The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 97

the difilculty was solved. Nothing perho.ps whole question of numbers in the Intro- better illustrates the mingled rigidity and duction, As to (b), it must be borne in elasticity of the Divine ordinances than the mind that no direction whatever had been observance of theJassover, in which so much given, as far as we know, either that the of changed deta" was united with so real lambs must be slain by the priests only, or and so unvarying a uniformity. that their blood must be poured upon the Ver. 6.-And they kept the passover. It altar. If the Jews were left to follow the is a question which inevitably arises here, original institution as nearly as possible, they how they obtained a sufficient number of would have killed the lambs themselves, and lambs for the requirement of so many people, sprinkled the blood around the doors of their and how they were slain sacrificially within tents, It ia true that according to the the appointed time. The first difficulty does Levitical ritual, now recently put into use, not seem serious when we consider, (1) that all other animals slain in sacrifice (or indeed kids were available as well as lambs (see on for food) must be slain at the tabernacle by Exod. xii. 3) ; (2) that the desert tribes would the priest, and the blood sprinkled on the have abundo.nce of lambs and kids for sale at altar ; end it is true that this general rule this season, and that the Israelites certainly was afterwards held especially binding in had money ; (3) that in view of their speedy the case of the paEsover. But there is nothing departure they would be disposed to kill off to show that it was held binding then : the the young of their own flocks. The second passover had been ordained before the estab- difficulty is more serious, and would be in- lishment of the Levitical priesthood and law surmountablo if we had to believe that the of sacrifice ; and it might very well have been ritual of this passover was the same which considered that it retained its primal character afterwards prevailed. Josephus tells us(' Bell. unaffected by subsequent legislation, and that Jud.,' vi. 9, 3) that in his day 256,000 the priesthood of the people (in other rites lambs were slain and their blood sprinkled transferred to Aaron and his sons) was re- upon the altar within the three hours "be- called and revived in the ea.a~ of this special tween the evenings." At that time, accord- rite, If this was the case both at this pass- ing to tho so.me authority, a lamb was shared over and at that under Joshua, it is easy by ten, and often by as many as twenty enough to understand why the later practice people. The ;number of males who would was so entirely different ; the neglect or partake of the paschal meal in the wilderness disuse of centuries obliterated the tradition may be set down as not more than 800,000. of the passover, and when it wa.s revived by If the women partook ofitat all (which is very the later kings, they naturally followed the doubtful; cf. Exod. xii 44, 48), they would analogy of all other sacrifices, and the appo.r- doubtless content themselves with the scraps ently express command of Levit. xvii. 3-6. left by the men. Allowing twenty souls to They could not indeed obey this corumo.nd in co.eh lo.mb, the number required would be their do.ily life, but they could and did obey not more than 40,000, It is obvious at once it in the striking a.nd typical case of the that the three priests could not possibly kill paschal feast. 40,000 lambs in three hours, much less Ver. 6.-Therewere certain men. It has sprinkle their blood upon the altar; indeed been supposed by me.nytho.t these men must the so.me may be said for 10,000, or even hnve been Misho.el and Elizo.phan, who ho.d 6000, especially as they could not have ac- recently (cf. Exod, xl. 17; Levit. ix. 1 ; x. 4) quirod the extreme dexterity and despatch been defiled by burying their cousins Nadab which long practice taught to tho later priests. and Abihu. This, however, is bnsed upon Nor is it satisfactory to reply that the priests the assumption thnt the tote.ls given in Exod, did tho work "out of the hand of the Levites" xxx viii. 26 and in eh. i 46 e.rn renlly inde- (2 Chron. xxx. 16), (1) because this passover pendent, o.nd tho.t therefore no one belonging took place before the Levites were formally to any other tribe than that of Levi had died separated for the service of God and of the in the intervo.l. As tho.t assumption is un- priests (see eh. viii. 22) ; (2) because tho tenable (see above on eh. i. 46), so this smallness of the space about the altar would "coincidence " fo.lls to the ground. We not o.llow of many people assisting ; (3) know indeed that Mish11el and Eliznphan because the actuo.l slaying and sprinkling, were defiled at this time, end we do not which wo.s restricted to the priests (being know that any one else was ; but, on the distinctively sacrificial in naturo), are the other hand, the words " the dead body of a very things which we find impossible in the mo.n" seem to point to a single corpse only. time. There are but two alternative con- Dead body. Hebrew, mphesh, as in eh. v, 2; clusions, from one or other of which there is v:i. 11, and other places, It is inexplicable no honest escape: either (a) the numbers of how this word, which properly means '' soul," th~ people arn greatly exaggerated, or (b) the should have como to be used of o. corpse ; rituo.l of n.fter days was not observed on this perhaps it is nn additional testimony to the occasion, As to (a), seo what is said on the complete absence from Jewish teaching of  74 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. [OB. IX. 1-14.