Leviticus 17:1--24:9
house <01004> [be of.]
slaughters ... ox <07819 07794> [that killeth an.]
brought <0935> [bringeth.]
shed blood <01818 02803> [blood shall.]
shed <08210> [he hath.]
cut off <03772> [be cut off.]
field <06440> [in the open.]
sacrificing .................... sacrifice ..... peace offering <02076 08002> [and offer them.]
splash <02236> [sprinkle.]
offer <06999> [burn.]
goat <08163> [unto devils.]
goat <08163> [devils.]
{Seirim,} properly signifies hairy or hairy ones; and hence is used not only for he-goats, but also for some fabulous beings or sylvan gods, to whom was ascribed the form of goats. Maimonides says that the Zabian idolaters worshipped demons under the form of goats; and that this custom being spread among other nations, gave occasion to this precept. He-goats, however, are probably intended here, which were objects of divine honour among the Egyptians under the name of honour among the Egyptians under the name of Mendes. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt; but particularly he-goats. From these seem to have sprung Pan, Silenus, and the innumerable herd of those imaginary beings, fauns, satyrs, dryads, etc., all woodland gods, and held in veneration by the Greeks and Romans.
prostitutes <02181> [gone a whoring.]
Though this phrase is equivalent, in Scripture, to that of committing idolatry, yet it is to be taken sometimes in a literal sense. Baalpeor and Ashtaroth were worshipped with obscene rite; and public prostitution formed a great part of the worship among the Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans.
offers <05927> [that offereth.]
eats ............. eats <0398> [that eateth.]
I will set <05414> [I will.]
life .......................... lives ........... life <05315> [the life.]
This sentence, which contains a most important truth, had existed in the Mosaic writings for more than 3,000 years, before the attention of any philosopher was drawn to the subject. That the blood actually possesses a living principle, and that the life of the whole body is derived from it, is a doctrine of revelation, and a doctrine which the experiments of the most accurate anatomists have served strongly to confirm. The proper circulation of this important fluid through the whole human system was first taught by Solomon in figurative language, (Ec 12:6,) and discovered, as it is called, and demonstrated by Dr. Harvey in 1628; though some Italian philosophers had the same notion a little before. This accurate anatomist was the first who fully revived the Mosaic notion of the vitality of the blood; which was afterwards adopted by the justly celebrated Dr. John Hunter, professor of anatomy, and established by him, by a great variety of strong reasoning and accurate experiments.
assigned <05414> [I have.]
resident foreigner <01616> [neither.]
hunts <06679> [which hunteth.]
hunts <06679> [hunteth. Heb. hunteth any hunting. pour out.]
person <05315> [every soul.]
died of natural causes ..... torn <05038 02966> [that which died of itself. Heb. a carcase. both wash.]
do .... do ................... do <04639> [the doings.]
do .... do ................... do <04639> [and after.]
anyone ... does <0834 0120 06213> [which if a man do.]
Lord <03068> [I am the Lord.]
close relative <07607> [near to kin. Heb. remainder of his flesh.]
Not withstanding the prohibitions here, it must be evident, that in the infancy of the world, persons very near of kin, and even brothers and sisters, must have joined in matrimonial alliances; and therefore we cannot pronounce them immoral in themselves. But, in these first instances, necessity required it; but when this necessity no longer existed, the thing became inexpedient and improper: for 1. As human nature now is, it is very expedient that those who are so much together in youth, should, by such a restriction be taught to look upon all such intercourse as prohibited and incestuous; for unless such restrictions are made, it would be impossible to prevent the prevalence of very early corruption among young persons. (See Michaelis on the laws of Moses, Art. 108.) 2. That the duties owing by nature to relatives might not be confounded with those of a social or political kind; for could a man be a brother and a husband, or a son and a husband at the same time, and fulfil the duties of both? Impossible. 3. That by intermarrying with other families, relationship and its endearments might be diffused. These prohibitions are, therefore, to be considered so eminently moral obligations as to be observed by all mankind.
sexual intercourse <01540> [to uncover.]
woman <0802> [a woman.]
lewdness <02154> [it is wickedness.]
woman <0802> [wife. or, one wife to another.]
rival <06887 01540> [to vex her.]
Molech <05674 04432> [pass through.]
Molech signifies a king, or governor, of similar import with BaÆ’l, lord, or governor; and it is generally supposed that the sun was worshipped under this name; and more particularly as the fire appears to have been so much employed in his worship. It seems clear that children were not only consecrated to him by passing through the fire, which appears to be alluded to here, but that they were actually made a burnt offering to him. (See the parallel passages.) That the several abominations afterwards mentioned were actually practised by many heathen nations is abundantly attested by their own writers.
Molech <04432> [to Molech.]
[Moloch.]
profane <02490> [profane.]
animal ............... animal <0929> [any beast.]
perversion <08397> [confusion.]
defile ...................... defiled <02930> [Defile.]
nations <01471> [for.]
land ................... land <0776> [the land.]
punishment <06485> [therefore.]
vomited <06958> [vomiteth.]
obey <08104> [keep.]
foreigner <01616> [nor any stranger.]
[See on]
abominable <08441> [abominable.]
defile <02930> [that ye defile.]
Lord <03068> [I am.]
holy ......... holy <06918> [Ye shall.]
respect <03372> [fear.]
keep <08104> [keep.]
idols <0457> [not unto.]
[See on]
gods ... cast metal ....... God <0430 04541> [molten gods.]
sacrifice <02077> [a sacrifice.]
sacrifice ........... sacrifice <02076> [ye shall.]
accepted <07522> [your own will.]
The Hebrews had several kinds of offerings, which they called {corban}. Some were free-will offerings, and others were of obligation. The first fruits, the tenths, the sin-offerings, were of obligation; the peace-offerings, vows, offerings of oil, wine, bread, and other things which were made to the temple, or to the ministers of the Lord, were offerings of devotion; these constituted the greater part. They indeed were a shadow of good things to come, which we enjoy in full fruition through THE ONE great SACRIFICE, even Jesus Christ. "Aaron must lay his robes away, His mitre and his vest, When God himself comes down to be The offering and the priest."
spoiled <06292> [abominable.]
accepted <07521> [it shall.]
gather .... harvest ......................... harvest <07105 07114> [ye reap the harvest.]
In what code of laws merely human, is a requisition to be found so counteracting to selfishness, so encouraging to liberality, and so beneficently considering to the poor and needy? But the Mosaic dispensation, like the Christian, breathed with love to God, and benevolence to man. To the honour of the public and charitable spirit of the English, this merciful law is, in general, as much attended to as if it had been incorporated with the gospel.
pick <05953> [glean.]
pick ................... leave <05953 05800> [thou shalt.]
[shalt not.]
falsely .... fellow <0376 08266> [lie one.]
swear <07650> [ye shall.]
profane <02490> [profane.]
oppress <06231> [shalt not.]
wages <06468> [the wages.]
curse <07043> [not curse.]
fear <03372> [fear.]
slanderer <07400> [tale-bearer.]
stand <05975> [stand.]
hate <08130> [hate.]
reprove <03198> [rebuke.]
incur sin <05375 02399> [and not suffer sin upon him. or, that thou bear not sin for him.]
vengeance <05358> [not avenge.]
vengeance ............... love <05358 0157> [thou shalt.]
animals ... breed <07250 0929> [thy cattle gender.]
These practices might have been considered as altering the original constitution of God in creation; and this is the view which the Jews, and also Josephus and Philo, take of the subject. There were, probably, also both moral and political reasons for these prohibitions. With respect to heterogenous mixtures among cattle, it was probably forbidden, to prevent excitements to the abominations condemned in the preceding chapter. As to seeds, in many cases, it would be highly improper to sow different kinds in the same plot of ground. If oats and wheat, for instance, were sown together, the latter would be injured, and the former ruined. This prohibition may therefore be regarded as a prudential agricultural maxim. As to different kinds of garments, the prohibition might be intended against pride and vanity in clothing.
two different kinds .............. two different kinds ... seed ........... two different kinds <03610> [mingled.]
man ................. man <02778 0376> [betrothed to an husband. or, abused by any. Heb. reproached by, or, for man. she shall be scourged. or, they. Heb. there shall be a scourging. they shall.]
sin ............. sin <02403> [and the sin.]
enter <0935> [And when.]
forbidden ....... forbidden <06188 06189> [uncircumcised.]
fruit <06529> [all the.]
holy praise ..... Lord <01974 03068 06944> [holy to praise the Lord withal. Heb. holiness of praises to the Lord.]
blood <01818> [with the blood.]
divination <05172> [use.]
still ....... practice ..... soothsaying <06049> [nor.]
slash <08296> [cuttings.]
incise <05414> [print.]
profane <02490> [prostitute. Heb. profane. to cause.]
keep <08104> [keep.]
fear <03372> [reverence.]
foreigner <01616> [And if.]
oppress <03238> [vex him. or, oppress him.]
injustice <05766> [no unrighteousness.]
measures <04060> [in meteyard.]
honest balances honest .... honest ..... honest <06664 03976> [Just balances.]
weights <068> [weights. Heb. stones. I am. See on]
Any man <0376> [Whosoever.]
gives <05414> [giveth.]
[Moloch. Molech.]
The Rabbins describe this idol as made of brass sitting upon a throne of the same metal, in the form of a man, with the head of a calf, adorned with a royal crown, and his arms extended as if to embrace any one. When they offered any children to him, they heated the statue by a great fire kindled within, and the victim was put into his arms, and thus consumed. Others relate, that the idol, which was hollow, was divided into seven compartments within; in one of which they put flour, in the second turtles, in the third a ewe, in the fourth a ram, in the fifth a calf, in the sixth an ox, and the seventh a child; which were all burnt together by heating the statue inside. The account which Diodorus (l. xx.) gives of the statue of Saturn, to which the Carthaginians, descendants of the Canaanites, sacrificed their children, is very similar. For they had a brazen stature of Saturn, stretching out his hands towards the ground, in such a manner that the children placed within them tumbled down into a pit full of fire. To this account Milton alludes, in Paradise Lost, B. 1. 392.
people <05971> [the people.]
will set .................... given <05414> [I will set.]
defiled <02930> [to defile.]
profaned <02490> [profane.]
however ....... shut <05956> [hide.]
death <04191> [and kill.]
set <07760> [I will.]
clan <04940> [against his.]
prostitution .... prostitution <02181> [whoring.]
spirits <0178> [familiar.]
prostitution <02181> [go.]
cut ... off <03772> [cut him.]
In the days of Moses, superstition was almost the {sensus communis} of the human race, which then made severe punishment necessary: by means of the Christian dispensation such errors are now exploded, the cultivation of philosophy and natural history having harmonised and contributed their feebler share of light, so that we no longer have to deplore mischiefs occasioned by the silly curiosity attempting to unfold future events.
sure <08104> [And ye.]
sanctifies <06942> [sanctify.]
curses .............. cursed <07043> [curseth.]
The term {yekallel} signifies not only to curse, but to speak contemptuously, disrespectfully, or to make light of a person: so that all speeches which have a tendency to lessen our parents in the eyes of others, or to render their judgment, piety, etc., suspected or contemptible, is here included; though the act of cursing, or of treating the parent with injurious or opprobrious language, is what is particularly intended. He who conscientiously keeps the fifth commandment, can be in no danger of the judgment here denounced.
blood <01818> [his blood.]
commits adultery ........ adulterer .... adulteress <05003> [the adulterer.]
blood <01818> [their.]
sexual <07901> [lie.]
perversion <08397> [confusion.]
woman <0802> [a wife.]
burned <08313> [burnt.]
woman ............... woman <0802> [And if a woman.]
We are assured by Herodotus (in Euterp.) that the abominations here referred to existed among the Egyptians, and even formed part of their superstitious religious system, and we have reason to believe that they were not uncommon among the Canaanites. (See ch. 18:24, 25). Need we wonder then, that God should have made laws of this nature, and appointed the punishment of death for these crimes? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law.
animal ............... animal <0929> [and the beast.]
menstruating <01739> [having.]
laid bare <06168> [discovered. Heb. made naked.]
mother's <0517> [mother's.]
has laid bare .......... punishment <06168> [uncovereth.]
aunt <01733> [uncle's wife.]
childless <06185> [childless.]
brother's .......... brother's <0251> [his brother's.]
indecency <05079> [an unclean thing. Heb. a separation.]
[statues.]
regulations <04941> [judgments.]
vomit <06958> [spue you.]
statutes <02708> [in the manners.]
disgust <06973> [therefore.]
said <0559> [But I. See on]
land <0776> [a land.]
Milk and honey were the chief dainties of the ancients as they are now among the Arabs, particularly the Bedouins. Hence not only the Hebrews, but also the Greeks and Romans, painted the highest pleasantness and fertility by an abundance of milk and honey. The image used in the text, and frequently by ancient authors on similar subjects, is a metaphor, derived from a breast, producing copious streams of milk.
apart <0914> [which.]
distinguish ......................................... distinguished <0914> [put difference.]
detestable <08262> [abominable.]
creeps <07430> [creepeth. or, moveth.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
apart <0914> [severed.]
spirit <0178> [a familiar.]
blood <01818> [their blood.]
said .... Say ......... say <0559> [Speak.]
defile <02930> [There.]
[or, the verse may be read, being an husband among his people, he shall not defile himself for his wife, etc.]
bald spot shaved <07144 07139> [not make baldness.]
This custom is also called rounding the corners of the head, (ch. 19:27,) and seems to have been performed in honour of some idol.
corner <06285> [the corner.]
The Hebrew {peath zakon}, may denote the whiskers; as the Syriac {phatho} signifies. These are by the Arabs, according to Niebuhr, still cut entirely off, or worn quite short; and hence they are called by Jeremiah, [qtswtsy p'h,] those with cropped whiskers. Perhaps some superstition, of which we are ignorant, was connected with this; but whether or not, it was the object of Moses to keep the Israelites distinct from other nations.
holy .................................. holy <06944 06918> [holy.]
profane <02490> [profane.]
food <03899> [bread.]
holy <06918> [therefore.]
prostitution <02181> [that is a whore.]
divorced <01644> [put away.]
sanctify ...................... sanctifies <06942> [sanctify.]
Lord <03068> [for I.]
daughter <01323> [the daughter.]
burned <08313> [she shall be burnt.]
head ....................... head <07218> [upon.]
ordained <04390> [consecrated.]
dishevel <06544> [uncover.]
[not rend.]
All human corpses were considered as unclean. Whoever touched one was unclean for seven days, and was obliged on the third and seventh day to purify himself according to the Mosaic instructions. In the case of the priest it went still farther; insomuch, that even mourning for the dead by any external sign, such as tearing their clothes, defiled them. Hence such mournings were absolutely forbidden to be used in any case, and by the other priests also, except in the case of their very nearest relations, for whom they were allowed to mourn. This statue is founded on the importance of sustaining the decency and purity of Divine worship. The servants of the Deity were to keep themselves at a distance from every thing that in the least degree savoured of uncleanness.
father <01> [his father.]
go out <03318> [go out.]
dedication <05145> [for the crown.]
profane <02490> [profane.]
<03068> [for I the.]
physical flaw <03971> [blemish.]
approach ... present <07126> [let him.]
food <03899> [bread. or, food.]
man ........... blind man <05787 0376> [a blind man.]
limb too long <08311> [superfluous.]
dwarf <01851> [a dwarf. or, too slender. or hath.]
physical flaw ............. physical flaw <03971> [a blemish.]
In the above list of blemishes, we meet with some that might render the priest contemptible in the eyes of men; and others that would be very great impediments in the discharge of his ministerial duties.
present ................. present <07126> [to offer.]
most holy .... holy <06944> [both.]
most holy .... holy <06944> [and of the holy.]
go <0935> [go in.]
profane <02490> [profane.]
Lord <03068> [for I the Lord.]
Aaron <0175> [Aaron.]
holy ................ profane ... holy <02490 06944> [that they profane not.]
This is the very ground of the prohibition, that they might preserve in their minds a holy reverence for the Divine Majesty. Hence when they approached unto him, they must be free from every legal impurity. If great men are to be approached with respect, how much more must Jehovah be approached with holy reverence!
consecrate <06942> [hallow.]
impure <02932 05315> [having his uncleanness upon him.]
That is, in other words, "when he is unclean."
<05315> [that soul.]
That is, according to some, thrust out of the priest's office, or from officiating at the altar; or, according to others, cut off by some immediate stroke of divine justice, like Nadab and Abihu.
before <06440> [from my.]
descendants ........................................ emission <02233> [the seed.]
These words include the daughters as well as the sons of Aaron.
diseased <06879> [a leper.]
discharge <02100> [running issue. Heb. running of the reins.]
holy offerings <06944> [holy things.]
clean <02891> [until.]
unclean <02931> [unclean.]
descendants ........................................ emission <02233> [whose.]
man <0376> [whosoever.]
person <0120> [or a man.]
incur sin <02399 05375> [bear sin for it.]
That is, be punished if he break it.
The word {zar,} a stranger, does not mean one of another nation, a foreigner, which is expressed by {hechar,} but one who is not of the seed of Aaron, or does not belong to his family.
money <03701> [his money. Heb. the purchase of his money.]
<0376> [a stranger. Heb. a man, a stranger.]
returns ...... father's house ........... father's <01 01004 07725> [returned unto her father's house.]
A widow in Bengal not unfrequently returns to her father's house on the death of her husband: the union between her and her own family is never so dissolved as among European nations.
youth <05271> [as in her.]
incur ... penalty <05771 05375> [suffer them to bear the iniquity of the trespass. or, lade themselves with the iniquity of trespass in their eating. bear.]
Lord <03068> [for I.]
When any man <0376> [Whatsoever.]
foreigners <01616> [of the strangers.]
votive <05088> [vows.]
freewill offerings <05071> [freewill.]
peace offering <08002> [peace.]
for ... special <06381> [to accomplish.]
flock <06629> [sheep. or, goats. it shall be perfect.]
This law is so founded on the nature of the thing itself, that it has been in force among all nations that sacrificed victims to their deities.
blind <05788> [Blind.]
gift <0801> [an offering.]
sheep <07716> [lamb. or, kid. superfluous.]
torn <05423> [broken. or, cut.]
foreigner <05236> [a stranger's.]
food <03899> [the bread.]
ruined <04893> [because.]
seven days ...... day <03117 07651> [seven days.]
It was necessary for the mother's health that the young one should suck so long; and prior to this time, the process of nutrition in a young animal can scarcely be considered as completely formed. Besides this, it may justly be asserted, that the flesh of very young animals is comparatively innutritive. There is something brutish in eating the young of beast or fowl, before the hair and hoofs are perfect in the one, and feathers and claws in the other; and before this period, their flesh is not good for food, consequently they were not fit for sacrifice, which is termed the bread or food of God, (ver. 25.)
sheep <07716> [ewe. or, she goat. ye shall not kill it.]
This law was certainly intended to inculcate mercy and tenderness of heart; and so the Jews have understood it.
sanctified ............. sanctifies <06942> [I will.]
sanctified ............. sanctifies <06942> [hallow you.]
appointed times .......... appointed times <04150> [the feasts.]
God appointed several festivals among the Jews. The Passover was celebrated on the 14th, or rather 15th day of the first month in the ecclesiastical year, which was the seventh of the civil year, and lasted seven days. The Pentecost was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the passover, in memory of the law's being given to Moses on Mount Sinai, fifty days, or seven weeks after the departure out of Egypt. The word is derived from the Greek word [Pentekoste,] which signifies the fiftieth. The Hebrews call it the feast of weeks, Ex 34:22. The feast of trumpets, celebrated on the first day of the civil year, when a trumpet was sounded, to proclaim its commencement, which was in the month {Tisri,} answering to our September, Le 23:24, 25. The new moons, or first days of every month, were, in some sort, a consequence of the feast of trumpets. God ordained that, by giving him the first-fruits of every month they should acknowledge him as the Lord of all their time, and own his providence, by which all times and seasons are ordered. The feast of expiation or atonement was kept on the 10th day of {Tisri} or September: the Hebrews call it Kippur, i.e., pardon or expiation, because it was instituted for the expiation of their sins. The feast of tents or tabernacles was so called, because the Israelites kept it under green tents or arbours, in memory of their dwelling in their passage through the wilderness. It was celebrated on the 15th day of {Tisri,} and continued eight days: the first and last days are the most solemn. Besides the feasts mentioned by Moses, we find the feast of {lots,} or {Purim,} which was celebrated among the Jews of Shushan on the 14th of {Adar,} which answers to our February. The feast of the dedication of the temple, or rather, of the restoration of the temple, which had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, which is thought to be the feast mentioned in the gospel Joh 10:22, was celebrated in the winter. {MoÆ’dim,} properly means assemblies, convened at an appointed time and place.
proclaim <07121> [proclaim]
enter ..................... bring <0935> [When.]
gather <07114> [and shall.]
sheaf <06016> [sheaf. or, handful. Heb. omer. the first fruits.]
This offering was a public acknowledgement of the bounty and goodness of God for the kindly fruits of the earth. From the practice of the people of God, the heathen borrowed a similar one, founded on the same reason.
grain offering <04503> [the meat.]
drink offering <05262> [the drink.]
fourth <07243> [the fourth.]
eat <0398> [eat.]
statute <02708> [it shall be.]
two ....... wave offering ....... two <08147 08573> [two wave.]
yeast <02557> [leaven.]
first fruits <01061> [the first-fruits.]
seven .... lambs <07651 03532> [seven lambs.]
grain offering <04503> [with their.]
male .... a <0259 08163> [one kid.]
two ... lambs <03532 08147> [two lambs.]
wave ......... bread <05130 03899> [wave them.]
Lord ..... holy .... Lord <06944 03068> [holy to.]
On ....... proclaim <07121> [proclaim.]
statute <02708> [a statute.]
To the institution of the feast of pentecost is annexed a repetition of that law, by which they were required to leave the gleanings of their fields, and the corn that grew on the ends of the butts, for the poor. It may come in here as a thing which the priests must take occasion to remind the people of, when they brought their first-fruits, intimating to them, that to obey even in this small matter was better than sacrifice; and that unless they were obedient, their offerings should not be accepted. It also taught them that the joy of harvest should express itself in charity to the poor, who must have their due out of what we have, as well as God his. They that are truly sensible of the mercy they receive from God, will without grudging shew mercy to the poor.
seventh <07637> [In the seventh.]
memorial <02146> [a memorial.]
{Zichron terooÆ’h,} here rendered "a memorial of blowing the trumpets" properly signifies a memorial of triumph or shouting for joy. This festival is generally called the feast of trumpets; and, though the Scriptures have not expressly declared the reason of its celebration, yet, as it fell in the seventh month of the sacred year, which was the first of the civil year, that is, the month {Tisri,} answering to our September, the opinion very generally embraced by both Jews and Christians is, that it was a memorial of the creation of the world, at which "the sons of God shouted for joy," (Job 38:7;) and which is supposed, not altogether without reason, to have been at this season of the year. The month {Tisri} was not only anciently, but still is, reckoned by the Jews the first month of the year; and the feast of tabernacles, kept in this month, was said to be, as it is correctly rendered in the margin, "at the revolution of the year," (Ex 34:22;) importing, that at this season the year had revolved, and was beginning anew. So that this feast was the new year's day, on which the people rejoiced in a grateful remembrance of God's benefits, and implored his blessing for the future year.
tenth <06218> [the tenth.]
humble <06031> [afflict.]
present <07126> [offer.]
humility <06031> [that shall.]
cut off <03772> [he shall be.]
Sabbath .............................. Sabbath <07676> [a sabbath.]
humble <06031> [afflict.]
Sabbath ............................ observe ... Sabbath <07676 07673> [celebrate your sabbath. Heb. rest.]
fifteenth <02568> [The fifteenth.]
Festival .... Shelters <05521 02282> [the feast of tabernacles.]
This feast was celebrated in commemoration of the Israelites' dwelling in tents in the wilderness for forty years; and was kept with greater hilarity than any of the other festivals. Hence, in the Talmud, it is often called {chag,} the feast, by way of excellence; and by Philo, [heorton megisten,] the greatest of the feasts; it was therefore more noticed by the heathen than any other. It is probable that Cecrops borrowed from it the law which he made in Athens, "that the master of every family should after harvest make a feast for his servants, and eat together with them who had taken pains with him in tilling his grounds."
seven <07651> [Seven.]
eighth <08066> [the eighth.]
assembly <06116> [solemn. Heb. day of restraint.]
appointed times <04150> [the feasts.]
<01697> [every thing.]
Sabbaths <07676> [the sabbaths.]
gifts votive offerings ... freewill offerings <04979 05088 05071> [and beside.]
gather <0622> [when.]
first <07223> [on the first.]
branches ....... branches <06529 06057> [the boughs. Heb. fruit.]
trees palm ... branches .... trees <06086 08558 06057> [of palm trees.]
rejoice <08055> [rejoice.]
bring <03947> [that they.]
lamp <05216> [the lamps.]
burn continually <08548 05927> [burn continually. Heb. ascend.]
pure <02889> [the pure.]
The loaves of bread which the officiating priest placed every sabbath day upon the golden table in the Sanctum, before the Lord, were twelve in number, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The loaves must have been large, since two tenth deals (about six pints) of flour were used for each, Le 24:3, 6, 7. They were served up hot on the sabbath day in the Sanctum, when the stale ones, which had been exposed the whole week, were taken away, and none but the priests were allowed to eat them. In an extraordinary extremity, David and his men partook of the shew-bread, (see 1 Sa 21:6,) the urgent necessity alone justifying the act. The Hebrew signifies bread of faces, or, of the face.
[See]
two rows <04634 08147> [in two rows.]
pure <02889> [pure.]
pure <02134> [pure.]
bread <03899> [the bread.]
memorial <0234> [a memorial.]
Aaron <0175> [Aaron's.]
eat <0398> [they shall.]
