Deuteronomy 14 commentary

Moses tells the people of Israel how God had given them three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things, with which God has in Christ blessed us. Here is election; “The Lord hath chosen thee.” He did not choose them because they were by their own acts a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Eph 1:4. Here is adoption; “Ye are the children of the Lord your God;” not because God needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every spiritual Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour. Here is sanctification; “Thou art a holy people.” God's people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul. Do not be the vile slave of thy appetites and passions. Do not render all around thee miserable, and thyself wretched; but aim at that which is most excellent and useful. The laws which regarded many sorts of flesh as unclean, were to keep them from mingling with their idolatrous neighbours. It is plain in the gospel, that these laws are now done away. But let us ask our own hearts, Are we of the children of the Lord our God? Are we separate from the ungodly world, in being set apart to God's glory, the purchase of Christ's blood? Are we subjects of the work of the Holy Ghost? Lord, teach us from these precepts how pure and holy all thy people ought to live!

A second portion from the produce of their land was required. The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor. They were taught that their worldly portion was most comfortably enjoyed, when shared with their brethren who were in want. If we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised that the Lord our God will bless us in all the works of our land. The blessing of God is all to our outward prosperity; and without that blessing, the work of our hands will bring nothing to pass. The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving.

Deuteronomy 14:21. Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself. The eating of any carcase, or of flesh torn by wild beasts, is reckoned among the causes of defilement; but we must understand it to be the carcase of an animal which has died of hunger or disease, for, from the nature of its death, it contracted impurity, although in itself it were otherwise pure. The end of the precept is gathered from the reason which is immediately subjoined, “for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God,” and from the ablution which is prescribed in the passage from Leviticus. The same thing is, secondly, enjoined respecting flesh that has been torn, as before with regard to the carcase, for the deformity of its laceration is counted as uncleanness. The holiness of the people is again referred to, that they may more diligently beware of defilements. Hence it follows that those were contaminated who should eat of torn flesh. Therefore, in the third passage, he confirms it that the Jews were to abstain, and were prohibited from the eating of a carcase or the flesh of an animal torn by beasts, lest they should pollute themselves. Nor is it an objection that the eating of carrion and of blood are here prohibited in conjunction with each other; for we know that Moses does not always arrange his precepts in order, but promiscuously adduces such as appertain to different classes. Therefore, I have thought it well to separate these two prohibitions which have distinct objects, and whose dissimilarity manifestly appears from the difference of their punishment. He who shall have eaten blood shall be cut off from the people; whereas he who shall have eaten carrion, shall wash himself and be unclean till the evening. A question might again arise respecting torn or lacerated flesh; but it seems in my judgment to be plain enough from the context, that flesh torn by beasts is counted amongst unclean meats; for the reason of the law is expressed, viz., because those who were chosen to be a holy people should keep themselves pure and incorrupt. Nor would God command that meat intended for man should be thrown to dogs, unless it were infected with a contagion, which would pollute His holy ones. As to the command, in the first passage, to give it to a stranger, or to sell it to an alien, that he might eat it, it does not appear reasonable, since that would be to supply the materials for sin, as though one should offer a sword to a madman, or transfer illicit goods to others. But the solution of this difficulty is easy: for the Gentiles were permitted to eat indifferently of all sorts of food, since no distinctions were placed between them; but the prohibition of certain meats was a mark of separation between them and the elect people of God. A more difficult question arises from a kind of contradiction, because Moses in another passage binds both the stranger and the home-born by the same law, and declares them to be alike unclean if they shall have tasted of carrion. But we must bear in mind that he sometimes calls those strangers who, although born of heathen parents, had embraced the Law. Circumcision, therefore, connected them with God, just as if they had derived their origin from Abraham; whilst there were other strangers, whom uncircumcision separated from the children of Abraham as profane and excomnmnicate. The sum is, that whosoever allege God’s name, and boast themselves to be His people, are called to cultivate holiness, and to keep themselves pure from every stain.

Another Supplement as to Marriage with Unbelievers Heading added from French, “Autre dependence de se marier avec les incredules."

Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21:10-13

10. When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

10. Quum egressus fueris ad bellum contra inimicos tuos, et dederit eos Jehova Deus tuus in manum tuam, et ex eis captivos abduxeris:

11. And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

11. Videris autem in captivitate mulierem pulchram forma, et deamaris eam, et acceperis tibi in uxorem.

12. Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

12. Introduces eam domum tuam: et radet caput suum, ac praecidet ungues suos:

13. And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

13. Deponetque vestimentum captivitatis suae a se, et manebit in domo tua, ae flebit patrem suum, et matrem suam mensem integrum: et postea ingredieris ad eam, erisque maritus ejus, et erit tibi uxor.

22. Thou shalt truly tithe. He repeats in general terms the law before enacted, whereby he claims for God the tithe of all the fruit. He does not, however, immediately declare to whom they are to be paid, but inserts some provisions respecting other offerings, which I have elsewhere explained. But when, soon afterwards, in verse 27, he recommends the Levites to them, he shews what is the proper use to which they are to be applied. He signifies that it would be cruel to defraud the Levites of them, “S’ils soustrayent et desrobbent a leurs freres ce qui est assigne pour leur nouristure:” if they withheld and stole from their brethren what was assigned them for their maintenance. — Fr. and that they would be wicked and unjust if they were grudgingly to pay them the tithes, which were theirs by hereditary right, since their tribe possessed no inheritance in land.

23. And thou shalt eat before the Lord. He again commands the victims to be brought into the place of the sanctuary; although by the place which God shall choose, he designates Jerusalem, as has been said in the above commentary on chap. 12; for the Ark of the Covenant had no settled resting-place until the time of David, but was received as it were in temporary lodgings. Moses, therefore, now commands, that when God shall have so greatly honored a particular place, and shall have chosen a perpetual rest, in which His name shall dwell, thither are the offerings to be brought. But we know that this place was Jerusalem; and all the oblations were restricted to this one place, lest any corruption should creep in to destroy the unity of the faith. For all strange inventions, as has already been sufficiently seen, are so many profanations of God’s worship. But, whereas in chap. 12, Moses had promiscuously joined the tithes with the firstlings, and had made the same appointment with respect to both, he now relaxes the stringency of that law, by adding an exception, viz, that if the way should be too long, a commutation might be made, and money might be paid instead of corn. He does not, indeed, speak only of the tithes, but unites with them the vows and free-gifts; nay, he refers properly to these alone. But, since as to the latter there is no question, let us only consider whether it was consistent that the tithes should be paid in one place alone. They were given to the Levites for their maintenance, who, as is well known, were dispersed throughout the whole land; either then their residence must have been fixed at Jerusalem, or they must not be deprived of their subsistence, wherever they might dwell. The command, therefore, appears to be absurd, that all the tithes of the whole land should be brought to Jerusalem, for that would have amounted to nothing less than to destroy the poor Levites by famine. This absurdity has compelled the commentators to fabricate a doubtful conjecture; viz., that the people voluntarily set apart certain tithes, which they might carry to Jerusalem at the festivals; but it is not probable that so heavy a burden was imposed upon them, “De redoubler ainsi les dismes les unes sur les autres;” thus to redouble their tithes one upon another. — Fr. as that they should only keep at home what remained of the fifth part. But a nearer approach to probability would be, that the tithes of the neighboring country, as convenience offered, were carried to Jerusalem; whilst those which were collected in more distant places were set aside there; but that they were accounted for at Jerusalem, so that upon a calculation of the number of their families, an equal distribution might be made to the Levites. Certainly it is by no means probable that the respective tillers of the soil carried up to Jerusalem what the Levites, having received there, were compelled to take back again for the maintenance of their families; for what would have been the advantage of all this expense and trouble of carrying them backwards and forwards? Besides, it would have been useless to command the Levites, and that too with the addition of severe threats, to pay the priests faithfully, if the tithes had been first deposited with the priests themselves, who might easily have provided against all deception, since they had the whole quantity of corn in their own hands. I have, therefore, no doubt but that the Levites collected the tithes each in their own neighborhood, but that another tithing, of which mention will be made presently, was carried up to the sanctuary as a sacred offering, and a profession of service to God. For we have lately seen, that after that part had been withdrawn, the nine parts which remained were assigned to the Levites, as if they had been grown on their own ground. But because it was a subject which might cause complaints, that the first-fruits and other tithes should be collected into one place, God would anticipate this by showing the advantage of it to the whole people, in that there might be food enough for all who should come to the celebration of the festivals; for this is the meaning of the words, “thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God;” as if it had been said, that the place should be sacred to God, to which the worshippers of God might come from the whole land. Yet He commands, in the meanwhile, the pure observation of His worship; lest a diversity of places might draw away the people in various directions to false superstitions.

24 And if the way be too long. I am prevented from understanding this restriction as having reference to the tithes, by the ordinance which is elsewhere made, that whosoever would redeem them by a money-payment, (Leviticus 27:31,) should add a fifth part, and this is omitted here; and, again, by the explanation which is soon after added, that they should bring money with them instead of their offerings, and buy with it oxen and sheep, wine, and strong drink, as they pleased. The sum is, that if it were too burdensome for them to bring from their distant homes victims and other gifts, they were permitted to buy at Jerusalem whatever they chose to offer, provided they made no offerings elsewhere.

Exodus 20

Exodus 20:24, 25

24. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

24. Altare terreum facies mihi, et sacrificabis super illud holocausta tua, et sacrificia prosperitatum tuarum, pecudes tuas, et armenta tua: in onmi loco in quo memoriam posuero nominis mei, veniam ad te, et benedicam tibi.

25. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

25. Quod si altare ex lapidibus feceris mihi, non aedificabis eos excisos, si gladium tuum elevaveris super illos, pollues.

28. At the end of three years. Those are mistaken, in my opinion, who think that another kind of tithe is here referred to. It is rather a correction or interpretation of the Law, lest the priests and Levites alone should consume all the tithes, without applying a part to the relief of the poor, of strangers, and widows. In order to make this clearer, we must first observe, that not every third year is here prescribed, “Que l’annec troisieme ne se prend pas d’une suite continuelle.” — Fr. but that the years are counted from the Sabbatical year; for we shall elsewhere see that on every seventh year the land was to rest, so that there was no sowing nor reaping. After two harvests, therefore, the tithes of the third year were not the entire property of the Levites, but were shared also by the poor, the orphans, and widows, and strangers. This may easily be seen by calculating the years; for otherwise the third year would have often fallen on the Sabbatical one, in which all agriculture was at a stand-still. Now, this was a most equitable arrangement, that the priests and Levites having been well provided for during two years, should admit their poor brethren and strangers to a share. Some part was thus withdrawn from their abundance, lest they should give themselves up to luxurious habits; and thus it was brought about that not more than a twelfth portion every year should remain to them. In sum, there was one peculiar year in every seven in which the Levites did not alone receive the tithes for their own proper use, but shared them with the orphans, and widows, and strangers, and the rest of the poor. “They shall eat (He says) and be satisfied,” who would otherwise have to suffer hunger, “that the Lord may bless thee,” (verse 29;) by which promise He encourages them to be liberal.

Deuteronomy 26

Deuteronomy 26:12-15

12. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

12. Postquam compleveris decimare omnes decimas fructuum tuorum anno tertio, anno decimae, et dederis Levitae, peregrino, pupillo, et viduae, et comederint intra portas tuas, et saturati fuerint:

13. Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

13. Tunc dices coram Jehova Deo tuo, Subduxi sanctificatum e domo, et etiam dedi illud Levitae, et peregrino, pupillo, et viduae, secundum omne prtaeceptum tuum quod praecepisti mihi: non transgressus sum a praeceptis tuis, neque oblitus sum.

14. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

14. Non comedi in tristitia mea ex eo, neque subduxi ex eo in pollutione, neque dedi quicquam ex eo in funere: obedivi voci Jehovae Dei mei: feci secundum omnia qum praecepisti mihi.

15. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land whieh thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

15. Respice de habitaculo sanctitatis tuae, e coelo, et benedic populo tuo Israeli, et terrae quam dedisti nobis, quemadmodum juravisti patribus nostris, terrae fluenti lacte et melle.

CHAPTER 14

De 14:1, 2. God's People Must Not Disfigure Themselves in Mourning.

1. ye shall not cut yourselves ... for the dead--It was a common practice of idolaters, both on ceremonious occasions of their worship (1Ki 18:28), and at funerals (compare Jr 16:6; 41:5), to make ghastly incisions on their faces and other parts of their persons with their finger nails or sharp instruments. The making a large bare space between the eyebrows was another heathen custom in honor of the dead (see on Le 19:27, 28; Le 21:5). Such indecorous and degrading usages, being extravagant and unnatural expressions of hopeless sorrow (1Th 4:13), were to be carefully avoided by the Israelites, as derogatory to the character, and inconsistent with the position, of those who were the people of God [De 14:2].

De 14:3-21. What May Be Eaten, and What Not.

3. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing--that is, anything forbidden as unclean (see on Le 11:1).

De 14:4-8. Of Beasts.

5. The hart--(see on De 12:15).

fallow deer--The Hebrew word (Jachmur) so rendered, does not represent the fallow deer, which is unknown in Western Asia, but an antelope (Oryx leucoryx), called by the Arabs, jazmar. It is of a white color, black at the extremities, and a bright red on the thighs. It was used at Solomon's table.

wild goat--The word akko is different from that commonly used for a wild goat (1Sa 24:2; Psa 104:18; Pr 5:19), and it is supposed to be a goat-deer, having the body of a stag, but the head, horns, and beard of a goat. An animal of this sort is found in the East, and called Lerwee [Shaw, Travels].

pygarg--a species of antelope (Oryx addax) with white buttocks, wreathed horns two feet in length, and standing about three feet seven inches high at the shoulders. It is common in the tracks which the Israelites had frequented [Shaw].

wild ox--supposed to be the Nubian Oryx, which differs from the Oryx leucoryx (formerly mentioned) by its black color; and it is, moreover, of larger stature and more slender frame, with longer and more curved horns. It is called Bekkar-El-Wash by the Arabs.

chamois--rendered by the Septuagint Cameleopard; but, by others who rightly judge it must have been an animal more familiar to the Hebrews, it is thought to be the Kebsch (Ovis tragelaphus), rather larger than a common sheep, covered not with wool, but with reddish hair--a Syrian sheep-goat.

De 14:11-20. Of Birds.

11-20. Of all clean birds ye shall eat--(See on Le 11:21).

21. Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself--(See on Le 17:15; Le 22:8).

thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates--not a proselyte, for he, as well as an Israelite, was subject to this law; but a heathen traveller or sojourner.

Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk--This is the third place in which the prohibition is repeated [Ex 23:19; 34:26]. It was pointed against an annual pagan ceremony (see on Ex 23:19; Ex 34:26).

[De 14:22-29. Law of the Tithe].

22-27. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed--The dedication of a tenth part of the year's produce in everything was then a religious duty. It was to be brought as an offering to the sanctuary; and, where distance prevented its being taken in kind, it was by this statute convertible into money.

28-29. At the end of three years ... the Levite ... shall come, &c.--The Levites having no inheritance like the other tribes, the Israelites were not to forget them, but honestly to tithe their increase [Nu 18:24]. Besides the tenth of all the land produce, they had forty-eight cities, with the surrounding grounds [Nu 35:7], "the best of the land," and a certain proportion of the sacrifices as their allotted perquisites. They had, therefore, if not an affluent, yet a comfortable and independent, fund for their support.

Ye are the children of the Lord - The very highest character that can be conferred on any created beings; ye shall not cut yourselves, i. e., their hair, for it was a custom among idolatrous nations to consecrate their hair to their deities, though they sometimes also made incisions in their flesh.

These are the beasts which ye shall eat - On Leviticus 11. I have entered into considerable detail relative to the clean and unclean animals there mentioned. For the general subject, the reader is referred to the notes on that chapter; but as there are particulars mentioned here which Moses does not introduce in Leviticus, it will be necessary to consider them in this place.

The ox - שור shor: Bos, fifth order Pecora, of the genus Mammalia, species 41. This term includes all clean animals of the beeve kind; not only the ox properly so called, but also the bull, the cow, heifer, and calf.

The sheep - שה seh: Ovis, fifth order Pecora, of the genus Mammalia, species 40; including the ram, the wether, the ewe, and the lamb.

The goat - עז az: Capra, fifth order Pecora, of the genus Mammalia, species 39; including the he-goat, she-goat, and kid. The words in the text, שה כשבים seh chesabim, signify the lamb or young of sheep; and שה עזים seh izzim, the young or kid of goats: but this is a Hebrew idiom which signifies every creature of the genus, as בן אנוש ben enosh and בן אדם ben adam, son of man, signify any human being. See Psa 144:3; Job 25:6.

The flesh of these animals is universally allowed to be the most wholesome and nutritive. They live on the very best vegetables; and having several stomachs, their food is well concocted, and the chyle formed from it the most pure because the best elaborated, as it is well refined before it enters into the blood. On ruminating or chewing the cud, see the note on Lev 11:3.

The hart - איל aiyal, the deer, according to Dr. Shaw: see the note on Deu 12:15.

The roebuck - צבי tsebi, generally supposed to be the antelope, belonging to the fifth order Pecora, genus Mammalia, and species 38. It has round twisted spiral horns, hairy tufts on the knees, browses on tender shoots, lives in hilly countries, is fond of climbing rocks, and is remarkable for its beautiful black eyes. The flesh is good and well flavoured.

The fallow deer - יחמור yachmur, from חמר chamar, to be troubled, disturbed, disordered: this is supposed to mean, not the fallow deer, but the bubalus or buffalo, which is represented by Dr. Shaw, and other travelers and naturalists, as a sullen, malevolent, and spiteful animal, capricious, ferocious, and every way brutal. According to the Linnaean classification, the buffalo belongs to the fifth order Pecora, genus Mammalia, species bos. According to 1Kgs 4:23, this was one of the animals which was daily served up at the table of Solomon. Though the flesh of the buffalo is not considered very delicious, yet in the countries where it abounds it is eaten as frequently by all classes of persons as the ox is in England. The yachmur is not mentioned in the parallel place, Leviticus 11.

The wild goat - אקו akko. It is not easy to tell what creature is intended by the akko. Dr. Shaw supposed it to be a kind of very timorous goat, known in the East by the name fishtall and serwee, and bearing a resemblance both to the goat and the stag, whence the propriety of the name given it by the Septuagint and Vulgate, tragelaphus, the goat-stag; probably the rupicapra or rock-goat. The word is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.

The pygarg - דישן dishon. As this word is nowhere else used, we cannot tell what animal is meant by it. The word pygarg πυγαργος, literally signifies white buttocks, and is applied to a kind of eagle with a white tail; but here it evidently means a quadruped. It was probably some kind of goat, common and well known in Judea.

The wild ox - תאו teo. This is supposed to be the oryx of the Greeks, which is a species of large stag. It may be the same with the bekker el wash, described by Dr. Shaw as "a species of the deer kind, whose horns are exactly in the fashion of our stag, but whose size is only between the red and fallow deer." In Isa 51:20 a creature of the name of תוא to is mentioned, which we translate wild bull; it may be the same creature intended above, with the interchange of the two last letters.

The chamois - זמר zemer. This was probably a species of goat or deer, but of what kind we know not: that it cannot mean the chamois is evident from this circumstance, "that the chamois inhabits only the regions of snow and ice, and cannot bear the heat." - Buffon. The Septuagint and Vulgate translate it the Camelopard, but this creature is only found in the torrid zone and probably was never seen in Judea; consequently could never be prescribed as a clean animal, to be used as ordinary food. I must once more be permitted to say, that to ascertain the natural history of the Bible is a hopeless case. Of a few of its animals and vegetables we are comparatively certain, but of the great majority we know almost nothing. Guessing and conjecture are endless, and they have on these subjects been already sufficiently employed. What learning, deep, solid, extensive learning, and judgment could do, has already been done by the incomparable Bochart in his Hierozoicon. The learned reader may consult this work, and, while he gains much general information, will have to regret that he can apply so little of it to the main and grand question. As I have consulted every authority within my reach, on the subject of the clean and unclean animals mentioned in the law, and have detailed all the information I could collect in my notes on Leviticus 11, I must refer my readers to what I have there laid down.

The vulture after his kind - The word דאה daah is improperly translated vulture Lev 11:14, and means a kite or glede. The word דיה daiyah in this verse is not only different from that in Leviticus, but means also a different animal, properly enough translated vulture. See the note on Lev 11:14.

Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk - Mr.

Calmet thinks that this precept refers to the paschal lamb only, which was not to be offered to God till it was weaned from its mother; but see the note on Exo 23:19.

Thou shalt truly tithe - Meaning the second tithe which themselves were to eat, Deu 14:23, for there was a first tithe that was given to the Levites, out of which they paid a tenth part to the priests, Num 18:24-28; Neh 10:37, Neh 10:38. Then of that which remained, the owners separated a second tithe, which they ate before the Lord the first and second year; and in the third year it was given to the Levites and to the poor, Deu 14:28, Deu 14:29. In the fourth and fifth years it was eaten again by the owners, and in the sixth year was given to the poor. The seventh year was a Sabbath to the land, and then all things were common, Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11, where see the notes, Exo 23:11 (note), and see Ainsworth on this verse.

Or for strong drink - What the sikera or strong drink of the Hebrews was, see in the note on Lev 10:9 (note). This one verse sufficiently shows that the Mosaic law made ample provision for the comfort and happiness of the people.

And the Levite (because he hath no part nor inheritance - And hence much of his support depended on the mere freewill-offerings of the people. God chose to make his ministers thus dependent on the people, that they might be induced (among other motives) to labor for their spiritual profiting, that the people, thus blessed under their ministry, might feel it their duty and privilege to support and render them comfortable.

Of the Lord - Whom therefore you must not disparage by unworthy or unbecoming practices. Ye shall not cut yourselves - Which were the practices of idolaters, both in the worship of their idols, in their funerals, and upon occasion of public calamities. Is not this like a parent's charge to his little children, playing with knives, "Do not cut yourselves!" This is, the intention of those commands, which obliges us to deny ourselves. The meaning is, Do yourselves no harm! And as this also is, the design of cross providences, to remove from us those things by which we are in danger of doing ourselves harm.

Abominable - Unclean and forbidden by me, which therefore should be abominable to you.

All the increase - This is to be understood of the second tithes, which seem to be the same with the tithes of the first year, mentioned De 14:28.

In thine hand - That is, in a bag to be taken into thy hand and carried with thee.

Thou shalt not forsake him - Thou shalt give him a share in such tithes or in the product of them.

At the end of three years - That is, in the third year, as it is, expressed, Deu 26:12. The same year - This is added to shew that he speaks of the third year, and not of the fourth year, as some might conjecture from the phrase, at the end of three years.

1 YE are the children of the LORD your God : ye shall not cut your selves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead .

Whom therefore you must not disparage by unworthy or unbecoming practises, such as here follow, and whom you must not disobey.

Which were the practises of Idolaters both in the worship of their Idols, as 1 King. 18. 28. or in their funerals, as here and Ier. 16. 6. or upon occasion of publick calamities, as Ier. 41. 5. and 47. 5. See more on Levit. 19. 27, 28. and 21. 5.

Through excessive sorrow for your dead friends, as if you had no hope of their happiness after death, 1 Thess. 4. 13.

Marginal references: Lev. 19. 28.

3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

(i. e.) Unclean and forbidden by me, which therefore should be abhominable to you.

4 These are the beasts , which ye shall eat, the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

Of which see on Levit. 11. The small differences between some of their names here and there are not proper for this work. The learned reader may find them cleared in my Latin Synopsis. For others they may well enough want the knowledge of them, both because these are the smaller matters of the Law, and because this distinction of clean and unclean beasts is now out of date.

Marginal references: Lev. 11. 2. &c.

21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of it self: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it: or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not see the a kid in his mothers milk.

Not to the proselyte, for such were obliged by this Law, Levit. 17. 15. but to such as were strangers in Religion as well as in nation,

Marginal references: Exod. 23. 19. and 34. 26.

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the encrease of thy seed , that the field bringeth forth year by year.

This is to be understood of the second tithes, which seem to be the same with the tithes of the third year, mentioned here below ver. 28. and Deut. 26. 12. of which see above on ver. 17. And to confirm this opinion, though I would not lay too great a stress upon criticismes. Yet I cannot but observe that this tithing is spoken of onely as the peoples act here, and Deut. 26. 12. and the Levites are not at all mentioned in either place as receivers or takers of them, but onely as partakers of them together with the owners, and therefore they are so severely charged here upon their consciences, thou shalt truly tithe all thine increase, because the execution of this was left wholly to themselves, whereas the first tithes were received by the Levites, who therefore are said to take or receive those tithes, Numb. 18. 26. Neh. 10. 38. Heb. 7. 5.

Marginal references: chap. 12. 6, [illegible: 1+ letters]7.

23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall chuse to place his Name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks, that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God alwayes.

See on Deut. 12. 6, 17.

Marginal references: chap. 15. 19, 20.

25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the mony in thine hand , and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall chuse.

(i. e.) In a bag to be taken into thy hand and carried with thee.

27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him : for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

Thou shalt give him a share in such tithes or in the product of them.

Marginal references: chap. 12. 19.; Num. 18. 20.

28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year , and shalt lay it up within thy gates,

(i. e.) In the third year, as it is expressed, Deut. 26. 12. So, in the end of three years or of seven years is the same with in the third or seventh year, as appears by comparing Deut. 31. 10. Ios. 9. 16, 17. 2 King. 18. 9, 10. and 17. 6.

I joyn with those Expositors who make this same tithe with the former ver. 22. as being called by the same tithe without any distinction between them save onely as to the place of eating them. See above on ver. 22. and Deut. 12. 17.

This is added to shew that he speaks of the third year, and not of the fourth year, as some might conjecture from the phrase, at the end of three years.

Deu 14:1-2

The Israelites were not only to suffer no idolatry to rise up in their midst, but in all their walk of life to show themselves as a holy nation of the Lord; and neither to disfigure their bodies by passionate expressions of sorrow for the dead (Deu 14:1 and Deu 14:2), nor to defile themselves by unclean food (vv. 3-21). Both of these were opposed to their calling. To bring this to their mind, Moses introduces the laws which follow with the words, “ye are children to the Lord your God.” The divine sonship of Israel was founded upon its election and calling as the holy nation of Jehovah, which is regarded in the Old Testament not as generation by the Spirit of God, but simply as an adoption springing out of the free love of God, as the manifestation of paternal love on the part of Jehovah to Israel, which binds the son to obedience, reverence, and childlike trust towards a Creator and Father, who would train it up into a holy people. The laws in Deu 14:1 are simply a repetition of Lev 19:28 and Lev 21:5. למת, with reference to, or on account of, a dead person, is more expressive than לנפשׁ (for a soul) in Lev 19:28. The reason assigned for this command in Deu 14:2 (as in Deu 7:6) is simply an emphatic elucidation of the first clause of Deu 14:1. (On the substance of the verse, see Exo 19:5-6).

Deu 14:3-21

With reference to food, the Israelites were to eat nothing whatever that was abominable. In explanation of this prohibition, the laws of Lev 11 relating to clean and unclean animals are repeated in all essential points in vv. 4-20 (for the exposition, see at Lev 11); ); also in Deu 14:21 the prohibition against eating any animal that had fallen down dead (as in Exo 32:30 and Lev 17:15), and against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk (as in Exo 23:19).

Deu 14:22-23

As the Israelites were to sanctify their food, on the one hand, positively by abstinence from everything unclean, so were they, on the other hand, to do so negatively by delivering the tithes and firstlings at the place where the Lord would cause His name to dwell, and by holding festal meals on the occasion, and rejoicing there before Jehovah their God. This law is introduced with the general precept, “Thou shalt tithe all the produce of thy seed which groweth out of the field (יצא construes with an accusative, as in Gen 9:10, etc.) year by year” (שׁנה שׁנה, i.e., every year; cf. Ewald, §313, a.), which recalls the earlier laws concerning the tithe (Lev 27:30, and Num 18:21, Num 18:26.), without repeating them one by one, for the purpose of linking on the injunction to celebrate sacrificial meals at the sanctuary from the tithes and firstlings. Moses had already directed (Deu 12:6.) that all the sacrificial meals should take place at the sanctuary, and had then alluded to the sacrificial meals to be prepared from the tithes, though only causally, because he intended to speak of them more fully afterwards. This he does here, and includes the firstlings also, inasmuch as the presentation of them was generally associated with that of the tithes, though only causally, as he intends to revert to the firstlings again, which he does in Deu 15:19. The connection between the tithes of the fruits of the ground and the firstlings of the cattle which were devoted to the sacrificial meals, and the tithes and first-fruits which were to be delivered to the Levites and priests, we have already discussed at Deut 12. The sacrificial meals were to be held before the Lord, in the place where He caused His name to dwell (see at Deu 12:5), that Israel might learn to fear Jehovah its God always; not, however, as Schultz supposes, that by the confession of its dependence upon Him it might accustom itself more and more to the feeling of dependence. For the fear of the Lord is not merely a feeling of dependence upon Him, but also includes the notion of divine blessedness, which is the predominant idea here, as the sacrificial meals were to furnish the occasion and object of the rejoicing before the Lord. The true meaning therefore is, that Israel might rejoice with holy reverence in the fellowship of its God.

Deu 14:24

In the land of Canaan, however, where the people would be scattered over a great extent of country, there would be many for whom the fulfilment of this command would be very difficult-would, in fact, appear almost impossible. To meet this difficulty, permission was given for those who lived at a great distance from the sanctuary to sell the tithes at home, provided they could not convey them in kind, and then to spend the money so obtained in the purchase of the things required for the sacrificial meals at the place of the sanctuary. ממּך ירבּה כּי, “if the way be too great (too far) for thee,” etc., sc., for the delivery of the tithe. The parenthetical clause, “if Jehovah thy God shall bless thee,” hardly means “if He shall extend thy territory” (Knobel), but if He shall bless thee by plentiful produce from the field and the cattle.

Deu 14:25-27

“Turn it into money,” lit., “give it up for silver,” sc., the produce of the tithe; “and bind the silver in thy hand,” const. praegnans for “bind it in a purse and take it in thy hand...and give the silver for all that thy soul desireth, for oxen and small cattle, for wine and strong drink,” to hold a joyous meal, to which the Levite was also to be invited (as in Deu 12:12, Deu 12:18, and Deu 12:19).

Deu 14:28-29

Every third year, on the other hand, they were to separate the whole of the tithe from the year’s produce (“bring forth,” sc., from the granary), and leaven it in their gates (i.e., their towns), and feed the Levites, the strangers, and the widows and orphans with it. They were not to take it to the sanctuary, therefore; but according to Deu 26:12., after bringing it out, were to make confession to the Lord of what they had done, and pray for His blessing. “At the end of three years:” i.e., when the third year, namely the civil year, which closed with the harvest (see at Exo 23:16), had come to an end. This regulation as to the time was founded upon the observance of the sabbatical year, as we may see from Deu 15:1, where the seventh year is no other than the sabbatical year. Twice, therefore, within the period of a sabbatical year, namely in the third and sixth years, the tithe set apart for a sacrificial meal was not to be eaten at the sanctuary, but to be used in the different towns of the land in providing festal meals for those who had no possessions, viz., the Levites, strangers, widows, and orphans. Consequently this tithe cannot properly be called the “third tithe,” as it is by many of the Rabbins, but rather the “poor tithe,” as it was simply in the way of applying it that it differed from the “second” (see Hottinger, de decimies, exerc. viii. pp. 182ff., and my Archäol. i. p. 339). As an encouragement to carry out these instructions, Moses closes in Deu 14:29 with an allusion to the divine blessing which would follow their observance.

What Might Be Eaten, and What Not. (b. c. 1451.)

1 Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. 3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. 6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. 7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. 9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: 10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. 11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat. 12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, 14 And every raven after his kind, 15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, 17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, 18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 19 And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. 20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat. 21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

Moses here tells the people of Israel,

I. How God had dignified them, as a peculiar people, with three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things with which God has in Christ blessed us. 1. Here is election: The Lord hath chosen thee, v. 2. Not for their own merit, nor for any good works foreseen, but because he would magnify the riches of his power and grace among them. He did not choose them because they were by their own dedication and subjection a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Eph. i. 4. 2. Here is adoption (v. 1): "You are the children of the Lord your God, formed by him into a people, owned by him as his people, nay, his family, a people near unto him, nearer than any other." Israel is my son, my first-born; not because he needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour, his love and blessing Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us! 3. Here is sanctification (v. 2): "Thou art a holy people, separated and set apart for God, devoted to his service, designed for his praise, governed by a holy law, graced by a holy tabernacle, and the holy ordinances relating to it." God's people are under the strongest obligations to be holy, and, if they are holy, are indebted to the grace of God that makes them so. The Lord has set them apart for himself, and qualified them for his service and the enjoyment of him, and so has made them holy to himself.

II. How they ought to distinguish themselves by a sober singularity from all the nations that were about them. And, God having thus advanced them, let not them debase themselves by admitting the superstitious customs of idolaters, and, by making themselves like them, put themselves upon the level with them. Be you the children of the Lord your God; so the Seventy read it, as a command, that is, "Carry yourselves as becomes the children of God, and do nothing to disgrace the honour and forfeit the privileges of the relation." In two things particularly they must distinguish themselves:—

1. In their mourning: You shall not cut yourselves, v. 1. This forbids (as some think), not only their cutting themselves at their funerals, either to express their grief or with their own blood to appease the infernal deities, but their wounding and mangling themselves in the worship of their gods, as Baal's prophets did (1 Kings xviii. 28), or their marking themselves by incisions in their flesh for such and such deities, which in them, above any, would be an inexcusable crime, who in the sign of circumcision bore about with them in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jehovah. So that, (1.) They are forbidden to deform or hurt their own bodies upon any account. Methinks this is like a parent's change to his little children, that are foolish, careless, and wilful, and are apt to play with knives: Children, you shall not cut yourselves. This is the intention of those commands which oblige us to deny ourselves; the true meaning of them, if we understood them aright, would appear to be, Do yourselves no harm. And this also is the design of those providences which most cross us, to remove from us those things by which we are in danger of doing ourselves harm. Knives are taken from us, lest we should cut ourselves. Those that are dedicated to God as a holy people must do nothing to disfigure themselves; the body is for the Lord, and is to be used accordingly. (2.) They are forbidden to disturb and afflict their own minds with inordinate grief for the loss of near and dear relations: "You shall not express or exasperate your sorrow, even upon the most mournful occasions, by cutting yourselves, and making baldness between your eyes, like men enraged, or resolvedly hardened in sorrow for the dead, as those that have no hope," 1 Thess. iv. 13. It is an excellent passage which Mr. Ainsworth here quotes from one of the Jewish writers, who understands this as a law against immoderate grief for the death of our relations. If your father (for instance) die, you shall not cut yourselves, that is, you shall not sorrow more than is meet, for you are not fatherless, you have a Father, who is great, living, and permanent, even the holy blessed God, whose children you are, v. 1. But an infidel (says he), when his father dies, hath no father that can help him in time of need; for he hath said to a stock, Thou art my father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth (Jer. ii. 27); therefore he weeps, cuts himself, and makes himself bald. We that have a God to hope in, and a heaven to hope for, must bear up ourselves with that hope under every burden of this kind.

2. They must be singular in their meat. Observe,

(1.) Many sorts of flesh which were wholesome enough, and which other people did commonly eat, they must religiously abstain from as unclean. This law we had before Lev. xi. 2, where it was largely opened. It seems plainly, by the connection here, to be intended as a mark of peculiarity; for their observance of it would cause them to be taken notice of in all mixed companies as a separate people, and would preserve them from mingling themselves with, and conforming themselves to, their idolatrous neighbours. [1.] Concerning beasts, here is a more particular enumeration of those which they were allowed to eat then was in Leviticus, to show that they had no reason to complain of their being restrained from eating swines' flesh, and hares, and rabbits (which were all that were then forbidden, but are now commonly used), when they were allowed so great a variety, not only of that which we call butcher's meat (v. 4), which alone was offered in sacrifice, but of venison, which they had great plenty of in Canaan, the hart, and the roe-buck, and the fallow deer (v. 5), which, though never brought to God's altar, was allowed them at their own table. See ch. xii. 22. When of all these (as Adam of every tree of the garden) they might freely eat, those were inexcusable who, to gratify a perverse appetite, or (as should seem) in honour of their idols, and in participation of their idolatrous sacrifices, ate swines' flesh, and had broth of abominable things (made so by this law) in their vessels, Isa. lxv. 4. [2.] Concerning fish there is only one general rule given, that whatsoever had not fins and scales (as shell-fish and eels, besides leeches and other animals in the water that are not proper food) was unclean and forbidden, v. 9, 10. [3.] No general rule is given concerning fowl, but those are particularly mentioned that were to be unclean to them, and there are few or none of them which are here forbidden that are now commonly eaten; and whatsoever is not expressly forbidden is allowed, v. 11-20. Of all clean fowls you may eat. [4.] They are further forbidden, First, To eat the flesh of any creature that died of itself, because the blood was not separated from it, and, besides the ceremonial uncleanness which it lay under (from Lev. xi. 39), it is not wholesome food, nor ordinarily used among us, except by the poor. Secondly, To seethe a kid in its mother's milk, either to gratify their own luxury, supposing it a dainty bit, or in conformity to some superstitious custom of the heathen. The Chaldee paraphrasts read it, Thou shalt not eat flesh—meats and milk—meats together; and so it would forbid the use of butter as sauce to any flesh.

(2.) Now as to all these precepts concerning their food, [1.] It is plain in the law itself that they belonged only to the Jews, and were not moral, nor of perpetual use, because not of universal obligation; for what they might not eat themselves they might give to a stranger, a proselyte of the gate, that had renounced idolatry, and therefore was permitted to live among them, though not circumcised; or they might sell it to an alien, a mere Gentile, that came into their country for trade, but might not settle it, v. 21. They might feed upon that which an Israelite might not touch, which is a plain instance of their peculiarity, and their being a holy people. [2.] It is plain in the gospel that they are now antiquated and repealed. For every creature of God is good, and nothing now to be refused, or called common and unclean, 1 Tim. iv. 4.

Tithes for Feasting and Charity. (b. c. 1451.)

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. 28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

We have here a part of the statute concerning tithes. The productions of the ground were twice tithed, so that, putting both together, a fifth part was devoted to God out of their increase, and only four parts of five were for their own common use; and they could not but own they paid an easy rent, especially since God's part was disposed of to their own benefit and advantage. The first tithe was for the maintenance of their Levites, who taught them the good knowledge of God, and ministered to them in holy things; this is supposed as anciently due, and is entailed upon the Levites as an inheritance, by that law, Num. xviii. 24, &c. But it is the second tithe that is here spoken of, which was to be taken out of the remainder when the Levites had had theirs.

I. They are here charged to separate it, and set it apart for God: Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of they seed, v. 22. The Levites took care of their own, but the separating of this was left to the owners themselves, the law encouraging them to be honest by reposing a confidence in them, and so trying their fear of God. They are commanded to tithe truly, that is, to be sure to do it, and to do it faithfully and carefully, that God's part might not be diminished either with design or by oversight. Note, We must be sure to give God his full dues out of our estates; for, being but stewards of them, it is required that we be faithful, as those that must give account.

II. They are here directed how to dispose of it when they had separated it. Let every man lay by as God prospers him and gives him success, and then let him lay out in pious uses as God gives him opportunity; and it will be the easier to lay out, and the proportion will be more satisfying, when first we have laid by. This second tithe may be disposed of,

1. In works of piety, for the first two years after the year of release. They must bring it up, either in kind or in the full value of it, to the place of the sanctuary, and there must spend it in holy feasting before the Lord. If they could do it with any convenience, they must bring it in kind (v. 23); but, if not, they might turn it into money (v. 24, 25), and that money must be laid out in something to feast upon before the Lord. The comfortable cheerful using of what God has given us, with temperance and sobriety, is really the honouring of God with it. Contentment, holy joy, and thankfulness, make every meal a religious feast. The end of this law we have (v. 23): That thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always; it was to keep them right and firm to their religion, (1.) By acquainting them with the sanctuary, the holy things, and the solemn services that were there performed. What they read the appointment of their Bibles, it would do them good to see the observance of in the tabernacle; it would make a deeper impression upon them, which would keep them out of the snares of the idolatrous customs. Note, It will have a good influence upon our constancy in religion never to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, Heb. x. 25. By the comfort of the communion of saints, we may be kept to our communion with God. (2.) By using them to the most pleasant and delightful services of religion. Let them rejoice before the Lord, that they may learn to fear him always. The more pleasure we find in the ways of religion the more likely we shall be to persevere in those ways. One thing they must remember in their pious entertainments—to bid their Levites welcome to them. Thou shalt not forsake the Levites (v. 27): "Let him never be a stranger to thy table, especially when thou eatest before the Lord."

2. Every third year this tithe must be disposed of at home in works of charity (v. 28, 29): Lay it up within they own gates, and let it be given to the poor, who, knowing the provision this law had made for them, no doubt would come to seek it; and, that they might make the poor familiar to them and not disdain their company, they are here directed to welcome them to their houses. "Thither let them come, and eat and be satisfied." In this charitable distribution of the second tithe they must have an eye to the poor ministers and add to their encouragement by entertaining them, then to poor strangers (not only for the supply of their necessities, but to put a respect upon them, and so to invite them to turn proselytes), and then to the fatherless and widow, who, though perhaps they might have a competent maintenance left them, yet could not be supposed to live so plentifully and comfortably as they had done in months past, and therefore they were to countenance them, and help to make them easy by inviting them to this entertainment. God has a particular care for widows and fatherless, and he requires that we should have the same. It is his honour, and will be ours, to help the helpless. And if we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised here that the Lord our God will bless us in all the work of our hand. Note, (1.) The blessing of God is all in all to our outward prosperity, and, without that blessing, the work of our hands which we do will bring nothing to pass. (2.) The way to obtain that blessing is to be diligent and charitable. The blessing descends upon the working hand: "Except not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease, but in all the work of thy hand." It is the hand of the diligent, with the blessing of God upon it, that makes rich, Prov. x. 4, 22. And it descends upon the giving hand; he that thus scatters certainly increases, and the liberal soul will be made fat. It is an undoubted truth, though little believed, that to be charitable to the poor, and to be free and generous in the support of religion and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving. What is lent to the Lord will be repaid with abundant interest. See Ezek. xliv. 30.

CHAP. XIV.

YEe are the sonnes of Iehovah your God: yee shall not cut your selves, nor put baldnesse between your eies for the dead. For thou art an holy people to Iehovah thy God; and Iehovah hath chosen thee to be unto him a people of peculiar treasure, above all peoples which are upon the face of the earth.

Thou shalt not eat any abomination. These are the beasts which yee shall eat; the Oxe, the Lambe of sheepe, and the Kid of Goats. The Hart, and the Roe-buck, and the Fallow-deere, and the Wild-goat, and the Pygarg, & he Wild-oxe, and the Chamois,

And every beast that parteth the hoofe, and cleaveth a sunder the cleft of two hoofes, that cheweth the cud among the beasts, that yee shall eat. But this yee shall not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that part the cloven hoofe; the Camel, and the Hare, and the Conie, because they chew the cud, but they part not the hoofe, they shall be uncleane unto you. And the Swine, because he parteth the hoofe, & cheweth not the cud, he shall be uncleane unto you: of their flesh yee shall not eat, and their carkasse yee shall not touch.

These yee shall eat of, all that are in the waters, all that hath sinne and scale shall ye eat.

And all that hath not finne and scale, yee shall not eat, it shall be uncleane unto you.

Every cleane bird yee shall eat. But these are they of which yee shall not eat: the Eagle, and Ossifrage, and the Osprey: And the Vulture, and the Kite, and the Glede, after her kinde: And every Raven after his kind:

And the Owle, and the Night-hawke, and the Sea-gull, and the Hawke after his kinde:

And the great Owle, and the little Owle, and the Red-shanke: And the Pelican, and the Gier-eagle, and the Cormorant: And the Storke, and the Heron after her kinde, and the Lapwing, and the Bat: And every creeping thing that flieth, it shall bee uncleane unto you: they shall not bee eaten. Every cleane fowle yee shall eat. Yee shall not eat of any carkasse; thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that hee may eat it; or thou maiest sell it unto an alien; for thou art an holy people unto Iehovah thy God. Thou shalt not seeth a Kid in his mothers milke.

Tithing thou shalt tithe all the revenue of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth, yeere by yeere. And thou shalt eat before Iehovah thy God, in the place which hee shall chuse, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy corne, of thy new wine, and of thy new oile, and the firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flocke, that thou maiest learne to feare Iehovah thy God, all daies. And if the way bee too much for thee, that thou art not able to carie it, because the place is farre from thee, which Iehovah thy God shall chuse, to set his name there, when Iehovah thy God hath blessed thee; Then shalt thou turne it into money, and binde up the money in thine hand, and shalt goe unto the place which Iehovah thy God shall chuse. And thou shalt give the money, for all that thy soule desireth, for oxen, or for sheepe, or for wine, or for strong drinke, or for whatsoever thy soule asketh of thee: and thou shalt eat there before Iehovah thy God; and thou shalt rejoyce, thou and thine house. And the Levite which is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him, for hee hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

At the end of three yeeres thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thy revenue in that yeere, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee; and the stranger, and the fatherlesse, & the widow which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat, and be satisfied; that Iehovah thy God may blesse thee, in all the worke of thine hand, which thou shalt doe.

Annotations. THE sonnes of Iehovah] or, sonnes to Iehovah: the Chaldee translateth, sonnes before the Lord. Vnder the name sonnes, hee implieth daughters also, as is expressed in Deut. 32. 19. 2 Cor. 6. 18. Moses here entreth into precepts concerning the communion of the Saints among themselves, which should bee holy; who, as they must abstaine from false gods, so from communion in the rites and ordinances of religion, with the children of such. Christ is the Sonne of God in nature, the Sonne of his love, Coless. 1. 13. Wee in Christ are the sonnes of God by adoption, Rom. 8. 15. by faith in Christ, Gal. 3. 26. So many as are led by the Spirit of God, Rom. 8. 14. and are made partakers of his love, as it is written, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that wee should bee called the children of God, 1 Ioh. 3. 1. not cut your selves] as was the manner of the heathens, especially in their sorrow, 1 King. 18. 28. Ier. 41. 5. and in particular, when their friends died, Ier. 16. 6. which thing is chiefly intended here. The Chaldee translateth, yee shall not make a tumult. Because they are the children of God, therfore they must walke in his feare, 1 Pet. 1. 17. and purifie themselves, even as he is pure, 1 Ioh. 3. 3. and beare all accidents and afflictions that come upon them, patiently; and forsake all heathenish customes, and not hurt their owne bodies, which are the Temples of the holy Ghost, 1 Cor. 6. 19. See the notes on Levit. 19. 28. The Hebrewes say, that Gedidah, the cutting here spoken of, and Seritah, the incision, in Levit. 19. 28. are one thing: and hee that cutteth himselfe for the dead, whether it be an incision with his hand, or an incision with an instrument, he is to be beaten. Maimony treat. of idolatry, chap. 12. sect. 13. put baldnesse] that is, make your selves bald, by shaving or plucking off the haire; which also they used in mourning for the dead, Ezek. 7. 18. and 27. 31. Ier. 16. 6. and 48. 37. See also Levit. 21. 5. and 19. 27. betweene your eies] that is, on the fore-part of your head: as the Phylacteries which were to be between their eies, were worne on their heads, as is noted on Exod. 13. 9. 16. And in Levit. 21. 5. it is written, They shall not make baldnesse upon their head. for the dead] this is an explanation of that which elsewhere he saith, for a soule, Levit. 19. 28. and 21. 1. The Hebrewes here say, If your father dye, yee shall not cut your selves, nor make you bald nor sorrow more than is meet; for you are not fatherlesse, because you have a father who is great, living, and permanent, even the holy blessed God. But an Infidell, when his father dieth, hath no father that can help him in time of need; for his father which is left him is of wood, & his mother of stone; as it is written, saying to a stocke. Thou art my father, & to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth, (Ier. 2. 27.) therfore they weepe & cut themselves, & make them bald. And further, because thou art an holy people, therefore thou maiest not deforme thy selfe (or make thee ill-favoured.) Chazkuni on Deut. 14. Yea, even the wise among the heathens themselves, blamed this folly in men, that mangled their bodies for the dead, calling them Varia & detestabilia generalugendi, pedores, muliebres lacerationes genarum, pectoris, foemorum, capitis percussiones. Cicer. Tusc. quaest. l. 3. Vers. 2. of peculiar treasure] in Greeke, a peculiar people; in Chaldee, abeloved people: see the annotations on Exod. 19. 5. Vers. 3. any abomination] This Sol. Iarchi, and the Thargum called Ionathans, well explaine, any thing that I have made abominable to you, (or, put farre from you.) For every creature of God is good, 1 Tim. 4. 4. and there is nothing common (or uncleane) of it selfe, Rom. 14. 14. but by the ordinance of God, certaine creatures, meats and drinks were made uncleane unto the Iewes, yet not for ever, but imposed upon them untill the time of reformation, Heb. 9. 10. And this law taught them holinesse, in abstaining from the impure communion with the wicked, Act. 10. 13. 17. 20, 28. See the annotations on Levit. 11. The Hebrewes saw this mysterie; for Baal Hatturim on this place noteth, Next unto these words, For thou art an holy people, &c. he saith, Thou shalt not eat any abomination; meaning, that they should not be commixed [illegible: 1 word] infidels, for infidels are like unto beasts. Vers. 4. Kid of goats] or, the lambe of goats: the Hebrew Seh, is either a young sheepe, or a young goat, as Exod. 12. 4, 5. and by naming the Lambe, he meaneth all the breed of these beasts, young or old; as the sonne of man, is used for any man generally, old or young, Psal. 144. 3. Iob 25. 6. Vers. 5. Hart] in Hebrew, Ajal, a wilde beast well knowne, whose female is called an H[illegible: 2 letters]de, Gen. 49. 21. light of foot, 2 Sam. 22. 34. bringing forth her young with great sorrow, Iob 39. 1, 2, 3. Such were meat at Solomons table, 1 King. 4. 23. Roe-buck] in Hebr. Tsebi, of the pleasa[illegible: 1 span]le or beauty of this beast; in Chaldee, Ta[illegible: 1 letter]ja; in Greeke, Dorkas: (whereupon the woman named in Syriak, Tabitha, Act. 9. 36. is by interpretation, Dorkas; in English, a Roe:) this beast is very swift, 2 Sam. 2. 18. 1 Chron. 12. 8. Song 8. 14. eaten also a[illegible: 1 letter] Solomons table, 1 King. 4. 23. Fallow-d[illegible: 1 letter]ere] or, Wilde-oxe. Bugle, or Buffel: in Hebr. Iachmer, (a word not found but here, and in 1 King. 4. 23.) the Greeke translateth it, Boubalos, that is, the Buffe, Buffel, or Wilde-oxe, which somewhat resembleth our common Oxe, but is of another kinde, bigger, black, and more fierce. The Chaldee and Arabik retaine the Hebrew name, Iachmura, which some Hebrews say, is a beast like unto a great goat. Some late Expositors make it a beast like an Asse; as an Asse in Hebr. is called Chamor. Wild-goat] in Hebr. Acco, a word not found but in this one place: of it some thinke the Latine Alce (by putting in the letter l) is derived, which we call the Elch; a beast somewhat like a Fallow-deere. The Greeke translateth it Tragelaphos, that is, a Goat-hart, which is in part like a Goat and an Hart: such are found in Arabia. The best Hebrew expositors say, it is the wild-goat, or rock-goat, so named of climing the rocks. It is a beast of another kind than the common goat; for be it wild or tame, the beast is the same. Pygarg] so the Greeke and old Latine version translate the Hebrew Dishon, here onely used: which the Chaldee calleth Rema, of highnesse. The Pygarg is a wilde beast like a fallow deere, or Roebuoke. Wild-oxe] or, Wild-bull: so both Onkelos and Ionathan, the Chaldee paraphrasts, doe translate the Hebrew Teo, used onely here, and in Esai. 51. 20. where it is called T[illegible: 1 span] The Greeke translateth it. Oryx, which is a beast like a Goat. The Arabike nameth it Tajetal. Chamois] this name is borrowed of the French, as being a beast like a wild Goat. The Hebrew name is Zemer, the Arabik Zirapha; both have the signification of cutting. The Greeke translateth it Camelopardalis, which is a word compounded of the Camel and the Pantheresse. The Chaldee calleth it Ditsa, which is a kinde of Roe. These seven sorts of beasts, and three of cattell, are all to be understood of severall kindes, (as the Scripture giveth them every one a severall name) and are not to bee distinguished by their wildnesse, or tamenesse, but by their different nature; for as the Hebrewes say, the wild Oxe, and the (Oxe) fatted in the stall, these are of the kinde of the Oxe. Maimony treat, of forbidden meats, ch. 1. sect. 8. And the Scripture confirmeth this, as when he saith of David, He sacrificed oxen and fatlings, 2 Sam. 6. 13. that is, oxen fed in the pastures, and fatted in the stall. Moreover they say, that there are no other cattel, or beasts in the world, lawfull to be eaten, save these ten kindes, rehearsed in the Law; they and the kindes of them, as is noted on Levit. 14. 3. And further, they have this saying, Though all these (ten kindes) are lawfull to be eaten; yet wee must put a difference betweene the cleane cattell, and the clean beasts. For the beasts, their fat is lawfull (to bee eaten) and their bloud must bee covered: [Levit. 17. 13.] but cleane cattell, their fat is unlawfull to bee eaten, [Levit. 7. 23.] and there is no charge to cover their bloud. Maimony treat. of forbidden meats, chap. 1. sect. 9. Vers. 6. that cheweth] understand, and that cheweth, (as the Greeke addeth the word and) for it must doe both, else it was not cleane. And here, because the former beasts may bee unknowne by their names, (as is to be seene by the variety of interpretations) God giveth two generall signes to know a cleane beast by, the parting of the hoofe in twaine, and the chewing of the cud; of which, see the annotations on Levit. 11. 3. Vers. 7. Camel] of this and the rest that follow, see the notes on Levit. 11. 4.—7. and of the exception how in cases of necessity uncleane meats might bee eaten, it is there spoken. they chew] or every of them cheweth. Vers. 9. in the waters] whether in the seas, or in the rivers, Levit. 11. 9. fin and scale] in Greeke and Chaldee, finnes and scales: see the annotations on Levit. 11. 9. &c. Vers 10. uncleane] and so an abomination, as is said in Levit. 11. 10, 11. that their flesh might not be eaten, nor their carkasses touched, as before in vers. 8. Vers. 12. Eagle] of this, and the rest that follow, see the annotations on Levit. 11. 13, &c. Vers. 13. Vultur] called here in Hebrew, Raah, of Seeing; in Levit. 11. 14. Daah, of Flying. Chazkuni here saith, Raah and Daah are one, and it is called Raah, because it seeth much. Ionathan in his Thargum calleth it, the white Dajetha, according to the name in Levit. 11. and Onkelos nameth it Bath canpha, that is, Daughter of wing. Glede] a kinde of Kite or Puttock, in Hebrew Dajah: this is not mentioned in Levit. 11. (see the annotations there on vers. 14.) the Greeke calleth it [illegible: 1 letter]ctinos, that is, a Glede or K[illegible: 2 letters]e. Vers. 15. Owle] or, young Owle, or young Ostrishe see the notes on Levit. 11. 16. for this and the rest that follow. Vers. 19. that flyeth] or, of the flying sowle: in Greeke, all the or[illegible: 2 letters]ping things of fowles; which Ionathan, Sol. Iarchi, and others, expound of fi[illegible: 1 letter]es, bees, hornets, and all such like: see Levit. 11. 20. Vers. 20. cleane fowle] or, cleane flying thing; implying the kinds of Locusts, which were lawfull to be eaten, Levit. 11. 21, 22. Vers. 21. any carkasse] the flesh of a cleane beast or fowle, that either dieth alone, or is not orderly slaine: see the annotations on Levit. 17. 15. the stranger] not the Proselyte, or stranger joyned to the Church, for such were bound to keepe the whole law, and this in speciall, Levit. 17. 15. but as both the Chaldee paraphrases expound it, the uncircumcised stranger that is in thy Cities; and the Greeke, the sojourner that is in thy cities. Of three sorts of strangers, see the notes on Exod. 12. 43, 45, 48. This stranger here spoken of, the Hebrewes call Ger toshab, that is, the stranger inbabstant (or Sojourner; in Greeke, Paroikos:) and they describe him thus; Ger toshab is an heathen, who takes upon him that hee will serve no idoll, with the residue of the commandements which were commanded to the sonnes of Noah, [whereof see the notes on Gen. 9. 4.] but he is not circumcised nor baptized. Such an one they (the Israelites) doe receive, and he is of the Saints of the nations of the world. And why is he called Toshab (an inhabitant?) because it is lawfull for us to let him inhabit amongst us in the land of Israel. Maimony tom. 2. in Issurei biah. ch. 14. sect. 7. Of such, they held that they might be in the state of salvation, as they confesse elsewhere, The Saints of the nations of the world, they have a portion in the world that is to come (in life eternall) Maimony treat. of repentance, chap. 3. sect. 5. sell it unto an alien] or, sell thou it to a forrainer; in Chaldee, to a sonne of the peoples; an heathen that dwelt not in the land of Israel. an holy people] and therefore art to shew forth holinesse in obeying all the commandements of the Lord, though imposed but for a time, and as shadows of better things. For meats, and drinkes, and divers washings, and carnall ordinances, were imposed on the Iewes, untill the time of reformation, Hebr. 9. 10. But now it is said, Let no man judge you in meat or in drinke, &c. which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ, Coloss. 2. 16, 17. not seeth a Kid] this Law is twice given before, in Exod. 23. 19. and 34. 26. see the annotations there. Vnder the name of a Kid, the Hebrewes understand a Lamb also, and Calfe, or other beast: and by seething, they imply also eating, or making any profit or use of flesh so boyled. The Chald. translateth, thou shalt not eat flesh with milke. Vers. 22. Tithing thou shalt tithe] that is, shalt in any wise, carefully, faithfully separate the tithe; meaning the second tithe which themselves were to eat, vers. 23. for there was a first tithe, which was given to the Levites, out of which the Levites paid a tenth part again to the Priests, Num. 18. 24.—28. Nehem. 10. 37, 38. Then of that which remained, the owners separated a second tithe, which themselves did eat before the Lord, the first and second yeare: in the third yeare it was given to the Levites, and to the poore, Deut. 14. 28, 29. In the fourth and fi[illegible: 1 letter]t yeares, it was eaten againe by the owners, and in the sixt yeare was given to the poore. The seventh yeare was a rest and Sabbath to the land, then all things were common, Exod. 23. 10, 11. And this course they were constantly to follow in Israel. Hereof it is written by the Hebrewes thus; After that they have separated the first tithe, every yeare they separate a second tithe, Deut. 14. 22. and in the third yeare, and in the sixt, they separate the tithe of the poore, in stead of the second tithe. In the first (day) of Tisri (or September) is the beginning of the yeare for the tithe of corne, and of pulse, and of herbes: and whersoever the beginning of the yeare is mentioned, it is the first of Tisri. And the fifteenth of Shebat [that is the eleventh moneth which wee call Ianuary] is the beginning of the yeare for the tithe of trees (fruit) Maimony tom. 3. in Maaser sheni (or treat. of the second tithe) chap. 1. sect. 1, 2. See also the annotations on Levit. 27. 30. &c. all the revenue] or, all the in-come, that is, fruits or increase which are gathered and brought in for food: the reason of the name appeareth in 2 Sam. 9. 10. thou shalt till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in (the fruits) that thy Masters sonne may have food to eat. The Hebrewes say, All mans meat that is kept, which groweth out of the ground, oweth an heave-offering: and it is commanded to separate out of it, the first-fruits for the Priest, &c. and likewise the tithes. Maimony in Trumoth, chap. 2. sect. 1. And whereas the Scripture sometime speaketh of Revenue, sometime of Corne (as after in vers. 23.) sometime of a Morsell of bread, (as in Iudg. 19. 5.) they say, the graine, when it is cared, is called (Tebuah) Revenue, every where; and after that it is threshed and fanned, it is called (Dagan) Corne; and when it is ground, kneaded, and baked, it is called (path) a Morsell, or Bread. Maim. in Beracoth, chap. 3. sect. 1. that the field bringeth forth] or, that commeth out of the field; in Greeke, the generation (or increase) of thy field. yeare by yeare] so the Greeke also interpreteth the Hebrew phrase, yeare yeare, which is elsewhere written, yeare by yeare, Nehem. 10. 35. and Ionathan in his Thargum explaineth it, every yeare and yeare. whereto hee addeth, and not the fruits of (one) yeare, with the fruits of another yeare: meaning, that they must separate their tithes yearely, and not put two yeares tithe into one. Vers. 23. shalt eat] in Greeke, shalt eat it: speaking of the tithe which the owners should eat: and so Ionathan in his Thargum saith, Yee shall eat the second tithe before the LORD. before Iehovah] the tithes which were given to the Priests, they might eat in every place, Num. 18. 31. this second tithe was holy, and might not be eaten but where Gods sanctuary was; as within Ierusalem when the Temple was there built. The second tithe is eaten by the owners, within the walls of Ierusalem (Deut. 14. 23.) Whosoever eateth so much as an olive of the second tithe, or drinketh of it the fourth part (of a Log) of wine, without the wall of Ierusalem, is to be beaten, as it is written (in Deut. 12. 17.) thou maiest not eat within thy gates, the tithe of thy corne, or of thy wine, or of thine oyle, &c. and hee is to bee beaten for every one in particular: therefore if hee eat of them all three, without the wall, hee is beaten three times. Maim. in Maaser sheni, chap. 2. sect. 1. 5. This is meant (they say) if he eat thereof without the walls of Ierusalem, after it is once brought in thither; But if he eat of it, before it commeth within the wall of Ierusalem, hee is chastised with stripes. ibid. sect. 6. Of beating, see Deut. 25. 2, 3. and of the holy manner of eating it, see Deut. 26. 14. his name] in Chaldee, his divine presence (Shecinah) whereby Gods presence with his Church in Christ, and by his Spirit, is meant: see the notes on Exod. 34. 9. firstlings] these were given to the Priests, Num. 18. 15. Nehem. 10. 36. who had many other gifts, of which, some might not bee eaten but in the court of the sanctuary; some (of which number these firstlings were) might not bee eaten but in the holy Citie: and some might bee eaten every where. See the annotations on Numb. 18. to feare] this is the end of this ordinance, that the people might be enured with the feare, religion, and service of God: (for feare is sometime used generally for Gods worship, Esay 29. 13. with Matt. 15. 8, 9.) And this feare they learned both by the action it selfe, eating the tithe of all their fruits, with joy and thankfulnesse to him that so blessed their land and labours, the tenth whereof they consecrated unto him: and by beholding the other holy things, and religious actions, performed by all Israel at their solemne feasts. In this latter sense Chazkuni here expoundeth it thus; That when thou goest up to the feast, to eat thy second tithe, and shalt see the Priests in their service, and the Levites in their singing, and the Israelites in their standing, and the Synedrion (or Magistrates) fitting and judging the judgments of Israel, and the Doctors teaching; (for from thence doctrine went forth unto all Israel) thou maiest learne to feare the Lord thy God. Vers. 24. too much for thee] that is, as the Greeke explaineth it, be far away from thee. to carry it] in Greeke, to carry them, meaning the tithes fore-mentioned. hath blessed thee] that is, hath given thee so great an increase, that the tenth of them is more than thou canst carry to the place of Gods Sanctuarie. Vers. 25. turne it] or, sell it for money: Hebr. give it for silver; which the Greeke translateth, sell them for silver. Of this the Hebrewes have these ordinances; Hee that will redeeme the fruits of the second tithe, redeemeth them by their price (or worth) and saith, Loe this money is in stead of these fruits, &c. and hee carrieth the money up to Ierusalem. He that redeemeth his second tithe, blesseth God for the redemption thereof. When they redeeme it, it is not by the name of Tithe, but by the name of common (or profane) things: and they say, How much are these common fruits worth; though all doe know that they are Tithes. They redeeme not the tithe fruits, but with silver; and they redeeme them not with silver [illegible: 3 letters]oyned, but with silver stamped, which hath some figure or writing upon it: and if he redeeme it with a wedge of silver, or the like, he doth nothing. Hee may not redeeme it with money which is not currant at that time, and in that place. Neither may hee redeeme it with money which is not in his owne power; as it is written, Thou shalt binde up the money IN THINE HAND. Hee that redeemeth his second tithe before he have separated it; as if he say, The second tithe of these fruits be redeemed with this money; he saith not any thing, seeing he hath not set out the tithe. But if he have set them out, and then say, the second tithe which is in the North, or in the South, be common (or profane) for this money; loe then it is redeemed. When they redeeme the second tithe, it must be with the worth thereof, and not by guesse, but exactly, by the measure, or by the weight thereof, and so they give the price. If the price, bee knowne, he may redeeme it by the mouth of one; but if it be not knowne, as if the wine begin to be sowre, or the fruits to be rotten, &c. he is to redeeme it by the mouth of three chapmē. They may not carry the tithe fruits from one place to another, to redeeme them there. Maimony in Maaser sheni, chap. 4. and binds up] the Greeke saith, and shalt take the money in thine hands. Vers. 26. thy soule asketh of thee] in Greeke, thy soule desireth; by soule, meaning appetite or lust after meat or drinke, as in Psal. 78. 28. they asked meat for their soule. They might not bestow the money on other things, than for food or anointing, as the Hebrewes declare it thus; Hee may not take for the money of the tithe, ought save mans meat, which groweth out of the earth, or which is nourished by that which groweth out of the earth; as the particulars expressed in the Law, oxen, sheepe, wine, or strong drinke. Therefore they may not buy with the tithe money water or salt, &c. because they grow not out of the ground. Honey, egges, and milke, are as oxen, and sheepe; for though they grow not out of the earth, yet are they proceeded of them which are nourished from the earth. Likewise, they buy not a beast with the tithe money out of Ierusalem. Maim. in Maaser sheni, chap. 7. s. 3, 4, 5, 16. and thine house] in Chaldee, the men of thy house; meaning such as were cleane, the uncleane might not by the Law, Deut. 26. 14. Who so eateth of the second tithe, in his uncleannesse, is to be beaten. Maim. in Maaser sheni, ch. 3. s. 1. Vers. 27. thy gates] in Greeke and Chaldee, thy cities: so in v. 28. not forsake him] that is, not neglect him, but minister sufficient for him also to eat, drinke and rejoyce; seeing he hath no land of his owne, to supply this unto him: See Deut. 12. 19. And this here seemeth not to be meant onely of the first tithe, commanded to be given unto the Levites, Num. 18. but of communicating also these second tithes with them, to rejoyce together, as may be gathered by the Law following, v. 29. Vers. 28. At the end of three yeeres] in Greeke, After three yeeres: but it is meant in the third yeere, to wit, of the seventh or Sabbath yeere; and so againe in the sixt yeere, for every third yeere is meant. Therefore in Deut. 26. 12. it is written, In the third yeere. all the tithe] The Hebrewes write, After a man hath reaped the seed of the earth, or gathered the fruits of the trees, and ended the worke thereof; he separateth out of it, one of fiftie; and this is called the great Heave-offering (or first-fruits) and it is given to the Priest: and of this is spoken in Deut. 18. 4. Afterward he separateth out of the remainder, one of ten; and that is called the first tithe; and he giveth it to the Levites: and this is mentioned in Num. 18. 24. After this, he separateth out of the residue, one of ten; and that is called the second tithe: and it is for the owners, and they eat it in Ierusalem: and this is spoken of in Levit. 27. 30, 31. and Deut. 14. 22. According to this order doe they separate in the first yeere of the seven, and in the second, and in the fourth, and in the fift. But in the third, and in the sixt of the seven, after they have separated the first tithe, he separateth out of the remainder, another tithe, and giveth it to the poore, & that is called the tithe of the poore. And these two yeeres there is no second tithe but the tithe of the poore; and that is spoken of in Deut. 14. 28. & 26. 12. The yeere of Release [which is the seventh yeere] is all free; and there is in it no heave-offering, nor tithes at all, either first or second, or tithe of the poore. Maimony tom. 3. in Mattanoth, gnanijim, ch. s. 2.—5. thy gates] in Greeke and Chaldee, thy cities: implying cities, suburbs, and fields about them; but not out of the land; as the Hebrewes say, They may not carry out of the land, for it is said, WITHIN THY GATES; and (in Deut. 26. 12.) That they may eat within thy gates. Maimony in Mattanoth, ch. 6. s. 17. Vers. 29. the Levite) he was to have all the first tithe, Num. 18. 24. and of that doe the Hebrewes understand this, and not of the second tithe: as Sol. Iarchi here saith, The Levite (shall come) and take the first tithe: and the stranger and the fatherlesse, and they shall take the second tithe, for it is for the poore of this yeere. And Chazkuni saith, In the third yeere, the first tithe is for the Levite, and the second tithe is to be divided unto the poore. See the notes on Num. 18. shall eat and be satisfied] or, eat and have their fill. They were not bound to eat it in Ierusalem, as the second tithe of the former two yeeres; but might eat it within any of their gates. About the distribution of this tithe, they had these orders: The owner of the field, when poore folke passe by him, and he have there the tithe of the poore, he giveth to every poore body that passeth by him, so much of that tithe as may satisfie him, according to Deut. 14. 29. How much is that? If it be of wheat, he gives him not lesse than halfe a Kab: if of barley, not lesse than a Kab: of rye, not lesse than a Kab: of figges, not lesse than five and twenty shekels weight: of wine, not lesse than halfe a Log: of oile, not lesse than a quarter (of a Log) &c. And if hee give him of any other fruits, it is not lesse than that he may sell, and buy with the price thereof two meales meat. If there be many poore, and hee have not enough to give unto every one according to the measure, then he setteth (the tithe) before them, and they part it among themselves. With the second tithe they may not pay debts, or wages, nor redeeme captives with it, nor give almes thereof, &c. Maimony in Mattanoth gnan, ch. 6. in all the worke] that is, all the workes, as the Greeke and Chaldee explaine it; or, in every worke. This manner of speech, that he may blesse thee, is a promise, and he will blesse thee, (as Iudge not, that ye be not judged, Matth. 7. 1. meaneth, and ye shall not be judged, Luke 6. 37.) and it sheweth how godlinesse is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, 1 Tim. 4. 8. Vnto such duties as these, and to workes of mercy, there are often annexed promises of blessing in the Scriptures, Prov. 3. 9, 10. Ezek. 44. 30. Mal. 3. 10. 11. 2 Cor. 9. 6.—10.