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Selected Verse: Numbers 25:4 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Nu 25:4 |
King James |
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
The Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up--Israelite criminals, who were capitally punished, were first stoned or slain, and then gibbeted. The persons ordered here for execution were the principal delinquents in the Baal-peor outrage--the subordinate officers, rulers of tens or hundreds.
before the Lord--for vindicating the honor of the true God.
against the sun--that is, as a mark of public ignominy; but they were to be removed towards sunset (Deu 21:23). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| Take - i. e., assemble the chiefs of the people to thee (compare the phrase "took men," in Num 16:1). The offenders were to be first; slain by the hands of "the judges of Israel" Num 25:5, and afterward hung up "against the sun" (i. e., publicly, openly; compare Sa2 12:12) as an aggravation of their punishment. This would be done by impaling the body or fastening it to a cross. Compare Deu 21:23 note, and Sa2 21:9. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Take all the heads - Take, that is, apprehend, all the heads, that is, the chief, of the people, such as were chief in this transgression, and in place and power, who are singled out to this exemplary punishment for their concurrence with others in this wickedness, which was more odious and mischievous in them. Hang them up before the Lord - To the vindication of God's honour and justice. Against the sun - Publickly, as their sin was publick and scandalous, and speedily, before the sun go down. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| Take all the heads of the people, etc. - Meaning the chiefs of those who had transgressed; as if he had said, "Assemble the chiefs and judges, institute an inquiry concerning the transgressors, and hang them who shall be found guilty before the Lord, as a matter required by his justice." Against the sun - in the most public manner, and in daylight. Dr. Kennicott has remarked that the Samaritan and Hebrew texts must be both taken together, to make the sense here complete: And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto all the heads of the people; And Let Them Slay The Men That Were Joined To Baal-Peor; and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, etc. |
23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: