The age and time of CHAP. III, IV. CHRIST 1490. the Levites' service. 47 Thou shalt even take five she- | that enter into the host, to do the Before kels apiece by the poll, after the work in the tabernacle of the congreshekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs :) 48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. 49 And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: 50 Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. CHAP. IV. 1 The age and time of the Levites' service. 4 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, gation. 4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: 5 ¶ And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: 6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. 30. 7 And upon the table of shew- a Exod. 25. bread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual Or, pour bread shall be thereon: 8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. out withal. 31. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of b Exod. 25. the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all e Exod. 25. the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: 10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. 11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover 3 From thirty years old and up-it with a covering of badgers' skins, ward even until fifty years old, all and shall put to the staves thereof: 38. ance for their encouragement in his service. Bp. Pa- learners; and at thirty began to do the hard services. trick. Dr. Wall. all that enter into the host,] All that are fit to enter upon this ministry, being of just age, and sufficient strength, and not legally excluded, chap. v. 2; i. 3. This service was a spiritual warfare; and he that entered into it, is said to enter into the host. See ver. 23, and 1 Tim. i. 18; 2 Tim. ii. 3. Bp. Kidder. Their watching continually about the tabernacle made them a sort of guard. Bp. Patrick. 47. Thou shalt—take five shekels apiece] This was the price of redemption ever after, chap. xviii. 16. It had been lately constituted the value of a man-child, from a month to five years old, Lev. xxvii. 6. Which of the firstborn was to be redeemed by money, and which to be exchanged for a Levite, was probably determined by lot: unless the congregation redeemed the 273 firstborn out of a common stock. Bp. Patrick. Chap. IV. ver. 3. From thirty years old and upward] In the work, to which they are here appointed, they were not employed till they reached thirty years of age: but they were admitted to attend at the tabernacle, and do other service at twenty-five years: see chap. viii. 24. The work, here alluded to, was that of carrying the ark, and the most holy things, which were always borne on men's shoulders. It is spoken of by the word "burden" in ver. 15. 19. 24. 31. 47. Bp. Patrick. Probably, at twenty-five years of age they went in as 6.-put in the staves thereof.] Not into the rings, for they were never to be taken out, Exod. xxv. 15. The Hebrew words signify put the staves thereof, that is, upon their shoulders: or, fit and dispose them, under the covering, that they might be laid on their shoulders. Bps. Patrick and Kidder. 7.- the continual bread] The shewbread, which stood continually in the presence of God, being renewed every sabbath. Bp. Patrick. 10.-put it upon a bar.] Rather, a bier; or a thing broad, and fit to carry the vessels, &c. just mentioned. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. The Levites' several charges Before CHRIST 1490. 34. Before CHRIST 1490. 12 And they shall take all the in- | of Gershon, throughout the houses of 23 From thirty years old and up- 14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and Or, bowls. the || basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. 16 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth d Exod. 30. the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof. e Exod. 30. 23. e 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites : 19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: 20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die. 21 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 22 Take also the sum of the sons 15.- they shall not touch any holy thing.] They were to touch the staves, but not the ark, which is here meant principally, by the holy thing, the word any not being in the Hebrew. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. 16. And to the office of Eleazar &c.] Though the Levites of this class had a particular governour of their own, chap. iii. 30, yet both he and they, in all their important trusts, were to be under the inspection of 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for || burdens: 25 And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve. I Or, carriage. 27 At the appointment of Aaron +Heb.mouth. and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; 30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the + service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. Heb. warfare. The Levites' charge, Before CHRIST 1490. CHAP. IV, V. 32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers, 35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation: 36 And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers, 39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, 40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were and their number. 42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, 43 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, 44 Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. 45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers, 47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, 48 Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses. CHAP. V. 1 The unclean are removed out of the camp. 5 Restitution is to be made in trespasses. 11 The trial of jealousy. two thousand and six hundred and AND the LORD spake unto Mo thirty. ses, saying, Before CHRIST 1490. 2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every a leper, and every one that hath an a Lev. 13. 3. issue, and whosoever is defiled by b Lev. 15. 2. the dead: 3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye c Lev. 21. 1. 2 Chron, xxxi. 2. 2. The camp of the Levites, who, with Aaron and his sons, encamped round about the sanctuary, ch. iii. 3. The camp of Israel, chap. ii, which encompassed them all. Lepers were not admitted into any of these three camps: he, that had an issue, was excluded from the two first; but might be in the camp Restitution is to be made. Before CHRIST 1490. d Lev. 6. 3. NUMBERS. put them; that they defile not their 6 Speak unto the children of Is- e 7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall e Lev. 6. 5. recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. of Israel and he that was defiled by the dead was excluded only from the sanctuary, and not from the other two. Bp. Patrick. 6. — commit any sin that men commit,] That is, which they are ordinarily obnoxious to, or overtaken with. Bp. Kidder. Any sin of frailty or infirmity, which is commonly incident to every man. Bp. Hall. In the Hebrew the words are, shall commit any sin of man; that is, any sin against his neighbour: as in Joel iii. 19; "violence of the children of Judah" is truly translated, "violence against the children of Judah. It is plain from ver. 7, 8, that Moses here speaks of offences against their neighbours. Bp. Patrick. The trial of jealousy. 13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; 14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: 19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if Before CHRIST 1490. by practical reformation. For every transgression the Law prescribed a trespass offering. Where the transgression was of a mere ritual precept, and committed without deliberation or design; when discovered, the trespass offering was sufficient alone: for this shewed, that the offender acknowledged the authority of the Law, which he had unintentionally violated. But where the transgression included any encroachment on the rights of another, the trespass offering could not be received, unless it was accompanied by a publick acknowledgment of the offence, a resignation of the usurped property, and a restitution to the person injured, if he or his heir could be found; if not, the usurped property was to be consecrated to pious uses, as the offender could not procure pardon, while he retained it. No regulation could point out more clearly the inefficacy of sacrifice, where guilt was not unfeignedly repented of, and all the advantages, which had tempted to its perpetration, renounced and resigned; and where full restitution to the injured individual did not accom7.—and he shall recompense his trespass with the prin-pany humiliation before God. Dr. Graves. cipal thereof, &c.] Under the Levitical law, reconciliation could be obtained only by repentance, and no repentance was accepted, which did not prove its sincerity to do a trespass against the Lord,] Such offences against their neighbours, as were also offences against God; such as frauds and cheats put on men by a false oath. Bp. Patrick. The context manifestly implies, that a sin against our neighbour is an offence against God. Pyle. that person be guilty;] Or rather, be sensible of his guilt. See Lev. vi. 4. Bp. Patrick. 18. the bitter water] The water which shall prove bitterly afflictive and deadly to her, if she be guilty. See ver. 27. Bp. Hall. The trial of jealousy. Before CHRIST 1490. thou hast not gone aside to unclean-morial thereof, and burn it the upon ness with another instead of thy altar, and afterward shall cause the husband, be thou free from this bitter woman to drink the water. Or, being in the power of water that causeth the curse: thy husband. + Heb. under 27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, 20 But if thou hast gone aside to thy husband. another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine hus-that the water that causeth the curse band: 21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to + Heb. fall. rot, and thy belly to swell; 22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot. And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: shall enter into her, and become bitter, 28 And if the woman be not de- 29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall 24 And he shall cause the woman 25 Then the priest shall take the altar: 26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the me 21.- The Lord make thee a curse] So that when men would imprecate evil on another, they should say, Let that befal thee, which befel such a woman. Bp. Kidder. The water of jealousy drunk by an Israelitish woman, suspected of infidelity to her husband, but denying that crime, has been a subject of great difficulty. It appears to have contained the essence of an oath, varied for the purpose of peculiar solemnity: so that a woman would naturally hesitate to take such an oath, understood to be an appeal to Heaven of the most solemn kind: understood also to be accompanied, in case of perjury, by most painful and fatal effects. The drinking appears to have been a symbolical action: when the priest wrote the curses in a book," and washed those curses into the water which was to be drunk, the water was understood to be impregnated, as it were, to be tinctured with the curse, the acrimony of which it received; so that now it was metaphorically bitter, containing the curse in it. The drinking of this curse, though conditionally effective or non-effective, could not but have a great effect on the woman's mind; and an answerable effect on the husband's jealousy, which it was designed to cure and to dissipate. Script. illust. Expos. Ind. 29. This is the law of jealousies,] By which God declared Himself to be privy to the most secret sins; and to be both the preserver of conjugal faith and chastity, CHAP. VI. 1 The law of the Nazarites. 22 The form of AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Before CHRIST 1490. 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man || Or, make or woman shall || separate themselves Nazariles. themselves and the protector of innocence: and at the same time prevented all other hard and cruel usage of the wife, in the case of the husband's jealousy. Bp. Patrick, Pyle. It has been well remarked, that this species of ordeal could not injure the innocent at all, or punish the guilty, except by a miracle: whereas, in the ordeals by fire, &c. in the dark ages, the innocent could scarcely escape, but by a miracle. Dr. Graves. 31. Then shall the man be guiltless] Nor shall the husband incur any reproach in thus prosecuting the wife, that gives him occasion of jealousy, whether she prove really guilty or not. If she appear innocent, she still pays for her indiscretion: and if guilty, she has the just punishment of her crime. Pyle. From this declaration of God, that He would chastise the offender, and from this mention of the particular chastisement, in a case, for which no human punishment could be inflicted, appears the unreasonableness of supposing that Moses was indeed a virtuous and wise man, but that the Law, which he drew up for the Israelites, was of his own contrivance, and that he called it a Divine revelation, to make the people reverence it, and imposed upon them for their good. As he was a virtuous man, he would not have done evil that good might come of it; and as he was a wise man, he would never have made such laws as this and others like it, and have promised what he was not able to per |