Numbers 5 commentary

The camp was to be cleansed. The purity of the church must be kept as carefully as the peace and order of it. Every polluted Israelite must be separated. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. The greater profession of religion any house or family makes, the more they are obliged to put away iniquity far from them. If a man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter, it is a trespass against the Lord, who strictly charges and commands us to do justly. What is to be done when a man's awakened conscience charges him with guilt of this kind, though done long ago? He must confess his sin, confess it to God, confess it to his neighbour, and take shame to himself; though it go against him to own himself in a lie, yet he must do it. Satisfaction must be made for the offence done to God, as well as for the loss sustained by the neighbour; restitution in that case is not enough without faith and repentance. While that which is wrongly gotten is knowingly kept, the guilt remains on the conscience, and is not done away by sacrifice or offering, prayers or tears; for it is the same act of sin persisted in. This is the doctrine of right reason, and of the word of God. It detects hypocrites, and directs the tender conscience to proper conduct, which, springing from faith in Christ, will make way for inward peace.

This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion. It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. No woman, if she were guilty, could say “Amen” to the adjuration, and drink the water after it, unless she disbelieved the truth of God, or defied his justice. The water is called the bitter water, because it caused the curse. Thus sin is called an evil and a bitter thing. Let all that meddle with forbidden pleasures, know that they will be bitterness in the latter end. From the whole learn, 1. Secret sins are known to God, and sometimes are strangely brought to light in this life; and that there is a day coming when God will, by Christ, judge the secrets of men according to the gospel, Ro 2:16. 2 In particular, Whoremongers and adulterers God will surely judge. Though we have not now the waters of jealousy, yet we have God's word, which ought to be as great a terror. Sensual lusts will end in bitterness. 3. God will manifest the innocency of the innocent. The same providence is for good to some, and for hurt to others. And it will answer the purposes which God intends.

2. Command the children of Israel. This passage clearly shews that God, in desiring the lepers to be put out of the camp, was not acting as a physician by any means, and merely consulting the health of the people: but that by this external rite and ceremony He exercised them in the pursuit of purity; for, by joining with the lepers those who had an issue, Seminifiuos — Lat. and who were defiled by the dead, He instructs the people simply to keep away from all uncleanness. The reason, which follows, confirms this, — “that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof He dwells.” It is just as if He had said, that all the habitations of His elect people were parts of His sanctuary, which it was a shame to defile with any pollution. For we know what license men give themselves in corrupting Brouiller et abastardlir — Fr. the service of God, by mixing, as the proverb says, sacred things with profane. Thus we see that the very worst of men boast themselves to be anything but the least zealous of His worshipers, and spare not to lift up polluted hands, although God so sternly repudiates them. It was, then, profitable that the ancient people should be reminded by this visible proof, that all those who are defiled cannot duly serve God, but that they rather pollute. with their filthiness what is otherwise holy, and thus grossly abuse religious exercises; and again, that they ought not tobe tolerated in the holy congregation, lest their infection should spread to others. Let us now briefly examine Leviticus 13

Leviticus 13

Leviticus 13:1-59

1. And the Lord spake untoMoses and Aaron, saying,

1. Et loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen et Aharon, dicendo:

2. When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests.

2. Homo quum fuerit in cute carnis ejus tumor, vel scabies, vel alba macula, et in cute carnis ejus fuerit plaga leprae, ducetur ad Aharon sacerdotem, vel ad unum e filiis ejus sacerdotibus.

3. And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

3. Tune videbit sacerdos plagam in cute carnis: quod si pilus in plaga versus fuerit in albedinem, et superficies plagae profundior fuerit cute carnis ejus, plaga leprae est, et postquam viderit eum sacerdos judicabit illum contaminatum, (vel, contaminabit illum.)

4. If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:

4. Quod si macula alba fuerit in cute carnis ejus, et profundior non fuerit aspectus ejus cute, nec pilus ejus versus fuerit in albedinem, includet sacerdos plagam septem diebus.

5. And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:

5. Posted videbit eum sacerdos die septimo et si plaga fuerit aequalis coram oculis ejus, nee creverit plaga in cute, includet eum sacerdos septem diebus secundo.

6. And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold,if the plague be somewhat dark, and the prague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

6. Tune inspiciet sacerdos ipsum die septimo itcrum, et si subnigra futerit plaga, (vel, obscurius contracta,) nec creverit plaga in cute, tune mundum declarabit (vel, mundabit) eum sacerdos: scabies est: et lavabit vir vestimenta sua, et mundus erit.

7. But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again:

7. Quod si crescendo creverit scabies in cute postquam ostensus fuerit sacerdoti in purgatione ejus, inspi-cietur secundo a sacerdote.

8. And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.

8. Ubi autem viderit sacerdos; crescere scabiem in cute, immundum judicabit cum sacerdos, lepra est judicabit cum sacerdos, lepra est.

9. When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest;

9. Quoties plaga lepre fuerit in homine adducetur ad sacerdotem;

10. And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising;

10. Et aspiciet sacerdos, et si tumor albus fuerit in cute, et mutaverit pilum in albedinem, et ailmentum carnis vivae in tumore,

11. It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean.

11. Lepra inveterate, est in cute carnis ejus: ideoque contaminabit eum sacerdos, quia immundus est.

12. And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;

12. Sin germinando germinaverit lepra in cute, et operuerit lepra totam cutem plagae, a capite ejus, et totum aspectuum oculorum sacerdotis:

13. Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean.

13. Tunc inspiciet sacerdos, et si operuerit lepra totam carnem ejus, tunc mundam judicabit plagam: ubi tota versa est in albedinem, munda est, (vel, mundus.)

14. But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.

14. Quo autem die visa fuerit in co cato viva, immundus erit.

15. And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

15. Et ubi viderit sacerdos carnem vivam, immundum judicabit ipsum, caro viva immunda est, lepra est.

16. Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest;

16. Vel si reversa fuerit caro viva, et conversa in albedinem, tunc veniet ad sacerdotem:

17. And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.

17. Et inspiciet sacerdos: et si versa fuerit plaga in albedinem, mundam judicabit sacerdos plagam illam: munda est.

18. The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,

18. Et si fuerit in cute carnis alicujus ulcus, (vel, pustula ardens,) et illud sanatum fuerit.

19. And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shewed to the priest;

19. Et extiterit in loeo ulceris tumor albus, aut macula alba subrufa, ostendetur sacerdoti:

20. And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil.

20. Et quum inspexerit sacerdos, si pilus profundior fuerit cute, et pilus conversus fuerit in albedinem, contaminabit eum sacerdos: quia plaga leprae est ex ulcere germinans.

21. But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

21. Et si viderit cam sacerdos, et non fuerit in ea pilus albus, nec fuerit profundior cute, sed fuerit subobscura, tunc includet eum sacerdos septem diebus.

22. And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague.

22. Si vero crescendo creverit per cutem, immundum judicabit eum sacerdos: plaga est.

23. But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

23. Si vero suo loco constiterit macula alba, nec ereverit, adustio ulceris est: mundum (vel, mundam) judicabit eum sacerdos.

24. Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white;

24. Quum fuerit caro in cujus cute erit adustio ignis, et in viva carne adustionis macula alba subrufa, vel alba.

25. Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin, it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

25. Inspiciet eum sacerdos: et, si versus fuerit pilus in albedinem in macula illa, et superficies ejus fuerit profundior cute, lepra est in adustione germinans: ideo immundam judicabit eam sacerdos, plaga leprae est.

26. But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days:

26. Quod si inspexerit eam sacerdos, et non fuerit in macula pilus albus, nec profundior cute, sed fuerit subnigra, includet eum sacerdos septem diebus.

27. And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.

27. Postea inspiciet eum sacerdos die septimo: et si crescendo creverit in cute, immundam judicabit eam sacerdos, plaga leprae est.

28. And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.

28. Quod si in loco suo steterit macula, nec creverit per cutem, et eadem fuerit contracta, (vel, subnigra,) tumor adustionis est: ideoque mundum judicabit eum sacerdos: quia ardor exustionis est.

29. If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;

29. Si viro aut mulieri exorta fuerit plga in capite, aut in barba.

30. Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard.

30. Tune inspiciet sacerdos plugam: et si superficies ejus profundior erit cute, et fuerit in ea pilus flavus et tenuis, immundum judicabit sa-cerdos: macula nigra est, lepra capitis aut barbae est.

31. And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days:

31. Si autem inspexerit sacerdos plagam maculae nigrae, et superficies ejus non fuerit profundior cute, nee pilus niger in ea, includet sacerdos plagam maculae nigrae septem diebus.

32. And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scull spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin;

32. Et quum inspexerit sacerdos die septima, si non creverit macula illa nigra, nec in ea fuerit pilus, et aspectus maculae nigrae non fuerit profundior cute:

33. He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:

33. Tune radetur, sed maculam nigram non radet, includetque sacerdos maeulam nigram septem diebus secundo.

34. And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

34. Postea, inspiciet sacerdos maculam nigram die septima: et, si non creverit macula nigra in cute, nee superfides cjus profundior fuerit cute, mundum judicabit eum sacerdos: lavabitque vestimenta sua, et mundus erit.

35. But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing;

35. Si autem crescendo creverit macula per cutera post purificationem suam,

36. Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean.

36. Tune inspiciet cam sacerdos: et, si creverit macula illa in cute, non requiret ad examen sacerdos pilum flavum: immundus est.

37. But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

37. Quod si in oculis ejus constiterit macula, et pilus niger fuerit in ea, sanata est macula illa, mundus est, et mundum judicabit eum sacer-dos.

38. If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots;

38. Quum in cute carnis viri aut mulieris fuerint maculae, maculm inquam albae.

39. Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean.

39. Inspiciet sacerdos, et, si in cute carnis corum fuerint maculae albae, subnigrae (vel, contractae,) macula alba est quod floret in cute, mundus est.

40. And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean.

40. Vir quum depilatum fuerit caput ejus, calvus est, mundus est.

41. And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean.

41. Quod si ex parte faciei suae caput habuerit depilatum, recalvaster est, mundus est.

42. And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore, it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.

42. Quod si in calvitio ejus aut parte depilata fuerit plaga alba, subrufa, lepra germinans est in calvitie, vel parte ejus depilata.

43. Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh;

43. Aspiciet ergo eum sacerdos: et, si tumor plagae albus, rufus in calvitio ejus aut parte depilata, sicut species leprae in cute carnis,

44. He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.

44. Vir leprosus est, immundus est: contaminando contaminabit illum sacerdos: in capite ejus est plaga ejus.

45. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

45. Leprosi autem in quo fuerit plaga illa, vestimenta erunt scissa, et caput ejus nudum, et pilum labri operiet, et Immundus, immundus sum clamabit.

46. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

46. Cunctis diebus quibus fuerit plaga in eo, contaminabitur, immudus est: seorsum habitabit: extra castra mansio ejus erit.

47. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;

47. Si in veste fnerit plaga leprae, in veste lanea, aut in veste linea,

48. Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin;

48. Aut in stamine, aut in subtegmine ex lino, aut ex lana, aut in pelle, aut in quovis opere pelliceo:

49. And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest:

49. Et fuerit plaga illa viridis aut rufa in veste, aut in stamine, vel in subtegmine, vel in quovis opere pelliceo, plaga leprae est, ostendetur sacerdoti.

50. And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days:

50. Et inspiciet saccMos plagam, includetque plagam illam septera diebus.

51. And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean.

51. Postea inspiciet plagam illam die septimo: si creverlt plaga illa per vestera, vel per subtegmen, vel pellem in omni opere pelliceo, lepra corodentis plagae est, immunda est.

52. He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.

52. Comburetque vestem, vel stamen, vel subtegmen ex lana, vel ex lino, vel quodvis opus pelliceum in quo fuerit plaga illa: quia lepra corrodens est, igni comburetur.

53. And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin;

53. Quod si, ubi inspexerit sacerdos, ecce non creverit plaga illa in veste, vel in stamine, vel in subtegmine, vel in quovis opere pelliceo.

54. Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more:

54. Tune praecipiet sacerdos, et lavabunt id in quo est plaga: et recludet illud septem diebus secundo.

55. And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.

55. Inspiciet vero sacerdos, postquam lotum fuerit, plagam illam: et, si non mutaverit plaga illa colorem suum, nee plaga creverit, immunda est, igni combures illud: corrosio est in calvitio ejus vel in parte ejus depilata.

56. And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

56. Quod si dum inspexerit sacerdos, ecce, subobscura fuerit plaga postquam lota fuit, abscindet eam e veste, vel epelle, vel e stamine, vel e subtegmine

57. And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire.

57. Quod si comspecta fureit ultra in veste, vel in stamine, vel in subtegmine, vel in quovis opere pelliceo lepra germinans est, igni combures illud in quo fuerit, lavabitur secundo, et mundum erit.

58. And the garment, either warp or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

58. Vestis autem, sive stamen, sive, sbtegment, aut quodivis opus pelliceum quod laveris, si recesserit ab eis plagra, lavabitur secundo, et mundum erit.

59. This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

59. Haec est lex leprae vestimenti lanei, vel linei, vel staminis, vel subtegminis, vel cujusvis operis pellicei ad judicandum illud mundum vel immundum.

5. And the Lord spoke unto Moses. Although at the outset He seems to include all trespasses, yet we gather from the context that the precept only refers to things stolen or fraudulently withheld, that he, who is conscious of his guilt, should make reparation. It must be observed, however, that the law relates to more secret thefts, which are not usually brought to justice: and on this account it is said, “If they have committed any sin after the manner of men, they must not seek for subterfuge from ordinary use and custom.” Although, therefore, they may have many companions, God declares that this will not avail for their excuse; and consequently commands them voluntarily to restore what they have fraudulently or wrongfully appropriated. He will treat hereafter of the punishment of theft; He now only prescribes that, although no one shall bring the guilty parties to justice, and their crime may not be discovered, still they should diligently examine their consciences, and themselves ingenuously declare the secret transgression; and also make compensation for the loss conferred, since, without restitution, their confession would be but illusory. I now pass over what Moses adds, that, if no heir exists to whom the stolen goods may be restored, they should offer it to the priest, because I have already expounded it: except that we gather frost thence, that a contamination is contracted by fraud and rapine, which is never purged unless the house is well cleared of the ill-gotten gain. But this offering was treated of amongst the laws of the priests: See vol. 2, p. 273, on Numbers 5:8. now, with respect to the restitution, we must consider that the fifth part was superadded, not so much in order that he, who had suffered the loss, should be enriched, as that all should diligently beware of every offense, which they hear not only to be useless to themselves, but also to be productive of loss. Besides, when a man has been robbed, it is often of more consequence than this additional fifth part, that he should have been deprived of the use of his property.

Exodus 23

Exodus 23:8

8. And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

8. Ne accipias munus: quia munus excaecat videntes, et pervertit verba justorum.

Leviticus 19

Leviticus 19:15

15. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.

15. Non facies iniquitatem in judicio, non suscipies faciem pauperis, neque honorabis causam magni: in justitia judicabis proximum tuum.

8 But if the man have no kinsman. This passage, which I have inserted from chapter 5 is connected “Depend bien de la matiere qui est traitee plus au long des larrecins:” depends indeed on the subject of theft which is treated more at length. — Fr. indeed with another subject, and yet, because it directly refers to the right of the priests, it was necessary to remove it to this place, especially since it expresses that kind of sacrifice which Moses has lately adverted to, i.e., when they expiated the crime of theft. God did not indeed desire that the priests should be enriched by others’ losses, nor that thieves should go free, if they offered what they had stolen to the priests; but, if there were no one to whom they could restore it, He would have their houses delivered from (the proceeds of) their sin; and with very good reason, since otherwise the very gross offender would have never hesitated to plunder the goods of a dead man, if he were without heirs. First, therefore, He commanded their property to be restored to the lawful owners; and, if they were dead, He substituted their kinsmen, who are called גאלים, goelim, on account of the right of redemption, which God granted in the Law to relatives, as we shall see elsewhere; and because he who was next of kin was commanded to marry the widow of one who had left no seed. It was therefore a very uncommon thing that a person who had defrauded another had to recompense the loss to the priest; for in most cases some successor to the dead man would be found.

Leviticus 7

Leviticus 7:6-10, 14, 31-36

6. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.

6. Omnis masculus in sacerdotibus comedet cam, in loco sancto comedetur, sanctificatio sanctifica tionum est.

7. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.

7. Sicut hostia pro peccato, sic hostia pro delicto, lex eadem illis: sacerdotis erit qui expiabit eum.

8. And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.

8. At sacerdos offerens hostiam holocausti alicujus, pellis holocausti quod obtulerit, sacerdotis ipsius erit.

9. And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.

9. Omnis praeterea minha quae coquebatur in clibano, et omne praeparatum in sartagine et in craticula, erit sacerdotis offerentis illud.

10. And every meat offering mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.

10. Omnis item minha mista oleo et arida, omnibus filiis Aharon erit erit unicuique sicut fratri suo.

14. ... it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings.

14. Panis sacerdotis spargentis sanguinem prosperitatum erit.

31. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.

31. Et erit pectusculum illud Aharoni et filiis ejus.

32. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

32. Armum autem dextrum dabitis ad elevationem sacerdoti de sacrificiis prosperitatum vestrarum.

33. He among the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.

33. Qui offeret sanguinem prosperitatum, et adipem e filiis Aharonis, ipsius erit armus dexter in portionem.

34. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest, and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.

34. Quia pectusculum agitationis, et armum elevationis tull a filiis Israel de sacrificiis prosperitatum suarum, et dedi illa Aharoni sacerdoti, et filiis ejus in statutum perpetuum a filiis Israel.

35. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office;

35. Haec est unctio Aharon, et unctio filiorum ejus ex oblationibus ignitis Jehovae, a die qua accedere fecit cos ut sacerdotio fungerentur Jehovae:

36. Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.

36. Quas praecepit Jehova ut darent eis a die qua unxit cos a filiis Israel statuto perpetuo in generationibus suis.

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

Numbers 18

Numbers 18:8-19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

14. Omne anathema in Israel tuum erit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. And the Lord spoke unto Moses. Although this ceremony appears to be part of the legal services, still I have thought fit to postpone it to this place, because it relates to the observance of the Seventh Commandment. The object of it is, lest women, trusting that they would escape punishment, should abandon themselves to unchastity, or lest jealousy should lead to dissension, and, by alienating the mind of the husband from the wife, should loosen the ties of pure affection, since thus the door would be open to many iniquities. By this rite, therefore, God proclaims Himself the guardian and avenger of conjugal fidelity; and hence it appears how acceptable a sacrifice in His sight is the chastity of married women, of which He condescends to profess Himself the guardian. It is, therefore, no trifling consolation to husbands, that God undertakes the cognizance of the secret wrong, if, perchance, their wives have dealt treacherously with them.

But it will be better to examine the details in order. When at the outset he says, — If a man’s wife go aside, and her offense be concealed, an absurdity appears to be implied; as if He would thus bring to judgment none but those who should be convicted, whereas, if the fact were established, there would be no use in the application of the test. But the condition, “if she commit a trespass against him,” does not signify that the woman’s adultery should be discovered, but refers to the opinion of her husband; and thus the words must be paraphrased in this way: If any one should think that his wife has had connection with another man, and he cannot otherwise be relieved from the anxiety which oppresses him, let him appeal to God for that judgment, which is beyond the reach of man. Still God “Toutefois il semble bien que Dieu ait poisee le cas, qu’une femme fust chargee de presomption vehemente;” still it fully appears that God has supposed the case, that the woman should be charged upon strong presumption. — Fr. seems designedly to have expressed the crime, lest husbands should heedlessly involve their innocent wives in disgrace. We know that many are causelessly suspicious; and when jealousy has once taken possession of the mind, there is no room for moderation or equity. “Nous savons qu’il y a beaucoup de gens ombrageux, qui concoyvent des fantasies a la volee;” we know that there are many suspicious persons who hastily take fancies into their heads. — Fr. Wherefore it would be inhuman to permit morose and unreasonable husbands to drag their wives to this horrible judgment of God on account of certain trifling suspicions. For, if the husband were cruel and ungodly, it would be like putting a sword into the hands of a madman, to give him such a power without any distinction. God, therefore, implies that the priest should carefully consider, so as not too easily to receive every complaint; although He afterwards more clearly expresses Himself in another part of the conditions, “if a man be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled.”

15. Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest. This offering is different from the rest, which have been heretofore mentioned, because it is a kind of adjuration, whereby the woman exposes herself to be accursed. Pure meal without frankincense or oil is therefore offered, since the rite “Litandi ritus.” — Lat. “La facon d’obtenir grace devant Dieu, et se reconcilier.” — Fr. of expiation would not be in accordance with the curse. That the woman may be more afraid of perjuring herself, she is presented before God, with her head uncovered too, as if the priest would drag her from her lurking-place; for it seems incongruous that, as some suppose, the veil was removed from her head in token of her infamy, since thus she would have been condemned before her case was heard. She is, then, brought before God’s face with her head bare, that she may be seriously alarmed; and then follows the mode of absolution or condemnation. The priest is commanded to take holy water in an earthen vessel, to throw in some dust from the floor, and then a book or scroll, on which were written the words of the curse, so that the blots should remain in the water, and so to give the cup to the woman. Some interpret the holy water to be that which was kept ill the brazen laver, to be always ready for the ablution of those engaged in duly offering sacrifices. Let my readers, however, consider whether he does not rather mean the water in which the ashes of the red heifer were sprinkled, and whereby solemn purifications were made, (Numbers 19:1,) as we have already seen. For thus the woman was admonished that, if she perjured herself, no further means of expiation remained. The dust collected from the floor was also a sign of detestation: in short, the whole proceedings were calculated to humble her, so that she might not double her offense by perjury. Besides, the priest is commanded to repeat the words of the curse, lest she should seek to escape by some subterfuge or other. The question, however, arises, why she should be compelled to imprecate evil upon herself rather than others were who were suspected of murder or other atrocious crimes? and I think it was for this reason, because no other offense can be so easily concealed. Lest, therefore, women should grow hardened from their cunning and evil arts, a remedy is provided against their various deceptions; and thus God shows that the marriage-bed is under His protection and safeguard. We must remember, too, that this was not a mere empty bugbear, inasmuch as God undoubtedly appeared as the open avenger of unfaithfulness, according to His declaration. Nor is the threat added in vain, that if the woman be a deceiver, she should be a curse among the people, because her belly should swell and her thigh dissolve; whilst, on the other hand, He does not promise in vain, that if she be innocent, she should not only be free, but prolific also; so that God’s blessing would be the seal of her absolution. For this is the meaning of the expression, “she shall be sown with seed;” A. V., “and shall conceive seed.” “Heb., shall be sown with seed; which the Chaldee expoundeth, shall prove with child.” — Ainsworth. as, on the contrary, it was said that her thigh “Thy thigh to fall. Heb., thy thigh falling; in Greek, thy thigh fallen; in Chaldee, thy thigh dissolved. — Ibid. “Something similar to the disease called prolapsus uteri.” — Adam Clarke. should dissolve when she wasted away with barrenness. We infer, from the opposite effects of the same water, that by the outward symbol God wrought with His secret power as the occasion demanded.

Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22:13-21

13. If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

13. Quum acceperit quis uxorem, et ingressus fuerit ad eam, et odio habuerit eam,

14. And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her I found her not a maid:

14. Et imposuerit ei occasiones verborum, et traduxerit eam, dicendo: Uxorem hanc accepi, et accessi ad eam, et non inveni in ea virginitatem:

15. Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

15. Tunc accipiet pater puellae et mater ejus, et proferent signa virginitatis puellae eorum senioribus urbis ad portam.

16. And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her:

16. Dicetque pater puellae senioribus, Filiam meam dedi viro huic in uxorem, et odio habet eam.

17. And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

17. Et ecce, imposuit occasiones verborum, dicendo: Non inveni in filia tua virginitatem: Ecce autem signa virginitatis filiae meae. Et expandent vestimentum coram senioribus urbis:

18. And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him:

18. Tunc apprehendent seniores urbis virum, et castigabunt eum.

19. And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel; and she shall be his wife: he may not put her away all his days.

19. Et mulctabunt eum centum argenteis, quos dabunt patri puellae, quoniam traduxit virginem Israelis: habebitque eam uxorem, nec poterit dimittere omnibus diebus suis.

20. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:

20. Quod si vera fuit accusatio ista, et non inventa fuerit virginitas in puella:

21. Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die; because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

21. Tunc educent puellam ad ostium domus patris sui, et lapidabunt eam homines urbis ejus lapidibus, donec moriatur: quia perpetravit nequitiam in Israele, fornicando in domo patris sui: et auferes malum e medio tui.

CHAPTER 5

Nu 5:1-4. The Unclean to Be Removed out of the Camp.

2. Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper--The exclusion of leprous persons from the camp in the wilderness, as from cities and villages afterwards, was a sanitary measure taken according to prescribed rules (Le 13:1-14:57). This exclusion of lepers from society has been acted upon ever since; and it affords almost the only instance in which any kind of attention is paid in the East to the prevention of contagion. The usage still more or less prevails in the East among people who do not think the least precaution against the plague or cholera necessary; but judging from personal observation, we think that in Asia the leprosy has now much abated in frequency and virulence. It usually appears in a comparatively mild form in Egypt, Palestine, and other countries where the disorder is, or was, endemic. Small societies of excluded lepers live miserably in paltry huts. Many of them are beggars, going out into the roads to solicit alms, which they receive in a wooden bowl; charitable people also sometimes bring different articles of food, which they leave on the ground at a short distance from the hut of the lepers, for whom it is intended. They are generally obliged to wear a distinctive badge that people may know them at first sight and be warned to avoid them. Other means were adopted among the ancient Jews by putting their hand on their mouth and crying, "Unclean, unclean" [Le 13:45]. But their general treatment, as to exclusion from society, was the same as now described. The association of the lepers, however, in this passage, with those who were subject only to ceremonial uncleanness, shows that one important design in the temporary exile of such persons was to remove all impurities that reflected dishonor on the character and residence of Israel's King. And this vigilant care to maintain external cleanliness in the people was typically designed to teach them the practice of moral purity, or cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. The regulations made for ensuring cleanliness in the camp suggest the adoption of similar means for maintaining purity in the church. And although, in large communities of Christians, it may be often difficult or delicate to do this, the suspension or, in flagrant cases of sin, the total excommunication of the offender from the privileges and communion of the church is an imperative duty, as necessary to the moral purity of the Christian as the exclusion of the leper from the camp was to physical health and ceremonial purity in the Jewish church.

Nu 5:5-10. Restitution Enjoined.

6-8. When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord--This is a wrong or injury done by one man to the property of another, and as it is called "a trespass against the Lord," it is implied, in the case supposed, that the offense has been aggravated by prevaricating--by a false oath, or a fraudulent lie in denying it, which is a "trespass" committed against God, who is the sole judge of what is falsely sworn or spoken (Ac 5:3, 4).

and that person be guilty--that is, from the obvious tenor of the passage, conscience-smitten, or brought to a sense and conviction of his evil conduct. (See on Le 6:2). In that case, there must be: first, confession, a penitential acknowledgment of sin; secondly, restitution of the property, or the giving of an equivalent, with the additional fine of a fifth part, both as a compensation to the person defrauded, and as a penalty inflicted on the injurer, to deter others from the commission of similar trespasses. (See on Ex 22:1). The difference between the law recorded in that passage and this is that the one was enacted against flagrant and determined thieves, the other against those whose necessities might have urged them into fraud, and whose consciences were distressed by their sin. This law also supposes the injured party to be dead, in which case, the compensation due to his representatives was to be paid to the priest, who, as God's deputy, received the required satisfaction.

9-10. every offering ... shall be his--Whatever was given in this way, or otherwise, as by freewill offerings, irrevocably belonged to the priest.

Nu 5:11-31. The Trial of Jealousy.

12-15. if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him--This law was given both as a strong discouragement to conjugal infidelity on the part of a wife, and a sufficient protection of her from the consequences of a hasty and groundless suspicion on the part of the husband. His suspicions, however, were sufficient in the absence of witnesses (Le 20:10) to warrant the trial described; and the course of proceeding to be followed was for the jealous husband to bring his wife unto the priest with an offering of barley meal, because none were allowed to approach the sanctuary empty handed (Ex 23:15). On other occasions, there were mingled with the offering, oil which signified joy, and frankincense which denoted acceptance (Psa 141:2). But on the occasion referred to, both these ingredients were to be excluded, partly because it was a solemn appeal to God in distressing circumstances, and partly because it was a sin offering on the part of the wife, who came before God in the character of a real or suspected offender.

17-18. the priest shall take holy water--Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust--an emblem of vileness and misery (Ge 3:14; Psa 22:15).

in an earthen vessel--This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Le 6:28; 11:33). All the circumstances of this awful ceremony--her being placed with her face toward the ark--her uncovered head, a sign of her being deprived of the protection of her husband (1Co 11:7)--the bitter potion being put into her hands preparatory to an appeal to God--the solemn adjuration of the priest (Nu 5:19-22), all were calculated in no common degree to excite and appall the imagination of a person conscious of guilt.

21. The Lord make thee a curse, &c.--a usual form of imprecation (Is 65:15; Jr 29:22).

22. the woman shall say, Amen, Amen--The Israelites were accustomed, instead of formally repeating the words of an oath merely to say, "Amen," a "so be it" to the imprecations it contained. The reduplication of the word was designed as an evidence of the woman's innocence, and a willingness that God would do to her according to her desert.

23-24. write these curses in a book--The imprecations, along with her name, were inscribed in some kind of record--on parchment, or more probably on a wooden tablet.

blot them out with the bitter water--If she were innocent, they could be easily erased, and were perfectly harmless; but if guilty, she would experience the fatal effects of the water she had drunk.

29. This is the law of jealousies--Adultery discovered and proved was punished with death. But strongly suspected cases would occur, and this law made provision for the conviction of the guilty person. It was, however, not a trial conducted according to the forms of judicial process, but an ordeal through which a suspected adulteress was made to go--the ceremony being of that terrifying nature, that, on the known principles of human nature, guilt or innocence could not fail to appear. From the earliest times, the jealousy of Eastern people has established ordeals for the detection and punishment of suspected unchastity in wives. The practice was deep-rooted as well as universal. And it has been thought, that the Israelites being strongly biassed in favor of such usages, this law of jealousies "was incorporated among the other institutions of the Mosaic economy, in order to free it from the idolatrous rites which the heathens had blended with it." Viewed in this light, its sanction by divine authority in a corrected and improved form exhibits a proof at once of the wisdom and condescension of God.

Put out of the camp every leper - According to the preceding plan, it is sufficiently evident that each camp had a space behind it, and on one side, whither the infected might be removed, and where probably convenient places were erected for the accommodation of the infected; for we cannot suppose that they were driven out into the naked wilderness. But the expulsion mentioned here was founded,

1. On a purely physical reason, viz., the diseases were contagious, and therefore there was a necessity of putting those afflicted by them apart, that the infection might not be communicated.

2. There was also a spiritual reason; the camp was the habitation of God, and nothing impure should be permitted to remain where he dwelt.

3. The camp was an emblem of the Church, where nothing that is defiled should enter, and in which nothing that is unholy should be tolerated. All lepers - all persevering impenitent sinners, should be driven from the sacred pale, nor should any such ever be permitted to enter.

And the children of Israel - put them out - This is the earliest account we have of such separations; and probably this ordinance gave the first idea of a hospital, where all those who are afflicted with contagious disorders are put into particular wards, under medical treatment. Though no mention be made of the situation, circumstances, etc., of those expelled persons, we may certainly infer that they were treated with that humanity which their distressed state required. Though sinners must be separated from the Church of God, yet they should be treated with affectionate regard, because they may be reclaimed. It is too often the case when a man backslides from the way of truth, he is abandoned by all; finding his case desperate, he plunges yet deeper into the mire of sin, and the man who, with tender treatment, might have been reclaimed, becomes incurably hardened. One class says, he cannot finally fall, and shall in due time be restored; another class says, he may finally fall and utterly perish. If the unfortunate person be restored, his recovery is taken as a proof of the first doctrine; if he be not, his wretched end is considered a proof of the second. In the first case the person himself may presume on his restoration as a point infallibly determined in the Divine counsel; or in the second, he may consider his case hopeless, and so abandon himself to profligacy and desperation. Thus both parties leave him, and both opinions (misunderstood certainly) render him secure or desperate; and in either case totally inactive in behalf of his own soul. Who is he that properly estimates the worth of one immortal spirit? He who does will at once feel that, in a state of probation, any man may fall through sin, and any sinner may be renewed again unto repentance, through the infinitely meritorious sacrifice, and all powerfully efficacious grace, of Christ. This truth properly felt equally precludes both presumption and despair, and will induce the followers of God to be active in preserving those who have escaped from the corruption that is in the world, and make them diligent to recover those who have turned back to earth and sin.

Shall confess their sin - Without confession or acknowledgment of sin, there was no hope of mercy held out.

He shall recompense - For without restitution, in every possible case, God will not for give the iniquity of a man's sin. How can any person in a case of defraud, with his neighbor's property in his possession, expect to receive mercy from the hand of a just and holy God? See this subject considered in the notes on Gen 42:38 (note).

If the man have no kinsman - The Jews think that this law respects the stranger and the sojourner only, because every Israelite is in a state of affinity to all the rest; but there might be a stranger in the camp who has no relative in any of the tribes of Israel.

The spirit of jealousy - רוח קנאה ruach kinah, either a supernatural diabolic influence, exciting him to jealousy, or the passion or affection of jealousy, for so the words may be understood.

Holy water - Water out of the laver, called holy because consecrated to sacred uses. This is the most ancient case of the trial by ordeal. See at Num 5:31 (note).

In an earthen vessel - Supposed by the Jews to be such as had never been previously used.

Dust that is in the floor - Probably intended to point out the baseness of the crime of which she was accused.

Uncover the woman's head - To take off a woman's veil, and expose her to the sight of men, would be considered a very great degradation in the East. To this St. Paul appears to allude, 1Cor 11:5, 1Cor 11:6,1Cor 11:10.

The Lord make thee a curse and an oath - Let thy name and punishment be remembered and mentioned as an example and terror to all others. Like that mentioned Jer 29:22, Jer 29:23 : "The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives." - Ainsworth.

Thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot - What is meant by these expressions cannot be easily ascertained. לנפל ירך lanpel yarech signifies literally thy thigh to fall. As the thigh, feet, etc., were used among the Hebrews delicately to express the parts which nature conceals, (see Gen 46:26), the expression here is probably to be understood in this sense; and the falling down of the thigh here must mean something similar to the prolapsus uteri, or falling down of the womb, which might be a natural effect of the preternatural distension of the abdomen. In 1Cor 11:29, St. Paul seems to allude to the case of the guilty woman drinking the bitter cursed waters that caused her destruction: He who eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation (κριμα, condemnation or judgment) to himself; and there is probably a reference to the same thing in Psa 109:18, and in Dan 9:11.

And the woman shall say, Amen, amen - This is the first place where this word occurs in the common form of a concluding wish in prayer. The root אמן aman signifies to be steady, true, permanent. And in prayer it signifies let it be so - make it steady - let it be ratified. Some have supposed that it is composed of the initial letters of אדני מלך נאמן Adonai Melech Neeman, My Lord the faithful King, but this derivation is both far-fetched and unnecessary.

The priest shall write these curses - and he shall blot them out - It appears that the curses which were written down with a kind of ink prepared for the purpose, as some of the rabbins think, without any calx of iron or other material that could make a permanent dye, were washed off the parchment into the water which the woman was obliged to drink, so that she drank the very words of the execration. The ink used in the East is almost all of this kind - a wet sponge will completely efface the finest of their writings. The rabbins say that the trial by the waters of jealousy was omitted after the Babylonish captivity, because adulteries were so frequent amongst them, that they were afraid of having the name of the Lord profaned by being so frequently appealed to! This is a most humiliating confession. "Though," says pious Bishop Wilson, "this judgment is not executed now on adulteresses, yet they have reason from this to conclude that a more terrible vengeance will await them hereafter without a bitter repentance; these being only a shadow of heavenly things, i. e., of what the Gospel requires of its professors, viz., a strict purity, or a severe repentance." The pious bishop would not preclude the necessity of pardon through the blood of the cross, for without this the severest repentance would be of no avail.

The bitter water that causeth the curse - Though the rabbins think that the priest put some bitter substance in the water, yet as nothing of the kind is intimated by Moses, we may consider the word as used here metaphorically for affliction, death, etc. These waters were afflicting and deadly to her who drank them, being guilty. In this sense afflictions are said to be bitter, Isa 38:17; so also is death, 1Sam 15:32 : Ecc 7:26.

This is the law of jealousies - And this is the most singular law in the whole Pentateuch: a law that seems to have been copied by almost all the nations of the earth, whether civilized or barbarian, as we find that similar modes of trial for suspected offenses were used when complete evidence was wanting to convict; and where it was expected that the object of their worship would interfere for the sake of justice, in order that the guilty should be brought to punishment, and the innocent be cleared. For general information on this head see at the end of this chapter. (See Num 5:31 (note)).

This woman shall bear her iniquity - That is, her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot; see Num 5:22 (note). But if not guilty after such a trial, she had great honor, and, according to the rabbins, became strong, healthy, and fruitful; for if she was before barren, she now began to bear children; if before she had only daughters, she now began to have sons; if before she had hard travail, she now had easy; in a word, she was blessed in her body, her soul, and her substance: so shall it be done unto the holy and faithful woman, for such the Lord delighteth to honor; see 1Tim 2:15.

On the principal subject of this chapter. I shall here introduce a short account of the trial by ordeal, as practiced in different parts of the world, and which is supposed to have taken its origin from the waters of jealousy.

The trial by what was afterwards called Ordeal is certainly of very remote antiquity, and was evidently of Divine appointment. In this place we have an institution relative to a mode of trial precisely of that kind which among our ancestors was called ordeal; and from this all similar trials in Asia, Africa, and Europe, have very probably derived their origin.

Ordeal, Latin, ordalium, is, according to Verstegan, from the Saxon, ordal and ordel, and is derived by some from great, and Dael, judgment, signifying the greatest, most solemn, and decisive mode of judgment - Hickes. Others derive it from the Francic or Teutonic Urdela, which signifies simply to judge. But Lye, in his Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, derives the term from an Anglo-Saxon word, which is often in Anglo-Saxon, a privative particle, and, distinction or difference; and hence applied to that kind of judgment in which there was no respect of persons, but every one had absolute justice done him, as the decision of the business was supposed to belong to God alone. It always signified an appeal to the immediate interposition of God, and was therefore called Judicium Dei, God's Judgment; and we may naturally suppose was never resorted to but in very important cases, where persons accused of great crimes protested their innocence, and there was no sufficient evidence by which they could be cleared from the accusation, or proved to be guilty of the crime laid to their charge. Such were the cases of jealousy referred to in this chapter.

The rabbins who have commented on this text give us the following information: When any man, prompted by the spirit of jealousy, suspected his wife to have committed adultery, he brought her first before the judges, and accused her of the crime; but as she asserted her innocency, and refused to acknowledge herself guilty, and as he had no witnesses to produce, he required that she should be sentenced to drink the waters of bitterness which the law had appointed; that God, by this means, might discover what she wished to conceal. After the judges had heard the accusation and the denial, the man and his wife were both sent to Jerusalem, to appear before the Sanhedrin, who were the sole judges in such matters. The rabbins say that the judges of the Sanhedrin, at first endeavored with threatenings to confound the woman, and cause her to confess her crime; when she still persisted in her innocence, she was led to the eastern gate of the court of Israel, where she was stripped of the clothes she wore, and dressed in black before a number of persons of her own sex. The priest then told her that if she knew herself to be innocent she had no evil to apprehend; but if she were guilty, she might expect to suffer all that the law threatened: to which she answered, Amen, amen.

The priest then wrote the words of the law upon a piece of vellum, with ink that had no vitriol in it, that it might be the more easily blotted out. The words written on the vellum were, according to the rabbins, the following: - "If a strange man have not come near thee, and thou art not polluted by forsaking the bed of thy husband, these bitter waters which I have cursed will not hurt thee: but if thou have gone astray from thy husband, and have polluted thyself by coming near to another man, may thou be accursed of the Lord, and become an example for all his people; may thy thigh rot, and thy belly swell till it burst! may these cursed waters enter into thy belly, and, being swelled therewith, may thy thigh putrefy!"

After this the priest took a new pitcher, filled it with water out of the brazen bason that was near the altar of burnt-offering, cast some dust into it taken from the pavement of the temple, mingled something bitter, as wormwood, with it, and having read the curses above mentioned to the woman, and received her answer of Amen, he scraped off the curses from the vellum into the pitcher of water. During this time another priest tore her clothes as low as her bosom, made her head bare, untied the tresses of her hair, fastened her torn clothes with a girdle below her breasts, and presented her with the tenth part of an ephah, or about three pints of barley-meal, which was in a frying pan, without oil or incense.

The other priest, who had prepared the waters of jealousy, then gave them to be drank by the accused person, and as soon as she had swallowed them, he put the pan with the meal in it into her hand. This was waved before the Lord, and a part of it thrown into the fire of the altar. If the woman was innocent, she returned with her husband; and the waters, instead of incommoding her, made her more healthy and fruitful than ever: if on the contrary she were guilty, she was seen immediately to grow pale, her eyes started out of her head, and, lest the temple should be defiled with her death, she was carried out, and died instantly with all the ignominious circumstances related in the curses, which the rabbins say had the same effect on him with whom she had been criminal, though he were absent and at a distance. They add, however, that if the husband himself had been guilty with another woman, then the waters had no bad effect even on his criminal wife; as in that case the transgression on the one part was, in a certain sense, balanced by the transgression on the other.

There is no instance in the Scriptures of this kind of ordeal having ever been resorted to; and probably it never was during the purer times of the Hebrew republic. God had rendered himself so terrible by his judgments, that no person would dare to appeal to this mode of trial who was conscious of her guilt; and in case of simple adultery, where the matter was either detected or confessed, the parties were ordered by the law to be put to death.

But other ancient nations have also had their trials by ordeal.

We learn from Ferdusi, a Persian poet, whose authority we have no reason to suspect, that the fire ordeal was in use at a very early period among the ancient Persians. In the famous epic poem called the Shah Nameh of this author, who is not improperly styled the Homer of Persia, under the title Dastan Seeavesh ve Soodabeh, The account of Seeavesh and Soodabeh, he gives a very remarkable and circumstantial account of a trial of this kind.

It is very probable that the fire ordeal originated among the ancient Persians, for by them fire was not only held sacred, but considered as a god, or rather as the visible emblem of the supreme Deity; and indeed this kind of trial continues in extensive use among the Hindoos to the present day. In the code of Gentoo laws it is several times referred to under the title of Purrah Reh, but in the Shah Nameh, the word Soogend is used, which signifies literally an oath, as the persons were obliged to declare their innocence by an oath, and then put their veracity to test by passing through the kohi atesh, or fire pile; see the Shah Nameh in the title Dastan Seeavesh ve Soodabeh, and Halhed's code of Gentoo laws; Preliminary Discourse, p. lviii., and chap. v., sec. iii., pp. 117, etc.

A circumstantial account of the different kinds of ordeal practiced among the Hindoos, communicated by Warren Hastings, Esq., who received it from Ali Ibrahim Khan, chief magistrate at Benares, may be found in the Asiatic Researches, vol. i., p. 389.

This trial was conducted among this people nine different ways: first, by the balance; secondly, by fire; thirdly, by water; fourthly, by poison; fifthly, by the cosha, or water in which an idol has been washed; sixthly, by rice; seventhly, by boiling oil; eighthly, by red hot iron; ninthly, by images.

There is, perhaps, no mode of judiciary decision that has been in more common use in ancient times, than that of ordeal, in some form or other. We find that it was also used by the ancient Greeks 500 years before the Christian era; for in the Antigone of Sophocles, a person suspected by Creon of a misdemeanor, declares himself ready "to handle hot iron, and to walk over fire," in proof of his innocence, which the scholiast tells us was then a very usual purgation. Ημεν δ' ἑτοιμοι και μυδρους αιρειν χεροιν, Και πυρ διερπειν, και θεους ὁρκωμοτειν.

Ver. 270.

The scholiast on this line informs us that the custom in binding themselves by the most solemn oath, was this: they took red hot iron in their hands, and throwing it into the sea, swore that the oath should be inviolate till that iron made its appearance again. Virgil informs us that the priests of Apollo at Soracte were accustomed to walk over burning coals unhurt. - Et medium, freti pietate, per ignem

Cultores multa premimus vestigia pruna.

Aen. xi. 787.

Grotius gives many instances of water ordeal in Bithynia, Sardinia, and other places. Different species of fire and water ordeal are said to have prevailed among the Indians on the coast of Malabar; the negroes of Loango, Mozambique, etc., etc., and the Calmuc Tartars.

The first formal mention I find of this trial in Europe is in the laws of King Ina, composed about a. d. 700. See L. 77. entitled, Decision by hot iron and water. I find it also mentioned in the council of Mentz, a. d. 847; but Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, wrote against it sixty years before this time. It is afterwards mentioned in the council of Trevers, a. d. 895. It did not exist in Normandy till after the Conquest, and was probably first introduced into England in the time of Ina, in whose laws and those of Athelstan and Ethelred, it was afterwards inserted. The ordeal by fire was for noblemen and women, and such as were free born: the water ordeal was for husbandmen, and the meaner classes of the people, and was of two sorts; by cold water and by hot. See the proceedings in these trials declared particularly in the law of King Ina; Wilkins, Leges Anglo-Saxonae, p. 27.

Several popes published edicts against this species of trial. Henry III. abolished trials by ordeal in the third year of his reign, 1219. See the act in Rymer, vol. i., p. 228; and see Dugdale's Origines Juridicales, fol. 87; Spelman's Glossary, Wilkins, Hickes, Lombard, Somner, and Du Cange, art. Ferrum.

The ordeal or trial by battle or combat is supposed to have come to us from the Lombards, who, leaving Scandinavia, overran Europe: it is thought that this mode of trial was instituted by Frotha III., king of Denmark, about the time of the birth of Christ; for he ordained that every controversy should be determined by the sword. It continued in Holsatia till the time of Christian III., king of Denmark, who began his reign in 1535. From these northern nations the practice of duels was introduced into Great Britain. I need scarcely add, that this detestable form of trial was the foundation of the no less detestable crime of dueling, which so much disgraces our age and nation, a practice that is defended only by ignorance, false honor, and injustice: it is a relic of barbarous superstition, and was absolutely unknown to those brave and generous nations, the Greeks and Romans, whom it is so much the fashion to admire; and who, in this particular, so well merit our admiration!

The general practice of dueling is supposed to have taken its rise in 1527, at the breaking up of a treaty between the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I. The former having sent a herald with an insulting message to Francis, the king of France sent back the herald with a cartel of defiance, in which he gave the emperor the lie, and challenged him to single combat: Charles accepted it; but after several messages concerning the arrangement of all the circumstances relative to the combat, the thoughts of it were entirely laid aside. The example of two personages so illustrious drew such general attention, and carried with it so much authority, that it had considerable influence in introducing an important change in manners all over Europe. It was so much the custom in the middle ages of Christianity to respect the cross, even to superstition, that it would have been indeed wonderful if the same ignorant bigotry had not converted it into an ordeal: accordingly we find it used for this purpose in so many different ways as almost to preclude description. Another trial of this kind was the Corsned, or the consecrated bread and cheese: this was the ordeal to which the clergy commonly appealed when they were accused of any crime. A few concluding observations from Dr. Henry may not be unacceptable to the reader: - "If we suppose that few or none escaped conviction who exposed themselves to these fiery trials, we shall be very much mistaken. For the histories of those times contain innumerable examples of persons plunging their naked arms into boiling water, handling red hot balls of iron, and walking upon burning ploughshares, without receiving the least injury. Many learned men have been much puzzled to account for this, and disposed to think that Providence graciously interposed in a miraculous manner for the preservation of injured innocence. "But if we examine every circumstance of these fiery ordeals with due attention, we shall see sufficient reason to suspect that the whole was a gross imposition on the credulity of mankind. The accused person was committed wholly to the priest who was to perform the ceremony three days before the trial, in which he had time enough to bargain with him for his deliverance, and give him instructions how to act his part. On the day of trial no person was permitted to enter the church but the priest and the accused till after the iron was heated, when twelve friends of the accuser, and twelve of the accused, and no more, were admitted and ranged along the wall on each side of the church, at a respectful distance. After the iron was taken out of the fire several prayers were said: the accused drank a cup of holy water, and sprinkled his hand with it, which might take a considerable time if the priest were indulgent. The space of nine feet was measured by the accused himself, with his own feet, and he would probably give but scanty measure. He was obliged only to touch one of the marks with the toe of his right foot, and allowed to stretch the other foot as far towards the other mark as he could, so that the conveyance was almost instantaneous. His hand was not immediately examined, but wrapped in a cloth prepared for that purpose three days. May we not then, from all these precautions, suspect that these priests were in possession of some secret that secured the hand from the impression of such a momentary touch of hot iron, or removed all appearances of these impressions in three days; and that they made use of this secret when they saw reason? Such readers as are curious in matters of this kind may find two different directions for making ointments that will have this effect, in the work here quoted. What greatly strengthens these suspicions is, that we meet with no example of any champion of the Church who suffered the least injury from the touch of hot iron in this ordeal: but where any one was so fool-hardy as to appeal to it, or to that of hot water, with a view to deprive the Church of any of her possessions, he never failed to burn his fingers, and lose his cause." I have made the scanty extract above from a very extensive history of the trial by ordeal, which I wrote several years ago, but never published. All the forms of adjuration for the various ordeals of hot water, cold water, red hot iron, bread and cheese, etc., may be seen in the Codex Legum Antiquarum, Lindenbrogii, fol. Franc. 1613, p. 1299, etc.

That they defile not the camp - By which God would intimate the danger of being made guilty by other mens sins, and the duty of avoiding intimate converse with wicked men. I dwell - By my special and gracious presence.

Any sin that men commit - Heb. any sins of men, that is, sins against men, as deceits or wrongs, whereby other men are injured, of which he manifestly speaks. Against the Lord - Which words may be added, to shew that such injuries done to men are also sins against God, who hath commanded justice to men, as well as religion to himself. Guilty - That is, shall be sensible of his guilt, convicted in his conscience.

They shall confess their sin - They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves by acknowledging it. The principal - That is, the thing he took away, or what is equivalent to it. And add - Both as a compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so long, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer, to discourage others from such attempts.

No kinsman - This supposes the person injured to be dead or gone, into some unknown place, and the person injured to be known to the injurer. To the priest - Whom God appointed as his deputy to receive his dues, and take them to his own use, that so he might more chearfully and entirely devote himself to the ministration of holy things. This is an additional explication to that law, Lev 6:2, and for the sake thereof it seems here to be repeated.

Unto the priest - To offer by his hands.

Every man's hallowed things - Understand this not of the sacrifices, because these were not the priest's peculiar, but part of them was offered to God, and the remainder was eaten by the offerer as well as by the priest; but of such other things as were devoted to God, and could not be offered in sacrifice; as suppose a man consecrated an house to the Lord, this was to be the priest's.

If a man's wife - This law was given partly to deter wives from adulterous practices, and partly to secure wives against the rage of their hard - hearted husbands, who otherwise might upon mere suspicions destroy them, or at least put them away. There was not like fear of inconveniences to the husband from the jealousy, of the wife, who had not that authority and power, and opportunity for the putting away or killing the husband, as the husband had over the wife. Go aside - From the way of religion and justice, and that either in truth, or in her husband's opinion.

The man shall bring her to the priest - Who first strove to persuade her to own the truth. If she did, she was not put to death, (which must have been, if it had been proved against her) but only was divorced and lost her dowry. Her offering - By way of solemn appeal to God, whom hereby she desired to judge between her and her husband, and by way of atonement to appease God, who had for her sins stirred up her husband against her. He shall pour no oil - Both because it was a kind of sin - offering, from which these were excluded, and because she came thither as a delinquent, or suspected of delinquency, unpleasing both to God and men; as one that wanted that grace and amiableness and joy which oil signified, and that acceptance with God which frankincense denoted, Psa 141:2. Bringing iniquity to remembrance - Both to God before whom she appeared as a sinner, and to her own conscience, if she was guilty; and, if she were not guilty of this, yet it reminded her of her other sins, for which this might be a punishment.

Before the Lord - That is, before the sanctuary where the ark was.

Holy water - Water of purification appointed for such uses. This was used, that if she were guilty, she might be afraid to add profaneness to her other crime. An earthen vessel - Because, after this use, it was to be broken in pieces, that the remembrance of it might be blotted out as far as was possible. Dust - An emblem of vileness and misery. From the floor of the tabernacle - Which made it holy dust, and struck the greater terror into the woman, if she were guilty.

Before the Lord - Before the tabernacle with her face towards the ark. Uncover her head - Partly that she might be made sensible how manifest she and all her ways were to God; partly in token of her sorrow for her sin, or at least for any cause of suspicion which she had given. In her hands - That she herself might offer it, and thereby call God to be witness of her innocency. Bitter - So called either from the bitter taste which the dust gave it, or from the bitter effects of it upon her, if she were guilty. That causeth the curse - Not by any natural power, but by a supernatural efficacy.

By an oath - To answer truly to his question, or to declare whether she be guilty or no, and after such oath shall say as follows.

An oath - That is, a form of cursing, that when they would curse a person, they may wish that they may be as miserable as thou wast. Thy thigh - A modest expression, used both in scripture, as Gen 46:26, Exo 1:5, and other authors. To rot - Heb. to fall, that is, to die or waste away. To swell - Suddenly and violently till it burst, which the Jews note was frequent in this case. And it was a clear evidence of the truth of their religion.

Amen, amen - That is, so let it be if I be guilty. The word is doubled by her as an evidence of her innocency, and ardent desire that God would deal with her according to her desert.

In a book - That is, in a scroll of parchment, which the Hebrews commonly call a book. Blot them out - Or scrape them out and cast them into the bitter water. Whereby it was signified, that if she was innocent, the curses should be blotted out and come to nothing; and, if she were guilty, she should find in her the effects of this water which she drank, after the words of this curse had been scraped and put in.

To drink - That is, after the jealousy - offering was offered.

Conceive seed - That is, shall bring forth children, as the Jews say, in case of her innocency, she infallibly did, yea though she was barren before.

Guiltless - Which he should not have been, if he had either indulged her in so great a wickedness, and not endeavoured to bring her to repentance or punishment, or cherished suspicions in his breast, and thereupon proceeded to hate her or cast her off. Whereas now, whatsoever the consequence is, the husband shall not be censured for bringing such curses upon her, or for defaming her, if she appear to be innocent. Her iniquity - That is, the punishment of her iniquity, whether she was false to her husband, or by any light carriage gave him occasion to suspect her.

2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath [illegible: 1+ letters]n issue , and whosoever is defiled by the dead .

In which the people dwel[illegible: 1+ letters], as afterward cut of the cities and towns, that they might not converse with others and infect them.

To wit, of genital seed in men, or of blood in women in their seasons.

(i. e.) By the touch of the dead. See Levit. 21. 1. Numb. 6. 6.

Marginal references: Lev. 13. 3, 46.; Lev. 15. 2.; chap. 9. 6, 10. and 19. 11. and 31. 19.

3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them, that they defile not their camps , in the midst whereof I dwell .

By which caution God would intimate the possibility and danger of mens being made guilty by other mens sins, and the necessary duty of avoiding intimate converse with wicked men.

By my special and gracious presence, and therefore the permission of such impurities is the greater injury and provocation to me, as being done in my sight, and reflecting dishonour upon my Name.

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, when a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit , to do a trespass against the LORD , and that person be guilty :

Heb. any sins of men, i. e. either 1. of common infirmity, or such sins as men commit through humane frailty, for if this were done knowingly and willingly, a greater punishment was appointed. See Lev. 6. 5, 6. Or rather 2. sins against men, or belonging to men, to wit, deceits or wrongs, whereby other men are injured, of which he manifestly speaks, as appears from ver. 7, 8. so this is a Genitive case of the object, as Mat. 12. 31. blasphemy of the spirit, (for so it is in the Greek) is blasphemy against the holy Ghost, as it is called Mark 3. 28. Luk. 12. 10. and power of all flesh, Ioh. 17. 2. is power [illegible: 1+ letters]ver all flesh, and power of spirit, Mat. 10. 1. is power over or against spirits, Luk. 9. 1. and prayer of God, Luk. 6. 12. is prayer directed unto God: and the spoil of the poor, Isa. 3. 14. is the spoil taken from the poor: and violence of the children of Iudah, Ioel 3. 19. is violence against them, as we translate it.

Which words may be added, either 1. to express a new sin, of prevaricating or dealing falsly with God, either by a false oath, which is a special injury to God, or by a lie or simple denial that he hath taken any thing of his neighbours, which also God takes as a sin especially concerning himself, who in such cases is the c[illegible: 1+ letters]ely judge of what is [illegible: 1 word] said or sworn. See Act. 5. 3, 4. Or 2. to aggravate the former sin and to shew that such injuries done to men are also sins against God who hath commanded justice to men as well as religion to himself. But the former is more probable, both because here is a ram of atonement to be offered to God for the special injury done to him, as well as satisfaction is to be made to the man whom he injured, and especially by comparing this with the parallel place, Levit. 6. 2, &c.

(i. e.) Shall be sensible of his guilt, or be convicted in his conscience of his sin, for otherwise this might seem a meer tautology, if it were onely meant of being really guilty of sin, which was expressed before in those words when one shall commit any sin, i. e. be guilty of any sin.

Marginal references: Lev. 6. 3.

7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done, and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof , and add unto it the fifth part thereof , and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.

They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, as such persons oft do, but shall give glory to God, and take shame to themselves by acknowledging their sin, with grief and remorse. See Lev. 5. 5. and 6. 4.

(i. e.) The thing he took away, or what is equivalent to it.

Which is added both as a compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so long and for his trouble for the supposed utter loss of them, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer to discourage others from such attempts. Qu. How doth this agree with that law Exod. 22. 1? Ans. That, law was made against notorious and obstinate thieves, who were legally convicted of their crime, and this against more modest thieves, whose necessities might induce them to steal, and whose consciences are affected with their sin.

Marginal references: Lev. 6. 5.

8 But if the man have no kinsman , to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest : beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.

Which might be the case commonly with Proselytes, if not with Israelites. This also supposeth the person injured to be dead or gone away into some unknown place, and the person injured to be known to the injurer,

Whom God appointed as his deputy to receive his dues and take them to his own use, that so he might more chearfully and intirely devote himself to the ministration of holy things. This is an additional explication to that law Lev. 6. 2. and for the sake thereof it seems here to be repeated.

Marginal references: Lev. 6. 6. and 7. 8.

9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priests shall be his .

Heb. every heave-offering, the heave-offering being here taken largely so as to comprehend also the wave-offering, for both these were Aarons portion. See Exod. 29. 26, 27, 28.

To wit, to offer unto the Lord by his hands.

(i. e.) the Priests. See Levit. 6. 16.

Marginal references: Or, heave-offering.; Lev. 6. 18, 26. and 7. 6, 32. chap. 18. 8. Deut. 18. 3.

10 And every mans hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.

Understand this not of the sacrifices, no not of such of them as were voluntary or vowed, as most understand it, because these were not the Priests peculiar, but a good part of them was offered to God, and the remainder was eaten by the offerer as well as by the Priest, as is manifest, but of such other things as were devoted to God and were such as could not be offered in sacrifice, as suppose a man consecrated an house or rent of it to the Lord, this was to be the Priests. And this restriction may be easily collected from the nature of the thing because he speaketh in this and the other branches here of such things as were appropriated to the Priests, as his portion, which none of the sacrifices were.

Marginal references: Lev. 10. 13.

12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any mans wife go aside , and commit a trespass against him,

This law was given partly to deterre wives from adulterous practises, and partly to secure wives against the rage of their hard-hearted husbands who otherwise might upon meer suspitions destroy them, or at least put them away. Quest. Why was there not the same law for the trial of the husband, when the wife was jealous of him? Ans. This might be either 1. because the womans sin is greater, because there is not onely filthiness and falsness in it, which is also in the mans sin, but also peculiar unrighteousness in dishonouring his name and family, and transferring his estate to strangers and other mens children: or 2. because there was not like fear of inconveniencies to the husband from the jealousie of the wife who had not that authority and power and opportunity for the putting away or killing of the husband as the husband had over the wife. Or 3. because being the inferiour and the weaker sex and more subject to jealousies and groundless suspitions it was not thought expedient to trust them with such a power or priviledge.

From the way of religion and justice, or from her faith given to her husband, or to the by-paths of falshood and filthiness, and that either in truth or in appearance and in her husbands opinion.

13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close , and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her , neither she be taken with the manner.

She utterly denying it, Prov. 30. 20. and none being able and willing to discover it.

For if it was witnessed, she was to die for it, Lev. 20. 10. Deut. 22. 22.

14 And the spirit of jealousie come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousie come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

(i. e.) A strong opinion or suggestion or inward motion of that kind, whether from a good or evil spirit. Thus we read of the spirit of wisdom, Isa. 11. 2. of perverseness, Isa. 19. 14. of fornica[illegible: 1+ letters]ion, Hos. 4. 12. of fear, 2 Tim. 1. 7. of slumber, Rom. 11. 8.

15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an Ephah of barley meal, he shall pour no oyl upon it, nor put frankincense thereon ; for it is an offering of jealousie, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance :

She persisting in her denial, and her husband requiring her submission to this way of tryal.

Which was partly because none were to appear before God empty, Exod. 23. 15. partly by way of solemn appeal to God, whom hereby she desired to judge between her and her husband, and partly by way of atonement to appease God, who had for her sins stirred up her husband against her and sent an evil spirit between them. See 1 Sam. 26. 19.

Both because it was a kind of sin-offering, from which these were excluded, Levit. 5. 11. and to testifie her sorrowful sence of the hand of God and of her husbands displeasure, and because she came thither as a delinquent or one suspected of delinquency and under an ill fame and unpleasing both to God and men, as one that wanted that grace and amiableness and joy which oyl signified, and that acceptance with God which frankincense designed, Psal. 141. 2.

Both to God before whom she appeared as a sinner, and to her own conscience, if she were guilty, and, if she were not guilty of this, yet it reminded her of her other sins, for which this might be a punishment.

16 And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the LORD .

(i. e.) The woman: But of her he speaks ver. 18. or it, i. e. the offering, which is last spoken of, so the feminine gender is put for the masculine or the neuter, of both which we have instances.

(i. e.) Before the Sanctuary where the Ark was.

17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel , and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water :

Either water out of the holy la[illegible: 1+ letters]er, Exod. 30. 18. or rather the water of purification appointed for such kind of uses, Numb. 19. 9. This was used, that if she were guilty, she might be afraid to adde profaneness and the pollution of holy things to her other crime.

Either to signify that frailty and vileness of which she stood accused, or express her sorrowful and shameful condition, or because, after this use, it was to be broken in pieces, that the remembrance of it might be blotted out as far as was possible. Compare Lev. 6. 28. and 11. 33. and 15. 12.

An emblem of vileness and misery, as appears from Iob 2. 12. Psal. 22. 15. Lam. 3. 29. and the serpents food, Gen. 3. 14. very proper for her who had been seduced to folly by the serpents instigation.

Which made it holy dust and struck the greater terrour into the woman, if she were guilty.

To make it more unpleasant and bitter, which was suitable to one in that sorrowful state.

18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD , and uncover the womans head , and put the offering of memorial in her hands which is the jealousie-offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse .

Before the Tabernacle with her face towards the Ark.

Partly that she might be made sensible how manifest she and all her ways were to God, and that she might be more visible to the congregation, that her shame might be greater if she were guilty; partly in token of her sorrow either for her sin, or at least for any cause of suspicion which she had given; partly as a sign that she was after a sort deprived of the help and protection of her husband, which the covering of the womans head signified, 1 Cor. 11. 5, 6, 7, 10. and that she was neither virgin nor loyal wife, for the heads of both these used to be covered.

That she her self might offer it, and therefore call God to be witness of her innocency.

So called either from the bitter rast which the dust gave it. or from the bitter effects of it upon her, if she were guilty. Compare Exod. 32. 20.

Not by any natural power, but by a supernatural efficacy ordained and wrought by God for her punishment, and for the terrour and caution of others.

19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath , and say unto the woman, If no man have lien with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse.

To answer truly to his question, or to declare by oath whether she be guilty or no, and after such oath shall say as follows.

To wit, except thy husband, as is manifest from the whole context, or no other man, the word another being understood here, as it is thought to be also Gen. 14. 1. and 36. 6 Exod. 22. 20.

Or, with him, i. e. the man now mentioned. So it is an Ellipsis easily supplied out of the Text.

Marginal references: Or, being in the power of thy husband.; Heb. under thy husband.

21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an Oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse, and an oath among thy people when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot and thy belly to swell .

(i. e.) A form of cursing or imprecatory oaths, that when they would curse a person, they may wish that they may be as cursed and miserable as thou wast upon this occasion. See the like phrase Isa. 65. 15. Ier. 29. 22. and compare Gen. 48. 20. Ruth. 4. 11, 12.

A modest signification of the genital parts, used both in Scripture, as Gen. 46. 26. Exod. 1. 5. and other authours, that the sin might be evident in the punishment.

Heb. to fall, i. e. to die or wast away, as the word is used 1 Chro[illegible: 1+ letters]. 21. 14. compared with 2 Sam. 24. 15.

Suddenly and violently till it burst, which the Iews note was frequent in this and like cases, as Exod. 32. 20. And it was a clear evidence of the truth of their religion.

Marginal references: Heb. to [illegible: 1+ letters]all.

22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: and the woman shall say, Amen, amen .

(i. e.) So let it be if I be guilty. The word is doubled by her as an evidence of her innocency, and ardent desire that God would deal with her according to her desert.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book , and he shall blot them out with the bitter water .

Wherewith she cursed her self, to which peradventure her name was added.

(i. e.) In a scroll of parchment, which the Hebrews commonly call a book, as Deut. 24. 1. 2 Sam. 11. 14. Isa. 39. 1.

Or, rase or serape them out and cast them into the bitter water. Whereby it was signified, that if she was innocent, the curses should be blotted out and come to nothing, and, if she were guilty, she should find in her the effects of this water which she drunk, after the words of this curse had been scraped and put in.

24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water, that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

To wit, after the jealousie-offering was offered, as is affirmed ver. 26.

26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof , and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

Of which see Lev. 2. 2.

28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean, then she shall be free , and shall conceive seed .

To wit, from these bitter curses and miseries.

(i. e.) Shall bring forth children, as the Iews say, in case of her innocency, infallibly she did, yea though she was barren before: or shall be as capable of bearing children, as other women.

31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity , and this woman shall bear her iniquity .

Which he should not have been, if he had either dissembled or indulged her in so great a wickedness and not endeavoured to bring her either to repentance or punishment: See Mat. 1. 19. or cherished suspitions in his breast, and thereupon proceeded to hate her or cast her off. Whereas now, whatsoever the consequent is, the husband shall not be blamed or censured either for bringing such curses and mischiefs upon her, or for defaming her, if she appear to be innocent.

(i. e) the punishment of her iniquity, whether she was false to her husband, or by any light and foolish carriage gave him occasion to suspect her to be so.

Num 5:1-4

Removal of Unclean Persons out of the Camp. - As Jehovah, the Holy One, dwelt in the midst of the camp of His people, those who were affected with the uncleanness of leprosy (Lev 13), of a diseased flux, or of menstruation (Lev 15:2., Num 15:19.), and those who had become unclean through touching a corpse (Num 19:11., cf. Lev 21:1; Lev 22:4), whether male or female, were to be removed out of the camp, that they might not defile it by their uncleanness. The command of God, to remove these persons out of the camp, was carried out at once by the nation; and even in Canaan it was so far observed, that lepers at any rate were placed in special pest-houses outside the cities (see at Lev 13:45-46).

Num 5:5-10

Restitution in Case of a Trespass. - No crime against the property of a neighbour was to remain without expiation in the congregation of Israel, which was encamped or dwelt around the sanctuary of Jehovah; and the wrong committed was not to remain without restitution, because such crimes involved unfaithfulness (מעל, see Lev 5:15) towards Jehovah. “If a man or a woman do one of the sins of men, to commit unfaithfulness against Jehovah, and the same soul has incurred guilt, they shall confess their sin which they have done, and (the doer) shall recompense his debt according to its sum” (בּראשׁו, as in Lev 6:5), etc. האדם מכּל־חטּאת, one of the sins occurring among men, not “a sin against a man” (Luther, Ros., etc.). The meaning is a sin, with which a מעל was committed against Jehovah, i.e., one of the acts described in Lev 6:3-4, by which injury was done to the property of a neighbour, whereby a man brought a debt upon himself, for the wiping out of which a material restitution of the other’s property was prescribed, together with the addition of a fifth of its value, and also the presentation of a sin-offering (Lev 6:4-7). To guard against that disturbance of fellowship and peace in the congregation, which would arise from such trespasses as these, the law already given in Lev 6:1 is here renewed and supplemented by the additional stipulation, that if the man who had been unjustly deprived of some of his property had no Goël, to whom restitution could be made for the debt, the compensation should be paid to Jehovah for the priests. The Goël was the nearest relative, upon whom the obligation rested to redeem a person who had fallen into slavery through poverty (Lev 25:25). The allusion to the Goël in this connection presupposes that the injured person was no longer alive. To this there are appended, in Num 5:9 and Num 5:10, the directions which are substantially connected with this, viz., that every heave-offering (Terumah, see at Lev 2:9) in the holy gifts of the children of Israel, which they presented to the priest, was to belong to him (the priest), and also all the holy gifts which were brought by different individuals. The reference is not to literal sacrifices, i.e., gifts intended for the altar, but to dedicatory offerings, first-fruits, and such like. את־קדשׁיו אישׁ, “with regard to every man’s, his holy gifts...to him (the priest) shall they be; what any man gives to the priest shall belong to him.” The second clause serves to explain and confirm the first. את: as far, with regard to, quoad (see Ewald, §277, d; Ges. §117, 2, note).

Num 5:11-31

Sentence of God upon Wives Suspected of Adultery. - As any suspicion cherished by a man against his wife, that she either is or has been guilty of adultery, whether well-founded or not, is sufficient to shake the marriage connection to its very roots, and to undermine, along with marriage, the foundation of the civil commonwealth, it was of the greatest importance to guard against this moral evil, which was so utterly irreconcilable with the holiness of the people of God, by appointing a process in harmony with the spirit of the theocratical law, and adapted to bring to light the guilt or innocence of any wife who had fallen into such suspicion, and at the same time to warn fickle wives against unfaithfulness. This serves to explain not only the introduction of the law respecting the jealousy-offering in this place, but also the general importance of the subject, and the reason for its being so elaborately described.

The Unclean to Be Removed. (b. c. 1490.)

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel. 5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord , and that person be guilty; 7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord , even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. 9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.

Here is, I. A command for the purifying of the camp, by turning out from within its lines all those that were ceremonially unclean, by issues, leprosies, or the touch of dead bodies, until they were cleansed according to the law, v. 2, 3.

1. These orders are executed immediately, v. 4. (1.) The camp was now newly-modelled and put in order, and therefore, to complete the reformation of it, it is next to be cleansed. Note, The purity of the church must be as carefully consulted and preserved as the peace and order of it. It is requisite, not only that every Israelite be confined to his own standard, but that every polluted Israelite be separated from it. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. (2.) God's tabernacle was now fixed in the midst of their camp, and therefore they must be careful to keep it clean. Note, The greater profession of religion any house or family make the more they are obliged to put away iniquity far from their tabernacle, Job xxii. 23. The person, the place, in the midst of which God dwells, must not be defiled; for, if it be, he will be affronted, offended, and provoked to withdraw, 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17.

2. This expulsion of the unclean out of the camp was to signify, (1.) What the governors of the church ought to do: they must separate between the precious and the vile, and purge out scandalous persons, as old leaven (1 Cor. v. 8, 13), lest others should be infected and defiled, Heb. xii. 15. It is for the glory of Christ and the edification of his church that those who are openly and incorrigibly profane and vicious should be put out and kept from Christian communion till they repent. (2.) What God himself will do in the great day: he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. As here the unclean were shut out of the camp, so into the new Jerusalem no unclean thing shall enter, Rev. xxi. 27.

II. A law concerning restitution, in case of wrong done to a neighbour. It is called a sin that men commit (v. 6), because it is common among men; a sin of man, that is, a sin against man, so it is thought it should be translated and understood. If a man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter, it is to be looked upon as a trespass against the Lord, who is the protector of right, the punisher of wrong, and who strictly charges and commands us to do justly. Now what is to be done when a man's awakened conscience charges him with guilt of this kind, and brings it to his remembrance though done long ago? 1. He must confess his sin, confess it to God, confess it to his neighbour, and so take shame to himself. If he have denied it before, though it go against the grain to own himself in a lie, yet he must do it; because his heart was hardened he denied it, therefore he has no other way of making it appear that his heart is now softened but by confessing it. 2. He must bring a sacrifice, a ram of atonement, v. 8. Satisfaction must be made for the offence done to God, whose law is broken, as well as for the loss sustained by our neighbour; restitution in this case is not sufficient without faith and repentance. 3. Yet the sacrifices would not be accepted till full amends were made to the party wronged, not only the principal, but a fifth part added to it, v. 7. It is certain that while that which is got by injustice is knowingly retained in the hands the guilt of the injustice remains upon the conscience, and is not purged by sacrifice nor offering, prayers not tears, for it is one and the same continued act of sin persisted in. This law we had before (Lev. vi. 4), and it is here added that if the party wronged was dead, and he had no near kinsman who was entitled to the debt, or if it was any way uncertain to whom the restitution should be made, this should not serve for an excuse to detain what was unjustly gotten; to whomsoever it pertained, it was certainly none of his that got it by sin, and therefore it must be given to the priest, v. 8. If there were any that could make out a title to it, it must not be given to the priest (God hates robbery for burnt-offerings); but, if there were not, then it lapsed to the great Lord (ob defectum sanguinis—for want of issue), and the priests were his receivers. Note, Some work of piety or charity is a piece of necessary justice to be done by those who are conscience to themselves that they have done wrong, but know not how otherwise to make restitution; what is not our property will never be our profit.

III. A general rule concerning hallowed things given upon this occasion, that, whatever was given to the priest, his it shall be, v. 9, 10. 1. He that gave it was not to receive his gift again upon any pretence whatsoever. This law ratifies and confirms all grants for pious uses, that people might not give things to the priests in a fit of zeal, and then recall them in a fit of vexation. 2. The other priests should not come in sharers with that priest who then officiated, and to whom the hallowed thing, whatever it was, was given. Let him that was most ready and diligent in attending fare the better for it: if he do the work, let him have the pay, and much good may it do him.

The Bitter Water of Jealousy. (b. c. 1490.)

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; 14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord : 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord , and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: 19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: 20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; 22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. 25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the Lord , and offer it upon the altar: 26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. 27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. 28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. 29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the Lord , and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

We have here the law concerning the solemn trial of a wife whose husband was jealous of her. Observe,

I. What was the case supposed: That a man had some reason to suspect his wife to have committed adultery, v. 12-14. Here, 1. The sin of adultery is justly represented as an exceedingly sinful sin; it is going aside from God and virtue, and the good way, Prov. ii. 17. It is committing a trespass against the husband, robbing him of his honour, alienating his right, introducing a spurious breed into his family to share with his children in his estate, and violating her covenant with him. It is being defiled; for nothing pollutes the mind and conscience more than this sin does. 2. It is supposed to be a sin which great care is taken by the sinners to conceal, which there is no witness of. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Job xxiv. 15. And the adulteress takes her opportunity when the good man is not at home, Prov. vii. 19. It would not covet to be secret if it were not shameful; and the devil who draws sinners to this sin teaches them how to cover it. 3. The spirit of jealousy is supposed to come upon the husband, of which Solomon says, It is the rage of a man (Prov. vi. 34), and that it is cruel as the grave, Cant. viii. 6. 4. "Yet" (say the Jewish writers) "he must make it appear that he has some just cause for the suspicion." The rule they give is, "If the husband have said unto his wife before witnesses, 'Be not thou in secret with such a man;' and, notwithstanding that admonition, it is afterwards proved that she was in secret with that man, though her father or her brother, then he may compel her to drink the bitter water." But the law here does not tie him to that particular method of proving the just cause of his suspicion; it might be otherwise proved. In case it could be proved that she had committed adultery, she was to be put to death (Lev. xx. 10); but, if it was uncertain, then this law took place. Hence, (1.) Let all wives be admonished not to give any the least occasion for the suspicion of their chastity; it is not enough that they abstain from the evil of uncleanness, but they must abstain from all appearance of it, from every thing that looks like it, or leads to it, or may give the least umbrage to jealousy; for how great a matter may a little fire kindle! (2.) Let all husbands be admonished not to entertain any causeless or unjust suspicions of their wives. If charity in general, much more conjugal affection, teaches to think no evil, 1 Cor. xiii. 5. It is the happiness of the virtuous woman that the heart of her husband does safely trust in her, Prov. xxxi. 11.

II. What was the course prescribed in this case, that, if the suspected wife was innocent, she might not continue under the reproach and uneasiness of her husband's jealousy, and, if guilty, her sin might find her out, and others might hear, and fear, and take warning.

1. The process of the trial must be thus:— (1.) Her husband must bring her to the priest, with the witnesses that could prove the ground of his suspicion, and desire that she might be put upon her trial. The Jews say that the priest was first to endeavour to persuade her to confess the truth, saying to this purport, "Dear daughter, perhaps thou wast overtaken by drinking wine, or wast carried away by the heat of youth or the examples of bad neighbours; come, confess the truth, for the sake of his great name which is described in the most sacred ceremony, and do not let it be blotted out with the bitter water." If she confessed, saying, "I am defiled," she was not put to death, but was divorced and lost her dowry; if she said, "I am pure," then they proceeded. (2.) He must bring a coarse offering of barley-meal, without oil or frankincense, agreeably to the present afflicted state of his family; for a great affliction it was either to have cause to be jealous or to be jealous without cause. It is an offering of memorial, to signify that what was to be done was intended as a religious appeal to the omniscience and justice of God. (3.) The priest was to prepare the water of jealousy, the holy water out of the laver at which the priests were to wash when they ministered; this must be brought in an earthen vessel, containing (they say) about a pint; and it must be an earthen vessel, because the coarser and plainer every thing was the more agreeable it was to the occasion. Dust must be put into the water, to signify the reproach she lay under, and the shame she ought to take to herself, putting her mouth in the dust; but dust from the floor of the tabernacle, to put an honour upon every thing that pertained to the place God had chosen to put his name there, and to keep up in the people a reverence for it; see John viii. 6. (4.) The woman was to be set before the Lord, at the east gate of the temple-court (say the Jews), and her head was to be uncovered, in token of her sorrowful condition; and there she stood for a spectacle to the world, that other women might learn not to do after her lewdness, Ezek. xxiii. 48. Only the Jews say, "Her own servants were not to be present, that she might not seem vile in their sight, who were to give honour to her; her husband also must be dismissed." (5.) The priest was to adjure her to tell the truth, and to denounce the curse of God against her if she were guilty, and to declare what would be the effect of her drinking the water of jealousy, v. 19-22. He must assure her that, if she were innocent, the water would do her no harm, v. 19. None need fear the curse of the law if they have not broken the commands of the law. But, if she were guilty, this water would be poison to her, it would make her belly to swell and her thigh to rot, and she should be a curse or abomination among her people, v. 21, 22. To this she must say, Amen, as Israel must do to the curses pronounced on mount Ebal, Deut. xxvii. 15-26. Some think the Amen, being doubled, respects both parts of the adjuration, both that which freed her if innocent and that which condemned her if guilty. No woman, if she were guilty, could say Amen to this adjuration, and drink the water upon it, unless she disbelieved the truth of God or defied his justice, and had come to such a pitch of impudence and hard-heartedness in sin as to challenge God Almighty to do his worst, and choose rather to venture upon his curse than to give him glory by making confession; thus has whoredom taken away the heart. (6.) The priest was to write this curse in a scrip or scroll of parchment, verbatim—word for word, as he had expressed it, and then to wipe or scrape out what he had written into the water (v. 23), to signify that it was that curse which impregnated the water, and gave it its strength to effect what was intended. It signified that, if she were innocent, the curse should be blotted out and never appear against her, as it is written, Isa. xliii. 25, I am he that blotteth out thy transgression, and Ps. li. 9, Blot out my iniquities; but that, if she were guilty, the curse, as it was written, being infused into the water, would enter into her bowels with the water, even like oil into her bones (Ps. cix. 18), as we read of a curse entering into a house, Zech. v. 4. (7.) The woman must then drink the water (v. 24); it is called the bitter water, some think because they put wormwood in it to make it bitter, or rather because it caused the curse. Thus sin is called an evil thing and a bitter for the same reason, because it causeth the curse, Jer. ii. 19. If she had been guilty (and otherwise it did not cause the curse), she was made to know that though her stolen waters had been sweet, and her bread eaten in secret pleasant, yet the end was bitter as wormwood, Prov. ix. 17, and ch. v. 4. Let all that meddle with forbidden pleasures know that they will be bitterness in the latter end. The Jews say that if, upon denouncing the curse, the woman was so terrified that she durst not drink the water, but confessed she was defiled, the priest flung down the water, and cast her offering among the ashes, and she was divorced without dowry: if she confessed not, and yet would not drink, they forced her to it; and, if she was ready to throw it up again, they hastened her away, that she might not pollute the holy place. (8.) Before she drank the water, the jealousy-offering was waved and offered upon the altar (v. 25, 26); a handful of it was burnt for a memorial, and the remainder of it eaten by the priest, unless the husband was a priest, and then it was scattered among the ashes. This offering in the midst of the transaction signified that the whole was an appeal to God, as a God that knows all things, and from whom no secret is hid. (9.) All things being thus performed according to the law, they were to wait the issue. The water, with a little dust put into it, and the scrapings of a written parchment, had no natural tendency at all to do either good or hurt; but if God was thus appealed to in the way of an instituted ordinance, though otherwise the innocent might have continued under suspicion and the guilty undiscovered, yet God would so far own his own institution as that in a little time, by the miraculous operation of Providence, the innocency of the innocent should be cleared, and the sin of the guilty should find them out. [1.] If the suspected woman was really guilty, the water she drank would be poison to her (v. 27), her belly would swell and her thigh rot by a vile disease for vile deserts, and she would mourn at the last when her flesh and body were consumed, Prov. v. 11. Bishop Patrick says, from some of the Jewish writers, that the effect of these waters appeared immediately, she grew pale, and her eyes ready to start out of her head. Dr. Lightfoot says that sometimes it appeared not for two or three years, but she bore no children, was sickly, languished, and rotted at last; it is probable that some indications appeared immediately. The rabbin say that the adulterer also died in the same day and hour that the adulteress did, and in the same manner too, that he belly swelled, and his secret parts rotted: a disease perhaps not much unlike that which in these latter ages the avenging hand of a righteous God has made the scourge of uncleanness, and with which whores and whoremongers infect, and plague, and ruin one another, since they escape punishment from men. The Jewish doctors add that the waters had this effect upon the adulteress only in case the husband had never offended in the same kind; but that, if he had at any time defiled the marriage-bed, God did not thus right him against his injurious wife; and that therefore in the latter and degenerate ages of the Jewish church, when uncleanness did abound, this way of trial was generally disused and laid aside; men, knowing their own crimes, were content not to know their wives' crimes. And to this perhaps may refer the threatening (Hos. iv. 14), I will not punish your spouses when they commit adultery, for you yourselves are separated with whores. [2.] If she were innocent, the water she drank would be physic to her: She shall be free, and shall conceive seed, v. 28. The Jewish writers magnify the good effects of this water to the innocent woman, that, to recompense her for the wrong done to her by the suspicion, she should, after the drinking of these waters, be stronger and look better than ever; if she was sickly, she should become healthful, should bear a man-child, and have easy labour.

2. From the whole we may learn, (1.) That secret sins are known to God, and sometimes are strangely brought to light in this life; however, there is a day coming when God will, by Jesus Christ, as here by the priest, judge the secrets of men according to the gospel, Rom. ii. 16. (2.) That, in particular, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. The violation of conjugal faith and chastity is highly provoking to the God of heaven, and sooner or later it will be reckoned for. Though we have not now the waters of jealousy to be a sensible terror to the unclean, yet we have a word from God which ought to be as great a terror, that if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, 1 Cor. iii. 17. (3.) That God will find out some way or other to clear the innocency of the innocent, and to bring forth their righteousness as the light. (4.) That to the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled nothing is so, Tit. i. 15. The same word is to some a savour of life unto life, to others a savour of death unto death, like those waters of jealousy, according as they receive it; the same providence is for good to some and for hurt to others, Jer. xxiv. 5, 8, 9. And, whatsoever it is intended for, it shall not return void.

CHAP. V.

ANd Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying; Command the sonnes of Israel, that they send away out of the campe, every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and every one defiled by a soule. Both male and female shall yee send away; without the campe shall yee send them, that they defile not their campes, in the middest whereof I dwell. And the sonnes of Israel did so, and sent them away without the campe; as Iehovah spake unto Moses, so did the sonnes of Israel.

And Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying; Speake unto the sonnes of Israel: A man or a woman, when they shall doe any of all the so[illegible: 1 span]es of men, to transgresse a transgression against Iehovah, and that soule bee guiltie; Their they shall confesse their sinne which they have done, and he shall restore his trespasse in the principall thereof; and the fist p[illegible: 1 span]t thereof shall he adde unto it, and shall give it to him against whom he hath trespassed. And if the man have no kinsman, to restore the trespasse unto him, the trespasse shall be restored vnto Iehovah, unto the Priest, beside the ramme of the atonements; whereby atonement shall be made for him. And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the sonnes of Israel, which they shall bring neere unto the priest, shall bee his. And every mans hallowed things shall be his: that which any man giveth to the priest, his it shall be.

And Iehovah spake unto Moses, saying; Speake unto the sonnes of Israel, and say unto them: Any man, if his wife goe aside, and transgresse against him a transgression; And a man lye with her, with seed of copulation, and it be kept close from the eyes of her husband, and she hath hid herselfe, and she is defiled, and there is no witnesse against her, and she is not taken: And the spirit of jealousie passe upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled; or the spirit of jealousie passe upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and shee be not defiled: Then shall the man bring his wife unto the Priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an Ephah of barley meale: hee shall not powre oile upon it, nor put frankincense thereon, for it is a Meat-offering of jealousies, a Meat-offering of memoriall, making memoriall of iniquitie. And the Priest shall bring her neere, and make her stand before Iehovah. And the priest shall take holy water, in an earthen vessell; and of the dust which is in the floore of the Tabernacle, shall the Priest take, and put it into the water. And the Priest shall make the woman to stand before Iehovah, and shall uncover the womans head, and put in her hands the Meat-offering of memoriall; it is the Meat-offring of jealousies: & in the hand of the Priest shall be the bitter water, that causeth the curse. And the Priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman; If no man have lien with thee; and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleannesse, under thy husband, be thou free from the bitter water that causeth the curse. But thou, if thou hast gone aside under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man hath had his copulation with thee, beside thine husband: And the Priest shall by oath charge the woman, with an oath of cursing; and the Priest shall say unto the woman; Iehovah give thee, to be for a curse and for an oath, among thy people, when Iehovah doth giue thy thigh to fall, and thy belly to swell. And this water that causeth the cu[illegible: 1 letter]se, shall enter into thy bowels, to make the belly to swell, and the thigh to fall: and the woman shall say, Amen, Amen. And the Priest shall write these curses in a booke: and he shall blot them out, into the bitter water. And he shall cause the woman to drinke the bitter water, that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse, shall enter into her to bitternesses. And the Priest shall take out of the womans hand, the Meat-offering of jealousies, and shall wave the Meat-offering before Iehovah, and offer it upon the Altar. And the Priest shall take an handfull of the Meat-offering, even the memoriall thereof, and burne it upon the Altar; and afterward hee shall cause the woman to drinke the water. And when he hath caused her to drinke the water, then it shall bee if she be defiled, and have transgressed a transgression against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse, shall enter into her to bitternesses; and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall, and the woman shall bee for a curse among her people. And if the woman be not defiled, but be cleane, then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. This is the law of jealousies, when a woman goeth aside under her husband, and is defiled. Or a man, when the spirit of jealousie passeth upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and shall make the woman to stand before Iehovah; and the Priest shall doe unto her all this law. And the man shall be free from iniquity: and that woman shall beare her iniquitie.

Annotations. COmmand] After that God had set his church and ministery in order, he next giveth lawes for the puritie and holinesse of his church in that order, by removing all sinne and uncleannesse from among them; and after, by appointing the exercises of godlinesse. Of this he saith, Command: whereby the weight of the things here spoken of, is signified. that they send away] or, as the Greeke translateth, and let them send away, that is, put out of the campe; and there were three Campes, the Sanctuary, called the Campe (or tents) of the LORD, 2 Chron. 31. 2. the Campe of the Levites, Num. 3. and the Campe of Israel, the twelve tribes, Num. 2. See the annotations on Exod. 40. 33. And as the uncleane were to be put out of the Campe, pitching about the Sanctuary: so out of he campe which went to warre against their enemies, D[illegible: 2 letters]s. 23. 10, 11. The Campe of the Lords Sanctuary was most holy; none which was un[illegible: 1 letter]leane in any thing, might enter in, 2 Chron. 23. 19. Leper] who was defiled and uncleane, all the dayes that the plague was upon him, and was to dwell alone, without the campe, Lev. 13. 46. see the annotations there. an issue] the Law of their uncleannesse is given in Levit. 15. a soule] that is, a dead soule, as Num. 6. 6. meaning a body; the Chaldee here translateth, by the bones of the soule of a man; taking the soule for a dead carkasse; as in Levit. 21. 1. there the Chaldee hath, the dead. Who so touched any dead man, was uncleane seven dayes, Num. 19. 11, &c. whereas for touching other dead creatures, they were uncleane but un[illegible: 2 letters]ll evening, Lev. 11. 24. 39, 40. These legall pollutions, figured our pollution by sinne of all sorts, (as in their places is shewed:) and the removing of such out of the Lords campe, figured the removall of unrepentant sinners out of the church; into which any thing that defileth may in no wise enter, Rev. 21.—27. the uncleane may not come into it, Esai. 52. 1. Vers. 3. male and female] Hebr. From male unto female, whereby he meaneth both sorts: and as Chazkuni here observeth, he saith not man and woman, to teach that in case of uncleannesse, the great and the small are alike. Vpon this Law, Marie the sister of Moses & Aaron, being striken with leprosie, was put out of the Campe, Num. 12 14, 15. without the campe] or, to without, that is, to a place without the campe. But were they all to be together in one place? seeing the Lepers were to remaine alone, Lev. 13. 46. The Hebrew doctors expound this Law thus; There were three [illegible: 1 letter]ampes; the campe of the Divine Maiesty (that is, the Sanctuary:) about that the campe of the Levites, and from thence unto the end, the campe of the standards on all foure quarters, that was the campe of Israel. The Leper was put forth out of them all: he that had an issue might be in the campe of Israel, but was put forth out of the second: and the defiled by the dead, he might be even in Lev[illegible: 1 letter]es campe, and was [illegible: 1 word] put forth save from the campe of the Majestie (of God.) Sol. Iarchion Num. 5. This, though it seemeth contrary to Moses, is the common opinion of the Hebrewes, as may be seene in Thalmud B[illegible: 2 letters]. in Pesachim, chap. 6. and Maimony in Mis[illegible: 1 letter]. in B[illegible: 1 letter] ath h[illegible: 1 letter]mikdash, ch. 3. where he rendreth this reason; The Leper because his uncleannesse is greater, he is sent away further than his fellowes; for every one whose uncleannesse is greater, his putting forth is further than his neighbours. Therefore they send forth the Leper out of the three campes, which is out of Ierusalem, because he defileth by entrance, whereas [illegible: 1 letter]e that hath an issue, defileth not so. And they send forth men and women that have issues, the menstruous, and women in childbed, out of the two campes, which is, out of the mountaine of the house (of God:) because they defile bed, and seat, which the uncleane by the dead doe not. The C[illegible: 1 letter]el] that is, the Ramp[illegible: 1 span] or Courtyard, in the Temple, which was more ou[illegible: 1 letter] ward than the womens court, as the womens was more than the mens court; they put forth out of it, heathens, and such as are defiled by the dead, and [illegible: 1 word] by lying with the menstruous. If a Leper [illegible: 1 word] into Ierusalem, he [illegible: 1 span]eaten (with 40. stripes;) if [illegible: 1 word] come into the mountaine of the house (of God) [illegible: 1 letter]e is beaten with fourescore stripes, &c. Wee may here note the difference and degrees of places, and their holinesse, which the Hebrewes say were ten, within the Land of Canaan, Ierusalem, and the Temple. 1. The walled townes; 2. The city Ierusalem; 3. The mountaine of Gods house, (mount Sion;) 4. The Chel, or outmost court; 5. The womens court, (which some thinke to be that which is called the new court, 2 Chron. 20. 5.) 6. The mens court. 7. The Priests court, (2 Chro. 4. 9.) 8. The place betweene the Porch and the Altar, (2 Chron. 8. 12.) 9. The Temple, or House it selfe. 10. And the most holy place, or Oracle within the Temple; 1 King. 6. 16. 17. 19. Of these it is written in the Bab. Thalmud in Celim, ch. 1. sect. 6, &c. and by Maimony in M[illegible: 1 letter]sn. in Beth h[illegible: 2 letters]chirah, chap. 7. sect. 12, &c. thus: All the land of Israel is holy above all other lands; for they bring out of it, the Sheafe, and the Two loaves, (Lev. 23. 10. 17.) and the First-fruits, which they [illegible: 1 word] not out of other lands. Ten holinesses are in the land of Israel one above another. The walled townes are holier then the rest of the land, for out of them they put the leprous: neither doe they bury the dead within them, without consent of seven good men of the city, or of all the people of the city, &c. Ierusalem is holier then other walled cities; for they eat the light holy things, and the second tithes, within the walies thereof. The mountaine of (Gods) house, is holier then it; for none that have issues, are menstruous, or in childbed, may come in thither. The Chel (or Rampart,) is holier than it, for no heathens, or defiled by the dead, or that hath [illegible: 2 letters]en with the menstruous, may come in thither. The womens court is holier then the Chel; for none that is washed (from his uncleanenesse) that day (before Sun setting, as Levit. 15. 6.) may come thereinto. The court of (the men of) Israel, [illegible: 1 word] holi[illegible: 1 letter]r than the womens court, for none that hath not brought his offering for a[illegible: 1 letter]oxement (though he be otherwise cleane, as Levit. 12. 6. 7. and 14. 9. 10. and 15. 13, 14, 15.) may come into it. And the [illegible: 1 word] that commeth there into, is guiltie of cutting off. The Priests c[illegible: 2 letters]rt, is holier then that, for no [illegible: 1 word] may come in thither, saue at the time of their [illegible: 1 span]ssities, for imposing of hands, or for atone [illegible: 1 span] [illegible: 1 word] for staying, or for waving (the Sacrifices.) [illegible: 1 word] the Porch and the Altar, is holier than [illegible: 1 word], for none that are blemished, or bare headed, or [illegible: 1 word] their clothes rent, may come thither. The Tem [illegible: 1 span]r than betweene the Porch and the Altar: [illegible: 2 words] may come thereinto, but he that hath his [illegible: 1 word] and feet washed. The Holie of holies is ho [illegible: 1 span] it; for none may come in there, but the high [illegible: 1 word], in Atonement day, at the time of service, [illegible: 1 word] ▪ 6. For the better understanding of these things, we may further observe touching the Temple i[illegible: 1 letter] Ierusalem, how they say; The mountaine of the house (of God,) which was mount Morijah ([illegible: 2 words]. 3. 1.) was five hundred cubits (long) and five hundred (broad) and was inclosed with a [illegible: 1 word]. And it had [illegible: 1 letter]ive gates, one on the West, and one on the East, and one on the North, and two on the South: and the breadth of a gate was ten cubits, and the height twenty: and they had doores. Within that was a (woodden) fence compassing round about, the height whereof was ten hands bredths, and within that fence was the Chel (or Rampart) ten cubits high; and of that it is said in Lam. 2. 8. He made the Rampart and the wall to lament: this was the wall of the court. Within the Rampart was the court, and all the court was in length 187. and in bredth 135. (cubits,) and had seven gates, &c. The Sanctuarie was not all of it in a plaine, but in a cliffe (or ascent,) of the Mount. When a man went in at the East gate of the Mountaine, hee went to the end of the Chel (or Rampart) in a levell ground. And hee went vp from the Chel to the womens court by twelve steps: the height of every step was halfe a cubit, and the bredth halfe a cubit. And all the womens court he went on a levell: and from it to the court of Israel (the mens court) by 15. steps; and all the court of Israel he went on a levell. Thence he went vp to the Priests court, which was two cubits & an halfe higher than Israels. And he went all the Priests court, and betweene the porch and the altar in a levell. Thence hee went vp to the porch by twelve steps. And the porch and the Temple was all on a levell. So the height of the floore of the Temple was aboue the floore of the East gate of the mount of the house, 22. cubits. Maimony in Beth habchirah, chap. 5. & 6. that they defile not] or, and let them not defile (or make uncleane) their camps: for the least of these three, namely the uncleane by the dead, whatsoeuer he touched was uncleane: Num. 19. 22. Hag. 2. 12. This taught them sanctification, in abstaining from communion with sinne and sinners; as the Apostle sheweth in 2 Cor. 6. 17. Come out from among them, and be yee separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the vncleane thing, and I will receiue you, &c. And in Heb. 12. 15. Looking diligently, &c. lest any root of bitternesse springing vp, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. I dwell] in Chaldee, my divine presence (Sh[illegible: 2 letters]inah) dwelleth. This reason respecteth not onely the former uncleanesses, but the sinnes also that follow, of transgression, v. 6. and secret adultery, vers. 12. 13. So the Hebrewes also acknowledge; as Chazkuni (on this place) saith, Forasmuch as the Diuine presence (of God) is among them, & they encampe round about the Tabernacle: it is necessary that they purifie their camps from uncleanenes, & cleare themselves from robbery, & from doubtfull wickednes, as of the woman that goeth aside; and to observe the things decreed for purification. Vers. 6 the sinnes of men] in Greeke, humane sinnes, that is, any such sinne as men use to fall into through their frailty. to transgresse a transgression] that is, to commit (or by committing) a transgression: so in Lev. 6. 2. where this law is more explained. The Chaldee expoundeth it, to falsifie a falshood, that is, to speake (or deale) falsly: the Greeke, despising despised; in Hebrew Mag[illegible: 1 letter]nal: whereof see the notes on Lev. 5. 15. This is the second Law of Israels puritie, and it is against morall sin & pollution therby; which the sinner was to purge by confession of sin restitution of dammage, and sacrifice. against Iehovah] in the Chaldee, before the Lord. This is meant in regard of his deniall or oath before the Lord; as Lev. 6. 2, 3. that soule] in Chaldee, that man: it meaneth man or woman, as before is expressed. be guilty] or, be in trespasse. Vers. 7. shall confesse] This, though it be here adjoyned to this particular, belongeth to all sinne, which he that confesseth and for saketh shall have mer [illegible: 1 letter]ie, Prov. 28. 13. for God looketh upon men; if any say, I have sinned & perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soule from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light, Io[illegible: 1 letter] 33. 27, 28. The Hebrewes set downe this duty thus; All the precepts in the Law, whether they command or forbid a thing, if a man transgresse against any one of them, either presumptuously, or ignorantly, when he maketh repentance, and turneth from his sin, he is bound to confesse before the blessed God, as in Num. 5. 7. This confession is with words; and it is commanded to be done. How doe they confesse? Hee saith, Oh God I have sinned, I have done perversly, I have trespassed before thee, and have done thus and thus; and [illegible: 1 letter]oe I repent, and am ashamed of my doings, and I will never doe this thing againe: and this is the foundation of confession. And who so maketh a large confession, and is long in this thing, hee is to be commended, and so the owners of sin and trespasse offrings, when they bring their oblations for their ignorant, or for their presumptuous sinnes, atonement is not made for them by their oblation, until they have made repentance, & confessiō by ward of mouth. Likewise, all condemned to death by the Magistrates, or condemned to stripes, no atonement is made for them by their death, or by their stripes, untill they have repented and confessed. And so hee that hurteth his neighbour, or doth him dammage, though he pay him whatsoever he oweth him, atonement is not made for him till he confesse, and turne away from doing so againe for ever, as it is writen, (in Num. 5. 6.) any OF ALL THE SINNES OF MEN. Maimony in Misn. treat. of Repentance, chap. 1. s. 1. his trespasse] or, his guiltinesse, Hebr. Asham: meaning the thing for which he is guilty: as is explained in Lev. 6. 4. & noted on Lev. 5. 16. The Asham (Guiltinesse) here spoken of, is the thing taken by rap[illegible: 1 span], or the price thereof, saith Maimon. in treat, of Robbery, & l[illegible: 1 letter]st things, c. 8. s. 6. in the principall] or, [illegible: 1 word] the summe (the head) thereof; that is, every whit of it: so in Lev. 6. 5. the fift] see the notes on Levit. 5. 16. and 6. 5. Of this point the Hebrewes say, He that sweareth upon deniall of goods, payeth not the fift part, untill hee confesse it of himselfe: but if there come witnesses, and he stand still in his deniall, he payeth the principall onely upon the mouth (that is, the testimony) of the witnesses: but payeth not the fi[illegible: 1 letter]t part, because the fift part with the sacrifice, doe come for atonement, and he bringeth not them, but upon his [illegible: 1 word] mouth (or confession.) Maimony treat, of Robbery, chap. 7. sect. 8. Vers. 8. no kinsman] Hebr. Goel; which is generall for any kinsman, that redeemeth, avengeth, or to whom a thing appertaineth when the other is dead. Hereupon the Hebrews apply this law to the stranger; for they say, there is no man in Israel without kinsmen, either brother, or child, or other of his blood, &c. [illegible: 1 span]t this is (meant of) the stranger that dieth and hath no heires: Sol. [illegible: 1 word] on Num. 5. and Maimony in treat. of Robberie &c. chap. 8. sect. 6. the trespasse] or guiltinesse, the thing for which he is guilty; as vers. 7. unto the Priest] who being the Lords minister, should receive it for him. The holy blessed (God) is the Father of the stranger, and meet to inherit that which is his, therefore it should bee given to the sonne of his house, which is the Priest, saith Chazkuni on Num. 5. If (a man) have done rapine unto a stranger, and sweare unto him (falsly) and the stranger die, then he is bound to pay the principall, and the fift part, unto the Priests of that custodie (or ward) If a Priest rob a stranger which hath no he[illegible: 1 letter]res, and sweare unto him, and the stranger die; this (Prie[illegible: 2 letters]) hath no right to his robberie which is under his hand; but it goeth out from under his hand, to all his brethren the priests, the sonnes of the custodie (that is, which serve in that ward) Maimony treat, of Robberie &c. chap. 8. sect. 4. 9. ramme of [illegible: 1 span] ments] whereby atonement was made for him with God, by the Priest: whereof see Levit. 6. 6, 7. Here also they say, the trespasse offering is not offered, untill hee that hath done the robberie have restored the principall to the owners, or to the Priests, of he have robbed a stranger that hath no heires. If hee have given the principall, and offred his trespa[illegible: 3 letters]-offring, atonement is made for him, and the fi[illegible: 1 letter]t part hindreth not the atonement; and he is bound to give the fift part, after the atonement. Maimony trea[illegible: 1 letter] ▪ of Robberie, chap. 8. sect. 13. Vers. 9. heave-offring] or oblation, in Chaldee, separation (or separated thing.) of all] or, with all the holy things: according to which sense the Greeke translateth, and all the hallowed things. So in Ezek. 44. 30. the first of all the first fruits of all things, and every heave-offring of all, of all your heave-offrings shall be the Priests, and the first of your dough shall ye give unto the Priest, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. shall bring neare] or, shall offer to the Priest, and so unto God by him: therefore the Greeke translateth, shall [illegible: 1 letter]ffe[illegible: 1 letter] to the Lord, to the priest, to him shall it be. Of the gifts which God appointed to the Priests, see Num. 18. In that the Lords offrings were given to the Priest, it figured, that all things were given of the Father unto Christ, whom he hath made heire of all things, Heb. 1. 2. And it taught the people their duty, for the maintaining of his ministers, Mal. 3. 8, 9, 10. 1 Cor. 9. 13, 14. Vers. 10. shall be his] that is, shall be the priests, as in Ezek. 44. 30. Vers. 12. Any man] Hebr. man man, that is, who-soever. This is the third Law, for the sanctification of the church, in a case of sinne suspected, and not manifest: which God would have to bee looked unto, and purged. goe aside] to wit, from him to another man, and commit adulterie. A figura [illegible: 1 letter]ive speech, taken from going aside out of the right way: so in Prov. 7. 25. transgresse] di[illegible: 2 letters]oyally and unfaithfully, as the Hebrew Mag[illegible: 2 letters]al signifieth, Levit. 5. 15. The Greeke trans[illegible: 2 letters]eth it [illegible: 1 word] ▪ the Chaldee, deale falsly. Vers. 13. Aman] in Greeke, any: meaning a [illegible: 1 span]her man besides her husband. from the e[illegible: 1 letter]es] that is, from the knowledge. Of the way of an a [illegible: 1 span]s woman, it is said, She eateth, and wipeth [illegible: 1 letter]er mouth, and saith; I have done no wickednesse, Prev. 30. 20. hath [illegible: 1 letter]id her selfe] or, hath been [illegible: 1 word], hath been in secret; meaning either that she hath dissembled her iniquitie, or, hath beene in a secret place with some other man, wherby she may justly be suspected, and her husband hath cause to be jealous. In this latter sense, the Hebrewes understand it, and make it the ground of the Law following, for her tryall. They say, The jealousie spoken of in the Law, Num. 5. 14. is when (the man) hath said unto his wife before witnesses, bee not in secret with such a man. The hiding [or secrecie] spoken of i[illegible: 1 letter] Num. 5. 13. is, when she hath beene in secret with that man, touching whom he hath said unto her before two witnesses, be not in secret with him: if shee hath staied with him so long as till she might bee desiled, then it is unlawfull for her husband to company with her, untill she hath drunke of the bitter water, and the thing be tried. And at such time as there is [illegible: 1 letter]o water for her that goeth aside (to drinke,) she is unlawfull for him for ever, and is put away from him without a bill of dowry. If hee be jealous of her for two at once, and have said unto her, bee not in secret with such and such: if she have beene in secret with them two together, and taried so long as till she might be defiled, though they were both her brethren, or her father and her brother, she is unlawfull (for her husband) untill she have drunke. If hee have said unto [illegible: 1 letter]er before two, speake not with such a man; this is not jealousie; yea, though shee have beene in secret with him by (testimony of) witnesses, and taried till shee might be defiled, shee is not unlawfull (for her husband) neither doth she drinke for this jealousie. Likewise, if hee have said unto her, bee not in secret with him; and [illegible: 1 letter]he be seene speaking with him, this is not to be in secret, neither is she unlawfull (for her husband) neither is she to drinke. Also, if there have not been jealousie before, though two doe come and testisy, shee was in secret with this man, and taried till shee might be defiled, she is not unlawfull for her husband, neither is she to drinke. If he have beene jealous of her before two (witnesses) and he hath seene her in secret with him touching whom he was jealous, and that shee [illegible: 1 word] till she might be defiled; loe she is unlawfull for [illegible: 1 word] husband, and is put from him, and hee shall give a [illegible: 1 word] (of [illegible: 2 letters]wrie,) for [illegible: 1 letter]e cannot cause her to drinke upon [illegible: 1 word] owne mouth (or testimony.) Maimony in Misn. [illegible: 1 word] in Sotah. chap. 1. sect. 1▪ 8. These and the like cautions they put concerning this law: some of which seeme to be uncertaine traditions. [illegible: 1 span]sse] that she is defiled: for upon testimony, [illegible: 2 words] [illegible: 1 letter]he were taken with the manner, she was not to drinke, but to dye by the Magistrate, Levit. 20. 10. Io[illegible: 1 letter]. 8. 4, 5. And whereas hee speaketh here singularly of a witnesse, the Hebrews observe, that [illegible: 1 word] there be but one witnesse against her, who saith, she [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 span]d, she is not to drinke, Sol. Iarchi, on Num. 5. [illegible: 2 words] unlawfull (they say) for her husband (to com [illegible: 1 span] with her) for ever; and doth not drinke, but is put away without a dowry. If two witnesses come together, and one say, she is defiled, another say, shee is not d[illegible: 1 letter]filed: or, if one say, she is defiled, and afterward two other come and say, she is not defiled; then shee drinketh, Maim. in Sotah. c. 1. sect. 14. 17. Vers. 14. the spirit of jealousie [illegible: 1 span]sse upon him] or, passe over him: the Greeke saith, come upon him, that he be affected with a j[illegible: 1 letter]alous mind; as the wind is said to passe over the grasse, when it is smitten or blasted with the wind, Psal. 103. 15, 16. which in Esai. 40. 7. is said to blow [illegible: 1 letter]pen it. And the spirit of jealousie, meaneth a jealous motion or affection of the minde, wherewith it is caried, as the Scriptures elsewhere speake, of the spirit of wisdome, the spirit of counsell, the spirit of knowledge, Esai. 11. 2. Eph s. 1. 17. the spirit of fornications, H[illegible: 1 letter]s. 4. 12 the spirit of feare, 2. Tim. 1. 7. the spirit of mecknesse, Gal. 6. 1. the spirit of [illegible: 1 span]ber, Rom. 11. 8. And in 1 Cor. 14. 12. spirits are put for the gifts and motions of the spirit. [illegible: 1 word]] or, after the Greeke, Zealousie, a zealous affection, which is sometime used in the good part, sometime in the evill; as Zeale also is sometimes good, Ioh. 2. 17. 2. Cor. 7. 11. sometime evill, Gal. 5 20. called bitter zeale, Iam. 3. 14. So the Hebrewes have one word Kinah, for zeale, jealousie, [illegible: 1 word], and [illegible: 1 letter]mulation; as Phineas was zealous for the Lord, Num. 25. 11. Elias was jealous for him, 1. King 19. 10. Iosuah [illegible: 2 letters]vied for Moses sake, Num. 11. 29. And jealousie is an affection hard (or cruell) as the grav[illegible: 1 letter]; the co[illegible: 1 letter]les thereof are co[illegible: 1 letter]les of fire, Song 8. 6. it is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance, Prov. 6. 34. This affection is said (after the manner of men) to be in God himself, [illegible: 1 letter]xod. 20. 5. & Paul was jealous for the Corinthians, fearing le[illegible: 1 letter]t they should be corrupted, 2. Cor. 11▪ 2, 3. upon him] the husband, who onely had the power to bring his wife to this triall. Wherefore the Hebrewes write, that if a man bee out of the countrey, or in prison, or the like; and his wife have an evill report for lightnesse, &c. the Magistrates are to call her, and say unto her, bee not in secret with such a man. If witnesses afterward come, that shee was with him in secret, so long as that shee might be defiled; the Magistrates are to forbid her her husbands company ever after, and rend her b[illegible: 1 letter]l (of dowry.) And when her husband comes home, or out of the prison, he gives her a bill of divorce; but hee cannot cause her to drinks, because himselfe was not jealous of her. Maimony in Sotah. chap. 1. sect. 11. Vers. 15. his wife unto the Priest] who was in his office a figure of Christ, by whō God will judge the secrets of men, Rom. 2. 16. the order of this action is said to be this; The husband commeth to the Magistrates of his citie (where hee dwelleth) and saith unto them; This my wife, I am jealous of her for such a man, and she hath been in secret with him, and these are witnesses; and loe, she saith that shee is cleare, and is willing to drinke, for triall of the thing. Then the Magistrates shall heare the words of the witnesses: and they appoint two to be with the man, to keepe him that he companie not with her, before shee have dr[illegible: 1 span]ke: for she is unlawfull for him, untill shee have drunke. And they send him to Ierusalem: for they cause not the suspected woman to drinke, but in the great councell of seventy Elders in the Sanctuarie. When they are come to Ierusalem, the great Councell set her among them, and they terrifie her, and make her sore affraid, that she should not drinke, &c. If she say, I am defiled; or, I will not drinke; she is put from her husband without a dowry. But if shee stand in her cause that shee is cleare, they bring her to the East gate of the Court-yard, which is over against the most holy place, &c. If shee be arrayed in white garments they put upon her blacke: or if she hath faire blacke clothes, they put upon her clothes that are not faire; and take off all ornaments of silver and gold that are on her. And they gather a great company of women unto her; for all the women there present are bound to see her; as it is said (in Ezek. 23. 48.) That all women may bee taught not to doe after your lewdnesse. And every man that will come and see, may come and see. And shee standeth among them without scarfe or veile, onely in her clothes, and her coyfe that is on her head, as a woman within her house, &c. and afterward the Priest adjureth her, in the language that she knoweth, and understandeth. Maimony in Sotah. chap. 3. sect. 1, 2. &c. of barley] it might be of no other graine, nor any other quantity than the tenth of an Ephah, neither more nor lesse: see the annotations on Levit. 2. 1. The Prophet Hoseah, in a mystery, bought an Adultresse for fifteene peeces of silver, and an homer and an halfe of barley, Hos. 3. 1, 2. The Hebrews here note, Meale, not floure; barley, not wheat: she hath done the act of a beast, and her oblation is the meat of a beast. Sol. Iarchi, on Num. 5. not put] Hebr. nor give frankincense: oile figured grace, which was wanting in her actions; frankincense gave a sweet savour, which her workes did not before God; therefore both must be wanting, as in all meat offrings that were for sinne. See the notes on Levit. 5. 11. and 2. 2. The Hebrewes make these two distinct precepts: so that he which transgresseth and putteth oile, and frankincense, is beaten for the oile in particular, and for the frankincense in particular. Maim. in Sotah. chap. 3. sect. 13. a meat-offring of jealousies] Hebr. a Minchah (whereof see Levit. 2. 1.) in Greeke, a sacrifice of jealousie. From this word the Hebrews say; If a man be jealous of his wife for many men, and she hath beene in secret with every one of them; he is to bring but one Meat-offring for them all, when hee causeth her to drinke; for it is said, It is A MEAT OFFRING OF IEALOVSIES: one Meatoffring for many jealousies. Maim. in Sotah. chap. 4. sect. 16. making memoriall] or, causing iniquity to be remembred. And this is the reason why it might have neither oile nor incense, which other Meat-offrings had, Lev. 2. Vers. 16. make her stand] present her before the Lord, for the judgment was his, not mans: by standing, some understand, her staying there, till the Priest went into the Tabernacle, to gather up dust to put in the water, (vers. 17.) For he went into the Tabernacle to take dust from thence: but shee went not in, Chazkuni on Num. 5. Vers. 17. holy water] the Chaldee expoundeth it, Water of the Laver, (whereof see Exod. 30. 18. the Greeke translateth it, pure living water. The quantity, Moses mentioneth not: the Hebrewes say, halfe a log of water out of the Laver, and hee measured it by the halfe log which was in the Sanctuary. Maim. in Sotah. cap. 3. sect. 9. The halfe Log contained as much as three egges: see the notes on Exod. 30. 24. and Levit. 14. 10. earthen vessell] this they say, was to be a new vessell, wherewith no worke had ever beene done. Maim. in Sotah, cap. 3. sect. 9. And they make this use of it, She had drunke with the adulterer, good wine in faire go[illegible: 1 letter]lets: therefore she is to drinke bitter water, in a contemptible earthen dish. Sol. Iarchi, on Num. 5. and Ionathan in Thargum. dust] in all use, dust was a signe of basenes[illegible: 2 letters], sorrow, and affliction, Iob 2. 12. Psal. 7. 5. and 22. 15. Lam. 3. 29. it was the food of the cursed Serpent, Gen. 3. 14. Esa. 65. 25. This was given her to drinke, that if she had hearkened to the Serpents tentation, she should be partaker or his curse. Yet being the dust of the Sanctuarie, it was in respect thereof, holy, (as the ground whereon Moses and Iosua stood where God appeared, was holy, Exod. 3. 5. Ios. 5. 15.) so it taught her to feare judgment from the Lord. into the water] or, upon the water: as the Hebrews say, hee put it upon the top of the water, that it might be seene on the upper part of the water. And againe, Ie he put in the dust before the water, it was unlawfull. Maim. in Sotah. c. 3. s. 10. and c. 4. s. 12. Vers. 18. to stand] the same was said before, in vers. 16. Hereupon the Hebrews say, the woman was led about from place to place in the court, to weary and tyre her, to see if shee would confesse. Sel. Iarchi on Num. 5. and Maim. in Sotah, c. 3. s. 3. uncover the womans head] The covering on the womans head, is a signe of her subjection to the man, 1. Cor. 11. 5, 6, 7, 10. so the uncovering of her head might be a signe, that now she was in her own power, to cleare or condemne her selfe. It was also a signe of sorrow, Levit. 21. 10. so this her case and action was sorrowfull; & for a woman to have her head bare in such an assembly, was shamefull, 1. Cor. 11. 5, 6. Of this action the Hebrews writen that one of the Priests came and tooke hold on her clothes before, and rent them downe to her heart; and uncovered her hayre, and untied the lockes of her head, for to make her unseemely. Maim. in Sotah, c. 3. s. 11. the Meat-offring] which being brought by her husband for her, vers. 15. she was to take, as by that signe offring her selfe to the Lords try all; unto whom this Meat-offring was by her presented. in the hand of the Priest] All the while that her head is bare, and the Meat-offring in her hands, the water is to bee in a vessell in the Priests hand, that she may see the water. Maim. in Sotah c. 3. s. 14. the bitter water] or water of bitternesse, in Greeke, water of conviction; because it convinced her if she were guilty: but how was it bitter? By reason of the effect, for it killed her if she were guiltie, and death is said to be bitter, 1 Sam. 15. 32. Eccles. 7. 28. and afflictions are bitter, Esai. 38. 17. The Hebrewes thinke also it was bitter in caste, and that the Priest put into the water some bitter thing, as wormewood, or the like. Maim. in Sotah cap. 3. sect. 10. Salomon, speaking of an harlot, saith, that the end of her is bitter as wormewood, Prev. 5. 4. as it is to others, so unto her selfe. that causeth the curse] or, the bitter curse-bringing water: so called, because it brought the curse into her, if shee were guilty, vers. 22. This similitude David useth, praying against the wicked, let (the curse) come into his bowels like water, Psal. 109. 18. Ionathan in his Thargum expoundeth it, the bitter water of triall; because it tryed her honesty: But Onkelos the Chaldee paraphrast expoundeth it, that causeth the curse, or maketh cursed. Vers. 19. charge her by oath] or, adjure her, make her to sweare. In ages following, when Israel in dispersion lost their language, this adjuration was to bee in that tongue which the woman knew and understood. Maim. in Sotah cap. 3. sect. 7. If no man] that is, no other man, besides thine husband: Rom. 7. 3. as in Gen. 36. 6. unto a land, is by the Chaldee expounded, to an other land. under thy husband] that is, since thou wast married: for a maried woman is in Scripture phrase, said to be under an husband, Rom. 7. 2. Or, in stead of thine husband, that is, beside him. The Hebrews say, The husband may deale by oath with her, that she hath not committed whoredome with that man concerning whom he is jealous of her, nor with any other man. And that she hath not committed whordome under him, after she was betrothed, before hee maried her, or after. But he may not deale with her, that shee did not commit whoredome before they were betrothed, neither after she was put away, if shee had beene put away, and returned to him againe: for if she committed whoredome in that time, she is not unlawfull for him. Maim. in Sotah, cap. 4. sect. 17. be thou free] or, be guiltlesse, cleare, innocent: that is, thou shalt have no hurt by this bitter water. From this example, the Hebrewes hold that in all judging of persons, they should first see if they may be cleared. Vers. 20. had his copulation] or, given his copulation, that is, his seed of couplation, as is expressed in Lev. 15. 18. Vers. 21. by oath charge] or, adjure the woman, lay an oath upon her: as Ios. 6. 26. 1. Sam. 14. 24. oath of cursing] or, of exsecration: in Greeke, [illegible: 1 word] the oathes of this curse. give thee to be for a curse,] that is, make thee a curse and an oath: that thy name and punishment may be mentioned for an example and terrour to others: as in Ier. 29. 22, 23. of them shall be taken up a curse by all the capti [illegible: 1 word] &c. saying; The LORD make thee like [illegible: 1 word] and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon [illegible: 2 words] the fire; because they committed villeny in Israel, and committed adultery with their neighbours [illegible: 1 letter]ines. So if any tooke an oath vpon themselves, they might likewise say, The Lord make me like such a woman, whose belly did swell, &c. if I [illegible: 1 word] done this thing. And as for a curse, so for an [illegible: 1 word] (as in Esai. 65. 15. ye shall leave your name for [illegible: 2 words], unto my chosen; meaning for an oath of execration, as in this place. thy thigh to fall] Hebr. thy thigh falling: in Greeke, thy thigh fallen: in Chaldee, thy thigh dissolved. The thigh is used for the place or instrument of generation, as in Gen. 46. 26. the soules that came out of Iakobs thigh. Falling is often used for dying, as in 1 Chron. 21. 14. there fell of Israel; which is expounded in 2 Sam. 24. 15. there dyed. So the falling of the thigh, may be understood of the dying and rotting of the thigh or wombe: or properly of the falling downe of the wombe out of the place, whereby it became unfit for generation. belly to swell] in Greeke, thy belly burst: so in vers. 27. It is a tradition of the Iewes, that the water which Moses made the Israelites to drinke with the powder of their golden calfe, Exod. 32. 20. had like effect in such as were guilty of that sinne, and could no be convicted by witnesses, that their bellies swelled. Sol. Iarchi on Exod. 32. and R. Monachem. Vers. 22. shall enter] or, let it enter, and the thigh] that is, thy thigh, as the Greeke explaineth it. Amen Amen] in Greeke, So be it So be it, Amen is an Hebrew word, but retained by the Apostles in Greeke, 1 Cor. 14. 16. and so is now used in all languages. By interpretation it signifieth Truth, Verily, or faithfulnesse, as in Esai. 65. 16. the God Amen, is the God of Trueth: and so Christ is called Amen, which is expounded the faithfull and true witnesse, Rev. 3. 14. And in speech unto men, it is an earnest asseueration, as Amen I say unto you, Mat. 24. 47. which another Evangelist interpreteth in Greeke Alethoos, that is Uerily, or Of a truth, Luke 12. 44. It is also interpreted in Greeke Nai, that is Yea, as in Mat. 23. 36. Amen I say unto you; for which in Luk. 11. 51. is written Yea (or Verily) I say unto you, wherefore both Hebrew and Greeke are ioyned together in Rev. 1. 7. yea Amen: so in 2 Cor. 1. 20. And when it is added to the end of prayers, or of curses, as here & in Devt. 27. 15. it is an approbatiō & confirmation, with desire that the thing may so be; which is explained by adding the word Lord unto it; as in Ier. 11. 5. I answered and said, Amen ô LORD: and more fully in Ier. 28. 6. Amen, the LORD doe so, the LORD performe the words, &c. Wherefore in the prayers of the Church, they used of old, (and so at this day) to answer and say Amen, 1 Cor. 14. 16. and sometime twice Amen Amen, Neh. 8. 6. and in other constant affirmations, it is also used, as in 2 Cor. 1. 20. all the promises of God are in Christ, yea and are in him Amen. Thus the woman by her answer, confirmed the oath and curse, and tooke it upon her selfe if she were defiled; or testified her faith in God, that he would cleare her being not defield; and therefore the word is doubled. Vers. 23. write these curses] all these words wherewith he adjured the woman. in a booke] or, in a scroll. The Hebrewes use to call all writings, bookes, whether they be large or briefe, all bills, bands, letters or epistles, and the like; as in Deut. 24. 1. a booke (that is a hill) of diuorcement: and in 2 Sam. 11. 14. David wrote a booke (that is, a letter, an epistle) to Ioah, in Esai. 39. 1. Merodach sent bookes (that is, letters, as the Greeke translateth it epistles) to Ezekias. The manner of writing this, is by the Hebrewes thus described; He (the Priest) brought a roll of parchment vellan, as the booke of the Law, and wrote thereon in the holy tongue (that is, in Hebrew) the womans name, as in the bill of divorce, and all the words wherewith he adjured her, letter by letter, word by word; but he writeth not Amen Amen. Maimony in Sotah, chap. 3. sect. 8. They have moreover divers observations, without which they say the writing was vnlawfull; as that it must not be written by night, but by day, as her drinking, and oblation was in the day time; nor written backward or confusedly, but in order; nor written before she had taken the oath upon her; for it is said (in vers. 21.) he shall adjure her, and then (in vers. 23.) the Priest shall write. Nor written on paper or any thing saue parchment: nor written by a (common) Israelite, or a young Priest, but by a Priest that ministreth; nor written with such inke or any such thing, as leaueth a marke or impression upon the parchment; but with such as may be all wiped (or scraped) off into the water: and other like rites, Ibidem chap. 4. sect. 7, 8, 9. blot them out] or, wipe out, scrape them into the water, that no word, letter, or marke of the writing should remaine on the booke: if there remaine on the scroll any mark[illegible: 1 letter] of the writing which may bee knowen, it is unlawfull; untill hee haue wiped it out well and thorowly. Maim. in Sotah. chap. 4. sect. 10. It signified, that all the words of the curse should enter into▪ her, that if shee were guiltie, her name might be blotted out of Israel, with infamie, by the iudgement of God, the swift witnesse against adulterers, Mal. 3. 5. if she were guiltlesse, the curses written against her were blotted out, and should not appeare to her reproch. So this word is used in the defacing of sinne, through the mercie of God, as in Esai. 43. 25. I, I am he that bl[illegible: 1 letter]tteth out thy transgressions for mine owne sake, and will not remember thy sinnes. Vers. 24. to bitternesses] in Chaldee to cursing: meaning that they shall bee evill and bitter in their effect unto her. Vers. 25. wave the Meat-offering] that is, move it to and fro: see the notes on Exod. 19. 24. The Hebrewes write, that the Priest tooke the ministring vessell wherein the Meat-offering was, and put it upon her hands; and the priest put his hand under hers, and waved it. Maim. in S[illegible: 1 letter]tah. chap. 3. sect. 15. upon the [illegible: 1 letter]ltar] he brought the Meatoffering to the south-west [illegible: 1 letter]orne of the altar, like the other Meat-offerings of particular persons; and tooke an handfull thereof, and burned it on the altar, and the residue was eaten by the priests. Maim. in Sotah. chap. 3. sect. 15. Of this they further say, If the Meat-offering be polluted before it bee put into a ministring vessell, it is to bee redeemed as all other Meat-offrings that are polluted before they be sanctified by a ministring vessell, and he is to bring another Meat-offring. If it be polluted after it is sanctified in a ministring vessell, then it is b[illegible: 2 letters]nt. And so if shee say, I am defiled, before the handfull be taken of it; or if she say, I will not drinke▪; or if her husband will not have her drinke, or if there come witnesses that she is defiled, or if he die, or if [illegible: 1 word] die, then the Meatoffering is all burnt. And if any of these things [illegible: 1 span] pen after the handfull is offered, the [illegible: 1 span] not eaten. If her husband be a priest, the [illegible: 1 word] of the Meat-offering is not eaten, because her husband hath a part therein, &c. but the handfull is [illegible: 1 letter]ffered by it selfe, and the remainder is scattered upon the place of the ashes. Ibid. c. 4. sect. 14, 15. That which is spoken of burning it▪ when it is polluted, is not meant of burning it upon the altar: but in another place, where uncleane things were burnt, which might neither be offered to God, not eaten by men. Vers. 26. the memoriall] so the handfull is called: see the notes on Lev. 2. 2. Vers. 27. to bitternesses] with most bitter effect; in Chaldee to cursing; as vers. 24. The Hebrewes say, that if she be defiled, immediately her face [illegible: 1 word] turne yellowish, her eyes will sti[illegible: 1 letter]k[illegible: 1 letter] out, &c. and [illegible: 1 word] carry her out of the womens court wherein shee [illegible: 1 span] deth; and first her belly will swell, and [illegible: 1 span] thigh will fall, and shee shall die. And in the [illegible: 1 word] houre that she dieth, the adulterer [illegible: 1 span] whose meanes she was made to drinke, [illegible: 1 span] be. Maim. in Sotah. chap. 3. sect. 16, 17. [illegible: 1 span] fall] or rot, see vers. 21. This iudgem[illegible: 1 letter]nt [illegible: 1 span] ding to the transgression; that as with that part [illegible: 1 word] sinned, so therein she should bee punished. An[illegible: 1 letter] thus the curse entred into her bowels like water, (as in Psal. 109. 18.) not by any naturall effect [illegible: 1 word] this drinke, but by the power of God; who often bringeth great things to passe, by unlikely meanes; as with clay made of spittle, Christ opened the eyes of the blinde, Ioh. 9. 6, 7. Vers. 28. shall be free] not ha[illegible: 1 letter]e any [illegible: 1 word] by the drinke: as in vers. 19. [illegible: 1 span]] [illegible: 1 word]. shal be sowen with sced; which the Chald[illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 span] deth, shall proue with child. This setteth forth Gods power & goodnesse, in effecting such things for clearing the innocent; and working by one drinke such contrary effects, according to the uncleannesse or cleannesse of the party that receiu[illegible: 1 span] it. Even as his word is to one, the savour of death [illegible: 2 letters] to death; and to another the savour of life [illegible: 1 word], 2 Cor. 2. 16. The Hebrewes write of this woman, When she hath drunke the bitter water, if she die [illegible: 1 word] out of hand, she is lawfull for her husband▪ (t[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 1 word] pany with,) though he be a priest. And although [illegible: 1 span] nesse beginne to come upon her, and she haue pai[illegible: 1 letter]e in other parts of her body; yet for asmuch as her [illegible: 1 word] swelleth not, nor her thigh begins to fall, she is [illegible: 1 word]; but if her belly begin to swell, and her thigh to [illegible: 1 word], she is certainly unlawfull. And if shee be [illegible: 1 word] when she hath drunke she will wax strong, and her face waxeth cleare; and if she have any [illegible: 1 letter]icknesse [illegible: 1 word] will leave her, and she shall conc[illegible: 1 letter]iue and beare a man childe. And if she were w[illegible: 1 letter]nt to haue hard travel▪ [illegible: 1 word] shall haue speedy travell; and of she were wont to bring forth females she shall bring forth males. Maim. [illegible: 1 word] Sotah. chap. 3. sect. 21. 22. Vers. 29. under her husband] that is, being [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 2 letters]ed: in Greeke, being under an husband▪ s[illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 word]. 19▪ Vers. 20. shall make the woman to stand] or, [illegible: 1 word] ▪ present her. The Hebrewes hold that some women might not drinke; and that none was euer for ced to drinke, except she would her selfe. They say, A woman of whom (her husband) is jealous, and she hath beene in secret (with another man) they compell her not to drinke: but if shee agree, and say, I am defiled, she is put away without dowry, and is unlawfull for her husband ever after; and drinketh not. Likewise if shee say, I am not defiled, neither will I drinke; they compell her not to drinke, but she is put away without dowry. Also if her husband say, I will not cause her to drinke; or if he hath lyen with her after that shee was in secret (with another) shee drinketh not, but takes her dowry, and goes her way, and is unlawfull for him ever after. Some women (they say) are not meet to drinke, though they be willing, and their husbands also would have them drinke, but are put away without dowries: as, she that is wife to a man blind, or lame, or dumbe, or deafe, or that wants a hand: likewise if the woman herselfe be lame, or dumbe, or blind, or wanteth an hand, or is deafe; or she that is but betrothed, and not maried. But if a man be jealous of his betrothed wife, and she be in secret (with another man) after she is maried, then she drinketh as all other women. A woman that standeth to drinke, if her husband die before shee doe drinke, then she drinketh not, neither receiueth she any dowry. Maimony in Sotah chap. 2. sect. 1, 2. &c. These and the like exceptions they make, some of which seeme to be devised for to favour divorcement, whereunto the Iewes have beene overmuch addicted, as appeareth by Mal. 2. 16. Matth. 19. 3—8, 9. Moreover they say, If a woman have drunke of the bitter water, and have bin cleared thereby, and her husband be jealous againe of her cōcerning the man for whose sake shee was made to drinke, and shee hath beene in secret with him; he cannot make her drinke for his sake the second time, but she is unlawfull for her husband ever after, and is put away without dowry. But if he be jealous over her for another man, and it bee proved by witnesses, that shee hath beene in secret with that other, shee is made to drinke the second time; yea though it be many times, if he cause her to drinke for severall men. Maim. in Sotah, chap. 1. sect. 12. Vers. 30. free from iniquitie] or guiltlesse, innocent from iniquitie, by doing what in him lieth for to finde out and purge this sin in his wife, and not nourishing jealousie in his minde still. Whereas by not doing this, he partaked after a sort with his wives sin. So Chazkuni on this place saith, The man shall be free for that he letteth not his wife alone playing the where under him. The Targum called Ionathans, translateth it thus; And if the man be free from sins, that woman shall beare her sin. And the same exposition others give of these words, saying, Any man that hath used unlawfull cop[illegible: 1 letter]lation in his daies after that he is waxen great, the curse-bringing water doth not try his wife, Num. 5. 30. When the man is free from iniquitie, the woman beareth her iniquitie. Maim. in Sotah, ch. 2. sect. 8. and ch. 3. sect. 17. 23. Therefore among the Israelites it is said, that no man which had him-selfe beene guilty that way, could bring his wife to this triall. And of their care about this case of jealousie, it is thus recorded: On the fifteenth day of Adar, (which was the Hebrews twelfth moneth. Esth. 9. 1. (called now February,) the Magistrates looked unto the necessities of the multitude, and made examination of such as were meet to drinke, to cause them to drinke; and of such as should be j[illegible: 1 letter]alous of a woman, and to cause her to be put away without dowrie. And at all times they made the suspected woman to drinke. The wisemen commanded the sons of Israel to be jealous of their wives, &c. but not in the midst of laughter, or lightnesse, nor in the midst of contention, nor to bring terrour vpon them, &c. It is not meet for a man to containe himselfe, and to be jealous before witnesses at the first, but [illegible: 1 span]wixt him and her, in gentlenesse and by way of puritie and admonition, that he may guide her in the right way, and remove scandall. And whosoever is not carefull of his wife, and children, and [illegible: 1 word], to admonish them and visit their waies continually untill he know that they are at peace from all sin and iniquitie, he is a sinner; as it is written (i[illegible: 1 letter] Ioh 5. 24.) AND THOU SHALT KNOW, THAT THY TENT shall be in PEACE: AND THOV SHALT VISIT THINE HABITATION, AND SHALT NOT SIN. M[illegible: 1 span]. in Sotah, chap. 4. sect. 1. 18, 19. shall beare her iniquitie] that is, the punishment of her iniquitie, as Lev. 20. 17, 19, 20. Ezek. 4. 4, 5. And this tended to the glory of God, (who findeth out and punisheth all sin, & adultery in speciall, Ezek. 13. 38. Mal. 3. 5.) to the purging of the Church, (which should be as a new lump, without the leaven of fornication, 1 Cor. 5. 7.) and to the paci[illegible: 1 letter]ying of mens jealous spirits, with peace in their families. By this severitie of God against secret whoredome, above other sins, we are taught what judgment remaineth for such as commi[illegible: 1 letter] idolatry, which is spirituall whoredome, Ezek. 23. 37. and often done in secret, Ezek. 8. 12. for which sin, God is jealous, to visit the iniquitie of the fathers upon the children, Exod. 20. 5. and will give them bloud, in wrath and jealousie, and they shall beare their lewdnesse and their abomination, Ezek. 16. 38. 58. and 23. 35. so that the curse of the Law entreth as water into their bowels, Dan. 9. 11. Psal. 109. 18.