Leviticus 25

Leviticus 25:1

And the daughter - And by analogy his son also, and his wife, because the reason of the law here added, concerns all. And nothing is more common than to name one kind for the rest of the same nature, as also is done Leviticus 18:6. She profaneth her father - Exposeth his person and office, and consequently religion, to contempt.

Leviticus 25:2

The garments - Those holy garments, which were peculiar to him. Shall not uncover his head - This being then the posture of mourners, Leviticus 10:6, though afterwards the custom was changed and mourners covered their heads, 2 Samuel 15:30, Esther 6:12. Nor rent his clothes - Another expression of mourning.

Leviticus 25:3

Go in - Into the chamber or house where they lie. This and divers other rites here prescribed were from hence translated by the Heathens into their use, whose priests were put under the same obligations.

Leviticus 25:4

Out of the sanctuary - To attend the funerals of any person: for upon other occasions he might and did commonly go out. Nor profane the sanctuary - Either by the performance of a civility, or by entering into the sanctuary before the seven days allotted for his cleansing, Numbers 19:11, were expired. The crown of the anointing oil - Or, the crown, the golden plate, which is called the holy crown, Exodus 29:6, and the anointing oil of his God are upon him. So there is only an ellipsis of the conjunction and, which is frequent. And these two things, being most eminent, are put for the rest, as the sign is put for the thing signified, that is, for he is God’s high - priest.

Leviticus 25:5

In her virginity - Or, a virgin, partly because as he was a type of Christ, so his wife was a type of the church, which is compared to a virgin, and partly for greater caution and assurance that his wife was not a defiled or deflowered person. Most of these things are forbidden to all the priests; and here to the high - priest, to shew that he also, and he especially is obliged to the same cautions.

Leviticus 25:7

I the Lord sanctify him - I have separated him from all other men for my immediate service, and therefore will not have that race corrupted.

Leviticus 25:9

Of thy seed - Whether the high priest, or the inferior ones. That hath - In all successive ages, any defect or excess of parts, any notorious deformity or imperfection in his body. The reason hereof is partly typical, that he, might more fully represent Christ, the great high - priest, who was typified both by the priest and sacrifice, and therefore both were to be without blemish; partly moral, to teach all Christians and especially ministers of holy things, what purity and perfection of heart and life they should labour after, and that notorious blemishes in the mind or conversation, render a man unfit for the ministry of the gospel; and partly prudential, because such blemishes were apt to breed contempt of the person; and consequently, of his function, and of the holy things wherein he ministered. For which reason, such persons as have notorious defects or deformities, are still unfit for the ministry except where there are eminent gifts and graces, which vindicate a man from the contemptibleness of his bodily presence. The particular defect’s here mentioned, I shall not enlarge upon because some of the Hebrew words are diversely interpreted, and because the use of these things being abolished, the knowledge of them is not necessary.

Leviticus 25:10

A flat nose - Most restrain this word to the nose, and to some great deformity relating to it. But according to others, it signifies more generally, a person that wants some member or members, because the next word, to which it is opposed, signifies one that hath more members than he should.

Leviticus 25:13

A blemish - Any notorious blemish whereby he is disfigured, though not here mentioned.

Leviticus 25:14

He shall eat - Which a priest having any uncleanness might not do whereby God would shew the great difference between natural infirmities sent upon a man by God, and moral defilements which a man brought upon himself.

Leviticus 25:15

To the veil - To the second veil which was between the holy and the most holy place, to burn incense, to order the shew - bread, and to dress the lamps, which were nigh unto that veil though without. My altar - The altar of burnt - offering, which was without the sanctuary. The sense is, he shall not execute the priest’s office, which was to be done in those two places.

Leviticus 25:19

Separate themselves - When any uncleanness is upon them, as appears from Leviticus 22:3,4. From the holy things - From eating of those parts of the offerings, which belong to them. Only of the tithes they might eat. They - The children of Israel. And it ill became the priests to profane or pollute what the people did hallow.

Leviticus 25:20

Goeth unto the holy things - To eat them, or to touch them; for if the touch of one of the people having his uncleanness upon him defiled the thing he touched, much more was it so in the priest. Cut off - From my ordinances by excommunication: He shall be excluded both from the administration, and from the participation of them.

Leviticus 25:24

His food - His portion, the means of his subsistence. This may be added, to signify why there was no greater nor longer a penalty put upon the priests than upon the people in the same case, because his necessity craved some mitigation: tho’ otherwise the priests being more sacred persons, deserved a greater punishment.

Leviticus 25:26

Lest they bear sin - Incur guilt and punishment. For it - For the neglect or violation of it.

Leviticus 25:27

No stranger - Of a strange family, who is not a priest; but there is an exception to this rule, Leviticus 22:11. A sojourner - One that comes to his house and abides there for a season, and eats at his table.

Leviticus 25:29

A stranger - To one of another family, who is no priest. Yet the priest’s wife, though of another family, might eat. The reason of which difference is, because the wife passeth into the name, state and privileges of her husband, from whom the family is denominated.

Leviticus 25:31

Unto it - Over and above the principle, and besides the ram to be offered to God, Leviticus 5:15. And shall give unto the priest the holy thing - That is, the worth of it, which the priest was either to take to himself or to offer to God, as the nature of the thing was.

Leviticus 25:32

They - The people shall not profane them, by eating them: or the priests shall not profane them, that is, suffer the people to profane them, without censure and punishment.

Leviticus 25:33

They - That is, the priests, shall not (the negative particle being understood out of the foregoing clause) suffer them - That is, the people, to bear the iniquity of trespass - That is, the punishment of their sin, which they might expect from God, and for the prevention whereof the priest was to see restitution made.

Leviticus 25:35

Strangers - Such as were proselytes.

Leviticus 25:36

A male - For a burnt - offering, which was always of that kind: but the females were accepted in peace - offerings, and sin - offerings.

Leviticus 25:42

A stranger’s hand - From proselytes: even from those, such should not be accepted, much less from the Israelites. The bread of your God - That is, the sacrifices.

Leviticus 25:45

In one day - Because it favoured of cruelty.

Leviticus 25:49

Hallowed, or sanctified, either by you in keeping my holy commands, or upon you in executing my holy and righteous judgments. I will manifest myself to be an holy God that will not bear the transgression of my laws.

Leviticus 25:53

Ye shall proclaim - Cause to be proclaimed, by the priests. Holy convocations - Days for your assembling together to my worship in a special manner.

Leviticus 25:54

Ye shall do no work therein - So it runs in the general for the sabbath day, and for the day of expiation, Leviticus 23:28, excluding all works about earthly employments whether of profit or of pleasure; but upon other feast days he forbids only servile works, as Leviticus 23:7,21,36, for surely this manifest difference in the expressions used by the wife God must needs imply a difference in the things. In all your dwellings - Other feasts, were to be kept before the Lord in Jerusalem only, whither all the males were to come for that end; but the sabbath was to be kept in all places, both in synagogues, and in their private houses.

Leviticus 25:55

These are the feasts of the Lord - Or rather, the solemnities: (for the day of atonement was a fast:) and so the word is used, Isaiah 33:20, where Zion is called the city of our solemnities.