Commentaria in Numeros
Chapter the Fifteenth
A fixed measure of libations is established for each victim. Secondly, a law is made about giving the firstfruits of bread, harvest and grapes, verse 18. Thirdly, the man gathering sticks on the sabbath is commanded to be stoned, verse 32. Fourthly, God commands the Hebrews to wear fringes, which should always remind them of the law of God, verse 37.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall be come into the land of your habitation, which I will give you, 3. and shall make an oblation to the Lord for a holocaust, or a victim, paying your vows, or offering voluntarily gifts, or in your solemn feasts burning a sweet savour to the Lord, of oxen, or of sheep: 4. whosoever offereth a victim shall offer a sacrifice of fine flour, the tenth part of an ephi, tempered with oil, which shall have the measure of the fourth part of a hin: 5. and wine to pour out the same measure for the libations of the holocaust, or of the victim. For every lamb 6. and ram, there shall be a sacrifice of fine flour of two tenths, which shall be tempered with oil of the third part of a hin: 7. and he shall offer wine for the libation, the third part of the same measure, for a sweet savour to the Lord. 8. But when thou offerest a holocaust or sacrifice of oxen, to fulfil thy vow, or peace victims, 9. thou shalt give for every ox three tenths of fine flour tempered with oil, which shall be half a measure of a hin: 10. and wine for the libation of the same measure, for an oblation of most sweet savour to the Lord. 11. Thus shalt thou do 12. for every ox, and ram, and lamb, and kid. 13. Both they that are born in the land, 14. and the strangers, shall offer sacrifices after the same manner. 15. There shall be one law and judgment, as well for you as for them that are strangers in the land. 16. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 17. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: 18. When you shall be come into the land which I will give you, 19. and shall eat of the bread of that country, you shall separate firstfruits to the Lord, 20. of those things which you eat. As you separate firstfruits of the floors, 21. so also you shall give firstfruits of your dough to the Lord. 22. And if through ignorance you shall omit any of these things which the Lord hath spoken to Moses, 23. and by him commanded you, from the day that he began to command, and thenceforward, 24. and the multitude shall forget to do it: they shall offer a calf out of the herd, a holocaust for a most sweet savour to the Lord, and the sacrifice and libations thereof, as the ceremonies require, and a buck goat for sin: 25. and the priest shall pray for all the multitude of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, because they sinned not willingly, nevertheless they must offer burnt offering to the Lord for themselves, and for their sin and their error: 26. and it shall be forgiven all the people of the children of Israel, and to the strangers that sojourn among them: because it is the fault of all the people through ignorance. 27. If one soul sin through ignorance, he shall offer a she goat of a year old for his sin: 28. and the priest shall pray for him, because he sinned ignorantly before the Lord: and shall obtain pardon for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 29. The same law shall be for all that sin ignorantly, whether they be natives or strangers. 30. But the soul that committeth any thing through pride, whether he be born in the land or a stranger (because he hath been rebellious against the Lord), shall be cut off from among his people: 31. for he hath despised the word of the Lord, and made void his commandment: therefore shall he be destroyed, and shall bear his iniquity. 32. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and had found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day, 33. they brought him to Moses and Aaron, and the whole multitude. 34. And they put him into prison, not knowing what they should do with him. 35. And the Lord said to Moses: Let that man die: let all the multitude stone him without the camp. 36. And when they had brought him out, they stoned him, and he died, as the Lord had commanded. 37. The Lord also said to Moses: 38. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them to make to themselves fringes in the corners of their garments, putting in them ribands of blue: 39. that when they shall see them, they may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and not follow their own thoughts and eyes going astray divers ways. 40. But rather remembering the precepts of the Lord, may do them, and be holy to their God. 41. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God.
Verse 3. “A holocaust, or a victim (peace-offering, etc.). Whosoever offereth a victim shall offer a sacrifice of fine flour.” Hence, and from other places, it is plain that libations were wont to be added only to the holocaust and the peace victim, not to the victim for sin, because in it no flesh was burned to God. For libations were added only to the flesh, as its seasonings, since they were like the food and feast of God, which is wont to be seasoned by such things. Except, however, the libations of the sin-offering at the cleansing of lepers, of which Leviticus xiv, 14. Note: The libations were like appendices or seasonings of the sacrifice, and they were five, namely first, fine flour; second, oil; third, wine; fourth, salt; fifth, frankincense; but because the salt and frankincense were small in quantity, a fixed measure of them is not prescribed here, but of the other three it is. Note secondly: of the oil and wine in the libations, the law is always established of the same measure.
You will ask, in what year after the exodus from Egypt, and at which station, was this law given, and the others that are woven into this chapter and the next, up to chap. xx?
I answer: That is uncertain. For Moses here passes over seventeen stations: for the last of which he made mention in the preceding chapter was the fifteenth, at Rethma; but in chap. xx, verse 1, he narrates that they came to Cades, where was the thirty-third station: the rest in between, namely seventeen, he is silent about and passes over. It is likely, however, that all these things were said and done in the second year of the exodus from Egypt. For they seem not to have been long without the ashes of the red heifer, of which chap. xix, on account of the frequent purifications which had to be made with these ashes, after the ceremonies, sacrifices and priests had been instituted on Sinai.
Verse 3. “Burning a sweet savour,” namely burning the victim; which burning was for a sweet savour, that is, was acceptable and pleasing to God, as some very sweet odour is pleasing to us, for example of frankincense, of the rose, of musk, etc.
“Of oxen or of sheep,” or of goats, or kids, as is plain from verse 11.
Verse 4. “Whosoever offereth a victim,” whosoever shall offer a victim to be immolated. For the laity only offered victims, but did not immolate them: this belonged to the priests.
Verse 5. “And wine to pour out for the libations (that is, for libation).” Hence in Hebrew it is, “and wine for the libation.” So also the Chaldee and the Septuagint.