Chapter XXVII
Ver. 2-10. The People ake to Write the Law upon Stones. 3. It sliall be on tlie Any rt'Jien we shall pass over Jordan—day is often put for time; and it was not
er's name, with the preservation of property in the Hebrev/ families and tribes. In the event of the younger brother declining to comply with the law, the widow brought her claim before the authorities of the place at a public assembly (the gate of the city), and he having declared his refusal, she was ordered to loose the thong of his shoe—a sign of degradation—following up that act by spitting on the ground—the strongest expression of ignominy and contempt amongst Eastern ijeople. The shoe
till some days after the passage thiit the following instructions were acted upon, thou slialt set i.hee up great stones, and pl.iister thei>i witli plaister—These Stones were to be taken in their natural state, unhewn, and unpolished—the occasion on which tliey were used not admitting of long or elaborate preparation ; and they were to be daubed over with paint or white-wash, to render them more conspicuous. Stones and even rocks are seen in Egypt and the peninsula of .Sinai, containing inscriptions made 3U00 years ago, in paint or plaister. By some similar metliod those stones may have been in» scribed, and it is most probable that Moses learned the art from the Egyptians. 3. Thou shalt write upon tliem all the words of this law—It might be, as some think, the Decalogue; but a greater probability is, that it was "the blessings and curses," which comprised in fact an epitome of the law (Joshua 8. 34). 5-10. tliere slialt thou build an altar . , . of whole stones—The stones were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the whole congregation of Israel ; and the religious ceremonial performed on the occasion was to consist, first, of the elementary worship needed for sinful men ; and secondly, of the peace ofteriugs, or lively, social feasts, that were suited to the happy people whose God was the Lord. Thei'e were thus, the lixw which condemned, and the typical expiation—the two groat principles of revealed religion.
wiis kept by the magistrate as an evidenc e of the transaction, and the parties separated. 13-16. Thou slialt not have dlverii weights—Weights were anciently made of stone, and are frequently used still by Eastern shopkeepers and trader.s^ who take them out of the bag and put tlieni in tlie t)alance. The man who is not cheated by the trader and his bag of divers weights must be blessed with more acutencss than most of his fellows. [Robert.s.]
(Cf. Proverbs Ki. 11 ; 211. ID.) 17-19. Remember what Amalek did—This cold-blooded and dastardly atrocity is not narrated in the previous history (Exodus 17. 14). It was an unprovoked outrage on the laws of nature and human-
ity, as well as a daring defiance of that God who had so signally sliowii Ills favour towards Israel (see on 1 Samuel
15.; 27. 8; 30). CHAPTER XXVI.
Ver. 1-1.5. The Confession of Him that OFFERiSTH THK Basket of Fiksi-fhuit.s. Thou shalt take of
tite rtrst of all the finit of the earth—The Israelites in Canaan being God's tenants at will, wen; required to give Him tribute in the form of first-fruits and tithes. No Israelite was at liberty to use any productions of liis field until he had present<'d the required offerings. The tribute began to be exigible after the settlement in the promised
Ver. 11-13. The Tribes Divided on Gerizim and Ebal. 11-13. these sliall st^nd upon ti!ount Gerizim to bless the people , . . these shall stand upon mount Kbal to curse—Tliose long rocky ridges lay in the province of Samaria, and tlie peaks referred to were near Shechem (N.ablous), rising in steep precipices, to the height of about 800 feet, and separated by a green, wellwatered valley, of about .500 yards wide. The people of Israel were here divided into two parts. On mount Gerizim (now Jeljcl-et-Tur) were stationed the descendants of Rachel and Leah, tlie two principal wives of Jacob, and to them was assigned the most pleasant and honourable
lanil, and it was yearly repeated at one of the great feasts (Leviticus 2.14; 'li. lU ; •£i. 1.5; Numbers 28. '20; ch. l(i. 9). Kvery master of a family carried it on his shoulders in a
little basket of osier, peeled willow, or palm leaves, and brought it to the sanctuary. 5. Thou shalt say, A Syrian ready to perlsli was my fatlier— rather, .a wandering Syrian. The ancestors of tlie Hebrews were nomad shepherds, either Syrians by birtli a,s Abraham, or by long residence as Jacob ; and when tliey were established as a nation in the posse.sslon of the promised land, it was to God's unmerited goodness they W(^re indeljted for their distinguished privileges, and in token of gratitude they brought this basket of first-fruits. 11. tliou shalt rejoice —feasting with frien<ls and the Levites, wlio were invited on such occasions to share in the cheerful fi^stivitles that followed oblations (ch. 12.7; 10. 10-1.5). l.i-l.l. \Vhen tikou boiit made au end of tithing all tlie titlies of tliiue
office of pronouncing the benedictions; while on the twill
hill of Ebal (now Imad-el-Deen) were placed the posterity of the two secondary wives, Zilpah and Bilhah, with tlio.se of Reuben, who had lost the primogeniture, and Zc^bulun, son of Leah, 5'oungest son; to them were committed the necessary but painful duty of pronouncing the maledictions («ee on Judges 9. 7). The ceremony might have taken place on the lower spurs of the mountains, where they approach more clo.sely to each other ; and the course ob.scrved was as follows :—Amid the silent expectatioua
Blessing!- Jor Obedience, DEUTEFvOXOMY XXVIII. and Ihe Curses /or DLsobedimce,
of the solemn assembly, the priests standing round the ark in the valley below, said aloud, looliiug to (jerizim, "Blessed is the man that maketli not any graveii image," When the people ranged on tliat hill responded in lull f^iraultaneous sliouts of "Amen;" then turning round to Ebal, they cried, "Cursed is the man that maltetli anj' graven image;" to wliich those that covered the ridge ansvv'Cied, "Amen." The same course at every pause was followed with all tile blessings and curses (see on Joshua
of licart—they would be bewildered and paralyzed with terror at the extent of their calamities. aO-33. tlioa slialt grope at noonday—a general description of the painful uncertainty in which they would live. During
t!ie middle ages the Jews were driven from society into hiding-places which they were afraid Jto leave, not knowing from what quarter they might be assailed, and their ciiildren dragged into captivity, from which no friend could rescue, and no moiK^y random them. 35. tlic ILord sliall smite dee in tite luiees aiitl in tlic legs—this is an exact description of elephantiasis, a horrible diser.se, something like leprosy, which attacks particulaily the lower extremities. 3tt. Tbc Lord shall bring tltee and tliy king—This shows how widespread would be the national calamity; and at the same time how hopeless, when he wlu) should have been their defender shared the captive fate of his subjects, tliere slualt thon serve otber go<ls, wood and stone—The Hebrew exiles, with some honourable exceptions, were seduced or compelled into idolatry in tlie Assyrian and Babylonish captivities (Jeremiah 44. 17-19). Thus, the sin to which they had too often betrayed a perverse fondness, a deep-rooted propensity, became their punishment and their misery. 37. thon Shalt become an astonishment, a proverl*, and a byword among all natioits whither tike Lord sliall, ikc. —The annals of almost every nation, for eighteen hundred years, alford abundant proofs that this has been, as it still
8. S'-i, 81). These curses attendant on disobedience to the Divine will, whicli had been revealed as a law from heaven, be it observed, are given in the form of a declaration, not a Irish, as the words sliould be rendered, " Cursed is he," and not "Cursed be he."