the ark.") The prohibition now uttered was of equivalent bearing with that respecting Mount Sinai, which, by reason of the divine presence associated with it at the time, might not be touch the gaze of the people. They were not in a state to penetrate its mysteries to their spiritual good, and therefore the sight was precluded. But the end and accomplishment of these types we are now enabled, by the light of the Gos-ed upon pain of death, Ex. 19: 12. Heb. pel, to discern, even "the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." Accordingly in the Apocalyptic vision we have God's Throne and the true Tabernacle set forth in all their unveiled glory, Rev. 4:2, etc. So also Rev. 11:19, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.' -¶ But they shall not touch | any holy things. Heb. hakkodesh, the sanctity. Gr. ta hagia, the holy things, implying the totality of the sacred things. It does not mean the tabernacle particularly, having, if any thing, a | more especial reference to the ark of the covenant, which was the heart and core of the whole typical establishment, to which it belonged. A comparison of the following passages will show conclusively the soundness of this construction, 1 Kings 8:8, "And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy (place.") According to the Heb. it is min hakkodesh, from the holy, i. e. projecting out from the holy. The parallel text, 2 Chron. 5: 9, has it thus:-" And they drew out the staves (of the ark), that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark (Heb. min hââron, from 12:18. The meaning is, that they were not to touch the things themselves that were covered, although in order to carry them they must of course touch the staves. These, we may suppose, were sometimes, during the transportation, held in their hands, and sometimes borne on their shoulders, as they became fatigued with one or the other mode. -T Lest they die. Heb. vâmëthu, and they die. Chald. and Gr. "That they may not die." The "not" in this kind of phraseology is sometimes inserted, and sometimes omitted. The judgment here threatened was executed upon Uzzah, a Levite, who for putting forth his hand to steady the ark was immediately smitten of God and died. 1 Chron. 13: 10.-¶ These (things) are the burden of the sons of Kohath. Gr. tauta arousin, they shall bear these things, implying upon their own shoulders, and not by means of wagons or any other mode of conveyance. This was clearly the general province of the sons of Kohath, as a part of the Levitical order contradistinguished from the priests. But judging from several portions of the subsequent history, it does not appear that this arrangement was of such inviolable sanctity as never to be infringed upon, for the following passages have only to be consulted to make it evident that the priests did, on particular occasions, assume the office of the Levites in bear 16 And to the office of Elea- | of all the tabernacle, and of zar, the son of Aaron the priest, all that therein is, in the sancpertaineth the oil" for the light, tuary, and in the vessels thereand the sweet incense, and the of. daily meat-offering, and the anointing oil", and the oversight ing the ark. Deut. 31:9. Josh. 3:3. 1 Chron. 15:12, 15. It was undoubtedly fitting in itself that the most worthy things should be handled by the most worthy persons, provided their numbers were such as would enable them to do it. But as this was not the case at the outset of the Jewish polity, the burden was devolved upon an inferior class, to which it was mainly, though not exclusively, confined in all after times. David's setting the ark on a cart (2 Sam. 6:13. 1 Chron. 13:7) was his infirmity, for he afterwards confesses (1 Chron. 15:13) that "the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order." But his error being corrected in this matter, he subsequently returned to the primitive order, causing the priests and the Levites to "sanctify themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel" (1 Chron. 15:13), which it would seem they did conjointly. The Office of Eleazar. V. 16. And to the office of Eleazar(pertaineth) the oil, etc. Lit. "And the office (Heb. pekuddath, charge, oversight, visitation,) was the oil, etc." Gr. "And Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was overseer (episcopos, bishop) — his oversight (episcopë, bishopric) was the oil," etc. The use of these ecclesiastical terms helps us to apprehend the spiritual import which runs through the whole.¶ The oil for the light: that is, for the golden candlestick with its 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, bowls, or lamp-sconces. The Jewish writers say that the four following things were to be carried by Eleazar himself, to wit, "The oil of the light and the oil of anointing, the one in his right hand and the other in his left; and the incense in his bosom, and the meat-offering on his shoulder." ¶ And the daily meat-offering. Heb. minchath hattâmid, the meat (meal) offering of the continual. -T The oversight of all the tabernacle. Heb. pekuddath, the same word which in the beginning of the verse is translated "office.". -T In the sanctuary. Heb. bekodesh, in the sanctity, or holiness; that is, in regard to the holiness, by which is meant especially the ark of the covenant, the holiest of the holy things. "Sanctuary" here is evidently | something distinct from "tabernacle,” as otherwise we have a mere repetition. In the vessels thereof. That is, in regard to the vessels thereof; by which is meant the vessels pertaining to the tabernacle and not to the sanctuary. The remarks of Ainsworth on the typical purport of all this are very appropriate :-"In this office Bishop Eleazar was a figure of Christ, the Bishop of our souls' (1 Pet. 2: 25), unto whom it pertaineth to give grace (the oil of the Spirit) for understanding the Scriptures (Luke 4:18. 24:45. John 1:16); to put odors of sweet incense, to the prayers of all saints by his mediation (Rev. 8:3. 1 Tim. 2:5); to present his Church as a pure meat (meal) offering and sacrifice unto his Father (Eph. 5: 18 Cut ye not off the tribe | his sons shall go in, and appoint of the families of the Kohath- them every one to his service ites from among the Levites: and to his burden: 19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and v ver. 4. to 20 But they shall not go in w see when the holy things are covered, lest they die. w Ex. 19. 21. Lev. 10. 2. 1 Sam. 6. 19. 26, 27. 1 Cor. 5:7); to give the anointing oil of the Holy Ghost for our sanctification and the rejoicing of our hearts (John 7:39. 1 John 2:27); to oversee all churches and ministers, and all actions in churches where he is present and walks among them till the world's end. Matt. 28:10. Rev. 1:13. 2:1, 2, etc." A Special Charge to Moses and Aaron. V. 18. Cut ye not off, etc. Heb. al takrithu, cause ye not to be cut off. Gr. mě olothreusate, destroy not. That is, be careful lest by your negligence the people give way to vain curiosity, and thus expose themselves to be cut off by a divine interposition, as happened in the case of Nadab and Abihu. The practical lesson taught in these words is a very solemn one, to wit, that we ourselves become chargeable with those judgments which befall our fellow-men through our procurement, which are occasioned by our heedlessness or neglect. "Those who do not what they can to keep others from sin, do what they can to cut them off."—Henry. ¶ The tribe of the families of the Kohathites. Gr. "Ye shall not destroy of the tribe the family of Kaath." The form of the expression in the original is peculiar, and would indicate that the word "tribe" is here to be taken in a more restricted sense than usual, as equivalent to stock. The whole of the Levites properly constituted a tribe, and yet in this instance we read of a tribe being cut off "from among the Levites," showing clearly that it must bear a narrower sense than it ordinarily does. V. 19. That they may live and not die. On the import of this phrase see Note on Deut. 33:6. The Targum of Jonathan thus expounds it:-"That they may live in the life of the righteous, and not die with flaming fire,” in reference to Lev. 10:2. -¶ Appoint them every one to his service, etc. Heb. "Place or put them man, man, upon his service and upon his burden;" so that all disorder and confusion of service might be avoided. Maimonides says, "The Levites are to be warned that they do not each other's work, as that the singer help not to do the porter's work, nor the porter the singer's; as it is written, Every man unto his service and his burden. The Levites that do the priest's service, or a Levite that employeth himself in that work which is not his own, are in danger of death by the hand of God." V. 20. They shall not go in to see. So also in Ex. 19:21, the people were charged not to "break through unto the Lord to gaze," and the men of Bethshemesh, because they "looked into the ark of the Lord," were smitten to the number of upwards of 50,000 men, 1 Sam. 6:19. 1 Sam. 6:19. The real internal ground of this prohibition is the contrariety of state between a holy God and sinful men. As their minds were incapable of perceiving the sacred mysteries couch 21 And the LORD spake unto | houses of their fathers, by their Moses, saying, families; 22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the | כבלם ed under the symbols, so it was fitting that the symbols themselves should be withholden from their eyes.- T When the holy things are covered. Heb. keballa, as the swallowing up; a peculiar phraseology, of which the true import is not very easy to be determined. The general usage of the term may be judged of from the following instances: Ch. 16:30, "But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up," etc. Job 20: 15, "He hath swallowed down riches." Ex. 7:12, "But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." Ps. 106: 17, And the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan." Job 7:19, "How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?" In other cases it is rendered by devour, destroy, and spend. Its general purport is that of absorbing, and thence abolishing, making way with, and causing suddenly to disappear. It is nowhere else rendered by cover except in the present passage, though that sense is somewhat countenanced by the version of Onkelos, "While they cover the sacred vessels," and by the Syriac and the Arabic, "When the holy is covered." Yet for reasons soon to be given we doubt if this is the true sense, and Michaelis in his "Supplement to the Hebrew Lexicons" (sub voce ) says this sense is unknown to all oriental tongues. Gesenius intimates that the expression may perhaps be elucidated from the phraseology in Job, "till I have swallowed my spittle," i. e. for a moment's time, a proverbial mode of speech in vogue among the Arabs. According to this the sense would be, 23 From thirty years old ver. 3. "They shall not see, for one moment, the holy things." But the true rendering we take to be this:-"They shall not go in to see, as it were, to swallow, the holy things;" i. e. they shall not presume to gratify themselves with a hasty view, with a quick and furtive glance, as if they would swallow the objects with their eyes. The two ideas of swallowing and of suddenness are obviously included in the expression, and this is corroborated by the Greek, "They shall by no means go in to look suddenly upon the holy things, and die." The concealment thus enjoined plainly pointed to the darkness of that dispensation. "That which is now brought to light by the gospel, and revealed to babes, was then hid from the wise and prudent. They saw only the coverings, not the holy things themselves; but now Christ has 'destroyed the face of the covering.' the covering." "—Henry. The Mustering and the Charge of the Gershonites. V. 22. Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon. The literal rendering of the Heb. is here preferable:"Take the sum of the sons of Gershon, of them also;" implying that although the Kohathites (the sons of the second brother) were first numbered, because they were to carry the holiest things, yet the Lord would not overlook the other families nor permit their ministry to be discharged any more irregularly. They also were to be carefully enumerated and assigned their particular charges. V. 23. Shalt thou number them. Heb. tiphkod, shalt thou muster. Gr. episkepsai, survey.- -¶ All that enter in to perform the service. Heb. litzbo tzaba, to war the warfare. Gr. leitourgein, to liturgize, i. e. to minister sacerdotally. Vulg. Qui ingrediuntur et ministrant in tabernaculo fœderis, all who go in and minister in the tabernacle of covenant. "All that are meet for the war to have an office in the tabernacle of witness.". Cov. "All that are able to go forth in war, for to do service in the tabernacle." -Mat. See Note on v. 3.-¶ To do the work. "To serve the service.". Ains. This is doubtless exegetical or explanatory of the "warfare" just before mentioned. A succeeding phrase in this manner is often inserted with the express design of elucidating a preceding one. V. 24. This is the service, etc. Gr. leitourgia, liturgy, i. e. sacred ministry. -T To serve, and for burdens. A definite distinction is undoubtedly to be understood here between service and burden, the former referring to their ministry in the Tabernacle while it stood, in which they assisted the priests, and also took down and set up the sacred structure (ch. 10:21); and the latter denoting their carrying the edifice and its furniture, when it was to be removed. V. 25. Shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle. That is, the ten fine curtains that formed the inward hangings of the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:1, 2, etc.). As nothing is said of Aaron or his sons being employed to take them down and make them ready for carriage, it may be presumed that all this was done by the Gershonites. The foregoing prohibition did not include the curtains of the Tabernacle.- -T And the tabernacle. Not the boards, the framework, of the Tabernacle, which fell to the charge of the Merarites (v. 31), but the eleven curtains of goats' hair which covered the boards, and which are here called collectively the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:7, 8, etc.). See Notes on ch. 3:25, 26. V. 26. And all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them. Or perhaps more correctly, "All that is to be done by them." Gr. "All the vessels of service that they minister with they shall attend to." "All the instruments that serve for them, and all that belongeth to their occupying."Cov. "All the instruments that serve unto them, and all that is made for them."-Mat. It is not easy to fix the precise shade of meaning intended. V. 27. At the appointment of Aaron, etc. Heb. al pi, at the mouth. Chald. "At the word.”. -¶ In all their bur |