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Deuteronomy Chapter
Fourteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 14
In
this chapter some cautions are given against the use of some rites and
ceremonies in mourning for the dead, with the reason thereof, Deuteronomy 14:1
and instructions about what are lawful to be eaten, and what not, whether of
beasts, fishes, or fowl, Deuteronomy 14:3,
and concerning eating one sort of tithes both at the place God should choose,
and within their own gates, Deuteronomy 14:22.
Deuteronomy 14:1 “You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of
your head for the dead.
YLT
1`Sons ye [are] to Jehovah
your God; ye do not cut yourselves, nor make baldness between your eyes for the
dead;
Ye are the children of the Lord your God,.... Some of
them were so by the special grace of adoption, and all of them by national
adoption; which was the peculiar privilege of the people of Israel, and laid
them under great obligation to honour and obey the Lord their God, who stood in
the relation of a father to them, and they of children to him, Malachi 1:6. The
Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it "beloved children"; so the apostle
calls the saints; the "dear children of God", who therefore ought to
be followers of him, Ephesians 5:1 and
for a like reason this relation is observed here, namely, to quicken a regard
to the exhortations of the Lord, his cautions, commands, laws, and ordinances,
particularly to what follows:
ye shall not cut yourselves; for the dead, as appears
from the next clause, as the Heathens did, who not only tore their garments,
but their flesh in several parts of their bodies, in their mouths, cheeks, breasts,
&c.F18Vid. Virgil. Aeneid. 12. ver. 870, 871. and Servium in
Aeneid. 1. ver. 78. and in l. 12. ; and used other extravagant signs of
mourning, which the apostle cautions against, 1 Thessalonians 4:13
and were condemned by the Heathens themselvesF19Vid. Cicero de Leg.
l. 2. c. 23. and Tusculan. Quaest. l. 3. c. 27. . Though some think this refers
to incisions the Heathens made in their flesh to the honour of their gods,
cutting the names of them therein to whom they devoted themselves; or lashing
their bodies at the worship of them, as the worshippers of Baal did when they
called upon him, 1 Kings 18:28 and
so the Jerusalem Targum,"make not marks, marks,'that is, here and there,
in many places, or bruises black and blue by striping and beating themselves,
for strange worship, or at it, in honour of their gods; but the former sense
seems best to agree with what follows; see Leviticus 19:28,
nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead; by shaving
the forepart of their head or their eyebrows, or both, which used to be done in
lamentations for the dead; see Jeremiah 16:6 if
this could be thought to have any respect to rites and ceremonies used in the
worship of dead and lifeless idols, the customs of the Egyptians might be
referred to, who are said to shave their heads and their eyebrows in their
sacred rites to IsisF20Ambros. Epist. l. 4. c. 30. p. 259. .
Deuteronomy 14:2 2 For
you are a holy people to the Lord
your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure
above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
YLT
2for a holy people [art]
thou to Jehovah thy God, and on thee hath Jehovah fixed to be to Him for a
people, a peculiar treasure, out of all the peoples who [are] on the face of
the ground.
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,.... Set apart
by him from all other people, and devoted to his worship and service, and many
of them were sanctified and made holy in a special and spiritual sense; and
therefore should not conform to the customs of Gentiles, whether in their
extravagant mourning for the dead, or in their religious services; see Deuteronomy 7:6,
and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people, above all
the nations that are upon the earth; to be his peculiar
treasure, to be his peculiar servants and worshippers, to enjoy peculiar
blessings and privileges, and behave in a peculiar manner different from all
other people; and have no connection with them, especially in things sacred;
and, in order to keep them a distinct peculiar people from all others, a
peculiar diet was appointed them, that so being prohibited to eat such things
as others did, they might be kept out of their company and conversation, and so
from being drawn into their idolatrous practices; the rules concerning which
follow; see Deuteronomy 7:6.
Deuteronomy 14:3 3 “You shall not eat any detestable thing.
YLT
3`Thou dost not eat any
abominable thing;
Thou shall not eat any abominable thing. That is so
either in its own nature, or because forbidden by the Lord; what are such are
declared in the following verses.
Deuteronomy 14:4 4 These are the animals which you may eat: the ox,
the sheep, the goat,
YLT
4`this [is] the beast which
ye do eat: ox, lamb of the sheep, or kid of the goats,
These are the beasts which they shall eat,.... That is,
which they might lawfully eat of, which were allowed for their food; for they
were not obliged to eat of them if they did not choose it:
the ox, the sheep, and the goat; which were creatures
used in sacrifice, and the only ones, yet nevertheless they might be used for
food if chosen.
Deuteronomy 14:5 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the
mountain goat,[a] the
antelope, and the mountain sheep.
YLT
5hart, and roe, and fallow
deer, and wild goat, and pygarg, and wild ox, and chamois;
The hart, the roebuck, and the fallow deer,.... All of
the deer kind, and very agreeable food; harts were very common in the land of
Canaan and parts adjacent; Aelianus saysF21Hist. Animal. l. 5. c.
56. harts are bred in the great mountains in Syria, Amanus, Lebanon, and
Carmel: the roebuck, or "dorcas", from whence a good woman had her
name, Acts 9:36 is spoken
of by MartialF23"Delicium parvo", &c. Epigram. l. 13.
93. as very delicious food, and so are fallow deer; the word
"jachmur", here used, having the signification of redness in it, may
be used for that sort which are called red deer: it is observed that in the
Arabic language it is used for an animal with two horns, living in the woods,
not unlike an hart, but swifter than that; and it is asked, is it not the
"aloe" or "elch"F24Castel. Lex. Polyglott. Col. 1. 294. ?
and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the
chamois; the wild goat is reckoned by PlinyF25Nat. Hist. l. 8.
c. 53. among the half wild creatures in Africa; according to the philosopherF26Aristot.
Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 28. there are none but in Syria, on which Canaan
bordered, and were very remarkable ones, having ears a span and nine inches
long, and some reached to the ground. The Hebrew name for this creature is
"akko"; and there is a fourfooted wild beast, by the Tartarians called
"akkyk", and by the Turks "akoim", and which with the
Scythians and Sarmatians are to be met with in flocks; it is between a hart and
a ram, its body whitish, and the flesh exceeding sweetF1Scheuchzer.
Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 415. ; it seems to be the same with the
"tragelaphus", of which there were in Arabia, as Diodorus SiculusF2Bibliothec.
l. 2. p. 134. Vid. Plin. l. 8. c. 33. says; the next is the "pygarg",
which we so render from the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, or white
buttocks, so called from the hinder part of it being white; a species of the
eagle with a white tail is called a "pygarg", but here a four footed
animal is meant; and which is mentioned as such, along with hinds, does, and
goats, by HerodotusF3Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 192. , AelianF4Hist.
Animal l. 7. c. 19. , and PlinyF5Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53. : it has
its name "dishon", in Hebrew, from its ash colour, and the
"tragelaphus", or goat deer, has part of its back ash coloured, and
has ash coloured spots or streaks on its sidesF6Calmet's Dictionary
on the word "Pygarg". : some take it to be the
"strepsiceros", a kind of buck or goat with writhed horns, which the
Africans, as Pliny saysF7Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 39. , call
"addaca", which is thought by some to be a corruption of "al-dashen",
so Junius; the Targum of Jonathan takes it for the "unicorn" or
"rhinoceros"; and the Talmudists sayF8T. Bab. Cholin, fol.
59. 2. that the unicorn, though it has but one horn, is free, i.e. lawful to be
eaten: the "wild ox" was common in Arabia; StraboF9Geograph.
l. 16. p. 530. speaks of multitudes of wild oxen in some parts of Arabia, on
the flesh of which and other animals the Arabians live; in the Septuagint
version it is called the "oryx", which is a creature that has but one
horn, and divides the hoofF11Aristot. Hist. Animal, l. 2. c. 1. ,
and so might be eaten; See Gill on Isaiah 51:20, the
last, the "chamois", has a French name, and is a creature of the goat
kind, from whose skin the chamois leather is made; in the figure of its body it
seems to approach very much to the stag kindF12Supplement to
Chambers's Dictionary on the word "Rupricapra". ; perhaps it is the
same with the "cemas" of AelianF13Hist. Animal. l. 14. c.
14. , mentioned by him along with roebucks. Some take it to be the
"tarandus", of which Pliny saysF14Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 34.
34. it is of the size of an ox, has a head bigger than a hart, and not unlike
it; its horns are branched, hoofs cloven, and is hairy like a bear. In the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan this is the "pygarg"; these several
sorts of beasts were allowed to be eaten; the three first there is no
difficulty about them, but the other seven it is hard to determine what they
are, at least some of them. Dr. ShawF15Travels, p. 418. thinks that
the deer, the antelope, the wild bear, the goat deer, the white buttocks, the
buffalo, and jeraffa, may lay in the best claim to the "ailee",
"tzebi", "yachmur", "akkub", "dishon",
"thau", and "zomer", here.
Deuteronomy 14:6 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having
the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the
animals.
YLT
6and every beast dividing
the hoof, and cleaving the cleft into two hoofs, bringing up the cud, among the
beasts -- it ye do eat.
Verses 6-8
And every beast that parted the hoof,.... In this
and the two following verses two general rules are given, by which it might be
known what beasts were fit for food and what not; one is if they parted the
hoof, and the other if they chewed the cud, such might be eaten; but such that
only chewed the cud, but did not divide the hoof, as the camel, hare, and
coney, might not be eaten; and so if they divided the hoof, and did not chew
the cud, as the swine, they were alike unlawful; See Gill on Leviticus 11:3; see
Gill on Leviticus 11:4; see
Gill on Leviticus 11:5; see
Gill on Leviticus 11:6; see
Gill on Leviticus 11:7; see
Gill on Leviticus 11:8.
Deuteronomy 14:7 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven
hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the
rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are
unclean for you.
YLT
7`Only, this ye do not eat,
of those bringing up the cud, and of those dividing the cloven hoof: the camel,
and the hare, and the rabbit, for they are bringing up the cud but the hoof
have not divided; unclean they [are] to you;
Deuteronomy 14:8 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has
cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their
flesh or touch their dead carcasses.
YLT
8and the sow, for it is
dividing the hoof, and not [bringing] up the cud, unclean it [is] to you; of
their flesh ye do not eat, and against their carcase ye do not come.
Deuteronomy 14:9 9 “These you may eat of all that are in the
waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales.
YLT
9`This ye do eat of all that
[are] in the waters; all that hath fins and scales ye do eat;
Verse 9-10
These ye shall eat of, all that are in the waters,.... The
fishes there, even such as have fins and scales, but they that have not were
not to be eaten: See Gill on Leviticus 11:9, Leviticus 11:10, Leviticus 11:11, Leviticus 11:12.
Deuteronomy 14:10 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall
not eat; it is unclean for you.
YLT
10and anything which hath not
fins and scales ye do not eat; unclean it [is] to you.
Deuteronomy 14:11 11 “All clean birds you may eat.
YLT
11`Any clean bird ye do eat;
Of all clean birds ye shall eat. Which the Targum of
Jonathan describes, everyone that has a craw, and whose crop is naked, and has
a superfluous talon, and is not rapacious; but such as are unclean are
expressed by name in the following verses, so that all except them might be
reckoned clean and fit for food. MaimonidesF16Hilchot. Maacolot
Asurot, c. 1. sect. 14. observes, that only the number of the unclean are
reckoned, so that all the rest are free.
Deuteronomy 14:12 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture,
the buzzard,
YLT
12and these [are] they of
which ye do not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Verses 12-18
But these are they of which they shall not eat,.... Jarchi
observes, that the unclean birds are particularly mentioned, to teach that the
clean sort are more than the unclean, and therefore the particulars of the
fewest are given: these are all the same names as in Leviticus 11:13,
excepting one, "the glede", Deuteronomy 14:13
which is a kind of kite or puttock; the Jerusalem Targum renders it the
vulture, and the Targum of Jonathan the white "dayetha" or vulture;
and Aristotle saysF17Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 3. there are two sorts
of vultures, the one small and whiter, the other larger and of many forms or
colours; in Hebrew its name here is "raah", and is thought to be the
same with "daah" in Leviticus 11:14
there translated the "vulture", which has its name there from flying,
and here from seeing, for which it is remarkable; see Job 28:7 and the
letters ד and ר are pretty
much alike, and are sometimes changed, but there is another here, in Deuteronomy 14:13
mentioned, the "dayah", which is not mentioned in Leviticus 11:1,
though some think it the same with the "ayah", rendered both here and
there the "kite"; perhaps it means another sort of vulture, the black
vulture, as the Targum of Jonathan.
Deuteronomy 14:13 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their
kinds;
YLT
13and the glede, and the
kite, and the vulture after its kind,
Deuteronomy 14:14 14 every raven after its kind;
YLT
14and every raven after its
kind;
Deuteronomy 14:15 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and
the hawk after their kinds;
YLT
15and the owl, and the
night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after its kind;
Deuteronomy 14:16 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl,
YLT
16the [little] owl, and the
[great] owl, and the swan,
Deuteronomy 14:17 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl,
YLT
17and the pelican, and the
gier-eagle, and the cormorant,
Deuteronomy 14:18 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe
and the bat.
YLT
18and the stork, and the
heron after its kind, and the lapwing, and the bat;
Deuteronomy 14:19 19 “Also every creeping thing that flies is unclean for
you; they shall not be eaten.
YLT
19and every teeming thing
which is flying, unclean it [is] to you; they are not eaten;
And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean,.... Which the
Targum of Jonathan thus paraphrases;"all flies and wasps (or hornets), and
worms of lentiles and of beans, which are separated from food, and fly as
birds, they are unclean;'See Gill on Leviticus 11:20;
see Gill on Leviticus 11:21.
Deuteronomy 14:20 20 “You may eat all clean birds.
YLT
20any clean fowl ye do eat.
But of all clean fowls ye may eat. Even of all fowls, but
those before excepted; Aben Ezra instances in the locust, as being a clean
fowl, that might be eaten; and so the Targum of Jonathan is"every clean
locust ye may eat;'see Leviticus 11:22.
Deuteronomy 14:21 21 “You shall not eat anything that dies of itself;
you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat
it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
YLT
21`Ye do not eat of any
carcase; to the sojourner who [is] within thy gates thou dost give it, and he
hath eaten it; or sell [it] to a stranger; for a holy people thou [art] to
Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself,.... This law
is repeated from Leviticus 17:15;
see Gill on Leviticus 17:15,
thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he
may eat it; not to the proselyte of righteousness, for he might not eat of
it any more than an Israelite, and if he did, he was obliged to wash his
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and was unclean until the evening, as in Leviticus 17:15 but
to a proselyte of the gate, who took upon him, as Jarchi observes, not to serve
idols, one that has renounced idolatry, but has not embraced the Jewish
religion; such an one might eat of things that died of themselves, or were not
killed in a proper manner. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call him an
uncircumcised stranger or proselyte, who had not submitted to circumcision, as
the proselyte of righteousness did:
or thou mayest sell it unto an alien; an idolater,
one that was neither a proselyte of righteousness nor of the gate, an entire
alien from the commonwealth of Israel; one that was occasionally in the land of
Canaan, or was travelling in it or through it, to such an one it might be sold:
for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; separated
from all others, and devoted to his service, and therefore must live on clean,
food and good meat, and not eat what others might:
thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk; this is the
third time this law is mentioned; refer to the notes; see Gill on Exodus 23:19; see
Gill on Exodus 34:26; the
reason of which repetition, the Jewish writers sayF19Maimon. &
Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 2. sect. 9. , is, that it is once said to
forbid the eating it, a second time to forbid any use of it or profit by it,
and a third time to forbid the boiling of it.
Deuteronomy 14:22 22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain
that the field produces year by year.
YLT
22`Thou dost certainly tithe
all the increase of thy seed which the field is bringing forth year by year;
Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed,.... This was
a different tithe from that which was made and given to the Levites, and out of
which a tithe was taken and given to the priests, and which they only ate of;
but this, as appears by the following verse, was what the owners themselves ate
of, and so the tithing was left to be made by them themselves, and which they
were to be sure to make, and to make it truly and faithfully:
that the field bringeth forth year by year; being
ploughed and sowed yearly, the produce of it was to be tithed yearly; the
Jewish writersF20Ib. in Misn. Maaserot, c. 1. sect. 1. observe on
this, that it must be what the earth produces, and is fit for food: and it must
be thy seed, which is especially thine, and is not common, but has an owner,
and this excludes mushrooms, &c. which thou sowest not, and therefore
cannot be called thy seed.
Deuteronomy 14:23 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the
tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your
herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
YLT
23and thou hast eaten before
Jehovah thy God, in the place where He doth choose to cause His name to
tabernacle, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the
firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flock, so that thou dost learn to fear
Jehovah thy God all the days.
And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he
shall choose to place his name there,.... See Deuteronomy 12:5
there the tithe of all the fruits of the earth was to be eaten; this is the
second tithe, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi, and which is more
particularly described as follows:
the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil: see Deuteronomy 12:7,
and the firstlings of thine herds, and of thy flocks; of which see
the note on the above place:
that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always; which such a
constant practice would inure unto; see Deuteronomy 10:12.
Deuteronomy 14:24 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you
are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you,
YLT
24`And when the way is too
much for thee, that thou art not able to carry it -- when the place is too far
off from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, when
Jehovah thy God doth bless thee; --
And if the way be too long for thee,.... The way from the
place where any Israelite might live:
to carry it; the tithe and the firstlings, it would be too expensive or too
troublesome in any way that could be devised:
or if the place shall be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God
shall choose to set his name there; which by the event
appeared to be the city of Jerusalem, and this from some parts of the land of
Canaan was very distant:
when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; with a large
increase of the fruits of the earth, and of flocks and herds.
Deuteronomy 14:25 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the
money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
YLT
25then thou hast given [it]
in money, and hast bound up the money in thy hand, and gone unto the place on
which Jehovah thy God doth fix;
Thou shalt then turn it into money,.... The tithe, which
would be lighter and easier carriage:
and bind up the money in thine hand; put it into a bag or
purse, and tie it up and carry it in the hand; which some think was ordered,
that it might not be mixed with other money; but it seems only to have respect
to journeying, and making it fit for that. The Jewish writersF21Bartenora
in Misn. Beracot, c. 7. sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Maaser Sheni,
c. 11. sect. 2. & in Misn. Sabbat, c. 18. sect. 1. , some of them, give a
different sense of the word we render "bind up", and interpret it of
marking the silver, or impressing a form, figure, or image on it with the hand;
they mean that it must be coined money; so MaimonidesF23In Misn.
Maaser Sheni, c. 11. sect. 2. , they may not profane the sacred tithe with
money not coined, nor with money not current, nor with money which is not in a
man's power; for it is said:
in thine hand; which the man is possessed of and is his
own property:
and shalt go unto the place which the Lord that God shall choose; carrying the
money along with him, for which he sold the tithe.
Deuteronomy 14:26 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart
desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart
desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God,
and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
YLT
26and thou hast given the
money for any thing which thy soul desireth, for oxen, and for sheep, and for
wine, and for strong drink, and for any thing which thy soul asketh, and thou
hast eaten there before Jehovah thy God, and thou hast rejoiced, thou and thy
house.
And thou shall bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth
after,.... He might buy what provision he would with it, what he best
liked, and was most agreeable to his appetite:
for oxen, or for sheep; he might purchase beef
or mutton, or any other sort of meat that could be got, and was lawful to be
eaten, as before directed:
or for wine, or for strong drink; to drink with his food,
whether wine or any other liquor; the Targum of Jonathan is, wine new or old,
which he chose; but the latter, strong drink, Aben Ezra says, was a liquor made
of honey and of dates, of wheat and of barley:
or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; whether eatable or
drinkable:
and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God; he having put
his name in that place; and dwelling there, as the Lord did in the temple of
Jerusalem:
and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household; eat their
food with cheerfulness and gladness, making a feast of it and keeping it as
such, he and his whole family, his wife and children, or as many as were with
him; and all males were obliged to appear at the three grand yearly festivals,
and it was at one of these this was to be done.
Deuteronomy 14:27 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within
your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
YLT
27As to the Levite who [is]
within thy gates, thou dost not forsake him, for he hath no portion and
inheritance with thee.
And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake
him,.... As not from giving him the first tithe, as Jarchi remarks,
so he was not to forget him in this; he was not to leave him behind, but take
him with him to partake of this entertainment:
for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee in the land: see Deuteronomy 12:12.
Deuteronomy 14:28 28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring
out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your
gates.
YLT
28`At the end of three years
thou dost bring out all the tithe of thine increase in that year, and hast
placed [it] within thy gates;
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of
thine increase the same year,.... This, according to Aben Ezra, was a
third tithe, and did not excuse the second tithe; so says:"I gave the
third tithe to the repair of the temple,' (Tobit 1:7)as in one copy,
but, according to another, to the stranger, fatherless, and widow, which better
agrees with what follows; but the Jewish writers generally understand this as
the same with the second tithe, which on the two first years from the
sabbatical year was carried to Jerusalem, or money in lieu of it, with which
provisions were bought and eaten there, but on the third year were eaten in
their own cities with the poor, and in the stead of the other; so says
MaimonidesF24Hilchot Mattanot. Anayim, c. 6. sect. 4. , on the third
and sixth years from the sabbatical year, after they have separated the first
tithe they separate from what remains another tithe, and give it to the poor,
and it is called the poor's tithe, and not on those two years is the second
tithe, but the poor's tithe, as it is said, "at the end of three
years", &c. and still more expressly elsewhereF25In Maaser
Sheni, c. 1. sect. 1. ; after they have separated the first tithe every year,
they separate the second tithe, Deuteronomy 14:22
and on the third and sixth years they separate the poor's tithe instead of the
second; and this was done, not at the latter end of the third year, but, as
Aben Ezra interprets it, at the beginning; for the word used signifies an
extremity, and the beginning of the year is one extremity of it as well as the
latter end of it:
and lay it up within thy gates; not to be hoarded up, or
to be sold at a proper time, but to be disposed and made use of as follows.
Deuteronomy 14:29 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor
inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are
within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
YLT
29and come in hath the Levite
(for he hath no part and inheritance with thee), and the sojourner, and the
fatherless, and the widow, who [are] within thy gates, and they have eaten, and
been satisfied, so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy
hand which thou dost.
And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,.... Shall
come and take the first tithe, according to Jarchi; but though this he was to
do, yet is not what is intended here, but he was to partake of the second
tithe, or what was in the room of it, the poor's tithe, with whom he is here
joined:
and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within
thy gates, shall come; and take the second tithe, as the above writer rightly
interprets it, and which he says is the poor's of this year; see Deuteronomy 12:12,
and shall eat and be satisfied; make a plentiful meal,
eat freely as at a feast; and, as the same writer observes, they were not
obliged to eat it at Jerusalem, according to the way they were bound to eat the
second tithe of the two years, that is, the two preceding this:
that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand
which thou doest; as might be expected, when his commands, and particularly those
respecting the tithes and firstlings, were obeyed.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)