John Calvin on Numbers 5:9-10

9. And every offering. Thus far I have brought together the passages, in which Moses treats of the office of the priests, and have briefly expounded them, I will now begin to treat of their rights, i.e., of the honor which God invested them with, that He might have them ready and cheerful in their obedience. Here, however, Moses lightly touches upon what he more fully sets forth in other passages, as we shall presently see, viz., He assigns to the priests all the holy oblations, the various kinds of which He afterwards enumerates. Now, there were three principal grounds for this law; — First, Lest what had been already dedicated to God should be profaned by its promiscuous use; for, that the sacrifices might retain their proper dignity, it was necessary to distinguish the sacred from ordinary meats. Secondly, A vainglorious excess in respect to the ceremonies was restrained; for if after the victims were killed all the flesh had been returned to the owners, a desire of ostentation “C’estoit pour inciter les gens a une fole convoitise de se monstrer, et faire leurs parades:” it would have incited men to a foolish ambition for ostentation and parade. — Fr. would have grown up amongst foolish men, the rich would have come emulously to gain applause, and when they had feasted magnificently, they would have exposed the rest for sale. Thus would they have abused their false pretense of worshipping God to the acquirement of favor towards themselves. The third ground is that which Paul touches upon, viz., that it is just that the ministers of the altar should live by the altar, (1 Corinthians 9:13;) for though it is an unworthy thing that the servants of God should be attracted by their hire, yet was God unwilling that the priests, when they had freely bestowed their labor on the worship of the sanctuary, should suffer from hunger, lest their alacrity might thus be repressed. For if they desired to execute their office properly, it was necessary that they should attend altogether to spiritual things, and abandon the care of their domestic affairs. If any should object that these were incentives to avarice, and that an excellent and profitable calling was set before the priests, the reply is easy: whatever came to their share, since it was restricted to their own eating, could not have been excessive in quantity; for they were not allowed to sell any, nor even to give it away to others, as we have already seen, and as will hereafter be repeated. Thus then the foul dishonesty of those, who taunt Moses as if he had enriched the priests by the spoils of the people, is abundantly reftired; for if there were any whose interests he would have desired to consult, surely his own sons would have been preferred to all; yet to them there is no reference here. Nay, whatever he grants to the priests, he takes away from his own sons and their posterity; as if he purposely deprived them of advantages which were not otherwise unlawful. In a word, the dignity of holy things was alone consulted, without any endeavor being made to enrich the priests.

Numbers 18

Numbers 18:8-19

8. And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.

8. Loquutus est Jehova ad Aharon, Ecce, ego dedi tibi custodiam oblationum incarum, omnes sanctificationes filiorum Israel dedi tibi propter unctionem, et filiis tuis in statutum perpetuum.

9. This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

9. Hoc erit tuum ex sanctitate sanctitatum, residua ab igni: onmis oblatio eorum, sire minha eorum sit, sire oblatio pro peccato eorum, sive oblatio pro delieto eorum quam reddent mihi, sanctitas sanetitatum tibi erit et filiis tuis.

10. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.

10. In sanctitate sanctitatum comedes eam, omnis masculus comedet eam: sanetitas erit tibi.

11. And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

11. Hoc etiam tuum erit, levationem muneris eorum, omnes oblationes filiorum tibi dedi, et fillis tuis, et filiabus tuis tecum in statutum perpetuum: omnis mundus in domo tua comedet eam.

12. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.

12. Omnem pinguedinem olei, et omnem pinguedinem vini et frumenti, primitias eorum quas dabunt Jehovae, tibi dem.

13. And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.

13. Primitiae omnium qum in terra eorum, quas afferent Jehovae, tute erunt: omnis mundus in domo tua comedet eas.

14. Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

14. Omne anathema in Israel tuum erit.

15. Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

15. Quicquid aperit vulvam in omni carne quod afferent Jehovae, tam de hominibus quam de animalibus, tuum erit: sed redimendum dabis primogenitum hominis, primogenitum quoque animalis immundi redimendum dabis.

16. And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

16. Redemptiones autem ejus a filio mensis redimendas dabis secundum aestimationem tuam, pecunia quinque siclorum, secundum siclum sanctuarii, qui viginti obolorum est.

17. But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

17. Veruntamen primogenitum bovis, et primogenitum ovis, aut primogenitum caprae non dabis redimendum: sunt enim sanctificata: sanguinem eorum sparges ad altare, et adipem eorum adolebis: oblatio ignita in odorem quietis Jehovae.

18. And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.

18. Et caro eorum tua erit, ut pectus elevationis, et armus dexter, tua erit.

19. All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.

19. Omnes oblationes sanctificationum quas obtulerint filii Israel Jehovae, dedi tibi, et filiis tuis et filiabus tuis tecum in statutum perpetuum: pactum salis perpetuum est coram Jehova tibi et semini tuo tecum.