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Deuteronomy Chapter
Sixteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 16
This
chapter treats of the three grand yearly festivals
of the feast of passover
when
where
and what was to be sacrificed
how to be dressed
and in what
manner to be eaten
Deuteronomy 16:1
of the feast of pentecost
when to begin it
where and how it was to be
observed
Deuteronomy 16:9
and of the feast of tabernacles
when
where
and how long it was to be kept
Deuteronomy 16:13
which three times in the year all the males were to appear before the Lord
and
not empty
Deuteronomy 16:16
an order is given for the appointment of judges in the land
to execute
judgment
Deuteronomy 16:18
and the chapter is closed with a caution against planting groves
and setting
up images
Deuteronomy 16:21.
Deuteronomy 16:1 “Observe the
month of Abib
and keep the Passover to the Lord your God
for in the month of Abib the Lord your God
brought you out of Egypt by night.
YLT
1`Observe the month of Abib
-- and thou hast made a passover to Jehovah thy God
for in the month of Abib
hath Jehovah thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night;
Observe the month of Abib
.... Sometimes called
Nisan; it answered to part
of our March
and part of April; it was an observable
month
to be taken notice of; it was called Abib
from the corn then appearing
in ear
and beginning to ripen
and all things being in their verdure; the
Septuagint calls it the month of new fruit; it was appointed the first of the
months for ecclesiastic things
and was the month in which the Israelites went
out of Egypt
and the first passover was kept in it
and therefore deserving of
regard; see Exodus 12:2.
for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out
of Egypt by night; for though they did not set out until morning
when it was day
light
and are said to come out in the day
yet it was in the night the Lord
did wonders for them
as Onkelos paraphrases this clause; that he smote all the
firstborn in Egypt
and passed over the houses of the Israelites
the door
posts being sprinkled with the blood of the passover lamb slain that night
and
therefore was a night much to be observed; and it was in the night Pharaoh
arose and gave them leave to go; and from that time they were no more under his
power
and from thence may be reckoned their coming out of bondage; see Exodus 12:12.
Deuteronomy 16:2 2 Therefore
you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God
from the flock and the herd
in the place where the Lord chooses to put His name.
YLT
2and thou hast sacrificed a
passover to Jehovah thy God
of the flock
and of the herd
in the place which
Jehovah doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there.
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God
.... In the
month Abib
and in the night of that month they came out of Egypt
even on the
fourteenth day of it at night
between the two evenings
as the Targum of
Jonathan; which was a lamb
and typical of Christ
the passover sacrificed for
us
1 Corinthians 5:7.
of the flock and the herd; that is
you shall
sacrifice also the offerings which were offered throughout the seven days of
unleavened bread
and these were both sheep and oxen
Numbers 28:19 and
are expressly called passover offerings and peace offerings
2 Chronicles 30:21
for what was strictly and properly the passover was only of the flock
a lamb
and not of the herd
or a bullock; though Aben Ezra says there were some that
thought that in Egypt it was only a lamb or a kid
but now it might be a
bullock; which he observes is not right. It may be indeed that the word
"passover" here is a general term
comprehending the whole passover
solemnity
and all the sacrifices of the seven days: the Jews commonly
understand this clause of the Chagigah
or feast of the fifteenth day
the
first day of unleavened bread
and so the Targum of Jonathan
"and the
sheep and the oxen on the morrow;'some distinguish them thus
the flock for the
duty of the passover
the herd for the peace offerings
so Aben Ezra; or as
Jarchi interprets it
the flock of the lambs and kids
and the herd for the
Chagigah or festival; in the TalmudF13T. Bab. Pesachim
fol. 70. 2.
; the flock
this is the passover; the herd
this is the Chagigah
so Abendana:
there was a Chagigah of the fourteenth day
which was brought with the lamb and
eaten first
when the company was too large for the lamb
that their might eat
with satietyF14Jarchi in loc. Maimon. Hilchot Corban Pesach
c. 8.
l. 3. ; but this was not reckoned obligatory upon themF15
but they
were bound to bring their Chagigah on the fifteenth day:
in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name
there; that is
at Jerusalem
as the event has shown; hence we read of
the parents of our Lord going up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
passover
Luke 2:41.
Deuteronomy 16:3 3 You
shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread
with it
that is
the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land
of Egypt in haste)
that you may remember the day in which you came out of the
land of Egypt all the days of your life.
YLT
3`Thou dost not eat with it
any fermented thing
seven days thou dost eat with it unleavened things
bread
of affliction; for in haste thou hast come out of the land of Egypt; so that
thou dost remember the day of thy coming out of the land of Egypt all days of
thy life;
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it
.... With the
passover
as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; that is
with the passover
lamb
nor indeed with any of the passover
or peace offerings
as follows; see Exodus 12:8.
seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread therewith; with the
passover; this plainly shows
that by the passover in the preceding verse is
not meant strictly the passover lamb
for that was eaten at once on the night
of the fourteenth of the month
and not seven days running
and therefore must
be put for the whole solemnity of the feast
and all the sacrifices of it
both
the lamb of the fourteenth
and the Chagigah of the fifteenth
and every of the
peace offerings of the rest of the days were to be eaten with unleavened bread:
even the bread of
affliction; so called either from the nature of its being heavy and lumpish
not grateful to the taste nor easy of digestion
and was mortifying and
afflicting to be obliged to eat of it seven days together; or rather from the
use of it
which was
as Jarchi observes
to bring to remembrance the
affliction they were afflicted with in Egypt:
for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste; and had not
time to leaven their dough; so that at first they were obliged through
necessity to eat unleavened bread
and afterwards by the command of God in
remembrance of it; see Exodus 12:33
that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of
the land of Egypt all the days of thy life; how it was with them
then
how they were hurried out with their unleavened dough; and that this
might be imprinted on their minds
the master of the family usedF16Haggadah
Shel Pesach
in Seder Tephillot
fol. 242. Maimon. Chametz Umetzah
c. 8. sect.
6.
at the time of the passover
to break a cake of unleavened bread
and say
this is the bread of affliction
&c. or bread of poverty; as it is the way
of poor men to have broken bread
so here is broken bread.
Deuteronomy 16:4 4 And
no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days
nor
shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight
remain overnight until morning.
YLT
4and there is not seen with
thee leaven in all thy border seven days
and there doth not remain of the
flesh which thou dost sacrifice at evening on the first day till morning.
And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy
coasts seven days
.... For before the passover they were to search diligently every
room in the house
and every hole and crevice
that none might remain any where;
see Exodus 12:15
neither shall there be anything of the flesh
which thou
sacrificedst the first day at even
remain all night until the morning; which may be
understood both of the flesh of the passover lamb
as Aben Ezra
according to Exodus 12:10 and of
the flesh of flocks and herds
or of the Chagigah; according to Jarchi this
Scripture speaks of the Chagigah of the fourteenth
which was not to remain on
the first day of the feast (the fifteenth) until the morning of the second day
(the sixteenth).
Deuteronomy 16:5 5 “You
may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you;
YLT
5`Thou art not able to
sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God is giving
to thee
Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates
.... Or
cities
as the Targum of Jonathan
so called because they usually had gates to
them
in which public affairs were transacted; but in none of these
only in
the city of Jerusalem
the place the Lord chose
might they kill the passover
and eat it
and other passover offerings:
which the Lord thy God giveth thee; in the land of Canaan
and which land was given them of God.
Deuteronomy 16:6 6 but
at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His
name abide
there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight
at the going
down of the sun
at the time you came out of Egypt.
YLT
6except at the place which
Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle -- there thou dost
sacrifice the passover in the evening
at the going in of the sun
the season
of thy coming out of Egypt;
But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his
name in
.... To place the ark and the mercy seat with the cherubim over
them
where he caused his Shechinah
or divine Majesty
to dwell; and this was
at Jerusalem
where the temple was built by Solomon:
there thou shalt sacrifice the passover; kill and eat
the paschal lamb:
at even
at the going down of the sun; between the
two evenings it was killed
before the sun was set
and afterwards at night it
was eaten; the Targum of Jonathan is
"and at evening
at the setting of
the sun
ye shall eat it until the middle of the night:"
at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt; or as the
same Targum
"the time of the beginning of your redemption out of Egypt;'which
was when Pharaoh rose at midnight
and gave them leave to go; from thence their
redemption commenced
though they did not actually set out until the morning.
Deuteronomy 16:7 7 And
you shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses
and in the morning you shall turn and go to your
tents.
YLT
7and thou hast cooked and
eaten in the place on which Jehovah thy God doth fix
and hast turned in the
morning
and gone to thy tents;
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy
God shall choose
.... The word for "roast" signifies to
"boil"
and is justly so used
and so Onkelos here renders it
and
the Septuagint version both roast and boil; but it is certain that the passover
lamb was not to be boiled
it is expressly forbidden
Exodus 12:8
wherefore some think the Chagigah is here meant
and the other offerings that
were offered at this feast; and so in the times of Josiah they roasted the
passover with fire
according to the ordinance of God; but the other holy
offerings sod or boiled they in pots
cauldrons and pans
and divided them
speedily among the people
2 Chronicles 35:13
but the passover lamb seems plainly to be meant here by the connection of this
verse with the preceding verses; wherefore Jarchi observes
that this is to be
understood of roasting with fire
though expressed by this word:
and thou shalt turn in the morning
and go unto thy tents; not in the
morning of the fifteenth
after the passover had been killed and eaten on the
fourteenth
but in the morning
after the feast of unleavened bread
which
lasted seven days
was over; though some think that they might if they would
depart home after the passover had been observed
and were not obliged to stay
and keep the feast of unleavened bread at Jerusalem
but march to their own
cities; and so Aben Ezra observes
that some say a man may go on a feast day to
his house and country
but
says he
we do not agree to it; and it appears from
the observation of other feasts
which lasted as long as these
that the people
did not depart to their tents till the whole was over; see 1 Kings 8:66 and
with this agrees the Targum of Jonathan
"and thou shall turn in the
morning of the going out of the feast
and go to thy cities.'Jarchi indeed
interprets it afterwards of the second day.
Deuteronomy 16:8 8 Six
days you shall eat unleavened bread
and on the seventh day there shall be
a sacred assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on
it.
YLT
8six days thou dost eat
unleavened things
and on the seventh day [is] a restraint to Jehovah thy God;
thou dost do no work.
Six days shalt thou eat unleavened bread
.... In other
places it is ordered to be eaten seven days
Exodus 12:15 and
here it is not said six only; it was to be eaten on the seventh as on the
other
though that is here distinguished from the six
because of special and
peculiar service assigned to it
but not because of an exemption from eating
unleavened bread on it. The Jews seem to understand this of different corn of
which the bread was made
and not of different sort of bread; the Targum of
Jonathan is
on the first day ye shall offer the sheaf (the firstfruits of the
barley harvest)
and on the six days which remain ye shall begin to eat the
unleavened bread of the new fruits
and so Jarchi:
and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy
God; a holy convocation
devoted to religious exercises
and the
people were restrained
according to the sense of the word
from all servile
work
as follows:
thou shalt do no work therein; that is
the business of
their callings
their trades and manufactories; they were obliged to abstain
from all kind of work excepting what was necessary for the dressing of food
and in this it differed from a sabbath; see Exodus 12:16.
Deuteronomy 16:9 9 “You
shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the
time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.
YLT
9`Seven weeks thou dost
number to thee; from the beginning of the sickle among the standing corn thou
dost begin to number seven weeks
Seven weeks then shalt thou number unto thee
.... And then
another feast was to take place
called from hence the feast of weeks
and
sometimes Pentecost
from its being the fiftieth day:
begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest
to put the sickle to the corn; for the sheaf of the wave offering
as the
first fruits of barley harvest
which was done on the morrow after the sabbath
in the passover week
and from thence seven weeks or fifty days were reckoned
and the fiftieth day was the feast here ordered to be kept; so the Targum of
Jonathan
"after the reaping of the sheaf ye shall begin to number seven
weeks;'see Leviticus 23:15.
Deuteronomy 16:10 10 Then
you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God
with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand
which you shall give as
the Lord your God blesses you.
YLT
10and thou hast made the
feast of weeks to Jehovah thy God
a tribute of a free-will offering of thy
hand
which thou dost give
as Jehovah thy God doth bless thee.
And thou shall keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God
.... The feast
of Pentecost
at which time the Spirit was poured down upon the apostles
Acts 2:1.
with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand; there were
two wave loaves which were ordered to be brought and seven lambs
one young
bullock and two rams for a burnt offering
together with the meat and drink
offerings belonging thereunto
and a kid of the goats for a sin offering
and
two lambs for a peace offering
Leviticus 23:17
and besides all this
there was to be a voluntary contribution brought in their
hands; for this was one of those feasts at which all the males were to appear
before the Lord
and none of them empty:
which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God
according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; no certain
rate was fixed
it was to be a free gift
and in proportion to a man's
abilities
or what the Lord had blessed him with.
Deuteronomy 16:11 11 You
shall rejoice before the Lord your God
you and your son and
your daughter
your male servant and your female servant
the Levite who is
within your gates
the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are
among you
at the place where the Lord your God
chooses to make His name abide.
YLT
11And thou hast rejoiced
before Jehovah thy God
thou
and thy son
and thy daughter
and thy
man-servant
and thy handmaid
and the Levite who [is] within thy gates
and
the sojourner
and the fatherless
and the widow
who [are] in thy midst
in
the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle
there
And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God
.... Make a
liberal feast
and keep it cheerfully
in the presence of God
in the place
where he resides
thankfully acknowledging all his mercies and favours:
thou
and thy son
and thy manservant
and thy maidservant
and
the Levite that is within thy gates; that dwelt in the same
city
who were all to come with him to Jerusalem at this feast
and to partake
of it with him:
and the stranger
and the fatherless
and the widow
that are
among you
in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name
there; who should be at Jerusalem at this time.
Deuteronomy 16:12 12 And
you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt
and you shall be careful to
observe these statutes.
YLT
12and thou hast remembered
that a servant thou hast been in Egypt
and hast observed and done these
statutes.
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt
.... And now
delivered from that bondage; the consideration of which should make them
liberal in their freewill offering
and generous in the feast they provided
and compassionate to the stranger
widow
and fatherless:
and thou shalt observe and do these statutes; concerning
the passover
the feast of unleavened bread
and of Pentecost
and the peace
offerings and the freewill offerings belonging to them: and nothing could more
strongly oblige them to observe them than their redemption from their bondage
in Egypt; as nothing more engages to the performance of good works than the
consideration of our spiritual and eternal redemption by Christ
1 Corinthians 6:19.
Deuteronomy 16:13 13 “You
shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days
when you have gathered from
your threshing floor and from your winepress.
YLT
13`The feast of booths thou
dost make for thee seven days
in thine in-gathering of thy threshing-floor
and of thy wine-vat;
Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days
.... Which
began on the fifteenth day of Tisri
or September; see Leviticus 23:34
&c.
after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine; and therefore
sometimes called the feast of ingathering
Exodus 23:16
barley harvest began at the passover
and wheat harvest at Pentecost; and
before the feast of tabernacles began
the vintage and the gathering of the
olives were over
as well as all other summer fruits were got in.
Deuteronomy 16:14 14 And
you shall rejoice in your feast
you and your son and your daughter
your male
servant and your female servant and the Levite
the stranger and the fatherless
and the widow
who are within your gates.
YLT
14and thou hast rejoiced in
thy feast
thou
and thy son
and thy daughter
and thy man-servant
and thy
handmaid
and the Levite
and the sojourner
and the fatherless
and the widow
who [are] within thy gates.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast
.... At this feast of
tabernacles and ingathering of the fruits of the earth
in token of gratitude
and thankfulness for the goodness of God bestowed on them; the Targum of
Jonathan adds
with the flute and the pipe
making use of instrumental music to
increase the joy on this occasion:
thou and thy son
&c. See Gill on Deuteronomy 16:11
Deuteronomy 16:15 15 Seven
days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God
in the place which the Lord chooses
because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of
your hands
so that you surely rejoice.
YLT
15Seven days thou dost feast
before Jehovah thy God
in the place which Jehovah doth choose
for Jehovah thy
God doth bless thee in all thine increase
and in every work of thy hands
and
thou hast been only rejoicing.
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God
.... The feast
of tabernacles still spoken of:
in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: the city of
Jerusalem:
because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase
and
in all the works of thine hands; both in the increase of their fields
vineyards
and oliveyards
and also in their several handicraft trades and
occupations they were employed in; so Aben Ezra interprets all the works of
their hands of merchandise and manufactories:
therefore thou shalt surely rejoice; extremely
heartily
and
sincerely
and not fail to express joy on this occasion
and manifest it by a
generous freewill offering to the Lord
and a bountiful entertainment for
himself
his family
friends
and others.
Deuteronomy 16:16 16 “Three
times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened
Bread
at the Feast of Weeks
and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall
not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
YLT
16`Three times in a year doth
every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth
choose -- in the feast of unleavened things
and in the feast of weeks
and in
the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;
Three times a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy
God
.... This has been observed before
Exodus 23:17
and
is repeated here for the sake of mentioning the place where they were to
appear
which before now was not observed
and indeed it is chiefly for that the
other festivals are here recited:
in the place which he shall choose; which though not
expressed is now easily understood; and the three times at which they were to
appear there were
in the feast of unleavened bread
and in the feast of weeks
and in the feast of tabernacles; or passover
Pentecost
and tabernacles; and
of numbers of people going up from the country to each of these feasts
we have
instances in the New Testament; to the passover
Luke 2:42
to
Pentecost
Acts 2:5
to
tabernacles
John 7:2
and they shall not appear before the Lord empty; Aben Ezra
observes
the meaning is
not empty of the tribute of the freewill offering of
their hand
and which Jarchi more fully explains of the burnt offerings of
appearance
and of the peace offerings of the Chagigah
or money answerable to
them; which
according to the MisnahF17Chagigah
c. 1. sect. 2. was
a meah of silver for a burnt offering
and two pieces of silver for the
Chagigah
which weighed thirty two barley cornsF18Maimon. &
Bartenora in ib. .
Deuteronomy 16:17 17 Every
man shall give as he is able
according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
YLT
17each according to the gift
of his hand
according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God
which He hath given
to thee.
Every man shall give as he is able
.... The quantity to be
given is not fixed in the law
but the wise men appointed it
as observed on Deuteronomy 16:16
but it is left by the Lord to the generosity of the people
only giving this
general rule
that they should do according to their ability
and as the Lord
had prospered them; see 1 Corinthians 16:2
so Jarchi
"every man that hath many eatables and much goods shall bring
many burnt offerings and many peace offerings.'
Deuteronomy 16:18 18 “You
shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates
which the Lord your God gives you
according to your tribes
and they shall judge
the people with just judgment.
YLT
18`Judges and authorities
thou dost make to thee within all thy gates which Jehovah thy God is giving to
thee
for thy tribes; and they have judged the people -- a righteous judgment.
Judges and officers shall thou make thee
.... Judges
were fixed in the sanhedrim
or court of judicature
and those that have
lawsuits come before them; officers are masters of the staff and whip
and they
stand before the judges
and go into markets
streets
and shops
to order the
weights and measures
and to smite all that do wrong; and all they do is by
order of the judges; so MaimonidesF19Hilchot Sanhedrin
c. 1. sect.
1. : the qualifications of judges to be chosen and constituted by the people
are thus described by him. In the sanhedrim
greater or lesser
they place only
men wise and understanding
expert in the wisdom of the law
and masters of
great knowledge
and that know some of the other sciences
as medicine
arithmetic
astronomy
and astrology
the ways of soothsayers
diviners
and
wizards
and the vanities of idolatry
that they may know how to judge them;
and they set in the sanhedrim only priests
Levites
and Israelites
who are
genealogized; nor do they set an old man there
nor an eunuch
nor a king
but
an high priest
if he is qualified with wisdom; and they must be free from
blemishes
and of a good stature and appearance
and understand many languages
and not hear by an interpreter; and though all this was not precisely required
of the sanhedrim of three judges
yet these same things ought to be in everyone
of them
wisdom
and meekness
and fear
and hatred of money
and love of
truth
and love of men
and to be of a good reportF20Ib. c. 2. sect.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7. and these were to be placed in
all thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee throughout thy
tribes; that is
in every city
as Onkelos
and so Jarchi; and usually
the courts of judicature were held in the gates of cities
and it was only in
the land of Israel
not without it
that they were obliged to set up courts of
judicature
as MaimonidesF21Ib. c. 1. sect. 2. observes; who also
asks
how many courts were fixed in Israel
and what the number they consisted
of? to which he answers
they fixed at first the great court in the sanctuary
and it was called the great sanhedrim
and its number were seventy one; and
again
they set up two courts of twenty three
one at the door of the court
and the other at the door of the mountain of the house (and so in the Misnah)F23Sanhedrin
c. 10. sect. 2. ; and they set up in every city in Israel
in which were one
hundred and twenty (men or families) or more
a lesser sanhedrim
which sat in
the gate
and their number were twenty three judges; in a city in which there
were not one hundred and twenty
they placed three judges
for there is no
court less than threeF24Ib. sect. 3
4. :
and they shall judge the people with just judgment; give a right
and just sentence in all cases that come before them
according to the laws of
God
and the rules of justice and equity.
Deuteronomy 16:19 19 You
shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality
nor take a bribe
for
a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
YLT
19Thou dost not turn aside
judgment; thou dost not discern faces
nor take a bribe
for the bribe blindeth
the eyes of the wise
and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Thou shall not wrest judgment
.... Or pervert it
pass
a wrong sentence
or act contrary to justice; this is said to the judges as a
direction to them
and so what follows:
thou shalt not respect persons; so as to give the cause
on account of outward circumstances and relations; as in favour of a rich man
against a poor man merely for that reason
or of a near relation or intimate
friend and acquaintance against a stranger
but justice should be administered
without favour or affection to any; as Jarchi puts it
he was to make no
difference in his address and behaviour to contending parties before him; he
was not to be tender and soft to one and hard to the other
or let one stand
and another sit:
neither take a gift: as a bribe to give the
cause wrong: at Thebes
in Egypt
as Diodorus SiculusF25Bibliothec.
l. 1. c. 45. relates
in a court on a wall
were images of judges to the number
of thirty; in the midst of them was the chief judge; having Truth hanging down
from his neck (which seems to be in imitation of the Urim of the high priest of
the Jews)
his eyes shut
and many books by him; by which image was shown
that
judges should receive nothing
and that the chief judge should look to truth
only:
for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise
and pervert the words
of the righteous; see Exodus 23:8 the
Jews have a saying
that a judge that takes a bribe
and perverts judgment
does not die of old age
or till his eyes become dimF26Misn. Peah
c. 8. sect. 9. .
Deuteronomy 16:20 20 You
shall follow what is altogether just
that you may live and inherit the land
which the Lord your God is giving you.
YLT
20Righteousness --
righteousness thou dost pursue
so that thou livest
and hast possessed the
land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.
That which is altogether just shalt thou follow
.... Or
"justice"
"justice"F1צדק
צדק
strict justice
and nothing else:
that thou mayest live and inherit the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee; that is
continue in the possession of it.
Deuteronomy 16:21 21 “You
shall not plant for yourself any tree
as a wooden image
near the altar which
you build for yourself to the Lord your God.
YLT
21`Thou dost not plant for
thee a shrine of any trees near the altar of Jehovah thy God
which thou makest
for thyself
Thou shall not plant thee a grove of any trees
.... Of any
sort of trees
as oaks or any other; not but that it was lawful to plant trees
and groves of them
but not for a religious or idolatrous use: particularly
near unto the altar of the Lord thy God
which thou shalt make
thee; as the Heathens did near their altars
lest it should be thought
to be done for a like superstitious and idolatrous use; which evil the Jews
sometimes fell into in the times of wicked reigns
and which their good and
pious kings removed and destroyed; see 2 Kings 18:4 and
HecataeusF2Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 4. p. 408.
an
Heathen historian
relates of the city of Jerusalem
that there were there no
image
nor plantation
nor grove
nor any such thing.
Deuteronomy 16:22 22 You
shall not set up a sacred pillar
which the Lord your God hates.
YLT
22and thou dost not raise up
to thee any standing image which Jehovah thy God is hating.
Neither shalt thou set up any image
.... Graven or molten
of
man
beast
fish
or fowl; the word signifies a "statue or pillar"F3מצבה στηλην
Sept. "statuam"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Tig. vers. Fagius
Drusius
Grotius
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; so Ainsworth. which was
set up for idolatry; for
as Aben Ezra observes
what was not set up for
idolatry was not forbidden
as when erected in memory of any action or
remarkable event; see Joshua 22:10
&c.
which the Lord thy God hateth; as he does every
species
of idolatry
or that has any tendency to it; it being so opposite to
his being
perfections
and glory; and therefore nothing should be done like
it
because it is so hateful to him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》