k

Pope.

verse.

Dryden.

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

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

Unguibus ora soror fœdans, et pectora pugnis.
En. 1. iv. v. 672.

Nor print any marks upon you] It was a very ancient, and a very general custom, to carry marks on the body in honour of the object of their worship. All the castes of the Hindoos, bear on their foreheads, or elsewhere, what are called the sectarian marks, which not only distinguish them in a civil, but also in a religious point of view, from each other.

Most of the barbarous nations lately discovered, have their faces, arms, breasts, &c. curiously carved, or tatooed, probably for superstitious purposes. Ancient writers abound with accounts of marks made on the face, arms, &c. in honour of different idols-and to this the inspired penman alludes, Rev. xiii. 16, 17. xiv. 9, 11. xv. 2. xvi. 2. xix. 20. xx. 4. where false worshippers are represented as receiving in their hands, and in their forehead, the marks of the beast. These were called ryuara, stigmata, among the Greeks, and to these St. Paul refers, when he says, I bear about in my body the marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus, Gal. vi. 17. I have seen several cases where persons have got the figure of the cross, the Virgin Mary, &c. made on their arms, breasts, &c. the skin being first punctured, and then a blue colouring matter rubbed in, which is never afterward effaced. All these were done for superstitious purposes; and to such things probably, the prohibition in this verse refers. Calmet on this verse gives several examples.

Verse 29. Do not prostitute thy daughter] This was a very frequent custom, and with examples of it, writers of antiquity abound. The Cyprian women, according to 358

33 And Pif a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.

r

34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you, shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

t

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 36 Just Balances, just Weights, a just

V

n Prov. 20. 29. 1 Tim. 5. 1.-o Ver. 14.-p Exod. 22. 21. & 25. 9-q Or, oppress. r Exod. 12. 48, 49.-s Deut. 10. 19.- Ver. 15.- Deut. 25. 13, 15. Prov. II. 1. & 16. 11. & 20. 10.- Heb. atones.

Justin, gained that portion which their husbands received with them at marriage, by previous public prostitution. And the Phoenicians, according to Augustin, made a gift to Venus of the gain acquired by the public prostitution of their daughters, previously to their marriage. Veneri donum dabant, et prostitutiones filiarum antequam jungerent eas viris.. De Civit. Dei, lib. xviii. c. 5. And see Calmet.

Verse 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits] The Hebrew word man oboth, probably signifies a kind of engastromythi, or ventriloquists; or such as the Pythoness mentioned Acts xvi. 16, 18. persons who, while under the influence of their demon, became greatly inflated, as the Hebrew word implies, and gave answers in a sort of phrenzy. See a case of this kind in Virgil, Æneid. 1. vi. v. 46, &c.

I feel the God, the rushing God, she cries,
While yet she spoke, enlarg'd her features grew,
Her colour chang'd, her locks dishevelled flew,
The heavenly tumult reigns in every part,

Pants in her breast, and swelle her rising heart;
Still swelling to the eight, the priestess glow'd,
And heav'd impatient of the incumbent God.

Pitt.

Neither seek after wizards] yyideônim, the wise, or knowing ones, from y yada, to know or understand; called wizard, in Scotland, wise or cunning man in England; and hence also the wise woman, the white witch. Not only all real dealers with familiar spirits, or necromantic or magical superstitions, are here forbidden; but also all pretenders to the knowledge of futurity, fortune-tellers, astrologers, &c. &c. To attempt to know what God has not thought proper to reveal, is a sin against his wisdom, providence, and goodness. In mercy, great mercy, God has hidden the knowledge of futurity from man, and given him hope, the expectation of future good, in its place. See the note on Exod. xxii. 18.

Verse 32. Before the hoary head] See the note on Gen. xlviii. 12.

Verse 33. If a stranger sojourn] This law to protect and comfort the stranger, was at once humane and politic. None is so desolate as the stranger, and none needs the offices of benevolence and charity more: and we may add, that he who is not affected by the desolate state of the stranger, has neither benevolence nor charity. It was politic to encourage strangers, as, in consequence, many came not only to sojourn, but to settle among the Jews; and thus their political strength became increased; and many of these settlers became at least proselytes of the gate, if not proselytes of the covenant, and thus got their souls saved. Hence humanity, sound policy, and religion, said, ver not the stranger; thou shalt love him as thyself. The apostle makes use of a strong argument to induce men to hospitality toward strangers. entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained Be not forgetful to angels unawares, Heb. xiii. 2. Moses also uses a powerful motive; ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. The spirit of the precept here laid down, may be well expressed in our Lord's words: Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you.

Verse 35. Ye shall do no unrighteousness] Ye shall not act contrary to the strictest justice in any case: and especially in the four following, which, properly understood, comprise all that can occur between a man and his fellow. 1. JUDGMENT in all cases that come before the civil magistrate-he is to judge and decide according to the law. 2. METE-YARD, Da bamiddah, in measures of length and surface, such as the reed, cubit, foot, span, inch, among us. hand's-breadth, among the Jews; or ell, yard, foot, and thing that is weighed; the weights being all according to the 3. WEIGHT, Spba-mishekal, in any standards kept for the purpose of trying the rest, in the

of giving seed to Molech, and the punishment of this crime, 1-5. Of consulting wizards, &c. 6-8. Of disrespect to parents, 9. Of adultery, 10. Of inces tuous mixtures, 11, 12. Beastiality, 13-16. Different cases of incest and un

cleanness, 17-21. Exhortations and pror ises, 22-21. The difference between ed from other nations, that they may be holy, 26. A repetition of the law against

clean and unclean animals to be carefully observed, 25. The Israelites are separat

wizards, and them that have familiar spirits, 27. An Exod. Isr. 2. Abib or Nisan

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

21 Again 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 any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to a defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy

name.

4 T And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not;

d

5 Then I will set my face against that 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.

w Ch. 13. 4, 5. Deut. 4. 5, 6. & 5. 1. & 6. 25. —x Ch. 18. 21.-y Ch. 18. 21. Deut. 12. 31. & 13. 10. 2 Kings 17. 17. & 23. 10. 2 Chron. 33. 6. Jer. 7. 31. & 32. 35. Ezek. 20, 26, 31.- Ch. 17. 10.- Ezek. 5. 11. & 23. 38, 39.b Ch. 18. 21-c Deut. 17. 2, 3,5-d Ch. 17. 10.-e Exod. 2 5.- Ch. 17. 7.-g Ch. 19. 31.-h Ch. 11. 44. & 19.

2. 1 Pet. 1. 16.

sanctuary, as appears from Exod. xxx. 13. 1 Chron. xxiii. 29. these weights were the talent, shekel, barley-corn, &c. 4. MEASURE, ba-mesurah, from which we derive our term. This refers to all measures of capacity, such as the homer, ephah, seah, hin, omer, kab, and log. See all these explained, Exod. xvi. 16.

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

Verse 37. Ye shall observe all my statutes] pr chukai, from pn chak, to describe, mark, or trace out-the righteousness which I have described, and the path of duty which I have traced out. Judgments, mishpataï from shaphat, to discern, determine, direct, &c. that which Divine wisdom has discerned to be best for man, that he has determined shall promote his best interests; and that he has directed him conscientiously to use. the note on chap. xxvi. 15.

See

1. MANY difficulties occur in this very important chapter; but they are such only to us; for there can be no doubt of their having been perfectly well known to the Israelites, to whom the precepts contained in this chapter were given. Considerable pains however have been taken to make them plain, and no serious mind can read them without profit.

2. The precepts against injustice, fraud, slander, enmity, &c. &c. are well worth the notice of every Christian; and those against superstitious usages, are not less so; and by these last we learn, that having recourse to astrologers, fortune-tellers, &c. to get intelligence of lost or stolen goods; or to know the future events of our own lives, or those of others, is highly criminal in the sight of God. Those who have recourse to such persons, renounce their baptism, and in effect renounce the providence, as well as the word of God.

3. The precepts of humanity and mercy, relative to the poor, the hireling, and the stranger, are worthy of our most serious regard. Nor are those which concern weights and measures, traffic, and the whole system of commutative justice, less necessary to be observed for the comfort and benefit of the individual, and the safety and prosperity of the state.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XX.

Verse 2. That giveth any of his seed unto Molech] To what has been said in the note on chap. xviii. 21. we may add, that the rabbins describe this idol (who was probably a representative or emblematical personification of the

10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

11 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 be upon them.

12 P 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 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness

among you.

Deut.

i Ch. 19. 37.-k Exod. 31. 13. Ch. 21. 8. Ezek. 37. 28.-1 Exod. 21. 17. 27. 16. Prov. 20 20. Matt. 15. 4-m Ver. 11, 12, 13, 16, 27. 2 Sam. 1. 16.-n Ch. 18 20. Deut. 22. 22. John 8. 4, 5-0 Ch. 18. 8. Deut. 27. 23.-p Ch. 18. 15

9 Ch. 18. 23-r Ch. 18. 22. Deut. 23. 17. See Gen. 19. 5. Judges 19. 22-s Ch. 18. 17. Deut. 27. 23.

solar influence) as made of brass, in the form of a man, with the head of an ox; that a fire was kindled in the inside, and the child to be sacrificed to him, was put in his arms and roasted to death. Others say, that the idol, which was hollow, was divided into seven compartments within; in one of which they put flour, in the second turtle-doves, in the third an ewe, in the fourth a ram, in the fifth a calf, in the sixth an or, and in the seventh a child, which (by heating the statue on the outside) were all burnt alive together. I question the whole truth of these statements, whether from Jewish or Christian rabbins. There is no evidence of all this in the Sacred Writings. And there is but presumptive proof, and that not very strong, that human sacrifices were at all offered to Molech by the Jews. The passing through the fire, so frequently spoken of, might mean no more than a simple rite of consecration to the service of this idol. Probably a kind of ordeal was meant, the persons passing suddenly through the flame of a large fire, by which, though they might be burnt or scorched, yet they were neither killed or consumed.-Or they might have passed between two large fires, as a sort of purification. See the note on ver. 14. and on chap. xviii. 21.

Verse 6. Familiar spirits] See the note on chap. xix. 31. and Exod. xxii. 18.

Verse 9. Curseth his father or his mother] See the notes on Gen. xlviii. 12. Exod. xx. 12. He who conscientiously keeps the fifth commandment, can be in no danger of this judgment. The term Sp yekalel, signifies not only to curse but to speak of a person contemptuously and disrespectfully; to make light of: so that all speeches which have a tendency to lessen our parents in the eyes of others, or to render their judgment, piety, &c. suspected and contemptible, may be here included: though the act of cursing, or of treating the parent with injurious and opprobrious language, is that which is particularly intended.

Verse 10. Committeth adultery] To what has been said in the note on Exod. xx. 14. we may add, that the word adultery comes from the Latin adulterium, which is compounded of ad, to or with, and alter, another, or according to Minshieu, of ad alterius thorum, he that approaches to another man's bed.

Verse 12. They have wrought confusion] See ch. xviii. and especially the note on ver. 6.

Verse 14. They shall be burnt with fire] As there are worse crimes mentioned here, see verses 11. and 17. where the delinquent is ordered simply to be put to death; or to

t

16 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; their blood shall be upon them.

17 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 nakedness: it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

V

18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

X

19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.

20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

с

21 * And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. 22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

d

23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inhe

t Ch. 18. 23. Deut. 27. 21.-u Ch. 18. 9. Deut. 27. 22. See Gen. 20. 12-v Ch. 18. 19. See Ch. 15. 24.-w Heb. made naked.-x Ch. 18. 12, 13-y Ch. 18. 6.-7 Ch. 18. 14-a Ch. 18. 16.-b Heb. a separation.-e Ch. 18. 26. & 19. 37.-d Ch. 18. 25, 28-e Ch. 18. 3, 24, 30-f Ch. 18. 27. Deut. 9. 5.-g Exod. 3. 17. & 6. 8-h Ver. 26. Exoi. 19. 5. & 33. 16. Deut. 7. 6. & 14. 2. 1 Kings 8. 53.

be cut off, it is very likely that the crime mentioned in this verse, was not punished by burning alive; but by some kind of branding, by which they were ever after rendered infamous. I need not add, that the original ¬ ww ba-esh yishrephu, may, without violence to its grammatical meaning, he understood as above, though in other places, it is certainly used to signify a consuming by fire. But the case in question requires some explanation; it is this, a man marries a wife, and afterward takes his motherin-law, or wife's mother, to wife also: now for this offence, the text says, all three shall be burnt with fire; and this is understood as signifying, that they shall be burnt alive. Now the first wife, we may safely presume, was completely innocent, and was legally married: for a man may take to wife the daughter, if single; or the mother, if á widow and in neither of these cases, can any blame attach to the man or the party he marries; the crime therefore lies in taking both. Either, therefore, they were all branded as infamous persons, and this certainly was severe enough, in the case of the first wife; or the man and the woman taken last, were burnt; but the text says, both he and they, therefore we should seek for another interpretation of they shall be burnt with fire, than that which is commonly given.-Branding with a hot iron, would certainly accomplish every desirable end, both for punishment and prevention of the crime; and because the Mosaic laws are so generally distinguished by humanity, it seems to be necessary to limit the meaning of the words as above.

Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast] We have the authority of one of the most eminent historians in the world, Herodotus, to say, that this was a crime not unknown in Egypt; yea, that a case of this nature actutually took place while he was there. Έγένετο δ' εν τω Νόμω τούτω επ' εμον τούτο το τερας, Γυναικι Τράγος έμισγετο αναφανδόν. Τούτο ες επιδειξιν ανθρώπων απίκετο. Herod. in Euterp. p. 108. Edit. Gale. Lond. 1679. "In this district, within my own recollection, this portentous business took place; a goat coupled so publicly with a woman that every person knew it, &c." After this, need we wonder that God should have made laws of this nature, when it appears, these abominations were not only practised among the Egyptians, but were parts of a superstitions religious system. This one observation will account for many of

h

25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

CHAPTER XXI.

The priests shall not mourn for the dead, except for near relatives, much as mother,

father, son, daughter, and sister, if a virgin, 1-4. They shall not have their heads nor beards, nor make any cuttings in the flesh, because they are holy antə God, 5, 6. A priest shall not marry a woman who is a whore, profane, or divorced from her husbanxl, 7, 8. Of the priest's daughter who profanes herself, 9. The high priest shall not uncover his head, or rend his clothes, 10 nor go in unto a dead body, 11. nor go out of the sanctuary, 12. Of his marriage and offspring, 13-15. No person shall be made a priest that has any blemish, nor shall any per Bon with any of the blemishes mentioned here, be permitted to officiate in the wor ship of God, 16-24.

Abib

AND the LORD said unto Moses, Ator Niran Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,

3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

i Ch. 11. 47. Deut. 14. 4.-k Ch. 11. 43.-1 Or, moreth-m Ver. 7. Ch. 19. 2. 1 Pet. 1. 16.-n Ver. 21. Tit. 2. 14.-0 Ch. 19. 31. Exod. 22 18. Deut. 18. 10, 11. 1 Sam. 23. 7-p Ver. 9-9 Ch. 10. 6, 7. Ezek. 44. 25. 1 Thess 4. 13, 14, 15.—r Or, being an husband among his people, he shall not defile himself for his wife, &c. See Ezek. 24. 16, 17.

those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law others, the reasons of which are not so plain, we should see the propriety of, equally, had we ampler historic records of the customs that existed in that country.

Verse 22. The land whither I bring you to dwell therein, spuc you not out] See this energetic prosopopcia explained in the note on chap. xviii. 25. From this we learn, that the cup of the iniquities of the Cananitish nations was full; and that consistently with the divine justice, they could be no longer spared.

Verse 24. A land that floweth with milk and honey] See this explained, Exod. iii. 8.

Verse 25. Between clean beasts and unclean] See the notes on chap. xi.

Verse 27. A familiar spirit] A spirit or demon which by magical rites, is supposed to be bound to appear at the call of his employer. See the notes on Gen. xli. 8. Exod. vii. 11, 22, and 25. and on chap. xix. 31.

From the accounts we have of the abominations both of Egypt and Canaan, we may blush for human nature; for wherever it is without cultivation, and without the revelation of God, it is every thing that is vile in principle and detestable in practice. Nor would any part of the habitable globe materially differ from Egypt and Canaan, had they not that rule of righteousness, the revealed LAW of God; and life and immortality been brought to light by the GOSPEL among them. From these accounts, for which we could easily find parallels in ancient Greece and Italy, we may see the absolute need of a divine revelation, without which, man, even in his best estate, differs little from the brute.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXI.

Verse 1. There shall none be defiled for the dead] No priest shall assist in laying out a dead body; or preparing it for interment. Any contact with the dead was supposed to be of a defiling nature, probably because putrefaction had then taken place; and animal putrefaction was ever held in detestation by all men.

Verse 4. A chief man among his people] The word by baâl signifies a master, chief, husband, &c. and is as variously translated here. 1. He being a chief among the people, it would be improper to see him in such a state of humiliation as mourning for the dead necessarily implies. 2. Though a husband, he shall not defile himself even for