Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
of the Offerer of First-fruits. DEUTEEONOjSIY XXVI, XXVII. The 'law to be Written upon Slonea.
Increase tlie third year—Among the Hebrews there were two tithings. The first was appropriated to the Levites (Numbers 18.21). The second, being the tenth of what remained, was brought to Jerusalem in kind ; or it was converted into money, and the owner on arriving in the capital, purchased sheep, bread, and oil (ch. 14. 2'2, 23). This was done for two j'ears together. But this second tithing was eaten .it home, .and the third year distributed amongst tlie poor of the jlace at discretion (ch. 11. 2S, 29). 13. Thou shalt say before the Lord tliy God, I have brought away the luallowed things out ofmine house This was a solemn declaration tliat noiliiug which should be devoted to the Divine service had been secretly reserved for personal use. li. I liave not eaten thereof In my mourning—in a season of sorrow, which brought defilement on sacred tilings; under a pretence of poverty, and grudging to give any away to the poor, ueitlier, for any unclean use i. e., any common purpose, ditferent from what God had .appointed, and whii-li would have been a desecration of it. nor given auglit thereof for the deail—on any funeral service, or, to an idol, which is a dead thing.
heartless official; and 2tl. That the maximum amount of
It sliould be limited to forty stripes, instead of being awarded according to the arbitrary will or passion of the magistrate. The Egyptian, like Tmkish and Chinese rulers, often applied the stick till they caused death or lameness for life. Of what the scourge consisted at first we are not informed; but in later times, when the Jews were exceedingly scrupulous in adhering to the letter of the law, and, for fear of miscalculation, were desirous of keeping within the prescribed limit, it was formed of three cords, terminating in leathern thongs, and thirteen strokes of this counted thirty-nine (2 Corinthians 11. 21).
4. Tliou sUalt not muzzle the ox -wlieii lie treadeth out the com—In Judea, as in modern Syria and Egypt, the larger grains were beaten out by the feet of oxen, which, yoked together, trode round day after day the wide open spaces which form the thresiiing-floors. The animals were allowed freely to pick up a mouthful, when they chose to do so; a wise as well as humane regulation, introduced by the law of Moses (cf. 1 Corinthians 9. 9; 1 Timothy 5. 17, 18). 5-10. the wife of tlie dead shall not marry withoutunto a stranger ; her Itusbniid's brother shall take her to wife—This usage existed before the age of iloses (Genesis 38. 8). But the Mosaic law rendered the cuslotn obligatory (Matthew 22. 25) on younger brothers, or the nearest kinsman, to marry the widow (Ruth 4. 4), by associating the natural desire of perpetuating a broth-
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 humanity, 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 stnd 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 fistivitles 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 Zcbulun, 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