Leviticus
Verse 1. Come. From the consecration of the tabernacle, ( Menochius.) and of Aaron.—Israel. The princes of the tribes. Calmet.—They were to offer sacrifice by the hands of their new priests.
EXPLANATIONS
Leviticus 9
Historical chapter commentary
Leviticus
Verse 2. Calf. As they had formerly adored a calf, so now they sacrifice one to God. Saint Jerome in Jer. vii.
Leviticus
Verse 3. Children. Sam. and Septuagint “the ancients,” or princes of the people, for whom a he-goat is sacrificed.—Old. Not above, though they might be younger.
Leviticus
Verse 4. Offering, and so forth Hebrew simply, “and a flour-offering tempered with oil; for,” and so forth Bible.—All these sacrifices were accompanied with an offering of this nature, as they were in imitation of a dinner presented to God. Menochius.—You. By the cloud, resting upon the tabernacle, or by fire proceeding thence. God will manifest his presence by miracles, verse 24.
Leviticus
Verse 7. Thy sin. Christ needed not daily (as the other priests) to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s. Hebrews 7:27.
Leviticus
Verse 9. The altar of holocausts; as he is yet considered only as a private person; afterwards he touches the altar of perfumes. Calmet.
Leviticus
Verse 10. Burnt, or placed in order to be burnt by the fire sent by God, verse 24. Menochius.
Leviticus
Verse 11. Camp. According to the prescriptions given. Calmet. 4:12.
Leviticus
Verse 14. Water. Hebrew adds, “he burnt them upon the holocaust, upon the altar.”
Leviticus
Verse 15. And expiating the altar. Hebrew “he offered it (the goat) for sin, as the first,” for himself, placing the parts of the victim upon his own holocaust. Bible.—The Chaldee says, “he expiated the altar with the blood of the he-goat, as he did before.”
Leviticus
Verse 17. Holocaust. Which were religiously observed every day. The law respecting the libations was given already, though it be related, Numbers 15:4. Menochius.
Leviticus
Verse 21. Elevating them. After which they were used by the priest, Calmet. 7:31. Calmet.—As. Samar. and some Hebrew MSS. read, “as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Kennic.
Leviticus
Verse 22. Hands. Thus representing the form of a cross, on which Christ redeemed us; in memory of which we still make the same sign. Worthington.—Them. The blessing is recorded, Numbers 6:24. And the Lord bless thee, and so forth Menochius.—In blessing an individual, the priest laid his hands upon him; but he stretched them out towards the multitude, as a mark of superiority.
Leviticus
Verse 23. Testimony. To offer incense, which always preceded the morning holocaust.—Glory; or fire, probably issuing from the tabernacle, and consuming the victims in a moment. Thus God was pleased to shew his approbation of the priests and victims, ( Calmet.) and at the same time, to impress a religious awe upon the minds of the spectators. Bible.—This fire was carefully preserved and nourished by the priests with wood; though the Rabbins say, this was done only to conceal the miracle of its perpetual continuance. A fire of the same nature, came down upon the victims, when Solomon dedicated his temple, (2 Chronicles 7:1,) and was kept burning till the captivity, when it was hidden in a cistern. Being found afterwards, like a muddy water, God rekindled it again, (2 Macc. 1:18. 2:10,) and it was not lost till the persecution of Epiphanes.
Leviticus
Verse 24. The Lord: 2 Maccabees 2:10, explains this text. Fire came down from heaven, appearing like a flash of lightning, in the midst of the victims. Jos. Ant. iii. 9. Calmet.