Albert Barnes Commentary Deuteronomy 16
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 16
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 16
"Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee; but at the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah thy God; thou shalt do no work [therein]." — Deuteronomy 16:1-8 (ASV)
The cardinal point on which all the regulations in this chapter depend is evidently the same as has been so often emphasized in the previous chapters, namely, the concentration of the people's religious services around one common sanctuary. The prohibition against observing the great Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles—the three annual periods in the sacred year of the Jew—at home and in private, is repeated with various wording at least six times in the first sixteen verses of this chapter (Deuteronomy 16:2, Deuteronomy 16:6–7, Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:15–16). Therefore, it is easy to see why nothing is said here about the other holy days.
A reinforcement of the ordinance for the Feast of Passover (Numbers 9:1–14; Leviticus 23:1–8) was all the more necessary because its observance had clearly been suspended for thirty-nine years . Only one Passover had been kept in the wilderness, the one recorded in Numbers 9 (see the notes there).
Regarding Deuteronomy 16:2: Sacrifice the passover—that is, offer the sacrifices appropriate for the Feast of the Passover, which lasted seven days. Compare this with a similar use of the word in a general sense in John 18:28. In the latter part of Deuteronomy 16:4 and in the following verses, Moses transitions, as the context again shows, to the narrower sense of the word Passover.
Regarding Deuteronomy 16:7: After the Paschal Supper in the courts or vicinity of the sanctuary was over, they might disperse to their various tents or dwellings (1 Kings 8:66). These would, of course, be within a short distance of the sanctuary, because the other Paschal offerings were still to be offered day by day for seven days, and the people would remain to share them, and especially to take part in the holy convocation on the first and seventh days.
"Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: from the time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the standing grain shalt thou begin to number seven weeks. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto Jehovah thy God with a tribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as Jehovah thy God blesseth thee: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes." — Deuteronomy 16:9-12 (ASV)
Feast of Weeks; and (Deuteronomy 16:13–17), Feast of Tabernacles. Nothing is here added to the rules given in Leviticus and Numbers except the clauses so often recurring in Deuteronomy and so characteristic of it, which restrict the public celebration of the festivals to the sanctuary, and enjoin that the enjoyments of them should be extended to the Levites, widows, orphans, etc.
"Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar; which Jehovah thy God hateth." — Deuteronomy 16:18-22 (ASV)
These verses are closely connected in subject with the following chapter and introduce certain directions for the administration of justice and the conduct of the civil government of the people in Canaan. During the lifetime of Moses, he himself, especially inspired and guided by God, was sufficient for the duties in question, with the aid of the subordinate judges (compare Exodus 18:13 and following). But now that Moses was to be withdrawn, and the people would soon be scattered throughout the land of Canaan, regular and permanent provision must be made for civil and social order and good government.
A grove ... - Render: You shall not plant for yourself any tree as an idol: literally as an Asherah, that is, an image of Astarte or Ashtaroth, the Phoenician goddess (compare Deuteronomy 7:5 note, Deuteronomy 7:13 note). The word is rendered “grove” by the King James Version also in Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:3; Exodus 34:13; and Judges 6:25, but this rendering cannot be maintained, for the word is connected with various verbs that are quite inapplicable to a grove. The wooden idol in question was the stem of a tree, stripped of its boughs, set upright in the ground, and rudely carved with emblems.
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