poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he | cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. 16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take the widow's raiment to pledge: 18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command the to do this thing. t 19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless and for the widow. n Heb. lifteth his soul unto it. Psa. 25. 1. & 86. 4.-0 James 5. 4.-p 2 Kings 14, 6. 2 Chron. 25. 4. Jer. 31. 29, 30. Ezek. 18. 20-g Exol. 22. 21, 22 Prov. 22. 22. Isai. 1. 23. Jer. 5. 29. & 22. 3. Ezek. 22. 29. Zech. 7. 10. Mal. 3. 5.-r Exod. 22. 26.-8 Ver. Verse 15. He is poor, and setteth his heart upon it] How exceedingly natural is this! The poor servant who seldom sees money, yet finds from his master's affluence that it procures all the conveniences and comforts of life, longs for the time when he shall receive his wages-should his pay be delayed after the time is expired, he may naturally be expected to cry unto God against him who withholds it; see most of the subjects of this chapter treated at large on Exod. xxii. 21-27. Verse 16. The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, &c.] This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezek. xviii. Verse 18. Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman] Most people who have affluence rose from comparative penury; for those who are born to estates, frequently squander them away: such therefore should remember what their feelings, their fears and anxieties were, when they were poor and abject. A want of attention to this most wholesome precept, is the reason why pride and arrogance are the general characteristics of those who have risen in the world from poverty to affluence; and it is the conduct of those men which gave rise to the rugged proverb, Set a beggar on horseback, and he'll ride to the devil." 66 Verse 19. When thou cuttest down thine harvest] This is an addition to the law, Lev. xix. 9. xxiii. 22. The corners of the field, the gleanings, and the forgotten sheaf, were all the property of the poor. This the Hebrews extended to any part of the fruit or produce of a field which had been forgotten in the time of general ingathering, as appears from the concluding verses of this chapter. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXV. Verse 1. They shall justify the righteous] This is a very important passage, and is a key to several others. The word ps tsadak, is used here precisely in the same sense in which St. Paul sometimes used the corresponding word dikaw, not to justify, or make just, but to acquit, declare innocent, to remit punishment, or give reasons why such an one should not be punished so here the magistrates hitsadiku, shall acquit the righteous, declare him innocent; because he is found to be righteous, and not wicked; so the Septuagint kai dikaiwoovely Tov dikatov, they shall make righteous the righteous; declare him free from blame-not liable to punishmentacquitted; using the same word with St. Paul when he speaks of a sinner's justification, i. e. his acquittance from blame and punishment, because of the death of Christ in his stead. Verse 2. The judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his fuce] This precept is literally followed in China: the culprit receives, in the presence of the magistrate, the punishment which the law directs to be inflicted. Thus, then, justice is done: for the magistrate sees that the letter of the law is duly fulfilled, and that the officers do not transgress it, either by indulgence on the one hand, or severity on the other. The culprit receives nothing more nor less than what justice requires. Verse 3. Forty stripes ye may give him, and NOT EXCEED] According to God's institution, a criminal may receive forty stripes: not one more! But is the institution Punishment by whipping, not to exceed forty stripes, 1-3 The ox that treads out the corn is not to be muzzled, 4. The ordinance concerning marrying the wife of that brother who has died childless, 5-10. Of the woman who acts indecently in succouring her husband, 11, 12. Of false weights and measures, 13-16. Amalek is to be destroyed, 17-19. 40.-Sebat. F there be a controversy between An Exod. Is. men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. 2 And it shall be, if the wicked man be a worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. 3 Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these, with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee. C 22 Ch. 16. 12-t Lev. 19. 9, 10. & 23. 22—a Ch. 15. 10. Psa. 41. 1. Prov. 19. 17 –v Heb thou shall not bough it after thee-w Heb. after thee.-x Ver 18-y Ch. 19. 17. Ezek 44. 24-z See Prov. 17. 15-a Luke 12. 48 -b Matt. 10. 17.-e2Cor. ÍL. 24.–d Job 18.3 from above or not, that for any offence, sentences a man to receive three hundred, yea, a thousand stripes? What horrible brutality is this! and what a reproach to human nature, and to the nation, in which such shocking barbarities are exercised and tolerated! Most of the inhabitants of Great Britain have heard of Lord Macartney's Embassy to the Emperor of China; and they have heard also of its complete failure! But they have not heard of the cause. It appears to have been partly occasioned by the following circumstance. A soldier had been convicted of some petty traffic with one of the natives, and he was sentenced, by a court martial, to receive sixty lashes!— Hear my author: "The soldiers were drawn up in form, in the outer court of the palace where we resided: and the poor culprit being fastened to one of the pillars of the great portico, received his punishment without mitigation. The abhorrence excited in the breasts of the Chinese, at this cruel conduct, as it appeared to them, was demonstrably proved by their words and looks. They expressed their astonishment that a people professing the mildest, the most benevolent religion on earth, as they wished to have it believed, could be guilty of such flagrant inattention to its merciful dictates. One of the principal mandarins, who knew a little English, expressed the general sentiment, Englishmen too much cruel, too much bad." "Accurate account of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, by an attendant on the Embassy.' 12mo. 1797. p. 88. The following is Mr. Ainsworth's note on this verse, "This number forty, the Scripture uses sundry times in cases of humiliation, affliction, and punishment. Moses twice humbled himself in fasting and prayer, forty days and forty nights, Deut. ix. 9, 18. Elias fasted forty days, 1 Kings xix. 8. And our Saviour, Matt. iv. 2. Forty years Israel was afflicted in the wilderness for their sins, Numb. xiv. 33, 34. And forty years Egypt was desolate for treacherous dealing with Israel, Ezek. xxix. 11, 12, 13. Forty days every woman was in purification from her uncleanness, for a man-child that she bare, and twice forty days for a woman-child, Lev. xii. 4, 5. Forty days and forty nights it rained at Noah's flood, Gen. vii. 12. Forty days did Ezekiel bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, Ezek. iv. 6. Jonah preached-Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, Jonah iii. 4. Forty years' space the Canaanites had to repent after Israel came out of Egypt, and wandered so many years in the wilderness, Num. xiv. 33. And thrice forty years the old world had Noah preaching unto them repentance, Gen. vi. 3. It was forty days ere Christ ascended into heaven, after his resurrection, Acts i. 3, 9. And forty years' space he gave unto the Jews, from the time that they killed him, before he destroyed their city and temple, by the Romans. As By the Hebrews this law is expounded thus. How many stripes do they beat (an offender) with? With forty, lacking one; as it is written, (Deut. xxv. 2, 3.) by number forty, that is, the number which is next to forty, Thatmud, Bab. in Maccoth. chap. iii. This, their understanding, is very ancient, for so they practised in the apostle's days: as Paul testified, Of the Jews five times received 1 forty (stripes) save one, 2 Cor. xi. 24. But the reason which they give is not solid: as when they say, If it had 4 ¶ Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. 5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without, unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the first-born which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. m 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him; and if he stand to it, and say. I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not è build up his brother's house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed. 11 When men strive together one with an e Prov. 12. 10. 1 Cor. 9. 9. 1 Tim. 5. 18-f Heb. thresheth. Hos. 10. 11-g Matt. 22. 23. Mark 12 19. Luke 20-28-h Or, nert kinsman. Gen. 38. 8. Ruth L. 12, 13. & 3.9.- Gen. 38, 9-k Ruth 4. 10.-1 Or, next kinsman's wife.-m Ruth 4. 1, 2 o Rath 4. 6.-o Ruth 4. 7-p Ruth 4. 11. been written; FORTY IN NUMBER, I would say it were full forty; but being written in number forty, it means the number which reckons forly, next after it, that is thirty-nine. By this exposition they confound the verses, and take away the distinction. I think rather this custom was taken up, by reason of the manner of their beating, forespoken of, which was, with a scourge that had three cords, so that every stroke was counted for three stripes, and then they could not give even forty, but either thirtynine or forty-two, which was above the number set of God. And hereof they write thus. When they judge, (or condemn) a sinner to so many (stripes) as he can bear, they judge not but by strokes that are fit to be trebled; [that is, to give three stripes to one stroke, by reason of the three cords.] If they judge that he can bear twenty, they do not say he shall be beaten with one and twenty; to the end that they may treble the stripes, but they give him eighteen. Maimony in Sanhedrin, chap. xvii. sect. 2. Thus he that was able to bear twenty stripes, had but eighteen; the executioner smote him but six times; for if he had smitten him the seventh, they were counted one and twenty stripes, which was above the number adjudged; so he that was adjudged to forty, was smitten thirteen times, which being counted one for three, make thirty-nine. And so, R. Bechaios, writing hereof says, The strokes are trebled; that is, every one is three; and three times thirteen are nine and thirty. "Thy brother be vile, or be contemptible.] By this God teaches us to hate and despise the sin, not the sinner, who is, by this chastisement, to be amended. As the power which the Lord hath given is to edification, not to destruction, 2 Cor. xiii. 10." 13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. 14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. 15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: " that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. V 16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God. 17¶ Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, to possess it that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it. q Ch. 19. 13.-r Lev. 19. 35, 35. Prov. 11. 1. Ezek. 45. 10. Mic. 6. 11.- Heb. a stone and a stone-t Heb. an ephah and an ephah-u Exod. 20. 12-v Prov. IL 1. 1 Thess. 4. 6.-w Exod. 17. S.-x Pa. 36. 1. Prov. 16. 6. Rom. 3. 18.—y 1 Sam. 15. 3- Exod. 17. 14. were at work, some muzzled their mouths to hinder them from eating the corn, which Moses here forbids; instructing the people by this symbolical precept to be kind to their servants and labourers, but especially to those who ministered to them in holy things: So St. Paul applies it, 1 Cor. ix. 9. 1 Tim. v. 18. Le Clerc considers the injunction as wholly symbolical; and perhaps, in this view, it was intended to confirm the laws enjoined in the fourteenth and fifteenth verses of the former chapter. See Dodd and Shaw. Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficult to find the reason of these ceremonies of degradation. Perhaps the shoe was the emblem of power; and by stripping it off, a deprivation of that power and authority was represented. Spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost ignominy; but the Jews, who are legitimate judges in this case, say, that the spitting was not in his face, but before his face, on the ground. And this is the way in which the Asiatics express their detestation of a person to the present day; as Niebuhr, and other intelligent travellers assure us. It has been remarked that the prefix beth, is seldom applied to peney; but when it is, it signifies as well before, as in the face, see Josh. xxi. 44. xxiii. 9. Esther ix. 2. and Ezk. xlii. 12. which texts are supposed to be proofs in point. The act of spitting, whether in or before the face, marked the strong contempt the woman felt for the man who had slighted her. And it appears, that the man was ever after disgraced in Israel; for so much is certainly implied in the saying, ver. 10. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed. terpoise, but the name itself shows us, that a stone of a certain weight was the material formerly used as a weight. See the notes on Levit. xix. 35, 36. Verse 13. Divers weights] eben va-aben; a Verse 4. Thou shalt not muzzle the or, &c.] In Judea, stone and a stone; because the weights were anciently as well as in Egypt, Greece, and Italy, they made use of made of stone. In our own country, this was once a combeeves to tread out the corn; and Dr. Shaw tells us, that mon case; smooth, round, or oval stones, were generally the people of Barbary continue to tread out their corn after chosen by the simple country people for selling their wares, the custom of the east. Instead of beeves, they frequently especially such as were sold in pounds and half pounds. made use of mules and horses, by tying by the neck, three And hence the term a stone weight, which is still in use, or four in like manner together, and whipping them after-though lead or iron be the matter that is used in the counward round about the nedders, as they call the treading floors, (the Libycæ area Hor) where the sheaves lie open and expanded in the same manner as they are placed and prepared with us for threshing. This, indeed, is a much quicker way than ours, though less cleanly, for as it is performed in the open air, (Hos. xiii. 3.) upon any round, level plat of ground, daubed over with cow's dung, to prevent as much as possible, the earth, sand, or gravel from rising; a great quantity of them all, notwithstanding this precaution, must unavoidably be taken up with the grain, at the same time that the straw, which is their chief and only fodder, is hereby shattered to pieces: a circumstance very pertinently alluded to, 2 Kings xiii. 7. where the king of Syria is said to have made the Israelites like the dust, by threshing. Travels, p. 138. While the oxen Verse 14. Divers measures] Literally, an ephah, and an ephah: one heary, to buy thy neighbour's wares, another light, to sell thy own by. So there were knaves in all ages, and among all nations. See the note on Exod. xvi. 16. and Lev. 19. 35. Verse 18. Smote the hindmost of thee] See the notes on Exod. xvii. 8. It is supposed, that this command had its final accomplishment in the death of Haman and his ten sons, Esth. iii. vii. ix. as from this time the memory and name of Amalek was blotted out from under heaven; for, through every period of their history, it might be truly said, They feared not God. CHAPTER XXVI. First-fruits must be offered to God, 1, 2. The form of confession to be used on the occasion, 3-11. The third year's tithe to be given to the Levites and the poor, 12 and the form of confession to be used on this occasion, 13-15. The Israelites are to tuke them for his people, and make them high above all the nations of the earth, 18, 19. 40.- Sebat. Jehovah for their God, and to keep his testimonies, 16, 17. And Jehovah is to take An. Exod. Isr. ND it shall be, when thou art come AND it shall when tich the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, to place his name there. 3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers, for to give us. 4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5 And thou shalt speak, and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: a Exod. 23. 19. & 34. 26, Numb. 18. 13. Ch. 16. 10. Prov. 3. 9.-b Ch. 12. 5. c Hos. 12. 12-d Gen. 43. 1, 2. & 45. 7, 11.-e Gen. 46. 1, 6. Acta 7, 15.-f Gen. 46. 27. Ch. 10. 22-g Exod. 1. 11, 14-h Exol 2 23-25. & 3. 9. & 4. 31.-i Exod. 12. 37, 51. 13. 3, 14, 16. Ch. 5. 15.-k Ch. 4. 34.-1 Exod. 3. 8. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXVI. Verse 2. Thou shall take of the first of all the fruit, &c.] This was intended to keep them in continual remembrance of the kindness of God, in preserving them through so many difficulties, and literally fulfilling the promises he had made to them. God being the author of all their blessings, the first-fruits of the land were consecrated to him as the author of every good and perfect gift. Verse 5. A Syrian ready to perish was my father] This passage has been variously understood, both by the ancient versions, and by modern commentators. The Vulgate renders it thus, Syrus persequebatur patrem meum, A Syrian persecuted my father." The Septuagint thus, Evplav areẞadder • marηρ pov, "My father abandoned Sy לבן ארמאה בעא לאוברא ית אבא,ria. The Targum thus laben aramaah bâa leobada yat aba, "Laban the Syrian endeavoured to destroy my father." The Syriac, "My father was led out of Syria into Egypt." The Arabic, "Surely, Laban, the Syrian, had almost destroyed my father.' The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel: "Our father Jacob went at first into Syria of Mesopotamia, and Laban sought to destroy him." 11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. 12 T When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given u unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, P neither have I forgotten them: 14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. B 15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 16 T This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments; thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken. m Ch. 12 7, 12, 18. & 16. 11-n Lev. 27. 30. Numb. 18. 24. Ch. 14 3 3 Psa. 119. 141, 153, 176-r Lev. 7. 20. & 21. 1, 11. Hos. 9. 4.- Isai. 63. 15. Zech 13-t Exod. 20. 19-u Exod. 6. 7. & 19. 5. Ch. 7. 6. & 14. 2. & B. 9.—v Ch. 4. 7, 8. & 28. 1. Ps. 148. 14-w Exod. 19. 6. Ch. 7. 6. & 29. 9. 1 Pet. 29. by which, as his health was much impaired, so his life might have often been in imminent danger. Verse 8. With a mighty hand, &c.] See on Deut. iv. 34 Verse 11. Thou shalt rejoice] God intends that his followers shall be happy; that they shall eat their bread with gladness and singleness of heart, praising him. Those who eat their meat grudgingly, under the pretence of their unworthiness, &c. profane God's bounties; and shall have no thanks for their voluntary humility. Thou, and the Levite, and the stranger] They were to take care to share God's bounties among all those who were dependent on them. The Levite has no inheritance, let him rejoice with thee. The stranger has no homé, let him feel thee to be his friend and his father. Verse 12. The third year, which is the year of tithing! This is supposed to mean the third year of the seventh or sabbath year, in which the tenths were to be given to the poor. See the law, chap. xiv. 28. but from the letter in both these places, it would appear, that the tithe was for the Levites, and that this tithe was drawn only once in three years. Verse 14. I have not-given ought thereof for the dead] That is, I have not consecrated any of it to an idol, which was generally a dead man, whom superstition and ignorance has deified. From 1 Cor. x. 27, 23. we learn that it was customary to offer that flesh to idols, which was afterwards sold publicly in the shambles; probably the blood poured out before the idol in imitation of the sacrifices offered to the true God. Perhaps the text here alludes to a similar custom. Verse 17. Thou hast arouched the Lord] The people avouch, publicly declare, that they have taken Jehovah to be their God. Father Houbigant dissents from all, and renders the original thus, Fames urgebat patrem meum qui in Egyptum descendit, "Famine oppressed my father, who went down into Egypt." This interpretation Houbigant gives the text, by taking the yod from the word aramey, which signifies an Aramite or Syrian, and joining it to a yeabud, the future for the perfect, which is common enough in Hebrew: and which may signify constrained; and then seeking for the meaning of Daram, in the Arabic arama, which signifies famine, dearth, Verse 18. And the Lord hath arouched] Publicly de&c. he thus makes out his version; and this version he declared, by the blessings he pours down upon them, that he fends at large in his notes. It is pretty evident from the text, that by a Syrian we are to understand Jacob, so called, from his long residence in Syria with his father-inlaw Laban. And his being ready to perish, may signify the hard usage and severe labour he had in Laban's service, has taken them to be his peculiar people. Thus the covenant is made and ratified between God and his followers. Verse 19. Make thee high above all nations] It is written, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people, Prov. xiv. 34. While Israel regarded God's CHAPTER XXVII. Moses commands the people to write the law upon stones, when they shall come to the promised land, 1-3. And to set up these stones on Mount Ebai, 4. and to build an altar of unhewn stones, and to offer on it burnt-offerings and peace offerings, 5-7. The words to be written plainly, and the people to be exhorted to obedience, 8-10. The six tribes which should stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, 11, 12 Those who are to stand upon Mount Ebal, to curse the transgressors, 13. The different transgressors, against whom the curses are to be denounced, 14-28. An. Exod. Isr. 40.-Sebal ND Moses with the elders of Israel A commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. 2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan, unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: 3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. 4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. 5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burntofferings thereon unto the LORD thy God: 7 And thou shalt offer peace-offerings, and shalt a Josb. 41.-b Josh. 8. 32.-e Ch. 11. 29. Josh. 8. 30-d Exod. 20. 25. Josh. 8. 31-e Ch. 26. 18.- Ch. 11. 29. Josh. 8. 33. Judg. 9. 7.-g Ch. 11. 29. Josh. 8. 33. h Heb. for a cursing. -i Ch. 33. 10. Josh. 8. 33. Dan. 9. 11. word and kept his testimonies, they were the greatest and most respectable of all nations: but when they forsook God and his law, they became the most contemptible. O Britain! even more highly favoured than ancient Israel, learn wisdom by what they have suffered. It is not thy fleets nor thine armies, howsoever excellent and well appointed, that can ultimately exalt, and secure thy permanence among the nations. It is righteousness alone. Become irreligious, neglect God's ordinances, profane his sabbath, despise his word, persecute his followers; and thou art lost. But fear, love, and serve him; and thy enemies shall be found liars, thou shalt defeat their projects, and trample on their high places. THE form of confession when bringing the first-fruits, related, ver. 4-10. is both affecting and edifying. Even when brought into a state of affluence and rest, they were commanded to remember, and publicly acknowledge, their former degradation and wretchedness, that they might be ever kept humble and dependent; and they must bring their offering as a public acknowledgment to God, that it was by his mercy their state was changed, and by his bounty their comforts were continued. If a man rise from poverty to affluence, and forget his former state, he becomes proud, insolent and oppressive. If a Christian convert forget his former state, the rock whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit whence he was digged; he soon becomes careless, unthankful, and unholy. The case of the ten lepers that were cleansed, of whom only one returned to give God thanks, is an awful lesson. How many are continually living on the bounty of God, who feel no gratitude for his mercies! Reader, is this thy state? If so, then expect the just God to curse thy blessings. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXVII. Verse 2. Thou shalt set thee up great stones] How many, is not specified; possibly twelve; and possibly only a sufficient number to make a surface large enough to write the blessings and the curses on. Plaster them with plaster] Perhaps the original n DAN vesadta otam beseed, should be translated thou shall cement them with cement, because this was intended to be a durable monument. In similar cases, it was customary to set up a single stone, or a heap, rudely put together, where no cement or mortar appears to have been used; and because this was common, it was necessary to give particular directions, when the usual method was not to be followed. Some suppose, that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces between the letters were filled up by the mortar or cement. This is quite a possible case, as the eastern inscriptions are frequently done in this way. There now is before me a large slab of basaltes, two feet long, by sixteen inches wide; on which there is an inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Tamool: in the two former, the letters are all raised, the surface of the stone eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. S And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. 9 T And Moses, and the priests, the Levites, spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. 10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. 11 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, 12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 T And the Levites shall speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, 15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. 16 m Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. 17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. k Exod. 20. 4, 23. & 34. 17. Lev. 19. 4. & 26. 1. Ch. 4. 16, 23. & 5. 8. Isai. 44. 9. Hos. 13. 2-1 See Numb. 5. 22. Jer. 11. 5. 1 Cor. 14. 16.-m Exod. 20. 12 & 21. 17. Lev. 19. 3. Ch. 21. 18-n Ch. 19. 14. Prov. 22. 28. being dug out; but the Tamool is indented. A kind of reddish paint has been smeared over the letters, to make them more apparent. Two Arabic marbles in the University of Oxford have the inscriptions in relievo, like those on the slab of basaltes in my possession. In the opinion of some, even this case may cast light upon the subject in question. Verse 3. All the words of this law] After all that has been said by ingenious critics concerning the law ordered to be written on these stones, some supposing the whole Mosaic law to be intended; others only the decalogue; I am fully of opinion that the nn torah, law or ordinance in question, simply means the blessings and curses mentioned in this and in the following chapter; and indeed these contained a very good epitome of the whole law, in all its promises and threatenings, in reference to the whole of its grand moral design. See at the end of this chapter. Verse 4. Set up these stones-in mount Ebal] So the present Hebrew text; but the Samaritan has mount Gerizim. Dr. Kennicott has largely defended the reading of the Samaritan, in his second dissertation on the present state of the Hebrew text; and Dr. Parry has defended the Hebrew against the Samaritan, in his Case between Gerizim and Ebal fairly stated. So has J. H. Verschuir, in his Dissert. Critica. Many still think Dr. Kennicott's arguments unanswerable; and have no doubt that the Jews have here corrupted the text through their enmity to the Samaritans. On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked and as barren as a rock. On this very account, the former was highly proper for the ceremony of blessing, and the latter for the ceremony of cursing. Verse 12. These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people] Instead of upon mount, &c. we may translate by, as the particle by âl, is sometimes used: for we do not find that the tribes did stand on either mount; for in Josh. viii. 33. when this direction was reduced to practice, we find the people did not stand on the mountains, but over against them on the plain. See the observations at the end of this chapter. Verse 15. Cursed be the man, &c.] Other laws previously made, had prohibited all these things, and penal sanctions were necessarily understood; but here God more openly declares, that he who breaks them is cursed; falls under the wrath and indignation of his Maker and Judge. See the note on Exod. xx. 4. Verse 16. Setteth light by his father or his mother.] See the note on Exod. xx. 12. Verse 17. Removeth his neighbour's landmark.] See before on Deut. xix. 14. and on Exod. xx. 17. And for all the rest of these curses, see the notes on Exod. xx. and the observations at the end of it. o Lev. 19. 11.-p Exoi 22 21, 22. Ch. 10. 13. & 21. 17. Mal. 3. 5.-r Lev. 19. 8. & 20, 41. Ch. 22. 30-8 Lev. 18. 123. & 2). 15.— Lev. 18. 9. & 29. 17.--u Lev. 18 17. & 20. 14. Verse 18. The blind to wander out of the way.] A sin against the sixth commandment. See on Exod. xx. 13. Verse 26. That confirmeth not all the words of this law] The word col, ALL, is not found in any printed copy of the Hebrew text, but the Samaritan preserves it, and so do sir MSS. in the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi, besides several copies of the Chaldee Targum. The Septuagint also, and St. Paul in his quotation of this place, Gal. iii. 10. St. Jerom says that the Jews suppressed the word, that it might not appear that they were bound to fulfil ALL the precepts in the law of Moses. 1. Dr. Kennicott, who contends that it was the Decalogue that was written on the stones mentioned in this chapter, says, "If we examine these twelve curses, they will appear to contain a strong enforcement of the ten commands; and it is highly probable, that the curses were here proclaimed, principally to secure obedience to the commandments, as will be made more clear by the following table. The first, second, third, and fourth Commandments. Verse 15. Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination to the Lord, &c. The fifth Commandment. 26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. CHAPTER XXVIII. The blessings which God pronounces on the obedient, 1-6. Particular privileges which the faithful shall receive, 7-13 The curses pronounced against the only and idolatrons, 14–19. A detailed account of the miseries, which shunki be in flicted on them, should they neglect the commandments of the Lord, a They shall be smitten with the pestilence, 2. with consumption, fever, &c. 22 drongli and barrenness, 23, 24. they shall be defeated by their enemies, 25, 2. they shabe afflicted with the botch of Egypt. 27. with madness and blindness, 25, 29 they shal be disappointed in all their projects, 30. deprived of all their possessions, and affided in all their members, 31-35. they and their king shall go into captivity. 36 and become a by-word among the nations. 37. Their land shall be antroiful, and they shall be the lowest of all people, 33-44. All these curses shall come on this shonki they be disobedient, 45-43. Character of the people by whom they should be subdued, 49, 50. Particulars of their dreadful suferings, 51-57. A recapitulation of their wretchedness, 53-63. The prediction that they shall be scattered among all the nations of the earth, 61-68. AND it shall come to pass, if thou Excelle shalt hearken diligently unto the 40-Sebat voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: v Exod. 20. 13. & 21. 12, 24. Lev. 24. 17. Numb 35. 31. Ch. 19. 11.- Exod. 217,8 Ch. 10. 17. & 16.19. Ezek. 22. 12—x Ch. 28. 15. Psa. 119. A. Jer. 11. 3. G. 3. 10a Exod. 15. 2. Lev. 26. 3. Isai. 55. 2-b Ch. 26. 19. Verse 16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father wives, should be employed in blessing, two tribes descendor his mother. The sixth Commandment. ed from the same mothers, should be joined to the other four, who proceeded from the handmaids, in order to make Verse 25. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an in-up the number six. The question is, which two of the nocent person. Verse 24. Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. Verse 18. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. The seventh Commandment. Verse 17. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. The ninth Commandment. more honourable tribes should be joined to the four least honourable, in order to complete the number six? Zebulun is chosen, because being the sixth and youngest of all Leah's sons, he was the least honourable of those who proceeded from the free woman: and Reuben is chosen, who, though the eldest of Jacob's sons, and entitled to the birthright, had lost it by his transgression. And hence he, in his posterity, was degraded, and obliged to pronounce the curse: Cursed is he that lieth with his father's wife; see Gen. xlix. 3, 4. and xxxv. 22. and the notes on both places. 4. It is strange how long the disgrace consequent on some flagrant transaction of a parent may cleave to his posterity! See this exemplified in the posterity of Reuben. Verse 19. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of Hence, with great propriety, we may pray, "Remember the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The tenth Commandment. Verse 26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." Many will think this arrangement fanciful; and the analogy far from being natural. not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins." Litany. For the offences of our forefathers may be so remembered against their posterity, that God, in the course of his providence, may still keep up a controversy in secular matters with the descendants, (though even pious,) of unholy ancestors; for as all men were seminally included in their parents, they come into the world depraved with their depravity, and in some sort liable to their curses, though not so far as to affect their eternal interests, without the addition of their own personal offences. Thus God may be said to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children even unto the third and fourth generation; as he may have a controversy with the land for the evil which has been done in it, and for which no proper atonement has been made. Why is it that at this moment Spain is suffering the most afflictive and cruel desolations? What has she 2. In pronouncing these blessings and curses, the Talmud says, six tribes went up toward the top of mount Gerizim, and six toward the top of mount Ebal; and the priests and the Levites, and the ark, stood beneath in the midst. The priests encompassed the ark, and the Levites stood round about the priests; and all Israel on this side and on that; see Josh. viii. 33. Then they turned their faces toward mount Gerizim, and pronounced the blessing; Blessed be the man, &c. and those on each side answered, AMEN. Then they turned their faces toward mount Ebal, and pronounced the curse: Cursed be the man, &c. and those on each side answered, AMEN! till they had finished the bless-done to merit all this? Is she more wicked than all the ings and the curses, and afterward they brought stones and built an altar. Some suppose that the Levites were divided into two grand bodies, part standing at, or on mount Gerizim, and part on mount Ebal, and that with each division were some of the priests. The whole Dr. Parry supposes to have been arranged in the following manner. European nations because she suffers such things?—Here is the mystery: Nations, as such, can only be punished in this world. Look at the torrents of innocent blood shed by their ancestors in South America three hundred years ago; and see now and adore the awful hand of retributive justice! December, 1811. We often see persons tried anc |