Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 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.
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.
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’ ( kpher), 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 30:12
A ransom for his soul.
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.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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).
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 Gods 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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, after their number,…. An account of them, how many they are; which was sometimes done, and was proper to be done, especially in time of war; though the present case seems to be for the sake of raising money for the tabernacle and the service of it:
then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; which was not done yearly, nor was it perpetual; we have but two instances of it after this until the times of David, Nu 1:2 yet it seems to have been a yearly tax or tribute, in the times of Christ, [See comments on Mt 17:24] [See comments on Mt 21:12]; and in the Misnah is a whole treatise called “Shekalim”, in which an account is given of the time and manner of collecting this ransom money, and for what uses, and who were obliged to pay it, and who not; on the first of Adar (or February) they proclaimed concerning the payment of it, on the fifteenth the tables were set for that purpose, and on the twenty fifth the proper persons sat in the sanctuary to receive it w: this was typical of the ransom of souls by Christ, who are not all the world, for they are ransomed out of it, but Israelites, the whole mystical Israel of God, and are a numbered people; their names are written in the book of life, they are told into the hands of Christ, are exactly known by God and Christ; and these are many and even numberless to men:
that there be no plague amongst them when thou numberest them; as there was when David numbered them; which some have thought was owing to the non-payment of the ransom money after mentioned; the Septuagint version is, “no fall”, the ransom of souls by Christ preserves them from a total and final fall by sin into everlasting ruin and destruction; or, “no death” as the Targum of Onkelos, for redemption by Christ secures from the second death, and even from a corporeal death as a penal evil.
w Misn. Shekalim, c. 1. sect. 1, 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel. The tribute which God here demands at the taking of the census, is very fitly annexed to the First Commandment; for God, in making them tributary to Himself, shews that they were under His jurisdiction and power; and because He had purchased them to Himself, He willed that this voluntary gift of acknowledgment should be paid to Him. Princes, in numbering their subjects, make an estimate of their power; but God, who needs not the aid and assistance of men, would have the Israelites testify, at least by some sign, that they live in subjection to Him by whom they were redeemed. Therefore, when David numbered the people, (2Sa 24:2,) it was a kind of emancipation of them from their subjection to God; and hence this pride, or temerity, or ingratitude, was so severely punished. But because it was useful and right that the people should be numbered, it is permitted upon this condition, that by paying a ransom for every individual, they should acknowledge God as their sole King. The word is not badly rendered by some an atonement or expiation, because, whilst they confessed that they owed their life to God, He was appeased towards them on the score of this testimony of their gratitude. But it may be derived from a word meaning to cover; for when they voluntarily subjected themselves to God, and fled beneath the shelter of his wings, they were protected and secure, under this covering. Therefore it is said below, that this gift was offered to God as “an atonement for their souls;” and this is expressed in other words, that there should “be no plague” or destruction among them, because their safety rested in God’s protection alone, that they should not be exposed to any evils. And since they had been Pharaoh’s servants, their freedom would have been unlawful unless God had authorized and maintained it. Wherefore it was just. that they should ascribe their deliverance by a solemn rite to God, lest they should suffer the punishment of fugitive slaves. But He appointed the same sum for all, that every one, of whatever rank, from the least, to the greatest, might know that they were altogether His. Nor need we wonder, that since this was a personal due, (as it is commonly phrased,) their condition was not taken into account, so that the rich should pay more than the poor, but that the same price should be paid for every soul. The shekel (330) of the sanctuary was equivalent to an Attic tetra-drachma, which Budaeus estimates at 14 sols French, or thereabouts; for the didrachma amounts to seven sols, and the common drachma to three and a half sols, minus a denier Tournois. This is the didrachma of which mention is made in Mat 17:24; for when the Jews were conquered by the Romans, it is probable that, in order to make their yoke more galling, this right of tribute was transferred to their conquerors. For this divinely prescribed offering being the symbol of their freedom, exempted the Jews from all heathen dominion, as if free or only belonging to God. But. since by their own rebellion they had shaken off God’s yoke, He purposely suffered them to be despoiled of their right, in order to subject them to the tyranny of strangers. And this occurred just before Christ’s coming, that this new and unwonted oppression might increase their longing for Him. But inasmuch as this tribute was paid by command of the Law, the Jews were reminded that they were a people consecrated to God.
(330) I am indebted to an anonymous writer in that useful little publication, “Notes and Queries,” vol. 5, p. 325, for the following note. Having given a translation almost identical with that in the text, he adds, “which is as much as to say, that the sickle (or shekel) equalled 14 solidi, less four deniers; or 13.67 solidi. But owing to the rapid declension in the value of French coin after the tenth century, it is manifestly impossible to assign a value to these solidi, unless the precise date of their coinage were known. A writer may, of course, allude to coin indefinitely precedent to his own time. In the present ease, however, we may, as a matter of curiosity, analytically approximate to a result in this way: — The drachm, is now known to have contained about 65 grains of pure silver, consequently the tetradrachma contained 260 grains. The present franc contains about 70 grains of pure silver, and consequently the sol, or 20 part, is 3.5 grains. This last multiplied by 13.67 produces about 48 grains. But the weight of the tetradrachma is 260 grains; therefore the sol with which the comparison was made, must have contained upwards of fivefold its present value in pure silver. Now, according to the depreciation tables of M. Dennis, this condition obtained in 1483, under Charles VIII., at which time Budaeus was actually living, having been born in 1467; but from other circumstances I am induced to believe that the solidus Gallicus mentioned by him was coined by Louis XII. in 1498, at which time the quantity of pure silver was fourfold and a half that of the present day.” Dean Prideaux, Connexion 1:3, says, “Every Jew annually paid a half shekel, i.e., about eighteenpence of our money.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
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.)
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 waythe same way for allin 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. That there be no plague A failure to contribute this poll tax exposed to the judgment of God . Such failure would imply a serious want of interest in the worship of Israel, if not open contempt .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 30:12. When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, &c.. This is, in the Hebrew, when thou shalt lift up the head of the children of Israel, to review, (muster or number) them; and the phrase, doubtless, alludes to the manner in which the poll or muster was taken. The same expression is used in Num 1:2; Num 26:2 from which passages we learn, that this muster was twice taken by the immediate command of God: but, whether the tax here imposed, as a ransom for their souls, and as a testimony of their homage to the great King who had redeemed them from Egyptian bondage (a type of the delivery of their souls from the bondage of sin); whether this ransom-money was paid upon each such muster, or only upon this first, ch. Exo 38:24-26 for the purposes of supplying the tabernacle; is a matter much controverted. This first-money, it is plain from Exo 30:16 as well as ch. 38: was immediately appropriated to the business of erecting and furnishing the tabernacle; and there seems no reason to believe, that either now or at any other time it was assigned to the private use of the Levites. Selden says, that the priestly garments, as well as the sacrifices, were provided out of this money: and, if any thing remained at the end of the year, it was spent in extraordinary burnt-offerings. It seems most probable, that a tribute of this kind was occasionally levied to support the charges of the tabernacle and the temple; and we find, in Neh 10:32-33 that it was not then found sufficient; and accordingly the third part of a shekel more was levied for the service of the house of God. See Lowman on the Government of the Hebrews, p. 96.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exodus
RANSOM FOR SOULS-I.
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.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
children = sons.
man. Hebrew. ‘ish. See App-14.
ransom. Hebrew. kapher = covering, hence atonement. See note on Exo 29:33.
his soul = himself. Hebrew. nephesh. See App-13. The acknowledgement of Eze 18:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
takest: Exo 38:25, Exo 38:26, Num 1:2-5, Num 26:2-4, 2Sa 24:1
their number: Heb. them that are to be numbered
a ransom: Num 31:50, 2Ch 24:6, Job 33:24, Job 36:18, Psa 49:7, Mat 20:28, Mar 10:45, 1Ti 2:6, 1Pe 1:18, 1Pe 1:19
no plague: 2Sa 24:2-15, 1Ch 21:12, 1Ch 21:14, 1Ch 27:24
Reciprocal: Exo 21:30 – for the ransom Exo 30:15 – give less than 2Ki 12:4 – even the money
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 30:12. Every man a ransom for his soul Some think this refers only to the first numbering of them, when the tabernacle was set up, and that this tax was to make up what was wanting in the voluntary contributions.
Others think it was to be 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 are of opinion 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, lest he should offend his adversaries. The tribute to be paid was half a shekel, about fifteen pence of our money. 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. And this was to be paid 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. This money was employed in the service of the tabernacle; with it they bought sacrifices, flour, incense, wine, oil, fuel, salt, priests garments, and all other things which the whole congregation was interested in.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man {g} a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when [thou] numberest them.
(g) By which he testified that he redeemed his life which he had forfeit, as is declared by David, 2Sa 24:1.