Numbers 18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:15

The first-born of man - and the firstling of unclean beasts - Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with the worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:16

Shalt thou redeem - for the money of five shekels - Redemption of the first-born is one of the rites which is still practiced among the Jews. According to Leo of Modena, it is performed in the following manner: - When the child is thirty days old, the father sends for one of the descendants of Aaron: several persons being assembled on the occasion, the father brings a cup containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into his arms, and addressing... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:19

It is a covenant of salt - That is, an incorruptible, everlasting covenant. As salt was added to different kinds of viands, not only to give them a relish, but to preserve them from putrefaction and decay, it became the emblem of incorruptibility and permanence. Hence, a covenant of salt signified an everlasting covenant. We have already seen that, among the Asiatics, eating together was deemed a bond of perpetual friendship; and as salt was a common article in all their repasts, it may be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:20

I am thy part and thine inheritance - The principal part of what was offered to God was the portion of the priests, therefore they had no inheritance of land in Israel; independently of that they had a very ample provision for their support. The rabbins say twenty-four gifts were given to the priests, and they are all expressed in the law. Eight of those gifts the priests ate nowhere but in the sanctuary: these eight are the following: - The flesh of the Sin-Offering, whether of beasts or... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:21

Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth - The Levites had the tenth of all the productions of the land. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:28

Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering - As the Levites had the tithe of the whole land, they themselves were obliged to give the tithe of this tithe to the priests, so that this considerably lessened their revenue. And this tithe or tenth they were obliged to select from the best part of the substance they had received, Numbers 18:29 , etc. A portion of all must be given to God, as an evidence of his goodness, and their dependence on him. See the end at Numbers 20:28 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:1

Verse 1 1And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons. By this solemn appeal God stirs up the priests to devote themselves to their duty with the greatest fidelity and zeal, for He declares that if anything should be done contrary to the requirements of religion, they should be accounted guilty of it, since those are said to “bear the iniquity of the sanctuary” who sustain the crime and the punishment of all its pollutions. God would have the sanctuary kept clear from every stain and defect;... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:2

Verse 2 2.And thy brethren also. He here assigns their duties to the Levites, that they also may minister, but, as it were, under the hand of the priests, viz., that they may be ruled by their commands. Thus the authority was in the hands of the priests, but the Levites afforded them their assistance. On this ground they are prohibited from approaching the altar, or entering the greater sanctuary; in fact, a lower degree is assigned to them, half-way between the priests and the people. Hence... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:5

Verse 5 5.And ye shall keep the charge. He again exhorts the priests to be diligent in the performance of their office, with the addition of a denunciation of punishment if they failed in zeal and earnestness. Nor does He now threaten them alone, but the whole people; neither does this contradict the foregoing declaration, inasmuch as the common fault of all by no means lightened theirs. Nay, if God punished the innocent people on account of the pollution of the sanctuary, how much heavier a... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 18:8

Verse 8 8.And the Lord spake unto Aaron. He now proceeds to state more fully what he had been lately adverting to, as to the rights of the priests with respect to the sacred oblations. We must, however, remember the contrast, which I spoke of, between the priests of the higher order and the Levites; for, whilst the family of Aaron is invested with peculiar honors, the other families of the tribe of Levi are abased. God, then, assigns to the priests alone all the offerings, in which was the... read more

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