17 Every man H376 shall give as he is able, H4979 H3027 according to the blessing H1293 of the LORD H3068 thy God H430 which he hath given H5414 thee.
But if he be poorer H4134 than thy estimation, H6187 then he shall present H5975 himself before H6440 the priest, H3548 and the priest H3548 shall value H6186 him; according to H6310 his ability H3027 H5381 that vowed H5087 shall the priest H3548 value H6186 him.
And thou shalt keep H6213 the feast H2282 of weeks H7620 unto the LORD H3068 thy God H430 with a tribute H4530 of a freewill offering H5071 of thine hand, H3027 which thou shalt give H5414 unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath blessed H1288 thee:
And the Tirshatha H8660 said H559 unto them, that they should not eat H398 of the most H6944 holy things, H6944 till there stood up H5975 a priest H3548 with Urim H224 and with Thummim. H8550
And G2532 Jesus G2424 sat G2523 over against G2713 the treasury, G1049 and beheld G2334 how G4459 the people G3793 cast G906 money G5475 into G1519 the treasury: G1049 and G2532 many G4183 that were rich G4145 cast in G906 much. G4183 And G2532 there came G2064 a certain G3391 poor G4434 widow, G5503 and she threw in G906 two G1417 mites, G3016 which make G3603 a farthing. G2835 And G2532 he called G4341 unto him his G846 disciples, G3101 and saith G3004 unto them, G846 Verily G281 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 That G3754 this G3778 poor G4434 widow G5503 hath cast G906 more G4119 in, G906 than all G3956 they which have cast G906 into G1519 the treasury: G1049 For G1063 all G3956 they did cast in G906 of G1537 their G846 abundance; G4052 but G1161 she G3778 G846 of G1537 her G846 want G5304 did cast in G906 all G3956 that G3745 she had, G2192 even all G3650 her G846 living. G979
But G1161 this G5124 I say, He which soweth G4687 sparingly G5340 shall reap G2325 also G2532 sparingly; G5340 and G2532 he which soweth G4687 bountifully G1909 G2129 shall reap G2325 also G2532 bountifully. G1909 G2129 Every man G1538 according as G2531 he purposeth G4255 in his heart, G2588 so let him give; not G3361 grudgingly, G1537 G3077 or G2228 of G1537 necessity: G318 for G1063 God G2316 loveth G25 a cheerful G2431 giver. G1395
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 16
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
De 16:1-22. The Feast of the Passover.
1. Observe the month of Abib—or first-fruits. It comprehended the latter part of our March and the beginning of April. Green ears of the barley, which were then full, were offered as first-fruits, on the second day of the passover.
for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night—This statement is apparently at variance with the prohibition (Ex 12:22) as well as with the recorded fact that their departure took place in the morning (Ex 13:3; Nu 33:3). But it is susceptible of easy reconciliation. Pharaoh's permission, the first step of emancipation, was extorted during the night, the preparations for departure commenced, the rendezvous at Rameses made, and the march entered on in the morning.
2. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover—not the paschal lamb, which was strictly and properly the passover. The whole solemnity is here meant, as is evident from the mention of the additional victims that required to be offered on the subsequent days of the feast (Nu 28:18, 19; 2Ch 35:8, 9), and from the allusion to the continued use of unleavened bread for seven days, whereas the passover itself was to be eaten at once. The words before us are equivalent to "thou shalt observe the feast of the passover."
3. seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread—a sour, unpleasant, unwholesome kind of bread, designed to be a memorial of their Egyptian misery and of the haste with which they departed, not allowing time for their morning dough to ferment.
5, 6. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates—The passover was to be observed nowhere but in the court of the tabernacle or temple, as it was not a religious feast or sacramental occasion merely, but an actual sacrifice (Ex 12:27; 23:18; 34:25). The blood had to be sprinkled on the altar and in the place where the true Passover was afterwards to be sacrificed for us "at even, at the going down of the sun"—literally, "between the evenings."
6. at the season—that is, the month and day, though not perhaps the precise hour. The immense number of victims that had to be immolated on the eve of the passover—that is, within a space of four hours—has appeared to some writers a great difficulty. But the large number of officiating priests, their dexterity and skill in the preparation of the sacrifices, the wide range of the court, the extraordinary dimensions of the altar of burnt offering and orderly method of conducting the solemn ceremonial, rendered it easy to do that in a few hours, which would otherwise have required as many days.
7. thou shalt roast and eat it—(See on Ex 12:8; compare 2Ch 35:13).
thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents—The sense of this passage, on the first glance of the words, seems to point to the morning after the first day—the passover eve. Perhaps, however, the divinely appointed duration of this feast, the solemn character and important object, the journey of the people from the distant parts of the land to be present, and the recorded examples of their continuing all the time (2Ch 30:21 35:17), (though these may be considered extraordinary, and therefore exceptional occasions), may warrant the conclusion that the leave given to the people to return home was to be on the morning after the completion of the seven days.
9-12. Seven weeks shalt thou number—The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; Ac 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16; Nu 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God for His temporal bounties. This feast was instituted in memory of the giving of the law, that spiritual food by which man's soul is nourished (De 8:3).
13-17. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days—(See on Ex 23:14; Le 23:34; Nu 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited the convenience of the people better than any other period of the year for dwelling in booths; others that it was the time of Moses' second descent from the mount; while a fourth class are of opinion that this feast was fixed to the time of the year when the Word was made flesh and dwelt—literally, "tabernacled"—among us (Joh 1:14), Christ being actually born at that season.
15. in all the works of thine hands … rejoice—that is, praising God with a warm and elevated heart. According to Jewish tradition, no marriages were allowed to be celebrated during these great festivals, that no personal or private rejoicings might be mingled with the demonstrations of public and national gladness.
16. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God—No command was laid on women to undertake the journeys, partly from regard to the natural weakness of their sex, and partly to their domestic cares.
18-20. Judges and officers shalt thou make—These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors.
in all thy gates—The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.
21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove—A grove has in Scripture a variety of significations—a group of overshadowing trees, or a grove adorned with altars dedicated to a particular deity, or a wooden image in a grove (Jud 6:25; 2Ki 23:4-6). They might be placed near the earthen and temporary altars erected in the wilderness, but they could not exist either at the tabernacle or temples. They were places, which, with their usual accompaniments, presented strong allurements to idolatry; and therefore the Israelites were prohibited from planting them.
22. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image—erroneously rendered so for "pillar"; pillars of various kinds, and materials of wood or stone were erected in the neighborhood of altars. Sometimes they were conical or oblong, at other times they served as pedestals for the statues of idols. A superstitious reverence was attached to them, and hence they were forbidden.