EXPOSITION. MrscELLANEO'CS LAws (ven;. 16-31) maiden, suffer with her the penalty of death Vers. 16, 17.-.La1D11 agai,lllt ,eduction. (Dent. :ui.i. 23, 24) It has been alrearlv observed that in the Ver.16.-U a man entioe. Rather" sed•1ce. remainder of the Bo~k of the Covena.nt there Ke llhall BUrely endow her to be hiB wife. In the ,East a man eommonly pays money, or is a want of method, or logical sequence. money s worth, to the parents in order to Seduction, witchcraft, bestiality, worship of obtain a wife. The seducer wu to comply false gods, oppression, are sins 86 difierent with this custom, and make over to the dam- from each other 86 can well be named, and seem sel's father the sum of fifty shekels of silver to have no eonneeting link. Possibly, Moses (Dent. :ui.i. 29), for his sani:tion of the marriage. U the father eonsented, be was simply follows the order in which God actually eompelled to me.rry the girl, and he wu for- delivered the laws to him. P066ibly, he wrote bidden to repudiate her afterwards (ibid.). them down 86 they OC'Cmred to his memory. Ver. 17.-U her father utterl7 refnBe, etc It is remarkable in his "law of seductiont There might be such a disparity between the tbe.1. be makes the penalty fall with most parties, or such an ineligibility of the man for a son-in-law, that the father might refuse to rf weight on the man, who mDSt either marry establish his daughter's status by the alliance. tb~ damsel whom he hu seduced, or provide In that r,ase the offender was to pay such 11 her with a dowry, or, if she is a betrothed sum as would form a handsome dowry for th CII. XXII. 18-'.!fl.) 'I'll!•: P,001, 0[•' F:XUDli:';. Hll
injured leme.le, end ene.ble her to enter with tive enactment8 in favour 0£ the widow nn•I the --roper dignity the house of whatever man orphan, which much ameliorated their ~ad lot. "';ight be selected for her husband. (Sec eh. xxiii. 11; Lev. xix. !J, 10; Dent. ,ci,·. Ver. 18.-Lau, again811oitclrnraft. Witch- ernft was professedly a league with powers in 29; xvi. II, H; xxiv. 10-21; )()(Vi. 12, 1:n rebellion against God. How for it was delu- On the whole, these laws appear to h1ive been sion, how far imposture, how far e. real con- foirly well observed by the Israelites ; hut spiracy with the powers of evil, cannot now be there were times when, in spite of them. poor known. Let the most ro.tionalistic view be widows suffered much oppression. ( See Ps. taken, and still there was in the practice on absolute renunci11tion of religion, and of the xciv. 6; Is. i. 23; x. 2; Jer. vii. 3-6; xxii. authority of J ehovoh. Wizards (Lev. xix. 31) 3; Zech. vii. 10; Mai. iii. 5; Matt. xxiii. 1-1. J and witches were, therefore, under the Jewish The prophets denounce this backsliding in theocracy, like idolaters and blasphemers, to the strongest tem1s. be put to death. Ver. 19.-Law against ur.nalural crime. Ver. 22.-Ye shall not affl.ict. The word The abomination here mentioned is said to translated "afflict" is of wide signification. have prevailed in Egypt, and even to have including il.l-usa.ge of all kinds. ·• Oppress,"' formed part of the Egyptian religion (Herod. and even " vex," are stronger terms. ii. 46; Str11b. xvii. p. 1102; Ulem. Al. Coluwt. Ver. 23.-And they cry at all unto me ad Gentes, p. 9; etc.). Though regarded by Rather, "Surely, if they cry unto me."" Com- the Greeks and Romans as disgusting and pare Gen. xxxi. 42. contemptible, it does not seem to have been Ver. 24.-I will kill you with the sword. made a crime by any of their legislators. It It was, in large measure, on account of the was, however, condemned by the Gentoo laws neglect of this precept, that the capture of and by the laws of Menu (xi. 17). Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and destruction Ver. 20.-Law againat sacrificing to false of its inhabitants, was allowed to take place gods. Sacrifice was the chief act of worship; (Jer. xx.ii. 3-5). Your wives ahall be widows, and to sacrifice to a false god was to. renounce etc. A quasi-retaliation. They shal.l be the true God. Under a theocracy this was exposed to the same sort of ill-usage as you rebellion, and rightly punished with temporal he.ve dealt out to other widows. deal h. In ordinary states it would be no civil offence, and would be left to the final Vers. 25-27.-The law of lending mm1ey judgment of the Almighty. lJtterly destroyed. and borrowi,.g. It is peculiar to the Jewish Literal.ly, "devoted;" but with the meaning law to forbid the lending of money at interest of " devoted to destruction." by citizen to citizen. ln the present passage, Ver. 21. - Law against oppression of foreigners. It may be doubted whether such and in some others (Lev. xxv. 35; Deut. xv a law as this was ever made in any other 7), it might seem the.t interest was only for- country. F'oreigners are general.ly looked bidden in the case of a loan to one who was upon as "fair game," whom the natives of a poor ; but the general execration of usury country may ridicule and annoy at their (Job xxiv. 9; Prov. xxviii. 8; Ezek.. xviii. 13; pleasure. Native politeness gives them an exceptional position in France; but elsewhere :xxii. 12), and the description of the rightecns it is the general rule to " vex " them. The man as "he that hath not given his money Mosaic legislation protested strongly against upon Ul!1lIY" (Ps. xv, 5; Ezek. xviii. 8), seem this practice (eh. xxiii. 9; Lev. xix. 33), and rather to imply that the practice, so far as tven required the Israelites to " love the Israelites were concerued, was forbidden alto- stranger who dwelt with them as themselves" gether. On the other hand, it was distinctly (Lev. xix. 34). For ye were strangers. Com- pare Lev. -xix. 34, and Deut. x. 19. In E.'t declared (Dent. x..'Lii.i. 20) that interest might xxiii. 9 the addition is made-" For ye kno,v be ta.ken from strangers. There does not the h earl of a stranger "-ye know ; i.e., the seem to he.ve been any rate of interest which feelings which strangers have when they are was regarded as excessive, and '· usurious;' in vexed and oppressed-ye know this by your the modem sense. In Scripture usury !llellllj own sad experience, and should therefore he.ve e. tenderness for strangers. simply interest. Vers. 22-24. - Law agaimt oppresBing Ver. 26.-Ifthou take at all thy neighbour'3 toiduws and orpliana, With the stranger a.re raiment to pledge. Lending upon pleclg~, the business of our modem pawnbrukers, w.ts natura.lly placed the widow and orphan ; like not forbidden by the Jewish le.w; only certain him, weak and defenceless ; like him, special articles of primary necessity were forbiclden objects of God's care. The negative precept to be taken, as the han(\mill fur gnnd1ug here ~i, en was followed up by numerous posi- Bour, or either c•f its mill-sM111's (Dcut. x.•uv ]'12 THE nooK OF F.XOJ)UR. (rn. xxTT. 27-:Jl. ----------------