The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 376

a holv convocation, except on the three blood had been sprinkled upon the lintel great festivals, when all who could, "kept and side posts, God slew the firstborn of all the feast'' at Jerusalem. There were in all who had not exhibited this symbol of their sc.cn holy con'IJOOatwns in the year, besides having been brought into covenant with the sabbath, namely, the first and last himself, and the Israelites set off hurriedly days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of on their departure from Egypt. It was Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, the Feast commanded that the do.y should be kept of Trumpets, the first and last days of the hereafter in like manner as a memorial, and Feast of Tabernacles. that the following seven days should be Ver. 3.-The seventh day is the Sllbbath of kept as a Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exod. rest. This is a very strong expression, liter- xii. 14, 15). This command is here concisely ally, the sahbath of sahbati.m, which doubles repeated, as it is again repeated in Deut. the force of the single word. Ye shall do no xvi. 1-8. One very considerable change work therein. The sabbath and the Day of was, however, necessarily made in the method Atonement were the only days in which no of its observance, Originally, each head of work might be done, whereas on the other 11, household or combination of households festi-<'als it was only no servile work that sacrificed the lamb himself, and sprinkled might be done. It is not to be observed the blood upon the doorposts and lintel. solely where the tabernacle is pitched or But after the establishment of the Aaronic the temple is built, but in every town and priesthood and the withdrawal of the village of Canaan-in all your dwellings. priestly authority previously vested in each In the sanctuary itself the peculiar charac- head of a house (cbs. viii., ix.), and after the teristics of the sabbath were a holy con- stringent prohibition of SRCrificing else- ,·ocation, the renewal of the shewbreAd, and where than i,n the court of the tabernacle the burnt offering of two lambs with their had been issued (eh. xvii.), this could not meat and drink offerings (Numb. xxviii. continue. Accordingly, we find in the Book 9, 10); elsewhere it was observed only by of Deuteronomy the direct injunction, the holy convocation and rest .from all "Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover labour. It commenced at sunset on Friday within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy ernning, and continued till sunset on God giveth thee: but at the place which Saturday evening. In later days the hour the Lord thy God shall choose· to place his at which it began was announced by three Name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Pass- blasts of the priests' trumpets, immediately over at even, at the going down of the sun, after which a new course of priests entered at the· season that thou earnest forth out of on their ministry. Egypt" (xvi. 5, 6). A result from this rule Ver. 4.-This verse repeats the statement was that every male Israelite had to present or heading contained in ver. 2, with himself at Jerusalem, and there slay his reference to the annual holy day, the sab- lamb on the day of the Passover, which in bath having been disposed of in ver. 3. the time of Nero, brought between two and Ver. 5.-In the fourteenth day of the first three million pilgrims to Jerusalem each month at even is the Lord's passover. The year. The crowd of pilgrims took their month of Nisan was made the first month of way to the temple, and were admitted into the religious year in consequence of the origi- the court in three di visions. There they nal Passover having taken place in it (Exod. slew each mo.n his lo.mb, while the priests 1'ii. 2). On the occasion of the fu-st, or offered the blood on tho o.lto.r, aud the Eg-yptian, Passover, all heads of a family, Levites so.ng the Halle! (Ps. cxiii.-cxviii.). either singly or two or three beads of families Then they bore away the lambs, rousted in conjunction, provided themselves with a them whole on a spit of pomegrano.te wood, lamb or a kid on the 10th day of Nisan, taking co.re that no bone should be broken, killed it in the evening of the 14th, and, and prepared the Po.scho.l supper. At the taking a bunch of hyssop, dipped it in the supper, as well as at the sacrifice, a change blood and struck the lintel and two side of manner was introduced. " As the guests posts of the doors of their houses with the gathered round the Paschal table, they blood. They then roasted the animal whole came no longer, as o.t the first celebration, for eating, added to it unleavened bread, with their loins gi.t-ded, with shoes on their and garnished it with bitter herbs. They feet, and 11, staff in their bands ; that is, 118 made themselves ready to eat it by dressing travellers waiting to tako their departure. themselves for a journey, "with their loins On the contrary, they were arrayed in their girded, their shoes on their feet, and their best festive garments, joyous and at rest, staff in their hands" (Exod. xii. 11), o.nd as beo11me the children of o. kiug. To thus they ate it in haste, in a standing express this idea, the rabbis also insisted position. The meaning of the ceremony is that the Paschal supper, or o.t least po.rt of explained by what was taking place at the it, must be eaten in that reoumbent position aame time. On the same 'night, after the with whioh we are fo.miliar from the New dtL :nttr. 1-G.J 11ilE BOOK OF L:EVITICUS. 34.J.