Commentaria in Deuteronomium
3. Of thy seed thou shalt not give to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, Ibid.
4. Thou shalt not lie with a male, Ibid.
5. Thou shalt not lie with any beast, Ibid.
6. Make not thy daughter a prostitute, Levit. xix, 29.
7. There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of Israel, Deut. chap. xxiii, verse 17.
VII. Thou shalt not steal, Exodus xx. To this belong:
1. Let no one deceive his neighbour, Levit. xix, 14.
2. Thou shalt not molest nor afflict a stranger and a pilgrim: for you also were strangers in Egypt, Exodus xxii, 21.
3. You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan. If you hurt them, they will cry to me, and I will hear them, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless, Ibidem, and Deut.
4. Do not any unjust thing in judgment, in rule, in weight, or in measure, Levit. xix, 35.
5. Let the balance be just, and the weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal: I am the Lord, Ibid.
6. Thou shalt not have divers weights in thy bag, a heavier and a lighter: neither shall there be in thy house a greater bushel and a less, Deut. xxv, 13.
7. Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmarks, Deut.
8. Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly: consider not the person of the poor, nor honour the countenance of the mighty, Levit. xix, 15.
9. He that striketh a beast shall make it good, that is, beast for beast, Levit. xxiv, 18.
VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour, Exodus xx, 16. To this belong:
1. Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie, Exodus chap. xxiii, verse 1.
2. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil, neither shalt thou yield in judgment to the opinion of the greater number, to stray from the truth, Ibid.
3. Thou shalt fly lying, Ibid. verse 7.
4. Thou shalt not be a detractor, nor a whisperer among the people, Levit. xix, 16.
5. Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, Ibidem.
IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, Deut.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his, Ibid.
THESE ARE THE MORAL, OR NATURAL, PRECEPTS OF THE DECALOGUE, WHICH GOD GAVE THE HEBREWS THROUGH MOSES; THE CEREMONIAL FOLLOW, DISTRIBUTED INTO THEIR CLASSES.
1. Of the place of victims and of the sanctuary. 2. Of the vessels of the Holy of Holies. 3. Of the vessels of the Holy Place. 4. Of the vessels of the court.
6. Of the vestments of the priests and of the high priest. 7. Of their consecration and that of the Levites. 8. Of their endowments and offices. 9. Of their cities and revenues. 10. Of the sacrifices.
14. Of the woman after childbirth. 15. Of leprosy and lepers. 16. Of those who suffer a flow of seed or blood.
18. Of the water of purification. 19. Of cleanliness of the camp.
22. Of clean and unclean foods. 23. Of feasts. 24. Of homicides.
I. Ceremonial concerning the place of victims and of the sanctuary.
1. Beware lest thou offer thy holocausts in every place, but in that which the Lord shall choose, there shalt thou offer holocausts, victims, tithes, firstfruits, vows, gifts and firstlings; and of these thou shalt eat there in the sight of the Lord, and shalt rejoice, Deut. chap. xii,
2. But if the way and place be longer, thou shalt sell them, and going to the place, shalt buy with the price whatever pleaseth thee, whether of oxen or of sheep, wine also and strong drink; and thou shalt eat before the Lord, thou and thy house, and the Levite that is within thy gates, Deut. xiv, 24.
3. Nay even if thou slay an ox, sheep or goat only for food, thou shalt do it at the temple, provided thou dwell not far from it, that thou mayest there burn the fat to God, and pour out and offer the blood to Him, Deut. xii, 20.
4. Three times in the year thou shalt go up to the temple, namely at the Passover, at Pentecost, and at the feast of Tabernacles: and thou shalt not appear in my sight empty, Deut. xvi, 16.
5. The Levites shall proclaim curses toward mount Hebal, against those who violate the law of God, and blessings toward Garizim, on those who keep the law of God, according to the rite set forth in Deut. xxvii.
II. Ceremonial concerning the vessels of the Holy of Holies, namely the ark, the propitiatory and the Cherubim.
1. Make an ark of setim wood, and overlay it with gold, of which the length shall be two cubits and a half, the breadth a cubit and a half, the height a cubit and a half, and let it have four golden rings, in which two staves shall be inserted, that it may be carried on them, and thou shalt put in the ark the tables of the law, Exodus chap. xxv, verse 10.
2. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold, which shall be the cover of the ark, Ibid. verse 17.
3. Thou shalt make also two Cherubim of gold, which shall cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings and looking at one another: thence I will speak to thee, Ibid. verse 18.
III. Ceremonial concerning the vessels of the Holy Place, namely the table, the candlestick and the altar of incense.
1. Thou shalt make a table of setim wood, two cubits in length, a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height: and thou shalt overlay it with gold, and shalt set upon it the loaves of proposition in my sight always. Thou shalt make also rings and staves, by which it may be carried, Exodus xxv, 23. Of these loaves see what was said on Levit. xxiv, 5.
2. Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work of a talent of gold, which shall have seven branches, each having three rows of cups, spheres and lilies. Thou shalt put upon them seven lamps with oil, that they may give light over against, Ibid. verse 31.
3. The priest shall set in order and light these lamps in the evening, that they may burn until morning, Exodus xxvii, 21.
4. Thou shalt make an altar for burning incense of setim wood, having a cubit in length, and a cubit in breadth, and two cubits in height: thou shalt overlay it with gold. Thou shalt make also rings and staves, by which it may be carried; thou shalt place it before the veil which is before the ark, Exodus xxx, 4.
5. The priest shall burn incense upon it, morning and evening, Ibid. verse 7.
6. Thou shalt compose the incense of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and the purest frankincense, Ibid. verse 34.
IV. Ceremonial concerning the vessels of the court, namely the altar of holocausts and the brazen laver.
1. Thou shalt make an altar of setim wood, which shall have five cubits in length, and as many in breadth, and three in height; it shall be hollow; thou shalt make for it a brazen grate, also staves, and finally caldrons, tongs, fleshhooks, and firepans, Exodus xxvii, 1.
2. The fire on the altar shall always burn, which the priest shall feed, putting wood under it, Levit. vi, 12.
3. Thou shalt make an altar of earth or unhewn stone to me,
4. Thou shalt not go up by steps to my altar, Ibid. verse 26.
5. Thou shalt not plant a grove near the altar, Deut. xvi, 21.
6. Thou shalt make a brazen laver, that water being put in, the priests may wash in it their hands and feet, when they are to approach the altar, Exodus xxx, 18.
V. Ceremonial concerning the tabernacle itself and the court.
1. Thou shalt make the tabernacle, that is, the Holy of Holies, and the Holy, and before the Holy, the court.
2. In the Holy of Holies thou shalt place the ark, with the propitiatory and Cherubim: also the urn with the manna, Exodus xvi, 34, and the rod of Aaron that flourished, Numbers xvii.
3. In the Holy thou shalt place the table on the north side, the candlestick on the south, in the midst the altar of incense.
4. Finally in the court thou shalt place the altar of holocausts and the brazen laver, Ibid. verse 26 and following.
5. Thou shalt join the tabernacle of twenty boards on each side, and ten boards at the back; but in front it shall be covered with a veil; these boards shall each be ten cubits high, a cubit and a half wide. Whence the length of the tabernacle shall be 30 cubits, the breadth ten, the height ten, so that the Holy of Holies has ten cubits, in length as in breadth and height; but the Holy has the remaining 20 cubits of length, and ten of breadth and height; a veil of divers colours shall divide the Holy from the Holy of Holies.
6. Each of these boards shall have two silver bases, on which they stand on the ground; they shall have also five bars on each side, by which they are bound to one another.
7. These boards for a roof shall have four coverings, namely the first, of ten curtains of divers colours; the second, of eleven cilicious cloths; the third, skins of rams dyed red; the fourth, violet skins, Exodus xxvi.
8. The court shall be before the Holy under the open sky, and be surrounded on every side with pillars and hangings: in its front part the priests shall sacrifice; in the rear part the people shall pray, and look on the sacrifices, Exodus xxvii.
VI. Ceremonial concerning the vestments of the Priests and High Priest.