Leviticus 19:1-37. A Miscellany of Laws, Moral and Ceremonial The fragmentary character of this ch. is apparent on a first reading. The ch. thus affords ample ground for the conclusion that it is composite, although it may be impossible to trace with certainty the process of compilation. The comman... [ Continue Reading ]
_his mother, and his father_ The command in the Decalogue is to -honour," here to -fear," or act reverently towards parents. The mother is put first, as in Leviticus 21:2. This order probably indicates diversity of origin. But Rashi, on the authority of the Midrashic commentary, _Mechilta_, on Exodu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Turn ye not unto_ As in Leviticus 19:31 (A.V. -Regard not"), and Leviticus 20:6. _idols ("ělîlîm) things of nought_R.V. mg. See reference there. The Heb. word occurs only here and Leviticus 26:1 in Pentateuch; a word of uncertain etymology, possibly suggesting the idea of gods from its sound (simi... [ Continue Reading ]
See introd. note to ch.... [ Continue Reading ]
_it is an abomination_ As in Leviticus 7:18. See note there. The precepts in Leviticus 19:9 set forth the duty of each man towards his neighbour, especially towards the poor, and such as are in need of protection.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Leviticus 23:22. The law of gleaning: a portion of the produce of the soil is to be left for the poor. A similar law is found in Deuteronomy 24:19-21. The word translated - _the fallen fruit_" (-every grape," A.V.) occurs only here in O.T., but is of common occurrence in Mishnaic Heb. to denote... [ Continue Reading ]
Precepts analogous to those in the Decalogue and expressed in 2nd pers. plur. (except the last).... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Deuteronomy 24:14-15; Malachi 3:5; James 5:4. Precepts expressed in 2nd pers. sing. against unjust dealing, and taking advantage of a neighbour's infirmities. Though the deaf cannot hear, the curse must not be uttered, and the helpless condition of the blind calls for protection and the removal... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement_ Cp. Leviticus 19:35.... [ Continue Reading ]
Against unrighteousness in judgement, and slander. Cp. Exodus 23:1-3; Exodus 23:6-7; Deuteronomy 1:17; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:19; Psalms 82:2; Proverbs 24:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a talebearer_ Cp. Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 20:19. Jewish teachers frequently insist on the heinousness of slander. See Otho, _Lex. Rabb. s.v. Calumnia_, and note the rendering of Targ. Jon., -Thou shalt not go after the slanderous (lit. triple) tongue." The epithet -triple" implies that slander aff... [ Continue Reading ]
Against hatred and vengeance; instead of cherishing hatred, rebuke thy neighbour (i.e. point out his fault), and persist in so doing (thou shalt _surely_), e.g. as in the case mentioned in Matthew 18:15 f.; in so doing thou wilt not -bear sin because of him." The command to love thy neighbour as thy... [ Continue Reading ]
Prohibition of improper mixtures. Apparently the precept was based upon the view that each individual, animate or inanimate, had individual qualities assigned by the Creator, and that to mix them was therefore directed against God's ordinance, and as such involved impurity. Cp. Deuteronomy 22:5; Deu... [ Continue Reading ]
Miscellaneous precepts in reference to the various circumstances of every-day life.... [ Continue Reading ]
Inasmuch as the woman here referred to, though betrothed to a husband, is still a slave, it is no ordinary case of adultery, which is punishable by death (Leviticus 20:10), and so the penalty is to be less severe, but is nevertheless demanded, on the ground that she is the husband's property. _bond... [ Continue Reading ]
See introd. note to ch.... [ Continue Reading ]
The fruit tree in its first three years is to be regarded as a male infant during his first eight days (Dillm.), i.e. as unconsecrated. Probably the object was to allow the tree time to become accustomed to the soil, and so to postpone the enjoyment of the fruit till both quantity and quality had ha... [ Continue Reading ]
_with the blood_ The LXX. has here instead -upon the mountains," probably influenced by the phrase in Ezekiel 18:6; Ezekiel 22:9, which, however, according to Rob.-Sm. (_Kinship_, p. 312), should be assimilated to accord with Ezekiel 33:25. _use enchantments_ Employ divination. See e.g. Genesis 44:... [ Continue Reading ]
_round the corners of your heads_ i.e. cut off the hair from the temples. Cp. Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 25:23; Jeremiah 49:32. According to Herod. (iii. 8) it had a religious significance with certain Arab tribes. The belief that the hair was specially fitted to mark union with the Divine being, seems... [ Continue Reading ]
For -the land" in the sense of its inhabitants, cp. Leviticus 18:25; Judges 18:30; Hosea 1:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye shall keep my sabbaths_ Cp. Leviticus 19:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_familiar spirits … wizards_ Cp. ch. Leviticus 20:6; Leviticus 20:27. For the difference between the two see Driver on Deuteronomy 18:11. The former expression (_"ôb_) may be rendered _ghost_. Its oracles were uttered in a twittering voice, which, through ventriloquism, appeared to rise from the gro... [ Continue Reading ]
_rise up_, etc.] Herodotus (ii. 80) speaks of this and other acts of respect on the part of youth to age as practised by the Egyptians, to whom, according to him, the Lacedaemonians alone of the Greeks furnish a parallel.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Exodus 22:21; Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:19; cp. Malachi 3:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
Uprightness enjoined in judgement and in commercial dealings. Cp. Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Ezekiel 45:9 ff. _meteyard_ lit. (Anglo-Saxon _met-geard_) a measuring rod. For the word see _Taming of the Shrew_, iv. 3. 153. _ephah … hin_ The former was about a bushel, the latter about 1 1/2 gallons of our... [ Continue Reading ]