will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 18 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O LORD, let my LORD, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. x Ch. 4. 31-y Ch. 33. 15, 16.-z Ch. 33. 3-a Deut. 32 9. Psa. 28. 9. & 33. 12 & 78. 62. & 94. 14. Jer. 10. 16. Zech. 2. 12-b Deut. 5. 2. & 12, 14-c Deut. 4. 32. 2 Sam. 7. 23. Psa. 77. 14. & 78. 12. & 117. 20.-d Deut. 10. 21. Psa. 145. 6. Isai. 64. 3-e Dent. 5. 32. & 6. 3, 25. & 12. 29, 32. & 23. 1.—f Ch. 33. 2—g Ch. 3. 32. Deut. 7.2 Jurg. 2. 2-h Ch. 23. 33. of stone. Then he wrote all in a book, chap. xxiv. 4. which was called the book of the covenant, ver. 7. After this there was a second going up of Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, chap. xxiv. 9. when that glorious discovery of God, mentioned in verses 10 and 11. of the same chapter, took place. After their coming down, Moses is again commanded to go up: and God promises to give him tables of stone, containing a law and precepts, ver. 12. This is the first place these tables of stone are mentioned; and thus it appears that the ten commandments, and several other precepts, were given to, and accepted by, the people, and the covenant sacrifice offered, chap. xxiv. 5. before the tables of stone were either written or mentioned." It is very likely that the commandments, laws, &c. were first published by the Lord, in the hearing of the people; repeated afterward by Moses, and the ten words or commandments, containing the sum and substance of the whole, afterward written on the first tables of stone, to be kept for a record in the ark. These being broken, as it is related, chap. xxxii. 19. Moses is commanded to hew out two tables like to the first, and bring them up to the mountain, that God might write upon them what he had written on the former, chap. xxxiv. 1. And that this was accordingly done, see the preceding part of this note. 13 But ye shall i destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 15 P Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16 And thou take of their daughters unto 1 Ch. 23. 24. Deut. 12 3. Judg. 2. 2-k Heb. statues.- Deut. 7. 5. & 12 2. Judg. 6. 25. 2 Kings 18. 4. & 23. 14. 2 Chron. 31. 1. & 34. 3, 4-m Ch.20. 3, 5-n So Isal 9.6. & 57. 15-0 Ch. 20. 5.-p Ver. 12-g Deut. 31. 16. Judg. 2. 17. Jer. 3. 9. Ezek. 6. 9-r Numb. 25. 2. 1 Cor. 10. 27-s Paa. 106. 28. 1 Cor. 8. 4, 7, 10- Deut. 7. 3. 1 Kings 11. 2. Ezra 9. 2 Neh. 13. 25. CHUM, the merciful Being, who is full of tenderness and compassion. 4. pon CHANUN, the gracious One: He, whose nature is goodness itself-the loving God. 5. T DN EREC APAYIM, long-suffering, the Being who, because of his goodness and tenderness, is not easily irritated, but suffers fong, and is kind. 6. RAB, the great or mighty One. 7. 70 CHESED, the bountiful Being: He who is exuberant in his beneficence. 8. ON EMETH, the Truth, or true One: He alone who can neither deceive nor be deceived-who is the Fountain of truth, and from whom all wisdom and knowledge must be derived. 9. Noss נשא עון ופשע ותמאה .10 .while the world endures NOTSER CHESED, the preserver of bountifulness: He whose beneficence never ends, keeping mercy for thousands of generations-showing compassion and mercy avon vapeshân vechataah; He who bears away iniquity and transgression and sin; properly the REDEEMER, the Pardoner, the Forgiver, the Being whose prerogative alone it is to forgive sin, and save the soul. p (15) ¬p› Nakeн lo yinnakeh, the righteous Judge, who distributes justice with an impartial hand; with whom no innocent person can ever be condemned. 11. And pype PAKED ûvon, &c. He who visits iniquity; he who punishes transgressors, and from whose justice no sinner can escape. The God of retributive and vindictive justice. These eleven attributes, as they have been termed, are all included in the name JEHOVAH: and are, as we have before seen, the proper interpretation of it: but the meaning of several of these words has been variously understood. Verse 6. And the Lord passed by, and proclaimed, The Lord, &c.] It would be much better to read this verse thus; "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, JEHOVAH"-that is, showed Moses, fully, what was implied in this august name. Moses had requested God to show him his glory, see the preceding chapter, 18th Verse 7. That will by no means clear the guilty] This verse, and God promised to proclaim, or fully declare the last clause is rather difficult: literally translated, it signiname, JEHOVAH, verse 19. by which proclamation or in- fies, in clearing he will not clear. But the Samaritan readterpretation, Moses should see how God would "be gra- ing lo, to him, instead of the negative N lo, not, rencious to whom he would be gracious;" and how he would ders the clause thus, With whom the innocent shall be inbe merciful to those to whom he would show mercy." nocent; i. e. an innocent or holy person shall never be Here therefore God fulfils that promise by proclaiming treated as if he were a transgressor, by this just and holy this name. It has long been a question, what is the mean- God. The Arabic version has it, He justifies, and is not ing of the word JEHOVAH, Yehovah, Yehue, Yehveh, justified; and the Septuagint is nearly as our English or Yere, Jeue, Jao, Iao, Jhuch, and Jove; for it has been text, xx ou xaba TOR Voxov, and he doth not purify the as variously pronounced, as it has been differently inter-guilty. The Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint, edited preted. Some have maintained that it is utterly inexpli- by Dr. Grabe, has, XXI TO VOXO XXI ev xatap, and cable. These of course have offered no mode of interpre- the guilty he will not cleanse with a purification offering. tation. Others say, that it implies the essence of the divine The Coptic is to the same purpose. The Vulgate is a nature. Others, that it expresses the doctrine of the Tri- paraphrase, nullusque apud te, per se innocens est; "and nity connected with the incarnation: the letter Yod, no person is innocent by or of himself before thee. This standing for the Father, He, for the Son, and Vau, (the gives a sound theologic sense, stating a great truth, That connecting particle) for the Holy Spirit; and they add, no man can make an atonement for his own sins, or puthat the he, being repeated in the word, signifies the hu-rify his own heart: and, that all have sinned and come man nature united to the divine in the incarnation. These short of the glory of God. speculations are calculated to give very little satisfaction. How strange is it that none of these learned men have discovered that God himself interprets this name in verses 6, and 7. of this chapter! "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed YEHOVAH, the LORD GOD, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." These words contain the proper interpretation of the venerable and glorious пате ЈеноѵАН. Verse 9. O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee go among us] The original is not Jehovah, but Ådonai, in both these places, and seems to refer particularly to the Angel of the Covenant, the Messiah. See the note on Gen. xv. 8. Verse 10. I will do marvels] This seems to refer to what God did in putting them in possession of the land of Canaan, causing the walls of Jericho to fall down-making the sun and moon to stand still, &c. and thus God made his covenant with them, binding himself to put them in possession of the promised land; and binding them to observe the precepts laid down in the following verses, from the 11th to the 26th inclusive. But it will be necessary to consider them in detail. The different names in this and the following verse, have been considered as so many attributes of the Divine Nature. Commentators divide them into eleven, thus: 1. JEHOVAH m. 2. NEL, the strong or mighty God. 3. Ra-treated at large, in the notes on chap. xxiii. Verse 13. Ye shall destroy their images] See the subjects of this and all the following verses, to the 28th, thy sons, and their daughters "go a whoring of the feast of the passover be left unto the after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring morning. after their gods. W 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. 18 The feast of unleavened bread, shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. 19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. 2 20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. 21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. 23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God, thrice in the year. 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice u: Numb. 25. 1, 2 1 Kings 11. 4-v Ch. 32. 8. Lev. 19. 4.-w Ch. 12. 15. & 23. 15. 1 Ch. 13 4-y Ch. 13. 2, 12 & 22. 29. Ezek. 44. 30. Luke 2 23-1 Ch. 13 13. Nurab. 18. 15-a Or, kid-b Ch. 23. 15. Deut. 16. 16. 1 Sam. 9. 7, 8. 2 Sum. 24. 24. c Ch 20. 9. & 23 12 & 35 2. Deut. 5. 12, 13. Luke 13. 14-d Ch. 23. 16. Deut. 16. 10, 13-e Heb. resolution of the year.-f Ch. 23. 14, 17. Deut. 16. 16-g Ch. 33. 2. Verse 21. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest-This commandment is worthy of especial note: many break the sabbath on the pretence of absolute necessity, because, if in harvest time the weather happens to be what is called bad, and the sabbath-day be fair and fine, they judge it perfectly lawful to employ that day in endeavouring to save the fruits of the field, and think that the goodness of the day beyond the preceding is an indication from Providence that it should be thus employed. But is not the command above pointed directly against this? I have known this law often broken on this pretence, and have never been able to discover a single instance where the persons who acted thus succeeded one whit better than their more conscientious neighbours, who avail themselves of no such favourable circumstances, being determined to keep God's law, even to the prejudice of their secular interests; but no man ever yet ultimately suffered loss by a conscientious attachment to his duty to God. He who is willing and obedient, shall eat the good of the land; and God will ever distinguish those in his providence wlio respect his commandments. Verse 24. Neither shall any man desire thy land] What a manifest proof was this of the power and particular providence of God! How easy would it have been for the surrounding nations to have taken possession of the whole Israelitish land, with all their defenced cities, when there were none left to protect them but women and children! Was not this a standing proof of the divine origin of their religion, and a barrier, which no deistical mind could possibly surmount? Thrice every year did God work an especial miracle for the protection of his people: controlling even the very desires of their enemies, that they might not so much as meditate evil against them. They who have God for their protector, have a sure refuge: and how true is the proverb, The path of duty is the way of safety. While these people went up to Jerusalem to keep the Lord's ordinances, he kept their families in peace, and their land in safety. Verse 25. The blood of my sacrifice] That is, the Paschal lamb.-See on chap. xxiii. 18. Verse 26. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk] See this amply considered, chap. xxiii. 19. Verse 27. Write thou these words] Either a transcript of the whole law now delivered, or the words included from ver. 11. to 26. God certainly wrote the ten words on both sets of tables. Moses either wrote a transcript of these and the accompanying precepts, for the use of the people; or he wrote the precepts themselves, in addition to the ten commandments, which were written by the finger of God. 26 The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. 27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 P And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables, the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Elul 29 And it came to pass, when An. Exod. Isr. 1. Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: "and he gave them in commandment, all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. Lev. 18. 21. Deut. 7. 1. Psa. 78. 55. & 80. 8.-h Deut. 12. 20. & 19. 8-i See Gen. 35. 5 2 Chron. 17. 10. Prov. 16. 7. Acts 18. 10-k Ch. 23. 18.-1 Ch. 12. 10.-m Ch. 23. 19 Deut. 26. 2, 10-a Ch. 23. 19. Deut. 14. 21.-o Ver. 10. Deut. 4. 13. & 31. 9.-p Ch. 21. 18. Deut. 9. 9, 18-q Ver. 1. Ch. 31. 18. & 32. 16. Deut. 4. 13. & 10. 2, 4,-r Heb. words.-s Ch. 32 15-i Matt. 17. 2. 2 Cor. 3. 7, 13-u Ch. 24. 3.-v 2 Cor. 3. 13. See on ver. 1. Allowing this mode of interpretation, the accompanying precepts were, probably, what was written on the back side of the tables by Moses; the ten commandments, what were written on the front by the finger of Jehovah: for we must pay but little attention to the supposition of the rabbins, that the letters on each table were cut through the stone, so as to be legible on each side. See chapter xxxii. 15. Verse 28. Forty days and forty nights] See the note on chap. xxiv. 18. Verse 29. The skin of his face shone] 1p karan, was horned: having been long in familiar intercourse with his Maker, his flesh, as well as his soul, was penetrated with the effulgence of the Divine glory: and his looks expressed the light and life which dwelt within. Probably Moses appeared now as he did, when in our Lord's transfiguration he was seen with Elijah on the mount. Matt. xvii. As the original word p karan, signifies to shine out, to dart forth, as horns on the head of an animal, or rays of light, reflected from a polished surface, we may suppose, that the heavenly glory which filled the soul of this holy man, darted out from his face in coruscations, in that manner in which light is generally represented. The Vulgate renders the passage, et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua-"and he did not know that his face was horned;" which version, misunderstood, has induced painters in general to represent Moses with two very large horns, one proceeding from each temple! But we might naturally ask, while they were indulging themselves in such fancies, why only two horns? for it is very likely, that there were hundreds of these radiations, proceeding at once from the face of Moses. It was, no doubt, from this very circumstance, that almost all the nations of the world, who have heard of this transaction, have agreed in representing those men, to whom they attributed extraordinary sanctity, and whom they supposed to have had familiar intercourse with the Deity, with a lucid nimbus, or glory round their heads. This has prevailed both in the east and in the west-not only the Greek and Roman saints, or eminent persons, are thus represented, but those also among the Mohammedans, Hindoos, and Chinese. Verse 30. They were afraid to come nigh him] A sight of his face alarmed them; their consciences were still guilty from their late transgression, and they had not yet received the atonement. The very appearance of superior sanctity often awes the guilty into respect. Verse 33. And till Moses had done speaking] The meaning of the verse appears to be this: as often as Moses spoke in public to the people, he put the veil on his face, 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. CHAPTER XXXV. 5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, 6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair. 7 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 8 And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for Moses assembles the congregation to deliver to them the commandments of God, 1. the ephod, and for the breastplate. Directions concerning the sabbath, 2, 3. Free-will offerings of gold, silver, burnt-ofering, 16. Hangings, pins, &c. 17, 18. Clothea of service, and holy 10 And every wise-hearted among you shall come and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 11 The tabernacle, his tent, and his coverspin, and bring the produce of their skill and industry, 25, 26. The rulers bringing, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his liab appointed to conduct and superintend all the work of the tabernacle, for pillars, and his sockets; precious stones, &c. 27, 23. All the people offer willingly, 29. which they are qualified by the spirit of wisdom, 30-35. An Exod. Is. 1. Bezaleel and Elul ND Moses gathered all the congre A gation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath-day. b 4 T And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, 2 Cor. 3 16-x Ch. 24. 32-y Ch 20. 9. & 31. 14, 15. Lev. 23. 3. Numb 15. 22, &c. Deut. 5. 12. Luke 13. 14-2 Heb. holiness.-a Ch. 16. 23-b Ch. 25. 1, 2 Ch. 25. 2-d Ch. 25. 6. because they could not bear to look on the brightness of his countenance; but when he entered into the tabernacle, to converse with the Lord, he removed this veil, ver. 34. St. Paul, 2 Cor. iii. 7, &c. makes a very important use of the transactions recorded in this place. He represents the brightness of the face of Moses as emblematical of the glory or excellence of that dispensation; but he shows that however glorious or excellent that was, it had no glory when compared with the superior excellence of the Gospel. As Moses was glorious in the eyes of the Israelites, but that glory was absorbed and lost in the splendour of God, when he entered into the tabernacle, or went to meet the Lord upon the mount, so the brightness and excellence of the Mosaic dispensation are eclipsed and absorbed in the transcendent brightness or excellence of the Gospel of Christ. One was the shadow, the other is the substance. One showed sIN in its exceeding sinfulness, together with the justice and immaculate purity of God; but in, and of itself, made no provision for pardon or sanctification. The other exhibits Jesus, the Lamb of God, typified by all the sacrifices under the law, putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself; reconciling God to man, and man to God; diffusing his Spirit through the souls of believers, and cleansing the very thoughts of their hearts by his inspiration, and causing them to perfect holiness in the fear of God. The one seems to shut heaven against mankind, because by the law was the knowledge, not the cure of SIN; the other opens the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The former was a ministration of death; the latter a dispensation of life. The former ministered terror, so that even the high priest was afraid to approach, the people withdrew and stood afar off, and even Moses, the mediator of it, exceedingly feared and trembled; by the latter we have boldness to enter into the holiest through the blood of Jesus, who is the end of the law for righteousness, justification, to every one that believeth. The former gives a partial view of the divine nature; the latter shows God as he is, "Full orb'd in his whole round of rays complete." The apostle farther considers the veil on the face of Moses, as being emblematical of the metaphorical nature of the different rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation, each covering some spiritual meaning, or a spiritual subject; and that the Jews did not lift the veil to penetrate the spiritual sense, and did not look to the end of the commandment, which was to be abolished; but rested in the letter, or literal meaning, which conferred neither light nor life. He considers the veil also as being emblematical of that state of intellectual darkness into which the Jewish people, by their rejection of the Gospel, were plunged, and 12 The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; 13 The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the show-bread; 14 The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light; 15 And the incense altar and his staves, mand the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle; 16 The altar of burnt-offering, with his brazen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot; 17 The hangings of the court, his pillars, e Ch. 31. 6-f Ch. 26. 1, 2, &c-g Ch. 25. 10, &c.-h Ch. 25. 2-1 Ch. 25. 30. Lev. 24. 5, 6-k Ch. 25. 31, &c.-1 Ch. 30. 1.-m Ch. 30. 23-n Ch. 30. 34.-0 Ch. 27. 1.-p Ch. 27. 9. from which they have never yet been recovered. When a Jew, even at the present day, reads the law in the synagogue, he puts over his head an oblong woollen veil with four tassels at the four corners, which is called the taled or thaled: this is a very remarkable circumstance, as it appears to be an emblem of the intellectual veil referred to by the apostle, which is still upon their hearts when Moses is read; and which prevents them from looking to the end of that which God designed should be abrogated, and which has been abolished by the introduction of the Gospel. The veil is upon their hearts, and prevents the light of the glory of God from shining into them; but we all, says ths apostle, speaking of believers in Christ, with open face, without any veil, beholding as in a glass the glory of God, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Cor. iii. 18. Reader, dost thou know this excellence of the religion of Christ? once thou wert darkness, art thou now light in the Lord? Art thou still under the letter that killeth? Or under the spirit that giveth life? Art thou a slave to sin? Or a servant of Christ? Is the veil on thy heart? Or hast thou found redemption in his blood, the remission of sins? Knowest thou not these things? Then, may God pity, enlighten, and save thee! NOTES ON CHAPTER XXXV. Verse 1. And Moses gathered] The principal subjects in this chapter have been already largely considered in the notes on chapters xxv. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii. xxix. xxx. and xxxi. and to those the reader is particularly disired to refer, together with the parallel texts in the margin. Verse 3. Ye shall kindle no fire] The Jews understand this precept as forbidding the kindling of fire, only for the purpose of doing work or dressing victuals; but to give them light and heat, they judge it lawful to light a fire on the sabbath-day; though themselves rarely kindle it: they get Christians to do this work for them. Verse 5. An offering] A terumah or heave-offering, see Lev. vii. 1, &c. Verses 5 and 6. See on these metals and colours, chap. xxv. 3, 4, &c. Verse 7. Rams' skins, &c.] See ch. xxv. 5. Verse 8. Oil for the light] See ch. xxv. 6. Verse 9. Onyx stones] See ch. xxv. 7. Verse 11. The tabernacle] Sce ch. xxv. 8. Verse 12. The ark] See ch. xxv. 10-17. Verse 13. The table] See ch. xxv. 23-28. Verse 14. The candlestick] See ch. xxv. 31-39. Verse 15. The incense altar] The golden altar, see ch. xxx. 1-10. Verse 16. The altar of burnt-offering] The brazen altar, see chap. xxvii. 1–8. and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court; 18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords; 19 The clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. 20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. 22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. 23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. 24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass, brought the LORD's offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 And all the women that were twisehearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom, spun goats' hair. 27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; 28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. q Ch. 31. 10. & 39. 1, 41. Numb. 4. 5, 6, &c.-r Ver. 5, 22, 26, 29. Ch. 25. 2. & 36. 21 Chron. 23. 2, 9. & 29. 9. Ezra 7. 27. 2 Cor. 8. 12. & 9. 7.- 1 Chron. 29. 8. t Ch. 23. 3. & 31. 6. & 36. 1. 2 Kings 23. 7. Prov. 31. 19, 22, 24.-u 1 Chron. 29. 6. Verse 17. The hangings of the court] Exod. xxvii. 9. Verse 19. The clothes of service] Probably aprons, towels, and such like, used in the common service, and different from the vestments for Aaron and his sons. See these latter described, chap. xxviii. 1, &c. Verse 21. Every one whose heart stirred him up] Literally, whose heart was lifted up, whose affections were set on the work, being cordially engaged in the service of God. Verse 22. As many as were willing-hearted] For no one was forced to lend his help in this sacred work; all was a free-will offering to the Lord. Bracelets, nn chach, whatever hooks together, ornaments for the wrists, arms, legs, or neck. Ear-rings, nezem, see this explained Gen. xxiv. 22. Rings, nya, tabbaath, from ya taba, to penetrate, enter into, probably rings for the fingers. Tablets,, cumaz, a word only used here and in Numb. xxxi. 50. supposed to be a girdle to support the breasts. Verse 25. All the women that were wise-hearted did spin] They had before learned this art, they were wisehearted, and now they practise it, and God condescends to require and accept their services. In building this house of God all were ambitious to do something, by which they might testify their piety to God, and their love for his worship. Verse 27. The rulers brought onyx stones] These being persons of consequence, might be naturally expected to furnish the more scarce and costly articles. See how all join in this service! The men worked and brought offerings, the women spun and brought their ornaments, the rulers united with them, and delivered up ther jewels! and all the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord. Verse 30. The Lord hath called by name Bezaleel] See this subject discussed at large in the note on chap. xxxi. 3. 1. FROM the nature of the offerings made for the service of the tabernacle, we see of what sort the spoils were which the Israelites brought out of Egypt, gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, rams skins dyed red, what we call badgers' skins, oil, spices, incense, oynr | 29 The children of Israel brought a " willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. 30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship: 32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. 34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: 35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. CHAPTER XXXVI. Moses appoints Bezaleel, Aholiab, and their associates, to the work, and delivers to them the free-will offerings of the people, 1-3. The people bring offerings more than are needed for the work, and are only restrained by the proclamation of Moses, 4-7. The curtains, their loops, taches, &c. for the tabernacle, 8-18. The covering for the tent, 19. The boards, 20-30. The bars, 31-31. The veil and its pillars, 35, 36. The hangings and their pillars, 37, 38. A. M. 2514. 1 Exo. Ir. 1. Tieri to Adar. THE HEN wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted An man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding, to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. b Ezra 2. 68- Ch. 30. 23-w Ver. 21. 1 Chron. 29. 9.-x Ch. 31. 2, &c.-y Ch. 31. 6. Isai. 28. 24, 29.-z Ver. 31. Ch. 31. 3, 6. 1 Kings 7. 14. 2 Chron. 2. 14. Isai. 23. 26. a Ch. 29. 3. & 31. 6. & 35. 10, 35.-b Ch. 25. 8. stones, and other stones, the names of which are not here mentioned. They must also have brought looms, spinning-wheels, instruments for cutting precious stones, anvils, hammers, furnaces, melting-pots, with a vast variety of tools for the different artists employed on the work of the tabernacle, viz. smiths, joiners, carvers, gilders, &c. &c. The 2. God could have erected his tabernacle without the help or skill of man: but he condescended to employ him. As all are interested in the worship of God, so all should bear a part in it; here God employs the whole congregation; every male and female, with even their sons and their daughters, and the very ornaments of their persons, are given to raise and adorn the house of God. women who had not ornaments, and could neither give gold nor silver, could spin goats' hair, and the Lord graciously employs them in this work, and accepts what they can give and what they can do, for they did it with a willing mind; they were wise of heart, had learned a useful business, their hearts were lifted up in the work, ver. 21. and all felt it a high privilege to be able to put only a nail in the holy place. By the free-will offerings of the people, the tabernacle was erected, and all the costly utensils belonging to it provided. This was the primitive mode of providing proper places for divine worship; and as it was the primitive, so it is the most rational mode. Taxes levied by law, for building or repairing churches, were not known in the ancient times of religious simplicity. It is an honour to be permitted to do any thing for the support of public worship: and he must have a strange, unfeeling, and ungodly heart, who does not esteem it a high privilege to have a stone of his own laying or procuring in the house of God. How easily might all the buildings necessary for the purpose of public worship be raised, if the money that is spent in needless self-indulgence by ourselves, our sons, and our daughters, were devoted to this purpose! By sacrifices of this kind the house of the Lord would be soon built, and the top-stone brought on with shouting grace! grace! unto it. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXXVI. Verse 1. Then wrought, &c.] The first verse of this chapter should end the preceding chapter; and this should begin with verse the second: as it now stands, it does not make a very consistent sense. By reading the first word с 2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, | most edge of the curtain, in the coupling, and and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose which coupleth the second. heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: 3 And they received of Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. 4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; 5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. 6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. 8 And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them. 9 The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. 10 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. 11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. 13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle. 14 And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. 15 The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. 16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops upon the utter e Ch. 35. 2, 25. 1 Chron. 29. 5-d Ch. 35. 27.- 2 Cor.-8. 2, 3.-f Ch. 26. 1.-g Ch. 26. 5-b Ch. 26. 7.-i Ch. 26. 14.-k Ch. 26. 15. ny, veasah, then wrought, in the future tense, instead of the past, the proper connexion will be preserved; for all grammarians know that the conjunction vau, is often conversive; i. e. it turns the preter tense of those verbs to which it is prefixed, into the future, and the future into the preter: this power it evidently has here; and joined with the last verse of the preceding chapter, the connexion will appear thus: chap. xxxv. ver. 30, &c. The Lord hath called by name Bezaleel and Aholiat; them hath he filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work, chap. xxxvi. ver. 1. And Bezaleel and Aholiab SHALL WORK, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom. Verse 5. The people bring much more than enough] With what a liberal spirit do these people bring their freewill offerings unto the Lord! Moses is obliged to make a proclamation to prevent them from bringing any more, as there was at present more than enough! Had Moses been intent upon gain, and had he not been perfectly disinterested, he would have encouraged them to continue their contributions, as thereby he might have multiplied to himself gold, silver, and precious stones. But he was doing the Lord's work, under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, and therefore he sought no secular gain. Indeed this one circumstance is an ample proof of it.-Every thing necessary for the worship of God will be cheerfully provided by a people whose hearts are in that worship. In a state 18 And he made fifty taches of brass, to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that. 20 And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. 21 The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half. 22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards. 26 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward, he made six boards. 28 And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 29 And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them, in both the corners. 30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 31 And he made "bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other." 34 And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. 36 And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: 1 Heb. twined.—m Heb. two sockets, two sockets under one board-n Ch. 26. 26-0 Ch. 26. 31. where all forms of religion, and modes of worship, are tolerated by the laws, it would be well to find out some less exceptionable way of providing for the national clergy than by tithes. Let them by all means have the provision allowed them by the law; but let them not be needlessly exposed to the resentment of the people, by the mode in which this provision is made, as this often alienates the affections of their flocks from them, and exceedingly injures their usefulness. Verse 8. Cherubim of cunning work] See on chap. xxvi. ver. 18. Probably the word means no more than figures of any kind, wrought in the diaper fashion, in the loom, or by the needle in embroidery, or by the chisel or graving-tool, in wood, stone, or metal, see on chap. xxv. 19. This meaning Houbigant and other excellent critics contend for. In some places the word seems to be restricted to express a particular figure then well known; but in many other places it seems to imply any kind of figure commonly formed by sculpture on stone, by carving on wood, by engraving upon brass, and by weaving in the loom, &c. Verse 9. The length of one curtain] Concerning these curtains, see chap. xxvi. 1, &c. Verse 20. And he made boards] See the notes on chap xxvi. 15, &c. Verse 31. He made bars] Verse 35. He made a veil] See on chap xxvi. 26, &c. See on chap. xxvi. 31, &c. |