would bring into diſgrace thoſe heatheniſh praQtices of making Eunuchs and getcing Baſtards, which d-ubtlets he would eſpecial- Iy do among his own people. 6 Which phraſe cannot be under- ſtood, ſo that tiey might not come into the Church, or Holy Aſſemblies to worſhip God, to pray, or hear, &c. becauſe Proſe» Iytes of any Nation being admitted to common Church-priyied- ges, no leſs than the Jews, ( as is evident from Exod: 12. 48 Levir: 22. 18: Namb: 9: 14. and 15. 15.) it were abſuid to think that any of the 1/raelites, for ſuch a natural or involuntary defe&, thould be ſhut our from all Gods ordinances ; nor ſo that they were to be put out of the muſter-10ll of Gods people,or to loje the Priviled ges common to all 1aelires, to wit, the benefit of the year of relcaſe or Jubile ; which it is not probable the 7razlites were to forteir meerly for this unculpable imperfeCion ; bur either, r. That they ſhould not be incorporated into the body of J/rae! by martiage ; for ſo this phraſe may ſeem to have been underſtood by the wizole Congregation of Iſrael, Nehem. 13. 1, 2, 3, 23, 24, 25. Alttough at*that time the Government was in part in the hands of tuch pe:- ſons as are here mentioned, w. 3. or of their children, ſeing it is apparent from Ezra 10. that many Prieſts and Levites and other Othcers and Rule:s of 1{rael were married to ſtrange Womea,:: hoſe iſue are by this Law excluded from all ſhare in the Government, and for that, among other reaſons, Nehemiah ſeparated them from Irael by vertue of the Law here following. Or 2. That they ſhould not be aumitted to Honours and offices either in the Church or Commonwealth of 1ſ-ael, and ſo the congregation of the Lord doth not
c For by this betrothing ſhe had aQtually engaged her ſelfro ano- ther man, and was in ſome ſor his Wife, and therefore is ſome- times ſo called, as Ger. 29. 21. Mat. 1. 20.
24 Then ye ſhall bring them both out unto the gate |
of that city, and.ye ſhall ſtone them with ftones, that !
they die : the damfel becauſe ſhe cried not d, being in the
city : & the man becauſe he hath humbled his neighbours | ' wife : ſo thou ſhalt put away evil from among you.
4 And therefore is juſtly preſumed to have conſented to it.
'25 Bur if a man find a berrothed damſel in the field, and the man || force her e, and lie with her : then the man only that lay with her ſhall die. |
e Which was to be examined and determined by the conſidera- tion of all the circumſtances. |
26 But unto the damlel thou ſhalt do nothing ; zhere ! 3s in the damſel no fin worthy of death : for as when a | man riſeth againſt his neighbour and flayeth him, even” ſo 5s this matter f. | |
f Not an a of choice, but of force and conſtraint.
27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed |
damfel cried g, and there was none to fave her.
[! s
believe the beſt till the contrary be manifeſt. I | : 28 * If a man 6 find a damlſel that is a virgin, which |
is not betrothed,and lay hold on her z, and lie with her, } and they be found : |
h (i.e.) An unmarried man, as appears, 1. From his obligation to marry the perſon he abuſed, which it is not probable would have been impoſed upon him had he been married. 2. Becauſe if the man had been married, this had been adultery, and ſo had been puniſhed with death. Which notes ſome kind of force or artifice whereby ſhe was overpowred ; whereas Exod: 22: 16, ſhe was en- ticed, which implies conſent, and therefore the man doth here re- ceive a greater puniſhment, becauſe he uſed hoſtile violence to- wards her, which was the greater fin.
29 Then the man thar lay with her ſhall give unto the
damſels father fifty ſhckels of ſilver &, and ſhe ſhall be his wife /, becauſe he hath humbled her : he may not put
her away all his days m.
& Beſides the dowry, as Philo the Learned Jew notes, which is here omitted, becauſe that was common and cuſtomary, and be- cauſe it might eaſily be gathered out of Exod: 22; 16. it being ſuf- ficient here to mention what was peculiar to this caſe. / To wir, if her Father conſent to it, which is to be ſuppoſed out of Exod: 22: 16. it being) nor likely that the Father ſhould loſe his paternal
*right of diſpoling his Child when ſhe was in ſome ſort forced, ra- ther than when ſhe was inticed. » Which others were ſuffered to do, Deut: 24. 1. and he who inticed the maid, Exoa: 22: 16, was not prohibitzd'to do. ; | ;
30 * A man ſhall not take » his fathers wife o, nor dif.
cover his fathers skirt p.
» Towife. So this reſpeQ&s the ſtate,and the next branch ſpeaks of the a& only. o His Mother in law. See Levit. 18. 8. and 20, T2. 1Cor. 5.1. þ ( 7.e. ( The skirt of che mothers Garment, 7. e. the nakedneſs,which is here called his fathert skirt, becauſe his Fa- ther and Mother were one fleſh,or becauſe his father alone had the right to uncover it. The phraſc is taken from the ancient cuſtom or cxremony of che Bridegrooms ſpreading the skirt of his Garment over the bride, to ſignifie his right to her, and authority over her, and his obligation to the marriage duty. See Ruth 3, g. Ezek: 16:8.
| C HA P. XXIIL IWho are to be excluded from the congregation, 1-= 6. An Edomite and E.
\£yptian not to be abhoyred, and why, 7. 8. No uncleanneſs to be in the
camp, 9-—i4. No filthineſs, 17. No abominable ſacrifice muſt be, 18,
No uſury, but to ſtrangers, 19, 20. Vows muft be kept, 21---23. The
liberty that was lawful in their neighbours field or ineyard, 24. 25. E that is wounded in the ſtones a, or hath his Privy members cut off, ſhall not enter into the congregation of the LORD 5. s Heb. wounded by compreſſion or attrition or contuſion, to wit, of - the ſtones, which was the courſe the Gentiles took with Infants to
© Lev: a8. 8.
here ſignifie, as commonly it doth, the body of the people, but the ſociety of the Elders or Rulers of the people, who, as they re- preſent the whole Congregation, and a& in their name,and for their {ervice and good, ſo they are ſometimes called by the name of the
| Congregation, as Numb: 35.12, 24, 25. Jof. 20:6, 9. 1 Kings8: 5. com-
pared with wv. r, 2,3. and 1 Chron. 13: 1, 2,4. and 29, 1, 10, 20. com- pared with 1 Chron. 28: 1: and 29: 6; and of the congregation of God, as1t15 1n the Hebrew of Pſal. 82: 1. Howſoever, ſeing they are oft called the congregation, they may very well be called in a ſpecial manner 7/2 congregation of the Lord, becauſe they were appointed by God, and at in his name and ftead, and for his work and ſervice,