Chapter XXVII
fices, ll-l.'i. Ill tlie beginnings of your months y« slinll otfer up a burnt oflTering unto the Lord—Theso were held as sacred festivals; and though not possessing the ch.aracter of solemn feast-s, they were distinguished by the blowing of trumpets over the sacrifices (ch. 10. 10), by the suspension of all labour, except the domestic occupations of women (Amos 8. 5), by the celebratlcm of inibllc worship (2 Kings 4.23), and by social or family feasts.
Ver. 1-11. The DAtJGiiTERS of Zeloivieii.\d Sue for AN Inheritance. 4. Give us a possession among the brethren of our father—Those young women, perceiving that the males only In families had been registered In the census, and that in consequence of none in their household, their family was omitted, made known their grievance to Moses, and the authorities con.jolned with him In administering Justice. The case was important; and as the peculiarity of daughters being the sole mi^mbers of a tundly would be no unfrequent or uncommon occurrence, the law of Inheritance, under Divine authority, was extended not only.to meet all similar cii-ses, but other ca-ses also—such as when there were nochlldren left by the pro-
(1 Samuel 20. .5.) These observations are not prescribed In the law, though they obtalriod in the practice of a later time. The beginning of the month was known, not by a.stronomlcal calculations, but, according to Jewish
writers, by the testimony of messengers appointed to watch the first visible appearance of the new m<H>n, anil then the fact was anpounced through the whole country by sIgAil-flres kindled on the mountain tops. The newmoon festivals having been common amongst the heathen.
prietor, nn<l no brothers to succeed him, A distribution of the prr)tnlse(l land was about to bo made ; and It Is intercHtlug to know the legal provision made In these comparatively rare cases for preserving a patrimony from being alienated to another tribe. (See on ch. .36. 6, 7.) 3. »>ur fntlier died in the wilderness, antl he wn« not Ui the company of Korah—This declaration might be
It Is probable that an Important design of fheir Instltntlon In Israel was toglve the mlndsof that people a beit*T direction; and assuming this to have been one of the
The Offerings at the Feast of Trumpetn. NUMBERS XXIX, XXX. Vows are not to be Urokez,
dience to the statutory offerings, and by the presentation of those which were made by freewill or in consequenca of vows. 39. These things ye shall do unto the Lord In your set feasts—From the statements made in this and the preceding chapter, it appears that tlie yearly offerings made to the altar at the public expense, without taking into account a vast number of voluntary vow .and trespass offerings, were calculated at the following amount: Goats, 15; kids, 21; rams, 72; bullocks, l:{2
objects contemplated. It will account for one of the kids being offered unto the Lord (v. 15), not uiito the moon, as the Egyptians and Syrians did. The Sabbath and tlie new moon are frequently mentioned together. 10-^5. In tUe fourteenth day of the first month Is the passover—The law for that great annual festival is given (Leviticus 2?. 5), but some details are here introduced, as certain specitied offerings are prescribed to be made on each of the seven days of unleavened breaa. 36, 27. In the dny of the first-fruits . . . offer the buri»t offering—A new sacri-
; lambs, 1,101
sum total of animals sacrificed at jjublic cost, 1,2)1. This, of course, is exclusive of the prodigious addition of lambs slain at the passover, which in later times, according to Josephus, amounted in a single year to the immense number of 255,600.
fice is here ordered for the celebration of this festival, in addition to the other offering, which was to accompany the first-fruits. (Leviticus 23. IS.)