Commentaria in Deuteronomium
1. Thou shalt make for the high priest six vestments: first, the ephod; second, the rational with 12 gems, on which thou shalt engrave the 12 names of the sons of Israel, also urim and thummim, that is doctrine and truth; third, a tunic of violet with a girdle of divers colours, from which below shall hang bells and pomegranates; fourth, a tiara with a plate of gold, on which thou shalt write: “Holy to the Lord;” fifth, a linen tunic with a belt; sixth, linen breeches.
2. For the priests thou shalt make, first, linen breeches; second, a linen tunic with a belt; third, a cidaris, or tiara, Exodus xxviii.
VII. Ceremonial concerning the consecration of the High Priest, the priests and the Levites.
1. Thou shalt make an ointment of stacte, cinnamon, calamus, cassia and oil, and with it thou shalt anoint and consecrate the tabernacle, the ark, the table, the candlestick, the laver, the altar, and all their vessels, Aaron also with his sons, Exodus chap. xxx,
2. Consecrate, O Moses, Aaron and his sons priests, with this rite: first, wash them; second, clothe them with the priestly vestments; third, offer a calf for sin, and two rams, one for a holocaust, the other for a peace offering, with unleavened bread; fourth, for seven days daily anoint both them and the altar. Finally, on the eighth day let Aaron celebrate his first fruits as it were, and immolate victims of every kind, Exodus xxix, and Leviticus viii and ix; and then the 12 princes of the 12 tribes shall offer their gifts to the newly erected tabernacle, namely first, together six wagons; second, separately each in turn his victims, and vessels for the use of the tabernacle, Numbers vii.
3. Consecrate the Levites with this rite: first, thou, O Moses, sprinkle them with the water of purification; second, let them shave all the hairs of their flesh; third, let them wash their garments; fourth, let them offer one bullock for sin, another for a holocaust; fifth, present them to the Lord; sixth, let the children of Israel lay their hands upon them; seventh, let Aaron offer them to the Lord, and, immolating their bullocks, pray for them, Numbers chap. viii, verse 6.
VIII. Ceremonial concerning their endowments and offices.
1. The Levites shall serve in the tabernacle from the twenty-fifth year
2. Let the Levites keep and carry all the vessels of the tabernacle, Numbers iii, 6, namely the Caathites shall carry the ark, table, candlestick and altar; the Gersonites the curtains and hangings; the Merarites the boards, bars, pillars and bases, Numbers iv.
3. Priests shall be free of blemishes, that is, defects of body, namely let them not be blind, not lame, not with a small, large or crooked nose, not with broken foot or hand, not hunchbacked, not blear-eyed, not have a white speck in the eye, not a continual scab, or ringworm, not ruptured, Levit. xxi, 17.
4. Let priests abstain from funerals and mourning.
5. The high priest shall not mourn for mother nor father, Ibid. verse 2.
6. The high priest shall not marry, except a virgin, and of noble birth, Ibid. verse 13.
7. Priests, when they enter the tabernacle, shall not drink wine and strong drink, lest they die, that they may discern between holy and profane, and teach the children of Israel my precepts, Levit. chap. x, verse 9.
8. Whoever of the stock of Aaron shall be leprous, or suffering a flow of seed, or unclean, shall not eat of those things which are sanctified to God, Levit. xxii, 4.
9. The office of priests is: first, to sacrifice in the court; second, daily at evening to light the lamps of the candlestick in the Holy; third, every sabbath day to place new loaves of proposition on the table; fourth, daily morning and evening to burn incense; fifth, to bless the people.
10. It is proper to the high priest, once in the year, on the day of expiation, to make atonement for the whole people, and for the tabernacle itself, by purifying the Holy of Holies, Levit. xvi.
11. In this form let the priests bless the people: The Lord bless thee, and keep thee, the Lord shew his face to thee, and have mercy on thee, the Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.
IX. Ceremonial concerning their cities and revenues.
1. In the land of Israel the priests and Levites shall have no part, Numbers xviii, 20.
2. You shall give to the Levites cities to dwell in, and suburbs a thousand cubits round about, for the feeding of their cattle, Numbers xxxv.
3. The priests shall have, first, all firstborn; second, all oblations; third, all victims, namely from the holocaust the skin; from the peace offering the breast and the right shoulder; from the sin offering the whole flesh; from the mincha the whole, except the handful which is burned to the Lord, Levit. vi and vii, and Numbers xvi.
4. The Levites shall have all tithes, and of them again shall give tithes to the priests, and those the better and more select, Numbers xviii, 26.
5. If a Levite, desiring to serve the Lord, shall come from his city to the temple, to minister to Him there, he shall receive the same portion of food as the others who minister: and moreover he shall obtain the part of the tithes which is due to him in his city by the law, Deut. xviii, 6.
X. Ceremonial concerning sacrifices, namely the holocaust, the mincha, the peace offering and the victim for sin.
1. The victim of the holocaust shall be male and entire, and wholly burnt to God, except the skin, which shall go to the priest sacrificing, Levit. vii, 8, and Levit. i.
2. This victim shall be either of oxen, or of sheep and goats, or of turtles and doves, Levit. i.
3. Daily thou shalt offer a continual holocaust, namely a lamb in the morning, and a lamb in the evening, which shall be burnt all night upon the altar, with the tenth part of an ephi of flour, sprinkled with oil of the fourth part of a hin: and at the same time thou shalt offer a libation of the fourth part of a hin of wine, both morning and evening, Numbers xxviii, 3.
4. The mincha, that is, the offering of meal, shall be offered either of fine flour, or of ears, or of baked loaves, whether in the oven, or in the pan, or on the gridiron, Levit. ii.
5. The mincha shall be seasoned with salt, and oil poured upon it, and frankincense laid on it.
6. The mincha shall be unleavened, and without honey, Ibid.
7. A handful of the mincha shall be burnt to God: the remainder shall go to the priest, Ibidem.
8. The peace offering shall be an ox, sheep or goat: of it, first, the blood and fat, with the kidneys, and the tail if it be a sheep, shall be burnt to God; second, the breast and the right shoulder shall go to the priest sacrificing; third, the remaining flesh shall go to the layman who offers, Levit. chap. iii.
9. The unclean shall not eat of it, Levit. vii, 20, but only the clean, both males and females, and that on the first day, if it be a sacrifice of thanksgiving; or also on the second day, if it be a votive or voluntary offering: if anything remain on the third day, it shall be consumed by fire.
10. The victim for sin committed through ignorance by the high priest, or by the people, shall be a he-goat; by a commoner, a she-goat or ewe, Levit. iv. Of this the blood, fat, kidneys and tail shall be burnt to God, the remaining flesh the priests shall eat, with their sons.
11. He that hath done calumny or injury to his neighbour shall offer a ram for sin, Levit. vi, 6.
12. Every victim shall be without blemish, that is, entire, namely not blind, broken, scabby, etc. Levit. xxii, 22.
13. The victim of flesh shall have its libations, namely flour, oil, wine, salt and frankincense, in the measure which is prescribed, Numbers xv, 4.
14. When you shall have a banquet, and festival days, and new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts and peace offerings, Numbers x, 10.
XI. Ceremonial concerning firstborn, firstfruits and tithes.
1. Sanctify to me every firstborn male, both of men and of beasts: for all are mine, Exodus xiii, verses 2 and 12.
2. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: but if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it, Ibidem.
3. The firstborn of man thou shalt redeem with a price, namely five sicles, Numbers xviii, 16.
4. The firstborn of an animal shall be seven days with its mother: on the eighth day thou shalt give it to me, Exodus xxii, verse 30.
5. No one can vow the firstborn: for they are the Lord’s, Levit. xxvii, 26.
6. The unclean firstborn shall be redeemed, Ibid.
7. Thou shalt not work with the firstborn of the ox, and shalt not shear the firstborn of the sheep, Deut. xv, 19.
8. Thou shalt eat them in the sight of the Lord thy God every year, in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou (O priest) and thy house, Ibidem verse 20.
9. The firstfruits of the fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord, Exodus xxiii, 19.
10. The firstfruits of the ears of barley thou shalt offer at the Passover, namely on the second day of the unleavened bread, Levit. xxiii,
11. The firstfruits of the loaves thou shalt offer at Pentecost, Ibid.
12. The firstfruits of all fruits thou shalt offer at the end of the year, and offering them thou shalt say: I profess this day before the Lord, that God hath brought me into a land flowing with milk and honey, etc. Deut. xxvi, 2 and following.
13. When thou shalt have planted a tree, the fruits which it shall bear in the first three years thou shalt cast away as unclean and uncircumcised: but the fruits of the fourth year thou shalt offer to the Lord; and so in the fifth year thou shalt eat of its fruits, Levit. xix, 23.
14. The tithes of the fruits and of all crops to God