
of each bopk. On the other hand the names by which
they have been known in the Christian Church from the
first are descriptive of the contents, in whole or in part,
of the several books. They belonged originally to the
Septuagint (LXX), the name given to the translation of the
Torah which was made for the use of the Greek-speaking
Jews of Alexandria about the middle of the third century
B.C. From the LXX they passed into the Vulgate, the
Latin Bible of the Western Church, from which they
passed in turn into our English Bibles (Genesis, Exodus,
B 2

4 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
&c). The titles of the two books commented on in the
following pages demand, however, a fuller explanation.
The title of Leueitikon, which: 'the third Book of Moses'
bears in the Septuagint, appears in the Vulgate in its
Latin form Leviticus (sell, liber), both signifying '>the
Levitical book.' The Greek adjective is once used, and
in the same sense, in the New Testament by the author of
the Epistle to the Hebrews, who refers to the priesthood
of Aaron as ' the Levitical priesthood' (vij. I l)i Leviticus,
therefore, is the section of the Torah which deals with the
priests and their duties,' not, as one might hastily infer,
with the subordinate caste of the hierarchy to whom the
term Levites is confined in certain parts of the Pentateuch
(see p. 199 f. below). As a matter of fact there is but a
single mention of the 'Levites' — and that from a late
source — in^he whole of Leviticus (xxv. 32 ff.). Leviticus,
in short, is so nahied because it contains ' the law of the
priests,' the not inappropriate title which it bears in more
than one passage of the Mishna.
As regards the title of the Book of Numbers, it is inter
esting to note that while the titles of the other four books
of the Pentateuch were taken over from the Septuagint
with only such1 changes as were necessary to give them
Latin terminations, the Greek title {Arithmoi) of this
book was translated, and became Numeri in the Vulgate,
in English, Numbers. This is practically identical with
a title also found in the Mishna, 'the book of the
mustered ' or ' numbered,' both titles having reference tb
the 'numbering' or census of the Hebrew tribes com
manded and carried out in the opening chapters of the
book (see Num. i-iii and cf. xxvi, a second census).
II. Arrangement and Contents of the Books.
It will be convenient at this point to give a conspectus
of the Books of Leviticus and Numbers showing the main
divisions and subdivisions adopted in this volume before

INTRODUCTION 5
proceeding to examine in greater detail the nature and
history of their contents. LEVITICUS.
First Division. Chapters I — VII.
Laws relating to Sacrifice.
A. i — vi. 7. The ritual of the Jive principal Offerings —
addressed to the community as a whole.
{a) i. The ritual of the burnt-offering.
(*) "¦ ,, „ meal-offering.
(c) ">• ,> ,, peace-offering.
id) iv. 1— v. 13. The ritual of the sin-offering.
(e) v. 14— vi. 7. The law of the guilt-offering.
B. vi. 8 — vii. 38. Supplementary directions for the ritual
of sacrifice — addressed to the priests.
(With one exception [see p. 60] the sections follow
the same order as those of A.)
Second Division. Chapters VIII— X.
The Consecration and Installation of the
Aaronic, Priesthood.
(a) viii. Consecration of Aaron and his sons.
(6) ix. Aaron and his sons enter upon their office.
(c) x. The death of Nadab and Abihu, with sundry regula
tions for the priests.
Third Division. Chapters XI — XVI.
Laws relating to Uncleanness and Purification, including
the Special Rites of the Day of Atonement (XVI).
(a) xi. Laws relating chiefly to clean and unclean animals.
(b) xii. The law of the purification of women after child-birth.
(c) xiii, xiv. Laws concerning leprosy and the necessary
purifications.
(d) xv. Laws concerning the uncleanness of issues.
(c) xvi. The Day of Atonement.

LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
, Fourth Division. Chapters XVII — XXVI.
The Holiness Code. - '
(a) xvii. Laws relating to sacrifice and kindred topics.
(A) xviii— xx. Laws relating chiefly to social morality.
(c) xxi, xxii. . Laws relating to priesthood and sacrifice.
Id) xxiii— xxv. The cycle of sacred seasons and other
matters.
(«)-xxvi. The close of the Holiness Code in the form of a
hortatory address.
Appendix. Chapter XXVII.
On the Commutation of Votive Offerings and Tithes.
NUMBERS.
First Division. Chapters I — X. ro.
Laws and Regulations given at Sinai.
(a) i, ii. The first census and the disposition of the camp.
(b) iii, fv. The Levites and their duties.
(<r) v, vi. Various laws and regulations, including the ordeal
of jealousy and the law of the Nazirite.
(d) vii. The offerings of the secular heads of the tribes.
(e) viii. The dedication of the Levites.
(/) ix. i — x. 10. A supplementary Passover law and other
matters. Second Division, Chapters X. 11 — XX. 13.
Traditions of the Wilderness Period, with
accompanying Legislation.
(a) x. 11— xii. 16. From Sinai to Kadesh.
(6) xiii, xiv. The mission of the spies.
(c) xv. A group of laws relating chiefly to ritual.
(d) xvi— xviii. The mutiny of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram,
and the prerogatives and dues of the priests and Levites.
(e) xix. The Red Heifer, or the ritual of purification from
1 '- uncleanness caused by contact with the dead.
(/) xx. 1-13. Death of Miriam at Kadesh. The 'waters
of strife,' and exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the
land of promise.

INTRODUCTION ?
Third Division. Chapters XX. 14— XXXVI. 13.
". From Kadesh to the Plains of Moab.
(*) xx; 14— xxi. 35. The Hebrews, refused a passage
through. Edom, make a long detour and take possession
of the country, east of the Jordan.
(6) xxi^-xxiy. Balak and .Balaam,
(c) xxv— xxvii. A miscellaneous section (see. p. 334).
(rf) xxviii, xxix. A table of the public offerings for the stated
festivals.
(e) xxx. The validity of women's vows.
(/) xxxi. A holy war against Midiari, and legislation based
thereon.
(#) xxxii. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and (part of) Ma-
nasseh are allotted territory east' of the Jordan.
(A) xxxiii. 1-49. An annotated itinerary of the route from
Egypt to the Jordan.
(0 xxxiii. 50— xxxvi. 13. A group of laws having reference
to the impending occupation of Canaan.
From the foregoing synppsis it will be seen that in the
Books of Leviticus and Numbers the historical element is
completely overshadowed by. the legal, since the whole of
Leviticus and three-fourths, or more, of Numbers belong
to one or other of the collections of priestly laws and
precedents which it has become usual to group under the
comprehensive title of the Priests' Code (symbol P, see
below, pp. 20r3i).
The Book of Exodus, it will be remembered, closes with
the erection of the Tabernacle — properly ' the Dwelling '
(of Yahweh) — and its consecration by the presence within
it and over it of the Divine Glory. At the beginning of
Leviticus, therefore, we should haye expected to find an
account of the solemn inauguration of the Tabernacle
worship. But for this we have-to wait till ch. ix, and in its
place we find a manual of sacrifice (i-vii) in which the
chief varieties of altair-offerings are enumerated, and the
ritual appropriate to each is prescribed. These chapters
of Leviticus must have had a history of their own before

8 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
being inserted in the place which they now occupy (see sect.
vii, and more fully in the introductory note, p. 37). Here,
however, let us note that while chapters i-v are said to
have been revealed to Moses 'out of the tent of meeting'
(i. 1), the remainder of the section is said to have been
received by the Hebrew lawgiver 'in Mount Sinai' (see
note on vii. 37 f.).
The next section (viii-x) consists of three closely related
chapters, which record the consecration by Moses of
Aaron and his four sons as the priests of the wilderness
sanctuary, in accordance with the Divine instructions
already given in Exod. xxix. In Lev. x. 10 f. it is stated
that one of the most important, as it was undoubtedly
one of the oldest, duties of the priest is to ' put difference
between the holy and the common, and between the
unclean and the clean.' This reference to the priest as
the arbiter in cases of uncleanness explains the position
of Lev. xi-xv, a section of the greatest importance devoted
to laws and regulations relating to uncleanness in its
most varied forms (see the synopsis above), with the
requisite rites of purification. From these the great
expiation rite of the Day of Atonement, which occupies
ch. xvi, cannot be separated, since it represents the
culmination and crown of the purification-rites of the
old covenant.
The ten chapters, Lev. xvii-xxvi, have long been
recognized as possessing certain characteristics which
mark them off from the rest of the Pentateuch legislation,
and entitle them to be regarded as forming a separate
collection of laws, on which the name of the Holiness
Code (symbol H) is now universally bestowed. In chs.
xviii-xx of this Code we have the only examples of moral
precepts and social, as opposed to ceremonial, legislation
contained in the Book of Leviticus. The difficult problem
of the history and date of the Holiness Code falls to be
discussed at a later stage (see sect. vi). According to
the present colophon (xxvi. 46), ' the statutes and judge-

INTRODUCTION 9
ments and laws' of this section were given, like the
contents of vi. 8 — vii. 38, ' to the children of Israel in
Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.' ':
According to the scheme of chronology adopted. by the
compiler or compilers of the Pentateuch, the giving of
the laws now emhodied in Leviticus must be assigned to the
first month of the second year, reckoning from the Exodus
(see Exod. xl. 1, 17 ; Num. i. 1). The Israelites, however,
are not yet ready to leave the mount of lawgiving, for the
organization of the theocratic community and- the arrange
ments for the ordered worship of the Deity who has now
condescended to dwell among them are still incomplete.
Accordingly the first division of the Book of Numbers
opens with the ' numbering ' of the twelve secular tribes,
and of the priestly tribe of Levi, as a preliminary to the
necessary organization. On this follows the elaborate
plan of the wilderness camp, a ' city of God ' in the desert
of Sinai, which the author has made the vehicle for the
inculcation of spiritual truths regarding God's perfection
and man's sinfulness (see below, p. 194 f.). The organiza
tion of the sanctuary and its worship is also completed
by the setting apart of the tribe of Levi to an office
intended to be one of great dignity and honour, although
concerned only with the menial duties of the Tabernacle
and its service.
With these topics, which occupy Num. i-iv and viii,
have been incorporated various laws and regulations ;
some of these, such as the ordeal of jealousy in ch. v and
the law of the Nazirite in ch. vi, are of special interest as
representing beliefs and practices of a remote antiquity,
which are here taken over and invested with a new signi
ficance by the later exponents of Hebrew religion and law.
In the arrangement of the contents of Numbers given
above, and adopted in the body of the commentary, a new
division is held to begin at x. 11 with the signal to leave
Mount Sinai and to enter upon the second stage of the
journey of the Hebrew tribes to the land of Canaan. In

io LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
this division we find almost all that the later historians
have seen fit to hand down — many would say all that the
popular tradition of their day. had preserved— regarding
the long period of the desert wanderings. The surprising
meagreness of the details recorded must strike, every
student of Numbers. Here also we. meet for. the first
time, since Exod. xxxiv, with extracts from the older Pen
tateuch sources,. J and E (see below, pp.; 16 ff.). These ex
tracts contain divergent traditions regarding the. guidance
of the Hebrew. tribes on their desert march to Kadesh,
followed by others which seem to duplicate the stories of
the manna and the quails already, given in Exodus.: Of
the incidents located at Kadesh by the early traditions the
most important, from the historian's, point of view, is
the mission of the spies inchs. xiii, xiv. Here, it may be
confidently asserted, we have to do with: a genuine his
torical tradition, for all modern investigators are agreed
that Kadesh— the modern 'Ain Kadis (see note on Num.
xiii. 26) — played an important part, more important indeed
than the present fragmentary condition of the sources at
first sight suggests, in the history of the period with which
we are now dealing (see the notes in lac). From Kadesh
it was to be expected that an attempt would be made to
enter Canaan by one or other of the routes through the
Negeb or South-land to Hebron. Of the failure of one or
more of such attempts we have an echo in the traditions in
question. Kadesh is also the scene of an important in
cident — whose precise nature it is now difficult to grasp (see
notes on Num.xx. 1-13)— bywhich Hebrewtradition sought
to explain the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the land
of promise.
With these historical traditions is combined a consider
able amount of matter drawn from priestly sources. Thus
the traditions relating to certain originally distinct mutinies
against the secular leadership of Moses and against the
privileged position of the tribe of Levi, now joined to
form one composite narrative (see pp. 278 ff.), afford an

INTRODUCTION 1 1
opportunity for the definite regulation of the prerogatives
and dues of priests and Levites (Num. xvi-xviii). At this
point there has also been inserted a chapter (xix) con
taining directions for the preparation of a special cathartic,
or medium of purification, from the ashes of a cow, the
so-called ' red heifer,' and presenting several features of
interest to the student Of the rites of purification.
'• Just as the second- division of Numbers has been held
to begin with the' departure of the Israelites from Sinai,
so the preparation for the departure from Kadesh (xx.
14 ff.) forms an appropriate opening for the third division
(xx. 14-xxxvi). Here again the legislative. matter greatly
exceeds the historical. The latter, indeed, is almost en
tirely confined tothe first section(xx. 14-xxi. 35), which gives
asummary account of thelongdetournecessaryto' compass
the land of Edom,' followed by an equally brief account of
the conquest of theterritory lying to the east of the Jordan.
On this follows the section containing the familiar episode
of Balaam (xxii-xxiv). Invirtueof itsliterary merits and the
mystery attaching to the personality and character of its
chief actor, and -from the nature of its contents generally,
this section is probably regarded by most studentsof Scrip
ture as the most interesting in the Book of Numbers.
The last twelve chapters)' from xxv. 6 onwards, consist
of laws and precedents of the most varied character, but
all bearing the' unmistakable stamp of the priestly school
of legislators. The greater part, as will be shown in a later
section, must be of a date subsequent to that of the main
body of the Priests' Code. The most important section is
that dealing with the additional offerings prescribed for
the great festivals of the ecclesiastical year (xxviii, xxix).
Here the student will find valuable material for the
history of the development of the Temple ritual in the
post- exilic period.' '

12 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
III. The Modern View of the Pentateuch,
The.twoibopks. whose contents have been summarized
in the preceding section form, as has been said, continuous
portions of the first of the three main divisions of the
Hebrew Scriptures, variously named theTorah, 'the Law '
(so repeatedly in the New Testament, Matt. xii. 5 ; Luke ii.
23 ; John i. 45, &c), the Pentateuch; As the two former
designations lead us to expect, the Pentateuch is found to
consist of four books or volumes mainly compqsed of law
— one, Leviticus, is entirely so composed — set in a frame
work of history, with a fifth volume, the Book of Genesis,
prefixed as an historical introduction to the other four.
Now the legislation of the Pentateuch is consistently re
presented as given for a special purpose ; its aim, stated in
general terms, is to raise up a holy people for Yahweh, the
covenant God of Israel, and to keep this people distinct
from the nations around them. The history, into which
the legislation is now fitted as a jewel in its setting, tells
of Yahweh's choice of Israel to be His own special and
' peculiar ' people. Thus history and legislation are found
to blend into a harmonious whole, giving to the books of
the Pentateuch an unmistakable unity of thought and
purpose. Strictly speaking, one ought to include in this
unity the Book of Joshua, which is related to the preceding
books as fulfilment is related to promise. Hence has
grown up the modern practice of grouping together the
first six Books of the Old Testament under the title Hexa-
teuch (the ' six-volume ' book).
But unity after all is a relative term. A general unity
of plan and purpose may be, and often is, found in a work
made up of contributions by several authors agreeing in
their general attitude to the subject under discussion, while
differing from each other in their way of presenting it, and
in the emphasis which they lay on its different parts'.
Such a work, according to the modern view, is the Penta
teuch. The Christian Church, as every one knows, took

INTRODUCTION 13
over from the Jewish Church of the first century the
books of its sacred Canon, the only ' sacred writings '
(2 Tim. iii. 15 R.V.) known to the first generation of
Christians. Along with these Scriptures of the Old Tes
tament came the then generally accepted beliefs regarding
their authorship and date. Of these none was more surely
believed than the already venerable tradition that the
five books of the Torah were from the pen of the Hebrew
lawgiver, Moses.
Equally familiar to every student of the Century Bible.
is the fact that, as the result of two centuries of patient
research, this tradition of the Mosaic authorship is now
rejected by the vast majority of Old Testament scholars.
The Pentateuch, it is now maintained, is neither the work
of a single author, nor even the product of a single age,
but a compilation from a number of older and originally
independent works, separated from each other in date by
several centuries. It does not fall within the scope of this
Introduction, which is concerned mainly with the Books
of Leviticus and Numbers, to set forth in detail the grounds
on which the modern view of the origin, and literary his-
- tory of the Pentateuch is based \ It must suffice to say,
in the most general terms, that the Mosaic authorship of
the books of the Pentateuch can no longer be upheld in
the face of the evidence as to their origin and history
1 The literature of Pentateuch criticism is already enormous.
The average student will find all he needs in the standard
English Work on the subject, The Hexatench . . . arranged
in its constituent Documents . . . with Introduction, Notes, &c,
by J. Estlin Carpenter, M.A., and G. Harford-Battersby, M.A.,
in two vols., 1900 (frequently referred in the present volume as
' C-H. Hex.'). A full and impartial summary of the evidence
is also given in Driver's classical Introduction to the Literature
of the Old Testament, now in its eighth edition (1909). See
further the critical works of Wellhausen, Holzinger, Addis, and
others named below in the Bibliography (p. 391), the Introduc
tions to the larger Commentaries there cited, and those to the
volumes on Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy in the present
series.

14 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
furnished by the books themselves. No tradition, however
venerable, as to so complex a literary product as the Penta
teuch on closer inspection has proved to be having pro
ceeded from a single mind and a single pen, can be allowed
to outweigh the overwhelming evidence from every part of
the work that, notwithstanding its general unity of design,
there is in it a remarkable diversity both of literary style
and of religious development. Such diversity points,
beyond the possibility of doubt, to a variety of authors
belonging to widely separated epoebs of Israel's political,
social, and religious history.
Still keeping to general results and avoiding all details—
as to which there still is, and from the nature of the case
always will be, much diversity of opinion — let us attempt
to set down as briefly as possible the several documents
which modern literary criticism claims to have discovered
in the Pentateuch ; this much at least is necessary -for the
understanding of the results of the analysis indicated in
the present volume. The main documents are three in
number, although, as will appear in due course, two at
least of these are themselves composite.
(i) D. As a 'document' apart stands the Book of
Deuteronomy (symbol D). The kernel of this book,towhich
the symbol D strictly belongs, and as to the extent of which
there is some difference of opinion, is to be identified with
the book of the Law discovered in the Temple in the
eighteenth year' of Josiah (622 B.C.). It formed the basis
of the religious reform undertaken by the latter as re
corded in 2 Kings xxii — xxiii.
(2) P. The rest of the Pentateuch is made up of two
distinct elements, which belong to two literary sources
differing very markedly from each other in vocabulary and
style. From the still wider divergence in their dominant
interests these sources have been named respectively the
Priestly and the Prophetic Document. The former, also
frequently styled the Priests' Code (symbol P), has proved
on closer examination to be anything but a homogeneous

INTRODUCTION 15
work. As will be shown more fully in subsequent sections
of this Introduction, P must have taken shape gradually,
like the Pentateuch itself, through the accretion round
a central nucleus of elements which, while united by a
community of interest and all" emanating from priestly
circles, have each an individuality and history of their own.
Inasmuch as the nucleus referred to has been proved to be
the fundamental document — in German the' Grundschrift
— or groundwork of the' completed Pentateuch, it is fre
quently denoted by the symbol Pe. Its date is probably
Circa 500 B. C, in the early post-exilic period (see p. 24).
(3) JE. The other main source, as has been said, is
known as the Prophetic Document from the lofty ethical
and religious spirit pervading it, by which it is connected
with the teaching of the early prophets of Israel. It is
not, however, a homogeheous'historical work from a single
pen but is composed of two separate strands, representing
two originally independent but kindred narratives. These
narratives have been so closely interwoven by their editor
or redactor (RJe), that the analysis is in many places difficult
and in some impossible (see the following section). The
conventional symbols for the separate documents, J and E,
are best understood as reflecting the origin of the former
in Judah, and of the latter in Ephraim or North Israel.
Of the two J is regarded by the majority of critics as the
older, as dating probably from the earlier half of the ninth
century (900-850 B.C.), while E is usually assigned to the
eighth century (circa 800-750 B. C).
From the three main documents above enumerated, the
Pentateuch, according to the dominant hypothesis, was
compiled by three successive stages as follows : —
(1) The compilation of a graphic history of the Hebrew
origins to the conquest of Canaan from the older historical
narratives J and E, circa 650 B. C.
(2) The union of JE with the Deuteronomic law-book
(D), probably during the Babylonian exile, to form JED.
(3) The amalgamation of the last-named work with the

1 6 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
main body of the Priests' Code, not later than A. D. 400.
Apart from not inconsiderable additions by later priestly
hands (see below, sect, vii), the result is essentially our
Pentateuch. This summary exposition of: the modern view of the
Pentateuch may fitly close with a pregnant quotation from
the standard work to which the student has been already
referred. ' On what grounds,' ask the learned authors of
the Oxford Hexateuch, ' does it [the modern view] rest ? '
The answer, they rightly say, is twofold. It rests, ' (1) on
a comparison of the documents with each other, and (2) on
a comparison of the documents with history. The first
yields the order, JE, D, and P ; the second leads to the
negative result that D was unknown before the seventh
century, and P. not in existence in its present form before
the exile ; while positively it connects D with a promul
gation of sacred law under Josiah in 622, and P with
a similar promulgation by Ezra, the date commonly as
signed being 444 B.C.' (C-H. Hex. i. 69).,
.IV. JE in the Book of Numbers.
According, therefore, to the modern dating of the literary
sources of the Pentateuch, the oldest portions are those
derived from the prophetic narrative JE. But no trace
of this source is found in Leviticus, and1 in Numbers the
material derived from it does not exceed one-fourth of the
whole. The purpose of the combined narrative, as of
its two constituent elements, is to set forth the history of
the origins of the Hebrew nation, and in connexion there
with to recall the fundamental fact of the historical religion
of Israel, the solemn covenant between Yahweh and Israel
at Sinai, and to enforce the moral and religious obligations
incumbent on the people of God. Thus the lives of the
patriarchs and of Moses illustrate the lofty ideals of life
and conduct common to the two prophetic sources. In
these we have ' prophecy teaching by example.' In con
trast to P, whose interest is centred in. Israel's religious

INTRODUCTION 17
institutions and ritual laws and precedents, the dominant
interest of JE is historical, although the legal element is
not entirely excluded (Exod. xx-xxiii, xxxiv). Beginning
with the creation of man (Gen. ii. 4b ff), the prophetic
history probably closed with the conquest of the land of
promise and the subsequent death of Joshua, although
some recent authorities find its separate strands repre
sented in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
The method adopted by the compiler, or compilers, of
the Pentateuch in fitting the material of JE into the his
torical framework furnished by the Priests' Code is twofold.
In some parts passages from JE are placed alongside of
those from P. Thus in Gen. i-ii the creation-story of P
(i. i-ii. 4a) is followed immediately by J's ; similarly in
Num. xx. 14-21 the earlier account of the march from
Kadesh (also from J) is followed by the later parallel
from P, xx. 22-29. In other parts, where the prophetic
and priestly sources have a good deal in common, the
compiler's method is to interweave their data into a new
composite narrative. Of the latter method the classical
illustration is the present narrative of the Flood in Gen. vi-
viii (see Cent. Bible in loc). Another excellent illustration
is afforded by the story of the spies in Num. xiii-xiv (cf.
ch. xvi, where JE is interwoven with a double strand of P).
Owing to the close affinity in style and standpoint be
tween the Judaean (J) and Ephraimite (E) sources, a
satisfactory analysis of the present narrative cannot in
many cases be carried through. In several of the JE
passages in Numbers, accordingly, no attempt has been
made in thepresent volume to indicate the separate strands.
This has been done only where there is practical unanimity
among critical scholars that certain well-marked charac
teristics of the respective sources, ], and E, are unmistak
ably present. Thus, Nurn, x. 29-32, where JE reappears
for the first time since Exod.;xxxiv, is unanimously assigned
to J on the ground that elsewhere in this source Moses'
father-in-law bears the name Hobab, while Jethro -is.

18 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
confined to E, to which accordingly the following verses,
x. 33-36, with their divergent representation of the ark as
guide, must be assigned.
A more important clue to extracts from the Ephraimite
source is its well-known representation of the tent of meet
ing as situated ' without the camp, afar off from the camp '
(Exod. xxxiii. 7; cf. the note on Num. xi. 16 f.). This serves
to secure xi. 1-3, 16 f., 24^-30 for E. Again, dreams and
visions as media of divine revelation, and a marked empha
sis on the prophetic element in Israel's history and on the
prophetic ideal of life, are acknowledged to be prominent
characteristics of E. To this source, accordingly, is unanim
ously assigned the important twelfth chapter of Numbers
(see the introductory remarks thereto, p. 254 f.). In these
and other passages of the text where the analysis is indicated
the grounds will be found briefly stated in the notes.
The largest continuous extract from JE is that contain
ing the familiar episode of Balak, king of Moab, and his
dealings with Balaam, the mysterious magician and seer
' from the mountains of the East ' (Num. xxii-xxiv).
These chapters are an excellent illustration of the skill
with which the editor of the prophetic history (Rie) has
succeeded in compiling from his sources a narrative of sur
passing interest and of remarkable, though not complete,
homogeneity (see p. 316, where attention is called to the
need of discriminating between the data of the several
sources — for P is also represented— in any attempt to
sketch the character of this elusive personality, who
appears now as a wicked sorcerer, now as an inspired
prophet of the Most High). Only one passage of Numbers
is assigned to a later stratum of JE, viz. xiv. 11-24 (JE8).
Peculiar interest attaches to the poetical pieces which
form a special feature of the JE, and more particularly of
the E, sections of Numbers. Of these three are found in
ch. xxi alone (see verses 14 f., 17 f. the ' Song of the Well, '
27-3°>— all probably from E). Four are oracular utter
ances ascribed to Balaam (xxiii. 7-10, 18-24, from E ; xxiv.

INTRODUCTION 19
3~9> iS_i9j fr°m ])> together with the three shorter oracles
of later date (xxiv. 20, 21 f., 23 f.). To these have to be
added the couple of early tristichs addressed to the ark
(x. 35 f. E), and the short poem on Moses' pre-eminence
as a prophet in xii. 6-8 (E).
In one respect the most suggestive of the poems in this
list is the tantalizing fragment cited in xxi. 14 f. Its
suggestiveness lies in the fact that the Ephraimite his
torian extracted it from a national collection of songs
which bore the interesting title, the ' Book of Yahweh's
Battles ' (see the notes in loc). It is probably the same
historian who, in Josh. x. 12 f., quotes another snatch from
a similar collection known as the ' Book of Yashar,' from
which other important extracts are given in 2 Sam. i.
19-27, and in the Greek text of 1 Kings viii. 12 f.
The contents of the ancient fragment associated with
the ark (x. 35 f.) suggest that it too may have stood
originally in the ' Book of Yahweh's Battles,' as may also
have been the case with the ' Song of the Well ' (xxi. 1 7 f.).
The ballad-singers, or wandering minstrels, are cited as
the repositories of a longer piece (xxi. 27-30) which
originally, in all probability, celebrated a victorious in
vasion of Moab by the North Israelites under Omri (see
p. 313 f.). In the notes on the Balaam episode the view
is expressed that the poems are of early date (see pp. 316,
332), and not, as has recently been contended, documents
of post-exilic eschatology. The authors of the Judaean
and Ephraimite histories have fitted them with great
effect into their literary treatment of the popular traditions
respecting Balaam.
In JE are also found various narratives of the kind
familiar to modern historians as ' aetiological legends.'
Thus several explicitly or implicitly explain the historical
origin of place-names j but in many cases the name is
really older than the story, which took its rise in the
popular mind as an explanation of the name.

20 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
V. The History of Israel's Theocratic
Institutions (P«).
With a few unimportant exceptions (see, for example,
Num. xxi. 33-35), what remains of the first four books of
the Pentateuch, when JE has been extracted, belongs to the
work known as the priestly writing, or more commonly
the Priests' Code (P). Taken as a whole, P is sharply
and clearly differentiated from all the other Pentateuch
sources, J, E, and D, by its vocabulary, its unique style,
and its special interests. Even so ardent a champion of
conservative views as Professor Orr admits that the P
sections are 'characterized by a vocabulary and style of
their own, which enable them, on the whole, to be dis
tinguished. This result also, whatever explanation may
be offered, has stood the test of time, and will not, we
believe, be overturned ' [The Problem of the O.T., p. 197 ;
cf. the similar admissions, pp. 335 ff.).
Notwithstanding the impression of unity which one
derives from this prevailing uniformity^from which, how
ever, Lev. xvii ff. should strictly speaking be excepted (see
next section) — a closer study on comparative lines of the
several elements of the priestly legislation showSj in
Cornill's words, ' that the unity is one of spirit only, that
it is not a literary unit that lies before us ; in fact, the
history of the origin and formation of P is complicated to
a quite unusual degree' (Introduction to the Canonical
Books of the O.T.,p. 93). Into this complicated history
it is impossible to enter here in detail (see the footnote
on p. 13). But inasmuch as the whole of Leviticus and
much the larger part of Numbers have been derived from
one or other of the various strata of the priestly writings,
some attempt must be made to put the student in a posi
tion to understand the repeated reference to such strata in
the notes l.
1 It has not been thought necessary to introduce the symbols of
these strata of P (P«, P", P', P») into the text, with the important

INTRODUCTION 21
Now the discovery of minor linguistic differences within
the priestly writings, and in particular the careful study of
the many duplicate laws which they contain, and the com
parison of these laws with each other and with the history
of the rites and institutions concerned, have combined to
show that P is in truth a growth of several centuries. As
indicated in a previous section (p. 15) a central nucleus
has gathered round itself a great variety of elements, some
earlier, someprobably contemporary, and some undoubtedly
later in date. This nucleus (PS) 1 was a work consisting
partly of history and partly of law, composed circa 500 B..C.
(according to the now generally accepted view). The aim
which its author set before him was to give a history of
the religious rites and institutions of Israel. The ideal of
the Hebrew state, as conceived by this devout student of the
pastandeager builderfbr the future, is that of apeople living
under the absolute sovereignty of God, and sanctified by
His immediate Presence in their midst ; in other words,
a theocracy. The theme, therefore, of this kernel, not of P
only but of. the whole Pentateuch, may be said to be the
history of the establishment of the theocracy and of the
introduction of those laws, institutions, and rites by which
the divine sovereignty received visible expression.
From the very beginning of P8 we see how the interest
of its priestly author centres in the religious institutions
which are represented as given by God to be the means of
raising up and maintaining a holy people in perpetual
covenant relationto their God, and of keeping them distinct
from the nations around them. Thus the story of creation
(Gen. i. I — ii. 4a) culminates in the institution of the
Sabbath, the catastrophe of the deluge in the blood taboo
exception of the Holiness Code (H or Ph) in Lev. xvii-xxvi.
In one or two places, however, it is indispensable for the
understanding of the narrative to distinguish between earlier
and later elements of the story, as, for example, between Ps
and Ps in Num. xvi.
1 For the explanation of this symbol see above, p. 15.

22 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
(ib. ix. 4 ; cf. Lev. xvii. loff), the life of Abraham in the rite
of circumcision (Gen. xvii. 10-14). These, it may be re
marked, are precisely the three ' signs ' by which the house
of Israel through all the ages, down to our own day, have
been specially distinguished from their Gentile neigh
bours. In this connexion it is important to observe that the
institutions we have cited are all introduced in a definite
historical setting, for this is one of the most useful tests for
distinguishing theritual lawsof PS from thoseof other legis
lative sections of the composite Priests' Code. Thus, to
continue our rapid survey of the contents of PS, in Exod. xii.
I-13, the Passover is instituted in immediate connexion
with the historical situation, and its celebration on the eve
of the great deliverance is to form the precedent and norm
for all future celebrations (cf. the notes below on Lev. ix.
p. 74, x. 12 ff. p. 79, xvi. I, p. m, and elsewhere).
It is, however, in the crowning institution of the Taber
nacle and its worship that the history of Israel's sacred
institutions reaches its climax. Our priestly author dwells
lovingly and expansively on all the details of the construc
tion of 'the Dwelling' of Yahweh,and on its equipment, its
sacrifices, and its priesthood. Now, in order to grasp the
full significance and value of these cardinal sections of the
Pentateuch, it is essential to enter into the spirit and
intention of their author. For the religious leaders of the
Jewish community in the exile the supreme question was
this : How can the broken harmony between God and the
people of His covenant be restored \x To Ezekiel, first of
all, came the Divine word of comfort : ' My dwelling shall
[again] be with them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people ' (Ezek. xxxvii. 27). To Ezekiel, then,
and to those likeminded with him, the restored relation
between Yahweh and Israel presented itself as an im
mediate dwelling of Yahweh in the midst of a holy nation.

1 See more fully the introductory note on p 35 f.

INTRODUCTION 23
For the continued maintenance of this renewed relation,
sacrifice, offered by a duly consecrated priesthood at the
one appointed sanctuary, was the means divinely ordained
(see p. 35). Only by this means could the restored com
munity of Israel, no longer a nation but a church (the
'church-nation'), realize its true ideal as the people
of God.
Now these two kindred spirits, Ezekiel and the author
of the history of Israel's theocratic institutions, sought
to impress this ideal upon their contemporaries by dia
metrically opposite methods. Ezekiel projects his ideal
forward into the golden age of the future (see Ezek. xl-
xlviii) ; the author of Pe throws his ideal backward into
the golden age of the past, the period of the Exodus and
the wilderness wanderings. Both sketches are none the
less ideals whose realization for the priest as well as for the
prophet was still in the future. Both had the worship of
the restored community in view.
In the Books of Leviticus and Numbers there is less
that can be confidently assigned to Ps than might at first
sight be expected. Thus no part of Exod. xxx — Lev, vii1
can be so assigned, for the original continuation of Exod.
xxv-xxix is now found in Lev. viii-x, which records the
carrying out of the instructions given in Exod. xxix for the
installation of Aaron and his sons as the priests of the
wilderness sanctuary, and for the sacrifices appointed for
the worship of the community (see pp. 69 ff.). Similarly
Lev. x is separated by chs. xi-xiv from its natural sequel
in ch. xvi. The latter chapter, again, is followed by the
separate code known as the Law of Holiness (xvii-xxvi),
and it is not until we reach Num. i-iv that we recognize
the main stream of PS, which here, however, has been
considerably swollen by tributary contributions from later
sources (see p. 135). Special attention may be called to
1 For Exod. xxx-xl, see Bennett's Exodus in Cent. Bible, and
for Lev. i-vii below, pp. 28 f. and 37 ff.

24 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
the arrangement of the camp in ch. ii. In this ideal City
of God in the wilderness of Sinai we have the complement
arid crown of the religious symbolism embodied in the
earlier sketcluof the Tabernacle and its Court (see below,
p. 194 f.). The further instalments of PB cannot here
be followed in detail, but mention may be made of the
interesting contribution of this source to chs. xvi-xviii,
whicTi- affords another illustration of the way in which
a special piece of legislation is represented as arising
naturally out of a definite historical situation. It is doubt
ful whether Ps is represented in Numbers after ch. xxvii
(see the note on p. 347).
In the preceding exposition of the characteristics and
contents of Pe the approximate date now generally adopted
by critical students, viz. circa 500 B.C., has been assumed
throughout. Adatelaterthanthefallof the Jewish monarchy
in 586 seems imperatively required by the position and
dignity assigned to the High Priest. The latter has taken
the place of the king as the civil and religious head of the
theocratic state. On entering upon his office he receives
' a kingly unction,' and is invested with the purple robe and
the ' holy crown ' oir diadem, the two insignia of royalty
in the Persian ' period (see Lev. viii. 7-9 with the note
p. 70 f.). The argument for placing P8 after Ezekiel based
upon the fundamental distinction between priests and Le
vites will be found in the notes on p. 200 of the Commentary.
Some scholars, finally, have detected a more precise indi
cation of date in the express subordination of the secular
to the religious head of the community in Num. xxvii. 21.
When the original text of Zech. vi. 9-13 was written in
520 B.C., it was still believed that the two heads might
be equal in dignity. This equality, as the present text
shows, was soon found to be impracticable, and already,
by 500, it is believed, the spiritual head was assigned
his unique supremacy (Merx, Die Biicher Moses undjosua,
pp. 109, 155).

INTRODUCTION

25

VI. The Holiness Code (H or Ph).
This is the title now given to the sectionof the Pentateuch
consisting of Lev. xvii-xxvi, a section which is sharply
distinguished from the rest of the priestly legislation by the
marked individuality of its phraseology and style, and by
certain peculiar features in the formulation of its laws (note
also the special subscription at the close, xxvi. 46). The
name Holiness Code {Heiligkeitsgesetz) or Law of Holi
ness, whence the symbol H, was first given to it by Kloster-
mann in 1877, and has been universally recognized as
a happy description of a code whose recurring signature
is holiness. More precisely, the holiness of Yahweh is
throughout represented as the motive for the attainment
of holiness,, moral and ceremonial, on the part of His
people.. The words 'ye. shall be holy: for I Yahweh am
holy ' (xix. 2) may be fitly taken as the motto of the code
(cf. the fuller statement, xxii. 31-33).
In thus assigning a motive for the pursuit of his ideal
of life, the compiler of H resembles the authors of Deutero
nomy for whom the compelling influence in man's life is
love, love to God ' who first loved us.' In contrast to
both stands the author of P8, with whom no such, motive
for obedience is found. In P man must obey because God,
the All-sovereign, commands ; ' the divine imperative is its
own all sufficient motive ' (Moore, EBi. iii. col. 2783). In
addition to this predominant motive of holiness we find —
also as in Deuteronomy — motives of humanity and charity
adduced, especially in relation to the poor.
The variety of subjects embraced in the legislation of H
is remarkable for so small a code. In its terse formulation,
in which it resembles the oldest of the Hebrew law-codes,
the book of the Covenant (Exod. xx. 22 — xxiii. 33), is re
flected the antiquity of its laws. In both codes these have
had their origin in the tbroth (singular tdrali) or ' decisions'
of the priesthood in matters submitted for their judgement.
Like the Book of the Covenant, also, and like the Deutero-

26 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
nomic Code, H opens with a section devoted to sacrifice
(Lev. xvii) and closes with a hortatory address (xxvi) in
which obedience to the preceding laws is vigorously in
culcated (see the reff. p. 1 19). In addition to laws relating
to the cultus and its personnel, the calendar of sacred fes
tivals (xxiii) and the like, H embraces legislation dealing
with the foundation principles of social morality (xviii,
xx). In H, furthermore, is included 'perhaps the best
representation of the ethics of ancient Israel' (Lev. xix).
In this chapter we find among other jewels of price the
second of the two commandments on which ' the whole
law hangeth and the prophets' (Matt. xxii. 40, R.V.):
'thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Lev. xix. 18).
Few points in the complicated problem of the Penta
teuch are more interesting, and at the same time more
perplexing, than the history of H. Three conclusions, at
least, seem well established. (1) These ten chapters of
Leviticus are not a homogeneous corpus of laws, the
original product of a single mind. The duplication of
laws, with their inevitable discrepancies in detail, which is
so prominent a feature of the Pentateuch as a whole,
is equally prominent in its smaller constituent (see e. g.
the notes on chs. xviii and xx). In other words, H is
a composite code compiled from more than one earlier
collection of priestly tdroth, and furnished by its compiler
(Rh) with the recurring call to holiness and with the closing
hortatory address. (2) H is no longer extant in the form
in which it left its compiler's hands. When fitted by Ezra
or another into the larger complex of the Priests' Code,
which a comparison of Neh. x. 14 ff. with Lev. xxiii. 36
(P) and 39(H) shows to have taken place before 444 B.C.,
H must have undergone considerable revision (see the
notespassim). In the process some sections were dropped
to make room for corresponding sections of PB, especially
in the closing division of the code now represented by
chs. xxiii-xxv. Of the discarded sections, one is universally
recognized in the law of the tassels, Num. xv. 37-41. Lev.

INTRODUCTION 27
xi. 43-45 also bears the unmistakable signature of H, which
has led to the belief that a large part of this chapter
originally had a place in the Law of Holiness (for other sug
gested fragments of H, see Driver, LOT*, pp. 59, 15 1, and
cf. the notes below on Num. xxxiii. 50-56, and xxxv. 32 ff.).
(3) The Holiness Code is older than the ground-work of
the Priests' Code (Ps). The grounds on which this con
clusion is based emerge from a comparison of the laws
common to both. The line of institutional development
is from H to P«, not vice versa. This is particularly
evident in the case of the great pilgrimage-festivals, as has
been carefully explained in the notes (pp. 149 ff.). In H,
again, the High Priest is stiWprimus inter pares, and has
not yet acquired the commanding position and dignity
accorded to him by P (see the note on Lev. xxi. 10 ; also
those on xxi. 22, xxii. 3, on the absence from H of P's
distinction between ' holy ' and ' most holy ' things).
When we pass from these points of agreement to the
question of the more precise dateof the compilation of H, and
to the problem of the age of its component laws, we meet
witha sharp cleavage among our critical authorities. Both
problems may be said to hinge upon the interpretation of
a literary phenomenon which early attracted the attention
of critical students, the intimate relation between H and
Ezekiel. The details of this remarkable similarity of
thought and expression will be found set forth in C-H.
Hex. i. 147-51 (see also Driver, LOT*, pp. 146-8). What
is the explanation ? Was H compiled under the influence
of Ezekiel, or is the prophet saturated with the phraseo
logy of H ? To the present writer the latter alternative
commends itself as the more probable on several grounds.
To adduce but one, based on the impression produced by
the study of the remarkable address in ch. xxvi, it seems
to us much more likely that a writer of such marked
individuality both of thought and expression as the author
of this chapter — for, be it noted, it contains not a few
striking and vigorous phrases to which there are no

28 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
parallels in Ezekiel— has influenced a prophet who, ' in
expression, is far from original ' (Driver), than that the
reverse should be the case.
The view represented in the Commentary, accordingly,
is that the Holiness Code is a pre-exilic document, dating
probably from near the close of the monarchy. The laws
embodied in it, however, are believed to be, for the most
part, pre-Deuteronomic tbroth, representing, in the form in
which they lay before the compiler of H, the decisions of
the priesthoods of one or more of the famous sanctuaries
of the land. Thus, to take but a single illustration, the
perplexing phenomena of ch. xvii. 3-7 are best explained
on the hypothesis that the original torah, now modified by
successive redactors, recognized the legitimacy of the local
sanctuaries (see pp. 120 ff). By an editorial oversight,
indeed, a reference to these sanctuaries seems still pre
served in xxi. 23 (see the notes there and on verse 12 of
this chapter, also on xxiii. 10 ff, &c, andespecially Moore's
article ' Leviticus,' EBi. iii. sects. 25-30).
VII. Supplementary Codes (P') and Later
Additions (Ps).
When the contents of Pe and H are subtracted from the
complex of the priestly legislation (P), much of the legis
lative material, and part even of the narrative, of the
Pentateuch still remains unaccounted for. Apart from
numerous less extensive sections, three compact masses
of ritual, ceremonial, and other laws stand out conspicu
ously. These are the manual of sacrifice in Lev. i-vii,
the body of regulations dealing with uncleanness and puri
fication in Lev. xi-xv ; and the miscellaneous chapters,
Num. xxviii-xxxvi.
Now with regard to the manual of sacrifice, first of all,
the traces are still visible of the alterations which were
found necessary to adapt it to the standpoint of Ps with
its Aaronic priesthood and wilderness background (see
the note on Lev. i. 5 and passim). In truth, these seven

INTRODUCTION 2g
chapters have a somewhat complicated history of their
own, the main points of which have been indicated on
p. 37 of the Commentary. There the reasons are given for
distinguishing the two parts of the manual as distinct in
origin, and for believing that in i. i— ii. 3 and iii. 1-17, at
least, we have genuinely old sacrificial tbroth — hence the
symbol P' — embodying the ritual usage of the Temple be
fore the fall of the southern kingdom. The same symbol
is adopted in the Oxford Hexateuch for the second group
of laws above referred to (see the ' conspectus of codes ' in
C-H. Hex. i. 261 ff, where inter alia the bulk of Num. v-
vi, and xix. 14-22 are included). These all lack, or lacked
originally, the historical setting which we found to be
characteristic of the legislation of Ps.
Returning to Lev. i-vii, we there meet for the first time
with ritual enactments which, while conceived entirely in
the spirit of the history of Israel's theocratic institutions
(Ps), cannot have had a place in that work, but must
belong to secondary strata of the Priests' Code (hence
the symbol PB). It is important that the student should
know some of the grounds on which this symbol appears
so frequently in the notes. * In many cases this distinction
between Pe and Ps is based upon the evidence of the
development of certain rites and institutions within the
Priests' Code. (1) Such evidence is found in the case of
the rite of the priestly unction. In certain passages
clearly belonging to Pe (Exod. xxix. 7, 29, &c), Aaron
alone receives ' the consecration of the anointing oil of
his God' (Lev. viii. 12; cf. xxi. 10, 12) ; hence the expres
sion 'the anointed priest' (iv. 3, 5, vi. 22) is sufficient to
distinguish the High Priest. Iri other passages the rank
and file of the priesthood are anointed (Exod. xxviii. 41,
xxx. 30 ; Lev. x. 7 ; Num. iii. 3, &c.) — an extension of the

1 It has only occasionally been thought necessary to introduce
P" into the text of R.V. (see e. g. Num. xvi).

30 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
rite which suggests that the latter passages belong to a
later stratum, P8.
(2) A similar advance is seen in the more intense appli
cation of the blood of the sin-offering. In Pe (Exod. xxix.
12) the blood of the High Priest's sin-offering is merely
smeared on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering; in
Lev. iv.6f.it is sprinkled within the sanctuary, 'before the
veil ' (see also the note on iv. 25). (3) The presence in
this chapter, and in other passages, of a special 'altar of
sweet incense,' which is unknown to PS in Exod. xxvii-
xxix, is also recognized as a mark of later date (see on
Lev. iv. 7). The right to refer the ritual of the sin-offering,
as now formulated in ch. iv, to P8 is confirmed by the
presence in Num. xv. 22-31 of an earlier and simpler form
of the ritual. Similarly we find extensions of earlier
requirements in Lev. xxv. 8-13 (the Jubilee), xxvii. 30-33
(the tithe of cattle), and elsewhere.
But there are many other clues no less convincing (see
C-H. Hex. i. 154 f.). Such are the 'incongruities of fact
and representation ' within a narrative belonging as a
whole to P, of which an illustration will be found in
Num. xvi ; a fondness for the elaborarionpf details and
for unnecessary repetitions, of which &sm. vii is the clas
sical example; laws at variance with some fundamental
principle of P8, such as are found in Num. xxxv (the
Levitical cities) ; and narratives which do not fit into the
plan of the ground-work of P, such as Num. xxviii-xxxvi
(see the note on p. 347), or which have the appearance of
having been specially composed to provide a required
precedent, as Num. xxxi. To these indications of P9
may be added 'a number of peculiarities in phrase and
formula,' a list of which will be found in C-H. Hex. i. 155.
As is there emphasized, however, ' the secondary elements
represented by Ps are so plainly diverse in age that their
addition to the great law-book may naturally be conceived
rather as a literary process than as a specific editorial
act.'

INTRODUCTION 31
Enough has now been said to give the student of
Leviticus and Numbers an idea of the exceedingly com
plicated character of their literary history, as unravelled
by modern scholars, and of the wide diversity in origin
and age of the materials of which they are composed.
Both books — Leviticus in particular — lead us to the very
heart of the religion and sacrificial worship of the old
covenant. But in order to be rightly understood it is
essential that the worship, and the religion of which it is
the expression, should be studied, as has been attempted
in the following pages, in the light of their historical
development. ' For it is no slight matter that is herein
involved — nothing less than this : whether it is to be made
possible for us at all to understand the religious history of
Israel, whether God, who always and everywhere reveals
Himself and works in history, has also revealed Himself
and worked in the same way in history's greatest and
most significant phase, the history of Israel's religion'
(Cornill, Introduction to . . . the Old Testament, p. ii5f.).

32 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS

Symbols of the Literary Sources inserted in the
Text and Abbreviations employed in the Notes.
J — the early Judean history of Israel's origins (see p. 15).
E — the Ephraimite or North Israelite history (p. 15).
JE — the historical work formed by the amalgamation of 3
and E (pp. 15 ff.).
D — the Book of Deuteronomy, only Num. xxi. 33-35.
H — the Holiness Code (p. 25), compiled from earlier written
collections by a Redactor (Htb).
P — the comprehensive symbol for the mass of legislative and
historical material of various date which has emanated
from Priestly circles. For the various strata, PE, P', P5,
see the preceding Introduction, pp. 14 f., 20-31.
K — without further qualification, such as KJe, &c, generally
stands for the editor or redactor who united the main
body Of P with JED (p. 15 f.).
DB. Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible. Five vols.
EBi. Cheyne and Black's Encyclopaedia Biblica. Four vols.
PRE3. Hauck's Realencyklopadie fur protestanlische Theologie,
Sec, 3rd edit.
C-H. Hex. Carpenter and Harford- Battersby, The Hexateuch
according to the Revised Version, &c.
LOT. S. R. Driver, Introduction to the Literature of the O. T.
OTJC2. and Rel.Sem'1. W. Robertson Smith's Old Test, in
the Jewish Church, and Religion of the Semites, 2nd eds.
SBO T. Paul Haupt's Sacred Books of the Old [and New] Tests.
J. Q. R. The Jewish Quarterly Review.
PEFSt. Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement.
ZA TIV. Zeitschriftfur d. alttestamentliche Wissenschaft.
KAT3. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und d. alte Testament,
3rd ed. by Winckler and Zimmern.
M. T. The Massoretic or received Hebrew text.
LXX. The Septuagint, i. e. the O. T. in Greek.
A. V., R. V. The Authorized and Revised English Versions.

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS
REVISED VERSION WITH ANNOTATIONS

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS
Pirst Division. Chapters I — VII.
Laws Relating to Sacrifice.
The Book of Leviticus opens with a section of the priestly
legislation devoted to the important subject of sacrifice and
offering. The point of view from which to approach the study of
these chapters will best be reached by a brief survey of the spirit
and aim of the developed sacrificial system of the Priests' Code as
awhole. The period of the Babylonian exile marks an epoch in
the history of the religion of the Hebrews, and in particular in the
history of sacrifice. The extinction of the state and the destruction
of the temple had awakened a. new feeling of national and
individual guilt. The discipline of the exile further developed
this conviction of the need of purification and propitiation. Along
side of the deepening sense of sin went a heightened conception
of the Divine holiness, due in large measure to the teaching of
Ezekiel. The exiled priest-prophet and those like-minded, such
as the author of the Holiness Code, insisted that a holy God
required a holy people : ' Ye shall be holy : for I Yahweh your
God am holy ' (Lev. xix. a).
These words may be taken as the master-key to the whole
ceremonial legislation of the Pentateuch. God's all-devouring
holiness requires that His people shall keep themselves free not
only from moral transgressions — this is more frequently assumed
than explicitly stated — but also from every ceremonial defilement
that would interrupt the relations between them and their God.
To maintain these relations unimpaired, or if interrupted to restore
them, is, according to the teaching of the Priests' Code, the object
of sacrifice and offering. Sacrifice, in short, may be described as
the divinely appointed means for the preservation and restoration of
that holiness in virtue of which alone the theocratic community of
Israel can realise its true ideal as the people of a holy God.
The sacrificial system of the priestly writers is chiefly charac
terized by the sombre earnestness which takes the place of the
joyousness of the pre-exilic worship. This is largely due to the
greater emphasis laid upon the sacrifices, as piacula, as the means
of expiation and propitiation. Another characteristic feature is
the importance which is now attached to the technique of sacrifice.
As compared with the comparative freedom of earlier days every
detail of the ritual is now prescribed. To deviate therefrom is to
render the sacrifice invalid. The result is seen in the heightened
status of the priest. In the earlier period the head of the family
D 2

36 LEVITICUS 1—7.
or of the clan offered his sacrifice without the intervention of the
priest. Henceforth the layman's part in the rite was quite
subordinate (see below).
The most convenient classification of the Jewish sacrifices is that
suggested by Josephus, who divides them into two classes, those
'offered for private persons' and those offered ' for the people in
general' (Antiquities, III. ix. i), a classification corresponding to
the sacra privata and sacra publico of the Romans. The public
sacrifices were either stated or occasional, the former and more
important group comprising the daily burnt-offering, and the
additional sacrifices at the stated festivals, viz. sabbath, new moon,
the three great annual feasts, &c.
In the systematic manual of sacrifice which occupies the following
seven chapters, five distinct varieties of sacrifice are enumerated.
Of these three are attested from the earliest times, viz. : (i) the
burnt-offering, (2) the meal-offering-, and (3) the peace-offering1;
the other two, (4) the sin-offering- and (5) the guilt-offering,
the special expiatory sacrifices, are first met with in Ezekiel (see
ch. iv), and were apparently unknown in the earlier period;
Apart from the cereal or meal-offering, which has now fallen to^
a secondary place as for the most part an accompaniment of the
burnt'offering, and the minor drink-offering, the material of the
sacrifices consisted of ceremonially clean animals ' of the herd and
of the flock' (Lev. i. 2 and often), the latter term including both
sheep and goats. The victims, save in exceptional instances, ;were
yearling males without blemish. Non-domesticated animals, such
as the deer and the gazelle, although clean and therefore admissible
as ordinary food (Deut. xii. 22), were not admitted to the altar.
As wild creatures they were already the property of God, and
could not therefore be received as a gift from man (2 Sam. xxiv. 24).
The ritual of sacrifice, as has been said, is now minutely
regulated. Although certain of the details may be new, the ritual
as a whole undoubtedly represents the practice of the temple at
the close of the pre-exilic period. As will be more fully explained
in the sequel, the typical procedure comprised the following
actions : (i) the formal presentation of the victim to the officiating
priest ; (ii) the ' laying on of hands,' for which see on i. 4 below;
(iii) the immolation of the victim on the north side of the altar
(see on i. n), which in the case of private or family sacrifices was
done by the person presenting them ; (iv) the manipulation of
the blood by the priest — the central action of the rite — which
varied with the different sacrifices (see on i. 5, iv. 6, &c.) ; (v) the
skinning and dismemberment of the animal, including the removal
of the internal fat (see iii. 3 f.) ; (vi) the arrangement of all the
pieces upon the altar in the case of the burnt-offering or of the
specified portions of the 'inwards' in the case of the other
sacrifices ; and finally (vii) the burning of these upon the 'altar of

LEVITICUS 1. i. P 37
[F] And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake 1
burnt-offering '. Of these seven actions, iv, vi, and vii, as requiring
a near approach to, and even contact with, the altar, represent
the priest's share, the others the layman's share in the rite of
sacrifice. Arrangement and sources. The laws brought together in
chs. i — vii fall into two distinct groups : —
A. i. i — vi. 7, the ritual of the five principal- kinds of offerings,
.addressed to the community as a whole ('the children of Israel,'
i. 2). B. vi. 8 — vii. 38, supplementary directions (Joroth) addressed to
the priests (' Aaron and his sons,' vi. 9).
That the final editor intended these seven chapters to form
a distinct section of the book is evident from the colophon, vii. 37,
38, which stands at the close. Originally, however, it belonged
to the second subdivision only, as is clear (1) from the repetition of
the formula 'this is the law of — see on vi. 8ff. — and (2) from
the discrepancy in the locus of the revelation : vii. 38 says Mount
Sinai, while i. 1 has 'the tent of meeting.' These facts are
sufficient to prove that chs. i — vii are not a homogeneous whole.
But even the first group of chapters, i — vi. 7 (in the Heb.
text i — v), cannot be so described. From numerous indications, to
some of which attention is called in the notes, it appears that the
oldest portions of the sacrificial legislation are those contained in
i. 1— -ii. 3, and iii. 1-17. These, there is every reason to believe,
are composed of genuinely old sacrificial toroth — hence the
symbol P' — embodying the ritual usage of the temple before the
fall of the southern kingdom, and now adapted editorially to
the standpoint of the Priests' Code (see on i. 1, 5). The bulk of
chs. iv and v, dealing with the new piacular sacrifices, was
probably first elaborated at the close of the exile or later. In
their present form they are at least later than the groundwork
(P*) of the Priests' Code, hence the symbol Ps, i. e. belonging to
the secondary strata of P (see on iv. 7, 25).
The special directions to the priests in chs. vi and vii presuppose
the laws of i — iii, to which they are supplementary and therefore
later. Interspersed with these are various novellae, expansions of
existing laws, such as ii. 4-16, some of which betray their separate
origin by a somewhat different theory of sacrifice from that found
in the main strata (e.g. v. 1-6).
It has not been considered necessary to register these various
strata of P in the texf of R.V.
A. i. 1— vi. 7. The Five Principal Offerings.
This subdivision of Leviticus has been described as a ' manual
for worshippers, revised and enlarged from various sources, and

38 LEVITICUS 1. 2-4. P
2 unto him out of the tent of meeting, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man
of you offereth an oblation unto the Lord, ye shall offer
your oblation of the cattle, even of the herd and of the
flock.
3 If his oblation be a burnt offering of the herd, he shall
offer it a male without blemish : he shall offer it at the
door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted
4 before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the
in part re-written.' It comprises five sections, each dealing with
one of the five principal types of sacrifice and offering above
enumerated. 1. out of the tent of meeting: A.V. inaccurately, 'the taber
nacle of the congregation.' This verse has been prefixed by an
editor in order to connect the manual of sacrifice with the situation
described in Exod. xl. 34 ff. For the discrepancy thereby caused
with Lev. vii. 38, see above, and for the ' tent of meeting ' see
Bennett, Cent. Bible, on Exod. xxv ff.
2. an oblation : Heb. korban, a term peculiar to Ezekiel and P.
It means something ' brought near,' viz. to God at the sanctuary,
hence Mark vii. 11, ' Corban, that is to say, Given to God.' In P's .
terminology it replaces the older term tninhah, which is now con
fined to the cereal oblation or ' meal-offering.' For these and
other sacrificial terms see the sections headed ' Terminology of
Sacrifice' in the writer's article ' Sacrifice and Offering' in
Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible (1909).
(a) i. 3 — 17. The ritual of the burnt-offering1. Cf. vi. 8-13,
Exod. xxix. 15-18, &c.
3. a burnt offering : Heb. 'olak, that which goes up (on the
altar), with reference to the distinguishing feature of this offering,
the burning of the whole victim upon the altar. It also bears the
more distinctive name kalil, ' whole burnt offering ' (Deut. xxxiii.
io, R.V.), or holocaust. The victims here prescribed are an ox,
a ram, or a he-goat (verses 10-13), each entire and without blemish
(cf. Lev. xxii. 19 ff.), failing which a turtledove or a young pigeon
(14-17). 4. he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offer-
1 Since the names of the sacrifices represent single words in the
original, the method of the American Revised Version, standard
edition, which employs the hyphen, is followed by preference in the
notes. Coverdale has 'burntofferynge,' ' meatofferynge,' &c, in one
word.

LEVITICUS 1. 5-9. P 39
head of the burnt offering ; and it shall be accepted for
him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the 5
bullock before the Lord : and Aaron's sons, the priests,
shall present the blood, and sprinkle the blood round
about upon the altar that is at the door of the tent of
meeting. -And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut 6
it into its pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall 7
put fire upon the altar, and lay wood in order upon the
fire : and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, 8
the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on
the fire whidh is upon the altar : but its inwards and its 9
legs shall he wash with water : and the priest shall burn
ing. The significance of this 'action ' of the ritual of sacrifice (for
other offerings see iii. 2, 8, 13, iv. 4) has been much discussed.
The act in all probability symbolizes the withdrawal Of the animal
from the sphere of the ' common ' or profane, and its transference
to the sphere of ' holy ' things — so termed from their close^elation
to the deity (see 1 Sam. xxi. 4)— as well as the offerer's personal
assignation of it to God. The traditional explanation, based on
the outwardly similar but essentially different rite in Lev. xvi. 21,
that by the ' laying on of hands ' the animal is made the substitute,
in a penal sense, of the offerer, is without foundation. For the
untenableness of this view, see art. ' Sacrifice ' &c„ op. cit., 817 f.
5. and Aaron's sons, the priests : almost certainly an edi
torial substitution for 'the priest' of the original law, who still
appears in verses 9, 12, 13, &c, The change was made in order
to adapt this older torah to the standpoint of PB, in which the
priests are always termed the ' sons of Aaron.'
and sprinkle the blood : rather ' dash ' or ' toss ' the blood,
so verse 11, iii. 2, 8, and oft. The blood was caught by the priest
in a large bason as it spurted from the severed arteries, and was
dashed against the sides of the altar. For sprinkling in the
proper sense see iv. 6.
7. shall put fire upon the altar. This, points to an earlier
stage of the ritual than that represented by vi. 13, according to
which the fire was ' kept burning upon the altar continually.'
9. the priest shall burn the whole. The word here rendered
' burn ' is a technical sacrificial term meaning to ' make to smoke,'
and is quite distinct from the ordinary word for burning, used in
iv. 12, 21, vii. 17, 19. Driver renders 'shall consume the whole
in sweet smoke.'

40 LEVITICUS 1. 10-15. P
the whole on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
10 And if his oblation be of the flock, of the sheep, or of
the goats, for a burnt offering;; he shall offer it a male
n without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the
altar northward before the Lord : and Aaron's sons, the
priests, shall sprinkle its blood upon the altar round
12 about. And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head
and its fat : and the priest shall lay them in order on the
13 wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar : but the
inwards and the legs shall he wash with water : and the
priest shall offer the whole, and burn it upon the altar :
it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet
savour unto the Lord.
14 And if his oblation to the Lord be a burnt offering of
fowls, then he shall offer his oblation of turtledoves, or
15 of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it unto
the altar, and "wring off its head, and burn it on the
8 Or, pinch
a sweet savour: literally an 'odour of soothing,' a favourite
expression- in P. Like the term ' food,' still applied to sacrifice
(iii. n, xxi. 6), it is a survival of a more primitive conception of
sacrifice as affording physical pleasure to the deity. Cf. the early
passage, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19, 'let him accept (lit. 'smell') an offering.'
An interesting parallel occurs in the Babylonian epic of the flood :
' The gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the goodly savour,
the gods gathered like flies over the sacrificer.'
11. on the side of the altar northward: i.e. in the court to
the north of the altar. The choice of the north side is supposed
to be connected with a Babylonian and North-Semitic myth of an
abode of the gods, a Babylonian Olympus, in the north (see
Whitehouse,- Cent. Bible, on Isaiah, xiv. 13).
12. with its head and its fat : this clause belongs to the next
sentence after the word ' order ' ; cf. verse 8, where: ' with ' should
be read before ' the head.' For the fat, see iii. 3 f,
14-17. The law also makes provision for those too poor to pro
vide one of the normal victims,- ox, sheep,- or goat, as is expressly
stated in the case of the sin-offering, v. 7 ff.

LEVITICUS 1. i6—2. t. P 41
altar ; and the blood thereof shall be drained out on the
side of the altar : and he shall take away its crop with 16
the a filth thereof, and cast it beside the altar on the east
part, in the place of the ashes : and he shall rend it by 17
the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder : and
the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood
that is upon the fire : it is a burnt offering, an offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
And when any one offereth an oblation of a meal 2
offering unto the Lord, his oblation shall be of fine
flour; and he shall' pour oil upon it, and put frankin-
cense thereon : and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the 2
priests : and he shall take thereout his handful of the
fine flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the
frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn it as
the memorial thereof upon the altar, an offering made by
" Or, feathers
16. with the filth thereof: rather, with the Versions (VSS),
A. V. and R. V. marg., ' with the feathers thereof.'
(6) ii. 1-16. The ritual of the meal-offering. Cf. vi. 14-23,
Num. xv. 1-16.
The meal-offering— better, cereal offering (A.V. ' meat offering '.)
— is here treated as an independent offering like the other four,
but in the actual usage of the post-exilic period it generally
appears as an accompaniment of the burnt-offering, as prescribed
in Num. xv, or of the peace-offering, as contemplated in Lev. vii.
11 ff. The original term is minhah, which denotes a gift or
present made to secure the goodwill of a friend (Gen. xxxii. 13,
18) or of a sovereign (1 Sam. x. 27). In the older literature it is
used as a comprehensive term for all offerings to Yahweh,
whether animal or cereal (so Gen. iv. 3 ff and often). In P, how
ever, minhah is restricted to the cereal offerings. The material
of the typical cereal oblation consisted of fine flour, cooked or un
cooked, with the addition of olive oil, salt, and frankincense. The
bulk of the offering went to the priests.
2. the memorial thereof: Heb. •azkdrah, a term peculiar to P,
here applied to the handful of paste (flour mixed with oil), with
the frankincense— a fragrant gum-resin exuding from trees of the

42 LEVITICUS 2. 3-8. P
3 fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord : and that which is
left of the meal offering shall be Aaron's and his sons' :
it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made
by fire.
4 And when thou offerest an oblation of a meal offering
baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of; fine
flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed
S with oil. And if thy oblation be a meal offering of the
a baking pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled
6 with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil
7 thereon : it is a meal offering. And if thy oblation be
a meal offering of the frying pan, it shall be made of fine
8 flour with oil. And thou shalt bring the meal offering
* Or, flat plate
genus Boswellia— which the priest burned upon the altar. The
object of this ' memorial ' offering is supposed to have Been: to
bring the offerer to Yahweh's remembrance, but the etymology
and original significance of the term are obscure.
3. a thing most holy, &c. : the remainder of the flour is a per
quisite of the priests. The priestly legislation distinguishes
between such priests' dues as are ' holy ' merely, and such as are
' most holy' ; among the latter was included the flesh of the guilt-
offerings and of the second grade of sin-offerings (see below).
One practical result of this distinction was that ' the most holy
things ' could be eaten only by the priests, and by them only within
the sanctuary precincts (vi. 16, 26), whereas the ' holy things '
might be consumed by the priests and their households, if cere
monially clean, in any 'clean place,' i.e. in actual practice, in
Jerusalem (x. 14, xxii. 3, 10-16, &c). For the dangerous con
tagion of holiness, see on vi. 18.
4-16. The detailed instructions of this section give the impres
sion of being a later elaboration of the general law in verses 1-3,
a view confirmed by the use of the second person as compared
with the third person in chs. i. and iii. Verses 4-7 specify
certain varieties of the cooked meal-offering, according as the
material is cooked ( 1) in the baking-oven in the form of thick or
thin wafer-like cakes, or (2) upon a griddle as pastry, or (3) in a
cooking-pan as a pudding.
5. the baking pan : rather, with marg., the convex iron plate
or griddle, still in use among the Bedouin.

LEVITICUS 2. 9-15. P 43
that is made of these things unto the Lord : and it shall
be presented unto the priest, and he shall bring it unto
the altar. And the priest shall take up from the meal 9
offering the memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the
altar : an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto
the Lord. And that which is left of the meal offering 10
shall be Aaron's and his sons' : it is a thing most holy of
the offerings of the Lord made by fire. No meal offering, 1 1
which ye shall offer unto the Lord, shall be made with
leaven : for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, as
an offering made by fire unto the Lord. As an oblation 12
of fixstfruits ye shall offer them unto the Lord : but they
shall not come up for a sweet savour on the altar. And 13
every oblation of thy meal offering shalt thou season with
salt ; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of
thy God to be lacking from thy meal offering : with all
thine oblations thou shalt offer salt.
And if thou offer a meal offering of firstfruits unto the 14
Lord, thou shalt offer for the meal offering of thy first-
fruits corn in the ear parched with fire, bruised corn of
the fresh ear. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay 15
11 f. The exclusion of leaven, i.e. of leavened flour or cakes,
from the altar is to be explained on the ground that fermentation,
to which honey was also liable, implied a process of corruption in
the dough. Though not admitted to the altar, leaven and honey
might be presented at the sanctuary and handed over to the priests,
as were the ordinary firstfruits (verse 12 ; see also xxiii. 17).
13. Here only is salt expressly prescribed, but from Ezek. xliii.
24 and later usage, reflected in Mark ix. 49 (A. V. and R. V. marg.),
it may be safely inferred that it was provided with every sacrifice.
The custom goes back to the antique conception of sacrifice, above
referred to, as a meal for the deity, for which the usual condiment
was indispensable. For the school of P, however, the salt of the
sacrifice has become a symbol of the irrevocable character of
Yahweh's covenant with Israel. For this view and for the salt
of the covenant of thy God, see on Num. xviii. 19.
14-16. In this cereal offering of firstfruits we have undoubtedly

44 LEVITICUS 2. 16— 3. 3. P
16 frankincense thereon : it is a meal offering. And the
priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the bruised
corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the
frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto
the Lord.
3 And if his oblation be a sacrifice of a peace offerings ;
if he offer of the herd, whether male or female, he shall
2 offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall
lay his hand upon the head of his oblation, and kill it at
the door of the tent of meeting : and Aaron's sons the
priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round
3 about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace
offerings an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the
a Or, thank offerings
one of the oldest varieties of the minhah (Gen. iv. 3 ; Exod. xxii.
29) . The shewbread is another of great antiquity (Lev. xxiv. 5 ff. ).
(c) iii. 1-17. The ritual of the peace-offering. Cf. vii. 11-31, 28-
34, xxii. 21-23.
The third place in this manual of sacrifice is occupied by the
sacrifice which, in the earlier period at least, was the typical altar
offering, and accordingly is often designated ' sacrifice ' par
excellence. The full designation is that here given — ' a sacrifice of
peace offerings ' (marg. ' thank offerings '). The precise significa
tion of the original (sheldmjm) is uncertain. The current rendering
' peace offerings ' is based on the cognate noun signifying ' peace,'
and regards the sacrifice as the means of establishing harmonious
relations with the deity. It is probable, however, that in ancient
times the majority of the ordinary sacrifices were made in fulfil
ment of a vow, or in gratitude for benefits received or expected,
so that sheldmxm is rather to be connected with the cognate verb
meaning ' to recompense, repay,' and specially ' to pay one's vows'
(see Prov. vii. 14). On this view ' recompense-offering ' or ' sacri
fice of requital ' would be the best rendering, leaving ' thank offer
ing ' for the name of one of its varieties, mentioned with others
in Lev. vii. 13 f., 16, and as an independent sacrifice in xxii. 29.
The ritual agrees in the main with that of the burnt-offering;
only certain specified portions of the victim, however, were
burned, the bulk of the flesh going to provide the sacrificial meal
which was the distinguishing feature of the peace-offering.
3. the fat that covereth the inwards; i.e. the entrails; see

LEVITICUS 3. 4-11. P 45
fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon
the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on 4
them, which is by the loins, and the caul upon the liver,
"with the kidneys, shall he take away. And Aaron's 5
sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering,
which is upon the wood that is on the fire : it is an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
And if his oblation for a sacrifice of peace offerings 6
unto the Lord be of the flock ; male or female, he shall
offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb for his 7
oblation, then shall he offer it before the Lord : and he 8
shall lay his hand upon the head of his oblation, and kill
it before the tent of meeting : and Aaron's sons shall
sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
And he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an 9
offering made by fire unto the Lord ; the fat thereof,
the fat tail entire, he shall take it away hard by the
backbone ; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all
the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, 10
and the fat that is upon them, which is by the loins, and
the caul upon the liver, b with the kidneys, shall he take
away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar : it is n
the c food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord.
1 Or, which he shall take away by the kidneys. b See ver 4.
c Heb. bread.
the coloured diagrams in Driver and White, Leviticus, in Haupt's
Sacred Books of the O.T. (SBOT), opposite p. 4.
4. the caul upon the liver : according to G. F. Moore (Orient.
Studien Th. Noeldeke gewidmet (1906), 761 ff.), the part intended
is the caudate lobe (lobus caudatus) of the liver. This lobe played
a prominent part in the favourite mode of divination by the liver
(hepatoscopy) among the Babylonians and other ancient nations ;
for this reason probably it is here expressly claimed for the altar.
See Jastro w, Die Religion Babyloniens, &c. , ii. 220, 231 f.
9. the fat tail entire ; in former times this was freely admitted
to the table as a delicacy ; see Cent. Bible on 1 Sam. ix. 24.
11. the food of the offering made by fire: lit. 'food offered

46 LEVITICUS 3. 12— 4. 2. P
12 And if his oblation be a goat, then he shall offer it
13 before the Lord : and he shall lay his hand upon the
head of it, and kill it before the tent of meeting : and
the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon
14 the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his
oblation, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord ;
the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is
15 upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that
is upon them, which is by the loins, and the caul ; upon
16 the liver, awith the kidneys, shall he take away. And
the priest shall burn them upon the altar : it is the food
of the offering made by fire, for a sweet savour : all the
17 fat is the Lord's. It shall be a perpetual statute through
out your generations in all your dwellings, that ye shall
eat neither fat nor blood.
4 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, saying, If any one shall sin bun-
a See ver. 4. b Or, through error
by fire,' see on i. 9 and xxi. 6. The introduction of fire to
etherealize the offerings, so to say, marks a more advanced stage
in the history of Semitic sacrifice than the primitive practice of
placing the offering upon a rock-altar, the earliest 'table of the
Lord' (Mai. i. 7, 12). See Kittel, Studien zur hebrdischen Archao-
logie, g6-io8.
17. ye shall eat neither fat nor blood : the former prohibition
is repeated at greater length in vii. 23 f. The blood taboo is
common to all the law-codes ; its raison d'etre in relation to
sacrifice is given in the important passage, xvii. n, which see.
(d) iv. 1 — v. 13. The ritual of the sin-offering. Cf. vi. 24-30,
ix. 8ff., 15; Exod. xxix. 11-14; Num. xv. 22-39, &c-
While it is true that piacular efficacy was conceived as inherent
in all the varieties of sacrifice and offering, the later sacrificial
system developed two new varieties of offering as special expiatory
sacrifices, the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. They probably
made their appearance in the dark days which preceded the fall
of the Jewish state, although Ezekiel is the first to differentiate
them by name from the older types of offering (xl. 39, xiii. 13).

LEVITICUS 4. 2. P 47
wittingly, in any of the things which the Lord hath
commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of
Of the two the sin-offering was much the more important. It
was the prescribed medium for the expiation of two main classes
of offences, viz. (i) sins committed in ignorance or by inadvertence
(see on verse 2), and (2) cases of ceremonial defilement or unclean
ness, contracted in various ways and having no connexion with
sin as a breach of the moral law, such as the defilement of child
birth and of leprosy, the uncleanness of the altar, and the like.
The special features in the ritual of the sin-offering by which it is
distinguished from the ritual of the older animal sacrifices are
these : (1) the victim varies according to the rank of the offender
in the theocratic community, and (2) the application of the blood,
as the medium of expiation, varies in intensity on the same
principle. The underlying idea of this graduated scale of atone
ment is found in the characteristic priestly view of sin as unclean
ness ; the ' sins ' above enumerated, even the ' sin ' of a woman in
her discharge of the — to us holy — function of motherhood, were
viewed as not only defiling in themselves, but as sources of further
impurity and defilement for the whole community. The higher
the theocratic rank of the offender, the greater, according to the
antique and now resuscitated conception of the contagion both of
holiness and uncleanness, was his power of contamination (see
verse 3, 'bring guilt upon the people'), and the more potent
therefore the cathartic required for his purification.
2. If any one shall sin unwittingly : the original of the last
word is a technical term of P, and denotes sins committed in
ignorance or by inadvertence (cf. Num. xv. 24-29), as opposed to
sins committed ' with an high hand ' (ibid. 30 f.), that is, in wilful
defiance of the Divine law. For such sins no sacrifice could make
expiation (cf. note on xvi. 21). Moreover, in the sphere of morals
only unwitting sins are contemplated, for these are the only offences
of which the holy people of the priestly ideal would be guilty.
3-12. The High Priest's sin-offering.
Four varieties of sin-offering are prescribed in iv. 3 ff., two of
which are sin-offerings of the first grade, and two of the second.
The former class includes the sacrifice for the High Priest (verses 3-
12), and that for the community as a whole, in which the rank
and file of the priesthood are included (verses 13-21) ; in the second
grade fall the sin-offerings for a secular chief (verses 22-26) and for
an ordinary layman (verses 27-35). The sin-offerings of the first
grade are distinguished from those of the second by the greater
intensity of the blood-ritual, as indicated above, and by the
sacrosanct character of the flesh of the victim, as will be more
fully explained in the notes.

48 LEVITICUS 4. 3-6. P
3 them : if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt
on the people ; then let him offer for his sin, which he
hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the
4 Lord for a sin offering. And he shall bring the bullock
unto the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord ;
and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the bullock,
5 and kill the bullock before the Lord. And the anointed
priest shall take of the blood of the bullock, and bring it
6 to the tent of meeting : and the priest shall dip his finger
3. the anointed priest : so verses 5, 16 and vi-. 22 to designate
the High Priest, the theocratic head of the post-exilic community.
In the earlier strata of the Priests' Code, the High Priest
alone receives 'the consecration of the anointing oil of his God'
(viii. 12 ; cf. Exod. xxix. 7) ; in the latest strata the whole body
of the priesthood, ' the sons of Aaron,' receive this consecration
(Exod, xxviii..4i, xxx. 30, xl. .15). See note on viii. 30.
a sin offering : Heb. haitdth. The word in the original is that
usually rendered 'sin.' the intensive stem of the root-verb,
however, is- continually used in P in the .privative sense of
cleansing from defilement, to purify, to ':un-sin,' as in viii. 15 :
'Moses . . . purified (lit. un-sinned) the altar.' Cf. Ps. Ii. 7,
EYV 'purge' ; Ezek. xliii. 20, EVV 'cleanse.' As used to designate
this new species of sacrifice, therefore, haitdth seems primarily to
express its efficacy as a medium of purification or purgation,
a meaning which the word undoubtedly has in Num. viii. 7 and
xix. 9, 17 (see there). Sin, both moral and ceremonial — for, as
was shown above, the two spheres are confused by the priestly
writers — is conceived by the latter as belonging to the com
prehensive category of uncleanness. It is a defilement affecting
not only the individual, but, by its contagious potency, the whole
community, and ipso facto interrupting the ideal relation of God to
His people.
This idea of sin as something that can be washed away like
a physical stain is really, like so much else in the priestly codes,
a survival of a primitive and widely spread conception common to
many religions (see Farnell, The Evolution of Religion, Lecture iii :
The Ritual of Purification and the Conception of Purity).
In short, both etymology and comparative religion suggest that
the literal sense of haitdth is not sin-offering, but ' ««-sin ' offering,
and its proper rendering therefore ' purification ' or 'purgation'
offering. 4. he shall lay his hand, &c. See on i. 4.

LEVITICUS 4. 7-id. P 49
in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before
the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary. And the 7
priest shall put of the blood upon the horns of the altar
of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tent
of meeting ; and all the blood of the bullock shall he
pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which
is at the door of the tent of meeting. And all the fat of 8
the bullock of the sin offering he shall take off from it ;
the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is
upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that 9
is upon them, which is by the loins, and the caul upon
the liver, awith the kidneys, shall he take away, as it is 10
taken off from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings :
"• See ch. iii. 4.
6. and sprinkle of the blood : a different term in the original
from that wrongly so rendered in i. 5, which see.
before the veil of the sanctuary. In the first grade of sin-
offerings the blood is brought into the Holy Place of the Tabernacle
(or Temple), which was divided by the veil (Exod. xxvi. 33) from-
the Most Holy Place. The greater the defilement, the nearer the
cleansing blood was brpught to the sacred presence of Yahweh.
In the rite of the Day.of Atonement we have a still more potent
application of the blood (Lev. xvi. 14).
7. the altar of sweet incense: called in verse 18 'the altar
which is before Yahweh' — contrast xvi. 18, where the altar of
burnt-offering is so designated. The altar of incense, as it is more
usually termed, is found only in the later strata of P (P.") ; see
Bennett, Exodus, p. 235 f., and Hastings' ,DB, iy. 664. ... Even in
the directions for the Day of Atonement (xvi. 12) the 'sweet
incense' is still offered in a censer. ; - ^
. the altar of burnt offering :- so in Ps (Exod. xxx. 28, 8a:.),
to distinguish it from the altar, of incense. In the older strata of
P it is designated simply ' the altar ' (Exod. xxvii. 1 ff. ; Lev. ix.
7, 8, &c— all P*; 1: 6 ff., ii. 2, iii, a. ff., &c— all P'). The
references in this chapter to the two altars on the one hand,: and
to the anointed priest on the other, bring home to one the fact that
the laws embodied in the completed priestly legislation, as it now
lies before us in the Pentateuch, represent a long course of
development. This chapter, for example, must be younger than
the groundwork of P (Ps), represented by chs. ix and x, still
E

59 LEVITICUS 4. 11-15. *
and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of burnt
11 offering.. And the skin, of the bullock, and all its flesh,
with its head, and with its legs, and its inwards, and its
12 dung, even the whole bullock shall he carry forthwithout
the camp unto a. clean place, where the ashes are poured
out, and burn it on wood with fire : where the ashes are
poured out shall it he burnt.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel shall err, and
the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they
have done any of the things which the Lord hath
14 commanded not to be done, and are guilty ; when the
sin wherein they. have sinned is known, then the assembly
shall offer a young, bullock for a sin offering, and bring it
15 before the tent of meeting. And the elders of the
congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the
bullock before the Lord : and the bullock shall be killed

younger therefore than the bulk of chs. i-iii, yet not so recent as
those parts which assume the anointing of the ordinary priests
(see on verses 3, 25).
11 f. - Note the distinction as regards the disposal of the' flesh
between the sin-offerings of the first grade, where it is burned
outside the camp, and those of the- Second grade,' the flesh of
Which falls to the priests to be eateii within the sacred precincts
(compare vi, a6, 29" with 30). This is explained by the fact that
in the former case the priests are excluded from partaking of the
flesh, both as sharing in some measure in the defilement of their
representative the High Priest, and as members of ' the congrega
tion of Israel.' The disposal of the flesh was an essential part of
the rite, and until it was accomplished the priests were still in
their sin. In the case of the second-grade offerings the priests,
on the contrary, were in the normal condition of purity.
iv. 13-31. The sin-offering of the congregation;
13. congregation . . . assembly : the former is P's favourite
designation of the theocratic community of Israel as a whole, but
the tatter is not unfrequently employed as here, verse 21 and Num.
xvi. 3, as a synonym. For the very significant history of the
corresponding Greek (LXX) terms, see art. 'Congregation' in
Hastings's DB (1909).

LEVITICUS 4.. i&-ab., P 51
before the Lord., .And, the anointed priest shall bring 16
of the blood of the bullock to the tent of meeting : and 17
the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle
it seven times before the Lord, before the veil. And he 18
shall put of the blood upon the horns of the altar which
is before the Lord, that is in the tent of meeting, and
all the blood shall he pour, out at the base of the altar of
burnt offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting.
And all the fat thereof shall he take off from it, and burn 19
it upon the altar. Thus shall he do with the bullock ; 20
as he did with the bullock of the sin offering, so shall he
do with this : and the priest shall make atonement for
SO. the priest shall make atonement for them. To atone,
which now means to 'make amends,' originally meant to 'set at
one ' (Acts vii. 26), to reconcile persons at variance. Atonement,
formerly 'at onement,' is in our English Bible accordingly a
synonym of reconciliation. These, however, are not the ideas
inherent in, the Hebrew, verb kipper, here and elsewhere rendered
'to make atonement.' The original meaning of the root is, still
in dispute, but in the sacrificial terminology kipper has acquired
a very special signification, for which there is no single equivalent
in English. Even the construction of the verb is altered, for where
as in the earlier extra-legal writers, when.it is used in connexion
with sin, God is frequently ithe subject, in Ezekiel and P the
subject is almost invariably the priest, and the verb is used as
the summary expression for the performance by th'e priest of
certain rites1 u by which sin, viewed as uncleanness or defilement
(see above on 1. verse 3), is removed and the way opened for the
sinner1 s forgiveness. The medium by which this removal of sin —
'jcancelling ' would imply too ethical a conception of sin in this
connexion — is effected is sometimes said to be the sacrificial
victim, as in i. 4 ; but this it is only in virtue of itsblood, which is
the real cathartic or expiatory medium, as expressly stated in the
cardinal passage xvii. 11.
How, then, may this special connotation of kipper in the
sacrificial terminology be adequately expressed in English ? In
the fairly numerous cases in which the rite is performed on behalf
of an inanimate object, where the sin or defilement is to our way
of thinking purely physical, as in viii. 15, xiv. 53,'xvi. 16, the old
1 In Babylbnian takpirtu, from the corresponding verb ; see Zim-
mern, Die Keilinschriften u. d. ttlte Test. 3rd'ed. (KAT3), 601 f.

52 LEVITICUS 4. 21. P
them, and they shall be forgiven. And he shall carry
forth the bullock without the camp, and burn it as he
A..V. rendering,' purge' seems fairly adequate (see, e.g., Ezek.
xliii. 20, where the command is given to ' unsin and purge ' (kipper)
the altar, and verse 26 where, in the reverse order, it is to be
purged and cleansed— R.V. here, as elsewhere, 'make atonement
for '). In the case of persons, also, when the rite is said to kipper
the sinner from his sin (iv. 26, v. 6, 10, &c), it is difficult not to
think that the idea of 'purging from' was clearly in the writer's
mind. On the other hand, this rendering fails to do justice to the
ethical moment in sin, even as defilement, viewed in its relation
to the divine holiness. The expression we seem to require is one
that is constantly associated by Greek and Roman writers with
rites of purgation or purification, namely expiare x, to expiate, make
expiation for.
The revisers have introduced 'to make expiation for' as the
rehderingof kipper in two passages, Num. xxxv. 33 and Deut. xxxii.
43 —in both cases ' the land ' is the object — and elsewhere in their
margins. Strictly speaking, it is the blood of the sacrifice that
'makes expiation' ; the priest ' performs the rite of expiation on
behalf of the sinner; but the latter is too cumbrous, and the
shorter, though less accurate, expression may, in the writer's
opinion, be accepted as on the whole the most adequate rendering
of this much discussed term. ' To make propitiation for ' is further
from the special significance df the word in P; still further is
'to make atonement for* inthe sense of 'reconcile.' To 'make
expiation for' has the further advantage of being more applicable
than these alternatives to material objects, since a uniform render
ing is after all desirable 2.
and they shall be forgiven : the performance of the rite of
expiatiori ensures the pardon of the sinner, but the sequence is
properly one of time, not of cause and effect ; for the real ground
1 See Wissowa, Religion der Romer,%27, note 4, where the following
quotation is given from Servius, Aen. iii. 279 : lustramur, id est
purgamur, ut lovi sacra faciamus ; aut certe ' lustramur lovi'
id est expiamur.
2 Recent discussions of the meaning of kipper will be found in
Driver's article, 'Propitiation 'in Hastings'sZ)B,iv. 1 28-132, and more
briefly in his Deuteronomy, 425 f . ; Joh. Hermann, Die Idee der
Suhneim alten Testament (1905) — a study of all the O.T. passages;
A. B. Davidson, Theology of the Old Test., 327 ft., 348 ff.; H. P. Smith,
'The Old Testament Theory of Atonement' in the Amer. Journal
of Theology, July, 1906 (pp. 412-422).

LEVITICUS 4. 22-25. P 53
burned the first bullock: it is the sin offering for the
assembly. ;,-'¦•
When a ruler sinneth, and doeth unwittingly any one 22
of all the things which the Lord -his God hath- com
manded not to be done, and is guilty ; if his sin, wherein 23
he hath sinned, be made known to him, he shall bring
for his oblation a goat, a male without blemish ; and he 24
shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it
in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the
Lord : it is a sin offering. And the priest shall take of 25
the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it
upon the horns of the altar of burnt" offering, and the
blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar
of the forgiveness is the free grace of God who revealed Himself
as ' a God full of compassion and gracious . . . and plenteous in
mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression' (Exod. xxxiv. . 6 ;
Num. xiv. 18). The sacrifice, in virtue of the cleansing and
'un-sinning' efficacy of the blood, in particular, merely removes
the barrier to the action of the divine grace; ' None of the
prophets, not even Ezekiel, refers to sacrifice as the means of
atonement for the sins of the people ; God forgives of His grace
and mercy alone' (Davidson, Theology of the O.T., 330). In the
Babylonian ritual, the verb corresponding to that here rendered
'forgiven' is frequently found associated, as here, with kuppuru,
with the meaning ' to sprinkle ' with the sacrificial blood (Zimmern,
op. cit., 602).
iv. 22-26. The sin-offering of the secular heads of the community.
This and the following (verses 27 ff.) form the sin-offerings of
the second or lower grade, distinguished from those of the first
grade by the following features : (1) the blood is not brought
within the sanctuary ; (2) the victim is of less value, a goat or
a lamb, and its flesh is eaten by the priests ; (3) the officiating
priest is one of the ordinary priesthood.
22. a ruler : one of the secular chiefs of the community. The
word is that rendered ' prince' in Num. ii, vii, and elsewhere.
25. The application of the blood in this instance is not by
sprinkling but by smearing with the finger. It is interesting to
note that in the groundwork of P (P8) the inferior blood-rite here
prescribed is sufficient for the High Priest's sin-offering (Exod.
xxix. 12 ; Lev. viii. 15) : another indication, when compared with

54 LEVITICUS 4. 26-33; P
2(5 of burnt offering. And all the fat thereof shall rieyburn
upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace
offerings: arid the priest shall niake atonement for him
as concerning his sin, and he shall be forgiven. • :
27 And if any one of the a common people sin unwittingly,
in doing any of the things which the Lord hath eom-
28 manded not to be done, and be guilty ; if his sin, Which
he hath sinned, be made known to him, then he shall
bring for his oblation a goat, ai female without blemish,
29 for his sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his
hand upon the head of the sin offering,, and kill the sin
30 offering in the place of burnt offering. And the priest
shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, arid put
it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all
the blood thereof shall he pouj-,. out at the base of the
31 altar. And all the fat thereof shall he take away, as the
fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace bfferifl|s ;
and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet
savour unto the Lord ; . and the priest shall make atone
ment for him,- and he shall be forgiven.
32 And if he bring a lamb as his oblation for a sin
offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offer
ing, and kill it for a sin offering in the place where they
a Heb. people ofthe land.
verses 6, 7 above, of the gradual development of the ritual, and
of the later date of this chapter, which belongs to Ps.
26. as concerning his sin: lit. 'from his sin,' a different
preposition from that rendered ' as touching ' in verse 35. . The
meaning of the original may be thus expressed : 'the priest shall
perform the rites of expiation on his behalf, and he shall be
purged from his sin, and so made capable of receiving, as he shall
receive, the divine forgiveness.'
i v. 27-35. The ordinary layman's sin-offering.
The only difference from the foregoing sacrifice is in the inferior
sex of the victim and the alternative of a lamb.

LEVITICUS 4. 34—5. 2. p 55
kill the burnt offering; And the priest shall take of the 34
blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it
upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the
blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar :
and all the fat thereof shall he take away,, as the fat of 35
the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace offer
ings; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, a upon
the offerings of the Lord made by fire: and the priest
shall make atonement for him as touching his sin that
he hath sinned, and he shall be forgiven.
And if any one sin, in that he heareth the voice of ad- 5
juration, he being a witness, whether he hath seen or
known, if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his
iniquity : or if any one touch any unclean thing, whether 2
it be the carcase of an unclean beast, or the carcase of
unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things,
and it be hidden from him, and he be unclean, then he
*¦ Or, after the manner of
v. 1-6. Special cases in which a sin-offering is required.
The original continuation; of ch. iv is found in v. 7. The inter
vening verses are best taken as a later insertion giving a number
of illustrative cases where a sin-offering is required.
,1. the voice of adjuration: lit. 'a curse.' The first of the
four cases here adduced is the sin of withholding evidence in
a court of law. As this can scarcely be described as a sin of
inadvertence (iv. 2), the author of this section evidently held
a different theory of the sin-offering from that underlying ch. iv.
The 'curse' is one pronounced upon a criminal and all concerned,
with a view to extracting confession and evidence (Judges xvii. 2 ;
Prov. xxix. 4).
if he do not utter it: compare the unwritten saying (agraphdn)
of our Lord : ' I say unto you that every good word which men
shall not speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day
of judgement ' (Lewis and Gibson, Palestine Syriac Lectionary,
p. xxx).
2. creeping things : rather, ' creatures that swarm'; i.e. are
found in large numbers, whether in the sea (xi. 10) or on the
land (xi. 29 £). This and the following category (verse 3) are
more fully and somewhat differently dealt with in chs. xi-xv.

5$ * LEVITICUS 5/ 3-9- *
3 shall be guilty: or ; if he touch the uncleanness of
man, whatsoever his uncleanness be .wherewith he is
unclean, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it,
4 then he shall be guilty,.: or if 'any one swear rashly with
his lips to do. evil/ or to do good, whatsoever it be that a
man shall utter rashly with an oath, and it be hid from
him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in
5 one of these things : and it shall be, when he shall be
guilty in one of these things, that he. shall confess that
6 wherein he hath sinned :> and he shall bring a his guilt offer
ing unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a
female, from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering ;
and the priest shall make atonement for! him as concern-
7 ing his sin, •'. And! if his means suffice not for: a lamb,
then he shall bring a his guilt offering for that wherein he
hath sinned, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto
the Lord; one for a sin offering, and the other for a
8 burnt offering. And he shall bring them unto the priest,
who shall offer that which is. for the sin offering first, and
b wring Off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it
9 asunder : and he shall sprinkle ,6f the blood of the sin
offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the
a Or, for his guilt Or, his trespass offering * Or, pinch
5. and it shall be : insert, as in verses 3, 4, ' when he knoweth
of it, then,' See.
he shall confess: add, with LXX: 'his sin' wherein, &c.
Public confession is required only here and Num. v. -7. The case
of Lev. xvi. -21 is different.
6. his guilt offering : render ' as an amend (or -penalty) for
his sin,' the word *ashdm not having here the technical sense which
it has in verses 15 ff,- '
v. 7-13. The sin-offerings of the poor (continuation of iv. 1-35).
7. a lamb: the original term includes both sheep and goats;
see Exod. xii. 5.
his guilt offering : to be.explainedas in verse 6, or more pro
bably as a copyist's slip for 'his oblation,' as iv. 23, 28, 32.

LEVITICUS 5. 10-13. P 57
blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar : it is
a sin offering. And he shall n offer the second for a burnt 10
offering, according to the ordinance : and the priest shall
make atonement for him as concerning his sin which he
hath sinned, and he shall be forgiven.
But if his means suffice not for two turtledoves, or two 11
young pigeons, then he shall bring his oblation for that
wherein he hath sinned, the tenth part of an ephah of
fine flour for a sin offering ; he shall put no oil upon it,
neither shall he put any frankincense thereon : for it is a
sin offering. And he shall bring it to the priest, and the 12
priest shall take his handful of it as the memorial thereof,
and burn it on the altar, b upon the offerings of the Lord
made by fire: it is a sin offering. And the priest shall 13
make atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath
sinned in any of these things, and he shall be forgiven :
and the remnant shall be the priest's, as the meal offering.
a Or, prepare b Or, after the manner of
11-13 contain a special provision for the very poor of the
community. This admission of a bloodless cereal oblation as
a sin-offering is of importance as showing the untenableness of
the ' life for a life ' theory (poena vicaria) of sacrifice ; see on i. 4.
11. the tenth part of an ephah : lit ' ah 'issaron,' the measure
elsewhere termed the omer (see Exod. xvi. 36), and equal to about
7 pints. The absence of oil and frankincense distinguishes this
offering from the ordinary meal- offering of ch. ii.
(e) v. 14 — vi. 7. The law of the guilt-offering. Cf. vii. 1-7, Num.
v. 5-8.
The second of the new piacular sacrifices is termed the 'asham,
the guilt- or trespass- (so A. V. and R.V. marg.) offering. In the
earlier literature 'asham denotes a gift (1 Sam. vi. 3f.) or money
payment(2 Kings xii. 16 f.), by which, in addition to restitution,
it was sdught to make amends for the wrong committed. There
is a lack of consistency in the attitude of the various priestly
legislators to this piaculum. The leper's guilt-offering (Lev. xiv.
12 ff.), for example, is indistinguishable from- an ordinary sin-
offering. In the car.dinal passage now before us, however, thei
guilt-offering is plainly prescribed for offences involving the mis-

58 LEVITICUS 5. 14-17. P
J4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If any one
15 commit a trespass, and sin unwittingly ,in the holy things
of the Lord ; then he-shall bring; his guilt offering unto
the Lord, a ram without blemish out oof the flock,
according to thy estimation in silver by shekels; after the
16 shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering : and he
shall make restitution for that which he hath done amiss
in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto,
and give: it unto the priest: and the priest- shall make
atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and
he shall be -forgiven.
17 And if any one sin, and do any of the things which
the Lord hath commanded not to be done ; though he
appropriation of the property of another (vi. a), especially of the
sacred dues, ' the holy things of the Lord' (v. 15). Its charac7
teristic feature is the restitution of the property or due withheld,
together with a fine amounting to one-fifth of its value as com
pensation for the loss sustained. The ritual of .the, sacrifice is
morejully given in vii. 1-7, where the points' of divergence from
the ritual of the ordinary sin-offering wul be noted.
15. If any one commit a trespass : rather ' a breach of faith,'
a technical expression in Ezekiel and P especially for breaking
faith with God ; in Num. v. 12, 27 it is used of a wife breaking
faith with her husband.
and sin unwittingly: see on iv. 2. The cases enumerated
in vi. 2 f. hardly come under this category ; the same difficulty
emerged in connexion with the sin-offering in verse I.
in the holy things of the LORD : the reference is to the
withholding or incomplete rendering of the firstfruits and other
dues ofthe sanctuary, and to sacrilegious partaking of the flesh of
such sacrificial victims as were the perquisite ofthe priests, (xxii.
I4-i6)- . ,
after the shekel of the sanctuary : the so-called Phoenician
silver shekel of 224 grains, value about as. orf. The extant
Jewish shekels weigh a little less than this, circa 215-220 grains'.
For this identification see the writer's art. ' Money ' in Hastings's
DB, iii. 422.
,17-19 are a later insertion, breaking the connexion between
v. 16 and vi. i, and probably dating from a time when the dis
tinction between the two expiatory sacrifices was becoming

LEVITICUS 5. i8—6. 4. P 59
knew it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
And he shall bripg a ram without blemish out of the 18
flock, according to thy estimation, for a guilt offering,
unto the priest t and the priest shall make atonement for
him concerning the thing ;wherein , he erred unwittingly
jand knew it not, and he shall be forgiven. It is a guilt 19
offering : he is certainly guilty before the Lord.
"¦And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If any one sin, 6
and commit a trespass against the Lord, and deal falsely
with his neighbour in a matter of deposit, or of h bargain,
or of robbery, or have oppressed his neighbour ; or have 3
found that which was lost, and deal falsely therein, and
swear to a lie ; in any of all these that a man doeth, sin
ning therein: then it shall be, if he hath sinned, and is 4
guilty, that he shall restore that which he took by robbery,
11 [Ch. v. 20 in Heb.] b Or, pledge
confused or was not clearly understood. Although the sacrifice
here required is expressly termed a guilt-offering in verse "19,
and the victim is the usual ram, there is no mention of the charac
teristic fine of one-fifth, and verse 17 is 'practically identical with
iv. 2 (sin-offering).
vi. 1-7. Guilt-offering for breach -,, of trust towards -members of the
community. -,-;,-¦.
The cases of embezzlement, breach of trust, and misappropriation
of property here enumerated strike one, at first sight, as matter
for the criminal courts, as provided for. by the early law-code,
Exod. xxii. 1-14. The point of view adopted by the author
appears to be that the guilty person makes voluntary confession
of his offence without the intervention of the law (see on verse 5).
It is important, however, to observe that mere restitution, even
when accompanied by a public confession, is not sufficient. The
majesty of the divine holiness must be vindicated by a guilt-
offering, for' in wronging his neighbour the offender has also
broken faith with God, the supreme Guardian of morality.
2. with his neighbour : a fellow-member of the theocratic
community, a term almost confined to the Law of Holiness.
bargain : better, as marg., pledge ; property left as security
for a loan or the like.

60 LEVITICUS 6. 5^9. P
or the thing Which he hath gotten by oppression, or the
deposit Which was committed to him, or the lost thing
5 which he found, or any thing about which he hath sworn
falsely ; he shall even restore it in full, and shall add the
fifth part more thereto : unto him to whom it- apper-
taineth shall he give it, in the day of his being found
6 guilty. And he shall bring his guilt offering unto the
Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, according
to thy estimation, for a guilt offering, unto the priest:
7 and the priest shall make atonement for him before the
Lord, and he shall be forgiven ; concerning whatsoever
he doeth so as to be guilty thereby.
o -
0 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command
Aaron and his sons, saying. This is the law of the burnt
offering : the burnt offering shall be b on the hearth upon
- a [Ch. vi. 1 in Heb.J b Or, on its firewood
5. in the day of his being found guilty : lit. ' in the day of
his guilt,'! i.e. when he makes voluntary acknowledgement of his
guilt,, or in the day when he offers his guilt-offering. , The R. V.
rendering suggests unfairly the intervention of the authorities.
B. vi. 8— vii. 38. Supplementary Directions for the Ritual
of Sacrifice, addressed to the Priests.
The 'manual for worshippers' is followed by 'a manual for
priests, edited afresh with several additions,' but derived in the
main from the same circle of priestly toroth as chs. i-iii. The
order of treatment is the same as in the preceding chapters,
except that ' the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings ' comes last
(vii. 11 ff.). The characteristic introductory formula — 'this is the
law (torah) of — and the special colophon at the close are indica
tions that the original contents of this subdivision once formed an
independent manual (see p. 37).
(a) vi. 8-13, the law ofthe burnt-offering. This law has reference
only to the ritual of the public burnt-offering, which was offered
daily, morning and evening ; hence its later name, the Tamid, i.e.
the perpetual (offering). See Exod. xxix. 38^42 ; Num. xxviii. 3-8.
9. Aaron and his sons : the same editorial adaptation as in i. 5 ;
note especially the change of persons in verses 14 f. below.

LEVITICUS 6. 10-16 P 61
the altar all night unto the morning ; and the fire of the
altar shall be kept burning thereon. And the priest shall 10
put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall
he put upon his flesh ; and he shall take up the ashes
whereto the fire hath consumed the burnt offering on the
altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he n
shall put off his garments/ and put on other garments,
and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean
place. And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning 12
thereon, it shall not go out ; and the priest shall burn
wood on it every morning: and he shall lay the burnt
offering in order upon it, and shall burn thereon the fat of
the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning upon the 13
altar continually; it shall not go out.
And this is the law of the meal offering : the sons of 14
Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar.
And he shall take up therefrom his handful, of the fine 15
flour of the meal offering, and of the oil thereof, and all
the frankincense which is upon the meal offering, and
shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, as the
memorial thereof, unto the Lord. And that which is 16
left thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat : it shall be eaten
without leaven in a holy place ; in the court of the tent
11. he shall put off his garments.: cf. Ezek. xliv. 19, where
the reason is given : ' that (the priests) sanctify not the people
with their garments.' The garments worn by the officiating
priests in the sanctuary were charged with a contagious ' holiness,'
and so became ' a conducting vehicle of a spiritual electricity,'
dangerous to all unconsecrated persons. -For this characteristic
feature of primitive religious thought see Robertson Smith,
Religion of the Semites, 2nd ed. (Rel. Sem.2), 446 ff.
(b) 14-18, the law ofthe meal offering, supplementing the regu
lations for the private offerings in ch. ii, aild having specially in
view the daily meal-offering which accompanied the Tamid (Exod.
xxix. 41 f.).

62 LEVITICUS 6. 17-2:6. P
17 of meeting they shall eat it. ., It shall not be baken with
leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings
made by fire; it is most holy, as the sin offering, and as
18 the guilt offering. Every male among the children of
Aaron shall eat of it, as a due for ever throughout your
generations, from the offerings of the Lord made by fire :
whosoever toticheth them shall be holy. ,
10 And the Lord spake, unto Moses, saying, This is the
20 oblation 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 forameal offering perpetually,
half of it in the morning, and; half thereof in thQ, evening.
21 On a "baking pan it shall be, made with oil; wheri, it is,
soaked, thou shalt bring it in: in b baken pieces shalt
thou offer the meal offering for a sweet sayour unto the
22 Lord. And the anointed priest that , shall, be in -his
-; stead from among his sons shall offer it : by a statute; for
23 ever it shall be wholly ;burnt unto the Lord. And every
meal offering of the priest, shall be wholly burnt :i;it,-shalL
not be. eaten. ? . .._
2 4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unt;p,
25 Aaron and* to his sons, saying, This is the law of the, sin-
offering': in the place iwhere the , burnt offering, -is killed
shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord : it is
26 most holy. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat
" See ch. ii. 5. b The meaning of the Hebrew word
is uncertain,
18. whosoever toucheth them shall be holy: in modern phrase,
'shall be taboo,', and his life forfeited, though doubtless a, ransom
was provided. The underlying idea is the same as in verse 1 1.
19-23 deal with the special meal-offering which was presented
every morning and evening by the High Priest, or at least at his
expense (Josephus, Aniiq. III. x. 7). In verse 20 the words 'in
the day when he is anointed' are a gloss due to a confusion of this
meal-offering with that prescribed in viii. 26, ix. 4.

LEVITICUS 6.27— 7. r. P 63
it : in a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the
tent of meeting. " Whatsoever shall touch the flesh 27
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 a holy; place. But the 28
earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken : and
if it be sodden in a brasen vessel, it shall be scoured,
and rinsed in water. Every male among the priests shall 39
eat thereof- it is most holy. And no sin offering, 30
whereof any of the blood is brought into the tent of
meeting to make atonement in the holy- place, shall be
eaten : it shall be: burnt with fire.
And this, is the law of the. guilt offering: it is most 7
11 Or, Whosoever
(c) 24-30, the law. of the sin-offering, with special reference,
however, to sin-offerings of the second grade, the flesh of which
might be eaten by the priests (see above, p, 50).
ZT. We should render prpbably, with LXX and R.V. margin?
'Whosoever shall touch,' &c, as in verse 18. Verses 27, 28 afford'
an illustration of the fundamental unity of the ideas underlying
the antique conceptions of ' holiness ' and ' uncleanness.' The;
blood of the sin-offering, the most potent medium of expiation, is
sacrosanct in the highest degree, yet its holiness is here and else
where treated as a stain. that requires to be, and is capable of
being, washed off.. In the case of a porous earthen vessel, the
infection was so great that it had to be destroyed. The Jews in
our Lord's day even spoke of the holy scriptures as ' defiling the
hands,' which had therefore to be washed after contact with a roll
of the Law or other canonical book. Hag. ii. 12 f. shows that
the contagion of uncleanness was regarded as more powerful than
the contagion of holiness. For the whole subject, see Robertson
Smith, op. cit., and Lagrange, Etudes sur les Religions Semitiques,
ch. iv : Saintete et Impurete.
(d) vii. .1-10, the law of the guilt-quiring, containing the ritual
instructions omitted from v. 148". The ritualof the guilt'offering
differs from that of the allied- sin-offering chiefly in two respects.
(1) The victim does not vary with the rank of the offender but is
uniformly a ram (v. ,15,. vL.6), the ' expiation ram .'. of Num. v. 8 ;
(2) similarly the manipulation of the blood agrees with that-

64 LEVITICUS 7. 3-io.' P
2 holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering
shall they kill the guilt offering:, and the blood thereof
3 shall he sprinkle, upon the altar round about. And he
shall offer of it all the fat thereof ; the fat tail, and the
4 fat that covereth the inwards, and the two kidneys, and
the fat that is on .them, which is by the loins, and the
caul upon the liver, awith the kidneys, shall he take
5 away : and the priest shall burn them upon the altar for
an offering made by fire unto the Lord : it is a guilt
6 offering. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof:
7 it shall be eaten in a holy place : it is most holy. As is
the sin offering, so is the guilt offering : there is one law
for them.: the priest that maketh atonement therewith,
8 he shall have it. And the priest that offereth any man's
burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the
9 skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. And
every meal offering that is baken in the oven, and all
that is dressed in the frying pan, and on the b baking
io pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. And every
meal offering, mingled with oil, or dry shall all the sons
of Aaron have, one as well as another.
a See ch; iii. 4.
prescribed for the older sacrifices' — ' sprinkle upon ' in vii. 2
should be 'dash against' (see on i. 5) — as compared with the
more intense and complicated blood-rite of the sin-offering. As
regards the disposal of the flesh, the guilt-offering agrees with the
sin-offerings of the second grade. In both cases it is ' most holy.'
For verses 3 f. see the notes on iii. 9 f.
7-10. An appendix regulating the priest's share in the several
offerings (cf. verses 31-34).
(e) 11-21, 28-36. The lawbftke peace-offering, or sacrifice of re
quital (see p. 44). Its contents are now split into two sections
by the intrusion of verses 22-27. Important is the information
here given as to the various kinds of recompense offerings, viz. the
thank-offering properly so called, the votive offering, and the free
will offering.

LEVITICUS 7. 11-16. p 65
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, n
Which one shall offer unto the Lord. If he offer it for 12
a thanksgiving,1 then he shall offer with the sacrifice of
thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and
unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled
with oil, of fine flour soaked. With cakes of leavened 13
bread he shall offer his oblation1 with the sacrifice of his
peace offerings for thanksgiving: And of it he shall offer 14
one out of each oblation for an heave offering unto the
Lord ; it' shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood
of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of 15
his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the
day of his oblation; he shall not leave any of it until
the morning. But if the sacrifice of his oblation be a 16
12. for a thanksgiving : /;'/. 'for, a thank-offering' ; it is the'
' sacrifice of thanksgiving ' of xxii. 29 and Amos iv. 5 (cf. Ps. Ivi. 12,
R. V.). The regulations deal first with the accompanying cereal
oblation, and then with the disposal of the flesh.
14. for an heave offering : , an unfortunate, rendering, : sug
gestive of heaving or throwing, whereas the original, terumah,
denotes something ' lifted off' from a large whole, and dedicated
either to God directly, or to His representatives the priests.
Here it is applied to the priest's share of the cereal offering
which accompanied the thank-offering; in verse 32, to 'the right
thigh ' of the sacrificial victim which likewise fell to the priest.
Accordingly, ' as an oblation to the Lord,' 'as a selected portion,'
' as a contribution,' have all been recently suggested as renderings
here (cf. verse 34).
15. The position of the thank-offering proper at the head ofthe
several varieties of recompense offerings is shown by the special
precaution taken to guard against the flesh becoming putrid. It
had to be eaten on the day on which it was offered; compare the
early law, Exod. xxiii.; 18, and contrast the laxer provisions in the
verses here following. See also on xix. 5 ff., xxii. 17 ff., 29 f.
16. if the sacrifice. ..beavow: rather, '. be.a votive offering *,
i. e. a sacrifice in fulfilment of a vow. For this sacrifice in early
times, see Judges xi. 30, 34 ff. (Jephthah), and 2 Sam. xv. 7, 12
(Absalom). Special legislation on the important subject of vows
is found in xxvii. 1-13 below, and Num.xxx, 1-16. The freewill
offering, named along with ' vows ' also Lev. xxii. 18 ff, Deut.
F

66 LEVITICUS 7. 17-21. P
vow, or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day
that he offereth his sacrifice : and on the morrow that
17 which remaineth of it shall be eaten: but that which
remainefh of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day
18 shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the
sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten on the third day,
it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto
him that offereth it : it shall be an abomination, and the
19 soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. And the
flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten ;
it shall be burnt with fire. And as for the flesh, every
20 one that is clean shall eat thereof : but the soul that
eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that
pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon
21 him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. And
when any one shall touch any unclean thing, the unclean
ness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean abomi
nation, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace
offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, that soul shall
be cut off from his people.
xii. 6, was a spontaneous expression of the worshipper's gratitude
to the Giver of all. For it alone were blemished victims accepted
(Lev. xxii. 23).
18. an abomination : the original (piggut) is a technical term
for putrid sacrificial flesh. 'Abomination,' as applied to unclean
creatures in verse 21, xi. 11 ff. and elsewhere, represents an
entirely different word in the original.
19 f. The sacrificial meal was so essential a part of the rite of
sacrifice that only those ceremonially clean could be allowed to
share in it. The penalty for a breach of this fundamental principle
of worship, which is common to all early religions, is expressed by
the words
20. that soul shall be cut off from his people : more precisely,
' from his kinsfolk.' It has been much discussed whether death
or excommunication is the penalty intended by this characteristic
expression of P (see the ingenious presentation of the case by
Gunkel, quoted by G. B. Gray, Commentary on Num. ix. 13).

LEVITICUS 7. 22-29. P 67
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no fat, of ox,
or sheep, or goat. And the fat of that which dieth of 24
itself, and the fat of that which is torn of beasts, may be
used for any other service: but ye shall in no wise eat
of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of 25
which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord,
even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his
people. And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether 26
it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
Whosoever it be that eateth any blood, that soul shall be 27
cut off from his people.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 2
the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the
sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord shall
bring his oblation unto the Lord out of the sacrifice
The milder penalty is the more probable, for the use of the term
' from his kinsfolk ' suggests that the phrase is a survival of tribal
jurisprudence, according to which, as among the Bedouin Arabs
ofthe present day1, a sentence of outlawry was the penalty for
certain heinous offences (cf. the case of Cain, Gen. iv. 14, and the
Code of Hammurabi, sects. 154, 158). The authors of the Priests'
Code doubtless regarded the offender as handed over to 'the
judgement of God.'
22-27, an intrusive and later section expanding the general
prohibition of fat and blood given in iii. 17. The fat ' of the
omentum and the organs that lie in and near it,' which 'accord
ing to Semitic ideas were a not less important seat of life ' than
the blood itself (see W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem.", 379 f.), is
here associated with the blood as a food taboo. As distinguished
from blood, however, which was universally interdicted, the fat
taboo was restricted to animals actually offered in sacrifice. It
does not apply, besides, to the muscular fat of any class of clean
animal. For the highly technical distinction in verse 24 see on
xvii. is.
28-36. The ritual of the peace-offering is here resumed in con-
"¦* Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes (1908), 226 ff.; Musil, Arabia
Petrcea (1908), iii. 60, 335.
F 2

68 LEVITICUS 7. 30-34. P
30 of his peace offerings : his own hands shall bring the
offerings of the Lord made by fire; the fat with the
breast shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for
31 a wave offering before the Lord. And the priest shall
burn the fat upon: the altar : but the breast shall be
32 Aaron's and his sons'. And the right "thigh shall ye
give unto the priest for an heave offering out of the
33 sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons
of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings,
and the fat, shall have the right a thigh for a portion.
34 For the wave breast and the heave a thigh have I taken
of the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their
peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the
priest and unto his sons as a due for ever from the
children of Israel. a Or, shoulder

tinuation of verse 21. The section deals with the portions of the
sacrificial victim falling to the officiating priest. The important
and intricate subject of the priests' dues from this source is dealt
with in several parts of the Pentateuchal legislation. A study of
these reveals a gradual increase in the amount of the priestly per
quisites. In the early period represented by 1 Sam. ii. 13-16,
' what was due to the priest from the people ' was apparently left
to the worshipper's discretion (see Cent. Bible in loc). Deut. xviii. 3
assigns to the priest ' the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the
maw.' In this section the priests' dues are stated to be the more
valuable breast and right thigh or hind quarter (so x. 14 f., Exod.
xxix. 27 f.). On this discrepancy see the discussion by Driver,
Deuteronomy, p. 215 f. The corresponding- dues exacted by the
Babylonian priesthood are discussed by Haupt in the Journ. of
Bib. Literature, xix. 59 f., 75. See further on Num. xviii. 8 ff.
30. waved for a wave offering : the original term (tenitphah)
denotes a movement to and fro, the priest taking up the breast and
' waving ' it to and fro in the direction of the altar, thus symbolizing
its presentation to God and His return of it to His representative.
34. wave breast . . . heave thigh: 'the breast that is waved
and the thigh that is set apart' (Addis). For the latter see
verse 14.

LEVITICUS 7. 35—8. 2. P 69
This is the a anointing-portion of Aaron, and the 35
anointing-portion of his sons, out of the offerings of
the Lord made by fire, in the day when he presented
them to minister unto the Lord in the priest's office;
which the Lord commanded to be given them of the 36
children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them.
It is a due for ever throughout their generations. This 37
is the law of the burnt offering, of the meal offering,
and of the sin offering, and of the guilt offering, and of
the consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace offerings ;
which the Lord commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in 38
the day that he commanded the children of Israel to
offer their oblations unto the Lord, in the wilderness
of Sinai.
b And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take 8 2
"¦ Or, portion b See Ex. xxix.
35. the anointing-portion (cf. A. V.) : on etymological grounds
the rendering of the margin is alone admissible. Moreover,
neither Aaron nor his sons have yet been anointed, a fact which
compels us to regard the last clause of verse 36 as a later gloss
(cf. vi. 20).
37 f., originally the colophon of the present subdivision (vi. 8—
vii. 36), not of chaps, i-vii as a whole. This is evident from the
words ' in mount Sinai ' as compared with ' the tent of meeting '
in i. 1. Note also the similarity of the introductory formulae,
verse 37 and vi. 8, 14, &c, above referred to, and the identity of the
order of the several entries, with the exception of the intrusive
entry 'and ofthe consecration' which does not belong here.
Second Division. Chapters VIII-X.
The Consecration and Installation of the Aaronic
Priesthood.
In these chapters we are brought back to the main stream of the
priestly History of Israel's Religious Institutions (Ps). They
record the carrying out of the divine instructions, given in Exod.
xxix, regarding the installation of Aaron and his sons as the only
legitimate priests of the wilderness sanctuary. This restriction of

70 LEVITICUS 8. 3-7. P
Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and
the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin offering,
and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread ;
3 and assemble thou all the congregation at the door
4 of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord
commanded him ; and the congregation was assembled
5 at the door of the tent of meeting. And Moses said
unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord
6 hath commanded to be done. And Moses brought
7 Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. 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 cunningly woven
band of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.

the priestly office to an exclusive hereditary caste represents the
final stage in the history of priesthood in Israel. '
Chs. viii-x seem, on the whole, as has been said, to have formed
part of the groundwork of the Priests' Code (Ps). In several
passages, however, where the ritual is more elaborate, the work
of later hands may be detected (see the notes below). The
sections correspond to the several chapters.
(a) viii. Consecration of Aaron and his sons.
The consecration of the. future High Priest — the most prominent
element in the narrative — was accomplished in three stages :
(1) the washing; (a) the vesting; (3) the special consecration
rite, consisting of the following 'actions' : the anointing or
' sacring ' of the High Priest, the consecration of his person by
a peculiar blood-rite, and finally (in the present text) the sprinkling
of himself and his garments with, probably, a. mixture of oil and
blood — all accompanied by the offering of prescribed sacrifices,
a sin-offering, a burnt-offering, and a special consecration offering.
2. See Exod. xxix, the notes on which in Bennett, Cent. Bible,
should be consulted throughout.
7-3. The vesting of Aaron with the robes of his office. For the
several items, see op. cit. on Exod. xxviii. The presence should
be noted of two of the insignia of kingship in antiquity, the purple
robe (me'il), for which a new identification will be found in the
writer's art. 'Dress' in Hastings's DB., 1909), and the 'holy crown'
or diadem. The High Priest combines in his person the civil as

LEVITICUS 8. 8-i6. P 71
And he placed the breastplate upon him : and in the 8
breastplate he put athe Urim and the Thummim. And 9
he set the b mitre upon his head ; and upon the h mitre,
in front, did he set the golden plate, the holy crown ; as
the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took the ip
anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that
was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled "
thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the
altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, to
sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil 12
upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and clothed them 13
with coats, and girded them with girdles, and bound
headtires upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.
And he brought the bullock of the sin offering: and 14
Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of
the bullock of the sin offering. And he slew it; and 15
Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the
altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar,
and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and
sanctified it, to make atonement for it. And he took all 16
1 That is, the Lights and the Perfections. " Or, turban
well as the religious headship of the theocratic community. The
anointing, a rite in the earlier literature associated only with
kings, is to be viewed in the same light.
8 f. See the corresponding arts, in Hastings's DB.
10. The first clause of this verse was originally part of verse 12,
the intervening words being an insertion which interrupts the
ceremony and is without warrant in Exod. xxix.
13. Neither here nor in Exod. xxix is there any mention ofthe
anointing of Aaron's sons, the ordinary priests. See on iv. 3.
IS. Comparison with Exod. xxix. 12 shows that the latter half
of this verse has received considerable and inappropriate additions.
Note that the blood of the High Priest's sin-offering is applied as
prescribed by Exod., loc. cit., as compared with the more intense
application required by iv. 6 ; cf. note on iv. 25.

72 LEVITICUS 8. 17-34. P
the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the
liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses
17 burned it upon the altar. But the bullock, and its skin,
and its flesh, and its dung, he burnt, with fire without
18 the camp ; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he
presented the ram of the burnt offering : and, Aaron and
his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
i9 And he killed it ; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon
ao the altar round about. And he cut the ram intc. its
pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and
21 the fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs with
water ; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar :
it was a burnt offering for a sweet savour : it was an
offering made by fire unto the Lord ; as the Lord
22 commanded Moses. And he presented the other ram,
the ram of consecration : and Aaron and his sons laid
23 their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it ;
and Moses took of the blood thereof, and put it upon
the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his
right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
24 And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the
blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the
thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of
their right foot : and Moses sprinkled the blood upon

22. the ram of consecration : rather, ' of installation ' ; see
note on verse 33. v
23 f. Further consecration of Aaron and his sons by a. graphic
symbolic action, the anointing ofthe extremities with the sacrificial
blood to represent the consecration of the whole body. This
explanation suits the only other instance of this blood-rite, xiv.
14, 25, and is to be preferred to that which lays stress on the
parts anointed, ear, hand, foot. Thus Dillman says: 'the priest
must have consecrated ears to hear always God's, holy voice, con
secrated hands at all times to do holy works, and consecrated feet
to walk evermore in holy ways.'

< LEVITICUS 8. 25-31. P 73
the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the 25
fat tail, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and
the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat,
and the right a thigh : and out of the basket of unleavened 26
bread, that was .before the Lord, he took one unleavened
cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and
placed them on the fat, and upon the right thigh : and 27
he put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon
the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave
offering before the Lord. And Moses took them from 28
off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the
burnt offering : they were a consecration for a sweet
savour : it was an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave 29
offering before the Lord : it was Moses' portion of the
ram of consecration; as the Lord commanded Moses.
And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood 30
which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron,
upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his
sons' garments with him ; and sanctified Aaron, his
garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the 31
flesh at. the door of the tent of meeting : and there eat
it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration,
b as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat
1 Or, shoulder b The Sept., Onkelos and Syr. read, as
I am commanded. See ver. 35, ch. x. 13.

25 f. See on iii. 3 f. and ii. 4 ff. respectively.
29. it was Hoses' portion: in virtue of his being, on this
occasion, the officiating priest.
30. Most recent critics regard this third 'action' as a later
addition. 31. Read as in the margin, and as in verse 35.

74 LEVITICUS 8. 32—9. 4- P
32 it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the
33 bread shall ye burn with fire. And ye shall not go out
from the door of the tent of meeting seven days, until
the days of your consecration be fulfilled : for he shall
34 a consecrate you seven days. ' As hath been done this
day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make
35 atonement for you. And at the door of the tent of
meeting shall ye abide day and night seven days, and
keep the charge of the Lore, that ye die not : for so
36 I am commanded. And Aaron and his sons did all the
things which the Lord commanded by the hand of
Moses.
9 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses
2 called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel ; and
he said unto Aaron, Take thee a bull calf for a sin
offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish,
3 and offer them before the Lord. And unto the children
of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a he-goat for
a sin offering ; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first
4 year, without blemish, for a burnt offering ; and an ox
" Heb. fill your hand.
33. he shall consecrate you seven days : lit. ' your hand shall
be filled for seven days ' ; i.e. the installation ceremony is to extend
over this period, the sacrifices being probably repeated each day.
The origin ofthe expression 'to fill the hand,' used here and
elsewhere for ' to instalone in an office,' is uncertain. It may
have been borrowed from the similar Babylonian phrase.
(b) ix. Aaron and his. sons enter upon their office.
On the expiry of the period above referred to, Aaron and his
sons enter solemnly upon their office as priests of Yahweh,
Assisted by his sons, the new High Priest first offers the sacrifices
prescribed for himself and his house, and thereafter those for the
whole congregation. It is characteristic of the author of Ps to
embody his legislation in concrete examples as historical pre
cedents for the future. In this chapter, accordingly, we have
a condensed ritual of sacrifice— all the principal varieties except
the guilt-offering being represented. -

LEVITICUS 9. 5-14. P 75
and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the
Lord ; and a meal offering mingled with oil : for to-day
the Lord appeareth unto you. And they brought that 5
which Moses commanded before the tent of meeting :
and all the congregation drew near and stood before the
Lord. And Moses said, This is the thing which the 6
Lord commanded that ye should do : and the glory of
the Lord shall appear unto you. And Moses said unto 7
Aaron, Draw near unto the altar, and offer thy sin offer
ing, and thy burnt offering, and make atonement for
thyself, and for the people : and offer the oblation of the
people, and make atonement for them ; as the Lord
commanded. So Aaron drew near unto the altar, and 8
slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
And the sons of Aaron presented the blood unto him : 9
and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon
the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the
base of the altar : but the fat, and the kidneys, and the 10
caul from the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the
altar ; as the Lord commanded Moses. And the- flesh T r
and the skin he burnt with fire without the camp. And ll
he slew the burnt offering ; and Aaron's sons delivered
unto him the blood, and he sprinkled it upon the altar
round about. And they delivered the burnt offering 13
unto him, piece by piece, and the head : and he burnt
them upon the altar. And he washed the inwards and I4
6. the glory of the LORD : a manifestation of the Deity
likened in Exod. xxiv. 17 to the appearance of a 'devouring fire.'
See the art. 'Glory,' by G. B. Gray, in Hastings's DB., ii ; cf.
Kautzsch, ibid., v. 639 f. .---
7-14. The sacrifices, a sin-offering and a burnt-offering, for the
priesthood. For 'and for the people' read with LXX, 'and for
thy house,' as the context requires.
9. the altar : here, as always in the oldest stratum of P, the
altar of burnt-offering.

76 LEVITICUS 9. 15-23. P
the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the
15 altar. And he presented the people's oblation, and took
the goat of the sin offering which was for the people;
16 and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first. And he
presented the burnt offering, and offered it according
17 to the ordinance. And he presented the meal offering,
and filled his hand therefrom, and burnt it upon the
18 altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning. He
slew also the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace
offerings, which was for the people : and Aaron's sons
delivered unto him the blood, and he sprinkled it upon
1 9 the altar round about, and the fat of the ox; and of the
ram, the fat tail, and that which covereth the inwards,
20 and the kidneys, and the caul of the liver; and they„put
the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the
21 altar: and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved
for a wave offering before the Lord ; as Moses com-
22 manded. And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the
people, and blessed them; and he came down from
offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the
23 peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the
tent of meeting, and came out, and blessed the people :
15-21. The priests, having offered sacrifices of expiation and
worship on their own behalf, now proceed to offer on behalf of the
people the sacrifice for the removal of the barrier which their sins
have raised between them and a holy God, and thereafter those by
which their covenant relation to Him is renewed.
IS. as the first: i.e. in the same manner as his (Aaron's)own
sin-offering. The last clause of verse 17 is regarded by Kautzsch
as ' an unintelligible gloss.'
21. and the right thigh: this was a 'heave,' not a 'wave,'
offering ; see vii. 32. The words have been inserted under the
influence of vii. 34 ; so also in x. 14 f.
22 f. The people twice receive the priestly benediction (Num. vi.
24-26), first from Aaron alone at the close of the sacrificial service,
and again from Moses and Aaron jointly.

LEVITICUS 9. 24—IO. 3. P 77
and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.
And there came forth fire from before the Lord, and 24
consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat :
and when all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on
their faces.
And Nadab and Abihu,, the sons of Aaron, took each 10
of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense
thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which
he had not commanded them. And there came forth 2
fire from before the Lord, and devoured them, and they
died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, 3
This is it that the Lord spake,, saying, I will be sanctified
24. In view of the sacrifices already offered, the text can
scarcely mean that the altar fire was first kindled by fire issuing
from the Tabernacle,, as in the cases recorded in Judges vi. 21,
1 Kings xviii. 38, but rather that the portions of sacrificial flesh
still upon the altar hearth were suddenly consumed by the divine
fire. The people ' shouted ' for joy, seeing in this incident a sure
sign of Yahweh's acceptance of their offerings.
(c) x. The death of Nadab and Abihu, with sundry regulations for
the priests.
For a breach of the sacrificial ritual the two elder sons of Aaron
(Exod. vi. 23) are punished by death (1-5). P here incorporates
a tradition current in priestly circles, which emphasizes a principle
common to all ancient rituals, viz. the need for the most rigid
observance of the prescribed rules ; it further explains the absence
from the legitimate priesthood of descendants ofthe elder branches
ofthe Aaronic family (cf. Num. iii. 4). The original continuation
of verses 1-5 is found in 12-15. To these sections others of
various content and date have been added by later hands. Ch. xvi,
in its original form, must once have fallowed closely on this
chapter. 1. As in xvi. 12 f., the incense is offered in a censer, a large
metal spoon holding live charcoal on which the incense was
burned. The special altar of incense appears only in the secondary
strata of P, as Exod. xxx ; cf. notes on xvi. 18, Num. iv. 11.
strange fire: the charcoal, it may be conjectured, had not
been taken, as prescribed, from the hearth of the consecrated
altar of burnt-offering (xvi. 13) ; cf. ' strange incense ' (Exod. xxx.
9), and ' strange worship,' the late Heb. equivalent of ' idolatry.'

78 LEVITICUS 10. 4-io. P
in them that a come nigh me, and before all the people
4 I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And
Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel
the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Draw near,
carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the
;- ¦£ camp. So they drew near, and carried them in their
6 coats out of the camp ; as Moses had said. And Moses
said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar1 and unto Ithamar,
his sons, ° Let not the hair of your- heads go loose, neither
rend your clothes ; that ye die1 not, and that he be not
wroth with all the congregation : but let your brethren,
the whole house of Israel, bewailthe burning Which the
7 Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the
door of the tent of meeting, iest ye die : for the anointing
oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according
to the word of Moses.
8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Drink no
9 wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee,
when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not:
it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations :
io and c that ye may put difference between the holy and
s Or, are nigh b Some ancient versions
render,Uncover not your heads. c Or, ye shall
6 f. A later hand — note the assumption that the ordinary priests
were1 also anointed — has here extended to the rank and file of
the priesthood the prohibition of certain mourning rites, which in
xxi. io ff. are prescribed only for the High Priest.
8 f. Reinforcement of Ezekiel's demand for abstinence, xliv. 21 ;
the prohibition applies only to the period when the priests are
on duty.
10 f. The function of the Hebrew priest as the instructor
(giver of torah, ' direction ') of the people on points of ceremonial
observance is older historically than his exclusive right to serve
at the altar. The twofold dichotomy here referred to (cf. Ezek.
xxii. 26, xliv. 23) is of the first importance for the understanding
of almost all primitive religions, and not least of the ceremonial

LEVITICUS 10. n-15.. p 79
the common, and between the unclean and the- clean ;
and "that ye may teach the children of Israel all the n
statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the
hand of Moses.
And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and 12
unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take .the meal
offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord
made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar :
for it is most holy : and ye shall eat it in a holy place, 13
because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the offerings
of the Lord made by fire : for so I am commanded.
And the wave breast and the heave thigh shall ye eat in 14
a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters
with thee : for they are given as thy due, and thy sons'
due, out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the
children of Israel. The heave thigh and the wave breast 15
shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the
/ » Or, ye shall
institutions of the Hebrews. Of the first pair of mutually exclusive
spheres ' the common ' comprises all such things as men may
freely use without fear of supernatural penalties ; ' the holy '
comprises things of which, in virtue of their connexion with a
supernatural power or influence, the use is restricted, or altogether
forbidden, to men ; in other words, things which are temporarily
or permanently ' taboo.' Holiness, in short, in its primitive sense
is non-moral, being 'essentially a restriction on the licence of man
in the use of natural things . . . enforced by dread of supernatural
penalties' (Rel. Sem.2, 152 ff., and Additional Note, 446 ff.,
' Holiness, Uncleanness, and Taboo '). For the kindred dichotomy,
' the clean ' and ' the unclean,' or ' the pure ' and ' the impure,'
see the introductory remarks to the following chapter.
12-15. Directions based, according to P's manner, on a con
crete instance as a precedent, regarding the consumption of the
priest's share in the meal- and peace-offerings. We have already,
met with the later and more detailed instructions in vi. 16, vii. 31 ff.
For the distinction between ' holy ' and ' most holy ' in this
connexion, see on ii. 3.
IB. The first three words are to be deleted ; note the singular
pronoun, * to wave it,' with reference to the wave breast only.

86 LEVITICUS 10. 16-20. P
fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord : and
it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, as a due for
ever; as the Lord hath commanded.
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin
offering, and, behold, it was burnt : and he was angry
with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron that
1 7 were left, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin
offering in the place of the sanctuary, seeing it is most
holy, and he hath given it you a to bear the iniquity of
the congregation, to make atonement for them before
18 the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought
into the sanctuary within : ye should certainly have eaten
19 it in the sanctuary, as I commanded. And Aaron spake
unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin
offering and their burnt offering before the Lord ; and
there have befallen me such things as these: and if
I had eaten the sin offering to-day, would it have been
20 well-pleasing in the sight of the Lord? And when
Moses heard that, it was well-pleasing m his sight.
* Or, to take away
16-20. A late and perplexing section, the most probable
explanation of which is to be sought in the gradual development
of the ritual of the sin-offering. According to the later formulation
of the rite, only when the blood had been 'brought into the tent
of meeting ' was the flesh of the sin-offering to be burnt (vi. 30 ;
cf. iv. 16 f.). In the case before us, based on the earlier practice,
this had not been done ; the flesh, therefore, should : have been
eaten .by the priests, as Moses expected (verses 17 {.). Aaron
excuses himself — and Moses is represented as1 accepting the
excuse as valid— on the ground of the calamity that had just before
overtaken his house in the death of his sons. In reality, we have
here an interesting proof that the discrepancies in the ritual of
sacrifice were recognized by the post-exilic priesthood, and that
attempts, not without their parallels even at the present day; were
made to explain them away.

LEVITICUS 11-16 8i
Third Division  Chapters XI-XVI.
Laws relating to Uncleanness and Purification, including
the special Rites of the Day of Atonement.
One of the oldest and most important functions of the Hebrew
priesthood was, as we have seeny to ' put difference between the
holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean '
(x. io f., where see note). This ' difference ' is the main subject
of the following chapters, in which ' the subject of sacrifice, with
which the priesthood is first concerned (chs. i-x), now makes
way for the treatment of uncleanness and purification under four
heads : animals, xi ; childbirth, xii ; leprosy, xiii-xiv; issues, xv'
(C. — H. Hex. ii. 153). As has been already indicated, ch. xvi
in its original form is the natural continuation of ch. x, so that
chs. xi-xv are now regarded as forming, like chs. i— vii, a separate
collection of toroth, originally independent of the historical
groundwork Pe.
As regards the subject-matter of this division of Leviticus, it has
been truly said that 'among the varied religious acts of man
there is probably none that has been so widely prevalent through
out the different races of mankind as the ritual of purification,
nor does any idea seem to have possessed so strong a legislative
power in the various departments of our life as the concept of
purity ' (L. R. Farnell, The Evolution of Religion, p. 88) '.
The chapters we are about to study represent a relatively late
formulation — the final development is found in the Mishna,
especially in the treatises comprised in its sixth and last division —
of practices which in essentials are as old as the Hebrew race
itself. The underlying conceptions, indeed, as the results of
comparative anthropology and comparative religion have abun
dantly proved, go back to the very beginnings of religious
development. All over the world it has been found that to
primitive thought certain objects and certain conditions and
functions of the body are regarded as mysterious, 'uncanny,'
and ' not to be lightly handled or approached.' Under a deve
loped aqimism the uncanniness and danger of these objects and
states, such as blood, sexual intercourse, childbirth, a corpse, &c,
' There could be no better introduction to the study of the follow
ing chapters from the point of view of the evolution of religious
thought and practice than the suggestive essay of which the above is
the opening sentence. Its full title runs : ' The Ritual of Purification
and the Conception of Purity : their Influence on Religion, Morality,
and Social Custom.' A shorter study will be found in the excellent
article * Clean und Unclean,' by A. W. F. Blunt, in Hastings's DB.
(1909). G

82 LEVITICUS 11. 'i. P
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, and to Aaron,
are explained as due to the presence of malignant 'spirits which
have to be removed by rites of purgation and purification. Water
and fire are everywhere regarded as the two most powerful
cathartic media. A third stage Js reached when these primitive
conceptions; of taboo are adjusted to, the teachings ofthe higher
religions. Uncleanness is now viewed primarily as a state or
condition which excludes from the worship of the deity. From being
a quality scarcely distinguishable from holiness,' uncleanness
becomes a summary description of everything that is opposed
thereto,; in Hebrew thought it is, before all, the condition which
offends and injures the holiness of Yahweh. Hence the charac-
jjerjstip motive for the observance of the Levitical legislation on
the subject: a holy God can only be worshipped by a holy
people.; only a holy people can live in harmonious relations with
a holy God (xi. 44, and often in xvii-xxvi).
On the whole subject see the epoch-making exposition by
Robertson Smith, Rel. Sent? (cf. note on x. io),, also Lagrange
as . cited on vi. 27. f. An exhaustive bibliography is given in
Harper, The Priestly Element in the O. T., pp. 126-8, 284.
(a) xi. Laws relating chiefly to clean and unclean animals.
Two distinct topics are treated in this chapter : (1) the distinction
between clean and unclean as it affects food, and (2) the unclean
ness produced by contact with what is itself unclean. Since the
colophon in verses 46, 47 refers only to the first of these topics,
it seems clear that verses 24-40, which deal with the second,
must have been added by a later hand (for further details of the
literary analysis, see C— ff. Hex. ii. in loc). Verses 43-45 so
unmistakably contain the characteristic teaching of the Law of
Holiness (H), chs. xvii-xxvi, that it is not improbable that the
bulk of this chapter originally formed part of H, and may have
come ultimately from the same early source as its striking parallel
in Deut. xiv (see Driver, Deut. 157 ff., where the texts ate given in
parallel columns arid the differences noted). The systematic
grouping of both passages, however^ is now regarded as a
'generalization from pre-existing practice. No agreement has yet
been reached as to the original motive or motives which led to these
restrictions. One thing at least is clear. All attempts to reduce
the various taboos, whether among the Hebrews or elsewhere, to
a single principle, be it primitive totemism or what not, are
doomed to failure. It is almost certain that more than one
principle has been at work. One ofthe best established of these
is the principle that every animal that played a part in the cults
of the heathen nations around, or to which popular superstition
attributed demonic powers, was branded as unclean for the

LEVITICUS 11. 2-6. P 83
saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, j
saying, These are the living things which ye shall eat
among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever 3
parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and a cheweth the
cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless 4
these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of
them that part the hoof : the camel, because he a cheweth
the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.
And the b coney, because he a cheweth the cud but 5
parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you. And the 6
hare, because she acheWeth the cud but parteth not the
a Heb. bringeth up.
" Heb. shaphan, the Hyrax Syriacus or rockbadger.
Hebrews (see the instances collected by Bertholet, Leviticus,
33 ff.). In the case of flesh- eating animals and birds of prey,
whose food contained blood, the motive is equally obvious.
Analogy or fancied resemblance doubtless played a considerable
part,;: this would account for the taboo of eels and scaleless fishes
which resemble the universally abhorred serpent, the demonic
creature par excellence. Probably the earliest attempt to find and
expound moral and religious motives in these food taboos is that
by the Alexandrian apologist known as the Pseudo-Aristeas in
the second century b. c. (see Thackeray's translation, J.Q.R., xv,
1903, §§ 143-66). As in the case of sacrifice, the O. T. writers
themselves nowhere offer a rationale of the several prohibitions.
For them it is sufficient that Yahweh has so willed. The motive
of this, as of all the laws relating to uncleanness, is the preservation
of the ideal holiness of the people of Yahweh. The time had not
yet come when Jews and Gentiles were to learn that ' not that
which entereth into the mouth defileth the man ' (Matt. xv. 11 ;
cf. Mark vii. 15 ff., Acts x. 12-15). 
2-8. In the case of quadrupeds the clean group is distinguished
by the presence in the same animal of two criteria, a completely
cleft hoof and chewing the cud. If only one of these is present,
as in the camel or the pig, the animal is unclean. Deut. xiv. 4 f.
goes beyond the general definition here given, and names ten
species of clean quadrupeds.
6. the coney : see margin. Neither the rock-badger nor the
hare, however, is a true ruminant ; the popular notion that they
chewed the cud was based on the characteristic movements of the
upper lip. G 2

84 LEVITICUS 11. 7-19. P
7 hoof, she is unclean unto you. And the swine, because
he parteth the hoof, and is elovenfooted, but a cheweth
8 not the cud, he is unclean unto you. Of their flesh ye
shall not eat, and their carcases ye shall not touch ; they
are unclean unto you.
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters-, what
soever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas,, and
10 in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all. that ;ha,ve not
fins and scales in the seas, and in the. rivers, of all that
move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that
11 are in the waters, they are an abomination unto you, and
they shall be an abomination unto you ; ye shall not eat
of their flesh, and their carcases ye shall have in abomi-
12 nation. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters,
that is an abomination unto you.
13 And these ye shall have in abomination among the
fowls ; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination :
14 the b eagle, and the gier eagle, and the ospray ; and the
15 kite, and the falcon after its kind ; every raven after its
16 kind; ,and the ostrich, and the ° night hawk,, and the
1 7 seamew, and the hawk after its kind ; and the little owl,
18 and the cormorant, and the great owl; and the d horned
19 owl, and the pelican, and the vulture ; and the stork, the
6 heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
a Heb. brifigeih up. b Or, great vulture c Heb. tahmas, of
uncertain meaning. d Or, swan e Or, ibis
7. swine : the typical case of a taboo having its origin in the
veneration in which an animal was held in forbidden cults (Isa.
lxv. 4, lxvi. 3, 17 ; cf. Rel. Sem.2, index).
8-12. The criterion of cleanness in fishes is the possession of
both fins and scales. No single fish is mentioned by name in O.T.
13-19. A list of unclean birds. Instead of general criteria, as
in the two preceding groups, the various forbidden species are
named individually. The identification of several of these is un
certain. More precise information must be sought in the larger
Bible Dictionaries. Cf. margin throughout.

LEVITICUS 11. 20-27. P 85
All winged creeping things that go upon all four are 20
an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of all 2 r
winged creeping things that go upon all four, which have
legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth ; even 22
these of them ye may eat ; the a locust after its kind,
and the a bald locust after its kind, and the " cricket
after its kind, and the a grasshopper after its kind. But 23
all winged creeping things, which have four feet, are an
abomination unto you.
And by -these ye shall become unclean: whosoever 24
toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the
even: and whosoever beareth aught of the carcase of 25
them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the
even. Every beast which parteth the hoof, and is not 26
clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, is unclean unto you :
every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. And 27
" Four kinds of locusts or grasshoppers, which are not certainly
known.

20-23. ' All winged creeping things,' really winged insects,
are to be an ' abomination,' i. e. taboo, with the exception of four
named, but not certainly identified, species of the locust family.
Locusts formed part of the food of John the Baptist, and are still
eaten by the Arabs : the head, legs, and wings are removed and
the body fried in samn or clarified butter.
24-40. An intrusive section (see above), dealing with the un
cleanness produced, not by eating, but by contact with the car
cases of certain animals. It falls into three parts : (1) 24-28, the
uncleanness caused by unclean quadrupeds ; (2) 29-38, by ' creeping
things' ; (3) 39 f., a special case of uncleanness arising from clean
beasts. 24. shall he unclean until the even: that is, he shall be
incapable of taking part in the cultus, or of mixing with his
fellows, until the close of the day on which he contracted the
uncleanness. 25. In the case of one carrying the carcase of an unclean beast,
the infection is more intense, and must be removed by washing
the clothes. The same procedure was required for removing the
contagion of holiness (see vi. 27 and note).

86 LEVITICUS 11. 28-33. P
whatsoever goeth upon its paws, among all beasts that
go on all four, they are unclean unto you : whoso
toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even : they are unclean
unto you.
29 And these are they which are unclean unto ydu among
the creeping things that creep upon the earth ; the weasel,
30 and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind, and
the "gecko, and the a land-crocodile, and the a lizard,
3r and the a sand-lizard, and the chameleon. , These are
they^ which are unclean to you among all that creep:
whosoever doth touch : them, when they are dead, shall
32 be unclean .until the even. And upon whatsoever any
of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall , be
unclean ; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment,
or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherewith any
work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be
33 unclean until the even; then shall it be clean. And
every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, what
soever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break.
a Words of uncertain meaning, but probably denoting four kinds
of lizards.
27. whatsoever goeth upon its paws: 'as dogs, cats, bears'
(Dillmann). Of these the cat was an object of special veneration
in Egypt.
29. the mouse appears in the forbidden cult described by
Isa. lxvi. 17. For the others see the Bible Dictionaries.
32-38, In these verses one may note.the beginnings of the
extreme scrupulosity, not always devoid of casuistry, with
which in later times every possible case was noted to which
a general Pentateuchal law might apply.
33. We have already seen, in vi. 28, that porous earthen vessels
were more susceptible to infection than vessels of metal, wood,
or leather. The same distinction is found in the purification rites
of the Vendidad.

LEVITICUS 11. 34-4°- P 87
All food therein which may be eaten, that on which 34
water cometh, shall be unclean : and all drink that may
be drunk in every such vessel, shall be unclean. And 35
every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth
shall be unclean ; whether oven, or a range for pots, it
shall be broken in pieces : they are unclean, and shall -
be unclean unto you. Nevertheless a fountain or a b pit 36
wherein is a gathering of water shall be clean : but Pthat
which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. And if 37
aught of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is
to be sown, it is clean. But if water be put upon the 38
seed, and aught of their carcase fall thereon, it is unclean
unto you.
- And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die ; he that 39
toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the
even. And he'that "eateth of the carcase of it shalhwash 40
his clothes, and be unclean until the even : he also that
beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be
unclean until the even. .
a Or, stewpdn b Or, cistern ' ' Or, he who

34. The same absorbent property which made water a cathartic
for uncleanness made it also a medium for the spread of infection ;
hence the phrase, 'that on which water cometh.' Cf. the dis
tinction between dry and wet seed in verse 37 f.
35. oven, or range for pots : the former was the large earthen
jar on the inner sides of which, after heating, the flat cakes were
baked ; the latter, according' to the Talmud, was a portable
cooking-stove capable of holding two pots (the original is in the
dual number).
36. The point here is that the water in a spring-fed well is
being constantly renewed ; in a large cistern (so read with margin)
the infection was perhaps regarded as so diluted as to be in
nocuous. 39 f. Up to this point only the dead bodies of creatures in them
selves unclean have been considered. Here the principle is
extended to the carcases of such clean beasts as had not been

88 LEVITICUS 11. 4i-47» *
41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth
42 is an abomination ; it shall not be eaten. Whatsoever
goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all
four, or whatsoever hath many feet, even all creeping
things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat ;
43 for thepare an abomination. Ye shall not make your
selves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth,
neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them,
44 that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord
your God : sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy;
for I am holy : neither shall ye defile yourselves with
any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth.
45 For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land
of Egypt, to be your God : ye shall therefore be holy,
for I am holy.
46 This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of
every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of
47 every creature that creepeth ; upon the earth : to make
a difference between the unclean and the clean, and
between the living thing that may be eaten and the
living thing that may not be eaten.

ritually slaughtered ; cf. xvii. 15, where the further purification of
a bath is prescribed for ' every soul that eateth that which dieth
of itself.'
41-45. Here the treatment of uncleanness from eating tabooed
flesh is continued from verse 23. To the preceding classes of
mammals, fishes, birds, and insects, is added a fourth class com
prising reptiles. Members of this section of the animal world have
always been held in peculiar awe by the Semites on account of
their supposed connexion with demonic spirits. That this belief
was current in certain circles even among the Hebrews is shown
by the description of the secret cult in Ezek. viii. 10 t.
44 f. For the significance ofthe motive here alleged, see above,
p. 82,

LEVITICUS 12. 1-5. P 89
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 12 2
the children of Israel, saying, If a woman conceive seed,
and bear a man child, then she shall be unclean seven
days; as in the days of the a impurity of her sickness
shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh 3
of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall con- 4
tinue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days ;
she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the
sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
But if she bear a maid child, then she shall ¦¦ be unclean 5
two weeks, as in her a impurity ; and she shall continue
in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
1 Or, separation
(b) xii. The law of the purification of women after child-birth.
In this chapter we are still on ground that, in Emerson's phrase,
is ' washed by antediluvian spray.' Among all primitive peoples
a woman in child-birth is regarded as 'a nidus of impurity,' a
source of mysterious; dangers to all about her. Even among the
higher races, Greeks and Romans as well as Hebrews, similar
views prevailed. In the island of Delos, for example, no, woman
was allowed to be confined lest its sacred soil should be polluted.
In the passage before us all such animistic conceptions are left
far behind, but the impurity of child-birth is shown by the
exclusion of the mother from the cul^us, and from social inter
course for a period which varied according to the sex of the child
(see below). The reason for the separation of this chapter from
chap, xv, to which it naturally belongs, is not apparent.
2. The latter half of the verse has reference to xv. 19 ff.
4. The period of impurity extends in the case of a male child
to forty days in all, divided into two stages of decreasing stringency
of seven and thirty-three days respectively. Parallels to this period
of forty days are found among many races, ancient and modern.
5. In the case of a female child, each of these stages is twice
as long, making eighty days in all. This difference also has its
analogies elsewhere. It was a popular belief that a confinement
in this case was attended by greater risks than in the other, which
originally meant that more powerful demonic influences were at
work causing a longer period of impurity. The practice was re
tained long after this belief Was outgrown.

90 LEVITICUS 12. 6-+-13. i. P
6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for
a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the
first year for a burnt offering; and a young pigeon,, or
a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the doorof the tent
7 of meeting, unto the priest: and he shall offer it before
the Lord, and make atonement for her ; and she shall
be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. This is the
law for her that beareth, whether a male or a female.
8 And if her means suffice not for a lamb, then she, shall
take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons ; the one for
a burnt offering, and the- other for a sin offering : and
the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be
clean.
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
6 f. for a sin offering- . . . and make atonement for her. To
interpret these terms in what may be called the traditional dogmatic
sense would compel us to believe that the Hebrews regarded the
exercise of the sacred function of motherhood as a ' sin,' for which
' atonement ' was required as a preliminary to the divine forgive
ness. The true explanation will be found in the notes on iv. 3
and 20. Both expressions, it is contended, belonged originally to
the terminology of the ritual of purification, and this passage
helps to show that 'sin' was thought of as something physical
and non-moral before it acquired a purely ethical content.
8. Cf. the similar concession, v. 7, and the N. T. instance,
Luke ii. 24. Although the burnt-offering is mentioned in these
verses before the sin-offering, the latter for obvious reasons was
always the first to be offered (v. 8 ; cf. viii. 14, 18).
(c) xiii-xiv. Laws concerning leprosy and the necessary purifica
tions. .
In this section various skin diseases, to which the generic term
zardath, ' leprosy,' is applied, are treated as a third special source
of ceremonial impurity (xiii. 1-46), and the necessary rites of
purification prescribed (xiv. 1-32). The same term is also applied
by analogy to two cases of ' leprosy ' in garments (xiii. 47-59) and
houses (xiv. 33-53). A comprehensive colophon closes the section
(54-S7)- The discrepant details of the purgation rites show that
these chapters reflect the ideas and embody the practices of different

LEVITICUS 13. 2. P 91
saying, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh, a 2
rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it become in the
skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy, then he shall be
brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons

epochs, some of them bearing marks of extreme antiquity (see
below). Apart from its application to houses and wearing apparel, it is
evident that the 'leprosy' of this section included more than
one specific disease, but the existing uncertainty as to the
precise meaning of several of the diagnostic terms makes it im
possible to reach more than a probable identification. This at
least may be said : if true leprosy (elephantiasis Graecorum) is here
included, the reference must be to its earliest stages • even so, one
would expect to find somewhere in these chapters a reference to
its characteristic symptoms at a later stage. As a recent-authority
has. said, 'it may. be doubted if any one would ever have dis
covered true leprosy in these chapters but for the translation of
zai-aath [by lepra], in LXX and Vulgate ' (Creighton, art. ' Leprosy
in E.Bi., vol.,- iii).
The standpoint from which leprosy ' is treated in the priestly
legislation is the religious and ceremonial. Its various forms
exclude the patient from the cultus, and from the sacred community
of Israel (xiii. 45 f.). It is the priest accordingly, as the represen
tative of Yahweh, whose holiness is injured, that decides as to the
nature of the disease, and on its disappearance pronounces the
patient ' clean.' Sanitary considerations do not appear, for
' leprosy ' was not considered contagious in the modern sense —
its contagion was of the more primitive and dangerous sort
explained above (p. 81 f.) — as we see from the statement in the
Mishna that the provisions here laid down did not extend to
foreigners and sojourners (Negaim, i. e. Leprosy, iii. 1 ; this
treatise, translated in Barclay, The Talmud, 267 ff., gives the later
legislation on the subject, with interesting details of the modus
operandi of inspection, quarantine, &c).
1-8. The first of seven suspected cases described,
2. and it become . . . the plague of leprosy: i.e. either, of
which is likely to develop into a leprous patch ; ' plague ' has here
its original sense of 'stroke' (plaga, cf. a 'stroke' of paralysis),
which is the literal rendering of the original. Driver throughout
adopts 'mark,' as left by a stroke, as a better modern rendering.
1 The received rendering of zaraath is here retained in the generic
sense of the original ; ' leper ' is used in the same comprehensive sense.

92 LEVITICUS 13.- s-7* *
3 the priests : and the priest shall look on the plague in
the skin of the flesh : and if the hair in the plague be
turned white, and the appearance of the plague be
deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of
leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pro-
4 nounce him unclean. And if the bright spot be white
in the skin of his flesh, and the appearance thereof be
not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not
turned white, then the priest shall shut up him that hath
5 the plague seven days : and the priest shall look on him
the seventh day: and, behold, if in his eyes the plague
be at a stay, and the plague be not spread in the skin,
6 then the priest shall shut him up seven days more ; and
the priest shall look on him again the sevehth day : and,
behold, if the plague be dim, and the plague be not
spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him
clean: it is, a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and
7 be clean. But if the scab spread abroad in the skin,
after that he hath shewn himself to the priest for his
3 ff. In his diagnosis of the disease the priest is to begin by
applying a double test: (i) has the body-hair on the affected
patch turned white? (2) does the pathological- condition extend
beneath the cuticle ? (For this interpretation of 3 b, see Mflnch,
Die Zaraath (Lepra), der hebr. Bibel, pp. 110-114 ; cf. Macalister,
DB. iii. 96a). If both these marks are present it is a case of
' leprosy.' If they are not decisively present, the suspect is put in
quarantine for seven days, after which the priest shall apply
a third test — has the affected area spread ?
5. If in his eyes, &c. : read, by omitting a letter, as in verse 55,
'if in its appearance (R.V. colour) the patch is" unchanged'
(so in verse 37).
6. it is a scab : rather ' an eruption ' of a harmless nature, and
the suspect, after a minor purification, is ceremonially clean.
1 f. If after a week the patch under observation appears to
have Spread, and this is confirmed after a second week's quaran
tine, the suspect is unclean ; ' it is leprosy.' The symptoms here
described have been identified by Munch, op. cit., as those of vitiligo
(cf. E.Bi. iii. col. 2765).

LEVITICUS 13. 8-17. P s3
cleansing, he shall shew himself to the priest again : and 8
the priest shall look, and, behold, if the scab be spread
in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean :
it is leprosy.
When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall 9
be brought unto the priest ; and the priest shall look, 10
and, behold, if there be a white rising in the skin, and it
have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh
in the rising, it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, 1 1
and the priest shall pronounce him unclean : he shall not
shut him up; for he is unclean. And if the leprosy 12
break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all
the skin of him that hath, the plague from his head even
to his feet, as far as appeareth to the priest; then the 13
priest shall look: and, behold*., .if the leprosy have
covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that
hath the plague : it is all turned white : he is clean. But 14
whensoever raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be un
clean. And the priest shall look on the raw flesh, and 15
pronounce him unclean : the raw flesh is unclean : it is
leprosy. Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed 16
unto white, then he shall come unto the priest, and the 17
priest shall look on him : and, behold, if the plague be
turned into white, then the priest shall pronounce him
clean that hath the plague : he is clean.
9-17 give the diagnostics of a second (or second and third)
case, the identification of which is more difficult owing chiefly to
the uncertainty attaching to a new mark, here rendered ' quick
raw flesh ' (verse 10), and described by Macalister as ' red granu
lation tissue' (DB. iii.. 96 a). The most remarkable feature in the
ceremonial treatment of this form of 'leprosy' is that the patient
ceased to be unclean, although still probably reckoned as a leper
(cf. Naaman's case, 2 Kings v. 1 ff), when his skin had ' all turned
white . . . from his head even to his feet.' Here at least there
can be no question of tubercular elephantiasis, but rather of

94 LEVITICUS 13. 18-27. *
18 And When the flesh hath in the skin thereof a boil,
19 and it is healed, and in the place of the boil there is
a white rising, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it
20 shall be shewed to the priest ; and the priest shall look,
'- and, behold, if the appearance thereof be lower than the
skin, and the hair thereof be turned white, then the
priest shall pronounce him unclean : it is the plague' of
21 leprosy, it hath broken out in the boil. But if the priest
look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein,
and it be not lower than the skin, but be dim, then the
22 priest shall shut him up seven days : and if it spread
abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him
23 unclean: it is a plague. But if the bright spot stay in
' its place, and be not spread, it is the scar of the boil;
and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24 Or When the flesh hath in the skin thereof a burning
by fire, and the quick flesh of the burning become
25 a bright spot, reddish- white, or white ; then the priest
shall look upon it : and, behold, if the hair in the bright
spot be turned white, and the appearance thereof be
' deeper than the skin ; it is leprosy, it hath broken out in
the burning : and the priest shall pronounce him un-
26 clean : it is the plague of leprosy. But if the priest look
on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright
spot, and it be no lower than the skin, but be dim ; then
2 7 the priest shall shut him up seven days : and the priest
shall look upon him the seventh day : if it spread abroad
psoriasis or English leprosy. It has been suggested that a com
plication of this disease with eczema would explain the reference
to the 'raw flesh' which was reckoned 'unclean: it is leprosy'
(verse 15).
18^23, 24-28. Two other cases in which the nidus of the
suspected disease is the scar left by a boil or a burn respectively*
The procedure follows closely that prescribed for the first case.

LEVITICUS 13. 28-36. P 95
in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean :
it is the plague of leprosy. And if the bright spot stay 28
in its place, and be not spread in the skin, but be dim ;
it is the rising of the burning, and the priest shall pro
nounce him clean : for it is the scar of the burning.
And when a man or woman hath a plague upon the 29
head or upon the beard, then the priest shall look on 30
the plague : and, behold, if the appearance thereof be
deeper than the skin, and there be in it yellow thin hair,;
then the priest shall pronounce him unclean : it is a
scall, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. And if 31
the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold,
the appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin, and
there be no black hair in it, then the priest shall, shut up
him that hath the plague of the scall seven days : and in 32
the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague : and,
behold, if the scall be not spread, and there be in it no
yellow hair, and the appearance of the scall be not
deeper than the skin, then he shall be shaven, but the 33
scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up
him that hath the scall seven days more : and in the 34
seventh day the priest shall look on the scall : and,
behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, and the
appearance thereof be not deeper than the skin ; then
the priest shall pronounce him clean : and he shall wash
his clothes, and be clean. But if the scall spread abroad 35
in the skin after his cleansing ; then the priest shall look 36
on him : and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin,

29-37. A disease of the head-hair and beard, the nelhek or scall
(verse 30). Its special diagnostic is the presence of thin yellow
hairs on the affected parts. It is generally agreed that the ' scall '
of this section is a species of ringworm, ' which is a very contagious
disease, due to the presence of a fungus.'

96 LEVITICUS 13. 37-45- P
the priest shall not seek for the, yellow hair ; he is un-
37 clean. But if in his eyes the scall be at a stay, and
black hair be grown up therein ; the scall is healed, he is
clean : and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38 And when a man or a woman hath in the skin of their
39 flesh bright spots, even white bright spots ; then the
priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the.
skin of their flesh be of a dull white ; it is a tetter, it
hath broken out in the skin ; he is clean.
40 And if a man's hair be fallen off his head, he is bald ;
41 yet is he clean And if his hair, be fallen off frpm the
front part of his head, he is forehead bald;: yet is he
42 clean. But if there be in the bald head, or the bald
forehead, a reddish-white plague ; it is leprosy breaking
43 out in his bald head, or his bald forehead. Then the
priest shall look upon him : and, behold, if the rising of
the plague be reddish-white in his bald head, or in his
bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy in the, skin
44 of the flesh ; he is a leprous man, he is unclean : the
priest shall surely pronounce him unclean ; his plague is
in his head.
45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall
be rent, and a the hair of his head shall go loose, and he
shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
1 See ch. x. 6.
38 f. A less serious and ' clean' skin affection termed bohak,
EV 'tetter', which, like scall, denotes, an eruption of the skin. In
parts of Arabia and Syria 'a common eczematous skin disease' is
still known as bahak.
40-44. The last of the skin diseases here included under leprosy.
No penalty, it is comforting to know, attached to natural baldness,
but when attacked on scalp or forehead by ringworm or scald-
head, the patient was treated as a leper.
¦ 45 f. All persons pronounced by a priest to be, suffering from any
of the above diseases are to. be removed outside their town or vii-

LEVITICUS 13.46-51 P 97
All the days wherein the plague is in him he shall be un- 46
clean ; he is unclean : he shall dwell alone ; without the
camp shall his dwelling be.
The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, 47
whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment ;
whether it be in a warp, or woof; of linen,- or of woollen ; 48
whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin ; if the 49
plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the
skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of
skin ; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed
unto the priest : and the priest shall look upon the 5°
plague, and shut up that which hath the plague seven
days : and he shall look on the plague on the seventh 5 1
day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in
11 Or, woven or knitted stuff (and in vv. 49, &c.)
lage, not, as we have seen, on account of the contagious nature of
the disease, but as a consequence of the antique conception of the
contagion of uncleanness. Their condition is to be made known
to all by the prescriptions in the text, which are those elsewhere
applied to mourners for the dead. The covering of the upper lip
is doubtless to be explained by some primitive idea or practice, as
yet obscure. Bertholet remarks here on the incapacity of ' the
antique religion to afford comfort and effective help to the sick ;
this power is first found in Christianity' (Kurzer Hand-commentar
in he.).
47-59. This section, dealing with ' leprosy ' in garments, has
now little more than an antiquarian interest. Not only are
woollen and linen garments affected but ' anything made of skin.'
' There are various moulds and mildews, as well as deposits of the
eggs of moths, which would produce the appearances and effects,
and would call for the remedial measures of the text ' (Creighton,
E. Bi. iii., col. 2764). As the section interrupts the natural con
nexion between the preceding verses and chap, xiv, and has its
own colophon (verse 59), it is probably an independent torah,
inserted here by a later hand. Its later elaboration will be found
in the treatise Negaim, chap. xi.
48. whether it be in warp, or woof: for the accuracy of this
rendering as compared with the margin, with its curious anachron
ism re knitting, see the writer's art. ' Weaving,' E. Bi. iv., col. 5282.
H

98 LEVITICUS 13. 52-59. P
the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever service
skin is, used for; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is
52 unclean. And he shall burn the garment, . whether the
warp or the woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of
skin, wherein, the plague is ; for ,it is a fretting leprosy ;
53 it shall be -burnt, in the fire. And if the priest shalUook,
and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment,
either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of
54 skin ; then the priest shall command that they wash the
thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up
55 seven days more : and the priest shall look, after that
the plague is washed: and, behold, if the plague, have
not changed its colour, and the plague be not spread, it
is unclean ; thou shalt burn it in the fire : it is a fret,
56 » whether the bareness be within or without. And if the
priest look, and, behold, the plague be dim after the
washing thereof, then he shall rend it out of the garment,
or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out ofthe woof:
57 and if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp,
or in the woof, or in any thing of skin, it is breaking out :
thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.
58 And the garment, either the warp, or the woof, or what
soever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the
plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed
59 the second time, and shall be clean. This is the law of
the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen,
a Heb. whether it be bald in the head thereof, or in the forehead
thereof

51, a fretting- leprosy: 'fret' here, as in verse 55, means
' to eat into ' ; cf. P.B. Version of Ps. xxxix. 12, ' like as it were a
moth fretting a garment.' A more modern equivalent is 'malig
nant'. 55. it is a fret : ' it has eaten into the cloth.'

LEVITICUS 14. 1-5. P 99
either in the warp, or the woof, or any thing of skin, to
pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This shall 14 1
be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing : he
shall be brought unto the priest : and the priest shall go 3
forth out of the camp ; and the priest shall look, and,
behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper ;
then shall the priest command to take for him that is to 4
be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and
scarlet, and hyssop : and the priest shall command to 5
Chap. xiv. The serious view taken by the later priestly legis
lators of the danger to the theocratic community arising from the
various forms of uncleanness dealt with in xiii. 1-46, is evidenced
by the unique series of purgation rites which follow in xiv. 1-32.
As these are now arranged, the purification ofthe leper is carried
through in two stages, the first consisting of the antique rite
described in verses 3-8% a purgation rite in the fullest sense ; the
second embracing the elaborate consecration rites detailed in
verses 9-20, and again in verses 21-32.
It needs no great penetration to see that we have here two
originally independent ceremonies of purification, dating from
very different epochs. The two are now artificially united by
the editorial clause forming the latter half of verse 8, in which the
terms ' camp ' and ' tent' are introduced, as is done elsewhere, to
adapt the whole to the situation in the wilderness. By this
means the older rite is reduced to a mere partial purification, pre
liminary to the final and more elaborate ceremony that follows.
In support of this, the modern critical view, the student is asked
to note (1) that the older rite is complete in itself, at the end the
leper is clean (verse 8") ; (2) that the section 14-20 betrays its
later origin by the more distinctly religious motives apparent
throughout, by the application to laymen of a peculiar rite origin
ally confined to the priesthood (see on verses 14 ff.), and by the
abundance of detail generally.
i-8\ The older rite of purification, combining the two uni
versal cathartic media, blood and ' living ' water.
4. cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop : these were also
employed in another purgation ritual retaining several primitive
features, Num. xix. 6 (which see). Cedar, here probably a
species of juniper, cypress, and tamarisk, in virtue of their
H 2

ioo LEVITICUS 14.6-8 P
kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over a running
6 water : as for the living bird, he shall take it, and the
cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall
dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird
7 that was killed over the a running water : and he shall
sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy
seven 'times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall
8 let go the living bird into the open fieldJ And he that
is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off
all his hair, arid bathe himself in water, and he shall be
a Heb. living.
aromatic properties, were added by the Babylonians to water
used for purposes of purification (Jastrow, Die Religion Baby-
loniens, ii. 202)., Red frequently figures in lustration ceremonies
(see notes on Num., I.e.). Hyssop was probably a species of
marjoram, the whole intended to provide a sprinkler for the
application of the blood. As the procedure is described in the
Mishna (Negaim xiv), the cedar rod, a cubit long, the hyssop and
one end of the 'tongue' or strip of scarlet cloth were laid
together, then bound round by the latter, with which ' the tips of
the wings and the end of the tail ' of the living bird were also
bound. 5. over the running water : /)'/. as margin, ' living ' water from
a spring or running stream, not from a cistern or pool. Accord
ing to Negaim, one quarter log — about a quarter of a pint— of
water was put into the vessel.
1. and shall let g-o the living bird into the open field : cf.
verse 53. The nearest O.T. analogy is the scapegoat, or goat
' for Azazel,' in the ritual of the Day of Atonement (xvi. 10, 21 f.).
In both cases we have interesting examples of the retention in the
priestly ritual of the primitive ceremony known as sin-transference
and found all over the world in ancient and modern times, as
students of modern works like Frazer's Golden Bough are aware.
The idea underlying it is that ' the sin can be extracted as if it
were a substance from the person of the sinner, and transferred
into another man or animal, or even an inanimate object ' (Farnell,
Evolution of Religion, 116). An exact parallel to the case before
us is supplied by the 'Arabian custom, when a widow before re
marriage makes a bird fly away with the uncleanness of her
widowhood ' (Rel. Sem.1, 422).
8*. It is a widespread belief among primitive races that the hair
specially harbours impurity, and its removal in similar cases is

LEVITICUS 14. 9-12. P 101
clean : and after that he shall come into the camp, but
shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And it shall be 9
on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off
his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his
hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes,
and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be
clean. And on the eighth day he shall take two he- 10
lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first
year without blemish, and three tenth parts of an ephah
of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil, and one
log of oil. And the priest that cleanseth him shall set u
the man that is to be cleansed, and those things, before
the Lord, at the door of the tent of meeting: and the ia
priest shall take one of the he-lanibs, and offer him for
a guilt offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for
a world-wide practice. The origin and purpose of 8b has been
already explained.
9-20. The older rite, originally complete in itself — note especi
ally the last words of 8a, ' and he shall be clean ' — has now
become a mere preliminary to a much more elaborate and solemn
ceremony, inspired with the theocratic conceptions of the priestly
legislators, by which the leper is reconsecrated a member of the
theocratic community. All the chief A-arieties of offerings, with
the exception of the peace-offering, are prescribed : viz. one he-
lamb for a guilt-offering, another for a burnt-offering, and a year
ling ewe-lamb for a sin-offering (iv. 32), with a quantity of fine
flour as a meal-offering to accompany the burnt-offering.
9. The absence here of any reference to the identical ceremony
in 8a shows the independent origin of this section.
10. three tenth parts of an ephah: in all about i| pecks (see
on v. 11). The log was a liquid measure, containing about a pint
(DB., iv.gnf.).
12. Two points in the ritual here prescribed are noteworthy :
(1) the occurrence of a guilt-offering when there is no question of
misappropriation of property (see on v. 14 ff.), suggesting a similar
confusion to that found in v. 17 ff. — here only is the victim of a
guilt-offering other than a ram ; (2) the introduction of the rite of
waving (cf. verses 21, 24) in an entirely different sense from vii. 30
(see note there). The oil at least did not fall to the priest.

102 LEVITICUS 14. 13-20. P
13 a wave offering before the Lord : and he shall kill the
he-lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and
the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary : for as
the sin offering is the priest's, so is the guilt offering : it
14 is most holy : and the priest shall take of the blood
of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it upon the
tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and
upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great
15 toe of his right foot : and the priest shall take ofthe log
of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand :
16 and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is
in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his
1 7 finger seven times before the Lord : and of the rest of
the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the
tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and
upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great
toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the guilt offering :
18 and the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he
shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed :
and the priest shall make atonement for him before the
19 Lord. And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and
make atonement for him that is to be cleansed because
of his uncleanness ; and afterward he shall kill the burnt
20 offering : and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and
14. See on viii. 23 f. This imitation of the consecration rite of
the priesthood is perhaps intended to emphasize the fact that the
chosen people were called to be ' a kingdom of priests and an holy
nation' (Exod. xix. 6).
15-17. If the blood-rite effects the leper's reconsecration, the
more complex procedure with the oil, recalling as it does the
ancient covenant rite at Sinai (Exod. xxiv. 6-8), is intended to
restore him to his covenant relation with God. The intimate
association, here and in the following verses, of 'atonement'
with cleansing is further evidence that the idea of purification
from sin, in the antique sense of uncleanness, lies at the basis of
the O.T. doctrine of atonement (see above, p 51).

LEVITICUS 14. 21-29. P 103
the meal offering upon the altar : and the priest shall
make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
And if he be poor, and cannot get so much, then he 21
shall take one he-lamb for a guilt offering to be waved,
to make atonement for him, and one, tenth part of an
ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering,
and a log of oil; and two turtledoves, or two young 22
pigeons, such as he is able to get ; and the one shall be
a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. And on 23
the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing
unto the priest, unto the door of the tent of meeting,
before the Lord. And the priest shall take the lamb 24
of the guilt offering, and the log of oil, and the priest
shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord:
and he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering, and the 25
priest shall take of the blood of the guilt offering, and
put it upon the tip of the right, ear of him that is to be
cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and
upon the great toe of his right foot : and the priest shall 26
pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: and 27
the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the
oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord :
and the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand 28
upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed,
and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of
the guilt offering : and the rest of the oil that is in the 29
priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is
to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the
21-32. Provision for less costly offerings in the case of the
poor, similar to the provisions of v. 7 ff. and xii. 8. The demand
for a he-lamb as a guilt-offering remains, but the other two animal
sacrifices are reduced, as in the passages cited, to ' two turtle
doves or two young pigeons,' while the amount ofthe meal- offering

io4 LEVITICUS 14. 30-37. P
3° Lord. And he shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of
31 the young pigeons, such as he is able to get ; even such
as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the
other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering : and
the priest shall make atonement for him that is to be
32 cleansed before the Lord. This is the law of him in
whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to get
that which pertaineth to his cleansing.
33 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
34 saying, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which
I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague
of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
35 then he that owneth the house shall come and tell the
priest, saying, There seemeth to me to be as it were
36 a plague in the house : and the priest shall command
that they empty the house, before the priest go in to see
the plague, that all that is in the house be not made
unclean : and afterward the priest shall go in to see the
37 house : and he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if
the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow
strakes, greenish or reddish, and the appearance thereof
is reduced to one-tenth of an ephah, say half a peck. Otherwise
the procedure is the same. The section has its own colophon
(verse 32), and its separate history. The first clause of verse 31
is a repetition, due to the slip of a copyist, of the last clause of
verse 30.
33-35. Leprosy in houses, a section with a similar history to
that dealing with the leprosy of garments. The disease, if it may
be so called, was evidently caused by some parasitic fungus akin
to that which causes our dry rot. The relative chapters, xii, xiii,
of Negaim should be consulted.
36. be not made nnclean: as a result of the contagion of
ceremonial uncleanness, as in verses 46 f. There is no thought
of the leprosy ' infecting,' in the modern sense, the occupants of
the house.
37. This difficult verse may be freely rendered thus : ' if the
suspected patches on the walls of the house show greenish or

LEVITICUS 14. 38-49. P 105
be lower than the wall ; then the priest shall go out of 38
the house to the door of the house, and shut up the
house seven days : and the priest shall come again the 39
seventh day, and shall look : and, behold, if the plague
be spread in the walls of the house ; then the priest 4°
shall command that they take out the stones in which
the plague is, and cast them into an unclean place with
out the city : and he shall cause the house to be scraped 4'
within round about, and they shall pour out the mortar
that they scrape off without the city into an unclean
place : and they shall take other stones, and put them in 42
the place of those stones ; and he shall take other mortar,
and shall plaister the house. And if the plague come 43
again, and break out in the house, after that he hath
taken out the stones,. and after he hath scraped the house,
and after it is plaistered ; then the priest shall come in 44
and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the
house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house : it is unclean.
And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and 45
the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house ; and
he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean
place. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the 46
while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.
And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes ; 47
and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.
And if the priest shall come in, and look, and, behold, 4S
the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house
was plaistered ; then the priest shall pronounce the house
clean, because the plague is healed. And he shall take 49
reddish depressions,' — cf. the description of the mould in xiii.
49, — •' and if the discoloration is found to have penetrated beneath
the surface of the plaster (cf. xiii. 3), then the priest,' &C.
44. For 'fretting,' or malignant, leprosy, see on xiii. 51.

106 LEVITICUS 14. 50— 15. 2. P
to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and
5° scarlet, and hyssop : and he shall kill one of the birds in
5 1 an earthen vessel over a running water : and he shall take
the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the
living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird,
and in the a running water, and sprinkle the house seven
53 times : and he shall cleanse the house with the blood of
the bird, and with the "running water, and with the living
bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssops and
53 with the scarlet : but he shall let go the living bird out
ofthe city into the open field : so shall he make atone
ment for the house : and it shall be clean.
54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy,
55 and for a scall ; and for the leprosy of a garment, and
56 for a house ; and for a rising, and for a scab, and for
57 a bright spot : to teach when it is unclean, and when it is
clean : this is the law of leprosy.
15 And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
a Heb. living.
49-53. A ceremony of purification similar to that with which
the chapter opened.
54-57. A comprehensive colophon giving a summary of the
contents of chaps, xiii — xiv in their present form.
(d) xv. Laws concerning the uncleanness of issues.
The last of the sources of ceremonial impurity embraced in this
manual of purification (xi — xv) deals with secretions and dis
charges, both normal and diseased, from the sexual organs of
man (verses 1-18) and woman (19-30), with a summary con
clusion (31-33). The remarks prefixed to the notes on chaps, xi
and xii apply equally to the contents of this chapter. Modern
anthropological research has shown that we have here to do with
an attitude towards the sexual functions that is world-wide.
1-15. Uncleanness caused by discharges from the urethra of
males; 'his flesh' is a well-understood euphemism (cf. vi. 3).

-LEVITICUS 15. 3ri3- P 107
When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, because of
his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his unclean- 3
ness in his issue : whether his flesh run with his issue,
or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his unclean
ness. Every bed whereon he that hath the issue lieth 4
shall be unclean : and every thing whereon he sitteth
shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth his bed 5
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and
be unclean until the even. And he that sitteth on any 6
thing whereon he that hath the issue sat shall wash his
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until
the even. And, he that toucheth the - flesh of him that 7
hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself
in water, and be unclean until the 'even. And if he that 8
hath the issue spit upon him that is clean ; then he shall
wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be
unclean until the even. And what a saddle soever he 9
that hath the issue rideth upon shall be unclean. And 10
whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall
be unclean until the even : and he that beareth those
things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water,
and be unclean until the even. And whomsoever he 11
that hath the issue toucheth, without having rinsed his
hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe
himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And 1 2
the earthen vessel, which he that hath the issue toucheth,
shall be broken : and every vessel of wood shall be
rinsed in water. And when he that hath an issue is 13
1 Or, carriage
The contagion of such uncleanness— so also that of verses 25-30—
occupies a position as to intensity midway between minor states
of impurity which were removed by bathing and the culminating
impurity of 'leprosy' (see verses 14 f. compared with xiv. 10 ff.).

108 LEVITICUS 15. 14-22. P
cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself
seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and
he shall bathe his flesh in a running water, and shall be
14 clean. And on the eighth day he shall take to him two
turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the
Lord unto the door of the tent of meeting, and give
15 them unto the priest : and the priest shall offer them,
the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offer
ing ; and the priest shall make atonement for him before
the Lord for his issue.
16 And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him,
then he shall bathe all his flesh in water,' and be unclean
17 until the even. And every garment, and every skin,
whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with
18 water, and be unclean until the even. The woman also
with whom a man shall lie with seed of copulation, they
shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean
until the even.
19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her
flesh be blood, she shall be in her b impurity seven days :
and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the
20 even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her
h impurity shall be unclean : every thing also that she
2 1 sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth
her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in
22 water,and be unclean until the even. And whosoever
a Heb. living. *> Or, separation
16-18. Not only does an involuntary emissio seminis pollute
(cf. Deut. xxiii. 10), but also the exercise of conjugal rights (for
the latter see Rel. Sem.2, 158, 4546".). Verse 18 should run : 'if
a man lie with a woman,' &c.
19-24. Uncleanness caused by the menstrual discharge. In
this condition, as in childbirth, women were, and among primitive
races still are, regarded as 'charged with a mysterious baneful

LEVITICUS 15. 23-30. P 109
toucheth any thing that she sitteth upon shall wash his
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until
the even. And if it be on theibed, or on any thing 23
whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be
unclean until the even. And if any: man lie with her, 24
and her impurity be upon him, he shall be unclean
seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be
unclean. And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days 25
not in the time of her impurity, or if she have an issue
beyond the time of her impurity ; all the days of the
issue of her uncleanness she shall be as in the days of
her impurity : she is unclean. Every bed whereon she 26
lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the
bed of her impurity: and every thing whereon she
sitteth shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her
impurity. And whosoever toucheth those things shall 27
be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe him
self in water, and be unclean until the even. But if she 28
be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to her
self seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And 29
on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtledoves,
or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to
the door of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall 30
offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt
energy ' and the centre of ' the action of superhuman agencies of
a dangerous kind ' (see Rel. Sem.2, 447 ff. ; Frazer, Golden Bough,
i. 325 ff., iii. 222 ff.). Proof of the early existence in South Arabia
of the almost universal taboo specified in verse 24 (cf. xviii. 19,
xx. 18, both H) has recently been found in the shape of tablets
set up in sanctuaries recording confessions of its breach ; they are
quoted in extenso by Nielsen, Altarab. Mondreligion, 206 f.
25-30. Uncleanness caused by an abnormal ' issue of blood '
(cf. Matt. ix. 20, Luke viii. 43). The purification required is of
the same degree as for the major impurity of males.

no LEVITICUS 15. 31— 16. 1 P
offering ; and the priest shall make atonement for her
before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness.
31 Thus shall ye separate the children : of/. Israel from
their uncleanness; that they die not in their unclean?
ness, when they defile my tabernacle that is in the
midst of them. - . 1
33 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him
whose seed of copulation goeth from him, so that he
33 is unclean thereby;' and of her that is sick with her
impurity, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and
of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is
unclean.
16 And the Lord spake unto Moses, after the death of
31. Thus shaU ye separate: read with the Versions, 'thus
shall ye warn ... as regards their uncleanness.'
when they defile my tabernacle : lit. ' my dwelling,' cf. Num.
xix. 13, 20. The uncleanness of the people, injures the holiness of
Yahweh, who dwells among them (Exod. xxv. 8), and the conse
quence of His injured holiness is death. This idea of the infection
of the sanctuary is prominent in the following chapter, and is
characteristic both of the Law of Holiness and of Ezekiel.
(e) xvi. The Day of Atonement.
To the preceding laws of uncleanness and purification there has
appropriately been appended the ritual of the most solemn and
most intense of all the purification ceremonies of the Jewish law.
The day on which it fell, the tenth of the seventh month (Tishri),
received the name of 'the day of (purification and) expiation'
(xxiii. 27 f., xxv. 9— for this rendering, see note on iv. 20),
shortened in later times to Yomd, ' the day ' par excellence. The
unique and impressive ritual of the day of atonement, to retain
the current designation, is the culmination and crown of the
sacrificial worship of the Old Testament.
The problems which this chapter presents to the modern
student are both literary and historical. The importance of the
chapter from both these points of view demands a fuller treatment
than can be given here, and accordingly a note has been appended
at the end of the volume in which the literary analysis and the
history and significance of the rite are more adequately discussed

LEVITICUS 16. 2. P in
the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the
Lord, and died ; and the Lord said unto Moses, Speak 2
unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times
into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat
which is upon the ark ; that he die not:, for I will appear
in the light of recent investigation. (See Additional Note A.,
The Day of Atonement?) With regard to the former, the literary
history of the chapter, it must suffice here to note the four distinct
elements of which it is now composed : (1) the original kernel,
which probably stood in Pe immediately after x. 1-5, 12-15, giv
ing special directions as to the occasions on which, with due
precautions, Aaron is to be permitted to enter the most holy place
(see on verse 2 below) ; (2) this kernel is now reduced to verses
1-3% and perhaps 4, 12 £ 341', the greater part having been sup
pressed by a later hand to make way for an ancient purgation rite,
which, it may be conjectured, formerly obtained at the local
sanctuaries (3b, 5-10) ; (3) this rite was expanded by still another
hand into the form now given in verses 11-28, the earlier form
being retained as a summary introduction (cf. the analogous pro
cedure in chap, xiv) ; (4) verses 29-34, a section independent of
all the foregoing (see below). Further regulations for the observ
ance of ' the day ' are found in xxiii. 26-32, xxv. 9, Exod. xxx. 10,
and Num. xxix. 7-11.
1 f. The death of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, in the cir
cumstances narrated in x. 1 f., gives occasion for instructions as
to the times at which, and the manner in which, the High Priest
is to enter the immediate presence of Yahweh, represented by the
mystic ' cloud upon the mercy seat ' (cf. Exod. xxv. 22, xl. 34).
that he come not at all times : i .e. not at any and every time,
as may seem good to him. The majesty and almost unapproach
able holiness of Yahweh require that even His earthly represen
tative shall approach His presence only at such times and with
such precautions as the divine Sovereign shall appoint (Exod.
xxxiii. 20). The similarity of the precautions to those adopted
for the annual expiation ceremony in the sequel has led to the
fusion of the two originally independent rituals, while the necessary
specification of the proper time or times has been dropped as incon
sistent with the single entry of the later rite (verse 34).
into the holy place within the veil : the inner sanctuary of the
Tent of Meeting, see Exod. xxvi. 33, where, however, it is termed
' the most holy place,' the outer sanctuary being ' the holy place.'
This chapter is unique in applying the latter term to the inner
shrine (verses 3, 16, 20), and in using the inexact term ' tent of
meeting' for the outer (16, 20, and 33, where see note).

ii? LEVITICUS 16.3-7. ~P
3 in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. Herewith shall Aaron
come into the holy place : with a young bullock for a sm1
4 offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put
on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen
breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the
linen girdle, and with the linen a mitre shall he be.
attired : they are the holy garments ; and he shall bathe
5 his flesh in water, and put them on. And he shall take
of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats
6 for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And
Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin offering, which
is for, himself, and make atonement for himself, and. for
7 his house. And he shall take the two goats, and set
" Or, turban
3-28. The ritual of the annual ceremony of purification and
expiation. These verses, as has been briefly indicated, include
two parallel and independent descriptions of this ceremony, each
originally complete in itself, and now corresponding in the main
to verses 3b, 5-10, and verses 11-28 respectively.
4. This verse breaks the connexion between 3b and 5ff., and
may have belonged originally to PB's directions as to the High
Priest's entry (cf. i2f.). The latter is to lay aside on this occasion
his ornate and semi-regal vestments (viii. 7ff.), and to put on 'the
holy garments ' of white linen, the symbol of purity. He is to
enter the presence of the Deity as a humble suppliant.
5-10. Read by itself, without regard to the rest of the chapter,
this section will be found to give a complete, if summary, descrip
tion of a simple and antique purgation ceremony. The latter
consists of three parts : (1) the sacrifice of a bullock as a sin-
offering for the priesthood — how could Aaron be said ' to make
atonement for himself and for his house' without slaying and
offering the victim '—(2) the sacrifice of a goat, determined by lot,
as a sin-offering for the people (note the explicit words of 9b) ;
(3) the sending away, after certain rites had been performed over
him, of a second, live, goat to 'Azazel, into the wilderness.' As
has been already pointed out, the verses have been retained by
the final editor as giving a summary of the more detailed ritual of
verses 11-28, a purpose clearly foreign to the intention of their
author.

LEVITICUS 16. 8-1 1. P 113
them before the Lord at the door of the tent of meet
ing. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats ; 8
one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for a Azazel.
And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot 9
fell for the Lord, and offer him for a sin offering. But 10
the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set
alive before the Lord, to make atonement ° for him, to
send him away for Azazel into the wilderness. And n
Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin offering, which
is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself,
and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin
" Or, dismissal b Or, over
8. the other lot for Azazel : a mysterious demon or spirit of
the desert (cf. xvii. 7), of which the name, origin, and significance
are alike matters of conjecture. In later Jewish literature (Bcok
of Enoch) Azazel appears as the prince of the fallen angels, the
offspring of the unions described in Gen. vi. 1 ff. The familiar
rendering 'scapegoat,' i.e. the goat which is allowed to escape,
goes back to the caper emissarius of the Vulgate, and is based on
an untenable etymology. The same applies to the marginal
rendering ' dismissal.'
10. to make atonement for him : render, ' to perform over
him (so margin) the expiatory rites' ; these were probably similar
to those described in verse 21, but here they are assumed to be
known by tradition to the officiating priest, This fact, together
with the presence of the antique rite of sin-transference (see on
xiv. 7), suggests that we have to do here not with a late post-exilic
innovation, as is thecurrent critical view, but with the reintroduc-
tion of an early purification rite, in use in former days at the local
sanctuaries, to which, as it happens, no reference has been pre
served in the pre-exilic literature, Have we here, then, a fresh
illustration of the paradox that there are no inventions in ritual,
only: survivals 1 See the.more detailed treatment of the origin and
history of the rite in Note A.
1 1-28. With verse 11 we enter the full stream of the later and
more developed ritual of the Day of Atonement. That we have
here a parallel to the older rite above described is seen from the
verbatim repetition of verse 6. ! By the addition of the words ' he
shall kill,' &c, in nb and 15*, the previous instructions of verse 6
and the still more explicit command of 9b are made to appear as
1

ii4 LEVITICUS 16. 12-15. F
12 offering which is for himself: and he shall take a censer
full of coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord,
and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and
13 bring it within the veil: and he shall put the incense
upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the
incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testi-
r4 mony, that he die not : and he shall take of the blood
of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the
mercy-seat on the east; and before the mercy-seat shall
he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for
the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do
merely pointing forward to the section we have now reached.
Here, too, the expiatory rites, in the strict sense, are accomplished
by three stages, detailed in verses 11-14, 15-19, 20-22 respectively,
which are followed by certain concluding ceremonies (23-28).
The first stage embraces three separate 'actions,' the slaughter of
the priests' sin-offering, the incensing of the inner sanctuary, and
the manipulation of the blood, likewise ' within the veil.'
12 f. The High Priest's first entry into the inner sanctuary.
The mercy-seat, or propitiatory (see Bennett, Cent. Bible, Exod. xxv.
17 ff.), as the earthly throne of the divine King (Exod. xxv. 22),
whom to see is death (ib., xxxiii. 20), must be veiled with a cloud
of incense before the blood is brought in. ' The testimony ' is
here, as Num. xvii. 4, the 'ark of the testimony,' so called because
it contained 'the tables of the testimony,' as the decalogue is
termed by P.
14. The High Priest's second entry with the blood of his sin-
offering. The unique character of the Day of Atonement is
nowhere more significantly expressed than by the provision, con
fined to its solemn ritual, that the blood of the sin-offerings (see
verse 15) is to be brought into the immediate presence of God,
and sprinkled upon His throne. Even in the case of the higher
grade of the ordinary sin-offering, the blood is brought no farther
than the outer sanctuary ' before the veil ' (iv. 6, 17) ; on the great
day of national expiation alone is it brought ' within the veil.'
15-19. The second stage of the ceremony, in which by means
of the blood of the people's sin-offering, the goat on which the
* lot for Yahweh ' had fallen, the inner sanctuary — here termed
'the holy place,' — the outer sanctuary — here termed 'the tent of

LEVITICUS 16. 1 6-1 8. P 115
with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock,
and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the
mercy-seat : and he shall make atonement for the holy 16
place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of
Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their
sins : and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that
dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when 17
he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until
he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and
for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the 18
Lord, and make atonement for it; and shall take of
the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat,
and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
meeting' (see above), — and the altar of burnt- offering are in suc
cession cleansed and hallowed ' from the uncleannesses of the
children of Israel ' (verse 19). Underlying this stage of the ritual
we have the now familiar conception of the physical contagion of
sin and uncleanness. The infection has passed to the sanctuary
from the people among whom it dwelt (verse 16), and the resulting
defilement has to be annually removed by the application of the
most potent cathartic of the Jewish ritual, the blood of the special
sin-offering. The lustration ceremonies of the Greek and Roman
religions offer many parallels. For the idea of cleansing and
purification — the expiatio of the Vulgate — here conveyed by the
verb (kipper) rendered ' make atonement for,' see the note on iv. 20
(note esp. Ezek. xliii. 20, 26, A.V., there cited). Ezekiel has two
days of ' atonement,' that is, two purification ceremonies, for his
temple, one in the first and the other in the seventh month (xiv.
18 ff.).
15. The High Priest's third entry 'within the veil.'
18. Be shall g-o ont unto the altar that is before the LORD :
this can be no other than the altar of burnt-offering, as in verse 12 ;
its purification carried with it that of the court of the Tabernacle in
which it stood. For harmonistic reasons this verse has been
wrongly supposed to refer to the similar rite which Exod. xxx. 10
prescribes for the altar of incense ; this altar, however, is mentioned
only in the latest strata of P (see art. ' Tabernacle ' in DB., iv.664b,
and note that in verse 12 a censer is still used).
I 2

116 LEVITICUS 16. 19-22. P
19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his
finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from
20 the uncleannesses of the children of Israel. And when
he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and
the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the
21 live goat: and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the
head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniqui
ties of the children of Israel, and. all their transgressions,
even all their sins ;- and he shall put them upon the head
of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a
22 man a that is in readiness into the wilderness : and the
goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a
solitary, land : and he shall let go the goat in the wilder-
* Or, appointed
20-22. The third stage of the ritual of expiation, the confession
by the High Priest of the people's sins and their solemn trans
ference to the head of a living goat — that on which the ' lot for
Azazel ' had fallen — by which they are carried away ' unto a solitary
land.' 21. and confess over him aU the iniquities, &c. : opinion is
divided as to the interpretation of these words, some taking them
in their literal sense and maintaining that ' the sacrifices of this day
made atonement for all sins of every kind, whether done involun
tarily or deliberately'; others with more reason hold that the
words must be interpreted in the light of ' the general theory of
the priestly legislation,' according to which the sin-offering made
expiation only for sins committed ' unwittingly,? not for those com
mitted 'with a high hand' (for this' distinction see note on iv. 2,
and more fully Driver's art. ' Atonement, Day of,' in DB., i. 201 f.).
The words ofthe High Priest's confession at a later date are given
in the Mishna treatise Yomd, vi. 2 (quoted by Driver, op. at.).
he shall put them upon the head of the goat: for this
widely spread conception of sin-transference, see the authorities
cited in the note on xiv. 7, where we find the closest analogy to
the rite of the ' scapegoat.'
22. the groat shall hear npon him all their iniquities into
a solitary land : in later times the goat was led to a lofty precipice
in the wilderness about 12 miles east of Jerusalem, over which it
was thrown backwards, to be dashed in pieces on the rocks below
( Yomd, vi. 6 ff. ). The idea here is that the uncleanness caused by

LEVITICUS 16. 23-29. P 117
ness. And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, 23
and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on
when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them
there : and he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy 24
place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and
offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the
people, and make atonement for himself and for the
people. And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn 25
upon the altar. And he- that letteth go the goat for 26
Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in
water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And 27
the bullock of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin
offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement
in the holy place, shall be carried forth without the
camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and
their flesh, and their dung. And he that burneth them 28
shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and
afterward he shall come into the camp.
And it shall be a statute for ever unto you : in the 29
seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall
the sins of the year was not merely symbolically but physically
conveyed from the holy land of Yahweh into a land unclean and
the habitation of the spirits of uncleanness.
23-25. That the essential expiatory rites have now been
accomplished — verse 25 and the last clause of verse 24 are later
glosses — is seen in the removal by the High Priest of 'the holy
garments,' which remained permanently in the tent of meeting.
The motive for this procedure is that given by Ezek. xliv. 19 : it is
a precaution against the dangerous contagion of holiness (for
Arabian parallels, see Rel. Sem?, 451 f.), which also explains the
ritual of the bath prescribed in verses 4 and 24 ; cf. also 28.
26. On precisely the same line of primitive thought identical
precautions are prescribed against the contagion of uncleanness.
29-34. An entirely independent law, addressed to the people,
fixing the date and containing other important provisions for the
observance ofthe Day of Atonement (cf. xxiii. 26-32).
29. in the seventh month : reckoning from Nisan (Exod. xii. 2)

n8 LEVITICUS 16. 30-34. P
afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work,
the homeborn, or the stranger that sbjourneth among
30 you : for on this day shall atonement be made for you,
to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean
31 before the Lord. It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto
you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for
32 ever. And the priest* who shall be anointed and who
shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead,
shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen
33 garments, even the holy garments : and he shall make
atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make
atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar;
and he shall make atonement for the priests and for
34 all the people of the assembly. And this shall be an
everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the
children of Israel because of all their sins once in the
year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.
the seventh month is Tishri, corresponding approximately to
October, according to the phases of the moon.
ye shall afflict yonr souls : ' the phrase denotes the self-
denial and abstention accompanying a fast' (Driver). This is the
only fast commanded in the Pentateuch, hence in N. T. times the
Day of Atonement was also termed ' the Fast ' (Acts xxvii. 9).
30. A striking confirmation of the view advocated in this com
mentary that the idea of purification from sin, conceived as unclean
ness, gives the key to the priestly theory of ' atonement.'
31. a sabbath of solemn rest: Heb. shabbaih skabbathon,
'a sabbath of sabbatical observance,' an expression peculiar to the
priestly writings, and applied originally to the weekly Sabbath
(Exod. xxxi. 15 ; Lev. xxiii. 3, &c). Cf. xxiii. 32, as here of ' the
Day,' also xxv. 4, of the sabbatical year.
33. the holy sanctuary: a unique designation of the most holy
place ofthe Tabernacle (see on verse 2), explained by the difference
of source.
34. The closing sentence has no relevance here. It may have
been the close of the original kernel from Pe.
For the importance of the Day of Atonement for the religious
life of Judaism, see the additional Note A at the end of the
volume.

LEVITICUS 17—26

"9

Fourth Division. Chapters XVII-XXVI.
The Holiness Code.
It has long been recognized that the contents of these ten
chapters are distinguished from the main body of P by peculiari
ties of expression, by differences in the formulation of the laws,
and by certain characteristic ideas, which together give this section
an individuality of its own, and mark it out as an independent
law-code. From the stress laid on the holiness of Yahweh as the
motive for the attainment of holiness, moral and ceremonial, on
the part of His people, the appropriate name of the Holiness
Code, or Law of Holiness, is now given to this division of
Leviticus. The leading features of the Holiness Code (symbol H), and the
problems which it presents to the student of the Pentateuch, have
been discussed in some detail in the Introduction. The con
clusions there adopted may be thus summarized : (i) the author
of H was a priest living probably in the closing decades of the
monarchy, at a time when the reform movement inaugurated by
the publication of D had spent its force ; (2) the code was com
piled largely from pre-existing literary material derived from
more than one source, as is shown by the duplication of several
enactments (cf. especially chaps xviii and xx) ; (3) H was
incorporated, with modifications and additions, into the main body
of the priestly legislation (Pe) by a redactor (Rp) working from
the standpoint of the latter. While the three stages thus indi
cated afford the most probable solution of the literary problems
presented by chapters xvii-xxvi, it is no longer possible, in every
case, to distinguish with certainty the several strata.
A logical subdivision of the contents of these chapters is im
practicable, owing to the great variety of topics dealt with and
the lack of systematic arrangement. In the notes the following
sections — the contents of which are summarized below — have
been adopted for convenience : (a) xvii, (b) xviii — xx, (c) xxi—
xxii, (d) xxiii — xxv, («) xxvi.
(a) xvii. Laws relating to sacrifice and kindred topics.
Like the earier legislative codes, the Book of the Covenant and
D, the Holiness Code opens with a section devoted to sacrifice,
and closes with an address (chap, xxvi) urging obedience to the
preceding laws (cf. Exod. xx. 24-26, and xxiii. 20-33; Deut. xii
and xxviii). This opening section of H now contains five dis
tinct enactments, of which four are introduced by the formula,
'whatsoever man there be of the house (children) of Israel that . . .'
(verses 3, 8, 10, 13). The fifth has an entirely different formula
tion, and on other grounds as well must have had a different origin.
Of the preceding four, the first enactment (3-7), as will presently

iW LEVITICUS 17. 1-3.' H
172 [H] Arid' the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak
unto Aaron, and unto hissons, and unto all the children of
Israel, and say unto them ; This is the thing which the
3 Lord hath commanded, saying, What man soever there
be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or Jamb, or
appear, has been considerably expanded from the form in which
it was originally formulated. . v
1 f. An" introduction partly at least, if not wholly, from the
hand of the editor who incorporated H with Pe^ note JP's charac-,
teristic phrase 'Aaron and his sons' — in H the rank and file of
the priesthood are the 'brethren' of the High Priest (xxi; io)—
and the unusual ^association of priesthood and laity in legislative
address' (cf. xxii. 18).
3-7. The first of the five enactments above referred to, in
which it is laid down (1) that every act of slaughtering a domestic
animal for food is a sacrificial act; (2) that sacrifice must be
offered to Yahweh alone; and (3) that only at the one central
sanctuary can such sacrifice be legitimately offered. The last two
requirements, it will be observed, are the special subject of the
second enactment in verses 8 and 9. This fact, together with the
presumption that the latter verses in their concise formulation
approach more nearly to the original form of the laws of this
section, suggests that the preceding verses have undergone con
siderable editorial expansion. Originally, in, all probability^ the
law merely embodied in juristic form the antique Seinitic concep
tion that all slaughter was sacrifice, and may have run as follows:
' Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel that killeth (for
food) an ox or a lamb or a goat, and hath not brought it before
Yahweh, blood shall be imputed to that man ... . his people.' The
observance of such a law, the existence of which as a parti of the
customary law of the Hebrews is vouched for by the early narra
tive 1 Sam. xiv. 32-35, was only possible under the monarchy
so long as the village sanctuaries or ' high places ' were recognized
as legitimate places of sacrificial worship (cf. the early law of
Exod. xx. 24).
For the compiler of H, however, these latter were illegitimate
(see xxvi. 30), and he seems to have given the law a new applica
tion by taking the verb 'to kill ' in the sense of sacrificial slaughter,
by limiting the place of worship to the temple through the in-
sertibn of ' the dwelling of before Yahweh in verse 4, and by
adding the new motive in verses 5 and 7 (for which see notes
below\ The result, as has been said, has been to anticipate the
provisions of the second enactment (verses 8 f.). It must be added

LEVITICUS 17. 4r-y. H 121
goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without the camp, and 4
hath not brought it unto the door of the tent of meeting,
to offer it as an oblation unto the Lord before the taber
nacle of the Lord : blood shall be imputed unto that
man ; he hath shed blood ; and that man shall be cut off
from among his people: to the end that the children of 5
Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in
the open field, even that they may bring them unto the
Lord, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the
priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace offerings
unto the Lord. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood 6
upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tent of
meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the
Lord. And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices 7
unto the a he-goats, after whom they go a whoring. This
a Or, satyrs
that other explanations have been given of the history and meaning
of these difficult verses.
All critical scholars, however, recognize that the law as formu
lated in H received considerable additions from the priestly editor
(Rp) with a view to accommodate the law more completely to the
presuppositions of P's legislation. Such are the references to
the wilderness camp (verse 3), 'the door of the tent of meeting'
(4 ff., cf. 9), and the everlasting statute of 7b — all well-known
characteristics of P. The ritual directions of verse 6 are also
more in the style of P than of H.
4. blood shall he imputed : ' blood ' is here used in the sense
of 'the guilt of blood,' as in Deut. xxi. 8, 'and the blood shall be
forgiven them,' and Psalm li. 14, 'deliver us from blood-guiltiness'
(literally ' from blood ').
cut off from among his people : see note on vii. 20.
5. The result of editorial expansion is very evident in the
awkward construction of this verse — ' that the children of Israel
may bring . , . even that they may bring . . . tent of meeting';
the latter clause from Rp (see above).
T. the he-g-oats : margin ' satyrs,' as in the text of Isa. xiii. 21,
xxxiv. 14, goat-shaped demons of the desert, the Hebrew counter
parts of the Arabian jinn, and of the satyrs and fauns of classical
mythology. According to the original text of 2 Kings xxiii. 8
(see Skinner, Cent. Bible in he), these satyrs were publicly

122 LEVITICUS 17. 8-12. H
shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their
generations.
8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there
be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn
among them, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,
9 and bringeth it not unto the door of the tent of meeting,
to sacrifice it unto the Lord ; even that man shall be
cut off from his people.
i° And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel,
or of the strangers that sojourn among thenvthat eateth
any manner of blood ; I will set my face against that
soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among
n his people. For the alife of the flesh is in the blood :
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atone
ment for your souls : for it is the blood that maketh
12 atonement by reason of the a life. Therefore I said unto
the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood,
a Heb. soul.
worshipped in Jerusalem in the days of Josiah. From the refer
ences in Jeremiah and Ezekiel — see especially the classical passage
Ezek. viii — it is evident that there was a vigorous recrudescence
of; forbidden cults in the closing years of the Jewish monarchy
(cf. on xx. 2 below), the period to which the compilation of
the Holiness Code probably belongs.
after whom they g-o a whoring :r this strong expression is
frequently employed by Hebrew writers, from Exod. xxxiv. 15 f.
onwards, in the sense of religious infidelity, the worship of other
deities than Yahweh.
8 f. Yahweh is the sole object of worship both for the native
Israelite and for ' the strangers (lit. ' sojourners ') that sojourn
among them.' The ger or sojourner was a non-Israelite admitted
to a modified civil and religious status, with corresponding rights
and duties. In the original torah verse 9 probably ran : ' and
bringeth it not to sacrifice it unto Yahweh,' &c.
10-12. The third enactment reinforces the universal prohibition
ofthe eating of blood (iii. 17, vii. 26 f.), so frequently emphasized
by the Hebrew legislators, see Gen. ix. 4 (P) ; Deut. xii. 16,
23-35, xv. 23 (D) ; Lev. xix. 26 (also H). Down to the present
day this prohibition has been scrupulously observed by the Jews,

LEVITICUS 17. 13-15. H 123
neither shall- any stranger that sojourneth among you
eat blood.
And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, 13
or of the strangers that sojourn among them, which
taketh in hunting any beast or fowl that may be eaten ;
he shall pour out the blood thereof,! and cover : it with
dust. For as~to theiife of all fleshy the blood thereof is 14
all one with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the
children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner
of flesh : for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof :
whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul 15
that eateth a that which dieth of itself, or that which is
a Heb. a carcase.
who take elaborate precautions to secure that all flesh intended
for human food shall be thoroughly drained of its blood.
The interest of this passage, however, centres in the explana
tion of the universal blood taboo given in verse 11. The blood
which contains 'the life,' literally 'the soul' or principle of life
(cf. Gen. ix. 4 ; Deut. xii. 23, and verse 14 of this chapter), is
withdrawn from ordinary use as an article of food, because it has
been reserved by God for a special and sacred purpose. By
divine appointment blood is the medium for the expiation of the sins
of men. It ' makes atonement,' however, not qua blood, but ' by
reason of the life,' i. e. in virtue ofthe life that is in it (contrast the
false rendering of A.V. here). The Hebrew lawgiver does not
take the final step and explain how the life that is in the blood
makes expiation ; in other words the so-called substitutionary theory
of the atonement, the principle of a life for a life, is not explicitly
taught in this passage, although the thought lies near (see further
the discussion on pp. 51-53 above, and the writer's art. ' Sacri
fice ' in Hastings's DB. (1909), 816-818).
13 f. The fourth enactment is merely a special application of
the preceding to the case of clean beasts and birds caught in
hunting, but inadmissible as sacrificial victims (see p. 36). The
blood in this case is to be allowed to flow away freely, and then
to be covered with earth, the latter an additional prescription to
the parallel command in Deut. xii. 16, 24.
14. The text of the first clause is improved by omitting a
single word with LXX and Vulg. and reading : 'for the life of all
flesh is the blood thereof; cf. verse 11.
15 f. The closing enactment, probably from Ri*— note the dif-

124 LEVITICUS 17. 16— 18. 2. H
torn of beasts, whether he be homeborn or a stranger, he
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and
16 be unclean until the even : then shall he be clean. But
if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall
bear his iniquity.
18 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
ferent introduction, 'every soul that . . .'—deals with two varieties
of forbidden flesh, for which the technical terms are nebhelah and
terephah. The former corresponds to the Scots ' braxy,' applied
to sheep, and denotes the flesh of an animal that has succumbed
to .organic disease and died a natural death. The latter is ' torn
flesh,' as explained in the text. Both categories are here tabooedj'
clearly on the -ground that in neither case was the flesh properly
drained of its blood. The legislator, however, seems not to intend
an absolute prohibition, provided the eater timeously removes the
uncleanness he has contracted. In any case, the law as here
formulated is more stringent than in Deut. xiv. 21, which limits
the prohibition of 'braxy ' to the native Israelite. See Driver's
Deuteronomy 164 ff., where the mutual relation of the various
laws on this subject is discussed, and cf. xi. 39 f. above.
(b) xviii — xx. Laws relating chiefly to social morality.
In this section of the Holiness Code the legislator passes from
the laws of the cultus to the foundation principles of social
morality. The first place among these is given to the institution
of marriage, and the degrees within which ' it is to be permitted.
Chastity and other religious and moral duties are enforced, the
latter particularly' in chap. xix. The method adopted by the
author of the code (Rh) is best seen in chaps, xviii and xx. In
these, two originally independent but parallel series of toroth,
whose comparative antiquity is reflected in their terse formulation
and in the use of the second person singular, have been taken up
by Rh and fitted each with an introductory exhortation and a con
cluding admonition (see below), distinguished from the earlier
laws by the plural form of address. In these parenetic passages
the ideas and expressions which give so distinctive a character to
the Holiness Code are specially prominent. The hand of R» is
much less in evidence in chaps, xviii-xx than in chap, xvii ; the
opening verses of each chapter are in whole or in part from his
pen (note especially ' the congregation of the children of Israel '
in xix. 2, a characteristic of P).
xviii. 1-5. An exhortation introductory to the main body of the
laws (6-23).- As framed by Rh it began and ended with the

LEVITICUS 1 8. 3-6. H 125
the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord
your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, 3
wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do : and after the doings
of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not
do : neither shall ye walk in their statutes. My judge- 4
ments shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk
therein : I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore 5
keep my statutes, and my judgements : which if a man
do, he shall live a in them : I am the Lord.
None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin 6
1 Or, by
solemn reminder, ' I (am) Yahweh.' This expression is found
about fifty times in all in the Holiness Code, sometimes alone, as
in verses 5, 21 of this chapter, and eight times in chap, xix ; more
frequently with a qualifying addition, such as ' I (am) Yahweh,
your (their) God ' (xviii. 2, 4, 30, and elsewhere) ; or ' I (am)
Yahweh who sanctifieth you ' (xx. 8, and xxi. 8, &c.) ; or again in
the form ' I, Yahweh (your God), am holy' (xix. a, xx. 26). This
continually recurring emphasis of the name and attributes of
Israel's covenant God gives a peculiar solemnity to the demands
of the Holiness Code. These may be ' summarily comprehended '
in the words of xix. 2 : * Ye shall be holy : for I Yahweh your
God am holy.' The converse of this demand is the summons to
abjure the abominations of the heathen neighbours of Israel, and
in particular those of the former inhabitants of Canaan, whom
Yahweh had 'cast out from before' His people (xviii. 3, 24 ft".,
xx. 22 f.).
5. he shaU live in them: rather, as margin, 'by them'; cf.
Ezek. xx. 11, 13, 21.
6-23. The main body of ancient laws (toroth) adopted by Rh.
The greater number have their parallels in xx. 10-21, where specific
penalties are attached. (For the mutual relation of the two series
see the introductory note to chap, xx.) The Simplest division is
into two groups, viz. : (1) verses 6-18, the so-called 'forbidden
degrees,' or the relationships within which marriage is condemned ;
and (2) verses 19-23, other breaches of sexual morality. A more
elaborate arrangement in two decalogues has been proposed
(L. B. Paton, 'The original form of Leviticus xvii-xix, in Jour.
of Bib. Lit., xvi. [1897], pp. 45-52), each decalogue consisting of
two pentades, thus :

126 LEVITICUS 18. 7-9. H
to him, to uncover their nakedness : I am the Lord.
7 The nakedness of thy father, even the nakedness of thy
mother, shalt thou not uncover : she is thy mother ; thou
8 shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy
father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's
9 nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter
First decalogue : Purity in those related through parents and children.
First pentade : Kinship of the first degree, xviii. 6, 7, 8, 9,, 10.
Second pentade: Kinship of the second degree, xviii. n, 12,
13, 14, 15-
Second decalogue : Purity in remoter relationship.
First pentade: Relationship through marriage, xviii. 16, 17s,
i7b, 18, 19.
Second pentade: Outside the family, xviii. 20, 21, 22, 23°-, 23b.
This arrangement, however, breaks up the homogeneous group
with identical formulation, comprised in verses 6-18, and is open
to other objections.
6. to uncover their nakedness : a common euphemism for
sexual intercourse, both licit and illicit. Here the marriage
relation is in view, and the following laws are directed against
incestuous marriages. In modern English the verse may be
paraphrased thus : ' No Hebrew shall contract a marriage with
a woman who is a blood relation ' (literally, ' flesh of his flesh ').
7-18. The female relatives with whom a man may not contract
a lawful marriage are now enumerated one by one. They are his
mother (verse 7), step-mother (8), full sister and half-sister (9,
n), granddaughter (10), aunt on the father's side (12), aunt on
the mother's side (13), aunt by marriage on the father's side (14),
daughter in-law (15), sister-in-law (16), step-daughter and step-
granddaughter (17), and finally two sisters at the same time (18).
The most striking omission is that of a man's own daughter, but
this is almost certainly due to a slip of a copyisrtn verse 10, where
we should read : ' The nakedness of thy daughter and of thy
son's daughter,' &c.
It is important to note that male Israelites are addressed through
out, and that accordingly the ' nakedness ' of the text is primarily
that of the opposite sex. But inasmuch as by marriage husband
and wife become ' one flesh ' (Gen. ii. 24), the nakedness of the
latter is identified with that of the former. This is seen especially
in the formulation of verse 7, where the context supports the
rendering ' even ' of R. V. as against the ' or ' of A. V.
9. There is good evidence that this verse should run : ' The
nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy mother, . . . even her

LEVITICUS 18. 10-17. H 127
of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether
born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness
thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's 10
daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their naked
ness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own
nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, 1 1
begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not
uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the 12
nakedness of thy father's sister : she is thy father's near
kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness 13
of thy mother's sister : for she is thy mother's near
kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of 14
thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife :
she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness 15
of thy daughter in law : she is thy son's wife ; thou shalt
not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover 16
the nakedness of thy brother's wife : it is thy brother's
nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of 17
a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her
son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover
nakedness,' &c. The reference is thus to uterine sisters only ;
the half-sister by a different mother is the subject of verse 11.
whether horn at home, or born abroad : the former phrase
indicates a full sister, the latter a half-sister by the same mother
but a different father.
14. The corresponding case of the aunt by marriage on the
mother's side is passed over, probably by inadvertence. On the
other hand, from the legislator's silence as to uncle and niece, it is
to be inferred that such marriages were permitted. The parents
of Moses, according to Num. xxvi. 59, were related as nephew
and aunt.
16. Here the prohibition of marriage with a deceased brother's
wife is absolute. The law of Deut. xxv. 5-10, on the contrary,
sanctions the old Hebrew custom (see Gen. xxxviii), which
required the brother of a man who had died without issue to
marry his widow, the so-called ' levirate ' marriage (from Lat.
levir, a husband's brother). See Ruth i. 11 ff, Matt. xxii. 23 ff.

128 LEVITICUS 18. 18-26. H
her nakedness ; they are near kinswomen : it is a wicked-
18 ness. And thou shalt not take a woman to her sister, to
be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the
19 other in her life time. And thou shalt not approach
unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she
20 is b impure by her uncleanness. And thou shalt ¦ not lie
carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with
21 her. And thou shalt not give any of thy seed ° to make
them pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou
22 profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou
shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind : it is
33 abomination. And thou shalt not lie with any beast to
defile thyself therewith : neither shall any woman stand
before a beast, to lie down thereto : -it is confusion.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things : for in
all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from
25 before you : and the land is defiled : therefore I do visit
the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out
26 her inhabitants. Ye therefore shall keep my statutes
a Or, enormity b Or, separated for
c Or, to set them apart to Molech
18. to be a rival to her : rather, ' as a fellow-wife.' It is now
illegitimate for a man to have two sisters in marriage at the same
time, as in the familiar case of the patriarch Jacob from an earlier
age. This verse, accordingly, has no bearing on the deceased
wife's sister controversy.
21. On this prohibition of Molech worship see on xx. 2 f.
22 f. The penalty for the unnatural crimes of sodomy (Gen.
xix. 5 ; Rom. i. 27) and bestiality was death to all concerned
(Lev. xx. 13, 15 f. ; cf. Exod. xxii. 19).
23. it is confusion : ' a violation of nature or of the divine
order ' (Dillmann), an unnatural crime ; only here and xx. 12.
24-30. The compiler's parenetic conclusion to the preceding
laws, in the form of an exhortation to lay to heart the fate of the
former inhabitants of Canaan, whose ' abominable customs ' (verse
30) brought about their utter annihilation.
25. the land vomiteth out her inhabitants : this figurative
use of the verb is peculiar to H (cf. xx. 22), The verbs of this

LEVITICUS 18. 27—19. 3. H 129
and my judgements, and shall not do any of these
abominations; neither the homeborn, nor the stranger
that sojourneth among you : (for all these abominations 27
have the men of the land done, which were before you,
and the land is defiled ;) that the land vomit not you out 28
also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that
was before you. For whosoever shall do any of these 29
abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut
off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep 30
my charge, that ye do not any of these abominable
customs, which were done before you, and that ye defile
not yourselves therein : I am the Lord your God.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 19 2
all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say
unto them, Ye shall be holy : for I the Lord your God
am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his 3
father, and ye shall keep my sabbaths : I am the Lord
verse are really in the past tense : ' therefore I visited . . . and the
land vomited out,' &c, an interesting ' anachronism of the com
piler' (Driver).
' Chap, xix contains a brief manual of moral instruction, perhaps
the best representation of the ethics of ancient Israel ' (Moore).
Parallels to most of its contents are found elsewhere in the
Pentateuch, as in the Decalogue, Exod. xx, Deut. v (verses 3 f.
recall the precepts Of piety of the first table, n-18 the precepts
of probity of the second table), in the Book of the Covenant (cf.
Exod. xxii. 18 ff., xxiii. 1-19), and in Deut. xxii-xxv. Verse 2,
prefixed by Rh, gives the underlying motive of the whole (see
above, p. 119). The holiness of God's people is to be manifested
both positively and negatively; positively by a wholesome fear
of Yahweh (verses 14, 32) and by humane treatment, culminating
in whole-hearted love, of the fellow-members of the theocratic
community (9 ff. and esp. 17 f.) ; negatively by the abhorrence of
idols and idol-worship (4), and of all other heathen practices
(esp. 26-29).
3 f. a condensed reproduction of the first, second, fourth, and
fifth commands of the Decalogue in inverted order. An ingenious

130 LEVITICUS 19. 4-11. H
4 your God. Turn ye not unto a idols, nor make to your-
5 selves molten gods : I am the Lord your God. And
when ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
6 Lord, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted. It shall
be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow :
and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt
7 with fire. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is
8 an abomination ; it shall not be accepted : but every one
that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath
profaned the holy thing of the Lord : and that soul shall
be cut off from his people.
9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt
not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou
io gather the gleaning of thy harvest. And thou shalt not
glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen
fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor
n and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God. Ye
a Heb. things of nought. See Jer. xiv. 14.
attempt has been made by Paton (Journ. of Bibl. Lit. xvi. [1897],
52 ff.) to supplement these verses from xxvi. 1 f., which he regards
' as exhibiting the original form of the opening of this set of laws,'
and to bring the whole into greater conformity, both in order and
subject-matter, with the first table of the Decalogue.
5-8. A ritual section, which can scarcely have had a place
originally in this summary of Israel's religious and moral duties.
A more appropriate place would have been in connexion -with
xxii. 29 f., the two sections -being complementary. It is worthy
of note that in H the thank-offering, or ' sacrifice of thanksgiving '
(see on vii. 12), is regarded as of co-ordinate rank with the peace-
offering or sacrifice of requital, while in the passage cited
(from P') it is reckoned as one of the three varieties of the latter.
9 f. The share of the poor and the landless in the corn and
grape harvests, an extension of xxiii. 22, cf. Deut. xxiv. 19 ff. In
all these ' a humanitarian motive has replaced a primitive supers
stition,' found all the world over and not yet extinct (see P.
Sebillot, Le Paganisme contemporain, 243), which regarded apart
ofthe produce as due to ike genii loci. Cf. S. A. Cook, The Laws
q/Moses and~lh~e~Code of Hammurabi, 196 f.

LEVITICUS 19. 12-17. H 131
shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one
to another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, 12
so that thou profane the name of thy God : I am the
Lord. Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, nor rob 13
him : the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with
thee all night until the morning.' Thou shalt not curse 14
the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but
thou shalt fear thy God : I am the Lord. Ye shall do 15
no unrighteousness in judgement : thou shalt not respect
the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the
mighty : but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neigh
bour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer 16
among thy people : neither shalt thou stand against the
blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt 17
not hate thy brother in thine heart : thou shalt surely
rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him.
11-18. Miscellaneous moral precepts allied to those contained
in the second table of the Decalogue. The counterpart of the
seventh commandment, here lacking, has been given in a greatly
expanded form in chap, xviii ; by nothing, according to Budde
(Geschichte der althebr. Litteratur, 190), is the intimate connexion
of the two chapters ' so clearly demonstrated.'
14. thou shalt fear thy God, who is the avenger of the help
less ; the deaf man cannot protect himself from the curse which
he has not heard, nor can the blind man avoid the stumblingblock
which he does not see.
16. as a talebearer: or 'with slanders,' as the original is
rendered in Jer. vi. 28. ' Of no sin and wickedness are there
so many complaints in the Old Testament as of slander and
false accusation —whereof the Psalms are witness' (Cornill,
Jeremia, 89). Cf. Psalm ci. 5 and Cook op. at. 102, 107 f.
neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neigh
bour: i.e. thou shalt not bring a capital charge against him,
especially, so the context implies, by means of a false and
slanderous accusation.
17. and not bear sin because of him: thou shalt not incur
guilt on his account, either, as the preceding clauses show, by
cherishing hatred against him, or by omitting to point out his
faults. K 2

132 LEVITICUS 19. 18-21. H
18 Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any, grudge
against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love
19 thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. Ye shall
keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender
with a diverse kind : thou shalt not sow thy field with
two kinds of seed : neither shall there come upon thee
20 a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together. And
whosoever lieth carnally with- a woman, that is a bond
maid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed,
nor freedom given her ; a they shall be punished ; they
shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
3 ' And he shall bring his guilt offering unto the Lord, unto
" Heb. there shall be inquisition.
18. thou: shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: throughout
this section the terms 'brother,' 'people' (lit. 'kinsfolk'), 'the
children of thy people,' 'neighbour' are used synonymously; it is
thus the love of a fellow-Hebrew that is here enjoined. Even the
extension of the precept in verse 34 to include the ger scarcely
alters its limitation, for the ger was a fellow-worshipper of Israel's
God. It was Jesus who first gave the command a universal
application (Luke x. 29 ff.). Nevertheless it is universally ad
mitted that in Lev, xix. 17, 18 we have reached the high-water
mark of Old Testament ethics.
"~ 19. I he ideas underlying the threefold prohibition of this verse
are obscure (see Driver, Intern. Crit. Comm., and Robinson, Cent.
Bible, on the parallel passage, Deut. xxii. 9-11). The use of mules
for riding (2 Sam. xiii. 29, xviii. 9 ; 1 Kings i. 33, &c.) shows that
the first of the prohibitions was disregarded in early times. The
word rendered 'mingled together' is found only here and in
Deut. xxii. n, where it is defined as 'wool and linen together,'
probably a warp of flax with a weft of wool. This combination,
according to Goldziher, was used by the Arabs for magical purposes.
A similar usage probably accounts for its prohibition here. See
further Cook, op. cit., 195 f.
20. The contents and different formulation of this law suggest
that it belongs properly to chap, xx, from which it was perhaps
inadvertently omitted by a copyist, who placed it in the margin
between the columns of his MS., whence it was wrongly transferred
to its present position.
21 f. are regarded by most commentators on internal grounds
a9 a later addition in the spirit of Re.

LEVITICUS 19. 22-26. H 133
the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a guilt
offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him 22
with the ram of the guilt Offering before the Lord for his
sin which he hath sinned: and he shall be forgiven for
his sin which he hath sinned. And when ye shall come 23
into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees
for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their
uncircumcision : three years shall they be as uncircum-
cised unto you ; it shall not be eaten. But in the fourth 24
year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise
unto the Lord. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of 25
the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase
thereof: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall not eat 26
any thing with the blood : neither shall ye use enchant-
23-25. The produce of a fruit-tree is taboo for the first three
years ; the produce of the fourth year is to be dedicated to
Yahweh ; from the fifth year onwards the fruit is available for
food (cf. Hammurabi, § 60). Here we have another of the
numerous cases where an ancient custom is given a religious
motive, and thereby brought into harmony with the higher re
ligious thought of the time, as was the case, for example, with
the antique practice of attaching tassels to the four corners of the
upper garment (see note on Num. xv. 37- 41, originally in H).
23. shall they be as uncircumcised unto you: i.e. unclean,
and therefore tabco. The analogy of similar practices elsewhere
suggests that originally the fruit was taboo out of regard for the
tutelary genius ofthe field (cf. on verses 9 f.). It is worth noting
that the metaphorical use of ' uncircumcised ' here and elsewhere
shows the untenableness of the view that the practice of circum
cision was of comparatively late introduction among the Hebrews
(cf. 'the uncircumcised heart' of xxvi. 41).
24. for giving; praise -. rather ' for a praise-offering ' to Yahweh
(Driver). 26-31. A series of prohibitions directed mainly against the
adoption of Canaanite practices.
26. For the first half of this verse see the notes on xvii. 10 ff.
The second half should rather be rendered : ' ye shall not observe
omens nor practice divination.' Augury, in the strict sense cf
taking omens from the flight of birds, does not seem to have been

J34 LEVITICUS 19i 27-30. H
27 ments, nor practise augury. Ye shall -not round the
corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners
28 of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your
flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you : I am
29 the Lord. Profane not thy daughter, to make her
a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land
3° become full of a wickedness. Ye shall keep my sab
baths, and reverence my sanctuary : I am the Lord.
a Or, enormity
practised in Palestine. The attitude of the orthodox Jews to this
mode of divination, which played so important a part in the life
ofthe Greeks and Romans, is well illustrated by the story of the
Jewish archer, Meshullam,; recorded by Josephus on the authority
of Hecataeus (Contra Apidnem, i. 22 [§§ 201 ff.]). For the various
forms of divination and sorcery mentioned in the O. T. see the
classical study of the subject by W. R. Smith in the Cambridge
Journal of Philology, xiii. 273 ff., xiv. 113 ff., Driver's Deuteronomy,
pp. 223-226, and the relevant articles in the recent Bible
Dictionaries. ,
27 f. Prohibition of certain mourning customs, adopted by the
Hebrews from the Canaanites. In their origin associated with
the worship of the dead, these rites were incompatible with
loyalty to Yahweh and his worship. The hair is not to be shaved
- from the temples (see Jer. ix. 26, R.V.) nor the beard to be clipped
at the corners. For the widespread custom of hair-offerings see
W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem2, 325 ff. The hair, from its constant
growth, was regarded as the seat of life.
In Jer. xvi. 6, xlviii. 37, as here, the custom of cutting or
gashing the body and hands to the effusion of blood is associated
as a mourning rite with shaving the head and clipping the beard.
For, the underlying motive of the former custom and the reasons
for its prohibition see ' Cuttings in the Flesh ' in Hastings's DB.
(1909), 172.
28. nor print any marks upon you: a prohibition ofthe custom
of tattooing some part of the body with a mark to denote the deity
whose worship the bearer specially affected. Cf. S. Paul's
figurative use of the term, Gal. vi. 17, R.V.
29. to make her a harlot : better ' a votary,' with allusion
to the shocking custom of dedicating a daughter as a temple
prostitute. For the O. T. references to these votaries, male and
female, of the Canaanite nature-religion, see Driver's notes on
Deut. xxiii, 17 f., in Intern. Crit. Comm.

LEVITICUS 19. 31-36. H 135
Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor 31
unto the wizards ; seek them not out, to be defiled by
them : I am the Lord your. God. Thou shalt rise up 32
before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old
man, and thou shalt fear thy God : I am the Lord.
And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall 33
not do him wrong. The stranger that sojourneth with 34
you shall be unto you as the homeborn among you, and
thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in
the land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God. Ye shall 35
do no unrighteousness in judgement, in meteyard, in
weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just 36
ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have : I am the Lord
your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
31. them that have familiar spirits : a single word in the
original, the precise meaning. of which is uncertain; the same
remark applies to the word rendered 'wizard,' which is always
associated with the former. ' Familiar ' in this connexion denotes
'attendant' (from Latin famulus), the necromancer — for such is
the most probable modern equivalent, cf. 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, ' a woman
that is a necromancer' — being supposed to have a daimon or
spirit in attendance upon him or even residing within him (cf. xx.
27 below). See further the references in the note on verse 26,
to which add Hoonacker's study of the terms employed in this
verse in the Expository Times, ix. 157 ff.
34. Extension of the command of i8b to the ger (see above).
The ground for this humane treatment of the alien settler is as old
as the Book ofthe Covenant (Exod. xxii. 21, xxiii. 9).
35 f. demand honesty in commercial transactions (cf. Deut. xxv.
13-16). A 'meteyard' is a measuring rod, the modern foot-rule,
but the original scarcely admits of this concrete rendering ; ' nor
in regard to measures of length, weight, or capacity ' is the sense
intended. 36. a just ephah, and a just hin : the former, rather larger than
our bushel, was the standard for dry measures, and had the same
cubic content as the ' bath ' for liquids. The ' hin ' was a sixth of
the 'bath,' equal therefore to ij-i| gallons (see the writer's
'Weights and Measures' in Hastings's DB. iv. 910-913). The
'hin' is mentioned almost exclusively in connexion with the
offerings of oil and wine (sec Num. xxviii).

136 LEVITICUS 19. 37^-20. 5. H
37 And ye shall observe all my statutes, and, all my judge
ments, and do them : I am the Lord.
20 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Moreover,
thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be
of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn
in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto.Molech ; he shall
surely be put to death : the people of the land shall stone
3 him with stones. I also will. set my face against that
man, and will cut him off from among his people ; be
cause he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile
4 my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the
people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from that
man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put
5 him not to death : then I will set my face against that
Chap, xx deals in the main with the penalties attaching to the
offences against sexual morality enumerated in chap, xviii. The
mutual relation of these two chapters has been the subject of
much discussion. The older view that ch. xx was originally
composed for the express purpose of enacting penalties for the
offences of ch. xviii is untenable. For (1) if xx be from the same
hand or hands as xviii, no valid reason can be adduced for
separating the crimes from their punishments in this way ; (2) the
contents of xx do not completely correspond to those of xviii — at
least four offences mentioned in the latter chapter, viz. xviii. 7, 10,
I7b, 18, are not dealt with in xx ; (3) the order of the topics differs
considerably in the two chapters ; and (4) the various offences are
frequently expressed in different phraseology. The evidence for
these statements must be sought in the larger commentaries. In
short, the compiler of the Holiness Code (Rh) must have had access
to a collection of ancient toroth, closely allied to, but independent
of, those forming the basis of chs. xviii-xix. This collection he
has taken up and fitted, as his manner is, with a short introduc
tion (xx. 7 f.) and a longer hortatory conclusion (22-26), prefacing
the whole by a special section on Molech worship (2-5).
1-5. The penalties of Molech worship. The section is not
homogeneous. The original law prescribes death by stoning
(verse 2) ; an alternative punishment by divine judgement has been
introduced later (3), which has led to the harmonizing addition
now contained in verses 4, 5. The name Molech is a purely

LEVITICUS 20. 6-10. H 137
man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all
that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with
Molech, from among their people. And the soul that 6
turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto
the wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set
my face against that soul, and will cut him off from
among his people. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be 7
ye holy : for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall 8
keep my statutes, and do them : I am the Lord which
sanctify you. For every one that curseth his father or 9
his mother shall surely be put to death : he hath cursed
his father or his mother ; his blood shall be upon him.
And the man that committeth adultery with another IO
man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his
neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall
artificial combination of the consonants of the Hebrew word for
king (Melek) with the vowels of the word for shame (bosheth ;
cf. Ish-baal and Ish-bosheth, with note on the latter, in Cent. Bible,
2 Sam. ii. 8). Indeed, the name is not a proper name at all, but
an appellative, with the article, meaning ' the King.' What deity
was denoted by this title is still uncertain ; El-Kronos-Saturn of
the Phoenicians, the Babylonian Nergal, and others have been
suggested. The principal seat of his worship was the Valley of
Hinnom, where children, especially firstborn males, were burned
in his honour. From Jer. vii. 31 and Micah vi. 7 it would appear
that in popular imagination this King-deity was identified with
Yahweh, to whom parents sacrificed ' the fruit of their 'body'
with the horrid rites of ' Molech.' See Moore's article ' Molech '
in EBi., and the exhaustive study by Baudissin in Hauck's Protest.
Real-Encyclopddie3, vol. xiii., art. Moloch.
a whoring . . . whoredom : see on xvii. 7.
6 is generally regarded as a substitution for the original law
now appended in verse 27. Note the same divergence as to the
punishment as in verses 2 f. See further the note on xix. 31.
7 f. contain the unmistakeable signature of R1'.
8. his blood shall be upon him : i.e. on the criminal alone ;
the law of blood-revenge shall not be operative against those who
have put him to death. The expression is confined to this chapter
(cf. n-13, 16, 27) and to Ezek. xviii. 13 ; contrast Num. xxxv. 27.
10. A copyist has inadvertently repeated a few words in this

138 LEVITICUS 20. u-18. H
n surely be put to death. And the man that lieth with his
father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness : both
of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall
1 2 be upon them. And if a man lie with his daughter in
law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they
have wrought confusion ; their blood shall be upon them.
13 And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both
of them have committed abomination : they shall surely
14 be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And
if a man take a wife and her mother, it is a wickedness:
they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that
15 there be no wickedness among you. And if a man lie
with a beast, he shall surely be put to death : and ye
16 shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto
any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the
woman, and the beast : they shall surely be put to death ;
17 their blood shall be upon them. And if a man shall
take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's
daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his naked
ness ; it is a shameful thing ; and they shall be cut off in
the sight of the children of their people: he hath un
covered his sister's nakedness ; he shall bear his iniquity.
18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness,
tt Or, enormity
verse, which should run thus : ' and the man that committeth
adultery with his neighbour's wife,' &c. •.-
14. The usual mode of executing the death penalty among the
Hebrews was by stoning ; for the aggravated case of incest here
dealt with and for the case mentioned in xxi. 9, and for these
alone, is death by burning prescribed. It is uncertain, however,
whether the offender was burned alive, as seems to be contem
plated in the case of Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 24), or was first done to
death by stoning and then burned, as in Joshua vii. 15, 25.
18. With the death penalty here prescribed compare the mild
treatment of the offence in xv. 24.

LEVITICUS 20. 19-26. H 139
and shall uncover her nakedness ; he hath made naked
her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her
blood : and both of them shall be cut off from among
their people. And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness 19
of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister : for he
hath made naked his near kin : they shall bear their
iniquity. And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he 20
hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness : they shall bear
their sin ; they shall die childless. And if a man shall 21
take his brother's wife, it is impurity : he hath uncovered
his brother's nakedness ; they shall be childless.
Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my 22
judgements, and do them : that the land, whither I bring
you to dwell therein, vomit you not out. And ye shall 23
not walk in the customs of the nation, which I cast out
before you: for they did all these things, and therefore
I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, Ye shall 24
inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess
it, a land flowing with milk and honey : I am tjje Lord
your God, which have separated you from the peoples.
Ye shall therefore separate between the clean beast and 25
the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the
clean : and ye shall not make your souls abominable
by beast, or by fowl, or by any thing wherewith the
ground "teemeth, which I have separated from you as
unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me : for I the 26
a Heb. creepeth.
22-26. A concluding exhortation to the observance of the divine
'statutes and judgements' from the hand of the compiler (cf. the
similar exhortation, xviii. 24 ff.). The closing words of verse 25
show that in 241>-26 we have the original conclusion of a legislative
section dealing with clean and unclean beasts and birds similar to
chap. xi. Many scholars, indeed, hold that the latter chapter
originally formed part of the Holiness Code.
26. Sums up the whole end and aim ofthe priestly legislation.

140 LEVITICUS 20. 27— 21. 1. H
Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples,
that ye should be mine.
27 A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit,
or that is a wizard, shall1 surely be put to death : they
shall stone them with stones : their blood shall be upon
them.
21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the
The people whom a holy God has chosen for His own must, like
Him, be holy. The priestly conception of holiness differs from
the prophetic in the emphasis which it lays on ceremonial purity,
not in opposition, but in addition, to moral purity.
27. See on verse 6 and on xix. 31.
(c) xxi-xxii. Laws relating to priesthood and sacrifice.
These two chapters together constitute a distinct section ofthe
Holiness Code. Five sub-sections are easily distinguished, the
contents of which may be thus summarized : (1) the priests, and
especially the High Priest, must avoid ceremonial defilement
(xxi. 1-15) ; (2) specification of bodily defects that disqualify for
the office of priest (16-24) '• (3) restrictions with regard to partici
pation in ' the holy things ' (xxii. 1-16) ; (4) the sacrificial victims
must be free from physical blemish (17-25); (5) three supple
mentary sacrificial toroth (26-30), with a concluding exhortation
(31-33)- From the critical point of view this section has had a similar
history to those we have already studied. 'Old toroth con
cerning the priesthood have been glossed, revised, and supple
mented by successive editors. Some of the glosses were probably
made upon the toroth themselves before they were incorporated
in H ; many additions were made by Rh, or by later editors in
imitation of him ; others, finally, by Rb and scribes of that school '
(Moore, EBi. iiu col. 2785, where an attempt is made to dis
tinguish the earlier from the later elements). The hand of the
editor (Rp) who incorporated H with the main body of the priestly
legislation is seen more particularly in the superscriptions of the
two chapters (e.g. 'the sons of Aaron,' xxi. 1; cf. 24, xxii. 2, 18).
Note also the discrepancy which has resulted in ch. xxi, in the
superscription to which the priests are addressed, while in the
body of the laws they are referred to in the third person, the laws
being addressed to the people (see verse 8).
1-9. Precautions against ceremonial defilement to be observed
by the rank and file of the priesthood, particularly in connexion

LEVITICUS 21. 2-7. H 141
priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There
shall none defile himself for the dead among his people ;
except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, 2
and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter,
and for his brother ; and for. his sister a virgin, that is i
near unto him, which hath had no husband, for her may
he defile himself. He shall not defile himself, n being 4
a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They 5
shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall
they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any
cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their 6
God, and not profane the name of their God : for the
offerings of the Lord made by fire, the bread of their
God, they do offer : therefore they shall be holy. They 7
shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or b profane ;
1 Or, as a husband The Sept. has, on a sudden. b Or, polluted
with mourning ceremonies for the dead. For the defilement
caused by contact with a dead body, see esp. Num. xix. The
laws relating to this form of uncleanness applied a fortiori to the
priesthood, engaged in the holy ministry of the altar of Yahweh.
3. for his sister a virgin : the point here is that a woman
after marriage was no longer a member of her father's family, but
belonged to that of her husband. A priest, therefore, might not
'defile himself for a married sister. With the contents of 2 f.
compare Ezek. xliv. 25-27, where, as here, no mention is made of
a priest's wife ; the exceptions include only those allied to him by
blood. See further Cook, Moses and Hammurabi, 94 f.
4. a chief man among his people : the original is here corrupt,
and no satisfactory emendation has yet been proposed.
5. See on xix. 27 f.
6. the bread of their God: better, 'the food of their God.'
The description ofthe sacrifices as the food of Yahweh, which is
characteristic of this section (xxi. 8, 17, 21, xxii. 25), is a survival
' in the ancient technical language of the priestly ritual ' of the
primitive conception that the deity worshipped actually partook of
the sacrificial flesh and blood. Cf. Judges ix. 13 and the similar
antique conception in Lev. i. 9 (p. 40). The Babylonians also
spoke of sacrifice as the food of their gods (KA T? 594 f.).
7. or profane : i. e. dishonoured (Driver) ; in other words

142 LEVITICUS 21.8-12.. H
neither shall they take a woman put away from her hus-
8 band: for he is holy unto- his God. Thou shalt sanctify
him therefore : for he offereth the bread of thy God : he
shall be holy unto thee : for I the Lord, which sanctify
9 you, am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she
profane herself by playing the harlot, she profaneth her
father : she shall be burnt with fire.
io And he that is the high priest among his brethren,
upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and a that
is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the
n hair of his head go loose, nor rend his clothes ; neither
shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for
12 his father, or for his mother; neither shall he go out of
the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God ;
"¦ Heb. whose hand is filled.
a priest must marry a virgo intacta, cf. verse 14, ' a virgin of his
own people.'
9. For the punishment here prescribed, see on xx. 14.
10-15. Increased restrictions in the case of the High Priest.
10. he that is the high priest among his brethren : the ex
pression is unique in the original, which is more literally rendered
' the priest that is chief among his brethren.' The High Priest
in this early torah is still primus inter pares. In P, it is scarcely
necessary to add, his position has advanced to that of a father
among his sons. The reference to the anointing oil and the
sacred garments is probably an addition to the original torah,
based on the contents of ch. viii. With the tokens of mourning,
forbidden at the close of this verse, cf. x. 6, where the prohibitions
apply to the whole priesthood.
12. The High Priest is forbidden to leave the sanctuary or
sacred enclosure (temenos) on any pretext, lest he might un
wittingly contract defilement and on his return defile the sanc
tuary through the contagion of his uncleanness. This torah
clearly implies that the High Priest lived within the sacred
precincts, as did Eli at the sanctuary of Shiloh (1 Sam. iii. 2 ff.).
It may therefore be assigned to the period before the Deutero-
nomic reform, when each of the more important sanctuaries had
its body of priests under a single head, as we know was the case
at Nob (r Sam. xxii. n-18), and at Beth-el (Amos viii 10 ff,).

LEVITICUS 21. 13-19. H 143
for the a crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon
him : I am the Lord. And he shall take a wife in her 13
virginity. A widow, or one divorced, or a b profane 14
woman, an harlot, these shall he not take : but a virgin
of his own people shall he take to wife. And he shall 15
not profane his seed among his people: for I am the
Lord which sanctify him.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout
their generations that hath a blemish, let him not approach
to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he 18
be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach : a blind
man, or a lame, or he that hath a c flat nose, or any thing
superfluous, or a man that is brokenfooted, or broken- 19
* Or, consecration b Or, polluted c Or, slit
the crown : render, with margin, ' the consecration ' (see
viii. 12).
14. a virgin of his own people : lit. ' of his kinsfolk.' It is
uncertain whether the legislator intends to limit the choice to
members of the priestly families (so LXX and Philo), or merely
to virgins of pure Hebrew blood.
16-24. Enumeration of the various bodily defects that disqualify
members of the priestly caste for the priestly office. A close
parallel to this section of H is found in a Babylonian tablet of an
early king of Sippar. There it is laid down, with reference to the
section of the priesthood that occupied themselves with divination,
that ' the son of a diviner who is not of pure descent, or is not
perfect in stature and in the members of his body, who has
cataract in the eyes, broken teeth, or a mutilated finger, who
suffers from disease ofthe stones or ofthe skin,' is not permitted
to exercise the office of a soothsayer (see KAT.S 534 ; Zimmern,
Beitrdge zur Kenntniss d. Babylon. Religion, 116 ff.) ; Haupt,
Joum. of Bib. Lit. xix. 57, 64 f.).
18. or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous :
a better rendering is : 'or that is mutilated (in the face), or is
too long in a limb.' The word rendered 'mutilated' seems to
denote disfigurement of the face by the common oriental practice
of slitting the ears, nose, or lips (cf. R.V. margin).

r44 LEVITICUS 21. 20— 22. 1. H
20 handed, or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish
in his eye, or is scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones
21 broken; no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that
hath a blemish, shall come nigh to offer the offerings of
the Lord made by fire : he hath a blemish ; he shall not
22 come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat
the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the
23 holy. Only he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come
nigh unto the altar^ because he hath a blemish ; that he
profane not my sanctuaries : for I am the Lord which
24 sanctify them. So Moses spake unto Aaron, and to his
sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
22 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
20. or a dwarf: a doubtful rendering; the word means, 'thin,
shrunken,' and is used to describe the 'leanfleshed ' kine of
Gen. xii. 3 f. Hence Kautzsch renders ' (abnormally) emaciated,'
Baentsch ' consumptive.' Note the correspondence of the defects
that follow with those specified in the Babylonian list above
quoted. 22. He shall eat the bread of his God: although debarred by
his physical defect from officiating at the altar, he is still a priest
by birth, and as such is entitled to his share of the sacrificial flesh
and other priestly dues.
both of the most holy, and of the holy : for this distinction
see the note on ii. 3. As it is elsewhere unknown in H (see e.g.
xxii. 3 f.), we have here probably the hand of Rp, who has also
added the reference to the veil in the following verse.
23. my sanctuaries : the plural is usually explained as in
cluding the temple and the altar, but. it seems better to take the
word in its natural sense as denoting the local sanctuaries of
Yahweh, which may be assumed to have been still in use when
this torah was framed (cf. note on verse 12). It will then have
been inadvertently left uncorrected when the torah was taken
over by the compiler of H, who certainly in this section and
elsewhere admits the legitimacy of but one sanctuary, the
temple. xxii. 1-16 deal with the restrictions imposed upon the priests
in their enjoyment of their share of the offerings. Only priests
and the members of their family are to partake of 'the holy
things,' and then only when in a condition of ceremonial purity.

LEVITICUS 22. 3-6. H 145
Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves,
from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they
hallow unto me, and that they profane not my holy
name : I am the Lord. Say unto them, Whosoever he 3
be of all your seed throughout your generations, that
approacheth unto the holy things, which the children of
Israel hallow unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon
him, that soul shall be cut off from before me : I am the
Lord. What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, 4
or hath an issue ; he shall not eat of the holy things, until
he be clean. And whoso toucheth aany thing that is
unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from
him ; or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby 5
he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take
uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath ; the soul 6
which toucheth any such shall be unclean until the even,
and shall not eat of the holy things; unless he bathe his
'Or, any one
2. that they separate themselves from. The root idea of 'the
original is abstinence from something, as in Zech. vii. 3, where
'separating myself means 'abstaining from food,' 'fasting;'
in the present context the thought of the writer may, in our
idiom, be expressed' by the converse : ' that they partake reve
rently and with self-restraint of the holy things.'
the holy- things of the children of Israel: a comprehensive
expression for offerings of all sorts presented at the altar ; in
addition to the priest's share of the cereal offerings and of the
flesh of the peace-offerings which the legislator may have here
chiefly in view — H is silent as to sin- and guilt-offerings — the
term ' holy things ' includes the offerings of the firstlings of cattle,
the firstfruits of field and vineyard, the various tithes, &c.
P's distinction between ' holy ' and ' most holy ' things, for which
see the note on ii. 3 (cf. on xxi. 22), is unknown to H.
3. that approacheth unto, &c. The context shows that these
words refer to partaking of the sacred dues, not to offering at
the altar. '
4-7. See chs. xi-xv for the various forms of ceremonial
uncleanness here specified, and the means prescribed for the
removal of the same.

146 LEVITICUS 22. 7-13. H
7 flesh in water. And when the sun is down, he shall be
clean ; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things,
8 because it is his bread. That which dieth of itself, or is
torn of beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself there-
9 with: I am the Lord. They shall therefore. keep my
charge, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they
10 profane it : I am the Lord which sanctify them. : There
shall no stranger eat of the holy thing :. a sojourner of
the priest's, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy
1 1 thing. But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his
money, he shall eat of it ; and such as are born in his
12 house, they shall eat of his bread. And if a priest's
daughter be married unto a stranger, she shall not eat of
13 the heave bffering of the holy things. But if a priest's
daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and
is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she
shall eat of her father's bread : but there shall no stranger
8. See note on xvii. 15.
10. no stranger. Here and in verses 12 f. ' stranger ' (zdr),
denotes one who is not a member of a priestly family, in other
words a layman (cf. Deut. xxv. 5, where 'stranger' is a man
outside the family of the deceased husband). The ear must be
carefully distinguished both from the ' stranger ' of verse 18, who is
the ger, or resident alien with certain civil and religious rights
(see on xvii. 8), and from a. sojourner of the priest's (Heb.
toshdbh), apparently an alien only temporarily settled in a Hebrew
family, and in a position- of greater dependence on his patron-lhan
the ger.
11. A Hebrew slave; on the contrary, whether purchased or
born in his house (cf. Gen. xiv. 14, xv. 3)., was regarded as a
member of the priest's family, sharing in its worship and therefore
allowed, like the other members of the family, to partake of the
holy tilings.
12 f. A daughter of a priest, married into a layman's family,
belongs to the latter, and is excluded from sharing in the -.priest's
dues (cf. the similar case, xxi. 3) ; if she becomes a widow with
children, she and they still belong to the husband's and father's
kin, but if she is childless, she may resume her position in her
father's family with its privileges.

LEVITICUS 22. 14-21. H 147
eat thereof. And if a man eat of the holy thing un- 14
wittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it,
and shall give unto the priest the holy thing. And they 15
shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel,
which they offer unto the Lord ; and so cause them to 16
bear the iniquity that bringeth guilt, when they eat their
holy things : for I am the Lord which sanctify them.
. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto „
Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of
Israel, and say unto them, Whosoever he be of the house
of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that offereth his
oblation, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their
freewill offerings, which they offer unto the Lord for a
burnt offering.; that ye may be accepted, ye shall offer 19
a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or
of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall 20
ye not offer : for it shall not be acceptable for you. And 2 <
Whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
14. The penalty here prescribed, restoration of the ' holy thing '
with a fine equal to one-fifth of its value, is so far identical with
that of the later law, v. 14-16 (which see) ; here, however, no
mention is made of an accompanying guilt-offering. As compared
with P, more especially in its later strata, H represents an earlier
stage in the history of sacrifice.
15. The subject is the priests ; the profanation is caused by the
admission of unqualified persons to partake of the sacred dues.
17-25. Animals destihed for the altar must, as a rule, be free
from physical blemish (for the single exception see below) . The
chief points of interest are : (1) only two classes of animal sacri
fices are contemplated, the burnt- or whole-offering, and the
peace-offering or sacrifice of requital (or recompense). As has
been already pointed out, H is silent as to the sin- and guilt-
offeritfgs. (2) Both the former classes comprise two varieties,
the votive-offering (E.V. ' vOw') and the freewill-offering, for which
see note on vii. 16. This is the only passage where burnt-
offerings are so distinguished, although Ezekiel (xlvi. 12) speaks
of a freewill burnt-offering — the votive and freewill-offerings
belonging more naturally to the category of the recompense-
L 2

148 LEVITICUS 22. 22-27. H
Lord to a accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of
the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted ;
22 there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or
maimed, or having ba wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye
shall not offer these unto the Lord, nor make an offering
23 by fire of them upon the altar unto the Lord. Either
a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or
lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill
24 offering ; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. That
which hath its stones bruised, or crushed, or broken,, or
cut, ye shall not offer unto the Lord ; neither shall ye
25° do thus in your land. Neither from the hand of a
foreigner shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of
these ; because their corruption is in them, there is; a
blemish in them : they shall not be accepted for you.
' And the Lord spake' unto Moses, saying, When a
bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it
shall be seven days under the dam ; and from the eighth
* Or, make a special vow b Or, sores c Or, sacrifice them
offering. (3) The thank-offering proper does not appear here
as a third variety of the latter, as it does in vii. 11 f. (P), but
appears later (verses 29 f.) as an independent sacrifice (cf. note
on xix. 5-8). (4) The admission of imperfect victims in the case of
the freewili-offering (verse 23).
22. having a wen : render as margin, ' having (running)
sores.' 23. that hath any thing superfluous or lacking, ,&c. : rather
' that hath any of its members too long or. too short,' cf. xxi, 18.
24. Only entire males are admissible. The last clause of. the
verse has been interpreted either as a general prohibition of
castration by any of the four methods specified (so text of R. V.),
or as a special prohibition against offering castrated animals in
sacrifice (so R. V. margin and text of A.V.). The tenor of the
section as a whole favours the latter interpretation.
,24. Such blemished victims are inadmissible even when pur
chased from a non-Israelite.
26-31. Three supplementary laws relating to sacrifice and
offering.

LEVITICUS 22. 28—23. 2. HP 149
day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the oblation
of an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And whether 28
it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both
in one day. And when ye sacrifice a sacrifice, of thanks- 29
giving unto the Lord, ye shall sacrifice it that ye may be
accepted. On the same day it shall be eaten ; ye shall 30
leave none of it until the morning: I am the Lord.
Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do 31
them : I am the Lord. And ye shall not profane my 32
holy- name ; but I will be hallowed among the children
of Israel : I am the Lord which hallow you, that brought 33
you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God : I am the
Lord. [P] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak 23 2
27 repeats the older torah, Exod. xxii. 30 ; the latter, hpwever,
in its present context has a special reference to the sacrifice of the
firstlings of the flock and of the herd.
29 f. deal with the * sacrifice of thanksgiving ' as an independent
offering ; see notes on vii. 15 and xix. 5-8.
31-33. The concluding exhortation, addressed to the people,
from the compiler of H; cf. the similar passages xviii. 26-30, xix.
37, xx. 20-26, from the same hand.
(d) xxiii-xxv. The cycle of sacred seasons and other matters.
The most characteristic part of the Holiness Code is now at an
end, apart from the concluding exhortation in ch. xxvi. In the
three chapters here taken, for convenience of treatment, as forming
a separate section, H has been combined with legislative material
from P, and glossed by later priestly hands to an extent greatly
beyond anything in the preceding chapters.
xxiii. A calendar of the festivals of the ecclesiastical year.
These comprise the Sabbath (verses 1-3), the feast of Passover
(4 f.), the feast of Unleavened Cakes (mazzoth), including the
ceremony of the wave-sheaf 6-14), the feast of Weeks (15-22),
New Year's Day (23-25), the Day of Atonement (26-32), the feast
of Booths (33-36, 39-43^, with an original colophon now divided
into two parts (37 f., 44). Cf. throughout Num. xxviii f.
The calendar in its present form has been compiled from H and
P with editorial additions by Rp, the editor who combined H with

ISO '< '> LEVITICUS 23. 3.! P
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The a set
feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, even these are my set feasts. Six days
shall work be done : but on the seventh day is a sabbath
a Or, appointed seasons
the main body of P, and by other hands (Ps). in the spirit of P.
The standpoint and phraseology of the latter are" easily detected
in verses 1-8, 23-38, while the characteristics of H are not less
evident in verses 9-32, 39-43. Closer inspection, however,
shows that these groups are not entirely homogeneous. Thus
the phrase ' beside the sabbaths of Yahweh ' in the colophon of P
(verse 38), shows that the Jaw on the observance of the sabbath
was not originally contained in the compiler's extract from this
source, a conclusion confirmed by the fresh heading in verse 4,
The legislation of H has also been expanded by priestly additions.
The literary analysis may be represented as follows :
H iob-i2 14" 15-17 18-20 (in part) 22 39-43.
-P 4-8 ¦ i,i ¦ at 23-38 44>
R" and Ps 1-3 9-10* 13 I4b 18-19 (parts) 39 (part).
There is a significant difference in the attitude of H and P
respectively to the three great pilgrimage feasts of Unleavened
Cakes, Weeks, and Booths. In the former source these still retain
their original intimate connexion with agriculture, more precisely
with the grain and fruit, harvests, whereas in P they are entirely
divorced therefrom and have become fixed ecclesiastical festiyals.
Very fiill lists of recent studies of the Hebrew feasts are given by
W. R; Harper, The Priestly Element in the O. T., 1905, pp. 104-6,
283 f., and a convenient classification of the data of the Hexateuch
in C-Hi i. 243-7.-
1-3. The first place in the calendar, as now arranged, is occu
pied by the Sabbath. The secondary character of the section has
been already explained.
2. set feasts: the marginal rendering, 'appointed (i.e. fixed)
seasons,' is preferable ; cf. the non-technical use of the word at
the close of verse 4. ¦' '
holy convocations: meetings 'convoked' or summoned for
public worship at the sanctuary; 'holy religious meetings' is
Driver's rendering. That the whole community should be ex
pected to assemble at the Temple every Sabbath is, as Kautzsch
remarks, ' exceedingly strange.' The' explanation maybe that
the late editor, to whom we owe this section, had the poSt-exilic
institution of the synagogue in view.
3. a sabbath of solemn rest : for this emphatic expression see
on xvi. 31. In H the observation of the Sabbath is enjoined in

LEVITICUS 23. 4-6. P iSi
of solemn rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no
manner of work : it is a sabbath unto the Lord in all
your dwellings.
These are the set feasts of the Lord, even holy con- 4
vocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed
season. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the 5
month aat even, is the Lord's passover. And on the 6
a Heb. between the two evenings.
xix. 2, 30, xxvi. 2. No agreement has yet been reached by
scholars as regards either the etymological significance of the
word shabbdth, or the origin and early history of the institution.
To the copious literature on the Sabbath in Harper, op. at. 114-7,
284— from which Driver's article in Hastings's DB. iv. may be
singled out — there fall to be added the more recent German mono
graphs by Meinhold and Hehn, Benzinger's Heb. Archaologie2
[1908], 389 f., and McNeile, The Book of Exodus, 121 ff.
4 f. The Passover feast from P, who has already dealt with it
in detail, Exod. xii. 1-13, 43-50; see Bennett, Cent. Bible, in toe,
also Robinson on Deut. xvi. 1-7 in the same series. This feast
was regarded by Hebrew writers as deriving its name (pesah), as
does its English equivalent, from the circumstance that Yahweh
'passed over,' in the sense of 'spared' (pasah), the Hebrews on
the night of its institution (see Exod. xii. 27), hut this etymology
is doubtful in the extreme. Unfortunately the remark made above
regarding the name and the institution of the Sabbath applies
equally to Passover. It is generally agreed, however, that the
Passover is the descendant of a very ancient spring festival
observed by the nomadic ancestors of the Hebrews, and standing
in some connexion with the protection of their tents and flocks.
This at least is certain, that Passover was originally entirely dis
tinct from the feast of Unleavened Cakes with which it afterwards
became joined! Of the more recent discussions may be men
tioned Benzinger's article, 'Passover and Unleavened Bread,' in
EBi. (cf. this scholar's later views in his Heb. Archaologie2 [1908]
392 ff.), and the excursus in McNeile's Exodus, 62-68).
5. the first month : ofthe ecclesiastical year, as in P through
out (see Exod. xii. 2), the old name of which was Abib (Deut.
xvi. 1), corresponding roughly to April. The Hebrew year
originally began for all purposes in autumn with P's seventh
month (see on verses 23 ff. ), and the Jewish civil year still con
tinues to be so reckoned. In the post-exilic period the Babylonian
names for the months were adopted, and Abib became Nisan
(Neh. ii. 1).

152 LEVITICUS 23. 7-11. PH
fifteenth day of the same month is the feast. of un
leavened; bread -unto the Lord : seven days ye shall eat
7 unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall haye an holy
8 convocation : ye shall do no a servile work. But ye shall
offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days:
in the seventh day is an holy convocation ; ye shall do
no servile work.
And the Lord spake unto Moses> saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Hj When ye
be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall
reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf
11 of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest : and he
shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for
¦ Heb. work of labour.
6-8. The feast of Unleavened Cakes — such is the more exact
rendering of the Heb. mazsdth — lasting seven days, the first'and
last of which were days of 'holy convocation.' Mazzoth is also
dealt with in later strata of P, viz., Exod. xii. 14-20 and Num.
xxviii. 17-25, where the special daily sacrifices are prescribed (cf.
verse 13 below).
7. ye shall do no servile work : lit. ' work of tillage,' work in
the fields.
9-14. The parallel ordinance from H now considerably expanded
(see the analysis above). Here the distinguishing feature of the
festival is an interesting ceremony, which shows that Mazzoth,
like its complement, the feast of Weeks, was a harvest festival.
At the beginning of the barley harvest — barley ripens two or three
weeks before the wheat— ^the husbandman presented to God's
representative at the local sanctuary (see the next note) the first
sheaf in token of his dependence upon, and gratitude to, the Lord
of the harvest. In early times the date of the festival, which we
have seen to have had originally no connexion with the Passover,
will have varied with the date of the ripening of the crops in the
different districts of Palestine.
IO. unto the priest: in the old torah, taken up by H, the
reference was doubtless to the priest of the local sanctuary, as
elsewhere in H (xvii. 5, xx. 10, &c).
11. he shall wave the sheaf. For the nature of the action here
prescribed, see note on vii. 30, and cf. verses 17, 20 of this
chapter.

LEVITICUS 23. 12-14. H 153
you : on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall
wave it. And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye 12
shall offer a he-lamb without blemish of the first year for
a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the meal offering 13
thereof shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour
mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord
for a sweet savour : and the drink offering thereof shall
be of Wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat 14
neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until
this selfsame day, until ye haye brought the oblation of
your God : it is a statute for ever throughout your
generations in all your dwellings.
on the morrow after the sabbath. The best authorities,
Jewish and Christian alike, differ widely in their understanding
of this expression (see the various sets of opinions in Dillmann,
Exodus and Leviticus3, 641 ff.) There seems to be two clues to
the probable interpretation : (1) the nature of the case requires
that the ceremony of the wave-sheaf, by which the harvest was
consecrated to man's use, should take place on the first day of the
harvest; (2) the mention of 'the seventh sabbath' in verse 16
shows that the 'sabbath' of verses 11 and 15 must also be under
stood in its ordinary signification of the weekly day of rest, the
seventh of the week. This being so, we must assume that at the
time when this torah was first written down, it was customary to
begin harvest operations on the first day of the week, a practice
which has its analogies elsewhere, as Bertholet shows in his
commentary. 1 By this interpretation, furthermore, the date from
which the count is made for fixing Pentecost in verses 15 f. agrees
with that given in Deut. xvi. 9 : ' from the time thou beginnest to
put the sickle to the standing corn, shalt thou begin to number
seven weeks.'
12-14. Of these verses only 12 and 14", (to ' fresh ears ') belong
to the original legislation of H ; the rest is a later addition in the
spirit and phraseology of P (R»). H requires (1) that the pre
sentation of the wave-sheaf shall be accompanied by the sacrifice
of a yearling he-lamb, and (2) that the new harvest shall not be
partaken of in any form until ' the sheaf of the firstfruits ' has been
presented at the altar.
two tenth parts of an ephah : lit. 'two 'issarons of fine flour,'
see note on v. 11, also on xix. 36 for the ephah and the hin. Cf.
the more elaborate prescriptions in Num. xxviii. 19 ff. (P1).

iS4 LEVITICUS 23. 15-20. H
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after
the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of
the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall there becom-
16 plete: even untb the morrow after the seventh sabbath
shall ye number fifty days'; and ye shall offer a new
17 meal offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your
habitations two wave loaves of two tenth parts of an
• ephah : they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baken
is with leaven, for firstfruits unto the Lord. And ye shall
present with the bread seven lambs without blemish of
the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams :
they shall be a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their
meal offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering
19 made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. "And
ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin offering, and two he-
lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the
15-21. The feast of Weeks (Exod. xxxiv. 22), also termed 'the
feast of harvest' (xxiii. 16). It was also originally a harvest
festival to celebrate the close of the wheat harvest, and fell on the
fiftieth day after the beginning of the feast of Mazzoth, hence the
later name Pentecost, the Greek word for fiftieth.
15. seven sabbaths shall there he complete : here and xxv. 8
shabbath seems to signify ' week ; ' render 'seven full weeks shall
there be.' For the starting-point of the count see note on verse n.
16. a new meal offering : a cereal-offering of the produce of the
new wheat harvest, cf. Exod. xxxiv. 22 where the feast is described
as the feast ' of the firstfruits of wheat harvest.'
17. they shall he baken with leaven. This is not inconsistent
with the prohibition of ii. 11, since the wave-loaves were not con
sumed upon the altar but became the perquisite of the priest
(verse 20).
18-20. The original provisions of H have again been greatly,
and not quite correctly, expanded on the basis of Num. xxviii. 26 ff.
The former probably contained only the following (cf. verse 12) :
' And ye shall present with the bread two he-lambs ofthe first year
for a sacrifice of requital (E.V. peace-offerings),' for God's good
gift of the harvest. Its commencement had been hallowed by a
burnt-offering of a single lamb (verse 12),

LEVITICUS 23. 2i-27. HPHP 155
firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the
two lambs : they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.
[P] And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day ; 2i
there shall be an holy convocation unto you : ye shall do
no servile work : it is a statute for ever in all your dwell
ings throughout your generations. •
[H] And when ye reap the harvest of your land,:thou 22
shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither
shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest : thou- shalt
leave them for' the poor, and for the stranger : I am the
Lord your God.
[P] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak 2,
unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month,
in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto
you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convo
cation. Ye shall do no servile work : and ye shall offer 25
an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Howbeit on *
the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atone
ment : it shall be an holy convocation unto you, and ye
shall afflict your souls; and ye shall offer an offering
22. = xix.gf. slightly modified (H).
23-25. The first day of the seventh month (Tishri), counting
from Nisan, is to be observed as a day of sabbatical rest (see note
on xvi. 31) and public worship. It is to be ushered in, like the
year of Jubilee (xxv, 9), with a blast of, trumpets ; hence the day
is termed 'the, day of the trumpet-blast' (Num. xxix. 1), and is
sometimes described as the feast of Trumpets.. In reality — though
this is not stated here — the day in question is the New Year's Day
of the civil year (see above on verse 5). From Ezek. xl. I it
would appear that at one time New Year's Day fell on the tenth
of Tishri, but was afterwards moved to the first of that month (cf.
note on xxv. 9).
26-32. A supplementary ordinance on the Day of Atonement
(cf. esp. xvi. 29-31,' '34) emphasizing in particular (1) the sus
pension of all manner of work, as on the weekly Sabbath (verse 3),

2?

34

156 LEVITICUS 23. 28-34. *
28 made by fire Unto the Lord. And ..ye shall do no
manner of work in that same day : for it is a day of
atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord
29 your Godj For whatsoever, soul it be that shall not be
afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his
30 people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any
manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy
31 from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of
work ;: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations
32 in 'all yoiir dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of
solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls : in the ninth
day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye
keep your sabbath. .-¦ ;
^ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of
not merely of all ' servile work ' as on the other festival-days
(7, 21, 35), and (2) the observance of a twenty-four hours' fast.
For this meaning of ' afflicting* the soul, see note on xyj. 29.
32. from even unto even: the usual mode of reckoning in the
O. T. The fast began, as it still does, with the sunset which
closed the ninth of Tishri, and ended at sunset on the following
day. 33-36. The date and duration of the feast of Booths (from P).
This, the third and last, and, apparently the most popular, of the
agricultural festivals, is named iii the oldest legislation ' the feast
of ingathering ' ('asiph 1, Exod. xxiii. 16, xxxiv. 22). It marked the
close of the labours of the year in field, vineyard and oliveyard
(see the passages just cited, and cf. Deut. xvi. 13, ' after that thou
hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and . from thy wine
press '). In D and H (verses 40 ff. belbw) the duration of the
festival is given as seven days, and so here originally (verse 34).
The addition of an eighth day looks like the wbrk of a later hand.
1 This word, which in O. T. occurs only in the two passages cited,
has been found on a limestone tablet recently (1908) unearthed at
Gezer, which is evidently a sort of farmer's calendar. For the
contents 1 of this interesting document and its illustrative value for
the O.'T. student, see PEFSt. 1909, and Marti in ZATW. xxix
(1909); 222 ff.

LEVITICUS 23. 35-39- PE iS7
this seventh month is the feast of a tabernacles for seven
days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be ah holy 35
convocation : ye shall do no servile work. Seven days 36
ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord :
on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you ;
and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the
Lord : it is a h solemn assembly ; ye shall do no servile
work. These are the set feasts of the Lord, which ye shall 37
proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering
made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offefing,' and a
meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its
own day : beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside 38
your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your
freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.
Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, 39
[H] when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye
shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days : on. the first
a Heb. booths. b Or, closing festival
On this point a comparison of 1 Kings viii. 66 with 2 Chron. vii. 9 f.
is instructive. The eighth day became ultimately ' the great day
of the feast ' (John vii, 37). In the O. T. also, the feast of Booths
is frequently referred to as ' the feast ' par excellence (cf. ' the feast
of Yahweh,' verse 39), and is probably to be identified with the
festive gatherings recorded in such passages as Judges xxi. 21 ff.,
1 Sam. i. 3 ff., 21, &c. See further Num. xxix. 12-38.
34. the feast of tabernacles. The marginal rendering 'booths'
is to be preferred throughout, see on verses 40-42 below.
36. it is a solemn assembly : a technical term of the cultus
applied also in Deut. xvi. 8 to the seventh day of Mazzoth (see
Driver, Commentary, in he). The alternative rendering in the
margin is based on a mistaken etymology.
37 f. Part of the colophon or subscription to P's festal calendar,
now separated from its proper close, verse 44, by the insertion of
39-43, the celebration of the feast of Booths" from the calendar
of H. H has here, as in the previous extrict. been supplemented
with a view to secure greater harmony with P. This explains the

158 LEVITICUS 23. 4o-43- H
day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be
40 a solemn rest. And ye shall take you on the first day
the, fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, .and
boughs of 1 thick trees, and willows of the brook ; ;and ye
shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days
in the year.: it is a statute for- ever in your generations :
42 ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell
in booths seven days; all that are homeborn in Israel
43 shall dwell in booths : that your generations may .know
that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths,
when I brought them, out pf the land of Egypt: I am

precise dating at the beginning ot verse 39, which now precedes
the more general terms of H ; ' when ye have gathered in the
fruits,' &c. (cf. D's similar phraseology in Deut. xvi. 13 given
above, and verse 10 of this chapter). Since the feast lasts only
seven days according to H (40 ff.) — so also in D — the ' eighth day '
of 39 is also editorial and harmqnistic; cf. Num. xxix. 35 ff.
40. boughs of thick trees : probably rather 'of leafy trees,'
trees with thick, intertwining foliage, and so giving protection
against the sun's heat. The purpose in view is the construction
of booths in which the worshippers lived during the feast, as is
evident from the narrative of Nell. viii. 15 ff. This custom doubt
less had its origin in the habit of living during the vintage season
in extemporized erections such as are here contemplated. In the
Greek period it became the custom for the male Worshippers at
this feast to carry in one hand a 'bouquet' (Heb. luldb) composed
of a palm leaf with twigs of myrtle and willow, and in the other
a citron (cf. the description of the ceremony in 2 Mace, x, 7).
The liildb and citron were adopted as a type on coins of the
second revolt (see ''plate' of illustrations to the writer's article
'Money' in Hastings's DB. iii. No. 20).
42. The feast of Booths, which, like the other two harvest
festivals, was presumably adopted from the Canaanites after the
conquest, here receives a hew significance as a festival com
memorating Israel's sojourn in the wilderness. The feast of
Mazzoth had already been associated with the Exodus ' (Exod.
xiii. 3, Deut. xvi. 3) ; it only remained for the Jews in the post-
biblical period to associate the feast of Weeks with the giving of
the law on Sinai.

LEVITICUS 23. 44— 24. 5.. HP 159
the Lord your God. [P] And Moses declared unto 44
the children of Israel the set feasts of the Lord.
[P] a And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Com- 24 2
mand the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure
olive oil beaten for the light, b to cause a lamp to burn
continually. Without the veil of the testimony, in the 3
tent of meeting, shall Aaron order it from evening to
morning before the Lord continually : it shall be a
statute for ever throughout your generations. He shall 4
order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the
Lord continually.
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes 5
a See Ex. xxvii. 20^ 21. b Or, to set up a lamp continually
xxiv. consists of two distinct parts. In the first part we have
regulations regarding the lamps of the tabernacle (verses 1-4),
and the shewbread (5-9) ; in the second part laws directed against
the crimes of blasphemy and assault (10-23). The reasons which
led to the insertion of these laws and regulations at this point can
only be conjectured. The bulk of the chapter shows the closest
affinity to P; but in verses 15-22 we. have, in the main, an extract
with the distinctive phraseology of H.
1-4. The seven lamps of the tabernacle lampstand are to be fed
with the finest olive oil and attended to by the High Priest in
person — an almost exact parallel to Exod. xxvii. 20, 21.
4. the pure candlestick : properly ' lampstand,' as minutely
described in Exod. xxv. 31-40 (see the illustration prepared for the
writer's art. 'Tabernacle' in'Hastings's .DB., fv. 663). It is here
and elsewhere termed ' pure,' because made of pure gold, cf. ' the
pure table ' of shewbread, verse 6 below.
5-9. Directions for the preparation of the shewbread, literally
the presence-bread, as Exod. xxv. 30, R.V. margin, of which verse
this section is the supplement. For the history and significance
of this interesting part of the Hebrew ritual see the art. ' Shew
bread,' op. cit. iv. 495 ff. The number of cakes, which has its exact
counterpart in the presence-bread (akal pdnu) ofthe Babylonian
temple ritual ( KAT", 600) had no doubt a reference to the twelve

160 LEVITICUS 24.- 6-1 1. P
thereof: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.
6 And thou shalt set them in a two rows, six on a row,
7 upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt
put pure frankincense upon each b row, that it may be to
the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire
8 unto the Lord. Every sabbath day he shall set it in
order before the Lord continually ; it is ° on the behalf
9 of the children of Israel, an everlasting covenant. And
it shall be for Aaron and his sons ; and they shall eat it
in a holy place : for it is most holy unto him of the
offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual
statute.
io And the- son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was
an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel : and
the son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel
ii strove together in the camp ; and the son of the Israelitish
* Or, two piles, six in a pile b Or, pile " Or, from

tribes of Israel, on behalf of whom (verse 8) the shewbread was
presented, from Sabbath to Sabbath, as a symbolical expression of
the nation's gratitude to God as the continual source of every
material blessing.
5. twp tenth parts of an ephah: 'two 'issardns,' for which
see on v. n. ,
«5. in, two rows: the margin, 'in two piles,' is probably to be
preferred. 7. pure frankincense . . . memorial. See note on ii. s.
9. in a holy place . . . most holy. See note on ii. 3.
10-23. The kernel of this section is contained in verses 15-22,
an extract from the Holiness Code — note the signature of H at
the end of 22 — dealing with the crime of blasphemy and with the
penalties to be inflicted on those causing injury to man or beast
This extract has been fitted by a late priestly redactor into
a framework intended to illustrate by a concrete case the punish
ment to be meted out to the blasphemer. The narrative of the
sabbath-breaker in Num. xv. 32 ff. is an exact parallel.

LEVITICUS 24. 12-21. PH 161
woman blasphemed the Name, and, cursed : and they
brought him unto Moses. And his mother's name was
Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
And they put him in ward, that it might be declared 12
unto them at the mouth of the Lord.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth I3
him that hath cursed without the camp ; and let all that I4
heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the
congregation stone him. [H] And thou shalt speak unto 15
the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God
shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name 16
ofthe Lord, he shall surely be put to death; all the
congregation shall certainly stone him : as well the
stranger, as the homeborn, when he blasphemeth the
name of the LORD, shall be put to death. And he that 17
smiteth any man mortally shall surely be put to death;
and he that smiteth a beast mortally shall make it good : 18
life for life. And if a man cause a blemish in his 19
neighbour ; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him ;
breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth : as he 20
hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be rendered
unto him. And he that killeth a beast shall make it 21
good : and he that killeth a man shall be put to death.
11. blasphemed the Name. This Substitute for the Divine
proper name, although continually used in later Jewish writings,,
can scarcely be original here ; read either 'Yahweh' alone,. or as
in 16s- 'the name of Yahweh,' which the LXX also reads in i6b
(note the italics of R. V.).
15. Whosoever . . . shall hear his sin. Both the formulation
and the phraseology have numerous parallels in the preceding
sections of H.
17-21 . A series of illustrations of the ancient jus talionis, orjaw. 1 1
of retaliation, 'life for life,' 'eye for eye,' &c. ; see the earlier II
torotlfW the Book of the Covenant, Exod, xxi. 23-25 ; and cf.
Deut. xix. 21 ; Matt. v. 38. The jus talionis plays a large part in
the criminal code of Hammurabi (Cook, op. cit., 249 f.).
M

162 LEVITICUS 24. 22—25. i. HPH
22 Ye shall have one manner of Jaw, as well for the stranger, •
as for the homeborn: for I am the Lord your God.i
23 [P] And Moses spake to the children of Israel, and they
brought forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and
stoned him with stones. And the children of Israel did
as the Lord commanded Moses.
25 [H] And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai,
22. Cf. Exod. xii. 49 ; Num. ix. 14, xv. 15, 29.
23. The original close of P's narrative in verses 10-14.
Chapter xxv is the natural continuation of xxiii. The cycle of
sacred seasons is here completed by the addition of the seventh
year, usually termed the sabbatical year, and of the fiftieth or year
of Jubilee. With the latter is connected a series of provisions
dealing with the land and with slaves.
The chapter, as it now stands, presents numerous difficulties,
literary and historical, which cannot be kept apart, and of which
only a probable solution can at best be offered. As regards the
literary problems, all critics are agreed in recognizing the legisla
tion of H in verses 2b-7 (note the introductory phrase characteristic
of H : 'when ye come into the land,' &c. ; cf. xix. 23, xxiii. 10).
These verses find their natural continuation in 17-22. The
humanitarian spirit of the Holiness Code may also be recognized
in 35-40 and in other isolated verses. There is likewise unanimity
in the allocation of verses 26-34 and of 48-52, at least, to
a secondary stratum of the priestly legislation (Ps). The chief
difficulty is met with in verses 8-13, and here the literary criteria
are not, in the present writer's opinion, decisive. All turns bn
the crucial question, did the year of Jubilee have a place in the
Holiness Code ? The balance of probability seems to be in favour
of the negative view. The subject is too large and complicated
for adequate discussion here.1 There is much force, however, in
the argument advanced by Paton (Journ. of Bib. Lit. xviii. 46) that
1 For further information on the literary and historical problems
raised by this chapter, the student is referred to the larger commentaries
of Dillmann-Ryssel, Bertholet, and Baentsch ; Driver and White's
Leviticus (translation and notes), in loc. ; C-H. i. 54f., ii. 177 f. ;
Wellhausen, Composition d. Hexat? 164 ff.; Harford-Battersby's
art. 'Sabbatical Year (including Jubile Year and land laws),' in
Hastings's DB. iv. 5 Nowack's £fe4. Archaologie, ii. 165 ff. ; Paton, in
Journ. of Bib. Lit. xviii. 43 ff. ; Fenton, Early Hebrew Life, 66-74.

LEVITICUS 25. 2-7. H 163
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto 2
them, When ye come into the land which I give you,
then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six 3
years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt
prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruits thereof; but 4
in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for
the land, a sabbath unto the Lord : thou shalt neither
sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which 5
groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and
the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather :
it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. And the 6
sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for thee,,
and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired
servant and for thy stranger that sojourn with thee ; and 7
if the author of H had given the Jubilee a place in his code, he
would surely have referred to it in verses 18-22 of this chapter
(see notes on these and on verses 11 f.). In the analysis of the
text, accordingly, verses 8-13 are assigned wholly to P (Ps).
1-7. The law of the sabbatical year (H). In the Book of the
Covenant we have the beginnings of the Hebrew poor law in the
provision that a field must lie fallow every seventh year, 'that
the poor of thy people may eat' (Exod. xxiii. 11). It is not
required that all the fields on a holding, still less that all the fields
on all, the holdings in Palestine, shall lie fallow simultaneously.
This, however, is what the law of this section requires. The
motive, also, is entirely different from that underlying the older
custom of the seventh year fallow. Religion here takes the place
of humane consideration for the poor. The land must be afforded
an opportunity of keeping God's holy sabbath ; ' the land shall
keep a sabbath unto Yahweh.' From xxvi. 34 f. it is evident that
no such sabbath'was observed under the monarchy. In the post-
exilic literature it is first mentioned in connexion with Ezra's
reform (Neh. x. 31). From the time of the Maccabees, however,
the sabbatical year was a recognized institution of Judaism.
4. a sabbath of solemn rest. See on xvi. 31.
6. the sabbath of the land: an unique expression denoting
the natural produce of the land in the 'sabbath ' year. Of this
the farmer, with his household and Cattle, is to be allowed full
use ; no mention is made of the rights of the poor. For the
'Stranger' (toshabh) of this verse, see on xxii. 10.
M 2

1 64 LEVITICUS 25. 8^-ji. HP
for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land,
shall all the increase thereof be for food. ,
8 ;[P] And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years
unto thee, seven times seven years ; and there shall be
unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty
9 and nine years. Then shalt thou send abroad the loud
trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month ; in the
day of atonement shall ye send abroad the trumpet
io throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land
unto .all the inhabitants thereof : it shall be a jubile unto
you ; and ye shall, return every man unto his possession,
n and ye shall return every man unto his family. A. jubile
8-13. The main law of the year of Jubilee (P"). The probability
is, as has been explained above, that we have here the ideal of
a later legislator,, in which the sabbath principle is carried to its
extreme limit. Even Jewish tradition admits that the provisions
of this and allied sections were never carried out as here detailed.
8. thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years : render
'seven weeks of years ';(cf. the sense of 'sabbath' in xxiii. 15).
As Pentecost fell upon the day after a week of weeks — hence its
name ' the feast of Weeks ' — so the Jubilee year was the (fiftieth)
year following seven weeks of years.
9. The Jubilee is to be ushered in by a blast on a ram's horn,
the 'trumpet' of the text, on the old New Year's Day, the tenth
of Tishri (see for this the note on xxiii. 23 ff.). Afterwards, when
the year began on the first of Tishri, the tenth was appropriated
for the new festival, of the Day of Atonement (xvi. 29, xxiii. 27).
This explains the mistaken gloss in the second part of the verse.
The joy of Jubilee is altogether incompatible with the austerity
of the 'great fast.'
10. it shall be a jubile nnto you : more explicitly ' a year of
jubile,' as in verses 13, 28, &c. The English word is derived
ultimately from the Hebrew original, yobel, a ram's horn (see
Josh. vi. 4 and R. V. marg.). The year was so named from the
blast by which it was announced.
ye shall return . . . family : here we have the two out
standing features of the Jubilee — the restoration of land that has
been alienated, and the restitution of liberty to those in servitude
(see further verses 13, 28, 40 ff.).
11 f. The prohibitions of H's sabbatical year (4 f. above) are

LEVITICUS 25. 12-19. PHPH 165
shall that fiftieth year be unto you : ye shall not sow,
neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather
the grapes in it of the undressed vines. For it is a jubile ; 12
it shall be holy unto you : ye shall eat the increase
thereof out of the field. In this year of jubile ye shall 13
return every man unto his possession. [H] And if thou 14
sell aught unto thy neighbour, or buy of thy neighbour's
hand, ye shall not wrong one another : [P] according 15
to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of
thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years
of the crops he shall sell unto thee. According to the 16
multitude of the years thou shalt increase the price
thereof, and according to the fewness of the years thou
shalt diminish the price of it; for- the number of the
crops doth he sell unto thee. [H] And ye shall not wrong 1 7
one another ; but thou shalt fear thy God : for I am the
Lord your God. Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, 18
and keep my judgements and do them; and ye shall
dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield 19

transferred by P8 to his year of jubilee. Since every forty-ninth
year was a sabbatical year, this means that the whole land was to
lie fallow for two consecutive years. Was this ever practicable ?
See the objection which the author of H anticipates in verse 20 to
the universal fallow of every seventh year alone. What appears
to be the legitimate inference from his silence as to the very much
greater inconvenience of two fallow years in succession has been
already stated.
15 f. In the buying and selling of land it is laid down that
what is really conveyed to the purchaser is not the land, but the
crops it will produce between the date of the transaction and the
next Jubilee when the land reverts to the seller.
17, repeating the moral precept of verse 14, bears at its close
the signature of H.
18-22. The continuation of the law of the sabbatical year (2b-7),
intended to meet the natural objection to the new demand for
a simultaneous fallow of the whole agricultural land.

166 LEVITICUS 25. 20-25. H.PH
her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in
20 safety. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the
seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in
21 our increase : then I will command my blessing upon
you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for
22 the three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and
eat of the fruits, the old store ; until the ninth year, until
23 her fruits come in, ye shall eat the old store. [P] And
the land shall not be sold in perpetuity ; for the land is
mine : for ye are strangers and sojourners with - me.
24 [H] And in all the land of your possession ye shall
grant a redemption for the land.
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and sell some of his
possession, then shall his kinsman that is next unto him
21 f. By the.Divine blessing upon it, the land, in the sixth year,
will produce sufficient for the needs of 'the three years.' Which
three? The experience of the present day in Syria shows that,
after lying fallow for a year, a field requires several plotfghings
before it can be sown. The consequence is that sowing cannot
be begun till the following spring — the eighth year of verse 22 —
and the crop is not available till late autumn, when ' the ninth
year' has begun.
23. the land is mine : a characteristic thought of the Priests'
Code. Palestine is Yahweh's land ; His people hold their lands
in fee from Him. 'The idea that the Israelites are Jehovah's
clients, sojourning in a land where they have no rights of their
own, but are absolutely dependent on His bounty, is one of the
most characteristic notes of the new and more timid type of piety
that distinguishes post-exilic Judaism from the religion of old
Israel' (W. R. Smith, Rel. Sent.2 78).
24-25. Provision for the redemption of land, a fragment of H's
land laws, entirely independent ofthe institution ofthe Jubilee.
25. his kinsman . . . shall redeem, &c. : ' kinsman ' renders the
Heb. goel (lit. ' one who vindicates a claim '), an important term
of Hebrew jurisprudence. Of the duty here incumbent on the
goel, or next of kin, the classical illustrations in O.T. are found in
Jeremiah xxxii. 8-12, and Ruth iv. 1 ff. For a similar duty see
below, verses 48 f., and for others the arts. ' Goel ' in DB. and
EBi.

LEVITICUS 25. 26-32. HP 167
come, and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold.
[P] And if a man have no one to redeem it, and he be 26
waxen rich and find sufficient to redeem it; then let 27
him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the
overplus unto the man to whom he sold it ; and he shall
return unto his possession. But if he be not able to get 28
it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall
remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the
year of jubile : and in the jubile it shall go out, and he
shall return unto his possession.
And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, 29
then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is
sold ; for a full year shall he have the right of redemp
tion. And if it be not redeemed within the space of 30
a full year, then the house that is in the walled city
shall be made sure in perpetuity to him that bought it,
throughout his generations : it shall not go out in the
jubile. But the houses of the villages which have no si
wall round about them shall be reckoned with the fields
of the country : they may be redeemed, and they shall
go out in the jubile. Nevertheless the cities of the 32
Levites, the houses of the cities of their possession, may

26-28. With the preceding extract from H, the editor has
combined another from P. In modern phrase, the original vendor
buys back his property by refunding to the purchaser the pro
portion of the price corresponding to the years that had still to
run of the jubilee period (cf. verses 15, 50 ff.).
29-34. The law requiring the universal restitution of alienated
property in the fiftieth year is not to apply to houses in walled
cities. In these, however, the vendor retains the right of redemp
tion for a whole year after the sale. In the case of the Levitical
cities (for these see Num. xxxv) again, the vendor has a perpetual
right of redemption, but if this right is not exercised, his property
returns to him at the jubilee. Levitical property, even in a city,
is as inalienable as real estate in the country.

168 LEVITICUS 25. 33-4°- PH
33 the Levites redeem at any time. And if a one of the
Levites b redeem, then the house that was sold, and the
city of his possession, shall go out in the jubile : for the
houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession
34 among the children of Israel. But the field of the
° suburbs Of their cities may not be sold : for it is their
perpetual possession.
35 [H] And if thy brother be waxen poor, and1 his hand
fail with thee ; then thou shalt d uphold him : as a stranger
36 and a sojourner shall he live with th€e. Take thou no
usury of him or increase ; but fear thy God : that thy
37 brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him
thy money upon usury, nor give him thy victuals for
38 increase. I am the Lord your God, which brought you
forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land
of Canaan, to be your God.
39 And if thy brother be waxen poor with thee, and sell
himself unto thee ; thou shalt not mate him to serve as
40 a bondservant : as an hired servant, and as a sojourner,
a Or, a man redeem from the Levites b Or, after the Vulgate,
redeem not " Or, pasture lands d Or, relieve
33. Read as in the margin : ' if one of the Levites do not re
deem it' ; the negative has fallen out.
34. the field ofthe suburbs: render, 'but fields in the pasture
lands,' as R.V. margin. For these 'suburbs ' or pasture lands see
on Num. xxv. 2 ff.
35-38. The practical love of one's ' neighbour ' in the sense of
xix. 18 (which see), also from H.
36. Take thou no usury of him or increase : the terms of the
original both denote interest, the former interest on loans of
money, the latter interest on other advances such as food-stuffs
(see verse 37), seed corn and the like, which was paid in kind.
This species of loan played a large part in the economics of
Babylonia (see Johns, Bab. and Assyr. Laws, ch. xxiii). Parallels
from earlier codes in Exod. xxii. 25 ; Deut. xxiii. 19 f.
39-46. Differential treatment of slaves of Hebrew and non-
Hebrew nationality, based on the dignity of even the poorest

LEVITICUS 25. 4i-49- H PHP HP 169
he shall be with thee ; [P] he shall serve with thee unto
the year of jubile : then shall he go out from thee, he 41
and his children with him, and shall return unto his
own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall
he return. For they are my servants, which I brought 42
forth out of the land of Egypt : they shall not be sold as
bondmen. [H] Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour ; 43
but shalt fear thy God. [P] And as for thy bondmen, 44
and thy bondmaids, which thou .. shalt have ; of the
nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy
bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover ofthe children of 45
the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall
ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which
they have begotten in your land : and they shall be your
possession. And ye shall make them an inheritance for 46
your children after you, to hold for a possession; of
them shall ye take your bondmen for ever : but over
your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule,
one over another, with rigour.
[H] And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxen 47
rich, and thy brother be waxen poor beside him, and sell
himself unto the stranger or sojourner with thee, or to
the stock of the stranger's family : [P] -after that he 48
is sold he may be redeemed ; one of his brethren may
redeem him : or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem 49
him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may
redeem him ; or if he be waxen rich, he may redeem
Hebrew as a member of Yahweh's ' peculiar people ' (cf. also
verse 55). Kindness based on religion, the fear of God (verse
43), is the keynqte of this section of the law. The terms with
which the extract from P opens in verse 40 silently abrogate the
more humane provisions of the earlier codes, by which a slave
went free after six full years' servitude (Exod. xxi. 2 ; Deut. xv. 12).
47-55. Provision for the redemption of a Hebrew compelled

170 LEVITICUS 25. 50— 26. , . PHPH
50 himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought
him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the
-year of jubile : and the price of his sale shall be accord
ing unto the number of years; according to the time of
51 an hired servant shall he be with him. If there be yet
many years, according unto them he shall give back the
, price of his redemption out of the money that he was
52 bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the
year of jubile, then he shall reckon with him ; according
unto his years shall he give back the price of his re-
53 demption. [H] As a servant hired year by year shall he
be with him : he shall not rule with rigour over him in
54 thy =sight. [p] And if he be not redeemed a by these
means, then he shall go: out in the year of jubile, he, and
55 his children with him. [H] For unto me the children of
Israel are servants ; they are my servants whom I brought
forth out of the land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God.
26 [H] Ye shall make you no b idols, neither shall ye rear
a Or, in these years b See ch. xix. 4.
to sell himself as a slave to a neighbouring alien. As in the
similar situation in 25-28, the duty of redeeming him falls upon
his next of kin in succession, as in the case of Ruth (iii. 12 f.,
iv. 4). The redemption price is to be calculated on the same
principle as before. This section also is pervaded by the thought
that a Hebrew can never be more than nominally a slave to any
human master, since God has chosen him for His servant.
(e) xxvi. The close of the Holiness Code in the form of a hortatory
address. ' On the inculcation of two fundamental commands of the
theocracy, the avoidance of image-worship (cf. xix. 4), and the
observance of the Sabbaths with reverence for the sanctuary
(xix. 30), follows a recital of the material and spiritual blessings
which will be Israel's portion in case of obedience (verses 3-13),
then five severe threatenings for the case of disobedience (14-19).
Only the penitent confession of their sins and the expiation of
their guilt in the land of their enemies will induce Yahweh to

LEVITICUS 26. 2-4. H 171
you up a graven image, or a a pillar, neither shall ye place
any figured stone in your land, to bow down b unto it :
for I am the Lord your God. Ye shall keep my sab- 2
baths, and reverence my sanctuary : I am the Lord.
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my command- 3
ments, and do them ; then I will give your rains in their 4
a Or, an obelisk l Or, thereon

remember His covenant with them and to restore them once more
to His favour' (Kautzsch).
The Holiness Code closes with an impressive address in which
the Divine Lawgiver with promise and threat exhorts His
covenant people to observe its requirements. In the same
manner the earlier Book of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic
Code had been brought to a close (see Exod. xxiii. 20-33 » Deut.
xxviii. 1-68). On the latter passage, more particularly, the com
piler of H has modelled his address. The most remarkable
literary feature of this chapter, however, is the extraordinary
number of expressions which it has in common with the book of
Ezekiel. Lists of these parallels are given by Driver, LOT?
147 f., by the editors of the Oxford Hexateuch (C-H. i. 150 f.),
and in all the larger commentaries (the chapter should be studied
with the help of a good reference Bible). The main point at
issue is the question as to which of the two, Ezekiel or H, is
dependent on the other, as on the answer depends the date of the
compilation of the Holiness Code. This subject has been dis
cussed in its place in the Introduction, and the conclusion come
to that the dependence is on the part of Ezekiel, on the ground
mainly that there are expressions in Lev. xxvi, not found in
Ezekiel, that show we have here to do with an author of marked
originality both in thought and expression.
1 f. The discourse opens with a brief summary of the funda
mental principles of the Hebrew religion, containing ' the
quintessence of the foregoing legislation ' (Baentsch). Cf. note
on xix. 3 f.
or a pillar : the mazzebah, or standing stone, so frequently
mentioned in the O. T. among the appurtenances of the ' high
places.' any figured stone : also Num. xxxiii. 52, a stone with some
idolatrous image or symbol carved upon it.
3-13. Promise of blessings, material and spiritual, in case of
obedience. The parallel promises of Deut. xxviii. 1-14 should
be compared.

172 LEVITICUS 26. 5-14- H
season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the
5 trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your thresh
ing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall
reach unto the sowing time : and ye shall eat your bread
6 to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will
give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none
shall make you afraid: and I will cause evil beasts to
cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through
7 your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they
8 shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you
shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you; shall
chase ten thousand : and your enemies shall fall before
9 you by the sword. And I will have respect unto you,
and make you fruitful, and multiply you ; and will estab-
10 lish my covenant with you/ And ye, shall eat .old store
long kept, and ye shall bring forth the old a because of
11 the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you : and
12 my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among
you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
r3 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out
ofthe land of Egypt, that ye -should not be their bond
men ; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and
made you go upright.
14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all
"Or, from before
5. With the promise ofthe first half of the verse, cf. Amos ix. 13.
7 f. Cf. Joshua xxiii. 10, ' for Yahweh your God, he it is that
fighteth for you.'
10. because of the new: i.e. to make room for the new
(Driver, Kautzsch). This verse interrupts the recital of the
religious blessings in 9b, n f., and has perhaps become displaced
from its original position after 5.
14-39. The punishments that will follow disobedience. These
are arranged in five groups of increasing severity, viz. : (1) sick-

LEVITICUS 26. 15-22. H 173
these commandments; and if ye shall reject my statutes, 15
and if your soul abhor my judgements, so that ye will
not do all my commandments, but break my covenant ;
I also will do this unto you ; I will appoint terror over 16
you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the
eyes, and make the soul to pine away : and ye shall sow
your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I 17
will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten
before your enemies : they that hate you shall rule over
you ; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if 18
ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I
will chastise you seven times more for your sins. And 19
I will break the pride of your power; and I will make
your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass : and your 20
strength shall be spent in vain : for your land shall not
yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land
yield their fruit. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and 2 1
will not hearken unto me ; I will bring seven times more
plagues upon you according to your sins. And I will 22
send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob
you of your children; and destroy your cattle, and make
you few in number ; and your ways shall become
ness and defeat (verses 16 f.), (2) famine, (19 f.), (3) wild beasts
(21 f.), (4) a siege with its accompanying privations and disease
(23-26), and finally (5) the crowning disaster of national destruction
and exile (27-39). In the literary treatment of these topics there
are numerous reminiscences of Deut. xxviii. 15 ff. ; cf. also Ezek.
v. 11-17.
19. the pride of your power : the power or strength of which
ye are proud, a favourite expression of Ezekiel (xxiv. 21, xxx. 6,
18, xxxiii. 28).
21. if ye walk contrary unto me : in defiant opposition to the
Divine will, a strong expression peculiar to this chapter, cf. verses
23, 27, 40, and in the converse sense of Yahweh, 24, 28, 41.
' Plague ' in this verse is to be understood in its etymological sense
of ' stroke ' (see on xiii. 2), ' I will further smite you sevenfold.'

174 LEVITICUS 26. 23-30. H
23 desolate. And if by these things ye will not be reformed
24 aunto me, but will walk contrary unto me ; then will
I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you,
3 5 even I, seven times for your sins. And I will bring
a sword upon you, .that shall execute the vengeance of
the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within
¦ yoiir cities : and I will send the pestilence among you ;
and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
26 When I ; break your staff of bread, ten women shall
bake your bread in. one oven, and they shall deliver
your bread again by weight : and ye shall eat, and not
be satisfied.
27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but
28 walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto
you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times for
29 your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and
30 the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will
destroy your high places^and cut down your sun-images,
" Or, by
23. if ... ye will not be reformed unto me : more literally, 'if
ye will not let yourselves be disciplined by me' (cf. margin); the
Original is the reflexive of the verb rendered ' chastise ' in verses
18, 28. The purpose of God's chastisements is the moral dis
cipline of His people.
25. the vengeance of the covenant ; the punishment for the
broken covenant,
26. An illustration of the privations of a state of siege. Instead
of each housewife firing the family bread in her own oven, a single
oven suffices for the meagre siege allowance of ten families, and
that doled out by weight.
27-39- The culmination of the Divine threatenings.; Yahweh's
forbearance is now at an end, He will chastise His unfaithful
people 'in fury.' _< . ¦ . c • . \
30. I will destroy your high plaoes (bdmoth) : only here
and Num. xxxiii. 52 in the Pentateuch is reference made by name
to the local sanctuaries so frequently mentioned in the historical
books. Taken over by the Hebrews from the Canaanites, they

LEVITICUS 26.31-37. H 175
ana cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols;
and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your 31
cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desola
tion, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet
odours. And I will bring the land into desolation : and 32
your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at
it. And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will 33
draw out the sword after you : and your land shall be
a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. Then 34
shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth
desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land ; even then
shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as 35
it lieth desolate it shall have rest ; even the rest which
it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
And as for them that are left of you, I will send a faint- 36
ness into their heart in the lands of their enemies : and -
the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them ; and they
shall flee, as one fleeth from the sword ; and they shall
fall when none pursueth. And they shall stumble one 37
upon another, as it were before the sword, when none

became sources of contamination for the purer worship of Yahweh.
See the writer's art. 'High Place' in Hastings's DB. (1909).
your sun-imag-es (hammanim) : rather ' sun-pillars ' asso
ciated, as inscriptions show, with the worship of Baal-hammah,
the Syrian sun-god. Cf. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4 ; Ezek. vi. 4 ff.
34 f. For the thought see xxv. 2. This passage shows that
the law of the sabbatical year was unknown, or at least that it
was not observed in the writer's day.
shall the land enjoy her sabbaths : the verb here, and in
verse 43, rendered 'enjoy' seems to have been 'used technically
in connexion with the settlement of an account ' (Driver) ; the
ideais that in the exile the land, here personified (cf. xxv. 2), will
receive payment of an overdue account in the long sabbath-rest
which it will then enjoy, but which had been withheld from it
hitherto. 36 f. show that the author possessed the imagination of a poet
as well as the eloquence of an orator.

176 LEVITICUS 26. 38-45. H
pursueth : and ye shall have no power to stand before
38 your enemies. And ye shall perish among the natiobs,
39 and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And
they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity
in your enemies' lands ; and also in the iniquities of their
40 fathers shall they pine away with them. And they shall
confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers,
in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and
i also that because they have walked contrary unto me,
41 I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them
into the land of their enemies : if then their uncircum
cised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the
42 punishment of their iniquity ; then will ; I remember my
covenant with Jacob ; and also my covenant with Isaac,
and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember;
43 and. I will remember the land.- The land also shall be
left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth
desolate without them ; and they shall accept of the
/.punishment of their iniquity : because, even because they
rejected my judgements, and their soul abhorred my
44 statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land
of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will
I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my
45 covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God : but
I will for their sakes' remember the covenant of their
ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of

, 40-45. A good commentary on Psalm ciii. 8 f. But penitence
and confession must precede forgiveness (cf. 1 John i. 9) and
restoration. The thought that the Divine discipline is for moral
ends is again prominent, • and in truth the exile proved. to be
Israel's greatest school of discipline. Note also the prominence
given to the covenant relation between God and Israel through
the patriarchs (verse 42), the heroes of the Exodus (45).
41. their uncircumcised heart : cf. Jer. iv. 4 ; Deut. x. 16.

LEVITICUS 26. 46— 27. 2. HP 177
Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their
God : I am the Lord.
These are the statutes and judgements and laws, 46
which the Lord made between him and the children
of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
[P] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak 27 2
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When
a man shall a accomplish a vow, h the persons shall be
"¦ Or, make a special vow b Or, according to thy estimation
of persons unto the Loud, then thy estimation &c.
46. The colophon or subscription to the Holiness, Code. The
latter is Mosaic in so far as it is the reformulation and expansion
of the legislative principles first laid down by Moses.
Appendix. — Chapter XXVII.
On the Commutation of Votive Offerings and Tithes.
As is suggested by its colophon (verse 34) modelled on xxvi. 46,
the last chapter of Leviticus is of the nature of an appendix
to H rather than to the whole preceding legislation. The
contents belong to a late stratum of the priestly legislation, since
acquaintance with the institution of the Jubilee is assumed. This
association with the latter and with the rights of redemption
(both in ch. xxv) may explain the present position of the
chapter. 1-8 deal with the procedure to be followed when the object
vowed is a person. The case of Jephthah's daughter (Judges xi.
30 ff.) shows that in early times a human being might actually be
sacrificed in fulfilment of a vow, while the story of Samuel
illustrates another form of dedication, viz. lifelong service at a
sanctuary of Yahweh. When this chapter was written human
sacrifice had long been disavowed, and laymen were no longer
permitted to minister at the altar. If, therefore, a Hebrew vowed
a member of his family to the deity, he must afterwards commute
his offering for a sum of money according to the scale here
provided. The valuation was apparently made on the basis of
what may be called the market value of the individual's labour.
The money was, of course, paid to the priests.
2 f. Render : ' When a man makes to Yahweh a special vow
(cf. margin) involving persons according to thy valuation, then
thy valuation shall be for a male,' &c.
N

178 LEVITICUS 27. 3-10. P
3 for the Lord by thy estimation. And thy estimation
shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto
sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels
4 of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be
a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years
old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty
5 shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it be
from a month old even unto five years old, then thy
estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and
for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of
- silver. And if it be from sixty years old and upward ;
if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen
g shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be
poorer than thy estimation, then he shall be set before
the priest, and the priest shall value him ; according to
the ability of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
9 And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation
unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the
I0 Lord shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it,
a good for a bad, or a bad for a good : and if he shall at
all change beast for beast, then both it and that for which
3. after the shekel of the sanctuary. See the note on v. 15.
Fifty silver shekels would represent a little under £7 of our
money, but their true value in purchasing power would probably
be nearer £20.
8. Render: ' But if he (the person making the vow) be too poor
to pay thy valuation, then he shall set him (the person vowed)
before the priest,' &c.
9-13. Votive offerings of animals. Here the law distinguishes
between ' clean ' animals, admissible for a sacrifice, and unclean.
Only in the case of the latter is commutation permitted. ' Holy'
at the end of verse 9 is exactly expressed by the modern term
' taboo ' ; the animal has become the property of the deity, and
accordingly all profane use of it is interdicted (cf. the same
expression in vi. 18 with note).

LEVITICUS 27. n-17. P I79
it is changed shall be holy. And if it be any unclean u
beast, of which they do not offer an oblation unto the
Lord, then he shall set the beast before the priest : and 12
the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad : as
thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be. But if he will 13
indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof
unto thy estimation.
And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy 14
unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether
it be good or bad : as the priest shall estimate it, so shall
it stand. And if he that sanctified it will redeem his 15
house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of
thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.
And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord part of the 16
field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be accord
ing to the sowing thereof : the sowing of a homer of
barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. If he 17
sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy
13. From verse 27 we learn that two alternatives were open to
him who vowed an unclean animal ; either he might sell it and
hand over the proceeds to the temple treasury — we are dealing
here with post- exilic legislation — or he might redeem it by paying
the priest's valuation with a fifth part additional (cf. xxii. 14).
14 f. A house which had been vowed might be redeemed in
the same way for a sum exceeding its valuation by 20 per cent.
16-25. The commutation and redemption of land. Here, again,
the law distinguishes between a field which a man has inherited
(16-21), and one which he has himself bought (22-25).
the sowing of a homer of barley : i. e. the amount of land
which could be sown with a homer of barley-seed. The homer
contained 10 ephahs or 30 seahs, roughly 11 bushels. In the
Mishna ' the house of two seahs,' as it is termed, is a field equal
in area to the court of the Tabernacle, viz. 100 cubits by 50, circa
1,195 square yards. A homer field, on this reckoning, would
contain about 3f acres (for these estimates see ' Weights and
Measures' (Kennedy) in Hastings's DB. iv. 910 ff.,). The valua
tion, it will be noted, is at the rate of one shekel for each year of
the Jubilee period. N 2

180 LEVITICUS 27. 18-25. P
18 estimation it shall stand. But if he sanctify his field
after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him
the money according to the years that remain unto the
year of jubile, and an abatement shall be made from thy
19 estimation. And if he that sanctified the field will in
deed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the
money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured
20 to him. And if he will not redeem the field, or if he
have sold the field to another man, it shall not be re-
2 1 deemed any more : but the field, when it goeth out in
the jubile, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field
devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.
22 And if he sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath
23 bought, which is not ofthe field of his possession; then
the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estima
tion unto the year of jubile : and he shall give thine
estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord.
24 In the year of jubile the field shall return unto him of
whom it was bought, even to him to whom the posses-
25 sion of the land belongeth. And all thy estimations
shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary : twenty
gerahs shall be the shekel.
18. The principle of abatement is that already met with in
xxv. 50 ff.
19 f. So far the author of the vow has only commuted it. The
temple authorities, apparently, are still de jure the owners of the
field, and if the former wishes to regain the rights of ownership
he must redeem his field on the same terms as in the previous
cases of redemption. If he fails to redeem, or has meanwhile
sold it, the right of redemption lapses, and the field, at the next
Jubilee, does not revert to him but becomes ' devoted ' to, i. e. the
inalienable property of, Yahweh (see on verse 28).
21-24. In the case of a field which a man has bought, the pre
ceding considerations do not apply, for the author of the vow has
only the usufruct of the field till the next Jubilee, when it reverts
to its original owner.

LEVITICUS 27. 26-31. P 181
Only the firstling among beasts, which is made a first- 26
ling to the Lord, no man shall sanctify it ; whether it be
ox or sheep, it is the Lord's. And if it be of an unclean 27
beast, then he shall ransom it according to thine estima
tion, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof: or if it
be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy
estimation. Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall 28
devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, whether of man
or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or .
redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the
Lord. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, 29
shall be ransomed ; he shall surely be put to death.
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of 3°
the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's : it is
holy unto the Lord. And if a man will redeem aught 31

26 f. The firstlings of the herd and of the flock cannot be the
object of a vow, for they already belong to Yahweh, see Exod. xiii.
ii, 12, xxxiv. 19. But the firstlings of unclean animals have to be
redeemed, as required by the older legislation (Exod. xiii. 13,
xxxiv. 20), or sold and the price handed to the priests, an
alternative not contemplated in the passages cited.
28 f. The law of the ban (Heb. herem, R.V. devoted thing).
In his article ' Ban ' in Hastings's DB. (1909), the present writer
has traced the history of this antique institution, of which he
distinguishes three varieties in the O. T., the war ban of three
degrees of stringency, the justice ban, and the private ban. In
verse 28 the legislator deals with objects of the private ban which
are declared to be irredeemable (cf. the practice of ' Corban ' in
N. T. times, Mark vii. 11). In verse 29, on the other hand, the
reference must be to the justice ban, in other words, to the judicial
sentence by the proper authorities on such malefactors as the
idolater (see Exod. xxii. 20, where note R.V. margin) and the
blasphemer. 30-33. The law of tithe, with which compare the legislation of
D (Deut. xiv. 22-29, xxvi. 12 15), and elsewhere in P (Num. xviii.
21-32). The chief point of interest here is the demand for the
tithe of cattle, of which there is no mention elsewhere in the O.T.

i82 LEVITICUS 27. 32-34. P
of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof.
32 And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever
passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the
33 Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad,
neither shall he change it : and if he change it at all,
then both it and that for which it is changed shall be
holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34 These are the commandments, which the Lord com
manded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

On this and other grounds most critics are inclined to regard
verses 32 f. as a later addition to the original law of the vegetable
tithe (for the tithes of the O.T. see, besides the articles in the
recent Dictionaries of the Bible, Driver's Deuteronomy (Intern.
Crit. Series), pp. 166-73).
32. whatsoever passeth nnder the rod. As they pass under
the rod ' of him that telleth them ' (Jer. xxxiii. 13), every tenth
animal — it and no other (verse 33) — is to be the Lord's. By
a people in whose philosophy of life mere chance had no place,
and for whom the lot was the recognized means of the Divine
arbitrament, to do otherwise would have been regarded as an
infringement of Yahweh's freedom of choice.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
REVISED VERSION WITH ANNOTATIONS

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
First Division. Chapters I — X. id.
Laws and Regulations given at Sinai.
The first of the three divisions of the Book of Numbers (for
these see sect, ii of the Introduction) brings to a provisional close
the mass of priestly legislation, from different sources and of
varying age, which was introduced in Exod. xix and continued
throughout the whole of Leviticus. Since the erection of the
Tabernacle, or rather of the ' Dwelling,' in which, as the name
denotes, God has condescended to take up His earthly abode as
a sanctifying Presence in the midst of His chosen people, a com
plete month has elapsed (Num. i. i compared with Exod. xl. i, 17).
To this period we must assign, according to P's chronology, the
consecration and installation of Aaron and his sons as the priests
of the wilderness sanctuary (Lev. viii-x). But the ideal organiza
tion of the sanctuary is not yet complete. To aid them in the
subordinate duties of their office, the priests are to have attached
to them (xviii. 2) their kinsmen of the tribe of Levi, forming
a religious caste of lower theocratic rank than themselves, but
distinct from the main body of the laity.
Further, the whole 'congregation,' priests, Levites, and secular
tribes, have still to receive their places in the camp. The scheme
of allocation, as will be more fully shown in due course (p. 194 f.),
affords a striking illustration of the religious idealism of the author
of the history of Israel's sacred institutions (PB), for Whom the
Hebrew camp is a veritable city of God in the wilderness
of Sinai.
The arrangement of the camp and the installation of the Levites,
then, are the main themes of the first division of this book. To
these a good deal of legislative material has been added. The
present arrangement of the whole is, to the western mind at least,
confused and illogical. This lack of orderly arrangement is no
doubt due in part to various amplifications which the original
account (PB) has received at the hands of later priestly Writers
(P*). The more important of such later passages will be pointed
out in the notes, but quite apart from the impossibility of dis
tinguishing with certainty in all cases what is from P& and what
from later hands, it has not been thought advisable to occupy the
limited space with details of the critical analysis. Accordingly the
whole of this division has been entered as simply the product of
the priestly school of legislators, i. e. as P without further qualifica-
tion. The contents may be conveniently arranged in six sections,

1 86 NUMBERS 1. i. P
[P] And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness
for which see the Introduction, section ii, ' Arrangement and
Contents.' (a) i-ii. The first census and the disposition ofthe camp.
Moses is commanded to number all the males of the twelve
secular tribes above twenty years of age, and to assign to each
tribe its position in the camp relative to the sanctuary in the
centre, as also its place in the line of march. The results of
a similar census taken thirty-eight years later are given in ch. xxvi.
In this connexion one recalls the very different attitude to census-
taking reflected in the early narrative of David's census in
2 Sam. xxiv (see Cent. Bible, in he).
1. in the wilderness of Sinai. It is labour lost to attempt to
identify.with any approach to precision the location, of the Hebrew
camp to be described in the sequel. It is extremely improbable
that the author of Ps, born and brought up in Babylonia, had an
accurate knowledge of the geography of the wide tract of country
extending from the Negeb (or South-land) of Judah to the
extremity of the Sinaitic peninsula, and from the Egyptian
frontier and the Gulf of Suez on the west to the Gulf of Akaba
and the Arabah on the east. By 500 e. c. it may be assumed that
the mount of the lawgiving, to which P gives the traditional name
Sinai — in this following J in contrast to E and D who employ the
alternative Horeb — was identified with one or other of the moun
tains of the peninsula which now bears its name. Of the rival
peaks Jebel Serbal has the advantage not only of the evidence of
the older monkish settlements, but of the neighbourhood of the
only place where even a small community could have spent
almost a whole year, the famous oasis in the Wady Feiran. Of
the plain of er-Raha, beside Jebel Musa and the peak of Ras
Safsafeh, which has so many advocates of repute, the latest
investigator emphatically asserts from personal experience that it
is impossible for even a few hundred people to remain through
a winter ' in so barren and cold a place ' (C T. Curelly, in Flinders
Petrie's Researches in Sinai, pp. 247 ff.). The most that can be
said, therefore, is that the late Jewish tradition, if based on know
ledge of the local conditions, may have intended the Wady Feiran
by ' the wilderness of Sinai,' although it still remains a probable
inference that for P it was merely the name, without precise
geographical location, of the district in the peninsula in which
the mount of legislation was situated.
It should be added here that there is a growing inclination on
the part of many recent scholars, based on the-references in such
early poems as the ' Song of Deborah ' (see Judges v. 4 f.), and the
' Blessing of Moses ' (Deut. xxxiii. 2), to locate the Sinai of the

NUMBERS 1. 2-10. P 187
of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the
second month, in the second year after they were come out
ofthe land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the con- 2
gregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by
their fathers'houses, according to the number of the names,
every male, by their polls ; from twenty years old and 3
upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel,
thou and Aaron shall number them by their hosts. And 4
with you there shall be a man of every tribe ; every one
head of his fathers' house. And these are the names of 5
the men that shall stand with you : of Reuben ; Elizur
the son of Shedeur. Of Simeon ; Shelumiel the son of 6
Zurishaddai. Ofjudah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 7
Of Issachar ; Nethanel the son of Zuar. Of Zebulun ; 8, 9
Eliab the son of Helon. Of the children of Joseph : of 10
Ephraim ; Elishama the son of Ammihud : of Manasseh ;

oldest Hebrew tradition on the western border of Edom, in
the neighbourhood of Kadesh. To the present writer this seems
a more probable site than one on the east ofthe Gulf Akaba, as has
also been suggested. For recent literature see the introductory
remarks to ch. xxxiii.
2. The association of Aaron with Moses implied in the words
' Take ye,' and expressed in the following verse ' thou and Aaron,'
is seen from a comparison with verses ia and 19 to be due to
a later hand. This desire to enhance the importance of Aaron is
seen even more clearly in ix. 6b, the glossator having inadvertently
left the original preposition ' him,' i. e. Moses, standing in verse 7.
by their families, by their fathers' houses : more precisely,
'by their clans (and) by their septs,' the usual subdivisions of the
larger unit, the tribe (Joshua vii. 16-18 ; 1 Sam. a. 19-21). Each
tribe consisted of a number of clans, each clan of a number of septs.
by their polls : lit. ' skulls.' The word poll ' survives in
poll-tax or head money, and the poll at elections, in which voters
are counted by their polls or heads ' (Wright, The Bible
Word-book). 5-16. The names of twelve assessors, one from each tribe, who
are to assist Moses in the work of enumeration. With regard to
the order in which the tribes are here named, those whose

188 NUMBERS 1. 11-18. P
1 1 Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Of Benjamin ; Abidan
12 the son of Gideoni. Of Dan ; Ahiezer the son of
• 3 Ammishaddai. Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ochran.
'4 Of Gad ; Eliasaph the son of a Deuel. Of Naphtali ;
r* Ahira the son of Enan. These are they that were called
of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their
fathers ; they were the heads of the h thousands of Israel.
J7 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are
18 expressed by name : and they assembled all the con-
* In ch. ii. 14, Reuel. b Or, families

eponymous ancestors were reckoned as sons of Jacob's legitimate
wives take precedence of the reputed descendants of their hand
maids. For some reason, however, the sons of Rachel's maid
Bilhah are separated by the insertion of Zilpah's sons, in the
order Asher, Gad, between Dan and Naphtali. The chief feature
in the order of the census lists, both in i. 24 ff. and in xxvi. 5 ff..
is the elevation of Gad to a position between Simeon and Judah
(see below) . For the special features of the camp order see the
introductory note to ch. ii.
For the sake of those interested in the study of Hebrew proper
names as a likely source from which light may be thrown on the
history of the religion of the Hebrews, it may be pointed out that
of the twenty-four names of the assessors and their fathers, nine
contain the Divine name EI (=God), three the name Shaddai (see
Exod. vi. 3), and the same number the old Divine title Zur ( = rock),
while six contain as their first element one or other of the Divine
relationships, Abi-, the (divine) father, Ahi-, the (divine) brother,
and Ammi-, the (divine) kinsman. For the wide range of problems
which these names suggest see Buchanan Gray's standard work,
Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, and the art. ' Names ' in EBi.
As regards the twenty-four names before us, none of which, with
two exceptions (Ruth iv. 20), is found outside Numbers, Gray con
cludes that 'several of the names are unquestionably ancient, but
the list is certainly unhistorical ' (Commentary on Numbers, p. 6).
14. Deuel : a copyist's slip for Reuel, as it is in ii. 14.
16. the thousands of Israel. Parallel to the division of the
tribes into clans and septs we find a military organization into
thousands, hundreds, and fifties (i Sam. viii. 12, x. 19, &c). In
the passage last cited, 'thousands' is used as a synonym of
'clans' ; here it appears to be synonymous with the smaller unit,
the sept (cf. verse 4),

NUMBERS 1. 19-25. P 189
gregation together on the first day of the second month,
and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by
their fathers' houses, according to the number of the
names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them 19
in the wilderness of Sinai.
And the children of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their 20
generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
according to the number of the names, by their polls,
every male from twenty years old and upward, all that
were able to go forth to war; those that were numbered 21
of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six
thousand and five hundred.
Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their 22
families, by their fathers' houses, those that were num
bered thereof, according to the number of the names, by
their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward,
all that were able to go forth to war ; those that were 23
numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and
nine thousand and three hundred.
Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their 24
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered 25
of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand
six hundred and fifty.
20-46. Details of the census, the same formula being repeated
for each tribe. The peculiar position of Gad in the list is due to
the association of this tribe with Reuben and Simeon to form the
second or southern division in the location of the tribes around
the sanctuary (see ch. ii). Of the totals of the several tribes none
goes lower than the hundreds except in the case of Gad (verse 25),
and even there the number stops at the tens (45, 650). It has
often been noted, also, that just six of the tribes exceed the
average of 50,000, while the other six fall below that figure.

190 NUMBERS 1. 26-33. P
26 Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
27 were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered
of them, of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and
fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28 Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
29 were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered
of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four
thousand and four hundred.
30 Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
31 were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered
of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven
thousand and four hundred.
32 Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of
Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their
fathers' houses, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to
33 go forth to war ; those that were numbered of them,
of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five
hundred.

Further, the tribe of Dan, although consisting of only a single
clan, reaches the high total of 62,700. The gross total of the
twelve tribes is 603,350 (verse 46, ii. 32 ; cf. the corresponding
total of the second census, 601,730, xxvi. 51). The round number
of 600,000, now found in two J passages (xi.,21 ; Exod. xii. 37), is
admitted to be a later insertion based on P's totals. According to
modern statistics of vitality, 600,000 males above twenty years of
age represent a total population of at least two million souls.
The question must now be faced : Are these figures reliable ?
Did the Hebrews at their exodus from Egypt really number any-

NUMBERS 1. 34-41. P 19r
Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by 34
their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the
number of the names, from twenty years old and upward,
all that were able to go forth to war; those that were 35
numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty
and two thousand and two hundred.
Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by 36
their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the
number of the names, from twenty years old and upward,
all that were able to go forth to war; those that were 37
numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty
and five thousand and four hundred.
Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their 38
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered 39
of them, of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two
thousand and seven hundred.
Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their 4°
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered 41
of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one
thousand and five hundred.
thing approaching to 2,000,000? The answer must be in the
negative, for the utter impossibility of such a total can be proved
by various considerations, as Bishop Colenso showed long ago in
his famous work The Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua critically
examined (cf. Gray, Numbers, 11 ff.). Some of these are the
following : (1) The size of the land of Goshen is now known
approximately, ' about 60 or 80 square miles,' according to
Flinders Petrie, who holds that ' not more than about 5,000 people
could be taken out of Goshen or into Sinai ' (Researches in Sinai
(1906), p. 208). (2) The conditions of life in the Sinaitic peninsula
have not varied greatly within historic times, and it is extremely
doubtful if the district between the gulfs of Suez and Akaba was

193 NUMBERS 1. 42-45. P
42 Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their
families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number
of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that
43 were able to go forth to war ; those that were numbered
of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three
thousand and four hundred.
44 These are they that were numbered, which Moses and
Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve
45 men : they were each one for his fathers' house. So all
they that were numbered of the children of Israel by
ever capable of supporting more than its present estimated popu
lation of some 6,000, and certainly not more than a fraction of this
number if encamped for even a few days at any one spot. (3) The
high totals of this chapter are inconsistent with the statements of
other Pentateuch passages which represent the Hebrew immi
grants as too few in number to occupy effectively the tiny land
of Canaan ; see, for example, Exod. xxiii. 29 f. ; Deut. vii. 7, 22
(cf. Exod. i. 15 — only two midwives). And, as a matter of history,
only parts here and there were so occupied in the first stages
of the conquest (see Judges i).1
An elaborate but futile attempt has recently been made by the
scholar named above (Petrie,op. at. 209 ff.) to reduce P's numbers
to more reasonable dimensions by taking the Hebrew word for
1 thousand ' in the sense of ' families ' or tents, the hundreds alone
representing 'the total inhabitants of these tents.' The result is
a total of 598 tents and 5,550 people. But the high figures of
this chapter do not stand alone in O. T. literature, and Petrie him
self has to have recourse to a different theory in order to explain
the numbers of the Levites.
How P obtained the amazing totals of this chapter it is im
possible to say. It may be conjectured that they are an adaptation
and expansion of some genuine census lists of the period of the

1 In fairness to the author of this chapter, too much should not be
made of the startling results obtained by a comparison of the number
of the firstborn males in iii. 43, for the passage iii. 40-43 is from
a different hand (see below). Thus, according to the statistics of
vitality in modern nations, 22,273 firstborn males in a male popu
lation of say 1,1 10,000 (of whom 600,000 were over 20 years of age)
mean an average of 50 sons to a family ; or, if taken in another
way, they mean that only i in 16 women of marriageable age were
mothers.

NUMBERS 1. 46-51. P 193
their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward,
all that were able to go forth to war in Israel ; even all 46
they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and
three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not 47
numbered among them. For the Lord spake unto Moses, 48
saying, Only the tribe of Levi thou shalt not number, 49
neither shalt thou take the sum of them among the
children of Israel : but appoint thou the Levites over the 50
tabernacle of the testimony, and over all the furniture
thereof, and over all that belongeth to it : they shall bear
the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof; and they
shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the
tabernacle. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, 51
the Levites shall take it down : and when the tabernacle
monarchy, for it is scarcely credible that he had not some data
from which to work. But even as reflecting this later period,
the numbers could only be accepted for the larger tribes, such as
Judah and Ephraim. Mention may be made of Holzinger's
ingenious discovery that the numerical value of the Hebrew
letters in Bene Yisrael (children of Israel) is precisely 603, which
he believes to be the origin of the same number of thousands in
the gross total of the census (cf. Bennett's note on Gen. xiv. 14
in Cent. Bible — Abraham's trained men number 318, the numerical
value of the letters of Eliezer).
47-54 contain <t belated instruction to exclude the Levites
from the census, which is already un fait accompli, with a sum
mary of their duties and their place in the camp, which, on the
other hand, anticipates chs. iii-iv. Verse 47 is the natural close
of the preceding narrative; what follows is from a later hand
(P8) in explanation thereof. Our translators seek to remove the
difficulty by rendering, in defiance of Hebrew syntax : 'for the
Lord spake' or 'had spoken' (A.V.), in place of 'and Yahweh
spake.' 50. the tabernacle of the testimony : lit. ' the dwelling ' of
the testimony (also verse 53, x. n, Exod. xxxviii. 21), the latter
a name, peculiar to P, for the ark (e. g. xvii. 4, 10), as explained
in the note on Lev. xvi. 12 f. The duties ofthe Levites are more
fully given in chs. iii and iv.

194 NUMBERS 1. 52—2. 1. P
is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up : and the
52 stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. And
the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man
by his own camp, and every man by his own standard,
53 according to their hosts. But the Levites shall pitch
round about the tabernacle of the testimony, that there
be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of
Israel : and the Levites shall keep the charge of the
54 tabernacle of the testimony. Thus did the children of
Israel ; according to all that the Lord commanded
Moses, so did they.
2 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
51. the stranger: here practically 'the layman' as opposed
to both priests and Levites, see on Lev. xxii. 10.
53. the Levites — the priests are here overlooked, see iii. 38 —
are to form a protecting cordon round the sanctuary, lest any
of the unsanctified laity might incautiously approach the holy
place, and fall a victim to the death-dealing ' wrath ' of a holy God
(see xvi. 46). Just as the sanctuary was ' taboo ' for the layman
without due preparation (Exod. xix. 10, 14 f.), so its sacred vessels
and altars were ' taboo ' for the Levites (iv. 15, 20, xviii. 3).
shall keep the charge of the tabernacle : originally a
military term for keeping guard (2 Kings xi. 5 f.), ' to keep the
charge ' has become in P a comprehensive technical term for per
forming the multifarious services connected with the sanctuary
(so often in Numbers, iii. 7, 28, 32, 38, xviii. 3-5, &c).
Ch. ii is entirely occupied with the Divine instructions to
Moses (for ' Aaron ' of verse 1 see on i. 2 and cf. ii. 34) regarding
the arrangement of the camp. As we study it, let us forget the
unreality of the numbers and the impossibility of finding, among
the wadies of Sinai, the square miles of level ground required for
the tents of two or three millions of human beings with ' the flocks
and the herds x ' (xi. 22). This done, let us try to grasp the
religious ideas which filled the mind of the priestly writer as he
sketched the plan for his city of God in the wilderness.
Underlying all is the central fact of God's presence in the midst
of His people. Inseparable from this is the idea of worship, for
'Herds of large cattle are, and were, an impossibility in the
peninsula.

NUMBERS 2. 2, 3. P 195
saying, The children of Israel shall pitch every man by 2
his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers' houses :
over against the tent of meeting shall they pitch round
about. And those that pitch on the east side toward the 3
sunrising shall be they of the standard of the camp of
Judah, according to their hosts : and the prince of the
children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Ammin-
the author finds the highest expression of life in the exercise of
public worship, by which the theocratic community maintains
unbroken its relation to God. But Yahweh is a God of ineffable
and almost unapproachable holiness, a truth which needs to be
impressed even upon the people of the covenant. This is done by
arranging that the tents of the secular tribes shall not be pitched
in the immediate proximity of the Divine Dwelling — here P is
following in the footsteps of Ezekiel — but shall be separated from
it by a safety zone occupied by the tents of the consecrated priests
and Levites.
Finally, in the balance and symmetry which pervades the
arrangement of the camp, we may detect, as in the parallel case
of the Tabernacle, an attempt to symbolize the perfection and
harmony of the Divine character. Thus the chapter before us,
valueless to us as an historical record, has a value of its own as
an exposition of spiritual truths of the first importance.
2. A summary command, of which the rest ofthe chapter gives
the more precise details. It has hitherto been usual to distinguish
between the standards and the ensigns by taking the former as
the military standards of the larger units, the clans and tribes,
and the latter as the standards of the septs or 'fathers' houses.'
In the ancient versions, however, the word rendered standard
(degel) is understood of a military ' company ' (so Gray, Numbers).
This meaning is confirmed by the recently discovered Jewish
papyri of Elephantine, in which degel repeatedly occurs in the
sense of a division, cadre, or the like. Here, therefore, render
'by his own division,' the whole army of 600,000 being divided
into four divisions or army corps, each with its own ' camp.'
3-9. The place of honour, on the east of the Tabernacle, is
occupied by the ' camp of Judah,' comprising the tribe of Judah
flanked by the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun. The whole
encampment is to be pictured as forming a quadrilateral lying
' foursquare ' like Ezekiel's court (Ezek. xl. 47), and the city of God
of a later vision (Rev. xxi. 16). The centre, as we have seen, is
occupied by the Tabernacle and its court. Nearest to the sanctuary,
O 2

196 NUMBERS 2. 4-11. P
4 adab. And his host, and those that were numbered of
them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six
5 hundred. And those that pitch next unto him shall be
the tribe of Issachar : and the prince of the children of
6 Issachar shall be Nethanel the son of Zuar : and his host,
and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and
7 four thousand and four hundred : and the tribe of Zebu
lun : and the prince of the children of Zebulun shall be
8 Eliab the son of Helon : and his host, and those that
were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand
9 and four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp
of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thou
sand and six thousand and four hundred, according to
their hosts. They shall set forth first.
I0 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of
Reuben according to their hosts : and the prince of the
children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
11 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof,
and surrounding it on all four sides as a protecting cordon, are the
tents of the priests and Levites, those of the former on the
eastern side, opposite the entrance to the Tabernacle (iii. 38),
those of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites on the south,
west, and north of the Tabernacle respectively (iii. 23, 29, 35).
Beyond these, and enclosing them, stretch the tents of the
twelve secular tribes arranged in the four ' divisions ' above
mentioned. Each division bears the name of its leading tribe,
Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, Dan, proceeding from east to north as
above. In this order, also, the divisions are to take their places
in the line of march (verses 9, 16, 24, 31).
4. This verse and the fifteen verses corresponding (6, 8, 9"-,
lr> r3i x5i Sec), giving the census results of ch. i, must be later
insertions, as one can scarcely believe that the author of Pe ' has
really forgotten that he is professedly reporting a Divine in
struction to Moses.'
10-16. The next most honourable position, on the south of the
Tabernacle, is assigned to the division of 'the camp of Reuben.'
With Reuben are associated Simeon and, in place of Levi, Gad,
the eldest son of Leah's handmaid.

NUMBERS 2. 12-22. P 197
were forty and six thousand and five hundred. And 12
those that pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of
Simeon : and the prince of the children of Simeon shall
be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai : and his host, and 13
those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine
thousand and three hundred : and the tribe of Gad : and 14
the prince of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the
son of a Reuel : and his host, and those that were num- 1 5
bered of them, were forty and five thousand and six
hundred and fifty. All that were numbered of the camp 16
of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one
thousand and four hundred and fifty, according to their
hosts. And they shall set forth second.
Then the tent of meeting shall set forward, with the 17
camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps : as they
encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place,
by their standards.
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of 18
Ephraim according to their hosts : and the prince of the
children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of
Ammihud. And his host, and those that were num- 19
bered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
And next unto him shall be the tribe of Manasseh : and 20
the prince of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel
the son of Pedahzur: and his host, and those that were 21
numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and
two hundred : and the tribe of Benjamin : and the prince 22
of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of
a In ch. i. 14, Deuel.
17. An irrelevant and inaccurate gloss (see x. 17-21).
18-24. The west side is occupied by 'the camp of Ephraim,*
who here, as elsewhere, takes precedence of his elder brother
Manasseh "(Gen. xlviii. 13 ff.) With these is naturally associated
the tribe of Benjamin, thus completing the descendants of Rachel.

198 NUMBERS 2. 23-34- P
23 Gideoni : and his host, and those that were numbered
of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
24 All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an
hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred,
according to their hosts. And they shall set forth third.
25 On the north side shall be the standard of the camp
of Dan according to their hosts : and the prince of the
children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishad-
26 dai. And his host, and those that were numbered of
them, were threescore and two thousand and seven
2 7 hundred. And those that pitch next unto him shall be
the tribe of Asher : and the prince of the children of
28 Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ochran : and his host,
and those that were numbered of them, were forty and
29 one thousand and five hundred : and the tribe of Naph
tali : and the prince of the children of Naphtali shall be
30 Ahira the son of Enan : and his host, and those that
were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand
31 and four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp
of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven
thousand and six hundred. They shall set forth hind
most by their standards.
32 These are they that were numbered of the children of
Israel by their fathers' houses : all that were numbered
of the camps according to their hosts were six hundred
thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
33 But the Levites were not numbered among the children
34 of Israel ; as the Lord commanded Moses. Thus did
the children of Israel; according to all that the Lord
commanded Moses, so they pitched by their standards,
25-31. The 'camp of Dan' on the north of the Tabernacle
comprises the tribes descended from Jacob's concubines, with the
exception of Gad already allocated.

NUMBERS 3. i. F 199
and so they set . forward, every one by their families,
according to their fathers' houses.
Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in 3

(b) iii-iv. The Levites and their duties.
This important subject is also dealt with in viii. 5-26 and
xviii. 1-7. The literary relation of the three sections is difficult
to determine. On the one hand, xviii. 1-7 is unquestionably the
natural sequel to the story of Korah's rebellion as told by P8
(see the introductory note to ch. xvi), and reads as if the appoint
ment of ' the tribe of Levi ' (xviii. 2) for the service of the
sanctuary was being mentioned for the first time. In this case
iii. 5-10 would have to be regarded as an anticipation of xviii. 1 ff.
by a later hand (so Baentsch, Moore, &c). On the whole, how
ever, it is more probable on various grounds that PK introduced
the appointment of the Levites in close connexion with the
nomination (Exod. xxix) and consecration (Lev. viii-x) 1 of Aaron
and his sons to the priesthood. If this be so, the rebellion of
Korah has been made the occasion of reinforcing the Divine choice
of Levi, and of defining anew the relation between the two orders
of the hierarchy (xviii. 4 ff.).
In any case it is only in parts of ch. iii that Pg is represented.
Ch. iv is regarded by most critics as secondary (P") on the
ground of certain peculiarities of phraseology (see C-H., Hex.,
vol. ii, in he), and as being little more than a diffuse expansion
of parts of ch. iii. For the different point of view in iii. 5-10
compared with n-13, pointing to a difference of source, see the
notes below.
The existence of the two orders, priests and Levites, from the
very foundation of the theocracy is one of the fundamental
assumptions of the priestly school of Jewish historians. Modern
historical criticism, however, has shown conclusively that there
is no certain trace of such a dualism in the history of Israel until
the post-exilic period. Originally the offering of sacrifice, the
chief of the later priestly prerogatives, was not confined to any
caste, although even as early as the days of the Judges, the
members of the old secular tribe of Levi (see Gen. xlix. 7) were
believed to be specially qualified for the priestly office, in virtue
probably of their kinship with Moses (Judges xvii. 7-13, xviii. 30,
R.V.). Eventually, however, the members of the various priest
hoods became a sacred caste, claiming descent from Levi. Hence
in Deuteronomy, ' the priests, the Levites,' is the standing designa-
1 It will be remembered that there is almost nothing of PB in the rest
of Leviticus.

200 NUMBERS 3. 2-7. P
the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron ; Nadab
3 the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These
are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which
were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the
4 priest's office. And Nadab and Abihu died before the
Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord,
in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children :
and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office
in the presence of Aaron their father
*! And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the
tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest,
7 that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep

tion of those who were priests by office and Levites by reputed
descent. According to the modern view, the first to make a cleavage
within the ranks of the Levitical priests was Ezekiel, who declared
that the priests of the local sanctuaries had forfeited their right to
be regarded as legitimate priests of Yahweh. As a punishment
for their unfaithfulness they were henceforth to be excluded from
the altar, and to be degraded to the position of servants of the
Zadokite priesthood at Jerusalem (Ezek. xliv. 10-16, see Cent.
Bible, in he). The distinction thus created between priests and
' Levites ' who are not priests is carried back by P to the days of
Moses, with this all-important difference, however, that the idea
of degradation has entirely disappeared. On the contrary, the
appointment of the Levites is represented by the priestly writers
as a gracious act on the part of Yahweh, and their position as one
of privilege and honour, inferior only to that of the priests (see
further the arts. 'Levi' in the Bible Diets., and especially
Wellhausen's Prolegomena, ch. iv, and Baudissin's art. 'Priests
and Levites' in Hastings's DB. iv, also the full bibliography in
W. R. Harper, The Priestly Element in the O.T., pp. 70 f., 282 f.).
1-4. The ' generations,' i. e. the descendants, of Aaron, cf.
Exod. vi. 2, also Lev. x. 1, with note. Delete ' and Moses ' in
verse i — a slip of a copyist accustomed to the association of
the two brothers. The verses are editorial (R).
6-8. Bring the tribe of Levi near, &c. The tribe of Levi,
necessarily as represented by the heads of the subdivisions, is to
be formally presented ' unto Aaron and to his sons ' as * gift on

NUMBERS 3. 8-13. P 201
his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation
before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the
tabernacla And they shall keep all the furniture ofthe 8
tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel,
to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt 9
give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons : they are
a wholly given unto him b on the behalf of the children
of Israel. And thou shalt ° appoint Aaron and his sons, 10
and they shall keep their priesthood : and the stranger
that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, And I, IX
behold, I have taken the Levites from among the chil
dren of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth
the womb among the children of Israel ; and the Levites
shall be mine : for all the firstborn are mine ; on the 13
day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I
hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man
and beast : mine they shall be ; I am the Lord.
a Heb. given, given. " Or, from c Or, number
the part of (cf. verse 9, marg.) the whole community for the
subordinate duties of the sanctuary, ' the service of the tabernacle '
(verse 7). The source may be assumed to be Pe (see above), since
the same point of view — the Levites as a gift — is found in xviii. 1-7,
where, however, the idea is more prominent that the gift is made
to Yahweh, by whom it is handed over to the priests (xviii. 6).
10. the stranger here is every one, including the Levites,
who is not a priest ; contrast i. 51.
11-13. Here a different point of view reveals itself. The
Levites are represented as the substitutes of the firstborn males
(see verse 43) of the other tribes, whom Yahweh claims as his
own (Exod. xxii. 29, on which see Bennett's note in Cent. Bible).
The original continuation is found in verses 40-51, all probably
P". This explanation of the origin of the Levitical caste seems
the product of later reflection, and, as Baentsch points out
(Handkommentar, in he), is scarcely consistent with the repeated
demand of P that the firstborn must be redeemed, ' for if Yahweh
takes to Himself the Levites'as substitutes Torttie firstborn, the
latter ought by rights to go free.'

202 NUMBERS 3. 14-25. P
14 And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness
15 of Sinai, saying, Number the children of Levi by their
fathers' houses, by their families : every male from a
16 month old and upward shalt thou number them. And
Moses numbered them according to the word of the
x7 Lord, as he was commanded. And these were the
sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath,
18 and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of
r9 Gershon by their families ; Libni and Shimei. And the
sons of Kohath by their families ; Amram, and Izhar,
20 Hebron, and Uzziel. And the sons of Merari by their
families; Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of
the Levites according to their fathers' houses.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the
family of the Shimeites : these are the families of the
22 Gershonites. Those that were numbered of them,
according to the number of all the males, from a month
old and upward, even those that were numbered of
23 them were seven thousand and five hundred. The
families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the taber-
24 nacle westward. And the prince of the fathers' house
of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of
14-39. Moses is commanded to take a census of the male
members of the tribe of Levi from a month old and upwards.
This is done in the order of the three divisions of the tribe, the
Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites, so named from their
respective progenitors, the sons of Levi. Into the census scheme
is now worked a summary statement of the duties of each division
in respect of the Tabernacle and its equipment, together with an
indication of the place which each division is to occupy in the
camp, for which see the introductory note to ch. ii.
21-26. The census of the Gershonites, 7,500, their location on
the west of the Tabernacle, and specification of their ' charge in
the tent of meeting.'
25 f. Their ' charge' consisted of the curtains and coverings of

NUMBERS 3. 26-29. F 2°3
meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the Tent, the
covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the
tent of meeting, and the hangings of the court, and 26
the screen for the door of the court, which is by the
tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords
of it for all the service thereof.
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, 27
and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the
Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites : these are
the families of the Kohathites. According to the 28
number of all the males, from a month old and upward,
there were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the
charge of the sanctuary. The families of the sons of 29
Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle south-
the Tabernacle and the screen or portiere forming the door
thereof, together with the hangings enclosing the court and the
portiere at the entrance of the latter, as more fully detailed in
iv. 24 ff.
the tabernacle, and the Tent, the covering thereof : render,
with the versions : ' the Dwelling, and the Tent, and the covering
thereof.' The first here denotes the two sets of rich tapestry curtains
which formed ' the Dwelling ' of Yahweh in the strict sense ; the
Tent is two sets of goats'-hair curtains which were spread over
those of the Dwelling; the covering comprises the two sets of
outer coverings, the one of rams' skins, the other made from the
skins of, probably, the dugong (see on iv. 6). For the Tabernacle
and its furniture see, besides the commentaries on Exodus xxv ff. ,
the present writer's art. in Hastings's DB. iv. (more briefly in the
same editor's one-volume dictionary), and McNeile, The Book of
Exodus, pp. lxxiii-xcii.
27-32. The census of the Kohathites, 8,600 (really 8,300), their
location on the south ofthe Tabernacle, and their charge. Although
second in order according to the birth of their eponym ancestor,
the ' sons of Kohath ' occupy the place of highest honour (cf. iv.
4 ff.) in the camp after the priests (see verse 38), in virtue of the
more honourable charge confided to them.
28. six hundred : for ' six ' (B>£») read ' three ' ({JOK>, of
which the middle letter has been inadvertently dropped), see on
verse 39. The word rendered ' those that were numbered of
them ' has also fallen out at the head of this verse (cf. 22, 34).

204 NUMBERS 3. 30-36. P
30 ward. And the prince of the fathers' house of the
families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of
31 Uzziel. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table,
and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the
sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and
32 all the service thereof. And Eleazar the son of Aaron
the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites,
and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of
the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the
family of the Mushites : these are the families of Merari.
34 And those that were numbered of them, according to
the number of all the males, from a month old and
35 upward, were six thousand and two hundred. And the
prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari
was Zuriel the son of Abihail : they shall pitch on the
36 side of the tabernacle northward. And a the appointed
charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the
tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof,
"• Heb. the office ofthe charge.
31. The Kohathites had charge of the whole contents of the
Dwelling and of the altar of burnt-offering. The brazen laver
(Exod. xxx. 18, xxxv. 16) has been overlooked both here and in
ch. iv. For the vessels ofthe sanctuary see iv. 7, 9, 14.
and the screen. Read, as in iv. 5, ' the veil of the screen,'
the artistic hanging separating ' the holy of holies ' from ' the holy
place ' (Exod. xxvi. 31-33).
33-37. The census of the Merarites, 6,200, their location on the
north of the Tabernacle, and their charge.
36. the boards ofthe tabernacle: the Hebrew word of which
' boards ' is the traditional rendering occurs only once outside the
Tabernacle passages, viz. Ezek. xxvii. 6, where it seems to signify
' panels ' (of ivory inlaid in box-wood). In the article cited above
(DB. iv. 659 f.) it is shown that in the construction of the
Tabernacle it probably denotes a light wooden frame, the whole
forming an open framework over which the curtains were
suspended (for illustration see ibid. 660, also Bennett's Exodus,

NUMBERS 3. 37-43. P 205
and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof,
and all the service thereof; and the pillars of the court 37
round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their
cords. And those that pitch before the tabernacle east- 38
ward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising,
shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the
charge of the sanctuary a for the charge of the children
of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be
put to death. All that were numbered of the Levites, 39
which Moses and Aaron numbered at the command
ment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from
a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the first- 40
born males of the children of Israel from a month old
and upward, and take the number of their names. And 41
thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord)
instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel ;
and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings
among the cattle of the children of Israel. And Moses 4a
numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the first
born among the children of Israel. And all the firstborn 43
males according to the number of names, from a month
old and upward, of those that were numbered of them,
a Or, even
p. 211, and McNeile, op. cit. Ixxiv). For the instruments see
on iv. 32.
39. The grand total as here given is 22,000, while the sum of
the separate totals of the divisions will be found to be 22,300.
The simplest explanation of the discrepancy, and that usually
accepted, is to assume that, by a clerical error, the total of the
Kohathites has now been increased by 300 (see on verse 28).
The numbers in this chapter are open to the same criticism as
those ofthe chapters preceding (pp. 190 ff.).
40-51. The rest of this chapter is closely connected with verses
11-13 (Ps), and contains directions for the working out of the

206 NUMBERS 3. 44-47. P
were twenty and two thousand two hundred and three
score and thirteen.
44 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the
Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children
of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their
cattle : and the Levites shall be mine ; I am the Lord.
46 And for a the redemption of the two hundred and three
score and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of
Israel, which are over and above the number of the
47 Levites, thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll ;
after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them
11 Or, those that are to be redeemed, the tYr.
principle of substitution there laid down. The first step is
a census of the firstborn males of the secular tribes of a month
old and upwards, giving a total of 22,273. Since the Levites
numbered only 22,000, no substitutes were available for the
remaining 273. These accordingly had to be ' redeemed ' by
a payment of 'five shekels apiece' (verse 47); the whole sum
thus realized was paid over by Moses to the priests. How the
number 22,273 was reached, only about 1 in 50 of the male popu
lation (!), must remain the secret of the writer. The meaning of
his curious extension of the substitutionary principle to the cattle
(verses 41, 45) is equally obscure. In short, we have here as
elsewhere (see, for example, ch. xxxv) a specimen of legal
theorizing based on older legislative material ; in this case the
basis is supplied by xviii. 15 ff. (Pe).
46. for the redemption : better, ' as regards the redemption-
price,' or ' ransom,' as in the fuller expression of verses 49, 51.
The marginal alternative is less probable.
47. after the shekel of the sanctuary : see note on Lev. v. 15.
The only substantial addition to the foregoing supplied by the
long and late ch. iv is the result of a fourth census, which is
taken for the purpose of ascertaining the number of Levites
qualified for service. It is remarkable that the O. T. contains no
fewer than three different statements of the age at which the
Levites entered upon their duties, and still more remarkable that
two of these should appear almost side by side in the same book
with no attempt at an explanation. In this chapter the age is 30,
in viii. 23-26 it is 25, and in Chronicles it is 20 (1 Chr. xxiii. 24,
27, &c). 'The simplest way of accounting for the differences
would be to assume that they correspond to actual differences in

NUMBERS 3. 48— 4. 5. P 207
(the shekel is twenty gerahs) : and thou shalt give the 48
money wherewith the odd number of them is redeemed
unto Aaron and to his sons. And Moses took the 49
redemption-money from them that were over and above
them that were redeemed by the Levites : from the first- 50
born of the children of Israel took he the money ; a
thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels,
after the shekel of the sanctuary : and Moses gave a the 51
redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according
to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded
Moses. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, 4
saying, Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among 2
the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years 3
old, all that enter upon the b service, to do the work
in the tent of meeting. This is the ° service of the sons 4
of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy
things : when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go 5
in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil oi the
* Or, the money of them that were redeemed * Heb. warfare,
or, host (and so in vv. 35, 39, 43V c Or, work
the age of service at the different periods to which the several
references belong ' (Gray, Numbers, p. 32, where the problem is
more fully discussed). The duties of the Levites here specified
have reference, as in ch. iii, only to the transport of the
Tabernacle on the march, not to their regular service at the
sanctuary. 1-16. The transport duties of the Kohathites (cf. iii. 31 f.).
3. all that enter upon the service : note the margin here, and
see Gray's note on the word for ' service ' (zaba'), op. cit., in he ;
cf. verse 23 and margins in both cases.
5 if. The Levites are forbidden, on pain of death (verse 15, cf.
2 Sam. vi. 6f.), to touch, or even (verse 20) to look upon, any of
the sacred objects within the Tabernacle. These must be handled
and packed entirely by the priests, beginning with the most
sacrosanct object of all, the sacred ark.

208 NUMBERS 4. 6-n. P
6 screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it : and
shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread
over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the staves
7 thereof. And upon the table of shewbread they shall
spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and
the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups to pour out
8 withal : and the continual bread shall be thereon : and
they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover
the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the
9 staves thereof. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and
cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its
tongs, and its snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof,
i° wherewith they minister unto it : and they shall put it
and all the vessels thereof within a covering of sealskin,
1 1 and shall put it upon a the frame. And upon the golden
" Or, a bar
6. a, covering of sealskin : Hebr. tahash-skin, probably the
skin of the dugong or sea-cow, of which the Bedouin of Sinai
make sandals at the present day (cf. Ezek. xvi. io, shoes of
tahash-s]sin). It has also been suggested that tahash is a loan
word from Egyptian, meaning a special kind of leather.
and shall put in the staves thereof. This seems to imply
that the staves had previously been removed, a breach of the
express command of P* in Exod. xxvi. 15. It is difficult, more
over, to see how the staves — or rather, as the weight demands,
the ' poles' — could be placed in the rings after the ark had been
packed in three coverings. Or does the writer forget the existence
of the rings, and think of the poles as passed under the cords with
which the packages were tied up ? Cf. note on verse 10.
7. the table of shewbread: render literally, 'the table ofthe
Presence,' i. e. of Yahweh. The continual bread is the shew
bread, or rather 'the Presence-bread' (Exod. xxv. 30, R.V.
marg.), and is so named, but here only, with reference to the
commands of Exod., he cit., and Lev. xxiv. 8 (see notes, p. 159 f.).
IO. the frame: margin 'a bar' (so A.V. text), the usual
meaning of the word (mot). If the articles enumerated are to
be thought of as carried loose, a ' frame ' or platform is indispen
sable for their transport. But one receives the impression, as
already suggested, that the author intends the sacred vessels to
be not only wrapped but roped in their coverings for greater

NUMBERS 4< 12-18. P 209
altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with
a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof:
and they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith 12
they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth
of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and
shall put them on the frame. And they shall take away 13
the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth
thereon : and they shall put upon it all the vessels 14
thereof, wherewith they minister about it,' the firepans,
the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the
vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a
covering of sealskin, and put in the staves thereof. And 15
when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering
the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as
the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath
shall come to bear it : but they shall not touch the
a sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden
of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. And the 16
charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the
oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the. continual
meal offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the
tabernacle, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and
the furniture thereof.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, 17
saying, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the 18
a Or, holy things
security, in which case the. mot will be the pole from which the
package is to be suspended ; cf. xiii. 23, ' by means of a pole
(R.V. upon a staff, mot) between two.'
11. the golden altar: in Lev. iv. 7 termed ' the altar of sweet
incense ' (see note there), to be distinguished from ' the altar '
par excellence of verse 13, which is the altar of burnt-offering.
17-20. An amplification by a later hand of the command of i5b,
emphasizing the fact that the contents of the Tabernacle can be
handled, or even seen, only by the priests. The penalty for the
breach of this taboo is death. P

210 NUMBERS 4.- 19-28. P
19 Kohathites from among the Levites : but thus do unto
them, that they may live, and not die, when they
approach unto the most holy things : Aaron and his
sons shall, go in, and appoint them every one to his
20 service and to his burden : but they shall not go in to
see the a sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the
sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses,
23 by their families ; from thirty years old and upward until
fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in
to b wait upon the service, to do the work in the tent of
24 meeting. This is the service of the families of the
25 Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens : they
shall bear the curtains of1 the tabernacle, and the tent
of meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin
that is above upon it, and the screen for the door of the
26 tent of meeting; and the hangings of the court, and
the screen for the door of the gate of the court; which is
by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their
cords, and all the instruments of their service, and what
soever shall be done with them, therein shall they serve.
2 7 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all
the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their
burden, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint
28 unto them in charge all their burden. This is'the service
of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent
of meeting : and their charge shall be under the hand Of
Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
a Or, holy things b Heb. war the warfare.
21-28. The transport duties of the Gershonites (cf. iii. 25 f.).
27. The last clause should be read as in verse 32 (so LXX) :
' and ye shall appoint unto them by name all that is committed
to them to carry.'

NUMBERS 4. 29-37. P 211
As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by 29
their families, by their fathers' houses ; from thirty years 30
old and upward even unto fifty years .old shalt thou
number them, every one that entereth upon the service,
to do the work of the tent of meeting. And this is the 31
charge of their burden, according to all their service in
the tent of meeting; the boards of the tabernacle, and
the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets
thereof; and the pillars of the court round about, and 3a
their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all
their instruments, and with all their service: and by
name ye shall a appoint the instruments ofthe charge of
their burden. This is the service of the families of the 33
sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tent
of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron
the priest.
And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congre- 34
gation numbered theisons of the Kohathites by their
families, and by their fathers' houses, from thirty years 35
old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that
entered upon the service, for work in the tent of meeting:
and those that were numbered of them by their families 36
were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. These are 37
they that were numbered of the families ofthe Kohath
ites, all that did ' serve in the tent of meeting, whom -
" Or, number
29_33- The transport duties of the Merarites (cf. iii. 36 f.).
31. For the boards, rather 'the frames,' see note on iii. 36.
32. with all their instruments : better ' all their accessories '
(Gray), including not only the hooks (Exod. xxvi. 32, xxvii. 10,
17) and rings for the hangings, but also the mallets, &c, required
for the erection of the sanctuary.
34-49. The totals ofthe census, first of the divisions separately
— Kohathites 2,750, Gershonites 2,630, Merarites 3,200— and then
P 2

212 NUMBERS 4, 38-48. P
Moses and Aaron numbered according to the command
ment of the Lord by the hand of Moses*:
38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon,
39 by their families,, and by their fathers' houses, from thirty
years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one
that entered upon the service, for work in the tent of
40 meeting, even those that were numbered; of them, by
their families, by their fathers' houses, were two thousand
41 and six hundred and thirty. These are they that were
numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that
did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron
numbered according to the commandment of the Lord.
42 And those that were numbered of the families of the
sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
43 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years
old, every one that entered upon the service, for work in
44 the tent of meeting, even those that were numbered of
them by their families, Were three thousand and two
45 hundred. These are they that were numbered of ithe
families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron
numbered according to the commandment of the Lord
by the hand of Moses.
46 All those that were numbered of the, Levites, whom
Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered,
47 by their families, and by their fathers' houses, from thirty
years old and upward even unto;fifty years old, every one
that entered in to do the work of service, and the work of
48 bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, even those that
were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five
of the whole tribe 8,580, all entered with the repetition and
diffuseness characteristic of the later priestly writers (cf. ch. vii).
For the corrupt text of the last verse, see Gray, in he R.V.,
although ' not a translation ' (Gray), gives a sufficient approxi
mation..

NUMBERS 4. 49—5. 7. P 213
hundred and fourscore. According to the commandment 49
of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses,
every one according to his service, and a according to his
burden : thus were they numbered of him, as the Lord
commanded Moses.
And the Lord r spake unto Moses, saying, Command 5 2
the children of Israel, that they put out of , the camp
every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whoso
ever is unclean by the dead :, both male and female shall 3
ye put, out, without the camp shall ye put them; that
they defile not; their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.
And the children of Israel -did so, and put them out 4
without the camp : as the Lord spake unto Moses, so
did the children of Israel.
And the Lord spake unto Moses^ saying, Speak unto 5, 6
the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall
commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass
against the Lord, and that soul be guilty ; then they 7
a Or, according to his burden and his duty, as cW.
(c) v-vi. Various Laws and Regulations, including the ordeal of
jealousy (v. n-31) and the law ofthe Nazirite (vi. 1-21).
v. 1-4. Regulations for safeguarding the ceremonial purity of
the wilderness camp, which was hallowed by the presence of
Yahweh (verse 3, ' in the midst whereof I dwell,' for which see
the introductory remarks to ch. ii). Exclusion from the camp,
which the earlier law, Lev. xiii-xiv, prescribed only for the leper,
is here extended to other forms of uncleanness. For uncleanness
from ' issues ' or discharges, see Lev. xv, and for that caused by
proximity to or contact with a corpse see especially Num. xix.
5-10. A supplement to Lev. vi. 1-7, the law dealing with breach
of trust. The special feature of the supplement is the provision
for the case of the person wronged having died without leaving
any ' next of kin ' to whom restitution might be made (verse 8).
In such a case the amount due is paid to the priest as the repre
sentative of Yahweh, with whom the offender had broken faith
(see introductory note to Lev. vi. 1 ff.).
6. to do a trespass against the LORD : lit. ' in breaking faith

2f4 NUMBERS 5.8-12. P
Shall confess their sin which they have done: and he
shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto
it the fifth part thereof, and give* it unto him in respect
8 of whom he hath been guilty. '¦' But if the man have no
kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt,
- athe restitution for guilt which is made" unto 'the -Lord
shall be the priest's ; besides the ram of the atonement,
9 whereby atonement shall be made for him. And every
heave offering of all the holy things of the children of
Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his.
10 And every man's hallowed things shall 'be his: what
soever anyjman giveth the priest, it shall be his^
I2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
with Yahweh,' the Author of the morallaw aijd the Guardian of
morality (see note on Lev. v. 15).
8. the ram of the atonement : the ' expiation ram' prescribed
in Lev. vi. 6, ' by means of which he,(i. e. the priest) shall perform
the rite of expiation on his behalf ; for this rendering see above,
P- 52.
9 f. A general statement of the priest's dues, based on the pre
ceding special case.
every heave offering, &c. : here in the comprehensive sense
of ' contribution,' ' oblation,' see note on Lev. vii. 14.
11-31. The or,deal of jealousy. If a husband suspects that his
wife has been unfaithful to him, he may bring her ' before
Yahweh ' — in post-exilic practice, to the Temple — when the priest
shall submit her to a double test, an oath of purgation and a
peculiar water ordeal, minutely described in the text. If she is
innocent, no injurious effects ensue ; if, on the contrary, she is
guilty, the combined curse and the water of the ordeal produce
certain physical effects which proclaim her guilt to all the world.
It is probable that, in its present form, this section combines two
originally distinct but closely allied forms of procedure (note, for
example, the double nomenclature of the offering prescribed in
verse 15, the repetition of the setting of the woman before
Yahweh in verses 16 and 18, and especially the curious fact that
now the priest is represented as making the woman drink the
water twice— see the tabular statement in C-H., Hex. ii. 192, and
cf. Stade, ZATW. xv [1895] 166-178). Common to both, how
ever, is the implication that there were no witnesses of the

NUMBERS 5. 13. P 215
the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's
wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, and 13
woman's sin, assuming her to have been guilty, and accordingly
that the ordinary judicial procedure was inapplicable.
The passage is noteworthy as being the only explicit illustration
in the O. T. of the world-wide institution of the ordeal (see the
literature cited by Gray, Numbers, p. 44 f., also the note below on
xx. 13, the name Meribah); Among the Semitic peoples, as else
where, the favourite ordeals were those of fire and water (ReU
Sem? I79ff., S. A. Cook, The Laws of Moses and the Code of
Hammurabi, 64 f.). The latter Code supplies instructive parallels
to both the oath and the ordeal in circumstances similar to those
of the Hebrew law. Thus section 131 runs : ' If the wife of
a man is accused by her husband, although she has not been
caught . . . (in the act), she shall swear by a god; thereafter
(i. e. having attested her innocence upon oath) she shall return to
her house.' And section 132 : ' If the wife of a man has had the
finger pointed at her on account of another man, although she
has not been caught ... (in the act), she shall plunge into the
sacred river for her husband.' This water ordeal is more fully
described in sect. 2 of the Code, from which it is seen that ' if the
sacred river (or rather ' the river-god ') overcomes ' the person
plunging or plunged into it, it is a sign that he (or she) is guilty,
whereas if the person escapes 'the river-god makes that man
innocent and has saved him.' Ordeal by fire and water still sur
vives, as part of the recognized judicial procedure, among the
Bedouin ofthe Sinai peninsula, as may be seen from the interesting
account given by Lord Cromer in his Report on Egypt and the
Sudan in 1905 (Government Blue-book), pp. 13 ff, 'The Sinai
Peninsula.' From another point of view this section has a special interest
for the O.T. student, inasmuch as it belongs to a group of laws
having their origin in beliefs and practices of remote antiquity,
which were taken over and invested with a new significance by
the later exponents of the religion of Yahweh. To this group
belong also the antique ceremony for the purification of the leper
(Lev. xiv. 4ff.), the kindred rite of 'the goat for Azazel'
(xvi. 8, 21 f.), and the ' red heifer ' of Num. xix. For the com
piler of this chapter— whether we label it P", P', or P*— the oath
and the ordeal are the divinely appointed means by which God,
by whom our secret sins are made manifest (Ps. xc. 8, 1 Cor.
xiv. 25), clears the innocent and punishes the guilty. For the
later development of the law see the Mishna treatise Sotah (the
adulteress). 12. and commit a trespass against him : better, ' and break

2if) NUMBERS 5. 14-17. P
a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes
of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled,
and there be no witness against her, neither she be
14 taken in the act; and the spirit of jealousy come upon
him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled :
or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be:
15 jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled : then shall
the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring
her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley
meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put .frankincense
thereon ; for it is a meal offering of 'jealousy, a meal
offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before
17 the Lord : and the priest shall take holy water in an
earthen vessel ; and of the dust that is on the floor of the
tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water :
faith with him,' the same expression as in verse 5, which perhaps
accounts for this section being placed here.
13. and be kept close, and she be defiled: the subject of both
verbs is the woman ; render : ' and she be undetected, although
she has (in fact) defiled herself.' Verse 14* contemplates a case
of guilt, as here, while I4b provides for the case of unjustified
suspicion. 15. and shall bring her oblation for her : the offering is
really the husband's, render therefore : ' the oblation required in
her case.' For the quantity see on Lev. v. 11, and for the usual
oil and frankincense, here absent (cf. he a't.), see Lev. ii. 1 ff.
a meal offering of memorial : better, ' of remembrance,' as
explained by the words following. 'When Yahweh forgets,
guilt goes unpunished ; when He remembers, He visits the sinner'
(Gray, in he, with reff.). For a suggested explanation of the
dttuble nomenclature see p. 214, but it may be that the ' remem
brance offering' is the genus of which the 'jealousy-offering' is
a species. 17. holy water: an expression found only here in O.T. The
Mishna explains it doubtfully as water from the brazen laver
(Sotah, ii. 2). W. R. Smith regarded it as 'an isolated survival,'
denoting ' water from a holy spring' (Rel. Sem? 181). It is more
probable, however, that we should read with the LXX ' livin"

NUMBERS 5. 18-20. P 217
and the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and 18
let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the
meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the
meal offering of jealousy : and the priest shall have in
his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse :
and the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say 19
unto the woman, If no man have lien with thee,, and
if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness, a being under
thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness
that causeth the curse: but if thou hast gone aside, 20
a Or, with another instead of thy husband See Ezek. xxiii. 5,
Rom. vii. 2.
water ' (see note on Lev. xiv. 5), or that the epithet ' holy ' is here
given by anticipation to water which only became so after it had
been mixed with the sacred dust from the floor ofthe Tabernacle.
18. and let the hair of the woman's head go loose : probably
that she might appear as a mourner, cf. Lev. x. 6, xxi. 10.
the water of bitterness : so called not because it contained
bitter ingredients, but as causing ' bitterness ' in the sense of
physical pain and injury. The peculiar combination of epithets —
' the pain-dealing, curse-bringing water ' — may be due to the
presumed duplicate sources (so C-H., Hex. ii. 192), or it may be
that for ' water of bitterness ' we ought to read by a slight change,
as in some of the Versions, ' the water that brings (the guilt) to
light.' In this case the second epithet may be a gloss (cf. Kittel,
Biblia Hebraica, in loc.)
19-22. The priest administers the oath of purgation. The
nearest O. T. parallel is found in the early law-code, Exod. xxii.
10 ff. (cf. 1 Kings viii. 31 f.), where the plaintiff and the accused
both appear 'before God,' and 'the oath of Yahweh shall be
between them hoth.' A closer parallel has been already cited
from the Code of Hammurabi. The oath as a means of detecting
guilt is still held in the greatest respect by certain of the Arab
tribes (see Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes (1908), pp. 188 ff,
where some curious details are given as to the tenor of the oath
and the mode of administering it ; cf. PEFSt. 1897, p. 131, an
account of a man accused of adultery who attests his innocence by
an oath in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem).
19. being nnder thy husband: and therefore bound to keep
faith with him ; the alternative rendering of the margin is less
probable.

218 NUMBERS 5. 21-24. P
a being under thy husband,' and if thou be defiled, and
some man have lien with thee besides thine husband :
21 then the priest shall cause 'the woman to swear with the
oath of h cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman,
The Lord make thee a b curse and an oath among thy
people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to fall away,
22 and thy belly to swell; and' this water that causeth the
curse shall go. into ' thy bowels, and make thy belly to
swell, and thy thigh to fall away : and the woman shall
23 say, Amen, Amen. And the priest shall write 'these
curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the
24 water of bitterness : and he shall make the woman drink
the water of bitterness that causeth the curse : and the
a Or, with another instead of thy husband See Ezek. xxiii. 5,
Rom. vii. a. b Or, adjuration
21 comes in awkwardly between verse 20 and its logical
sequence in verse 22 (' but if . . . and if . . . then this water,' &c).
Its presence may be due either to the imperfect assimilation ofthe
sources, or to the desire of a later editor to emphasize the fact
that it is Yahweh Himself who is the Author of the physical
penalties ensuing. In the antique formula itself (verse 22) these
are ascribed to the efficacy of the water of the ordeal. For the
euphemisms of the text see Gray, Numbers, pp. 48, 53 f .
The LORD make thee a curse . . . among thy people : so
that a Jew wishing to curse a woman shall say, ' Yahweh make
thee like  ' (naming the guilty party), as in the case given in
Jer. xxix. 22. Illustrations of the opposite are found in the
blessings recorded in Gen. xlviii. 20 ; Ruth iv. n.
23. The priest now writes out the words ofthe curse ' in a book,'
i.e. on a piece of parchment (Sotah, ii. 4), and washes off the
ink into 'the water of bitterness.' This part of the procedure is
frankly magical in its origin, and has its analogies among many
peoples, ancient and modern. The woman, it must be under
stood, drinks the curse with its magical potency in the case of
guilt. 24 ff. The potion was, of course, administered only once, and
that not at this stage of the ordeal (verse 24) but, as stated in 26b,
after the meal-offering, which the woman had held till now in
her hand, had been presented at the altar and its 'memorial'
burned (see on Lev. ii. 2— the term in the original is not that of

NUMBERS 5. 25—6. 2. P 219
water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and
become bitter. And the priest shall take the meal offering 25
of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the
meal offering before the Lord, and bring it unto the
altar : and the priest shall take an handful of the meal 26
offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the
altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the
water. And when he hath made her drink the water, 27
then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have
committed a trespass against her husband, that the water
that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become
bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall
away : and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean ; then she 28
shall be free, and shall conceive seed. This is the law of 29
jealousy, when a wife, a being under her husband, goeth
aside, and is defiled ; or when the spirit of jealousy 30
cometh upon a man, and be be jealous over his wife ;
then shall he set the woman before the Lord, and the
priest shall execute upon her all this law. And the man 31
shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear
her iniquity.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 6 2
a Or, goeth aside with another instead of her husband
verse 15 above). For a probable explanation ofthe discrepancy
see the introductory note.
24, 27. the cnrse shall enter ... and become bitter: a
better sense would certainly be obtained if we could read : 'shall
enter ... to bring (the guilt) to light,' see note on verse 19.
29-31. A concluding summary, repeating the purpose of ' the
law of jealousy.'
Chapter vi is occupied almost entirely with the law of the
Nazirite, viz. (1) 1-8, the general contents of the Nazirite vow,
probably the kernel from which the rest of this torah has been
developed; (2) 9-12, the interruption ofthe vow caused by

220 -. NUMBERS 6.-3. P
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either
man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of
3 a a Nazirite, to b separate- himself unto the Lord: he
shall- separate himself from wine and strong drink; he
shall drink; no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink,
neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat fresh
¦ That is, one separated or consecrated. * Or, consecrate
accidental defilement by a dead body ; and (3) 13^21, the pro
cedure to be followed on the expiration of the period of the vow.
The points of contact which the law shows with' Vs, such as the
reference to ' the dpor of the tent of. meeting,' are probably
editorial,, its real affinity being rather with the older toroth under
lying the Holiness Code (Lev. xvii-xxvi).
The Hebrew word nazir denotes one ' consecrated ' or ' devoted '
to Yahweh ; hence ' devotee ' is the nearest English equivalent.
The Nazirite vow was of two kinds, lifelong and temporary. The
only certain example of the lifelong devotee in the O.T. is
Samson (Judges xiii. 5, 7, 14, xvi. 17), although Samuel is
usually reckoned as such. The fact that Amos (ii. 1 1) mentions
the Nazirites in parallelism with prophets suggests that in his
day ' young men ' took the vow for life. It is probable, however,
that from the first the vow was in most cases taken for a short
period only (for modern analogies see Rel. Sent.2 332 f.), and it is
for this class of. Nazirite alone that the present chapter legislates.
Here the obligations imposed by the vow are three in number :
( 1) the hair must remain unshorn during the validity of the vow ;
(2) total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors and even from
grapes, 'fresh' or 'dried' ; (3) rigid avoidance of defilement through
contact with a corpse. Of these the first is probably the oldest,
as it was the most characteristic, element in the Nazirite vow, as
appears from the figurative use of the term nazir to denote the
undressed vine (Lev. xxv. 5, n ; cf. the remark on a similar
metaphor in xix. 23, p. 133). Since the third of the obligations
above noted represents a taboo which is shared only with the
High Priest (Lev. xxi. 11), Kautzsch concludes that the Priests'
Code intends to represent the Nazirites as forming ' a lay priest
hood . . . allied to the actual priesthood as a condition of high
consecration to God ' (Hastings's DB. v. 658).
2. shall make a special vow, &c. : rather, ' would take upon
him or her the vow of a Nazirite.'
3 f. The second of the three special taboos noted above. ' Strong
drink ' (shekdr) is here a comprehensive term for all sorts of
intoxicating liquors, date-wine, pomegranate-wine (Cant. viii. ii,

NUMBERS 6. 4-9. P 221
grapes or dried. All the days of his a separation shall 4
he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the
kernels even to the husk. All the days of his vow of S
separation there shall no razor come upon his head :
until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth
himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, he shall let the
locks of the hair of his head grow long. All the days 6
that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall not
come near to a dead body. He shall not make himself ?
unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother,
or for his sister, when they die : because his separation
unto God is upon his head. All the days of his separa- 8
tion he is holy unto the Lord. And if any man die 9
* Or, consecration Or, Naziriteship
R.V.) &c, except ordinary grape-wine. Originally shikar prob
ably meant wine prepared from fermented date-juice. (For the
history of the word see the writer's art., 'Wine and Strong
Drink,' in EB. iv. col. 5309 f.) Abstinence from wine was one
of the features of the Nazirite vow in the days of Amos (ii. 11).
Wine and strong drink were also forbidden to the priests when
on duty (Lev. x. 9), as they are forbidden by the Koran to all
true Muslims. Abstinence from intoxicants was also one of the
distinguishing marks of the sect of the Rechabites (Jer. xxxv. 2-8).
4. from the kernels even to the husk. The real meaning
of the words so rendered is unknown ; most recent scholars
favour ' unripe grapes ' and ' tendrils,' the points of the latter
being prized as food by the modern fellahin.
5. For the sacredness of the hair of the head, by many
primitive peoples regarded as the seat of the soul, and the
religious practices, such as hair-offerings and the like, arising
therefrom, see Rel. Sem.2, 324 ff. Here, however, the unshorn- hair
is regarded merely as an outward sign that its owner is under this
vow of consecration.
6 f. The only parallel to this third taboo, as has been pointed
out, is found in Lev. xxi. n f., where the High Priest, like the
Nazirite, is interdicted from approaching the dead body of even
his nearest relative. The interdict is less stringent in the case
of the ordinary priest (ibid. iff.).
9-12. Regulations for the case of accidental breach of the last

222 NUMBERS 6. 10-13. P
very suddenly beside him, and he defile the head of his
separation ; then he shall shave his head in the day of
10 his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.. And
on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves, or two
young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the /tent, of
11 meeting : and, the priest shall offer one for a sin offering,
and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement
for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and
12 shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall
separate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and
shall bring a he-lamb of the first year for a guilt offering :
but the former days shall be void, because his separation
was defiled. , , ,;
13 And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days

taboo, by which a seven days' defilement is incurred. On the
seventh day the devotee must shave his head., and on the eighth
offer a sin-offering and a burnt-offering ; thereafter he must begin
anew his period of separation.
9. the head of his separation: in our idiom, ' his consecrated
head' (see note on Lev. xiv. 8). The defilement, even though
accidental, is laid to the charge of the Nazirite, ' but unintentional
sin plays a large part in the .priestly law, as indeed elsevyhere '
(Gray)> According to the.Mishna the shorn hair in. this case was
not burned (cf. verse, 18) but buried, _a practice familiar to anthro
pologists. . ¦'..
in the day of his cleansing; this suggests the: rites of the
eighth day; render, 'in the day when he becomes clean,' hi§
uncleanness having passed away by the close of the. seventh day.
.. 10. The modest offerings here required are those, prescribed for
similar forms of uncleanness, Lev. xii. 8, xiv. 22, xv. 14.
12. The first and last clauses of this verse go together, and
mean that the Nazirite shall renew his vow for the same period
as before, the portion of that period already passed having been
cancelled by the defilement. The intervening clause requiring
a guilt-offering comes too late, and is an inappropriate gloss. The
closing words should be read with LXX : ' because he defiled his
consecrated head ' (cf. verse 9).
13-20. The rites to be performed at the expiration of the vow.
These include the offering of all the main types of sacrifice with

NUMBERS 6. 14-18. P 2.23
of his separation are fulfilled : he shall be brought unto
the door of the tent of meeting : and he shall offer his 14
oblation unto the Lord, one he-lamb of- the. first year
without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe-lamb
of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and
one ram without blemish for peace offerings, and a basket 15
of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil,
and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal
offering, and their drink offerings. And the priest shall 16
present them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin
offering, and his burnt offering: and he shall offer the 17
ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with
the basket of unleavened bread : the priest shall offer also
the meal offering thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at 18
the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair
of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which

the exception of the guilt-offering, and the shaving off and burning
ofthe devotee's hair.
13 f. It is difficult to see why the Nazirite should be 'brought'
by others ; read either, ' he shall come ' (the change required is
very slight), or 'he shall bring his oblation unto . . .meeting, and
he shall offer it," &c. (Kittel).
15. and their meal offering, &c. : 'their' refers back to the
burnt- and peace-offerings of the previous verse, which receive
an accompanying meal-offering and a libation of wipe, as pre
scribed in xv. aft. The cereal gifts of the first half of the verse
are parts of an independent meal-offering, for which see Lev. ii.
1 ff. and notes.
18. The shorn hair is burnt with the fat of the peace-offering
upon the altar of burnt-offering ; contrast the procedure indicated
in the note on verse 9. Although this part of the ritual may
have had its, roots in the primitive and wide-spread rite of the
hair-offering (see Rel. Setn.2, at., supra), no such offering is con
templated by the Hebrew, legislator. The burning of the hair
' is rather the simplest way of disposing of that which was con
secrated to Yahweh and was therefore holy, and so had to be pro
tected from all risk of profanation ' (Kautzsch).

23

224 NUMBERS 6. 19-23. P
19 is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest
shall take the. sodden shoulder of the ram, and one
unleavened cake out of. the basket, and one unleavened
wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazirite,
20 after he hath shaven the head of his .separation : and 'the
priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the
Lord ; this is holy for the priesty, together with the wave
breast and heave a thigh : and after that the Nazirite may
2 1 drink wine. This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth,
and of his oblation unto the Lord for his separation,
beside that which he is able to get : according to his vow
which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his
separation. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
" Or, shoulder
19 f. In the case of the Nazirite's offerings, the officiating
priest receives in addition to the statutory 'wave breast and
heave thigh,' i.e. the breast that has been waved and the thigh
that has been set apart (for these see notes on Lev. vii. 14, 30, 34),
the contents of ah extra' wave-offering as described in the text.
When the full ceremony has been completed, the interdict on
wine is removed.
21. beside that which he is able to get: render ' apart from
whatever else he may be able to afford,' over and above the statu:
tory offerings.
22^27* The priestly j blessing.1 Its position here instead of
Lev. ix. .23 is another, and not the least striking, illustration ofthe
lack of systematic arrangement which characterizes the legislative
portions of the Pentateuch. - The Hebrew text is artistically
arranged in three short verses (24-26) of three, five, and seven
words respectively, each verse divided- into two parts, giving
a climactic arrangement of 2 + 1, 3 + 2, and 4 + 3 Words. The
contents of the priestly blessing have been thus happily and
tersely summarized by Kautzsch (Die heilige Schrift des Alten
Testaments, 3rd ed., p. 194) : ' In beautiful climax it leads in three
members from the petition for material blessing and protection to
that for the favour of Yahweh as spiritual blessing, and finally
to the petition for the bestowal of the shalom, the peace or wel
fare in which all material and spiritual well-being is comprehended.1

NUMBERS 6. 24— 7. 1. P 225
Aaron and unto his sons, saying," On this wise ye shall
bless the children of Israel ; ye shall say unto them,
'The Lord bless thee, and keep:thee : 24
The Lo&d make his face to shine upon thee, and be 25
gracious unto thee :
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give 26
thee peace.
So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel; 27
and I will bless them.
And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made 7
an end of 'setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it
and sanctified it, and all the furniture 'thereof, and the
altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them
Verse 27 shows that the blessing, although couched in the form
of a prayer, is to be understood as a real Divine benediction.
There are ho decisive criteria for determining the age of the
blessing, hut it may safely be assumed that it was already in use
in the Temple before the exile. For details as to its use in the
later Te'mpl'e'and in the Synagogues, see Schurer's History of the
Jewish People, div. II, vol. ii. 82 f.
27. For the significance attaching to the ' name ' of Yahweh
in this connexion, see Kautzsch in Hastings's DB. v. 640 f. with
reference to Giesebreeht's monograph on this subject.
(d) vii. The offerings ofthe secular heads ofthe tribes.
This chapter, said to be the longest in the Bible, is to be classed
among the latest elements in the Pentateuch. Its author, in
Kuerten's words, ' wishes to introduce the heads bf the tribes . . .
as models of liberality towards the sanctuary which his own con
temporaries would do well to copy.' The offerings are of two
kinds : (1) a gift of six wagons and twelve oxen for the transport
of the Tabernacle (contrast ch. iv, where everything is to be
carried by the levites) ; (2) identical gifts from each ofthe twelve
prince's, but offered on twelve. successive days, consisting of gold
and silver vessels for the service ofthe sanctuary, >w»ith- 'Sacrificial
animals and other material for the dedication ceremony.
1. The day here specified was the first anniversary of the
exodus (see Exod. xl. 17), an exact month, therefore, before
the date assigned to the legislation of Num. i-iv, the data of which
are nevertheless assumed throughout this chapter, a clear proof of
the late origin of the latter.

226 NUMBERS 7. 2-10. P
2 and sanctified them ; that the princes of Israel, the heads
of their fathers' houses, offered ; these were the princes
of the tribes, these are they that were over them that
3 were numbered : and they brought their oblation before
the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen ; a wagon
for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox : and
4 they presented them before the tabernacle. And the
5 Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that
they may be to do the service of the tent of meeting;
and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man
6 according to his service. And Moses took the wagons
7 and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two
wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon,
8 according to their service : and four wagons and eight
oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto
their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron
9 the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none :
because the service of the sanctuary belonged unto them ;
10 they bare it upon their shoulders. And the princes
offered a for the dedication of the altar in the day that it
was anointed, even the princes offered their oblation
* Or, the dedication-gift
1 ff. To the Gershonites, whose ' charge ' consisted chiefly of
the curtains and hangings ofthe Dwelling and the court (iii. 25 f.,
iv. 24 ff.), only two wagons are assigned, while the Merarites,
who were responsible for the transport of the wooden framework
ofthe Dwelling, the heavy silver bases, pillars, &c. (iii. 36 f.,
iv. 31 f.) receive four. The Kohathites, on the other hand, have
still to bear the ark and the other ' most holy things ' on their
shoulders, as in iii. 31 f., iv. 4-15. David, however, did not
scruple to place the ark on a cart (2 Sam. vi. 3, cf. 1 Sam. vi.
8, n — but see also 2 Sam. xv. 24-27 for the ark carried by the
priests). 10. for the dedication of the altar : rather, as margin, ' for
the dedication-gift of the altar' (so probably verse 11, and
certainly verses 84, 88), referring back to the gift of the wagons
and oxen. The paragraph should end here.

NUMBERS 7. 11-18. P 227
before the altar. And the Lord said unto Moses, They 11
shall offer their oblation, each prince on his day, for the
dedication of the altar.
And he that offered his oblation the first day was 12
Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah :
and his oblation was one silver charger, the weight thereof 13
was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of
seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both
of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal
offering; one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense ; 14
one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb of the first 15
year, for a burnt offering ; one male of the goats for a 16
sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two 17
oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first
year: this was the oblation of Nahshon the son of
Amminadab. On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, prince 18
11-83. The other gifts ofthe 'princes' are to be offered each
on twelve successive days, beginning with the secular head of the
tribe ofjudah. The names are those already introduced in chs. i
and ii. In the twelve sections into which verses 12-83 are
divided, ' the circumlocution is carried to the utmost possible
extent. Apart from one or two additional variations in the first
two sections, the same formula, consisting of 118 English words,
is repeated for each of the twelve tribes, with the alteration of
only six words for the number of the day and the name and tribe
of the prince ' (C-H. Hex. ii. 194 f.).
13. one silver charger . . .one silver bowl: the former —
elsewhere rendered ' dish '—was a large, round dish resembling
the catinum of the Romans ; the latter, as the etymology shows,
was used by the priests to catch the blood ofthe sacrificial victims,
and is frequently rendered ' bason.' Taking ' the shekel of the
sanctuary ' at 224 grains (see on Lev. v. 15), since 10 Phoenician
shekels weighed exactly 4! Troy ounces, the weights of the
'chargers' and the 'bowls' are respectively circa 60 and 33 oz.
Troy. - -
14. one golden spoon: rather, as LXX, 'one golden cup';
such incense-cups were formerly visible in the representation of
the table of shew-bread on the Arch of Titus.
Q 2

228 NUMBERS 7. 19-35. P
19 of Issachar, did offer: he offered for his oblation one
silver charger, the weight (thereof was an hundred and
thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after
the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine
20 flour mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one golden
21 spoon of '-ten shekels, full of incense ; one young bullock,
one ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offer-
ing; one male of the goats for a sin offering; and for
the sacrifice of peace- offerings, two oxen, five rams, five
he-goats, 'five he-lambs of the first year: this was the
oblation of Nethanel the son of Zuar.
24 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the
25 children of Zebulun : his oblation was one silver charger,
the weight thereof was an hundred and thifty shekels, one
silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the
sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour mingled with
26 oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon of ten shekels,
27 full of incense; one young bullock, one ram, one he-lamb
28 of the first year, for a burnt offering; one male of the
29 goats for a sin 'offering ; and for the, sacrifice of peace
offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-Iambs
of the first year : this was the oblation of Eliab the son
of Helon.
30 On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince
31 of the children, of Reuben : his oblation was one silver
charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty
shekels, One silver bowl of seventy shekels, after' the
shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour
32 mingled with oil for a meal offering • one golden spoon
33 of ten shekels, full of incense ; one young bullock, one
ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ;
3* one male of the goats for a sin offering; and for tfye
sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-

NUMBERS 7. 36-5o. P 229
goats, five he-lambs of the first year : this was the obla
tion of Elizur the son of Shedeur.
On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 36
prince of the children of Simeon : his oblation was one 37
silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and
thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after
the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine
flour mingled with oil for a meal offering; one golden 38
spoon often shekels, full of incense; one young„ bullock, 39
one ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt
offering ; one male of the goats for a sin offering ; 40
and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five 41
rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year:
this was the oblation of Shelumiel the son of Zuri
shaddai. On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of 42
the children of Gad : his oblation was one silver charger, 43
the weight thereof was an hundred, and thirty shekels, one
silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the
sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour mingled with
oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon of ten shekels, 44
full of incense ; one young bullock, one ram, one he- 45
lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; one male of 4<>
the goats for a sin offering ; and for the. sacrifice of peace 47
offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs
of the first year : this was the oblation of Eliasaph the
son of Deuel.
On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, 48
prince of the children of Ephraim : his oblation was one 49
silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and
thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after- the
shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour
mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon 50

230 NUMBERS 7. 51-67. P
51 of ten shekels, full of incense; one young bullock, one
ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ;
52 one male of the goats for a sin offering ; and for the
sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-
goats; five he-lambs of the first year : this was the obla
tion of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
54 On the eighth day Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,
55 prince of the children of Manasseh : his oblation was
one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred
and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels,
after the shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of
56 fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one
57 golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense ; one young
bullock, one ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a
58 burnt offering ; one male of the goats for a sin offering ;
59 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five
rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year : this
was the oblation of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
60 On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince
61 of the children of Benjamin : his oblation was one silver
charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty
shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel
of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour mingled
62 with oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon of ten
63 shekels, full of incense ; one young bullock, one ram, one
64 he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ; one male of
65 the goats for a sin offering ; and for the sacrifice of peace
offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs
of the first year : this was the oblation of Abidan the son
of Gideoni.
66 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai,
67 prince of the children of Dan : his oblation was one
silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and

NUMBERS 7. 6S-83. P 231
thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour
mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon 68
of ten shekels, full of incense ; one young bullock, one 69
ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ;
one male of the goats for a sin offering ; and for the ?I
sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five
he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the
oblation of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ochran, prince 72
of the children of Asher : his oblation was one silver 73
charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty
shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour
mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon 74
of ten shekels, full of incense ; one young bullock, one 75
ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ;
one male of the goats for a sin offering ; and for the
sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-
goats, five he-lambs of the first year : this was the oblation
of Pagiel the son of Ochran.
On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of 78
the children of Naphtali : his oblation was one silver 79
charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty
shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary ; both of them full of fine flour
mingled with oil for a meal offering ; one golden spoon go
of ten shekels, full of incense; one young bullock, one 81
ram, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering ;
one male of the goats for a sin offering ; and for the g
sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-
goats, five he-lambs of the first year : this was the oblation
of Ahira the son of Enan.

232 NUMBERS 7. 84—8. 2. P
84 This was the a dedication of the altar, in the day when
it was anointed, b by the princes of Israel : twelve silver
85 chargers, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden spoons : each
silver charger weighing an hundred and thirty shekels,
and each bowl seventy : all the silver of the vessels two
thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of
86 the sanctuary ; the twelve golden spoons, full of incense,
weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the
sanctuary:, all the gold of the spoons an hundred and
8 7 twenty shekels : all the oxen for the burnt offering twelve
bullocks, the, rams twelve, the. he-lambs of the first year
twelve, and ; their meal, offering : and the males of the
88 goats for a sin offering twelve : and, all the oxen for the
sacrifice of peace offerings twenty and four bullocks,
the rams sixty, the: he-goats sixty, the he-lambs of the
first year sixty. This was the a dedication of the altar,
89 after that it was anointed. And when Moses went into
the tent of meeting to speak with him, then he. heard
the Voice speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat
that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the
two cherubim : and he spake unto him.
8 2 And the Lord, spake unto Moses, saying, Speak .unto
" Qr, dedication-gift. b Or, at the hands of
84-88. Concluding summary of the whole contents of ' the
dedication-gift.' ;
89. A curious; fragment having no connexion with what now
precedes or follows. The words ' with him ' presuppose a refer
ence to Yahweh- immediately before, which is how missing.
Note also the. abrupt --ending, of the vierse, where one expects
' saying . . . ' to follow. The representation of ' the Voice '
accords with Exod. xxv. 22 (P*),: and it has been conjectured that
the sequel contained the command to set forward from Sinai
referred to in x. 13 below (also, Pe).
(e) viii. The dedication of the Levites (cf. iii. 5-13).
This, the main subject of the chapter, is prefaced, by a brief
instruction to Aaron with regard to the lamps of the golden

NUMBERS 8. 3, 4. P 233
Aaron, and say unto him, When thou a lightest the lamps,
the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candle
stick. And Aaron did so ; he b lighted the lamps thereof 3
so as to give light in front of the candlestick, as the Lord
commanded Moses. And this was the work of the 4
candlestick, c beaten work of gold ; unto the base there
of, and unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work :
according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed
Moses, so he made the candlestick.
* Or, settesl up b Or, set up " Or, turned
' candlestick ' (1-4), and followed by a new regulation of the age-
limit of active service for the Levites (23-26). The rest of the
chapter (5-22) deals with the purification of the Levites and with
their presentation 'for a wave offering unto Yahweh,' as a solemn
dedication of their order for the service of the Tabernacle. This
section is not homogeneous for, to mention but one of several
features, the command to ' wave ' the Levites is first given to
Aaron (verse 11) but thereafter twice to Moses (verses 13, 15).
The generally accepted view is that the first draft of the section
is from the hand of one who wished to provide the Levites with
a consecration ceremony analogous to that recorded in Lev. viii
for the priests. In it Moses took the leading part. A later
student of the law expanded this account mainly by giving greater.
prominence to Aaron throughout. Even the first draft may be
later than Ps.
1-4. The gist of this torah is contained in verse 2b, a mere
variation of Exod. xxv. 37. As there is no record of compliance
with this earlier command in Exod. xxxvii. 17-24, the verses
before us may: have been inserted here by some one who: desired
to make good the omission. The oil for the lamps is also the
subject of a special torah (Lev. xxiv. 1-4).
2. When thou lightest the lamps : the margin 'when thou
settest up the lamps ' is decidedly to be preferred.
in front of the candlestick : the lampstand was placed on
the south side ofthe Holy Place, opposite the table of shewbread
on the. north side ; Aaron is to placethe lamps with their spouts
pointing northwards, the position in which naturally their illumi
nating capacity would be greatest.
4. On the contents of this verse see Hastings's DB. iv. 663 f.
with illustration. (Kennedy). An attempt has been made by the
same writer. to trace the evolution of the lamp in Palestine in. the
art. ' Lamp' in Hastings's DB. (1909).

234 NUMBERS 8. 5-10. P
5.6 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the
Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse
7 them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse
them : sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and
let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and
let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
8 Then let them take a young bullock, and its meal offer
ing, fine flour mingled with oil, and another young
9 bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. And thou
shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting : and
thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the chil-
10 dren of Israel : and thou shalt present the Levites before
5-22. Directions for the purification and dedication of the
Levites and the carrying out of the same. The essential part of
the section is contained in verses 6-13 ; ' the rest consists of
variants on parts of these verses, ' a resetting of iii. 5-13, and
stereotyped formulae' (Gray).
6. and cleanse them : Heb. taker, denoting ' the negative
process ' of purification from ceremonial uncleanness. The priests,
on the other hand, underwent also 'the positive process of
receiving the qualities of holiness ' (see Exod. xxix. 1 , Lev. viii. 12,
'to sanctify them'). The Levites, in short, were dedicated, the
priests consecrated for their respective offices.
1. the water of expiation : A.V. 'water of purifying,' literally,
if one may coin an English term on the model of at-one-ment,
' water of un-sin-ment,' for the removal of sin conceived in the
antique manner as a physical stain that can be washed away (see
the notes on the original term hattdth, p. 48, and cf. verse 21
below). The water of ' un-sin-ment ' or purification was most
probably pure water (contrast Lev. xiv. 4 ff.) as in the case of the
priests (ibid. viii. 6). The latter, however, were not merely
sprinkled therewith but thoroughly washed, a detail which also
points to the higher consecration of the priests. This gradation,
further, underlies the direction that the Levites are to wash their
ordinary clothes (cf. Exod. xix. 10, 14), while the priests at their
consecration were clothed with the new priestly garments
(Lev. viii. 13).
10. How the author of this verse thought the laying on of
hands on the part of half a million people was accomplished it is
impossible to say. To suppose that he means only the tribal
heads or other representatives is a mere makeshift. It is of

NUMBERS 8. n-15. P 235
the Lord : and the children of Israel shall lay their
hands upon the Levites : and Aaron shall a offer the n
Levites before the Lord for a wave offering, bon the
behalf of the children of Israel, that they may be to do
the service of the Lord. And the Levites shall lay their ia
hands upon the heads of the bullocks : and offer thou
the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offer
ing, unto the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.
And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before 13
his sons, and offer them for a wave offering unto the
Lord. Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among 14
the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service 15
a Heb. wave, and in vv. 13, 15, 21. b Or, from
more importance to note that the idea of substitution is not
embodied in the rite, otherwise the firstborn only would have
laid their hands upon the Levites. As in the similar case of the
animal sacrifices (verse 12), the action is to be understood as
expressing the withdrawal of the Levites from the ranks of
' common ' men, and their transference to the ranks of those who
are henceforth 'holy' in virtue of their intimate relations with
Yahweh (see the note on Lev. i. 4).
11. and Aaron shall offer the Levites: there is no reason
for departing from the usual meaning of the verb, viz. to ' wave,'
as noted in the margin. But how was the 'waving' of 20,000
men to be done ? Even so conservative a scholar as Baudissin
admits that the ceremony ' cannot be thought of as literally per
formed, but simply gives expression to a theory' (art. 'Priests
and Levites,' DB. iv. 85*). Just as the 'wave breast' of the
sacrifice was presented to Yahweh at the altar, and returned by
Him to His representatives the priests (see on Lev. vii. 30), so
the Levites, the gift of the theocratic community to Yahweh
(verse 16), are handed over by Him to the priests ' to do the
service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting' (verse 19).
Note that in verses 13, 15, it is Moses who is to 'wave' the Levites
(see introductory note above).
15. The earlier directions, apart from the intrusive verse ii,
closed appropriately with the words of 15*. The greater part, if
not the whole, of i5b-22 seems due to the later writer who drew
his inspiration from iii. 5-13, and has Combined the two divergent
theories of the Levitical order (see above, p. 201).

236 NUMBERS 8. 16-21. P
of the tent of meeting : and thou shalt cleanse them, and
16 offer them for a wave offering. For they are a wholly
given unto me .from among the children of Israel ; in
stead of all that dpeneth the womb, even the firstborn of
all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17 For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are
mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for
18 myself. And I have taken the Levites instead of all
19 the firstborn among the children of Israel. And I have
given the Levites as ^a gift to Aaron and to his sons from
among the' children of Israel,- to' do the service of the
children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make
atonement for the children of Israel : that there be no
plague among the children of Israel, c when the children
20 of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. Thus did
Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the chil
dren of Israel, unto the- Levites : according unto all that
the Lord commanded Moses \ touching, the, Levites, so
21 did the children of Israel unto them. And the Levites
purified themselves from sin, and they washed their
a See ch. iii. 9. b Heb. Nethunim, given. ° Or, through
the children of Israel coming nigh
19. to make atonement, &c. The Hebrew verb (kipper) cannot
here haye the sense whichiit usually, bears in the priestly writings
(see pp. 51 f.) ; the context requires ' to provide a protection,' or
'to act as a covering (or screen) for the ohildren of Israel,' — an
idea which many scholars believe to be inherent in the root. The
last clause should preferably be rendered as in the margin ; the
Levites are to form a protecting cordon or screen for the sanctuary,
lest any person without due ceremonial preparation should approach
the holy, place, and so incur the wrath and judgement of God
(see K 53).
21. purified themselves from sin : the single word of the
original means 'unsinned themselves,' or 'had themselves un-
sinned,' in the sense explained in the note on verse 7.

NUMBERS 8. 22—9. r. P 237
clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering
before the Lord ; and Aaron made atonement for them
to cleanse them. And after thatwerit the Levites in to 22
do theirservice in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and
before hte sons : as the Lord had commanded MoSes
concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. ' :
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This is- that
which belongeth unto' the Levites: from twenty and five
years old and upward they shall go in a to wait upon the
service in the work of the tent of meeting : and from the ^5
age of fifty years they shall b cease waiting upon the
work, and shall serve no more; but shall minister with 26
their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge,
and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the
Levites touching their charges.
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of 9
Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they
"¦ Heb. to war the warfare in the work. b Heb. return
from thewarfarg. of the work,,:, > ;
23-26. By this tdrah the age of the Levite's entry upon service
is reduced from thirty (iv. 3) to twenty-five 'years. The upward
limit of active service remains unchanged, but Levites above
fifty years of age are here allowed to give voluntary assistance
to their younger and more responsible brethren.
24. to wait upon the service : cf. marg. and note on iv. 3.
(f) ix. 1 — x. 10. A supplementary Passov& law and other
niatters. ix. 1-14. To persons prevented byceremonial uncleanness, or
by absence from their homes, from taking part in the ordinary
Passover service on the fourteenth of the :fir-St 'month (Nisan), -per
mission is here given to hold a supplementary service oh the same
dtfy-of the second month. The section is by most critics ' regarded
as in one piece P", showing acquaintance with the Usage of both
Pb and P^ (C-H. H<ex. ii. 199).
1. The date, like that of ch. vii, is earlier than the date assigned
to chs. i-iv (see i. 1). The day of the month is hot specified,
but it must have been before the tenth (Exod. xii. 3).

238 NUMBERS 9. 2-8. P
2 were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Moreover
let the children of Israel keep the passover in its ap-
3 pointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month,
aat even, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: accord
ing to all the statutes of it, and according to all the
4 ordinances thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake
unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the
5 passover. And they kept the passover in the first month,
on the fourteenth day of the month, aat even, in the
wilderness of Sinai : according to all that the Lord com-
6 manded Moses, so did the children of Israel. And there
were certain men, who were unclean by the dead body
of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on
that day : and they came before Moses and before Aaron
7 on that day : and those men said unto him, We are un
clean by the dead body of a man : wherefore are we kept
back, that we may not offer the oblation of the Lord in
8 its appointed season among the children of Israel ? And
Moses said unto them, Stay ye ; that I may hear what
the Lord will command concerning you.
a Heb. between the two evenings.
3. at even : lit., as margin, ' between the two evenings.' The
precise time intended is not clear, see Bennett (Cent. Bible) and
M"Neile, The Book of Exodus, on Exod. xii. 6.
according to all the statutes . . and . . ordinances thereof.
Here we seem to have an indication of the late date of the section,
the author having in mind the numerous references to the Pass
over in the Pentateuchal law-codes, e.g. Exod. xii. 21-27, xxxiv.
25 (J) ! °eut. xvi. 1-7 (D) ; Exod. xii. 1-13, 43-50 (Pe), &c.
8. before Moses and before Aaron: the latter is here an
intruder, as the singular pronoun ('unto him') ofthe next clause
clearly shows (cf. note on i. 2). For the uncleanness here
specified see especially ch. xix.
8. Cf. the analogous cases, xv. 34 f., Lev. xxiv. 12 f., the
assumption being that Moses would repair to the ' tent of meeting '
to receive the Divine instructions (Exod. xxv. 22, cf. vii. 89
above).

NUMBERS 9. 9-15. P 239
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 9
the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of
your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead
body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the
passover unto the Lord : in the second month on the 1 1
fourteenth day a at even they shall keep it ; they shall
eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs : they shall 12
leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone
thereof: according to all the statute of the passover
they shall keep it. But the man that is clean, and is not 13
in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, that
soul shall be cut off from his people : because he offered
not the oblation of the Lord in its appointed season,
that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall 14
sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the
Lord ; according to the statute of the passover, and
according to the ordinance thereof, so shall he do : ye
shall have one statute, both for the stranger, and for him
that is born in the land.
And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the 15
0 Heb. between the two evenings.
11 f. A summary of the chief provisions of the earlier Passover
laws, cf. Exod. xii. 8, 10, 46.
13. For this penalty for non-observance of the Passover ordin
ance see note on Lev. vii. 20.
14. A summary of Exod. xii. 48 f.
15-23. The fiery cloud which rested upor the Tabernacle from
the day on which it was set up (so P5, Exod. xl. 34 ff.), regulates
the movements of the children of Israel in the march from Sinai
and throughout the later wilderness wanderings. The cloud is
common to the traditions of all the Pentateuch sources, but these
vary considerably in their conceptions of it as an indication of the
Divine presence (see Gray's art. ' Pillar of Cloud and Fire,' EBi.
iii. col. 3775 ff. ; McNeile, The Book of Exodus, p. 81 f.). The
latter writes, ' It is not impossible that the traditions of a guiding
cloud may have had a natural basis. The custom is frequently

240 NUMBERS 9. 16-21. P
cloud covered the tabernacle, even the- tent ofthe testi
mony : and at even it was upon the tabernacle as it were
16 theappearinbe of -fire, until morning. So it was alWay :
the cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the
Tent, then after that the children of Israel journeyed:
and in the place where the cloud abode, there 'the chih-
18 dren of Israel encamped. At the commandment ofthe
Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the com
mandment of the Lord they encamped : as long as
the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they remained
19 encamped. Arid when the cloud tarried upon the taber
nacle many1 days, then the children of Israel kept the
20 charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. And sometimes
the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle ; then
according to the commandment of the' Lord they re
mained encamped, and according to the 'commandment
a 1 ofthe Lord they journeyed! And sometimes the -cloud
was from evening until morning ; and when the cloud
was taken up in the morning, they journeyed : 6r if it
continued by day and by night, when the cloud was taken
noted in early times of carrying braziers containing burning wood
at the head of an army or caravan, and the fire indicated, by night,
the line of march [references follow] . . .But, as so bften, a
natural custom or phenomenon rises; in the Hebrew traditions,
to a beautiful and spiritual conception, of which all thought of the
origin is lost,' (ibid. p. 82).
is. even the tent of the testimony : dhly Here and xvii. 7 f.,
xviii. 2 ; cf. ' the tabernacle (lit. 'dwelling') of the' testimony,' i. 50,
53, x. 11, and seelhe note on'Le'v. xvi. iafL'
16. the cloud covered it,: add, with the "Versions, 'by day."'
19. It maybe uncertain whether the preceding verses should
be ascribed to P? or to a later hand, 'but from1 this point onwards
it is agreed that we have a secondary expansion of verse 18.
The author clearly wishes to impress upon his contemporaries
with what scrupulous care their ' pious fathers followed the
directions of Yahweh ' (Baentsch).

NUMBERS 9. 22—IO. 4. P 241
up, they journeyed. Whether it were two days, or a 22
month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the taber
nacle, abiding thereon, the children of Israel remained
encamped, and journeyed not : but when it was taken
up, they journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord 23
they encamped, and at the commandment of the Lord
they journeyed : they kept the charge of the Lord, at
the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee 10 2
two trumpets of silver ; of a beaten work shalt thou make
them : and thou shalt use them for the calling of the
congregation, and for the journeying of the camps. And 3
when they shall blow with them, all the congregation
shall gather themselves unto thee at the door of the tent
of meeting. And if they blow but with one, then the 4
" Or, turned
22. or a year: render, 'or for a longer period.'
x. 1-10. A command to Moses to make two silver trumpets, with
specification of the uses to which they are to be put. These are
three in number : (1) to summon the whole congregation to the
sanctuary, or the princes only if one trumpet is sounded alone ;
(2) to give the signal for the march ; and (3) to remind Yahweh of
the need of His help in battle and of His presence at certain
religious festivals. The first two apply only to the period of the
sojourn in the' wilderness, the last to the subsequent occupation
of the holy land. This divergence, and the fact that verse 8b is
the standing formula in P for the close of a separate torah, have
suggested that verses 9 and 10 are derived from a separate source
(H, according to C-H. Hex. ii. 200 and others).
These trumpets or clarions are known to have been 'long,
straight, slender metal tubes, with flaring ends' from their re
presentation on Jewish coins (see no. 18 of the plate accompanying
the art. 'Money,' in DB. vol. iii), and especially on the Arch of
Titus. To judge from the relative proportions of the trumpets
and the table of shewbread against which they lean, the former
must have been from three to four feet long (illustration in Driver,
Joel and Amos, p. 145, where see for the distinction between
the metal trumpet and the shophdr, or ram's horn, also rendered
' trumpet ' in our versions, c. g. Lev, xxv, 9),

242 NUMBERS 10. 5-10. P
princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather
5 themselves unto thee. And when ye blow an alarm, the
camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey.
6 And when ye blow an alarm the second time, the camps
that lie on the south side shall take their journey : they
7 shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the
assembly is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but
8 ye shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron,
the priests, shall blow with the trumpets ; and they shall
be to you for a statute for ever throughout your genera-
9 tions. And when ye go to war in your land against the
adversary that oppresseth you, then ye shall sound an
alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered
before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from
10 your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in
your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, ye
shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings,
and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings ; and they
shall be to you for a memorial before your God : I am
the Lord your God.
5. when ye blow an alarm. Here, and more explicitly in
verse 7, a distinction, no longer clear to us, is made between
simple blowing and blowing or sounding an alarm. It is usually
supposed that the former denotes a succession of single notes, the
latter a continuous blast. ' Alarm ' is the Italian call, alV armc,
' to arms ! '
9 f. Here an entirely new idea is introduced ; after the con
quest of Canaan the trumpets are to serve as ' the Lord's remem
brancers ' (Isa. lxii. 6, R.V.) in the day of battle and on the
occasion of the high festivals of His worship. Their use in war
is attested by o- Chron. xiii. 12-16 and especially by 1 Mace. iv. 40,
v. 33, and in various religious services frequently by the Chronicler
and other late writers, e. g. Ps. xcviii. 6 ; Ecclus. 1. 16.
10. for a memorial before yonr God: rather 'for a remem
brance ' or ' a reminder ; ' a similar ' reminder before the Lord '
was the High Priest's breastplate, the jewels of which are termed
' stones of remembrance ' (Exod. xxviii. 12, 29).

NUMBERS 10. n. P 243
[P] And it came to pass in the second year, in the n
Second Division. Chapters X. 11 — XX. 13.
Traditions of the Wilderness Period, with accompanying
Legislation.
In this division of Numbers is contained all that the compilers
of the Pentateuch have seen fit to preserve of the early Hebrew
traditions regarding the period which elapsed from the departure
of the Israelites from Sinai until they were ready to undertake the
invasion of the country east of the Jordan, a period roundly given
as forty years. The origin and value of these traditions have been
discussed in the Introduction. It is remarkable that they should
be so few in number, and that these few should deal almost exclu
sively with defections and murmurings either of the whole ' con
gregation,' or of some of its members. Here, for the first time
since Exod. xxxiv, we meet with the two oldest Pentateuch
sources (J and E) in addition to P, to whose scheme of chronology
the final narrative is in the main adjusted.
While the characteristic vocabulary, style, and dominant interests
of the priestly writers render it comparatively easy to distinguish
the contributions of this school, those of the so-called ' prophetic '
history (JE) cannot always be so satisfactorily analysed. In the
notation of the sources inserted in the text, accordingly, the usual
composite symbol (JE) will be employed where the details of the
literary analysis are, in the writer's opinion, uncertain. Reference
will be made from time to time in the notes to the more probable
indications of the separate sources, but fuller guidance (see
Bennett's remarks on the ' stubborn problem ' of the analysis of
JE in Exodus, Cent. Bible, p. 28) must be sought in such standard
works as B. W. Bacon's Triple Tradition ofthe Exodus, Carpenter
and Harford's Hexateuch, the English translation of Kuenen's
Hexateuch, and the larger commentaries. The contents of x. 11-
xx. 13 may be conveniently arranged in six sections, as given in
sect, ii of the Introduction, ' Arrangement and Contents.'
(a) x. n-xii. 16. From Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea.
As now arranged, the incidents recorded in this section are all
episodes of the march from ' the mount of Yahweh ' (x. 33) to
the oasis of Kadesh, which in the oldest sources is the scene of
the sending out of the spies, the subject of the next section (xiii—
xiv). The marks of P are found only in a. 11-28, the rest is
from JE.
x. 1 1-28. The departure from Sinai according to P, after a stay
of rather less than twelve months (Exod. xix. 1; Num. i. x, x. 11).
The signal for the march is given by the lifting of the fiery cloud
(cf. ix. 17).

244 NUMBERS 10. 12-18. P
second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that
the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the
1 2 testimony. And the children of Israel set forward ac
cording to their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai ;
13 and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran. And
they first took their journey according to the command-
14 ment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. And in the
first place the standard of the camp of the children of
Judah set forward according to their hosts : and over his
r 5 host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. And over
the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was
16 Nethanel the son of Zuar. And over the host of the
tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of
17 Helon. And the tabernacle was taken down ; and the
sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bare the
18 tabernacle, set forward. And the standard of the camp
of Reuben set forward according to their hosts : and
12. the wilderness of Faran : its boundaries cannot be pre
cisely determined ; it certainly lay to the west of the Arabah, i. e.
the continuation of the Jordan valley between the Dead Sea and
the gulf of Akabah, and to the south of ' the Negeb ' of Judah (see
on xiii. 17), and may be regarded as corresponding roughly to the
eastern part of the desert plateau now known as et-Tih.
13-28. A later expansion (Ps) of the two preceding verses,
merely repeating ' the imperatives ' of ii. 3ff. ' in the past indica
tive' (Bacon). The verbs are properly to be rendered as fre-
quentatives, since they are intended to describe the practice of
the tribes throughout the period of the wanderings.
14. the standard of the camp, &c. : rather ' the division ' of
the tribes grouped under the leadership of Judah ; see on ii. 2ff.
IT ff. The two groups of the Levites named from Gershon and
Merari here march together between the first and second divisions
of the secular tribes, the third group, the Kohathites, taking their
place between the second and third divisions. The idea seems
to be that the Tabernacle should be set up before the arrival ofthe
sons of Kohath with its sacred furniture. In ii. 17, on the other
hand, it is implied that the Levites inarched in a body in the place
here assigned to the Kohathites.

NUMBERS 10. 19-29. P 245
over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. And over 19
the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was
Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. And over the host 20
of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son
of Deuel. And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the 2 1
sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against
they came. And the standard of the camp of the chil- 22
dren of Ephraim set forward according to their hosts :
and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh 23
was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. And over the host 24
of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the
son of Gideoni. And the standard of the camp of the 25
children of Dan, which was the rearward of all the camps,
set forward according to their hosts : and over his host
was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. And over the 26
host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel
the son of Ochran. And over the host of the tribe of 27
the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.
Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel 28
according to their hosts ; and they set forward.
[J] And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel 29

21. bearing- the sanctuary: consistency requires that we
should read either ' bearing the furniture of the sanctuary,' or, by
dropping a letter, ' bearing the holy things,' as in iv. 15, margin.
29-32 (J). Moses requests his father-in-law, Hobab, to act as
guide to the camping-places in the wilderness. The verses are
a fragment from J, opening abruptly and closing without giving
Hobab' s final reply to Moses' appeal. From Judges i. 16 (note
R.V. margin) and other indications, it is more than probable that
J represented Hobab as consenting. This was doubtless sup
pressed by the editor of the ' prophetic ' history (R'e) in favour of
the tradition given in E (verse 33). The fragment is secured for
J by the fact that in E, who gives Jethro as the name of Moses'
father-in-law, the latter has already returned home (Exod. xviii. 27).
His designation here as 'the Midianite' is also probably editorial

246 NUMBERS 10. 30-33- JE
the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying
unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you :
30 come thou with us, and we will do thee good : for the
Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he
31 said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine
own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us
not, I pray thee ; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are
32 to encamp in the wilderness, and thou shalt be to us
instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea,
it shall be, that what good soever the Lord shall do
unto us, the same will we do unto thee.
33 [E] And they set forward from the mount of the
Lord three days' journey ; and the ark of the covenant
of the Lord went before them three days' journey, to
(following E), for there are good grounds for believing that in J
Hobab was a Kenite (Judges i. 16, iv. 11 ; see note on Exod. ii. 18).
33-36 (E). The march begun under the supernatural guidance of
the ark.
33. the mount of the LORD : the expression ' mount of
Yahweh ' is not found elsewhere, and has here probably dis
placed E's usual designation, 'the mount of God (Elohim).'
the ark of the covenant of the LORD : since this is the title
of the ark characteristic of the Deuteronomic historians (see
Samuel, Cent. Bible, p. 321 f.), we may assume that the older title
' the ark of Elohim ' originally stood here.
went before them three days1 journey: the last three words
must have slipped in from the preceding clause, for it is impossi
ble to conceive how an object three days' march away could have
served as a guide to each day's camping-ground. It is not easy,
however, to say how E pictured the situation. He can scarcely,
as Baentsch and Gray suppose, have thought of the ark as moving
of its own accord I It is more probable, as was first suggested by
Klostermann, that the ark was placed on a cart (see on vii. 7 ft1.),
the oxen of which were believed to move forward and to come to
a halt in obedience to a Divine impulse, as in the parallel case
recorded in 1 Sam. vi. 7-14 (so Holzinger and Kautzsch). In any
case the picture of the march presented by E is very different
from that of P, as sketched above in verses 13-28. Verse 34 is an
editorial insertion for the purpose of bringing the march more into
harmony with P's representation,

NUMBERS 10. 34—II. i. E 247
seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of 34
the Lord was over them by day, when they set forward
from the camp.
And it came to pass, when the ark set1 forward, that 35
Moses said, Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be
scattered ; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the 36
ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.
And the people were as murmurers, a speaking evil in 11
the ears of the Lord : and when the Lord heard it, his
Or, which was evil
35 f. have preserved two small but precious poetical fragments,
which were evidently addressed in early times to the ark as the .
embodiment of ' the Presence of Yahweh ' (for this conception
see Samuel in this series, p. 324 f.) — the one when it headed the
march as the Hebrew ' host ' fared forth to fight ' the battles of
Yahweh' (1 Sam. iv. 3ff. ; 2 Sam. xi. 11: cf. Num. xiv. 42, 44;
Joshua vi. 6ff.), the other when it returned, say to Shiloh or to
Jerusalem, at the close of the campaign. The verses may have
been taken by E from 'the book of the Wars of Yahweh' cited
below, xxi. 14.
Rise up,© LORD : 'Yahweh "arose "when He gave His peo
ple victory ' (Gray) ; cf. Pss. Ixviii. 1, cxxxii. 8, the latter with an
interesting variation to escape the identification of the ark with
Yahweh. 36. Budde's emendation of this verse is now generally accepted
(Actes du dixttme Congr. Orient., 1894, iii. 18-21). He proposes a
slight alteration of the opening word — shebdh (lit. 'sit down ') for
shiibdh — and the addition of a middle clause to make this verse
metrically uniform with the preceding : 'Alight, O Yahweh  and
do thou bless — the myriad clans (see on i. 16) of Israel.'
xi. 1-3 (E). The first of several incidents, of which the place-
name is in all probability older than the tradition which explains
it (see the Introduction for a statement of the modern attitude to
these ' aetiological ' legends). Here the place called Taberah or
Burning (site unknown and named again only Deut. ix. 22) is
said to have received its name from a portion ofthe people having
been burned by ' the fire of Yahweh ' as a punishment for their
murmuring. 1. were as murmurers . . . LORD : more idiomatically, 'began
to complain loudly to Yahweh of their hard fate.'

248 NUMBERS 11. 2-4. EJE
anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt
among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the
a camp. And the people cried unto Moses ; and Moses
3 prayed unto the Lord, and the fire abated. And the
name of that place was called n Taberah : because the
fire of the Lord burnt among them.
4 [JE] And the mixed multitude that was among them
* That is, Burning.
in the uttermost part of the camp : since the ' tent of meet
ing,' according to E, was pitched outside the camp (Exod. xxxiii.
7ff.), this phrase suggests that the 'fire of Yahweh' was con
ceived as issuing from the sacred tent.
2. and Moses prayed : cf. xxi. 7, also E, who loves to repre
sent his heroes as men of prayer (Gen.xx. 7, 17).
The remainder of this chapter (4-35) now consists of a com
bination of two loosely connected traditions : (1) the provision of
quails in response to another ' murmuring,' and (2) the appoint
ment and equipment of seventy elders to share with Moses ' the
burden of the people.' Of these narratives it is agreed that the
first stood originally in J, the second in E. The further literary
history of this chapter, however, is by no means clear, but there
is much to be said in favour of the acute suggestion of B. W. Bacon
that verses 10° ('and Moses was displeased'), nf., and I4f.
originally stood in Exod. xxxiii between 1-3 and 12 ff. (all J),
and that the appointment of the elders originally followed verses
7-11 (E) of the same chapter (Bacon, The Triple Tradition, &c,
pp. 108, 141 f., 168 ; cf. the reconstructed sources, pp. 299, 336 f.)
The result is to provide 'a perfectly uniform, consistent, and
characteristic narrative' of the quails (J) in verses 4-6 (for 7-9 see
notes), 10, 13, 18-2411, 31-35; leaving 16 f., 24b-3o (E) for the
appointment of the seventy elders. See further the note on
verse 10.
4. the mixed multitude: the rabble; cf. Exod. xii. 38 (J),
where, hbwever, a different word is used. The question with
which the verse ends should remind the student of Israel's early
history that there were various cycles of traditions regarding this
period in the wilderness, and that the compilers and Successive
editors of these traditions either did not attempt to remove their
divergent elements, or did not succeed in doing so. Thus, apart
from the abundant supply of sacrificial animals required by the
assumptions underlying the Priests' Code, we find repeated refer
ences in J to the Hebrews' 'flocks and herds ' (Exod. xii. 38,
xvii. 3, xxxiv. 3 ; cf. Num. xiv. 33 R.V. margin, xxxii. 1 [P]).

NUMBERS 11. 5-10. JER J 249
fell a lusting : and the children of Israel also wept again,
and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat ? We remember 5
the fish, which we did eat in Egypt for nought ; the
cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the
onioHs, and the garlick : but now our soul is dried away ; 6
there is nothing at all : we have nought s£ve this manna
to look to. [B] And the manna was like coriander seed, 7
and the a appearance thereof as the appeiafance of
bdellium. The people went about, and gathered it, and 8
ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and seethed it
in pots, and made cakes of it : ahd the taste of it was as
the taste of D fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the 9
camp in the night, the manna fell c upon it. [J] Ahd 10
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families,
a Heb. eye. b Or, cakes baked with oil c Or, with
6. we have nought save this manna. J's narrative of the
giving of the manna has been suppressed in favour of P's, Exod.
xvi. 1 ff., for the relation of which to the present narrative see
Bennett's Exodus, in he.
7-9 (R) are best taken as an editorial parenthesis.
7. like coriander seed. In the parallel description, Exod.
xvi. 31, the point of likeness is said to be the white colour of the
manna. as the appearance of bdellium : this rendering is preferable
to 'the colour' of A.V. (cf. margin and note on Lev. xiii. 5).
Bdellium is the Latin name, from the Greek, of a fragrant gum,
a special quality of which came from Arabia, and is most prob
ably an accurate rendering of the rare word in the original (only
here and Gen. ii. 12). This favours the identification of the
biblical manna with the sweet juice which exudes from a species
of tamarisk, still found in the peninsula. The Arabs term this
gum 'the manna of heaven.' See the art. 'Manna' in the Bible
Dictionaries. 8. as the taste of fresh oil : rather ' of a dainty prepared
with oil,' cf. margin and Exod. xvi. 31, ' and the taste of it was
like wafers made with honey.' With verse 9 cf. ibid, verse 13 f.
10 continues verse 6, and was probably continued in J's narra
tive by verse 13, which Bacon proposes to insert after the word
'tent' with the words 'and Moses cried unto Yahweh' as a

Z50 NUMBERS 11. u-16. JE
every man at the door of his tent : and the anger of the
Lord was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased.
n And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou
evil entreated thy servant? and wherefore have I not
found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of
12 all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this
people? have I brought them forth, that thou shouldest
say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-
father carrieth the sucking child, unto the land which
13 thou swarest unto their fathers ? Whence should I have
flesh to give unto all this people ? for they weep unto
14 me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not
able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy
15 for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray
thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight ;
and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 [E] And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me
seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest
restored connecting clause (see the references given above). In
any case the last two clauses of this verse cannot have stood
originally in their present juxtaposition, and Bacon's proposal to
take the last clause with verses nf. and 14 f. as the sequel of
Exod. xxxiii. 1-3 provides a suitable remedy.
- 12. as a nursing-father : the addition of a single letter gives
the more appropriate 'nursing' or 'foster mother.'
14. The apparent similarity of the words in which Moses here
voices his complaint with those of Yahweh in verse 17 has been
the fons et origo ofthe editorial confusion ofthe two independent
incidents of this chapter. The resemblance, however, is super
ficial ; for while, in the latter verse, Yahweh is about to provide
Moses with human aid in his heavy task, in the context in which
verse 14 originally stood Moses complains of the want of Divine
help. 16 f. At this point the narrative of the appointment of ' seventy
men of the elders of Israel ' to share with Moses the ' burden ' of
administration begihs and is continued in verses 24b-3o. The
whole, in all probability, originally stood in E in close connexion
with E's account of the Tent of Meeting in Exod, xxxiii. 7-1 1.

NUMBERS 11. 17-23. EJ 251
to be the elders of the people, and officers over them ;
and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may
stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk 17
with thee there : and I will take of the spirit which is
upon thee, and will put it upon them ; and they shall
bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear
it not thyself alone. [J] And say thou unto the people, 18
Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat
flesh : for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying,
Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it. was well with us in
Egypt : therefore the Lord will give you flesh,, and ye
shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor 19
five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days ; but a whole 20
month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it ,be loath
some unto you : because that ye have rejected the Lord
which is among you, and have wept before him, saying,
Why came we forth out of Egypt? And Moses said, The 21
people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand
footmen ; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that
they may eat a whole month. Shall flocks and herds be 22
slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of
the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them ?
And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand 23
There the sacred tent is expressly said to have been pitched
' without the camp, afar off from the camp ' (ibid. 7), which
accords with its situation in the present narrative. In the
priestly strata of the Pentateuch, as is well known, the Tent of
Meeting occupies the centre ofthe camp (see above, pp. 1946°.).
18-240, continuation of J's narrative of the people's request for
flesh food from iob, 'and the anger of Yahweh was kindled
greatly, and [he said unto Moses], Say thou,' &c. (Bacon).
18. Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow : to fit them
selves to receive the promised gift of God, the people are to make
themselves ceremonially 'clean' by washing their bodies and
their garments, and by sexual continence, as more fully laid down
in Exod. xix. 10 f., 14 f- ; cf, Gen. xxxv, 2,

252 NUMBERS 11. 24-27. JE
waxed short ? now shalt thou see whether my word shall
24 come to pass unto thee or not. And Moses went out,
and told the people the words of the Lord : [E] and he
gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set
25 them round about the Tent. And the Lord came down
in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit
that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders :
and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon
26 them, they prophesied, but they did so no more. But
there remained two men in the Camp, the name of the
one Was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad : and
the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that
were Written, but had not gone out tittto the Tent : and
27 they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young

24. The first half of this verse must be read in connexion with
verses 31 ff. The intervening section, 24b-3o, is the continuation
of E's narrative of the seventy elders.
25. And the LORD came down in the cloud : i. e. to the
Tent of Meeting. ' In E the appearance of this theophanic cloud
is intermittent [cf. xii. 5] ; in P continuous after the completion
of the Tabernacle. In both E and P, as distinguished from J, it
is regularly associated with the Tabernacle ; see Pillar of Cloud
in EBi.' (Gray, Numbers, in he).
and took of the spirit, &c. (cf. verse 17). That the 'pro
phetic' historian was careful to reproduce faithfully the earlj
traditions as he received them is well seen from the present
narrative. Here the spirit of prophecy is represented as some
thing almost material, the effect of which is to throw the recipient
into a condition of ' holy frenzy.' The same picture of prophetic
ecstasy is found in the early narratives of 1 Sam. x. 10-13,
xix. 20-24. By the eighth century this conception had given
place to a much loftier idea of Divine inspiration, which is found
elsewhere in E (e. g. ch. xii), as we should expect in a writer who
was probably a contemporary of Amos and Hosea.
they prophesied, &c. In view Of the modern connotation of
the word 'prophesy' it Would be better to render, 'they became
Ecstatic,' as explained in the preceding note (cf. the note on
1 Sam. x. 5 in Cent. Bible). The following words, if the text is
right, signify that the prophetic frenzy seized them on this occasion

NUMBERS 11. 28-31. EJ 253
man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do
prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, 28
the minister of Moses, a one of his chosen men, answered
and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses 29
said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would
God that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the
Lord would put his spirit upon them ! And Moses gat 30
him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. [J] And 31
there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought
quails from the sea, and let them fall fcby the camp,
a Or, from his youth b Or, over
only ; the Targums and the Vulgate, however, read : ' and they
ceased not.'
26 ff. Two of the seventy elders selected for administrative
duty — such is the most probable view of the text—had apparently
declined the honour and remained in the camp, but are neverthe
less seized with the same frenzy as the others. Joshua's zeal for
his master's honour gives occasion for a noble and great-hearted
utterance on the part of Moses.
28. Joshua . . . one of his chosen men : this rendering seems
intended to convey the impression that Joshua was one of the
' seventy.' But the marginal rendering ' from his youth ' is pre
ferable, though not free from difficulty, and is quite intelligible
when the narrative is read in its original setting (see Exod.
xxxiii. 11, which also accounts for Joshua's presence on this
occasion). 29 reveals a fine trait in the character of Moses. Not to him
self alone, nor to a limited circle, would this large-hearted man
and greatest of the prophets confine the best gift of God.
31-34 continue the narrative of the quails (J).
31: a wind . . . brought quails from the sea, The 'sea' in
question is probably the modern gulf of Akabah, the north-eastern
horn ofthe Red Sea. The wind has already appeared in J's
story of the Exodus as the instrument of the Divine purpose,
Exod. x. 13, 19, xiv. 21. Apart from some elements of exaggera
tion from which popular tradition is rarely free (cf. next note), the
description of the text is in complete accord with the phenomena
attending the annual migrations of the quails in the peninsula at
the present day. The quail, a member of the partridge family,
winters in Africa, and in spring crosses to Palestine ' by myriads.'
Making long flights and ' always flying with the wind,' the birds

254 NUMBERS 11. 32— 12. i. JE
about a day's journey on this side, and a day's journey
on the other side, round about the camp, and about two
32 cubits above the face of the earth. And the people rose
up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day,
and gathered the quails : he that gathered least gathered
ten homers : and they spread them all abroad for them-
33 selves round about the camp. While the flesh was yet
between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of the
Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord
34 smote the people with a very great plague. And the
name of that place was called a Kibroth-hattaavah : be-
35 cause there they buried the people that lusted. From
Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed unto Hazeroth ;
and they abode at Hazeroth.
12 [E] And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses
" That is, The graves of lust.
often alight in an exhausted condition, when they are caught in
great numbers.
a day's journey : a popular measure of distance, with the
same indefiniteness as our ' bow-shot ' or ' stone's throw ' ;
unfortunately we have no clue to the mileage of ' a day's journey '
in the. popular speech. In any case we have here an excusable
exaggeration. Two cubits may be taken as approximately three
feet. 32. ten homers : over loo imperial bushels (see on Lev.
xxviii. 16). The following clause informs us that the birds were
cured by being dried in the sun.
34. Kibroth-hattaavah: i.e., as margin, 'the graves of lust.'
The locality is unknown.
35. Hazeroth : lit. ' enclosures,' ' settlements ' ; the identifica
tion with the modern 'Ain el-Hadra, between Jebel Musa and
Akabah, is very precarious.
Ch. xii. Miriam and Aaron give expression to their jealousy
of Moses, and to their claim to equality with him. Yahweh ap
pears in the cloud to vindicate Moses' unique position and privi
lege as His prophet. Miriam is punished by being smitten with
leprosy which, however, is ultimately removed at Moses' request.
While a complete solution of the literary and historical problems
presented by thjschapter is no longer possible, it is agreed that its

NUMBERS 12. 2-4. E 255
because of the Cushite woman whom he had married :
for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, 2
Hath the Lord indeed spoken only a with Moses ? hath
he not spoken also a with us ? And the Lord heard it.
Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men 3
which were upon the face of the earth. And the Lord 4
a Or, by
immediate source is the Ephraimite document (E). This con
clusion is based on various points of contact with the E sections of
the preceding chapter. Such are the position of the Tent of
Meeting outside the camp (verse 4), the nature of the theophany
(cf. xi. 25 with note), and the emphasis on the prophetic aspect
of Moses' activity.
It is almost certain, however, that we have once more a case of
the fusion of two originally distinct traditions, for it is difficult to
see what jealousy of Moses as a prophet has to do with the ques
tion of his marriage. In the original version it is probable that, in
one of the incidents at least, Miriam was the only offender— note
her leading position in verse 1, ' Miriam and Aaron,' and the fact
that she alone is punished with leprosy. It is still more difficult
to detect the historical background of the main tradition embodied
in E's narrative. Have we here a distant echo of forgotten con
troversies as to rights of precedence within the ranks of the priest
hood (so E. Meyer, Die Israeliten u. ihre Nachbarstdmme, p. 94) ?
Or should we recognize in the poetical fragment, verses 6-8, the
nucleus round which has gathered this tradition of the vindica
tion of Moses' uniqueness as a prophet over against those even of
his own family (cf. Exod. xv. 20, ' Miriam, the prophetess, the
sister of Aaron ') ?
The chief interest of the section for the Old Testament student
lies in the lofty conception which it presents to us of the nature
of the Divine inspiration of the prophet.
1 . the Cushite woman. Of the many suggested explanations,
the identification with Zipporah, the daughter of the priest of
Midian, is still the best (cf. Exod. ii. 21, iii. 1). In this case it is
usual to adduce the association of ' Cushan ' with ' Midian ' in the
parallelism of Hab. iii. 7. The author of the gloss at the end of
verse 1, evidently taking ' Cushite' in its usual sense of 'Ethiopian,'
found a reference to an unrecorded marriage of Moses, a view
altogether less probable than that adopted above.
3. Whether this verse be regarded as original in E, or, as some
think, a later addition, its presence was early Seized upon as an
indication of the non-Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.

256 NUMBERS 12. 5-8. E
spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto
Miriam, Cpme out ye three unto the tent of meeting.
5 And they three came out. And the Lord came down
in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the Tent,
and called Aaron and Miriam : and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words : if there be a prophet
among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto
7 him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream. My
servant Moses is not so ; he is faithful in all mine house :
8 with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly,
5. With the nature of this theophany compare the similar
description in xi. 25 with Gray's remarks quoted in the note there.
they both came forth : i. e. came forward to the door of the
Tent ; the action is distinct from that similarly expressed in
verse 4, which refers to the ' coming out ' of the persons con
cerned from the camp to the sacred Tent pitched outside the
latter. 6-8. Yahweh's words to Aaron and Miriam are cast in poetic
form. In communicating His will to other prophets, Yahweh does so
through the medium of visions and dreams (cf. Joel ii. 28), but to
Moses He speaks directly 'mouth to mouth.' The prominence
of dreams as a medium of Divine revelation is a characteristic
feature of E's narrative (Gen. xx. 3, 6, xxviii. 12, xxxi. 11, 24
and often).
1. My servant Moses: a title of honour also bestowed on
Abraham (Gen. xxvi. 24) and Caleb (Num. xiv. 24). In later
writings the prophets are frequently termed the ' servants ' of
God (see A. B. Davidson's art. ' Prophecy and Prophets ' in
Hastings's DB. iv. 113 — the best introduction to the study of the
whole subject of O.T. prophecy).
faithful in all mine house : Moses' work as the leader of
Yahweh's people is compared to that of a great man's major-domo,
such as Eliezer in the household of Abraham (Gen. xxiv. 2).
8. mouth to mouth : an expression found only here, but in
dicating even more emphatically than the parallel ' face to face '
(Exod. xxxiii. 11, Deut. xxxiv. to) the immediateness of Moses'
inspiration. There is probably no more adequate definition of
a prophet in the O.T. sense than the mouthpiece, or spokesman,
of the Deity. Note the prominence given to the consecration of
the mouth and the lips in the narratives of the call of Moses

NUMBERS 12. 9-14. E 257
and not in dark speeches; and the form of the Lord
shall he behold : wherefore then were ye not afraid to
speak against my servant, against Moses ? And the 9
anger of the Lord was kindled against them ; and he
departed. And the cloud removed from over the Tent ; 10
and, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow:
and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was
leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Oh my lord, lay 1 1
not, I pray thee, sin upon us, for that we have done
foolishly, and for that we have sinned. Let her not, 12
I pray, be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half con
sumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. And 13
Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her, O God,
I beseech thee. And the Lord said unto Moses, if her 14
father had but spit in her face, should she not be
(Exod. iv. 12, 15 f.: cf. vii. 1 f.), Isaiah (Isa. vi. 7), and Jeremiah
(Jer. i. 9). In this lofty conception of the nature of prophetic
inspiration as ' a communion of spirit with spirit ' (A. B. Davidson),
E has left far behind the older mechanical view to which attention
was called in the notes on the preceding chapter.
10. It is impossible to explain why Aaron should have been
excluded from the punishment which overtook Miriam, except on
the hypothesis that in the earlier form of the tradition the latter
figured alone, most probably with reference to Moses' marriage
to a Midianite (see on verse 1), which she may have regarded as
derogatory to the family dignity.
11 ft. In these verses the superior dignity of Moses is further
indirectly emphasized. He alone is recognized as qualified to
intercede with Yahweh for the removal of his sister's leprosy
(see the note on xi. 2, and cf. xiv. 13 ff., xxi. 7 for Moses' activity
as intercessor) '.
14. If her father had but spit in her face : an action recog
nized by Hebrew legislation (see Deut. xxv. 9) as inflicting the
1 The unique character of Moses' inspiration, and his superiority
in this respect to all other prophets, which is the main theme of this
chapter, are worked out in detail by Maimonides in his famous work
'The Strong Hand', see H. H. Bernard, The Main Principles of
the Creed and Ethics of the Jews . . .from the Yad Hachazakah
of Maimonides, pp. 1 16 ff. S

258 NUMBERS 12. 15— 13. 2. EJP
ashamed seven days? let her be shut up without the
canip seven days, and: after that she shall be brought
15 in again. And Miriam was shut up without the camp
seven days : and the people journeyed not till Miriam
16 was brought in again. [ J] And afterward the people
journeyed from Hazeroth, [p] and pitched in the wilder
ness of Paran.
13 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou
men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I
give unto the children of Israel : of every tribe of their
loss of personal honour. The form of the original text suggests
that the narrative has been shortened here. It has been con
jectured that the narrative proceeded 'if she had spoken against
her father and mother ; and her father had spit in her face,' &c.
We must suppose that Miriam's leprosy was immediately removed,
but a seven days' exclusion from the camp ordered to mark the
Divine disapproval.
16. is composite ; i6a continues xi. 35 (J) ; i6b, introducing ' the
wilderness of Paran,' is from P (see x. 12).
(4) xiii-xiv. Thernisshn ofthe spies.
Twelve men of rank, one- from each tribe, are sent to explore
the land of Canaan with a view to ascertain the nature of the
country, and especially to report upon the character and con
ditions of its inhabitants. After an absence of forty days, in
which they penetrate to the. extreme north of Palestine, the spies
return to Kadesh. The ' majority, report ' is unfavourable as
regards the land and entirely against the ppssibility of conquest.
The minority, composed of Joshua and Caleb, repqrt favourably
of the land and advise an immediate advance in reliance upon
Diyine assistance. The people side with the majority, once more
rebelling against their leaders and threatening the life of the two
faithful spies. At this point Yahweh intervenes to upbraid the
people for their lack of faith, and to announce that, as a punish
ment, they shall wander for forty years, and ultimately perish, in
the wilderness ; no one over twenty years of age, save Joshua and
Caleb only, is to be permitted to enter the land of promise. The
ten faint-hearted spies are immediately punished with death.
It has long been recognized that the story above summarized
has been formed by the interweaving of two (ultimately three)
independent records of this critical episode in the history of Israel
in the wilderness, representing the prophetic (JE) and priestly

NUMBERS 13.2/ P 259
fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among
(P) sources respectively. The following shows the main results
of the literary analysis ' :
J E xiii, , i7b-2o .22-24. a6b .(from \ to Kadesh ')-3i 32b,33.,
P xiii. 1-17* 21 25-26" (to 'Paran ') 32"
J E xiv. ' r", 3, 4 8-9 (1 1-24, see notes) 25 31, 32 39-45-
Pxiv.i*,2 5-7 10 26-30. 33-38
If the passages indicated are read consecutively, it will be found
that, apart from differences in phraseology and style which are
more apparent in the original, the two main narratives differ, in
their representation in several important particulars: (a) The
place front which the spies are sent out is in P the wilderness of
Paran (xiii. 3), in JE, the beginning of whose narrative has not
been preserved, it was evidently Kadesh (see xiii, 26, xxxii. 8,
and cf. Deut. i. 19, based on JE) ; (b) The limit of their exploration
in JE is Hebron or its neighbourhood (xiii. 22 ff.), in P the spies
traverse the whole of Canaan from south to north (see on xiii. 21
below) ; (c) in J E the report concerning the land is that it is ex
tremely productive but impossible to subdue (verses 27 f.), in P
that it is barren and unfruitful (verse 32, see note below) ;. (a) The
most striking divergence, however, one which of itself is sufficient
to prove a difference of source, relates to the position of Joshua
in the two narratives. In P he appears along with Caleb as one
of the twelve spies (xiii. 8, xiv. 6), and with Caleb is exempted
from the sentence of punishment pronounced in xiv. 30, 38 ; in
JE, on the contrary, Caleb alone is represented as faithful to his
trust (xiii. 30), and as receiving his reward (xiv. 24, where see
the note).
As. regards the historical interpretation of the section in its
present form, it is probable that to later generations the long
delay in entering Canaan appeared inexplicable save on the
assumption that the generation which had experienced the
wonders of Divine providence in the exodus from Egypt had in
curred the displeasure of Yahweh and forfeited the privilege of
entering the promised land. To give effect to this conviction the
older and doubtless historical traditions of the sending of spies
and of an unsuccessful attempt to enter Canaan from the south
were expanded in the various forms in which they are now pre
served in these chapters (the parallel narrative in Deut. i, which
agrees in the main with JE, should.be compared throughout).
\ The further analysis of JE into its component parts is less certain
and is not attempted here. For this, and for details of the analysis
as a whole, see the standard works of Carpenter and Harford, Bacon,
Kent (The Beginnings of Hebrew History, 215 ft.), and the larger
Commentaries. S 2

260 NUMBERS 13. 3-1 y. P
3 them. And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran
according to the commandment of the Lord : all of them
4 men who were heads of the children of Israel. And
these were their names : of the tribe of Reuben, Sham-
5 mua the son of Zaccur. Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat
6 the son of Hori. Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son
7 of Jephunneh. Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of
8 Joseph. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
' Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. Of
1 1 the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. Of the
tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi
12 the son of Susi. Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son
13 of Gemalli. Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of
14 Michael. Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of
15 Vophsi. Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to
spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of
17 Nun Joshua. And Moses sent them to spy out the land
3. the wilderness of Paran : see on x. 12. That the spies are
not being sent from Kadesh, as in JE (see on verse 26), is evident
from the fact that in P's geography Kadesh was situated in the
wilderness of Zin, which lay immediately to the north of that of
Paran and was not reached in P's itinerary till a later date (xx. 1).
4-16. The names of the spies, each of the twelve tribes sending
as its representative a ' prince ' (verse 3) or head of one of its
subdivisions. The 'princes' or heads of the tribes themselves
have been named more than once (i. 5 ff. and ii, vii, passim).
8. Hoshea the son of Nun : changed by Moses to Yehdshu'a,
i.e. Joshua (verse 16), by prefixing a significant part ofthe Divine
name Yahweh. The necessity for this change is perhaps due to
P's view that the name Yahweh was first revealed (see Exod. vi. 2 f.)
at a time which was too late for it to have formed part of Joshua's
original name. Joshua has already appeared in more than one
capacity in the prophetic narrative (Exod. xvii. 9, 13 f., xxiv. 13,
xxxii. 17, xxxiii. 11, and Num. xi. 28).
17-24. The journey of the spies, from JE with the exception

NUMBERS 13. 18-21. P JEP 261
of Canaan, [JE] and said unto them, Get you up this
way a by the South, and go up into the mountains : and 18
see the land, what it is ; and the^ people that dwelleth
therein, whether they be strong or weak, whether they be
few or many ; and what the land is that they dwell in, 19
whether it be good or bad ; and what cities they be that
they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strong holds ; and 20
what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there
be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage,
and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was
the time of the firstripe grapes. [P] So they went up, 31
and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto
* Or, into

of verse 21 (P). The beginning of JE's narrative has been
suppressed by the compiler in favour of the fuller account in P.
11. Get you up this way by the South: rather, 'Get you
up now into the Negeb.' 'The Negeb,' probably the 'dry' or
'parched (land),' was the standing designation of the southern
most division of Palestine, the steppe region extending from the
hill-country of Judah about Hebron to the Azazimeh mountains
to the south of Kadesh (see Cheyne's art. ' Negeb ' in EBi. with
map). The constant use of this term for 'South' in the geogra
phical terminology of the Hexateuch (even in the orientation of
the Tabernacle at Sinai, where the South was really on the
opposite side from the Negeb !) is one of the most convincing
proofs of the post-Mosaic date of the Hexateuch narratives. This
use of Negeb for 'South,' as of 'the (Mediterranean) Sea' for
' West ' could only have originated in Palestine itself.
20. the time of the firstripe grapes : the end of July or
beginning of August.
21 from P, continuing verse 17% and continued in 25, 26*.
the wilderness of Zin. Since Kadesh was within its borders
(see on verse 3 above), the district from which, according to JE,
the spies set out is here represented as part of the country to be
explored. unto Behob : also named Beth-rehob (cf. 2 Sam. x. 6 with 8),
in the far north at the base of Mount Hermon and close to the
later city of Dan (Judges xviii. 28 f.). It is here further described
as lying at

262 NUMBERS 13. 22, 23- PJE
22 Rehob, to the 'entering in of Hamath. [JE] And they
went up a by the South, and came unto Hebron ; and
Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak,
were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before
23 Zoan in Egypt.) And they came unto the valley of
Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one
cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a staff between
two ; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the
a Or, into
the entering in of Hamath: i.e. at the entrance to (the
city of) Hamath. Although Hamath was situated on the Orontes,
about 150 miles due north of Rehob, it seems to have given its
name to the narrow pass between Hermon and the Lebanon,
described by Robinson as ' a lofty, mountain cleft, eight or nine
miles wide.' The ' entrance to Hamath ' is often mentioned in
the O.T. as the extreme northern boundary of Israelite territory.
22. In JE, on the contrary, the spies did not penetrate beyond
the neighbourhood of Hebron. This verse is usually assigned to
J, leaving its duplicate in the two following verses to E.
unto Hebron: later the chief city ofjudah and the first
royal residence of David, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem.
According to Joshua xiv. 15, 'the name of Hebron [meaning
probably ' confederation '] aforetime was Kiriath-arba,' i. e. ' the
city of the four (confederates?).' The interesting chronological
note at the end of this verse, according to Which Hebron was
founded 'seven years before Zoan in Egypt,' that is, Tanis in the
eastern Delta, is regarded by Ed. Meyer as a 'fragment of
a genuine historical tradition, unique in the O.T.' (Die Israeliten,
Sec, p. 447). This scholar takes the note as referring to the
Hyksos era,- which he' dates from the founding of the temple of
Seth in Tanis, circa 1676 B.C. (see also Meyer, Gesch. des Altertums,
2nd ed. [1907], vol: i, pp. 293 ff.). This gives 1677 B.C. as the
probable date indicated by this note.' *
the children of Anak : also verse 28, elsewhere described
as ' the sons of Anak ' (literally ' the Anak '), verse 33, or simply
' the Anakim ' (Deut. ii. 10 f.), a race of unknown origin occupying
the country about Hebron from which they were dislodged by
Caleb (Joshua xiv. 12 ff.), or, according to another tradition, by
Joshua (xi. 21 f.). The O.T. writers consistently represent the
Anakim as men of abnormal stature.
23. the valley of Eshcol: this name, which means 'a cluster
(of grapes),' may perhaps be recognized in the modern Beit
Ishkdhil, about four miles north-west of Hebron.

NUMBERS 13.24-28. JEPJE 263
figs. That place was called the valley of a Eshcol, be- 24
cause of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down
from thence. > [P] And they returned from spying out 25
the land at the end of forty days. And they went and 26
came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation
of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran,
[JE] to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them,
and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit
of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto a?
the land whither thou Sentest us, and surely it floweth
with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. How- 28
beit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the
" That is, a cluster.
24. One of many examples of what may be termed the folk-lore
of Canaanite place-names. As a rule it is the name which gives
rise to the story, not, as here suggested, the story to the name.
25-33. The report of the spies, mainly from JE, but beginning
with the notice of their return from P (25-26* to ' Paran ').
26. to Kadesh : also named Kadesh-barnea (xxxii. 8, xxxiv. 4,
&c), Meribath-Kadesh (R.V. Meribah of Kadesh, xxvii. 14 ; Deut.
xxxii. 51, see further the note on xx. 13 below), and once En-
mishpat or Fountain of Judgement (Gen. xiv. 7). Kadesh is
now usually identified with 'Ain Kadis, — Musil (see below) writes
'Aln Kdeis,— a place with a series of springs and pools on
the southern boundary of the Negeb, about fifty miles south of
Beer-sheba. Recent descriptions of the place are given by Clay
Trumbull, who rediscovered the site, in his Kadesh-Barnea (1884),
Robinson in the Biblical World, xvii. (1901), 327 ff., with plan and
photographs, and Alois Musil, Arabia Petraea, ii (1907), part 1,
176 ff., also illustrated.1 Kadesh was the rallying-point of the
Hebrew tribes and the centre of Moses' activity as teacher and
lawgiver in the period that elapsed between the exodus and the
conquest of Eastern Palestine. Many recent scholars, indeed,
maintain that the ' mount of God ' of the oldest traditions is to be
sought in the neighbourhood of Kadesh (see. above, p. 186 f.).
1 Musil, however, questions the now current identification, writing
on p. 236 : ' I cannot conceal from myself that now, on the occasion
of my third visit to the place, it seems still less adapted for identifica
tion with the biblical Kadesh-Barnea.'

264 NUMBERS 13. 29-32. JEP
cities are fenced, and very great : and moreover we saw
*9 the children of Anak there. Amalek dwelleth in the
land of the South:, and the Hittite, and the Jebusite,
and the Amorite, dwell in the mountains : and the
Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side
30 of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses,
and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it ; for we
31 are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up
with him said, We be not able to go up against the people;
3 a for they are stronger than we. [P] And they brought up
an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto
the -children of Israel, saying, The land, through, which
we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the
29., Of the, peoples here mentioned the Amalekites were a
nomad tribe with the raiding instincts of the modern Bedouin,
and were still in the neighbourhood of the Negeb (R.V. ' the
South') in David's time (1 Sam. xxx. 1, 14). The Hittites, the
Kheta of the Egyptian, and the Khatti of the Assyrian inscrip
tions, were a powerful non-Semitic, and probably non-Aryan,
people who make their appearance about the beginning of the
second millenium B.C. in Asia Minor. There they founded an
extensive empire with its capital, as Winckler's excavations in
1906-7 have shown, on the site of Boghaz-keui in the district
known later as Cappadocia. By 1500 B.C. they had advanced
southwards into Northern Syria, where Carchemish on the
Euphrates and the above-mentioned Hamath on the Orontes were
Hittite centres at the date of the exodus. The Jebusites occupied
the territory round Jerusalem which was taken from them by
David (2 Sam. v. 6 ff.). Of the two remaining races here named,
' Amorite' is the general name for the pre-Israelite population of
Palestine in the Pentateuch sources E and D, while J prefers the
term ' Canaanite.' The Tel el-Amarna letters, however, show
conclusively that the two peoples were quite distinct, for the
'land of A-mur-ru' is there restricted to the parts of Syria
' north of Beyrout and the region of the Lebanon and Anti-
lebanon,' while Ki-na-ah-ni or Canaan stands for the country
south of the Lebanons, ' that is, for Palestine properly so called '
(for a complete presentation of the data see Dhorme, ' Les pays
bibliques au temps d'el-Amarna,' in the Revue Biblique, 1908,
pp. 501 ff.).
32. a land that eateth up the Inhabitants thereof: a

NUMBERS 13. 33— 14. |. PJEPJEPJEP 265
inhabitants thereof; [JE] and all the people that we saw
in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the 33
a Nephilim, the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephi-
lim : and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and
so we were in their sight.
[P] And all the congregation lifted up their voice, 14
[JE] and cried; and the people wept that night. [P]
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses 2
and against Aaron : and the whole congregation said
unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of
_ Egypt ! or would God we had died in this wilderness !
[JE] And wherefore doth the Lord bring us unto this 3
land, to fall by the sword ? Our wives and our little ones
shall be a prey : were it not better for us to return into
Egypt ? And they said one to another, Let us make 4
a captain, and let us return into Egypt. [P] Then 5
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the
assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
a Or, giants
barren and inhospitable land, utterly unable to support its in
habitants ; contrast the ' exceeding good land ' of xiv. 7 (also P).
33. the Nephilim : a word of uncertain meaning, probably as
margin, ' the giants ' ; it occurs only here and Gen. vi. 4. The
rest of the clause, identifying them with ' the children of Anak ' of
verse 22, is absent from LXX, and is usually regarded as a gloss.
xiv. 1-10 describe the effect ofthe spies' report upon the people ;
the repetitions of verse 1 are due to the presence of the various
sources. 2 ff. Cf. Exod. xiv. n f., xvi. 3, and Num. xx. 4 for complaints
similarly expressed. Here, however, the further step is taken of
suggesting the appointment of another leader to take the people
back to Egypt. - The action of Caleb in ' stilling ' the people, which
comes in prematurely in xiii. 30, may have stood here in the
original source (J), in which case verses 8 f. will have formed
the conclusion of Caleb's speech. These verses give vigorous
expression to the speaker's faith in the Divine purpose and
power. With Yahweh on their side, the Hebrews could not fail
of success.

266 NUMBERS 14. 6-12. PJEPJE
6 And Joshua the son of Nun and. Caleb the son of
' Jephunneh, which were of them that .spied out the land,
7 rent their clothes : and they spake unto all the congrega
tion of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which
we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good
8 land. [JE] If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring
lis into this land, and give it unto us ; a land which
9 fioweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not against
the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for
they are bread for us: their a defence is removed from
over them, and the Lord - .is with us : fear them not.
10 [P] But all the congregation bade stone them with
stones. And the glory of 'the Lord appeared in the
tent of meeting unto all the children of Israel.
1 1 [JE] And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will
this people despise me? and how long will they not
believe in me, for all the signs which I have wrought
12 among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and
a Heb. shadow.
9. they are bread for us. ' The people of the land ' are given
us to ' eat up,' a not infrequent metaphor for ' consume, destroy '
(xxiv. 8 ; Deut. vii. 16 ; Jer. x. 25, &c).
their defence is removed from over them: lit. 'their
shadow ' ; ' shadow,' or rather ' shade,' is a common O. T. figure
for 'protection.' So Hammurabi styles himself ' the shade ' (sillu)
of his land. Here the defence or protection, of the Canaanites is
most probably the native deities whose power was at an end now
that this earlier ' fullness of the time ' had come ; cf. Gen. xv. 16.
11-24. YahWeh in anger announces to Moses His intention to
destroy His faithless people and to make of Moses a new and
mightier nation. Moses once more assumes the rdle of intercessor
with success ; the people are to be spared, but as a merited
punishment1 they are doomed never to see the land of promise.
From this judgement Caleb alone is exempted.
Critical opinion is unanimous in ascribing verses 11-24, on
various grounds, to a later- stratum of the prophetic narrative
(JE", see Gray in he). A shorter statement must have stood
originally in JE, of which verse 2511 is the continuation. -¦¦»--¦

NUMBERS 14. 13-20. JE 267
disinherit them, and will make of thee a nation greater
and mightier than they. And; Moses said unto the Lord, 13
Then the Egyptians shall hear it; for thou fcroughtest
up this people in thy might from among them ; and 14
they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land : they have
heard that thou Lord art in the midst of this people ;
for thou Lord art seen "-face to face, and thy cloud
stahdeth over them, and thou goest before them, in
a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
Now if thou shalt kill this people as one man, then the 15
nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak,
saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this 16
people into the land which he sware unto them, there
fore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, 17
I pray thee, let the power of the Lord be great, accord
ing as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is slow to 18
anger, and plenteous in mercy, forgiving iniquity and
transgression, and that will by no means clear the guilty ;
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
upon the third and upon the fourth generation. Pardon, 19
I pray thee, the iniquity of this people according unto
the greatness of thy mercy, and according as thou hast
forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And 20
the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word :
¦ ¦' i » Heb. eyeio eye.
13 ff. The original is here in some confusion, but the general
sense is clear. Moses appeals to God to spare His people out of
regard (1) to His character and reputation as All-powerful (13-16),
and (2) to His self-revelation as All-merciful (17-19). With
Moses' argument here and the offer made to him in verse 12
cf. Exod. xxxii. 9-14, and with the special allegation of verse 16
cf. its use in an earlier connexion, Deut. ix. 28.
18. Expressly stated to be a quotation, viz. from Exod. xxxiv.
6 f. (J)i which we may therefore assume to have been before the
author of this later passage in written form.

268 NUMBERS 14, 21-27. JE P
21 but in very deed, as I live^and as all the earth shall be
22 filled with the glory ofthe Lord; because all those men
which have seen my glory, and my signs, which I wrought
in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me
these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto
their fathers, neither shall any of them that despised me
24 see it: but my servant Caleb, because he had another
spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will
I bring into the land whereinto he went ; and his seed
25 shall possess it. Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite
dwell in the valley.: to-morrow turn ye, and get you into
the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
26 [p] And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
27 saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation,
24. Caleb receives the reward of his faith and fidelity, another
Abdiel, ' faithful found among the faithless, faithful only he.' With
Moses (xii. 7) he shares the honourable title of Yahweh's ' servant.'
For the fulfilment of the promise here made to Caleb see Joshua
xiv. 6-15.
The absence of Joshua here has been already characterized as
the most striking divergence between the two main sources, and
as convincing evidence against the homogeneity of chs. xiii, xiv.
' Had the whole narrative been by a single writer, who thought
of Joshua as acting in concert with Caleb, it is difficult not to
think that Joshua would have been mentioned beside Caleb —
not, possibly, in xiii. 30, but — in xiv. 24, when the exemption from
the sentence of exclusion from Palestine is first promised ' (Driver,
LOT.1 p. 63).
25. The first half of the verse is to be regarded as a gloss, for it
' is inconsistent with xiii. 29 as well as with xiv. 43, 45.' in any
case it is impossible to say what is meant by 'the valley.'
by the way to the Bed Sea: Heb. yam siiph, the 'sea of
reeds'; here the name is applied, as in xxi. 4 and Deut. i. 40,
taken from this passage, to the Gulf of Akabah, not as in Exod.
x. 19, Num. xxxiii. 10 f., and elsewhere, to the Gulf of Suez.
26-38. mainly from P in continuation of verse 10, and giving
the parallel account of the punishment of the people with the
additional announcement that the period of the wanderings is to

NUMBERS 14. 2S-34. PJEP 269
which murmur against me ? I have heard the murmurings
of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye 28
have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you : your 29
carcases shall fall in this wilderness ; and all that were
numbered of you, according to your whole number, from
twenty years old and upward, which have murmured
against me, surely ye shall not come into the land, con- 3°
cerning which I lifted up my hand that I would make
you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and
Joshua the son of Nun. [JE] But your little ones, 31
which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in,
and they shall know the land which ye have rejected.
But as for you, your carcases shall fall in this wilderness. 32
[P] And your children shall be a wanderers in the wilder- 33
ness forty years, and shall bear your whoredoms, until
your carcases be consumed in the wilderness. After 34
the number of the days in which ye spied out the land,
even forty days, for every day a year, shall ye bear your
* Heb. shepherds.
extend to forty years, to correspond to the forty days of the spies'
absence (verse 24), and that Joshua as well as Caleb is to be
exempted from the general exclusion from Canaan of all over
twenty years of age.
30. I lifted up my hand that, &c. : ' concerning which I sware
that,' Sec, so rendered Exod. vi. 8. The promise referred to is,
in P, first found in Gen. xvii. 8, and is repeated by him at least
three times in Genesis and again in Exodus he at. In J the
corresponding passages begin with Gen. xii. 7.
31. and they shall know the land: read, with LXX, 'and
they shall inherit,' &c.
33. your children shall he wanderers : render, as margin,
' shepherds,' or ' shall feed their flocks ' ; see note on xi. 4.
34. forty days . . . forty years. The writer, of course, intends
the correspondence to be exact, in this reflecting the popular
tradition and belief. But it should be remembered that the O.T.
writers continually use 'forty' for a fairly large but indefinite

270 NUMBERS 14. 35-42. P JE
iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know a my
35 alienation. I the Lord have spoken, surely this will
I do unto all this evil cqngregation, that are gathered
together against me : in , this wilderness they shall be
36 consumed, and 'there they shall die. And the men,
which Moses sent to spy out- the land, who returned,
and made all the congregation to murmur against him,
37 by bringing up an evil report against the land, even those
men. that did bring up an evil report ofthe land, died by
38 the plague before the Lord. But Joshua the son of
Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, , remained, alive
39 of those men that went to spy out the land. [JE] And
Moses told these words unto jail the children of Israel :
40 and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up
early in the morning, and gat them up to the top of the
mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto
the place which the Lord hath promised : for we have
41 sinned. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye trans
gress the commandment of the Lord, seeing it shall not
42 prosper? Go not up, for the Lord is not among you;
* Or, the revoking of my promise
number ; as applied to the spies it means no more than that they
were absent ' a few weeks,' and to the period of the wanderings,
that ' a generation ' elapsed between the exodus and the conquest
of Canaan. ye shall know my alienation : the effect of my displeasure,
or of the withdrawal of my favour and protection.
39-45. Instead of obeying the Divine injunction to turn south
wards towards the gulf of Akabah (see on verse 25), the people, in
self-willed defiance of Yahweh and in spite of Moses' remon
strance, attempt to enter Canaan from the south, are defeated by
the Amalekites and Canaanites and driven back to Hormah. Note
that Deut. i. 40 ff. combines verse 25 of this chapter with 40 ff. as
in the critical analysis here adopted.
40. the top of the mountain : evidently the high ground over
looking Kadesh on the north.
42. the LORD Is not among you : neither in person, since

NUMBERS 14. 43— 15. 2. JEP 271
that ye be not smitten down before your enemies. For 43
there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you,
and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned
back from following the Lord, therefore the Lord will
not be with you. But they presumed to go up to the 44
top of the mountain: nevertheless the ark of the covenant
of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite 45
which dwelt in that mountain, and smote them and beat
them down, even unto Hormah.
[P] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak 15 2
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye
be come into the land of your habitations, which I give
they were acting contrary to His express command, nor as repre
sented by the ark (verse 44 ; see note on x. 35 f.).
45. even unto Hormah : in Deut. he cit. ' from Seir (LXX)
even unto Hormah.' The site of the latter is uncertain. For a
tradition as to the origin of the name Hormah, see xxi. 3 below,
and cf. Judges i. 17.
(c) xv. A group of laws relating chiefly to ritual.
Into this section the compiler has gathered a group of five
unconnected laws, the majority of which supplement the ritual
ordinances of Leviticus, and must have stood originally in the
Priests' Code. The last of the series (verses 37-41), however,
shows unmistakable affinity with the Holiness Code, so that the
whole were probably 'connected and incorporated by the same
editor who worked H into P' (Gray).
(1) 1-16. The first of the five laws prescribes the quantities of
flour and oil for the cereal-offering, and of wine for the drink-
offering, which accompanied the more important animal sacrifices.
This supplementary minhah is to be distinguished from the inde
pendent minhah, or cereal-offering, which forms the subject of
Lev. ii. The quantities here prescribed increase with the size
of the sacrificial victim. For a tabulated comparison of these
with Ezekiel's prescriptions (Ezek. xlvi. 5-7, 11, 14) see Gray,
in he The present law has a close parallel in those of ch. xxviii
below.

272 NUMBERS 15. 3-9. P
3 unto you, and will make an offering by fire unto the
Lord, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, ato accomplish
a vow, or as a freewill offering, or in your set feasts, to
make a sweet savour unto the Lord, of the herd, or of
4 the flock : then shall he that offereth his oblation offer
unto the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of an ephah
of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil:
5 and wine for the drink offering, the fourth part of an hin,
shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or for the
6 sacrifice, for each lamb. Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare
for a meal offering two tenth parts of an ephah of fine
7 flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil : and for
the drink'offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin
8 of wine, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. And when
thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for
a sacrifice, a to accomplish a vow, or for peace offerings
9 unto the Lord : then shall he offer with the bullock
* Or, in making a special vow
3. or a sacrifice: more precisely 'a sacrifice of requital' or
peace-offering (see Lev. iii); the burnt-offering and the peace-
offering were, in the earlier period at least, the two prevailing
types of animal sacrifice.
a sweet savour unto the LOBS, See note on Lev. i. 9, p. 40.
4 f. When the victim is a lamb or a kid (verse 11), the accom
panying cereal-offering is to consist of ^ ephah (about 7 pints)
of fine flour mixed with ^ hin (rather less than 3 pints) of olive
oil. This is also the quantity of wine prescribed for the accom
panying drink-offering. It is remarkable that the Pentateuch
legislation contains no reference to the details of the ritual of the
drink-offering. According to Ben Sira, circa 180 B.C., the wine
was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering
(Ecclus. 1. 15).
6-10. When the victim is a ram the quantities are to be
increased to ¦& ephah (about 14 pints) of flour and % hin (under
4 pints) of oil and wine ; with a bullock they are further increased
to ft ephah (circa i\ pecks) and $ hin (say 3 quarts) respectively.
For these equations with our measures see the writer's art
'Weights and Measures' in Hastings's DB., iv 910-3

NUMBERS 15. ic-19. P 273
a meal offering of three tenth parts of an ephah of fine
flour mingled with half an hin of oil. And thou shalt 10
offer for the drink offering half an hin of wine, for an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
Thus shall it be done for each bullock, or for each ram, 1 1
or for each of the he-lambs, or of the kids. According 12
to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to
every one according to their number. All that are home- 13
born shall do these things after this manner, in offering
an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
Lord. And if a stranger "sojourn with you, or whoso- 14
ever be among you throughout your generations, and
will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto
the Lord ; as ye do, so he shall do. For the assembly, 15
there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger
that sojourneth with you, a statute for ever throughout
your generations : as ye are, so shall the stranger be
before the Lord. One law and one ordinance shall be 16
for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto '£
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come
into the land whither I bring you, then it shall be, that, 19
when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an
15 f. ' One of the many passages in the later laws that assert
the identity in respect of civil, moral, and religious rights and
duties of the Jews and of the gerim ' (Gray). In the pre-exilic
period the ger or sojourner (R.V. stranger) was admitted only to
a restricted civil and religious status, but in P the term has almost,
if not altogether, become equivalent to ' proselyte.'
(2) 17-21. The contribution of the hallah or prime-cake, as it
may be called. When settled in Canaan the Hebrews are enjoined
to present to Yahweh a cake prepared from the first meal of the
year ; such at least seems to be intended by this not very
explicit law.
19. an heave offering: Heb. lerumah, 'a contribution,'
'oblation,' or the like (see note on Lev. vii. 14).

274 NUMBERS 15. 20-24. P
20 heave offering unto the Lord. Of the first of your
"¦ dough ye shall offer up a cake for an heave offering :
as ye do the heave offering of the threshing-floor, so shall
21 ye heave it. Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto
the Lord an heave offering throughout your generations.
23 And when ye shall err, and not observe all these com
mandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses,
33 even all that the Lord hath commanded you by the
hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord gave com
mandment, and onward throughout your generations;
24 then it shall be, if it be done D unwittingly, without the
"¦ Or, coarse meal b Or, in error
20. of your dough : margin ' coarse meal,' others ' kneading
trough.' In any case, since barley ripened before wheat (Ruth i,
22, ii. 23), the cake would be of barley meal.
(3) 22-31. A law of the sin-offering parallel to and independent
of Lev. iv. i-v. 13. The differences between the two laws are
sufficiently striking. Here only two cases are distinguished, the
sin-offering of the congregation and that of an individual ; in
Lev. iv f. we have four carefully graded classes of offenders (see
pp. 47 ff). In the latter section the victims are likewise graded
according to the theocratic rank of the offerer ; here a yearling
she-goat is the victim for all individual offenders, while no pro
vision is made for the case of the very poor, as is done in Lev. v.
7-13. Other differences will be pointed out in the notes.
As regards the relation between the two laws, the harmonistic
view that Lev. iv f. deals with sins of commission, while this
section refers only to sins of omission, must be set aside as incon
sistent with the plain prima facie reading of verses 24 and 29. It
is greatly more probable that we have here a law of the sin-
offering older and less fully developed than the law of Lev. iv.
I_35, v- 7-13, and due to a different circle of priestly legislators.
(For a specific indication of the comparatively late date of Lev. iv
see the note on the two altars, pp. 49 f. above).
22-26. The sin-offering for unintentional sin on the part of the
congregation as a whole.
24. if it be done unwittingly : as opposed to sins committed
'with an high hand' (verse 30), i.e. in conscious and wilful
defiance of the will of God (see on Lev. iv. 2). Here sins of
commission are as clearly contemplated as in the parallel passage
just cited.

NUMBERS 15. 25-30. p 275
knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation
shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for
a sweet savour unto the Lord, with the meal offering
thereof, and the drink offering thereof, according to the
ordinance, and one he-goat for a sin offering. And the 25
priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of
the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven ; for it
was an error, and they have brought their oblation, an
offering made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin
offering before the Lord, for their error : and all the 26
congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven,
and the stranger that sojourneth among them; for in
respect of all the people it was done unwittingly. And if 27
one person sin unwittingly, then he shall offer a she-goat
of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall
make atonement for the soul that erreth, when he sinneth
unwittingly, before the Lord, to make atonement for
him ; and he shall be forgiven. Ye shall have one law 29
for him that doeth aught unwittingly, for him that is
homeborn among the children of Israel, and for the
stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that 30
doeth aught with an high hand, whether he be homeborn
or a stranger, the same blasphemeth the Lord ; and that

one young hnllock for a burnt offering. In Lev. iv. 14 no
burnt-offering is required, and the sin-offering consists of a bullock
instead of, as here, a he-goat.
according to the ordinance : a reference to verses 8 f. of
this chapter.
25. the priest shall make atonement . . . and they shall he
forgiven. See the discussion of atonement and forgiveness in
P on pp. 51-3 of this commentary.
27-28. The sin-offering for unintentional sin on the part of an
individual. The victim is uniformly ' a she-goat of the first year '
as compared with the gradation of the victims in the parallel law.
For verse 29 see note on 15 f. of this chapter.
T 2

276 NUMBERS 15. 31-38. PH
31 soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he
hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken
his commandment ; that soul shall utterly be cut off, his
iniquity shall be upon him.
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilder
ness, they found a man gathering sticks upon the sabbath
33 day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought
him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congre-
34 gation. And they put him in ward, because it had not
35 been declared what should be done to him. And the
Lord said unto Moses, The man shall surely be put to
death : all the congregation shall stone him with stones
36 without the camp. And all the congregation brought
him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and
he died ; as the Lord commanded Moses.
37 [H] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them
30. that soul shall he cut off, &c. See on Lev. vii. 20. For
the striking fact that, according to the priestly theory of sacrifice,
no expiation could be made for wilful or intentional offences, see
the remark on Lev. iv. 2. Cf. Davidson, The Theology ofthe O.T.,
pp. 316 ff. : 'The Old Testament sacrificial system was a system
of atonement only for the so-called sins of inadvertency.'
(4) 32-36. The fate of the sabbath-breaker. A late ' midrash '
(note the terms of the introductory clause) to illustrate verses 30 f.,
the sin of the ' high hand.' The laws relative to the keeping of
the Sabbath (Exod. xx. 8 ff., &c.) and the penalty of death attached
to the breach thereof (ibid., xxxi. 14 f., xxxv. a) are assumed to be
known. There is therefore no question of ignorance or inadver
tence. The incident recorded in Lev. xxiv. 10-23 's closely
parallel both in character and treatment
34 f. Cf. Lev. xxiv. 12 ff. ; the uncertainty was probably in
regard to the mode of executing the death penalty. With verse 36
cf. ibid. 23.
(S) 37-41' The law of the tassels, originally in the Holiness
Code, as is generally maintained on the ground of the presence in
it of undoubted characteristics of H (see especially verse 41). To
each of the four corners of their outer garment — the plaid-shaped

38

NUMBERS 15. 39-41. H 277
a fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put upon the fringe of each 39
"border a cord of blue : and it shall be unto you for a
fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the
commandments of the Lord, and do them ; and that ye
b go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, 40
after which ye use to go a whoring : that ye may re
member and do all my commandments, and be holy 4 J
unto your God. I am the Lord your God, which
brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God :
I am the Lord your God.
a Or, tassels in the corners b Heb. spy not out.

' cloke ' of Matt. v. 40 — the Hebrews are enjoined to attach
a tassel, presumably of white wool, by a blue thread as a reminder
of their obligation to obedience and holiness unto their God (cf. the
same law more briefly expressed in Deut. xxii. 12). The tassels
were still worn, as here prescribed, in N.T. times (Matt. ix. 20,
xiv. 36, &c. ; A.V. hem, R.V. border). For the curiously minute
regulations of later Judaism and the mystical meanings assigned
to the threads and knots, and for the practice of modern Jews,
see the writer's art. 'Fringes' in Hastings's DB., ii. 68 ff.
As to the historical origin of this ' sign, ' it is now generally
agreed that a primitive practice 1, which regarded the tassels as
amulets, has been taken over by the Hebrew legislators and filled
with a beautiful religious significance. The motive here assigned
for the tassels ' is rather a religious afterthought, an attempt to
make a deeply-rooted custom serve a fitting religious purpose '
(Gray). There is good reason for believing that the phylacteries
have a similar history.
38. fringes in the borders, &c. : render as in the margin,
'tassels in the corners'; cf. Deut. xxii. 12, R.V. marg., 'thou
shalt make thee twisted threads upon the four borders [corners]
of thy vesture.'
39. it shall be . . . for a fringe : read, as Exod. xiii. 9, 16,
'for a sign.'

1 In plate ii b of Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i, may be
seen a representation of Asiatics from an Egyptian tomb wearing
garments having blue tassels attached.

278 NUMBERS 16. i. Pep*
16 [pe] Now Korah, [P8] the son of Izhar, the son of Ko-
(d) xvi-xviii. The mutiny of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and
the prerogatives and dues of Priests and Levites.
The second of these topics (ch. xviii) is intimately connected
with, and indeed arises immediately out of, the first (note xvii. 12 f.),
or rather out of. that portion of the narrative of chs. xvi-xvii,
which tells of the fatal attempt of a certain Korah and others to
dispute the priestly prerogative of the tribe of Levi (from Pe).
With this are now combined an earlier and a later story, the
former telling of the revolt of Dathan and Abiram against the
secular leadership of Moses (JE), the latter representing Korah
and a band of Levites as reclaiming against the exclusive priest
hood of Aaron (Ps). The analysis of ch. xvi (xvii-xviii belong
entirely to Pg) may be represented thus (for verse 32b see notes) :
JE verses ib 2" 12-15 35> a6 271'-32a 33-34
P* „ i" (pt.) 2>-7 18-24 27' 35 41-50
Ps „ ia 8-11 16, 17 36-40
The verses assigned to JE, read consecutively, give an almost
complete account of a revolt against the authority of Moses, as the
leader of the Hebrew tribes, headed by Dathan and Abiram of
the tribe of Reuben. In combining this narrative with the mutiny
of Korah, the compiler has omitted the grounds on which the
former revolt was based. These, however, may be gathered from
the words of the ringleaders in verses 12-14, and Moses' protest in
15. (see below). After treating Moses' message with contempt,
Dathan and Abiram, with their families and followers, are punished
by the earth miraculously (verse 30) opening and swallowing them
alive. Deut. xi. 6, it should be noted, makes reference only to
this strand of the present composite narrative.
Pg, on the other hand, save for editorial additions (see on verse 24),
is silent as to Dathan and Abiram, but tells the story of an entirely
distinct mutiny with other leaders, a different motive and a
different punishment. Here the ringleader is a certain Korah
who, at the head of two hundred and fifty leading laymen, calls
in question the priestly prerogatives of the tribe of Levi, as repre
sented by Moses and Aaron, on the ground that every member of
the theocratic community is ' holy,' and therefore equally entitled
with the favoured tribe to ' come near unto Yahweh ' in the ritual
of the sanctuary.
After Korah and his fellow mutineers have been consumed by
fire, issuing from the Tent of Meeting (xvi. 35), the general body
of the people murmur at their hard fate and are smitten with
plague. - The latter is stayed by the intervention of Aaron, acting
under Moses' direction (xvi. 41 ff), and the unique position ofthe
tribe of Levi is thereafter made clear to all by a Divine ordeal

NUMBERS 16. 2, 3. , P»JEPe 279
hath, the son of Levi, with [JE] Dathan and Abiram, the
sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,
took men; and they rose up before Moses, [pe] with 2
certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty
princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men
of renown : and they assembled themselyes together 3
against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them,
a Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation
a Heb. // is enough for you.
(xvii. 1-9). The priestly prerogatives of Levi are further confirmed,
and regulations given on the subject of the sacred dues to be set
apart for the maintenance of both priests and Levites (ch. xviii).
Into this narrative of Ps a later priestly writer has inserted a
series of additions, the result of which is to alter entirely its
character and motive. From being a protest on the part of
a section of the laity against the privileged position of the tribe
of Levi as a whole, Korah's rebellion is now represented as a pro
test against the exclusive priesthood of Aaron on the part of the
remanent members of his own tribe. In this later form of the
narrative most recent critics find an echo of the disputes, which
may be assumed to have arisen in the early post-exilic community,
between the Zadokite priesthood at Jerusalem and the descendants
of the Levitical priests of the provincial sanctuaries over the
exclusion of the latter from the higher functions of the priesthood
(see Ezek. xliv. 9ff. and the remarks above, p. 200).
xvi. 1-35. The composite narrative of the rebellion of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram. A fourth leader, 'On, the son of Peleth,' is
named in the opening verse, but not elsewhere in the sequel
(cf. Deut. xi. 6). Read ' Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab,
the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben,' as generally adopted on the
basis of xxvi. 8 f.
1. Kow Korah . . . took men. Here too the text is corrupt;
read probably, ' Now there rose up Korah,' &c. Korah's descent
from Levi is most probably due to Ps. From the tenor of the
narrative of P1, as summarized above, it is more probable that
Korah was there represented as a layman, than that a Levite
should be found reclaiming against the privileges of his own tribe.
Some would connect the Korah of Pe with the descendant of Caleb
mentioned in i Chron. ii. 43, and see in the similarity ofthe two
names the explanation of the fusion of the two divergent priestly
traditions. 3. Ye take too much upon you : rather, ' We have had enough

28o NUMBERS 16. 4-11. Ps PB
are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among
them : wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the
4 assembly of the Lord ? And when Moses heard it, he
5 fell upon his face : and he spake unto Korah and unto
all his company, saying, In the morning the Lord will
shew who are his, and who is holy, and a will cause him
to come near unto him : even him whom he shall choose
6 will he cause to come near unto him. This do ; take
7 you censers, Korah, and all his company ; and put fire
therein, and put incense upon them before the Lord
to-morrow : and it shall be that the man whom the Lord
doth choose, he shall be holy : ye take too much upon
8 you, ye sons of Levi. [P9] And Moses said unto Korah,
9 Hear now, ye sons of Levi : seemeth it but a small thing
unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you
from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to
himself; to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord,
and to stand before the congregation to minister unto
io them ; and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy
brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the
ri priesthood also? Therefore thou and all thy company
are gathered together against the Lord : and Aaron,
a Or, whom he will cause to come near
of you (cf. Deut. i. 6, ii. 3), ye sons of Levi,' as now found at the
end of verse 7, where the words are out of place. Korah and his
followers claim equal privileges with the tribe of Levi, on the
ground that every member of the theocratic community is holy in
virtue of the sanctifying presence of Yahweh in their midst.
8-11 (P"). Here the mutineers are addressed as exclusively
'sons of Levi,' and as actually in possession of the privileges
which Korah and his company are represented as demanding in
verses 3-5 (Pe). What is here demanded is the higher prerogative
of the priesthood (verse 10), which the malcontents assert has been
wrongfully usurped by Aaron (verse 11). It is against the latter
alone, not against Moses (as JE), nor against Moses and Aaron
(as Ps), that the rebellion of P" is directed.

NUMBERS 16. 12-19. P9JEP9Pg 281
what is he that ye murmur against him ? [JE] And 12
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of
Eliab : and they said, We will not come up : is it a 13
small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land
flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness,
but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us ?
Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing 14
with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields
and vineyards : wilt thou a put out the eyes of these
men ? we will not come up. And Moses was very wroth, 15
and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering :
I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt
one of them. [Ps] And Moses said unto Korah, Be 16
thou and all thy congregation before the Lord, thou,
and they, and Aaron, to-morrow : and take ye every 17
man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring
ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred
and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
[ps] And they took every man his censer, and put fire 18
in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door
of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. And 19
Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto
a Heb. bore out.

12-15 (JE). Dathan and Abiram send a contemptuous reply to
Moses' summons, accusing him of misleading the people, of self-
assumed leadership, and, as may be inferred from verse 15", of
using his position for his personal profit.
14. wilt thou put out the eyes, &c. : so literally, but the words
are here used metaphorically, 'wilt thou throw dust in the eyes
of these men ? '
18-24, *he continuation of P«'s narrative in verses 3-7. Note
that the scene of the ordeal is at the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting (contrast verse 27", JE).

282 NUMBERS 16. 20-27. PSBJEPe
the door of the tent of meeting : and the glory of the
Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
21 saying, Separate yourselves from among this congrega-
22 tion, that I may consume them in a moment. And they
fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the
spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be
23 wroth with all the congregation? And the Lord spake
24 unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying,
Get you up from about the tabernacle of [B] Korah,
25 Dathan, and Abiram. [JE] And Moses rose up and
went unto Dathan and Abiram ; and the elders of Israel
26 followed him. And he spake unto the congregation,
saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked
men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed
2 1 in all their sins, [ps] So they gat them up from the
19. the glory of the LOKD appeared. Compare the similar
theophany as a prelude to judgement in xiv. 10, also below,
verse 42.
22. the God of the spirits of all flesh. This phrase, only here
and xxvii. 16, ' betrays the advanced theological standpoint of P.
Yahweh is to him far more than the God of Israel ; He is the one
and only Author of all human life, and, as its Author, capable of
destroying it ' (Gray). A similar advance is reflected in the plea
that follows, in which ' the early doctrine of solidarity ' is out
grown, a position ' most easily explained if referred to a period
influenced by Ezekiel's strong individualism (see, e.g., Ezek. xviii,
xxxiii). '
24. the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Here
and in verse 27 we may detect the hand of the compiler, for (1)
the congregation is not assembled at the tents of the ringleaders
but at the. Tent of Meeting (verse 19), and (2) the word rendered
' tabernacle ' (lit. ' the dwelling ') always in P denotes ' the
Dwelling' of Yahweh, in other words, the Tabernacle. Here,
therefore, the original reading of Pg was undoubtedly, ' get you up
from about the Dwelling of Yahweh,' and similarly in 27", the con
tinuation of this verse.
25-34- The original continuation of 12-15 (JE), with the ex
ception just noted.

NUMBERS 16. 28-34. P^RJEEJE 283
tabernacle of [B] Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every
side : [JE] and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood
at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons,
and their little ones. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall 28
know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works ;
for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men 29
die the common death of all men, or if they be visited
after the visitation of all men ; then the Lord hath not
sent me. But if the Lord a make a new thing, and the 30
ground open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all
that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into
h the pit ; then ye shall understand that these men have
despised the Lord. And it came to pass, as he made 31
an end of speaking all these words, that the ground
clave asunder that was under them: and the earth 3*
opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their
households, [B] and all the men that appertained unto
Korah, and all their goods. [JE] So they, and all that 33
appertained to them, went down alive into b the pit :
and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from
among the assembly. And all Israel that were round 34
about them fled at the cry of them : for they said, Lest
a Heb. create a creation. h Heb. Sheol.
27. and stood at the door of their tents: the scene accordingly
of the impending judgement upon Dathan and Abiram and their
families (cf. above).
28 ff. Moses announces a test by which it shall be decided
whether or not his leadership is self-assumed. If the ringleaders
of the mutiny die a natural death, the answer will be in the
affirmative, and Moses will be proved an impostor ; if, on the
contrary, Yahweh intervenes with a miracle (lit. ' creates a
creation,' verse 30 margin), and destroys the rebels out of hand,
Moses' leadership will be proved to be by Divine appointment,
and his opponents guilty of wilful contempt of Yahweh.
32. and all the men, &c. This clause anticipates the proper
fate of Korah and his band in verse 35, and is due to the com
piler's desire to harmonize the divergent narratives.

284 NUMBERS 16. 35-40. JEPSP9
35 the earth swallow us up. [Ps] And fire came forth from
the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men
. that offered the. incense.
¦Xvi
% a [ps] And tne Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak
unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up
the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire
38 yonder ; for they are holy ; even the censers of D these
sinners against their own c lives, and let them be made
beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered
them before the Lord, therefore they are holy : and they
39 shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. And Eleazar
the priest took the brasen censers, which they that were
burnt had offered ; and they beat them out for a covering
4° of the altar *. to be a memorial unto the children of
* [Ch. xvii. 1 in Heb.] b Or, these men who have sinned at
the cost of their lives " Or, souls
35. The continuation of 18-24, 27" (P6). In the original Korah
will have shared the fate of his 250 associates. How the compiler
conceived the situation it is impossible to say, for he has already
represented ' all the men that appertained unto Korah ' as having
been swallowed up alive (32b). As Kent remarks, 'the close
amalgamation of two so fundamentally distinct traditions is almost
without parallel in the O.T.' (Beginnings of Heb. History, p. 222).
36-40 (P'). Eleazar is commanded to collect the 250 brazen
censers — rather firepans of bronze — to hammer them into plates,
and to cover therewith the wooden framework of the altar of
burnt-offering. That the section belongs to P* and not to P* is
shown (1) by the connexion of verse 40 with verses 9 f., and (2)
by the fact that according to P8 the altar was overlaid with bronze
when first constructed (Exod. xxvii. 2). The selection of Eleazar
for this task, as for a similar task in ch. xix, is to be explained by
the rigid taboo imposed on Aaron as high priest in the matter of
contact with the dead (see Lev. xvii. 10 f.).
37 f. for they are holy ; even the censers, &c. : render, with
a slight textual alteration : ' for the censers of these men who
have sinned at the cost of their own lives (so Amer. R.V. marg.)
are holy,' i.e. taboo, forfeited to the sanctuary (cf. note on
Lev. vi. 18).
40. The standpoint and motive of the secondary additions are
here expressly stated ; the legitimate priesthood is declared to be

NUMBERS 16. 41-46. P9Pe 285
Israel, to the end that no stranger, which is not of the
seed of Aaron, come near to burn incense before the
Lord ; that he be not as Korah, and as his company :
as the Lord spake unto him by the hand of Moses.
[ps] But on the morrow all the congregation of the 41
children of Israel murmured against Moses and against
Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
And it came to pass, when the congregation was as- 42
sembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they
looked toward the tent of meeting : and, behold, the
cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent 43
of meeting. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 44
Get you up from among this congregation, that I may 45
consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their
faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take thy censer, 46
and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense
thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and

the exclusive prerogative of Aaron and his 'seed.' With the
signification of ' stranger' as here defined, cf. iii. 10 and note.
41-50 (Pe). The people bring a false accusation against Moses
and Aaron, and are punished by an outbreak of plague, which is
stayed by the intervention of Aaron. From this point to the end
of ch. xviii we have a continuous extract from P8.
44. spake unto Moses : add with LXX, ' and Aaron ' ; cf. the
plural address, ' Get you up,' &c.
46 ff. Three points are noteworthy in these verses : (1) the
use of incense as the medium of expiation or 'atonement '; probably
a contrast is intended to the unauthorized use of incense in the
preceding narrative of Pg ; (2) the mediatorial activity of Aaron,
by which his priestly prerogative, previously questioned, is success
fully vindicated ; and (3) the conception of the ' wrath of Yahweh '
as an independent agent (46 end), whose power to harm is de
feated by the sacred fire 'from off the altar' in the hand of the
sacrosanct person of the priest. 'The passage is important for the
understanding of the kdppdra [expiation, atonement, see above,
pp. 51 f.] : the latter is an act of the cultus, by which something

286 NUMBERS 16. 47—17- ». *e
make atonement for them : for there is wrath gone out
47 from the Lord ; the plague is begun. And Aaron took
as Moses spake, and ran into the midst of the assembly ;
and, behold, the plague was begun among the people :
and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the
48 people. And he stood between the dead and the living ;
49 and the plague was stayed. Now they that died by the
plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, be-
50 sides them that died about the matter of Korah. And
Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of
meeting : and the plague was stayed;
17 2 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for
each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their
a [Ch. xvii. 16 in Heb.]
of the holiness attaching to the sanctuary is set free and transferred
to the person for whose benefit the act is performed.' (Holzinger,
Kurzer Handkommentar, in he.)
xvii. 1-11. The privileged position of Levi among the Hebrew
tribes is further publicly attested by a unique form of ordeal. By
Divine instruction Moses deposits in the Tent of Meeting twelve
rods or wands representing the twelve secular tribes, with an
additional rod inscribed with the name of Aaron as head of the
tribe of Levi. The tribe of Yahweh's choice — for the purpose of
the choice, see xvi. 5— is to be signalized by the miraculous
budding of its representative's rod. Next morning it is found
that Aaron's rod alone has budded and brought forth fruit, thus
confirming the Divine choice of the tribe of Levi for the ministry
of the wilderness sanctuary. The rod is henceforth to be pre
served ' for a token ' in the Tent of Meeting. For references to
similar legends of the sprouting of dead wood see Gray's and
Dillmann's Commentaries.
2. take of them rods : probably the staves or wands ordinarily
carried by the princes as the symbol of their rank, cf. xxi. 18,
Gen. xlix. 10.
one for each fathers' house : ' fathers' house ' or sept here
exceptionally for 'tribe,' see on i. 2. For the names of the
heads of the secular tribes see chs. i-ii and elsewhere.

NUMBERS 17. 3-10. ps 287
fathers' houses, twelve rods : write thou every man's name
upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon 3
the rod of Levi : for there shall be one rod for each head
of their fathers' houses. And thou shalt lay them up in 4
the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet
with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man whom 5
I shall choose, his rod shall bud : and I will make to
cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel,
which they murmur against you. And Moses spake unto 6
the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him rods,
for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses,
even twelve rods : and the rod of Aaron was among their
rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in 7
the tent of the testimony. And it came to pass on the 8
morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony ;
and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was
budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and
bare ripe almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods 9
from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel :
and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the 10
Lord said unto Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before
the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children
of rebellion ; that thou mayest make an end of their
3. What is the total number of the rods, twelve or thirteen?
The text has been understood both ways, but P's division of
the 'congregation' into twelve secular tribes requires that Levi
should be reckoned as a thirteenth tribe, and Aaron's wand,
consequently, as a. thirteenth 'rod.'
4. in the tent of meeting before the testimony : i. e. before
the ark, as explained in the note on Lev. xvi. 13 ; cf. ' before
Yahweh,' verse 7.
9. The rods are publicly exhibited for the purpose expressed in
verse 5b.
10. Aaron's rod is to be preserved, like the pot of manna
(Exod. xvi. 33 £), ' before," but not within, the ark, as in the later
Rabbinic tradition reproduced in Heb. ix. 4.

288 NUMBERS 17. n— 18. 2. ps
11 murmurings against me, that they die not. Thus did
Moses : as the Lord commanded him, so did he.
13 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying,
Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
*3 Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the
tabernacle of the Lord, a dieth : shall we perish all
of us?
18 And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons
and thy fathers' house with thee shall bear the iniquity of
the sanctuary : and thou and thy sons with thee shall
3 bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren
a Or, shall die
12 f. These verses belong rather to the following chapter,
since they contain the people's confession that unrestricted access
to ' the Dwelling of Yahweh ' is fatal, which leads to a renewed
appointment of the tribe of Levi as the guardians and ministers
of the sanctuary.
xviii. 1-7. In the introductory note to ch. iii (p. 199), it was
pointed out that although some scholars adopt what is, it must be
confessed, the prima facie view of this section, that the author of
the history of Israel's theocratic institutions is here for the first
time introducing the Levites as a second order in the hierarchy,
it is on the whole more probable that he embraces the opportunity
afforded by the mutiny of Korah to reinforce the Divine choice of
Levi recorded in ch. iii. 5-13, and to introduce the delimitation of
the respective duties of priests and Levites.
1. thy fathers' house : here the whole ' tribe of Levi' (cf. verse
2), exclusive of the priests (' thou and thy sons ').
shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary . . . the iniquity
of your priesthood. In these expressions to 'bear the iniquity,'
or rather 'the guilt,' has * technical sense peculiar to P. It
means to bear the consequences of ritual error in all that concerns
the approach to God in the sanctuary. Everything pertaining to
the Deity — His Dwelling, His altar, His ' holy things ' — is charged
with a dangerous 'spiritual electricity,' and the priests and
Levites are, to continue the metaphor, to act as conductors of
Yahweh's death-dealing holiness. In other words, the risks and
dangers which the unconsecrated laity necessarily incur, in their
approach to Yahweh in^worship are, so to say, drawn off by the
consecrated ministers of the sanctuary (cf. verse 5b). By this
means the fate contemplated in xvii. 13 is averted.

NUMBERS 18. 3-7. Pe 289
also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou
near with thee, that they may be a joined unto thee, and
minister unto thee : but thou and thy sons with thee
shall be before the tent of the testimony. And they 3
shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the Tent :
only they shall not come nigh unto the vessels of the
sanctuary and unto the altar, that they die not, neither
they, nor ye. And they shall be joined unto thee, and 4
keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service
of the Tent : and a stranger shall not come nigh unto
you. And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, 5
and the charge of the altar : that there be wrath no more
upon the children of Israel. And I, behold, I have 6
taken your brethren the Levites from among the children
of Israel : to you they are a gift, given unto the Lord,
to do the service of the tent of meeting. And thou and 7
thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for every
thing of the altar, and for that within the veil ; and ye
a See Gen. xxix. 34.
2. that they may be joined unto thee. The verb is better
taken as reflexive, ' that they may join themselves unto thee.'
As in Gen. xxix. 34, there is a play upon the verb (lavdh), here
rendered 'join,' from which the name Levi is supposed to be
derived. For other and more probable, but still uncertain,
etymologies see the art. ' Levi ' in the Bible Dictionaries.
and minister unto thee : but thou, &c. The two clauses
must be read together : ' unto thee, whilst thou and thy sons are
before the tent,' &c. The Levites are to assist the priests when
the latter are engaged in the duties of the sanctuary. With the
following injunctions cf. those of iii. 6-8, iv. 15, 17 ff.
6. to you they are a gift, given unto the LOUD. For this idea
of the Levites as a gift of the people to Yahweh, and as a gift by
Him in turn to the priests, see iii. 9, viii. 16, 19. P consistently
represents even the inferior position of the Levites, as compared
with the priests, as one of great privilege and honour.
1. and for that within the veil. Elsewhere in P this expression
denotes the most holy place or inner sanctuary of the Dwelling,
as opposed to the outer sanctuary or holy place ' without the veil '
u

290 NUMBERS 18. 8. ps

serve : I give you the priesthood as a service of
and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to
i.
8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, And I, behold,

shall
gift:death

(see Exod. xxvi. 31-35). Unless, therefore, we have a copyist's
slip for ' within the screen ' (see ibid., verse 36 f.), P here contem
plates the entrance of the ordinary priests into the most holy
place. Contrast Lev. xvi. which limits the right of entry into the
latter to the high priest.
the stranger is here any one, even a Levite, who is not
a priest, while in verse 4 it designates any layman, or non- Levite ;
cf. further the note on Lev. xxii. 10.
8-32. Having defined anew the relative duties of the two
orders of the hierarchy, the legislator proceeds to deal with the
provision to be made for their support, viz. (1) the priests' dues,
verses 8-20; (2) the general tithe for the Levites, 21-24, arid
(3). a special tithe to be paid by the latter to the priests, 25-32.
The subject of the priestly revenues (cf. p. 68 above) is one of
great importance for the history of the priesthood. Beginning
with such early notices as Judges xvii. 10; 1 Sam. ii. 12-17, we
may trace the gradual formulation and increasing amount of 'what
was due to the priest from the people ' (see Cent. Bible, Samuel,
p. 45 f.), through the Deuteronomic and Priestly Codes to the
relative treatises of the Mishnah. Convenient summaries of the
data of the Pentateuch Codes will be found in C-H. Hex. i. 240 ff.,
252 f., under the rubrics 'sacred dues,' and 'the revenues of the
clergy,' and in Kent, Israel' s Laws and Legal Precedents, pp. 198 ff.
Professor Buchanan Gray has given special attention to the sub
ject in his Commentary on Numbers, pp. 221-41. For an authori
tative study of the revenues of the Jewish hierarchy in N.T. times,
finally, see Schurer's Geschichie d.jiid. Volkes, third edition, ii. 243 ff.
(Eng. trans, of earlier edition, The Jewish People, &c, Div. II,
i. 230 ff.).
The position of Num. xviii. 8 ff. in the historical development
may be given in Buchanan Gray's words (Numbers, p. 236) : 'the
dues here assigned to the tribe of Levi are immensely more
valuable than those which are assigned, by direct statement or
implication, to the Levites in Deuteronomy or any pre-exilic liter
ature ; and considerably more valuable than those required, for the
priests, by Ezekiel. They are less valuable than those required in
the Mishnah, and in one respect, than those required in Lev. xxvii.
30-33 (P1)-'

NUMBERS 18. 9-11. ps 291
I have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings,
even all the hallowed things of the children of Israel,
unto thee have I given them a by reason of the anointing,
and to thy sons, as a due for ever. This shall be thine 9
of the most holy things, reserved from the fire : every
oblation of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs,
and every sin offering of theirs, and every guilt offering
of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most
holy for thee and for thy sons. As the most holy things 10
shalt thou eat thereof: every male shall eat thereof; it
shall be holy unto thee. And this is thine; the heave n
offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the
children of Israel : I have given them unto thee, and to
a Or, for a portion
8-20. The priests' dues (cf. Deut. xviii. 1-8 ; Ezek. xliv. 28 ff. ;
Lev. vi. 16-18, vii. 6-g, 31-33, &c). After a general character
ization of the nature of the dues in verse 8, the author proceeds
to specify them in detail.
8. I have given thee the charge, &c. The whole verse
requires re-translation thus : ' I have given thee that which is
reserved (from the altar) of the contributions made to me, even
all the sacred gifts (lit. 'holy things') of the children of Israel,
to thee have I given them for a portion (so margin), and to thy
sons, as a perpetual due.' For the rendering ' contributions ' see
on Lev. vii. 14, and for the marginal ' portion ' see on Lev. vii. 35.
9. the most holy things : for the distinction between ' holy '
and ' most holy ' things, see the note on Lev. ii. 3. For the offer
ings here specified, and the share of each assigned to the priest,
see Lev. ii-v. The peace-offering is dealt with in verse n ; no
reference is made to the burnt-offering or holocaust, since no part
of it was ' reserved from the fire.'
IO. As the most holy things: an evident mistranslation,
comparing a thing with itself; render, ' In a most holy place,' i. e.
as indicated in Lev. vi. 16, 26, 'in the court of the tent of meeting'
— in actual practice, in the priests' chambers of the temple (so
Ezek. xiii. 13).
11. the heave offering (' contribution,' as above) of their gift,
even all the wave offerings : the former is the general category,
the latter a special form of 'contribution,' for which see Lev.
vii. 30,
U2

292 NUMBERS 18. 12-15. Pg
thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, as a due for
ever : every one that is clean in thy house shall eat there-
12 of. All the "best of the oil, and all the abest of the
vintage, and of the corn, the firstfruits of them which
they give unto the Lord, to thee have I given them.
1 3 The firstripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they
bring unto the Lord, shah be thine ; every one that is
14 clean in thy house shall eat thereof. Every thing de-
15 voted in Israel shall be thine. Everything that openeth
the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the Lord,
a Heb. fat.

12. the firstfruits of them : the original term (re'shith) must
here denote the first in quality ; render, ' the choicest of them,'
cf. Exod. xxiii. 19, ' the choicest of the firstfruits.' The oldest
extant Phoenician inscription is found on a bowl which claims to
be 'ofthe first quality (re'shith) of bronze.'
13. The firstripe fruits: Heb. bikkurim, usually rendered
' firstfruits.' This form of sacred due has a place in all the codes,
see Exod. xxxiv. 26 (J), xxiii. 19 (E); Deut. xviii. 4, and especially
xxvi. 1-11. For the widespread religious custom of dedicating to
the deity a portion of the new produce of the year as at once
a thankoffering for, and a dedication of, the whole, and for
a discussion of the terms re'shith and bikkurim, both rendered
firstfruits in our EVV, see Gray's excursus, Numbers, pp. 225-9.
14. Every thing devoted : see note on Lev. xxvii. 28.
15-18. The law regarding the disposal of firstborn (male)
children and the firstlings of domestic animals. Put briefly, the
law requires that the firstborn of men, and of animals not received
as sacrificial victims, shall be redeemed, the redemption price
falling to the priests, while those of the sacrificial animals (see p.
36) are to be sacrificed, the priests receiving the flesh. For
a more detailed comparison than is possible here of P's prescrip
tions with those of the older legislation, e. g. Exod. xiii. 11-16,
xxxiv. 19 f. (both J), xxii. 29 f. (E), and especially with Deut. xv.
i9_23i the larger commentaries must be consulted. For the
whole subject see W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem?, Additional Note E,
pp. 458-65.
15. The general terms employed here seem at first sight to
include both male and female firstborn, but the words are probably
to be read in the light of the express limitation to males found in

NUMBERS 18. 16-ig. PS 293
both of man and beast, shall be thine : nevertheless the
firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the first
ling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. "And those 16
that are to be redeemed of them from a month old shalt
thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money
of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary (the same
is twenty gerahs). But the firstling of an ox, or the first- 1 7
ling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not
redeem ; they are holy : thou shalt sprinkle their blood
upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering
made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord. And 18
the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and
as the right thigh, it shall be thine. All the heave offer- 19
ings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer
unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy
daughters with thee, as a due for ever : it is a covenant
of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed
* Or, And as to their redemption money, from a month old
shalt thou redeem them
the older codes (see references in preceding note, and cf. the limita
tion in iii. 40-51 (P*), above).
16. interrupts the connexion between 15 and 17, and appears
to be a' gloss based on iii. 43, 47, where see notes, and referring
only to ' the firstborn of man.' Render : ' And as regards his
redemption-price,' &c. For the shekel of the sanctuary see on
Lev. v. 15.
IT f. The firstlings of sacrificial animals are to be treated so
far as peace-offerings, see Lev. vii. 28-34, but the flesh, instead of
furnishing the usual sacrificial meal for the offerer and his family,
becomes the perquisite of the priests.
19. it is a covenant of salt for ever : i. c. a covenant that is
irrevocable and valid in perpetuity (cf. 2 Chron. xiii. 5). From the
use of salt as a preservative against decay, it was natural that
it should become a symbol of permanence and even of life as
opposed to decay and death, as it has become 'in the world's
symbolism.' For another, and more usual, derivation of the
metaphor of the text, see Gray in he or the writer's art. 'Salt'
in Hastings's DB. (1909). Cf. note on Lev. ii. 13.

294 NUMBERS 18. 20-23. ?s
30 with thee. And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou shalt
have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have
any portion among them : I am thy portion and thine
inheritance among the children of Israel.
21 And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given
all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for
their service which they serve, even the service of the
22 tent of meeting. And henceforth the children of Israel
shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear
23 sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the
tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it
shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations,
20. The priests, as represented by Aaron, are to have no
landed possessions in Canaan, for Yahweh Himself is their portion
arid inheritance, an idea frequently expressed in Deut. (e. g. x. 9J
xii. 12, xviii. 2, &c). . The same applies to the subordinate
Levites, verses 23 f. below. In Deut., however, the terms priests
and Levites are coextensive, as explained on p. 199 f. Both
Deut. and Ps are here in conflict with Num. xxxv. 1-8 (Ps), for
which see the introductory note there.
31-24. The Levites are to receive ' all the tithe in Israel ' for
their support in return for their service at the sanctuary. The
tithe, or tenth part, 'as a rate of taxation, secular or religious'
with special reference to agricultural produce, was familiar to
many peoples of antiquity, Egyptians, Greeks, &c. (see Moore's
art. ' Tithes' in EBi. iv.). Both in its sacred and its secular form
the tithe finds early attestation in the O.T. apart from the law-
codes, e.g. Amos iv. 4 ; Gen. xxviii. 22 (E), and 1 Sam. viii. 15, 17,
the royal tithe. The complicated history of the nature and
destination of the religious tithes — in later times it was usual to
distinguish a first, second, and third tithe — has been carefully
investigated by Driver in his Comm. on Deuteronomy, pp. 166-73,
which see also for a discussion of the relation of P's legislation on
the application of the tithe to that of Deuteronomy (xiv. 22-29,
xxvi. 12-15). In Lev. xxviii. 30-33, a later priestly writer adds
the tithe of cattle to the cereal tithe of P«.
22. lest they bear sin, and die: i.e. lest they incur the
fatal consequences of unguarded approach to the sanctuary, as
explained in the notes on verse 1 ; the expression is used in ix. 13
with reference to a sin of omission.

NUMBERS 18. 24-32. ps 295
and among the children of Israel they shall have no
inheritance. For the tithe of the children of Israel, 24
which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord,
I have given to the Levites for an inheritance : therefore
I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel '¦'¦'
they shall have no inheritance.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Moreover 2'
thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto- them,
When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which
I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye:
shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LoRd, a tithe.
of the tithe. And your heave offering shall be reckoned 27
unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-
floor, and as the fulness of the winepress. Thus ye also 28
shall offer an heave offering unto the Lord of all your
tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel ; and
thereof ye shall give the Lord's heave offering to Aaron
the priest. Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave 29
offering of the Lord, of all the a best thereof, even the
hallowed part thereof out of it. Therefore thou shalt 3°
say unto them, When ye heave the a best thereof from
it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the in
crease of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the
winepress. And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and 31
your households : for it is your reward in return for your
service in the tent of meeting. And ye shall bear no sin 32
* Heb. fat.
25-32. Of the tithe paid by the people to the Levites the latter
in their turn are to pay over the tenth part — ' a tithe of the tithe '
(verse 26) — to the priests.
30. unto the Levites : read with Vulgate, ' unto you ' and
render : ' it (the remainder of the general tithe) shall be counted
unto you as the (tithed) increase of the threshing-floor,' &c. "is
counted to the lay Israelites, i. e. it will now be available for the
maintenance ofthe Levites and their families.

296 NUMBERS 19. r. Pe P
by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the a best
thereof :. and ye shall not prgfane the holy things of the
children of Israel, b that ye die not.
19 [p] And the. Lord spake unto Moses: and unto Aaron,
a Heb. fat. b Or, neither shall ye die
(e) xix. The Red Heifer, or the ritual of purification from unclean
ness caused by contact with the dead.
This chapter, which has no connexion with those that precede
and follow it, consists of two distinct sections : (i) verses 1-13,
containing directions for the preparation of a special , cathartic, in
the shape ofthe ashes of a red cow (1-10), and for its use in cases
of ceremonial defilement through contact with a dead body (12-13);
(2) verses 14-22, more detailed instructions for its use in a variety
of similar cases due to the defiling power of the dead. While
there can be no question that both sections belong to the priestly
legislation, it is evident, on several grounds, that they are the
product of different hands, and that neither had a place in the
groundwork of the Priests' Code (-Pg).
The primitive conceptions underlying the rite of purification,
here described, have been briefly set forth in the introduction to
the section of Leviticus devoted to the laws of uncleanness and
purification, where this chapter might have been expected to find
a place (see above, pp. 81 ff.). Among the Hebrews, as among
other, peoples of the ancient and modern world, it is found that
'a chief centre or "nidus" of impurity is childbirth ; but still more
dangerously impure is its counterpart, death and all the phenomena
of death ' (Farnell). So powerful, indeed, was the uncleanness
produced by contact with, and even by proximity to, a dead body
that, according to this chapter at least, the ordinary medium of
purification, water, was insufficient and had to be strengthened by
the addition, along with other ingredients, of the ashes of a sacro
sanct animal. Most of the questions, historical and exegetical,
raised by this chapter have been touched upon by the present
writer in his art. ' Red Heifer ' in Hastings's DB., iv. 207 ff. To
the literature there given should now be added Buchanan Gray's
Commentary (valuable for the parallels from other religions) ;
Bewer, Journ. of Bib. Lit. xxiv. (1905) 41 ff. (the rite was
originally a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead) ; H. P. Smith,
ibid, xxvii. (1908) 153 ff., and Amer. Journ. of Theol. xiii. (1909)
207-28 (a history of the extraordinarily varied interpretations
of this chapter) ; Lods, La Croyance de la Vie Future, i. 175 ff.,
' L'impurete des morts.'

NUMBERS 19. 2-6. P 297
saying, This is the statute of the law which the Lord 2
hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer a without spot,
wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke :
and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest,, and he 3
shall bring her forth without the camp, and one shall
slay ,her before his face : and Eleazar the priest shall 4
take of her blood ; with his finger, and sprinkle of her
blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven
times : and one shall burn the heifer in his sight ; her 5
skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall
he burn : and the priest shall take cedar wood, and 6
hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the
" Or, perfect
2. a red heifer: more precisely 'a red (i.e. reddish brown),
cow.' The red colour is usually explained as suggesting blood,
the seat of life, but is more probably due to association with fire
as a powerful purifying agent (cf. xxxi. 23), just as at the festival
of the Robigalia the Romans sacrificed red whelps as ' a symbol
of the scorching heat of the sun which destroyed the crops'
(Wissowa). Those who find in the rite of the red cow a survival
of an ancient sacrifice for the dead point to the red victims
sacrificed by the Greeks to their underground deities. The
nearest analogies to the sex of the red cow is the ewe-lamb
of Lev. xiv. 10, which, however, was a true sacrifice, and the
heifer — not, as here, a cow — of the purgation rite, Deut. xxi. 1-9.
Both heifer and cow had to be ' virgin ' animals, in the sense that
they had not been used by man for secular purposes (cf. the same
condition in 1 Sam. vi. 7).
4. toward the front of the tent of meeting. The cow is to be
slain — but not by the priest — to the east of the camp. According
to the Mishnah (Pdrdh [the Cow], iii. 6, Eng. trans, in Barclay, The
Talmud, p. 304), the place in later times was the Mount of Olives.
The rite described in this and the following verses has, besides
its quasi-sacrificial character, several unique features, such as the
subordinate part played by the priest, the sprinkling of the blood
from a distance, and especially the burning ofthe blood.
6. cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet. For these see the
note on Lev. xiv. 4, in another specimen of primitive ritual.
Here, as there, the first two ingredients were added in virtue

298 NUMBERS 19. 7-10. P
7 burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his
clothes, and he shall bathe his- flesh in water, and after
ward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be
8 unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall
wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water,
9 and shall be unclean until the even. And a man that is
clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay
them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall
be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for
10 a water of a separation : it is a sin offering. And he that
gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes,
and be unclean until the even : and it shall be unto the
children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth
' Or, impurity

of their aromatic properties, in this case to increase the efficacy of
the ashes as a cathartic. The ' holy water ' of the Babylonians,
prepared by the addition of cedar, cypress, tamarisk, and other
fragrant woods, offers an analogy.
T f. These verses supply an illuminating illustration of the
primitive conception of the quasi-physical nature of holiness and
of its close connexion with uncleanness. The priest and the man-
that slew and burned the cow have become ceremonially unclean
through contact with a thing most holy or 'taboo.' To prevent
the spread of the fatal contagion of holiness to others, they must
wash both their persons and their garments. See the notes on
Lev. vi. n, 27, and on the still closer parallels, Lev. xvi. 23 ff.
9. for a water of separation : render with margin, ' a water
of impurity,' or better, with Amer. R.V., 'a water for- impurity,'
i.e. a water for the removal of ceremonial uncleanness, an
expression peculiar to this chapter and xxxi. 23.
it is a sin offering (cf. verse 17). This rendering is impos
sible for the simple reason that the red cow was not a sin-offering
or indeed a sacrifice of any kind ; for P there is only one legitimate
place of sacrifice, the altar in the court of the tabernacle, and the
cow was slaughtered and burnt elsewhere (verse 3). Render
' it is a medium of purification,' or ' un-sin-ment,' as advocated on
p. 48; cf. the note on Num. viii. 7, where the original (haitdth)
is rendered ' expiation ' by the Revisers, and the use ' of the
cognate verb in verses 12 f., 19 f. below.

NUMBERS 19. n-16. P 299
among them, for a statute for ever. He that toucheth n
the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days :
the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, 12
a and on the seventh day he shall be clean : but if he
purify not himself the third day, bthen the seventh day
he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead 13
body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself,
defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall
be cut off from Israel : because the water of separation
was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his
uncleanness is yet upon him. This is the law when 14
a man dieth in a tent : every one that cometh into the
tent, and every one that is in the tent, shall be unclean
seven days. And every open vessel, which hath no 15
covering bound upon it, is unclean. And whosoever 16
a Or, and on the seventh day, so shall he be clean b Or, and
11-13. The specific purpose for which this unique 'medium of
purification ' is to be used, the removal of uncleanness caused by
touching a dead body. A parallel to this use of ashes is provided
by the Roman custom, at the festival of the Fordicidia, of purifying
the men and animals on the farm with the ashes of calves taken
from pregnant cows (Bailey, The Religion of Ancient Rome, p. 62).
12. the same shall purify himself: lit. ' shall un-sin himself/
see above, also the note on Lev. iv. 3. The punctuation and
renderings of the margin are to be preferred to those of the text.
13. defileth the tabernacle of the LOSD : see on Lev. xv. 31 ;
cf. verse 20 below.
14-22. A section from another hand, as shown by certain
variations in the phraseology, giving a more detailed application
of the general principles laid down in verses 11-13, and more
precise instructions for the mode of purification.
15. Every open vessel and its contents are unclean because the
latter are exposed to the miasma of impurity. This idea lies at
the basis of the widespread custom of pouring out the contents of
vessels containing water and milk immediately a death occurs in
a house (see Bender, Jewish Quart. Rev. vii. 106 ff., and Sehillot,
Le Paganisme contemporain, p. 173 f., both of whom refer to the
Jewish belief that this is done to the water because the angel
of death has washed therewith the blood from his sword).

Soo NUMBERS 19. 17-22. P
in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword,
or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be
17 unclean seven days. And for the unclean they shall
take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering, and
18 a running water shall be put thereto in a vessel : and
a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water,.
and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels,;
and upon the persons that were there, and upon him
that touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the
19 grave : and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the un
clean on the third day, and on the seventh day : and on
the seventh day he shall purify him ; and he shall wash
his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be
20 clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and
shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from
the midst of the assembly, because he hath defiled the
sanctuary of the Lord : the water of separation hath not
21 been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. And it shall
be a perpetual statute unto them : and he that sprinkleth
the water of separation shall wash his clothes ; and he
that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean
32 until even. And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth
a Heb. living.
17-19, instructions for the preparation of the 'water for
impurity ' and the mode of its application. Some of the ashes of
the red cow are to be added to ' living ' water (see on Lev. xiv. 5) ;
a clean person then takes a bunch of hyssop or marjoram, and
sprinkles with the mixture the persons and things defiled.
21. The 'water for impurity' is a means of restoring the
unclean to ceremonial holiness because it is itself holy (taboo) ;
therefore the clean person who handles it becomes, as in the
cases mentioned above (verses 7 ff.), likewise taboo, that is
infected by the contagion of holiness, and consequently unclean.
Similarly, in later times, whoever handled a roll of the sacred
Scriptures became unclean because these ' defiled the hands ' by
their holiness.
22, on the other hand, illustrates the contagion of uncleanness,

NUMBERS 20. i. PJEP 301
shall be unclean ; and the soul that toucheth it shall be
unclean until even.
[JEP] And the children of Israel, even the whole 20
which, according to Hag. ii. 12 f., was regarded as even more
powerful than the contagion of holiness.
In the rite of ' the red heifer' we have one ofthe most striking
examples of the survival within the higher religion of Israel of
a practice which there is every reason to believe antedates that
religion itself. Like the goat to Azazel (Lev. xvi. 8 ff.), the tassels
on the mantle (Num. xv. 37 ff.), and similar survivals, the rite has
been adopted by the priestly legislators, but reinterpreted in the
spirit of a later age. As it now appears, it reinforces by its
striking symbolism the eternal truth that purity and holiness are
the essential characteristics ofthe people of God.
(/) xx. 1-13. Death of Miriam at Kadesh. The ' waters'1 of
strife and the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the land of
promise. Why were Moses and Aaron denied the privilege of entering
the promised land ? What had they done to forfeit this privilege ?
These questions supplied the principal motif for the traditions
(from JE and P) now blended and revised by the compiler in this
section (the detailed analysis is uncertain, and has not been
attempted in the text above). Other motifs may be recognized
in the explanation of the place-names Meribah and Kadesh in
verse 13 (see notes).
It is remarkable, however, that no very convincing reason is
given in the text as it now stands for the exclusion of Moses, still
less for the exclusion of Aaron, from the land of Canaan. The
compiler, to all appearance, wishes to represent Moses as guilty
of a momentary lack of faith in the Divine power to draw the
water from the rock by a word, and both Moses and Aaron as
guilty of claiming for themselves the power which belonged to
God alone (see esp. verse 10). But a closer examination of the
composite narrative, and of the allusions elsewhere to the conduct
of the two leaders on this occasion as an act of rebellion against
Yahweh (see e. g. verse 24 of this chapter and xxvii. 14) has
suggested the belief that the compiler has considerably modified
and toned down the representation of his sources. These allu
sions, it must be admitted, give colour to the suggestion, approved
by several scholars of repute, that the words 'Hear now, ye
rebels ' of verse 10 were, in the original tradition, addressed by
Yahweh Himself to Moses and Aaron (see Cornill's suggested

302 NUMBERS 20. 2-8. JEP
congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first
month : and the people abode in Kadesh ; and Miriam
2 died there, and was buried there. And there was no
water for the congregation : and they assembled them-
3 selves together against Moses and against Aaron. And
the people strove with Moses, and spake, saying, Would
God that we had died when our brethren died before the
4 Lord ! And why have ye brought the assembly of the
Lord into this wilderness, that we should die there, we
5 and our cattle ? And wherefore have ye made us to
come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place ?
it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pome-
6 granates ; neither is there any water to drink. And
Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the
assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and
fell upon their faces : and the glory of the Lord appeared
7 unto them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and
reconstruction in Gray's Commentary, p. 162). The problem is
confessedly one of considerable difficulty, and must be studied in
the standard critical and exegetical works.
1. the wilderness of Zin. See on xiii. 3, 21.
in the first month : the number of the year has either
dropped out accidentally, or more probably has been omitted by the
compiler for harmonistic reasons. In P the year was doubtless
the fortieth from the exodus, but in JE the Hebrews arrived at
Kadesh soon after leaving Sinai-Horeb (see p. 259). According
to the earlier tradition Kadesh was the centre and rallying-point
of the tribes during the whole period of the wanderings. For its
probable site and identification with the modern 'Ain Kadis see
on xiii. 26.
and Miriam died there: probably from E; hence the date
of Miriam's death must not be placed, without further evidence, in
the^ fortieth year, which is P's probable date for the following
incident. The latter would be more natural at the beginning than at
the close of the stay at Kadesh.
3. died before the LORD : in the mutiny of Korah and the
subsequent plague (xvi. 35, 49, xvii. 12 f.).
8. Take the rod: described in verse 9 as 'before Yahweh'

NUMBERS 20. 9-13. JEP 303
Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before
their eyes, that it give forth its water ; and thou shalt
bring forth to them water out of the rock : so thou shalt
give the congregation and their cattle drink. And Moses 9
took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded
him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly 10
together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear
now, ye rebels ; shall we bring you forth water out of
this rock ? And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote "
the rock with his rod twice : and water came forth abun
dantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.
And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye 12
believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the
children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this
assembly into the land which I have given them. These 13
are the waters of a Meribah ; because the children of
» That is, Strife.
with reference to xvii. 10. The present form of the narrative
leaves the purpose of the rod unexplained (contrast the parallel
narrative, Exod. xvii. 5 f.).
10. According to a probable reconstruction of the original
tradition (see reference above), Moses and Aaron were bidden by
Yahweh to speak to the rock ; they refused, sceptically asking
Yahweh, 'Can we bring them forth water out of this rock?', to
which Yahweh replied, ' Hear now, ye rebels,' bidding them at the
same time strike the rock, and afterwards pronouncing upon them
the doom of exclusion as in verse 12.
12. to sanctify me (cf. xxvii. 14) : by their disobedience and
lack of faith, the two leaders had robbed Yahweh of the honour
due to Him as ' the holy one of Israel,' and so done injury to His
essential attribute of holiness. The reflexive form of the verb, at
the close of verse 13, may accordingly be rendered : ' and he
vindicated his holiness among them.' The selection of this verb
(kadesh) is probably intended, by a play upon the word, to suggest
the origin of Kadesh as a place-name. This motif is certain in
the words
13. These are the waters of Meribah : i. e. ' the waters of
strife ' or ' contention.' That Meribah is another name for Kadesh
with reference to its sacred spring is seen from the frequent

304 NUMBERS 20. i4- JEPJE
Israel strove with the LoRd, and he a was sanctified in
them.
14 [JE] And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto
a Or, shewed himself holy
occurrence of the double name * Meribath-Kadesh ' (see reff.
p. 263). In reality, however, Kadesh was from the earliest times
one of those 'well sanctuaries,' hallowed by the presence of
a sacred spring, and the seat of an oracle, as attested by the
undoubtedly ancient name En-mishpat or Fountain of Judgement
(Gen. xiv. 7). The name Meribah is now generally explained on
these lines as ' the place of contention ' at law, the ancient
sanctuaries being the seats of the earliest courts of justice (for
this, and for the relation of the present section to Exod. xvii. 1-7,
where Meribah is identified with Massah and both with Rephidim,
see Meyer, Die Israelilen, pp. 54 ff. ; cf. Bennett, Cent. Bible, in he).
Third Division. Chapters XX. 14— XXXVI. 13.
From Kadesh to the Plains of Moab.
The third division of the Book of Numbers relates the
experiences of the Hebrew tribes from their departure from
Kadesh-Barnea to their encampment in 'the plains of Moab at
(i. e. over against) Jericho.' A summary of the contents with the
relative subdivisions will be found in sect, ii of the Introduction.
The most important of the historical episodes is that of Balaam,
who was called to curse but was compelled to bless the tribes of
Israel (chs. xxii-xxiv, from the prophetic source, JE). A large
amount of legislative matter belonging to various strata of the
priestly writings has also found a place in this division.
According to the compiler's scheme of chronology the events
recorded in this part of Numbers, including the conquest and
occupation of the whole of the country east of the Jordan, fall
within the latter half of the fortieth year from the departure of the
Hebrews from Egypt. Unfortunately, in the present fragmentary
condition of the original sources, it is no longer possible1 to trace
with certainty the route taken by the tribes on their march from
Kadesh to the Jordan. As will appear in the sequel, E is the
most explicit, representing the Israelites as compelled by the
hostility of Edom to adopt the circuitous route by the way of
the Gulf of Akabah to ' compass ' the whole land of Edom (cf.
Judges xi. 18). P, on the other hand, and also J probably, adopt
the direct route from Kadesh by the southern end of the Dead
Sea, crossing the northern part of Edom (see notes on xx. 22 f.,
xxi. 10 ff). D, finally, brings the Israelites along the western

NUMBERS 20. 15-17. JE 305
the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou
knowest all the travail that hath befallen us : how our 15
fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a
long time ; and the Egyptians evil entreated us, and our
fathers : and when we cried unto the Lord, he heard 16
our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of
Egypt : and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the
uttermost of thy border : let us pass, I pray thee, through 17
thy land : we will not pass through field or through vine
yard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells : we
frontier of Edom to the head of the Gulf of Akabah, as does E, but
differs from the latter in taking them thereafter due north along
the depression of the Arabah towards the Dead Sea and the
territory of Moab (Deut. ii. 1-13, 28 f.). But little assistance in
the solution of this problem of the actual route of the Hebrews is
to be obtained from the late and artificial itinerary given in
ch. xxxiii below.
(a) xx. 14 — xxi. 35. The Hebrews, refused a passage through
Edom, make a long detour and take possession of the country east of
the Jordan.
14-21. Edom refuses the request of his ' brother Israel' to be
allowed to pass peaceably through his territory. The source is
JE, but mainly E (see on verse 16).
14. the king- of Edom. That there were kings ' in the land of
Edom, before there reigned any king over Israel,' is expressly
stated in Gen. xxxvi. 31 ; cf. 1 Sam. viii. 5.
thy brother Israel : see esp. Gen. xxv. 23-26 for this rela
tionship of Esau-Edom to Jacob- Israel ; cf. Amos i. 1 1 ; Obad. 10, 12.
For the characteristic O.T. ' personification of a whole class or
people so that it is spoken of, or represented as speaking, in the
singular,' see Gray in he
16. and sent an angel: this thought of an angel as Yahweh's
representative in the work of the great deliverance is characteristic
of E's account of the exodus, see Exod. xiv. 19, xxiii. 20.
Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border : a statement
of the first importance for fixing the site of Kadesh (see note on
xiii. 26), as lying on the extreme western frontier of Edom. It
also proves conclusively that the territory at this time occupied by
the Edomites extended to both sides of the Arabah.
17. Compare the identical proposal xxi. 21 f. ; from Deut. ii. 2g
it may be inferred that similar overtures were made to the
Moabites, the record of which has not been preserved.

306 NUMBERS 20. 18-23. JEP
will go along the king's high way, we will not turn aside
to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed
18 thy border. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not
pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against
¦*9 thee. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will
go up by the high way : and if we drink of thy water,
I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let
me only, without doing any thing else, pass through on my
20 feet. And he said, Thou shalt not pass through. And
Edom came out against him with much people, and with
21 a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel pass
age through his border: wherefore Israel turned away
from him.
23 [p] And they journeyed from Kadesh : and the chil
dren of Israel, even the whole congregation, came unto
23 mount Hor. And the Lord spake unto Moses and
Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom,

the king's high way. For the ancient trade-routes through
Edom, see EBi. iv. col. 5162 f., and Hastings's DB., v. 370.
18. The Israelites make a second attempt to conciliate Edom ;
verses 19 f., however, may represent the parallel account of J.
21. Israel turned away from him : ' by the way to the Red
Sea, to compass the land of Edom,' so runs the continuation of
JE's narrative in xxi. 4", which see.
22-29 (from Pe). The death of Aaron on Mount Hor and
installation of Eleazar as High Priest in his stead ; cf. xxxiii. 37-39,
where Aaron's age is given as ' an hundred and twenty and three
years.' A variant tradition as to the place of Aaron's death is
found in Deut. x. 6 f., a fragment of an itinerary, probably from E
(see Cent. Bible, in he). Neither the Moserah of the 'latter
passage nor the Mount Hor of P has been identified with
certainty ; both probably lay in the neighbourhood of the Jebel
Madera ( = Moserah?) of Musil's map, to the north-east of 'Ain
Kadis and east of the Wady Fikreh. Cf. on xxxiii. 30 ff.
22 f. mount Hor ... by the border ofthe land of Edom (cf.
xxxiii. 37). If the identification of Mt. Hor with Jebel Madera
be accepted, P will have represented the Israelites as taking the
direct route by the southern end of the Dead Sea.

NUMBERS 20. 24— 21. 3. P JE 307
saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people : for he 24
shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the
children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word
at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his 25
son, and bring them up unto mount Hor : and strip 26
Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his
son : and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and
shall die there. And Moses did as the Lord commanded : 27
and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the
congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his gar- 28
ments, and put them upon Eleazar his son ; and Aaron
died there in the top of the mount : and Moses and
Eleazar came down from the mount. And when all the 29
congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for
Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
[JE] And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, which 21
dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the
way a of Atharim ; and he fought against Israel, and
took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow 2
unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this
people into my hand, then I will b utterly destroy their
cities. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, 3
" Or, of the spies b Heb. devote.
24. because ye rebelled, &c. : see above, verses 1-13.
26. strip Aaron of his garments : i. e. of his robes of office,
described Lev. viii. 7 ff., with which Eleazar is vested as his
successor in the office of High Priest.
xxi. 1-3. A misplaced and perplexing section from JE, which
may originally have stood in closer connexion with xiv. 39-45.
1. We should probably read : 'And the Canaanite which dwelt
in the Negeb' (cf. xiv. 25, 45), omitting 'the king of Arad' as
a gloss. by the way of Atharim : the meaning of Atharim is un
known ; the text is doubtless corrupt.
3. Comparison with Judges i. 17 has suggested that this con
quest of Hormah — here, however, represented as a district com-
X 2

308 NUMBERS 21. 4-7. JEPE
and delivered up the Canaanites ; and they a utterly
destroyed them and their cities : and the name of the
place was called b Hormah.
4 [P] And they journeyed from mount Hor [E] by the
way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom : and
the soul of the people c was much discouraged d because
5 of the way. And the people spake against God, and
against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of
Egypt to die in the wilderness ? for there is no bread, and
there is no water ; and our soul loatheth this e light
6 bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people ; and much people of
7 Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said,
We have sinned, because we have spoken against the
Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he
" Heb. devoted. b From the same root as herem, a devoted
thing. c Or, was impatient Heb. was shortened. a Or, in
" Or, vile
prising several cities of the Canaanites— may have been told here
by anticipation.
4-9. The episode of the 'brazen' (copper) serpent. A final
murmuring on the part of the Hebrews is punished by a plague of
' fiery ' serpents. After ' much people ' had died of their bites,
Moses, in answer to prayer, is instructed to set up on a pole
a bronze model of a serpent on which the sufferers may look and
be healed. The episode is generally assigned to E.
4. The first six words are P's continuation of xx. 29, and are
continued in verse 10 below ; for the rest of 4" see on xx. 21. The
route lay in a south-easterly direction along the western frontier
of Edom until it reached the Red Sea at the northern end of the
Gulf of Akabah in the neighbourhood of Elath and Ezion-geber (cf.
Deut. ii. 8).
5. this light bread : rather as margin ' this vile bread.'
6. fiery serpents: the meaning of the word rendered 'fiery'
is still matter of conjecture. It is usually derived from the verb
saraph, 'to burn '(' burning serpents'), and supposed to refer to
the burning sensation caused by the poison from their fangs. The
connexion of the term, if any, with the seraphim of Isa. vi. 2. 6 is
equally uncertain.

NUMBERS 21. 8-i i. EP 309
take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for
the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee s
a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard : and it shall
come to pass, that every one that is bitten, whenTie
seeth it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, 9
and set it upon the standard : and it came to pass, that
if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto
the serpent of brass, he lived. [P] And the children of 10
Israel journeyed, and pitched in Oboth. And they n
8 f. Numerous analogies to the "procedure here enjoined have
been collected by Frazer in his Golden Bough 2, ii. 426 f. The
closest O.T. parallel is furnished by the golden images of the
boils and mice in 1 Sam. vi. 4 f. (see Cent. Bible, in he. ). The small
bronze serpents found at Gezer (PEFSt. 1903, p. 222, fig. 13)
and in Arabia (Nielsen, Altarab. Mondreligion, p. 190, figs. 38, 39)
were probably of the nature of amulets or charms.
9. a serpent of brass: rather 'of copper,' which the original
signifies in Deut. viii. 9, or, as elsewhere, 'of bronze.'
The interpretation of this episode must start from the historical
notice of the destruction by Hezekiah of the ' brazen ' serpent
which had become an object of idolatrous worship in the temple
at Jerusalem, and is expressly identified with the serpent made
by Moses on this occasion (see 2 Kings xviii. 4). The view now
generally advocated, even by so conservative a scholar as Bau-
dissin (see below), is that the worship in question was part of a
foreign cult, borrowed probably from the Canaanites, in which
the serpent symbolized a chthonic deity possessed of special
healing powers. An effort, it is suggested, was made to regularize
this cult by associating its object with the founder of Israel's
religion ; the story of Numbers, which is thus reduced to an
aetiological legend, is the result (see further Gray, Numbers,
pp. 274 ff., and esp. the elaborate art. ' Schlange, eherne,' by
Baudissin, PRE.3 vol. xvii. 580-6, with full bibliography).
Whatever may be the origin of the story, it embodies the
belief that Yahweh alone is the true Healer (Exod. xv. 26;
Hos. vi. 1), and illustrates the efficacy of faith in the means
appointed by Him (cf. the interpretation in Wisd. xvi. 6 f.). For
the Christian reader the 'brazen' serpent has become the immortal
type ofthe crucified Saviour (John iii. 14).
10 f. a fragment of P's itinerary. If Mt. Hor= Jebel Madera,
and Oboth = 'Ain el-Weybeh (see on xxxiii. 43) — both doubt
ful equations — the Hebrews are now marching across the

310 NUMBERS 21. 12-14. PE
journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Iye-abarim, in
the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sun-
1 2 rising. [E] From thence they journeyed, and pitched in
13 the valley of Zered. From thence they journeyed, and
pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the
wilderness, that cometh out ofthe border ofthe Amorites :
for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the
14 Amorites. Wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars
of the Lord,
Arabah depression in the direction of Moab. The next stage is
almost certainly in Moab or at least on the borders of it, for Iye-
abarim is probably the modern Khirbet 'Ai (Lagrange, Rev.
Biblique, ix. (1900), pp. 287, 443), to the south of Kerak, near
Ketherabba of Bartholomew's map, Kufrabba of Musil's.
12-20. An extract from E's itinerary, according to which, as
was shown above, the Hebrews, after leaving the Gulf of Akabah,
struck north-east and then north to continue their 'compass ' of the
land of Edom. The compiler has omitted this part of the route,
in order, probably, to minimize the discrepancy with P's more
direct route.
12. in the valley of Zered : or ' in the Wady Zered ' (cf. Deut.
ii. 13). If Khirbet 'Ai is lye, the Zered must be the Wady Kerak,
rather than the Wady el-Ahsa or el-Hesi further to the south.
13. on the other side of Arnon. The Arnon is the Wady
Mojib, but the preceding words may denote a point either to the
north or to the south of the river according to the standpoint of
the writer. At this time the territory occupied by the Moabites
was confined to the region south of the Arnon, that to the north
of the river having been forcibly occupied by a race of Amorite
invaders (xxi. 26) from the northern land of Amurru (see on
xiii. 29).
14. As proof that the Arnon, at the date of the Hebrew in
vasion, formed the dividing line between Moabites and Amorites,
the writer quotes a fragment of an ancient poem which he found
in 'The Book of the Wars ' or Battles ' of Yahweh.' This book, of
which there is no further mention in the O.T., was probably a
collection of popular songs in which the victories ofthe Hebrews
over the Canaanites and others were celebrated. It derived its
name from the fact that the battles of His people were Yahweh's
battles (see 1 Sam. xviii. 17, xxv. 28). 'The snatch itself is an
obscure fragment beginning in the middle of one sentence and
breaking off in the middle of the next ' (Gray),

NUMBERS 21. 15-19. E 3n
Vaheb a in Suphah,
And the valleys of Arnon,
And the slope of the valleys 1 5
That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar,
And leaneth upon the border of Moab.
And from thence they journeyed to b Beer : that is the ifi
well whereof the Lord said unto Moses, Gather the people
together, and I will give them water.
Then sang Israel this song : 1 7
Spring up, O well ; sing ye unto it :
The well, which the princes digged, 18
Which the nobles of the people delved,
c With the sceptre, and with their staves.
And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah :
and from Mattanah to Nahaliel : and from Nahaliel to 19
" Or, in storm b That is, A well. " Or, By order of the lawgiver
Vaheb in Suphah: a verb, such as 'we captured,' must
have preceded ' Vaheb ' ; both localities are unknown.
15. the dwelling of Ar: doubtless the city named 'Ar of Moab'
in verse 28 (cf. note on xxii. 36), which lay on the Moabite frontier
(Deut. ii. 18). The site has not been identified.
16. This holds good also of Beer, i. e. Well-town, the mention
of which gives occasion for the citation of another short poem
celebrating the opening of the well from which the place derived
its name.
18. With the sceptre: rather 'with the wand,' denoting the
commander's rod of office, cf. Gen. xlix. 10, R.V., 'the ruler's
staff.' It has been suggested that the reference is to a custom
according to which, after a well had been discovered, it was
temporarily covered over, and afterwards formally opened by the
authorities with some such symbolic action as is described in the
text (Budde).
And from the wilderness : the LXX has the easier reading
' And from Beer.'
19 f. The itinerary is continued northwards, through several
unidentified localities to ' the valley that is in the field (or country)
of Moab,' probably the Wady'Ayun Musa (Moses' springs) which
runs into the north-east corner of the Dead Sea. Fisgah (xxiii.
14 ; Deut. iii, 27, xxxiv. 1) appears to be a general name for a series

312 NUMBERS 21. 20-24. E JE
20 Bamoth : and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the
field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down
upon a the desert.
21 [JE] And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of
22 the Amorites, saying, Let me pass through thy land :
we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard ; we
will not drink of the water of the wells : we will go by
the king's high way, until we have passed thy border.
23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his
border : but Sihon gathered all his people together, and
went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to
24 Jahaz : and he fought against Israel. And Israel smote
him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land
from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of
a Or, Jeshimon
of projections of the high plateau of Moab, one of which bore the
special name of Mount Nebo (Deut. xxxiv. 1) on which Moses
died. The latter is the modern Jebel Neba, on a line with the
north end of the Dead Sea.
21-32. The conquest of the Amorite kingdom lying between
the Arnon and the Jabbok (cf. the parallel accounts, Deut. ii. 24-
37 ; Judges xi. 19-22).
The source is still the composite work JE, in the main E. With
the original prose narrative there has now been incorporated,
either by E or by a later hand, an early poem supposed to cele
brate the conquest of northern Moab by the invading Amorites
(but see below). The compiler of the Pentateuch, however, has
preferred to complete the above itinerary to inserting this section
in its proper place, for here the Hebrews have not yet entered
the Amorite territory, being still at the point reached in verse 13,
as is evident from verse 23.
21 ff. Overtures for a peaceable passage made to the Amorite
king are treated precisely as in the earlier case of the Edomites
(xx. 14 ff).
23. and came to Jahaz. From the inscription of Mesha,
king of Moab (circa 860 B.C.), it may be inferred that Jahaz lay
near to Dibon, and therefore not far from the Arnon (cf. verse 13).
24. from Arnon unto Jabbok, &c. This shows that Sihon's
kingdom embraced the country lying between the Wady Mojib on

NUMBERS 21. 25, 2G. JE 313
Ammon : for the border of the children of Ammon was
strong. And Israel took all these cities : and Israel 25
dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and
in all the atowns thereof. For Heshbon was the city of 26
Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against
the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of
" Heb. daughters.
the south and the Wady Zerka (Jabbok) on the north, and between
the Jordan on the west and the Ammonite territory about the
head waters of the Jabbok on the east.
was strong: read with LXX 'was Jazer' (verse 32); this
note is apparently editorial.
25. took all these cities : evidently those of the region
specified in the preceding verse ; the notice is probably from a
different source (J), hence the awkwardness of a reference to cities
not previously specified.
in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof: in Heshbon,
the capital of the Amorite kingdom, and its dependent villages (cf.
R.V. marg.). Heshbon, the modern Hesban, lay almost exactly
midway between the Arnon and the Jabbok.
26. all his land out of his hand : we should probably read,
' all his land from Jabbok even unto Arnon ' (cf. verse 24).
As evidence of this Amorite conquest of northern Moab, E, or
another, cites an older poem which in his day was sung by them.
that speak in proverbs : i. e. by the ballad-singers or wander
ing minstrels. For the meaning of the original (moshelim) see
Gray, Numbers, in he with Addenda, p. xiii f. With regard to
the poem itself, ' the one thing that is clear is that it celebrates
a victory over Moab. Everything else is more or less uncertain.'
On various grounds, which cannot be set forth here in detail, it
is not improbable that there has been a mistake in the application
of this poem, and that it is really a triumphal song composed by
a Hebrew — this must be admitted in any case — to celebrate a con
quest of Moab by the Hebrews themselves. In this case one naturally
thinks of one of the campaigns of Omri, the father of Ahab (area
887-876 B.C.), who, as is recorded by Mesha, 'oppressed Moab
many days.' The tide of battle, as pictured by the poet, rolls
southward from the ruined capital, which still bore the title of
' the City of Sihon,' to the banks of the Arnon. The opening
distich would be better rendered, in accordance with its metrical
form, thus : Come ye to Heshbon ! Let it be rebuilt !
Let the city of Sihon be re-established !

3i4, NUMBERS 21. 27-30. JE
27 his hand, even unto Arnon. Wherefore they that speak.
in proverbs say,
Come ye to Heshbon,
Let the city of Sihon be built and established :
2S For a fire is gone out of Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon :
It hath devoured Ar of Moab,
The lords of a the high places of Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab !
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh :
He hath given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites. ,
30 We have shot at them ; Heshbon is perished even
unto Dibon,
And we have laid waste even unto Nophah,
b Which reacheth unto Medeba.
aOr, Bamoth b Some ancient authorities have, Fire reached unto.
28. The havoc of war is compared to the devastation wrought
by fire. For 'Ar of Moab' see on verse 15. For the sake of a
better parallelism, however, it has been proposed to read : ' It
hath devoured the "cities" of Moab, And "consumed" the
heights of Arnon ' (cf. LXX).
29. O people of Chemosh : the national deity of the Moabites
(Judges xi. 24), as Yahweh of the Hebrews. Cf. Mesha's In
scription, line 5, ' Chemosh was angry with his land,' and allowed
Omri to oppress it. So here Chemosh is represented as giving
up the Moabites, his 'sons' and ' daughters,' to captivity.
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites: the laws of both
grammar and metre are violated by this reading ; read, ' And his
daughters as captives to the king' (for this and other textual
emendations see the critical notes in Kittel's Biblia Hebraica).
On the view of the poem adopted above, ' the king ' is, of course,
the Hebrew king, probably Omri.
30. The text of this verse is hopelessly corrupt. The first
distich has been restored, with the help of the Versions, to read :
'Their offspring is perished From Heshbon unto Dibon,' but only
the last words of the second, ' unto Medeba,' are recognizable.

NUMBERS 21. 3r— 22. i. JEDP 315
Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And 3I
Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they took the towns
thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
[D] And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan : 33
and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he
and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the Lord 34
said unto Moses, Fear him not : for I have delivered him
into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and
thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of
the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote 35
him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was
none left him remaining : and they possessed his
land. [P] And the children of Israel journeyed, and 22
31. appears to be the conclusion of E's narrative, referring
back to 24"-. The following verse is an editorial addition from
another source, probably J. Jazer has not been satisfactorily
identified. 33-35. This summary account of the defeat of Og, king of
Bashan, and of the occupation of his country is now recognized
as a later insertion, taken over with the necessary change from the
first person to the third, from Deut. iii. 1-3 (see Robinson's notes.
in Cent. Bible, in he).
(b) xxii-xxiv. Balak and Balaam.
Alarmed by the defeat of the Amorites and the occupation of
their territory by the invading tribes, Balak, king of Moab, sends
for Balaam, a foreign magician and seer of great repute, in order
that he may lay the Hebrews under a powerful curse, and by so
doing deliver them into the hand of Moab.. But instead of cursing,
Balaam is compelled by an irresistible Divine impulse to bless
Israel, and finally to announce the future subjection to his enemy
of Balak's country and people. This introduction of a heathen,
or at least of a non-Hebrew, seer as an inspired prophet of
Yahweh, the literary skill with which the whole episode is
treated, and the religious fervour and wide outlook ofthe poems,
together with the unique incident of the speaking ass, and the
character-study presented by Balaam himself, have combined to
invest this section of the Book of Numbers with an unusual
interest. Looking at this episode as a whole, the purpose of its compiler
may be said to be twofold : to show the futility of all attempts on

3i<5 NUMBERS 22. r. P
pitched in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at
Jericho.the part of man to foil the purpose of God, and to give expression,
at the moment when they were about to enter the land of promise,
to the glorious future which God had in store for the people of
His choice.
There is no reason to doubt the historicity of the main incident,
which is entirely in accord with early ideas regarding the efficacy
of a spell wrought by a powerful magician. In these chapters,
therefore, we may recognize the later literary treatment of a
genuine popular tradition. It is evident, however, that they do
not form a homogeneous literary unit. The poems, though
younger than the popular tradition, are undoubtedly older than
the narrative in which they are now imbedded, for they seem to
breathe the spirit ofthe golden age ofthe Hebrew monarchy, the
age of David and Solomon (see below, p. 331 f.). But even the nar
rative is not homogeneous. Apart from the presence of doublets
(cf. xxii. 2a and 4b, 3a and 3b, the ' elders ' of 7 with the ' princes '
of 8, 15, 21) and the divergent representations as to the home
of Balaam (see on xxii. 5), it has long been recognized that xxii.
22-35 cannot have come from the hand that wrote verse 20 and
its context. The section as it stands may be supposed to have
received substantially its present form from the editor who com
bined J and E (RJe). The majority of recent critics favour the
attribution of xxii. 22-34 (35) with such of the preceding verses
as show some affinity therewith, and the bulk of ch. xxiv to J,
the rest of xxii and the whole of xxiii to E.
Only xxii. 1 can be assigned to P, for the references to Balaam
in the priestly writings, including the manner of his death
(xxxi. 8), reflect a wholly different view of his character. There
he appears as a Midianite sorcerer (Joshua xiii. 22), who suggested
a peculiarly abhorrent means for bringing about the ruin of the
Israelites (Num. xxxi. 16). This separation of the sources has
greatly simplified the problem of the character of Balaam. In E
in particular he is represented in an entirely favourable light, as
one resolved to know and to obey the will of Yahweh, and as the
recipient of a genuine Divine revelation, which he delivers with
out the least regard to his personal interests.
1. The continuation of P's itinerary from xxi. 11, suitably
placed here as locating the Hebrews during the episode which
follows. _ beyond the Jordan at Jericho : this rendering suggests that
Jericho jay on the east of the Jordan ; our idiom requires 'opposite
Jericho,' which is what is meant by 'on the other side of the
Jordan of Jericho ' of the Hebrew text.

NUMBERS 22. 2-5. JE 317
[JE] And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel 2
had done to the Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid 3
of the people, because they were many : and Moab awas
distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab 4
said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall bthis multitude
lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licketh up
the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was
king of Moab at that time. And he sent messengers 5
unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the
River, to the land of the children of his people, to call
him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from
Egypt : behold, they cover the ° face of the earth, and
a Or, abhorred » Heb. the assembly. c Heb. eye.
4. unto the elders of Midian : here and in verse 7 an editorial
gloss with reference to xxv. 6 ff., xxxi. 8, 16 (P!).
5-14. Balak's first deputation to Balaam.
5. Balaam the son of Eeor : the name is almost identical in
the original with that of Bela, the son of Beor, an early king of
Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 32), a resemblance which is ' scarcely accidental '
(see following note).
to Fethor, which is by the River, to the land of the
children of his people. The latter expression is peculiar, and
it is generally agreed that the Samaritan Pentateuch has preserved
the true text : ' the land of the children of Ammon ' (reading ;id»
for IDS'). The change will have been made in order to remove
the discrepancy of the two statements which probably come from
the different sources. For 'the River' is the Euphrates, and
Pethor may be the Pitru of the Assyrian annals. But a still older
tradition is to be found in the poem xxiii. 7, where for' Aram' we
must read, as so often in O. T., 'Edom,' since 'the mountains of
the East ' in the parallel line have been shown by Ed. Meyer
(Die Israeliten, pp. 244, 378) to be the mountains of Edom, east of
the Arabah (cf. Gen. xxv. 6, and for Edom's reputation for wisdom
see Jer. xlix. 7 ; Obad. 8). The misreading of Aram for Edom
(m« for m») was probably earlier than E, whose mention of
Pethor will then represent a later stage of the tradition (cf. Deut.
xxiii. 4). From the subsequent narrative one receives the im
pression that Balaam's home was much nearer Moab than the
distant Euphrates, but whether it lay in Edom, as is most probable,
or among ' the children of Ammon ' (so presumably J), or among
the Midianites (P, see above), must be left an open question.

318 NUMBERS 22. 6-n. JE
6 they abide over against me : come now therefore, I pray
thee, curse me this people ; for they are too mighty for
me : peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite
them, and that I may drive them out of the land : for I
know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he
7 whom thou cursest is cursed. And the elders of Moab
and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of
divination in their hand ; and they came unto Balaam,
8 and spake unto him the words of Balak. And he said
unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you
word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me : and the
9 princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came
unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
io And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor,
n king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, the
people that is come out of Egypt, it covereth the face of
6. curse me this people. Balak wishes to have the Hebrews
laid under a powerful spell, in the hope of thus being able the
more effectively to crush the dreaded invaders. For the efficacy
attributed by the Hebrews, as by other races, ancient and modern,
to the curse or spell, see Gray's illustrations, Numbers, in he, and
— especially for the widespread use of the curse in war — Schwally,
Semiiische Kriegsaltertumer, p. 26 f.
T. the elders of moab : apparently J's equivalent of ' the
princes' of E's embassy (verses 8, 13 ff.). The mention of
' the rewards of divination ' must not be entered in the account
against Balaam, in view of 1 Sam. ix. 7 f.
8. lodge here this night : dreams and visions of the night
are media of Divine revelation characteristic of E (see on xii. 6 ft".).
as the LORD shall speak unto me. For the perplexing
interchange of the Divine names in this section, see the data in
Gray, op. cit. 310 f. In the present literary form of this episode,
Balaam is represented as a worshipper of Israel's God, Yahweh,
note esp. verse 18, 'Yahweh, my God;' but it would be rash
to infer from this that he was so represented in the earlier oral
traditions, still less is there ground for the contention that Balaam
was in reality a Yahweh-worshipper ; cf. a similar use of the Divine
name ascribed to Rahab, the Canaanite, in Joshua ii. 9-1 1, and see
Marti, Stud. u. Krit. 1908, 326 f.

NUMBERS 22. 12-21. JE 319
the earth : now, come curse me them ; peradventure I
shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them
out. And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go 12
with them ; thou shalt not curse the people : for they are
blessed. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said 13
unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land : for
the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto 14
Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us. And 15
Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable
than they. And they came to Balaam, and said to him, 16
Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray
thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: for I will1?
promote thee unto very great honour, and whatsoever
thou sayest unto me I will do : come therefore, I pray
thee, curse me this people. And Balaam answered and l8
said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me
his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the
word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. Now l9
therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that
I may know what the Lord will speak unto me more.
And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, 20
If the men be come to call thee, rise up, go with them ;
but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt
thou do. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and21
saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

15-21. A second and 'more honourable ' deputation to Balaam
is more successful than the first. The seer is permitted to go to
Balak under strictcdnditions as to what he shall say.
18. to do less or more: lit. 'to do (anything) small or great,'
i.e. 'to do anything at all '; for the idiom cf. 1 Sam. xx. 2, xxii. 15.
Balaam confesses himself a submissive instrument in the hand of
Yahweh his God.

320 NUMBERS 22. 22-27. JE
22 And God's anger was kindled because he went : and the
angel of the Lord placed himself in the way for an
adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass,
23 and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw
the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his
sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out
of the way, and went into the field : and Balaam smote
24 the ass, to turn her into the way. Then the angel of the
Lord stood in a hollow way between the vineyards, a
25 fence being on this side, and a fence on that side. And
the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she thrust herself
unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall :
26 and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord
went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no
27 way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And
the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she lay down
22-34. A striking episode from a variant tradition (J), which
seems to have presented Balaam in a less favourable light than
the tradition followed by E. As the seer is here accompanied
only by his two servants (see on verse 35), J may have repre
sented him as having at first refused to accompany the deputation,
which had already returned to Balak ; later he may have decided
to go in spite of his better self, tempted by the offered rewards,
but if this was J's representation, the passage containing it has
been omitted. The endowment of Balaam's she -ass with
abnormal powers of vision and even with the power of speech is
the outstanding feature of this early Hebrew folk-tale, and has its
analogies in the popular tales of almost every country, of the East
as of the West '. The Hebrew tale, however, is designed to show
how Yahweh may make use of one of the meanest of His creatures
to rebuke the obstinacy and pride of man. The sympathy which
the tale betrays with the sufferings of the lower animals should also
be noted (cf. Jonah iv. 11).
24. in a hollow way, &c. : a narrow path is meant between
the enclosing walls of two adjacent vineyards.
1 A full and original study of the whole Balaam episode from this
standpoint has recently appeared from the pen of Gressmann in Die
Schriften d. alt. Test. [1909] i. 57-70.

NUMBERS 22. 28-35. JE 321
under Balaam : and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he
smote the ass with his staff. And the Lord opened the 28
mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have
I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three
times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou 29
hast mocked me : I would there were a sword in mine
hand, for now I had killed thee. And the ass said unto 30
Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden
all thy life long unto this day ? was I ever wont to do so
unto thee? And he said, Nay. Then the Lord opened 31
the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord
standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand :
and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. And the 32
angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou
smitten thine ass these three times ? behold, I am come
forth for an adversary, because thy way is a perverse
before me : and the ass saw me, and turned aside before 33
me these three times : unless she had turned aside from
me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her
alive. And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, 34
I have sinned ; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the
way against me : now therefore, if it displease thee, I will
get me back again. And the angel of the Lord said 35
unto Balaam, Go with the men : but only the word that
I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam
a Heb. headlong.
32. The text of the last clause of this verse is corrupt, and the
rendering uncertain. It is clear, however, that the angel, as
Yahweh's representative, expresses the Divine disapproval of
Balaam's journey, as indeed is shown by the answer of the latter
(verse 34).
35 is explained by most critics as in the main from the hand of
We, linking the extract from J to the main thread of E's narrative —
note the sudden reappearance of ' the princes of Balak.'
V

322 NUMBERS 22. 36-41. JE
36 went with the princes of Balak. And when Balak heard
that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto
the City of Moab, which is on the border of Arnon,
3? which is in the utmost part of the border. And Balak
said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to
call thee? wherefore earnest thou not unto me? am I
38 not able indeed to promote thee to honour? And
Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee :
have I now any power at all to speak any thing? the
word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto
40 Kiriath-huzoth. And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep,
and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with
41 him. And it came to pass in the morning, that Balak
took Balaam, and brought him up into a the high places
a Or, Bamoth-baal
36. unto the City of Moab : read ' unto Ar of Moab ' ('dr for
'ir), the city mentioned in xxi. 15, and in both passages described
as lying on Moab's (northern) frontier formed by the Arnon ;
here it is also said to lie at the (eastern) extremity of this frontier,
which suits the location of Balaam's home in the ' mountains of
the East,' as explained above.
38. Balaam once more confesses himself a passive instrument
in God's hand, able and willing only to speak the words which
God may put into his mouth (cf. xxiii. 5, 12, 16, and the parallel
case of Micaiah, I Kings xxii. 14). Balaam is here represented
as a true prophet of the Most High.
39. The site of Kiriath-huzoth (' city of streets ') is unknown.
40. and sent to Balaam : portions of the sacrificial flesh as
a special mark of honour, cf. 1 Sam. ix. 23 f.
xxii. 41 — xxiii. 6 relate the preparations for the great incantation.
It was essential for the working of the spell that the magician
should see the proposed victim thereof; accordingly Balaam is
conducted to three different places in succession, from which an
ever closer view is obtained of the camp of Israel. The first
scene is laid at
41 . the high, places of Baal : the local sanctuary of Baal ;
these bamoth or ' high places ' (xxxiii. 52) were usually situated
on hill-tops (cf. xxiii. 9 and 1 Sam. ix. 14, 19).

NUMBERS 23. 1-8. JE 323
of Baal, and he saw from thence the utmost part of the
people. And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here 23
seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and
seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken ; 2
and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock
and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy 3
burnt offering, and I will go ; peradventure the Lord
will come to meet me : and whatsoever he sheweth me
I will tell thee. And he went to. a bare height. And 4
God met Balaam : and he said unto him, I have pre
pared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock
and a ram on every altar. And the Lord put a word in 5
Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus
thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and, lo, 6
he stood by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of
Moab. And he took up his parable, and said, 1
From Aram hath Balak brought me,
The king of Moab from the mountains of the East :
Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, a defy Israel.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed ? 8
a Heb. be wroth against.
the utmost part of the people : here the edge ofthe Hebrew
encampment nearest to the seer's view-point.
xxiii. 1. The number seven plays a large part also in the ritual
and incantation literature of Babylonia (cf. Joshua vi. 4).
3. he went to a bare height: such is the meaning of the
received text, which, however, is almost certainly corrupt.
7-10. Balaam's first oracular utterance — 'parable' is an inade
quate rendering — a poem of seven distichs, each clearly showing
the synonymous parallelism of its two members, which is one of
the distinctive marks of Hebrew poetry.
7. From Aram (dtmd) : read ' from Edom ' (dino) ; for
this reading, and for ' the mountains of the East,' see note on
xxii. 5. Y 2

324 NUMBERS 23. 9-13. JE
And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not
defied ?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him
And from the hills I behold him :
Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
aOr number the fourth part of Israel?
Let b me die the death of the righteous,
And let my last end be like his !
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done
unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and,
12 behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. And he
answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that
13 which the Lord putteth in my mouth? And Balak said
unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another
place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt
a Heb. Or, by number, the &e b Heb. my soul.
9. a people that dwell alone, Sec This distich is usually
understood as referring less to the geographical isolation, or the
national aloofness of the Hebrews, than to their position of special
privilege as the ' peculiar ' people of Yahweh (Exod. xix. 5 ;
Amos iii. n, and often) ; by this they were distinguished from the
heathen ' nations ' around them. The word for ' nations ' is that
so frequently rendered ' Gentiles.'
10. The sixth distich expresses amazement at the vast numbers
of the Hebrew people, metaphorically described as ' the dust of
Jacob ' (Gen. xiii. 16, xxviii. 14). The second line must be read :
' or who hath reckoned up the myriads of Israel ?' Cf. LXX text
and x. 36 above. The closing distich strikes a personal note, and
is regarded by many as an addition to the original poem.
let my last end be like his: read probably 'like theirs';
the poet wishes that his life's end may be full of peace, doubtless
also that he may come to his ' grave in a full age, like as a shock
of corn cometh in in its season ' (Job v. 26).
11-17. Keenly disappointed with the issue of the first seance,
Balak arranges for a second from a more favourable situation.
13. thou shalt see . . . see them all. If these clauses were

NUMBERS 23. 14-19. JE 325
see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them
all : and curse me them from thence. And he took him 14
into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built
seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every
altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt 15
offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. And the Lord 16
met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said,
Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. And he s7
came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt offering, and
the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto
him, What hath the Lord spoken? And he took up his 18
parable, and said,
Rise up, Balak, and hear ;
Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor :
God is not a man, that he should lie ; 19
Neither the son of man, that he should repent :
Hath he said, and shall he not do it?
original, Balaam would have been in no better position for cursing
Israel than before (see xxii. 41); they are probably a later attempt
to differentiate between the situation in this verse and that of
xxiv. 2. In reality, although Balaam here sees the whole of the
Hebrew camp, in xxiv. 2 he has been brought so much nearer
to the latter, that the location of the separate tribes can, for the
first time, be clearly distinguished.
14. into the field of Zophim: lit. 'of watchers,' the 'out
look ' ground (site unknown), a name suggestive of a wide view
as the context requires. For Pisgah as a range of mountains in
Moab, see on xxi. 20. The following mise en scene is the same as
on the first occasion.
18-24. Balaam's second utterance, a poem of eleven— originally
perhaps ten — distichs. After emphasizing the unchangeableness
of the Divine purpose to bless Israel, the poet breaks forth into a
eulogy of Jacob-Israel's happy lot which springs from the presence
in their midst of Yahweh their King. .
18. Rise up, Balak : not to be understood literally, but in the
sense of 'Attend, O Balak.'
19. A classical expression of the belief in the immutability of
the Divine character, repeated in part in 1 Sam. xv. 29. The

326 NUMBERS 23. 20-23. JE
Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good 2
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless :
And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
Neither hath he seen perVerseness in Israel :
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
22 God bringeth them forth out of Egypt ;
He hath as it were the a strength of the b wild-ox.
23 Surely there is no enchantment °with Jacob,
¦ Or, horns b Or, ox-antelope Heb. reem. c Or, against
second distich has been admirably summarized by the author
of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the words, ' He is faithful that
promised' (x. 23).
20. And he hath blessed: read, with Sam. and LXX: '¦ therefore
will I bless and will not recall it (the blessing).'
21. The subject in the first distich is impersonal, 'one hath
not, ' &c. In our idiom this construction is often best reproduced
by the passive : ' No misfortune is to be discovered in Jacob, nor
is any trouble to be seen in Israel.' This suits the context better
than the moral reference which underlies the rendering of R.V.
the shout of a king- is among- them : a difficult line, fre
quently interpreted in the light of xxiv. 7, and of 1 Sam. x. 24,
2 Sam. xvi. 16, as an echo of the national pride in the then
recently instituted monarchy ; but the parallelism demands that
the 'king' referred to should be Yahweh, Israel's Divine King
(1 Sam. viii. 7, xii. 13). Cheyne would read ' And the glory of
the King is among them,' understanding by this ' the visible
presence of Yahweh, symbolized and represented by the ark'
(Exp. Times, x. 401).
22. Another difficult distich, which recurs in xxiv. 8. The
form and meaning of the word paraphrased as 'strength' (R.V.
marg. ' horns ') are uncertain, as is also the syntactical relation of
the two parts of the distich to each other. Gray renders : ' God
who brought him forth out of Egypt Is for him [Israel] like the
glory of a wild ox ; ' but the latest interpreter finds no difficulty
in so early a poem in the — at best only probable — rendering of the
text as it stands : ' God ... has horns like those of a wild ox,'
recalling the horns in the sculptured representations of Babylonian
deities, attached to their turbans as ' a standing attribute of divinitv '
(Gressmann, op. at., pp. 56, 66).
23. Text and margin above represent two opposite views of the

NUMBERS 23. 24-28. JE 327
Neither is there any divination a with Israel :
b Now shall it be c said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought !
Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness, 24
And as a lion doth he lift himself up :
He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,
And drink the blood of the slain.
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, 25
nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered and said 26
unto Bala.k,, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord
speaketh, that I must do? And Balak said unto Balaam, 27
Come now, I will take thee unto another place ; per-
adventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me
them from thence. And Balak took Balaam unto the 28
a Or, against b Or, At the due season
c Or, told to . . . what God hath wrought
meaning of the first distich. The interpretation implied in the
rendering of the text is that the presence of Yahweh in Israel
renders recourse • to enchantment and divination unnecessary.
The marginal rendering ' against,' on the other hand, implies that
the arts of the magician are powerless against Israel. On the
whole the former view is the more probable. Alternative render
ings are also given of the second half of this verse ; owing to the
lack of evident connexion with its context, this distich is regarded
by many as a later addition. Others would extend the intrusion
to the whole verse. Certainly a better connexion is thus secured
between verses 22 and
24 in which Israel is compared to a lion about to spring upon
his prey, a figure which reappears slightly altered in xxiv. 9, and
in two other early poems, Gen. xlix. 9 ; Deut. xxxiii. 20.
25 f. Balak's words to Balaam may be thus paraphrased : ' If
thou canst not in any wise curse the Hebrews, thou shalt at least
have no further opportunity of blessing them.' After his reply in
verse 26, Balaam was probably represented in E as at once return
ing home ; indeed, xxiv. 25, which now forms the close of the
combined narrative, may once have stood here. In order, how
ever, to introduce J's version of Balaam's blessing, verses 27 ff.,
it is suggested, were composed on the model of xxiii. 1 ff, 146".
(E). The scene of Balaam's third utterance is the unidentified
Mt. Peor (cf. xxv. 3).

3?8 NUMBERS 23. 29— 24. 4. JE
29 top of Peor, that looketh down upon athe desert. And
Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and
3° prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. And
Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock
24 and a ram on every altar. And when Balaam saw that
it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at the
other times, tq meet with enchantments, but he set his
2 face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his
eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes ;
3 and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up
his parable, and said,
Balaam the son of Beor saith,
And the man whose eye b was closed saith :
4 He saith, which heareth the words of God,
Which seeth the vision of the Almighty,
0 Or, Jeshimon b Or, is opened
xxiv. 2. he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes. As
the narrative is now arranged, these words of J are meant to be
understood in the sense suggested in the note on xxiii. 13.
3-9. Balaam's third utterance, a poem arranged in four strophes
(3b> 4 i 5> 6 ; 7, 8ab ; 8ce 9) of three distichs each. The poet, who
is also a fervid patriot, after, in the first strophe, introducing
the seer in a state of trance as the mouthpiece of God, describes
in glowing terms the beauty and charm of Israel's home, the terror
he inspires in his enemies, the glory of the monarchy, and finally
Israel's might in war and his majesty in peace.
3. Balaam . . . saith : rather, ' The oracle of Balaam,' &c,
and so in verse 15. Both J's oracles begin with an identical
description of the ecstatic condition of the seer (cf. note on xi. 25).
the man whose eye was closed : margin, ' (whose eye) is
opened ' — a veritable crux interpretum. The alternatives of R.V.
are obtained according as the Hebrew is read sethiim or shethiim.
The LXX has ' the man who seeth truly,' the Vulgate ' the man
whose eyes are stopped.' The traditional view, still held e. g.
by Gressmann, is that of R.V. text— the poet describes Balaam as
lying in a trance with the eye of flesh closed, but with the inward
eye open to ' the vision of the Almighty ' (verse 4).
4. The second line of the first distich is to be restored from
verse 16 : ' And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High.'

NUMBERS 24. 5-8. JE 329
Falling down, and having his eyes open :
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy tabernacles, O Israel !
As valleys are they spread forth,
As gardens by the river side,
As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,
As cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters,
And his king shall be higher than. Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
God bringeth him forth out of Egypt ;
He hath as it were the a strength of the a wild-ox :
He shall eat up the nations his adversaries,
And shall break their bones in pieces,
And smite them through with his arrows.
a See ch. xxiii. 22.
6. Render : ' as valleys that stretch afar.' For ' lign-aloes,'
an exotic tree not likely to be familiar to the Hebrew poet, read,
with a slight change, 'oaks.' With a poet's license, Israel's
heritage in Canaan is compared to a paradise planted with royal
trees and watered by flowing streams.
7 seems to open with a distich in praise of the abundance of
water, more particularly as required for the irrigation of the crops.
If so, the reference is strangely expressed, which has led to the
adoption by Gray and others of Cheyne's emendation : ' Peoples
shall tremble at his might, And his arm [reading zero'6 for zar'6,
both = W11 in Hebrew] shall be on many nations ' (Exp, Times,
a. 401 ; cf. Kittel, Bib. Hebraica, in he).
And his king . . . Agag : the Amalekite king captured by
Saul and slain by Samuel (1 Sam. xv. 8 f., 32 f.). If the reading
can be trusted — the oldest Versions read otherwise — this reference
provides a terminus a quo for the date of the poem.
8. For the first distich, closing the third strophe, see on xxiii.
22. This is followed in the present text by a tristich against the
analogy of all the poems, which are arranged in distichs. Omit the
second line of the three, and, by the addition of a single letter
(rs'jn for van), read the third thus : ' And shall smite down
his oppressors,' which gives an excellent parallelism.

330 NUMBERS 24. 9-15. JE
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion,
And as a lioness ; who shall rouse him up ?
Blessed be every one that blesseth thee,
And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he
smote his hands together : and Balak said unto Balaam,
I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou
11 hast altogether blessed them these three times. There
fore now flee thou to thy place : I thought to promote
thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept
12 thee back from honour. And Balaam said unto Balak,
Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest
13 unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full
of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the
Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind;
14 what the Lord speaketh, that will I speak ? And now,
behold, I go unto my people : come, and I will advertise
thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter
15 days. And he took up his parable, and said,
9. The metaphor of the first distich pourtrays the majesty of
Israel in time of peace, as the parallel in xxiii. 24 described his
irresistible power in war. The poem closes with the thought
that such is the solidarity of Yahweh and Israel that he that
blesses Israel is blessed, and he that curses him is cursed, of
Israel's God ; cf. Gen. xxvii. 29.
10-14. Balaam is dismissed by Balak with anger and contempt,
but before parting finally from the Moabite king he announces his
intention of revealing to the latter what the future holds in store
for Moab at the hand of Israel.
14. I will advertise thee : an obsolete use of ' advertise ' in
the sense of ' inform,' ' instruct.'
in the latter days : lit. ' in the end of the days,' a frequent
phrase in the prophetic literature for ' the final period of the future
so far as it falls within the range of the speaker's perspective '
(Driver). 15-17. Balaam's fourth utterance, consisting of two strophes, each
of three distichs as before. The first strophe is identical with the

NUMBERS 2-1. 16, 17. JE 331
Balaam the son of Beor saith,
And the man whose eye a was closed saith :
He saith, which heareth the words of God, 16
And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,
Which seeth the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, and having his eyes open :
I see him, but not now: if
I behold him, but not nigh :
There shall come forth a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite through the corners of Moab,
And break down all the sons b of tumult.
a Or, is opened b Or, ofSheth
corresponding lines of the third oracle (verses 3 f.) ; in the second,
the seer has a vision of Israel's future, and sees the rise of an
illustrious king who is destined to put an end to the independence
of Moab.
16. And knoweth the knowledge: to whom is revealed the
secret (Amos iii. 7) of the Most High. The presence in this
strophe of the three early names of the Deity, El (God), Elyon
(Most High), and Shaddai (Almighty), is noteworthy.
17. The second strophe : the vision ofthe future king — David.
a star out of Jacob. In Eastern imagery a star has always
been a favourite figure for a king (cf. in O.T. Isa. xiv. 12). It is
difficult to believe that the author of these lines had in view any
other than King David, who first reduced Moab to subjection
(2 Sam. viii. 2). The later Jews, ahd after them the exegesis of
the Church (cf. Rev. xxii. 16), gave the lines a Messianic interpre
tation, a view shared by some recent scholars who regard the
Balaam poems, in their present form at least, as comparatively
late productions. the corners : viz. of the head, the temples, as Lev. xix. 27.
And break down : read, as in Jer. xlviii. 45, an echo of this
passage, ' And the crown of the head ' (npip for ipnp).
all the sons of tumult : a doubtful rendering based on the
different text of Jer. he tit. The parallelism is decisive for the
marginal rendering, Sheth being probably the name of one of
the leading tribes of Moab. Render: 'And shall shatter the
temples of Moab (poetically regarded as an individual, see on
xx. 14), And the crown of all the sons cf Sheth.'

332 NUMBERS 24. 18-20. JE
18 And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir also shall be a possession, whichwere his enemies;
While Israel doeth valiantly.
'9 And out of Jacob shall one have dominion,
And shall destroy the remnant from the city.
20 And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable,
and said,Amalek was the first of the nations-,
But his latter end shall come to destruction.

Looking back on the preceding oracles, apart from their present
setting, we are justified in regarding them as a series of poems in
which expression is given to the quickened consciousness of
nationality which sprang up among the Hebrews after the estab
lishment of the monarchy, and especially after the brilliant con
quests of David. They likewise voice their authors' conviction of
the future destiny of Israel as the people of Yahweh's choice, in
which respect they may be compared with Vergil's eulogy of the
imperial destiny of Rome in the sixth book of the Aeneid. As
has recently been said, ' Israel's history as a whole is a sublime
illustration of the truth that to believe is to achieve, even though
the ultimate realization may be very different from the original
hope' (Kent, Heroes and Crises of Early Hebr. Hist, p. 224).
18-24. To the foregoing poem, which alone suits the situation as
explained in verse 14, there has been added, probably at different
times, a series of four short oracles dealing with other nations,
neighbours of the Hebrews. The received text is again exceedingly
corrupt, and the interpretation in consequence beset with insuper
able difficulties.
18 f. An oracle concerning Edom, the text of which is in great
disorder. Although it now consists of five lines, it was originally
a quatrain like the third and fourth oracles of the series. The
following is a rendering of what seems the most successful attempt
at restoration (Von Gall, Zusdmmensetzung . . . d. Bileam-Perikope,
38 f. ; cf. Gray, Numbers, p. 373, and Kittel, Bibl. Hebraica, in he) :
' And Edom shall become a possession, And the survivor shall
perish from Seir: But Israel doeth valiantly, And Jacob shall
tread down his foes.' The reference is probably to David's con
quest of Edom (2 Sam. viii. 13 f.).
20. A cryptic oracle announcing the destruction of Amalek,
with a play upon the words 'first' and 'last.'

NUMBERS 24. 21-24. JE 333
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, 21
and said, Strong is thy dwelling place,
And thy nest is set in the rock.
Nevertheless a Kain shall be wasted, 22
b Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
And he took up his parable, and said, 23
Alas, who shall live when God 0 doeth this ?
But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, 24
And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber,
And he also shall come to destruction.
a Or, the Kenites b Or, How long? Asshur &c.
* Or, establisheth him
21 f. A quatrain devoted to the Kenites, who claimed to be
descended from an eponymous ancestor, named Kain, and who
are elsewhere, as here, associated with the Amalekites (1 Sam.
xv. 6; Judges i. 16 — reading 'with Amalek' for 'with his
people'). thy nest is set in the rock. The word for ' nest ' (ken) con
tains a play on the ancestral name (Kain), while the reference is
to the almost inaccessible rock-dwellings of the tribe (cf. Obad.
3f.), perhaps in the neighbourhood of Arad in the Negeb (Judges,
he. tit.) as suggested by Ed. Meyer, Die Israeliten, p. 393 f.
22. Until Asshur, &c. : rather, 'how long? Asshur shall,'
&c. Asshur is not here Assyria, any more than in Gen. xxv. 18
(R.V.), but another tribe of the Negeb, the Asshurim of Gen. xxv. 3
(see Meyer, op. at., p. 320).
23 f. The most enigmatic of all the oracles. The text seems
beyond the reach of successful emendation (see Gray for various
recent attempts). The latest is that of Gressmann (op. tit., p. 57),
which runs thus : ' Alas, who shall live before Ishmael, And save
himself alive from their hand : They oppress Asshur and oppress
Eber, But they also shall come to destruction.'
24. from the coast of Kittim : render, ' from the direction of
Cyprus' ; Kittim is the Greek Kition. In Dan. xi. 30 this line is
applied to the galleys of Rome.
Asshur . . . Eber. Here Asshur has been variously inter
preted as referring to the Asshurites of verse 22, to Assyria, and
to the later Seleucid empire of Syria. Eber, the eponymous
ancestor of the ' Ebrews ' (Gen. x. 11, xi. 14), is a complete enigma
in this connexion.

334 NUMBERS 24. 25— 25. 3. JE
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his
place : and Balak also went his way.
25 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to
2 commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab : for they
called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods ; and
3 the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And
Israel a joined himself unto b Baal-peor : and the anger
" Or, yoked b Or, the Baal ofPeor See ch. xxiii. 28.
25. The final parting of king and seer; see the note on
xxiii. 25 f.
(c) xxv. 1 — xxvii. 23. A miscellaneous section containing the
narrative of certain lapses of the Hebrews into immorality and idolatry
(xxv), the taking of a second census (xxvi), the incident of the
daughters of Zelophehad (xxvii. 1-11), and the appointment of
Joshua to succeed Moses (12-23).
Ch. xxv is made up of a short extract (verses 1-5) from JE,
and a larger extract from P. The former is itself composite ; in
one source (J) the Hebrews, after having entered into immoral
relations with the women of Moab, join them in the worship of
Chemosh ; in the other (E), the local Baal of Mt. Peor is the object
of their idolatrous worship (note also the divergent punishments
in verses 4 and 5). In the extract from P (verses 6 ff.), on the
other hand, a plague is raging in the Hebrew camp, and in the
original narrative, the beginning of which has been omitted, the
scene was probably laid in Midian. The elders of Midian, acting
on the advice of Balaam (xxxi. 16), had apparently endeavoured
to ruin Israel by immoral means (verse 18). The compiler has
joined the two extracts on the ground that the sin was in either
case connected with foreign women.
1. And Israel abode in Shittim: more precisely 'in Abel-
shittim,' i. e. ' the meadow of the acacia trees,' the last halting-
place of the Hebrews (xxxiii. 49) before they crossed the Jordan
(Joshua ii. 1, iii. 1).
2. for they called: rather, 'and they invited,' &c. ; 'partici
pation in the sacrificial feasts is the sequel to the intimacy with
the women, not the cause of it' (Gray). For 'their gods' we
should render ' their god,' that is, Chemosh, the national deity of
the Moabites (xxi. 29).
3. joined himself unto Baal-peor : from the parallel source.
The worship was that of the local Baal of Mt. Peor (xxiii. 28) ;
the apostasy in this case is not associated with sexual immorality.

NUMBERS 25. 4-8. JE P 335
of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord 4
said unto Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and
hang them up unto the Lord before the sun, that the
fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.
And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every 5
one his men that have joined themselves unto Baal-peor.
[P] And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and 6
brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the
sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation
of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the
door of the tent of meeting. And when Phinehas, the 7
son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he
rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took
a spear in his hand ; and he went after the man of Israel 8

4. hang them up unto the MED before the sun. The nature
of the punishment to be meted out to the worshippers of Chemosh
(the connexion is with verse 2) is uncertain ; some form of violent
death, by impalement or otherwise, is clearly intended ; cf. Cent.
Bible on 2 Sam. xxi. 6, 9, where the verb is again used.
5. The continuation of verse 3 ; the reference to the judges
(Exod. xviii. 12 ff., E) suggests the source E ; the penalty in any
case is different from that of verse 4.
6-15. P tells how the zeal of Phinehas, the son of the High
Priest, in connexion with a flagrant case of immorality, was
rewarded by the Divine promise that the priesthood should
remain for ever in his family. The introduction, as has been
already said, has been omitted by the compiler, and the story
now opens while Moses and the congregation are engaged in
humiliation and prayer before God on account of a plague that has
been sent as punishment for a widespread immoral association
with the women of Midian.
6. one of the children of Israel : Zimri, a ' prince ' of one of
the Simeonite clans (verse 14).
7. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar. Phinehas (Heb. Pinlias) is
probably the Egyptian pe-nhes, ' the dark-skinned ' (EBi. sub
voce), and therefore one of the few Hebrew names that suggest an
early connexion with Egypt. The name is found later in the
family of Eli, the chief priest of Shiloh (1 Sam. iv. 4, 11).

336 NUMBERS 25. 9-15. P
into the a pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the
man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So
9 the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And
those that died by the plague were twenty and four
thousand.
10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas,
the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath
turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in
that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so
that I consumed not the children of Israel in my
12 jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my
13 covenant of peace: and it shall be unto him, and to his
seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priest
hood ; because he was jealous for his God, and made
14 atonement for the children of Israel. Now the name of
the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the
Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince
15 of a fathers' house among the Simeonites. And the
name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was
Cozbi, the daughter of Zur ; he was head of the people
of a fathers' house in Midian. a Or, alcove

11. he was jealous with my jealousy. Yahweh's 'jealousy'
is His righteous anger and resentment when the worship which is
due to Him alone is offered to false gods, or when His holiness is
injured, as here, by the defiant conduct of Zimri within the sacred
precincts of the camp. Phinehas, as it were, anticipated the
Divine resentment at such dishonour by his zeal for Yahweh.
Cf. Jehu's words : ' Come with me, and see my zeal [or jealousy]
for Yahweh ' (2 Kings x. 16).
13. the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. The dignity
of the priesthood is to continue for ever in the family of Phinehas.
Certainly the Zadokite priesthood of a later day traced their
descent from Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas (1 Chron. vi.
3-14, 50-53 ; cf. Ezra vii. 1-6).

NUMBERS. 25, i6—26, 4. P 337
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the l6
Midianites,,and smite them: for they vex you with their g
wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of
Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the
prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain on the day
of the plague in the matter of Peor.
, And it came to pass after the plague, that the Lojrd 26
spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron
the priest, saying, Take the sum of all the congregation 2
of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and
upward, by their fathers' houses,, all that, are able to go
forth to war in Israeli And Moses and Eleazar the 3
priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by the
Jordan at Jericho, saying, Take the sum of the. people, 4
16-18. This command to take vengeance on the Midianites lor
their attempt to lure the Hebrews to their ruin through the women
(see above) is meant to prepare the way for ch. xxxi (Ps), and
may have stood there originally.
17. Vex the Midianites,: rather 'make war upon,' a strong
term. The bulk of verse 18 is editorial, connecting the foregoing
incident and plague of P with 'the matter of -Peor,' i.e. the
illicit worship of Baal-peor recorded by E (verse 3).
Ch. xxvi is almost, entirely ^occupied with details of a second
census, both of the secular tribes ahd of the tribe of Levi, taken at
the end of the period of the wanderings. The order of the former
is here the same as in ch. i, except that the two tribes of Ephraim
and. Manasseh have changed places. Here, too, more details are
given as to the subdivisions of the several tribes, with the excep
tion of Dap which, strangely, enough, consists of but one large,
clan. Comparison With1 the numbers of ch. i shows that while,
the total ofthe secular tribes has sligh'tly decreased, 601,730 com-1
pared with 603,550, seven of them show a larger or smaller
increase. The changes are greatest in the case of Simeon, which
has decreased by 62-5 per cent., and of Manasseh, which has
increased by nearly 62 per cent. As regards the historicity of the
numbers here given, the modern critical attitude is the same as
was briefly set forth when dealing with the former census (see
above, pp. 190 ff.). The scene ofthe census is laid in 'the plains
of Moab,' opposite Jericho (verse 3, for which see on xxii. 1).
3 f. The. text is here in some disorder (note the italics supplied
in verse 4). The words rendered ' spake with them,' it has been
Z

338 NUMBERS 26. 5-12. P
from twenty years old and upward; as the Lord com
manded Moses and the children of Israel, which came
forth out of the land of Egypt.
5 Reuben, the firstborn of Israel : the sons of Reuben ;
of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites : of Pallu, the
6 family of the Palluites : of Hezron, the family of the
.7 Hezronites : of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These
are the families of the Reubenites : and they that were
numbered of them were forty and three thousand and
8 seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu ;
9 Eliab. And the sons of Eliab ; Nemuel, and Dathan,
and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, which
were called of the congregation, who strove against
Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah,
10 when they strove against the Lord : and the earth
Opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together
with Korah, when that company died; what time the
fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they
11 became a sign. Notwithstanding the sons of Korah
died not.
12 The sons of Simeon after their families : of a Nemuel,
* In Gen. xlvi. io, Ex. vi. 15, Jemuel.

suggested, should be read 'numbered them,' omitting the irrele
vant ' saying ' which follows. Again, ' the children of Israel ' is
not the object of the verb ' commanded ' but the subject of a new
sentence : ' Now the children of Israel, which . . . Egypt, were as
follows : Reuben,' &c.
8-10. If the main body of the chapter is from the pen of P«,
these verses will be a later addition, since they presuppose the
narrative of ch. xvi in its present composite form. Some critics,
however, regard the present chapter as wholly Pa.
11 has all the appearance of a gloss inserted by a reader as
a reminder that all Korah's family cannot have perished since
a certain temple guild of Levites— the 'sons of Korah' of
Psalms xlii-xlix and others— still bore his name (2 Ghron. xx. 19).

NUMBERS 26. 13-25. P 339
the family of the Nemuelites : of Jamin, the family of
the Jaminites : of aJachin, the family of the Jachinites :
of bZerah, the family of the Zerahites : of Shaul, the 13
family of the Shaulites. These are the families of the 14
Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred.
The sons of Gad after their families : of cZephon, the 15
family of the Zephonites : of Haggi, the family of the
Haggites : of Shuni, the family of the Shunites : of 16
dOzni, the family of the Oznites : of Eri, the family
of the Erites: of eArod, the family of the Arodites: of 17
Areli, the family of the Arelites. These are the families 18
of the sons of Gad according to those that were num
bered of them, forty thousand and five hundred.
The sons of Judah, Er and Onah : and Er and Onan 19
died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Judah 20
after their families were ; of Shelah, the family of the
Shelanites : of Perez, the family of the Perezites : of
Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. And the sons of 21
Perez were ; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites :
of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. These are the 22
families of Judah according to those that were numbered
of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five
hundred. The sons of Issachar after their families : of Tola, 23
the family of the Tolaites : of Puvah, the family of the
Punites : of f Jashub, the family of the Jashubites : of 24
Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. These are the 25
families of Issachar according to those that were num-
• In 1 Chr. iv. 24, Jarib. b In Gen. xlvi. 10, Zohar. c In
Gen. xlvi. 16, Ziphion. d In Gen. xlvi. 16, Ezbon. * In Gen.
xlvi. 16, Arodi. ' In Gen. xlvi. 13, lob.
19. died in the land of Canaan : as related in Gen. xxxviii. 3 ff.
Z 2

34° NUMBERS 26. 26-36. P
bered of them, threescore and four thousand, and three
hundred. ' ..! i> : . ¦¦¦. \ ¦¦¦
26 The sons of Zebulun after, their families. : ;of Sered, the
family of the Seredites : of Elon, the family ofthe Elon-
27 ites : of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites; These are
the families of the. Zebuluhites according to those that
were numbered of them, threescore thousand and five
hundred.
28-. 1 The sons of Joseph after thejr families : Manasseh and
29 Ephraim. The sons of Manasseh : of Machir, the family
of the Machirites :. and Machir begat Gilead : of Gilead,
30 the family of the Gileadites.. These are the sons of
Gilead : of& Iezer, the family of the Iezerites : of Helek,
31 the family of the Helekites : and ,of Asriel, the family
of the Asrielites : and.<^ Shechem, the family of the
32 Shechemites : and ^/"Shemida, the family of the Shemida-
33 ites : and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. And
Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but
daughters::" and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad
were ¦Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
34 These are the families of Manasseh : and they thatwere
numbered of them were fifty and two thousand and seven
hundred.
35 These are the sons of Ephraim after their families : of
Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites : of bBecher,
the family of the Becherites : of Tahanj.the family of the
36 Tahanites. And these are the sons of Shuthelah : of
* In Josh. xvii. z,Abiezer. See Judg. vi. 11^ 24, 34.
b In 1 Chr. vii. 20, Bered.
33. See chs xxvii and xxxvi.
35. Becher and his descendants are here reckoned as Ephraim-
ites ; elsewhere (Gen. xlvi. 21 ; 2 Sam. xx. 1) they are represented
as belonging to Benjamin.

NUMBERS 26. 37-47. P 341
Eran, the family ofthe Eranites.. These are the^families 37
ofthe sons of Ephraim according to those that were
numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five ¦
hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their
families. The sons of Benjamin after their families : of Bela, 38
the family of the Belaites : of Ashbel, the family of the
Ashbelites: of aAhiram, the family 'of the Ahiramites :
of b Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites : of 39
Hupham, the family of the Huphamites, And the sons 40
of Bela were cAr<! anti Naaman !: ' of Ard; the family1 of
the Ardites: of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.
These are the sons of Benjamin after their families : and 41
they that were numbered "of them were forty' and five
thousand arid six 'hundred.
These, are the sons of Dan after their families: of42
d Shuhamy the family of the Shuhamites. These are the
families of Dan after theit families. All the families of 43
the, Shuhamitesi'l according to those that were numbered
of them, we^e ' threescore and four thousand and four
hundred. The sons of Asher after their families : of Tmnah, the 44
family of the Imnites : of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites :
of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. Of the sons of 45
Beriah : of Heber, the family of the Heberites : of Mal-
chiel, the family of the Malchielites. : And the name of 46
the daughter of Asher was Serah. These are the families 47
of the sons of Asher according to those that were
* In Gen. xlvi. 21, Ehi in 1 Chr. viii. 1, Aharah. b In Gen.
xlvi. 21, Muppim, and Huppim ° In 1 Chr. viii. 3, Addar.
d In Gen. jrivi. 23, Hushim.
42 f. The single clan of Dan, Shuham, appears in Gen. xlvi. 23
as Hushim, as noted in the margin.

342 NUMBERS 26. 48-56. P
numbered of them, fifty and three thousand and four
hundred.
48 The sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel,
the family ofthe Jahzeelites : pf Guni, thcfamily of the
49 Gunites : of Jezer, the family ofthe Jezerites : of Shillem,
50 the family of the Shillemites. These are the families of
Naphtali according to their families : and they that were
numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four
hundred. <
51 These are they that were numbered of the children of
Israel, s,ix , hundred thousand, and a thousand seven
hundred vand .thirty. ;,-.-,
i And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Unto these
the land shall be.,divided for an inheritance according to
54 the number of names. To the more thou shalt give, the
more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the
less inheritance: to every one aecqrdjng to thpse that
were numbered of him shall his inheritance be given.
55 Notwithstanding the land shall, be divided by lot :
according to the names ofthe tribes of .their fathers they
56 shall inherit. According to the lot shall their inheritance
be divided between the more and the fewer.

52-56. General directions regarding the division of the pro
mised land, here, somewhat unexpectedly, addressed to Moses.
How the writer intended the two theoretically irreconcilable prin
ciples of the text to be applied, it is impossible to say. He is
usually taken to mean that the geographical position of the several
tribes is to be determined by lot, but that the size of the whole
area of each tribe, and of the districts or portions thereof to be
assigned to its component clans, is to be determined according to
the census returns ; hence the position of these verses in the
present context.
54. Render: 'For the (tribe or clan that is) large, thou shalt
make its inheritance large, and for that which is small thou shalt
make its inheritance small ; according to its census return shall its
inheritance be given to each (tribe or clan).'

NUMBERS 26. 57-64. P 343
And these are they that were numbered of the Levites 57
after their families : of Gershon, the family of the Ger
shonites : of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites : of
Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are the 58
families of Levi : the family of the Libnites, the family
of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family
of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And
Kohath begat Amram. And the name of Amram's wife 59
was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to
Levi in Egypt : and she bare unto Amram Aaron and
Moses, and Miriam their sister. And unto Aaron were 60
born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And 61
Nadab and Abihu died,, when they offered strange fire
before the Lord. And they that were numbered of 62
them were twenty and three thousand, every male from
a month old and upward : for they were not numbered
among the children of Israel, because there was no
inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
These are they that were numbered by Moses and 63
Eleazar the priest; who numbered the children of Israel
in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. But 64
among these there was not a man of them that were

57-62. The second numbering of the Levites, showing them to
have increased from 22,000 to 23,000 (cf. iii. 14-39).
58 represents a variant tradition — whether older or younger
than the usual tradition of three divisions is a disputed point —
according to which the priestly tribe of Levi consisted of five
divisions. All the names are met with in other lists, but either
as the grandsons or great-grandsons of Levi. Mushi, for example
— a variant fprm of the name Mosheh (Moses) — appears in the
genealogy of Exod. vi. 19 along with Mahli as, the son of Merari
and grandson of Levi (see further Gray, in he).
61. See Lev. x. 1 f. ; Num. iii. 4.
63-65. A concluding paragraph, which, in view of verse 64,
can scarcely have come from the same hand that wrote verse 4.

344 NUMBERS 26. 65— 27/3.: P
numbered by Moses arid Aaron the priest; who' num
bered the Children of Israel in 'the wilderness : of Sinai.
6 5 For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in
the wilderness. And there" was not left a man of them;
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh,' and Joshua the son
of Nun.-' - ' ' ;'
27 Then drew near the daughters ; of Zelophehad, the sort
of Hepher, the' sdn'bf Gilead, the son of -Machir, the son
of Manasseh," of the families1 of Manasseh the sbn- of
Joseph :' and these afi2! the names :i6f :his daughters';
Mahlah, Noah, and' Hoglah,- and Milcah, and Tirzah.
2 And they stood before Mosses, arid before Eleazar1 ' the
priest, and before the princes and all the' congregation,
3 at the door 'of the tent of 'meeting, saying, Our father

65.;Seexiv. 29 f., 38 (P). 'J ¦''¦ "
xxvii. 1-11. Promulgation of a new law of inheritance, by
which, in the event of a man dying without male issue, his
daughters shajl inherit. ; The: section 'clearly belongs to the
Priests' Code, b,ut whether to F* or to a later stratum (Ps) must
be left an open1 question.' For an interesting supplement to this
law, see xxxyi. I ff. . ,¦
1. the daughters of Zelophehad. The new legislation is repre
sented as having arisen out of- a special claim by the daughters of
a certain Zelophehad (xxvi. 33), of the tribe of Manasseh, to be
allowed to inherit their deceased father's property. ' Before the
exile, the Hebrew customary law of inheritance, in accord with
primitive Semitic law iii general (S. A. Cook, The Laws of Moses
and the Code of Hammurabi, p. 145 f.), recognized only male
heirs. In reality, however, the names of Zelophehad's daughters
here given are either names of Hebrew clans or place-names (see
Gray in he and on xxvi: 33, and cf. Josh. xvii. 3-6 which' records
the carrying out of this law), and the present section illustrates
the 'familiar fact that in the early law'bf all nations necessary
modifications on old law are habitually carried out bv means of
what lawyers call legal fictions' (W. Robertson Smith, OTJC2,
P.- 3^4 ; cf; Maine, Ancient Law, ed. Pollock, p. 30 ff.). A still
more evident illustration will meet us in xxxi. 27 ff.

""NUMBERS 27. 4^11. P 345
died in the wilderness, and he Was not among the com
pany of them that gathered themselves together against
the Lord in the company of Korah : but he died in his
own sin;; and he had no sons. Why should the name 4
of our father be taken away from among his family,
because he had no son ? Give unto us a -possession
among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought 5
their cause before the Lord. And the Lord spake unto 6
Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak 7
right'! thou shalt surely' give them a possession of an
inheritance among their father's brethren ; and thou
shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto
them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, 8
saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall
cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if 9
he have no daughter, then ye shall 'give his inheritance
unto his brethren. .|Ai}dif he have no brethren, then ye I0
shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. And "
if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his
inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his
family, and he shall possess it :, and it shall be unto the
children of Israel a statute of judgement, as the; Lord
commanded Moses.
3. died in the wilderness . . . in his own sin. Zelophehad
merely shared in the general sentence of death pronounced in xiv.
29 f. | he had taken no part in the special revolt of a body of lay
men under Korah's leadership (see above, pp. 278 ff).
5-11. Moses lays the case before God (cf. ix. 8, xv. 34) and is
authorized to grant the crave of the petitioners (see Joshua xvii. 3 f.
for the result). At the same time he is commanded to promulgate
a new law of inheritance of still wider scope, covering not only
the case of the man who. leaves only female issue, but thatof
a man dying without issue of either sex. In the latter case the
property goes to his brothers, whom failing, to his uncles on the
father's side, whom failing, to the next of kin (see further the notes
on xxxvi. 1 ff.).

346 NUMBERS 27. 12-ifJ. P
12 And the Lord said unto; Moses, Get thee up into this
mountain of Abarim, and behold 'the land which I have
13 given Unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast
seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as
14 Aaron thy brother was gathered : because ye rebelled
against my word in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of
the congregation, : a to sanctify me at the waters before
their eyes. (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh
J5 in the wilderness of Zin.) And Moses spake unto the
16 Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the -God of the spirits of
17 all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, which
may go out before them, and which may come in before
them, and which may lead them out, and which may
bring them in ; that the congregation of the Lord be
18 not as sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord
said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun,
a See ch. xxi 12, 13.
12-14. Preparatory to his death, Moses is commanded t6vlew
the land of promise, which he may not enter. In their present
context these verses are probably from the pen of the compiler ;
P's own statement will then be found in the parallel passage,
Deut. xxxii. 48-52.
12. this mountain of Abarim: the mountain-range in the
north-west of Moab overlooking the north end of the Dead Sea.
The particular summit of this range is given in Deut. xxxii. 49 as
'mount Nebo ... which is over against Jericho,' the modern
Neba (cf, note on Deut. xxxiv, 1 in Cent. Bible).
14. in the strife (Heb. tneribath) ofthe congregation: a play
upon the name Meribath-Kadesh. For this name and for the
exclusion of Moses and Aaron from Canaan, see the notes
on xx. 1-13.
i5-23- At Moses' earnest request, his successor is nominated in
the person of Joshua, who is subsequently set apart in the pre
sence of the High Priest and the whole congregation.
17. The expressions here used are a comprehensive indication
of the duties of the secular head of the community, with special
reference to the task of military leadership (1 Sam. xviii. 13, 16,
xxix. 6),

NUMBERS 27. 19— 28. 2. P 347
a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon
him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before 19
all the congregation; and give him a charge in their
sight. And thou shalt put of thine honour upon him, 20
that all the congregation of the children of Israel may
obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who 21
shall inquire for him by the judgement of the Urim
before the' Lord : at his word shall they go out, and at
his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children
of Israel . with him, even all the congregation. And 22
Moses did as the Lord commanded him. : and he took
Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before
all the congregation : and he laid his hands upon him, 23
and gave him a charge, as the Lord spake by the hand
of Moses.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command 28 2
21. With the passing' of MoseS the real head of the theocratic
community, according to the theory of the priestly writer, is
henceforth to be the High Priest, God will no longer com
municate with the secular leader directly, as hitherto with Moses,
but indirectly through the medium of the sacred lot as manipulated
by the High Priest. The explicit subordination of the secular to
the religious head of the community, enjoined in the latter half
of ¦this verse, has been thought to furnish a clue to the date of the
main body of P, i. e. Pg (see the Introduction to this commentary).
by the judgement of the Urim : Urim alone here and
1 Sam. xxviii. 6; elsewhere 'the Urim and the .Thummim,' the
mysterious apparatus for manipulating the sacred lot (Exod.
xxviii. 30; Lev. viii. 5), See the writer's art. in Hastings's DB.
iv. 838 ff.
Judging from the analogy of xx. 23-29, we may safely infer
that Ps, at this point, recorded the death of Moses, now trans
ferred to the closing chapter of Deuteronomy. The remainder
of the Book of Numbers contains almost exclusively material from
the secondary strata of the priestly legislation (Ps).
(d) xxviii-xxix. A table of the public offerings for the stated
festivals. The calendar of sacred seasons, compiled from H and
ps, which now forms Lev. xxiii, is here supplemented by an
elaborate table of the various offerings to be presented on behalf

348 NUMBERS 28. a.'i P
the children of Israel, and say unto them, My<bblation,
my a food for my offerings made by fire, of a sweet
. ' " Heb. bread. , i
of the cotamunity at the several stated- festivals throughout the
year. Beginning (xxviii., i-8); with th-e statutory daily offerings,
the writer proceeds to the additional offerings for the sabbath
(gf.), for the festivals of the New Moon (11-15), of Unleavened
Cakes (161-25), and of Weeks or Firstfruits (26^-31), fopithe first
day of the civil year (xxix. 1-6), for the Day of Atonement (7-11),
and finally for the great autumn festival of Booths (12-38). '
These two chapters, it need- hardly be said, contain material of
the greatest value for the histqry of the rituai of sacrifice among
the Hebrews, and may. be regarded as a reflection of the actual
ritual of the second temple at the time when they were composed.
That they are later than the main body ofjP is now generally
admitted ; on the other hand? the provisions they contain for the
daily offerings were in force' before the time of the Chronicler
(tired 306 Bit.), so that the date of the, present section may with
great probability be set down as falling within the century be
tween 400-300 b. c. (see the notes on xxviii. 3 ff.). In no other
part of the Pentateuch -legislation is the gulf more apparent that
separates the -formulated precision and sombre earnestness oLthe
later post-exilic worship .from the spontaneity, and ; joyousness of
the worship of the period vbefbre the exile (cf. the remarks on
p. 35 fi. and Gray, Numbers, . p. ,407). The nearest parallel, to
this section is supplied by the ritual ordinances of Ezek. xiv. 18-
xlvi.i 15,, although similar prespriptions, for the offerings of private
individuals are found . in thfijimaniial of, sacrifice of Lev. i-vii, in
Num; xv, and elsewhere.: . •,-;)<• ;.
The table on the opposite page shows the number and species
of the sacrificial victims prescribed for the various public sacri
fices (cf. the conspectus in C-H. Hex. i. 265). '
The most striking feature of the table is the prominence of the
sacred, number seven, alike in the numbers of the victims, in
cluding the seventy bullocks of the original feast of Booths (see
on xxix. 12 ff.), and in the duration of the feasts Nos. 4 and 8.
The pre-eminence of the feast of Booths is apparent from the large
total of 199 victims, including those ofthe supernumerary eighth
day, but excluding those of the daily sacrifice and of the sabbath
which fell within the octave. For the offerings here prescribed
are cumulative ; e. g. Nos. 2 to 8 are all in addition to No. 1,
while No. 6 is additional to Nos. 1 and 3.
xxviii. 1 f. Introduction to this section. For the term oblation
(korbSn), see on Lev. i. 2; my food, &c, on Lev. xxi. 6, iii. 11;
of a sweet savour, or. Lev. i. 9.

NUMBERS 28. 3, 4- P

349

savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in
their due season. a And thou shalt say unto them, This is 3
the offering made, by fire which ye shall offer unto the
Lord ; he-kmbs of the first year without blemish, two
day by day, for-, a continual hurnt offering. The one 4
a See Ex. xxix. 38-42.

1. Daily (Morning and Even
ing) Sacrifice 

Bullocks.

Rams.

Lambs.

Goats.

2

2. Additional for Sabbaths ...

2
3. New Moons 
2
1
7
7
I
4. Feast of Unleavened Cakes,
each day....!  '. 
2
1
1
Total for seven days ..
14
7
49
7
5. Feast of Weeks (Firstfruits)
,2
1
7
1
6. First day of 7th month
(Tishri) 
1
i
7
1
7. Day of Atonement (10th of
1 '
1
7
"' i'
8. Feast of Booths, ist day.,.;
13.
2.
14 .
„ „ 2nd ,,
12
2
14
» ,i 3rd ,,
11
2
±4
» ' >, 4th ,,
10
2
14.
,> >, 5* „
1 9
2
14
„ » 6th „
8
2
H
n „ ' 7th „
7;
2
14
)i ,1 8tn ,,
T
1
7
Total (15th to 22nd Tishri)
71
15
105
iv
(1) 3-8. The daily or perpetual (Heb. fiwW, R.V. continual)
offering, in later times, termed ' the Tamid.' The Tamid, offered
daily throughout the year, was the centre and core of the public
worship of Judaism. As heie prescribed (cf. Exod. xxix. 38-42;
Lev. vi. 8-13), it consisted of the sacrifice of a yearling male lamb
35° NUMBERS 28.]5-8. - P
lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb
5 shalt thou offer a at even ; and the tenth part of an ephah
of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with the fourth
6 part of an hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt
offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet
7 savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And
the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an
hin for the one lamb : in the holy place shalt thou pour
8 out a drink offering of strong drink unto the Lord. And
a Heb. between the two evenings.
with an accompanying cereal offering (minha) of fine flour mixed
with oil and a drink-offering of wine, offered in the early morning
and repeated in the late afternoon (for details see the Mishna
treatise Tamid, translated in Barclay, The Talmud, pp. 242 ff.).
The present law was certainly authoritative in the time of the
Chronicler (circa 300 b. c), as is evident from 1 Chron. xvi. 40 ;
2 Chron. xiii. 11, xxxi. 3. But under the monarchy the daily
offering consisted of a burnt-offering in the morning and a cereal
offering in the evening (2 Kings xvi. 15). Ezekiel also prescribes
a burnt-offering and a cereal offering, but both are to be presented
together in the morning (Ezek. xlvi. 13-15). In the light of the
foregoing it is probable that Nehemiah (x. 33) also knew of but
one offering of each kind. From these data it has been generally
concluded that the present law which requires a combined burnt
and cereal offering, both morning and evening, originated in the
period between Nehemiah and the Chronicler ; this likewise pro
vides an approximate date for the whole section (see above).
5. As regards the quantities, here and in the sequel, the ephah,
the standard dry measure, which was of the same content as the
' bath ' (6 hins) for liquids, contained originally about 65 pints,
increased later to 71 \ pints. Therefore ft, ft, and ft of an ephah
may be roughly computed at 7, 14, and 21 pints respectively, and
the hin at nearly 12 pints (see art. ' Weights and Measures ' in
Hastings's DB. iv. 910-3).
6. which was ordained in mount Sinai: a reference to
Exod. xxix. 38 ff., but, as breaking the connexion between 5 and
7, the verse is probably editorial.
7. in the holy place: here exceptionally the 'holy place'
must denote '(within) the sacred court,' where stood the altar of
burnt-offering at the base of which the wine was poured as a
libation (see Ecclus. 1. 15).
a drink offering of strong drink. Since the drink-offering

NUMBERS 28. 9-14. P 351
the other lamb shalt thou offer at even : as the meal
offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof,
thou shalt offer it, an offering made by fire, of a sweet
savour unto the Lord.
And on the sabbath day two he-lambs of the first year 9
without blemish, and two tenth parts of an ephah of fine
flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil, and the drink
offering thereof: this is the burnt offering of every sab- 10
bath, beside the continual burnt offering, and the drink
offering thereof.
And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a n
burnt offering unto the LoRd ; two young bullocks, and
one ram, seven he-lambs of the first year without blemish ;
and three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal 1 2
offering, mingled with oil, for each bullock ; and two
tenth parts of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with
oil, for the one ram; and a several tenth part of fine 13
flour mingled with oil for a meal offering unto every
lamb ; for a burnt offering of a sweet savour, an offering
made by fire unto the Lord. And their drink offerings 14
shall be half an hin of Wine for a bullock, and the third
part of an hin for the ram, and the fourth part of an hin
always consisted of grape-wine, the Hebrew word shekdr, which
elsewhere denotes all other sorts of alcoholic liquors (see on vi. 3),
must here, by exception, signify 'wine.' As so used here, the
word may be a Babylonism (the shikaru of the Babylonian ritual).
Have we here a hint of the Babylonian origin of this section ?
(2) 9 f. Additional offerings for the sabbath. It is not clear
from verse 10 whether these are intended to be presented along
with the ordinary morning and evening offerings, or, as verse 23
suggests, as additions to the morning Tamid only.
(3) 11-15. The offerings for the festival of the New Moon on
the first day of each month. The antiquity and wide prevalence
of this festival are attested by the references to it in the older
literature (Amos viii. 5; Hos. ii. 13; Isa. i. 13; 1 Sam. xx. 5 ff.—
here as a family or clan festival). Nevertheless it is ignored by

352 NUMBERS, 28. r5^25. P
for a lamb: this, is the burnt offering of every month
'5 throughput the, months of the year. And one he-goat
for a sin offering unto the Lord ; it shall be offered
beside the continual burnt offering, and the drink
offering thereof.
16 And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the
1? month, as the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth
day of this month shalj, , be a feast : seven days shall
18 unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an
10 holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work : but ye
shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering. unto
the Lord 5 two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven
he-iambs of the, first year ; they^shall be unto you witb,-
20 out blemish : and their meal offering, fine flour mingled
with oil : three tenth parts shall ye offer for a bujlock,
21 and two tenth parts for the ram; a several tenth part
22 shalt thou offer for every lamb of the seven lambs; and
one he:goat for a^sin offering, to make atonement .for
2 3 you. Ye shall offer these beside, jthe; .burnt offering of
the morning, whiqh; is for a continual burnt offering,
H After this manner ye shall offer daily,, for seven days,; the
°food of the offering made by fire, of a sweet savour
unto the Lord : it shall be offered beside the continual
2 5 burnt offering and the drink Offering thereof. And on
" Heb. bread.
the earlier legislators, doubtless on account of its association with
the widespread worship of the moon among the Semites. Ezekiel
is the first to give it a place in the' recognized calendar of sacred
festivals (xlvi. 3, 6 f., cf. the incidental mention, Num. x. 10).
(4) 16-25. The special offerings for the seven days of the festival
of Unleavened Cakes (Mazzoth). Several of the verses are taken
from Lev. xxiii. 5-8.
18. an holy convocation ... no servile work. See notes on
Lev. xxiii. 2, 7. Contrast the command of xxix. 7 below.

NUMBERS 28. 26— 29. 3. P 353
the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation ; ye
shall do no servile work.
Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye offer a new 26
meal offering unto the Lord in y 'our feast of weeks, ye
shall have an holy convocation ; ye shall do no servile
work: but ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet 27
savour unto the Lord ; two young bullocks, one ram,
seven he-lambs ofthe first year ; and their meal offering, 28
fine flour mingled with oil, three tenth parts for each
bullock, two tenth parts for the one ram, a several tenth 29
part for every lamb of the seven lambs ; one he-goat, to 30
make atonement for you. Beside the continual burnt 31
offering, and the meal offering thereof, ye shall offer
them (they shall be unto you without blemish), and their
drink offerings.
And in the seventh month, on the first day of the 29
month, ye shall have an holy convocation ; ye shall do
no servile work : it is a day of blowing of trumpets unto
you. And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet 2
savour unto the Lord ; one young bullock, one ram,
seven he-lambs of the first year without blemish : and 3
their meal offering, fine flour mingled with oil, three

(5) 26-31. The special offerings for 'the day of Firstfruits,'
a name not found again for the festival which originally marked
the close of the grain harvests (barley and wheat), and is else
where termed ' the feast of harvest ' (Exod. xxiii. 16), and ' the
feast of weeks ' (ib. xxxiv, 22 ; cf. verse 26 here ' in your [feast
of] weeks ' ). Cf. throughout Lev. xxiii. 15 ff., and see the note on
verses 18-20 there.
27. At the close of this verse insert the words within parentheses
in verse 31, which have accidentally dropped out of their proper
place (cf. close of verse 19).
(6) xxix. 1-6. The additional offerings for the first day of the
seventh month (Tishri), here termed 'the day of the trumpet-
blast' (cf. Lev. xxiii. 24, and note p. 155), the New Year's Day of
A a

354 NUMBERS 29. 4-12. P
tenth parts for the bullock, two tenth parts for the ram,
4 and one tenth part for every kmb of the seven lambs ;
5 and one he-goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for
6 you : beside the burnt offering of the new moon, and the
meal offering thereof, and the continual burnt offering
and the meal offering thereof, and their drink offerings,
according unto their ordinance, for a sweet savour, an
offering made by fire unto the Lord.
7 And on the tenth day of this seventh month ye shall
have an holy convocation ; and ye shall afflict your souls ;
8 ye shall do no manner of work : but ye shall offer a burnt
offering unto the Lord for a sweet savour; one young
. bullock, one ram, seven he-lambs of the first year ; they
9 shall be unto you without blemish : and their meal offer
ing, fine flour mingled with oil, three tenth parts for the
10 bullock, two' tenth parts for the one ram, a several tenth
part for every Iamb of the seven lambs : one he-goat for
11 a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and
the continual burnt offering, and the meal offering there
of, and their drink offerings.
12 And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye
shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile
work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven
the civil year. The seventh month of the ecclesiastical year, the
first of the civil year, was the festival month par excellence.
(7) 7-1 1. The Day of Atonement arid its special offerings apart
from those prescribed for the Tamid, and for the special ceremony
from which this day, the tenth Of Tishri, derived its name (Lev.
xvi, xxiii. 26-32).
7. ye shall do no manner of work. The abstention from work
is to be absolute as on the sabbath, not partial as in xxviii. 18, and
verses 12, 35 below ; cf. Lev. xxiii. 28.
(8) 12-38. The offerings for the original feast of Booths
(Tabernacles), which lasted seven days from the 15th to the
21st of Tishri inclusive, followed (35-38) by those for the super-

NUMBERS 29. 13-25. P 355
days: and ye shall offer a. burnt offering, an offering 13
made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord ; thirteen
young bullocks, two rams, fourteen he-lambs of the first
year ; they shall be without blemish : and their meal 14
offering, fine flour mingled with oil, three tenth parts for
every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth parts
for each ram of the two rams, and a several tenth part 15
for every lamb of the fourteen lambs : and one he-goat 16
for a sin offering ; beside the continual burnt offering, the
meal offering thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young 1 7
bullocks, two rams, fourteen he-lambs of the first year
without blemish : and their meal offering and their drink iS
offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs,
according to their number, after the ordinance : and one 19
he-goat for a sin offering ; beside the continual burnt
offering,, and the meal offering thereof, and their drink
offerings. And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, four- 20
teen he-lambs of the first year without blemish ; and their 2 1
meal offering and their drink offerings, for the bullocks,
for the rams, and for the lambs; , according to their, num
ber, after the ordinance: and one he-goat "for a sin 22
offering; beside the continual burnt offering,, and the
meal offering thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, fourteen 23
he-lambs of the first year without blemish :. their meal a 4
offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the
rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after
the ordinance : and one he-goat for a sin offering ; beside 25
numerary eighth day, for which see above, p. 156 f. The table
' given above shows the massing of sacrificial victims which marked
this festival. It will be noted that while the other victims re-
A a 2

356 NUMBERS 29. 26-37. P
the continual burnt offering, the meal offering thereof,
and the drink offering thereof.
26 And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, fourteen
27 he-lambs of the first year without blemish : and their
meal offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks,-
for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their nura-
28 ber, after the ordinance : and one he-goat for a sin
offering ; beside the continual burnt offering, and the
meal offering thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
29 And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, four-
3° teen he-lambs of the first year without blemish : and their
meal offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks,
for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their
31 number, after the ordinance : and one he-goat for a sin
offering ; beside the continual burnt offering, the meal
offering thereof, and the drink offerings thereof.
32 And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams,
33 fourteen he-lambs of the first year without blemish : and
their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bul
locks, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their
34 number, after the ordinance : and one he-goat for a sin
offering ; beside the continual burnt offering, the meal
offering thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
35 On the '-eighth' day ye shall have a a solemn assembly :
36 ye shall do no servile work : but ye shall offer a burnt
offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto
the Lord : one bullock, one ram, seven he-lambs of the
37 first year without blemish: their meal offering and their
drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the
* See Lev. xxiii. 36.

mained the same through the first seven days, the number of
bullocks diminished throughout by one, making a total of 70 in all.

NUMBERS 29. 38—30. 2. P 357
lambs, shall be according to their number, after the
ordinance : and one he-goat for a sin offering ; beside 38
the continual burnt offering, and the meal offering
thereof, and the drink offering thereof.
These ye shall offer unto the Lord in your set feasts, 39
beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your
burnt offerings, and for your meal offerings, and for your
drink offerings, and for your peace offerings. B And Moses 40
told the children of Israel according to all that the Lord
commanded Moses.
And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes of the 30
children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the
Lord hath commanded. When a man voweth a vow '
unto the Lord, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul
with a bond, he shall not D break his word ; he shall do
ft [Ch. xxx. 1 in Heb.] > b Heb. profane.

39 f. The subscription or colophon of the section emphasizing
the fact that all the preceding offerings are public sacrifices on
behalf of the community, and take no account of the large variety
of private offerings, which may be presented by individuals or
families. (e) xxx. The validity of women's vows.
This chapter, which forms an independent section of the later
legislation, is supplementary both to the general law of Lev. xxvii,
and to the more special law of the Nazirite vow, Num. vi. 13 ff.
The introductory formula (see below), peculiarities of phraseology
and the general style compel the attribution to Ps rather than
to PB. The persons whose vows are here dealt with are of two
classes: (a) persons sui iuris, viz. men, understood to be of age
(verse 2), arid widows and divorced wives (9) ; and (b) persons
not sui iuris but under the tutelage of fathers or husbands, viz.
young unmarried women (3-5), women married while under
a vow (6-8) and married women generally (10-15).
1. Note the absence ofthe familiar formula of PB : ' And Yahweh
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel';
also the expression, 'the heads of the tribes,' Sec, found only
here in the Pentateuch.
2. to bind his soul with a bond: rather 'to bind himself

358 NUMBERS 30. 3-8. P
3 according to all1 that proceedeth out of his mouth. Also
when a woman voweth a vow unto the Lord, and bindeth
herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in her
4 youth; and her father heareth her vow, and her bond
wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father
holdetlvhis peiaee at her : then all her vows shall stand,
and every bond Wherewith she hath bound her soul shall
5 stand! ' But if her father disallow her in the day that he
heareth; none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith
she hath bound her soul, shall stand : and the Lord
6 shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. And
if she be married to a husband, while her voWs are upon
her, or the rash utterance of her lips, wherewith she hath
7 bound her soul ; and her husband hear it, and hold his
peace at her in the day that he heareth it : then her vows
shall stand, .and* her bonds wherewith she hath bound
8 her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallow her in
by a pledge of abstinence.' The terminology of this chapter
is singular in distinguishing between a positive and a negative
vow. By the former, a person binds himself to db or give some
thing, by the latter to abstain from doing or enjoying something.
In the earlier terminology both are included under the general
term 'vow ' (neder), which is applied both to the vow of a Jephthah
or a Hannah, and to the vow of the Nazirite which was purely
a vow of abstinence. Here, however, the term ' vow ' is confined
to the former species of pledge, while the pledge of abstinence
is denoted by the unique term 'issdr, rendered 'bond.' A man
sui iuris is bound under all circumstances to perform his vow and
to keep his pledge of abstinence.
3-5. The vows and pledges of a young unmarried woman still
under her father's guardianship.
4. and her father heareth her vow: a misleading rendering;
the context requires : ' and her father comes to hear of her vow '
(cf. verse 8). When this happens, it may be some time after the
vow has been formally uttered, the father — in other cases, the
husband — must then and there interpose with his veto, if he dis
approves of the vow, or ' for ever hold his peace.'
6-8. The case of a young Woman who takes a vow or pledge

NUMBERS 30. 9-15. P 359
the day that he heareth it ; then he shall make void her
vow which is upon her, and the rash utterance of her
lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul : and the Lord
shall forgive her. But the vow of a widow, or of her 9
that is divorced, even every thing wherewith she hath
bound her soul, shall stand against her. And if she 'o
vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by
a bond with an oath, and her husband heard it, and held n
his peace at her, and disallowed her not; then all her
vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound
her soul shall stand. But if her husband made them 12
null and void in the day that he heard them ; then
whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her
vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not
stand: her husband hath made them void; and the
Lord shall forgive her. Every vow, and every binding 13
oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or
her husband may make it void. But if her husband '4
altogether hold his peace at her from day to day ; then
he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are
upon her : he hath established them, because he held
his peace at her in the day that he heard them. But if 15
he shall make them null and void after that he hath

while under her father's tutelage without the latter intervening ;
when she passes at marriage under her husband's guardianship,
the latter has the right of veto under the same limitation as before.
8. This verse, in which widows and divorced wives are uncon
ditionally bound, as being sui iuris, comes in awkwardly at this
point, and may have got displaced from a position after verse 15,
or it may be a later addition to the original law.
10-15. The case of married women generally, the natural con
tinuation of 6-8.
13. every binding; oath to afflict the soul : the latter ex
pression elsewhere denotes ' to fast ' (see on Lev. xvi. 29) ; here
it denotes any and every form of abstinence.

360 NUMBERS 30. 16— 31. 2. P
16 heard them ; then he shall bear her iniquity. These are
the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between
a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter,
being in her youth, in her father's house.
31 2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the
children of Israel of the Midianites : afterward shalt thou

15. he shall bear her iniquity. When the husband interposes
with his veto at the proper time no ,guilt is incurred by either
party ; but if, at a later time, he illegally vetoes his wife's vow,
the guilt incurred falls not upon her but upon her husband.
(f) xxxi. A holy war against Midian, and legislation based
thereon. 1 Moses is commanded to organize an expedition for the pur
pose of executing ' the Lord's vengeance on Midian.' For this
jihad, or holy war, an army of 12,000 men is sent out under the
leadership Of Phinehas, the priest — Joshua is nowhere mentioned
— with the extraordinary result that the whole adult male popu
lation of Midian is exterminated and their homes burnt without
the loss of a single man of the Hebrew army ! (1-12, 49"). On the
return of the; latter with their spoil of persons and property,
Moses commands the immediate execution of all the male children
and of all the Midianite women with the exception of those still
virgin (13-18). On this follows a couple of legal enactments, the
first of which prescribes the ceremonial purifications necessary
after a campaign (19-24), while the second lays down the prin
ciples which are henceforth to regulate the division of the spoils
of war (25-54).
In this chapter we have one of the latest additions to the com
plex priestly legislation of the Pentateuch. The story of this
wonderful crusade is not history — nor was it seriously intended
to be taken for history, Which from the apologetic standpoint
is a distinct gain— but an illustration of the method by which
the later Jewish authorities sought to invest certain laws with
a more authoritative sanction by providing them with a Mosaic
precedent. Thus there is unimpeachable authority for believing
that the law of the equal division of the booty taken in war was
first introduced by David (1 Sam. xxx. 24 f.) : here, by a recogi
nized ' legal fiction ' (see reference to OTJC2 above, p. 344), it is
attributed to Moses (see further op. cit. 386 f. ; cf. Gray, Numbers,
pp. 418 ff., who thinks that 'though as a whole unhistorical, the
narrative may and doubtless does contain some traditional ele
ments, such as the names of the five kings ').

NUMBERS 31. 3-12. P 361
be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto 3
the people, saying, Arm ye men from among you for the
war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the
Lord's vengeance on Midian. Of every tribe a thou- 4
sand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to
the war. So there were delivered, out of the thousands 5
of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand
armed for war. And Moses sent them, a thousand of 6
every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son
of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the
sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
And they warred against Midian, as the Lord com- 7
manded Moses ; and they slew every male. And they 8
slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain;
Evi, and Rekern, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five
kings of Midian : Balaam also the son of Beor they slew
with the sword. And the children of Israel took captive 9
the women of Midian and their little ones ; and all their
cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took
for a prey. And all their cities in the places wherein 10
they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with
fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both 11
of man and of beast. And they brought the captives, 12
and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto
Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the
children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab,
which are by the Jordan at Jericho.
3. the LORD'S vengeance on Midian: see xxv. 16-18, and
the notes on verses 3-1 1 of that chapter.
6. with the vessels ofthe sanctuary: also rendered, 'the furni
ture of the sanctuary ' (iv. 15). Can the author of this Midrash have
intended the ark to take the field in this holy war (see on x. 35 f.) ?
The words, however, may also be rendered ' with the holy (i. e.
priestly) garments.' For the trumpets see x. 9 above.

362 NUMBERS 31. 13-19. *
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes
of the congregation, went forth to meet them without
14 the camp. ' And Moses was wroth with the officers of
the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of
hundreds, which came from the service of the war.
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the
16 women alive? Behold, these caused the children of
Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass
against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so the
1 7 plague was among the congregation of the Lord. Now
therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill
every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 But all the women children, that have not known man
l9 by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And
encamp ye without the camp seven days : whosoever
'  : — n  —  rr, 
13-18. ;Moses is indignant that the women in particular were
spared, since these were the cause of Israel's fall with its fatal
results (xxv. 8 f.), and commands all the survivors, male arid
female, with the exception of the female children and the virgines
intactae, to be slain forthwith.
16. in the matter of Peor : perhaps editorial, both here and
in xxv. 18, since there was no historical connexion between the
apostasy to the Moabite Baal and the sin ofthe Midianite women
(see on p. 334).
XT. That this total extirpation ofthe Midianites belongs to the
realm of pious imagination rather than of sober history is shown
by the narrative of Judges vi-viii.
19-24. Regulations for the purification of the warriors, their
garments, and all their impedimenta. This custom of the purifi
cation of warriors after battle has many and widespread analogies
among primitive peoples (see Frazer, Golden Bough, i. 331-9;
Gray, op. tit., p. 243 f. ; Farnell, The Evolution of Religion, p. 941).
19 f. The provisions of this enactment resemble those of xix.
1 Dr. Farnell cites the case of a North American tribe of Indians
which 'was extirpated because it needed a month to wipe off the
stain of a single conflict, while their enemies needed [as here] only a
week for that purpose, and therefore had the advantage of three
weeks' start in preparing for the next attack ! '

NUMBERS 31. 20-26. P 363
hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any
slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the
seventh day, ye and your captives. And as to every 20
garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of
goats' hair, and all things made of wood, ye shall purify
yourselves. And Eleazar the priest said unto the men 21
of war which went to the battle, This is the statute of
the law Which the Lord hath commanded Moses : how- 22
beit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin,
and the lead, every thing that may abide the fire, ye 23
shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean;
nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of a separa
tion : and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to
go through the water. And ye shall wash 'your clothes 24
on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward
ye shall come into the camp.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the 35
sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of
a Or, impurity
12-22, also belonging to late strata of P. To ' purify ' is here, as
there, literally to ' un-sin,' for which see on Lev. iv. 3.
21-24. Additional, and probably later, instructions on the same
subject given by Eleazar. The most striking feature of these
additional regulations is that after 'everything that may abide
the fire' has been purified by this medium, it must be further
'un-sinned' by means of the 'water for impurity' (see on xix. 9)—
a seemingly unnecessary procedure which has led many to regard
the introduction of the latter cathartic as a later gloss (cf. follow
ing note).
23. ye shall make to go through the water : rather 'through
water,' no doubt 'living ' or running water (Lev. xiv. 5), but not
the special 'water of separation.' Probably only the two ordinary
media of lustration, fire and water, were mentioned in the original
law. For the universal use of these media see Tylor, Primitive
Culture, 3rd ed., pp. 429 ff-
25-31. A precedent is sat up to determine the principle on
which the spoils of war, so far as female captives and cattle are

364 NUMBERS 31. 27-32. P
beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the
27 fathers' houses of the congregation: and divide the prey
into, two parts; between the men skilled in war, that
28 went out to battle, and all the congregation: and levy
a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war that went out
to battle : one soul of five hundred, both of the persons,
and of the beeves, and of the asses, :and of the flocks :
29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest,
30 for the Lord's heave offering./ : And of the children of
Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty,
of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the
flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the
Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the
31 Lord. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the
32 Lord commanded Moses. Now the prey, over and
above the booty which the men of war took, was six
hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thou-
concerned, are henceforth to be divided. These are first of all
divided numerically into two halves, one to go to the actual com
batants, the other to the rest of the ' congregation ' who have
remained in the camp (cf. 1 Sam. xxx. 24 f.";'. also Joshua xxii.
8 end). From each of these moieties a tax is to be levied for the
maintenance of the clergy; ^yth, or $th per cent, ofthe soldiers'
share is to be a contribution to Yahweh for the support of the
priests ; while ^jth, or 2 per cent., of the congregation's share is
appointed for the support of the more numerous body of Levites.
29. for the LORDS heave offering- : rather, ' as a (special)
contribution to Yahweh' (see on Lev. vii. 14). In verses 28 and
41 it is called a ' tribute,' or rather a ' tax.'
30. which keep the charge, &c. See on i. 53.
32-47. The carrying out of the preceding regulations.
32. over and above the booty: render: 'which remained of
the booty,' after the massacre ordered in verse 17, and after de
ducting the animals that had died or been killed for food^on the
way. The enormous and indeed impossible totals may be here
set down, viz. small cattle, including goats as well as the ' sheep '
of the text, 675,000; neat cattle or 'beeves,' 72,000; asses,
61,000; and virgins, 32,000.

NUMBERS 31. 33-49. P 365
sand sheep, and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 33
and threescore and one thousand asses, and thirty and 34
two thousand persons in all, of the women that had not
known man by lying with him. And the half, which was 36
the portion of them that went out to war, was in number
three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven
thousand and five hundred sheep: and the Lord's 37
tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and
fifteen. And the beeves were thirty and six thousand ; 38
of which the Lord's tribute was threescore and twelve.
And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred ; of 39
which the Lord's tribute was threescore and one. And 4°
the persons were sixteen thousand ; of whom the Lord's
tribute was thirty and two persons. And Moses gave 41
the tribute, which was the Lord's heave offering, unto
Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
And ofthe children of Israel's half, which Moses divided 42
off from the men that warred, (now the congregation's 43
half was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand,
seven thousand and five hundred sheep, and thirty and 44
six thousand beeves, and thirty thousand and five hundred 45
asses^ and sixteen thousand persons ;) even of the children 46
of Israel's half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty,
both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites,
which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord ; as
the Lord commanded Moses. And the officers which 48
were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thou
sands, and the captains of hundreds, came hear unto
Moses : and they said unto Moses, Thy servants have 49
taken the sum of the men of war which are under our
48-54. As a ransom for their lives the officers present an offer
ing to Yahweh, consisting of the various gold ornaments that
formed their share of the general loot.

366 NUMBERS 31. 50-54. P
50 charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. And we
have brought the Lord's oblation, what every man hath
gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle chains, and bracelets,
signet-rings, earrings, and a armlets, to make atonement
51 for our souls before the Lord. And Moses and Eleazar
the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
5 ' And all the gold of the heave offering that they offered
up to the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the
captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred
53 and fifty shekels. (h For the men of war had taken booty,
54 every man for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the
priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of
hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, for
a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.
a Or, necklaces b See ver. 32.
SO. of jewels of gold : rather ' of gold ornaments,' a compre
hensive expression of which the particulars follow, corresponding
to the ' wrought jewels,' rather ' ornaments ' or ' objects of art,'
of the following verse.
ankle chains: really 'armlets,' or arm-bands, an ornament
worn on the upper part of the arm, see on 2 Sam. i. 10 (Cent.
Bible). The meaning, of the word rendered ' armlets' (marg. neck
laces) in the text is unknown. See further the writer's art.
' Ornaments ' in Hastings's DB. (1909).
to make atonement (kapper) for our sonls: render 'to be
a ransom for our lives ' ; the idea is the same as in Exod. xxx., 12,
where the corresponding substantive (kopher) is used (see
Bennett, Cent. Bible, in he). The officers had risked the Divine
displeasure in taking a census of their men 1
52. The value in sterling money of 16,750 gold shekels, at the
rate of 41 shillings to the shekel (see Hastings's DB. iii. 419 f.),
is approximately ^34, 340.'
53. is probably a marginal gloss referring to the share of the
common soldiers in the loot (Judges viii. 24 ff.), and not, as the
margin suggests, to the spoil of verse 32.
54. for a memorial, &c. : rather ' for a remembrance,' that

1 In Kautzsch, Die Heilige Schrift d.A.T. (1908), in loc., the
value is wrongly given as 'over 43,500 marks '=£2, 175, the value of
the corresponding number of silver shekels.

NUMBERS 32. i, 2. P 367
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad 32
had a very great multitude of cattle : and when they saw
the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold,
the place was a place for cattle; the children of Gad and 2
the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and
to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the con-
Yahweh may be reminded of His people, see on x. 10 (cf.,note
oh v. 15).
(g) xxxii. The tribes of Reuben and Gad (and part of Manasseh)
are allotted territory east ofthe Jordan (cf. Deut. iii. 12 ff.).
The pastoral tribes of Gad and Reuben approach , Moses with
the request to be allowed to settle in the newly-conquered terri
tory east of the Jordan. Moses, at first indignant at their apparent
selfishness, afterwards grants their request on their undertaking
to assist the remaining tribes in their conquest of the country
west of the Jordan. The association of ' the half tribe of
Manasseh' (verse 33) with the two tribes above named is due to
an editor, who wished to add a separate extract telling in reality
of the independent conquests of the three Manassite clans of
Machir, Jair, and Nobah (39-42). The main body of the chapter
(1-32, 34-38) is best regarded as a free composition from the pen
of a late priestly writer, working from older materials in JE and
P. See C-H. Hex. ii. 239 for a summary of the ' many conflict
ing phenomena,' which are doubtless due to the fact that the
original sources reflected the geographical position of the tribes
named at different epochs of their history. The arts. ' Gad,'
' Manasseh,' ' Reuben,' in the standard dictionaries should also be
consulted. 1. Beuhen « . . Gad: the normal order according to the
genealogical tradition, but elsewhere in this chapter the order is
Gad, Reuben. The latter tribe lost its pre-eminence at an early
period, and ultimately its individuality.
the land of Jazer. See on xxi. 24 ; cf. verses 3, 35 below.
the land of Gilead. Probably no O.T. geographical term is
so elastic as Gilead (see Gray, in he, and the dictionaries). Some
times it is used of the whole of the country between the Arnon
and the Yarmuk, which is divided into two halves by the Jabbok
(Wady Zerka) ; at other times it is applied to either of these
halves. Thus, in verse 29 below, ' the land of Gilead ' denotes
the country south of the Jabbok, in which were situated all the
places named in verses 3, 34-37- This is its most frequent appli
cation, but in verse 39 (a different source) it must denote the
country north of the Jabbok.

368 NUMBERS 32. 3-9. V
3 gregation, 'saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and
a Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and b Sebam, and
4 Nebo, and c Beon, the land which the:LoRD smote before
the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy
5 servants have cattle; And they; said, If we have found
grace in thy sight, let this land be. given unto thy servants
6 for a possession ; bring us not over Jordan. And Moses
said unto the children of Gad and to the children of
Reuben, Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye
7 sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the
children of Israel from going over into the land which
8 the Lord hath given them ? Thus did your fathers, when
9 I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For
when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw
the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of
1 In ver, 36, Beth-nimrah. b In ver. 38, Sibmah.
, , c In ver. 38, Baal-meon.
3. Of the nine towns here named, the first four, according ,to
verses 34^38, fell to Gad, the remaining five to Reuben. They
all lay, as has been said, between the Arnon and the, Jabbok. Of
the former Moabite cities here named, several are mentioned in
the inscription of King Mesha (circa 860 B. a).
Ataroth, the modern 'Attarus, in a line with the mouth of
the Wady Zerka Ma'in, of which Mesha records : ' the men of Gad
occupied the land of Ataroth from of old,' &c. .(line 10).
Dibon, the modern Dhiban, four miles north of the Arnon,
the Dibon-Gad of xxxiii. 45 f., and the capital of Mesha. who
styles himself 'the Dibonite' (1. 1 f.). Of the others the best
known is Heshbon, to-day Hesban, the former capital of Sihon
according to xxi. 25 ff., Deut'i. 4, &c. Wimrah, or Beth-Nimrah
(36), is the modern Nimrin, on the edge of the Jordan valley.
Beon, if not a copyist's slip for Meon, may be an intentional dis
figurement of Baal-meon (see on verse 38 ; cf. Peor and Baal-
peor), also named Beth-meon (Jer. xlviii. 23) and even Beth-baal-
meon (Joshua xiii. 17 and Mesha, I. 30). The form Meon survives
in the modern Ma'in south-west of Medeba, which gives its name
to the Wady Zerka Ma'in above mentioned.
8-13 contain a summary of chs. xiii-xiv in their present com
posite form, which shows the late origin of this chapter.

NUMBERS 32. 10-19. p 369
Israel, that they should not go into the land which the
Lord had given them. And the Lord's anger was 10
kindled in that day, and he sware, saying, Surely none of 1 1
the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years
old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they
have not wholly followed me : save Caleb the son of 12
Jephunneh the; Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun :
because they have wholly followed the Lord. And the 13
Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made
them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years,
until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight
of the Lord, was consumed. And, behold, ye are risen 14
up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to
augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.
For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave 15
them .in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this
people. And they came near unto him, and said, We 16
will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for
our httle ones ; but we ourselves will be ready armed to 17
go before the children of Israel, until we have brought
them unto their place : and our little ones shall dwell in
the. fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
We will not return unto our houses, until the children of 18
Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we 19
will not inherit with them on the other side Jordan, and

14. an increase: rather, 'a brood ' of. sinful men.
17. we ourselves will he ready armed, Sec. : lit. ' we will
arm ourselves (and march) fully equipped "at the head of the
children of Israel ' ; ' ready ' of A.V. and R.V. represents a common
military technical term (Exod. xiii. 18 ; Joshua i. 14,. iv. 12, &c.)
 a letter of which has been dropped in the Hebrew text here —
meaning originally ' in companies of fifty,' then ' fully equipped '
for a campaign (Meyer, Die Israelilen, p. 501).
Bb

370 NUMBERS 32. 20-31. P
forward ; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this
20 side Jordan eastward. And Moses said unto them, If ye
will do this thing ; if ye will arm yourselves to go before
ai the Lord to the war, and every armed man of you will
pass over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven
22 out his enemies from before him, and the land be subdued
before the Lord : then afterward ye shall return, and be
guiltless towards the Lord, and towards Israel ; and this
land shall be unto you for a possession before the Lord.
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against
24 the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. Build
you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep ;
and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
35 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben
spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my
26 lord commandeth. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks,
and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead :
25- but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed
for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith.
28 So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the
priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads
of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of
a« Israel. And Moses said unto them, If the children
of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you
over Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before
the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you;
then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a posses-
30 sion : but if they will not pass over with you armed, they
shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben
28 ff. Moses charges Eleazar, Joshua, the future commander-
in-chief, and the heads of the various septs (see on i. 2), to see to
it that Gad and Reuben fulfil the conditions agreed to.

NUMBERS 32. 32-39. P 371
answered, saying, As the Lord hath said unto thy
servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before 32
the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of
our inheritance shall remain with us beyond Jordan.
And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of 33
Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto the half
tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of
Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og
king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof
with their borders, even the cities of the land round
about. And the children of Gad built Dibon, and 34
Ataroth, and Aroer; and Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, 35
and Jogbehah ; and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran : fenced 36
cities, and folds for sheep. And the children of Reuben 37
built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim ; and Nebo, 38
and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sib-
mah : and gave other names unto the cities which they
builded. And the children of Machir the son of Manas- 39
33. An editorial addition, introducing without explanation the
' half tribe of Manasseh,' evidently with a view to the addition of
verses 39-42 to the lists of the Gadite and Reubenite cities in
34-38- 34-36. A list of eight cities rebuilt (so render for ' built ' of the
text), or restored after the war of conquest, by the tribe of Gad.
Of the four not mentioned in verse 3, the best known is Aroer,
probably the modern 'Ara'ir, on the north bank of the Arnon,
almost due south of Dibon.
37 f. A similar list of cities rebuilt or restored by the Reuben-
ites. Elealeh is El 'AI, two miles north of Heshbon ; Kiriathaim
is mentioned by Mesha (1. 10) between Baal-meon and Ataroth.
For Nebo (Mesha, I. 14) see on xxvii. 12.
38. their names being- changed: probably a marginal note
by a reader suggesting that the two preceding place-names should
not be pronounced as written, in order to avoid naming the two
heathen deities, the Babylonian Nebo and Baal (cf. the alteration
of the names Meri-baal and Ish-baal into Mephibosheth and
Ish-bosheth, for which see Cent. Bible on 2 Sam. ii. 8, iv. 4).
39-42. An independent fragment from a history of the wars of
n b 2

372 NUMBERS 32. 40— 33. 1. P
seh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the
40 Amorites which were therein. And Moses gave Gilead
unto Machir the son of Manasseh ; and he dwelt therein.
41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took, the towns
42 thereof, and called them a Havvoth-jair. And Nobah
went- and took Kenath, and the b villages thereof, and
called it Nobah, after his own name.
33 These are the ° journeys of the children of Israel,
a That is, The towns of Jair. b Heb. daughters.
0 Or, stages
the conquest (with the exception of the editorial verse 40), akin
to Judges i. It tells of the successful raid of three Manassite
clans on the portion of Gilead lying north of the Jabbok. The
clans were no doubt previously settled in Western Palestine (for
the probable actual history of these clans see Ed. Meyer, Die
Israeliten, Sec, 516 ff. ; cf. Driver's art. 'Manasseh' in Hastings's
PB.). 41. the towns thereof . . . Havvoth-jair: lit. ' the tent- villages
thereof, and called them Jair's tent-villages' (cf. the editorial
insertion based on this passage in Deut. iii. 12). But in Judges x.
3 ff., these ' villages ' are said to have been founded at a later period
by Jair the Gileadite, one of the ' Minor Judges.'
(h) xxxiii. 1-49. An annotated itinerary of the route from Egypt
to the Jordan.
This elaborate study of the route of the Hebrews from the land
of Goshen to the valley of the Jordan contains material drawn
from all the existing sources of the Pentateuch. It may, there
fore, well be 'the work of a learned Jew of Jerusalem about the
end of the fifth century b. c' (Guthe). Eorty-two stations are
named, including Rameses, the starting-point, a number probably
not accidental (cf. Matt. i. 17). Of these no fewer than twenty-
two are not named elsewhere in the Pentateuch, while places
mentioned elsewhere, such as Massah, Meribah, Taberah, and
those named in Num. xxi. 12-20, are passed over. Of the former
class some may have been preserved in traditions, oral or written,
which are now lost to us ; others may be names of caravan-stations
of the writer's own day. In any case the exceedingly complicated
problem of the route of the Hebrews, including as its central crux
the site of the mountain of legislation, is not greatly helped to
a solution by this late attempt to reconcile the variant traditions

NUMBERS 33. 2-7. P 373
a when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their
hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses 2
wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the
commandment of the Lord : and these are their jour
neys according to their goings out. And they journeyed 3
from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of
the first month ; on the morrow after the passover the
children of Israel went out with an high hand in the
sight of all the -Egyptians, while the Egyptians were 4
burying all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten
among them : upon their gods also the Lord executed
judgements. And the children of Israel journeyed from 5
Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. And they journeyed 6
from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the
edge of the wilderness. And they journeyed from Etham, 7
1 Or, by which
of the older sources. For the more or less plausible identifications
that have been suggested for the places enumerated in this chapter
— of which not more than ten or twelve can be identified with
certainty — the student must consult the larger commentaries and
the dictionaries, also the following recent studies of the route-as
a whole : Guthe, art. ' Wiistenwanderungen,' in Hauck's PRE3,
vol. xxi (1908); Lagrange, Rev. Biblique, ix (1900), several
articles ; Bonhoff, Theol. Stud. u. Krit. lxxx (1907), pp. 159-217 ;
Weill, Rev. des Etudes Juives, lvii (1909I, several articles now
published in book form : Le sijour des Israelites, Sec. See also
Musil's map of Arabia Petraea and his three vols, with this title.
1. These are the journeys: better as margin 'the stages . . .
by which.'
2. The latter half of this verse, 'and these are their journeys
(stages),' &C, is probably the original continuation of verse 1 ; the
first half, in this case, is the addition of an editor who regarded the
whole Pentateuch, and therefore this chapter, as Mosaic. ;
3. from Barneses: Exod. xii. 37. Flinders Petrie (Hyksos
and Israelite Cities) claims to have discovered the site at Tell er-
Retabeh, about twenty miles west of Ismailiyeh.
S. Succoth, the first stage, Egyptian Thuku ; for this and
succeeding stages see the Commentaries on Exodus by Bennett
(Cent. Bible) and A. H. M°Neile.

374 NUMBERS 33. 8-16. P
and turned back unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before
8 Baal-zephon : and they pitched before Migdol. And
they journeyed from before Hahiroth, and passed through
the midst of the sea into the wilderness : and they went
three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and
9 pitched in Marah. And they journeyed from Marah,
and came unto Elim : and in Elim were twelve springs
of water, and threescore and ten palm trees ; and they
10 pitched there. And they journeyed from Elim, and
1 1 pitched by the Red Sea. And they journeyed from the
12 Red Sea, and pitched in the wilderness of Sin. And
they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, and pitched
13 in Dophkah. And they journeyed from Dophkah, and
14 pitched in Alush. And they journeyed from Alush, and
pitched in Rephidim, where was no water for the people
15 to drink. And they journeyed from Rephidim, and
16 pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. And they journeyed

8. from before Hahiroth : read, with the Versions, ' from Pi-
hahiroth.' 10 f. This encampment by the Gulf of Suez— for this and not the
Gulf of Akaba (see on xiv. 25) is clearly intended — is not men
tioned in Exod. xvi. 1 (P), where the wilderness of Sin follows
immediately upon Elim. It is perfectly clear, therefore, that in
the opinion of the author of this chapter, and probably of his con
temporaries, Sinai-Horeb was to be found neither in Midian, east
of Akaba, nor in the neighbourhood of Kadesh, but somewhere in
the peninsula of Sinai. It by no means follows that either Sinai
or Horeb — if the two must be distinguished —was so situated
according to the earliest traditions (see above, p. 186 f.).
12 f. Dophkah and Alush are not mentioned elsewhere. There
is no agreement as to their position.
14. Rephidim. See Exod. xvii. 1, xix. 2 (P), where it is
located as here, but the identification of it with Massah, and still
more with Meribah, in Exod. xvii. 7 (JE), suggests that the older
tradition placed Rephidim at Kadesh (see on xx. 13 above). This
is one of the arguments for locating the mount of lawgiving in the
same neighbourhood, or at least for holding that the Hebrews
marched first in a north-easterly, not a south-easterly direction.

NUMBERS 33. 17-32. P 375
from the wilderness of Sinai, and pitched in Kibroth-
hattaavah. And they journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah, *7
and pitched in Hazeroth. And they journeyed from 18
Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. And they journeyed 19
from Rithmah, and pitched in Rimmon-perez. And they 20
journeyed from Rimmon-perez, and pitched in Libnah.
And they journeyed from Libnah, and pitched in Rissah. 21
And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehe- 22
lathah. And they journeyed from Kehelathah, and 23
pitched in mount Shepher. And they journeyed from 24
mount Shepher, and pitched in Haradah. And they 25
journeyed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.
And they journeyed from Makheloth, and pitched in 26
Tahath. And they journeyed from Tahath, and pitched 27
in Terah. And they journeyed from Terah, and pitched 28
in Mithkah. And they journeyed from Mithkah, and 29
pitched in Hashmonah. And they journeyed from 3°
Hashmonah, and pitched in Moseroth. And they jour- 3l
neyed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan. And 32

16 f. Kibroth-hattaavah . . . Hazeroth. See above, xi. 34 f.
According to P (xii. 16), from Hazeroth the Israelites 'pitched
in the wilderness of Paran,' which is not mentioned in this
itinerary. It is probable, however, that the twelve stations of
verses 18-29, otherwise unknown, were caravan stations in the
plateau of et-Tih (see on x. 12).
30-34. The four stations from Moseroth to Jotbathah are to be
identified with those of Deut. x. 6 f., a fragment from an itinerary
of E (cf. xxi. 12 ff. above). Now since Aaron is said to have died
at Moserah in Deut. x. 6, while in Num. xx. 22-29 (P) and in
verse 38- below he dies on Mt. Hor, the next station from Kadesh,
Ewald suggested that part of this itinerary (36b-4ia) had been
accidentally removed from its original position after Hashmonah
in 30". This brings the wilderness of Zin, and with it Kadesh,
into a more natural position, and makes Moseroth the next station
to Mt. Hor (see on xx. 22 f.). Read in this order : 29, 30°, 36b-
.ja „0b_ggaj ,j.i>>_4g. The difficulties, however, are not entirely
removed (for a more radical suggestion see Bonhoff, he cit.),

37-6 NUMBERS 33. 33-44. P
they journeyed from Bene-jaakan, and pitched in Hor-
33 haggidgad. And they journeyed from Hor-haggidgad,
34 and pitched in Jotbathah. And they journeyed from
35 Jotbathah, and pitched in Abronah. And they journeyed
36 from Abronah, and pitched in Ezion-geber. And they
journeyed from Ezion-geber, and pitched in the wilder-
37 ness of Zin (the same is Kadesh). And they journeyed
from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of
38 the land of Edom. And Aaron the priest went up- into
mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died
there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel
were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month,
39 on the first day of the month. And Aaron was an hun
dred and twenty and three years old when he died in
4° mount Hor. And the Canaanite, the king of Arad,
which dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of
41 the coming of the children of Israel. And they journeyed
42 from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. And they
43 journeyed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. And
44 they journeyed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. And
35. Ezion-geber : then, and for long afterwards, a port at the
head ofthe gulf of Akaba (1 Kings ix. 26) near to Elath (Deut. ii.
8). For this part of the route see on xiv. 25, xxi. 4, 12 ff. If
Ewald's suggestion is accepted, the next station of the itinerary is
Zalmonah (4ib), and the difficulty of the leap from Ezion-geber to
Kadesh is removed.
36 f. the wilderness of Zin . . . Kadesh . . . mount Hor.. See
notes on xiii. 3, 21, 26, xx. 22 f. Our author here follows Pwith
regard to Aaron's death, adding the date and his age.
40. Slightly altered from xx. 1 (JE).
42. We are now in the depression of the Arabah, which runs
up from Akaba to the Dead Sea, for Punon is almost certainly the
modern Khirbet Fenan, on the eastern side of the Arabah, in
lat. 300 36', as proposed by Lagrange (Rev. Biblique, ix. 284 ff.
(With sketch), and described by Musil, Arabia Petraea, II. i. 293 ff.
(with plan and many views). On the opposite side of the Arabah
was situated
43. Oboth, if this is to be identified with 'Ain el-Weybeh

NUMBERS 33. 45-50. P 377
they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched in Iye-abarim,
in the border of Moab. And they journeyed from Iyim, 45
and pitched in Dibon-gad. And they journeyed from 46
Dibon-gad, and pitched in Almon-diblathaim. And they 47
journeyed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the
mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. And they jour- 48
neyed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in
the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. And they 49
pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even unto Abel-
shittim in the plains of Moab.
And the Lord spake unto Moses inthe plains of Moab 50
described by Musil, op. tit., II. ii. 202 ff., as the junction of the
caravan routes from Petra and Akaba to Gaza. According to the
itinerary it ought to be further north than Punon, and on the east
of the Arabah, cf. xxi. 10 ff.
44 ff. With Iye-abarim or Iyim (Khirbet 'Ai, see on xxi. 11)
and Dibon-gad (xxxii. 3), we are within the territory of Moab.
Almon-diblathaim may be the Beth-diblathaim of Mesha's
stone (1. 30), and Jer. xlviii. 22. The mountains of Abarim
are the range of which Mt. Nebo was a prominent peak (cf.
xxvii. 12). Beth-jeshimoth and Abel-shittim (cf. xxv. 1) have
been identified with Suweme and Kefren, opposite Jericho, in
the Jordan valley (see Bartholomew's map).
(i) xxxiii. 50-xxxvi. 13. A group of laws having reference to the
impending occupation of Canaan.
The closing section of the Book of Numbers is made up of
several unrelated legislative enactments ; all, however, have as
their common motif the necessity for making provision for the
approaching occupation of the promised land. In their present
form these chapters are best ranked with the other secondary
strata of the priestly legislation (Pa), although in some cases a
considerably older nucleus (H or PB, see below) may confidently
be detected.
xxxiii. 50-56. An order to expel the inhabitants of Canaan, to
destroy their idols and demolish their sanctuaries. Peculiarities
of style and phraseology suggest that at least the nucleus (51-53)
may have stood originally in H (the Law of Holiness, see
pp. 119 ff. above).
50. For 'by the Jordan of Jericho' of the original, see on
xxii. 1,

378 NUMBERS 33. 51— 34. 2. P
51 by the Jordan' at Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children
of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass, over Jordan
52 into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the
inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all
their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images,
S3 and demolish all their high places : and ye shall take
possession of the land, and dwell therein : for unto you
54 have I given the land to possess it. And ye shall inherit
the land by lot according: to your families ; to the more
ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou
shalt give the less inheritance : wheresoever the lot
falleth to any man, that shall be his ; according to the
55 tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit. But if ye will not
drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you;
then shall those which ye let remain of them be as pricks
in your eyes, and as thorns in your sides, and they shall
56 vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. And it shall
come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will
I do unto you.
3*2 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command
52. Similar injunctions are found in JE (Exod. xxiii. 24, 31 ff,
xxxiv. 11-16) and D (Deut. vii. 1-6, xii. 2 f.), but not in Ps.
all their figured stones : only here and Lev. xxvi. 1 (H),
which see ; see also ibid, verse 30 for the high places.
54. Apparently introduced from xxvi. 54 (which see for im
proved rendering) to prepare the way for ch. xxxiv.
Ch. xxxiv consists of two parts : (1) the ideal boundaries
of the land of promise, west of the Jordan (1-15), and (2) the
names of ten ' princes ' of the tribes, appointed to assist Eleazar
and Joshua in the allotment of the land (16-29). With regard to
the first topic, the identification of the various frontiers is full of
difficulties, more particularly on the north and north-east. A
considerable ideal element enters into the description, as in the
parallel case of Ezek. xlvii. 13-20. ' Here, as in other things,
what Ezekiel embodies in his description of the ideal future, P
embodies in his account of the idealized past ' (Gray, Numbers,
P' 453, which see for the geographical and other details).

NUMBERS 34. 3-7. P 379
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come
into the land of Canaan, (this is the land that shall fall
unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan
according to the borders thereof,) then your south 3
quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the
side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the
end of the Salt Sea eastward : and your border shall turn 4
about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass
along to Zin : and the goings out thereof shall be south
ward of Kadesh-barnea ; and it shall go forth to Hazar-
addar, and pass along to Azmon : and the border shall 5
turn about from Azmon unto the brook of Egypt, and
the goings out thereof shall be at the sea. And for the 6
western border, ye shall have the great sea aand the
border thereof: this shall be your west border. And this 7
a Or, for a border
3-5. The southern boundary of the promised land, which was
also that of the tribe of Judah (Joshua xv. 1-4), is to run from the
southern end of the Dead Sea, 'the Salt Sea on the east,' along
the western frontier of Edom till it reaches a point south of Kadesh-
barnea ('Ain Kadis, see p. 263), thence north-westwards to the
Mediterranean along the lower course of the Wady el-'Artsh.
3. your sonth quarter : rather ' your south side ' (as often in
Ezek. xli-xlviii), ' your southern boundary-line.'
4. the ascent of Akrabbim : lit. ' of scorpions,' one of the
passes— the Nakb es-Safa according to Buhl (Geogr. d. alten
Paldstina, p. 66) — running down to the Wady el-Fikreh.
5. unto the brook of Egypt: the Wady el-'Arish (see the
maps), which the boundary-line touches at the unidentified Azmon.
6. the great sea : more frequently, as xiii. 29, simply ' the sea,'
i.e. the Mediterranean.
7-9 The number of unidentified places here named (cf. Ezek.
xlvii. 15-17) renders it impossible to define with certainty the
line of the northern frontier, as intended by the writer (see
Gray, in he). It is probable, however, that a line drawn from
the mouth of the Nahr el-Kasimiyeh, six miles north of Tyre, to
the southern base of Mount' Hermon (Buhl, op.cit., p. 66 f.), may
be taken as approximately correct.

380 NUMBERS 34. 8-15. P
shall be your north border : from the great sea ye shall
8 mark out for you mount Hor : from mount Hor ye
shall mark out unto the entering in of Hamath ; and the
9 goings out. of the border shall be at Zedad : and the
border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out
thereof shall be at Hazar-enan : this shall be your north
10 border. And ye shall mark out your east border from
11 Hazar-enan to Shepham: and the border shall go down
from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side: of Ain ; and
the border shall go down, and shall reach unto the a side
12 of the sea of Chinnereth eastward : and the border shall
go down to Jordan, and the goings out thereof shall be
at the Salt Sea : this shall be your land according to the
13 borders thereof round about. And Moses commanded
the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye
shall inherit by lot, which the Lord hath commanded to
14 give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe : for the
tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers'
houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according
to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half tribe
15 of Manasseh have received, their inheritance : the two
tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance
beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the
sunrising. 1 Heb. shoulder.

T. ye shall mark out for you mount Hor. The text is here
obscure, but we should probably render : ' from the great sea ye
shall draw your boundary-line to mount Hor ; from mount Hor. . .
to the entrance to Hamath ' (for which see on xiii. 21).
10-12. The northern boundary ends at, and the eastern starts
from, Hazar-enan, probably near or at Banias, one ofthe sources
of the Jordan at the base of Mt. Hermon ; the line then runs
southwards till it strikes the mountains — the ' shoulder' of verse 11
margin (see Joshua xv. 8, 10 f.) — on the east of the sea of Chin
nereth (pronounce Kinnereth), i.e. the Lake of Galilee. Chin-

NUMBERS 34. iC— 35. i. P 381
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, These are 16
the names of the men which shall divide the land unto 17
you for inheritance : Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the
son of Nun. And ye shall take one prince of every 18
tribe, to divide the land for inheritance. And these are 19
the names of the men : of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the
son of Jephunneh. And of the tribe of the children of 20
Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. Of the tribe 21
of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. And of the 22
tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of
Jogli. Of the children of Joseph : of the tribe of the 23
children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of
Ephod.: and of the tribe of the children of Ephraim 24
a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. And ofthe tribe 25
of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son
of Parnach. And of the tribe of the children of Issachar 26
a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan. And of the tribe 27
of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of
Shelomi. And of the tribe of the children of Naphtali 28
a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. These are they 29
whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance
unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab 35
nereth was a town on the shores of the lake (Deut. iii. 17 ; Joshua
xix. 35). The Jordan and the Dead Sea (verse 12) complete the
eastern boundary of Western Palestine, the home of the nine
and a half tribes here contemplated.
16-29. Moses is given the names of the ten princes who are
to assist Eleazar and Joshua in the future allotment of Western
Palestine to the nine and a half tribes— Reuben, Gad, and one
half of Manasseh having been already provided for. The order in
which the tribes are here named is not genealogical (p. 187 f.)
but geographical, from south to north, according, roughly speaking,
to their subsequent positions.
Ch xxxv is occupied with two distinct ordinances : (1) 2-8,
the provision of forty-eight cities, with a portion of land attached

382 NUMBERS 35. 2-4. P
2 by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, Command the children
of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inherit
ance of their possession cities to dwell in; and a suburbs
for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the
3 Levites. And the cities shall they have to dwell in ; and
their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their sub-
4 stance, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the
cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be from
" Or, pasture lands
to each, for the support of the Levites ; and (2) 9-34, the pro
vision of six ' cities of refuge, ' with the promulgation of the law
of homicide in connexion therewith. The position of these regu
lations in the midst of the later legislation of P', and the im
possibility of assigning the first of the above ordinances to Pg
(see below), suggest that in its present form the chapter is also
the production of a later hand. The main portion (9-29, note
the concluding formula), however, appears to have been based
upon, if it be not an extract from, Ps. The concluding section
(30-34), on the other hand, has decided affinity with H. Moore,
indeed, is of opinion that the whole of 9-34 '.is founded upon a law
of homicide and asylum derived from H, or one of the collections
which served as the sources of H ' (art. ' Numbers,' EBi. iii.
col, 3,444).
1-8. The Levitical cities. This law is in direct conflict with
one of the fundamental principles of the author of the history
of Israel's theocratic institutions (Ps), according to which the
Levites are for ever .debarred from acquiring landed property (see
xviii. 21-24, esp. 23b, and cf. xxvi. 62b), But it is unnecessary
to labour the point that we have here a purely theoretical pro
gramme, of whose provisions Jewish history,- after as well as
before the exile, knows nothing, Joshua xxi (Ps) notwithstanding.
Cf. the note on p. 164 on the similar ' programme ' of the year
of Jubilee.
2. and suburbs: render with margin, 'pasture lands';
'suburbs' comes from the Vulgate ' et suburbana earum,' a late
Latin word for the fields and gardens close to a city.
4f. The dimensions of the pasture ground are clearly stated
in verse 5 to be those of a square of which each side is 2,000
cubits, say 1,000 yards, which means an area of over 200 acres,
the centre of which is occupied by the city. These data can be
reconciled with the provisions of verse 4 only by reducing the
city and its wall to a single point !

NUMBERS 35. 5-12. P 383
the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round
about. And ye shall measure without the city for the 5
east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two
thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand
cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the
city being in the midst. This shall be to them the
suburbs of the cities. And the cities which ye shall give 6
unto the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge,
which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee thither : and
beside them ye shall give forty and two cities. All the 7
cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty
and eight cities : them shall ye give with their suburbs.
And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the 8
possession of the children of Israel, from the many ye
shall take many ; and from the few ye shall take few :
every one according to his inheritance which he inheriteth
shall give Of his cities unto the Levites.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto ^
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass
over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall appoint 1 1
you cities to be cities of refuge for you ; that the man
slayer which killeth any person a unwittingly may flee
thither. And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from 12
* Or, through error
6. The acquaintance with the provisions of 9ff. here displayed
is probably an indication of the later origin of verses 2-8.
8. With this principle of distribution cf. xxvi. 54, xxxiii. 54.
g-15. Six cities of refuge, three on either side of the Jordan,
are to be provided as places of permanent asylum for those who
have accidentally committed homicide.
11. ye shall appoint you, &c. : rather 'ye shall select for
yourselves suitable cities.' For unwittingly see on xv. 24 and
Lev. iv. 2.
12. for refuge (mikldt) from the avenger (go'el) : add, with
LXX, 'of blood.' The term mikldt must correspond very nearly

10

384 NUMBERS 35. 13-17. P
the avenger ¦• .that the manslayer die not, until he stand
13 before the congregation for judgement. And the cities
which ye shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.
14 Ye shall give three cities beyond Jordan, and three cities
shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they. shall be cities
1 5 of refuge. For the children of Israel, and for the stranger
and for the sojourner among them, shall these six; cities
be for refuge.: that every one that killeth any person
16 a unwittingly may flee thither. But if he smote him with
an instrument, of iron, so that he died, he is a manslayer :
17 the manslayer shall surely be put to death. And if he
smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may
die, and he died, he is a manskyer : the manslayer shall
a Or, through error
to our ' sanctuary ; ' the six cities are to be sanctuaries, places
of asylum. For , the duties of the goel, or next of kin, in this
connexion, see the writer's arts. ' Goel ' in Hastings's DB. ii, and
more briefly 'Kin (Next of)' in the same -editor's DB. (1909),
p. 515. In the days before the reformation of Josiah (621 B.C.),
every local sanctuary of any note was doubtless a recognized
asylum (cf. 1 Kings i. 50, ii. gS), and in the earliest law-code
it is implied that the manslayer may remain there in security
until his case is investigated (Exod. xxi. 13' ft). With the de
struction of the local sanctuaries, it became necessary to provide
other places of asylum, as is done by Deut. xix. 1-13,: on which
the present law is based.
14. The cities are specified in Joshua xx. 1-9 (Pa), which records
the carrying out of this ordinance ; cf. Deut. iv. 41-43. While
the sites of the three on the east of the Jordan are uncertain, those
on the west are all well-known historical sanctuaries, viz. Hebron,
Shechem, and Kedesh (the ' holy ' city) of Galilee.
15. for the strang-er (ger) and for the sojourner (toshab):
see on Lev. xxii. 10.
16-28. These verses are devoted to an exposition of the law
of homicide, showing how it is to be distinguished from murder
(16-23), and laying down the procedure to be followed in the
case of homicide by misadventure (24-29), ' The fundamental
distinction is one of intention. Evidence of intention is to be
sought in (a) the character of the instrument, 16-18 ; (b) the
previous feelings, or the feelings at the time of the homicide,
whether friendly or the reverse, 20-23' (Gray).

NUMBERS 35. 18-25. P 385
surely be put to death. Or if he smote him with a weapon 18
of wood in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he
died, he is a manslayer : the manslayer shall surely be
put to death. The avenger of blood shall himself put 19
the manslayer to death: when he meeteth him, he shall
put him to death. And if he thrust him of hatred, or 20
hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died; or in enmity 21
smote him with his hand, that he died : he that smote
him shall surely be put to death ; he is a manslayer : the
avenger of blood shall put the manslayer to death, when
he meeteth him. But if he thrust him suddenly without 22
enmity, or hurled upon him any thing without lying in
wait, or with any stone, whereby a man may die, seeing 23
him not, and cast it upon him, so that he died, and he
was not his enemy, neither sought his harm : then the 24
congregation shall judge between the smiter and the
avenger of blood according to these judgements : and the 25
congregation shall deliver the manslayer out of the hand
of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore
him to his city of refuge, whither he was fled : and he
19 anticipates the judicial investigation enjoined in 24 ff. ;
similarly in 2ib. The manslayer dies by the hand of the goel
or next of kin. This is the only survival of the primitive
Semitic custom of the blood-feud recognized by the developed
legislation. 20. if he thrust him : rather, ' if he push him ' ; cf. Ezek.
xxxiv. 21.
22 f. A definition of homicide by misadventure (per infor
tunium) ; cf. Deut. xix. 4 f.
24. The congregation is always in P the theocratic com
munity, and we should have expected a more precise statement
as to how they are to perform the judicial functions here assigned
to them We have here, probably, an unconscious betrayal
ofthe conditions- of the writer's own time, when the post-exilic
community was confined to Jerusalem and its neighbourhood, and
a council of elders, the gerousia of the Greek period, managed
its affairs (cf. G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 382 ff, 393f.).
c c

386 NUMBERS. 35, 26-32. P
shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest,
26 which was anointed with the holy oil. But if the man
slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city
27 of refuge, whither he fleeth; and the avenger of blood
find him without the border of his city, of refuge, and the
avenger of blood slay the manslayer ; a he shall not be
28 guilty of blood : because he should have remained in his
city of refuge until the death of the high priest : but after
the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return
29 into the land of his possession. And these things shall
be for a statute of judgement unto you throughput your
30 generations in all your dwellings. Whoso killeth any
. person, the manslayer shall be slain at the mouth of
witnesses ; but one witness shall not testify against any
31 person that he die. Moreover ye shall take no ransom
for the life of a manslayer, which is guilty of death : but
32 he shall surely be put to death. And ye shall take, no
ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he
a Or, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him
25. until the death of the high priest : who has now taken
the place of the pre-exilic king as 'Yahweh's anointed.' If the
adjective is not a gloss (cf. verse 32, ' the priest'), we have also
an indication of a hand other and later than P8, who never em
ploys the now familiar title, ' high ' priest (for Lev. xxi. 10 see
note there).
30^34. The preceding laws, closed by their own subscription
in verse 29, are supplemented by others, apparently from, or
based.upon, another source (see introductory note, p. 382), enacting
(1) that no one accused of murder shall be condemned on the
evidence of a single witness (cf. Deut. xvii. 6, xix. 15), and (2).that
no one guilty of wilful murder shall be allowed to commute his
death sentence for a money payment, nor shall the unintentional
homicide be allowed by this means to commute his sentence
of detention in the city of refuge (for this 'ransom' or wergild
see Driver, Deuteronomy, p. 234).
32 ff. The idea of the land being polluted by the sins of its
inhabitants is a characteristic thought of H (Lev. xviii. 25).. If

NUMBERS 35. 33— 36. 3. P 387
should come again to dwell in the land, until the death
of the priest. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein 33
ye are : for blood, it polluteth the land : and no expiation
can be made for the land for the blood that is shed
therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. And thou 34
shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of
which I dwell : for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the
children of Israel.
And the heads of the fathers' houses of the family 36
of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son
of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph,
came near, and spake before Moses, and before the
princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the children
of Israel : and they said, The Lord commanded my 2
lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children
of Israel : and my lord was commanded by the Lord to
give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his
daughters. And if they be married to any of the sons of 3
the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their
these verses once formed part of H or of its sources (see Moore
above), ' the priest ' of verse 32 may be taken in the same sense
as in Lev. xxi. 10-12 (see notes on p. 142).
xxxvi. 1-12. A law requiring heiresses to marry within their
own tribe, a supplement to xxvii. 1-11. The law there allows
the daughters of a deceased landowner to inherit his property in
the absence of male issue, a principle which ' exposed the tribe
to the danger that marriage might convey the heiress' property
to another tribe. The law in xxxvi provides against this con
tingency ' (C-H. Hex. ii. 245).
1. The question is raised in the interests of the clan by the
chiefs of the septs of the clan of Machir, the latter, according to
xxxii. 33, having been allotted territory by Moses in northern
Gilead. This, of course, is merely the usual quasi-historical
setting with which the traditions of Hebrew jurisprudence re
quired that any amendment of an earlier law should be provided
(see above, pp. 344, 360). C C 2

388 NUMBERS 36. 4-1°. P
inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our
fathers, and shall be added to the inheritance of the
tribe whereunto they shall belong : so shall it be taken
4 away from the lot of our inheritance. And when the
jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their
inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe
whereunto they shall belong : so shall their inheritance
be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our
5 fathers. And Moses commanded the children of Israel
according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of
6 the sons of Joseph speaketh right. This is the thing
which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters
of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they
think best ; only to the family of the tribe of their father
7 shall they marry. So shall no inheritance of the children
of Israel remove from tribe to tribe : for the children of
Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the
8 tribe of his fathers. And every daughter, that possesseth
an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall
be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father,
that the children of Israel may possess every man the
9 inheritance of his fathers. So shall no inheritance remove
from one tribe to another tribe ; for the tribes of the
children of Israel shall cleave every one to his own
io inheritance. Even as the Lord commanded Moses,

4. A mistaken addition of a glossator, who failed to observe
that the provisions of the law of Jubilee (Lev. xxv. 13 ff.) apply
only to land sold, not inherited. Moreover this verse does not
contemplate the restoration of the land to the tribe of Manasseh
(or Machir), but its more permanent conveyance to the tribe into
which its owners have married.
5 ff. Moses admits that ' the sons of Joseph * (xxvi. 28-33) have
a grievance, and enacts that henceforth an heiress, inheriting her
father's property, shall marry within her father's tribe.

NUMBERS 36. n-13. P 389
so did the daughters of Zelophehad : for Mahlah, Tir- n
zah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters
of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers'
sons. They were married into the families of the sons 12
of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance
remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
These are the commandments and the judgements, 13
which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto
the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan
at Jericho.
llf. The daughters of Zelophehad — for the names see on
xxvii. 1 — accordingly marry their cousins on their father's side,
with the result that their ' inheritance ' remained within the tribe
of Manasseh.
13. The subscription to the body of laws comprised in chs.
xxii-xxxvi (see xxii. i), or more precisely to the legislation
of chs. xxvii-xxxvi. Cf. the similar colophon, Lev. xxvii. 34.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
A. The Day of Atonement
The limits assigned to the volumes of this series have been
considerably, but unavoidably, exceeded by the notes in the pre
ceding pages. The writer accordingly finds himself compelled to
forgo his intention of devoting a special note to a fuller discussion
of the origin of the expiatory rites associated with the Day of
Atonement. A brief indication of the line which such a discussion
should take is all that the exigencies of space will permit.
No hypothesis as to the origin of the rites in question can be
regarded as adequate which does not start from a satisfactory
analysis of the present composite text of Lev. xvi. Of recent
attempts in this direction mention may be made of the analysis
proposed by Benzinger in Stade's ZA TW. ix (1889), pp. 65-88,
a summary of which will be found in his article on the ' Day of
Atonement ' in EBi. i. col. 384. Benzinger's results were accepted
in the main by almost all subsequent critical writers and com
mentators. In 1907, however, Messel, a young Norwegian scholar,
published in the same Zeitschrift (xxvii. 1-15) an article in which
the weak points of his predecessor's results were convincingly
shown, and a fresh analysis proposed on the lines of an earlier
suggestion by Stade. That this later attempt to account for the
peculiar features of Lev. xvi is in all respects satisfactory we
cannot admit, but there can be little doubt that Messel is right in
his contention that the original nucleus of the fully developed ritual
is to be found in verses 5-10. This result we were prepared to
accept, all the more readily that we had reached a similar con
clusion by an entirely different path.
Coming to Lev. xvi from a study of ch. xiv, in which, as shown
in the notes, pp. 99 ff,, an admittedly antique rite of purification,
originally complete in itself, has now become a mere preliminary
to a more elaborate ceremony infused with the theocratic spirit
of the developed priestly legislation, we were struck by the similar
phenomenon presented by the present form of the ritual of the
Day of Atonement. The close resemblance — a point on which
all are agreed — between the most striking elements in the two
rites, the transference of uncleanness to a living bird in the one
case and to a living goat in the other, is further proof that the
two rituals must have a similar history.
In the Commentary the suggestion is thrown out that the nucleus
of the later rite goes back to an antique ceremony of purgation
which may have been carried out annually or periodically at the
local sanctuaries under the monarchy. It is true that no trace of
such a ceremony is to be found in our extant literature. But this

ADDITIONAL NOTES 391
does not appear to be an insuperable objection. Do we not owe
our knowledge of the antiquity of the institution of the shew
bread, for example, to a single incidental reference in the books
of Samuel (1 Sam. xxi. 4ff.)? Are we not warranted, moreover,
in supposing that Ezekiel had some precedent for demanding two
such purgation ceremonies in the year (Ezek. xiv. 18-20)? And
when we look beyond the Hebrews to their Semitic kinsfolk,
and still further to the nations of classical antiquity, we find ample
evidence of periodical and solemn lustration of their sacred places.
In an annual lustration ceremony, of unknown antiquity, there
fore, in which the uncleanness contracted by the altar and other
appurtenances of the local sanctuary (cf. Lev. xvi. 18 f., 33) was
transferred to a live goat and sent to the mysterious demon-spirit
Azazel, we are inclined to discover the Origin of the rites of the
Day of Atonement.
In the early period in which it may be supposed that this
ceremony of purgation took its rise, the conception of uncleanness
was still almost purely physical (see W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem.2,
408 f.). By the time of the exile, however, the higher ethical
element had been superadded. Hence, when the older rite—
discarded, there is little doubt, by the author of Pe — was re
introduced by the religious authorities, its essential provisions
were extended from the uncleanness contracted by the sanctuary
through the 'transgressions' of the children of Israel (Lev. xvi. 16;
cf. note on xv. 31), to these transgressions themselves, 'even all
their sins ' (xvi. 21). 'Atonement,' in short, was no longer made
exclusively ' for the holy sanctuary and for the altar,' but also ' for
the priests and for all the people of the assembly ' (verse 33).

B. Bibliography
The following is a selection from the more important recent
books bearing on the study of Leviticus and Numbers, apart from
Kittel's indispensable Biblia Hebraica, Dictionary articles, and the
standard works on the history and the religion of the Hebrews.
(a) Introduction.
J. E. Carpenter and G. Harford- Battersby. The Hexa
teuch according to the Revised Version, 2 vols. 1900. Vol. i
reissued 1902 as The Composition ofthe Hexateuch.
S. R. Driver. An Introduction to the Literature of the Old
Testament, 8th ed. 1909.
C. Cornill. Introduction to the Canonical Books of the Old
Testament, 1907.
Abr. Kuenen. The Hexateuch, etc., 1886.
H. Holzinger. Einleitung in d. Hexateuch, 1893.

392 LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS
W. E. Addis. The Documents of the Hexateuch, 2 vols.
1892-8.
B. W. Bacon. The Triple tradition of the Exodus, 1894.
C F. Kent. Israel's Laws and Legal Precedents, 1907.
(b) Commentaries.
Bruno Baentsch. Leviticus (1900) and Numeri (1903) in
Nowack's Handkommentar zum Alien Testament.
Aug. Dillmann. Die Bucher Exodus und Leviticus, 1897 ; Die
Bucher Numeri, etc., 1886.
H. L. Strack. Genesis-Numeri in his Kursgef. Kommentar.
A. Bertholet. Leviticus, 1901, in Marti's Kurzer Hand
kommentar.
H. Holzinger. Numeri, 1903, in the same series.
G. Buchanan Gray. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on Numbers, 1903, in Clark's Intern. Critical Series.
See also the translation and notes in Die Heilige Schrift
des Alien Testaments, ed. E. Kautzsch, 3rd ed. 1908-10.
(c) General.
Jul. Weixhausen. Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels,
6th ed. 1905. Eng. Transl. by J. S. Black, 1885.
W. R. Smith. Lectures on the Religion ofthe Semites, new ed.
1907.
M. J. Lagrange. Etudes sur les Religions Sfmitiques.
W. R. Harper. The Priestly Element in the Old Testament
(with exhaustive bibliographical lists).
Ed. Meyer. Die Israeliten und ihre Nachbarstamme, 1906.
S. A. Cook. The Laws of Moses and the Code of Ham
murabi, 1903.
C. The Map of the Sinai Peninsula
The map which accompanies this volume, indicating the
'probable (?) route of the children of Israel,' is that prepared for
another volume of this series. It errs in confining the land of
Edom to the east of the Arabah (see note on Num. xx. 16), and in
placing Mount Hor there. Of the alternative sites proposed for
Kadesh, that untouched by the red line (=¦ 'Ain Kadis, p. 263) is
much the more probable. But in fact there are not sufficient data
for determining the exact route of the Hebrews from Egypt to
Canaan.

INDEX

Aaron, death of, 306, 375 ; ex
clusion from Canaan, 301-3.
Abstinence from wine, 78, 221.
Adaptations in the ritual, 100,
113, 215, 277, 301.
Afflict the soul, 118, 359.
Altar of burnt-offering, 49, 75,
115; ofincense,3o,49, 77, 209.
Amalekites, 264, 329, 332 f.
Amorites, 264, 312 ff.
Anak, Anakim, 262.
Anointing of priests, 29, 48.
Aram ( = Edom), 323.
Ark as guide, 246.
Atone, atonement, 51 f., 90, 113,
115, 236, 275, 285, 366.
Atonement, Day of, no-8, 155,
354, 39° f-
Avenger of blood, 383-6.
Azazel, 100, 113, 116.
Balaam and Balak, 18, 315-34.
Ballad-singers, 313.
Ban, 181, 292; see Curse.
Blessing, priestly, 76, 224 f.
Blood, as medium of atonement,
123 ; how applied, 53 (see
Sprinkle); forbidden as food,
46, 67, I22f.
Booths (Tabernacles), Feast of,
156, 348 f., 354.
Boundaries of promised land,
378-80.
Brazen serpent, 308.
Bread of God, 141.
Burnt-offering, 38, 6b, 147, 275 ;
ritual, 38-41, 60 f. ; see Altar.
Caleb, 258 ff.
Calendar of feasts, 1-19-58,
347-57-

Camp, arrangement, 194-8, its
significance, 194 f.
Canaanites, 264.
Caul (upon the liver), 45.
Census, first, 186 ff.; second,
337 ff-
Chemosh, 314.
Childbirth, uncleanness of, 89 f.
Clean, cleanness, 81-110, 251 ;
clean and unclean animals,
82-8.
Cloud (theophanic), 239, 252,
256.
Confession of sin, 56, 116, 176.
Contagion of holiness and un
cleanness, 61, 63, 85, 115, 288,
302.
Convocation, a holy, 150, 354.
Covenant of salt, 293.
Curse, 55, 218, 318; see Ban.
D,Deuteronomic Code,Deutero-
nomy, 14.
Death penalty, 138.
Devoted, see Ban.
Divination and sorcery, for
bidden, 133 f.
Dress, prohibition as to, 132 ;
see Priests.
Drink-offering, 223, 271-3,350-
6.
Dues, sacred, 58, 64, 68, 290-
5 ; see Priests' Tithe.
E, Ephraimite Document, 15 ff.
Edom, 305, 317, 332.
Elders appointed, 250.
Eleazar, 284, 307, 347, 363, 370,
378, 381.
Ephah (a measure), 57, 101,
I35> 272, 35°-

394

LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS

Familiar spirit, 135.
Fat, forbidden as food, 46, 67.
Fathers' house, 187, 286.
Feasts, calendar of, 149-58,
347-57-
Firstborn, firstlings, 149, 181,
201, 292 f.
Firstfruits, 43 f., 292 ; Feast of,
353-
Forbidden degrees, 124-9, 136-9.
Forgiveness, 52 f.
Freewill offering, 65, 147.
Fringes, 276 f.
Gad, cities of, 368, 371.
ger, see Stranger.
Gilead, 367.
Goel, next of kin, 166 ; see
Avenger.
Guilt-offering, 56 f., 63, 101.
H, Holiness Code, or Law of
Holiness, explained, 25, 119.
Hair, customs relating to, 220,
223.
Hamath, entering in of, 262.
Heave-offering, 65, 214, 273,
291, 364.
Hebron, founding of, 262.
Heshbon, 313-5, 368.
High places, 174, 322.
Hin (a measure), 135, 272, 350.
Hittites, 264.
Hobab, 245.
Holiness, holy, 62 f., 79, and
passim; 'holy' and 'most
holy ' things, 42, 58, 145, 291 ;
see Contagion.
Holiness Code, 25-8, 119-77.
Holy water, 216.
Homer (a measure), 179, 254.
Hor, mount, 306, 375, 380.
Incense, see Altar.
Inheritance, laws of, see Zelo
phehad.

Itinerary of Hebrews, 372-7 ;
cf . 304 f.
J, Judaean Document, 15 ff.
Jealousy (of Yahweh), 336 ; —
ordeal of, 214-9.
Joshua, 253, 258-70, 370, 378,
381 ; name changed, 260 ;
successor of Moses, 346.
Jubilee, year of, 162-70.
Jus talionis, 161.
Kadesh, 258 ff., 301-6 and
passim ; = ' Ain Kadis, 263.
Kenites, 246, 333.
kipper, meaning of, 51 f. ; see
Atone.
Kittim, 333.
Korah (Dathan and Abiram),
278-86, 338, 345.
Laying-on of hands, 39.
Legal fictions, 344, 360.
Leper, leprosy, go-106, 257 ;
of garments, 97 f. ; of house,
104 f.
Levi, choice of, 286-9.
Levirate marriage, 127.
Levites, origin of, 199-201 ;
age, 206, 237 ; dedication,
232-7 ; duties, 194, 199-212,
289 ; number of, 202-5, 211 f.,
343 ; their support, 290-5.
Levitical cities, 381-3.
Leviticus, title explained, 4.
Log (a measure), 101.
Manasseh, clans and cities of,
367, 371 f.
Manna, 249.
Marriage, bars to, 124-9, r36-9 ;
levirate, 127.
Meal-offering, 38, 61, 154 ; ritual
of, 41-44, 61 f., 271-3.
Memorial (sacrificial term), 41,
160, 216 ; = reminder, 242,
366.

INDEX

395

Mercy-seat, 114,
Meribah = Kadesh, 263, 303 f.,
3°7, 346.
Midian, 245, 317, 334 f., 337,
360-6.
Miriam, a leper, 257 f. ; death,
302.
Moab, 310 ff., 318, &c.
Molech, 136 f.
Morrow after the Sabbath, 153.
Moses, as intercessor, 248 ; as
prophet, 256 ; exclusion from
Canaan, 301-3.
Mourning customs, 134, 141.
Nazirite, 219-24.
Negeb (south-land), 261, 307.
New Moon, 351.
New Year, 151, 155, 164, 353.
Numbers, title explained, 4; —
(of the Hebrews), unhistori-
cal, 189 ff; see Census.
Oath of purgation, 217.
Oblation (koridn), 38.
Oboth, 309, 376.
Offerings, table of public, 347-
57, esp. 349 ; see Sacrifices.
Og, 3*5.
P, Priests' Code, 14, 20-31.
Pe, groundwork of P and of the
Pentateuch, 20 ff. ; charac
teristics of, 21-4, 49 f., 74 f.,
79, 120 f., 166.
Ph-H, 25.
Pa, secondary elements in P,
marks of, 29 f., and passim.
Pfc, independent collections of
toroth, 29.
Paran, wilderness of, 244, 260.
Passover, 151, 237.
Peace-offering, 44, 64, 67 f.,
272 ; ritual of, 44-6, 64-6.
Phinehas, 335, 360 ; priesthood
of, 336.

Piacular sacrifices, 46 ff., 57 ff,
&c.
Priests, distinguished from Le
vites, 199 f. ; their consecra
tion, 70, 74, 307, see also
Anointing; dress, 70, 112,
117 ; revenues, 68, 290, also
Dues, Tithes; disqualification
for priesthood, 143 f. ; claims
to priesthood, 279-86.
Prophecy, conception of, 252,
255ff
Punon, 376.
Purification, laws of, 81-110;
see also Clean, Unclean, Red
Heifer.
Quails, 253.
R, Redactor, or Compiler of the
Pentateuch; R^, Rh, RP,
denote the redactors of the
several sources.
Red Heifer, 296-301.
Red Sea, 268, 374.
Redemption of property, 166 f. ;
see Slaves.
Refuge, cities of, 383.
Reuben, cities of, 368, 371.
Sabbath, 118, 150 f., 163, 276,
35i- .
Sabbatical Year, 162-6.
Sacrifice, manual of, 37-69, cf.
140 ff.; material of, 36, 147 ;
purpose, 35 ff., 51 ff; types
of, 36 ; ritual of, 36 ; see under
the separate offerings, Burnt-
offering, &c.
Salt, 43 ; see Covenant.
Shekel (gold), 366 ; ofthe sanc
tuary, 58, 178, 293.
Shewbread, 159, 208.
Sihon, 312-5.
Sin, see Atonement, Forgive
ness, kipper, Sacrifice, Sin-

396

LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS

offering, Uncleanness, Un
witting.
Sin-offering, 47, 48, 63, 71, 80,
a74> 293, 2g8, and often;
ritual of, 46-59, 274 f. ; grades
of, 47 ff.
Sinai, 186 f., 243, 374.
Slaves, redemption of, 168.
Spies, sent from Kadesh, 258-
64.
Sprinkle, different meanings of,
39i 49-
Standard = (military) division,
195, 244.
Strange (fire),, 77 ; stranger =
layman, 146, 194.
Stranger (ger), 122, 135, 273.
Suburbs, 382.
Sun-images, 175.
Survivals in ritual, 100, 113,
2t5i 277, 301.
Sweet savour, 40, 272.
Tabernacle, charge and trans
port of, 293-11; position in
camp, 194 ff, 251 ; see Tent of
Meeting.
Taboos, 62, 6.7, 79, 82, 84 f., 123,
133, 220, 284.
Tamid, explained, 60 f., 348-5L
Tent of Meeting, 38, 111, 203,
281 f., 297.
Testimony ( = Decalogue, then
Ark), 114, 193, 240, 287.
Thank-offering, 65, ¦ 130, 149;
see Peace-offering.

Tithes, 181, 294 f.
Trespass, 58 ; sec Guilt-offering.
Trumpets (silver), 241 ; — Feast
of, 155. 353 ! see New Year.
Uncleanness, laws of, 81-110;
from the dead, 87, 141, 284,
296-301, 362 f. ; see Clean.
Unleavened Cakes, Feast of,
151. 352.
Un-sin, un-sin-ment, 48, 51,
234, 298.
Urim, 347.
Usury, 168.
Veil (of Tabernacle), 49, in,
204, 289.
Votive offering, Vow, 65, 147,
177-81, 357-60 ; see Nazirite.
Wars of the Lord, Book of, 19,
310.
Water of bitterness, 217; of ex
piation, 234; of separation ( =
for impurity), 298, 363.
Wave, explained, 68; wave
breast, 68; wave offering, 68,
101, 291, 235 f. ; wave sheaf,
151-
Weeks, Feast of, 154, 353.
Zelophehad's daughters, 344,
387-9-
Zin, wilderness of, 261, 302,
375-

2750