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Exodus Chapter
Twenty
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 20
In this chapter we have an
account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Exodus 20:1, the
ten commandments it consists of, Exodus 20:8, the
circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance,
Exodus 20:18, when
they desired of Moses, that he would speak to them and not God, who bid them
not fear, since this was for the trial of them; but still they kept at a
distance, while Moses drew nigh to God, Exodus 20:19 who
ordered him to caution the children of Israel against idolatry, and directed
what sort of an altar he would have made whereon to offer their sacrifices,
promising that where his name was recorded he would grant his presence and
blessing, Exodus 20:22.
Exodus 20:1 And
God spoke all these words, saying:
YLT 1`And God speaketh all these words, saying,
And God spake
all these words,.... Which follow, commonly called the decalogue, or ten
commands; a system or body of laws, selected and adapted to the case and
circumstances of the people of Israel; striking at such sins as they were most
addicted to, and they were under the greatest temptation of falling into the
commission of; to prevent which, the observation of these laws was enjoined
them; not but that whatsoever of them is of a moral nature, as for the most
part they are, are binding on all mankind, and to be observed both by Jew and
Gentile; and are the best and shortest compendium of morality that ever was
delivered out, except the abridgment of them by our Lord, Matthew 22:36, the
ancient Jews had a notion, and which Jarchi delivers as his own, that these
words were spoken by God in one word; which is not to be understood
grammatically; but that those laws are so closely compacted and united together
as if they were but one word, and are not to be detached and separated from
each other; hence, as the Apostle James says, whosoever offends in one point is
guilty of all, James 2:10, and if
this notion was as early as the first times of the Gospel, one would be tempted
to think the Apostle Paul had reference to it, Romans 13:9 though
indeed he seems to have respect only to the second table of the law; these
words were spoke in an authoritative way as commands, requiring not only
attention but obedience to them; and they were spoken by God himself in the
hearing of all the people of Israel; and were not, as Aben Ezra observes,
spoken by a mediator or middle person, for as yet they had not desired one; nor
by an angel or angels, as the following words show, though the law is said to
be spoken by angels, to be ordained by them, in the hands of a mediator, and
given by the disposition of them, which perhaps was afterwards done, see Acts 7:53. See Gill
on Acts 7:53. See Gill
on Galatians 3:19. See
Gill on Hebrews 2:2.
saying; as follows.
Exodus 20:2 2 “I
am the Lord
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage.
YLT 2I [am] Jehovah thy God, who hath brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants.
I am the Lord
thy God,.... This verse does not contain the first of these commands, but
is a preface to them, showing that God had a right to enact and enjoin the
people of Israel laws; and that they were under obligation to attend unto them
with reverence, and cheerfully obey them, since he was the Lord, the eternal
and immutable Jehovah, the Being of beings, who gives being to all creatures,
and gave them theirs, and therefore had a right to give them what laws he
pleased; and he was their God, their covenant God, in a special and peculiar
manner, their King and their God, they being a Theocracy, and so more
immediately under his government, and therefore had laws given them preferable
to what any other people had:
which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt: where they had been
afflicted many years, and reduced to great distress, but were brought forth
with an high hand, and with great riches, and in a very wonderful and
miraculous manner; so that they were under great obligations to yield a ready
and cheerful obedience to the will of God:
out of the
house of bondage: or "servants"F2עבדים
"servorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; that is, where they had been servants and slaves, but
now were made free, and were become a body politic, a kingdom of themselves,
under their Lord, King, Lawgiver, and Saviour, Jehovah himself, and therefore
to be governed by laws of his enacting; and this shows that this body of laws
was delivered out to the people of Israel, and primarily belong to them; for of
no other can the above things be said.
Exodus 20:3 3 “You
shall have no other gods before Me.
YLT 3`Thou hast no other Gods before Me.
Thou shalt have
no other gods before me. This is the first command, and is opposed to the polytheism of
the Gentiles, the Egyptians, from whom Israel was just come, and whose gods
some of them might have had a favourable opinion of and liking to, and had
committed idolatry with; and the Canaanites, into whose land they were going;
and to prevent their joining with them in the worship of other gods, this law
was given, as well as to be of standing us to them in all generations; for
there is but one only living and true God, the former and maker of all things,
who only is to be had, owned, acknowledged, served, and worshipped as such; all
others have only the name, and are not by nature gods; they are other gods than
the true God is; they are not real, but fictitious deities; they are other or
strange gods to the worshippers of them, that cry unto them, for they do not
answer them, as Jarchi observes: and now for Israel, who knew the true God, who
had appeared unto them, and made himself known to them by his name Jehovah,
both by his word and works, whom he had espoused to himself as a choice virgin,
to commit idolatry, which is spiritual adultery with other gods, with strange
gods, that are no gods, and this before God, in the presence of him, who had
took them by the hand when he brought them out of Egypt, and had been a husband
to them, must be shocking impiety, monstrous ingratitude, and extremely
displeasing to God, and resented by him; and is, as many observe, as if a woman
should commit adultery in the presence of her husband, and so the phrase may
denote the audaciousness of the action, as well as the wickedness of it;
though, as Ben Melech from others observes, if it was done in secret it would
be before the Lord, who is the omniscient God, and nothing can be hid from him:
several Jewish commentators, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Aben Ezra, interpret the
phrase "before me", all the time I endure, while I have a being, as
long as I live, or am the living God, no others are to be had; that is, they
are never to be had; since the true God will always exist: the Septuagint
version is, "besides me", no other were to be worshipped with him;
God will have no rivals and competitors; though he was worshipped, yet if
others were worshipped with him, if others were set before him and worshipped
along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped in them, and even he with
a superior and they with an inferior kind of worship; yet this was what he
could by no means admit of: the phrase may be rendered "against me"F3על פני "contra me",
Noldius, No. 1801. p. 731. ; other gods opposition to him, against his will,
contrary to obedience due to him and his precepts: this law, though it supposes
and strongly inculcates the unity of the divine Being, the only object of
religious adoration, yet does not oppose the doctrine of the trinity of persons
in the Godhead; nor is that any contradiction to it, since though the Father is
God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, there are not three Gods, but
three Persons, and these three are one God, 1 John 5:7.
Exodus 20:4 4 “You
shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth;
YLT 4`Thou dost not make to thyself a graven
image, or any likeness which [is] in the heavens above, or which [is] in the
earth beneath, or which [is] in the waters under the earth.
Thou shalt not
make unto thee any graven image,.... An image of anything graven by art or
man's device, cut out of wood of stone, and so anything that was molten, or
cast into a mould or form, engraved by men, and this in order to be worshipped;
for otherwise images of things might be made for other uses and purposes, as
the cherubim over the mercy seat, and the brazen serpent, and images and
impressions on coin, which we do not find the Jews themselves scrupled to make
use of in Christ's time on that account; though they vehemently opposed the
setting up any images of the Caesars or emperors in their temple, because they
seemed to be placed there as deities, and had a show of religious worship:
however, any image of God was not to be made at all, since no similitude was
ever seen of him, or any likeness could be conceived; and it must be a gross
piece of ignorance, madness, and impudence, to pretend to make one, and great
impiety to make it in order to be the object of religious worship; on which
account, not any image or the image of anything whatever was to be made:
or any likeness
of anything that is in heaven above; any form, figure,
portrait, or picture of anything or creature whatever, whether in the supreme,
starry, or airy heaven; as of angels, which some have gone into the worship of;
and of the sun, moon, and stars, the host of heaven; and of any of the birds of
the air, as the hawk by the Egyptians, and the dove by the Assyrians:
or that is in
the earth beneath; as oxen, sheep, goats, cats, dogs, &c. such as were the gods
of Egypt:
or that is in
the water under the earth: as of fishes, such as were the crocodile of
Egypt, the Dagon of the Philistines, and the Derceto of the Syrians: this is
the second command, as the Targum of Jonathan expressly calls it; that is, the
first part of it, which forbids the making of graven images for worship; the
other part follows, which is the worship of them itself: Clemens of AlexandriaF4Stromat.
l. 1. p. 304. observes, that Numa, king of the Romans, took this from Moses,
and forbid the Romans to make any image of God, like to man or beast.
Exodus 20:5 5 you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the
third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
YLT 5Thou dost not bow thyself to them, nor serve
them: for I, Jehovah thy God, [am] a zealous God, charging iniquity of fathers
on sons, on the third [generation], and on the fourth, of those hating Me,
Thou shall not
bow down thyself to them,.... Perform any worship to them, show any reverence of them by
any gesture of the body; one being mentioned, bowing the body, and put for all
others, as prostration of it to the earth, bending the knee, kissing the hand,
lifting up of hands or eyes to them, or by any outward action expressing a
religious esteem of them, as if there was divinity in them:
nor serve them; in a
religious manner, internally or externally, by offering sacrifice and burning
incense to them; by praying to, or praising of them; by expressing love to
them, faith and trust in them, hope and expectation of good things from them,
and the like. The reason of this second command, relating to the making and
worshipping of images, next follows:
for I the Lord
thy God am a jealous God; jealous of his own honour and glory, and will not give it to
another; even to graven images, nor suffer it to be given to them without
resenting it; and jealousy is fierce and cruel, and breaks forth into great
wrath, and issues in dreadful scenes oftentimes among men; as a man that has
reason to be jealous of his wife, and especially if he takes her and the
adulterer in the fact, it often costs them both their lives, being so enraged
at such an insult upon him, and such a violation of the marriage bed; and thus
the great Jehovah, the God of Israel, their head and husband, is represented,
in order to deter from idolatry, or spiritual adultery, than which nothing
could be more provoking to him:
visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children; meaning chiefly, if not
solely, the iniquity of idolatry; which being such an insult on his honour,
"crimen laesae majestatis", is treated by him as high treason is
among men; not only he punishes the authors and perpetrators of it in their own
persons, which is meant by "visiting", but upon their children also,
which are parts of themselves; and whatsoever is inflicted on them is the same
as on themselves, and is an addition to, and a sensible aggravation of their
punishment; and especially these are visited in such a manner, when they tread
in their father's steps, and fill up the measure of their iniquity. So the
Targum of Jonathan,"visiting the iniquity of ungodly fathers on rebellious
children:
unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate me; as all idolaters must be
thought to do, whatsoever love and affection they may pretend to God, by
worshipping idols before him, besides him, along with him, or him in them:
"the third and fourth generation" are mentioned, because sometimes
parents lived to see these, and so with their eyes beheld the punishment
inflicted upon their posterity for their sins, which must be distressing to
them; or, however, these being but small removes from them, might impress their
minds and affect them, to think what their sins would bring upon their
descendants, who would quickly come after them, and share in the sad effects of
their iniquities, and so be a means to deter them from them.
Exodus 20:6 6 but
showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
YLT 6and doing kindness to thousands, of those
loving Me and keeping My commands.
And showing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me,.... And show their love
by worshipping God, and him only, by serving him acceptably with reverence and
godly fear, by a cheerful obedience to all his commands, by all religious
exercises, both internal and external, as follows:
and keep my
commandments; not only this, but all others; for keeping these from right
principles, and with right views, is an instance and evidence of love to God,
see John 14:15 and to
such persons he shows mercy and kindness, performs acts of grace, and bestows
on them blessings of goodness; and indeed it is owing to his own grace, mercy,
and kindness to them, that they do love him, and from a principle of love
observe his precepts; and this is shown to thousands, to multitudes, who are
blessed with such grace as to love the Lord, and keep his commandments: though
rather this is to be understood of a thousand generations, and not persons, and
should have been supplied, as in the preceding verse, "unto a thousand
generations", God being more abundant in showing mercy, and exercising
grace and goodness, than he is rigorous in inflicting punishment.
Exodus 20:7 7 “You
shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes His name in vain.
YLT 7`Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah
thy God for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name
for a vain thing.
Thou shall not
take the name of the Lord God in vain,.... Make use of the name
Lord or God, or any other name and epithet of the divine Being, in a light and
trifling way, without any show of reverence of him, and affection to him; whereas
the name of God ought never to be mentioned but in a grave and serious manner,
and with an awe of the greatness of his majesty upon the mind. The Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan restrain this to swearing by the name of the Lord; and so
the Jewish writers generally interpret it either of swearing lightly, rashly,
or falsely; and to this it may very well be extended, though not limited; and
so forbids, as all profane oaths; imprecations, and curses by the name of God,
which the mouths of wicked men are full of, so swearing by it in matters
trivial, and of no importance; for swearing even by the name of the Lord ought
not to be used but in matters of moment and consequence, for the confirmation
of a thing, and putting an end to strife, and where a matter cannot be
determined and decided without an appeal to God. And great care should be taken
that a man swears to that which is true, and not false; for false swearing, or
perjury, is a very grievous sin, and as it is strictly forbidden, it is
severely punished by the Lord, as follows; see Leviticus 19:12,
this is the third command, and the reason enforcing it follows:
for the Lord
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name is vain; will not look
upon him as an innocent person, and treat him as such; will not acquit and
discharge him as just and righteous; but on the contrary will consider him as a
guilty person, a profaner of his name, and a transgressor of his law, and will
condemn and punish him, if not in this world, yet in the world to come; and so
the Targum of Jonathan, by way of explanation, adds,"in the day of the
great judgment;'see Malachi 3:5.
Exodus 20:8 8 “Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
YLT 8`Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it;
Remember the sabbath
day, to keep it holy. By abstaining from all servile work and business, and from all
pleasures and recreations lawful on other days, and by spending it in religious
exercises, both internal and external. This the Israelites are bid to
"remember", by observing it in such a manner, because this command
had been given them before at the first time the manna was rained about their
tents, Exodus 16:23 and
because it was a command of positive institution, and not a part of the law of
nature, and therefore more liable to be forgotten and neglected; for, as a
Jewish writerF5Aben Ezra. observes, all the laws of the decalogue
are according to the dictates of nature, the law and light of reason, and
knowledge of men, excepting this: wherefore no other has this word
"remember" prefixed to it; there being somewhat in the light of every
man's reason and conscience to direct and engage him in some measure to the observation
of them. In what day of the week this sabbath was to be kept next follows; for
all to the end of the eleventh verse belongs to this command, which is the
fourth.
Exodus 20:9 9 Six
days you shall labor and do all your work,
YLT 9six days thou dost labour, and hast done all
thy work,
Six days shalt
thou labour,.... This is not to be taken for a precept, but a permission; not
as a command enjoining men to work and labour with their hands, to provide for
themselves and families things useful and necessary, and honest in the sight of
God; but as a grant and allowance of so many days to employ themselves in, for
their own profit and advantage, and that of their families; the Lord only
reserving one day out of seven for his service, which ought to be looked upon
as a singular favour, that he required no more of their time for his use, and
the rest they might spend as they pleased, so that they did not indulge themselves
in sin. It is required indeed of all men to labour in some sort and way or
another, with their heads or with their hands; though all are not obliged to
labour in the same way, or to the same degree, for he that will not work ought
not to eat; but this law is not an injunction of that kind, only a toleration
of labour on the six days of the week, if proper and necessary, when it is
forbidden on the seventh:
and do all thy
work, which is incumbent on a man, he is called unto, and is necessary
to be done for the good of him and his family; particularly care should be
taken, that all should be done on the six days that could possibly be done, and
nothing left to be done on the seventh.
Exodus 20:10 10 but
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In
it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your
male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is
within your gates.
YLT 10and the seventh day [is] a Sabbath to Jehovah
thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy
man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within
thy gates, --
But the seventh
day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God,.... Not which he rested
on, and ceased from the works of creation in, though he did rest on the seventh
day of the creation, and so on every other day since, as well as that; nor does
it appear, nor can it be proved, that this day appointed to the Jews as a
sabbath was the seventh day of the week from the creation of the world; but was
either the seventh day of the week from their coming out of Egypt, or from the
raining of the manna: but this is called the Lord's sabbath, or rest, because
enjoined by him to the people of Israel, and not to them until they were
separated from other people, and were a distinct body of men under a certain
meridian; for it is impossible that one and the same day, be it the seventh, or
any other, should be kept to exactness of time by all the inhabitants of the
earth; it being night with one part, when it is day with another, and not the
same day to them all:
in it thou
shall not do any work; of a servile nature, exercise any trade or any hand labour, or
any kind of work for pleasure or profit, only works of mercy and necessity. No
labour or handicraft was to be exercised, according to the Jewish canonsF6Schulchan
Aruch, par. 1. Orach Chayim Hilchot Sabbat, c. 293. sect. 2, 3. , until the going
out of it, or the appearance of the stars:
thou, nor thy
son, nor thy daughter; neither a man nor his children, male and female, such as were
under age, and under the tuition, direction, and care of their parents, who
were to instruct them in this kind, and not suffer them to work on this day,
and much less oblige them to it; for as for those that were grown up, and no
longer under the inspection of parents, and were heads of families themselves,
they are included in the word "thou", and are in the first place
charged in this command:
thy manservant,
nor thy maidservant; this is to be understood, according to the Jews, not of hired
servants, concerning whose rest from labour a man was not boundF7Lebush,
par. 1. c. 304. sect. 1. , but of such as were born in their house, and bought
with their money; and of such menservants as were circumcised, and in all
things professed to be proselytes to the Jewish religion, and to conform to it;
for as for one that only received the commands of the sons of Noah, and was not
circumcised, he might do work for himself on the sabbath day, but not for his
master; and no Israelite might bid him work on the sabbath day for the
necessity of an Israelite, though he was not his masterF8Schulchan
Aruch, ib. c. 304, sect. 1. . If a servant does work without the knowledge of
his master, and it is known to all that he does it without his knowledge, there
is no need to separate him from it, or take him off of itF9Lebush,
ib. : so maidservants, when they did things without the knowledge of their
masters and mistresses, and without being bid to do it, they were free to do
it: thus, for instance, they sayF11Schulchan, ib. c. 305. sect. 21.
,"a cheese which maids make of themselves, of milk that belongs to an
Israelite, is lawful when he does not bid them make it:"
nor thy cattle, of any sort
whatever that is used to labour, because if the cattle did not rest, servants
could not, who are concerned in the care and use of them: in Deuteronomy 5:14,
the ox and the ass are particularly mentioned, because laborious creatures; the
one were used in ploughing, and treading out the corn, and the other to ride
upon, and carry burdens; and concerning the latter the Jews have this canonF12lb.
c. 266. sect. 1. ,"he who is going in the way, (or on a journey,) and has
sanctified for himself the day, and has money with him, and has an ass; and
though he has with him an idolater, he may not put his bag upon his ass;
because he is commanded concerning its rest; but he may give his bag to the
idolater to throw it upon it; and at the going out of the sabbath he may
receive it from him, and even may not give him a reward for it;'but not only
those, but all sorts of cattle were exempt from labour on this day, as horses,
camels, mules, &c. which, according to the Jewish canons, as they were not
to be employed in work by the Jews, so they were not to be let or lent out to
an idolaterF13Ib. c. 246. sect. 3. : nor the stranger that is within
thy gates: who was a proselyte of the gate, and not of righteousness; as for
the proselyte of righteousness that was circumcised, and professed the Jewish
religion, about him there could be no doubt concerning his rest on this day; but
the proselyte of the gate, his case was not so clear, and therefore is
particularly expressed; and by which description it should seem that he was not
obliged by this law, had he not been within their gates, or a sojourner in
anyone of their cities; since it was contrary to the laws and usages among whom
they dwelt, and might be an offence to some, and a snare to others, and, as
Grotius thinks, might be to their detriment, get their work and their gain from
them, they are forbid to work; and yet, according to the Jewish writersF14Maimon.
Hilchot Sabbat, c. 20. sect. 14. , they might work for themselves, though not
for an Israelite, as before observed.
Exodus 20:11 11 For in six days the
Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and hallowed it.
YLT 11for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens
and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and resteth in the seventh
day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.
For in six days
the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in
them is, &c. And of which six days, and of the several things made in
each of them, see the notes on the first chapter of Genesis:
and resteth the
seventh day: which does not suppose labour, attended with weariness and
fatigue; for the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is
weary, Isaiah 40:28 nor
ease and refreshment from it, but only a cessation from the works of creation,
they being finished and completed, though not from the works of Providence, in
which he is continually concerned: now this circumstance, before recorded in
the history of the creation, is wisely improved to engage an attention to this
command, and to the observation of it; there being an analogy between the one
and the other, that as God worked six days, and, having done his work
completely, ceased from it and rested, so it was fit and proper, that as the
Israelites had six days allowed them to labour in, and do all their work, they
should rest on the seventh, they and all that belonged to them, or had any
connection with them:
wherefore the
Lord blessed the sabbath, and hallowed it: he separated it from all
other days of the week, and set it apart for holy use and service, by obliging
his people to cease from all work on it, and to give up themselves to the
exercises of religion, as hearing, reading the word, prayer, praise, &c.
and he blessed it with his presence, and with the communications of his grace,
as he still continues to do, whatsoever day his people make use of for his
worship and service. The note of Jarchi is,"he blessed it with manna, by
giving double bread on the sixth, and sanctified it by manna, that it might not
descend on it;'so that there was a provision made for it, which was blessing
it; and it was distinguished from all other days, no manna falling on it, which
was the sanctification of it; and all showed it to be a day the Lord had a
particular regard to, and that it was to be a day of rest, and exemption from
labour. (This verse shows that the days in the first chapter of Genesis were
real twenty four hour days. For you compare like things to like. Just as God
worked six days and rested on the seventh, so the Israelites were to do also.
The comparison would make no sense if the days were "seven ages" or
were "seven ages" that overlapped each other (Day Age Theory) or if
there was a huge gap between the days (Gap Theory). These are modern
compromises to accomodate the alleged geological ages with the Biblical account
of creation.Further this verse allows one to determine the age of the universe.
Using the biblical geneologies Bishop Ussher determined the date of creation to
be 4004 B.C. Although this may be off by one or two percent, it is a very
accurate estimate based on biblical revelation not man's speculation. Editor.)
Exodus 20:12 12 “Honor
your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the
Lord your God is
giving you.
YLT 12`Honour thy father and thy mother, so that
thy days are prolonged on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.
Honour thy
father and thy mother, &c. Which is the fifth commandment of the decalogue, but is
the first commandment with promise, as the apostle says, Ephesians 6:2 and
is the first of the second table: this, though it may be extended to all
ancestors in the ascending line, as father's father and mother, mother's father
and mother, &c. and to all such who are in the room of parents, as
step-fathers and step-mothers, guardians, nurses, &c. and to all superiors
in dignity and office, to kings and governors, to masters, ministers, and magistrates;
yet chiefly respects immediate parents, both father and mother, by showing
filial affection for them, and reverence and esteem of them, and by yielding
obedience to them, and giving them relief and assistance in all things in which
they need it; and if honour, esteem, affection, obedience, and reverence, are
to be given to earthly parents, then much more to our Father which is in
heaven, Malachi 1:6.
that thy days
may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee; that is, the
land of Canaan, which he had given by promise to their fathers, and was now
about to put them, their posterity, into the possession of: this further
confirms the observation made, that this body of laws belonged peculiarly to
the people of Israel: long life in any place or land is a blessing in itself,
not always enjoyed by obedient children, thou obedience to parents often brings
the judgments of God on persons; so that they sometimes die an untimely or an
uncommon death, as in the case of the rebellious son, for whom a law was
provided in Israel, and Absalom and others, see Leviticus 20:9 Aben
Ezra takes the word to be transitive, and so the words may be read, "that
they may prolong thy days"; or, "cause thy days to be
prolonged"; meaning either that the commandments, and keeping of them, may
be the means of prolonging the days of obedient children, according to the
divine promise; or that they, their father and mother, whom they harbour and
obey, might, by their prayers for them, be the means of obtaining long life for
them; or else that they, Father, Son, and Spirit, may do it, though man's days,
strictly speaking, cannot be shortened or lengthened beyond the purpose of God,
see Job 14:5 the
Septuagint version inserts before this clause another, "that it may be
well with thee", as in Deuteronomy 5:16
and which the apostle also has, Ephesians 6:3 and
where, instead of this, the words are, "and thou mayest live long on the
earth"; accommodating them the better to the Gentiles, to whom he writes.
Exodus 20:13 13 “You
shall not murder.
YLT 13`Thou dost not murder.
Thou shalt not
kill. Not meaning any sort of creatures, for there are some to be
killed for the food and nourishment of men, and others for their safety and
preservation; but rational creatures, men, women, and children, any of the
human species, of every age, sex, condition, or nation; no man has a right to
take away his own life, or the life of another; by this law is forbidden
suicide, or self-murder, parricide or murder of parents, homicide or the murder
of man; yet killing of men in lawful war, or in defence of a man's self, when
his own life is in danger, or the execution of malefactors by the hands or
order of the civil magistrate, and killing a man at unawares, without any
design, are not to be reckoned breaches of this law; but taking away the life
of another through private malice and revenge, and even stabbing of a man's
character, and so all things tending to or designed for the taking away of life,
and all plots, conspiracies, and contrivances for that purpose, even all sinful
anger, undue wrath and envy, rancour of all mind, all malice in thought, word,
or deed, are contrary to this precept, see Matthew 5:21 and
which, on the other hand, requires that men should do all they can for the
ease, peace, and preservation of the lives of men: this is the sixth command,
but, in the Septuagint, the strict order in which this and the two following
precepts lie is not observed, rehearsing them thus, "thou shall not commit
adultery, thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill"; and so in Mark 10:19 the
order is inverted.
Exodus 20:14 14 “You
shall not commit adultery.
YLT 14`Thou dost not commit adultery.
Thou shall not
commit adultery, Which, strictly speaking, is only that sin which is committed
with another man's wife, as Jarchi observes; but Aben Ezra thinks the word here
used signifies the same as another more commonly used for whoredom and
fornication; and no doubt but fornication is here included, which, though it
was not reckoned a crime among some Heathens, is within the reach of this law,
and forbidden by it, it being an impure action, and against a man's body, as
the apostle says, 1 Corinthians 6:18
as well as sins of a more enormous kind, as unnatural lusts and copulations,
such as incest, sodomy, bestiality, &c. and even all unchaste thoughts,
desires, and affections, obscene words, and impure motions and gestures of the
body, and whatever is in itself unclean or tends to uncleanness; as it also
requires that we should, as much as in us lies, do all we can to preserve our
chastity, and the chastity of others, pure and inviolate, see Matthew 5:28, this
is the seventh commandment.
Exodus 20:15 15 “You
shall not steal.
YLT 15`Thou dost not steal.
Thou shall not
steal. Which is to take away another man's property by force or fraud,
without the knowledge, and against the will of the owner thereof. Thefts are of
various kinds; there is private theft, picking of pockets, shoplifting,
burglary, or breaking into houses in the night, and carrying off goods; public
theft, or robbing upon the highways; domestic theft, as when wives take away
their husbands' money or goods, and conceal them, or dispose of them without
their knowledge and will, children rob their parents, and servants purloin
their masters' effects; ecclesiastical theft or sacrilege, and personal theft,
as stealing of men and making slaves of them, selling them against their wills;
and Jarchi thinks that this is what the Scripture speaks of when it uses this
phrase; but though this may be included, it may not be restrained to this
particular, since, besides what have been observed, there are many other things
that may be reduced to it and are breaches of it; as all overreaching and
circumventing in trade and commerce, unjust contracts, not making good and
performing payments, detention of servants' wages, unlawful usury,
unfaithfulness with respect to anything deposited in a man's hands, advising
and encouraging thieves, and receiving from them: the case of the Israelites
borrowing of the Egyptians and spoiling them is not to be objected to this law,
since that was by the command of God, and was only taking what was due to them
for service; however, by this command God let the Israelites know that that was
a peculiar case, and not to be drawn into an example, and that they were in
other cases not to take away another man's property; and so the case of an
hungry man's stealing to satisfy nature is not observed as lawful and laudable,
but as what is connived at and indulged, Proverbs 6:30, this
law obliges to preserve and secure every man's property to himself, as much as
in men lies: this is the eighth commandment.
Exodus 20:16 16 “You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
YLT 16`Thou dost not answer against thy neighbour a
false testimony.
Thou shall not
bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither publicly in a
court of judicature, by laying things to his charge that are false, and
swearing to them, to his hurt and damage; nor privately, by whispering, tale
bearing, backbiting, slandering, by telling lies of him, traducing his
character by innuendos, sly insinuations, and evil suggestions, whereby he may
suffer in his character, credit, and reputation, and in his trade and business;
Aben Ezra thinks the words describe the character of the person that is not to
bear witness in any court, and to be read thus, "thou shall not answer who
art a false witness": or, "O thou false witness": meaning that
such an one should not be admitted an evidence in court, who had been convicted
already of being a false witness; his word and oath are not to be taken, nor
should any questions be put to him, or he suffered to answer to any; his
depositions should have no weight with those before whom they were made, nay,
even they should not be taken, nor such a person be allowed to make any; but
this is to put this precept in a quite different form from all the rest, and
without any necessity, since the word may as well be taken for a testimony
bore, as for the person that bears it: this is the ninth commandment.
Exodus 20:17 17 “You
shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey,
nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
YLT 17`Thou dost not desire the house of thy
neighbour, thou dost not desire the wife of thy neighbour, or his man-servant,
or his handmaid, or his ox, or his ass, or anything which [is] thy
neighbour's.'
Thou shall not
covet thy neighbour's house,.... This is the tenth and last commandment,
and is an explanation of several of the past; showing that the law of God not
only forbids external acts of sin, but the inward and first motions of the mind
to it, which are not known, and would not be thought to be sinful, were it not
for this law; nor are they known by this law until the Spirit of God by it
convinces men of them, in whose light they see them to be sinful; even not only
the schemes and contrivances of sin in the mind, the imaginations of it,
thoughts dwelling upon it with pleasure, but even the first risings of sin in
the heart; and such motions of it which are not assented unto, and unawares spring
up from the corruption of nature, and are sudden craving desires after unlawful
things, even these are forbidden by this law; which shows the spirituality of
the law of God, and the impossibility of its being perfectly kept by fallen
men. The apostle has reference to it, Romans 7:7. Several
particulars are here mentioned not to be coveted, as instances and examples
instead of others. Thus, for instance, "a neighbour's house" is not
to be coveted; "nor his field", as the Septuagint version here adds,
agreeably to Deuteronomy 5:21, a
man is not secretly to wish and desire that such a man's house or land were
his, since this arises from a discontent of mind with respect to his own
habitation and possessions; and a man should be content with such things as he
has, and not covet another's, which is not without sin:
thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour's wife: and wish she was thine, and lust after her;
this is a breach of the seventh command, and serves to explain and illustrate
that. This clause stands first in the Septuagint version, as it does in Deuteronomy 5:21,
nor his
manservant, nor maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbours'; which, with the first clause, serve to explain the eighth command,
showing that we are not only forbid to take away what is another man's
property, any of the goods here mentioned, or any other, but we are not
secretly to desire them, and wish they were in our possession; since it
discovers uneasiness and dissatisfaction with our own lot and portion, and is
coveting another man's property, which is coveting an evil covetousness.
Exodus 20:18 18 Now
all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of
the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they
trembled and stood afar off.
YLT 18And all the people are seeing the voices, and
the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and the people
see, and move, and stand afar off,
And all the
people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings,.... That is, they heard
the one, and saw the other; they heard the dreadful volleys of thunder, and saw
the amazing flashes of lightning, which were like lamps and torches, as the
word used signifies; by a communication of senses, one sense is put for
another, and the sense of sight being the principal, as Ben Melech observes, it
is put for the rest, and so in the following. It is an observation of Austin'sF15Confess.
l. 10. c. 35. that to "see" is used of all of the five senses,
seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling:
and the noise
the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: they the sound of the
trumpet, which made them tremble and saw the mountain all in a smoke, which
made it look very terrible. Though the words may be rendered, as they are by
some, "they perceived the thunders", &c.F16ראים "percipiebant", Junius & Tremellius,
"intelligebant"; so some in Drusius. ; had a sensible perception of
them with their eyes ears, which greatly affected them, and made strong
impressions upon their minds, and filled them with fear and dread:
and when the
people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off; their minds were not
only terrified and distressed, and their bodies shook with fear; but they could
not stand their ground, but were obliged to retreat, who but just before were
curious to draw near, and gaze and see what they could, to prevent which bounds
were set; but now these were needless, what they saw and heard were sufficient
to keep them at a distance, nay, obliged them to quit their places; they were
at the lower part of the mount before, and now they removed a good way from it,
even to their camp, and to their tents in it, see Deuteronomy 5:30.
The Targum of Jonathan says, they removed twelve miles; and so Jarchi, who
observes, that this was according to the length of their camp.
Exodus 20:19 19 Then
they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak
with us, lest we die.”
YLT 19and say unto Moses, `Speak thou with us, and
we hear, and let not God speak with us, lest we die.'
And they said
unto Moses,.... Who was now come down from the mountain, and to whom the
heads of the tribes and elders of the people came from the camp, and out of
their tents, by whom the people said to him, as follows, see Deuteronomy 5:23,
speak thou with
us, and we will hear; their request is, that whatsoever it was the
will and pleasure of God to declare to them, that he would communicate it to
Moses, and he deliver it to them, promising that they would hearken to it, and
obey it, as if they had heard it from the mouth of God himself:
but let not God
speak with us, lest we die; pray to him, that he would not speak
immediately, but by a mediator, which they now saw the need of; that there was
no drawing nigh to God, nor hearing nor receiving anything from him without
one; that his law, as it came from him to them sinful creatures, was a killing
letter, and the ministration of condemnation and death, and injected such
terror into their minds, that if it was continued they must die under it: thus,
as the apostle observes, when "they heard the voice of words, entreated
that the word should not be spoken to them any more, for they could not endure
that which was commanded", Hebrews 12:19.
Exodus 20:20 20 And
Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that
His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
YLT 20And Moses saith unto the people, `Fear not,
for to try you hath God come, and in order that His fear may be before your
faces -- that ye sin not.'
And Moses said
unto the people,.... By representatives and messengers, the heads of the tribes
and elders:
fear not; be not afraid
of God with a slavish fear; be not afraid of the thunders and lightnings, as if
they were like one of the plagues of Egypt, which terrified Pharaoh and his
people; be not afraid of being consumed by them, they will do you no hurt; be
not afraid of dying by the hand of God, at his presence, and through the voice
of his words spoken to you; be of good courage, for the design of God is not to
destroy you, but to instruct you, and do you good:
for God is come
to prove you; whether, being now freed by him from Egyptian bondage, they
would take and own him for their King, and be subject to his laws and
government; whether they would abide by what they had said, all that the Lord
hath spoken will we do, Exodus 19:8,
whether they thought they had purity and righteousness enough to answer to the
divine law, and whether they imagined they had strength enough to fulfil it, and
whether they needed a mediator between God and them or not: some Jewish writersF17Jarchi
in loc. Medrash apud Kimchi in Sepher Shorash. rad. גסה
& Ben Melech in loc. give a different sense of this clause, as if the
coming of God to them in this grand and majestic manner was to exalt them, and
make them great and honourable among the nations of the world; taking the word
used to be derived from a root, which signifies to lift up, as a banner or
ensign is lifted up on high: but the former sense is best:
and that his
fear may be before your faces; not a slavish fear of death, of wrath, and
damnation, before dehorted from; but a reverence of the divine Majesty, an awe
of his greatness and glory, a serious regard to his commands, delivered in so
grand a manner, and a carefulness to offend him by disobeying them:
that ye sin not: by breaking
the law, and transgressing the precepts of it, which they might be deterred
from, as it might be reasonably thought, when they reflected with what
solemnity, and in what an awful manner it was delivered to them.
Exodus 20:21 21 So the people stood afar
off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
YLT 21And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath
drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God [is].
And the people
stood afar off,.... Still kept their distance in their camp and tents; or the
heads and elders of the people having had this conversation with Moses,
returned to their tents as they were bid, Deuteronomy 5:30
and to the people in the camp, and there they continued while Moses went up to
God with their request:
and Moses drew
near to the thick darkness where God was; the thick cloud, Exodus 19:9 as
Jarchi interprets it, and who observes from their doctors that there were three
enclosures about the divine Majesty, darkness, a cloud, and thick darkness; and
so Moses passed through the darkness, and the cloud, to the thick darkness
where Jehovah was, and where he is said to dwell when the temple was built, 1 Kings 8:8 and
they have an observation that the word rendered "drew near" is
transitive, and should be translated, "he was brought near" or,
"made to draw nigh"; Michael and Gabriel being sent to him, took hold
of his hands and brought him against his will unto the thick darknessF18Pirke
Eliezer, c. 41. ; but if the word will admit of such a version, the sense is
either that he was caused to draw near through the importunity of the people;
or rather through the call of God to him, or an impulse of his upon his mind,
which obliged him to it.
Exodus 20:22 22 Then
the Lord
said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen
that I have talked with you from heaven.
YLT 22And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Thus dost thou
say unto the sons of Israel: Ye -- ye have seen that from the heavens I have
spoken with you;
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... When Moses was come near the thick darkness where God was:
thus thou shalt
say unto the children of Israel; at his return unto them, and which he was
to deliver in the name of God, and as his words:
ye have seen
that I have talked with you from heaven; descending from heaven
on Mount Sinai in a cloud and fire, he talked with them out of the cloud and
fire, and delivered to them with an audible voice the above ten commands; the
cloud and fire they saw with their eyes, and the words expressed from thence
they heard with their ears; or heaven may mean the air on the top of Sinai,
from whence Jehovah spoke.
Exodus 20:23 23 You
shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you
shall not make for yourselves.
YLT 23ye do not make with Me gods of silver, even
gods of gold ye do not make to yourselves.
Ye shall not
make with me,.... This is a proposition of itself, as appears by the accent
Athnach placed at the end of it, which divides it from the following, and
therefore "gods of silver" belong to the next clause or proposition;
something seems to be wanting to complete the sense, which the TalmudistsF19T.
Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 24. 1. 2. Avoda Zara, fol, 43. 1. 2. and Jarchi after
them supply thus,"ye shall not make with me as the likeness of my
ministers which minister before me on high;'as the seraphim, ministering
angels, &c. as the sun, moon, and stars; and so the Targum of Jonathan
paraphrases the words,"ye shall not make, to worship, the likeness of the
sun, and of the moon, and of the stars, and of the planets, and of the angels
that minister before me:'or rather, "ye shall not make any likeness with
me", or any likeness of me; and so the words stand connected with the
preceding verse, that since they only saw the cloud and fire, and perceived the
voice of God from thence, but saw no likeness or similitude of him, therefore they
were not to make any under a pretence of worshipping him with it, or in it, or
by it; and so Ben Melech adds, by way of explanation, although your intention
is to my service: "gods of silver and gods of gold ye shall not make unto
you"; for so this clause is to be read: that is, images made of gold and
silver, images of angels, or of the host of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars,
or of great men on earth, as kings or heroes, or of any creature in heaven,
earth, or sea; these they were not to make unto them, in order to serve and
worship them, or to worship God in them, or by them, or with them: the first
images for idolatrous worship were made of gold and silver, because, being rich
and glittering, they more affected the minds of the people, as the golden calf
a little after made, and perhaps the gods of Egypt were such, at least some of
them; wherefore this law against idolatry is repeated, because the people of
Israel were prone unto it, and many of them had been ensnared with it in Egypt,
upon every occasion were ready to relapse into it: or images made of meaner
materials, as brass, wood, and stone, though not mentioned, are equally
forbidden; for if those of richer materials were not to be made and worshipped,
much less those of baser ones.
Exodus 20:24 24 An
altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt
offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place
where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
YLT 24`An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and
thou hast sacrificed on it thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy
flock and thy herd; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered I
come in unto thee, and have blessed thee.
An altar of
earth thou shall make unto me,.... This was a temporary precept, and only
in force until the tabernacle was built, and respects occasional altars,
erected while on their travels, and were to be made of turfs of earth, and so
easily and quickly thrown up, as their case and circumstances required, and as
easily thrown down, as it was proper they should, after they had no more use
for them, lest they should be abused to superstitious uses; for afterwards the
altar for burnt offerings was made of Shittim wood covered with brass, and that
in the temple was wholly a brazen one, Exodus 27:1 this
precept seems to suggest the plainness and simplicity in which God would be
worshipped, in opposition to the pomp and gaudy show of idolaters intimated in
the preceding verse; though TertullianF20Apologet. c. 25. relates of
the Romans in the times of Numa Pomptitus, that they had neither images, nor
temples, nor capitols, only altars made of turfs of earth hastily thrown up;
and this altar of earth might be, as Ainsworth observes, a figure of the
earthly or human nature of Christ, who is the altar, whereof believers in him
have a right to eat, Hebrews 13:10.
and shalt
sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and
thine oxen; which were the creatures offered in the said sacrifices, as also
in the sin offerings and trespass offerings, which, though not mentioned, are
included:
in all places
where I record my name; or, "cause it to be mentioned", or
"remembered"F21אזכיר את שמי "memorare faciam
nomen meum", Pagninus, Montanus; "ubi recordari faciam nomen meum,
seu ubi faciam ut recordemini nominis mei", Piscator. ; where he
manifested himself, displayed the glory of his nature and perfection; or, as
the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, caused his Shechinah or divine Majesty to
dwell, or gave any intimations of his presence, as at the altar now erected to
him, and at the sacrifices offered up thereon, and afterwards in the
tabernacle, between the cherubim over the mercy seat, and ark of the testimony;
which was removed to various places before the temple was built at Jerusalem,
where he took up his residence, and his name was called upon, made mention of,
and recorded for many generations: but that being destroyed and worship there
at an end, men may now worship God in any place, so be it they do it in spirit
and in truth; and wherever the name of God is truly called upon, and the glory
of his divine perfection, as displayed in the salvation of sinners by Christ,
is set forth, and Christ and him crucified is preached; and mention is made of
his name as the only one in which salvation is; of his glorious person and
offices, of his righteousness, blood, and sacrifice, for justification,
remission of sins, and atonement; and his ordinances are administered, which
are memorials of his love and grace; there Jehovah grants his presence:
I will come
unto thee: not locally or by change of place, nor by his omnipresence
merely, so he is everywhere; nor in any visible way, but in a spiritual manner,
by the communications of his grace and favour, see John 14:21, and I
will bless thee; with his presence, than which nothing is more desirable and
delightful; with the supplies of his grace, with peace and pardon, with a
justifying righteousness, with a right and title to eternal life, with enlarged
views of these blessings and of interest in them.
Exodus 20:25 25 And
if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if
you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
YLT 25`And if an altar of stones thou dost make to
Me, thou dost not build them of hewn work; when thy tool thou hast waved over
it, then thou dost pollute it;
And if thou
wilt make me an altar of stone,.... If they chose instead of an earthen one
to make one of stone, as they might in rocky places, where they came, and in
such an one where they now were, Mount Sinai, under which hill an altar was
built, Exodus 24:4,
thou shall not
build it of hewn stone; which would require time and occasion expense, to hew and polish
them in an artificial way; but it was to be built of rude and unpolished
stones, just as they were taken out of the quarry, or found lying by the way,
and which were laid up in an heap one upon another, and was done with little
trouble, and without any ornament, and easily separated and thrown down, when
become useless: the reason of this law, as given by MaimonidesF23Moreh
Nevochim, par. 3. c. 45. , is this,"because the idolaters of that time
built their altars of hewn stones, therefore God forbad it, lest we should be
like them, and that we might shun it in all things, he commanded the altar to
be made of earth, as it is said, an altar of earth shalt thou make unto me; and
if it could not be made without stones, that the stones should remain in their
own natural form, and be neither hewn nor polished; as he after forbad a
painted stone, and a plantation of trees by an altar; for in each of these
there is one and the same intention and design, namely, that we might not
worship him in the same manner in which idolaters used to worship their
fictitious deities:"
for if thou
lift up thy tool upon it; or, thy swordF24חרבך "gladium tuum", Montanus, Piscator, Cartwright. ; it
signifies any tool or instrument made of iron as a sword is, and here such an
one as is used in hewing of stone; which, if lifted up on the altar, or on any
of the stones of which it is built, to strike and hew them with:
thou hast
polluted it; and so made it unfit for use: how this should be done hereby is
not easy to say, no good reason seems to be assignable for it but the will and
pleasure of God; who so appointed it, and reckoned that a pollution, and would
have it so thought by others, which with men is accounted ornamental; his
thoughts and judgment are not as man's: the Targum of Jonathan is,"for if
thou liftest up iron, of which a sword is made, upon a stone, thou wilt profane
it;'the reason which the Misnic doctorsF25Misnah Middot, c. 3. sect.
4. give, and Jarchi from them, is,"because iron was created to shorten the
days of men, but the other was made to prolong the days of men: and therefore
it cannot be just that that which shortens should be lifted up and agitated
over that which prolongs:'but Maimonides gives a better reason of it, as
Abarbinel understands him, which was to prevent persons making images in stonesF26Apud
L'Empereur in Middot, ib. , which image making is the thing guarded against and
forbidden in the context; but still better is that of Isaac AramaF1Apud
Rivet in loc. , that the hands of the artificer were to abstain from the stones
of the altar, lest that good which men obtain of God at the altar should be
attributed to any work of theirs: though, after all, it is right what Aben
Ezra, says, that it does not belong to us to search after the reasons of the
commands, at least not in too curious and bold a manner, and where God is
silent and has not thought fit to give any.
Exodus 20:26 26 Nor
shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on
it.’
YLT 26neither dost thou go up by steps on Mine
altar, that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it.
Neither shalt
thou go up by steps unto mine altar,.... That is, you
priests, the sons of Aaron, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase
the words; the altar of burnt offering built when the tabernacle was seemed not
to require any, being but three cubits high, Exodus 27:1 but
that in Solomon's temple did, being ten cubits high, 2 Chronicles 4:1
and therefore some method must be used to ascend it, and do the business that
was to be done on it: now the Jews sayF2Middot, c. 3. sect. 3. ,
there was what they call "Kibbesh", a sort of a causeway made of
earth thrown up, which rose gradually and led to the top of the altar, and was
about thirty two cubits long and sixteen broad: and so the Targum of Jonathan
paraphrases the words,"thou shalt not go up by steps to mine altar, but by
bridges;'express mention is made of stairs to the altar in Ezekiel's vision, Ezekiel 43:17.
that thy
nakedness be not discovered thereon; that part of the body
which is not to be named, and ought not to be seen, and which would be exposed
if there were many steps, and these at a distance from each other; which would
oblige them to take large strides, and so be in danger of discovering those
parts which would make them the object of contempt and ridicule with the
people; since as yet breeches were not used, and the garments were long loose
ones, which were easily turned aside, or the parts under them seen by those
below; to prevent which, afterwards linen breeches were ordered to be made for
the priests, and to be used by them in their service: MaimonidesF3Ut
supra. (Apud L'Empereur in Middot, ib.) thinks the reason of this was, because
formerly the idolatrous worship of Peor was performed by uncovering of their
nakedness before it; and so by this is expressed God's detestation of such an
impure and abominable practice; but this is uncertain; however, this we may be
sure of, that this is the will of God, that all immodesty and indecency, and
whatever tends to create impure thoughts and stir up unclean lusts, should be
carefully avoided in his worship.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》