Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are counted among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Yahweh, when you count them; that there be no plague among them when you count them.
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Exodus 30:11-12 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are counted among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Yahweh, when you count them; that there be no plague among them when you count them. They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh. Everyone who passes over to those who are counted, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering to Yahweh. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls. You shall take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls.”
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are counted among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Yahweh, when you count them; that there be no plague among them when you count them.
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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
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And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
'When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (16)
- Numbers 31:50 (v12) We have brought Yahweh’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make…
- Exodus 38:25-26 (v12) The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels,…
- 1 Chronicles 27:24 (v12) Joab the son of Zeruiah began to take a census, but didn’t finish; and wrath came on Israel for this. The number wasn’t put into the…
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (v12) knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your…
- Psalms 49:7 (v12) none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.
Show all 16 cross-references
- Matthew 20:28 (v12) even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Numbers 1:2-5 (v12) “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of…
- Numbers 26:2-4 (v12) “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all who are…
- 2 Samuel 24:1-15 (v12) Again Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, “Go, count Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab…
- 1 Chronicles 21:12 (v12) either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three…
- 1 Chronicles 21:14 (v12) So Yahweh sent a pestilence on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.
- 2 Chronicles 24:6 (v12) The king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, “Why haven’t you required of the Levites to bring in the tax of Moses the servant…
- Job 33:24 (v12) then God is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.’
- Job 36:18 (v12) Don’t let riches entice you to wrath, neither let the great size of a bribe turn you aside.
- Mark 10:45 (v12) For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- 1 Timothy 2:6 (v12) who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony in its own times,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v12 Whereby he testified that he redeemed his life which…
Whereby he testified that he redeemed his life which he had forfeit, as is declared by David, 2 Sam. 24:1.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v12 Exo 30:12 When thou takest the sum of the…
Exo 30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when [thou] numberest them.
Ver. 12. That there be no plague.] David, in numbering the people, neglected this duty; thence the plague.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v12 A ransom for his soul; a certain price for…
A ransom for his soul; a certain price for the redemption of their lives; whereby they acknowledge the right and power which God had over their lives, and that they had forfeited them by their sins, and that it was God’s mercy to continue their lives to them.
When thou numberest them, to wit, upon any just occasion, either now in the wilderness, or afterwards. It may seem that this payment was neither to be made at this time only, as some would have it; nor yet every year, as Josephus and others affirm, because it is not said to be a perpetual statute, as other things of constant observance are, but upon any eminent occasions, when the service of the tabernacle (which is the end and use of this collection) or temple required it, as may he gathered from 2Ki 12:4, compared with 2Ch 24:6. Compare Neh 10:32; Mat 17:24. And as now it was employed in the building of the tabernacle, so afterwards it might be laid out upon the repairs or other services of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v11 Some observe that the repetition of those words, The…
Some observe that the repetition of those words, The Lord spoke unto Moses, here and afterwards (Exo 30:17, Exo 30:22, Exo 30:34), intimates that God did not deliver these precepts to Moses in the mount, in a continued discourse, but with many intermissions, giving him time either to write what was said to him or at least to charge his memory with it. Christ gave instructions to his disciples as they were able to hear them. Moses is here ordered to levy money upon the people by way of poll, so much a head, for the service of the tabernacle. This he must do when he numbered the people. Some think that it refers only to the first numbering of them, now when the tabernacle was set up; and that this tax was to make up what was deficient in the voluntary contributions for the finishing of the work, or rather for the beginning of the service in the tabernacle. Others think that it was afterwards repeated upon any emergency and always when the people were numbered, and that David offended in not demanding it when he numbered the people. But many of the Jewish writers, and others from them, are of opinion that it was to be an annual tribute, only it was begun when Moses first numbered the people. This was that tribute-money which Christ paid, for fear of offending his adversaries (Mat 17:27), when yet he showed good reason why he should have been excused. Men were appointed in every city to receive this payment yearly. Now, 1. The tribute to be paid was half a shekel, about fifteen pence of our money. The rich were not to give more, nor the poor less (Exo 30:15), to intimate that the souls of the rich and poor are alike precious, and that God is no respecter of persons, Act 10:34; Job 34:19. In other offerings men were to give according to their ability; but this, which was the ransom of the soul, must be alike for all; for the rich have as much need of Christ as the poor, and the poor are as welcome to him as the rich. They both alike contributed to the maintenance of the temple-service, because both were to have a like interest in it and benefit by it. In Christ and his ordinances rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker, the Lord Christ is the Redeemer of them both, Pro 22:2. The Jews say, "If a man refused to pay this tribute, he was not comprehended in the expiation." 2. this tribute was to be paid as a ransom of the soul, that there might be no plague among them. Hereby they acknowledged that they received their lives from God, that they had forfeited their lives to him, and that they depended upon his power and patience for the continuance of them; and thus they did homage to the God of their lives, and deprecated those plagues which their sins had deserved. 3. This money that was raised was to be employed in the service of the tabernacle (Exo 30:16); with it they bought sacrifices, flour, incense, wine, oil, fuel, salt, priests' garments, and all other things which the whole congregation was interested in. Note, Those that have the benefit of God's tabernacle among them must be willing to defray the expenses of it, and not grudge the necessary charges of God's public worship. Thus we must honour the Lord with our substance, and reckon that best laid out which is laid out in the service of God. Money indeed cannot make an atonement for the soul, but it may be used for the honour of him who has made the atonement, and for the maintenance of the gospel by which the atonement is applied.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–12 And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Continued his discourse;…
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Continued his discourse; or, there being some intermission, reassumed it:
saying; as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11–12 Perhaps the repetition of those words, the Lord spake…
Perhaps the repetition of those words, the Lord spake unto Moses, here and afterwards, ver. 17, 22, 34, intimates, that God did not deliver these precepts to Moses, in a continued discourse, but with many intermissions, giving him time either to write what was said to him, or at least to charge his memory with it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v12 Verse 12. Then shall they give every man a…
Verse 12. Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul] This was a very important ordinance, and should be seriously considered. See the following verse (Ex 30:12).
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11–12 Exo 30:11. The Lord spake unto Moses — Perhaps…
Exo 30:11. The Lord spake unto Moses — Perhaps the repetition of those words here and afterward, (Exo 30:17; Exo 30:22; Exo 30:34,) intimates, that God did not deliver these precepts to Moses in a continued discourse, but with many intermissions, giving him time either to write what was said to him, or at least to charge his memory with it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v11 The Ransom of Souls. - Exo 38:25-28. On comparing…
The Ransom of Souls. - Exo 38:25-28. On comparing these words with those of Num 1:1-3, we may perhaps infer that the first passage relates to a mere counting of the adult Israelites at the time when the money was taken from each, and that what the latter passage enjoins was a formal enrolment of them according to their genealogies and their order of military service.
A ransom for his soul - What the sincere worshipper thus paid was at once the fruit and the sign of his faith in the goodness of Yahweh, who had redeemed him and brought him into the covenant. Hence, the payment is rightly called a ransom inasmuch as it involved a personal appropriation of the fact of his redemption. On the word soul, see Lev 17:11.
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That there be no plague - i. e. that they might not incur punishment for the neglect and contempt of spiritual privileges. Compare Exo 28:35; 1Co 11:27-30; and the exhortation in our communion Service.
Exo 30:13
Half a shekel - The probable weight of silver in the half-shekel would now be worth about 1 shilling, 3 1/2d. (Compare Gen 23:16. See Exo 38:24 note.) Gerah is, literally, a bean, probably the bean of the carob or locust-tree. It was used as the name of a small weight, as our word grain came into use from a grain of wheat.
Exo 30:15
Every Israelite stood in one and the same relation to Yahweh. See Exo 30:11-12.
Exo 30:16
tabernacle of the congregation - tent of meeting, here and in Exo 30:18, Exo 30:20,
A memorial unto the children of Israel - The silver used in the tabernacle was a memorial to remind each man of his position before the Lord, as one of the covenanted people.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v12 Sum. David perhaps neglected this injunction. (2 Kings xxiv;…
Sum. David perhaps neglected this injunction. (2 Kings xxiv; Josephus, Antiquities vii. 10.) Yet we do not read that Moses took the half sicle when he numbered the people, Numbers i. Whence others gather, that this sum was to be paid every year, as it was done in our Saviour’s time, for the support of the temple, Matthew xvii. 23. Vespasian ordered the Jews to pay the same money for the capitol. (Josephus, Jewish Wars vii. 13.) After the captivity, the third part of a sicle was demanded, 2 Esdras x. 32. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v11 When thou takest the sum of the children of…
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, &c.--Moses did so twice, and doubtless observed the law here prescribed. The tax was not levied from women, minors, old men (Num 1:42, Num 1:45), and the Levites (Num 1:47), they being not numbered. Assuming the shekel of the sanctuary to be about half an ounce troy, though nothing certain is known about it, the sum payable by each individual was two and four pence. This was not a voluntary contribution, but a ransom for the soul or lives of the people. It was required from all classes alike, and a refusal to pay implied a wilful exclusion from the privileges of the sanctuary, as well as exposure to divine judgments. It was probably the same impost that was exacted from our Lord (Mat 17:24-27), and it was usually devoted to repairs and other purposes connected with the services of the sanctuary.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–12 RANSOM OF SOULS, Exo_30:11-16.
RANSOM OF SOULS, Exo_30:11-16.
The fundamental idea in this ransoming of souls by a tax of atonement money was, that thereby every Israelite of twenty-five years old and upward would be obligated to contribute somewhat to the erection of the sanctuary. With this exception all the offerings for the tabernacle were given as willing contributions of the heart, (Exo_25:2.) The silver thus contributed was used for the sockets of the sanctuary, (Exo_38:27.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v12 12. takest the sum] so Num_1:2; Num_1:49.
12. takest the sum] so Num_1:2; Num_1:49.
numbered … numberest] The verb means lit. to visit (viz. to see how many they are), i.e. to review, muster, inspect. So vv. 13, 14, Num_1:3; Num_1:19, and often in Nu. 1.–4, 26; 2Sa_18:1; 2Sa_24:2.
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a ransom for his soul] i.e. for his life (‘soul’ as the seat of life, as Exo_21:23; Exo_21:30, and constantly): ‘ransom’ (kôpher), in the sense of price for a life, as Exo_21:30, where see the note.
that there be no plague (Exo_12:13) &c.] cf. Num_8:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v12 (12) When thou takest the sum of the children…
THE RANSOM OF SOULS.
(12) When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel.—A formal enrolment and registration seems to be intended. Hitherto, nothing but a rough estimate of the number had been attempted (Exo_12:37); now that a covenant had been made with God, an exact account of those who were within the covenant was needed. Moses, apparently, was contemplating such an exact enumeration when the command contained in this text was given him. It would be natural for one trained in Egyptian habits to desire such exact statistical knowledge. (For the minuteness and fulness of the Egyptian statistics of the time, see Records of the Past, vol. ii., pp. 19-28; vol. iv. pp. 46, 47; vol. vi. pp. 35-69, &c.)
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Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul.—On being formally enrolled among the people of God, it would be brought home to every man how unworthy he was of such favour, how necessary it was that atonement should in some way or other be made for him. God therefore appointed a way—the same way for all—in order to teach strongly that all souls were of equal value in His sight, and that unworthiness, whatever its degree, required the same expiation.
That there be no plague among them.—If a man did not feel his need of “ransom,” and gladly pay the small sum at which the ransom was fixed, he would show himself so proud and presumptuous that he might well provoke a Divine “plague,” or punishment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–12 Vers. 11-16. THE RANSOM OF SOULS. The various commands…
Vers. 11-16. THE RANSOM OF SOULS. The various commands given with respect to the tabernacle and its furniture would necessarily involve a very considerable outlay; and it was important that Moses should receive directions as to the source, or sources, whence this expenditure was to come. in Exo_25:2-7, one source had been indicated, viz., the voluntary contributions of the people. To this is now added a second source. On occasion of rite numbering of the people an event which is spoken of as impending (ver. 12) Moses was told to exact from each of them, as atonement money, the sum of half a shekel of silver. The produce of this tax was to be applied to the work of the sanctuary (ver. 16), and it is found to have formed an important clement in the provision for the cost, since the total amount was above a hundred talents, or, more exactly, 301, 775 shekels. (Exo_38:25) The requirement of atonement money seems to have been based on the idea, that formal enrolment in the number of God"s faithful people necessarily brought home to every man his unworthiness to belong to that holy company, and so made him feel the need of making atonement in some way or other. The payment of the half-shekel was appointed as the legal mode under those circumstances. It was an acknowledgment of sin, equally binding upon all, and so made equal for all; and it saved from God"s vengeance those who, if they had boon too proud to make it, would have been punished by some "plague" or other (ver. 12).
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART Vers. 11-16. The numbering of Israel and their ransom.
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I THE NUMBERING OF THE PEOPLE, AN EMBLEM OF THE JUDGMENT. God"s claims were brought home to them; their unworthiness was contrasted with the place assigned to them as the people whom God had visited with his light and salvation. When we remember that we are the Lord"s, and the light of that just claim is shed upon our life, it is to our shame and confusion. But life will be read at last in this very light!
II THE ATONEMENT WHICH SHIELDS US.
1. It is a ransom for the life: "that there be no plague among them whenthou numberest them." God"s wrath will not smite if this be provided.
2. it must be given from one"s own in that judgment day. Christ to avail usthen must have been made ours by faith. It must be Christ in us.
3. It is required from all. None are guiltless.
4. The same is demanded from each. All alike are in themselves lost andunder God"s wrath.
5. The atonement is for the service of the tabernacle. The changed life ofGod"s people through the indwelling of Christ is for God"s service now, and the manifestation of his glory hereafter. U.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 11-17. The atonement money.
It pertained to the full admission of Israel to theocratic privilege, that, the nation as a whole having been admitted into covenant, a formal registration should be made of at least the grown part of the community. Directions were accordingly issued for the taking of a census, which had also in view a more complete military organisation of the nation than as yet existed. The males of the tribes from twenty years old and upwards were to be made to pass before Jehovah, and were to be regularly counted and enrolled as members of the holy commonwealth. This act, however, which involved a near approach to Jehovah, and was on the part of the individual an entrance into the full rights of his citizenship, called for some new recognition of the principle of atonement on which the covenant was built. Hence the ordinance that each individual of those who were numbered should make an offering of half a shekel of silver, as a ransom or atonement for his soul (ver. 15). The silver thus obtained was to go for the service of the tabernacle (ver. 16). On which observe
1. The money was money of atonement. It was paid in ransom for life. If we seek the principle on which the ransoming proceeds, we must view the half shekel in the light of the practice of commutation. In strictness, atonement could be made only by blood. Here, as in other cases, the animal sacrifice is commuted for money, and the money, in virtue of that for which it is commuted, is admitted as atonement. The purpose to which the silver was to be applied required that the ransom should take this form.
2. All were to be taxed alike. "The rich shall not give more, nor the poor less" (ver. 15). This intimates that, as respects his need of atonement, no man has any advantage over his neighbours. "There is no difference". (Rom_3:22) It intimates, too, the essential equality of men in the eyes of God.
3. The money was to be applied to the work of the tabernacle. The greater part of it was used in making the silver sockets for the dwelling-place (ch. 38:27). Thus
(1) the tabernacle symbol of God"s kingdom in Israel was founded on the silver of atonement. This, surely, was a profound testimony to the fact that only on the basis of atonement can communion exist between heaven and earth.
(2) Each Israelite was individually represented in Jehovah"s sanctuary. His tribute money formed part of it. He had a stake and interest in it. The honour was great: not less so the responsibility. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v12 A ransom for his soul.
Exo_30:12
A ransom for his soul.
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The ransom for the life
The word which is here rendered ransom is afterwards rendered atonement. The atonement covered or removed what displeased God, and thus sanctified for His service. Our notion of atonement under the law should ordinarily be limited to the removal of the temporal consequences of moral or ceremonial defilement. The sum of half a shekel was the tax that every man had to pay as his ransom, and as this is the single instance in the Jewish law in which an offering of money is commanded, it seems highly probable that it was not a ransom for the soul so much as a ransom for the life which the Israelite made when he paid his half-shekel. On all occasions in which the soul, the immortal principle, is undeniably concerned, the appointed offerings are strictly sacrificial. Consider:
I. The ransom for the life. Our human lives are forfeited to God; we have not accomplished the great end of our being, and therefore we deserve every moment to die. The Israelites paid their tax as a confession that life had been forfeited, and as an acknowledgment that its continuance depended wholly on God. We cannot give the half-shekel payment, but we should have before us the practical remembrance that in Gods hand is the soul of every living thing.
II. The rich and the poor were to pay just the same sum. This was a clear and unqualified declaration that in the sight of God the distinctions of rank and estate are altogether as nothing; that, whilst He gathers the whole human race under His guardianship, there is no difference in the watchfulness which extends itself to the several individuals.
III. If we understand the word soul in the ordinary sense, the text is a clear indication that God values at the same rate the souls of all human beings. Every soul has been redeemed at the price of the blood of Gods Son. Rich and poor must offer the same atonement for the soul. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The soul-ransom
I. Divinely appointed. The Lord spake, etc. Who else had a right to speak on this matter? How would it have been had man spoken? God mercifully prevents confusion by Himself speaking. So, in our case. I have found a ransom.
II. Universally enforced. They shall give every man a ransom for his soul. No moral man shall, in the pride of his self-righteousness, conclude that he needs no ransom; nor shall any vile sinner, in utter despair, conclude that a ransom will in his case be useless. He gave Himself a Ransom for all. How if we neglect so great salvation?
III. Equally distributed. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less. There should be no excuse for misrepresenting their circumstances. They were taught that the soul, and not wealth, was the thing considered. Men spiritually on one level (Lev_19:15). The rich and the poor might be sundered by circumstances in the tent, but were on an equality in the Tabernacle. In the house of God the rich and the poor meet together, etc. Each went with his half-shekel to Him who respecteth not the person of any man.
IV. Mercifully measured. An half-shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. In other matters there was a difference (see Lev_5:7; see marg.; Lev_12:8; Lev_14:21-22; Lev_14:30-31). The poor were always treated with special consideration. It was a mercy to the rich to humble him, and to the poor to inculcate proper self-respect. A mercy to all, to inculcate the habit of giving as a means of grace. Learn--
1. That in soul matters men are equal before God.
2. That our ransom is paid for us.
3. That we are not redeemed with corruptible things, etc. (J. C. Gray.)
Silver sockets: or, redemption the foundation
1. Observe that this redemption, without which no man might rightly be numbered among the children of Israel lest a plague should break out among them, must be personal and individual. You must each one bring Christ unto the Father, taking Him into your hands by simple faith. No other price must be there; but that price must be brought by every individual, or else there is no acceptable coming to God.
2. It was absolutely essential that each one should bring the half-shekel of redemption money; for redemption is the only way in which you and I can be accepted of God. There were many, no doubt, in the camp of Israel who were men of station and substance; but they must bring the ransom money, or die amid their wealth. Others were wise-hearted and skilful in the arts, yet must they be redeemed or die. Rank could not save the princes, nor office spare the elders: every man of Israel must be redeemed; and no man could pass the muster-roll without his half-shekel, whatever he might say, or do, or be.
3. Note well that every Israelitish man must be alike redeemed, and redeemed with the like, nay, with the same redemption. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.
4. And it must be a redemption that meets the Divine demand, because, you see, the Lord not only says that they must each bring half a shekel, no more, no less, but it must be the shekel of the sanctuary--not the shekel of commerce, which might be debased in quality or diminished by wear and tear, but the coin must be according to the standard shekel laid up in the holy place.
I. I want you to view this illustration as teaching us something about God in relation to man. The tent in the wilderness was typical of Gods coming down to man to hold intercourse with him. The Lord seems to teach us, in relation to His dealing with men, that He will meet man in the way of grace only on the footing of redemption. He treats with man concerning love and grace within His holy shrine; but the basis of that shrine must be atonement.
II. I think we may apply this illustration to Christ in His Divine Person. The Tabernacle was the type of our Lord Jesus Christ, for God dwells among men in Christ. He tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, In whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Our Lord is thus the Tabernacle which the Lord hath pitched and not man; and our first and fundamental idea of Him must be in His character as Redeemer. Our Lord does come to us in other characters, and in them all He is right glorious; but unless we receive Him as Redeemer we have missed the essence of His character, the foundation idea of Him.
III. The Tabernacle was a type of the Church of God as the place of Divine indwelling. What and where is the Church of God? The true Church is founded upon redemption.
1. Christ is a sure Foundation.
2. An invariable Foundation.
IV. I think this Tabernacle in the wilderness may be viewed as a type of the gospel, for the gospel is the revelation of God to man. Now, as that old gospel in the wilderness was, such must ours be, and I want to say just two or three things very plainly, and have done. Redemption must be the foundation of our theology--doctrinal, practical, and experimental. Ah, and not only our theology but our personal hope. The only gospel that I have to preach is that which I have to rest upon myself--Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. This is henceforth the burden of our service, and the glory of our life. Those silver sockets were very precious, but very weighty. I dare say the men who had to move them sometimes thought so. Four tons and more of silver make up a great load. O blessed, blissful draught, to have to put the shoulder to the collar to draw the burden of the Lord--the glorious weight of redemption. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The atonement money
The atonement money preached a very clear and blessed gospel. It told out the great truth, that birth in the flesh availed nothing. Every man must give a ransom for his soul. The price was fixed by God Himself. Each man, whether poor or rich, must bring the same. One could not pay for another. Each person was estimated by God at the same price. Salvation must be an individual, personal matter, between the soul and God. Every man has to bring his own half-shekel. The half-shekel was to be of silver; the unalloyed, unadulterated metal. Three things are probably here presented in type: the Lord Jesus as God--as the pure and spotless One--and as giving His life a ransom for many. The silver, being a solid, imperishable, precious metal, may have this first aspect; its chaste whiteness representing the second; and its being ordinarily employed as money or price may point out its fitness as a type of the third. (H. W. Soltau.)
Universal equality
Why, under these circumstances, the ransom of half a shekel? Everybody when he went over to the official group was called specifically as a man of twenty years of age and upward. Let us see. Strip away wealth. Strip away learning. Strip away rank. Strip away fame. Reduce us to our natural nakedness. What is left? Nothing but a sinful man. There are four moments in our ecclesiastical life when we are all reduced to this naked simplicity, to this fundamental similarity. At the moment of our baptism. The minister receives into his arms, literally following the example of our Lord--this child, not this prince or this peasant. Again, at the moment of our marriage. I remember that many years ago, when the Prince of Wales was married, and I was a mere boy, I was struck by the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury turned to the Prince of Wales and said, Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife? not this Princess of Denmark. And then to the woman he said in effect, we know nothing of the heir to the British throne in the house of God,--wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband? I was struck even then at the way in which the most exalted were reduced to their simple humanity. Then, again, at the Holy Communion, all men are absolutely equal. One table for rich and poor. I remember a beautiful incident in the life of the Duke of Wellington when he was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a position held by the late Earl Granville, whose death we all so much lament. The Iron Duke was in church, and was going to receive the Lords Supper, when a peasant, who had not noticed the duke, kneeled by his side. Discovering who he was, and being much terrified, he was getting up, when the duke put his hand on his shoulder, and said, Dont move, we are all equal here. Wisely said, profoundly true. There is one other moment when we are all equal--at the moment of death. If any mighty monarch is fortunate enough to be a Christian, the utmost the Christian minister will say at his burial is this, We commit the body of our dear brother to the dust. Our brother, nothing more. As there are four moments in our ecclesiastical history when we are reduced to our common humanity and to our absolute similarity, so there is one moment in our civic history, and that moment is to-night, perhaps the only time in your life when you will be absolutely on an equal with the greatest in the land. This is why in that old theocracy every man who was numbered in the census had to pay a tribute to the Tabernacle. When nothing is left except our common humanity surely then we must make our common confession, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. You may be a duke. You may be an Oxford graduate. You may be a millionaire. But all these are superficial distinctions. At bottom you are a sinful man needing the mercy of God as much as the rest of us. Therefore, when for one moment all social, artificial distinctions ceased, each man paid his half-shekel to the Tabernacle as an acknowledgment of his obligation to sue for the mercy of heaven and to do the will of God. (Hugh Price Hughes, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v11 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_30:11-16
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_30:11-16
EQUALITY BEFORE GOD
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We are reminded here—
I. That all men are equally recognised by the eye of God. Moses was to take “the sum of the children of Israel after their number.” This taking of the census of Israel reminds us of God’s all-comprehending and individualising knowledge of man. He knows all. Every living soul is written in His book. He knows each. Each tribe, each family, each person. There is not a living being outside God’s knowledge, there is not one who can drop out of that knowledge. With all the apparent confusion of the world, and the cheapness of life, God knows “the sum;” and He knows each race, each dwelling, each person which go to the making up of that “sum.”
II. That all men are equally guilty before the law of God. They were to give a ransom for their souls. What is the ground idea of this ransom but guilt? Israel was sinful before God, and it was necessary that they should bring “atonement-money” in their hands as expressive of their sin and penitence. It was to make an “atonement for their souls.” We are guilty before God, and it is necessary that we have somewhat to offer. “In our hands no price we bring.” Christ has paid all, and rendered it possible for Eternal love to show grace unto all who seek for it (Joh_1:29; Mat_26:28; Rom_5:11; Rev_1:5). In Christ’s death we have the grand recognition that we are sold under sin, but that God has provided for our emancipation and life. All were to give their ransom. No exemptions. All are guilty. Every mouth is stopped. And that all were equally guilty before God is expressed in all having to bring the same atonement-money. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.” This fixed amount indicates two great truths: the equal preciousness of all souls in the sight of God; and the equal guiltiness of all souls in the sight of God. “There is no difference” (Rom_3:22).
III. That all men are equally redeemable through the mercy of God. The atonement-money was to be accepted from every hand. The half shekel in the hand of every member of Israel spoke of universal reconciliation as clearly as it did of universal sin. So all men are recoverable in Christ (Joh_3:16). The Apostle in declaring “there is no difference,” intends to show there is no difference in regard to men’s restoration, as there is no difference in regard to their sinfulness and condemnation (Rom_3:9-31).
1. We see here the need of atonement. We cannot go to God as innocent creatures. A merely natural religion will not do for us fallen and guilty men.
2. We see the preciousness of the atonement of Christ. It saves those who trust in it from wrath and death. “Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them.” And so Christ’s merit saves us from the last plagues of God’s wrath against sin and sinners. And it saves all who trust in it, The worst, the poorest. (Heb_7:25.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Sacrificial Speech! Exo_30:1-38.
(1.) No student of the Bible needs to be reminded that by the complicated and long protracted series of events which preceded, accompanied, and followed the Exodus from Egypt, the essential doctrine of Gospel truth and grace are distinctly made known. By a stupendous array of symbolic acts and facts they are most emphatically confirmed and illustrated.
(2.) Thomson remarks that what is more pertinent, if possible, is that the record of them is so guided as to suggest and evolve the very best words, figures, and phrases by which these fundamental doctrines can be set forth. This is equally true of the words and ideas in this chapter of Exodus, as of the paschal lamb in Egypt, or the smiting of the rock in Horeb.
(3.) The symbolic acts and facts, it has been wisely asserted, in connection with the typical institutions, rites, and ceremonies of the Mosaic economy, were designed to permeate, and did permeate, the entire religious consciousness of the Hebrews. They thus gave birth to spiritual ideas and emotions wholly peculiar, and to corresponding formulas by which to give expression to them.
“I saw a Moslem work upon his shroud alone,
With earnest care, even as the silkworms weave their own,
When with that sacred Script it was filled from side to side,
He wrapt it round his body, and in calmness died.”
—Oriental.
Soul-Ransom! Exo_30:11-16.
(1.) The payment, says Trower, was an acknowledgment to God that all souls are His (Eze_18:4); that all lives are due to Him for sins committd against Him; and that all owe Him thanks for the mercy by which we have been enrolled in the census of His people, and for the privileges we thus enjoy.
(2.) We should regard ourselves as God’s coin, stamped with Christ’s image. And as the coin of the realm, stamped with the image of our earthly sovereign, reminds us of the claims of our rulers for what is their due; so we should remember that, as bearing Christ’s stamp, we are in the highest sense due to Him. Having been bought with His blood, we should ever offer ourselves to Him who is the Lord of heaven and earth.
“He gave me back the bond—
The seal was torn away;
And as He gave, He smiled, and said,
‘Think thou of ME alway.’
“That bond I still will keep,
Although it cancelled be;
It tells me what I owe to Him
Who paid the debt for me.”
Soul-Redemption! Exo_30:16.
(1.) A gentleman visiting a slave market was deeply moved by the agony of a slave girl. He inquired her price, paid the ransom to the slave trader, and placed the bill of sale in her own hands, telling her that she was now free, and could go where she pleased. At first she could not realise the change; but when the whole truth flashed upon her, she sprang forward, and kneeling before him cried: “Let me be thy servant, for thou hast redeemed me.”
(2.) The Lord Jesus has purchased our freedom from sin-serfdom and Satan-savagedom with a great price: “Ye are not bought with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus;” therefore, “we should glorify God in our bodies and spirits which are His.” It is for every one to pay the half shekel of voluntary surrender to His service, whose are our souls, since He paid the ransom—
“Thy ransomed servant, I
Restore to Thee Thine own;
And from this moment live or die
To serve my God alone.”
—Wesley.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v12
Exodus
RANSOM FOR SOULS-I.
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Exo 30:12.
This remarkable provision had a religious intention. Connect it with the tax-money which Peter found in the fish’s mouth.
I. Its meaning. Try to realise an Israelite’s thoughts at the census. ‘I am enrolled among the people and army of God: am I worthy? What am I, to serve so holy a God?’ The payment was meant-
{a} To excite the sense of sin. This should be present in all approach to God, in all service; accompanying the recognition of our Christian standing. Our sense of sin is far too slight and weak; this defect is at the root of much feebleness in popular religion. The sense of sin must embrace not outward acts only, but inner spirit also.
{b} To suggest the possibility of expiation. It was ‘ransom’ i.e. ‘covering,’ something paid that guilt might be taken away and sin regarded as non-existent. This is, of course, obviously, only a symbol. No tax could satisfy God for sin. The very smallness of the amount shows that it is symbolical only. ‘Not with corruptible things as silver’ is man redeemed.
II. Its identity for all. Rich or poor, high or low, all men are equal in sin. There are surface differences and degrees, but a deep identity beneath. So on the same principle all souls are of the same value. Here is the true democracy of Christianity. So there is one ransom for all, for the need of all is identical.
III. Its use. It was melted down for use in the sanctuary, so as to be a ‘memorial’ permanently present to God when His people met with Him. The greater portion was made into bases for the boards of the sanctuary. That is, God’s dwelling with men and our communion with Him all rest on the basis of ransom. We are ‘brought nigh by the blood of Christ.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v11 The Church Tax
The Church Tax
v. 11. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
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v. 12. When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, whenever a census of the people was taken, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them, a sum of money by which they were to redeem themselves from the personal service which they really owed to the Lord in the house of worship; that there be no plague among them when thou numberest them. The refusal or the neglect to pay this assessment would make a person liable to the punishment of God.
v. 13. This they shall give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered, everyone that is included in the census, half a shekel after the shekel of the Sanctuary; (a shekel is twenty gerahs;) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Every male Israelite was to be enrolled in the army of Jehovah after he had reached the age of twenty years and be obliged to pay this assessment of half a shekel standard weight, that is, about 32 cents annually. This tax was used for the maintenance of the sacrificial service, since the expenses connected with the Jewish form of worship must have been quite large. The payment of this fee distinguished the people of the Lord from the heathen that knew nothing of Him.
v. 14. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.
v. 15. The rich shall not give more, as they might have felt tempted to do, in order to display their wealth, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, for even the poorest could afford that much for the Lord, when they give an offering unto the Lord to make an atonement for your souls. Free-will offerings were acceptable at all other times, and were made in large quantities for the purpose of building the Tabernacle, but here the sum was definitely fixed.
v. 16. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for the perpetual service of God in the building devoted to His worship; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord to make an atonement for your souls. They were ever to be reminded of the fact that they owed their souls to the Lord, that they were in His debt to the extent of their souls: in this sense the assessment was a ransom, money paid in atonement. To this day the Christians give evidence of the thankfulness of their hearts to God for the perfect atonement which was assured to them through Jesus Christ, also through their gifts and sacrifices.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 When you take
When you take
Possible meanings are 1) "you" refers to just Moses or 2) "you" refers to Moses and the leaders of Israel in future generations when they take a census. (See: Forms of You)
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a census of the Israelites
The leaders only counted the Israelite men.
Everyone who is counted
This can be stated in active form. They counted only the men. AT: "Everyone you count" or "Every man you count" (See: Active or Passive)
half a shekel of silver
"1/2 a shekel of silver." Translators may use a unit of measure that people understand and a round number: "5.5 grams of silver" or "six grams of silver" (See: Biblical Money and Biblical Weight and Fractions)
according to the weight of the shekel of the sanctuary
There were evidently shekels of more than one weight at the time. This specified which one was to be used.
twenty gerahs
"20 gerahs." A gerah is a unit that people used for measuring how much something very small weighed. (See: Translate Unknowns and Numbers)
from twenty years old and up
Larger numbers are spoken of as being up or above smaller numbers. AT: "from twenty years old and more" or "who is twenty years old or older" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
census
Israel
ransom
plague
silver
sanctuary
sacrifice
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 30:12 no plague: Cp. 2 Sam 24, when a…
30:12 no plague: Cp. 2 Sam 24, when a plague followed upon David’s unauthorized census. Perhaps a census was often taken for reasons of pride and domination. Here the people are giving God a ransom for themselves. This standard payment would go into the Tabernacle treasury and initially be used in the construction of the Tabernacle (see Exod 38:25-26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.