29 None devoted, which ſhal be devoted of men y.
ſhal be redeemed : but {bal ſurely be put to death.
y Not by men, as ſome would elude it ; but of men, for it 1s ma- nifeſt both f om this and the for-going verſes, that zen hereare not the perſons devoting, but devoted. (eff. Was it th:n lawful for any man. r men thus to devote another perſon to the Lord, and in purſuance of ſuch vow to put him to death ? Anſw. This was un- queſtionably lawful, and a duty in ſomecaſes, when perſons have been devoted to deſtruttion either by God's ſentence, as IcolJaters, Exod: 22: 20: Deut: 23: 15: the Canaanites, Deut: 20: 17: the Hmale- kites, Deut: 25: 19: and 1 Sam: 15: 3, 26: Benhadad, 1 King: 29: 42: orby men, in purſuance of ſuch a ſentence of God, as Namv: 21: 2, 3: and 31: 17: or for any crime of an high nature, as Judg: 21:
-== > ; B EB K % vow as this. But for the CoMrantes, Amalelites, 8c. Cod the un- doubted Lord of all mens lives, gave to' the Iſraelites a power over their perſons and lives, and a command to put them to death. And this verſe may havea ſpecial reſpe& to themor ſuch as them. And »Ilthough the general ſubje& of this and the former verſe be one and the ſame, yet there axe two rema:kable differences to this purpoſe; «1. The verb is aQtive, werſe 28. and the agent there ex- preiied, that a man ſhall devote, but it is paſſive werſe 29. and the a- gent undetermined, which ſha!l be devoted, to wit, by God, or men in conformity to God's revealed will. 2. The devoted per- ſon or thing is only to be ſold or redeemed, and ſaid to be moſt ho- ly, verſe 28. but here it is to be put ro death, and this belongs only ro men, and thoſe ſuch as either. were, or ſhould be devoted in manner now expreſſed.
20 And * all the tithe of the land z, whether of the ſeed of the land or of the fruir of the tree, is the LORDS: it is holy unto the LORD.
z There are divers ſorts of Tithes, but this ſeems to be under- ſtood only of the ordinary and yearly Tithes belonging to the Le- wvites, &C» as the very expreſſion intimates, and the ad-ition of the £fh part in caſe oftedemption thereof implies.
31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he ſhal add thereto the fifth part thereof,
32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, ever of whatſoever pafſeth under the rod |}, the tenth ſhal be holy unto the LORD.
| Either x. the tithers rod, it being the manner of the Jews in tithing to cauſe all their cattel to paſs th'ough ſome gate or nar-
row paſſage, where the tenth » as marked by a perſon appointed for that purpoſe and reſerved for the Prieſt. Or 2. The y ( ds
5: Joſe 7: 15. Burt this is no: to be generally underſtood, as ſome have taken it, as if a Jew might by ve:tue of this Texr, devote his child or his ſervant to the Lord, and thereby cblige himſelf ro put them to death, which peradventure was Jepthe's errour. For this is expreſly limited ts af thar a man hath, or which is his, i.e which he hath a power over. Burt the Jews had no power over the lives of their child: -n or ſervants, but were dire&ly forbidden to take them
away, by that great command, thou ſhalt do no murder. And feing
he that killed his ſervant caſually by a blow with a red was ſurely to be puniſhed, as is ſaid Exod. 21. 20. it could not be Jawful wilfglly and intentionally to take away his life upon pietence of any ſuch
rod, under which the herds and flockspaſſed, and by which they were governed ard numbred. See Jer. 33, 13. Ezek. 20. 37.
| 33 He ſhalnot fearch whether it be good or bad, ' neither (hal he change it: and if he change it t all, then both it, and the change thereof ſhal be holy,it ſbal
_ not be redeemed. 34 Theſe are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moſes for the children of Iſrael in mount
Sinal, |
NUMBERS.
The ARGUMENT. =» Book giveth us an Hiftory of almoft feurty years travel of th: children of Ifrael through the Wilderneſs 2wberenve have a1 account of their journeys, and wht happened to them therein, wich their Governm-nt, and how they were man«g 4 thrreby;Called Numbers by reaſon of the ſeveral Numbrings of the peeple,as at the efſ.rings of the Princes, end at their [eweral Journeys, &c. But eſpecially rwo, One, Chap. i- Out of which the Prieits and Levites were excepted, but - numbred by
Chap. I:
* Gen.28
22, Num{ 18 21,24 | Mal. 3. 84
Io,
themſelves, viz. In the ſecond year after they were come outof Egypt, in the firſt month whereef the Paſſover was inſtituted ; with the order about the Tabernacle both of the Levites, and People and their ſew ral marches, encampings, and manner of pitching their Tents, the Priel(t's maintain. nce and eftabliſhment, by the miraculous budding of Aarons rod, with the ſevera] mp. diments in 'hcir marches, buth am»ng th: mſelves by ſeveral mu- murings, feditiorvs, and conſpiracies ; and frem their enemies, Viz. the Edomites, Canaanites, over whom hawing obt»ined a victery, and afterwards murmuring they were ftung
with fiery Serpents, and cured by the brazen one ; Amorites whoſe Kings, Sihon and Og, they evercame, and ſlew; and Moabites, where by the allurements of Balaam who was hired by Ba'ak to curſe Hrael, they jeyned themſelves to Baal-peor,
and are plagued foris ; that epenly oppoſed them.
The «ther chief numbring is i» Chap, 26. where they are found aimoFt ag
many as at the firft, though among hem were nene of the firtt numbring,( according ts what God had threatned Chap. 14. [ave Moſes, Joihua, and Caleb, by reaſon of their d fire to return back into Egypt upon the diſcoureging report of ten of theſe twelye that Moſes ſen; to ſpy out the Land ; whereupun thy were forced ro wander above 3B years in the wilderneſs; where he pave
them leveral Laws, Civil, Eccleſfialticai a»d Military ; as at/o p-rticular direftions about women's inheritirg.
the caſe of Le\ophead's daughters, and concerning vows ;
ccccſirned by
And then brings them back to the borders of Canaan, where, after
divers victories obtained againſt their enemies, they were direfied h-w the Lund of Canaan was to be divided among rh: Tribes and what portion the Levites were to have among them; together with ſix cities of Refuge let apart for the Man ſlayer : At length
Aaron veing dead, and Feazar placed inhisfread, and Moles «1, h pointment, deliver up the people uniathe charge and condutt of Jolhuas
CHAP. I,