| | the law of God, as it here follows, v. 11. therefore not the | 13h MT airace, Or, 2. The High-Prieſt who was obliged to live (| in this place, ro whom it belonged to determine ſome at leaſt of | thoſe controverſies mentioned, wv. 8. and to teach and expound the Law of God: And he may be diſtinaly named, though he be one of the Prieſts, partly becauſe of his eminency and ſuperiority over | the reſt of them, as after al! Davids enemies Saul is particularly men- | tioned, Pſal 18. title, and partly to ſhew that amongſt the Prieſts, he eſpecially was to be conſulted in ſuch caſes. Bur tis alſo ſeems liable to obje&ions, 1. That he ſeems to be included under _ | general expreſſion of the Prieſts and Levites, 2. That the High-Prie | 15s never in all the Scripture called ſimply the Judge, but | called the Prief, or the High-Prieft, or Chief-Prieſt, or the like ; An it is moſt probable if Moſes had meant him here, he would have ex- refſed him by ſome of his uſual Names and Titles, and not by a Hr Title which was not likely to be underitood. 3. That di- vers controverſies between blood and blood, plea and plea, ſtroke and ſtroke, were not to be determined by the High-Prieft, but by other Per- ' ſons, as appears by Exod. 18. 22. Deut. 1. 16, 17. Or 4. fn et hedrim, or Supreme Council, which as was faid before, conliſte partly of Prieits, and partly of wiſe and learned Perſons of other Tribes, as is confeſſed by all the Jewiſh, and moſt other Writers. And fo this is added by way of explication, partly to ſhew that the Prieſts and Levites here mentioned, as the perſons to whom all hard controverſies are to be referred, are not all the Prieſts and Levites which ſhould reſide in Jeruſalem, but only ſuch of them as were or ſhould be Members of that great Council, by whom, together with their fellow Members of other Tribes, theſe cauſes were to be de- cided ; Partly to intimate, That rhat great Council, which had the chief and final determination of all the above ſaid controverſies, was a mixed aſſembly conliſting of wiſe and good Men, ſome Ec- cleſiaſtical, and ſome Secular, as it was moſt meet it ſhould be, be- cauſe many of the cauſes which were brought untothem were mix- ed cauſes. As for the conjun&ive particle, and, that may be taken either disjun@ively for or, as it is Exod. 21. 15, 17. compared with Matt. 15.4. and Numb. 30.5,6. compared with Matt. 12. 37. and Lev. 6.3, 5. 2 Sam. 2. 19, 21+ or exegetically, for, that is, or, #0 17, as Jung, 7. 24. 1 Sam. 17. 40. and 28. 3. 2 Chron. 35+ 14. and ſo the ſenſe may be, the Prieſts,the Levites,or the Judge, as 1t 1S V. 12, OT, the Priefts, the Levites, that is, the Judge, or the Judges, a ppointed for this work. And though the word Juage be in the ſingular number, and may ſeem to denoteone perſon, yer itis only an Enallage, or change of the number, the ſingular for the plural, Judges, which 1s moſt frequent, as Gen. 3. 2,7. and 49. 6. 1 Sam. 3I. I. I Kings 10: 22. and 2 Kings 11. 10. compared with 2 Chron. 9. 21. and 23. 9. and in the Hebrew, 1 Chron. 4. 42. where divers Officers are called one Head. And ſo it is moſt probably here. 1. Becauſe the following words which belong to this, run altogether in the plural number, hey, they, they, &c, here and v. 10, 11. 2. Becauſe here is the ſame E- nallage in the otherbrznch, rhe ſame perſon or perſons being called the Prieſts here, and the Prieſt, v. 12. 3. Becauſe for the Judge, here is put#he Judges, Deut. 19. 17. where we have the ſame phraſe uſed upon the ſame or a ike occaſion, the Men between whom the controverſie 3s, ſhall ſtand before the Lord, before the Prieſts and the Fudges, which ſhall be in thoſe days. Nor is it ſtrange, but my fit and reaſonable, that ſo many perſons being all united in one body, and to give judge- ment or ſentence by the conſent of all, or the greateſt part ſhould be here called by the name of one Judge, as indeed they were ; And for that reaſon the Prieſts are ſpoken of in the plural number, becauſe they were many, as alſo the other members of that aſſembly were, and the Judge in the ſingular number, becauſe they all conſtitu- red but one Judge. » Heb. The Word, or Matter of Tudgement, (i. e.) The true ſtate and right of the cauſe, and what judgement or ſen- tence ought. to be given in it. : : io And thou ſhalt x do according to the ſentence, which they of that place(which the LORD ball chooſe) | ſhall ſhew thee, and thou ſhalt obſerve to doy according $o all that they inform thee. l x(7.e.) Thou ſhalt paſs ſentence: For he ſpeaks to the inferiour Magiſtrates, as was before noted, who were to give ſentence, and came hither to be adviſed abour it. » It is very obſervable that this place doth not ſpeak of all controverſies of Faith; as if they were to believe every thing which they ſhould teach, but only of ſome par- ticular matters of prattice and ſtrife between man and man, to which ir is plainly limited, v.8. And they are not here command- ed to believe, but only ro do, which is thrice repeated. = .11 According to the ſentence of the law which they ſhall teach thee z,and according to rhe judgement which they (ball tell thee thou ſhalt do : thou ſhalt not decline from the ſentence which they ſhall ſhew thee, to the
righthand, nor to the left.
z Theſe words are a manifeſt limitation of the foregoing aſſertion, that they were to do according to all that the Judge or Judges in- formedhim. And they ſeem to limit and regulate, 1. The Judges
' In their ſentence, thar they ſhall not,upon prerence of this Supreme Authority put into their hands, preſume to teach or dire& other- wiſethan the Law preſcribes. 2. The People in their obedience : Thar they ſhall nor ſimply obey them in all things , bur ſo far forth
' as their ſentence is according to the Law and Word Of God, butnor