The words of Ps. 132:6, "We found it in the fields of
the wood," refer to the sojourn of the ark at
Kirjath-jearim. "Wood" is here the rendering of
the Hebrew word jaar, which is the singular of
jearim.
(2.) A Benjamite of Jerusalem (1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36).
(3.) A Levite in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:12).
(4.) The great-grandfather of Mordecai (Esther 2:5).
(5.) A Benjamite, the son of Abiel, and father of king Saul
(1 Sam. 9:1, 3; 10:11, 21; 14:51; 2 Sam. 21:14). All that
is recorded of him is that he sent his son Saul in search
of his asses that had strayed, and that he was buried in
Zelah. Called Cis, Acts 13:21 (R.V., Kish).
This was the scene of the defeat of Sisera (Judg. 4:7, 13),
and of the destruction of the prophets of Baal by Elijah (1
Kings 18:40). "When the Kishon was at its height, it
would be, partly on account of its quicksands, as
impassable as the ocean itself to a retreating army."
(2.) Heb. maakeleth, a large knife for slaughtering and
cutting up food (Gen. 22:6, 10; Prov. 30:14).
(3.) Heb. sakkin, a knife for any purpose, a table knife
(Prov. 23:2).
(4.) Heb. mahalaph, a butcher's knife for slaughtering
the victims offered in sacrifice (Ezra 1:9).
(5.) Smaller knives (Heb. ta'ar, Jer. 36:26) were used
for sharpening pens. The pruning-knives mentioned in Isa.
18:5 (Heb. mizmaroth) were probably curved knives.
(2.) Heb. peka'im, found only in 1 Kings 6:18 and 7:24,
an ornament resembling a small gourd or an egg, on the
cedar wainscot in the temple and on the castings on the
brim of the brazen sea.
(2.) A Levite, the son of Izhar, the brother of Amram, the
father of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 6:21). The institution of
the Aaronic priesthood and the Levitical service at Sinai
was a great religious revolution. The old priesthood of the
heads of families passed away. This gave rise to murmurings
and discontent, while the Israelites were encamped at
Kadesh for the first time, which came to a head in a
rebellion against Moses and Aaron, headed by Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram. Two hundred and fifty princes, "men of
renown" i.e., well-known men from among the other
tribes, joined this conspiracy. The whole company demanded
of Moses and Aaron that the old state of things should be
restored, alleging that "they took too much upon
them" (Num. 16:1-3). On the morning after the
outbreak, Korah and his associates presented themselves at
the door of the tabernacle, and "took every man his
censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense
thereon." But immediately "fire from the
Lord" burst forth and destroyed them all (Num. 16:35).
Dathan and Abiram "came out and stood in the door of
their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their
little children," and it came to pass "that the
ground clave asunder that was under them; and the earth
opened her mouth and swallowed them up." A plague
thereafter began among the people who sympathized in the
rebellion, and was only stayed by Aaron's appearing
between the living and the dead, and making "an
atonement for the people" (16:47).
The descendants of the sons of Korah who did not
participate in the rebellion afterwards rose to eminence in
the Levitical service.
(2.) Some of the sons of Korah also were
"porters" of the temple (1 Chr. 9:17-19); one of
them was over "things that were made in the pans"
(31), i.e., the baking in pans for the meat-offering (Lev.
2:5).
(2.) A priest, the head of the seventh division of the
priests (Ezra 2:61; Neh. 3:4, 21; 7:63). In 1 Chr. 24:10
the word has the article prefixed, and it is taken as a
part of the word "Hakkoz."
Lachish has been identified with Tell-el-Hesy, where a
cuneiform tablet has been found, containing a letter
supposed to be from Amenophis at Amarna in reply to one of
the Amarna tablets sent by Zimrida from Lachish. This
letter is from the chief of Atim (=Etam, 1 Chr. 4:32) to
the chief of Lachish, in which the writer expresses great
alarm at the approach of marauders from the Hebron hills.
"They have entered the land," he says, "to
lay waste...strong is he who has come down. He lays
waste." This letter shows that "the communication
by tablets in cuneiform script was not only usual in
writing to Egypt, but in the internal correspondence of the
country. The letter, though not so important in some ways
as the Moabite stone and the Siloam text, is one of the
most valuable discoveries ever made in Palestine"
(Conder's Tell Amarna Tablets, p. 134).
Excavations at Lachish are still going on, and among other
discoveries is that of an iron blast-furnace, with slag and
ashes, which is supposed to have existed B.C. 1500. If the
theories of experts are correct, the use of the hot-air
blast instead of cold air (an improvement in iron
manufacture patented by Neilson in 1828) was known fifteen
hundred years before Christ.
(2.) Heb. taleh, a young sucking lamb (1 Sam. 7:9; Isa.
65:25). In the symbolical language of Scripture the lamb is
the type of meekness and innocence (Isa. 11:6; 65:25; Luke
10:3; John 21:15).
The lamb was a symbol of Christ (Gen. 4:4; Ex. 12:3; 29:38;
Isa. 16:1; 53:7; John 1:36; Rev. 13:8).
Christ is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36), as the
great sacrifice of which the former sacrifices were only
types (Num. 6:12; Lev. 14:12-17; Isa. 53:7; 1 Cor. 5:7).
As to its authorship, there is no room for hesitancy in
following the LXX. and the Targum in ascribing it to
Jeremiah. The spirit, tone, language, and subject-matter
are in accord with the testimony of tradition in assigning
it to him. According to tradition, he retired after the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to a cavern
outside the Damascus gate, where he wrote this book. That
cavern is still pointed out. "In the face of a rocky
hill, on the western side of the city, the local belief has
placed 'the grotto of Jeremiah.' There, in that
fixed attitude of grief which Michael Angelo has
immortalized, the prophet may well be supposed to have
mourned the fall of his country" (Stanley, Jewish
Church).
The book consists of five separate poems. In chapter 1 the
prophet dwells on the manifold miseries oppressed by which
the city sits as a solitary widow weeping sorely. In
chapter 2 these miseries are described in connection with
the national sins that had caused them. Chapter 3 speaks of
hope for the people of God. The chastisement would only be
for their good; a better day would dawn for them. Chapter 4
laments the ruin and desolation that had come upon the city
and temple, but traces it only to the people's sins.
Chapter 5 is a prayer that Zion's reproach may be taken
away in the repentance and recovery of the people.
The first four poems (chapters) are acrostics, like some of
the Psalms (25, 34, 37, 119), i.e., each verse begins with
a letter of the Hebrew alphabet taken in order. The first,
second, and fourth have each twenty-two verses, the number
of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The third has
sixty-six verses, in which each three successive verses
begin with the same letter. The fifth is not acrostic.
Speaking of the "Wailing-place (q.v.) of the
Jews" at Jerusalem, a portion of the old wall of the
temple of Solomon, Schaff says: "There the Jews
assemble every Friday afternoon to bewail the downfall of
the holy city, kissing the stone wall and watering it with
their tears. They repeat from their well-worn Hebrew Bibles
and prayer-books the Lamentations of Jeremiah and suitable
Psalms."
That which was originally used in the tabernacle was of
brass (rather copper; Heb. nihsheth), made from the metal
mirrors the women brought out of Egypt (Ex. 38:8). It
contained water wherewith the priests washed their hands
and feet when they entered the tabernacle (40:32). It stood
in the court between the altar and the door of the
tabernacle (30:19, 21).
In the temple there were ten lavers used for the
sacrifices, and the molten sea for the ablutions of the
priests (2 Chr. 4:6). The position and uses of these are
described 1 Kings 7:23-39; 2 Chr. 4:6. The "molten
sea" was made of copper, taken from Tibhath and Chun,
cities of Hadarezer, king of Zobah (1 Chr. 18:8; 1 Kings
7:23-26).
(2.) The Ceremonial Law prescribes under the Old Testament
the rites and ceremonies of worship. This law was
obligatory only till Christ, of whom these rites were
typical, had finished his work (Heb. 7:9, 11; 10:1; Eph.
2:16). It was fulfilled rather than abrogated by the
gospel.
(3.) The Judicial Law, the law which directed the civil
policy of the Hebrew nation.
(4.) The Moral Law is the revealed will of God as to human
conduct, binding on all men to the end of time. It was
promulgated at Sinai. It is perfect (Ps. 19:7), perpetual
(Matt. 5:17, 18), holy (Rom. 7:12), good, spiritual (14),
and exceeding broad (Ps. 119:96). Although binding on all,
we are not under it as a covenant of works (Gal. 3:17).
(5.) Positive Laws are precepts founded only on the will of
God. They are right because God commands them.
(6.) Moral positive laws are commanded by God because they
are right.
The great leading principle of the Mosaic law is that it is
essentially theocratic; i.e., it refers at once to the
commandment of God as the foundation of all human duty.
(2.) Heb. hamets, properly "ferment." In Num.
6:3, "vinegar of wine" is more correctly
"fermented wine." In Ex. 13:7, the proper
rendering would be, "Unfermented things [Heb.
matstsoth] shall be consumed during the seven days; and
there shall not be seen with thee fermented things
[hamets], and there shall not be seen with thee leavened
mass [seor] in all thy borders." The chemical
definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a
state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a
continual motion."
The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings
made to the Lord by fire (Lev. 2:11; 7:12; 8:2; Num. 6:15).
Its secretly penetrating and diffusive power is referred to
in 1 Cor. 5:6. In this respect it is used to illustrate the
growth of the kingdom of heaven both in the individual
heart and in the world (Matt. 13:33). It is a figure also
of corruptness and of perverseness of heart and life (Matt.
16:6, 11; Mark 8:15; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8).
Lebanon proper, Jebel es-Sharki, commences at its southern
extremity in the gorge of the Leontes, the ancient Litany,
and extends north-east, parallel to the Mediterranean
coast, as far as the river Eleutherus, at the plain of
Emesa, "the entering of Hamath" (Num. 34:8; 1
Kings 8:65), in all about 90 geographical miles in extent.
The average height of this range is from 6,000 to 8,000
feet; the peak of Jebel Mukhmel is about 10,200 feet, and
the Sannin about 9,000. The highest peaks are covered with
perpetual snow and ice. In the recesses of the range wild
beasts as of old still abound (2 Kings 14:9; Cant. 4:8).
The scenes of the Lebanon are remarkable for their grandeur
and beauty, and supplied the sacred writers with many
expressive similes (Ps. 29:5, 6; 72:16; 104:16-18; Cant.
4:15; Isa. 2:13; 35:2; 60:13; Hos. 14:5). It is famous for
its cedars (Cant. 5:15), its wines (Hos. 14:7), and its
cool waters (Jer. 18:14). The ancient inhabitants were
Giblites and Hivites (Josh. 13:5; Judg. 3:3). It was part
of the Phoenician kingdom (1 Kings 5:2-6).
The eastern range, or Anti-Lebanon, or "Lebanon
towards the sunrising," runs nearly parallel with the
western from the plain of Emesa till it connects with the
hills of Galilee in the south. The height of this range is
about 5,000 feet. Its highest peak is Hermon (q.v.), from
which a number of lesser ranges radiate.
Lebanon is first mentioned in the description of the
boundary of Palestine (Deut. 1:7; 11:24). It was assigned
to Israel, but was never conquered (Josh. 13:2-6; Judg.
3:1-3).
The Lebanon range is now inhabited by a population of about
300,000 Christians, Maronites, and Druses, and is ruled by
a Christian governor. The Anti-Lebanon is inhabited by
Mohammedans, and is under a Turkish ruler.
Lepers were required to live outside the camp or city (Num.
5:1-4; 12:10-15, etc.). This disease was regarded as an
awful punishment from the Lord (2 Kings 5:7; 2 Chr. 26:20).
This disease "begins with specks on the eyelids and on
the palms, gradually spreading over the body, bleaching the
hair white wherever they appear, crusting the affected
parts with white scales, and causing terrible sores and
swellings. From the skin the disease eats inward to the
bones, rotting the whole body piecemeal." "In
Christ's day no leper could live in a walled town,
though he might in an open village. But wherever he was he
was required to have his outer garment rent as a sign of
deep grief, to go bareheaded, and to cover his beard with
his mantle, as if in lamentation at his own virtual death.
He had further to warn passers-by to keep away from him, by
calling out, 'Unclean! unclean!' nor could he speak
to any one, or receive or return a salutation, since in the
East this involves an embrace."
That the disease was not contagious is evident from the
regulations regarding it (Lev. 13:12, 13, 36; 2 Kings 5:1).
Leprosy was "the outward and visible sign of the
innermost spiritual corruption; a meet emblem in its small
beginnings, its gradual spread, its internal disfigurement,
its dissolution little by little of the whole body, of that
which corrupts, degrades, and defiles man's inner
nature, and renders him unmeet to enter the presence of a
pure and holy God" (Maclear's Handbook O.T). Our
Lord cured lepers (Matt. 8:2, 3; Mark 1:40-42). This divine
power so manifested illustrates his gracious dealings with
men in curing the leprosy of the soul, the fatal taint of
sin.
When the Israelites left Egypt, the ancient manner of
worship was still observed by them, the eldest son of each
house inheriting the priest's office. At Sinai the
first change in this ancient practice was made. A
hereditary priesthood in the family of Aaron was then
instituted (Ex. 28:1). But it was not till that terrible
scene in connection with the sin of the golden calf that
the tribe of Levi stood apart and began to occupy a
distinct position (Ex. 32). The religious primogeniture was
then conferred on this tribe, which henceforth was devoted
to the service of the sanctuary (Num. 3:11-13). They were
selected for this purpose because of their zeal for the
glory of God (Ex. 32:26), and because, as the tribe to
which Moses and Aaron belonged, they would naturally stand
by the lawgiver in his work.
The Levitical order consisted of all the descendants of
Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; whilst
Aaron, Amram's son (Amram, son of Kohat), and his issue
constituted the priestly order.
The age and qualification for Levitical service are
specified in Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 39, 43, 47.
They were not included among the armies of Israel (Num.
1:47; 2:33; 26:62), but were reckoned by themselves. They
were the special guardians of the tabernacle (Num. 1:51;
18:22-24). The Gershonites pitched their tents on the west
of the tabernacle (3:23), the Kohathites on the south
(3:29), the Merarites on the north (3:35), and the priests
on the east (3:38). It was their duty to move the tent and
carry the parts of the sacred structure from place to
place. They were given to Aaron and his sons the priests to
wait upon them and do work for them at the sanctuary
services (Num. 8:19; 18:2-6).
As being wholly consecrated to the service of the Lord,
they had no territorial possessions. Jehovah was their
inheritance (Num. 18:20; 26:62; Deut. 10:9; 18:1, 2), and
for their support it was ordained that they should receive
from the other tribes the tithes of the produce of the
land. Forty-eight cities also were assigned to them,
thirteen of which were for the priests "to dwell
in", i.e., along with their other inhabitants. Along
with their dwellings they had "suburbs", i.e.,
"commons", for their herds and flocks, and also
fields and vineyards (Num. 35:2-5). Nine of these cities
were in Judah, three in Naphtali, and four in each of the
other tribes (Josh. 21). Six of the Levitical cities were
set apart as "cities of refuge" (q.v.). Thus the
Levites were scattered among the tribes to keep alive among
them the knowledge and service of God.
In the first section of the book (1-17), which exhibits the
worship itself, there is, (1.) A series of laws (1-7)
regarding sacrifices, burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and
thank-offerings (1-3), sin-offerings and trespass-offerings
(4; 5), followed by the law of the priestly duties in
connection with the offering of sacrifices (6; 7). (2.) An
historical section (8-10), giving an account of the
consecration of Aaron and his sons (8); Aaron's first
offering for himself and the people (9); Nadab and
Abihu's presumption in offering "strange fire
before Jehovah," and their punishment (10). (3.) Laws
concerning purity, and the sacrifices and ordinances for
putting away impurity (11-16). An interesting fact may be
noted here. Canon Tristram, speaking of the remarkable
discoveries regarding the flora and fauna of the Holy Land
by the Palestine Exploration officers, makes the following
statement:, "Take these two catalogues of the clean
and unclean animals in the books of Leviticus [11] and
Deuteronomy [14]. There are eleven in Deuteronomy which do
not occur in Leviticus, and these are nearly all animals
and birds which are not found in Egypt or the Holy Land,
but which are numerous in the Arabian desert. They are not
named in Leviticus a few weeks after the departure from
Egypt; but after the people were thirty-nine years in the
desert they are named, a strong proof that the list in
Deuteronomy was written at the end of the journey, and the
list in Leviticus at the beginning. It fixes the writing of
that catalogue to one time and period only, viz., that when
the children of Israel were familiar with the fauna and the
flora of the desert" (Palest. Expl. Quart., Jan.
1887). (4.) Laws marking the separation between Israel and
the heathen (17-20). (5.) Laws about the personal purity of
the priests, and their eating of the holy things (20; 21);
about the offerings of Israel, that they were to be without
blemish (22:17-33); and about the due celebration of the
great festivals (23; 25). (6.) Then follow promises and
warnings to the people regarding obedience to these
commandments, closing with a section on vows.
The various ordinances contained in this book were all
delivered in the space of a month (comp. Ex. 40:17; Num.
1:1), the first month of the second year after the Exodus.
It is the third book of Moses.
No book contains more of the very words of God. He is
almost throughout the whole of it the direct speaker. This
book is a prophecy of things to come, a shadow whereof the
substance is Christ and his kingdom. The principles on
which it is to be interpreted are laid down in the Epistle
to the Hebrews. It contains in its complicated ceremonial
the gospel of the grace of God.
(2.) One of the royal cities of the Canaanites taken by
Joshua (Josh. 10:29-32; 12:15). It became one of the
Levitical towns in the tribe of Judah (21:13), and was
strongly fortified. Sennacherib laid siege to it (2 Kings
19:8; Isa. 37:8). It was the native place of Hamutal, the
queen of Josiah (2 Kings 23:31). It stood near Lachish, and
has been identified with the modern Arak el-Menshiyeh.
Some have supposed that the word denotes not lice properly,
but gnats. Others, with greater probability, take it to
mean the "tick" which is much larger than lice.
The lilies (Gr. krinia) spoken of in the New Testament
(Matt. 6:28; Luke 12:27) were probably the scarlet martagon
(Lilium Chalcedonicum) or "red Turk's-cap
lily", which "comes into flower at the season of
the year when our Lord's sermon on the mount is
supposed to have been delivered. It is abundant in the
district of Galilee; and its fine scarlet flowers render it
a very conspicous and showy object, which would naturally
attract the attention of the hearers" (Balfour's
Plants of the Bible).
Of the true "floral glories of Palestine" the
pheasant's eye (Adonis Palestina), the ranunuculus (R.
Asiaticus), and the anemone (A coronaria), the last named
is however, with the greatest probability regarded as the
"lily of the field" to which our Lord refers.
"Certainly," says Tristram (Nat. Hist. of the
Bible), "if, in the wondrous richness of bloom which
characterizes the land of Israel in spring, any one plant
can claim pre-eminence, it is the anemone, the most natural
flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an
illustration, whether walking in the fields or sitting on
the hill-side." "The white water-lily (Nymphcea
alba) and the yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea) are both
abundant in the marshes of the Upper Jordan, but have no
connection with the lily of Scripture."
Flax was early cultivated in Egypt (Ex. 9:31), and also in
Palestine (Josh. 2:6; Hos. 2:9). Various articles were made
of it: garments (2 Sam. 6:14), girdles (Jer. 13:1), ropes
and thread (Ezek. 40:3), napkins (Luke 24:12; John 20:7),
turbans (Ezek. 44:18), and lamp-wicks (Isa. 42:3).
(2.) Heb. buts, "whiteness;" rendered "fine
linen" in 1 Chr. 4:21; 15:27; 2 Chr. 2:14; 3:14;
Esther 1:6; 8:15, and "white linen" 2 Chr. 5:12.
It is not certain whether this word means cotton or linen.
(3.) Heb. bad; rendered "linen" Ex. 28:42; 39:28;
Lev. 6:10; 16:4, 23, 32; 1 Sam. 2:18; 2 Sam. 6:14, etc. It
is uniformly used of the sacred vestments worn by the
priests. The word is from a root signifying
"separation."
(4.) Heb. shesh; rendered "fine linen" Ex. 25:4;
26:1, 31, 36, etc. In Prov. 31:22 it is rendered in
Authorized Version "silk," and in Revised Version
"fine linen." The word denotes Egyptian linen of
peculiar whiteness and fineness (byssus). The finest Indian
linen, the finest now made, has in an inch one hundred
threads of warp and eighty-four of woof; while the Egyptian
had sometimes one hundred and forty in the warp and
sixty-four in the woof. This was the usual dress of the
Egyptian priest. Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in a dress of linen
(Gen. 41:42).
(5.) Heb. 'etun. Prov. 7:16, "fine linen of
Egypt;" in Revised Version, "the yarn of
Egypt."
(6.) Heb. sadin. Prov. 31:24, "fine linen;" in
Revised Version, "linen garments" (Judg. 14:12,
13; Isa. 3:23). From this Hebrew word is probably derived
the Greek word sindon, rendered "linen" in Mark
14:51, 52; 15:46; Matt. 27:59.
The word "linen" is used as an emblem of moral
purity (Rev. 15:6). In Luke 16:19 it is mentioned as a mark
of luxury.