{"commentary":{"id":"adam-clarke","name":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clarke","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"92e28c9363c876d215e296f2fe04abb3ab7e34a2aacebdf06bd62ae79c6e3dba","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":57,"totalNumberOfChapters":854,"totalNumberOfVerses":13318,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"LEV","commentaryId":"adam-clarke","name":"Leviticus","commonName":"Leviticus","introduction":"The Greek version of the Septuagint, and the Vulgate Latin, have given the title of Leviticus to the third book of the Pentateuch, and the name has been retained in almost all the modern versions. The book was thus called because it treats principally of the laws and regulations of the Levites and priests in general. In Hebrew it is termed ויקרא Vaiyikra, \"And he called,\" which is the first word in the book, and which, as in preceding cases, became the running title to the whole. It contains an account of the ceremonies to be observed in the offering of burnt-sacrifices; meat, peace, and sin-offerings; the consecration of priests, together with the institution of the three grand national festivals of the Jews, the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, with a great variety of other ecclesiastical matters. It seems to contain little more than the history of what passed during the eight days of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, though Archbishop Usher supposes that it comprises the history of the transactions of a whole month, viz., from April 21 to May 21, of the year of the world 2514, which answers to the first month of the second year after the departure from Egypt. As there are no data by which any chronological arrangement of the facts mentioned in it can be made, it would be useless to encumber the page with conjectures which, because uncertain, can answer no end to the serious reader for doctrine, reproof, or edification in righteousness. As the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ, the whole sacrificial system was intended to point out that Lamb of God, Christ Jesus, who takes away the sin of the world.In reading over this book, this point should be kept particularly in view, as without this spiritual reference no interest can be excited by a perusal of the work. The principal events recorded in this book may be thus deduced in the order of the chapters: Moses having set up the tabernacle, as has been related in the conclusion of the preceding book; and the cloud of the Divine glory, the symbol of the presence of God, having rested upon it; God called to him out of this tabernacle, and delivered the laws and precepts contained in the first seven chapters.In Leviticus 1 he prescribes every thing relative to the nature and quality of burnt offerings, and the ceremonies which should be observed, as well by the person who brought the sacrifice as by the priest who offered it.In Leviticus 2. he treats of meat-offerings of fine flour with oil and frankincense; of cakes, and the oblations of first-fruits.Leviticus 3. treats of peace-offerings, prescribes the ceremonies to be used in such offerings, and the parts which should be consumed by fire.Leviticus 4. treats of the offerings made for sins of ignorance; for the sins of the priests, rulers, and of the common people.Leviticus 5. treats of the sin of him who, being adjured as a witness, conceals his knowledge of a fact; the case of him who touches an unclean thing; of him who binds himself by a vow or an oath; and of trespass-offerings in cases of sacrilege, and in sins of ignorance.Leviticus 6. treats of the trespass-offerings for sins knowingly committed; and of the offerings for the priests, the parts which should be consumed, and the parts which should be considered as the priests' portion.And in Leviticus 7. the same subject is continued.Leviticus 8. treats of the consecration of Aaron and his sons; their sin-offering; burnt-offering; ram of consecration; and the time during which these solemn rites should continue.Leviticus 9. After Aaron and his sons were consecrated, on the eighth day they were commanded to offer sin-offerings and burnt-offerings for themselves and for the people, which they accordingly did, and Aaron and Moses having blessed the people, a fire came forth from before the Lord, and consumed the offering that was laid upon the altar.Leviticus 10. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, having offered strange fire before the Lord, are consumed; and the priests are forbidden the use of wine and all inebriating liquors.Leviticus 11. treats of clean and unclean beasts, fishes, birds, and reptiles.Leviticus 12. treats of the purification of women after child-birth, and the offerings they should present before the Lord.Leviticus 13. prescribes the manner of discerning the infection of the leprosy in persons, garments, and houses.Leviticus 14. prescribes the sacrifices and ceremonies which should be offered by those who were cleansed from the leprosy.Leviticus 15. treats of certain uncleannesses in man and woman; and of their purifications.Leviticus 16. treats of the solemn yearly expiation to be made for the sins of the priest and of the people, of the goat and bullock for a sacrifice, and of the scapegoat; all which should be offered annually on the tenth day of the seventh month.Leviticus 17. The Israelites are commanded to offer all their sacrifices at the tabernacle; the eating of blood is prohibited, as also the flesh of those animals which die of themselves, and of those that are torn by dogs.Leviticus 18. shows the different degrees within which marriages were not to be contracted, and prohibits various acts of impurity.Leviticus 19. recapitulates a variety of laws which had been mentioned in the preceding book, (Exodus), and adds several new ones.Leviticus 20. prohibits the consecration of their children to Molech, forbids their consulting wizards and those which had familiar spirits, and also a variety of incestuous and unnatural mixtures.Leviticus 21. gives different ordinances concerning the mourning and marriages of priests, and prohibits those from the sacerdotal office who have certain personal defects. Leviticus 22. treats of those infirmities and uncleannesses which rendered the priests unfit to officiate in sacred things, and lays down directions for the perfection of the sacrifices which should be offered to the Lord. Leviticus 23. treats of the Sabbath and the great annual festivals - the passover, pentecost, feast of trumpets, day of atonement, and feast of tabernacles. Leviticus 24. treats of the oil for the lamps, and the shew-bread; the law concerning which had already been given, see Exodus 25, etc.; mentions the case of the person who blasphemed God, and his punishment; lays down the law in cases of blasphemy and murder; and recapitulates the lex talionis, or law of like for like, prescribed Exodus 21. Leviticus 25. recapitulates the law, given Exodus 23, relative to the Sabbatical year; prescribes the year of jubilee; and lays down a variety of statutes relative to mercy, kindness, benevolence, charity, etc. Leviticus 26. prohibits idolatry, promises a great variety of blessings to the obedient, and threatens the disobedient with many and grievous curses. Leviticus 27. treats of vows, of things devoted, and of the tithes which should be given for the service of the tabernacle. No Chronological Table can be affixed to this book, as the transactions of it seem to have been included within the space of eight days, or of a month at the utmost, as we have already seen. And even some of the facts related here seem to have taken place previously to the erection of the tabernacle; nor is the order in which the others occurred so distinguished as to enable us to lay down the precise days in which they took place.","order":3,"numberOfChapters":27,"sha256":"b4601df7f6f45a940af66483985fcb49d26ba671b51bf263d7a5b914e3e6e6c3","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/LEV/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"LEV","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":27,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/LEV/27.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"LEV","chapter":27},"totalNumberOfVerses":326},"chapter":{"number":8,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["Take Aaron and his sons - The whole subject of this chapter has been anticipated in the notes, Exo 28:1 (note), etc., and Exo 29:1 (note), etc., in which all the sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies have been explained in considerable detail; and to those notes the reader is referred. It is only necessary to observe that Aaron and his sons were not anointed until now. Before, the thing was commanded; now, first performed. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["He put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim - The Urim and Thummim are here supposed to be something different from the breastplate itself. See Clarke's note on Exo 28:15, See Clarke's note on Exo 28:16, See Clarke's note on Exo 28:30. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["And he put the mitre - See Clarke's note on Exo 28:36. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["The bullock for the sin-offering - This was offered each day during the seven days of consecration. See Exo 29:36. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":23,"content":["Put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, etc. - See this significant ceremony explained in the note on Exo 29:20 (note). Calmet remarks that the consecration of the high priest among the Romans bore a considerable resemblance to the consecration of the Jewish high priest. \"The Roman priest, clothed with a garment of silk, his head covered with a crown of gold adorned with sacred ribbons, was conducted into a subterranean place, over which there was a floor of planks pierced through with many holes. On this floor they sacrificed a bullock, whose blood was freely poured out on the planks or floor, which running through the holes fell upon the priest, who stood under to receive this sacred aspersion, and who, in order to be completely covered with the blood, took care to present the whole of his body, his clothes, face, eyes, nose, lips, and even his tongue, to receive the drops of blood falling through the pierced floor above. Being completely covered with this sanguineous shower, he ascended from his subterranean place, and was acknowledged and adored by the people as Pontifex Maximus, or supreme high priest.\" These rites, which bear a striking allusion to those used in the consecration of Aaron, and from which they were probably borrowed, and disguised by the introduction of their own superstitions, are particularly described by Aurelius Prudentius, in his poem entitled Romani Martyris Supplicium, from which I shall select those verses, the subject of which is given above, as the passage is curious, and the work not common.\n\"Summus sacerdos nempe sub terram scrobe\nActa in profundum consecrandus mergitur,\nMire infulatus, festa vittis tempora\nNectens, corona tum repexus aurea,\nCinctu Gabino sericam fultus togam.\nTabulis superne strata texunt pulpita,\nRimosa rari pegmatis compagibus,\nScindunt subinde vel terebrant aream,\nCrebroque lignum perforant acumine,\nPateat minutis ut frequens hiatibus - \nHic ut statuta est immolanda bellua,\nPectus sacrata dividunt venabulo,\nEructat amplum volnus undam sanguinis - etc.\nTum per frequentes mille rimarum vias\nIllapsus imber, tabidum rorem pluit,\nDefossus intus quem sacerdos excipit,\nGuttas ad omnes turpe subjectans caput,\nEt veste et omni putrefactus corpore:\nQuin os supinat, obvias offert genas\nSupponit aures, labra, nares objicit,\nOculos et ipsos perluit liquoribus,\nNec jam palato parcit, et linguam rigat,\nDonec cruorem totus atrum combibat - \nProcedit inde pontifex vlsu horridus - etc.\nOmnes salutant atque adorant eminus,\nVilis quod illum sanguls, et bos mortuus\nFoedis latentem sub cavernis laverint.\"\nOf these lines the reader will not be displeased to find the following poetical version: - \n\"For when, with sacred pomp and solemn state,\nTheir great high priest the Romans consecrate,\nHis silken vest in Gabine cincture bound,\nA festal fillet twines his temples round:\nAnd, while aloft the gorgeous mitre shines,\nHis awful brow a golden crown confines.\nIn a deep dyke, for mystic ritual made,\nHe stands, surrounded with terrific shade.\nHigh o'er his holy head a stage they place,\nAdorn with paintings, and with statues grace;\nThen with keen piercers perforate the floor,\nTill thronging apertures admit no more.\nThither the victim ox is now convey'd,\nTo glut the vengeance of the thirsty blade.\nThe sacred spear his sturdy throat divides,\nDown, instant streaming, gush the gory tides,\nThrough countless crevices the gaping wood\nDistils corrupted dew and smoking blood;\nDrop after drop, in swift succession shed,\nFalls on the holy pontiff's mitred head;\nWhile, to imbibe the sanctifying power,\nHis outspread garments drink the crimson shower;\nThen on his back in reeking streams he lies,\nAnd laves in livid blood his lips and eyes;\nBares every limb, exposes every pore,\nTo catch the virtue of the streaming gore;\nWith open mouth expects the falling flood,\nMoistens his palate and his tongue with blood;\nExtends his ears to meet the sanguine rain,\nNor lets a single drop descend in vain.\nThen from the gloomy cave comes forth to light,\nBathed in black blood, and horrible to sight! - \nBy the vile torrent, and the victim slain,\nIn the dark cavern cleansed from mortal stain,\nTheir priest, enveloped in atoning gore,\nWith trembling awe surrounding throngs adore.\"\nPrudentius was born about the middle of the fourth century, and was no doubt intimately acquainted with the circumstances he describes. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":27,"content":["And waved them for a wave-offering - See the nature of this and the heave-offering in the note on Exo 29:27 (note). \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":30,"content":["And Moses took - the blood - and sprinkled it upon Aaron, etc. - Thus we find that the high priest himself must be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice; and our blessed Lord, of whom Aaron was a type, was sprinkled with his own blood.\n1. In his agony in the garden.\n2. In his being crowned with thorns.\n3. In the piercing of his hands and his feet. And,\n4. In his side being pierced with the spear. All these were so many acts of atonement performed by the high priest. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":33,"content":["For seven days shall he consecrate you - This number was the number of perfection among the Hebrews; and the seven days' consecration implied a perfect and full consecration to the sacerdotal office. See Clarke's note on Exo 29:30. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":36,"content":["So Aaron and his sons did - This chapter shows the exact fulfillment of the commands delivered to Moses, Exodus 29; and consequently the complete preparation of Aaron and his sons to fill the awfully important office of priests and mediators between God and Israel, to offer sacrifices and make atonement for the sins of the people. \"Thus,\" says Mr. Ainsworth, \"the covenant of the priesthood was confirmed unto the tribe of Levi in Aaron and his sons, which covenant was life and peace, Mal 2:5. But these are made priests without an oath; also, there were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death; and they served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, offering gifts and sacrifices which could not make him who did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience; for they were carnal ordinances imposed upon them till the time of reformation, that is, until the time of Christ, who was made a priest of God with an oath, and made surety of a better covenant established on better promises. And because he continueth for ever, he hath a priesthood which passeth not from one to another, and is a minister of the true tabernacle, which God pitched and not man. Not by the blood of bulls and of goats, but by his own blood, he entered once into the holy place, having found everlasting redemption for us; and is therefore able to save to the uttermost them who come unto God through him, as he ever liveth to make intercession for them.\" Taken in reference to his priesthood and sacrifice, all these rites and ceremonies are significant and edifying, but taken out of his relation, they would be as absurd and nugatory as the consecration of the Roman Pontifex Maximus, mentioned above by Prudentius.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"Moses is commanded to consecrate Aaron and his sons, Lev 8:1-3. Moses convenes the congregation; washes, clothes, and anoints Aaron, Lev 8:4-12. He also clothes Aaron's sons, Lev 8:13. Offers a bullock for them as a sin-offering, Lev 8:14-17. And a ram for a burnt-offering, Lev 8:18-21. And another ram for a consecration-offering, Lev 8:22-24. The fat, with cakes of unleavened bread, and the right shoulder of the ram, he offers as a wave-offering, and afterwards burns, Lev 8:25-28. The breast, which was the part of Moses, he also waves, Lev 8:29. And sprinkles oil and blood upon Aaron and his sons, Lev 8:30. The flesh of the consecration ram is to be boiled and eaten at the door of the tabernacle, Lev 8:31, Lev 8:32. Moses commands Aaron and his sons to abide seven days at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, which they do accordingly, Lev 8:33-36. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/LEV/8.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"LEV","chapter":8},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/LEV/9.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"LEV","chapter":9},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/LEV/7.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"LEV","chapter":7},"numberOfVerses":9}