John Gill Commentary Leviticus 19

And the Lord spoke to Moses
About the same, or quickly after he had delivered the above laws to him; and there are many in this chapter, which were before given, and here repeated: saying ;
as follows.

Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel They could not be all spoken to together, but tribe after tribe, or family after family; or rather the heads of the tribes, and at most the heads of families were convened, and the following instructions were given, to be communicated to their respective tribes and families. Jarchi says this section was spoken in the congregation, because the greater part of the body of the law, or the more substantial parts of it, depend upon it; and indeed all the ten commandments are included in it, with various other laws, both judicial and ceremonial. Aben Ezra remarks, that all the congregation are spoken to, to include the proselytes, because they had been warned of incests, as the Israelites, in the preceding chapter, (See Gill on Leviticus 18:26);

and say unto them, you shall be holy : a separate people from all others, abstaining from all the impurity and idolatry they are cautioned against in the foregoing chapter, and observing the holy precepts expressed in this:

for I the Lord your God [am] holy ; in his nature, essence, originally, independently, immutably, and perfectly; and the more holy they were, the more like they would be to him; (See Gill on Leviticus 11:44) and (See Gill on Leviticus 11:45); where the same words are used, after the laws given about creatures clean and unclean to be eaten, as here, after those about impure copulations and incests.

You shall fear every man his mother and father
This has respect to the fifth command, which is the first with promise, and is here referred to first, because a man has his beginning in the world from his parents, and by them he is trained up in the observance of all the other laws of God, equally to be respected; and the fear of them is not servile, but filial, joined with love and affection to them, and includes an inward esteem and reverence of them, an outward respect unto them, a readiness to obey their commands, and giving due and equal honour unto them; (See Gill on Exodus 20:12); Pythagoras, Phocylides, and other Heathens, next to honouring God, exhort to the honour and reverence of parents:

and keep my sabbaths ;
this is expressed in the plural number, because there were various sabbaths. The seventh day sabbath, and the seventh year sabbath, and the jubilee, which was once in seven times seven years; the seventh day sabbath is chiefly meant: this follows upon the other, because it lay upon parents to teach their children the observance of the sabbath, and to train them up in it; and indeed the fear of them greatly depends on it, for children that are sabbath breakers have seldom much respect to their parents; and besides this suggests, that though children are to honour, reverence, and obey their parents, yet not in anything that is contrary to the laws of God; and, particularly should they suggest to them that sabbaths were not to be observed, they should not hearken to them:

I [am] the Lord your God ;
that gave them their being, parents being but instruments, and who had a right to enjoin them what laws he pleased; and among the rest had ordered them to observe the sabbath, and which in gratitude they were obliged unto, as well as in point of duty.

Turn you not unto idols
From the one only true and living God to them that are not gods, as the word used signifies, who are nothing; for, as the apostle says, an idol is nothing in the world, (1 Corinthians 8:4), is of no worth and value, of no consequence and importance, of no avail and usefulness to its devotees; wherefore to turn from the true God to such as these is the greatest stupidity, as well as wickedness: or "look not" at them ^F7 for help or assistance, for they are not able to give it: and to look at them so as to view them attentively, and consider their likeness, the Jews say ^F8 is forbidden; and even in the heart and mind, as Aben Ezra observes, to have respect unto them was not right; or in the thoughts, as Gersom.

nor make to yourselves molten gods ;
of gold, silver, or brass, melted and cast into a mould, as the golden calf was, to which respect may be had. These laws have a respect unto the first and second commandments, (Exodus 20:3Exodus 20:4) :

I [am] the Lord, your God ;
who only is to be worshipped, and who has forbid the making and worshipping any image, molten or graven, and who will therefore resent idolatry of every sort, and punish for it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (wnpt la) "ne respiciatis", Montanus, Tigurine version, Drusius.
• F8: Pesichta, Maimonides.

And if you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord ,
&c.] Which were of three sorts, a thanksgiving, a vow, and a voluntary offering, (Leviticus 7:11Leviticus 7:12Leviticus 7:16); the latter seems to be here meant, as appears by what follows:

you shall offer it at your own will ;
a voluntary freewill offering, of their own accord, and not by force, as Aben Ezra; and in such offerings they were left to their liberty to offer what they pleased, it might be of the flock, or of the herd, a male or a female, (Leviticus 3:1Leviticus 3:6).

The Targum of Jonathan is ``for your acceptation;'' that is, that should be offered, and in such a manner as to be accepted of you with God; which sense is countenanced by (Leviticus 19:7); and becomes acceptable, when what follows about eating them is attended to.