Chapter 5:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Leviticus Deuteronomy
Numbers 5
A command to remove the unclean out of the camp, ver. 1-4.
Laws concerning restitution, ver. 5-10. The law concerning a
woman suspected of adultery, ver. 11-31.
Verse 3. That they defile not the camp - By which God would intimate
the danger of being made guilty by other mens sins, and the duty
of avoiding intimate converse with wicked men. I dwell - By my
special and gracious presence.
Verse 6. Any sin that men commit - Hebrew. any sins of men, that is,
sins against men, as deceits or wrongs, whereby other men are
injured, of which he manifestly speaks. Against the Lord - Which
words may be added, to shew that such injuries done to men are
also sins against God, who hath commanded justice to men, as
well as religion to himself. Guilty - That is, shall be sensible of his
guilt, convicted in his conscience.
Verse 7. They shall confess their sin - They shall not continue in the
denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to
themselves by acknowledging it. The principal - That is, the thing
he took away, or what is equivalent to it. And add - Both as a
compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so
long, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer, to discourage
others from such attempts.
Verse 8. No kinsman - This supposes the person injured to be dead or
gone, into some unknown place, and the person injured to be
known to the injurer. To the priest - Whom God appointed as his
deputy to receive his dues, and take them to his own use, that so
he might more chearfully and entirely devote himself to the
ministration of holy things. This is an additional explication to
that law, Lev. vi, 2, and for the sake thereof it seems here to be
repeated.
Verse 9. Unto the priest - To offer by his hands.
Verse 10. Every man's hallowed things - Understand this not of the
sacrifices, because these were not the priest's peculiar, but part of
them was offered to God, and the remainder was eaten by the
offerer as well as by the priest; but of such other things as were
devoted to God, and could not be offered in sacrifice; as suppose a
man consecrated an house to the Lord, this was to be the priest's.
Verse 12. If a man's wife - This law was given partly to deter wives
from adulterous practices, and partly to secure wives against the
rage of their hard-hearted husbands, who otherwise might upon
mere suspicions destroy them, or at least put them away. There
was not like fear of inconveniences to the husband from the
jealousy, of the wife, who had not that authority and power, and
opportunity for the putting away or killing the husband, as the
husband had over the wife. Go aside - From the way of religion
and justice, and that either in truth, or in her husband's opinion.
Verse 15. The man shall bring her to the priest - Who first strove to
persuade her to own the truth. If she did, she was not put to death,
(which must have been, if it had been proved against her) but only
was divorced and lost her dowry. Her offering - By way of solemn
appeal to God, whom hereby she desired to judge between her and
her husband, and by way of atonement to appease God, who had
for her sins stirred up her husband against her. He shall pour no
oil - Both because it was a kind of sin-offering, from which these
were excluded, and because she came thither as a delinquent, or
suspected of delinquency, unpleasing both to God and men; as
one that wanted that grace and amiableness and joy which oil
signified, and that acceptance with God which frankincense
denoted, Psalm 1xli, 2. Bringing iniquity to remembrance - Both
to God before whom she appeared as a sinner, and to her own
conscience, if she was guilty; and, if she were not guilty of this,
yet it reminded her of her other sins, for which this might be a
punishment.
Verse 16. Before the Lord - That is, before the sanctuary where the ark
was.
Verse 17. Holy water - Water of purification appointed for such uses.
This was used, that if she were guilty, she might be afraid to add
profaneness to her other crime. An earthen vessel - Because, after
this use, it was to be broken in pieces, that the remembrance of it
might be blotted out as far as was possible. Dust - An emblem of
vileness and misery. From the floor of the tabernacle - Which
made it holy dust, and struck the greater terror into the woman, if
she were guilty.
Verse 18. Before the Lord - Before the tabernacle with her face towards
the ark. Uncover her head - Partly that she might be made sensible
how manifest she and all her ways were to God; partly in token of
her sorrow for her sin, or at least for any cause of suspicion which
she had given. In her hands - That she herself might offer it, and
thereby call God to be witness of her innocency. Bitter - So called
either from the bitter taste which the dust gave it, or from the
bitter effects of it upon her, if she were guilty. That causeth the
curse - Not by any natural power, but by a supernatural efficacy.
Verse 19. By an oath - To answer truly to his question, or to declare
whether she be guilty or no, and after such oath shall say as
follows.
Verse 21. An oath - That is, a form of cursing, that when they would
curse a person, they may wish that they may be as miserable as
thou wast. Thy thigh - A modest expression, used both in
scripture, as Gen. xlvi, 26, Exod. i, 5, and other authors. To rot -
Hebrew. to fall, that is, to die or waste away. To swell - Suddenly
and violently till it burst, which the Jews note was frequent in this
case. And it was a clear evidence of the truth of their religion.
Verse 22. Amen, amen - That is, so let it be if I be guilty. The word is
doubled by her as an evidence of her innocency, and ardent desire
that God would deal with her according to her desert.
Verse 23. In a book - That is, in a scroll of parchment, which the
Hebrews commonly call a book. Blot them out - Or scrape them
out and cast them into the bitter water. Whereby it was signified,
that if she was innocent, the curses should be blotted out and
come to nothing; and, if she were guilty, she should find in her the
effects of this water which she drank, after the words of this curse
had been scraped and put in.
Verse 24. To drink - That is, after the jealousy-offering was offered.
Verse 28. Conceive seed - That is, shall bring forth children, as the Jews
say, in case of her innocency, she infallibly did, yea though she
was barren before.
Verse 31. Guiltless - Which he should not have been, if he had either
indulged her in so great a wickedness, and not endeavoured to
bring her to repentance or punishment, or cherished suspicions in
his breast, and thereupon proceeded to hate her or cast her off.
Whereas now, whatsoever the consequence is, the husband shall
not be censured for bringing such curses upon her, or for
defaming her, if she appear to be innocent. Her iniquity - That is,
the punishment of her iniquity, whether she was false to her
husband, or by any light carriage gave him occasion to suspect
her.
Chapter 5:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Leviticus Deuteronomy
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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