CHAPTER 19
. A REPETITION OF
SUNDRY LAWS.
2. Speak unto all the congregation
of the children of Israel—Many of the laws enumerated in this
chapter had been previously announced. As they were, however, of a
general application, not suited to particular classes, but to the
nation at large, so Moses seems, according to divine instructions, to
have rehearsed them, perhaps on different occasions and to successive
divisions of the people, till "all the congregation of the
children of Israel" were taught to know them. The will of God in
the Old as well as the New Testament Church was not locked up in the
repositories of an unknown tongue, but communicated plainly and
openly to the people.
Ye shall be holy: for I . . .
am holy—Separated from the world, the people of God were
required to be holy, for His character, His laws, and service were
holy. (See 1 Peter 1:15).
3. Ye shall fear every man his
mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths—The duty of
obedience to parents is placed in connection with the proper
observance of the Sabbaths, both of them lying at the foundation of
practical religion.
5-8. if ye offer a sacrifice of
peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own
will—Those which included thank offerings, or offerings made
for vows, were always freewill offerings. Except the portions which,
being waved and heaved, became the property of the priests (see ), the rest of the victim was eaten by the offerer and his
friend, under the following regulations, however, that, if thank
offerings, they were to be eaten on the day of their presentation;
and if a freewill offering, although it might be eaten on the second
day, yet if any remained of it till the third day, it was to be
burnt, or deep criminality was incurred by the person who then
ventured to partake of it. The reason of this strict prohibition
seems to have been to prevent any mysterious virtue being
superstitiously attached to meat offered on the altar.
9, 10. And when ye reap the harvest
of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field—The
right of the poor in Israel to glean after reapers, as well as to the
unreaped corners of the field, was secured by a positive statute; and
this, in addition to other enactments connected with the ceremonial
law, formed a beneficial provision for their support. At the same
time, proprietors were not obliged to admit them into the field until
the grain had been carried off the field; and they seem also to have
been left at liberty to choose the poor whom they deemed the most
deserving or needful (Ruth 2:2;
Ruth 2:8). This was the earliest
law for the benefit of the poor that we read of in the code of any
people; and it combined in admirable union the obligation of a public
duty with the exercise of private and voluntary benevolence at a time
when the hearts of the rich would be strongly inclined to liberality.
11-16. Ye shall not steal—A
variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, chiefly in
reference to common and little-thought-of vices to which mankind are
exceedingly prone; such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling
to violate truth in transactions of business, ridiculing bodily
infirmities, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others. In
opposition to these bad habits, a spirit of humanity and brotherly
kindness is strongly enforced.
17. thou shalt in any wise rebuke
thy neighbour—Instead of cherishing latent feelings of malice
or meditating purposes of revenge against a person who has committed
an insult or injury against them, God's people were taught to
remonstrate with the offender and endeavor, by calm and kindly
reason, to bring him to a sense of his fault.
not suffer sin upon
him—literally, "that ye may not participate in his sin."
18. thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself—The word "neighbour" is used as synonymous
with "fellow creature." The Israelites in a later age
restricted its meaning as applicable only to their own countrymen.
This narrow interpretation was refuted by our Lord in a beautiful
parable (Luke 10:30-37).
19. Thou shalt not let thy cattle
gender with a diverse kind—This prohibition was probably
intended to discourage a practice which seemed to infringe upon the
economy which God has established in the animal kingdom.
thou shalt not sow thy field
with mingled seed—This also was directed against an idolatrous
practice, namely, that of the ancient Zabians, or fire-worshippers,
who sowed different seeds, accompanying the act with magical rites
and invocations; and commentators have generally thought the design
of this and the preceding law was to put an end to the unnatural
lusts and foolish superstitions which were prevalent among the
heathen. But the reason of the prohibition was probably deeper: for
those who have studied the diseases of land and vegetables tell us,
that the practice of mingling seeds is injurious both to flowers and
to grains. "If the various genera of the natural order Gramineæ,
which includes the grains and the grasses, should be sown in the same
field, and flower at the same time, so that the pollen of the two
flowers mix, a spurious seed will be the consequence, called by the
farmers chess. It is always inferior and unlike either of the
two grains that produced it, in size, flavor, and nutritious
principles. Independently of contributing to disease the soil, they
never fail to produce the same in animals and men that feed on them"
[WHITLAW].
neither shall a garment
mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee—Although this
precept, like the other two with which it is associated, was in all
probability designed to root out some superstition, it seems to have
had a further meaning. The law, it is to be observed, did not
prohibit the Israelites wearing many different kinds of cloths
together, but only the two specified; and the observations and
researches of modern science have proved that "wool, when
combined with linen, increases its power of passing off the
electricity from the body. In hot climates, it brings on malignant
fevers and exhausts the strength; and when passing off from the body,
it meets with the heated air, inflames and excoriates like a blister"
[WHITLAW]. (See Ezekiel 44:17;
Ezekiel 44:18).
23-25. ye shall count the fruit
thereof as uncircumcised; three years . . . it shall not be eaten
of—"The wisdom of this law is very striking. Every
gardener will teach us not to let fruit trees bear in their earliest
years, but to pluck off the blossoms: and for this reason, that they
will thus thrive the better, and bear more abundantly afterwards. The
very expression, 'to regard them as uncircumcised,' suggests the
propriety of pinching them off; I do not say cutting them off,
because it is generally the hand, and not a knife, that is employed
in this operation" [MICHAELIS].
26. shall not eat any thing with the
blood—(See on Leviticus 19:1).
neither . . . use
enchantment, nor observe times—The former refers to divination
by serpents—one of the earliest forms of enchantment, and the other
means the observation, literally, of clouds, as a study of the
appearance and motion of clouds was a common way of foretelling good
or bad fortune. Such absurd but deep-rooted superstitions often put a
stop to the prosecution of serious and important transactions, but
they were forbidden especially as implying a want of faith in the
being, or of reliance on the providence of God.
27. Ye shall not round the corners
of your heads, c.—It seems probable that this fashion had been
learned by the Israelites in Egypt, for the ancient Egyptians had
their dark locks cropped short or shaved with great nicety, so that
what remained on the crown appeared in the form of a circle
surrounding the head, while the beard was dressed into a square form.
This kind of coiffure had a highly idolatrous meaning and it was
adopted, with some slight variations, by almost all idolaters in
ancient times. (Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 9:26;
Jeremiah 25:23, where "in the
utmost corners" means having the corners of their hair cut.)
Frequently a lock or tuft of hair was left on the hinder part of the
head, the rest being cut round in the form of a ring, as the Turks,
Chinese, and Hindus do at the present day.
neither shalt thou mar,
&c.—The Egyptians used to cut or shave off their whiskers, as
may be seen in the coffins of mummies, and the representations of
divinities on the monuments. But the Hebrews, in order to separate
them from the neighboring nations, or perhaps to put a stop to some
existing superstition, were forbidden to imitate this practice. It
may appear surprising that Moses should condescend to such minutiæ
as that of regulating the fashion of the hair and the beard—matters
which do not usually occupy the attention of a legislator—and which
appear widely remote from the province either of government or of a
religion. A strong presumption, therefore, arises that he had in mind
by these regulations to combat some superstitious practices of the
Egyptians.
28. Ye shall not make any cuttings
in your flesh for the dead—The practice of making deep gashes
on the face and arms and legs, in time of bereavement, was universal
among the heathen, and it was deemed a becoming mark of respect for
the dead, as well as a sort of propitiatory offering to the deities
who presided over death and the grave. The Jews learned this custom
in Egypt, and though weaned from it, relapsed in a later and
degenerate age into this old superstition (Isaiah 15:2;
Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5).
nor print any marks upon
you—by tattooing, imprinting figures of flowers, leaves,
stars, and other fanciful devices on various parts of their person.
The impression was made sometimes by means of a hot iron, sometimes
by ink or paint, as is done by the Arab females of the present day
and the different castes of the Hindus. It is probable that a strong
propensity to adopt such marks in honor of some idol gave occasion to
the prohibition in this verse; and they were wisely forbidden, for
they were signs of apostasy; and, when once made, they were
insuperable obstacles to a return. (See allusions to the practice,
Isaiah 44:5; Revelation 13:17;
Revelation 14:1).
30. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and
reverence my sanctuary—This precept is frequently repeated
along with the prohibition of idolatrous practices, and here it
stands closely connected with the superstitions forbidden in the
previous verses.
31. Regard not them that have
familiar spirits—The Hebrew word, rendered "familiar
spirit," signifies the belly, and sometimes a leathern bottle,
from its similarity to the belly. It was applied in the sense of this
passage to ventriloquists, who pretended to have communication with
the invisible world. The Hebrews were strictly forbidden to consult
them as the vain but high pretensions of those impostors were
derogatory to the honor of God and subversive of their covenant
relations with Him as His people.
neither seek after
wizards—fortunetellers, who pretended, as the Hebrew
word indicates, to prognosticate by palmistry (or an inspection of
the lines of the hand) the future fate of those who applied to them.
33, 34. if a stranger sojourn with
thee in your land, ye shall not vex him—The Israelites were to
hold out encouragement to strangers to settle among them, that they
might be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God; and
with this in view, they were enjoined to treat them not as aliens,
but as friends, on the ground that they themselves, who were
strangers in Egypt, were at first kindly and hospitably received in
that country.
37. I am the Lord—This solemn
admonition, by which these various precepts are repeatedly
sanctioned, is equivalent to "I, your Creator—your Deliverer
from bondage, and your Sovereign, who have wisdom to establish laws,
have power also to punish the violation of them." It was well
fitted to impress the minds of the Israelites with a sense of their
duty and God's claims to obedience.
CHAPTER 19
. A REPETITION OF SUNDRY LAWS.
2. Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel—Many of the laws enumerated in this chapter had been previously announced. As they were, however, of a general application, not suited to particular classes, but to the nation at large, so Moses seems, according to divine instructions, to have rehearsed them, perhaps on different occasions and to successive divisions of the people, till "all the congregation of the children of Israel" were taught to know them. The will of God in the Old as well as the New Testament Church was not locked up in the repositories of an unknown tongue, but communicated plainly and openly to the people.
Ye shall be holy: for I . . . am holy—Separated from the world, the people of God were required to be holy, for His character, His laws, and service were holy. (See 1 Peter 1:15).
3. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths—The duty of obedience to parents is placed in connection with the proper observance of the Sabbaths, both of them lying at the foundation of practical religion.
5-8. if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will—Those which included thank offerings, or offerings made for vows, were always freewill offerings. Except the portions which, being waved and heaved, became the property of the priests (see ), the rest of the victim was eaten by the offerer and his friend, under the following regulations, however, that, if thank offerings, they were to be eaten on the day of their presentation; and if a freewill offering, although it might be eaten on the second day, yet if any remained of it till the third day, it was to be burnt, or deep criminality was incurred by the person who then ventured to partake of it. The reason of this strict prohibition seems to have been to prevent any mysterious virtue being superstitiously attached to meat offered on the altar.
9, 10. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field—The right of the poor in Israel to glean after reapers, as well as to the unreaped corners of the field, was secured by a positive statute; and this, in addition to other enactments connected with the ceremonial law, formed a beneficial provision for their support. At the same time, proprietors were not obliged to admit them into the field until the grain had been carried off the field; and they seem also to have been left at liberty to choose the poor whom they deemed the most deserving or needful (Ruth 2:2; Ruth 2:8). This was the earliest law for the benefit of the poor that we read of in the code of any people; and it combined in admirable union the obligation of a public duty with the exercise of private and voluntary benevolence at a time when the hearts of the rich would be strongly inclined to liberality.
11-16. Ye shall not steal—A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, chiefly in reference to common and little-thought-of vices to which mankind are exceedingly prone; such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling to violate truth in transactions of business, ridiculing bodily infirmities, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others. In opposition to these bad habits, a spirit of humanity and brotherly kindness is strongly enforced.
17. thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour—Instead of cherishing latent feelings of malice or meditating purposes of revenge against a person who has committed an insult or injury against them, God's people were taught to remonstrate with the offender and endeavor, by calm and kindly reason, to bring him to a sense of his fault.
not suffer sin upon him—literally, "that ye may not participate in his sin."
18. thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself—The word "neighbour" is used as synonymous with "fellow creature." The Israelites in a later age restricted its meaning as applicable only to their own countrymen. This narrow interpretation was refuted by our Lord in a beautiful parable (Luke 10:30-37).
19. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind—This prohibition was probably intended to discourage a practice which seemed to infringe upon the economy which God has established in the animal kingdom.
thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed—This also was directed against an idolatrous practice, namely, that of the ancient Zabians, or fire-worshippers, who sowed different seeds, accompanying the act with magical rites and invocations; and commentators have generally thought the design of this and the preceding law was to put an end to the unnatural lusts and foolish superstitions which were prevalent among the heathen. But the reason of the prohibition was probably deeper: for those who have studied the diseases of land and vegetables tell us, that the practice of mingling seeds is injurious both to flowers and to grains. "If the various genera of the natural order Gramineæ, which includes the grains and the grasses, should be sown in the same field, and flower at the same time, so that the pollen of the two flowers mix, a spurious seed will be the consequence, called by the farmers chess. It is always inferior and unlike either of the two grains that produced it, in size, flavor, and nutritious principles. Independently of contributing to disease the soil, they never fail to produce the same in animals and men that feed on them" [WHITLAW].
neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee—Although this precept, like the other two with which it is associated, was in all probability designed to root out some superstition, it seems to have had a further meaning. The law, it is to be observed, did not prohibit the Israelites wearing many different kinds of cloths together, but only the two specified; and the observations and researches of modern science have proved that "wool, when combined with linen, increases its power of passing off the electricity from the body. In hot climates, it brings on malignant fevers and exhausts the strength; and when passing off from the body, it meets with the heated air, inflames and excoriates like a blister" [WHITLAW]. (See Ezekiel 44:17; Ezekiel 44:18).
23-25. ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised; three years . . . it shall not be eaten of—"The wisdom of this law is very striking. Every gardener will teach us not to let fruit trees bear in their earliest years, but to pluck off the blossoms: and for this reason, that they will thus thrive the better, and bear more abundantly afterwards. The very expression, 'to regard them as uncircumcised,' suggests the propriety of pinching them off; I do not say cutting them off, because it is generally the hand, and not a knife, that is employed in this operation" [MICHAELIS].
26. shall not eat any thing with the blood—(See on Leviticus 19:1).
neither . . . use enchantment, nor observe times—The former refers to divination by serpents—one of the earliest forms of enchantment, and the other means the observation, literally, of clouds, as a study of the appearance and motion of clouds was a common way of foretelling good or bad fortune. Such absurd but deep-rooted superstitions often put a stop to the prosecution of serious and important transactions, but they were forbidden especially as implying a want of faith in the being, or of reliance on the providence of God.
27. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, c.—It seems probable that this fashion had been learned by the Israelites in Egypt, for the ancient Egyptians had their dark locks cropped short or shaved with great nicety, so that what remained on the crown appeared in the form of a circle surrounding the head, while the beard was dressed into a square form. This kind of coiffure had a highly idolatrous meaning and it was adopted, with some slight variations, by almost all idolaters in ancient times. (Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 25:23, where "in the utmost corners" means having the corners of their hair cut.) Frequently a lock or tuft of hair was left on the hinder part of the head, the rest being cut round in the form of a ring, as the Turks, Chinese, and Hindus do at the present day.
neither shalt thou mar, &c.—The Egyptians used to cut or shave off their whiskers, as may be seen in the coffins of mummies, and the representations of divinities on the monuments. But the Hebrews, in order to separate them from the neighboring nations, or perhaps to put a stop to some existing superstition, were forbidden to imitate this practice. It may appear surprising that Moses should condescend to such minutiæ as that of regulating the fashion of the hair and the beard—matters which do not usually occupy the attention of a legislator—and which appear widely remote from the province either of government or of a religion. A strong presumption, therefore, arises that he had in mind by these regulations to combat some superstitious practices of the Egyptians.
28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead—The practice of making deep gashes on the face and arms and legs, in time of bereavement, was universal among the heathen, and it was deemed a becoming mark of respect for the dead, as well as a sort of propitiatory offering to the deities who presided over death and the grave. The Jews learned this custom in Egypt, and though weaned from it, relapsed in a later and degenerate age into this old superstition (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5).
nor print any marks upon you—by tattooing, imprinting figures of flowers, leaves, stars, and other fanciful devices on various parts of their person. The impression was made sometimes by means of a hot iron, sometimes by ink or paint, as is done by the Arab females of the present day and the different castes of the Hindus. It is probable that a strong propensity to adopt such marks in honor of some idol gave occasion to the prohibition in this verse; and they were wisely forbidden, for they were signs of apostasy; and, when once made, they were insuperable obstacles to a return. (See allusions to the practice, Isaiah 44:5; Revelation 13:17; Revelation 14:1).
30. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary—This precept is frequently repeated along with the prohibition of idolatrous practices, and here it stands closely connected with the superstitions forbidden in the previous verses.
31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits—The Hebrew word, rendered "familiar spirit," signifies the belly, and sometimes a leathern bottle, from its similarity to the belly. It was applied in the sense of this passage to ventriloquists, who pretended to have communication with the invisible world. The Hebrews were strictly forbidden to consult them as the vain but high pretensions of those impostors were derogatory to the honor of God and subversive of their covenant relations with Him as His people.
neither seek after wizards—fortunetellers, who pretended, as the Hebrew word indicates, to prognosticate by palmistry (or an inspection of the lines of the hand) the future fate of those who applied to them.
33, 34. if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him—The Israelites were to hold out encouragement to strangers to settle among them, that they might be brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God; and with this in view, they were enjoined to treat them not as aliens, but as friends, on the ground that they themselves, who were strangers in Egypt, were at first kindly and hospitably received in that country.
37. I am the Lord—This solemn admonition, by which these various precepts are repeatedly sanctioned, is equivalent to "I, your Creator—your Deliverer from bondage, and your Sovereign, who have wisdom to establish laws, have power also to punish the violation of them." It was well fitted to impress the minds of the Israelites with a sense of their duty and God's claims to obedience.