Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 15:39
And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
39. it shall be unto you for a tassel ] The point of this appears to lie in a play on the words th (‘tassel’) and 1 [Note: Used in Exo 28:36; Exo 39:30, Lev 8:9 of the diadem (R.V. ‘plate’) on the high priest’s forehead.] ‘a shining thing,’ ‘an ornament.’ The tassels are not to be superstitious charms but striking ornaments, which will constantly catch the wearer’s eye, and act as a religious reminder.
after which ye go a whoring ] The Heb. has a participle, not an imperfect as R.V. suggests. The words apparently mean Ye are still prone to follow the superstitious and illegitimate practices to which your heart and your eyes lead you. It is an obscure sentence, and perhaps something has been lost from the text. But there seems little doubt that the earlier superstitions connected with the tassels are referred to.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
It, i.e. the riband,
shall be unto you, i.e. shall serve you
for the fringe, to wit, to render it more visible and notorious by its certain, and remarkable, and distinct colour, whereas the fringe without this was of the same piece and colour with the garment, and therefore less observable. Or, it, i.e. the riband, shall be in your fringes, or, put to your fringes, fastened to them, that by looking upon it you may remember, that your eye may affect your mind and heart.
That ye seek not, or, inquire not, for other rules or ways of serving me than I have prescribed you.
After your own heart, and your own eyes, i.e. neither after the devices and inventions of your own minds or hearts, as Nadab and Abihu did when they offered strange fire, and as you now did, when you pretended to serve and please me by going up the hill and towards Canaan without and against my command; nor after the examples or inventions of others which your eyes see, as you did when you were set upon worshipping a calf after the manner of Egypt. To go a whoring, i.e. to depart from me, and to prefer your own fancies before my commands, and to live only by present sight or sense, and not at all by faith in my promises.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it shall be unto you for a fringe,…. The blue ribbon or lace shall be in or upon the fringe to fasten it:
that ye may look upon it; the blue lace making the whole the more conspicuous: from hence the Jews gather, that the night is not the time for wearing fringe, which lessens the sight, and it is not so easily seen; and that night garments are not obliged to have the fringe on them; and yet, they say, a blind man is bound to wear it, because, though he cannot see it, others can g:
and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them: this is the general use, end, and design of the fringes, that upon sight of them they might be put in mind of the commandments and put upon the practice of them; these being at the four corners of their vestments, let them look which way they would downwards, before or behind, or on either side, they could not but see them: and the many threads in them might put them in mind of the many precepts they were to observe; and the white colour, the purity and holiness of them; and the blue or sky-coloured lace might lead them to observe the heavenly original of them; or being of a purple colour rather, might direct them to the blood of Christ, for the remission of the transgressions of them: the Jews have many fanciful things about the use and virtue of these fringes, not worthy of notice; and they say, that such who are careful to observe this law of the fringe, are worthy to see the face of the divine Majesty, and will be preserved from evil spirits h:
and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes; to have and enjoy, and do those things, in matters of worship, which were of their own devising, and pleasing in their sight, as well as in moral things, what were agreeable to their carnal hearts, and make for the gratification of their senses:
after which ye use to go a whoring; which seems to restrain the sense pretty much to idolatry, to false and superstitious worship, which are often in Scripture expressed by fornication and whoredom; though other sins and lusts also are sometimes signified by the same words.
g Maimon. in Misn. Ediot, c. 4. sect. 10. & Hilchot Tzitzith, c. 3. sect. 7. Schulchan Aruch, p. 1. c. 17. 1. & 18. 1. h Baal Hatturim in loc. Schulchan Aruch, p. 1. c. 24. sect. 1, 6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“ And it shall be to you for a tassel, ” i.e., the fastening of the tassel with the dark blue thread to the corners of your garments shall be to you a tassel, “ that ye, when ye see it, may remember all the commandments of Jehovah, and do them; and ye shall not stray after your hearts and your eyes, after which ye go a whoring.” The zizith on the sky-blue thread was to serve as a memorial sign to the Israelites, to remind them of the commandments of God, that they might have them constantly before their eyes and follow them, and not direct their heart and eyes to the things of this world, which turn away from the word of God, and lead astray to idolatry (cf. Pro 4:25-26). Another reason for these instructions, as is afterwards added in Num 15:40, was to remind Israel of all the commandments of the Lord, that they might do them and be holy to their God, and sanctify their daily life to Him who had brought them out of Egypt, to be their God, i.e., to show Himself as God to them.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(39) That ye seek not after your own heart.Or, That ye go not about, or search not out, &c.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. Look upon it, and remember There is nothing in a fringe resembling a precept; but when the former has been appointed to represent the latter the sign always suggests the thing signified, according to the laws of association which control the succession of ideas. Thus would Israel be deterred from lapsing into idolatry, which is here styled going a whoring, or spiritual fornication. See Num 14:33, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
remember: Exo 13:9, Deu 6:6-9, Deu 11:18-21, Deu 11:28-32, Pro 3:1
ye seek not: Deu 29:19, Job 31:7, Pro 28:26, Ecc 11:9, Jer 9:14, Eze 6:9
go a whoring: Exo 34:15, Exo 34:16, Psa 73:27, Psa 106:39, Hos 2:2, Jam 4:4
Reciprocal: Lev 20:6 – go Num 15:38 – fringes in the borders Deu 6:8 – General Deu 12:8 – every man Deu 22:12 – fringes 1Ki 12:33 – in the month Psa 119:37 – Turn Isa 65:2 – after Jer 3:17 – walk Eze 20:16 – for their Hos 4:12 – gone Hos 9:10 – and their Mat 9:20 – hem Mat 14:36 – hem Mat 23:5 – the borders Mar 6:56 – the border
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 15:39. That ye may remember As circumcision in their persons, so this ornament in their garb was designed as a badge to distinguish them from all other nations; so that as often as they looked upon this mark, they might be put in mind of their being the worshippers of the true God, a holy people, and bound to the service of their Maker by peculiar laws and obligations. That ye seek not Or, inquire not, for other rules and ways of serving me than I have prescribed you. Your own heart and eyes Neither after the devices of your own hearts, as Nadab and Abihu did when they offered strange fire; nor after the examples of others which your eyes see, as you did when you were set upon worshipping a calf after the manner of Egypt.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a {i} whoring:
(i) By leaving God’s commandments and following your own fantasies.