And I will scatter you among the Heathen,.... As with a fan, Jeremiah 15:7; so they were at the time of the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities, some were carried to one place, and some to another, some fled to one place, and some to another, and they are at this day scattered among the several nations of the world; and will draw out a sword after...
Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths,.... The sabbatical years, or seventh year sabbaths, when, according to the law in the preceding chapter, it was to rest from tillage, Leviticus 25:2: as long as it lieth desolate, and ye [be] in your enemies' land; so long it should lie uncultivated, at least in part, there not being a sufficient number left...
As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest,.... From tillage, neither man nor beast working upon it; for which reason such a space of time was called a sabbath: because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelt upon it; they manured and tilled it on the seventh years, as on others, neglecting the command which God had given them; and this...
And upon them that are left [alive] of you,.... In the land of Judea, or rather scattered about among the nations, suggesting that these would be comparatively few: I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; or "a softness" (y); so that they should be effeminate, pusillanimous, and cowardly, have nothing of a manly...
And they shall fall one upon another,.... In their hurry and confusion, everyone making all the haste he can to escape the imaginary danger; or "a man upon his brother" (z); his friend, as Aben Ezra interprets it, having no regard to relation and friendship, every one endeavouring to save himself. There is another sense which some Jewish writers...
And ye shall perish among the Heathen,.... Not utterly, but great numbers of them, through change of air, and different diet, as Aben Ezra, and through the cruel usage of their enemies; for there is a body of them which continues unto this day; unless this is to be understood of the ten tribes, as R. Akiba (b) interprets it, who are supposed to be...
And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands,.... Such as were not taken off by any public calamity, as the sword or pestilence should gradually diminish and melt away like wax before the fire, and die in and for their iniquities in an enemy's country, see Ezekiel 24:23; and also in the iniquities of their...
If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, "in the time of their distress;'' which might serve to bring their sins to remembrance, and them to a confession of them, not only of their own sins, but of their fathers' also; acknowledging thereby that they had been guilty of sinning...
And [that] I also have walked contrary unto them,.... Showed no regard unto them, as if he took no care of them, or in a providential way concerned himself for them, but let what would befall them; yea, came out in the way of his judgments against them, as if he was an enemy to them, [See comments on Leviticus 26:24]; and have brought them into...
Then i will also remember my covenant with Jacob,.... Would fulfil and make good all that he had promised in covenant with Jacob, and his posterity: the account begins with him, and rises upwards to Abraham, whereas it usually begins with Abraham, and descends to Jacob; no sufficient reason is given for this alteration, though several are...
The land also shall be left of them,.... This seems to refer to a second time, when this should be the case of the land of Judea again, as it was when subdued by the Romans, and the Jews were carried captive from it, and so it was left by them, as it has been ever since: and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while lieth desolate without them; shall be as...
And yet for all that,.... I will have on them, in or through my Word, as the Targum of Jonathan; notwithstanding their many and great sins and transgressions, and the sad and miserable condition they were brought into by them, the Lord would have mercy on them and be gracious to them, through Christ and for his sake, and convert and save them, see...
But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors,.... Or rather, "remember to them" (g), to their good and benefit, for their profit and advantage, not for their desert and merit, for any worth or worthiness in them; this covenant respects not the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as in Leviticus 26:42; but with...
These [are] the statutes, and judgments, and laws,.... Which refer not only to those in this chapter, but in all the preceding chapters in this book, and respect them all, whether ceremonial, moral, or judicial, which may be signified by these three words: which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel; the Targums of Onkelos and...
INTRODUCTION TO LEVEITICUS 27 This chapter contains various laws concerning vows made unto the Lord, whether of persons whose estimation was to be made by the priest, according to their age, sex, and condition, Leviticus 26:1; or of beasts, clean and unclean, good or bad, Leviticus 26:9; or of houses, fields, and lands, the estimation of which was...
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had delivered the body of laws in the preceding chapter, which by the close of the last seem to have been finished; but here some rules and instructions concerning vows are given, which a man was not obliged to make, but which he did of his own freewill and good pleasure: saying; as follows.
The last verse of the foregoing chapter seemed to close up the statute-book; yet this chapter is added as an appendix. Having given laws concerning instituted services, here he directs concerning vows and voluntary services, the free-will offerings of their mouth. Perhaps some devout serious people among them might be so affected with what Moses...
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... This being an affair which only concerned them; for the Jewish writers say (h), by this phrase, the children of Israel, Gentiles are excluded: when a man shall make a singular vow; an unusual, an uncommon one, a very distinguished one, and even what is wonderful, as the word signifies; as...
And thy estimation shall be,.... The estimation of the man himself that vowed, or of the priest for him, was not left to be made by either of them at their pleasure, but was to be made according to the following rules, in proportion to the age a person was of to be estimated: of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old: the account...
And if it [be] a female,.... That is, of the same age, full twenty years of age, and not more than sixty: then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels; about three pounds ten shillings of our money, the price of a servant, Exodus 21:32; the reason of this difference of estimation between a man and a woman is, because the woman is the weaker vessel,...