A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Deuteronomy · Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI.
Verſ. 2. THou ſhalt therefore ſacrifice the Paſſeover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, &c.]
Becauſe of the Paſſeover, here enjoyned to be ſacrificed, it is ſaid, that it muſt be of the flock and the herd, it cannot be meant of the Paſchall-lamb which was killed on the fourteenth day of this monethmonth at even: but either by the Paſſeover we muſt here underſtand joyntly both the Paſchal-lamb and thoſe other ſacrifices which did accompany the eating of the Paſchal-lamb, which were of ſheep or bullocks, as namely thoſe enjoyned Numb. 28. 19. &c. and ſuch other as men would voluntarily bring, an example whereof we have 2. Chron. 35. 7, 8, &c. or elſe by the Paſſeover is here meant the feaſt of the Paſſeover, and then thus the words muſt be underſtood, Thou ſhalt ſacrifice the Paſſeover, that is, Thou ſhalt celebrate the Paſſeover with ſacrifices of the flock and of the herd, &c.
Verſ. 3. Seven dayes ſhalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction, &c.]
That is, the bread which is a memoriall of your afflictions in Egypt (as being uſually the bread of thoſe that lived in affliction and poverty) and of your haſty coming out from thence, before your bread had time to be leavened, concerning which ſee the note upon Exod. 12. 15.
Verſ. 4. And there ſhall be no leavened bread ſeen with th…e in all thy coasts ſeven dayes.]
As they might not eat any leavened bread all the time of this feaſt, ſo neither might they ſuffer any leaven to be in their houſes, to wit, to make it the ſurer that they might not be tempted to eat of it, or to uſe any leaven in the bread which they baked.
Neither ſhall there any thing of the fleſh, which thou ſacrificedſt the firſt day at even, remain all night untill the morning.]
This muſt needs be meant of the fleſh of the Paſchal-lamb, which was killed at the end of the foureteenth day, and was to be eaten all of it that night following before the morning of the fifteenth day, or elſe the remainder of it was to be b…rnt in the fire; concerning which ſee the note upon Exod. 12. 10. For though the Paſchal-lamb was not prope…ly a ſacrifice, b… cauſe no part of it was offered upon the altar; yet conſidering that it was killed to the honour of God, and as a type of Chriſt, the Lamb of God that takes away the ſinnes of the world, it needs not ſeem ſtrange▪ that here it is ſaid to be ſ…crificed.
Verſ. 5. Thou mayest not ſacrifice the Paſſeover within any of thy gates, &c.]
That is, not in any town or city ſave onelyonly in Jeruſalem▪ where Chriſt our p…ſchallamb was ſacrificed for us. And indeed, after God had c…oſen that to be the place of his publick worſhip, they did onelyonly eat the Paſſeover there. See Luke 2. 41. but in any private houſe in Jeruſalem they might both kill and eat the Paſſeover, Matth. 26. 18. onelyonly their ſacrifices which they offered at that …e…ſt might o…ely be offered in the temple.
Verſ. 6. There thou ſhalt ſacrifice the Paſſe…ver at even, at the going down of the ſunne, at the ſeaſon that thou camest forth out of Egypt.▪
That is▪ the very ſame day of the monethmonth Abib when thou cameſt forth ou… of Egypt, to wit, the …oureteenth day of the monethmonth: or if theſe words, at the ſeaſon that thou cameſt forth out of Egypt, have reſerence to that which went before, at even, at the going down of the ſunne, yet it muſt not be taken ſo as if the time of ſunſetting were exactly the very ti…e when the I…raelites went out of Egypt (for it is evident, Exod. 12. 29, &c. that it was after midnight ere they had leave given them to go) but onelyonly that the night after that evening when they firſt eat the Paſſeover they went out of Egypt, and were then indeed p…eparing to be gone; whence it was that they were appointed to eat the Paſſeover in ſuch haſte, the Lord having told them beforehand of that which ſho…ld happen▪ and had ſcarce leiſure to make an end of celebrating that holy f…aſt, becauſe the Egypt…ans were ſo eager to have them pack up and be gone.
Verſ. 7. And thou ſhalt t…rn in the morning and go unto thy tents.]
That is, the morning after the feaſt o… unleavened bread was ended, which was kept ſeven dayes; ſo that the …ext words in the …ighth verſe, ſix dayes thou ſhalt eat, &c. are added to ſhew what morning this was that is here mentioned, to wit, the morrow …fter the ſolemn aſſembly on the ſev…nth day. Indeed ſome hold that the morning here mentioned muſt be the morning of the fiftee…th day, the morning after they had eaten the Paſſeover, which is altogether improbable, becauſe the fifteenth day was a ſolemn feſtivall, and therefore it is not likely that liberty of travelling and leaving Je…uſalem on that day was allowed them; and becauſe we ſhall ſtill find that the people uſed to ſtay at Jeruſalem all the ſeven dayes of this feaſt, which we may ſee, 2. Chron. 30. 21. and ſo in other place….
Verſ. 9. Begin to number the ſeven weeks from ſuch time as thou beginneſt to put the ſicle to the corn.]
Namely, to reap the wave-ſheaf, the firſt-fruits of barley-harveſt, which was on the ſixteenth day of that monethmonth of…ered unto the Lord. See the note upon Le…it. 23. 10, 11.
Verſ. 10. And thou ſhalt k…ep the feaſt of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewi…-off…ring, &c.]
…his contribution or tribute of a …eewill-offering is neither the ſacrifice appointed for the feaſt-day, Numb. 18. 27, 31. nor the two loaves and ſacrifices with them▪ commanded Levit. 23. 17, 20. for theſe were not voluntary offerings, but neceſſarily enjoyned; over and beſides them God here appointeth men voluntarily to bring unto him of their fruits what they could and would.
Verſ. 12. And thou ſhalt remember that thou waſt a bondman in Egypt, &c.]
This is added, fir…, to ſhew that this was the chief end of ſolemnizing this fea…t, to cauſe them with themſelves to remember this their deliverance; ſ…condly, as a motive to obey willingly both this and all other the commandment… of God; thirdly▪ as a motive to make them reſpect their ſervants and the poore ſtrangers in this t…eir feaſt, as in …he former verſe he had appointed.
Verſ. 13. Thou ſhalt obſerve the feast of tabernacles ſeven dayes, after tha… thou ha…t gathered in thy corn and thy wine.]
S…e the note upon Exod. …3. 16.
Verſ. 18. Judges and officers …halt thou make thee in all thy gates, &c.]
To wit, judges to give judge…ent, and of…icers to ex…cute the ſentence of the judges: and becauſe▪ the places of …di…tur… were uſually in the gates of their towns and cities, therefore it is ſaid, Judges and officers ſhalt thou make th…e in all thy gates▪
Verſ. 19. For a gift d…th blind the eyes of the wiſe, and pervert the words of the righteous.]
That is, it will make a wiſe man, that is able to judge between right and wrong, think and perſwade himſelf that he doth right, when he doth manifeſt wrong, and it will make a good man pervert juſtic… even againſt his conſcience, though in other things he makes conſcience of his wayes.
Verſ. 21. Thou ſh…t not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord, &c.]
This Law the Iſra…lites did afterwards many times break, as we may ſ…e, Judg. 3. 7. 1. Kings 14. 23. 16. 33. 18. 19. which was in them groſſe idolatry; and yet the Patriarchs did formerly worſhip God in groves, and that without ſinne. S…e the note on Gen. 21. 33.