that toucheth them shall be un- and be unclean until the even clean. 27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcass shall be unclean until the even. 28 And he that beareth the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, Heb. 73 al kappauv, upon his palms; referring to those animals whose feet have a kind of resemblance to the human hand, such as lions, bears, dogs, cats, apes, monkeys, &c. they are unclean unto you. 29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, 30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. k Isai. 66. 17. expansion of the ears impress them with some resemblance to the rabbit. They are very abundant in Egypt, Syria, and the north of Africa, and burrow in the sand or among ruins. Their flesh, though eaten by the natives of the East, is unsavory, and hence the interdiction, which forbade them as food, did not lay the necessity of much self-denial upon the Israelites. As this animal feeds exclusively on vegetable produce, a multiplication of its numbers could not fail to be highly injurious to cultivation.'-Pict. Bib.¶ The tortoise. Heh. tzab. Gг. kроkodεidos, xepoains, crocodilus. Some member of the family of lizards is undoubtedly intended by this term, but the precise variety it is difficult to determine. Jarchi says it is a creature like a frog,' and nearer to the truth we have no means of coming. ¶ After his kind. Gr. Ta opota avt?, things like unto it. Distinction of the creeping things. 29. Among the creeping things that creep upon the earth. That is, those which have legs so short that they creep, as it were, with their bellies upon the ground, as the mole, the field-mouse, and the lizard tribe.. The weasel. Heb. 7 'holed, from the Syriac 3 'halad, to creep in. The Septuagint and the Vulgate agree in rendering this word by weasel,' though it is difficult to see on what grounds they should have classified the weasel among rep. tiles. The opinion of Bochart is far preferable, who understands by the 'holed, the mole, whose property of digging into the earth, and burrowing under its surface is well known. 30. The ferret. Heb. anâkâh, T The mouse. Heb. akbûr. Gr. from p anak, to groan, to cry out ; “y PIN 'There seems good reason to sup- a species of lizard, deriving its name pose that the mouse of Scripture was from its piercing, doleful cry. Such a the Dipus sagitta or Jerboa, an animal description of this animal is found in about the size of a large rat, and char- countries bordering on the Mediterraacterized by the disproportionate short-nean, of a reddish gray color, spotted ness of the fore-feet. Its color is a pale tawny-yellow, lighter on the under parts; the long tail is terminated by a tuft of black hair. The brevity of their fore-feet is compensated by the size and strength of the tail, by which, as in the case of the kangaroo, they are enabled to balance themselves in an upright position. The form of the head and the μυς. with brown. It is thought at Cairo to palewv. Here again we are at a loss to identify the creature called a 'cha. 31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. 32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. 1 ch. 15. 12. face must tend to give a color more or less vivid to the skin. The chameleon, or Lacerta Africana, is a native of Egypt, Barbary, and of the south of Spain. meleon ; and as we are not likely to obtain any thing more certain, we may state the opinion of Kitto, who considers it a species of lizard, found in Arabia, Nubia, and Abyssinia, remarkable for the readiness with which it 32. Upon whatsoever any of them, forces its way into the sand when pur-when they are dead, doth fall, it shall sued-an evidence of the strength and activity implied in its Hebrew name, which signifies force, prowess. ¶ The lizard. Heb. letââh. The original word signifies to adhere, and therefore may apply to a frightful and venomous species of lizard, well known in the East, covered with tubercles, and of a grey color. It lives in holes of the walls, and under stones, and covers itself with dirt, which is perhaps alluded to by the sense of adhering conveyed in the name. The snail. Heh. a 'homet. This word in Chaldee signifies to bow down. It therefore suggests the Lacerta stellio, which is noted for bowing its head, insomuch that the followers of Mohammed kill it, because they say it mimics them in the mode of repeating their prayers. It is about a foot in length, and of an olive color shaded with black. The mole. Heb. nnwn tinshe. meth, from Du】 nâsham, to breathe. We may therefore with much probability adopt the opinion of Bochart, and apply it to the chameleon, which has lungs of such vast dimensions, that, when filled, the body is so much dilated as to appear transparent. The varying capacity of their lungs enables them, by exposing a greater or less portion of blood to the influence of the air, to alter the tincture of the circulating fluid at pleasure, which when sent to the sur be unclean. That is, it might not be used till it was cleansed. This, however, was to hold only in regard to certain kinds of vessels specified in this verse, viz. either such as were very solid, and would not imbibe a scent so as to retain it for a long time, or such as were of great value, and could not easily be replaced. Others of a differ ent description, such, for instance, as were very porous, or earthen vessels of little value, were to be broken to pieces, and thrown away. The great inconveniences which the law connected with this and other defilements, necessarily obliged the Israelites to pay great attention to cleanliness: and this was probably what the laws on this subject had principally in view. The importance of regulations on such points are not so fully appreciated in this country as in the East, where all kinds of reptiles, many of them poisonous, find their way into the most private apartments and conceal themselves in recesses, crevices, vessels, and boxes. Experi ence taught the writer of this note, while in the East, to observe the greatest caution in examining a box or vessel, which had not very recently been disturbed, lest a scorpion, or other noxious reptile, might be concealed within it. On this subject, Michaelis observes that this law was well calculated to prevent accidents from poisoning: 'Of 33 And every earthen vessel, | shall be unclean; whether it be whereinto any of them falleth, oven, or ranges for pots, they shall whatsoever is in it shall be un- be broken down: for they are unclean; and mye shall break it. clean, and shall be unclean unto 34 Of all meat which may be you. eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vesssel, shall be unclean. 35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcass falleth, m ch. 6. 28, and 15. 12. the poisoning of liquors by toads creep. ing into casks we often read; and Hasselquist relates an instance where the poison of a Gecko in a cheese had nearly proved fatal. Mice and rats likewise sometimes poison meat that is uncovered, by means of the poison laid for themselves being vomited upon it. I remember the case of a brewing of beer, which, to all the people of a town who had drunk it, occasioned most violent agonies; and in regard to which, although it was most peremptorily denied by the magistrates and the brewers, there appeared perfectly good reason for believing that arsenic had in this manner got among the malt.''-P. Bib. 34. Of all meat which may be eaten, &c. The meaning undoubtedly is, that any meat which might otherwise be lawfully eaten, was made unclean if water poured out of any of the vessels named above was to come upon it. For the water coming out of a defiled vessel was thereby itself defiled, and communicated defilement to the meat on which it fell. On the same principle, all drink that might be drunk from any such vessel was also unclean and defiling. 35. Whether it be oven, or ranges for pots. Heb. ¬¬ kirayim. By this is probably meant a kind of hearth made of stones, where fires were made for boiling their pots or kettles. The ovens, on the other hand, were the contrivances for baking bread. 36. Nevertheless, a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall 36 Nevertheless, a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcass shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their car cass fall upon any sowing-seed be clean. Heb. Da mpla 1737 1732 mayaun u-bōr mikvih mayim, a fountain or a pil, a gathering of waters. It is uncertain whether the gathering of waters' is intended to be understood of something distinct from the fountain or pit mentioned before, or whether it is merely exegetical of those terms. To us it seems more probable that it refers to pools, ponds, or lakes, and such like collections of waters. Ac. cordingly the Gr. renders it with an interjected 'and' before gathering.' This will perhaps be more obvious when we consider the kind and merciful drift of the provision. This was to afford the means of the speediest possible cleansing from the pollutions which any one might have contracted. For this end they were allowed to have recourse to any collection of waters, whether in pools, cisterns, or ponds, even although an unclean carcass might have fallen into it, or an unclean person may have just washed himself in it. Considering the scarcity of water in that country, if it had not been for such an allowance as this, it might have been extremely difficult for them to have performed the requisite ablutions after their defilements. But that which toucheth their carcass. Rather, 'whosoever toucheth,' referring to persons who drew out the carcass, instead of the in strument employed for that purpose, as others understand it. So the Gr. & arroμevos, he that toucheth. 37. Fall upon any sowing-seed. The which is to be sown, it shall be clean. 41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be 38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their car-eaten. cass fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. 39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even. 42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall 40 And he that eateth of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; he also that beareth the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be un-ye make yourselves unclean with clean until the even. n ch. 17. 15, and 22. 8. Deut. 14. 21. Ezek. 4. 14, and 44. 31. same exception extended to the grain prepared for sowing. If a mouse, for instance, were found dead among a quantity of wheat, designed for sowing, it might still be used for that purpose. But other wheat, not intended for sowing, thus made unclean, might not be used, till it was cleansed by washing, In the case of the seed to be sown, it would of course pass through so many changes of state before it could become food, that the pollution might be supposed to be taken away of course. 38. But if any water be put upon the seed. Wet seed might be supposed to have received some tincture from the carcass which dry did not; and not being in a fit condition to be sown till it was dry, it was in the mean time to be cleansed. Others, however, suppose the allusion here is not to seed-corn, but to such as was prepared for present | food; and this sense is perhaps countenanced by the original, which has 'seed' in general, instead of 'the seed,' as in our version, which seems to restrict it to seed intended for sowing. 39. If any beast of which ye may eat, die. That is, which either dies of itself, or is torn by wild beasts, or is suffocated, so that the blood remains in the veins. Such meat became unlawful them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 0 ch. 20, 25. not only to be eaten, but to be touched; the carcasses of unclean animals, whe ther they died by disease or were killed; but those of clean animals had this effect only when they died of themselves. 40. He that eateth of the carcass of it That is, ignorantly; for if he did it knowingly and presumptuously, against the positive command, it constituted the high-handed offence against which the doom of excision, the most fearful penalty of the law, was threatened. Num. 15. 30, Deut. 14. 21. 41, 42. Every creeping thing. This rule is of course to be understood with the exceptions stated above, in vv. 21–24, and all creatures of the creeping kind that may be ranged under the three following classes; (1.) Those which move by the aid of the under part of the stomach and belly, as serpents. (2.) Those which, though they have four legs, nevertheless move like rep tiles, as lizards, moles, &c. (3.) Those which move by short and almost imperceptible feet, as caterpillars, centipedes, millepedes, &c. The 42d verse seems to be inerely explanatory of v. 41. 43. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable. Heb.) Typun 3x al teshakketzu naphthoshëkem, ye shall not make abominable your souls. They 44 For I am the LORD your God; | to be your God: rye shall thereye shall therefore sanctify your- fore be holy, for I am holy. selves, and p ye shall be holy; for 46 This is the law of the beasts, I am holy neither shall ye defile and of the fowl, and of every living yourselves with any manner of creature that moveth in the waters, creeping thing that creepeth upon and of every creature that creepeth the earth. upon the earth: 45 9 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, P Exod. 19. 6. ch. 19. 2, and 20. 7, 26. 1 Thess. 4.7. 1 Pet. 1. 15, 16. q Exod. 6. 7. would make themselves abominable if they ate them, and unclean if they did but touch them. 44. For I am the Lord your God, &c. See Note on Ex. 3. 15, 18. We have here the spiritual drift of all these carnal and ceremonial ordinances; for 'meat commendeth us not to God,' nor is any thing unclean of itself,' nor is there any thing from without a man which entering in can defile him.' A grand moral purport was couched under all these legal rites, and from the declaration in these verses we cannot fail to discern what it is. As God himself is a being of infinite purity and perfection, unutterably surpassing all the false gods of the heathen, so it was his purpose that his own covenant people should be signally separated and distinguished in their mode of life from all the surrounding nations, and thus by being debarred from intercourse with them, be secured also from participation in their corruptions and idolatries. Neither shall ye defile yourselves. Heb. bbbb naphshothëkem, your souls; as in the preceding verse. On the peculiar use of this term in Hebrew, see Note on Gen. 34.29. In this connexion it evidently has relation rather to the body than the mind, as is often the case elsewhere. 45. I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, &c. This was an act of favor signal and illustrious, and lying so essentially at the foundation of all other mercies towards 47 s To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. r ver. 44. s ch. 10. 10. them as a nation, that it is again and again appealed to with a view to im press a sense of their obligations on their hearts. There could not be a greater aggravation of their guilt than to be unmindful of what God had wrought for them in their deliverance by a stretched-out arm from the house of bondage. 46. This is the law of beasts, &c That is, this collection of laws in the present chapter constitutes that code which is to regulate the distinction of living creatures into clean and unclean, and thereby to afford you a rule by which to distinguish between the dif ferent kinds of meat which may and which may not be eaten. 47. To make a difference between the unclean and the clean. Heb. 377373 lehavail, to separate, to divide. It is the same word which occurs v. 10 of the preceding chapter, where the priests are commanded to be always sober, that they may be able to put a difference (3 lchavdil) between holy and unholy, between unclean and clean,' which they were to do not only for themselves, but also for others, for the priest's lips should keep knowledge. Accordingly it is said, Ezek. 44. 23, ' And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.' And so also Jer. 15. 19, Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before |