- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
The Oil for the Lamps
1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2“Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
3Outside the veil of the Testimonya in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come. 4He shall tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.
The Showbread
5You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,b 6and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD. 7And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
8Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant. 9It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”
Punishment for Blasphemy
10Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
12They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
13Then the LORD said to Moses, 14“Take the blasphemerc outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.
15And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin. 16Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
An Eye for an Eye
17And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death. 18Whoever kills an animal must make restitution—life for life. 19If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.d Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.
21Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. 22You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”
23Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Footnotes:
3 aThe Testimony refers to the stone tablets in the ark of the covenant inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
5 bTwo-tenths of an ephah is approximately 4 dry quarts or 4.4 liters (probably about 5.1 pounds or 2.3 kilograms of flour).
14 cLiterally the one who cursed
20 dCited in Matthew 5:38
Ark of the Covenant - Part 1
By Major Ian Thomas7.6K1:07:41Ark Of The CovenantEXO 20:3LEV 24:1DEU 6:51CH 13:1MAT 6:33JHN 14:15ROM 12:1In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Samuel and the Israelites' battle against the Philistines. The Israelites were defeated, and the elders of Israel questioned why the Lord had allowed this to happen. They decided to bring the ark of the covenant to the battlefield, believing it would save them. However, the preacher highlights the importance of a personal relationship with God and obedience to His commands, rather than relying on token obedience or external rituals. The sermon encourages listeners to reflect on their own relationship with God and their practice of the Christian faith.
(Exodus) Exodus 25:29-30
By J. Vernon McGee3.2K06:57EXO 25:23LEV 24:5MAT 22:1JHN 6:48JHN 12:24JHN 12:27JHN 12:31In this sermon, the preacher discusses the significance of the showbread in the Bible. The showbread was made of grain and symbolized Christ. The preacher draws parallels between the showbread and Jesus, highlighting how Jesus was ground in the mill of suffering and brought into the fire of suffering and judgment. The sermon also emphasizes the importance of feeding on Christ for spiritual growth and sustenance.
(Through the Bible) Leviticus 21-24
By Chuck Smith1.7K46:27LEV 23:1LEV 23:15LEV 24:14ACT 17:23In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing that each community has its own unique characteristics and that God has a specific plan to reach each community. The speaker encourages listeners to be open to God's plan and to align their hearts with His desires. The speaker also discusses the corrupting influence in the history of the church and how some parables have been misinterpreted. The sermon concludes with a plea for the church to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to strive to reach each community with God's love and message of salvation.
(1 Samuel) David on the Decline
By David Guzik1.5K31:27LEV 24:5In this sermon, the speaker focuses on a passage from the Bible where David encounters a sword and expresses his desire to possess it. The speaker highlights how it is a natural response for people to desire and pursue things that they find excellent or valuable. The sermon then shifts to discussing how God wants to speak to David and offer him two things. The first thing is provision, as David is in need of food while on the run. The second thing is a reminder to trust in God's weapons and presence to navigate the challenges and fulfill his calling. The sermon concludes with a prayer for the congregation to embrace these teachings.
The Degree of Love
By Edgar Reich68140:49LoveLEV 24:20MAT 5:21MAT 5:28MAT 5:44MAT 6:33MAT 22:37JHN 14:15In this sermon, the speaker shares a powerful story of a rescue team during the 2008 earthquake in China. They come across a woman's body buried under rubble, and despite knowing she is dead, the leader of the team is moved to go back and investigate why she was kneeling. This leads him to reflect on his own life and question his commitment to God's commandments and his love for others. The speaker then explores the concept of love, referencing 1 Corinthians 13, and challenges the congregation to examine their own love for others, particularly those who are marginalized or in need of help.
Suffering Love: The Doctrine of Nonresistance and Conscientious Objection to War
By Aaron Hurst2651:13:26NonresistanceEXO 21:22LEV 24:19DEU 19:16MAT 5:3MAT 5:38ROM 12:19ROM 12:21In this sermon, the speaker begins by addressing the issue of human trafficking and challenges the congregation, especially the young people, to take action through prayer. They emphasize the importance of dedicating time to spiritual warfare and making a real impact. The speaker then expresses gratitude for the congregation's support and prayers during their recent loss. They share about burying their father and celebrating the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. The sermon then transitions to a biblical passage about Peter being imprisoned and the church praying for him. Despite the guards' efforts to keep Peter secure, the power of prayer prevails as an angel of the Lord sets Peter free. The sermon concludes by referencing Matthew chapter 5 and highlighting Jesus' teachings on righteousness and the importance of living according to God's commandments.
Letter 100
By James Bourne0LEV 24:2PRO 6:27ISA 28:10MIC 7:192PE 1:19James Bourne, in a letter to M. C. B., reflects on his struggles with transparency and spiritual growth, finding comfort in God's compassion and care. He emphasizes the importance of enduring afflictions and trials, knowing that they are accompanied by the anointing of the Holy Spirit for spiritual illumination and righteousness. Bourne acknowledges the ongoing battle with sin and the continual need to come to Christ for salvation and cleansing through His precious blood, which leads to a deep love that fulfills every law.
Homily 16 on Ephesians
By St. John Chrysostom0LEV 24:20MAT 5:39MAT 7:2MAT 25:34EPH 4:31John Chrysostom emphasizes the importance of not only abstaining from wickedness but also actively practicing goodness to attain the kingdom of Heaven. He warns against the consequences of not doing good, highlighting that even the omission of good deeds is considered unrighteousness. Chrysostom stresses the significance of forgiveness, explaining that forgiving others is a greater act than forgiving debts, as it benefits both the forgiver and the forgiven. He encourages turning the other cheek and returning good for evil, as a way to achieve a glorious victory and to disarm anger and resentment.
The Table and Shew-Bread, Typical of Christ and His Church.
By John Gill0The Church as the Body of ChristCommunion with ChristLEV 24:8John Gill expounds on Leviticus 24:8-9, illustrating how the Table of Shew-Bread symbolizes Christ and His Church. He emphasizes that the shew-bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, signifies the continual presence of Christ and the communion believers have with Him through the Word and ordinances. Gill highlights the dual nature of Christ, both human and divine, as well as the importance of the Church's constant worship and fellowship with Him. He encourages believers to seek communion with Christ in every opportunity, emphasizing that true spiritual nourishment comes from feeding on Him by faith. Ultimately, Gill calls for a deeper engagement with the ordinances of the faith, reminding the congregation of the honor and joy found in sitting at the Lord's table.
The Table of the Bread of the Presence
By Henry Law0EXO 25:30LEV 24:6PSA 34:8JHN 6:35JHN 6:51REV 3:20Henry Law preaches about the significance of the special Bread of the Presence, symbolizing Christ as the ultimate source of nourishment for our souls. The Bread represents the pure perfection of Christ's manhood, free from sin, and His sacrificial work on the cross. The Bread of the Presence, placed before God, signifies Christ's eternal presence and acceptance in the Father's eyes, bringing delight and satisfaction to God. The twelve loaves on the table symbolize the unity of the Church in Christ, where believers of all degrees of faith are equally cherished and represented before God.
Third River -- Profanity
By Martin Knapp0EXO 20:7LEV 24:15PRO 4:24MAT 5:37COL 3:8Martin Knapp delivers a powerful sermon on the seriousness of taking the name of the Lord in vain, emphasizing that God will not hold guiltless those who do so. He shares the story from Leviticus of a man who blasphemed God's name and faced severe consequences, highlighting the importance of revering and honoring God in all aspects of our lives. Knapp warns against the various ways people can fall into the sin of using God's name in vain, stressing the need for repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ to avoid the eternal consequences of this sin.
The Jewish Tabernacle.
By Robert Murray M'Cheyne0The TabernacleChrist as the Fulfillment of the LawEXO 25:8EXO 25:23LEV 24:5JHN 1:14JHN 2:19GAL 3:24COL 2:9HEB 9:1HEB 10:19REV 1:20Robert Murray M'Cheyne emphasizes the significance of the Jewish Tabernacle as a shadow of Christ, illustrating how the Mosaic covenant served as a precursor to the Christian covenant. He explains that while the Tabernacle was a worldly sanctuary where God dwelled among His people, it ultimately pointed to the greater and perfect Tabernacle, which is Christ Himself. M'Cheyne highlights the various elements of the Tabernacle, such as the candlestick and the table of shew-bread, as representations of Christ and His sustenance for believers. He urges the congregation to seek a deeper understanding of these divine truths, stressing that Christ is the substance of all Old Testament types and the source of true nourishment for the soul. The sermon calls for a serious inquiry into divine matters, encouraging believers to engage deeply with their faith.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Introduction
Pure olive oil must be provided for the lamps, Lev 24:1, Lev 24:2. Aaron is to take care that the lamps be lighted from evening to morning continually, Lev 24:3, Lev 24:4. How the shew-bread is to be made and ordered, Lev 24:5-8. Aaron and his sons shall eat this bread in the holy place, Lev 24:9. Of the son of Shelomith, an Israelitish woman, who blasphemed the name, Lev 24:10, Lev 24:11. He is imprisoned till the mind of the Lord should be known, Lev 24:12. He is commanded to be stoned to death, Lev 24:13, Lev 24:14. The ordinance concerning cursing and blaspheming the Lord, Lev 24:15, Lev 24:16. The law against murder, Lev 24:17. The lex talionis, or law of like for like, repeated, Lev 24:18-21. This law to be equally binding both on themselves and on strangers, Lev 24:22. The blasphemer is stoned, Lev 24:23.
Verse 2
Pure oil olive - See every thing relative to this ordinance explained on Exo 27:20, Exo 27:21 (note).
Verse 5
Bake twelve cakes - See the whole account of the shew-bread in the notes on Exo 25:30 (note); and relative to the table on which they stood, the golden candlestick and silver trumpets carried in triumph to Rome, see the note on Exo 25:31.
Verse 10
The son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, etc. - This is a very obscure account, and is encumbered with many difficulties. 1. It seems strange that a person proceeding from such an illegal mixture should have been incorporated with the Israelites. 2. What the cause of the strife between this mongrel person and the Israelitish man was is not even hinted at. The rabbins, it is true, supply in their way this deficiency; they say he was the son of the Egyptian whom Moses slew, and that attempting to pitch his tent among those of the tribe of Dan, to which he belonged by his mother's side, Lev 24:11, he was prevented by a person of that tribe as having no right to a station among them who were true Israelites both by father and mother. In consequence of this they say he blasphemed the name of the Lord. But, 3. The sacred text does not tell us what name he blasphemed; it is simply said ויקב את השם vaiyihkob eth hashshem, he pierced through, distinguished, explained, or expressed the name. (See below, article 10). As the Jews hold it impious to pronounce the name יהוה Yehovah, they always put either אדני Adonai, Lord, or השם hashshem, The Name, in the place of it; but in this sense hashshem was never used prior to the days of rabbinical superstition, and therefore it cannot be put here for the word Jehovah. 4. Blaspheming the name of the Lord is mentioned in Lev 24:16, and there the proper Hebrew term is used שם יהוה shem Yehovah, and not the rabbinical השם hashshem, as in Lev 24:11. 5. Of all the manuscripts collated both by Kennicott and De Rossi, not one, either of the Hebrew or Samaritan, has the word Jehovah in this place. 6. Not one of the ancient Versions, Targum of Onkelos, Hebraeo-Samaritan, Samaritan version, Syriac, Arabic, Septuagint, or Vulgate Latin, has even attempted to supply the sacred name. 7. Houbigant supposes that the Egypto-Israelitish man did not use the name of the true God at all, but had been swearing by one of his country gods; and if this was the case the mention of the name of a strange god in the camp of Israel would constitute a very high crime, and certainly expose to the punishment mentioned in Lev 24:14. 8. Probably the word השם hashshem was the proper name of some Egyptian deity. 9. The fifteenth verse seems to countenance the supposition that the god whose name was produced on this occasion was not the true God, for it is there said, whosoever curseth his god, אלהיו elohaiv, shall bear his sin - shall have the punishment due to him as an idolater; but he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, שם יהוה shem Yehovah, shall surely be put to death - when he blasphemeth the name (שם shem) he shall die, Lev 24:16. 10. The verb נקב nakab, which we translate blaspheme, signifies to pierce, bore, make hollow; also to Express or Distinguish by Name; see Isa 62:2; Num 1:17; Ch1 12:31; Ch1 16:41; Ch1 28:15; or, as the Persian translator has it, sherah kerd, mir an nam, he expounded or interpreted the name. Hence all that we term blasphemy here may only signify the particularizing some false god, i. e., naming him by his name, or imploring his aid as a helper, and when spoken of the true God it may signify using that sacred name as the idolaters did the names of their idols. On blaspheming God, and the nature of blasphemy, see the notes on Mat 9:3. In whatever point of view we consider the relation which has been the subject of this long note, one thing is sufficiently plain, that he who speaks irreverently of God, of his works, his perfections, his providence, etc., is destitute of every moral feeling and of every religious principle, and consequently so dangerous to society that it would be criminal to suffer him to be at large, though the longsuffering of God may lead him to repentance, and therefore it may be consistent with mercy to preserve his life.
Verse 14
Lay their hands upon his head - It was by this ceremony that the people who heard him curse bore their public testimony in order to his being fully convicted, for without this his punishment would not have been lawful. By this ceremony also they in effect said to the man, Thy blood be upon thy own head.
Verse 15
Whosoever curseth his God - יקלל אלהיו yekallel Elohaiv, he who makes light of him, who does not treat him and sacred things with due reverence, shall bear his sin - shall have the guilt of this transgression imputed to him, and may expect the punishment.
Verse 16
Blasphemeth the name of the Lord - ונקב שם יהוה venokeb shem Yehovah, he who pierces, transfixes, or, as some translate it, expounds, the name of Jehovah; see the note on Lev 24:10. This being the name by which especially the Divine Essence was pointed out, it should be held peculiarly sacred. We have already seen that the Jews never pronounce this name, and so long has it been disused among them that the true pronunciation is now totally lost; See on the word Jehovah, Exo 6:3 (note).
Verse 17
He that killeth any man - Blasphemy against God, i. e., speaking injuriously of his name, his attributes, his government, and his revelation, together with murder, is to be punished with death: he that blasphemes God is a curse in society, and he who takes away, wilfully and by malicious intent, the life of any man, should certainly be put to death. In this respect God has absolutely required that life shall go for life.
Verse 20
Breach for breach - This is a repetition of the lex talionis, which See explained Exo 21:24 (note).
Verse 22
Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger as for one of your own country - Equal laws, where each individual receives the same protection and the same privileges, are the boast only of a sound political constitution. He who respects and obeys the laws has a right to protection and support, and his person and property are as sacred in the sight of justice as the person and property of the prince. He who does not obey the laws of his country forfeits all right and title to protection and privilege; his own actions condemn him, and justice takes him up on the evidence of his own transgressions. He who does what is right need not fear the power of the civil magistrate, for he holds the sword only to punish transgressors. Universal obedience to the laws is the duty of every citizen; none can do more, none should do less: therefore each individual in a well regulated state must have equal rights and privileges in every thing that relates to the safety of his person, and the security of his property. Reader, such was the Mosaic code; such Is the British Constitution.
Verse 23
And stone him with stones - We are not to suppose that the culprit was exposed to the unbridled fury of the thousands of Israel; this would be brutality, not justice, for the very worst of tempers and passions might be produced and fostered by such a procedure. The Jews themselves tell us that their manner of stoning was this: they brought the condemned person without the camp, because his crime had rendered him unclean, and whatever was unclean must be put without the camp. When they came within four cubits of the place of execution, they stripped the criminal, if a man, leaving him nothing but a cloth about the waist. The place on which he was to be executed was elevated, and the witnesses went up with him to it, and laid their hands upon him, for the purposes mentioned Lev 24:14. Then one of the witnesses struck him with a stone upon the loins; if he was not killed with that blow, then the witnesses took up a great stone, as much as two men could lift, and threw it upon his breast. This was the coup de grace, and finished the tragedy. When a man was stoned by the mob, then brutal rage armed every man, justice was set aside, and the will and fury of the people were law, judge, jury, and executioner. Such disgraceful stonings as these were, no doubt, frequent among the Jews. See Calmet's Dict., article Stoning, and Ainsworth on this place. What the crime of Shelomith's son was, we cannot distinctly say; doubtless it was some species of blasphemy: however, we find it was a new and unprecedented case; and as there was no law by which the quantum of guilt could be ascertained, nor consequently the degree of punishment, it was necessary to consult the great Lawgiver on the occasion; the man was therefore secured till the mind of the Lord should be known. Moses, no doubt, had recourse to the tabernacle, and received the directions afterward mentioned from Him who dwelt between the cherubim. In what way the answer of the Lord was communicated we know not, (probably by Urim and Thummim), but it came in such a manner as to preclude all doubt upon the subject: the man was declared to be guilty, and was sentenced to be stoned to death; and on this occasion a law is made relative to blasphemy in general. However sinful the Jews might have been at this time, we have reason to believe they did not take the name of the Lord in vain, and blasphemy was not known among them. But what shall we say of Christians, so called, whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness? Were every blasphemer among us to be stoned to death, how many of the people would fall in every corner of the land! God is longsuffering; may this lead them to repentance! We have excellent laws against all profaneness, but, alas, for our country! they are not enforced; and he who attempts to put the laws in force against profane swearers, Sabbath breakers, etc., is considered a litigious man, and a disturber of the peace of society. Will not God visit for these things? This is not only contempt of God's holy word and commandments, but rebellion against the laws.
Introduction
OIL FOR THE LAMPS. (Lev. 24:1-23) Command the children of Israel--This is the repetition of a law previously given (Exo 27:20-21). pure oil olive beaten--or cold-drawn, which is always of great purity.
Verse 3
Aaron shall order it from the evening unto the morning--The daily presence of the priests was necessary to superintend the cleaning and trimming.
Verse 4
upon the pure candlestick--so called because of pure gold. This was symbolical of the light which ministers are to diffuse through the Church.
Verse 5
take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes--for the showbread, as previously appointed (Exo 25:30). Those cakes were baked by the Levites, the flour being furnished by the people (Ch1 9:32; Ch1 23:29), oil, wine, and salt being the other ingredients (Lev 2:13). two tenth deals--that is, of an ephah--thirteen and a half pounds weight each; and on each row or pile of cakes some frankincense was strewed, which, being burnt, led to the showbread being called "an offering made by fire." Every Sabbath a fresh supply was furnished; hot loaves were placed on the altar instead of the stale ones, which, having lain a week, were removed, and eaten only by the priests, except in cases of necessity (Sa1 21:3-6; also Luk 6:3-4).
Verse 10
the son of an Israelitish woman, &c.--This passage narrates the enactment of a new law, with a detail of the circumstances which gave rise to it. The "mixed multitude" [Exo 12:38] that accompanied the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt creates a presumption that marriage connections of the kind described were not infrequent. And it was most natural, in the relative circumstances of the two people, that the father should be an Egyptian and the mother an Israelite.
Verse 11
And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord--A youth of this half-blood, having quarrelled with an Israelite [Lev 24:10], vented his rage in some horrid form of impiety. It was a common practice among the Egyptians to curse their idols when disappointed in obtaining the object of their petitions. The Egyptian mind of this youth thought the greatest insult to his opponent was to blaspheme the object of his religious reverence. He spoke disrespectfully of One who sustained the double character of the King as well as the God of the Hebrew people; as the offense was a new one, he was put in ward till the mind of the Lord was ascertained as to his disposal.
Verse 14
Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp--All executions took place without the camp; and this arrangement probably originated in the idea that, as the Israelites were to be "a holy people" [Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2, Deu 14:21; Deu 26:19; Deu 28:9], all flagrant offenders should be thrust out of their society. let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, &c.--The imposition of hands formed a public and solemn testimony against the crime, and at the same time made the punishment legal.
Verse 16
as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death--Although strangers were not obliged to be circumcised, yet by joining the Israelitish camp, they became amenable to the law, especially that which related to blasphemy.
Verse 17
he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death--These verses contain a repetition of some other laws, relating to offenses of a social nature, the penalties for which were to be inflicted, not by the hand of private parties, but through the medium of the judges before whom the cause was brought.
Verse 23
the children of Israel did as the Lord's commanded--The chapter closes with the execution of Shelomith's son [Lev 24:14] --and stoning having afterwards become the established punishment in all cases of blasphemy, it illustrates the fate of Stephen, who suffered under a false imputation of that crime [Act 7:58-59]. Next: Leviticus Chapter 25
Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 24 This chapter treats of the oil for the lamps, and the ordering of them, Lev 24:1; of the making of the shewbread cakes, and the setting of them on the table, Lev 24:5; and an Israelite having blasphemed the name of the Lord, and inquiry being made what should be done to him, he, and so any other person guilty of the same, is ordered to be stoned to death, Lev 24:10; on occasion of which several laws are repeated concerning killing a man or a beast, or doing injury to any man, Lev 24:17.
Verse 1
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had delivered to him the laws concerning the purity of the priests, and the perfection of the sacrifices they were to offer, and concerning the feasts the people were to keep, he spoke to Moses of some other things which concerned both people and priests: saying; as follows.
Verse 2
Command the children of Israel,.... Moses was the chief magistrate under God, and being clothed with authority from him, had power to command the children of Israel to do what the Lord required of them: that they bring unto thee pure oil olive, beaten, for the light; this was to be at the public expense, and it belonged to the community to supply the priests with oil for the light of the candlestick in the temple, Exo 25:6; and this oil was not to be any sort of oil, as train oil, or oil of nuts, almonds, &c. but oil of olives, and not any sort of that, but the purest, which was the first that was taken from them; it seems there were three sorts, the first of which was pure, and this beaten in a mortar, and not ground in a mill; See Gill on Exo 27:20, to cause the lamps to burn continually; the lamps in the golden candlestick, which were seven, Exo 25:37; or "the lamp", in the singular number, as it is in the original text; the western lamp, which is said to be always kept lighted, from which the rest were lighted when out; though the oil was undoubtedly for the supply of the lamps, that they might burn always, night and day; or from night tonight, as Jarchi; and both on sabbath days and working days, as the Targum of Jonathan.
Verse 3
Without the vail of the testimony,.... That is, on the outside of the vail which divided between the holy and holy of holies, and which was before the ark in which the testimony or law was: in the tabernacle of the congregation; which the apostle calls the first, namely, the holy place in which the candlestick, with its lamps, stood, Heb 9:2, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning, before the Lord continually, that is, the lamp or lamps, or candlestick, in which they were, or the light of them; his business was, and so every priest's that succeeded him, to supply the lamps with oil, to dress, him, and snuff them, that they might burn clear, and burn always, and that before the Lord, in the presence of the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations; until the Messiah should come, the true light, which would put out all such typical ones, and by his Gospel spread light in all his churches throughout the world; See Gill on Exo 27:20 and See Gill on Exo 27:21.
Verse 4
He shall order the lamps on the pure candlestick,.... So called, as Jarchi suggests, for these two reasons, partly because it was made of pure gold, and partly because it was to be kept pure and clean, and free from ashes, by the priest; see Exo 25:31, before the Lord continually; which both respects the situation of the candlestick, and the work about it, which Aaron was to do continually before and in the presence of the Lord. Jarchi thinks this ordering respects the measure of oil for every night, which he says, according to the wise men, was half a log for every lamp, which was about a quarter of a pint of oil.
Verse 5
And thou shalt take fine flour,.... Of wheat, and the finest of it: and bake twelve cakes thereof; answerable to the twelve tribes, as the Targum of Jonathan, which were typical of the spiritual Israel of God: two tenth deals shall be in one cake; that is, two tenth parts of an ephah, which were two omers, one of which was as much as a man could eat in one day of the manna: so that one of these cakes was as much as two men could eat of bread in one day; each cake was ten hands' breadth long, five broad, and seven fingers its horns, or was so high (g). (g) Menachot, c. 11. sect. 4.
Verse 6
And thou shalt set them in two rows,.... The twelve cakes: six on a row; not by the side of each other, but six upon one another: upon the pure table; the shewbread table, so called because overlaid with pure gold, and kept clean and bright, Exo 25:24, before the Lord; for this stood in the holy place, in the same place as the candlestick did, which has the same position, Lev 24:4; of the mystical and typical sense of these cakes; see Gill on Exo 25:30.
Verse 7
And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row,.... Two cups of frankincense, in each of which was an handful of it, and which were set by each row of the cakes, as Jarchi observes: that it may be on the bread for a memorial; or "for the bread", instead of it, for a memorial of it; that being to be eaten by the priests, and this to be burned on the altar to the Lord, as follows: even an offering made by fire unto the Lord; not the bread that was after a time taken away, and eaten by the priests, but the frankincense.
Verse 8
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually,.... That is, the priest or priests then ministering, who should bring new cakes and place them in the above order, having removed the old ones, which was done in this manner; four priests went in, two had in their hands the two rows (of bread), and two had in their hands two cups (of frankincense); four went before these, two to take away the two rows (of the old bread), and two to take away the two cups (of frankincense); and they that carried in stood in the north, and their faces to the south and they that brought out stood in the south, and their faces to the north; these drew away (the old bread) and they put them (the new), and the hand of the one was over against the hand of the other, as it is said, "before me continually", Exo 25:30 (h); that is, at the same time the hands of the one were employed in taking away, the hands of the other were employed in setting on; so that there was always bread upon the table: being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant; God requiring it of them, and they agreeing to give it, as they did, either in meal or in money; for this was at the expense of the community. (h) Menachot, c. 11. sect. 7.
Verse 9
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons',.... The twelve cakes of the old bread, when taken off the shewbread table; these were divided between the courses of the priests that carried in and brought out; and the high priest had half from each course, so that the half was for Aaron or the high priest, and the other half for his sons, or the priests that ministered (i): and they shall eat it in the holy place; in the tabernacle or some court of it, and not in their own houses: it is said the shewbread was not eaten sooner than the ninth day, nor after the eleventh; how? it was baked on the evening of the sabbath, and it was eaten on the sabbath, the ninth day; if a feast day happened to be on the eve of the sabbath, it was eaten on the tenth; if the two feast days of the beginning of the year so fell, it was eaten on the eleventh day (k): the reason why it was only eaten in the holy place is: for it is most holy unto him; it was one of the most holy things, which were only to be eaten by males, and in the sanctuary not as the light holy things, which were eaten in the houses and families of the priests, and by their wives and daughters also: of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute; not that the bread was a burnt offering, but the frankincense upon it, or by it, and so having a connection with it, the whole is said to be an offering by fire: the one was given to the priests of the Lord to eat, and the other was consumed on the altar; and both were an offering to the Lord; and the frankincense being offered by fire unto the Lord, instead of the bread it was reckoned as if that was so offered. (i) Maimon. Hilchot Tamidin, c. 4. sect. 12, 14. (k) Menachot, c. 11. sect. 9.
Verse 10
And the son of an Israelitish woman,.... Whose name, and the name of his mother, are afterwards given: whose father was an Egyptian; Jarchi says, this is the Egyptian whom Moses slew, Exo 2:12; and so others in Abendana: went out among the children of Israel; went out of Egypt with them, according to the Targum of Jonathan, and so was one of the mixed multitude, which came from thence with them, which is not improbable; some say he went out of Moses's court of judicature; but it is more likely that the meaning is, he went out of his tent, so Aben Ezra, into the midst of the camp, to claim his rank and place among the people of Israel; though the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra, take this phrase, "among the children of Israel", to signify that he was a proselyte, and became a Jew, or had embraced the Jewish religion in all respects: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; which man of Israel, according to the Targum of Jonathan, was of the tribe of Dan, as was the mother of the man he strove with; what they strove about is not easy to say; Aben Ezra suggests, because this stands connected with the above laws, as if this man had said some things in a reviling way about the shewbread, the oil, and the offerings, and so a dispute arose between them, concerning them; but Jarchi says, it was about the business of the camp, and it is more commonly received that this man claimed a place to fix his tent on in the tribe of Dan, in right of his mother; but the other urged, that the order of fixing tents was according to the genealogies, and with the ensigns of their father's house, and therefore he had no right to rank with them, his father being an Egyptian, and perhaps from words they came to blows, see Exo 21:22; though the Jewish writers understand it of their contending, at least of its issuing in a judiciary way, before a court of judicature: so it is said, when Israel dwelt in the wilderness, he (the son of the Egyptian) sought to spread his tent in the midst of the tribe of Dan, and they would not suffer it, because the ranks of the children of Israel were, every man according to his rank, with the ensigns according to the genealogy of their fathers; and they began and contended in the camp, wherefore they went into the court of judicature, the son of the woman of the daughter of Israel, and the man, a son of Israel, who was of the tribe of Dan (l). (l) Targum Jon. in loc.
Verse 11
And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed,.... As they were striving together, or when the trial was over, he being cast, fell into outrageous blasphemies against God, who made such laws for the civil polity of Israel, and cursed the judges that had given sentence against him; so the Targum of Jonathan; and so the Jews generally understand by the "name" blasphemed, the name Jehovah, which he spake out plainly, and which, they say, is ineffable, and ought not to be pronounced but by the high priest in the sanctuary; but this man expressed it in its proper sound, and made use of it to curse the man that strove with him, or the judge that judged him; so it is said in the Misnah (d),"a blasphemer is not guilty until he expresses the name;''but it undoubtedly means blaspheming God himself, by whatsoever name: and they brought him unto Moses; having heard his blasphemy, to charge him with it before him, or in order to have due punishment inflicted on him: as to the matter of contest between him and the Israelite, that had been decided in a lesser court of judicature, such an one as had been set up by the advice of Jethro; but though there was full proof of his blasphemy and cursing, which, perhaps, were expressed in open court; they might not know what punishment to inflict upon him for so horrid a crime, of which, perhaps, they had never had an instance before, and therefore sent him to Moses, to whom the hearing and decision of weighty matters belonged; see Exo 18:22, and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan; which is observed, as it should seem, to show in what tribe this affair happened, and what the quarrel was first about, even a place and rank in this tribe. (d) Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 5.
Verse 12
And they put him in ward,.... In some prison, a place known in the camp, as Aben Ezra observes: that the mind of the Lord might be shewed them; for, though this was a breach of the third command, in which God declares he would not hold such an one guiltless, Exo 20:7; yet no particular punishment being expressed, it was not a clear case whether the Lord would punish for it himself, by an immediate stroke of his hand, or whether by the civil magistrate; and if by the latter, in what manner; for though it might be concluded, without any hesitation, that he was worthy of death, since cursing father or mother was death, Exo 21:17; and much more blaspheming God, yet what death to put him to they might be at a loss about; or if that was understood of stoning, they might think this deserved a sorer punishment, and therefore consulted God about it.
Verse 13
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... From off the mercy seat in the holy of holies, where he had promised to meet him and commune with him about anything he should inquire of him, as he did at this time: saying; as follows.
Verse 14
Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp,.... To show that he had no part nor lot in Israel, and that he was unworthy to be a member of their civil community, or of their church state; and, besides, the place of stoning, or where malefactors suffered any kind of death, was without the camp, as afterwards without the city, see Heb 13:12, let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"and the judges;''so Jarchi remarks, that they that "heard him" are the witnesses, and the word "all" comprehends the judges: Maimonides says (e) the same, and observes that hands were laid on no malefactor but the blasphemer; and this was done to show that the one had bore a faithful testimony, and the other had pronounced a righteous sentence on him; and that he had brought this guilt and punishment upon himself by his sin; wherefore it was usual for them to say, as the same writers observe,"thy blood be upon thine own head, and we not punished for thy death, which thou hast been the cause of to thyself:" and let all the congregation stone him; which Aben Ezra interprets of the great men of Israel; nor can it be thought that every individual of the people could cast a stone at him, but it was to be done by some of them, in the presence of them all, or as many as could conveniently get together to behold it; and this was done to show their detestation of the sin, and to deter from the commission of it: it was the same kind of punishment that was ordered to be inflicted on him that cursed his father or mother, Lev 20:9; God, the God of mercy, requiring no sorer punishment, though it deterred a greater, for such a sin against himself, than against a common parent. (e) Hilchot Obede Cochabim, c. 2. sect. 10.
Verse 15
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel,.... On this occasion, and gave them some laws and rules concerning the above affair, and other things: saying, whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin; which some understand of anyone of another nation, that cursed the God he used to serve in his own country; but it can hardly be thought that a law should be made by the one only living and true God, to preserve the honour and credit of false gods, when he is so jealous of his own glory; and those are spoken of in Scripture with the greatest contempt, as dunghill deities, and are actually cursed, Jer 10:11; but they are rather to be interpreted of judges and all civil magistrates, who, as Aben Ezra observes, are sometimes called Elohim or gods, Psa 82:1; and the rather, as it is probable this man had cursed his judges, and so this is a distinct sin from what follows; and not only the manner of expressing it, but the punishment of it, seem to be different; for the phrase, "to bear his sin", is used where the punishment is not expressly declared, and is by Jarchi and others interpreted of cutting off from his people, but in what way is not certain; whereas the punishment of a blasphemer of God is before and after clearly expressed; see Lev 20:19.
Verse 16
And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord,.... Or, "but he that blasphemeth", &c. from whence the Jews gather, that the name Jehovah must be expressed, or it is no blasphemy; so Jarchi; but it is not bare using or expressing the word Jehovah that is blasphemy, but speaking ill and contemptuously of God, with respect to any of his names, titles, and epithets, or of any of his perfections, ways, and works: he shall surely be put to death; no mercy shall be shown him, no reprieve or pardon granted him: hence it is said (f), there is no atonement for it, by repentance, or chastisements, or the day of atonement: so blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is not forgiven, neither in this world nor in that which is to come, Mat 12:31, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; shall have no pity on him, nor spare him, but stone him till he dies: as well the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death; even a proselyte of the gate, a Gentile that sojourned among them, uncircumcised, and did not profess the Jewish religion, as well as a proselyte of righteousness, and an Israelite born; yet, if he blasphemed the God of Israel, was to lose his life without any mercy shown him. (f) R. Alphes, par. 1. Yoma, c. 1. fol. 261. 1.
Verse 17
And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. With the sword, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; which restrains it to any man of the children of Israel, but wrongly; for the original law respects any man whatever, Gen 9:6; and so it does here; See Gill on Exo 21:12. . Leviticus 24:18 lev 24:18 lev 24:18 lev 24:18And he that killeth a beast shall make it good,.... Pay for it, give the value of it, or another as good as that instead of it, as follows: beast for beast; or "soul for soul"; life for life, that is, a living one for that the life of which is taken away, and one every way as good as that.
Verse 18
And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour,.... Does him any hurt or mischief, causes any mutilation or deformity in him by striking him: as he hath done, so shall it be done unto him: not that a like damage or hurt should be done to him, but that he should make satisfaction for it in a pecuniary way; pay for the cure of him, and for loss of time, and in consideration of the pain he has endured, and the shame or disgrace brought on him by the deformity or mutilation, or for whatever loss he may sustain thereby; See Gill on Exo 21:18 and See Gill on Exo 21:19.
Verse 19
Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,.... Which is not to be taken strictly or literally, but for the price or value of those, which is to be given in a pecuniary way; See Gill on Exo 21:24, Exo 21:25, as he hath caused a blemish in a man, shall it be done to him; unless he gives satisfaction, and pays a valuable consideration for it.
Verse 20
And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it,.... The same as in Lev 24:18, which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and that it might be observed, though Jarchi takes it to be a different law; before, he says, it speaks of him that kills a beast, here of him that makes any wound or bruise in it, which he must make good; and it must be allowed that the manner of expression is different; there it is, he that smites the soul of a beast so that it dies, here only he that smites a beast, though it dies not, yet having some damage done it, satisfaction must be made: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death; or he that smites a man, though he does not kill him, as Jarchi observes, only makes a wound or bruise in him, because it is not said, the soul of a man, as before; but such damages did not require death, but satisfaction in another way, as in Lev 24:19.
Verse 21
Ye shall have one manner of law,.... Respecting the above things, blaspheming of the name of God, taking away the life of man, or of any beast, and of doing damage to either: as well for the stranger as for one of your own country; the above laws were binding upon proselytes as well as Israelites, and proselytes of the gate as well as proselytes of righteousness, though the Jews commonly restrain it to the latter: for I am the Lord your God; whose name is holy and reverend, and ought not to be blasphemed; and who is the Maker and preserver of man and beast, and made these laws respecting them, and expected they should be obeyed, especially by the children of Israel, whose covenant God and Father he was, and they under the greatest obligation to serve and obey him.
Verse 22
And Moses spake unto the children of Israel,.... As the Lord had commanded him: that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones; which were the instructions God had given to Moses upon inquiring his mind and will about this matter: and the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they took the blasphemer, and led him out of the camp, put their hands on him, and stoned him with stones till he died. Next: Leviticus Chapter 25
Introduction
The directions concerning the oil for the holy candlestick (Lev 24:1-4) and the preparation of the shew-bread (Lev 24:5-9) lose the appearance of an interpolation, when we consider and rightly understand on the one hand the manner in which the two are introduced in Lev 24:2, and on the other their significance in relation to the worship of God. The introductory formula, "Command the children of Israel that they fetch (bring)," shows that the command relates to an offering on the part of the congregation, a sacrificial gift, with which Israel was to serve the Lord continually. This service consisted in the fact, that in the oil of the lamps of the seven-branched candlestick, which burned before Jehovah, the nation of Israel manifested itself as a congregation which caused its light to shine in the darkness of this world; and that in the shew-bread it offered the fruits of its labour in the field of the kingdom of God, as a spiritual sacrifice to Jehovah. The offering of oil, therefore, for the preparation of the candlestick, and that of fine flour for making the loaves to be placed before Jehovah, formed part of the service in which Israel sanctified its life and labour to the Lord its God, not only at the appointed festal periods, but every day; and the law is very appropriately appended to the sanctification of the Sabbaths and feast-days, prescribed in ch. 23. The first instructions in Lev 24:2-4 are a verbal repetition of Exo 27:20-21, and have been explained already. Their execution by Aaron is recorded at Num 8:1-4; and the candlestick itself was set in order by Moses at the consecration of the tabernacle (Exo 40:25).
Verse 5
The preparation of the shew-bread and the use to be made of it are described here for the first time; though it had already been offered by the congregation at the consecration of the tabernacle, and placed by Moses upon the table (Exo 39:36; Exo 40:23). Twelve cakes (challoth, Lev 2:4) were to be made of fine flour, of two-tenths of an ephah each, and placed in two rows, six in each row, upon the golden table before Jehovah (Exo 25:23.). Pure incense was then to be added to each row, which was to be (to serve) as a memorial (Azcarah, see Lev 2:2), as a firing for Jehovah. על נתן to give upon, to add to, does not force us to the conclusion that the incense was to be spread upon the cakes; but is easily reconcilable with the Jewish tradition (Josephus, Ant. iii. 10, 7; Mishnah, Menach. xi. 7, 8), that the incense was placed in golden saucers with each row of bread. The number twelve corresponded to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. The arrangement of the loaves in rows of six each was in accordance with the shape of the table, just like the division of the names of the twelve tribes upon the two precious stones on Aaron's shoulder-dress (Exo 28:10). By the presentation or preparation of them from the fine flour presented by the congregation, and still more by the addition of incense, which was burned upon the altar every Sabbath on the removal of the loaves as azcarah, i.e., as a practical memento of the congregation before God, the laying out of these loaves assumed the form of a bloodless sacrifice, in which the congregation brought the fruit of its life and labour before the face of the Lord, and presented itself to its God as a nation diligent in sanctification to good works. If the shew-bread was a minchah, or meat-offering, and even a most holy one, which only the priests were allowed to eat in the holy place (Lev 24:9, cf. Lev 2:3 and Lev 6:9-10), it must naturally have been unleavened, as the unanimous testimony of the Jewish tradition affirms it to have been. And if as a rule no meat-offering could be leavened, and of the loaves of first-fruits prepared for the feast of Pentecost, which were actually leavened, none was allowed to be placed upon the altar (Lev 2:11-12; Lev 6:10); still less could leavened bread be brought into the sanctuary before Jehovah. The only ground, therefore, on which Knobel can maintain that those loaves were leavened, is on the supposition that they were intended to represent the daily bread, which could no more fail in the house of Jehovah than in any other well-appointed house (see Bhr, Symbolik i. p. 410). The process of laying these loaves before Jehovah continually was to be "an everlasting covenant" (Lev 24:8), i.e., a pledge or sign of the everlasting covenant, just as circumcision, as the covenant in the flesh, was to be an everlasting covenant (Gen 17:13).
Verse 10
The account of the Punishment of a Blasphemer is introduced in the midst of the laws, less because "it brings out to view by a clear example the administration of the divine law in Israel, and also introduces and furnishes the reason for several important laws" (Baumgarten), than because the historical occurrence itself took place at the time when the laws relating to sanctification of life before the Lord were given, whilst the punishment denounced against the blasphemer exhibited in a practical form, as a warning to the whole nation, the sanctification of the Lord in the despisers of His name. The circumstances were the following: - The son of an Israelitish woman named Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan, and of an Egyptian whom the Israelitish woman had married, went out into the midst of the children of Israel, i.e., went out of his tent or place of encampment among the Israelites. As the son of an Egyptian, he belonged to the foreigners who had gone out with Israel (Exo 12:38), and who probably had their tents somewhere apart from those of the Israelites, who were encamped according to their tribes (Num 2:2). Having got into a quarrel with an Israelite, this man scoffed at the name (of Jehovah) and cursed. The cause of the quarrel is not given, and cannot be determined. נקב: to bore, hollow out, then to sting, metaphorically to separate, fix (Gen 30:28), hence to designate (Num 1:17, etc.), and to prick in malam partem, to taunt, i.e., to blaspheme, curse, = קבב Num 23:11, Num 23:25, etc. That the word is used here in a bad sense, is evident from the expression "and cursed," and from the whole context of Lev 24:15 and Lev 24:16. The Jews, on the other hand, have taken the word נקב in this passage from time immemorial in the sense of ἐπονομάζειν (lxx), and founded upon it the well-known law, against even uttering the name Jehovah (see particularly Lev 24:16). "The name" κατ ̓ ἐξ. is the name "Jehovah" (cf. Lev 24:16), in which God manifested His nature. It was this passage that gave rise to the custom, so prevalent among the Rabbins, of using the expression "name," or "the name," for Dominus, or Deus (see Buxtorf, lex. talmud. pp. 2432ff.). The blasphemer was brought before Moses and then put into confinement, "to determine for them (such blasphemers) according to the mouth (command) of Jehovah." פּרשׁ: to separate, distinguish, then to determine exactly, which is the sense both here and in Num 15:34, where it occurs in a similar connection.
Verse 13
Jehovah ordered the blasphemer to be taken out of the camp, and the witnesses to lay their hands upon his head, and the whole congregation to stone him; and published at the same time the general law, that whoever cursed his God should bear (i.e., atone for) his sin (cf. Exo 22:27), and whoever blasphemed the name of Jehovah should be stoned, the native as well as the foreigner. By laying (resting, cf. Lev 1:4) their hands upon the head of the blasphemer, the hearers or witnesses were to throw off from themselves the blasphemy which they had heard, and return it upon the head of the blasphemer, for him to expiate. The washing of hands in Deu 21:6 is analogous; but the reference made by Knobel to Deu 17:7, where the witnesses are commanded to turn their hand against an idolater who had been condemned to death, i.e., to stone him, is out of place.
Verse 17
The decision asked for from God concerning the crime of the blasphemer, who was the son of an Egyptian, and therefore not a member of the congregation of Jehovah, furnished the occasion for God to repeat those laws respecting murder or personal injury inflicted upon a man, which had hitherto been given for the Israelites alone (Exo 21:12.), and to proclaim their validity in the case of the foreigner also (Lev 24:17, Lev 24:21, Lev 24:22). To these there are appended the kindred commandments concerning the killing of cattle (Lev 24:18, Lev 24:21, Lev 24:22), which had not been given, it is true, expressis verbis, but were contained implicite in the rights of Israel (Exo 21:33.), and are also extended to foreigners. אדם נפשׁ הכּה, to smite the soul of a man, i.e., to put him to death; - the expression "soul of a beast," in Lev 24:18, is to be understood in the same sense.
Verse 19
"Cause a blemish," i.e., inflict a bodily injury. This is still further defined in the cases mentioned (breach, eye, tooth), in which punishment was to be inflicted according to the jus talionis (see at Exo 21:23.).
Verse 23
After these laws had been issued, the punishment was inflicted upon the blasphemer.
Introduction
In this chapter we have, I. A repetition of the laws concerning the lamps and the show-bread (Lev 24:1-9). II. A violation of the law against blasphemy, with the imprisonment, trial, condemnation, and execution, of the blasphemer (Lev 24:10-14, with Lev 24:23). III. The law against blasphemy reinforced (Lev 24:15, Lev 24:16), with sundry other laws (Lev 24:17, etc.).
Verse 1
Care is here taken, and orders are given, for the decent furnishing of the candlestick and table in God's house. I. The lamps must always be kept burning. The law for this we had before, Exo 27:20, Exo 27:21. It is here repeated, probably because it now began to be put in execution, when other things were settled. 1. The people were to provide oil (Lev 24:2), and this, as every thing else that was to be used in God's service, must be of the best, pure olive-oil, beaten, probably it was double-strained. This was to cause the lamps to burn; all our English copies read it lamps, but in the original it is singular in Lev 24:2 - to cause the lamp to burn; but plural in Lev 24:4 - he shall order the lamps. The seven lamps made all one lamp, in allusion to which the blessed Spirit of grace is represented by seven lamps of fire before the throne (Rev 4:5), for there are diversities of gifts, but one Spirit, Co1 12:4. Ministers are as burning and shining lights in Christ's church, but it is the duty of people to provide comfortably for them, as Israel for the lamps. Scandalous maintenance makes a scandalous ministry. 2. The priests were to tend the lamps; they must snuff them, clean the candlestick, and supply them with oil, morning and evening, Lev 24:3, Lev 24:4. Thus it is the work of the ministers of the gospel to hold forth that word of life, not to set up new lights, but, by expounding and preaching the word, to make the light of it more clear and extensive. This was the ordinary way of keeping the lamps burning; but, when the church was poor and in distress, we find its lamps fed constantly with oil from the good olives immediately, without the ministry of priest or people (Zac 4:2, Zac 4:3); for, though God has tied us to means, he has not tied himself to them, but will take effectual care that his lamp never go out in the world for want of oil. II. The table must always be kept spread. This was appointed before, Exo 25:30. And here also, 1. The table was furnished with bread; not dainties nor varieties to gratify a luxurious palate, but twelve loaves or cakes of bread, Lev 24:5, Lev 24:6. Where there is plenty of bread there is no famine; and where bread is not there is no feast. There was a loaf for every tribe, for in our Father's house there is bread enough. They were all provided for by the divine bounty, and were all welcome to the divine grace. Even after the revolt of the ten tribes this number of loaves was continued (Ch2 13:11), for the sake of those few of each tribe that retained their affection to the temple and continued their attendance on it. 2. A handful of frankincense was put in a golden saucer, upon or by each row, Lev 24:7. When the bread was removed, and given to the priests, this frankincense was burnt upon the golden altar (I suppose) over and above the daily incense: and this was for a memorial instead of the bread, an offering made by fire, as the handful of the meat-offering which was burnt upon the altar is called the memorial thereof, Lev 2:2. Thus a little was accepted as a humble acknowledgment, and all the loaves were consigned to the priests. All God's spiritual Israel, typified by the twelve loaves, are made through Christ a sweet savour to him, and their prayers are said to come up before God for a memorial, Act 10:4. The word is borrowed from the ceremonial law. 3. Every sabbath it was renewed. When the loaves had stood there a week, the priests had them to eat with other holy things that were to be eaten in the holy place (Lev 24:9), and new ones were provided at the public charge, and put in the room of them, Lev 24:8. The Jews say, "The hands of those priests that put on were mixed with theirs that took off, that the table might be never empty, but the bread might be before the Lord continually." God is never unprovided for the entertainment of those that visit him, as men often are, Luk 11:5. Every one of those cakes contained two tenth-deals, that is, two omers of fine flour; just so much manna every Israelite gathered on the sixth day for the sabbath, Exo 16:22. Hence some infer that this show-bread, which was set on the table on the sabbath, was intended as a memorial of the manna wherewith they were fed in the wilderness. Christ's ministers should provide new bread for his house every sabbath day, the production of their fresh studies in the scripture, that their proficiency may appear to all, Ti1 4:1, Ti1 4:5.
Verse 10
Evil manners, we say, beget good laws. We have here an account of the evil manners of a certain nameless mongrel Israelite, and the good laws occasioned thereby. I. The offender was the son of an Egyptian father and an Israelitish mother (Lev 24:10); his mother was of the tribe of Dan, Lev 24:11. Neither he nor his father is named, but his mother only, who was an Israelite. This notice is taken of his parentage either, 1. To intimate what occasioned the quarrel he was engaged in. The Jews say, "He offered to set up his tent among the Danites in the right of his mother, but was justly opposed by some or other of that tribe, and informed that his father being an Egyptian he had no part nor lot in the matter, but must look upon himself as a stranger." Or, 2. To show the common ill effect of such mixed marriages. When a daughter of Israel would marry an idolatrous malignant Egyptian, what could be the fruit of such a marriage but a blasphemer? For the children will be apt to take after the worse side, whichsoever it is, and will sooner learn of an Egyptian father to blaspheme than of an Israelitish mother to pray and praise. II. The occasion of the offence was contention: He strove with a man of Israel. The mixed multitude of Egyptians that came up with Israel (Exo 12:38) were in many ways hurtful to them, and this was one, they were often the authors of strife. The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve the purity of it. In this strife he broke out into ill language. Note, When quarrels begin we know not what mischief they will make before they end, nor how treat a matter a little fire may kindle. When men's passion is up they are apt to forget both their reason and their religion, which is a good reason why we should not be apt either to give or to resent provocation, but leave off strife before it be meddled with, because the beginning of it is as the letting forth of water. III. The offence itself was blasphemy and cursing, Lev 24:11. It is supposed that his cause came to be heard before the judges, who determined that he had no right to the privileges of an Israelite, his father being an Egyptian, and that, being enraged at the sentence, 1. He blasphemed the name of the Lord. He blasphemed the name, that is, he blasphemed God, who is known by his name only, not by his nature, or any similitude. Not as if God were a mere name, but his is a name above every name. The translators add of the Lord, which is implied, but not expressed, in the original, for the greater reverence of the divine Majesty: it is a shame that it should be found on record that the very name of Jehovah should be blasphemed; tell it not in Gath. It is a fond conceit of the superstitious Jews that his blasphemy was in pronouncing the name of Jehovah, which they call ineffable: he that made himself known by that name never forbade the calling of him by that name. It is probable that finding himself aggrieved by the divine appointment, which separated between the Israelites and strangers, he impudently reproached both the law and the Law-maker, and set him at defiance. 2. He cursed either God himself (and then his cursing was the same with blaspheming) or the person with whom he strove. Imprecations of mischief are the hellish language of hasty passion, as well as of rooted malice. Or perhaps he cursed the judges that gave sentence against him; he flew in the face of the court, and ridiculed the processes of it; thus he added sin to sin. IV. The caution with which he was proceeded against for this sin. The witnesses or inferior judges brought him and his case (which was somewhat extraordinary) unto Moses (Lev 24:11), according to the order settled (Exo 18:22), and Moses himself would not give judgment hastily, but committed the offender into custody, till he had consulted the oracle in this case. Note, Judges must deliberate; both those that give the verdict and those that give the sentence must consider diligently what they do, and do nothing rashly, for the judgment is God's (Deu 1:17), and before him there will be a rehearing of the cause. They waited to know what was the mind of the Lord, whether he was to be put to death by the hand of the magistrate or to be left to the judgment of God: or, rather, they wanted to know whether he should be stoned, as those were to be that only cursed their parents (Jdg 20:9), or whether, the crime being so much greater, some sorer punishment should be inflicted on him. Note, Those that sit in judgment should sincerely desire, and by prayer and the use of all good means should endeavour to know the mind of the Lord, because they judge for him (Ch2 19:6) and to him they are accountable. V. Sentence passed upon this offender by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth himself: Let all the congregation stone him, v. 14. God could have cut him off by an immediate stroke from heaven, but he would put this honour upon the institution of magistracy to make use of it for the supporting and vindicating of his own glory in the world. Observe, 1. The place of execution appointed: Bring him forth without the camp. To signify their detestation of the crime, they must thus cast out the criminal as an abominable branch, and separate him from them as an unclean thing and unworthy a place in the camp of Israel. 2. The executioners: Let all the congregation do it, to show their zeal for the honour of God's name. Every man should have a stone to throw at him that blasphemes God, reckoning himself nearly concerned in the reproaches cast on God, Psa 69:9. Thus also the greater terror would be cast upon the congregation; those that once helped to stone a blasphemer would ever after dread every thing that bordered upon blasphemy, that looked like it or looked towards it. 3. The solemnity of the execution; before the congregation stoned him, the witnesses were to lay their hands upon his head. The Jews say that this was used in the execution of no criminals but blasphemers; and that it was done with words to this purport, "Thy blood be upon thy own head, for thou thyself hast occasioned it. Let no blame be laid on the law, judges, juries, or witnesses; if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it." VI. A standing law made upon this occasion for the stoning of blasphemers, Lev 24:15, Lev 24:16. Magistrates are the guardians of both tables, and ought to be as jealous for the honour of God against those that speak contemptuously of his being and government as for the public peace and safety against the disturbers of them. 1. A great stress is laid upon this law, as in no case to be dispensed with: He shall surely be put to death; they shall certainly stone him. Those that lightly esteemed God's honour might think it hard to make a man an offender for a word (words are but wind); but God would let them know that they must not make light of such words as these, which come from malice against God in the heart of him that speaks, and must occasion either great guilt or great grief to those that hear. 2. It is made to extend to the strangers that sojourned among them, as well as those that were born in the land. God never made any law to compel strangers to be circumcised and embrace the Jewish religion (proselytes made by force would be no honour to the God of Israel), but he made a law to restrain strangers from speaking evil of the God of Israel. 3. He that was put to death for blasphemy is said to bear his sin, in the punishment of it; no sacrifice being appointed, on the head of which the sin might be transferred, he himself was to bear it upon his own head, as a sacrifice to divine justice. So his own tongue fell upon him (Psa 64:8), and the tongue of a blasphemer will fall heavily. VII. A repetition of some other laws annexed to this new law. 1. That murder should be punished with death (Lev 24:17, and again Lev 24:21), according to an ancient law in Noah's time (Gen 9:6), and the very law of nature, Gen 4:10. 2. That maimers should in like manner be punished by the law of retaliation, Lev 24:19, Lev 24:20. Not that men might in these cases be their own avengers, but they might appeal to the civil magistrate, who should award suffering to the injurious and satisfaction to the injured as should be thought fit in proportion to the hurt done. This law we had before, Exo 22:4, Exo 22:5. And it was more agreeable to that dispensation, in which were revealed the rigour of the law and what sin deserved, than to the dispensation we are under, in which are revealed the grace of the gospel and the remission of sins: and therefore our Saviour has set aside this law (Mat 5:38, Mat 5:39), not to restrain magistrates from executing public justice, but to restrain us all from returning personal injuries and to oblige us to forgive as we are and hope to be forgiven. 3. That hurt done wilfully to a neighbour's cattle should be punished by making good the damage, Lev 24:18, Lev 24:21. Thus the divine law took not only their lives, but their goods also under its protection. Those beasts which belonged to no particular person, but were, as our law speaks, ferae naturae - of a wild nature, it was lawful for them to kill; but not those which any man had a property in. Does God take care for oxen? Yes; for our sakes he does. 4. That strangers, as well as native Israelites, should be both entitled to the benefit of this law, so as not to suffer wrong, and liable to the penalty of this law in case they did wrong. And, it should seem, this is it that brings in these laws here, to show how equitable it was that strangers as well as Israelites should be punished for blasphemy, because strangers as well as Israelites were punishable for other crimes. And there may be this further reason for the recognition of these laws here, God would hereby show what provision he had made for man's safety, in punishing those that were injurious to him, which should be an argument with magistrates to be jealous for his honour, and to punish those that blasphemed his name. If God took care for their comfort, they ought to take care for his glory. VIII. The execution of the blasphemer. Moses did, as it were, sign the warrant or it: He spoke unto the children of Israel to do it, and they did as the Lord commanded Moses, Lev 24:23. This teaches that death is the wages of sin, and that blasphemy in particular is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. But, if those who thus profane the name of God escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. This blasphemer was the first that died by the law of Moses. Stephen, the first that died for the gospel, died by the abuse of this law; the martyr and the malefactor suffered the same death: but how vast the difference between them!
Verse 5
24:5 Traditionally called the “shewbread” (kjv), twelve flat loaves (see Exod 25:30) of this bread, the “Bread of the Presence,” were to be placed on the table in the Holy Place each Sabbath (Exod 25:23-30). This bread was considered part of the priest’s portion of the offerings. David and his men ate this bread while fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 21:1-6; see Matt 12:1-8).
Verse 7
24:7 Since a portion of this bread was to be burned as a representative offering (see 2:2), it would have been made without yeast (that is, unleavened; see 2:11).
Verse 10
24:10-23 A large body of non-Israelites, including other Semitic people as well as Egyptians, came out of Egypt with Israel (Exod 12:38). Among them was a man of mixed parentage, whose mother was an Israelite and whose father was an Egyptian. A quarrel broke out between the man and a full-blooded Israelite. In the altercation, the man who was half-Egyptian verbally cursed the Israelite, using the name of God in an irreverent manner.
Verse 11
24:11 blasphemed . . . with a curse In biblical times, a name was more than a means of identification; it represented a person’s character, reputation, and origin. God is holy, and he was to be regarded as holy in all of Israel’s life (see 10:3). The Israelites had been instructed to treat God’s name with reverence (Exod 20:7). Using his name in a curse reflected a sinful attitude toward God himself (Lev 24:15), and it deserved death (24:13-16). The wording in the Hebrew text is very strong: Two verbs meaning “curse” are used, one that indicated a more formal type of curse, the other a blasphemous or irreverent expression. The two terms are synonymous in 24:15-16. • the Name of the Lord: The Hebrew text refers simply to “the Name” to reflect care and reverence for God’s name.
Verse 14
24:14 Those who heard a blasphemer curse were to lay their hands on his head. This indicated their own innocence by symbolically transferring the guilt (see 16:21), as well as their willingness to accept responsibility for the blasphemer’s death. A single witness was not enough to cause a man to die (see Num 35:30; Deut 17:2-7; Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tim 5:19; Heb 10:28).
Verse 17
24:17 Because human life was patterned after the life of God himself (Gen 1:26, 27), murder was a blasphemous act. It required the same penalty as oral blasphemy (Gen 9:6). For a similar law and its qualifiers, see Exod 21:12-14.
Verse 20
24:20 eye for an eye: The legal principle involved is often called lex talionis (“law of retaliation”), which is that the penalty must fit the crime. When an injured party sought revenge on behalf of their kinsman (see Num 35:19-21), excessive revenge naturally ensued instead of appropriate justice. This provoked even greater retaliation, resulting in a cycle of increasing violence. Lex talionis served to regulate the prosecution of crimes (see also Lev 6:2-7; cp. Exod 21:24; Lev 24:20; Deut 19:21; Matt 5:28-39).
Verse 22
24:22 Although foreigners were not citizens, they were human beings entitled to equal justice under the law (see 16:29, 31).