16 and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field.
`And a feast of weeks thou dost observe for thyself; first-fruits of wheat-harvest; and the feast of in-gathering, at the revolution of the year.
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your harvest unto the priest, then he hath waved the sheaf before Jehovah for your acceptance; on the morrow of the sabbath doth the priest wave it. `And ye have prepared in the day of your waving the sheaf a lamb, a perfect one, a son of a year, for a burnt-offering to Jehovah, and its present two tenth deals of flour mixed with oil, a fire-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance, and its drink-offering, wine, a fourth of the hin. `And bread and roasted corn and full ears ye do not eat until this self-same day, until your bringing in the offering of your God -- a statute age-during to your generations, in all your dwellings. `And ye have numbered to you from the morrow of the sabbath, from the day of your bringing in the sheaf of the wave-offering: they are seven perfect sabbaths; unto the morrow of the seventh sabbath ye do number fifty days, and ye have brought near a new present to Jehovah; out of your dwellings ye bring in bread of a wave-offering, two `loaves', of two tenth deals of flour they are, `with' yeast they are baken, first-`fruits' to Jehovah. `And ye have brought near, besides the bread, seven lambs, perfect ones, sons of a year, and one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams; they are a burnt-offering to Jehovah, with their present and their libations, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah. `And ye have prepared one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and two lambs, sons of a year, for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, and the priest hath waved them, besides the bread of the first-`fruits' -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, besides the two lambs; they are holy to Jehovah for the priest; and ye have proclaimed on this self-same day: a holy convocation is to you, ye do no servile work -- a statute age-during in all your dwellings, to your generations.
`Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the fifteenth day of this seventh month `is' a feast of booths seven days to Jehovah; on the first day `is' a holy convocation, ye do no servile work, seven days ye bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, on the eighth day ye have a holy convocation, and ye have brought near a fire-offering to Jehovah; it `is' a restraint, ye do no servile work. `These `are' appointed seasons of Jehovah, which ye proclaim holy convocations, to bring near a fire-offering to Jehovah, a burnt-offering, and a present, a sacrifice, and libations, a thing of a day in its day, apart from the sabbaths of Jehovah, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your willing-offerings, which ye give to Jehovah. `Only -- in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, in your gathering the increase of the land, ye do keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day `is' a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath; and ye have taken to yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of a brook, and have rejoiced before Jehovah your God seven days. `And ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah, seven days in a year -- a statute age-during to your generations; in the seventh month ye keep it a feast. `In booths ye dwell seven days; all who are natives in Israel dwell in booths, so that your generations do know that in booths I caused the sons of Israel to dwell; in my bringing them out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, `am' your God.' And Moses speaketh `concerning' the appointed seasons of Jehovah unto the sons of Israel.
`Thy fulness and thy liquids thou dost not delay; the first-born of thy sons thou dost give to Me;
`And in the day of the first-fruits, in your bringing near a new present to Jehovah, in your weeks, a holy convocation ye have; ye do no servile work; and ye have brought near a burnt-offering for sweet fragrance to Jehovah: two bullocks, sons of the herd, one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, and their present, flour mixed with oil, three-tenth deals to the one bullock, two-tenth deals to the one ram, a several tenth deal to the one lamb, for the seven lambs; one kid of the goats to make atonement for you; apart from the continual burnt-offering and its present ye prepare `them' (perfect ones they are for you) and their libations.
`And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month a holy convocation ye have; ye do no servile work; and ye have celebrated a festival to Jehovah seven days, and have brought near a burnt-offering, a fire-offering, a sweet fragrance, to Jehovah; thirteen bullocks, sons of the herd, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year; perfect ones they are; and their present, flour mixed with oil, three-tenth deals to the one bullock, for the thirteen bullocks, two-tenth deals to the one ram, for the two rams, and a several tenth deal to the one lamb, for the fourteen lambs, and one kid of the goats, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, its present, and its libation. `And on the second day twelve bullocks, sons of the herd, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the sheep, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one kid of the goats, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, and its present, and their libations. `And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, and its present, and its libation. `And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one kid of the goats, a sin-offering, apart from the continual burnt-offering, its present, and its libation. `And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, and its present, and its libation. `And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, its present, and its libation. `And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; and their present, and their libations, for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, its present, and its libation. `On the eighth day a restraint ye have, ye do no servile work; and ye have brought near a burnt-offering, a fire-offering, a sweet fragrance, to Jehovah; one bullock, one ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones; their present, and their libations, for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, in their number, according to the ordinance; and one goat, a sin-offering; apart from the continual burnt-offering, and its present, and its libation. `These ye prepare to Jehovah in your appointed seasons, apart from your vows, and your free-will offerings, for your burnt-offerings, and for your presents, and for your libations, and for your peace-offerings.'
`Seven weeks thou dost number to thee; from the beginning of the sickle among the standing corn thou dost begin to number seven weeks, and thou hast made the feast of weeks to Jehovah thy God, a tribute of a free-will offering of thy hand, which thou dost give, as Jehovah thy God doth bless thee. And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who `is' within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who `are' in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there, and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in Egypt, and hast observed and done these statutes. `The feast of booths thou dost make for thee seven days, in thine in-gathering of thy threshing-floor, and of thy wine-vat; and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who `are' within thy gates. Seven days thou dost feast before Jehovah thy God, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, for Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all thine increase, and in every work of thy hands, and thou hast been only rejoicing.
And they find written in the law that Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, that the sons of Israel dwell in booths in the feast, in the seventh month, and that they proclaim and cause to pass over all their cities, (and in Jerusalem,) saying, `Go ye out to the mount, and bring leaves of the olive, and leaves of the oil tree, and leaves of the myrtle, and leaves of the palms, and leaves of thick trees, to make booths as it is written.' And the people go out, and bring in, and make for themselves booths, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water-gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim. And they make -- all the assembly of the captives of the captivity -- booths, and they sit in booths; for the sons of Israel had not done, from the days of Jeshua son of Nun, so unto that day, and there is very great joy. And he readeth in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day till the last day, and they make a feast seven days, and on the eighth day a restraint, according to the ordinance.
And it hath come to pass, Every one who hath been left of all the nations, Who are coming in against Jerusalem, They have also gone up from year to year, To bow themselves to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, And to celebrate the feast of the booths. And it hath come to pass, That he who doth not go up of the families of the land unto Jerusalem, To bow himself to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, Even on them there is no shower. And if the family of Egypt go not up, nor come in, Then not on them is the plague With which Jehovah doth plague the nations That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths. This is the punishment of the sin of Egypt, And the punishment of the sin of all the nations, That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths.
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Commentary on Exodus 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 23
Ex 23:1-33. Laws concerning Slander, &c.
1. put not thine hand—join not hands.
2. decline—depart, deviate from the straight path of rectitude.
3. countenance—adorn, embellish—thou shalt not varnish the cause even of a poor man to give it a better coloring than it merits.
10. six years thou shalt sow thy land—intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Le 25:20, 21), it gave the Israelites a practical proof that they held their properties of the Lord as His tenants, and must conform to His rules on pain of forfeiting the lease of them.
12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest—This law is repeated [Ex 20:9] lest any might suppose there was a relaxation of its observance during the sabbatical year.
13. make no mention of the name of other gods, &c.—that is, in common conversation, for a familiar use of them would tend to lessen horror of idolatry.
14-18. Three times … keep a feast … in the year—This was the institution of the great religious festivals—"The feast of unleavened bread," or the passover—"the feast of harvest," or pentecost—"the feast of ingathering," or the feast of tabernacles, which was a memorial of the dwelling in booths in the wilderness, and which was observed in the seventh month (Ex 12:2). All the males were enjoined to repair to the tabernacle and afterwards the temple, and the women frequently went. The institution of this national custom was of the greatest importance in many ways: by keeping up a national sense of religion and a public uniformity in worship, by creating a bond of unity, and also by promoting internal commerce among the people. Though the absence of all the males at these three festivals left the country defenseless, a special promise was given of divine protection, and no incursion of enemies was ever permitted to happen on those occasions.
19. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk—A prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the idolaters in Egypt, who, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season. [See on De 14:21].
20-25. Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way—The communication of these laws, made to Moses and by him rehearsed to the people, was concluded by the addition of many animating promises, intermingled with several solemn warnings that lapses into sin and idolatry would not be tolerated or passed with impunity.
21. my name is in him—This angel is frequently called Jehovah and Elohim, that is, God.
28. I will send hornets before thee, &c. (See on Jos 24:12)—Some instrument of divine judgment, but variously interpreted: as hornets in a literal sense [Bochart]; as a pestilential disease [Rosenmuller]; as a terror of the Lord, an extraordinary dejection [Junius].
29, 30. I will not drive … out … in one year; lest the land become desolate—Many reasons recommend a gradual extirpation of the former inhabitants of Canaan. But only one is here specified—the danger lest, in the unoccupied grounds, wild beasts should inconveniently multiply; a clear proof that the promised land was more than sufficient to contain the actual population of the Israelites.