“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you; for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments. Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv29, 31, 32 Meaning, by abstinence and fasting, Num. 25:7.
Meaning, by abstinence and fasting, Num. 25:7.
Which was Tishri, and answereth to part of September, and part of October.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv29–34 Lev 16:29 And [this] shall be a statute for…
Lev 16:29 And [this] shall be a statute for ever unto you: [that] in the seventh month, on the tenth [day] of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, [whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
Ver. 29. Ye shall afflict your souls.] With voluntary sorrows for your sins, - as David did, {Psa 35:13} and Daniel, {Dan 10:3; Dan 10:12} - and so dispose yourselves to obtain pardon and reconciliation. The Lord’s supper is with us a day of atonement; at which time both the scape goat was let go, and affliction of soul was called for. This passover must be eaten with sour herbs.
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 vv29, 31, 32 For ever. See on Exo 12:14.
For ever. See on Exo 12:14.
In the seventh month, answering part to our September, and part to our October; when they had gathered in all their fruits, and were most at leisure for God’s service: this time God chose for this and other feasts, herein graciously condescending to men’s necessities and conveniencies, being contented with that time which men could best spare.
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On the tenth day.
Object. It was on the ninth day, Lev 23:32.
Answ. It began in the evening of the ninth day, and continued till the evening of the tenth day, as is there sufficiently implied.
Ye shall afflict your souls, i.e. yourselves, as the word soul is frequently used, both your bodies by abstinence from food and other delights, and your minds by anguish and grief for former sins, which though bitter, yet is voluntarily in all true penitents, who are therefore here said not to be afflicted, but to afflict themselves, or to be active in the work.
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 v29 I. We have here some additional directions in reference…
I. We have here some additional directions in reference to this great solemnity, particularly,
1. The day appointed for this solemnity. It must be observed yearly on the tenth day of the seventh month, Lev 16:29. The seventh had been reckoned the first month, till God appointed that the month in which the children of Israel came out of Egypt should thenceforward be accounted and called the first month. Some have fancied that this tenth day of the seventh month was the day of the year on which our first parents fell, and that it was kept as a fast in remembrance of their fall. Dr. Lightfoot computes that this was the day on which Moses came the last time down from the mount, when he brought with him the renewed tables, and the assurances of God's being reconciled to Israel, and his face shone: that day must be a day of atonement throughout their generations; for the remembrance of God's forgiving them their sin about the golden calf might encourage them to hope that, upon their repentance, he would forgive them all trespasses.
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2. The duty of the people on this day. (1.) They must rest from all their labours: It shall be a sabbath of rest, Lev 16:31. The work of the day was itself enough, and a good day's work if it was done well; therefore they must do no other work at all. The work of humiliation for sin requires such a close application of mind, and such a fixed engagement of the whole man, as will not allow us to turn aside to any other work. The day of atonement seems to be that sabbath spoken of by the prophet (Isa 58:13), for it is the same with the fast spoken of in the verses before. (2.) They must afflict their souls. They must refrain from all bodily refreshments and delights, in token of inward humiliation and contrition of soul for their sins. They all fasted on this day from food (except the sick and children), and laid aside their ornaments, and did not anoint themselves, as Daniel, Dan 10:3, Dan 10:12. David chastened his soul with fasting, Psa 35:13. And it signified the mortifying of sin and turning from it, loosing the bands of wickedness, Isa 58:6, Isa 58:7. The Jewish doctors advised that they should not on that day read those portions of scripture which were proper to affect them with delight and joy, because it was a day to afflict their souls.
3. The perpetuity of this institution: It shall be a statute for ever, Lev 16:29, Lev 16:34. It must not be intermitted any year, nor ever let fall till that constitution should be dissolved, and the type should be superseded by the antitype. As long as we are continually sinning, we must be continually repenting, and receiving the atonement. The law of afflicting our souls for sin is a statute for ever, which will continue in force till we arrive where all tears, even those of repentance, will be wiped from our eyes. The apostle observes it as an evidence of the insufficiency of the legal sacrifices to take away sin, and purge the conscience from it, that in them there was a remembrance made of sin every year, upon the day of atonement, Heb 10:1-3. The annual repetition of the sacrifices showed that there was in them only a faint and feeble effort towards making atonement; it could be done effectually only by the offering up of the body of Christ once for all, and that once was sufficient; that sacrifice needed not to be repeated.
II. Let us see what there was of gospel in all this.
1. Here are typified the two great gospel privileges of the remission of sin and access to God, both which we owe to the mediation of our Lord Jesus. Here then let us see,
(1.) The expiation of guilt which Christ made for us. He is himself both the maker and the matter of the atonement; for he is, [1.] The priest, the high priest, that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people, Heb 2:17. He, and he only, is par negotio - fit for the work and worthy of the honour: he is appointed by the Father to do it, who sanctified him, and sent him into the world for this purpose, that God might in him reconcile the world to himself. He undertook it, and for our sakes sanctified himself, and set himself apart for it, Joh 17:19. The high priest's frequently bathing himself on this day, and performing the service of it in fine linen clean and white, signified the holiness of the Lord Jesus, his perfect freedom from all sin, and his being beautified and adorned with all grace. No man was to be with the high priest when he made atonement (Lev 16:17); for our Lord Jesus was to tread the wine-press alone, and of the people there must be none with him (Isa 63:3); therefore, when he entered upon his sufferings, all his disciples forsook him and fled, for it any of them had been taken and put to death with him it would have looked as if they had assisted in making the atonement; none but thieves, concerning whom there could be no such suspicion, must suffer with him. And observe what the extent of the atonement was which the high priest made: it was for the holy sanctuary, for the tabernacle, for the altar, for the priests, and for all the people, Lev 16:33. Christ's satisfaction is that which atones for the sins both of ministers and people, the iniquities of our holy (and our unholy) things; the title we have to the privileges of ordinances, our comfort in them, and benefit by them, are all owing to the atonement Christ made. But, whereas the atonement which the high priest made pertained only to the congregation of Israel, Christ is the propitiation, not for their sins only, that are Jews, but for the sins of the whole Gentile world. And in this also Christ infinitely excelled Aaron, that Aaron needed to offer sacrifice for his own sin first, of which he was to make confession upon the head of his sin-offering; but our Lord Jesus had no sin of his own to answer for. Such a high priest became us, Heb 7:26. And therefore, when he was baptized in Jordan, whereas others stood in the water confessing their sins (Mat 3:6), he went up straightway out of the water (Heb 7:16), having no sins to confess. [2.] As he is the high priest, so he is the sacrifice with which atonement is made; for he is all in all in our reconciliation to God. Thus he was prefigured by the two goats, which both made one offering: the slain goat was a type of Christ dying for our sins, the scape-goat a type of Christ rising again for our justification. It was directed by lot, the disposal whereof was of the Lord, which goat should be slain; for Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. First, The atonement is said to be completed by putting the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat. They deserved to have been abandoned and sent into a land of forgetfulness, but that punishment was here transferred to the goat that bore their sins, with reference to which God is said to have laid upon our Lord Jesus (the substance of all these shadows) the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:6), and he is said to have borne our sins, even the punishment of them, in his own body upon the tree, Pe1 2:24. Thus was he made sin for us, that is, a sacrifice for sin, Co2 5:21. He suffered and died, not only for our good, but in our stead, and was forsaken, and seemed to be forgotten for a time, that we might not be forsaken and forgotten for ever. Some learned men have computed that our Lord Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan upon the tenth day of the seventh month, which was the very day of atonement. Then he entered upon his office as Mediator, and was immediately driven of the Spirit into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. Secondly, The consequence of this was that all the iniquities of Israel were carried into a land of forgetfulness. Thus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin the of world, by taking it upon himself, Joh 1:29. And, when God forgives sin, he is said to remember it no more (Heb 8:12), to cast it behind his back (Isa 38:17), into the depths of the sea (Mic 7:19), and to separate it as far as the east is from the west, Psa 103:12.
(2.) The entrance into heaven which Christ made for us is here typified by the high priest's entrance into the most holy place. This the apostle has expounded (Heb 9:7, etc.), and he shows, [1.] That heaven is the holiest of all, but not of that building, and that the way into it by faith, hope, and prayer, through a Mediator, was not then so clearly manifested as it is to us now by the gospel. [2.] That Christ our high priest entered into heaven at his ascension once for all, and as a public person, in the name of all his spiritual Israel, and through the veil of his flesh, which was rent for that purpose, Heb 10:20. [3.] That he entered by his own blood (Heb 9:12), taking with him to heaven the virtues of the sacrifice he offered on earth, and so sprinkling his blood, as it were, before the mercy-seat, where it speaks better things than the blood of bulls and goats could do. Hence he is said to appear in the midst of the throne as a lamb that had been slain, Rev 5:6. And, though he had no sin of his own to expiate, yet it was by his own merit that he obtained for himself a restoration to his own ancient glory (Joh 17:4, Joh 17:5), as well as an eternal redemption for us, Heb 9:12. [4.] The high priest in the holy place burned incense, which typified the intercession that Christ ever lives to make for us within the veil, in virtue of his satisfaction. And we could not expect to live, no, not before the mercy-seat, if it were not covered with the cloud of this incense. Mere mercy itself will not save us, without the interposition of a Mediator. The intercession of Christ is there set forth before God as incense, as this incense. And as the high priest interceded for himself first, then for his household, and then for all Israel, so our Lord Jesus, in the Joh 17:1 (which was a specimen of the intercession he makes in heaven), recommended himself first to his Father, then his disciples who were his household, and then all that should believe on him through their word, as all Israel; and, having thus adverted to the uses and intentions of his offering, he was immediately seized and crucified, pursuant to these intentions. [5.] Herein the entry Christ made far exceeded Aaron's, that Aaron could not gain admission, no, not for his own sons, into the most holy place; but our Lord Jesus has consecrated for us also a new and living way into the holiest, so that we also have boldness to enter, Heb 10:19, Heb 10:20. [6.] The high priest was to come out again, but our Lord Jesus ever lives, making intercession, and always appears in the presence of God for us, whither as the forerunner he has for us entered, and where as agent he continues for us to reside.
2. Here are likewise typified the two great gospel duties of faith and repentance, by which we are qualified for the atonement, and come to be entitled to the benefit of it. (1.) By faith we must put our hands upon the head of the offering, relying on Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, pleading his satisfaction as that which was alone able to atone for our sins and procure us a pardon. "Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me. This is all I have to say for myself, Christ has died, yea, rather has risen again; to his grace and government I entirely submit myself, and in him I receive the atonement," Rom 5:11. (2.) By repentance we must afflict our souls; not only fasting for a time from the delights of the body, but inwardly sorrowing for our sins, and living a life of self-denial and mortification. We must also make a penitent confession of sin, and this with an eye to Christ, whom we have pierced, and mourning because of him; and with a hand of faith upon the atonement, assuring ourselves that, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lastly, In the year of jubilee, the trumpet which proclaimed the liberty was ordered to be sounded in the close of the day of atonement, Lev 25:9. For the remission of our debt, release from our bondage, and our return to our inheritance, are all owing to the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ. By the atonement we obtain rest for our souls, and all the glorious liberties of the children of God.
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 vv29–33 For on that day shall the priest make an…
For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you to cleanse you,.... By offering the sin offering for them; typical of the sacrifice of Christ, whose soul was made an offering for sin whereby atonement is made for it, and whose blood cleanses from all sin. Though the word "priest" is not in the text, it is rightly supplied, as it is by Aben Ezra, for by no other could, a sacrifice be offered, or atonement made; and on the day of atonement only by the high priest, who was a type of Christ our high priest, who has by his sacrifice made reconciliation for sin, and by himself has purged from it:
that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord; which is a general phrase, as Aben Ezra observes, and may be understood of sins of ignorance and presumption; as Christ by his blood and sacrifice has cleansed all his people from all their sins of every sort, so that they stand pure and clean, unblamable and unreproveable, before the throne of God, and in his sight; see Col 1:22.
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 vv29, 31, 32, 34 The seventh month - Answering part to our September…
The seventh month - Answering part to our September and part to our October; when they had gathered in all their fruits, and were most at leisure for God's service: This time God chose for this and other feasts, herein graciously condescending to men's necessities and conveniences. This feast began in the evening of the ninth day, and continued till the evening of the tenth. Your souls - Yourselves, both your bodies, by abstinence from food and other delights, and your minds by grief for former sins, which though bitter, yet is voluntary in all true penitents, who are therefore here said to afflict themselves, or to be active in the work.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v29 Verse 29. The seventh month, on the tenth day…
Verse 29. The seventh month, on the tenth day of the month] The commandment of fasting, and sanctifying this tenth day, is again repeated Le 23:27-32; but in the last verse it is called the ninth day at even, because the Jewish day began with the evening. The sacrifices which the day of atonement should have more than other days, are mentioned Nu 29:7-11; and the jubilee which was celebrated every fiftieth year was solemnly proclaimed by sound of trumpet on this tenth day, Le 25:8-9. A shadow, says Mr. Ainsworth, of that acceptable year of the Lord, the year of freedom, which Christ has proclaimed by the trumpet of his Gospel, Lu 4:18-21; 2Co 6:2. This seventh month was Tisri, and answers to a part of our September and October. It was the seventh of the sacred and the first month of the civil year.
THE great day of atonement, and the sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies prescribed for it, were commanded to be solemnized by the Jews through the whole of their dispensation, and as long as God should acknowledge them for his people: yet in the present day scarcely a shadow of these things remains; there is no longer a scape-goat, nor a goat for sacrifice, provided by them in any place. They are sinners, and they are without an atonement. How strange it is that they do not see that the essence of their religion is gone, and that consequently God has thrown them entirely out of covenant with himself! The true expiation, the Christ crucified, they refuse to receive, and are consequently without temple, altar, scape-goat, atonement, or any means of salvation! The state of the Gentile world is bad, but that of the Jews is doubly deplorable. Their total excision excepted, wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. What a proof is this of the truth of the predictions in their own law, and of those in the Gospel of Christ! Who, with the Jews and the Bible before his eyes, can doubt the truth of that Bible as a Divine revelation? Had this people been extinct, we might have doubted whether there were ever a people on the earth that acknowledged such a law, or observed such ordinances; but the people, their law, and their prophets are still in being, and all proclaim what God has wrought, and that he has now ceased to work among them, because they have refused to receive and profit by the great atonement; and yet he preserves them alive, and in a state of complete separation from all the people of the earth in all places of their dispersion! How powerfully does the preservation of the Jews as a distinct people bear testimony at once to the truth of their own law which they acknowledge, and the Gospel of Christ which they reject!
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2. But while the Jews sit in thick darkness, because of the veil that is on their hearts, though the light of the glory of God is shining all around them, but not into them because of their unbelief; in what state are those who profess to see their unbelief and obstinacy, acknowledge the truth of the New Testament, and yet are living without an atonement applied to their souls for the removal of their iniquities, transgressions, and sins? These are also in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity. An all-sufficient Saviour held out in the New Testament, can do them no more good than a scape-goat and day of atonement described in the law can do the Jews. As well may a man imagine that the word bread can nourish his body, as that the name Christ can save his soul. Both must be received and applied in order that the man may live.
3. The Jews prepared themselves to get benefit from this most solemn ordinance by the deepest humiliations. According to their canons, they were obliged to abstain from all meat and drink - from the bath - from anointing themselves - to go barefoot - and to be in a state of perfect continency. He who is likely to get benefit for his soul through the redemption that is in Christ, must humble himself under the mighty hand of God, confess his iniquity, abstain from every appearance of evil, and believe on him who died for his offences, and rose again for his justification. The soul that seeks not shall not find, even under the Gospel of Christ.
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 vv29, 31, 32, 34 Lev 16:29. The seventh month — Answering part to…
Lev 16:29. The seventh month — Answering part to our September and part to our October; when they had gathered in all their fruits, and were most at leisure for God’s service. This time God chose for this and other feasts, herein graciously condescending to men’s necessities and conveniences. This fast began in the evening of the ninth day, and continued till the evening of the tenth. Your souls — Yourselves, both your bodies, by abstinence from food and other delights; and your minds, by grief for former sins, which, though bitter, yet is voluntary in all true penitents, who are therefore here said to afflict themselves, or to be active in the work.
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 vv29, 33 Seventh month, on the tenth day - The month…
Seventh month, on the tenth day - The month Ethanim or Tisri, as being the seventh in the Sacred year, has been called the sabbatical month. On the first day was celebrated the Feast of Trumpets Lev 23:24, the tenth day was the Day of Atonement, and on the fourteenth day the Feast of tabernacles commenced (Lev 23:24 note; Exo 23:16).
Afflict your souls - The old term for fasting; but its meaning evidently embraces, not only abstinence from food, but that penitence and humiliation which give scope and purpose to the outward act of fasting. The Day of Atonement was the only public fast commanded by the Law of Moses. See further directions in Lev 23:27-32. On fasts observed in later times, see Zec 8:19, and margin reference.
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A stranger that sojourneth among you - Rather, the foreigner who dwelleth among you. See Exo 20:10 note. The meaning is, one of foreign blood, who dwelt with the Israelites, had abjured false gods, and had become familiarly known to his neighbors, e. g. the Kenites (Jdg 4:11, etc.); the Gibeonites Josh. 9; and a considerable portion of the “mixed multitude” (compare Exo 12:38, Exo 12:48). As the foreigner had the blessing and protection of the Law he was bound to obey its statutes.
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 vv29, 31 Tenth. Beginning on the evening of the ninth Tisri,…
Tenth. Beginning on the evening of the ninth Tisri, which corresponds with part of our September and October, and is the first month of the civil year, chap. xxxiii. 32. Afflict, by a rigid abstinence from all that might give delight to the body. Children of seven years old begin to join in this mortification. Boys of 13, and girls of 11 years old complete, were obliged to fast. See ver. 6. The Samaritans pray all the day, and give no food even to infants during the 24 hours. (Calmet) --- Moses was the first who shewed them the example; and this was the only day which he prescribed to be kept as a fast. The Jews afterwards appointed many more. (Haydock) --- Maimonides says, this festival was instituted in memory of the descent of Moses from Mount Sinai the third time, when he came to announce to the people that God had pardoned their idolatry. Usher thinks it was in memory of Adam’s fall. The Jews still observe it in some degree. As they are not allowed to sacrifice, they kill a white cock, and the women a hen, on the 9th at evening. Those with child kill both. They confess their sins, receive 93 lashes, ask pardon of those whom they have offended, and generally spend the fore part of this month in acts of piety and of penance. (Buxtorf, Syn. 20.) --- Stranger; a proselyte of justice, such as were bound to observe the law.
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 v29 this shall be a statute for ever unto you,…
this shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the seventh month ye shall afflict your souls--This day of annual expiation for all the sins, irreverences, and impurities of all classes in Israel during the previous year, was to be observed as a solemn fast, in which "they were to afflict their souls"; it was reckoned a sabbath, kept as a season of "holy convocation," or, assembling for religious purposes. All persons who performed any labor were subject to the penalty of death [Exo 31:14-15; Exo 35:2]. It took place on the tenth day of the seventh month, corresponding to our third of October; and this chapter, together with Lev 23:27-32, as containing special allusion to the observances of the day, was publicly read. The rehearsal of these passages appointing the solemn ceremonial was very appropriate, and the details of the successive parts of it (above all the spectacle of the public departure of the scapegoat under the care of its leader) must have produced salutary impressions both of sin and of duty that would not be soon effaced.
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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 vv29–34 GENERAL RULES RESPECTING THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, Lev_16:29-34.
GENERAL RULES RESPECTING THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, Lev_16:29-34.
29. Statute for ever — See Lev_3:17, note.
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Seventh month — Tisri, the first day of which (about the middle of September) the modern Jews celebrate as the beginning of the civil year. For the importance of the seventh month, the first day of which was the feast of trumpets, see Lev_23:24.
Tenth day — The writer has spent a portion of this day, Sept. 21, 1874, in a synagogue in Boston, witnessing the penitential worship of the Israelites on the day of atonement. In chap. xxiii, 32, this fast is commanded to be observed on the ninth. The discrepancy disappears when we consider that the tenth day began on the evening of the ninth.
Afflict your souls — Give free scope to conviction of sin. “It is worthy of note that the Spirit of truth in the unaffected simplicity of a primeval time dwells on the state of the soul alone, and condescends on no outward manifestations of the inward feeling. The rabbis and doctors interpret affliction of soul by fasting, because such was the formal mode in their day.” — Dr. J.G. Murphy. That repentance, and not fasting, is here commanded is evident, because (1) fasting is neither expressed nor implied in these words; (2) it should precede the benefits of the atonement in the Old Testament, as it does in the New Testament; (3) the required fasting of a whole nation without exception, “from even to even,” tasting neither food nor water, would not be in harmony with God’s goodness. The command to fast is not found in the law, and it is a disputed inference in the Gospel. The penitence of the Hebrew impressively sets forth the truth, that the universal atonement made by Christ is effectual for the pardon of the penitent sinner only.
A stranger — For his civil and religious rights, see Lev_23:22, note. He is freely admitted into the modern synagogue on the day of atonement.
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 vv29, 31, 32, 33 29. in the seventh month, etc.] A certain sanctity…
29. in the seventh month, etc.] A certain sanctity attached to the day which closed the first decade of the month. See Driver on Exo_12:3. In view of the fact that the Feast of Ingathering was placed five days later, Dillm. suggests that from very early times there may have existed a ceremonial of purification in preparation for that festival.
The choice of the 24th day of the same month for the solemn service of confession of sin in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_9:1) seems to shew that this statute, whatever be its age, was not on that occasion considered to be binding.
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afflict your souls] Here and Lev_16:31, Lev_23:27; Lev_23:29; Lev_23:32, Num_29:7 of the Day of Atonement; the expression occurs Num_30:13; Psa_35:13 (with the addition of ‘with fasting’); Isa_58:3; Isa_58:5 (also with ref. to fasting) †: cp. Ezr_8:21; Isa_58:10.
the homeborn, or the stranger] See notes on Lev_17:13; Lev_17:15.
Statute of yearly atonement (29–34)
On the annual Day of Atonement the people are to practise self-denial and to abstain from work. According to Benzinger this section forms an original and independent law (with the exception of 34 b), involving a simple rite for expiation of guilt, and afterwards combined with directions as to the conditions under which the high priest should enter the Holy of Holies. See App. p. 163.
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 vv29–34 (29) And this shall be a statute for ever.—Literally,…
(29) And this shall be a statute for ever.—Literally, a statute of eternity, that is, an everlasting ordinance. That which is contained in Lev_16:29-30 is binding upon the Israelites as long as they exist, and is to be observed by them annually.
In the seventh month, on the tenth day.—This month, which is called Tishri, corresponds to September, and is the month of great festivals. On the first is the Feast of Trumpets (see Lev_23:24), on the tenth the Day of Atonement, and on the fourteenth begins the Feast of Tabernacles which lasts eight days.
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Ye shall afflict your souls.—From Isa_58:3; Isa_58:5; Isa_58:10 it is evident that by the phrase “to afflict the soul” is meant fasting. This is expressed by the fuller form, “to afflict the soul with fasting.” in Psa_35:13, where the Authorised Version inconsistently translates it, “humbled my soul.” This is the only public fast ordained in the Mosaic Law; and the authorities during the second Temple defined more minutely in what this fasting consists. According to the canon law it consists not only in abstaining from eating and drinking, but from washing, anointing, wearing of shoes or sandals, and the marriage-bed, as they were the outward signs of joy. (Comp. Ecc_9:10.) If any one presumptuously ate as much as a date with a kernel, or drank as much as fills one cheek, he violated the Law, and incurred the penalty of excision. If he did it unintentionally he had to bring a sin offering. The fast lasted from evening to evening, and is rigorously kept by Jews to this day. Exception was and still is made in the case of pregnant women, invalids, and children. This is the fast which the Apostle refers to in Act_27:9. The marginal note on this passage, viz., “the fast was on the tenth day of the seventh month” (Lev_23:27; Lev_23:29), is not to be found in the first edition of the Authorised Version. It was introduced by Bishop Lloyd in the Bible published in London, 1701, fol., who took it from the Geneva Version (Geneva, 1560), and it was adopted in the Oxford 4to edition, 1703. When Christ admonishes his followers, “When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face” (Mat_6:17), He refers to the canonical law about fasting here given.
And do no work at all.—Better, ye shall do no manner of work, as the same phrase is rendered in the Authorised Version in Lev_23:31. It is to be regretted that this legal phrase, which occurs five times in the Pentateuch, four of which are to be found in this very book (Lev_16:29; Lev_23:3; Lev_23:28; Lev_23:31; Num_29:7), should have been translated differently in the Authorised Version. This variation is all the more glaring in Num_29:7, which is the parallel passage to this. The day was to be a rest from all manual and other secular work exactly as on the Sabbath, with this exception, that whilst work on the Sabbath was punished with stoning, labour on the Day of Atonement was punished with excision.
A stranger that sojourneth among you.—That is, one of non-Jewish descent who had renounced idolatry, and-voluntarily joined the Jewish community. (See Exo_12:19; Exo_20:10.)
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 vv29, 31, 32, 33, 34 Vers. 29-31. The ceremonies of the Day of Atonement…
Vers. 29-31. The ceremonies of the Day of Atonement are not appointed for once only, but they are to be of annual observance. This shall be a statute for ever unto you, as long as the nation should exist, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all. The seventh is the sacred month, in which the first, the tenth, the fifteenth, and following days are appointed as holy seasons. The Day of Atonement is the single fast of the Jewish Church occurring once a year only. On it all the members of that Church were to afflict their souls, on pain of death. (Lev_23:29) The fast began on the evening of the ninth day, and ended on the evening of the tenth, when it was succeeded by general feasting. During the whole of the twenty-four hours no work at all was to be done. In this respect the Day of Atonement was put on a level with the sabbath, whereas on the annual festivals only "servile work" was forbidden. (see Lev_23:7, Lev_23:21, Lev_23:25, Lev_23:35) On this day, therefore, as on the weekly sabbath, it was not permitted to collect manna, (Exo_16:26) or to plough or reap, (Exo_34:21) or to light a fire, (Exo_35:3) or to gather wood, (Num_15:32-36) or to carry corn or fruit, (Neh_13:15) or to sell food or other goods, (Neh_13:16) or to bear burdens, (Jer_17:22, Jer_17:23) or to set out grain for sale. (Amo_8:5) And these regulations applied to strangers that sojourned among them as well as to themselves. It was a sabbath of rest; literally, a sabbath of sabbatism. The purpose of the abstinence from food and labour was to bring the soul of each individual into harmony with the solemn rites of purification publicly performed not by themselves, but by the high priest.
Vers. 29-34. The annual reiteration of the purification made on the Day of Atonement
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testifies to the imperfections of the Law. "For the Law can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? ". (Heb_10:1, Heb_10:2) Had they done their work perfectly, a repetition of them would not have been required, "because that the worshippers once purged should have bad no more conscience of sins". (Heb_10:2) There was a triple imperfection in the priest, in the victim, in the effect of the sacrifices. The Levitical priesthood was formed of sinful men, as was testified by the sin offering which the high priest had first to offer for himself before he could offer one for the people: here there was no perfect mediator. The victims were a bullock and a goat; but "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins": (Heb_10:4) here there was no perfect sacrifice. The atonement had to be repeated annually: here there was no perfect result from the offering made. By its very imperfection the Law points forward to and awakens the desire for a better covenant, with a priest after the order of Melchisedec, "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners", (Heb_7:26) with a sacrifice which could sanctify, (Heb_10:10) and which is and can be only "once offered," because it is "a full, perfect, and sufficient Sacrifice, Oblation, and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole world" (Service for Holy Communion).
Vers. 29-34. The Day of Atonement.
In this summary we have the design of the statute.
I ATONEMENT WAS MADE FOR THE TABERNACLE.
1. The work of Christ affects the material universe.
(1) The tabernacle, we have seen (see on verses 1-4), was a type of the universe, material and moral; and that the holy places represented the heavens. The sprinkling of the tabernacle and its holy places, therefore, teaches that the universe is affected by the atonement of Christ. (verses 15-19, 33 Heb_9:12, Heb_9:23, 24 Rev_5:6)
(2) Aaron, as the type of Christ, entered into the holiest place, but then only once in the year, nor could he without dying open an entrance into it even for his son, who, in his turn, could only enter there as the type of Christ. This showed that, while the tabernacle stood, the way into the holiest was not made manifest. But the vail was not only rent in the torn flesh of Jesus, so that he himself became the Way, but he entered heaven himself once for all. (Heb_10:19, Heb_10:20)
(3) Do we avail ourselves of the privileges of our spiritual priesthood? (Heb_10:21, Heb_10:22)
2. The work of Christ influences the moral universe.
(1) Angels, therefore, manifested interest in the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow. (Exo_25:20 Dan_8:13 1Pe_1:11-13) The sprinkling of the holy places teaches that, through the atonement of Christ, holy angels are reconciled to us. By the sanctifying power of his grace we are brought into sympathy with them.
(2) They are now, therefore, interested in the welfare of the Church; and are themselves a part of the great family of Jesus. (see Dan_12:5, 6 Eph_1:10 Eph_3:10, 15 Php_2:9-11)
II ATONEMENT WAS MADE FOR THE PEOPLE.
1. None were exempted from the need of it.
(1) Aaron and his house were in the same category with the people in this respect. Though types, they were yet sinful men.
(2) But through the blood-shedding of this day, all stood "clean from all sins before the Lord," i.e., he looked upon them and accepted them as clean. So in the great day of judgment will he look upon us and accept us as clean through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. (Jud_1:24)
2. It was a general expiations.
(1) It occurred but once in the year. It was to atone for iniquities, transgressions, and sins, which, through ignorance, inadvertency, or perhaps neglect, had not been atoned for by ordinary sacrifices. Christ not only atones for particular sins, but for sin itself.
(2) It was repeated every year. The utmost the Jewish priest could do was to call sin to remembrance, and point to a greater than himself, who needed not to repeat his offering. (see Heb_10:1-3)
III THE DAY OF ATONEMENT WAS TO BE KEPT AS A SABBATH.
1. In it they were to afflict their souls.
(1) (See verse 31; also Psa_35:13 Isa_58:6, Isa_58:7, 13 Dan_10:3, Dan_10:12)
(2) Resting from the toil of the world, with afflicted souls, while their sins were called to their remembrance, suggests that repentance towards God must accompany faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Act_20:21)
2. In it they were to rest.
(1) This suggested relief from the burden of sin. What a gracious sabbath in the soul is the sense of sins forgiven!
(2) This would be all the more expressive upon the year of jubilee, which, every forty-ninth year, came in on the Day of Atonement. (Lev_25:9)
3. The time was the tenth day of the seventh month.
(1) Dr. Lightfoot computes that this was the anniversary of the day on which Moses came the last time down from the mount, bringing with him the renewed tables, and having the glory shining in his face.
(2) Jesus appears literally to have ascended into the heavens, as his type passed behind the vail, on the tenth day of the seventh month (see reasoning conducting to this conclusion in the appendix of Mr. Guinness"s work on "The Approaching End of the Age"). It was the time of the vintage, and maples the fullness of the atonement. (see Mar_12:1-9; comp. Rev_19:15)
(3) It may prove that, on some anniversary of this day, Jesus will come down from heaven, in a glory immeasurably brighter than that in which Moses descended from the mount, to set up his kingdom upon this earth. (see Act_1:11) The vintage of his wrath upon his enemies precedes the sabbath of his kingdom. J.A.M.
Vers. 29-34. The Day of Atonement.
This was a day second to none in importance. The rites then celebrated were the most awe-inspiring of all, and concerned the whole nation, which stood watching outside the sacred enclosure of the tabernacle. Not the slightest deviation from the established ritual was allowable; it was too significant and solemn in character to permit of alteration.
I It was A DAY OF UNIVERSAL ATONEMENT. The high priest made atonement for himself and the order of priests, for the people of the congregation, for the brazen altar, for the tabernacle, and for the sanctuary. Thus was taught the truth that sin mingles with the holiest of men and their deeds, with the holiest things and places. Defilement attaches to our highest acts of worship, to our best thoughts and prayers. The tabernacle needed cleansing because of the "uncleanness" of the people (verse 16) among whom it was situated. The noblest men receive some degree of contamination from their surroundings, and the purest principles have some alloy adhering to them through use. Mere ignorance of specific transgressions was not sufficient to obviate the necessity of atonement. Sin was there, though they should discern it not. "I know nothing against myself, yet am I not hereby justified." Could any spectacle more vividly impress upon the mind the reality of sin and the need of its removal?
II It was A DAY OF HUMILIATION. "Ye shall afflict your souls." The word implies self-denial and consequent fasting, Not lightly was sin to be regarded! We are ever ready to extenuate our guilt and to minimize its enormity. The transgressions in respect of which a sin offering was prescribed were not high-handed acts of rebellion, but such as resulted from man"s frailty, from natural depravity. Yet this was not deemed an excuse of itself, it only showed the importance of providing for its atonement. No man with a perception of the magnitude of his iniquity can retain a heart at case, a conscience at rest. If there be such quietude, it is an evidence of the deadening influence of sin. Though sin has been overruled to the glory of God, it is in itself abominable, and must be viewed with abhorrence. Well may we bow before God in deep abasement!
III It was A DAY OF REST. No work of any kind was permitted it was a "sabbath of sabbaths." All the attention of the people was concentrated upon the ceremony observed by the high priest. What a rebuke here to those who cannot spare time to think of their state before God! Surely the transcendent importance of religion justifies occasional abstention from ordinary labour. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and forfeit eternal life? The constitution of our minds does not enable us to think seriously of many things at once. Let not the concerns of the soul be thereby shelved. If we will not afford the necessary period here, there will come a long season of forced meditation, when the subject of sin and its forgiveness shall pierce us through and through with unutterable remorse.
IV It was A FIXED DAY. God, in his merciful forethought, set apart the tenth day of the seventh month, lest the Israelites should forget the duty incumbent upon them. There are many advantages in having a time determined upon for religious worship. It comes regularly, and even children look for it. It prevents excuses, ensures due remembrance, and leads to fitting preparation. What is to be done at any time is practically for no time. But the observance of such days needs to be guarded against degenerating into formalism and routine. And under the gospel no adventitious sacramentarian importance must be annexed to these seasons, otherwise we fall under the censure of the apostle, as observing "days, and months, and seasons, and years." Oh! for wisdom to distinguish between the true and the false in ordinances!
V It was A DAY OF YEARLY OBSERVANCE. The imperfection of other sacrifices and purifications was thus clearly demonstrated, for however attended to they did not exclude the Day of Atonement. And the yearly repetition of the day itself told the same tale, pointed the same moral of the impotence of the sacrifices of the Law to "make the comers thereunto perfect". (see Heb_10:1-4) The day served its purpose indeed, but only by shadow and prefiguration. Compared with the Crucifixion, it was but a "splendid failure" to pacify the conscience, cleanse the heart, and quicken the life of those who participated in its effects.
VI It was A DAY OF HUMILIATION THAT PREPARED THE WAY FOR A JOYOUS FESTIVAL. After five days commenced the Feast of Tabernacles, distinguished for its rejoicing beyond all others. The ceremonies of the Day of Atonement closed with a burnt offering, in which the people symbolically renewed their self-dedication to the worship and service of God; and very appropriately the chief feature of the Feast of Tabernacles was the large number of burnt offerings presented, as if the people should testify their gladness at the thought of pardoned iniquity, and of belonging to a God who so graciously blessed them and granted the increase of their fields. The man whose sin is forgiven and put away is truly happy. He can devote himself to God with glad ardour. The cloud that brought the storm and darkness has passed to the far horizon, and now it is brightened with many hues from the dazzling sun. Grief on account of sin is not designed to mar permanently the pleasure of our days. The depression is succeeded by elevation of soul.
The surgeon"s lance may have pained us, but now we are tranquil through the relief afforded. S.R.A.
Vers. 29-31. The great anniversary sacred seasons.
The Jews had other special days beside the Day of Atonement. They had their weekly sabbath, the new moon sacrifices, their festivals or "holy convocations" (chapter 23), etc. But this was the "grand climacteric;" there were "high days" during the year, but this was the day of the year to every devout Israelite. No other was comparable to it in solemnity and sacred importance. Several features of peculiar interest combined to raise it above all other occasions.
1. It was the one annual solemnity prescribed by the Law.
2. It was a day of perfect rest from labour (verses 29, 31).
3. It was the one day of universal fasting enjoined or encouraged in the Law (verses 29, 31).
4. It was a day of self-examination and spiritual humiliation (verse 29).
5. On that day the high priest went perilously near to the manifested presence of God then, and then only, entering within the vail, and standing in presence of the mercy-seat and the mysterious, awful Shechinah (verse 12).
6. On that day unusual sacrifices were offered unto the Lord, and a striking spectacle witnessed by the whole camp, the live goat being led away into the wilderness (verse 21).
7. Then, also, the people felt themselves in an unusually blessed relation to Jehovah free, as at no other time, from all their sin; they were "clean from all their sins before the Lord" (verse 30). We may, therefore, well pronounce this the great anniversary of the Hebrew Church. It must have had hallowing influences in both directions of time: it must have been anticipated with interest and awe; it must have left behind it sacred shadows of holy feeling of unity, reverence, joy in God. The holding of this anniversary "by statute for ever" suggests to us
I THAT IN CHRIST JESUS THE OBSERVANCE OF DAYS IS AN OPTIONAL THING. There are valid grounds for believing that it is the will of Christ we should observe the Lord"s day as the disciples of him who is "the Resurrection and the Life." But the enforcement of the observance of sacred days by statute binding on the Christian conscience is expressly disallowed. (Gal_4:10, 11 Rom_14:5, 6 Col_2:16)
II THAT IT IS WISE, AS A MATTER OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, TO OBSERVE SOME ANNIVERSARIES. God has, in his providential arrangements, made certain points to be regularly recurring. Time is so measured that we must be periodically reminded of interesting events. God put the lights in the firmament in order that they might not only "give light upon the earth," but that they might be "for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years ". (Gen_1:14)
1. A Church should observe:
a. the day of its institution, or
b. the day on which it was conscious of revival, or
c. any particular day which is, to itself, fruitful of sacred suggestions.
2. Individual Christian men may observe
a. the last day of the old year,
b. the first day of the new year,
c. the anniversary of their birthday, or
d. the anniversary of the day which has the most hallowed associations to their mind, the day of religious decision or that of reception into the visible Church of Christ.
III THAT THERE IS A TWOFOLD USE WE MAY MAKE OF SUCH ANNIVERSARIES.
1. Solemn retrospect; with careful retreading of past experiences, free and full acknowledgment of God"s goodness and our own manifold shortcomings, simple faith in the Divine promise of forgiveness through Christ.
2. Thoughtful forecast; with studious consideration of what may yet be done for the Master and mankind, devout reconsecration of self to the service of the Saviour, believing prayer for Divine guidance and guardianship through future years. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v29 seventh month i.e. October.
seventh month i.e. October.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v29 The Purpose of the Day
The Purpose of the Day
v. 29. And this shall be a statute forever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, bowed down in penitence and humiliation, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you. The tenth day of the first month of the civil year, known first as Ethanim, and afterwards as Tishri, although not included in the great festivals, was yet of such importance as to give it the name of being the most solemn day in the year, and it was often designated simply as "the day. "
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v. 30. For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.
v. 31. It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, be regarded in every way as a true Sabbath, and ye shall afflict your souls, by fasting, as an expression of the deepest humiliation and shame, by a statute forever.
v. 32. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, the intimation being that the high-priestly office was hereditary, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments, those especially set aside for the service of this day;
v. 33. and he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, and he shall make an atonement for the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the Holy Place, and for the altar, the golden altar of incense, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
v. 34. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he, Aaron, did as the Lord commanded Moses. When the time came, this festival day was duly kept and all the ceremonies carried out in accordance with the will of the Lord. By reason of their symbolism and through the faith of the true Israelites the rites of the great Day of Atonement had power and efficacy until Christ made His great sacrifice, with its eternal power.
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 vv29, 32, 34 for you
for you
The word "you" is plural and refers to the people of Israel. (See: Forms of You)
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in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month
This is the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. The tenth day is near the end of September on the western calendar. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)
atonement will be made for you
This can be translated in active form. AT: "Aaron will make atonement for you" (See: Active or Passive)
to cleanse you ... so you will be clean
People who are acceptable for God's purposes are spoken of as if they were physically clean. (See: Metaphor)
It is a solemn Sabbath of rest for you
This is not the same as the Sabbath they observed every week on the seventh day. This was a special Sabbath on the Day of Atonement.
translationWords
statute
day
works
alien
atonement
clean
Sabbath
rest
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 vv29, 31 16:29 must deny yourselves: The Hebrew term (‘anah, “humble,…
16:29 must deny yourselves: The Hebrew term (‘anah, “humble, afflict yourselves”) is closely connected with fasting (Isa 58:3, 5). • foreigners (Hebrew ger): The Hebrew term denotes those who were not Israelites yet lived among the Israelites. Foreigners participated to some extent in Israelite worship (see Num 9:14) and represented potential converts. They probably did not own land but were day laborers, share-croppers, or tenant farmers. However, if they lived among the Israelites, they were expected to abide by Israelite law and customs (see, e.g., Lev 24:16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.