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Leviticus
Chapter Twenty-three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 23
In
this chapter an account is given of the several holy days, times, and seasons,
appointed by God, under the general names of feasts and holy convocations; and
first of the sabbath, Leviticus 23:1; then
of the passover and feast of unleavened bread, Leviticus 23:5; to
which is annexed the sheaf of the firstfruits, Leviticus 23:9;
after that of the feast of weeks or pentecost, Leviticus 23:15;
and of the feast of trumpets, Leviticus 23:23;
and of the day of atonement, Leviticus 23:26;
and of the feast of tabernacles, Leviticus 23:33.
Leviticus 23:1. And
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT 1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Much about the same
time as before; and having delivered to him various laws concerning the
holiness of the people of Israel, who were to serve him, and of the holiness of
the priests, that were to minister in holy things to him, and of the purity and
perfections of their sacrifices, he here appoints various times and seasons,
for the more special worship and service of him:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 23:2.
2 “Speak to the children of
Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you
shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
YLT 2`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast
said unto them, Appointed seasons of Jehovah, which ye proclaim, holy
convocations, [are] these: they [are] My appointed seasons:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... Speak to
them to gather together, and then say unto them what follows, they all being
obliged to keep the feasts, and observe the solemnities hereafter directed to;
though it may be the heads of the tribes and the elders of the people were
summoned together, and the following things were delivered to them, and by them
to the people:
concerning the feasts of
the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even
these are my feasts; appointed and ordered by God, and to be
kept to the honour of his name; these are the general names for the particular
holy times and seasons after appointed; they are in general called
"feasts", though one of them, the day of atonement, was, strictly
speaking, a fast; yet being a cessation from all work, and opposed to working
days, days of labour and business, it is comprehended in this general title:
nor is it unusual with other nations to call a fast a feast; so AelianusF8Var.
Hist. l. 5. c. 20. relates of the Tarentines, that having been besieged by the
Romans, and delivered from them, in memory of their sufferings appointed a
feast which was called a fast: the word used has the signification of stated,
fixed, appointed times and seasons, and of convening or meeting together at
such times, and that for the performance of solemn worship and service, which
is true of them all; for there are certain times of the week and month fixed
for them, and when the people in bodies assembled together, and in a solemn
manner worshipped the Lord; and these are called "convocations",
because the people were called together at those times by the priests, and that
with the sound of a trumpet, Numbers 10:2; and
"holy", because separated from other days, and set apart for holy
services: the words may be rendered, as they are by manyF9Pagninus,
Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. : "the solemnities
of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim holy convocations, these are my solemnities";
times for holy, religious, and solemn service, of his appointment and for his
glory: Aben Ezra seems to understand all this of the sabbath only, which is
next mentioned, expressed in the plural number, because, as he observes, there
are many sabbaths in a year; and indeed the general title of the rest of the
feasts is afterwards given, Leviticus 23:4.
Leviticus 23:3. 3 ‘Six
days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn
rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the
Sabbath of the Lord
in all your dwellings.
YLT 3six days is work done, and in the seventh day
[is] a sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye do no work; it [is] a sabbath to
Jehovah in all your dwellings.
Six days shall work be done,.... Or may be done by
men, any sort of lawful work and honest labour, for the sustenance of
themselves and families:
but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest; from all
bodily labour and work of any kind; typical of rest by Christ and in him:
an holy convocation; when the people were
called to holy exercises, to pray and praise, and hear the word, and offer
sacrifice:
ye shall do no work therein; not any at all, see Exodus 31:15,
it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings: other feasts
were kept in the sanctuary, in the tabernacle or temple, or where they were;
but this was not only observed there and in their synagogues, but in their
private houses, or wherever they were, whether, travelling by sea or land; and
so the Targum of Jonathan and Aben Ezra interpret it.
Leviticus 23:4. 4 ‘These
are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which
you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
YLT 4`These [are] appointed seasons of Jehovah,
holy convocations, which ye proclaim in their appointed seasons:
These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations,.... What
follow besides the sabbath mentioned:
which ye shall proclaim in their seasons; the proper
times of the year, the day or days, and month in which they are to be observed;
these were to be proclaimed by the priests with the sound of trumpet, namely,
what follow, for they are put together, which had been before for the most part
singly delivered.
Leviticus 23:5. 5 On
the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover.
YLT 5in the first month, on the fourteenth of the
month, between the evenings, [is] the passover to Jehovah;
In the fourteenth day of the first month,.... The month
Nisan, the same with Abib, the month in which the children of Israel came out
of Egypt, for which reason it was made the first month in the year, answering
to part of our March and part of April; and for the same reason was the
passover kept at this time, as follows:
at even is the Lord's passover; that is, that
was the time for the keeping the passover, even "between the two
evenings", as it may be rendered; from the sixth hour and onward, as
Jarchi, trial is, after noon or twelve o'clock the middle of the day, as
Gersom, when the sun began to decline; See Gill on Exodus 12:6.
Leviticus 23:6. 6 And
on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread
to the Lord;
seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
YLT 6and on the fifteenth day of this month [is]
the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do
eat;
And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of
unleavened bread unto the Lord,.... Which was the day the children of
Israel went out of Egypt with their dough and leaven, having not time to leaven
it; in remembrance of which this feast was appointed:
seven days ye must eat unleavened bread; see Exodus 12:15.
Leviticus 23:7. 7 On
the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work
on it.
YLT 7on the first day ye have a holy convocation,
ye do no servile work;
In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation,.... That is,
on the first of the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread, even the
fifteenth day of the month Nisan; this was separated from the other days of the
festival, and more particularly devoted to religions exercises, see Exodus 12:16,
ye shall do no servile work therein; such as agriculture, or
any manufacture or mechanical business, which they and their servants were at
other times employed in; but they might bake bread, and boil or roast their
meat, and walk abroad, which they might not do on their sabbaths; and therefore
it is so expressed as to distinguish it from the work forbidden on that day.
Leviticus 23:8. 8 But
you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven
days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no
customary work on it.’”
YLT 8and ye have brought near a fire-offering to
Jehovah seven days; in the seventh day [is] a holy convocation; ye do no servile
work.'
But ye shall offer an offering made by, fire unto the Lord seven
days,.... A burnt offering was to be offered unto the Lord on everyone
of the seven days, which were two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs;
besides a meat offering, and a goat for a sin offering, Numbers 28:19,
in the seventh day is an holy convocation, ye shall do no
servile work therein; as on the first day, that was on account of
the Israelites going out of Egypt; and this is said, on account of Pharaoh and
his host being drowned on it; See Gill on Exodus 12:16.
Leviticus 23:9. 9 And
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT 9And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time,
for what follow are the other feasts and holy convocations before spoken of:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 23:10. 10 “Speak
to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which
I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
YLT 10`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast
said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, and
have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your
harvest unto the priest,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... What is
next observed, it being incumbent on them to do what is enjoined:
when ye be come into the land which I give unto you: the land of
Canaan, which God had given by promise to their fathers and to them, and which
they were now going to inherit: as yet they were in a wilderness, where there
were no sowing nor reaping, nor any harvest; so that the following law, though
now given, could not take place till they came into the land of Canaan:
and shall reap the harvest thereof; the barley harvest,
which was about this time, the month Nisan, and which had the name Abib, from
the barley being then in the ear, see Exodus 9:31; for
the wheat harvest was not till seven weeks after:
then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto
the priest; to with it as after directed: this is called an omer in the
text, which was the tenth part of an ephah, Exodus 16:36; and
so Jarchi interprets it here; according to the Jewish writers, when the sheaf
was reaped, the corn was beat out and winnowed, and dried by the fire, and then
ground in a mill, and an omer, or a tenth part of an ephah of the flour of it
was taken, and oil and frankincense put upon it, an handful of which being put
upon the altar, the rest was the priest's; and with this pretty much agrees the
account Josephus gives, who says, on the second day of unleavened bread, which
is the sixteenth (day of Nisan), of the fruits they have reaped they take a
part; for they do not touch them before, accounting it just to honour God
first, from whom they receive the plenty of these things; and bring the
firstfruits of the barley after this manner, having dried the handful of ears,
and bruised them, and cleansed them from the bran, they bring to the altar a
tenth part to God, and casting one handful of it on the altar, they leave the
rest for the use of the priests; and from thence forward it is lawful to reap
publicly and privatelyF11Antiqu. l. 3. c. 10. sect. 5. : this has
been in some part imitated by the Heathens: the Egyptians, who ascribe the
invention of the fruits of the earth, particularly wheat and barley, to Isis
and Osiris, in memory of it, and as a testimony of their gratitude for it, at
the time of harvest, bring an handful of the first ears of corn, and beating
themselves near them, call upon Isis; and in some cities, at the feast of Isis,
vessels of wheat and barley were carried about in great pomp, as Diodorus
SiculusF12Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 13. relates.
Leviticus 23:11. 11 He shall wave the sheaf
before the Lord,
to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall
wave it.
YLT 11then he hath waved the sheaf before Jehovah
for your acceptance; on the morrow of the sabbath doth the priest wave it.
And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord,.... Or the
omer of barley; this was done by the priest in the tabernacle and temple, where
was the presence of God, and that before the handful of it was put upon the
altar; which agitation or waving was, as Gersom says, towards the cast; it was
moved to and fro, backwards and forwards, upwards and downwards, to make an
acknowledgment to the Lord of heaven and earth, that the fruits of the earth
and the plentiful harvest were of him, and to give him the praise and glory of
it:
to be accepted for you; of the Lord, as a
thanksgiving to him, for the harvest now ripe, and the appointed time of it,
and the plenty thereof; and that the remainder might be sanctified and blessed
to them, and they have leave to gather it in, which they had not till this was
done:
on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it; not after the
seventh day, but after the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, which
was a sabbath, in which no servile work was to be done, Leviticus 23:7; and
so the Targum of Jonathan calls it the day after the first good day of the
passover, which was the sixteenth of Nisan, as Josephus expressly says, in the
place above referred to; and so it is generally understood by Jewish writersF13Jarchi
& Ben Gersom in loc. Jarchi in Misn. Succah, c. 3. sect. 12. the account
given of this affair is this; the messengers of the sanhedrim went out (from
Jerusalem over the brook Kidron to the fields near it) on the evening of the
feast, (i.e. at the going out of the fifteenth) and at the beginning of the
sixteenth of Nisan, and bound the standing corn in bundles, that so it might be
the more easily reaped; and all the neighbouring cities gathered together
there, that it might be reaped in great pomp; and when it was dark, one said to
them, is the sun set? they said, yes. With this sickle (shall I reap?) they
said, yes. In this basket (shall I put it?) they said, yes. If on a sabbath
day, he said to them, On this sabbath day (shall I do it?) they said, yesF14Misn.
Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3, 4. . These questions were put and answered three
times; then they reaped it and put it into the baskets, and brought it to the
court, where they parched it before the fire, to fulfil the commandment of
parched corn; then they put it in mills for grinding beans, and took out of it
a tenth part (of an ephah), which was sifted with eighteen sieves; then oil and
frankincense were poured upon it, being mixed; and it was waved, and brought,
and a handful taken and burnt, and the rest was eaten by the priests; and when
they had offered the omer, they went out and found the streets of Jerusalem
full of meal and parched cornF15Ib. sect. 4, 5. , there being now
full liberty to reap what they would: now this sheaf of the firstfruits was
typical of Christ; it being of barley, may denote the mean estate of Christ in
his humiliation; and but one sheaf for all the people, may signify that Christ
is the one Mediator, Saviour, and Redeemer: yet as a sheaf comprehends many
stalks and grains, so Christ has a complication of blessings in him; yea, he
had all his people representatively in him, when he was offered for the whole
body of his mystical Israel, all the children of God scattered abroad; the
manner of reaping it, by persons deputed by the sanhedrim on the eve of a festival
of the passover, in the sight of much people, without Jerusalem, near Kidron,
exactly agrees with the apprehending of Christ in the night near Kidron, by
persons sent from the Jewish sanhedrim, and his suffering publicly without the
gates of Jerusalem; it being brought to the priests in the court, and threshed,
winnowed, dried, and parched by the fire, and ground in mills, may denote the
various dolorous sufferings of Christ, by means of the priests and elders of
the people; and oil and frankincense being put on it, may denote the
acceptableness of his sacrifice to God; and the waving of it, his resurrection
from the dead, which was on the very day this sheaf was waved; who is the
firstfruits of them that sleep in him, and which sanctifies the whole body of
them, and ensures their resurrection unto eternal life; see 1 Corinthians 15:20.
Leviticus 23:12. 12 And
you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first
year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord.
YLT 12`And ye have prepared in the day of your
waving the sheaf a lamb, a perfect one, a son of a year, for a burnt-offering
to Jehovah,
And ye shall offer that day, when ye wave the sheaf,.... Besides
the daily sacrifice of the morning and evening, and the additional offerings
made on everyone of the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread:
an he lamb without blemish of the first year, for a burnt offering
unto the Lord; typical of the perfect and immaculate Lamb of God, whose
sufferings are fitly signified by a burnt offering; and which were endured at
the time he became the firstfruits of his people, and sanctified them.
Leviticus 23:13. 13 Its
grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour
mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a sweet
aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.
YLT 13and its present two tenth deals of flour
mixed with oil, a fire-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance, and its drink-offering,
wine, a fourth of the hin.
And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of
fine flour mingled with oil,.... The usual measure of flour to a meat
offering was one tenth deal, Exodus 29:40; but
here it is doubled: some Jewish writers sayF16Chaskuni. one tenth
was on account of the lamb that was offered at this time, and the other as was
suitable for a meat offering; but the true reason seems to be, because it was
on account of the fruits of the earth and the plenty thereof; and therefore a
double measure of fine flour mixed with oil was required as a token of
gratitude; for thankfulness ought to be in proportion to mercies:
an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour; an handful of
it was burnt upon the altar, and was received with acceptance by the Lord, and
the rest was eaten by the priests, Leviticus 2:2,
and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth
part of an hin; which was the common quantity for a drink offering, Exodus 29:40; for,
as Jarchi observes, though the meat offering was doubled, the drink offering
was not; the reason of which seems to be, because these offerings were on
account of the harvest and not the vintage: the Targum of Jonathan calls it
wine of grapes, to distinguish it from wine that might be made of other things,
but not to be used in drink offerings, only the pure juice of the grape.
Leviticus 23:14. 14 You
shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day
that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute
forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
YLT 14`And bread and roasted corn and full ears ye
do not eat until this self-same day, until your bringing in the offering of
your God -- a statute age-during to your generations, in all your dwellings.
And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears,.... That is,
they were not allowed to make bread of the new corn, as Aben Ezra and Gersom
explain it; for they were obliged to eat unleavened bread at this time: but it
might not be made of the new corn, until the above offering was made; nay, they
were not allowed to parch any of the grains of corn, and eat them; yea, even
they might not pluck and eat the green ears, though of ever so small a
quantity. The Jews sayF17Maimon. Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, c. 10.
sect. 2,3. , if it was the quantity of an olive of either of these, a man was
to be beaten for it:
until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your
God; which includes all the offerings on this account, the offering
of the firstfruits, the offering of the he lamb, and the meat offering and the
drink offering; until these were offered up, the new corn might not be eaten in
any form:
it shall be a statute for
ever throughout your generations; until the Messiah came,
who is the substance of these shadows:
in all your dwellings; not at Jerusalem only,
but in the several parts of the land of Canaan; yea, as Ben Gersom says,
whether in the land, or without the land; a later writer says, it is forbidden
to eat of the new corn at this time, whether bread, parched corn, or green
ears, until the beginning of the night of the eighteenth of Nisan, and in the
land of Israel, until the beginning of the night of the seventeenth of NisanF18Schulchan
Aruch, par. 1. c. 489. sect. 10. so Lebush, c. 489. sect. 10. .
Leviticus 23:15. 15 ‘And
you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day
that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be
completed.
YLT 15`And ye have numbered to you from the morrow
of the sabbath, from the day of your bringing in the sheaf of the
wave-offering: they are seven perfect sabbaths;
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath,.... Not the
seventh day sabbath in the passover week, nor the whole feast of unleavened
bread, but the first day of it, which was an holy convocation, a sabbath in
which no servile work was to be done, Leviticus 23:7; and
it was from the day after this, even the sixteenth of Nisan, that the following
count was to be made; so the Targum of Jonathan, after the first feast day of
the passover: and JosephusF19Antiqu. l. 3. c. 10. sect. 6. is very
clear in it, that Pentecost, or the feast of weeks, was the fiftieth day from
the sixteenth of Nisan, when the above offerings were made:
from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; which plainly
points out the express day from whence the count was to begin, even on the day
when the sheaf of the firstfruits of the barley harvest was offered:
seven sabbaths shall be complete; or seven weeks, that is,
forty nine days; and hence, Jarchi says, we learn that the count began from the
evening, or otherwise the weeks would not be complete; and Gersom thinks the
day in which the sheaf was offered is included in the days counted; for the
count began from the day after the first of the passover, and lo, seven days
are seven weeks of days, which make forty nine days.
Leviticus 23:16. 16 Count
fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new
grain offering to the Lord.
YLT 16unto the morrow of the seventh sabbath ye do
number fifty days, and ye have brought near a new present to Jehovah;
Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath,.... Or weeks,
forty nine days being counted, the following was the fiftieth day, or
Pentecost:
shall ye number fifty days; from whence this feast
had the name of Pentecost, Acts 2:1; all in
Israel were obliged to number those days, except women and servantsF20Maimon.
Hilchot Tamidin Umusaphim, c. 7. sect. 24. : the manner of doing it was thisF21Schulchan
Aruch, par. 1. c. 489. sect. 1. & Lebush, ut supra, (c. 489.) sect. 1. ; on
the night of the second (day of the passover), after the evening prayer, they
began to number; but if anyone forgot to number at the beginning of the night,
he went and numbered all the night; for the commandment is for everyone to
number by himself, and he ought to number standing, and to bless first, and
number the days and weeks: How? on the first day he says, This is one day,
until he comes to seven days, and then he says, This is the seventh day, which
is one week; and on the eighth day he says, This is the eighth day, which is
one week and one day, and so till he comes to the fourteenth; then he says,
This is the fourteenth day, which make two weeks; and in this way he numbers,
and goes on until the forty ninth day: and ye shall offer a new meat offering
unto the Lord; that is, of new corn, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi
explain it, and this was of wheat; for it was the offering for the wheat
harvest, which was offered on the fiftieth day from the offering of the sheaf
or omer of the barley harvest.
Leviticus 23:17. 17 You
shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an
ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They
are the firstfruits to the Lord.
YLT 17out of your dwellings ye bring in bread of a
wave-offering, two [loaves], of two tenth deals of flour they are, [with] yeast
they are baken, first-[fruits] to Jehovah.
And ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two
tenth deals,.... Out of their habitations in the land of Canaan; and not out
of those without the land, as Jarchi observes; and not out of all of them, as
Ben Gersom remarks; though the Vulgate Latin version has it, out of
"all" of our habitations, but wrongly; and indeed out of no one
particular habitation, because it was at the public expense; but they were
brought from some part of the country or another, even the quantity of two
tenth parts of an ephah, or two omers of wheat flour made into two loaves,
which were to be, and were waved before the Lord, and hence so called; and are
the same with the new meat offering, or rather bread offering, made of the new
corn, in the preceding verse, so Jarchi:
they shall be of fine flour; of wheat flour, the
finest of it, of which all meat or bread offerings were made; and this was
particularly on account of the wheat harvest, and therefore it was proper that
the finest of the wheat should be used on this occasion; See Gill on Leviticus 2:1; each
loaf or cake, according to MaimonidesF23Hilchot Tamidin, &c. c.
8. sect. 10. , was seven hands' breadths long, four hands' breadths broad, and
four fingers high:
they shall be baked with leaven; the common meat offering
was unleavened, part of which was burnt on the altar, where no leaven might be
burnt, Leviticus 2:4; and
from hence it may be concluded that no part of these loaves was to be burnt,
but the whole of them fell to the share of the priests:
they are the
firstfruits unto the Lord; which he claimed as his, and gave unto his
priests; and it was but right and just he should have them, as an
acknowledgment of all coming from his hands, and as expressive of gratitude for
them, and for the sanctification of the rest; hence this is called the feast of
the firstfruits of wheat harvest, Exodus 34:22.
Leviticus 23:18. 18 And
you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish,
one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their
grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet
aroma to the Lord.
YLT 18`And ye have brought near, besides the bread,
seven lambs, perfect ones, sons of a year, and one bullock, a son of the herd,
and two rams; they are a burnt-offering to Jehovah, with their present and
their libations, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.
And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish,
of the first year,.... That is, with the two wave loaves, the
meat or bread offering: and besides these:
and one young bullock, and two rams; in Numbers 28:27 it is
two young bullocks, and one ram; and Aben Ezra suggests, that this was at the
will and option of the priest, whether one bullock and two rams, or two
bullocks and one ram; but according to MaimonidesF24Ut supra,
(Hilchot Tamidin, &c. c. 8.) sect. 1. , these sacrifices were distinct from
them; they are sacrifices of the day, as being a feast day, and these belonged
to the loaves; so that according to him, and so he expresses it, there were to
be offered on this day, besides the daily sacrifices, three bullocks, three
rams, and fourteen lambs, twenty beasts in all, for burnt offerings; and two
goats for sin offerings to be eaten, and two lambs for peace offerings to be
eaten; and with this account agrees JosephusF25Antiqu. l. 3. c. 10.
sect. 6. , they sacrifice for burnt offerings, he says, three bullocks, and two
rams, (or, as Dr. Bernard thinks, it should be read three rams,) and fourteen
lambs, and two goats for sin offerings:
they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat
offering, and their drink offering; each of the said beasts
were offered, unto the Lord on the altar of burnt offering, and burnt thereon;
and to every beast they offered, there was a meat offering and a drink
offering: the meat offering consisted of three tenth deals, or omers, of fine
flour, to a bullock, two to a ram, and one to a lamb; and the drink offering
was half an hin of wine to a bullock, the third part of one to a ram, and a
fourth part to a lamb, as Jarchi observes, which appears from Numbers 28:12,
even an offering
made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord; an acceptable burnt
offering to God.
Leviticus 23:19. 19 Then
you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs
of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering.
YLT 19`And ye have prepared one kid of the goats
for a sin-offering, and two lambs, sons of a year, for a sacrifice of
peace-offerings,
Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering,.... Which was
for the sin of the whole congregation, typical of Christ, whose soul was made
an offering for sin; in virtue of which all other sacrifices become acceptable
to God, and believers enjoy the fruits and blessings of divine grace:
and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings; which Gersom
says were the most holy things, and were only slain in the north, and only
eaten by males, as the rest of the holy things, and are the only peace
offerings of the congregation that were offered throughout the whole year.
Leviticus 23:20. 20 The
priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave
offering before the Lord,
with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the
priest.
YLT 20and the priest hath waved them, besides the
bread of the first-[fruits] -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, besides the two
lambs; they are holy to Jehovah for the priest;
And the priests shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits,.... The two
loaves called the two wave loaves, Leviticus 23:17;
with which were waved the two lambs of the peace offerings; and these alive, as
Jarchi and Ben Gersom intimate. The Jewish doctorsF26In Torat
Cohenim, apud Yalkut in loc. dispute, whether, in waving, the lambs were put
above the bread, or the bread above the lambs; which some reconcile by
observing, that the bread was put by the side of the lambs:
for a wave offering before
the Lord; being waved this way and that way, upwards and downwards, and
towards the several quarters of the world, showing that the fruits of the earth
were owing to the providential goodness of God everywhere:
with the two lambs; not that all the above sacrifices were
waved, or any part of them, along with the lambs, but the wave loaves, and they
were waved together, as one wave offering to the Lord:
they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests; both the
loaves and the lambs, these were separated and devoted wholly to the Lord, and
to be eaten by his priests; the peace offerings of a single person were light holy
things, as Jarchi says; but the peace offerings of the congregation, as these
were, are the most holy things, and so to be eaten only by the priests, and by
the males only, in the court of the tabernacle.
Leviticus 23:21. 21 And you shall proclaim on
the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no
customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your
dwellings throughout your generations.
YLT 21and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day:
a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in
all your dwellings, to your generations.
And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be
an holy convocation unto you,.... This proclamation was made by the
priests with the sound of a trumpet, that the people might observe that this
fiftieth day, or day of Pentecost, was devoted to sacred service, and that they
were called to holy exercises in it:
ye shall do no servile work therein; what was not
necessary for food, as Ben Gersom observes, but what was necessary on that
account, as kindling a fire, &c. might be done, see Leviticus 23:7; for
this was to be kept in like manner as the first and seventh days of the feast
of unleavened bread; the general design of which was to express thankfulness
for the appointed weeks of the harvest, and to honour the Lord with the
firstfruits of the increase of the earth: and the Jews say, as Ben Gersom
observes, that this fiftieth day, being reckoned from the sixteenth of Nisan,
fell upon the sixth of Sivan, on which day, they say, the law was given, which
is another reason for the observance of it: and it is remarkable, that on this
same day the Word of the Lord went out of Zion, and the law or doctrine of the
Lord, even the everlasting Gospel, went out of Jerusalem, published by the
apostles of Christ to the people of all nations, Acts 2:14; when
they were favoured with the firstfruits of the Spirit, after our Lord's
ascension to heaven, and receiving gifts for men, which he now in an extraordinary
manner bestowed on his disciples, Acts 2:1; and which
were the firstfruits of all others, after to be given forth in the course of
time, and of the effusion of the Spirit in the latter day; and when there was a
number of souls converted, as the firstfruits of after conversions among Jews
and Gentiles, Acts 2:41; and
particularly of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, and of the
harvest of souls in the end of the world, Matthew 13:30,
it shall be a statute for
ever all your dwellings throughout your generations; so long as
they dwelt in the land of Canaan, and had their harvest in it, even until the
Messiah came, in whom all those types and figures had their accomplishment.
Leviticus 23:22. 22 ‘When
you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of
your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest.
You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’”
YLT 22`And in your reaping the harvest of your land
thou dost not complete the corner of thy field in thy reaping, and the gleaning
of thy harvest thou dost not gather, to the poor and to the sojourner thou dost
leave them; I Jehovah [am] your God.'
And when ye reap the harvest of your land,.... This law
is repeated from Leviticus 19:9; and
as Aben Ezra observes, the feast of weeks being the feast of the firstfruits of
the wheat harvest, it is repeated, that they might not forget what God had
commanded them to do at that time, namely, to leave somewhat for the poor; and
the Jewish writersF1In Torat Cohenim, apud Yalkut in loc. &
Jarchi. observe, that this law, being put among the solemn feasts of the
passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, and the beginning of the year, and the
day of atonement, teaches, that he that observes it, and leaves the corner of
the field and the gleanings to the poor, it is as if he built the sanctuary,
and offered his sacrifices in the midst of it; but a much better reason may be
given for it, which was, to teach them that when they expressed their
thankfulness to God, they should exercise charity and liberality to the poor:
thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field
when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: See Gill on Leviticus 19:9,
thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am
the Lord your God; See Gill on Leviticus 19:10.
Leviticus 23:23. 23 Then
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT 23And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time, in
a continued discourse, concerning some other days, which were to be observed in
a sacred manner:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 23:24. 24 “Speak
to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day
of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, a holy convocation.
YLT 24`Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In
the seventh month, on the first of the month, ye have a sabbath, a memorial of
shouting, a holy convocation;
Speak unto the children of Israel,.... For all the people
of Israel were concerned in the following precept, and obliged to observe it,
even priests, Levites, Israelites, proselytes, and freed servants; though other
servants, and women, and children, were not obliged to hear the sound of the
trumpetsF2Maimon. Hilchot Shophar ve Succah, c. 2. sect. 1. , and
which were blown not in Jerusalem only, but in all cities and towns where the
sanhedrim wasF3Ibid. sect. 8. ; and it was the hearing of them the
people were bound unto, and not less than nine distinct soundings were they
obliged to hearF4Ib. ch. 3. sect. 1. Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. No.
590. sect. 1. ; to which perhaps respect is had in Psalm 89:15,
in the seventh month; the month Tisri, as the
Targum of Jonathan, which was the seventh from the month Nisan or Abib; which
was appointed the first month of the year, on account of the Israelites coming
out of Egypt in it; otherwise, before, this month Tisri was the first, and so
it still continued, for the fixing the years, and settling the sabbatical and
jubilee years, and for the planting of trees and herbsF5Misn.
Roshhashanah, c. 1. sect. 1. :
in the first day of the month shall ye have a sabbath; not entirely
as the weekly sabbath, in which no manner of work at all was to be done, but in
which no servile work was to be done; and was observed in like manner as the
first and seventh days of unleavened bread, and the day of pentecost, Leviticus 23:7,
a memorial of blowing of trumpets; which, according to the
Jewish writers, was continued from sun rising to sun settingF6Schulchan
Aruch, par. 1. c. 588. sect. 1. Lebush, par. 2. c. 588. sect. 1. ; but what
this blowing of trumpets was a memorial of is not easy to say; some think it
was in memory of the wars the people of Israel had with their enemies the
Amalekites and Canaanites, and the victories they obtained over them, and
particularly in remembrance of the walls of Jericho falling down at the sound
of rams' horns; but then it must be by anticipation: it is more commonly
received with the JewsF7R. Alphes, par. 1. fol. 346. 2. & Jarchi
in loc. that it was on the account of the binding of Isaac on this day, being
delivered through a ram being sacrificed in his stead; and on this account it
is said, that the trumpets blown on this day were made of rams horns, and no
other might be usedF8; yea, that ram's head was used to be eaten on
this day, in remembrance of the ram of Isaac, and also to intimate that the
Jews would be the head and not the tailF9Schulchan Aruch, ib. c.
583. sect. 2. Lebush, ib. 583. sect. 2. : the Jews also say, that this day,
every year, was a sort of day of judgment, in which God sat and judged men, and
also determined all events of the following yearF11Misn.
Roshhashanah, c. 1. sect. 2. T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 16. 2. ; and this was
attended with blowing of trumpets, to strike a terror into them, and put them
in mind of the judgment of God, and to induce them to repent of their sinsF12Leo
Modena's History of Rites of the present Jews, par. 3. c. 5. sect. 7. : and it
may be observed, that the resurrection of the dead, in order to the last
general judgment, will be attended with the voice of the archangel and the
trumpet of God, 1 Corinthians 15:52;
whether this is so represented in reference to this notion, let it be
considered: but as this was New Year's Day, as before observed, this ceremony
seems to have been appointed to express joy for all the mercies and blessings
of the last year; and the rather, at this time of the year all the fruits of
the earth were gathered in, not only the barley and the wheat, but the oil and
wine, and under such grateful acknowledgment, to expect the divine blessing to
attend them the following year; and besides, at this time of the year, it was
generally thought by the JewsF13T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 10. 2. ,
and by others, that the world was created, and this blowing of trumpets might
be in memory of that, and as an emblem of the shoutings of the sons of God, the
angels, the morning stars, who sang for joy when the foundations of the earth
were laid, Job 38:6; to which
it may be added, this seventh month was very memorable for holy solemnities, as
the day of atonement on the tenth, and the feast of tabernacles, which began on
the fifteenth, and therefore was ushered in with blowing of trumpets to make it
the more significant, and particularly to put the people in mind to prepare for
the day of atonement near at hand; and so Gersom observes, that as the sound of
a trumpet strikes men with fear, the design of this precept was, to fill the
mind with fear, and to excite to repentance and brokenness of heart, and
humiliation for sin, and to search their works and actions, and correct what
was amiss, and so be ready for the day of atonement: hence Ainsworth thinks,
that this was a figure of the ministry of John the Baptist preaching the
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; but rather it seems to be an
emblem of the Gospel, and the ministry of it, in the acceptable year of the
Lord, or the Gospel dispensation, which is sometimes signified by the blowing
of the great trumpet, and by the ministers of it lifting up their voice like a
trumpet, Isaiah 27:13; by
which sinners are roused and awakened to a sense of their sin and danger, and
to hear a joyful sound of love, grace, mercy, peace, pardon, righteousness, and
salvation through Christ: the Jews sayF14Targum Jon. in Numb. xxix.
1. R. Alphes, par. 1, fol. 346. 2. T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 16. 2. , this
blowing of trumpets was to disturb Satan, when he came to accuse the
Israelites; it is certain there is nothing gives him more disturbance than the
pure and powerful preaching of the Gospel, which he endeavours to obstruct as
much as possible, and there is nothing like what that brings to silence his
accusations, see 2 Corinthians 4:3,
an holy convocation; on which the people were
called together to holy exercises; and so the Jews observe it to this day; for
after they return home from attendance to the blowing of the trumpets in their
synagogues, they sit down to meat, and spend the rest of the day in hearing
sermons, and in other religious exercisesF15.
Leviticus 23:25. 25 You
shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made
by fire to the Lord.’”
YLT 25ye do no servile work, and ye have brought
near a fire-offering to Jehovah.'
Ye shall do no servile work therein,.... Only such
as was necessary for dressing food, but not any manual work, such as servants
were employed in on other days, as agriculture or any mechanic business:
but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; a burnt
offering, and what that was may be seen in Numbers 29:1.
Leviticus 23:26. 26 And
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying:
YLT 26And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... This phrase, which
is a kind of preface to each precept, seems to be used to distinguish one from
another, as the preceding one from the feast of Pentecost; and here, the day of
atonement from that of the blowing of the trumpets; and afterwards, the feast
of tabernacles from the day of atonement; the reason why it is not used before
the feast of Pentecost seems to be, because, as Aben Ezra observes, that
depended upon the wave sheaf, and was reckoned from it:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 23:27. 27 “Also
the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of
Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your
souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.
YLT 27`Only -- on the tenth of this seventh month
is a day of atonements; ye have a holy convocation, and ye have humbled
yourselves, and have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah;
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month,.... Tisri,
the same as before, answering to part of our September, and part of October:
there shall be a day of
atonement; for all the sins of the year past; see Leviticus 16:29,
it shall be an holy convocation unto you: when they
should be called together for the exercise of holy duties:
and ye shall afflict your souls; their souls, by
repentance, contrition, and humiliation for sin, and their bodies by fasting;
and, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"by abstaining from eating
and drinking, and the advantage of bathing and wiping, and the use of the bed
and sandals;'hence called the fast, Acts 27:9; See Gill
on Leviticus 16:29,
and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; a burnt
offering, of which see Numbers 29:8.
Leviticus 23:28. 28 And
you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement,
to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.
YLT 28and ye do no work in this self-same day, for
it is a day of atonements, to make atonement for you, before Jehovah your God.
Ye shall do no work in that same day,.... No more
than on the weekly sabbath:
for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the
Lord your God: See Gill on Leviticus 16:30;
Aben Ezra's note is,"for you only,'that is, for the Israelites, and not
the Gentiles; but the atonement of Christ, the antitype of this, was not for
the sins of the Jews only, but for the sins of the whole world, of all his
people in it, 1 John 2:2.
Leviticus 23:29. 29 For
any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut
off from his people.
YLT 29`For any person who is not humbled in this
self-same day hath even been cut off from his people;
For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in
that same day,.... That is, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem explain
it, which can fast and does not fast; for a sick person, and a child under nine
years of age, were not obliged to fast on this dayF16Maimon. Hilchot
Shebitat Ashur, c. 2. sect. 8,10. :
he shall be cut off from among his people; by an
untimely death, by the hand of God; the Targum of Jonathan says, by the
pestilence.
Leviticus 23:30. 30 And
any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from
among his people.
YLT 30and any person who doth any work in this
self-same day I have even destroyed that person from the midst of his people;
And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same
day,.... Any sort of work whatever; for, as before observed, it was
to be kept as strictly as the weekly sabbath:
the same soul will I destroy from among his people; with the
pestilence, as the above Targum; it seems to be but another phrase for cutting
them off, and to signify the same thing.
Leviticus 23:31. 31 You shall do no manner of
work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all
your dwellings.
YLT 31ye do no work -- a statute age-during to your
generations in all your dwellings.
Ye shall do no manner of work,.... Which is repeated,
that it might be observed, and to show how strictly God required this day
should be kept, and how careful men should be of breaking the command in this
respect, and how much he should resent it if they did:
it shall be a statute for
ever, throughout your generations, in all your dwellings; unto the
coming of the Messiah, who, by the atoning sacrifice of himself, would answer
to this law, and put an end to it.
Leviticus 23:32. 32 It
shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict
your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to
evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”
YLT 32It [is] a sabbath of rest to you, and ye have
humbled yourselves in the ninth of the month at even; from evening till evening
ye do keep your sabbath.'
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,.... See Gill
on Leviticus 16:31;
and this is thought by someF17R. Alphes, par. 1. Yom Hacippurim, c.
1. fol. 357. 2. to be the sabbath spoken of in Isaiah 58:13,
and ye shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the
month at even; the fast was to begin at the close of the ninth day, and to
continue to the end of the tenth; so MaimonidesF18Ut supra, (Maimon.
Hilchot Shebitat Asher) c. 1. sect. 6. : he begins to fast and afflict himself
at the evening of the ninth next to the tenth; and so at the going out of it he
continues in his affliction a little while of the night of the eleventh, next
to the tenth, which is confirmed by what follows:
from even unto even shall ye celebrate your sabbath; which some
understand of the sabbath in general; but it seems to have a particular respect
to the sabbath of the day of atonement, which was to last from the evening of
the ninth to the evening of the tenth day.
Leviticus 23:33. 33 Then
the Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT 33And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Concerning the feast
of tabernacles here repeated and enlarged upon:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 23:34.
34 “Speak
to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall
be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord.
YLT 34`Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In
the fifteenth day of this seventh month [is] a feast of booths seven days to
Jehovah;
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,.... Giving
them directions about keeping a feast, in which the whole body of them had a
very special and particular concern:
the fifteenth day of this seventh month; the month
Tisri or September:
shall be the feast of
tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord; the design of which was,
partly to give thanks for the fruits of the earth, now all gathered in, Leviticus 23:39;
but chiefly to commemorate the dwelling of the children of Israel in tents and
booths, during their forty years' abode in the wilderness, Leviticus 23:43;
whereby their posterity in later times would be led to observe the difference
between them and their forefathers, who lived in tents or booths, pitched
sometimes in one place, and sometimes in another, in the open fields, in
wastes, and deserts; whereas they dwelt in spacious cities, fortified towns,
and magnificent houses; and were possessed of various kingdoms and nations, as
was the land of Canaan: the reason, the Jews sayF19Buxtorf. Synagog.
Jud. c. 21. p. 447. , why this feast was kept at this time of the year and not
at the season when they went out of Egypt and first dwelt in booths, as at
Succoth which had its name from thence, Exodus 12:37, was
this; because then the summer season began when men commonly used to build
tabernacles to shelter them from the heat of the sun, wherefore, if the feast
had been kept at that time, it would not have been known that it was kept at
the command of God, and in remembrance of the above circumstance; but the month
Tisri or September being usually a cold and rainy season in those parts, men
were wont to leave their tabernacles and go into their houses; and so it was a
plain case that the feast was observed not for convenience or through custom,
but that it was at the command of God they went out of their houses into
tabernacles at this season of the year, in commemoration of the miraculous
benefit of dwelling in tents under the clouds of glory: and they also say, that
for this reason it was ordered to begin on the fifteenth day, because it was on
the fifteenth day of the month (though of another month) they went out of
Egypt, and the clouds began to protect and accompany them; and this was enjoined
them seven days, to teach them that the miraculous benefits of God are always
and every day to be remembered: the Jews have a whole treatise in their Misnah,
called "Succah", the "booth" or "tabernacle"; in
which they give an account of the form and fabric and measure of their
tabernacles, and of their dwelling and dining in them; and of the branches they
carry in their hands, and of the manner of carrying and shaking them; and of
the pouring out of water at this time, and of their piping and singing and
other rites and ceremonies attending this feast; See Gill on John 7:2; besides,
the uses of this feast before mentioned, it was typical of spiritual and
evangelical things, and especially of the incarnation of Christ, whose human
nature is the true tabernacle, in distinction from those typical ones, and in
which he is expressly said to "tabernacle" among us, John 1:14; and it
is highly probable that his incarnation or birth was at the time of this feast;
at which time the temple of Solomon, a type of Christ's body, was also
dedicated; and this season of the year suits better than that in which it is
usually placed; and his baptism and the time of his death show it; see Luke 1:1; and as
Christ, our passover, was sacrificed for us at the exact time of the passover,
and the firstfruits of the Spirit were given on the very day of Pentecost, or
feast of firstfruits; so it is most likely, that Christ was born, or first
began to tabernacle in human nature at the feast of tabernacles, which we, in
Gospel times, are to keep, by believing in the incarnate Saviour, and by
attending to the Gospel ordinances he has appointed, to commemorate the
benefits of his incarnation, sufferings, and death, Zechariah 14:16;
moreover, the dwelling of the children of Israel in booths in the wilderness,
and so at this feast in commemoration of it, may be an emblem of the
tabernacles of the saints in their present wilderness state: this world,
through which they are passing, is like a wilderness to them; their bodies are
called tabernacles, which are pitched for a while; and their state and
condition here is that of sojourners, pilgrims, and travellers; yea, these
tents and tabernacles may be figures of the several particular churches of
Christ, in the present state of things, which are set up for a while for the
convenience, comfort, refreshment, and joy of the spiritual Israel of God; see Psalm 46:4.
Leviticus 23:35. 35 On
the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no
customary work on it.
YLT 35on the first day [is] a holy convocation, ye
do no servile work,
On the first day shall be an holy convocation,.... When they
should be called together to holy exercises, to prayer, praising, and reading
the law; and at this present time they observe this day, by rising early in the
morning and going to the synagogue, where they sing and pray much; and everyone
takes a bundle of branches of palm tree, olive, &c. in the right hand, and
a pome citron in the left, and says, blessed be thou, O Lord our God, the Lord
of the world, who has sanctified us by thy precepts, and hath commanded us to
carry the palm tree bundle; then they shake it, and give a great shout,
according to Psalm 96:12; all
which they frequently repeat on this day, as well as bring out the book of the
law, attended with various ceremonies, and read some passages in itF20Buxtorf.
ut supra. (Synagog. Jud. c. 21. p. 447.) :
ye shall do no servile work therein; as on the
first and seventh days of unleavened bread, the day of Pentecost, and of the
blowing of trumpets; but what was necessary for preparing and dressing food
might be done.
Leviticus 23:36. 36 For seven days you shall
offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you
shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to
the Lord.
It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on
it.
YLT 36seven days ye bring near a fire-offering to
Jehovah, on the eighth day ye have a holy convocation, and ye have brought near
a fire-offering to Jehovah; it [is] a restraint, ye do no servile work.
Seven days ye shall offer an offering made, by fire unto the Lord,.... A burnt
offering; what this was, and how many were offered on each day, see at large in
Numbers 29:13,
on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; as on the
first day; See Gill on Leviticus 23:35,
and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; which was
different from that on all the other days, being one bullock only, &c. Numbers 29:35,
it is a solemn assembly; of all the people, when
they were gathered together before the Lord. Some render the word used a
"restraint" or "detention", and interpret it of restraining
or detaining them from servile work, as in the next clause; so Aben Ezra and
Gersom; but this sense seems to make that clause unnecessary and is never used
elsewhere where that is:
ye shall do no servile work therein; as on the
first day; See Gill on Leviticus 23:35.
Leviticus 23:37. 37 ‘These
are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to
be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt
offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on
its day—
YLT 37`These [are] appointed seasons of Jehovah,
which ye proclaim holy convocations, to bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah,
a burnt-offering, and a present, a sacrifice, and libations, a thing of a day
in its day,
These are the feasts of the Lord,.... Besides
the sabbath, as Gersom observes; even the passover, the seven days of
unleavened bread the day of Pentecost, the day of blowing the trumpets, the day
of atonement, and the seven days of the feast of tabernacles:
which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations: as they had
been directed, Leviticus 23:2,
to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; which is
explained by
a burnt offering, and a meat offering, which went
along with it:
a sacrifice, which the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call the sacrifice of
holy things; according to Gersom it was the sacrifice of the peace offerings;
but rather it seems to be the sacrifice of the sin offering, which was ordered
along with the rest in all those feasts:
and drink offerings; which also accompanied
the meat offerings:
everything upon his day; there being different
sacrifices on one day than on another, everyone was to be offered peculiar to
the day as was ordered; of which see Numbers 28:29.
Leviticus 23:38. 38 besides
the Sabbaths of the Lord,
besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill
offerings which you give to the Lord.
YLT 38apart from the sabbaths of Jehovah, and apart
from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your
willing-offerings, which ye give to Jehovah.
Beside the sabbaths of the Lord,.... The seventh day
sabbaths, which were of his appointing, and sacred to his service and worship;
on which, when any of the feasts fell, it did not hinder the observance of
them, or the offering of the several sacrifices on them; nor were those of the
sabbath to be omitted on the account of them:
and beside your gifts; either of the whole
congregation, or of a private person, which they thought well to give of their
own good will on these festivals, over and above the sacrifices enjoined:
and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings,
which ye give unto the Lord; which seem to explain what is meant before
by gifts.
Leviticus 23:39. 39 ‘Also
on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit
of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for
seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and
on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.
YLT 39`Only -- in the fifteenth day of the seventh
month, in your gathering the increase of the land, ye do keep the feast of
Jehovah seven days; on the first day [is] a sabbath, and on the eighth day a
sabbath;
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month,.... The month
Tisri or September, the same month, and the same day of the month before
observed; only another end and use of this feast is remarked, which was to give
thanks for the fruits of the earth gathered in, as follows:
when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land; the barley,
wheat, oil and wine, and all others, this being now autumn, when the several
fruits were ripe and gathered: ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days;
not different from that before mentioned, but the same, one design of which is
here suggested, to give thanks for the fruits of the earth: hence this feast is
sometimes called the feast of ingathering, Exodus 23:16; as
another use of it is after mentioned, to commemorate the children of Israel dwelling
in booths in the wilderness:
on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall
be a sabbath; because on both there was a cessation from servile work, Leviticus 23:35.
Leviticus 23:40. 40 And
you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees,
branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook;
and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
YLT 40and ye have taken to yourselves on the first
day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and boughs of thick trees,
and willows of a brook, and have rejoiced before Jehovah your God seven days.
And ye shall take you the boughs of goodly trees,.... Which the
three Targums interpret, of citrons; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; and the Jews
are so tenacious of observing this, that in those countries where this fruit
grows not, they will send for it from Spain, where there is plenty of it: the
Targum of Jonathan, paraphrases it, "ye shall take of yours";
suggesting these boughs must be their own, or the bundle of them, with others
they call the "lulab", must be their own property, and not another's;
though it is saidF21Misn. Succah, c. 3. sect. 13. & Maimon.
& Bartenora in ib. R. Alphes, par. 1. Succah, c. 2. fol. 376. 1. , if it is
a gift it will do, even though it is given on condition to be returned again:
branches of palm trees: which were very common
in the land of Judea, and especially about Jericho; see John 12:13; the
Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call them "lulabs", which is the
name the Jews give to the whole bundle they carried in their hands on this day:
and the boughs of thick trees; which the Targums and
Jewish writers in general understand of myrtles, being full of branches and
leaves:
and willows of the brook; a sort of trees which
delight to grow by brooks and rills of water: these, according to the Jewish
writers, were not taken to make their booths of, though that seems to be the
use of them, from Nehemiah 8:15; but
to tie up in bundles, and carry in hands; the citron in their left hand, and a
bundle made of the other three sorts of boughs of trees in the right hand,
which they called the "lulab":
and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days; because of
the blessings of his goodness bestowed upon them in the plentiful harvest and
vintage they had been favoured with, and in remembrance of past mercies, showed
to their fathers in the wilderness, giving them food and drink, and guiding and
protecting them with the pillar of cloud and fire; and at the same time, also,
thankful for the different circumstances they were in, having cities, towns,
and houses to dwell its, and fields and vineyards to possess, when their
fathers lived in a wilderness for forty years together; and especially such of
them expressed their joy before the Lord, who had any knowledge of this being a
type of the Messiah tabernacling in human nature, they had the promise of, to
be their spiritual Redeemer and Saviour: these seven days are kept by the Jews
now, chiefly in carnal mirth, and so for ages past, as by carrying the above
boughs in their hands, and going round about the altar with them, and, shaking
them, and crying Hosanna, and by making use of all sorts of music, vocal and
instrumental, piping, dancing, leaping, skipping, and various gestures, even by
persons of the highest rank, and of the greatest character for sobrietyF23Maimon.
Hilchot Lulab. c. 7. sect. 10. c. 13, & c. 8. sect. 12, 13, 14, 15. ; and
particularly by fetching water from Siloah, when in their own land, and pouring
it with wine upon the altar, which was attended with such expressions of joy,
that it is said, that he who never saw the rejoicing of drawing of water, never
saw any rejoicing in his lifeF24Misn. Succah, c. 5. sect. 1. 4. :
the Jews give this reason of the ceremony, because at this feast was the time
of the rains, see Targum of Jonathan on Leviticus 23:36;
and therefore the holy blessed God said, pour water before me, that the rains
of the year may be blessed unto youF25R. Alphes, par. 1.
Roshhashanah, c. 1. fol. 346. 2. ; but others have thought there was something
more mysterious in it, and that it had respect to the pouring out of the Holy
Ghost; for, they sayF26T. Hieros. Succah, fol. 55. 1. , the place of
drawing water was so called, because they drew the Holy Ghost, as it is said,
"ye shall draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation", Isaiah 12:3; to
this our Lord is thought to allude; see Gill on John 7:37, John 7:38, some of
the ceremonies used at this feast have been imitated by the Heathens: StraboF1Geograph.
l. 10. p. 322. says, the carrying branches of trees, dances, and sacrifices,
were common to the gods, and particularly to Bacchus; and there was such a
likeness between these and the rites of Bacchus, that PlutarchF2Sympos.
l. 1. prob. 3. thought the Jews at this time kept two feasts to the honour of
him; whereas, as Bishop Patrick observes, the profane Bacchanalia of the
Gentiles were only a corruption of this festival.
Leviticus 23:41. 41 You shall keep it as a
feast to the Lord
for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your
generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
YLT 41`And ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah,
seven days in a year -- a statute age-during to your generations; in the
seventh month ye keep it a feast.
And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year,.... Every
year it was to be kept for the space of seven days, beginning on the fifteenth
and ending on the twenty second of the month Tisri or September:
it shall be a statute for
ever in your generations; until the Messiah should come and tabernacle among men, the
substance of this shadow, on whose coming it was to flee away:
ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month; which is
repeated for the confirmation of it, and that no mistake might be made.
Leviticus 23:42. 42 You
shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell
in booths,
YLT 42`In booths ye dwell seven days; all who are
natives in Israel dwell in booths,
Ye shall dwell in booths seven days,.... So that it seems
they were not obliged to dwell in them on the eighth day, which was an holy
convocation, a sabbath in which no servile work was to be done as the first, Leviticus 23:36.
The eighth day was a day by itself, a sort of an appendage to the feast of
tabernacles, when they went into their houses again, and kept it as an holy
day; and perhaps principally in giving thanks for the ingathering of the fruits
of the earth, to which this seems to be appropriated from Leviticus 23:39.
According to the Jewish writers, they did not go out of their booths until they
had dined in them on this day; and as they went out used to say,"may it be
the will of God that we may be worthy the next year to dwell in the booth of
LeviathanF3Lebush, par. 2. c. 668. sect. 5. ;'that is, to feast with
the Messiah in the world to come. And to those days the Jews have added a
ninth, which they call "the joy of the law", and which they keep for
joy of having finished the reading of the law; which being divided into as many
sections or lessons as weeks in the year, were so ordered to be read as to be
finished at this timeF4Buxtorf. Synagog. Jud. c. 27. Leo Moden's
History of the Rites of the Jews, par. 3. c. 7. sect. 6. :
all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths; the Targum of
Jonathan is,"all the males in Israel, and even the little ones, that do
not need their mothers, sit in the shades blessing their Creator, when they
enter there.'And, according to the MisnahF5Misn. Succah, c. 2. sect.
6. , women, servants, and little ones, are free from the booths (i.e. are not
obliged to dwelt in one), but a little one, who hath no need of its mother, is
obliged to dwell in the booths: and elsewhere it is said, that sick persons,
and such as wait upon them, are not obliged, nor messengers upon any business,
nor travellers and watchmen in cities, and keepers of gardens and orchards; if
such travel, or keep watch in the day, they are obliged to be in them at night,
and if in the night, then they are to dwell in them in the dayF6R.
Alphes, par. 1. Succah, c. 2. fol. 374. 2. 375. 1. . Jarchi says, that everyone
born in Israel comprehends proselytes, who were bound by this law.
Leviticus 23:43. 43 that
your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths
when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”
YLT 43so that your generations do know that in
booths I caused the sons of Israel to dwell; in my bringing them out of the
land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, [am] your God.'
That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel
to dwell in booths,.... Which by the providence of God the Israelites were obliged
to make for themselves to dwell in:
when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; for the very
first place they came to, when they departed from thence, was called Succoth,
from the booths they there built:
I am the Lord your God; who brought them out of
Egypt, made them to dwell in booths in the wilderness, and enjoined them the
observance of the feast of tabernacles in memory of it, in which he expected to
be obeyed.
Leviticus 23:44. 44 So
Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
YLT 44And Moses speaketh [concerning] the appointed
seasons of Jehovah unto the sons of Israel.
And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the
Lord. The several feasts before recited, the order of them, the manner
of observing them, and the time.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》