_When ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance_ The land was first divided by lot under Joshua, a particular share of which was to be God's portion, as an acknowledgment of his sovereign dominion: see Leviticus 25:23. It is therefore here called תרומה, _an oblation._ The word properly signifi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length,_ &c. If we understand these dimensions of _cubits_, it exactly agrees with the opinion of the Jews, that the temple stood in an area of five hundred cubits square. _And fifty cubits for the suburbs_ This likewise bears a suitable prop... [ Continue Reading ]
_And ye shall appoint the possession of the city, five thousand broad, &c., over against_ (or by the side of, see Eze 48:14) _the oblation of the holy portion_ This must run parallel in length with the holy portion, though but half its breadth, by which means these three portions made an exact squar... [ Continue Reading ]
_And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side_, &c. One-half of the prince's portion was to lie on the west side of the three portions laid out for the priests and sanctuary, the Levites and city; and the other half to be on the east side of it, and to run parallel to them in breadth from n... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let it suffice, O ye princes of Israel_ This is a reproof of the oppressions of the former kings and their chief officers. The title of _princes of Israel_ is to be understood of such princes as the Jews afterward had of the Asmonæan race; for there were no more princes to reign of the tribe of Jud... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the oblation_, &c. The Hebrew word here translated _oblation_, distinguished from the _first-fruits_, (see note on Ezekiel 45:1,) signifies the portion belonging to the Levites out of the fruits of the earth, when they were gathered in: see Ezekiel 44:30. For which reason St. Jerome, upon t... [ Continue Reading ]
_In the first month, &c., thou shalt take a young bullock_ These words are directed to the prince, who is commanded, on the first day of the new year, (which, according to the ecclesiastical computation, began with the month _Nisan_, and answers to our 10th of March: see Exodus 12:2,) to provide a b... [ Continue Reading ]
_In the seventh month_ According to their ecclesiastical account, which is _Tisri_, and answers to part of our August and September. _In the fifteenth day, &c., shall he do the like_ Namely, the prince. On that day the feast of tabernacles began, and continued seven days. Here we see the deficiency... [ Continue Reading ]