Verse 1. And when any will offer a meat offertug] here again is a merciful provision for those who were too poor to offer the sacrifice mentioned in the last chapter. The term "meat offering" should rather be translated bread offering, as use has now restrained the word meat to signify flesh. shait burn the memoria of u] Meaning that part of the offering, by which, being burnt on the altar, they made grateful acknowledgements to God

2.

11.- no leaven,] Leaven was forbidden, partly to keep them in mind of their deliverance from Egypt, or to oppose some idolatrous rites of their heathen neighbours, or else to warn them to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness." 1. Cor. v. 8.

13.- the salt of the covenant] That is, the salt, which, by this law or covenant they were obliged to offer up in every oblation. Salt also may be deemed a sign that the covenant on God's part would be perpetual and inviolable. See Numb. xviii. 19. and 2 Chron. xiii. 5.

CHAP. III.

Verse 1. a sacrifice of peace offering,] The word translated peace signifies prosperity and happiness: thus these offerings were called peace offerings, because they were principally thankful acknowledgements for mercies received from God's bounty. The more particular division of these sacrifices is into thank offerings, freewill offerings, and offerings for vows. The first were offered for prosperity already obtained; the second, in the way of devotion, to continue or procure peace with God; the third for the attainment of future prosperity.

17.-ye eat neither fat nor blood.] They were not forbidden to eat the fat which is mingled with the flesh of the animal, but that of the entrails, which was commanded to be burnt at the altar. As the blood of the sacrifices was a figure of the blood of Christ, so its being forbidden to be eaten implied how sacred and precious a thing it was.

CHAP. IV.

Verse 3.- a sin offering.] This denotes an offering for sin, whereby pardon is procured, atonement made, and sin expiated.

Since God appointed sacrifices to atone even for sins of ignorance, these sins, though much less heinous than wilful and obstinate sins, ought care fully to be avoided; and therefore we ought to be well instructed in our duty, and have a strict guard over our conduct: and when we have ignorantly fallen into sin, and have perceived our error, we should be sincerely grieved even for these sins, and remedy them to the utmost of our power.

12.- the whole builock shail he Carry forth without the camp] It was to be carried altogether, out of the camp, and there burnt on the ground. This was to signify that the offerer was in a state of guilt, unfit to communicate with God; and, that like the offering itself, he deserved to be excluded from the society of his people, tili he was reconciled by this sacrifice made in his stead: and thus Christ, who was made a sin offering for us, suffered "without the camp," that is, "without the gate" of Jerusalem, of whose expiation for us this offering was a type or figure.

26.-it shall be forgiven him.] His sins shall not be imputed to him. It should be well remembered, that none of these sacrifices had in themselves any value sufficient to clear the sinner, and procure his pardon: they were only by the mercy of God appointed and accepted, as a sign of the offender's repentance, and were designed as figurative representations of a more perfect expiation to be hereafter made by Christ the Messiah, for the sins of mankind.

CHAP. VI.

Verse 2.- commit a crespass against the Lord,] Every sin against our neighbour is likewise a sin against the Lord. The trespasses here mentioned are," lying unto a neighbour in that which was delivered," that is, denying a trust which had been committed to him by a neighbour, or “in fellowship," alluding either to a contract between two parties, or to partnership in trade-or “in a thing taken away by violence," that is by robbery or steaith,-or" deceiving his neighbour" by false accusations and extortion-or fraudulently keeping possession of the lost goods of others.

18.- every one that toucheth them shall be holy ] Every one that toucheth them shall be beforehand sanctified and free from any legal defilement. Hereby was inculcated a veneration for holy things, and the duty of approaching them with fear and reference. See ver. 27.

CHAP. VII.

Verse 13.- leavened bread] The leavened bread was not to be offered on the altar, for that hal been absolutely forbidden at Chap. ii. 11. but it was to be eaten by the priest and the offerer.

18.- neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth] It shall not be looked upon by God as a peace offering made by him.

-the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.] That is, shall become guilty of a great sin, and suffer punishment for it.

20.- having his uncleanness upon him,] See Chap xv. 3.

that soul shall be cut off] The person shall be excluded from all his privileges as an Israelite and member of God's church and people.

23.-Ye shall eat no manner of fat,] None of those parts of the fat, which God had appropriated to the sacrifices. See note on Chap. i. 17.

26.-ye shall eat no manner of blood, This command may be thus interpreted. Since the blood of animals is the very life and soul of them, I have separated or selected it to be a ransom for your souls, and for that most sacred use, the expiation of your sins. You are therefore strictly to abstain from blood, out of regard to this separation, and to be cautious not to bring to your tables that which I have consecrated to my altar. On blood depends the gift of my grace, and your life; and therefore you are not to put it to any vulgar use, nor presume to nourish your bodies with that, which is, as it were, the lite and preservative of your souls.

The end of the prohibition was to impress mankind with a high reverence for blood, as a most holy thing, consecrated to the purpose of the

Verse 1.- offered strange fire before the Lord,] The crime of Nadab and Abihu consisted in venturing to burn incense in the sanctuary without any order from God, and, still further, in using for the purpose common fire taken from some other place, and not that which God had peculiarly sent for the service of His sanctuary. It is called "strange fire," because it was not what God had appropriated for that purpose.

3.- before all the people will be glorified.] I will be reverenced by My priests in a special manner, before the people. Or, I will glorify Myself by vindicating My honour, in punishing those priests who shall offend thus signally and openly before the people.

6.-Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes;] These were customary signs of sorrow,

The priests were forbidden to go into a course of mourning on this occasion, probably to shew that God's service is not to be interrupted by human accidents. They were also to testify by this means that they were more concerned for the honour of God than for their own interest, and that they acquiesced in the just judgments of God. 7.—the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.] You are consecrated by a solemn unction to the service of God, which must not be omitted out of respect to any person whatsoever.

10.-that ye may put difference between holy and unholy,] That your faculties may be clear and in right order, to distinguish sacred things and persons: that the former be used with decency and reverence, and that no unclean person enter the sanctuary and pollute it. The command that the priests were not to drink wine when they went into the tabernacle being given immediately after the punishment of Nadab and Abihu, it is thought probable that they might have been guilty of excess at the time when they" offered strange fire before the Lord."

19.-should it have been accepted] Would God have been pleased with me, if I had eaten of the sacrifice in my present sorrow?

20. when Moses heard that, he was content.] Because the fault was not done designedly, but through human infirmity, and the oppression of grief.

CHAP. XI.

Verse 2.-These are the beasts which ye shall eat] Or, that ye may eat. The laws distinguishing between clean and unclean beasts were peculiar to the Israelites: their chief design was to preserve them distinct from other nations, and so to prevent their learning foreign idolatrous customs. They were also hereby taught to abhor that filthiness and those other ill qualities, for which some of the animals here forbidden to be eaten, are noted.

20. All fowls that creep, going upon all four,] That is, all flying things, that creep also upon their legs, as many insects do.

22.-the beetle] It is uncertain what animal is here meant but certainly not what we know by the name of beetles.

24.- shall be unclean until the even.] Shall be under a legal uncleanness for that day; so that he was not to approach the tabernacle, or partake of the oblation, or converse with those who did so.

CHAP. XII.

Verse 4. three and thirty days;] Thus all the days of her purification were forty; during the last thirty-three she was not prevented from con versing with her neighbours, but was debarred from partaking of the holy things.

Verse 2.-the plague of leprosy;] Whether this disease were the natural effect of any thing peculiar to the climate of those countries, or inflicted by a special stroke of the Divine hand for the sins of men; God was pleased to declare that whatsoever person or thing was infected by it should be in a state of uncleanness; meaning by this treatment, on acount of this bodily distemper, to caution them the more earnestly against all vicious habits and distempers of the mind and heart.

11.-shall not shut him up :] Shall not shut him up for temporary separation, because there could be no need of further proof, nor any doubt whether it was the leprosy or not.

45.- his clothes shall be rent, &c.] To distinguish him from others who were in good health, and also to make him appear in the habit of a mourner. His head was to be bare for the same reasons, and a covering was to be put on his upper lip, to prevent the spreading of any disagreeable smell or infection by his breath. He was also to cry, "unclean, unclean," as much as to say, keep at a distance from me, for I am both legally impure and actually infectious.

46.- he shall dwell alone;] That is, apart from those who are not leprous.

47. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in,] It is difficult to ascertain exactly what this leprosy of garments was. Some understand that the garments worn by leprous persons, became thereby unclean and contagious. Others think that there was a natural disease in the garments belonging to themselves. But the prevailing opinion has been that this leprosy of garments was entirely miraculous, and no where to be found but in the land of Canaan.

51.- afretting leprosy ;] A leprosy which eats into the garment till it is consumed.

CHAP XIV.

Verse 2.-He shall be brought unto the priest:] In order to be pronounced clean. See Matt. viii. 4. The ceremony of cleansing the leper seems to

be typical of the purification of our sins, by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ; Is. i. 15. 1. Pet. i. 2. The dismissal of the living bird, verse?. resembles that of the scapegoat into the wilderness, with the sins of the lepers upon him.

7.-shall let the living bird loose] As a token that the leper was restored to a free conversation with his neighbours, as the bird was let loose to join the rest of its tribe.

8.-shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.] For fear of infecting his wife and children by any undiscerned remainder of the leprosy.

Some perhaps may think the minute precepts respecting leprosy, unworthy to be made a part of a Divine Law. But we should remember, that besides other uses, God, by these external rites and ceremonies, intended to admonish us to keep pure consciences, "void of offence toward God, and man," in a strict observance of all the rules of our holy religion.

CHAP. XV.

Verse 5.-whosoever toucheth his bed shall — be unclean] We are hereby figuratively taught to beware of courting the conversation of those who have received any tincture of vice, and not to contract acquaintance with the wicked. There is such a contagion in vice and immorality, that familiarity with sinners does, of itself, make a man an associate in their practices.

All the laws concerning uncleanness and the rites of purification were designed by God to represent, that persons ought to worship and serve Him, and also to converse with one another, with inward cleanness and purity of mind. They were also iutended further to prevent the Israelites from being drawn into idolatry, by establishing a difference of customs and habits between them and the heathens.

CHAP. XVI.

Verse 8.-the two goats;] These two goats were two parts of one and the same sin offering; the one to be slain, and its fat offered on the altar; the other to be only presented alive to God, and afterwards driven into the wilderness.

21.-putting them upon the head of the goat,] The high priest putting his hands upon the head of the goat, and confessing the sins of the people over it, represented that those sins were charged upon the goat, and the punishment of them trans ferred from the Israelites to it. This scapegoat was a most illustrious figure of the sacrifice of Christ, who suffered in our stead; on whom "the Lord laid the iniquity of us all," who was " made sin for us," and who" bare our sins in His own body."

22. And the goat shall bear all their iniquities] As the slain goat represented Christ dying for sin, so the escaping goat represented Hini, freed from death, for our full justificauon, and taking away the sins of mankind.

29.- ye shall afflict your souls,] They were to afflict their souls by fasting and abstinence, og account of their sins, which were then to be expiated, not by " the blood of bulls and of goats;" for that, the Apostle teaches us, was impossible, tied, x. 4; but they were expiated by the blood of Christ, then represented to them under types apd shadows.

Verse 3. What man socver-chat k'lleth an or; or lamb, &c] Not for his own private, use and occasion, but for publick sacrihee. The design of this prohibition was, to keep private persons from presuming to be their own priests, and to teach them that it did not belong to them to sacrifice at home or in conventicles, but to bring their oblations to the priest, by him to be offered to God. And this was one method of preserving the people from idolatry, by restricting them to one stated place and manner of regular and uniform publick worship.

4.- blood shall be imputed unto that man;] He shall be esteemed as a murderer; and "shall be cut off from among his people:" that is, excluded from the Israelitish people and nation, as if he were uncircumcised.

11. For the lif of the flesh is in the blood: &c.] This is as much as to say; The life of the animal lying in the blood, I have ordained it to expiate your sins, that by its death in your stead, your life may be preserved: and therefore. I require you not to eat that which is appointed for so holy an end. See note on Gen. ix. 4.

16.—he shalt bear his iniquity. Be liable to be punished either by the hand of God, or of man, for neglecting the means of his purification,

CHAP. XVIII.

Verse 5.-he shall live in them:] He shall live happily and long in the enjoyment of all the blessing, which God promised in tiis covenant with the Israelites.

6. None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness:] None that are near of kin shall be married one to the other.

9.-whether she be born at home, or born abroad,] That is, legitimately born in wedlock, or illegit mately out of it.

16.-thy brother's wife:] If this prohibition be understood in the case of the brother's death, it may seem to clash with the command of Deut. xv. 5. But both are easily reconciled under this limitation, that the brother was not to take the brother's wife, if the deceased left children; or if the brother's wife had been divorced.

18.

Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister,] No man shall marry his wife's sister, at least while that wife is living.

21.-thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire 10 Molech ] Thy seed, that is, offspring, shall not perform that superstitious and idolatrous rite of passing through fire in honour of the heathen idol Molech. The passing of children through the fire, here forbidden, seems to have been practised for the purpose of purification, and as a means of dedicating them to the service of the false god.

25.-the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.] A most eloquent figure of speech, expressing the excessive loathsomeness of their wickedness, which made their own country sick of them, and throw them out as the stomach does food that offends it.

16.-neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour:] Neither shalt thou be a false witness against thy neighbour to endanger his life.

17.- thou shalt-rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.] Thou shalt rebuke him for his fault, and endeavour to convince him of it, not suffering him to go on in his sin for want of telling him of it.

19.- l'hou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: &c.] These mixtures seem to have been forbidden chiefly with a reference to some idolatrous practices prevailing in those times; also to cause a greater abhorrence. of those immoral and filthy mixtures, mentioned in the foregoing chapter, as at verse 22, 23.

23.-ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumrised:] That is, unclean and not fit to be eaten. This precept seems to have been enjoined, to draw them off from the practices of idolaters, whose

custom it was, to offer up to their idols part of the first-fruits of their trees, and to eat the other part in the idols' temple, conceiving, that, if this were not done, their trees would be blasted.

26.- nor observe times.] Vainly imagining some to be lucky, others unlucky.

27. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, &c.] Ye shall not round the ends of the hair of your heads, as was done by the heathen, either as a part of superstitious funeral ceremonies, or in honour of particular idols.

28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,] It was a fashion in some countries of the Gentiles, to express their grief for the loss of their friends by cutting themselves with knives.

-nor print any marks upon you:] This imprinting of marks was understood to be fixing a badge or characteristick of the person's being devoted to some false god.

31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits,] Go not to consult them nor follow their directions. 35.-in meteyard,] By which they measured lands, cloth, &c.

CHAP. XX.

Verse 2.-that giveth any of his seed unto Molech;] That burneth his sons or daughters in the fire to Molech or any other false God. on Chap. xviii. 21.

See note

4.-if the people hide their eyes from the man,] If they connive at what he does.

5.-all that go a whoring after him,] All who either follow his example and commit such idolatry, or who favour and protect from punishment those that do so. Idolatry is called whoredom in Scripture; because God having espoused the Israelites to Himself, as His peculiar people, their forsaking Him, to serve other gods, was a spiritual adultery.

9.—his blood shall be upon him.] The peculiar meaning of this phrase is, he shall perish by his own fault.

12.-they have wrought confusion;] They have perverted the order of nature which God hath appointed.

CHAP. XXI.

Verse 1.-There shall none be defiled for the dead] The priests being specially dedicated to the service of God, were not to do any thing in administering about a dead body, which would make them legally unclean and polluted. An exception to the general rule is made (verse 2.) in the case of near relations.

3.— which hath no husband;] To take care of her funeral.

4.- being a chief man among his people,] The