The Pulpit Commentary — Ezekiel — Volume 2 — Section 416

and, looking through it and the opened of the festal see.sons-not the high festivals inner ea.st gate, should pray before Jehovah." alone, such as the Passover e.nd the Feast This, however, is unnatural, even on the of Tabernacles, whioh are usually denomi• hypothesis that the prince should pass ne.ted c•~n, but the ordinary appointed through the outer east gate, e.nd the vie~v feasts (c•jp~o), including, besides the high of Keil is greatly preferable, that "this festive.ls, tlie sabbaths aud the new moons gate" ws.s Ote inner east gate, and that the and such other religious celebrations e.s people should reach it (even if the prince were or should be prescribed in the new did not) by entering the outer court through Tore.h. In order to prevent confusion, and the north gate or the south. that all might be conduoted with propriety Vers. 4, 5 describe the sacrifices the (comp. 1 Cor. xiv. 40), no one should depart prince should offer unto the Lord on the by the gate through which he had entered, sabbaths. (1) A. burnt offering of six lambs but by the opposite, i.e. he who had entered and a ram, all without blemish. The Mosaic by the north gate should retire through the Law, or so-called priests' code, demanded south gate, and 11i'.ce 11ersa. Hengstenberg two yearling lambs (Numb. xxviii 9). (2) thinks the reason for this regulation "cannot A meat offering, consisting of an ephah of be sought in the endeavour to avoid e. fine flour for a ram. and for the lambs as he throng," since "in that case it must he.ve shall be able to give; literally, a gift of his been ordained that all should go in by the hand-not a handful, but, as ver. 7 explains, same gate and go out by the opposite one;" what his hand can attain unto (comp. it must, he holds, have been "e. theological Lev. xiv. 31 ; :u:v. 26), i.e. as much as he one," viz. " to signify that each should go can, with a hin of oil to an ephe.h, for which out of the sanctuary another man than he age.in the Law required two-tenths of an came in." ephe.h of fine 11.onr IIllllgled with oil (Numb. Ver. 10.-And the prince in the midst of :u:viii 9). them, when they go in, shall go in, etc. Vere. 6, 7 specify the corresponding sacri- Schroder, but without reason, would restrict fices for the new moons. (I) A. burnt this regulation to the celebrations of the offering of a young bullock without blemish, first and seventh days of the first month &ix Iambs, and a ram, with which may be (eh. xlv. 18, 20); Hengstenberg would con- compared the two Lullocks, one ram, and fine it to the high festivals (eh, xlv. 21, 25); seven lambs of the Mosaic Torah (Numb. Kliefoth, Keil, and commentators generally xxviii 11-15). (2) A. meat (or, meal) apply it to all the s~atutory fe~ or a~- offering of an ephah for the bullock, an poiuted seasons and times for umted sacri- ephah for the ram, e.nd for the lambs ac- ficial worship. The regulation seems to cording as his hand_ shall attain_ unto_ (comp. teach that in such observances at least ver 5 • and the similar expressions lD Lev. the prince should stand on a level with the v. 7, '11; xii. 8), with a hin of oil to _an people, and both enter and retire by the ephah. This also is less than that w h1ch same door as they. had been demanded by the Law, viz. three- Ver. 11 specifies the meat (or, meal) tenths of an ephah of fine flour mingled offering which should be preseu ted in the with oil for each bullock, two-tenths for the feasts (o•~r:i), or high festivals, ns the Pass- ram and one-tenth for every lamb (Numb. over and Feast of Tabernacles, and in the xxviii. 11-15). The Torah of Eze~iel solemnities (c•:i;.10),or appointed feasts gene- omits the sin offering of a he-goat, which rally, viz. an ephah to a bullock, and 11;n had a place in the Torah of Moses. Ver. 8 begins an ordinance relative to tho ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he 1B mode of conducting worship at the appointed able to give ( comp. vers. 5, 7), with e. hin of festivals (ver. 9; comp. eh. xx.xvi cl8; xiv. oil to an ephah. This is the same meo.t 17; Lev. xxiii 2; Hos. xii. 9), by indicat- offering as was appointed for the new ing first how the prince should enter and moons (see ver. 7), but slightly ~iffer~nt depart from the temple. According to in quantity from, though the so.me m prm- Kliefoth and Keil. the prince's entrance and ciple as, that stipulated for the seven de.ye departure should be by the way of the porch of the Passover (eh. xiv. 24). of the outer, according to Hengstenberg, Ver. 12 determines the procedure in case Smend, and Currey, of the inner, east gate of the prince resolving to offer privately,_ on (see on ver. 2). his own e.coount, a voluntary burnt offering Ver. 9.-But when the people of the land or pee.oe offering; better, a free-will offering shall come before the Lord. As the pre- (n:1,i), a sacrifice prompted by the heart of ceding verse referred to the prince•~ en- th~ •offerer, as opposed to one legally enjoined trance into and departure from the IDner (Exod. xxxv. 29; Lev. xxii. 23), whio~ might go.te, this was intended to regulate the be either a burnt or a peace offering. In movements of the prince's subjects when this case the cast iunor gate should be tLey should enter the outer court at any opened to him us on the so.bbo.th days (seo OH. XLVI. 1-24.J THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 431