XVIII. (1) AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES. — Unlike the preceding Divine communications, which treated of the ritual and ceremonial pollutions, the enactments which Moses is here commanded to communicate direct to the children of Israel, or their representatives, the elders, affect their moral life... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD. — The Lord is their recognised and sole sovereign, the children of Israel are therefore bound to obey His precepts, and not be led astray by the customs or statutes which prevailed among the people whose country they are to possess. Moreover, as He is holy, the Israelites, by... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THE DOINGS OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. — During their sojourn in Egypt the Israelites became familiar with the practices which obtained in the land of their bondage, and as they adopted some of them (see Leviticus 17:7), they are here solemnly warned to eschew those which are especially proscribed i... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL DO MY JUDGMENTS. — The expression “my judgments and mine ordinances” is here used emphatically, in opposition to “their ordinances,” and has here the force of _Mine only;_ just as the phrase “Him shalt thou serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13) is explained by Christ “Him _only_ shalt thou serve” (Matt... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL THEREFORE KEEP MY STATUTES. Better, _and ye shall keep my ordinances._ The word here rendered by “statutes” is the same which the Authorised Version translates _ordinances_ in Leviticus 18:3. HE SHALL LIVE IN THEM. — Better, _he shall live by_ or _through them;_ that is, by observing them t... [ Continue Reading ]
NONE OF YOU SHALL APPROACH. — Literally, _man, man, ye shall not approach._ It is part of the phrase used in Leviticus 17:3; Leviticus 17:8; Leviticus 17:13, and should accordingly be rendered by _no man whatsoever shall approach._ The absence of the words “of the house of Israel,” which, in the oth... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER, OR THE NAKEDNESS OF THY MOTHER. — The rendering of the Authorised Version is based upon the interpretation which obtained during the second Temple, according to which this injunction is addressed both to the daughter and the son. The daughter must not marry or have comme... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER’S WIFE. — Whilst the former prohibition refers to the son’s own mother, this law is directed against illicit commerce with his stepmother. Here we have an instance where the phrase “to uncover the nakedness” denotes both illicit commerce and incestuous marriage. According... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NAKEDNESS OF THY SISTER. — The fact that Adam married “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,” and that his sons married their own sisters, encouraged the ancient Hebrew to imitate their example. Hence we find Abraham, the father of the faithful, married his half-sister (Genesis 20:12). The sa... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NAKEDNESS OF THY SON’S DAUGHTER. From this prohibition it is inferred that a man must not marry his own daughter. If a granddaughter, who is a degree further removed from him, is proscribed, how much more his own daughter. Hence the canonical law during the second Temple deduced from this passag... [ Continue Reading ]
THY FATHER’S WIFE’S DAUGHTER. — If this clause stood alone it would denote the daughter of a man’s stepmother by another or previous husband, since “father’s wife” in Hebrew always denotes _stepmother_ (see Leviticus 18:8; Leviticus 20:11; Deuteronomy 23:1, Deut. 26:20), in which case the man and th... [ Continue Reading ]
THY FATHER’S SISTER. — According to the law which obtained in the time of Christ this prohibition not only extended to the father’s half-sisters, but even when they were begotten by the grandfather illegitimately. It is remarkable that Moses himself was the offspring of such an alliance, since his f... [ Continue Reading ]
THY MOTHER’S SISTER. — Equally forbidden is the aunt by the mother’s side. The law which obtained in the time of Christ also defines this prohibition to extend to a mother’s sister or half-sister by the same father or mother, whether born in wedlock or out of it. It is remarkable that the administra... [ Continue Reading ]
THY FATHER’S BROTHER, THOU SHALT NOT APPROACH TO HIS WIFE. — That is, according to the ancient legal interpretation, a nephew is to have no commerce with her during her husband’s lifetime, nor marry her when his uncle is dead. Those who transgressed this law had not only to bear their sin, but were... [ Continue Reading ]
THY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. — The legislators in the time of Christ defined this prohibition as applicable not only to cases where marriage between them had actually been consummated, but to cases where the maiden had only been espoused, or when the daughter-in-law had been divorced by the son, or had beco... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NAKEDNESS OF THY BROTHER’S WIFE. — Though alliance with a brother’s wife is here forbidden — the prohibition, according to the administrators of the law during the second Temple, extending to illicit commerce or marriage in case she is divorced from her husband during the lifetime of her husband... [ Continue Reading ]
A WOMAN AND HER DAUGHTER. — That is, if a man marries a widow who has a daughter by a former husband, or if he forms an alliance with a woman who has a daughter out of wedlock, he is forbidden to marry also the daughter. But though this prohibition is directed against a peculiar form of polygamy. th... [ Continue Reading ]
A WIFE TO HER SISTER. — That is, a man is here forbidden to take a second sister for a wife to or in addition to the one who is already his wife, and who is still alive. This clause therefore forbids the Jews, who were permitted to have several wives, a particular kind of polygamy, i.e., a plurality... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO THOU SHALT NOT APPROACH. — Literally, _thou shalt not approach._ The marriage laws are now followed by sexual impurities, which to some extent are suggested by the subjects that had necessarily to be discussed or hinted at in regulating the alliance in question. AS LONG AS SHE IS PUT APART. — P... [ Continue Reading ]
THY NEIGHBOUR’S WIFE. — For committing adultery, which is here branded as a defilement, whether with a betrothed or married woman, both guilty parties incurred the penalty of death by stoning. (See Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; Ezekiel 16:38; Ezekiel 16:40; John 8:5.) In Egypt the adulterer re... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOU SHALT NOT LET ANY OF THY SEED. — Literally, _And thou shalt not give any of thy seed._ Those who violate the sanctity of the marriage ties will readily sacrifice their children. Hence the prohibition to offer up their children to idols follows the law about unchastity. PASS THROUGH THE FIRE... [ Continue Reading ]
AS WITH WOMANKIND. — This was the sin of Sodom (Genesis 19:5), whence it derived its name, and in spite of the penalty of death enacted by the Law against those who were found guilty of it (see Leviticus 20:13), the Israelites did not quite relinquish this abominable vice (Judges 19:22; 1 Kings 14:2... [ Continue Reading ]
ANY BEAST. — The necessity for the prohibition of this shocking crime, for which the Mosaic law enacts the penalty of death (see Leviticus 20:15; Exodus 22:18), will appear all the more important when it is borne in mind that this degrading practice actually formed a part of the religious worship of... [ Continue Reading ]
DEFILE NOT YE YOURSELVES. — The Lawgiver who solemnly introduced these precepts by five verses of preamble at the beginning of the chapter (Leviticus 18:1), now concludes by an equally solemn appeal to God’s people sacredly to observe them in all their integrity, since the violation of them (Levitic... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAND ITSELF VOMITETH OUT HER INHABITANTS. — From the creation the earth shared in the punishment of man’s guilt (Genesis 3:17), and at the restitution of all things she is to participate in his restoration (Romans 8:19). The physical condition of the land, therefore, depends upon the moral condu... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL THEREFORE KEEP MY STATUTES. — As the perpetration of the above named abominations entailed such disastrous consequences both to the land and to its inhabitants, the strict observance of the Divine statutes is enjoined upon all alike, whether they be Israelites by race or strangers who took... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR ALL THESE ABOMINATIONS. — Though the contents of this verse are substantially the same as those in Leviticus 18:24, yet the wording is different. In the former the Israelites are exhorted not _to pollute_ themselves as the different tribes or nations have both polluted themselves and the land, w... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THE LAND SPUE NOT YOU OUT ALSO. — Better, _Lest the land vomit you out._ By unnecessarily translating the same word differently into “vomiteth” in Leviticus 18:25, and “spue” here, as is done in the Authorised Version, the striking connection between the two verses is somewhat weakened.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL COMMIT. — This clause, according to the interpretation which obtained during the second Temple, particularises every individual, and is intended to indicate that any one, whether it be male or female, who is guilty, will incur the punishment prescribed for these sins. SHALL BE C... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE SHALL YE KEEP MINE ORDINANCE. As God is no respecter of persons, and as He will assuredly visit His own people with the same punishment which He inflicted upon the former occupants of the laud, the Israelites are to take special care to keep inviolate His ordinances. COMMIT NOT ANY ONE OF... [ Continue Reading ]