G). Bom,wing upon pledge WAS prertiscd first-born o{ their children were to be redeemed lnrgely in the t imr of Nehemiah, and loo to by a money payment (eh. xiii. 13; Num. iii. ,·en- ill rPFults. S,•c Nd1. eh.,·. Thon 1halt deliver it unto him by that the 111n goeth 46-48); bnt the rest was to be offered in down. The reason i6 gi,•en in the next ,·erse. sacrifice. The phrase, "thou she.It not delay,•• As it could not ho.,•c been "'ort.h while to to.ke implies that there would be reluctance Io the pledge at o.ll. if it WRS immediately t.o comply with this obligation, and that the have been gi,-en berk for good, we must sup- offering would be continnally put off. In pose o. pro.dice of depositing the go.rment Nehemiah's time the entire custom had at one iuring the do.y, o.nd being o.llowcd to have it o:it o.t night. period fallen into disuse. (Neh. x. 35, 86.) Ver. 2i.-Wherei.n llhall he 1leep1 The The flm of thy ripe fruita. Literally," thy outer go.rment worn b)· t.he ancient Hebrews fulness." The paraphrase of the A. V. no was like that of the modern Bedouins--o. sort. douht gives the true meaning. The flrat-born of lo.rge woollen shawl or blo.nket, in which of thy aou. Compare above, eh. xiii. 2, 12. they en,·eloped t.he great.er part. of their persons. It serves the Bedouins, t.o the pre- Ver. 30.---Seven daya it ahall be with it■ sent time. ,u; robe by do.y, RD.d ,u; coverlet by dam. See Lev. xxii. 27. The main object is night. When he orieth nnto me. Com- that the dRID may have during that time the pare ,-er. 28. If the lo.w is broken. and the natural relief derivable from suckling its off- man c~· unt.o the Lord, he will hear, RD.d spring. On the eighth day thou shalt give it avenge him. me. Some o.nalogy may be traced between Ver. 28. - 1- aga.iMt rer,iling God, or this proviso and the law of circumcision. Birth nilPTll. It h,u; been proposed to render was viewed as an unclean process, and nothing Elohim here either 1. "God ; " or 2. " The was fit for presentation to God excepting after irods : " or 8. " J udgeti." The lRSt of these RD. inter,-al. rPnderings is impossible, since Elol,im in the Ver. 81.-And ye Bhall be holy men nnto sense of "judges" always has the article. me. Ye shall not be as other men, but " an The second, which is adopt.ed by the Septua- holy nation, a peculiar people;" RD.d therefore gint and the Authorised Version, seems pre- your separateness shall be marked by all cluded by the constant practice of the most manner of laws RD.d regulations with respect religious Jews, prophets RD.d others, to speak to meats e.nd drinks, designed to keep you free "'ith contempt RD.d contumely of the fe.J.se from every uncleanness. One such law then 11:odt; of the heathen. The passage must there- follows- fore be understood as forbidding men to speak Law agai'll,llt eating the flesh of an animal evil of God. (Compare Lev. x.xiv. 15, 16.) killed by anvther. The blood of such an J.for cnne the ruler of thy people. Rather, animal would not be properly drained from it. " one exalted among thy people." The term Some would' remain in the tissues, RDd thence is geuerally used of the beads of families the animal would be unclean ; again, the car- (K wu. iii. 24. 80. 85. etc.) RD.d tribes ( ibid. vii. nivorous beast which "tore" it would also be lfJ. HL 24. etc.) in the Pentateuch. Later, it unclean, and by cont.set would impart of its is applied to kings (1 Kingi; xi. 3-l; Ezek. uncleRD.Dess to the other. Ye shall out it to xii. 10: :i-h-. 7. etc.). Our trawdators gener- the dogs, is probably not intended to exclude al! y render it by " prince." the giving or selling of it to an alien, if one were at hand, according to the permission Ven;. 29, SO.-Lat,, t1011t',8f'fitng jint-fruiu. accorded in Deut. xiv. 21 ; but points simply God required as first-fruits from his people, 1. to the mode whereby the flesh was to be got rid of, if aliens were not at hand, or if they The first-born of therr children ; 2. The first- declined to eat the RDimals. Dogs were so. born of all their cattle ; RD.d 8. The first of all uncleRD that they might be fed on anything the produce of their lands, whether wet or dry; Their chief use was to be scavengers (:.! K. wine, oil, grain of all kind&, md fruit.a. The ix. 35, 36).
HOMILETICS. Vers. 16-28.-The uverity a,ul t".e tender11-U$ of.God. The mis~cllaneous l~ws thrown together, without e.ny clear logical sequence or_mdeed any manifest connecll:.>L. iu the latter part of this chapter, may, gener:i,Uy speaking, be_ wouped under the two heads of instances of the Divine severity, and instances of the D1vme tenderness. Here, as in so many places, "mercy e.nd truth meet together-righteousness and peace kiss each other." God ia e.s merciful to the weak and helpless as severe towards the bold aml stubLc,rn evil-doer. li Jili; justice is an iJlalienable attribute, so is his kiudue~s auJ ('II, XXII. lG-28]. THE nooK OF EXODUS.