Exodus 27 commentary

In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.

The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.

The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

1. And thou shalt make an altar. The altar of whole burnt-offerings (holocaustorum) is here described, which, however, it was called by synecdoche, for not only entire victims were burnt there, but also parts of them only, as we shall see in Leviticus. The burnt-offerings received their name from their ascending, C. alludes to their Hebrew name, עלה, the primary signification of which is mounting upwards. — W whereby the Israelites were reminded that they had need to be purified, that they might ascend to God; and at the same time were instructed that whatever corruption there might be in the flesh did not prevent the sacrifices from being acceptable and of a sweet savor to God. It is clear that from the first beginning of the human race there were burnt-sacrifices, suggested by the secret inspiration of God’s Spirit, since there was no written Law; nor can we doubt but that by this symbol they were taught that the flesh must be burnt by the Spirit, in order that men may duly offer themselves to God; and thus they acknowledged, under this type, that the flesh of Christ must receive this from the divine power, so as to become a perfect victim for the propitiation of God; thus, as the Apostle testifies, he offered himself through the Spirit. (Hebrews 9:14.) But fuller mention of this subject will be made elsewhere. The altar was so constructed that the sacrifices might be cast upon a grate placed within it, and thus they were covered by its external surface. The ashes were received into a pan, so that they should not fall about upon the ground and be trodden under foot, but that reverence might be inculcated even towards the very remnants of their holy things. “Mais que la sainctete des sacremens,” etc. — Fr. be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. That the victims were bound to the four horns, which stood out from the four corners, is plain from the words of Psalm 118:27, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” And this also is the beginning of a proper offering of spiritual sacrifices, that all the lusts of the flesh should be subdued, and held captive as it were unto the obedience of God. Wherefore even Christ, although in Him there was nothing which was not duly regulated, was nevertheless bound, in order to prove His obedience; as He had said, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39.) The altar was carried on staves, to obviate the necessity of having more than one; else there would have been danger of their being compelled, by the very difficulty of carrying it, to leave it behind after it was made, if they were setting about a long journey; and this would have been the seed or ground of superstition, whilst no other could be built which was not spurious.

Exodus 27

Exodus 27:9-19

9. And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:

9. Facies insuper atrium tabernaculi ad plugam meridianam australem: cortinae erunt atrio e bysso retorta: centum cubitorum erit longitudo angulo uni.

10. And the twentypillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

10. Columnae autem ejus erunt viginti, et bases earum viginti aereae: capitella colunmarum et ilia earum argentea.

11. And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

11. Et sic lateri aquilonari in longitudine erunt cortinae centum, et columnm ejus viginti, basesque earum viginti rerem: capitella columnarum, et fila earum argentea.

12. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

12. Porro in latitudine atrii ad latus occidentale, erunt cortinae quinquaginta cubitorum: et columnae earum erunt decem, et bases earum decem.

13. And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

13. In latitudine vero atrii in latere orientali ad orientem, quinquaginta cubiti erunt.

14. The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

14. Qindecim autem cubitorum erunt tortinto lateri uni: columnae earum tres, basesque earum tres.

15. And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15. Lateri vero secundo quindecim cortinae: columnae earum tres, et bases earum tres.

16. And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

16. Et portae atrii disponetur aulaeum viginti cubitorum ex hyacintho, et purpura, et vermiculo cocci, et bysso retorta, opere acupictoris: columnae ejus quatuor, basesque earum quatuor.

17. All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

17. Omnes columnae atrii in circuitu cinctae erunt argento: capitella vero earum erunt argentea, et bases earum aerea.

18. The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

18. Longitudo atrii erit centum cubitorum, et latitudo quinquaginta in quinquaginta: altitudo autem quinque cubitorum: ex bysso retorta et bases earum aereae.

19. All the vessels of the tabernacle, in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

19. Omnia vasa tabernaculi in omni ministerio ejus, et omnes paxilli ejus, et omnes paxilli atrii, ex aeare.

9. And thou shalt make the court. There were two courts divided from the sanctuary, one for the priests, the other common to the whole people. To the first chambers were annexed, in which the Levites dwelt, who were the keepers of the tabernacle; and thus sometimes the courts are spoken of in the plural number, and especially in the Psalms, (Psalm 64:4; 84:2; 92:13; 96:8.) It is the court of the people which is here referred to, where they consecrated the victims, offered their prayers, and were reconciled to God. In this manner the condition of mankind was shewn to the Israelites, by their being forbidden to enter the Temple, whilst at the same time they were reminded that men, although unworthy outcasts, are received by God, if only they seek Him simply, and with due humility, mindful of their own unworthiness. Hence the consolation in which David gloried, It will be seen that he quotes Psalm 84:10, somewhat parathrastically. “I had rather dwell in the courts of the Lord, than in the splendid tents of the ungodly.” The court was formed by four curtains, two of which, on the north and south sides, were 100 cubits long, and supported by 20 pillars, whose bases were of brass, and their capitals A. V., hooks. and fillets of silver; on the east and west, each curtain was 50 cubits long, supported by 10 pillars. The length spoken of is not from the ground upwards, but from their opposite corners: for the court was twice as long as it was broad, as is said in ver. 18. There would be an appearance of contradiction in the fact that Moses afterwards speaks of two sides, and assigns fifteen cubits to each, if he did not immediately go on to mention the hanging or curtain, which covered the gate of the court, and which he sets at twenty cubits. Thus the measure will be correct, and the passage will be quite accordant; for, after he has said in ver. 13 that the curtain on the east side should consist of fifty cubits, he adds in explanation that there were two curtains at the sides of the door, and a third between them to cover the door, making up in all the fifty cubits. But the door was covered by the hanging, that the Israelites might reflect in themselves, whenever they went into the sanctuary, that it was no profane or common (promiscuum) place; but if they came thither in purity and chastity, they might be assuredly persuaded that they were safe under the protection of God. Finally also the majesty of holy things was shewn them in this type, in order that they might reverently approach the worship of God; and they were reminded of their own unworthiness, that they might humble themselves the more before God, and that fear might beget penitence, whilst moderation in the desire of knowledge was recommended to them, that they might not be unduly inquisitive. The religion of the Gentiles also had its secret shrines with the same object, but for very different causes; for it was a brutal religion, for which veneration was sought by darkness, and the disguise of ignorance; whereas God, whilst He retained His people in modesty and simplicity, at the same time set before them the Law, from which they might learn whatever it was right and useful for them to know.

Exodus 29

Exodus 29:36, 37

36. And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.

36. Juvencum pro peccato facies in singulos dies pro expiationibus: et expiabis altare expiando ipsum, ungesque illud ad ipsum sanctificandum.

37. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

37. Septem diebus expiabis altare et sanctificabis illud: eritque sanctitas sanctitatum: quicquid tetigerit altare, sanctificabitur.

Exodus 27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel. I have transferred these two passages from elsewhere, since they relate to the service of the tabernacle; for the children of Israel are commanded to contribute as much oil as may be sufficient for the seven lamps. Now, since Divine illumination and the grace of the Holy Spirit were, as we have seen, the truth of this symbol, God requires pure oil, i.e., not muddy, or mixed with lees, for, had it been in any respect faulty, so much would have been detracted from the dignity of the mystery. Its purity, then, shewed that nothing mean or common was signified by it; that the Israelites also might bring with them pure minds, and duly prepared and disposed to consider the spiritual light. He again repeats, that the oil must be supplied seasonably at its proper hours, so that the lamps may be always burning; that thus the children of Israel might learn that nothing is more opposed to the worship of God than obscurity and darkness; and that it is not to be interrupted at intervals, “Et que ce n’est point assez d’estre eselaire par bouffees;” and that it is not enough to be enlightened by puffs. — Fr. but that the direction of the Spirit should shine from heaven in a perpetual flow. Thus, in the second passage cited, He thrice reiterates the word “continually,” to shew that the true light should never be put out in any respect. This office God enjoins upon the priests, because they ought to be ministers of light when they are interpreting the Law, which David calls “the lamp of our feet, and the light of our paths.” (Psalm 119:105.) But what is the meaning of the offering (of the oil) by the people, since men are possessed of no power for the spiritual enlightening of their own minds? I reply that, in the types of the Law, the several parts are not to be so scrupulously forced to the rule, as if there were nothing in the outward sign with which the reality did not correspond; and again, that although men having nothing of their own and of themselves to bring, yet, that they may more diligently exert themselves in their endeavors to serve God, they are justly required to dedicate themselves and all that they have to God. At the end, where the words “a statute for ever” are added, understand them to mean, until the real manifestation of those things, of which the candlestick and its lamps were a type. This point I have discussed in Genesis “Au dix-septieme chapitre de Genese ” — Fr. It is called “a statute from the מאת, from the. A. V., on the behalf of. C. adheres to S.M., and in so doing he has kept close to the Hebrew. — W. children of Israel,” (a filiis Israel,) since God requires its observance from them; unless it be preferred to translate it with Jerome, “Before (coram) the children of Israel.” The exposition of others, “among (apud) the children of Israel,” or from the fathers to the children, is harsher, and altogether forced.

Numbers 8

Numbers 8:1-4

1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

1. Et loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

2. Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

2. Loquere ad Aharon, et dicas illi, Quando accendes lucernam, contra faciem candelabri lucebunt septem lucernae.

3. And Aaron did so: he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.

3. Fecitque ita Aharon: contra faciem candelabri accendit lucernas ejus, quemadmodum praeceperat Jehova ipsi Mosi.

4. And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

4. Et hoc est opus candelabri, ductile aureum usque ad hastile suum, usque ad flores suos ductile erat, juxta exemplar quod ostenderat Jehova ipsi Mosi, sic fecit candelabrum.

CHAPTER 27

Ex 27:1-21. Altar for Burnt Offering.

1-2. altar of shittim wood--The dimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half in height. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the inside was hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by "horns"--angular projections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. The animals to be sacrificed were bound to these (Psa 118:27), and part of the blood was applied to them.

3. shovels--fire shovels for scraping together any of the scattered ashes.

basons--for receiving the blood of the sacrifice to be sprinkled on the people.

fleshhooks--curved, three-pronged forks (1Sa 2:13, 14).

fire-pans--A large sort of vessel, wherein the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Le 9:24) was kept burning, while they cleaned the altar and the grate from the coals and ashes, and while the altar was carried from one place to another in the wilderness [Patrick, Spencer, Le Clerc].

4. a grate of network of brass--sunk latticework to support the fire.

four brazen rings--by which the grating might be lifted and taken away as occasion required from the body of the altar.

5. put it under the compass of the altar beneath--that is, the grating in which they were carried to a clean place (Le 4:12).

6-7. staves ... rings--Those rings were placed at the side through which the poles were inserted on occasions of removal.

9-19. the court of the tabernacle--The enclosure in which the edifice stood was a rectangular court, extending rather more than fifty yards in length and half that space in breadth, and the enclosing parapet was about three yards or half the height of the tabernacle. That parapet consisted of a connected series of curtains, made of fine twined linen yarn, woven into a kind of network, so that the people could see through; but that large curtain which overhung the entrance was of a different texture, being embroidered and dyed with variegated colors, and it was furnished with cords for pulling it up or drawing it aside when the priests had occasion to enter. The curtains of this enclosure were supported on sixty brazen pillars which stood on pedestals of the same metal, but their capitals and fillets were of silver, and the hooks on which they were suspended were of silver also.

20-21. pure oil olive beaten--that is, such as runs from the olives when bruised and without the application of fire.

for the light ... Aaron and his sons--were to take charge of lighting it in all time coming.

Thou shalt make an altar - מזבח mizbeach, from זבח zabach, to slay: Septuagint, θυσιαστηριον, from θυσιαζω, to sacrifice or from θυω to kill, etc. See Clarke's note on Gen 8:20.

Four square - As this altar was five cubits long and five broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about five feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the same ratio.

Thou shalt make the horns of it - The horns might have three uses:

1. For ornament.

2. To prevent carcasses, etc., from falling off.

3. To tie the victim to, previously to its being sacrificed.

So David: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar; Psa 118:27. Horns were much used in all ancient altars among the heathen, and some of them were entirely constructed of the horns of the beasts that had been offered in sacrifice; but such altars appear to be erected rather as trophies in honor of their gods. On the reverses of several medals we find altars represented with horns at the corners. There is a medal of Antoninus on the reverse of which is an altar, on which a fire burns, consecrated Divi Pio, where the horns appear on each of the corners.

There is one of Faustina, on which the altar and its horns are very distinct, the legend Pietas Augusta. All the following have altars with horns. One of Valerian, legend Consecratio; one of Claudius Gothicus, same legend; one of Quintillus, same legend; one of Crispina, with the legend Diis Genitalibus; and several others. See Numismatica Antiq., a Musellio, under Consecratio, in the index.

Callimachus, in his Hymn to Apollo, line 60 introduces him constructing an altar of the horns of the animals slain by Diana: - πηξε δε βωμον Εκ κεραων κ. τ. λ.

Martial has these words: Cornibus ara frequens.

Thou shalt make his pans - סירתיו sirothaiv, a sort or large brazen dishes, which stood under the altar to receive the ashes that fell through the grating.

His shovels - יעיו yaaiv. Some render this besoms; but as these were brazen instruments, it is more natural to suppose that some kind of fire-shovels are intended, or scuttles, which were used to carry off the ashes that fell through the grating into the large pan or siroth.

His basins - מזרקתיו mizrekothaiv, from זרק zarak, to sprinkle or disperse; bowls or basins to receive the blood of the sacrifices, in order that it might be sprinkled on the people before the altar, etc.

His flesh-hooks - מזלגתיו mizlegothaiu. That this word is rightly translated flesh-hooks is fully evident from 1Sam 2:13, where the same word is used in such a connection as demonstrates its meaning: And the priest's custom with the people was, that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in the seething, with a Flesh-Hook (מזלג mazleg) of three teeth (prongs) in his hand, and he struck it into the pan, etc.; all that the Flesh-Hook (מזלג mazleg) brought up, the priest took for himself. It was probably a kind of trident, or fork with three prongs, and these bent to a right angle at the middle, as the ideal meaning of the Hebrew seems to imply crookedness or curvature in general.

His fire-pans - מחתתיו machtothaiu. Bishop Patrick and others suppose that "this was a larger sort of vessel, wherein, probably, the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Lev 9:24) was kept burning, whilst they cleansed the altar and the grate from the coals and the ashes; and while the altar was carried from one place to another, as it often was in the wilderness.

Thou shalt make for it a grate - Calmet supposes this altar to have been a sort of box, covered with brass plates, on the top of which was a grating to supply the fire with air, and permit the ashes to fall through into the siroth or pan that was placed below. At the four corners of the grating were four rings and four chains, by which it was attached to the four horns; and at the sides were rings for the poles of shittim wood with which it was carried. Even on this there is a great variety of opinions.

Hollow with boards - It seems to have been a kind of frame-work, and to have had nothing solid in the inside, and only covered with the grating at the top. This rendered it more light and portable.

The court of the tabernacle - The tabernacle stood in an enclosure or court, open at the top. This court was made with pillars or posts, and hangings. It was one hundred cubits, or about fifty-eight yards and a half, in length; the breadth we learn from Exo 27:12, Exo 27:18; and five cubits, or nearly three yards, high, Exo 27:18. And as this was but half the height of the tabernacle, Exo 26:16, that sacred building might easily be seen by the people from without.

And for the gate of the court - It appears that the hangings of this gate were of the same materials and workmanship with that of the inner covering of the tabernacle, and the outer and inner veil. See Exo 26:36.

All the vessels - shall be of brass - It would have been improper to have used instruments made of the more precious metals about this altar, as they must have been soon worn out by the severity of the service.

Pure oil olive beaten - That is, such oil as could easily be expressed from the olives after they had been bruised in a mortar; the mother drop, as it is called, which drops out of itself as soon as the olives are a little broken, and which is much purer than that which is obtained after the olives are put under the press.

Columella, who is a legitimate evidence in all such matters, says that the oil which flowed out of the fruit either spontaneously, or with little application of the force of the press, was of a much finer flavour than that which was obtained otherwise. Quoniam longe melioris saporis est, quod minore vi preli, quasi luxurians, defluxerit - Colum., lib. xii., c. 50.

To cause the lamp to burn always - They were to be kept burning through the whole of the night, and some think all the day besides; but there is a difference of sentiment upon this subject. See the note on Exo 27:21.

This oil and continual flame were not only emblematical of the unction and influences of the Holy Ghost, but also of that pure spirit of devotion which ever animates the hearts and minds of the genuine worshippers of the true God. The temple of Vesta, where a fire was kept perpetually burning, seems to have been formed on the model of the tabernacle; and from this the followers of Zeratusht, commonly called Zoroaster, appear to have derived their doctrine of the perpetual fire, which they still worship as an emblem of the Deity.

The tabernacle of the congregation - The place where all the assembly of the people were to worship, where the God of that assembly was pleased to reside, and to which, as the habitation of their king and protector, they were ever to turn their faces in all their adorations.

Before the testimony - That is, the ark where the tables of the covenant were deposited. See Exo 25:16.

Aaron and his sons - These and their descendants being the only legitimate priests, God having established the priesthood in this family.

Shall order it from evening to morning - Josephus says the whole of the seven lamps burned all the night; in the morning four were extinguished, and three kept burning through the whole day. Others assert that the whole seven were kept lighted both day and night continually; but it appears sufficiently evident, from 1Sam 3:3, that these lamps were extinguished in the morning: And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, etc. See also Exo 30:8 : And when Aaron Lighteth The Lamps At Even. It appears therefore that the business of the priests was to light the lamps in the evening; and either to extinguish them in the morning, or permit them to burn out, having put in the night before as much oil as was necessary to last till daylight.

A statute for ever - This ordering of the lamps night and morning, and attendance on the service of the tabernacle, was a statute that was to be in full force while the tabernacle and temple stood, and should have its spiritual accomplishment in the Christian Church to the end of time. Reader, the tabernacle and temple are both destroyed; the Church of Christ is established in their place. The seven golden candlesticks were typical of this Church and the glorious light it possesses, Rev 1:12-20; and Jesus Christ, the Fountain and Dispenser of this true light, walks in the midst of them. Reader, hast thou that celestial flame to enlighten and animate thy heart in all those acts of devotion which thou professest to pay to him as thy Maker, Redeemer, and Preserver? What is thy profession, and what thy religious acts and services, without this? A sounding brass, a tinkling cymbal.

Tertullian asserts that all the ancient heathens borrowed their best notions from the sacred writings: "Which," says he, "of your poets, which of your sophists, have not drunk from the fountain of the prophets? It is from those sacred springs that your philosophers have refreshed their thirsty spirits; and if they found any thing in the Holy Scriptures which hit their fancy, or which served their hypothesis, they took and turned it to a compliance with their own curiosity, not considering those writings to be sacred and unalterable, nor understanding their true sense, every one altering them according to his own fancy." - Apologet.

The reader's attention has already been called to this point several times in the preceding parts of this work, and the subject will frequently recur. At the conclusion of Exo 25:31 (See Clarke's note at Exo 25:31) we had occasion to observe that the heathens had imitated many things in that Divine worship prescribed by Moses; but in application to their own corrupt system every thing was in a certain measure falsified and distorted, yet not so far as to prevent the grand outlines of primitive truth from being discerned. One of the most complete imitations of the tabernacle and its whole service is found in the very ancient temple of Hercules, founded probably by the Phoenicians, at Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain, so minutely described by Silius Italicus from actual observation. He observes that though the temple was at that time very ancient, yet the beams were the same that had been placed there by the founders, and that they were generally supposed to be incorruptible; a quality ascribed to the shittim wood, termed ξυλον ασηπτον, incorruptible wood, by the Septuagint. That women were not permitted to enter this temple, and that no swine were ever suffered to come near it. That the priests did not wear party-coloured vestments, but were always clothed in fine linen, and their bonnets made of the same. That they offered incense to their god, their clothes being ungirded; for the same reason doubtless given Exo 20:26, that in going up to the altar nothing unseemly might appear, and therefore they permitted their long robes to fall down to their feet. He adds, that by the laws of their forefathers they bore on their sacerdotal vestments the latus clavus, which was a round knob or stud of purple with which the robes of the Roman knights and senators were adorned, which these priests seem to have copied from the breastplate of judgment made of cunning work, embroidered with purple, blue, etc. See Exo 28:15. They also ministered barefooted, their hair was trimmed or cut off, and they observed the strictest continency, and kept a perpetual fire burning on their altars. And he farther adds that there was no image or similitude of the gods to be seen in that sacred place. This is the substance of his description; but as some of my readers may wish to see the original, I shall here subjoin it. Vulgatum (nec cassa fides) ab origine fani Impositas durare trabes, solasque per aevum Condentum novisse manus: hic credere gaudent Consedisse Deum, seniumque repellere templis. Tum, queis fas et honos adyti penetralia nosse, Foemineos prohibent gressus, ac limine curant Setigeros arcere sues: nec discolor ulli Ante aras cultus: velantur corpora lino, Et Pelusiaco praefulget stamine vertex. Discinctis mos thura dare, atque, e lege parenturn Sacrificam Lato vestem distinguere Clavo. Pes nudus, tousaeque comae, castumque cubile, Irrestincta focis servant altaria flammae. Sed nulla effigies, simulacrave nota Deorum Majestate locum, et sacro implevere timore.

Punicor., lib. iii., ver. 17-31.

This is such a remarkable case that I think myself justified in quoting it at length, as an extraordinary monument, though corrupted, of the tabernacle and its service. It is probable that the original founders had consecrated this temple to the true God, under the name of אל EL, the strong God, or אל גבור El Gibbor, the strong, prevailing, and victorious God, Isa 9:6, out of whom the Greeks and Romans made their Hercules, or god of strength; and, to make it agree with this appropriation, the labors of Hercules were sculptured on the doors of this temple at Gades. In foribus labor Alcidae Lernaea recisis Anguibus Hydra jacet, etc.

As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him; not in the tabernacle itself, into that only the priests entered as God's domestic servants, but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects they attended. There an altar was ordered so be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices; and this altar was to sanctify their gifts; from hence they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy - seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel.

The horns of it, were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge.

The grate was set into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it was made of net - work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through. Now, this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. Christ sanctified himself for his church as their altar, John 17:19, and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge, and are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

Before the tabernacle there was to be a court, enclosed with hangings of fine linen. This court, according to the common computation, was 50 yards long, and 25 broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenterhooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest. This court was a type of the church, enclosed, and distinguished from the rest of the world; the inclosure supported by pillars, noting the stability of the church hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Rev 19:8. Yet this court would contain but a few worshippers; thanks be to God, now the inclosure is taken down; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Christ.

We read of the candlestick in the 25th chapter; here is order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it. The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive, Zech 4:11,12. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day. Thus it is the work of ministers to preach and expound the scriptures, which are as a lamp to enlighten the church. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.

1 AND thou shalt make an altar of shittim-wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad: the altar shall be four-square: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

a Not that for Incense, but another for sacrifices.

Marginal references: chap. 38. 1.

2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same : and thou shalt overlay it with brass .

Which were elevated above the body of the Altar, in form either of pyramids or spires, or rather of horns, as the word signifies: nor is there any necessity of departing from the proper signification. These were not onely for ornament, but for use also, either to keep things put upon it from falling, or that beasts to be offered might be bound to them. See Psal. 118. 27.

Of the same piece with the altar, for its use required strength.

With plates of brass of competent thickness, both above the wood and under it, that the fire might not take hold of the wood.

Marginal references: See Num. 16. 38.

3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins , and his flesh-hooks , and his fire-pans : all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

To receive the blood of the sacrifices, which they were to sprinkle.

Wherewith they took flesh out of the pot in which it was seethed, as 1 Sam. 2. 14. But this seems not proper here, because the flesh was never boiled upon the Altar, but in other places appointed for that use. And the Hebrew word is general and may signify either tongs, or fire-forks.

In which they carried li[illegible: 1+ letters]e coals from this Altar to that of Incense, as occasion required.

Marginal references: Or, bowls. Gr. Vials. [illegible: 1+ letters] Chron. 4. 8.

4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass, and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.

Which was competently strong and thick, this being as it were the hearth of the Altar upon which they laid both the wood and the sacrifices, and it was full of holes, through which the blood and ashes might fall down into the place appointed for them.

Or rather at or beside, or under, the net, for so the rings were placed, as their use shews, and the Hebrew preposition, al, is oft so used.

Which were either 1. peculiar to the grate, which by these was carried apart from the Altar, having the perpetual fire kept in it: for had it been carried with the Altar, the cloth wherewith the Altar was covered Numb. 4. 13. would have been endangered by the fire. Or 2. common to the Altar, to which these were fixed on the outside, as on the inside to the grate, that by them the grate might be both kept even and upright, and also carried together with the Altar, and that with such caution that the fire included might not hurt the covering-cloth, which was not difficult to do.

5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the Altar .

(i. e.) Within the square and hollow space of the Altar.

Or, and the net shall be at (the Hebrew, ad, being here used for il, as Hos. 14. 2, Ioel 2. 12. Amos 4. 6, 8.) the midst of the altar. And these words seem added to explain the word, beneath, to shew that as it was not to be at the top, so neither at the bottom of the Altar, but in the midst of it.

7 And the staves shall be put into the rings , and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar to bear it.

Which seem to be the s[illegible: 1+ letters]me both to the Altar and the grate, though some alledge that place for the contrary.

8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

(i. e.) Not one entire piece of wood, but consisting of four several sides, hollow within, for easiness and conveniency of carriage in their wildernes; state.

Marginal references: chap. 25. 40. and 26. 30.; Heb. he h[illegible: 1+ letters]red.

9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle for the south-side southward there shall be hangings for the court , of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long, for one side.

A court encompassing the tabernacle, Exod. 40. 33. in the midst whereof the Altar of Sacrifices was placed, upon which the offerings were burnt in the open air, which was most convenient.

Whereby the court was distinguished and enclosed.

10 And the twenty pillars thereof, and their twenty sockets shall be of brass: the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets shall be of silver.

On which the hangings were fastened, by the hooks here mentioned.

Or, bases, upon which the pillars stood.

Or hoops, which encompassed the pillars at the top, being placed there, as it seems, for ornament onely.

14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits : their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Which with the 15 cubits ver. 15. and the 20 cubits ver. 16. make up the 50 cubits mentioned ver. 13.

17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver: their hooks shall be of silver , and their sockets of brass.

All silver, not onely covered with silver, as some unduly infer from Exod. 38. 17.

19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court shall be of brass.

Wherewith the Tabernacle and curtains thereof were fastened to the ground, as tents usually are with wooden pins.

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil-olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn alway .

(i. e.) At all the times appointed, daily, though not continually, as the lamb offered onely every morning and every evening is called a continual burnt-offering, Exod. 29. 42. For that these were lighted onely at the evening may seem probable from the next verse, and from Exod. 27. 21. and 30. 8. Lev. 24. 3. 1 Sam. 3. 3. 2 Chron. 13. 11. But because Iosephus and Philo, who were eye-witnesses of the Temple-service, and had no temptation to ly in this matter, expresly affirm, that some lights did burn in the day-time, and it may seem indecent and improbable, that God should dwell and the Priests minister in darkness, and there were no windows to give light to the Tabernacle by day, it may be granted, that some few burnt in the day, and all in the night, and that the latter is onely mentioned in the places alledged, as being the more solemn time when all are lighted.

z Beaten out of the olives with a pestel, which is freer from dregs than that which is squeezed out with a press.

Marginal references: Heb. to ascend up.

21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail , which is before the testimony , Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations, on the behalf of the children of Israel.

So called because there the people used to meet not onely one with another, but with God also. See Exod. 25. 22. Numb. 17. 4. Others render it, in the tabernacle of witness, because there God declared his mind and will and mans duty.

To wit, the second vail, in the holy place.

A short speech for, before the Ark of the Testimony, as it is elsewhere more largely called, compare Exod. 25. 16.

To wit, the lamp, or the lights, taking care that there be a constant supply of them, and that they burn well.

Marginal references: Heb. of meeting. See chap. 25. 22. and 29. 42.; chap. 26. 31, 33.

Exo 27:1-3

The Altar of Burnt-Offering (cf. Exo 38:1-7). - “Make the altar (the altar of burnt-offering, according to Exo 38:1) of acacia-wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad (רבוּע “foured,” i.e., four-sided or quadrangular), and three cubits high. At its four corners shall its horns be from (out of) it,” i.e., not removable, but as if growing out of it. These horns were projections at the corners of the altar, formed to imitate in all probability the horns of oxen, and in these the whole force of the altar was concentrated. The blood of the sin-offering was therefore smeared upon them (Lev 4:7), and those who fled to the altar to save their lives laid hold of them (vid., Exo 21:14, and 1Ki 1:50; also my commentary on the passage). The altar was to be covered with copper or brass, and all the things used in connection with it were to be made of brass. These were, - (1) the pans, to cleanse it of the ashes of the fat (Exo 27:3 : דּשּׁן, a denom. verb from דּשׁן the ashes of fat, that is to say, the ashes that arose from burning the flesh of the sacrifice upon the altar, has a privative meaning, and signifies “to ash away,” i.e., to cleanse from ashes); (2) יעים shovels, from יעה to take away (Isa 28:17); (3) מזרקות, things used for sprinkling the blood, from fzarq to sprinkle; (4) מזלגות forks, flesh-hooks (cf. מזלג   1Sa 3:13); (5) מחתּת coal-scoops     (cf. Exo 25:38). וגו לכל־כּליו: either “for all the vessels thereof thou shalt make brass,” or “as for all its vessels, thou shalt make (them) of brass.”

Exo 27:4-5

The altar was to have מכבּר a grating, רשׂת מעשׂה net-work, i.e., a covering of brass made in the form of a net, of larger dimensions that the sides of the altar, for this grating was to be under the “compass” (כּרכּב) of the altar from beneath, and to reach to the half of it (half-way up, Exo 27:5); and in it, i.e., at the four ends (or corners) of it, four brass rings were to be fastened, for the poles to carry it with. כּרכּב (from כּרכּב circumdedit) only occurs here and in Exo 38:4, and signifies a border (סבבא Targums), i.e., a projecting framework or bench running round the four sides of the altar, about half a cubit or a cubit broad, nailed to the walls (of the altar) on the outside, and fastened more firmly to them by the copper covering which was common to both. The copper grating was below this bench, and on the outside. The bench rested upon it, or rather it hung from the outer edge of the bench and rested upon the ground, like the inner chest, which it surrounded on all four sides, and in which there were no perforations. It formed with the bench or carcob a projecting footing, which caused the lower half of the altar to look broader than the upper on every side. The priest stood upon this carcob or bench when offering sacrifice, or when placing the wood, or doing anything else upon the altar. This explains Aaron’s coming down (ירד) from the altar (Lev 9:22); and there is no necessity to suppose that there were steps to the altar, as Knobel does in opposition to Exo 20:26. For even if the height of the altar, viz., three cubits, would be so great that a bench half-way up would be too high for any one to step up to, the earth could be slightly raised on one side so as to make the ascent perfectly easy; and when the priest was standing upon the bench, he could perform all that was necessary upon the top of the altar without any difficulty.

Exo 27:6-8

The poles were to be made of acacia-wood, and covered with brass, and to be placed in the rings that were fixed in the two sides for the purpose of carrying the altar. The additional instructions in Exo 27:8, “hollow with tables shalt thou make it, as it was showed thee in the mount” (cf. Exo 25:9), refer apparently, if we judge from Exo 20:24-25, simply to the wooden framework of the altar, which was covered with brass, and which was filled with earth, or gravel and stones, when the altar was about to be used, the whole being levelled so as to form a hearth. The shape thus given to the altar of burnt-offering corresponded to the other objects in the sanctuary. It could also be carried about with ease, and fixed in any place, and could be used for burning the sacrifices without the wooden walls being injured by the fire.

Exo 27:9-11 (cf. Exo 38:9-20). The Court of the dwelling was to consist of קלעים “hangings” of spun byssus, and pillars with brass (copper) sockets, and hooks and fastenings for the pillars of silver. The pillars were of course made of acacia-wood; they were five cubits high, with silvered capitals (Exo 38:17, Exo 38:19), and carried the hangings, which were fastened to them by means of the hooks and fastenings. There were twenty of them on both the southern and northern sides, and the length of the drapery on each of these sides was 100 cubits (באמּה מאה, 100 sc., measured by the cubit), so that the court was a hundred cubits long (Exo 27:18).

Exo 27:12-16

“As for the breadth of the court on the west side, (there shall be) curtains fifty cubits; their pillars twenty; and the breadth of the court towards the front, on the east side, fifty cubits.” The front is divided in Exo 27:14-16 into two כּתף, lit., shoulders, i.e., sides or side-pieces, each consisting of 15 cubits of hangings and three pillars with their sockets, and a doorway (שׁער), naturally in the middle, which was covered by a curtain (מסך) formed of the same material as the covering at the entrance to the dwelling, of 20 cubits in length, with four pillars and the same number of sockets. The pillars were therefore equidistant from one another, viz., 5 cubits apart. Their total number was 60 (not 56), which was the number required, at the distance mentioned, to surround a quadrangular space of 100 cubits long and 50 cubits broad.Although any one may easily convince himself of the correctness of these numbers by drawing a figure, Knobel has revived Philo's erroneous statement about 56 pillars and the double reckoning of the pillars in the corner. And the statement in Exo 27:14-16, that three pillars were to be made in front to carry the hangings on either side of the door, and four to carry the curtain which covered the entrance, may be easily shown to be correct, notwithstanding the fact that, as every drawing shows, four pillars would be required, and not three only, to carry 15 cubits of hangings, and five (not four) to carry a curtain 20 cubits broad, if the pillars were to be placed 5 cubits apart; for the corner pillars, as belonging to both sides, and the pillars which stood between the hangings and the curtain on either side, could only be reckoned as halves in connection with each side or each post; and in reckoning the number of pillars according to the method adopted in every other case, the pillar from which you start would not be reckoned at all. Now, if you count the pillars of the eastern side upon this principle (starting from a corner pillar, which is not reckoned, because it is the starting-point and is the last pillar of the side wall), you have 1, 2, 3, then 1, 2, 3, 4, and then again 1, 2, 3; that is to say, 3 pillars for each wing and 4 for the curtain, although the hangings of each wing would really be supported by 4 pillars, and the curtain in the middle by 5.

Exo 27:17-18

“All the pillars of the court round about (shall be) bound with connecting rods of silver.” As the rods connecting the pillars of the court were of silver, and those connecting the pillars at the entrance to the dwelling were of wood overlaid with gold, the former must have been intended for a different purpose from the latter, simply serving as rods to which to fasten the hangings, whereas those at the door of the dwelling formed an architrave. The height of the hangings of the court and the covering of the door is given in Exo 38:17 as 5 cubits, corresponding to the height of the pillars given in Exo 28:18 of the chapter before us; but the expression in Exo 38:18, “the height in the breadth,” is a singular one, and רחב is probably to be understood in the sense of רחב door-place or door-way, - the meaning of the passage being, “the height of the covering in the door-way.” In Exo 28:18, “50 everywhere,” πεντήκοντα ἐπὶ πεντήκοντα (lxx), lit., 50 by 50, is to be understood as relating to the extent towards the north and south; and the reading of the Samaritan text, viz., באמּה for בחמשּׁים, is merely the result of an arbitrary attempt to bring the text into conformity with the previous באמּה מאה, whilst the lxx, on the other hand, by an equally arbitrary change, have rendered the passage ἑκατὸν εφ ̓ ἑκατὸν.

Exo 27:19

“All the vessels of the dwelling in all the work thereof (i.e., all the tools needed for the tabernacle), and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, (shall be of) brass or copper.” The vessels of the dwelling are not the things required for the performance of worship, but the tools used in setting up the tabernacle and taking it down again.

If we inquire still further into the design and meaning of the court, the erection of a court surrounding the dwelling on all four sides is to be traced to the same circumstance as that which rendered it necessary to divide the dwelling itself into two parts, viz., to the fact, that on account of the unholiness of the nation, it could not come directly into the presence of Jehovah, until the sin which separates unholy man from the holy God had been atoned for. Although, by virtue of their election as the children of Jehovah, or their adoption as the nation of God, it was intended that the Israelites should be received by the Lord into His house, and dwell as a son in his father’s house; yet under the economy of the law, which only produced the knowledge of sin, uncleanness, and unholiness, their fellowship with Jehovah, the Holy One, could only be sustained through mediators appointed and sanctified by God: viz., at the institution of the covenant, through His servant Moses; and during the existence of this covenant, through the chosen priests of the family of Aaron. It was through them that the Lord was to be approached, and the nation to be brought near to Him. Every day, therefore, they entered the holy place of the dwelling, to offer to the Lord the sacrifices of prayer and the fruits of the people’s earthly vocation. But even they were not allowed to go into the immediate presence of the holy God. The most holy place, where God was enthroned, was hidden from them by the curtain, and only once a year was the high priest permitted, as the head of the whole congregation, which was called to be the holy nation of God, to lift this curtain and appear before God with the atoning blood of the sacrifice and the cloud of incense (Lev 16). The access of the nation to its God was restricted to the court. There it could receive from the Lord, through the medium of the sacrifices which it offered upon the altar of burnt-offering, the expiation of its sins, His grace and blessing, and strength to live anew. Whilst the dwelling itself represented the house of God, the dwelling-place of Jehovah in the midst of His people (Exo 23:19; Jos 6:24; 1Sa 1:7, 1Sa 1:24, etc.), the palace of the God-King, in which the priestly nation drew near to Him (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 3:3; Psa 5:8; Psa 26:4, Psa 26:6); the court which surrounded the dwelling represented the kingdom of the God-King, the covenant land or dwelling-place of Israel in the kingdom of its God. In accordance with this purpose, the court was in the form of an oblong, to exhibit its character as part of the kingdom of God. But its pillars and hangings were only five cubits high, i.e., half the height of the dwelling, to set forth the character of incompleteness, or of the threshold to the sanctuary of God. All its vessels were of copper-brass, which, being allied to the earth in both colour and material, was a symbolical representation of the earthly side of the kingdom of God; whereas the silver of the capitals of the pillars, and of the hooks and rods which sustained the hangings, as well as the white colour of the byssus-hangings, might point to the holiness of this site for the kingdom of God. On the other hand, in the gilding of the capitals of the pillars at the entrance to the dwelling, and the brass of their sockets, we find gold and silver combined, to set forth the union of the court with the sanctuary, i.e., the union of the dwelling-place of Israel with the dwelling-place of its God, which is realized in the kingdom of God.

The design and significance of the court culminated in the altar of burnt-offering, the principal object in the court; and upon this the burnt-offerings and slain-offerings, in which the covenant nation consecrated itself as a possession to its God, were burnt. The heart of this altar was of earth or unhewn stones, having the character of earth, not only on account of its being appointed as the place of sacrifice and as the hearth for the offerings, but because the earth itself formed the real or material sphere for the kingdom of God in the Old Testament stage of its development. This heart of earth was elevated by the square copper covering into a vessel of the sanctuary, a place where Jehovah would record His name, and come to Israel and bless them (Exo 20:24, cf. Exo 29:42, Exo 29:44), and was consecrated as a place of sacrifice, by means of which Israel could raise itself to the Lord, and ascend to Him in the sacrifice. And this significance of the altar culminated in its horns, upon which the blood of the sin-offering was smeared. Just as, in the case of the horned animals, their strength and beauty are concentrated in the horns, and the horn has become in consequence a symbol of strength, or of fulness of vital energy; so the significance of the altar as a place of the saving and life-giving power of God, which the Lord bestows upon His people in His kingdom, was concentrated in the horns of the altar.

The instructions concerning the Oil For the Candlestick, and the daily trimming of the lamps by the priests, form a transition from the fitting up of the sanctuary to the installation of its servants.

Exo 27:20

The sons of Israel were to bring to Moses (lit., fetch to thee) olive oil, pure (i.e., prepared from olives “which had been cleansed from leaves, twigs, dust, etc., before they were crushed”), beaten, i.e., obtained not by crushing in oil-presses, but by beating, when the oil which flows out by itself is of the finest quality and a white colour. This oil was to be “for the candlestick to set up a continual light.”

Exo 27:21

Aaron and his sons were to prepare this light in the tabernacle outside the curtain, which was over the testimony (i.e., which covered or concealed it), from evening to morning, before Jehovah. “The tabernacle of the congregation,” lit., tent of assembly: this expression is applied to the sanctuary for the first time in the preset passage, but it afterwards became the usual appellation, and accords both with its structure and design, as it was a tent in style, and was set apart as the place where Jehovah would meet with the Israelites and commune with them (Exo 25:22). The ordering of the light from evening to morning consisted, according to Exo 30:7-8, and Lev 24:3-4, in placing the lamps upon the candlestick in the evening and lighting them, that they might give light through the night, and then cleaning them in the morning and filling them with fresh oil. The words “a statute for ever unto their generations (see at Exo 12:14) on the part of the children of Israel,” are to be understood as referring not merely to the gift of oil to be made by the Israelites for all time, but to the preparation of the light, which was to be regarded as of perpetual obligation and worth. “For ever,” in the same sense as in Gen 17:7 and Gen 17:13.

The Tabernacle and Its Furniture. (b. c. 1491.)

1 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. 4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. 5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. 6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. 7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. 8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the tabernacle itself (into that only the priests entered as God's domestic servants), but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God: and this altar was to sanctify their gifts. Here they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. Moses is here directed about, 1. The dimensions of it; it was square, v. 1. 2. The horns of it (v. 2), which were for ornament and for use; the sacrifices were bound with cords to the horns of the altar, and to them malefactors fled for refuge. 3. The materials; it was of wood overlaid with brass, v. 1, 2. 4. The appurtenances of it (v. 3), which were all of brass. 5. The grate, which was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of it, in which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt; it was made of network like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the fire might burn the better, and that the ashes might fall through into the hollow of the altar, v. 4, 5. 6. The staves with which it must be carried, v. 6, 7. And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern shown him, v. 8.

Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if it had not been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God if it had not been supported by a divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his church, as their altar (John xvii. 19), and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people, who have also a right to eat of this altar (Heb. xiii. 10), for they serve at it as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and they are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.

9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: 10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18 The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

Before the tabernacle there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with hangings of the finest linen that was used for tents. This court, according to the common computation of cubits, was fifty yards long, and twenty-five broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenter-hooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest, v. 16. This court was a type of the church, enclosed and distinguished from the rest of the world, the enclosure supported by pillars, denoting the stability of the church, hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Rev. xix. 8. These were the courts David longed for and coveted to reside in (Ps. lxxxiv. 2, 10), and into which the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving (Ps. c. 4); yet this court would contain but a few worshippers. Thanks be to God, now, under the gospel, the enclosure is taken down. God's will is that men pray everywhere; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ.

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord : it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else it was useless; in every candlestick there should be a burning and shining light; candlesticks without candles are as wells without water or as clouds without rain. Now, 1. The people were to provide the oil; from them the Lord's ministers must have their maintenance. Or, rather, the pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are communicated to all believers from Christ the good olive, of whose fulness we receive (Zech. iv. 11, 12), and without which our light cannot shine before men. 2. The priests were to light the lamps, and to tend them; it was part of their daily service to cause the lamp to burn always, night and day; thus it is the work of ministers, by the preaching and expounding of the scriptures (which are as a lamp), to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon the earth, and to direct the spiritual priests in his service. This is to be a statute for ever, that the lamps of the word be lighted as duly as the incense of prayer and praise is offered.

CHAP. XXVII.

AND thou shalt make an Altar of [illegible: 1 word] wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the bredth; foure squart shall the Altar be, & three cubits the height [illegible: 1 span]of. And thou shalt make the hornes of it upon the foure corners thereof, of the same shall the hornes of it be; and thou shalt overlay it with brasse. And thou shalt make the pannes of it to receive the ashes thereof, and the shovels of it, and the basons of it, and the flesh-hookes of it, and the fire pannes of it: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brasse. And thou shalt make for it a grate of networke of brasse; and thou shalt make upon the net foure rings of brasse, in the foure utmost parts thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compasse of the Altar beneath, and the net shall be even to the midst of the Altar. And thou shalt make barres for the Altar, barres of Shittim wood, and shalt overlay them with brasse. And the bars thereof shall be put into the rings: and the barres shall be upon the two sides of the Altar to beare it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it, even as he shewed thee in the mountaine, so shall they make it.

And thou shalt make the Court of the Tabernacle for the south side Southward; Tapestrie hangings for the Court of fine linnen twined, an hundred cubits length, for one side. And the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brasse; the hookes of the pillars and their [illegible: 1 letter]illets of silver. And so for the North side in length, tapestrie hangings, of an hundred (cubits) length; and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty of brasse, the hookes of the pillars, and their fillets of silver. And for the bredth of the court on the Westside, tapestry hangings of fiftie cubits; their pillars tenne, and their sockets tenne. And the bredth of the Court on the East side Eastward, fifty cubits. And fifteene cubits the tapestrie-hangings for the side: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the second side, fifteene (cubits,) the tapestrie hangings, their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the gate of the Court, an hanging-veile, of twenty cubits, of blew, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linnen twined, the worke of the Embroiderer: their pillars foure, and their sockets foure. All the pillars of the Court round about shall be fillet[illegible: 1 letter]ed with silver; their hookes silver, and their sockets brasse. The length of the Court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty with fifty; and the height five cubits, of fine lin [illegible: 1 letter]en twined: and their sockets brasse. All the vessels of the Tabernacle, for all the service thereof, and all the pinnes thereof, and all the pinnes of the Court, brasse. [non-Latin text not transcribed]

And thou shalt command the sonnes of Israel, that they take unto thee, pure oile olive, beaten for the Light, to cause the Lampe to ascend up continually. In the Tent of the Congregation, without the veile, which is before the Testimonie, Aaron and his sonnes shall order it, from evening unto morning, before Iehovah: it shall be a statute for ever▪ unto their generations, on the behalfe of the sonnes of Israel.

Annotations. ALtar] in Hebrew Mizbeach, in Greeke Thusiasterion, so named of sacrifices offered thereupon, and it was anointed, dedicated, sanctified to be most holy, that it might sanctifie the gifts offered thereon, and whatsoever touched it should be holy, Numb. 7. 1. 88. Exod. 29. 37. Matth. 23. 19. It is called by the Prophets, Ariel, the Lyon of God: and Harel, the Mountaine of God, Ezek. 43. 15. The Altar and Sacrifice signified Christ, sanctifying himselfe for his Church, and by his mediation sanctifying the daily service of his people, whereof also the Altar was a publike [illegible: 1 letter]igne, Hebrewes 13. 10-15. Ioh. 17. 19. Esa. 19. 19. 20. Gen. 8. 20. and 12. 7. Shittim] in Gr. incorruptible wood, see Ex. 25. 5. fouresquare] This forme signifieth firmnesse and stabilitie: therefore the heavenly Ierusalem is fouresquare, Rev. 12. 16. so was the figure of it, Ezek. 48. 20. & the most holy place in the Temple & Tabernacle, 2 Chro. 3. 8. The Altar prophesied of under the Gospel, though it be much larger, (because the worshippers are increased all over the world,) yet is it also fouresquare, Ezek. 43. 16. Vers. 2. hornes] which were not onely for ornament, but to keepe things from falling off the Altar, for the hornes were upward, Ezek. 43. 16. And hornes usually signifying power and might, (Hab. 3. 4. Lam. 2. 3. Ier. 48. 25.) these foure hornes of the Altar, signified the power and glory of Christs Priesthood, for the salvation of his Church, gathered from the foure corners of the earth. brasse] which was strong and durable, for to beare the fire that continually burned upon this Altar: hereby figuring Christs sufferance of Gods wrath and afflictions, without being consumed or overcome, Ioh. 6. 12. So mountaines of brasse, signifie Gods invincible providenc[illegible: 1 letter], Zach. 6. 1. & Christs brazen feet, Revel. 1. 15. and the man like brasse in Ezek. 40. 3. have like mysterie of strength, and invinciblenesse. See also Iob 40. 18. Mich. 4. 13. So the instruments of the Altar here following. Vers. 3. sho[illegible: 1 letter]els] instruments to take away ashes, or any filth. Such Hi[illegible: 1 letter]am made also in Solomons Temple, 1 King. 7. 40. 45. [illegible: 1 letter]asons] or, bowl[illegible: 1 letter]s, in Greeke, vials, these were to hold liquid things, as the blood of the Sacrifices, &c. So 1 King. 7. 40. Zach. 14. 20. fleshhookes] instruments with teeth, to take flesh out of po[illegible: 1 letter]s, &c. 1 Sam. 2. 13. 14. So in 2 Chron. 4. 16. firepannes] wherein coales of fire were put: Englished sometime ce[illegible: 1 letter]sers, Levit, 10. 1. and 16. 12. These instruments figured the ministerie of the Word, in the Church of Christ: which serveth to purge the filth and corruption of the flesh, and to kindle the fire of the spirit, for the pure service of God, Rom. 12. 1. 2. and 15. 16. Zach. 14. [illegible: 1 letter]0. 21. V. 4. a grate] or, sieve, as the word is Englished in Amos 9. 9. It was a broad plate of brasse with many▪ little holes, through which ashes and the like things might fall: and served as an hearth for the fire to burne upon. Vers. 5. put it] that is, the gra[illegible: 2 letters] or net forementioned: the Greeke translateth, put them, meaning the rings. the compasse] The Hebrew carcob, is no where found but in this historie here, and in Exod. 38. 4. the Greek version maketh it to be the grate fore-spoken of. Others referre it to the square compasse which was within the Altar that was hallow, verse 1. and 8. where either by rings, or upon a ledge, this grate was hanged on the mids. This signified the place within, where the holy fire alwaies burneth, that is, the heart: which sustaineth also the sacrifice: and where all ashes and excrements of corruption are inwardly conveyed away, as they are discovered by Gods Word and Spirit, and our sanctification furthered by afflictions, 2 Tim. 1. 3. and 2. 22. Rom. 12. 1. 1[illegible: 1 letter]. Hebr. 9. 14. and 12. 10. Vers. 8. he] that is, God shewed: or, according to the Greeke translation, as it was shewed. Thus all the instruments of Gods daily service in Israel were appointed and shewed of God himselfe, that no place might be left for mans wil-worship or inventions, Colos. 2. 23. Matth. 15. 9. Vers. 9. Court] or, Courtyard, an open place: into which the people should come daily unto the sacrifices and publike service of God, Psal. 100. 4. and 116. 17. 18. 19. Thus was the Habitation of God, divided into three roomes, the outward Court which was in the open light and view of all: The Tabernacle or Holy place, which had light by the seven lampes of the gold Candlesticke, and the most holy place, wherein was no externall light, wherein God [illegible: 1 letter]ate upon the glorious Cherubims. [illegible: 1 word] man (who is the true Tabernacle and Temple of God) consisteth of three parts, Body. [illegible: 1 word], and Spirit, 1 Thes. 5. 23. The body is as the open Court, where all doe see what is done. The Soule is as the Holy place, where by the lamps of Gods Word and Spirit, mans reason and understanding [illegible: 1 span]: The Spirit is as the most holy place, where God onely dwelleth in secret by faith, which is of things not seene, nor by humane reason to be comprehended. And so by the Hebrew Doctors opinion, the heart of man is answe [illegible: 1 span] to the Holy of H[illegible: 1 span]s, in the Sanctuarie: R. Eli [illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 2 letters]pher reshith [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] ▪ of Holinesse, chap. 7. [illegible: 1 word] 219. The world also hath three parts, this i[illegible: 1 span] wherein we live and dy[illegible: 2 letters] the superiour, or heaven, lightned with seuen Planets, and sta[illegible: 1 letter]res innumerable; and the Heaven of heavens, for third Heaven, 2 Cor. 12. 2.) the place of etern[illegible: 1 letter]ll blessednesse: unto which the most holy place is resembled, Heb. 9. 24. tapestrie-hangings] which were Curtaines woven with Tapestrie worke. The same word, when it is spoken of other matter, signifieth carved-worke, as in 1 King. 6. 32. fine linnen] in Greeke bysse: see Exod. 25. 4. within this, (which figured the righteousnesse of the Saints, Revel. 19. 8.) was the Church of God to be in the service of him, as in a holy, pure and glorious inclosure. Vers. 10. Pillars] which served to uphold those hangings fastened unto them by silver hookes. Figuring the stabilitie of the Church, and of the righteousnesse thereof, by the word of God, (compared unto silver,) and Ministers of the same, Ieremie 1. 18. Revel. 3. 12. Psalme 12. 7. Galath. 2. 9. fillets] or hoopes of silver, which compassed the [illegible: 1 letter]oppes of the Pillars, and served both for ornament, and for the hangings to be fastened by. They have their name in Hebrew of imbracing about, and cleaving fast; derived from a word which is applied unto loving affection, Psalme 91. 14. and signifie the pure love, wherewith the Saints are to imbrace, and cleave to, and serve one another, Colos. 2. 2. and 3. 14. Galath. 5. 13. In the making of these it is said, that their heads also (or chapiters) were overlaid with silver, Exodus 38. 17. 19. Vers. 12. Sea] that is, the west side: see Genesis 12. 8. fiftie] so the bredth, was halfe so much as the length: and the forme of the Court was [illegible: 1 word] long square, 100 cubits long, and 50 broad. The Tabernacle within the Court, was of like forme 30 cubits long, and 12 broad, Exod. 26. Vers. 14. for the side] that is, for the one side, as the Greeke translateth it, meaning the side of the gate or entrie▪ the Hebrew figuratively calleth it a shoulder. Vers. 16. hanging veile] or, covering, for of that it hath the name: so there was at the doore of the Tabernacle, Exodus 26. 36. see the notes there▪ blew, &c.] so it differed from the other hangings of the Court, which were but of one colour: this with varietie of colours, represented the manifold graces of Christ applied unto us, by his blood, by whom as by a doore, we have entrance and accesse unto God, in his Church, Iohn 10. 9. Rom. 5. 1. 2. Vers. 18. with fiftie] that is, fiftie on the West end, with fiftie on the East end. The like is to be understood before of the length; an Hundred on the one side, with an Hundred on the other: and so the Greeke translation speaketh of that, as of this. five] halfe the height of the Tabernacle, which was Ten Cubits high: Exod. 26. 16. Vers. 19. for all the service] the Greeke explaineth it thus, and all the instruments, such as served for the worke thereof. pinnes] or, [illegible: 1 letter]ailes: stakes: which were to fasten it, and the parts thereof, that it might stand sure. These signified also the stabilitie of the Church, and the ministery of Gods word fastening the same, Ezr. 9. 8. Esa. 33. 20. and 22. 23. Zach. 10. 4. [non-Latin text not transcribed] Here beginneth the twentieth section, or lecture of the Law: see Gen. 6. 9. Vers. [illegible: 1 letter]0. take] and bring unto thee, so in Lev. 24. 2. where this law is againe repeated. Olive] that is, [illegible: 2 words] of the Olive tree, which is alwaies green and flourishing, faire and of goodly fruit; of whose fruit oyle is made, good for food, for ointment, and for light; of which last he here speaketh. This oile Olive signified the fruitfull graces flowing from Christ and the Saints compared to Olive trees, Iudg. 9. 9. Ps. 52. 10. Zach. 4. Rev. 11. 4. Ier. 11. 16. who by the fire of Gods spirit, cause the seven lampes to burne before his throne, and doe inlighten the Church with his word: Esa. 61. 1. 2. Rev. 4. 5. Psal. 119. 105. Prov. 5. 23. 2 Cor. 4. 46. beaten] signifying how with much labour, & affliction, the light of Gods word is to be prepared, & with patience preached, and made to shine in his Church; 2 Cor. 1. 4. & 2. 4. & 11. 23. 24. 25. &c. 1 Thes. 2. 9. to ascend] that is, as the Greeke and Chaldee explaine it, to burne. V. 21. the Testimonie] the Tables of the Law, within the Arke, Ex. 25. 21. shall order it] by causing it to burne, as the Greek interpreteth. The manner whereof, the Iewes record to be thus: When the Priest commeth to trim the Candlesticke; of every lampe that is burnt out, he takes away the weke, and all the oile that remaineth in the lampe, and wipeth it, and putteth in another weke, and other oile by measure, and that is halfe a log, (that is, about a quarter of a Pinte, of which measure, see Lev. 14. 10. and the notes on Exod. 30. 24.) and that which he taketh away, he casteth into the place of the ashes by the Altar, and lighteth the lampe which was out, and the lampe which he findeth not out, he dresseth it. The lampe which is middlemost, when it is out, he lights not it, (after it is made cleane,) but from the Altar in the Court; but the rest of the lampes, every one that is out, he lighteth from the lampe that is next. He lighteth not all the lampes at one time: but lighteth five lampes, and stayeth, and doth the other service, and afterwards commeth and lighteth the two that remaine. He whose dutie it is, to dresse the Candlesticke, commeth with a vessell in his hand, (which is called Cuz, and it is of gold, like to a great pitcher,) to take away in it the wekes that are burnt out, and the oile that remaineth i[illegible: 1 letter] the lamp[illegible: 1 letter], and lighteth five of the lamps, and leaveth the vessell there before the Candlesticke, &c. and goeth [illegible: 1 word] ▪ afterwards [illegible: 1 letter]e commeth and lighteth the two lamps, and taketh up the vessell in his hand, and boweth himselfe downe to worship, and goeth his way. Maim treat of the daily Sacrifices, c. 3. S. 12. 13. 16. 17. The like they have in other records; as for the measure of oile, in T[illegible: 1 span]yl treat. Menacheth, chap. 10. fol. 88. Three l[illegible: 1 letter]gges of oile and a halfe, for the Candlesticke, [illegible: 1 word] a logge for every lampe. And for the order, in the same [illegible: 1 word], in Ioma, c. 3. fol. 33. The cleans[illegible: 2 letters]g of the [illegible: 1 word] Altar, was before the trimming of [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 letter]ive lamps: and the tri[illegible: 3 letters]ing of the five lamps, before the blood of the daily sacrifice; and the blood of the daily s[illegible: 2 letters]rifi[illegible: 2 letters] before the trimming of the two lamps: and the trimming of the two lamps, before the burning of incense, &c. This charge of the Priests to order the lamps, signified how Christ and his ministers should continually looke unto the puritie of doctrine, and preaching of the light of the Gospell, from evening to morning, in the darke place of this world; till the day dawne, & the day-starre arise in our hearts, Rev. 1. 13. and 2. 1. Deut. 33. 10. Ioh. 5. 35. Eph. 3. 8. 9. 2 Pet. 1. 19. 20. 21. Matth. 4. 16.