The oil for the lamps. The loaves of proposition. The punishment of blasphemy.
Prouision of oile for lampes in the Tabernacle. 5. The making, and disposing the loaues of proposition, 10. The punishment of blasphemie, and man slaughter. 18. And the paine of equal reuenge.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E Il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:AND our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Et locutus est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 2Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee the finest and clearest oil of olives, to furnish the lamps continually,Ordina a' figliuoli d'Israele, che ti portino dell'olio di uliva purissimo, e chiaro per mantenere continuamente le lucerneCommand the children of Israel, that they bring vnto thee: oyle of oliues most pure, and cleare, to furnish the lampes continually,Præcipe filiis Israël, ut afferant tibi oleum de olivis purissimum, ac lucidum, ad concinnandas lucernas jugiter, 3Without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the covenant. And Aaron shall set them from evening until morning before the Lord, by a perpetual service and rite in your generations.Fuori del velo del testimonio nel tabernacolo dell'alleanza. E le collocherà Aronne dinanzi al Signore, perché vi sieno dalla sera sino al mattino: ceremonia, e rito perpetuo sarà questo per tutti i vostri posteri.without the veile of the testimonie in the tabernacle of couenant. And Aaron shal sette them from euen vntil morning before the Lord, by a perpetual seruice and rite in your generations.extra velum testimonii in tabernaculo fœderis. Ponetque eas Aaron a vespere usque ad mane coram Domino, cultu rituque perpetuo in generationibus vestris. 4They shall be set upon the most pure candlestick before the Lord continually.Saranno sempre collocate sopra il candelabro tersissimo davanti al Signore.Vpon the candlesticke most cleane shal they be putte alwaies in the sight of the Lord.Super candelabrum mundissimum ponentur semper in conspectu Domini. 5Thou shalt take also fine flour, and shalt bake twelve loaves thereof, two tenths shall be in every loaf.Prenderai pure del fior di farina, e ne farai dodici pani, ognuno de' quali conterrà due decimi (d'un ephi):Thou shalt take also floure, and shalt bake therof twelue breades, which shal haue euerie one two tenthes:Accipies quoque similam, et coques ex ea duodecim panes, qui singuli habebunt duas decimas: 6And thou shalt set them six and six, one against another, upon the most clean table before the Lord.De' quali ne metterai sei per parte sopra la mensa tersissima dinanzi al Signore:which thou shalt sette six one against an other vpon the most cleane table before the Lord,quorum senos altrinsecus super mensam purissimam coram Domino statues: 7And thou shalt put upon them the clearest frankincense, that the bread may be for a memorial of the oblation of the Lord.E sopra di essi porrai dell'incenso lucidissimo, affinché il pane sia monumento d'obblazione al Signore.and thou shalt put vpon them the clearest franckincense, that the bread may be for a moniment of the oblation of the Lord.et pones super eos thus lucidissimum, ut sit panis in monimentum oblationis Domini.
8Every sabbath they shall be changed before the Lord: being received of the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.Ogni sabato si cambieranno (i pani) al cospetto del Signore, ricevendoli da' figliuoli d'Israele per rito sempiterno:Euerie sabbath they shal be changed before the Lord, receiued of the children of Israel by an euerlasting couenant:Per singula sabbata mutabuntur coram Domino suscepti a filiis Israël fœdere sempiterno: 9And they shall be Aaron’s and his sons’, that they may eat them in the holy place: because it is most holy of the sacrifices of the Lord by a perpetual right.E apparterranno per diritto perpetuo ad Aronne, e ai suoi figliuoli, perché li mangino nel luogo santo; perocché sono cosa santissima, e offerta al Signore.and they shal be Aarons and his sonnes, that they may eate them in a holie place: because it is most Holie of the sacrifices of the Lord by a perpetual righr.eruntque Aaron et filiorum ejus, ut comedant eos in loco sancto: quia Sanctum sanctorum est de sacrificiis Domini jure perpetuo. 10And behold there went out the son of a woman of Israel, whom she had of an Egyptian, among the children of Israel: and fell at words in the camp with a man of Israel.Ed eccoti, che un figliuolo di donna Israelita, cui questa aveva avuto da un Egiziano dimorante tra' figliuoli d'Israele, attaccò mischia negli alloggiamenti con uno Israelita.And behold there went forth the Ionne of a woman of Israel, whom she had borne of an Aegyptian among the children of Israel, and fel at wordes in the campe with a man of Israel.Ecce autem egressus filius mulieris Israëlitidis, quem peperat de viro ægyptio inter filios Israël, jurgatus est in castris cum viro Israëlita. 11And when he had blasphemed the name, and had cursed it, he was brought to Moses. (Now his mother was called Salumith, the daughter of Dabri, of the tribe of Dan.)E avendo bestemmiato e maledetto quel nome, fu condotto a Mosè (la madre di lui chiamavasi Salumith, figliuola di Dabri della tribù di Dan):And when he had blasphemed the name, and had cursed it, he was brought to Moyses: (And his mother was called Salumith, the daughter of Dabri of the tribe of Dan.)Cumque blasphemasset nomen, et maledixisset ei, adductus est ad Moysen. (Vocabatur autem mater ejus Salumith, filia Dabri de tribu Dan.) 12And they put him into prison, till they might know what the Lord would command.E lo cacciarono in prigione, persino a tanto che sapessero quel che ordinasse il Signore:And they did cast him into prison, til they might know what our Lord would command.Miseruntque eum in carcerem, donec nossent quid juberet Dominus.
13And the Lord spoke to Moses,Il quale parlò a Mosè,Who spake to Moyses,Qui locutus est ad Moysen, 14Saying: Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp: and let them that heard him, put their hands upon his head: and let all the people stone him.E disse: Conduci il bestemmiatore fuor degli alloggiamenti, e tutti quelli che lo han sentito, pongan le lor mani sul capo di lui, e tutto il popolo lo lapidi.saying: Bring forth the blasphemer without the campe, and let al that heard him, put their handes vpon his head, and let al the people stone him.dicens: Educ blasphemum extra castra, et ponant omnes qui audierunt, manus suas super caput ejus, et lapidet eum populus universus. 15And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel: The man that curseth his God, shall bear his sin:E dirai a' figliuoli d'Israele: Chiunque maledirà il suo Dio, porterà la pena del suo peccato:And to the children of Israel thou shalt speake: The man that curseth his God, shal beare his sinne:Et ad filios Israël loqueris: Homo, qui maledixerit Deo suo, portabit peccatum suum; 16And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die. All the multitude shall stone him, whether he be a native or a stranger. He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die.E chi bestemmierà il nome del Signore, sia messo a morte: lo lapiderà tutto il popolo, sia egli cittadino, o sia forestiero. Chi bestemmierà il nome del Signore, sia messo a morte.and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him dye: al the multitude of the people shal stone him, whether he be a natural, or stranger. He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him dye.et qui blasphemaverit nomen Domini, morte moriatur: lapidibus opprimet eum omnis multitudo, sive ille civis, sive peregrinus fuerit. Qui blasphemaverit nomen Domini, morte moriatur. 17He that striketh and killeth a man: dying let him die.Chi percuoterà, e ucciderà un uomo, sia messo a morte.He that striketh, and killeth a man, dying let him dye.Qui percusserit, et occiderit hominem, morte moriatur. 18He that killeth a beast, shall make it good that is to say, shall give beast for beast.Chi percuoterà una bestia, ne renderà un'altra in sua vece, vale a dire una bestia per un'altra.He that striketh a beast, shal render one for it, that is to say, soule for soule,Qui percusserit animal, reddet vicarium, id est, animam pro anima. 19He that giveth a blemish to any of his neighbours: as he hath done, so shall it be done to him:Chi offenderà nella persona qualunque de' suoi concittadini, sarà fatto ad esso, come egli ha fatto altrui.He that giueth anie of his neighbours a blemish as he did, so shal it be done to him:Qui irrogaverit maculam cuilibet civium suorum, sicut fecit, sic fiet ei:
20Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, shall he restore. What blemish he gave, the like shall he be compelled to suffer.Darà rottura per la rottura, occhio pell'occhio, dente pel dente: qual è il mal, che ha fatto, tal egli il sopporterà.fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth he shal restore. What blemish he gaue, the like shal he be compelled to sustaine.fracturam pro fractura, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente restituet: qualem inflixerit maculam, talem sustinere cogetur. 21He that striketh a beast, shall render another. He that striketh a man shall be punished.Chi ucciderà un giumento, ne renderà un altro: chi ucciderà un uomo, sarà punito.He that striketh a beast, shal render an other. He that striketh a man, shal be punished.Qui percusserit jumentum, reddet aliud. Qui percusserit hominem, punietur. 22Let there be equal judgment among you, whether he be a stranger, or a native that offends: because I am the Lord your God.La stessa giustizia si farà tra voi riguardo al peccato commesso dal cittadino, o dal forestiero: perocché io sono il Signore Dio vostro.Let there be equal iudgement among you, whether a stranger, or a natural sinne: because I am the Lord, your God.Æquum judicium sit inter vos, sive peregrinus, sive civis peccaverit: quia ego sum Dominus Deus vester. 23And Moses spoke to the children of Israel. And they brought forth him that had blasphemed, without the camp: and they stoned him. And the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.E Mosè parlò ai figliuoli d'Israele: e questi condussero fuori degli alloggiamenti il bestemmiatore, e lo lapidarono. E i figliuoli d'Israele fecero, come il Signore aveva ordinato a Mosè.And Moyses spake to the children of Israel: and they brought him forth that had blasphemed, without the campe, and they stoned him. And the children of Israel did as our Lord had commanded Moyses.Locutusque est Moyses ad filios Israël: et eduxerunt eum, qui blasphemaverat, extra castra, ac lapidibus oppresserunt. Feceruntque filii Israël sicut præceperat Dominus Moysi.
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Year of the World 2514.
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Calmet
Command. It is probable that this order was given while Beseleel was working at the tabernacle. (Calmet)
The people were to furnish the necessary sacrifices, etc., by the half sicle, Exodus 30:13, and by voluntary contributions on the three great festivals, on which no one was to appear empty-handed, Exodus 23:15. Some chose to put their contributions towards the temple in the treasury, Luke 21:1.
Oil: Hebrew, "pure oil of the olive beaten, for light to," etc.
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Menochius
Bake. The family of Caath had to perform this office, 1 Paralipomenon 9:32, and 23:29. (Menochius)
[Ver. 7.] Incense. Septuagint add, "salt." Villalpend also places wine on the table. (B. 4:57.)
Haydock
Memorial for the Lord to bless his people, and for them to make their oblations to him as to the living God, from whom all blessings are derived. (Haydock)
Calmet
The incense was burnt instead of the bread, when fresh loaves were placed there. (Calmet)
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Of the, etc. The Israelites gave a sufficient maintenance to the ministers of religion, out of which these provided the loaves; as St. Jerome testifies, Malachias 1.
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Egyptian. Many of these came out along with the Hebrews, Exodus 12:38.
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Calmet
The Name. Some Latin copies add, "of God;" but the best omit it, with the Hebrew, etc. This is, however, the meaning. (Calmet)
Calmet
The son of Salumith being in a rage, cursed that sacred name; (ver. 15,) and, as he perhaps had attempted to vent his fury upon whatever came in his way, God here reiterates the laws against murder, etc., ver. 17. The Jews are so much afraid of taking the name of God (Yehovah) in vain, that they have for a long time abstained from pronouncing it at all; (Haydock) and here they have probably omitted it on purpose. (Houbigant) But this seems to border upon superstition, is contrary to the design of God, who revealed that august name, and inserted it very frequently in the holy Bible, and in the very prayer, which the senators have to recite; (Deuteronomy 21:8,) and, can any one suppose, that he would not have them pronounce it, even in their solemn devotions? Many of the Rabbins suppose, that blasphemy is not to be punished with death, if any other name of God be used: but others are more reasonable. Our Saviour was not accused by the Jews of transgressing, in this respect, when they condemned him as guilty of blasphemy, Matthew 26:64. The name of God, is often used in the same sense as we use the words majesty, lordship, etc., as being more emphatical, and dignified. (Calmet)
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Tirinus
Head. To testify, that if they witness falsehood, they are willing to suffer the same punishment; and to beg that God would accept this victim, and not afflict all his people. (Tirinus)
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His God. Hebrew Elohaiv. Philo explains this of idols, as if it were unlawful to speak ill of them, lest we should proceed to do so with respect to the true God. But the prophets, and the most holy personages, had no scruple in speaking contemptuously of the pagan divinities.
Calmet
His sin, and the punishment of it. (Calmet)
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Menochius
Blemish. Hebrew mum, denotes any thing by which the body is disfigured or hurt. (Menochius)
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Breach, or fracture: if he break a bone, the like detriment shall he receive.
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Striketh, so as to kill or render useless, percusserit, (Haydock) ver. 18.
Punished. Septuagint, "slain." They omit the first part of this verse.
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Calmet
Stranger. The Jews improperly restrain this law to those nations only which have embraced their religion. God requires that the judges shall not shew more favour to their countrymen, than to others who may dwell among them. (Calmet)
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Two tenthes of an ephi, that is, two gomors A gomor of Manna, which is the tenth part of an ephi, sufficied one man for a day. Exod. 16. v. 16. & 36. so that one of these loaues was as much as al the meate which two do ordinarily eate in one day.
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This Law de signing equalitie, was to put a limite, not to enforce to reuenge, for the partie damaged, if he would, might remitte al or part. S. Aug. li. 19. c. 25. cont. Faustum.
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Tertullian † AD 220 Ad Nationes 1.13
… By resorting to these customs, you deliberately deviate from your own religious rites to those of strangers. For the Jewish feasts on the Sabbath and “the Purification,” and Jewish also are the ceremonies of the lamps,
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 6.4
… Therefore it was necessary that it should be lighted before day. For he says, “ they shall burn it until the morning,” that is, until the coming of Christ. But the Sun of chastity and of righteousness having arisen, there is no need of other light.
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St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 6.4
… But the temple (in which the light was kept burning) refers to “the lot of their inheritance,” inasmuch as a light can shine in only one house. Therefore it was necessary that it should be lighted before day. For he says,
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3.14
… Restrain thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile.” Of this same thing in Leviticus: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Bring forth him who hath cursed abroad outside the camp; and all who heard him shall place their hands upon his head, and all the assembly of the children of Israel shall stone him.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 16
However, it is right not to overlook what a little before came into my recollection, and was brought forward for a testimony. And what then was this? We were speaking of the Jews, and of the chief rulers amongst them, how that they were blamed, as seeking retaliation. And yet this the law permitted them; “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 4
Why have we said these things? Because we differ in nothing from children. Wilt thou hear their doctrines also, that they are those of children? “Eye for eye,” it is said, “and tooth for tooth.” (
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2. COMMAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT THEY BRING UNTO THEE PURE OIL. — Note: There were four functions of the priests in the tabernacle: the first, and most excellent, of which we have treated hitherto, was the immolation of sacrifices; the second, the burning of incense on the altar appointed for this purpose within the Holy Place, concerning which function it is said in Exodus XXX, 7; the third, the setting forth of the shewbread; the fourth, the lighting of the lamps in the candlestick: concerning these two last functions this chapter treats. Moreover the children of Israel, or the whole people, were bound to provide the expenses necessary for these four functions, because the priests performed them in the name of the whole people. Therefore first, in the census of the people each one paid half a shekel for this purpose, Exodus XXX, 13; secondly, at the three feasts each year they offered individually something for the same purpose, namely as much as they wished from devotion. For the commandment was given in Exodus XXIII, 15: "Thou shalt not appear empty before me" (which was done three times in the year); thirdly, there was a treasury, into which each one cast what he wished for the expenses of the temple, concerning which Luke cap. XXI, 1; fourthly, just as the people were bound to bring certain victims for sin at public expense, as appeared cap. IV, vers. 14, and cap. XVI, vers. 5: so likewise they were bound to bring oil for the lamps, and fine flour for making the shewbread, as is here commanded; not that this is commanded to any individual in particular, but to the whole people: whence the princes and magistrates paid these things from the common treasury. For the firstfruits, tithes and other oblations went to the right and sustenance of the priests: for they had received no other portion or inheritance from God among their fellow countrymen. It happened, however, not rarely, that some of the more religious, especially princes, whether Hebrews or Gentiles, either wholly or in great part provided these expenses, as King Hezekiah did, II Paralipomenon XXXI, 3, and Seleucus king of Asia, II Maccabees III, 3, and Artaxerxes king of the Persians, I Esdras VII, 23. PURE OIL OF OLIVES AND BRIGHT. — In Hebrew, pure oil beaten out for light (as the Septuagint translates it), that is oil flowing from the beating of the olive, liquid and bright, with the dregs removed and the sediment. TO LIGHT THE LAMPS (that is to kindle the lamps: thus the Septuagint, Chaldean and Hebrew) CONTINUALLY (that is every night, as is explained in the following verse; for the lamps burned from evening until morning; but in the morning they were extinguished: see what is said in Exodus XXVII, 20) WITHOUT THE VEIL OF THE TESTIMONY, — which is to say that which is spread over the testimony, that is the ark which contains the testimony, that is the law or the tables of the law, which testify what God wishes to be done by us. It is a metonymy, as if to say: Let these lamps burn in the Holy Place before the Holy of Holies.
The Tropological Sense: The Lamps as Apostles and Doctors Tropologically, the lamps are the Apostles and Doctors, to whom Christ says: "You are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world." Hear St. Paulinus, epistle 31, addressing St. Augustine, the Doctor of the Church: "O lamp worthy to be placed upon the candlestick of the Church, which widely in Catholic cities, from sevenfold linen, pouring forth light nourished by the oil of gladness, dost thou disperse the thick darkness of heretics, and dost thou make clear the light of truth from the confusion of darkness by the brightness of thy discourse! Thy mouth I might justly call a pipe of living water, and a vein of an eternal fountain: because Christ has become a fountain of living water springing up unto eternal life. With desire for him my soul hath thirsted in thee, and my land hath coveted to be inebriated with the abundance of thy river."
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5. THOU SHALT TAKE ALSO FINE FLOUR, AND SHALT BAKE TWELVE LOAVES OF IT. — Note: These are the loaves of proposition, that is, set forth before the Lord, to which the people gave fine flour; from which not laymen, but the Levites themselves, namely the Caathites, made and baked these loaves, as is evident from I Paralipomenon IX, 32, and chapter XXIII, verse 29. In like manner the Levites presided over the aromatics, from which the priests themselves, as is evident from I Paralipomenon IX, 30, made the sacred ointments, prescribed in Exodus XXX, 23 and following. Moreover these loaves were made from the finest fine flour, to which, for kneading, a fourth part of a hin of the finest oil was poured instead of water, that is three pounds of oil, namely thirty-six ounces. Then together with the loaves they placed a fourth part of a hin of wine (which, as I shall presently say, they afterwards poured out to God), that is three pounds of wine, with four ounces. For wine is heavier than oil. Note secondly: These loaves were twelve, so that each tribe might as it were offer its own loaf to God: for by these twelve loaves the twelve tribes protested that they were continually nourished by God; and in turn God, as it were attracted by this grateful offering of theirs, showed that He remembered them, and that their memory and memorial were always before Him, so that He would continue to nourish and care for them. Hence thirdly, upon these loaves they placed frankincense, to signify that they owed everything to God, and that they referred everything to God as received, through the loaves of proposition, which they always placed before the Lord with frankincense: for frankincense signified that the loaves were offered to the Lord, as being His, and owed to Him. Moreover this frankincense, when the week had elapsed, when the loaves were removed and new ones substituted, was burned to God with sacrifices, as was commanded in Leviticus II, last verse. Fourthly, the Septuagint, the Chaldean paraphrase, and Philo add that salt was placed upon these loaves: for this was as it were the table of God; but salt is wont to be placed on every table, to season the food and make it more savory; for in Leviticus II, 13, it is thus commanded: "In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt." Fifthly, on each sabbath new loaves, fresh and warm, were placed on the table, as is evident from verse 8; the old ones were removed, and the priests ate them: for it was permitted to them alone to eat of these loaves, as is evident from Matthew XII, 4. Sixthly, these loaves were unleavened, and each of them weighed two tenths, that is thirteen and a half pounds, as shall presently be evident: therefore these were large loaves. Whence seventhly, on the table were placed six and six loaves on either side, that is one against the other, so that six were placed one upon another, in the manner of two towers; or rather more fittingly, so that two single loaves were joined together, one placed upon the other; thus there were two rows of loaves, so that in the first row, below on the table, three loaves were placed in succession, each of which had another placed upon it: then next to them was placed another similar row of three loaves, with three others placed upon them. It is probable that the individual loaves were placed in large cups, or bowls below, and above were covered (lest they be soiled by dust and flies) with other vessels, which are called censers, as in Exodus XXV, 29, says Vilalpandus and Vatablus. Finally to each row of loaves on either side was placed, first, one cup, that is in all two cups full of frankincense; secondly, a vessel full of salt; thirdly, a cup with wine on either side, that is two cups, which appear to have been covered likewise, both on account of flies and dust, and lest the strength of the wine should evaporate and turn sour. Eighthly, these loaves were offered from public resources, namely the people offered the finest fine flour, and the Levites ground it. St. Jerome adds in Malachi I: "The loaves," he says, "of proposition, according to Hebrew traditions, the priests themselves had to sow, themselves reap, themselves grind, themselves bake." But this tradition does not agree with Scripture, nor with Josephus. Finally, that wine was also offered to God on this table together with the loaves, so that a complete and perpetual banquet might be set forth to God thereon, Vilalpandus teaches from Josephus, and from the table carved on the triumphal arch of Titus at Rome, in his book IV On the Temple, chapter XIV. Whence it is also probable that the wine, lest it turn sour, was renewed with the loaves on each sabbath, the old being poured out in honor of God, that is poured out before the oracle and the Holy of Holies. For Palestinian wine, since it is very potent, could easily be kept for eight days: we experience this in Spanish wine. Vilalpandus, however, thinks that the wine was poured out on the same day on which it was brought.
Tropological Sense: The Shewbread as Works of Mercy Tropologically, these loaves signify works of mercy, by which we approach the Holy of Holies, that is, heaven, which ought always to be in the sight of the Lord, because we ought always to be prepared for them. Secondly, they ought to be twelve, that is, abundant and liberal, so that not on one day or week, but on every occasion we give generous alms: for the number twelve is a symbol of universality. Thirdly, frankincense most bright is imposed upon them, because these works of charity ought to be done, not to seek vain glory, but with the sole regard to God, and so that we offer this sacrifice of charity to Him alone. Fourthly, salt is imposed upon them, so that it may be signified that these works ought to be performed with discretion, so that we bestow them more upon the needy and those to whom they are useful. Again, salt signifies mortification, which is accomplished by fasting and other means, frankincense signifies prayer: for, as the Angel says to Tobias, cap. XII: "Prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving." Fifthly, they are changed on each sabbath, because on the Lord's Day Christians are accustomed to make collections of alms, as is evident from I Cor. XVI, vers. 1. Again, when a new sabbath comes, that is, when we have received a new benefit, or remember one received, we ought to make new alms, and give thanks to God through them. Sixthly, the loaves were unleavened, because almsgiving ought to be joined with purity of life; and they were great loaves, because almsgiving ought to be great: for, as St. Chrysostom says: "Almsgiving does not impoverish, but enriches; for it is promised: Give, and it shall be given unto you." Seventhly, six were on the right side, and six on the left side, because we ought to be beneficent both toward enemies and toward friends, so that we overcome evil with good. Eighthly, they were made of the finest flour, because not vile, but better things ought to be given to God and to the poor. Thus Ribera, lib. II De Templo, cap. XI. Hear a famous example of mercy and beneficence among the Gentiles, which Valerius Maximus relates, lib. IV, cap. VIII: "There was," he says, "one Gillias, excellent in wealth; but far richer in spirit than in riches, and always occupied rather in spending than in acquiring money: so much so that his house was thought to be a kind of workshop of munificence. Food was given to those laboring in want, dowries to maidens pressed by poverty, aid to those shattered by loss. Guests also were received most kindly, adorned with various gifts and sent away. At one time he fed and clothed five hundred Gelensian horsemen at once, driven by the force of a storm into his lands. Why say more? You would say not some mortal man, but the kind bosom of propitious fortune, which Gillias possessed, was the common patrimony of all." What then should a Christian do, what an Ecclesiastic? Surely his house ought to be a workshop of almsgiving, lest he be overcome by the pagan Gillias. Let him have a table always prepared for the poor, loaves always set before or to be set before the needy, thus with St. John the Almsgiver he will be blessed by God, and the more he gives, the more he will receive. For it is written and promised by Truth itself: "Give, and it shall be given unto you." Let him hear St. Chrysostom, hom. 53 and 68 to the People: "The more," he says, "you give to God, the more He loves you; to those to whom He owes more, He gives more; and grace, when it sees someone to whom it owes nothing, flees and turns away from him; but it looks upon him to whom it owes something, and straightway runs to him. All things therefore must be done by you, so that you may have God as your debtor." You will say: How shall I accomplish this? Chrysostom answers: "Now is the time for this matter: for now He hungers, now He thirsts, now He is naked in the poor; but when this life has passed away, He will not need you; and now He wishes to be in need because of you. He wishes to be fed by you, so that He may feed you; to be clothed, so that He may clothe you. Despise money therefore, lest you be despised; that you may be rich, give your things liberally; that you may gather, scatter: imitate the sower. Sow in blessings, so that from blessings you may reap." But if you say: I have children to be enriched; Chrysostom meets this: "If you leave all things to your sons," he says, "you have entrusted all your things to a perilous guardianship. But if you leave God to them as heir and guardian, you have left them innumerable treasures. If you wish to leave your sons rich in safety, leave God to them as your debtor, and give them this bond: God will repay the hundredfold which He promised. Therefore lend to God."
Allegorical Sense: The Shewbread as the Eucharist Allegorically, these loaves signify the Eucharist, in which under the species of bread the body of Christ is set forth. Thus St. Jerome in I Malach., Cyril, catechesis 4 mystagog., Damascene, lib. IV, cap. XIV, Isychius and Rupert. This bread is of two tenths, that is, of two natures: for Christ is both God and man; and there are 12 loaves, because the twelve Apostles first ate this Eucharistic supper; frankincense is imposed upon them, that is, thanksgiving and oblation, which holds the principal place in the Lord's Supper, says Isychius; they are not permitted to be eaten except in a holy place, that is, in a pure and holy soul and conscience.
Concerning the Weight of the Loaves Each one shall have two tenths. — A tenth was the tenth part of an ephah, or three modii. For an ephah was the tenth part of a cor, that is, 30 modii. Josephus, book III, chapter III, calls the tenth an assaron, and says it contained 7 cotyles. Now a cotyle, according to Ribera, was a measure of 9 ounces: therefore a tenth had 63 ounces, that is, 5 pounds and 3 ounces; but two tenths and the loaves made from them were of ten and a half pounds. However, at the end of the Pentateuch I shall show that a gomor, or assaron, was a measure containing 8 pounds, or 96 ounces of water, or wine, or Palestinian wheat. For all these things weigh equally, as Vilalpando testifies. Moreover, a vessel containing 8 pounds of Palestinian wheat contained only 5 pounds of flour of the same with 4 ounces. For the wheat of Palestine is far better than ours, denser and heavier. Since therefore a vessel of our wheat, for example a gomor, yields flour (for flour becomes rarer by grinding, and thus lighter than wheat) a gomor and moreover a third part of a gomor, as our millers, who have carefully observed this, testify; a gomor of Palestinian wheat will yield a gomor and a half of flour. Wherefore, since a gomor and a half of flour weighed the same as its gomor of wheat from which it was ground, it follows that a gomor of wheat weighing 8 pounds yielded a sesquigomor of flour, so that a gomor of flour weighed 5 pounds with 4 ounces: for thus a sesquigomor of flour weighed 8 pounds of its wheat from which it was ground. A gomor, therefore, or assaron of Palestinian wheat, contained 5 pounds of flour with 4 ounces; two gomor, and the loaf made from it contained 10 pounds with 8 ounces. To this add the weight of water, which is mixed with flour to make bread; which weight is easily a fourth part of the weight of the flour: for three ounces of flour easily, on account of the water mixed in, give four ounces of bread, as our bakers testify; wherefore 10 pounds with 8 ounces of flour from two assarons, on account of the water mixed in, gave 13 and a half pounds of bread. Each of these loaves therefore was 13 and a half pounds. Great therefore were these loaves, and occupied almost the whole table (being small): namely, to a great God, and one giving greatly, great things must be rendered, especially by some whole tribe and people. Finally, Vilalpando holds that each of these loaves had two gomor of flour, in remembrance of the fact that God on Friday, for that day and for the following sabbath (on which rest was to be observed), rained down two gomor of manna, Exodus XVI, 22. He adds that others also held that two tenths of fine flour contained 12 pounds, and with water added in the bread 16 pounds. But thus these loaves would have been too great and immense; which to avoid, others, such as Robert Cenalis and Aleazar, who have written exactly concerning the ancient measures of the Hebrews, here and elsewhere take the tenth, not of an ephah, but of a gomor, whose tenth part was nearly 10 ounces, which two tenths would have made a loaf of nearly 19 ounces, that is, one pound and seven ounces. But this opinion is opposed by the fact that Holy Scripture and Josephus assert and express that this tenth is an assaron, and is the tenth not of a gomor, but of an ephah, Exodus XVI, last verse. Add: thus these loaves would have been sufficiently small. Let therefore what has been said stand, that these loaves were 13 and a half pounds.
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Upon the most pure table, — upon the golden table.
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THAT IT MAY BE BREAD FOR A MEMORIAL OF THE OBLATION OF THE LORD, — as if to say, That this bread may be a continual memorial of the continual oblation which the Hebrews make to the Lord with this bread; whence from the Hebrew you may thus translate: You shall put frankincense upon them, and the frankincense shall be to the bread for a memorial of the burning, that is, of the burnt oblation of the Lord; as if to say, You shall impose frankincense upon the loaves, so that the frankincense may signify the bread offered to God, and this continual oblation of loaves may be made to the Lord; for frankincense is burned to God alone by fire. Otherwise Vatable and Cajetan translate and explain it, namely, so that the frankincense on the sabbath may be in place of the bread a burning, that is, may be burned in the fire to the Lord; for the memorial, in chapter II and elsewhere, is called that part of the minchah which was burned to the Lord in place of the whole minchah.
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THEY SHALL BE CHANGED EVERY SABBATH, — namely, lest they become too dried out or corrupted, and become unfit for eating. Thus Abulensis. Received from the children of Israel, — as if to say, The material of which, that is, the flour, is given by the children of Israel, but kneaded by the Levites. BY AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, — because these loaves are as it were a perpetual symbol of the covenant made between me and the people, and continually impress its memory upon them. I have said something similar concerning the salt of the covenant, chapter II, 13. Hence Abulensis holds that even in the time of the schism under Jeroboam, these loaves were always offered to the Lord, and that they, in the number of 12, as prescribed in verse 6, both because many of the twelve tribes in this schism adhered to the two tribes, to God and to the temple; and because it is said here that the rite of these loaves is to be observed by an everlasting covenant, that is, as long as the old law and Judaism were to last. In a similar manner the twelve stones in the breastplate remained in the time of the schism, indeed after the overthrow of the ten tribes; for Josephus testifies that he saw them in the breastplate.
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AND AARON AND HIS SONS SHALL EAT THEM IN A HOLY PLACE, — in the court of the tabernacle. It is not probable that, with the number of priests increasing, these twelve loaves were distributed among all the priests whatsoever: for thus each of them would not have had a morsel; but since the priests were distributed into 24 classes, as is evident from I Paralipomenons XXIV, each of which performed its own week of ministry in turn in the tabernacle, it is probable that each class distributed the loaves of its own week among themselves. Thus Abulensis. From this place it is gathered that it was permitted only to male sons of priests to eat these loaves; and this is what Christ says, Matthew XII, 5: "Which (loaves of proposition) it was not lawful for him to eat, but only for the priests." This also the following words here indicate: "Because it is a holy thing of the sacrifices of the Lord," that is to say, These loaves shall be eaten only by the priests and their sons, because they are held to be most holy, and are among the oblations of the Lord; for they are offered in the very Holy Place, while the victims themselves are offered outside the Holy Place in the court; but those things which were very holy could be eaten only by males of the priestly stock, as is gathered from Numbers XVIII, 10. Note: The oblation of these loaves was not a sacrifice properly so called; for no immolation was made in them. They are therefore called here a sacrifice, that is an oblation, by catachresis. Yet our Gabriel Vasquez, III part., disput. 220, num. 28, holds that these loaves were sacrifices: because, he says, they were baked by the priests in an oven, and that in a holy place, namely in the court, as if this baking were their change and sacrifice. But this is both uncertain, as I have already said, and insufficient; for in the oven the flour was changed, not the bread. Add that this baking and change was made in the oven, not on the altar; but the altar is the proper place of sacrifice: hence also the mincha or bread baked in a pan, griddle or oven, was not a sacrifice unless a part of it was burned to God on the altar, as is evident from Leviticus II.
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10. Behold now he went forth, etc., he quarreled, that is to say, Behold now the Egyptian began to quarrel; for thus to go forth is sometimes taken for to attack and to begin something, as in Exodus II, 1; Deuteronomy XIII, 13. This history is woven in here, because it happened at the same time when the preceding laws were given. The cause of the quarrel is not expressed. The Jews say he quarreled because he was drunk. But Abulensis refutes this; for the Hebrews in the desert lacked wine and strong drink, and lived on manna and water alone, nor did they exceed in food and drink, but ate equally much each day, namely one omer. Others suspect that he wished to pitch his tent with the Danites, because he was of a Danite mother, although he had an Egyptian father, and that from this the quarrel arose; but these too are guessing.
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11. When he had blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed it. — The Jews translate, he uttered that name (namely of God, the tetragrammaton, which is called antonomastically שם השם shem hasshem, that is "the name"), and cursed. Whence they think he committed two sins: first, that he pronounced the name of God the tetragrammaton, which is ineffable to the Jews; second, that he cursed. But they err, for there was only one sin of his, namely blasphemy or cursing against God. Whence the Hebrew is to be translated thus, he pierced, that is blasphemed, that name (holy and august of God), and cursed; for נקב nukab, or קבב kabab signifies to hollow out, to pierce, and thence by metaphor to empty of honor, that is to curse and blaspheme. The Rabbis fable that this blasphemer was the son of that Egyptian whom Moses killed, Exodus II, 12, and that he himself first blasphemed God, then cursed Moses, wishing to avenge the death of his father; but God, having care of His own, wished rather to avenge the injury to Moses than His own, therefore He said: Bring out the curser, and not: Bring out the blasphemer; thus these makers of fables. Allegorically, this blasphemer signifies the Antichrist, says Radulphus: for he was of the tribe of Dan, from which likewise the Antichrist shall be born; whence all the Danites shall adhere to the Antichrist, as to their kinsman, and scarcely any of them shall believe in Christ; and therefore in the Apocalypse VII, where the elect from each tribe are sealed and enumerated, the tribe of Dan alone is omitted, as Aretas, Bede, Haymo, Anselm, Rupert and Irenaeus, lib. V, cap. XXX expound there. The mother of the blasphemer is called Salumith, that is retribution, daughter of Dabri, that is of speech, because the damnation to which the Antichrist is destined shall be repaid by his blasphemies: all the people shall stone him, because all the elect on the day of his casting down shall condemn him, and by their sentence shall hurl him into the abyss.
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14. All who heard (his blasphemy) shall lay their hands upon his head, and all the people shall stone him. — It was the custom among the Jews that witnesses would lay their hands upon the head of the accused, as if signifying that this head was impious against which they bore witness, and therefore deserving of death. Lyran adds that they were accustomed to say: "Your malice has brought you to death, not we;" as if to say: Impute your death to your own head, not to us. Whence to lay hands upon someone's head is to bear witness against him, as is evident from Daniel XIII, 34. Oleaster gives another reason, namely that the ancients imposed hands upon the head of the accused, as upon a propitiatory victim; for hands were imposed upon this, as is evident from what is said in chapter IV, 4 and 24, and chapter XVI, 21. For blasphemy, idolatry and similar grave crimes, unless they are avenged, seem by their enormity to stand by and pollute those nearby, and indeed the whole region, and render it liable to divine vengeance; in order to avert which, they deliver to God the guilty and condemned one, and lay hands upon him, as if by this rite they actually pray that God may roll upon him all the punishment of sin, and may not avenge the crime committed upon the region or people. In a similar manner God commanded hands to be laid upon idolaters, Deuteronomy XVII, 7. See also Deuteronomy XXI, 6, 7, 8, 9. Rightly, says Theodoret, Question XXXIII, he adapted to blasphemy the law of death, and the punishment of homicide, and commanded that the guilty party be stoned, because the blasphemer, being unable to kill the Creator, wounds him with his tongue. Whence St. Augustine, on that passage of Matthew XXVI, 65, "he blasphemed," says: "Those who blaspheme Christ reigning in the heavens sin no less than those who crucified him walking on the earth;" so that it is not surprising that all civil, canonical and divine laws punish blasphemers so severely.
The Punishment of Blasphemers Note also the punishment of the blasphemer Sennacherib, who on account of his blasphemy was slain with 185,000 men; thus also Paul delivered the blasphemer to Satan, I Tim. I, last verse. Learn here how great a crime blasphemy is, and how severely God punishes it, even in this life. For concerning the future, the sentence of Christ stands: "All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." Thus the blasphemer Pharao, saying: "I know not the Lord," was drowned in the Red Sea. Thus the Syrians, saying: "The Lord is God of the mountains, and is not God of the valleys;" many were slain by few Israelites in the valley in battle, III Kings XX. Thus the blasphemer Antichrist shall be cast down into the depths of hell, Apocalypse XIII, 6, and XIX, 20. Gregory of Tours relates, in book II of his History, chapter VII, and Sidonius, book VIII, epistle penultimate, that when the Goths were besieging Orleans, Anianus the Bishop of the city with his clergy was chanting Litanies along the walls; hearing this, a priest captive among the Goths exclaimed: "You are led by vain hope, Anianus, if you believe that enemies can be driven away by words; those same prayers have not availed for other cities." The Saints heard, and immediately deprived the blasphemer of life. Julian the Apostate in the Persian war, struck by a lance between the ribs by divine power, cast his own blood toward heaven with his hand: "Satisfy, he said, your wrath, Galilean" (thus he called Christ), "you have conquered, you have conquered." Thus Sozomen, Rufinus, Eutropius. Arius, blasphemous against the Son of God, while purging his bowels, poured forth his entrails and expired. Nestorius's tongue was eaten away by worms, because he had said that the Blessed Virgin was the bearer of Christ, not the bearer of God. Olympius, an Arian Bishop, while bathing in the bath of the Elyanenses at Carthage, when he was publicly blaspheming the Trinity, was consumed by three javelin strikes, as if by thunderbolts, in the year of Christ 510. Paul the Deacon bears witness, book XV in Anastasius. Frederick II the Emperor said: "There were three notable impostors who deceived the human race, Moses, Christ, Mahomet;" wherefore he was condemned by Innocent IV in the Council of Lyons, and stripped of his empire. Lipsius relates this blasphemy of his, book I of Political Warnings, chapter IV. These are ancient; these are of our age and ours alone. The heretics were thinking to capture Halle (that town is near Brussels, famous for a miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin). One of them approaching the city said: "I, he said, with my own hands will cut off the nose of the Halle woman" (thus he called the statue of the Blessed Virgin). The Virgin hears and brings it about that a great leaden nose is sent from the city to him. That wretched man lived, by the name John Zwickius, and was a constant mockery to the very Dutch for many years, and perhaps still lives: the matter is most well known. It is ten years since the Dutch captured the chapel of the Blessed Virgin of Sichem: from that time they lost Ostend, and all things have gone ill for them (whereas previously they went well). There was among them a knight having a blind horse, who coming to the chapel mocking said: "If Mary works miracles here, let her give sight to my horse." The Virgin heard the blasphemy, and immediately restored sight to the horse, but blinded the blasphemous knight himself. His companion confessed this before death and at death, who on account of another crime was subjected to the extreme punishment at Weert, as the Praetor of Weert himself, who presided over the punishment and torture, wrote to me, who at that time was dwelling in mission at the Blessed Virgin of Sichem, and by the wonderful aid of the Virgin I escaped the hands of the Dutch.
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15. Sin, — the punishment of sin.
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16. He that blasphemeth, shall die the death, etc., whether he be a citizen or a stranger, — even a Gentile and uncircumcised. For he here by custom and the law of nations shall have recourse to the Jewish court on account of the crime committed there, as this blasphemer, though an Egyptian, was nevertheless subjected to punishment by Moses and the Jews.
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18. He shall render a substitute, that is, soul for soul, — namely a living animal in place of the animal killed by him.
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19. He that giveth a blemish, — that is a scar, or mutilation, as follows.
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20. Breach for breach, — as if he break another's foot or hand, his foot or hand shall be broken.
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21. He that smiteth (killeth) a beast, shall restore another. He that smiteth (killeth) a man, shall be punished. — In Hebrew, shall die, namely shall be put to death; for he repeats here in general the law of retaliation proposed in verse 17, which he has hitherto illustrated with various examples. It is probable, says Abulensis, that some Doctors assert, namely that the punishment of retaliation ought to have been inflicted by the judge, if the injured party demanded it; but if he did not demand it, but preferred money, then the judge was not bound, indeed could not inflict the punishment of retaliation.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Et locutus est Dominus ad Moysen dicens » :
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v. 2 « Praecipe filiis Israel, ut afferant tibi oleum de olivis purissimum ac lucidum, ad concinnandas lucernas iugiter ».
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v. 3 « Extra velum lestimonii in tabernaculo foederis ponet [que] » — omitte copulam codices hebraei et filii eius, uti Ex. 97,91 — « a vespere usque ad mane coram Domino, cultu [ritugue] perpetuo in generationibus vesris ».
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v. & « Super candelabrum mundissimum », 1. e. ex auro mundissimo (Ex. 25,31), « ponentur semper in conspectu Dominz ».
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v. 5 « Acciptes quoque similam, et coques ex ea duodecim panes » , placentas (cf. 2,4 et Ex. 29,2), « qui singuli habebunt duas decimas » (cf. Ex. 29,540).
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v. 6 « Quorum senos altrinsecus super mensam purissimam », 1. e. auro purissimo (Ex. 25,94) deauratam, adiectivum quippe uti supra v. accipitur, « coram Domno statues ». At Hebr. : et pones eos ordinibus duobus, senos in utrovis ordine; Xtemque-v. 1 iubetur thus imponi ordznibus (Ca?.). Fortasse seni panes invicem superponebantur, et thus supremo tantum utrimque pani imponebatur. Porro duodecim panes totidem tribus repraesentabant (lans.). v. * « Et pones super eos thus lucidissimum , ut sit panis in monimentum oblationis Domini ». Hebr. : et erit n cibum ad monimentum , combustio Iahve; quibus verbis (cf. 2,9 sq.) illis panibus tribuitur ratio sacrificeli; non vero recensebantur Lev. 2 et 6,14-18, quod loca illa agant de sacrificiis privatorum, panes vero nomine populi proponerentur. Tempore Joseph: (III. 10. 7) incensum duabus lancibus aureis panibus imponebatur, quo rursum suggeritur, senos panes fuisse invicem impositos. At Moysis lam aevo eas lances esse adhibitas testimonium non efficit.
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v. 8 « Per singula sabbata mutabuntur coram Domino [suscepti] a f iiis Israel foedere sempiterno »,
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V. 9 « eruntque Aaron et filiorum etus , ut comedant eos in. loco dn. quia sanctum. sanctorum est » ei« de sacrificiis Domini iure perpetuo ». Hebr. v. 1: et erit (fem.). in panem in recordationem combustio Domini, Si, quod est obvium, haec referas ad solum thus, dure illud dicitur fieri in panem seu cibum, cum thus nullatenus rationem cibi habeat. Neque admitti potest quod explicat Vat., thus fuisse « vice panis cremandum », primum quia id textus minime dicit, dein quia panes propositionis nullatenus erant sacrificium , nihil eorum cremabatur, nihil eorum vice ecremandum erat. Quae eadem diflicultas obtinet, si verba referas ad panes et (hus : quomodo enim panes cum thure dicantur combustio Domini, cum panum nihil omnino comburatur? Tandem, quomodovis iungas, dura est CONSU ob duplex 5. LXX imponi panibus iubent thus et sal, now, quam vocem oriri potuisse corruptione sequentis nn55 evidens est. Potuit tamen aeque facile an95 oriri corruptione praecedentis nom. Unde haud improbabile videtur textum primitus fuisse hune : Et pones super ordines thus lucidissimum et sal, et erit — thus, vel thus cum sale — in recordationem combustio Domini. v. 15-22 habetur lex, quae aliarum legum formam imitatur; orditur sc. vocibus *2 vw v^N (cf. Lev. 15; 17,3. 8. 10. 13; 18,6; 20,2. 9: 29,4. 18), dum v. 17. 19 narrationem producit simpliciore formula '5 vN*, desinitque v. 22 in clausulam « Ego Iahve ete. ». Item prius v. 93 incisum correspondet 23,5454; 91,91; ultimum eiusdem versus incisum est ad instar 16,354; 8,36; Num. 1,55; 9,35. Sed illud ea lex peculiare habet, ut sit contexta narrationi cuidam historicae v. 10- | 1^: cf. medium incisum v. 23. Eiusmodi leges narrationi intime contextas etiam habes Ex. 12; 13,1-16; 20; 25-31; Lev. 10,8-11; 16; cf. Num. 15,37-^1. Pertinet igitur Lev. 2^4 ad continuam historiae mosaicae narrationem, quae est horum sacrorum librorum fundamentum. Quaeritur porro, cur Lev. 24 pracise insertum reperiatur inter catalogum festorum (cap. 23) et legem de anno sabbatieo et iubilaeo (cap. 25), quo etiam contextus interrumpi videatur. Ubi tres se offerunt hypotheses. Prima , Lev. 24 primitus alio loco fuisse insertum, v. g. post cap. 26 vel 27, et librariorum incuria huc tandem esse delapsum. Secunda, Lev. 24 ab ipso primo legum collectore h. l. minus sapienter esse insertum , cuiusmodi error auctori etiam inspirato conüngere potest. Tertia, ab eodem sapienter h. l. esse insertum ; quod Lev. 23 et 25 affines tractent materias, non probare individue primitus cohaesisse, aut eodem tempore esse nata, cum in legibus in Lev. collectis quandoque materiae minime affines se contingant, ideoque fortuita esse possit rerum cap. 23 et 95 tractatarum affinitas. Sed - demus etiam, voluisse Deum illas materias affines festorum et iubilaei duabus legibus, eodem circiter tempore definire, at potuit post primam legem editam, altera nondum promulgata, ille vir blasphemia Deiiram provocare. Ergo non est sufficiens ratio affirmandi inversi capitum ordinis , assentimurque Sylvto dicenti: « Cur autem praesens historia h. l. narretur, non alia videtur inquirenda esse ratio, quam quod evenerit sub tempus, quo praecepta priora fuerunt data »..-
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v. 10 « Ecce autem egressus filius mulieris Israelitidis quem peblasphemandi pruritum (Sy/v.); omnino quippe nititur narrator a scelere tam atroci gentem electam excusare — « nter filios Israel, turgatus est in castris cum viro Israelita ». Mlud inter filtos Israel trahit Malv. ad de viro Aegyptio, et falso hinc infert eum Aegyptium amplexum esse Israelitarum fidem. Potiusiunge cum egressus : ilevir — - egressus de tabernaculo suo vel aliunde in publicum , n zedtwum filio- — — rum Israel, peccatum patravit omnino publicum et scandalosum. - v. 41 « Cumque blasphemasset » filius mulieris Israelitidis « nomen et maledixisset ei, adductus est ad Moysen. Vocabatur autem mater Filii nomen supprimitur, uti etiam viri Aegyptii.
24:12
v. 19 « Mi?seruntque eum 4n carcerem, donec nossent, quid iuberet Dominus ». Hebr. : ad declarandum 2psis secundum os Domini; ut consulto Domino Moyses ipsos, quid actu opus esset, edoceret; et hinc, w/ cudicaretur ille etc. (LXX). Cum apa etiam significet declarare (Gen. 30,28), Targ. Syr. vertere v2 clare pronuntiare, LXX £xovouácac; tamen sequens verbum vertere omnes maledixit vel blasphemaxvit, praeter Chald. ad iram provocavit et Syr. extulit. Tamen verbi 2p significatio detestari, blasphemare constat e Num. 23,8. 25; Iob 3,8; 5,3; Prov. 11,26. — v. 16 priore loco omnes habent nomen Domini;item altero loco Vulg. LXX, et ib. Syr. nomen. meum. Ergo hoc altero loco lectio dubia. Dum igitur probari nequit, in textu legis divinae v. 16 fucata quadam reverentia expunctum esse nomen divinum, id in narratione v. 11 factum esse omnino est concedendum. In toto V. T. pro nm" mw vel solo m" nunquam scribitur absolute Qn, quae Iudaeorum posteriorum fuit praxis (cf. A. Geiger: Urschrift etc., p. 273 sq.). Intolerabile his videbatur nomen sacrosanctum iungere verbo, quod blasphemandi haberet sensum.
24:13
v. 13 « Qui locutus est ad Moysen »
24:14
v. 14& « dicens - Educ blasphemum extra castra ». « Tanta est blasphemiae enormitas, ut blasphemus non tantum non sit permittendus vivere in communi aliorum hominum consortio, sed nec ibi eum mori deceat » (Sylv.). Cf. Aet. 7,97. Ceterum extremum supplicium consueverat extra castra vel urbem sumi. « Ef ponant omnes, qui audierunt, manus suas super caput eius », non ut calpam suam in illum devolverent (O/easter ap. tiam (Bonfr.), nam blasphemus nullatenus tut hostia immolabatur; sed « tamquam testes blasphemiae. Qua ceremonia significabant primo se affirmare, quod res ita vere contigisset et caput istud esset reum et morti obnoxium; secundo tacite rogabant Deum, ut illum puniendo poenam a se et a republica averterent » (Jans.). « Et lapidet eum populus universus ». An hic uti Deut. 17,1 testes primos lapides iecerint, non liquet.
24:15
v. 15 « Et ad filios Israel loqueris : Homo, qui maledizerit Deo $40 », — LXX ignorant suffixum — « portabit peccatum suum »; v. 15 et 16^; portabit peccatum swwum generaliori modo eandem poenam enuntiat, atque morte moriatur. Ergo voce Deus v. 15 non designatur iudex (Ca?.), non gentilium deus, sive eum bona fide deum esse quis reputet (TAeodoret.), sive non reputet (PAilo - Vita Moysis III), sed Deus verus alio quolibet praeter Iahve nomine appellatus.
Arg. — Cur legi v. 15 sq. de sermone in Deum irreverenti et de blasphemia addantur alia de homicidio etc., fortasse quaeres. Ratio potuit esse, quod ea edicta eo praecise tempore fuerint magis necessaria, quare Deus hac occasione usus sit ad ea promulganda. Praeterea adverte, v. 17 blasphemiam quoad poenam aequiparari homicidio; v. 18-20 enuntiari legem talionis, qua iniuria illata aequa/? iniuria puniatur. Unde rursum sequitur, blasphemiam , quam vulgi homines flocci faciunt, non esse minus malum homicidio, imo aequale et fortasse maius, cum gravior morte poenainfligi nequeat.
24:16
v. 16 « et qui blasphemaverit nomen Domini, morte moriatur : lapidibus opprimet eum omnis multitudo, sive ille civis sive peregrinus fuerit. Qui blasphemaverit nomen Domini, morte moriatur ». Cum tam 55p (Num. 29,6 cf. cum Deut. 23,5) quam 2p: (Num. 93,7 sq.) idem sonet atque *^5, omnia haec verba unicam exprimunt maledictionem, h. l. in Deum blasphemiam, idemque parallelismo quodam edicit
24:17
v. 47 « Qui percusserit [et occiderit] hominem, morte moriatur ». Hlud et occiderit, omnino secundum contextum , etiam LXX h.l. suppleverunt, itemque v. 18 et altera v. 21 parte.
24:18
v. 18 « Qu? percusserit animal, reddet |vicarium , 1. e.] animam pro anima » , animal eiusdem omnino conditionis.
24:19
v. 19 « Qwui irrogaverit maculam cuilibet civium suorum, sicut. fecit, sic fiet ei ». Et illico, quae maculae intellieantur, explicatur :
24:20
v. 20 « fracturam pro fractura » (Lev. 21,19), « oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente restituet. Qualem znflixerit maculam, talem. sustinere cogetur ». Cf. Ex. 91,94 sq.
24:21
v. 21 « Qui percusserit iumentum, reddet. aliud; qui percusserit. hominem , punietur », seu verius occidetur (Hebr.). Hic versus repetit v. 17 sq. : fortasse sunt duae unici textus versiones. v. 92 Unum ideoque « aequum iudicium. sit inter vos , sive peregrinus sive civis peccaverit » , — Hebr. : sit — « quia ego sum Dominus Deus vester ». Cf. Ex. 12, 49. Aequalitatem h. 1. crediderim restringi ad causas percussionis et mutilationis. quam modo exponebamus materia, tum e stilo solemniore, maxime vero ex eo quod. cap. 27 instar supplementi adnectatur. Formulae « Ego Iahve Deus vester » et « Facite praecepta mea etc. » 25,17 sq. separant sermonem de iubilaei effectu quoad fruges v. 14-17 ab appendicibus v. 23- 28 illi immediate iungendis. Ante alias v. 39-55 appendices inseritur v. 38 formula « Ego Iahve Deus vester, qui eduxi vos etc. ». 26,1 sq., quibus cap. 25 connectitur cum 26,3 sqq., bis habet « Ego Iahve Deus vester » et semel « Ego Iahve ». Praemiorum tractatus 26,13 absolvitur formula « Ego Iahve Deus vester, qui eduxi vos etc. », et poenarum tractatus v. 44 sq.formula « Ego Iahve Deus eorum, qui eduxi eos etc. » et « Ego Iahve ». Sequitur v. 45 subscriptio legis non huius tantum, sed aliarum item legum. Verba initio 26,1 « Ego Dominus Deus vester » Heór. Sam. Chald. Syr. trahunt ad priora, Heór. etiam reliquum v. 1 et v. 9. Reapse haee intime cap. 25 spectant. Antequam Deus 26,3 sqq. observatorum mandatorum et praeceptorum praemia recenset, breve eorum mandata, quae nulla non occasione inculcabat : cultum unius Dei haec explanationem h. l. non exigebant. Praemittit tamen Deus cap. 25 novam aliquam sabbati extensionem , annum. sabbaticum, eique Hae leges apud solos Israelitas exstant; sed nota, observandi quoque sabbati, quod a mundi exordio consecraverat Deus, vix ulla inter gentes reperiri vestigia. Ergo neque affirmare fas est, ante Moysen nullam inter Hebraeos fuisse anni septimi et quinquagesimi sanctitatem. Non fuerat ea utique lege divina sancita, cum ne sabdiluvium, ignoramus. In Aegypto non facile observabatur, tum quod ab Aegyptiorum moribus ea lex abhorreret, cum quod Hebraeorum plerique ibidem agricolae non essent. Ob eandem rationem haud poterat plene servari in deserto, sed traditur Critica. extus cap. 25 difficilior, quod is in aliquibus sit corruptus. Tamen, attentis et textus Masorethici divisionibus et iis, quae de saeri textus articulis certis formulis distinguendis toties observabamus, sequentia suggerimus. Merito igitur Masor. v.8 a praecedentibus distin- — guunt, cum is misso anno sibDato de iubilaeo sermonem inducat. v. 17 sq. offendimus unam e consuetis clausulis, quae sermonem v. 14-. 17 de frugum venditione concludit; alteram v. 38. Porro v. 19-99 — ostendemus loco esse movendum atque ad calcem sermonis de anno sabbatico transferendum. Accipe iam capitis conspectum. d a) Annus sabbaticus v. 1-7 (Masor. D) et v. 19-22. 2 P b) Iubilaeum. Illud indicitur v. 8-12, eius effectus v. 13 generali propositione enun- | 1 tiantur, postea singillatim describuntur : &) quoad fruges v. 14-17, additurque clausula v. 17 sq. Appendices : N) terra ipsa non venditur v. 23 sq. (D); 3) pauperibus indulgentia exhibenda v. 25-28 (D). B) quoad domus et homines : E N) de domibus in urbe v. 29 sq. velruri v. 31 sitis; de — - domibus levitarum v. 32 34 (D); : » 2) de Hebraeo paupere in domo Hebraei degente v. 35-37; additurque clausula v. 38 (D). Appendices : N) de Hebraeo, qui se vendidit Hebraeo v. 39-46 (D) ; 3) de Hebraeo, qui se vendidit advenae v. 47-55. Arg. — Septimo quoque anno requies concedenda terrae; abstinendum ab agrorum cultura, messe, VIindpnuag iis, quae sponte nascun- 3 tur, vescendum. Pur P
24:3
Candelabrum with Seven Branches
The seven lamps were lit during the night (Ex. 27:21; Lev. 24:3); whether and how many lamps were also lit during the day cannot be deduced with certainty from the biblical texts; the tradition is uncertain: according to some, the lamps were lit …
24:5
… Iud., III, 6, 6; Mēnāhōth, V, 1); for each one two tenths of an ephah (about seven and a half liters) of fine flour were used (Lev. 24:5; sifted eleven times, according to Mēnāhōth, VI, 7); after the exile they were made at the expense of the Temple treasury (Neh. 10:33), in a special room (Tāmīdh, III, 3; Middōth, …
24:7
Incense was prescribed for the oblations (Lev. 2, 1. 2. 15. 16), while it was forbidden in the sacrifices of expiation (ibid. 5, 11) and in the offerings for the rite of jealousy (Num. 5, 15); the twelve "loaves of presentation" were also sprinkled with it (Lev. 24, 7). So great was the importance of incense that sometimes it is expressly named together with the
… With the loaves purest incense was also offered (Lev. 24:7; Siphra', fol. 263, 1; the Septuagint adds: "salt"). …
24:9
… The law made no mystery about this (Lev. 24:9). The number twelve has been connected with the months
24:14
15, 5), for divination, magic (Lev. 20, 6.27; Deut. 18, 10 ff.), for blasphemy (Lev. 24, 14), for the profanation of the Sabbath (Ex. 31, 14 f.; Num. 15, 35), for the stubborn disobedience of a son toward his parents (Deut. 21, 21), for the fornication of a young woman and …
24:16
… In the Old Testament b. was judged so grave that it was punished with death: "qui blasphemaverit nomen Domini morte moriatur" (Lev. 24:16), and St. Thomas declares: "omnium peccatorum ex genere suo gravissimum est" (Sum. …
… pronounced by Caiaphas and ratified by the Sanhedrin, was therefore inflicted because he declared himself the Son of God (cf. Jn. 19:7). Making oneself like God was considered as blasphemy (cf. Mk. 2:7 and Jn. 10:33) and therefore punishable by death (Lev. 24:16). The Sanhedrin therefore pronounces the death sentence, because the right had been left to it, but being unable to execute the sentence, it was necessary to refer the case and have …
24:19
In Lev. 24:19-20, in a series of penal prescriptions, it is similarly said: "Whoever mistreats his neighbor, let the same treatment be done to him: wound for wound, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: whatever …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.