1_And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons. _By this solemn appeal God stirs up the priests to devote themselves to their duty with the greatest fidelity and zeal, for He declares that if anything should be done contrary to the requirements of religion, they should be accounted guilty of it,... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And thy brethren also. _He here assigns their duties to the Levites, that they also may minister, but, as it were, under the hand of the priests, viz., that they may be ruled by their commands. Thus the authority was in the hands of the priests, but the Levites afforded them their assistance. On... [ Continue Reading ]
5._And ye shall keep the charge. _He again exhorts the priests to be diligent in the performance of their office, with the addition of a denunciation of punishment if they failed in zeal and earnestness. Nor does He now threaten them alone, but the whole people; neither does this contradict the fore... [ Continue Reading ]
8._And the Lord spake unto Aaron. _He now proceeds to state more fully what he had been lately adverting to, as to the rights of the priests with respect to the sacred oblations. We must, however, remember the contrast, which I spoke of, between the priests of the higher order and the Levites; for,... [ Continue Reading ]
9._This shall be thine. _He enumerates certain kinds of sacrifices which He desired to come to the share of the priests; viz., all the residue of the burnt-offerings; _secondly, _the _minha, _or meat-offering; _thirdly, _what was consecrated of the sin and trespass-offerings; although the following... [ Continue Reading ]
15._Every thing that openeth the matrix. _The same thing is now ordained as to the first-born, viz., that the priests should have them also for themselves; though at the same time a distinction is inserted, that the first-born of man should be redeemed. With regard to unclean beasts, the owners were... [ Continue Reading ]
20_And the Lord spake unto Aaron. _This passage only refers in general to the payment of those tithes which were common to all the Levites. We shall soon afterwards see that the Levites, by God’s command, paid other tithes to the priest; and a third sort will be added, which were only offered every... [ Continue Reading ]
22._Neither must the children of Israel. _He again inculcates what he had before said, that the Levites were chosen to attend to the sacred things; since God would not admit all the people promiscuously, as before the giving of the Law, when others also offered the sacrifices. But, nevertheless, He... [ Continue Reading ]
25._And the Lord spake unto Moses. _This is another kind of tithe, _i.e., _a hundredth part of the whole produce, which the Levites paid to the priests. Some reckon a third kind; but I have given my reasons why I do not agree with this opinion. Assuredly it is not probable that in the same year doub... [ Continue Reading ]
31._And ye shall eat it. _Because the tithes were reckoned to be amongst the sacred oblations, a question might arise, whether it was lawful to eat them anywhere except in the sanctuary. God therefore declares, that when the Levites had separated the δευυτεροδεκάτας (the second tithes,) the residue... [ Continue Reading ]