Commentary on the Holy Bible

Moses next gives a circumstantial account of the different encampments of tlie Israelites in the wilderness, during the space of nearly forty years — the miracles wrought in their behalf — the chief of which were the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, to direct and protect them in the wilderness — the bringing water out of a rock for them and their cattle — feeding them with manna from heaven, bringing innumerable flocks of quails to their camp, gi\ing them a complete victory over the Amalekites, at the intercession of Moses, and particularly God's astonishing manifestation of himself on mount Sinai, when he delivered to Moses jin epitome of his whole law, in what was called the Ten Wouds, or Ten Commandments.

Moses proceeds to give a circumstantial detail of the different Zaa'5, statutes, anA ordinances which he received from God, and particularly the giving of the Ten Commandments on mount Sinai, and the awful display of the Divine Majesty on that solemn occasion: the formation of the Ark, holy Table and Candlestick; the Tabernacle, with its furniture, covering, courts, &c. tliQ Brazen Altar, golden Altar, brazen Later, anointing oil, perfume, sacerdotal garments for Aaron and his sons, and the artificers employed on the work of the tabernacle, &c. He then gives an account of Israel's idolatry in the matter of the golden calf, made under the direction of Aaron; God's displeasure and the death of the principal idolaters; the erection and consecration of the tabernacle, and its being filled aiid encompassed with the divine glory, with the order and manner of their marches by direction of the miraculous pillar, with which the book concludes.

fThe /tallies and iinmher of the children of Israel that uent douii into Egi/pt, 1 — 5. Joseph, and all his brethren of thut geiierulion, die, ('). The great i/icre.ase of their posterittf, 7- The cruel policy of the king of Egi/pt to destroy them, 8 — 11. Thei/ increase greatli/, notuithstanding their affliction, 12. Account of their hard bondage, 13, 14. Pharaoh's command to the Ilebrezi) midlives to hill all the male-children, 15, l6. The midwives disobey the king's commandment, and on being questioned, vindicate themselves, 17 — 19. God is pleased uilh their conduct, blesses them, and increases the people, 20, 2 1. Pharaoh gives a general comiiiand to the Egi/ptians to drown all the 'male children of the Hebrezcs, 22.

i came into Egypt; every man and his houshold came with Jacob.

5 And all the souls that came out of the '' loins

NOTTS ON CHAP. I. Verse 1. Tlicse are ihc lumif.s] l^houi;h tliis bi.ok is a continuation of the book of Cienesis, wiih whicli probably it was in lijrmer times conjoined, Moses thought it necessary to iniroiluce it with an account of the names and number of the fiimily of Jacob when they came to Egyi;f, to slicw, that thougli lliey were then very few, yet in a short time, under liie especial blcwiug of God, they had multiplied ex<'eediiigly; and thus the promise to Abraham had been literally fulftllcd. — See the;iotes on Gen. xlvi., Verse 6. Joseph died, itnd all his LrcilmK] That is, Joseph

of Jacob were ' seventy souls: Joseph was in Eg}'}it alreadij.

() And ''Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7 " And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and midtiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

h.id now been some time dead, as also all his brethren; and all the Iv^yptians, who had known Jacob and iiis twelve sons: and lliis is a sort of reason why the important services perfijrnied by Joseph were for^^^otten.

Verse 7. The children of Israel ivere fi-uilfiil] riS priru, a general term, signifying that they were like heuldij/ trees, bringin;T forth an almndunce o/fruit.

And ir.creiise<t'\ li"''-' yiskrcuu, they increased like fishes, as the original word implies. — See Gen. i. 20. and the note there.

9 And he said unto his people, Behold, '' the people of tlic children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10 "Come on, let us ''deal wisely with. them •, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that.

A>id they wared excee:lin<r mighti/] "ixo 1XC3 lOiSlM vayadlsmu be-mend meod, and they became stron:;- beyond measure— supirkaiixly, super tut ively — so that the land (Goshen) U'QS filled xtiith them. This astonisliing increase was, under the providence of God, chiefly owing to two causes; 1. The Hebrew women were exceedingly fruilful, suffered very little in parturition, and probably often brought forth t'.':iiis. 2. There appears to have been no premature deaths among thein. Thus in about two hundred and fifteen years they were multiplied to upwards of 600,000, independantly of old men, vioincn, and children.

Verse 8. There arose up a new king] Who this was, it is diflicult to say. It was probably Rumesee.i.Viainwi, or his son Amenophb, who succeeded him in the government of Egypt about A. M. 2400 before Clirist, 1604.

Which knew not Joseph.'] The verb PT j/udd, which ue translate to know, oiten signifies to ncknoivledge or apvrote, see Judges ii. 10. Psal. i. 6. xxxi. 1. IIos. ii. 8. Amos iii. 2. The Greek verbs tiJa and yivaaiia, are used precisely in the same sense in the New Testament, see Matt. xxv. 12. and 1 John iii. 1. We may therefore understand by the new king's not knovjing Joseph, his disapproving o( tliat system \ of government which Joseph bad established, as well as his i Jiaaghtily refusing to acknowledge the obligations, under wliich 1 tlie whole land of Egypt was laid, to this eminent prime minister of one of his predecessors. |

Verse 9. He said unto his people] He probably summoned a council of his nobles and elders to consi<ler the subject j I and the res(dt was, to persecute and destroy tiiem, as is alter-! wards stated. i

Verse 10. They Join also iin/o our enemies] It has been ' conjectured, that Pharaoh Ind probably his eye on the oppiessions which Egypt had sullered under the shepherd kings, ' wiio for a long series of years had, accordmg to Manctho,, governed the land with extreme cruelty. As the Lsraeliteswere of the same occupation, viz. shepherds, the jealous cruel king found it easy to attribute to tliem the same motives; |l taking it for granted, that they were only waiting lor a favourable opportunity to join the enemies of Egypt, and so overrun the whole land.

Verse 11. Set over them task-rnaslers] C'CO »12^ sarey missirn, chiefs OT princes of burdens, works, or tribute — CTTiraras riov t^yuv, Sept. overseers of the works. The pei-sons who appointed them their work, and exacted the performance of it. The work itself being oppressive, and the muimer in

when there falleth out any war, they join also tnito our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters " to afflict them with their ' burdens. And they built for Pharaoh, treasure cities, Pi-^ thorn ^and Raamscs.

which it was exacted still more so, there is some room tothink that they not only workf.d them- unmrivifully, buk alfo obliged them to pay an exorbitant tribute at the saaie time.

Treasure citiei^ filWSO.'"'J? drey mi-scenoth, store cities — public granaries. Culmet supposes this to be the name of" a city, and translates the verse thus: '■' They built cities, vistt Miscenoth, Piliiom, and lliuueses." Pithom is supposed t* be that which Herodotus e,i!!s I'aliimos. Ruanises, or rather- Rameses, for it is the same Hebrew word as' in Gen. xlvii. 1 1. and should be written the lame waj' he/e as tiiere, is supposed to have been the capital of tlie land of Goshtn, mentioned in the book of Genesis by anticipation; for it was probably not erected till after the days of Joseph, wlien the Israelites were brought under that severe oppression described in the book of E.vodus. Tlie Sepluagint add here, xat D.v, ij crtv H.XLCu7ro>^iS, and ON, which is HeliopoUs; i. e. the city of the Sun. The same reading is found also in the Coptic version.

Some writers suppose tlat, besides these cities, the Israelitesbuilded the Pyramids. If tbis conjecture be well founded, perhaps they are intended in the word mJ3D'J miscenoth, which from p3 racn«, io lay tip in. store, nught be intended to signify places where Pharaoh laid up his treasures; and from their structure, thty appear to have been designed for something of this kind. If the history of the Pyramids be not found in the book of Exodus,, it is no where else extant; their origin, if not alluded to here, being lost in their very re- ' mote antiquity. Diodorus Si'culus, who has given the best traditions he could find, relative to them, says, that there \ias no agreement either amonir the inhabitants, or the his-* i torians, concerning the building of the Pyramids. Bib. Hists: lib. I. cap. Ixiv. i

Jfisepluis expressly saj's, that one part of the oppressiort I sufR'rcd by the Israelites m Egypt, was occasioned by buitdf ' ing Pyramids.— '^iee on vcr. 14.;

In the book of Genesis, and in this book, the word Pha- ] raoh frequently occurs, «hich, though many suppose to be ai I proper name, peculiar to one person, and hy tbis suppositioa. \ confound tlie acts of several Egyptian kings; yet it is to bOr ' understood only as a name of office. ',

It may be necessary to observe, that all Ihe Egyptian king^ ' whatever their own name «as, took the surname of Pharaok \ when they came to the throne; a name, which in its general i acceptation, signified the same as king or monarch; but in its- I literal meaning, as Bochart has am])ly proved, it signifies a j cncodilc, wliich being- a sacred animal, among the Ejjyp*

12 '■ But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and

grew. And they were grieved because of the

13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

14 And they "made tlicir lives bitter with hard bondage, "in morter, and in brick ^ and in all manner of service in the ticld: all their service, wlierein they made them serve, v:as with rigour.

15 if And the king of Egypt spake to the; Hebrew mid wives, of which the name of the

■ tians, the word might be added to their kings, in order to procure them the greater reverence and respect.

Wrso 12. But the move lluy nfflklcd thcin] The mar:;in.has prettj' nearly preserved the import of tlie original — And as thty (iffiicled i/iem, so llity multiplied, and so they grew..That is in proportion to their aftlictions was their prosperity;.and had their sulVerings been greater, their increase would.have been more abundant.

Verse 13. To serve with rigovr'] "pSa be-pherec, with cruelty, great oppression, being ferociims witli Uieui. The word Jkrce is supposed, by some, to be derived from the Hebrew, as well as tlie Latin /crox, from which we more immediately bring our English term. This kind of cruelty to slave.e, and ferociousness, unfcelingness, and hardiicartedncss, were particularly forbidden to the children of Israel. See Levit. XXV. 43, 4(5. where tlie same word is used — Thou sluilt not rule oitr him xvith UIGOUU, but shaltftnr thy God.

Verse 14. They made their lines better] So that they became weary of lift.', through the severity (jf tiieir servitude.

If'ilh hard bondage] Dii'p maW be-dbndah kashah, with grievous servitude. This was the general character of their hfe in Egypt: it was a life of the most painful servitude, oppressive cn<iugh in itself, but made much more so, by the cruel manner of their treatment, while performing their tasks.

In morter and in briel] First in digging the clay, kneading and pre]jarmg it, and secondly forming it into bricks, drying ihem in Ihe sun, &c.

Service in the field] Carrying these materials, to the places where they were to be formed into buildings, and serving the builders, while employee! in those public works. Josephus says!, the Egyptians contrived a variety of ways to afflict the Israelites: lor they enjoined them, says he, to cut a great number of channels for the river, and to build walls for iheir cities and ramparts, that they might restrain the river, and hinder its waters from stagnating, upon its over-running itsown banks: they set them also to budd Pyramids, iru^af/.taai T£ avoixoh/jiouvTs;, and wore them out, and forced tliem to Icam all sorts of mechanic artji, and to accustom themselves

16 And he said. When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and sec them upon the stools; if it be a.son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17 But the midwives " feared God, and did not ' as the king of Egypt commanded them, but sa\-cd the men children alive.

18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto thein, "Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

Verse 15. Ifebreiv midicives] Shiphrahawl Pjiah, which are hcra mentioned, were probably certain chiefs, under whom all the rest acted, and by whom they were instructed- in the obstetric art. Aben Ezra supposes, there could not have been fewer than five hundred midwive.s among the Hebrew women at this iime; but that very few were requisite, see proved on ver. 19.

Verse le. Upon the stools] D'':2iin ^ dl ha-aben.'tyim. This is a difficult word, and occurs no where else in the Hebrew Bible, but in Jer. xviii. 3. where we translate it the potier'owheels. As. ps* aben, signifies a stone, the abcnayim has been supposed to signify a stone trough, in which they received and washed the infant as soon as bom. Jarchi, in bis book of Hebreia Roots, gives a very diftlrcnt interpretation of it; he derives it from p ben, a son; or D'J3 banim, children: his words must not be literally translated; but this is the sense — " When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and ye see that the birtli is broken forth, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him." Jonathan ben Uzziel gives us a curious reason for the command given by IMiaiaoh to the Egyptian women — ' Pharaoh slept, and saw in his sleep a balance, and behold the whule land of Egypt stood in one scale, and a lamb in the other; and the scale in which Ihe lamb was, outweighed that in which was the land of Egypt. Immediately he sent and called all the chief magicians, and told them his dream. And Janes and Jimbres, (see 2 Tim. iii. 8.) who were chief of the magician.s, opened their mouths and said to Pharaoh, A child is shortly to be born in the congregation of the Israelites, whose band shall destroy the whole land of Egypt." Therefore Pharaoh sjiake to the midwives, IfC.

Verse 17. The midwives feared God] Because they knew that God had forbidden murder of every kind: for though the law was not yet given, Exod. xx. 13. being Hebrew*, they must have known that God had from the btgimiin"- declared. Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. Gen. ix. G. Therefore they saved the male chddrer, of all to whose assistance they were called. See ver, 19.,

AMcirv^oi. 19 And 'the midwivies said unto jj 20 "^ Therefore God dealt well with A.i\i.cir.v4(;o. Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew wo- • the midwives: and the people multi- men are not as the Egyptian women; for tliey are lively, and are delivered ere the midv/ives come iu unto them.

21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, ' that he made them houses.

Verse 19. The Hebrew women are nol as the Egyptian ' women] This is a simple statement of uhat general experience knows to be a fact, viz. that women, who, duriiia; the whole of iheir pregnancj', are accustomed to hard iabmir, especially in the open air, have coniparativelj' little pain in parturition. At this time the whole Hebrew nation, men and women, were in a state of slavery, and were obliged to work in i7iorter and brick, and all manner of service IN THE FIELD, ver. 14. and this at once accounts for the ease and speediness of their "travail. With the strictest truth, the midwives miG;ht say, the Hebrew women are nol as the Egyptian ivomen: the latter fare delicately, are not inured to labour, and are kept shut up at home, therefore they have hard, difficult and dangerous labours: but the Hebrew women are lively, r.vr\ chaiyoth, are strong, hale, and vigorous, and therefore are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. In such cases, we may naturally conclude, that the midwives were very seldom, even sent for. And this is probably the reason why we find but tzuo mentioned; as in such a state of society, there could be but very little employment for persons of that profession, as a mother, an aunt, or any female acquaintance or neighbour, could readily aftbrd all the assistance necessary in such cases. Commentators, pressed with imaginary dilficultics, have sought for examples of easy parturition in Ethiopia, Persia, and India, as parallels to the case before us; but they might have spared themselves the trouble, because the case is common in all parts of the globe where tl;e women labour hard, and especially in the open air. I have known several instances of the kmd myself, among- the labouring poor. 1 shall mention one: 1 saw a poor woman in the open field at hard labour — she staid away in the afternoon; but she returned the next morning to her work, with I'.cr infant child, liaving in the interim been.safely delivered! She continued at her daily work, having apparently suflered no inconvenience!

I have entered more particularly into this subject, bccau.se, through warit of proper information (perhaps from a worse motive) certain persons have spoken very unguardedly against this in—pired record — "The Hebrew midwives told palpable lie.s, and God commends them for it, thus we iriay do evil tliat good may come of it; and sanctify the means by the /:nd." Now, I contemi that there was iii'ithcr lie direct, nor (i\en prevarication in the case. 1 he midwive.^ boldly state to Pharaoh a fact, (had it not been so, he bud a thousand n.eans of a.'certaining the truth) and they state it in such a way, as to bring conviction to his mind, on the subject of his oppressive cruelty on the one hand, and the mercy of Jehovah on the other. As if they iiad said, "The very oppression, under ■Hhich, through thy cruelty, the Israelites gioan, their God

I \'erse 20. Therefore God dealt well -with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very ndghly.] Ilus shews an I especial providence and blessing of God: for though in all; cases vdiere females are kept to hard labour, they have cotn- ' paratively easy and safe travail; yet in a state ot slavery, the increase is generally very sm.all; as the children die for want j of proper nursing, the women, through their labour, being: obliged to neglect their olfspring; so that in the slave countries, the slock is obliged to be recruited by foreign imports; i yet, in the case above, it was not so; there was not one barren among their tribt s; and even their women, though constantly obliged to perform their daily tasks, were neither rendered unfruitful by it, nor taken off" by premature deaths, through the violence and continuance of their labour, when even in tlie delicate situalion mentioned above.

Verse 2 1. He made them houses.] Dr. Shuckford thinks that there is something wrong both in the punctuation and translation of this place, and reads the passage thus, adding the 21st to the 20di verse. " And they multiplied and waxed mighiy; and this happened (Ti'l vayehi) because the midwives feared God: and he ( I'ltaraoh) made (on? lahem, niasc.) them (the Israelites) houses; anel commanded all his people, saying. Every son that is born, &c." The doctor supposes that)!revious to this time, the Israelites had no fixed dwellings, but lived in tents, and therefore had a better opportunity of concealing their children; but now Pharaoh built them houses, and obliged them to dwell in them, and caused the Kgyi'lians lowalch over them, that all the male children iiii,;hl be destroyed, vvliich could not have been easily effected, had the Israelites continued to live in their usual scattered manner in tents That the houses in question, were not made for the midivives, but for the Israelites in general, the Hebrew - text seems (jreity plainly to indicate: for the pronoun Orh lahtm, to them, is the masculine gender: hael the midwives been meant, the feminine prono'iii jn? lahen, would have been used. Gthcrs contend, that by making them houses, not only the midiuives are intended, but also that the words mark an increase of their families, and that the objection taken (rom the masculine pronoun is of no weight, because these pronouns are often inierthansied: see 1 Kinsrs xxii. 17. where D,17 lahem is written, and in the parallel place, 2 Chron..xviiL 6. inS lahe:i is used. So Dn3 bahem, in 1 Chron. x. 1. is written jn3 buhen, 1 Sam. xxxi. 1. and in several other

22 if And Pliaraoh charg-ed all his ye shall cast into the river, and every AM.uriM.*. people, saying, ''Every son that is born daughter ye shall save ahvc. ' B.c.cir.ioso.

places. Tliere is no doubt that God did I)lcss the midwives; iiis approbation of their conduce is strictly marked: and there can be no doubt of liis prospcrins the Israelites; for it is particularly said that the people nniltiplicd and waxed very mighty. But tiie words must probably refer to the Israelites, whose houses ov fumilks, were built up by an extraordinary increase of children, notwithstanding the criK-l policy of the Eg;yptian king. Vain is the counsel of man, when op-, posed to the determinations of God! Ail the means used for the destruction of this people, became in his hand instruments of their prosperity and increase. Kow true is the saying, If I God be^o;- us, wiio can be (f^ainst us?

I Verse 22. Ye shall cast into the riicrl As the Nile, which is here intended, was a sacred river among th.e Kgyptians, is it ' not unlikely that Pharaoh intended the young Hebrews as an, oflVring to his god, having two objects in view, 1. to cncrease ^tbe fertility of the ctiintry by thus procuring, as he might supimpose, a proper and sufticient annual miuidation; and 2. to J prevent an increase of population among the Israelites, and in -process of time procure their entire extermination?

It is conjectured with a great show of probability, that the edict mentioned in this verse, was not made till after the birth of Aaro'i; and that it was revoked soon after the bn'th of Moses; as, if it had subsisted in its rigour, durin^ the ei^hlysix years, which elapsed between this and the deliverance of I the Israelites, it is not at all likely that their males would have amounted to six hundred thousand, and those all effective men.

In the General Preface to this work, reference has been made to OrIGEN's metliod of intei'preting the Scriptures, and some specimens promised. On the plain account of a simple matter of fact, related in t!ie preceding chapter, this very eminent man, in his 2d homily on Exodus, imposes an interpretation, of which the following is the substance.

Pharaoh, kinq of E;^ypt, represents the devil — the male vnA female children of the Hebrews, represent the animal and rational faculties of the soul. Pharaoh, the dtiil, wishes to destroy all the males, i. e. the seeils of rationuHly and spiritual science, through which the soul tends to, and.teeks heurenlij things; but he wishes to preserve the females alive, i. e. all those animal propensities of man, through whi( h he becomes carnal and deviiish. Hence, says he, when ymi see a man living in luxury, banquetings, pleasures, and sensual gratifications; kno-.v, that there the king of E:ypt has slain all the males, and preferved all t\\t females alive. The nudii-ircs represcn' the Old and iV'tU) Testaments; the one is called Sephora, which signifies a sparrovi, and means that sort of instruction, by which the soul is led to soar aloft, and contemplate hcav'cnly things. The other i^ called Phwi, which signifies riiddj/ or l/nshful, and points out the go-jtet, which is ruddy with the Wood of Clirist, spreading the doctrine of his passion over the •arth. By these, as midwives, the souls that are born into the church arc healed; for the reading of the Scriptures corrects and heals, what is amiss in the mind. Pharaoh the devil, wi.slies to corrupt those midwives, that all the males, the spiritual propensities, may be destroyc d; and this he endeavours to do, by ' bringing in heresies and corrupt opinions. But the- foundation of God stanilelh sure. The }nidn;ivcs feared God, therefore he ' builded thiin houses. If this be taken literally, it has little or I no meaning, and is of no importance: but it points out, that I the miihvives, the law and the gospel, by teaching the fear of 1 God, build the houses of the c/iurch, and fill the whole earth with houses of prayer. Therefore these midwives, because! they feared God, and taught the fear of God, did not fulfil the command of the king of Egypt — they did not kill the \ fuales; and I dare confidently aliirin, that they did not pre- I serve ihe females alive; ibr they do not teach vicious doctrines in the church, nor preach up luxury, nor foster sin, which; are what Pharaoh wishes, in keeping the females alive; for by ' these, virtue alone is cultivated and nourished. By Pharaoh's j daughter, I suppose the clairch to be intended, which is gather- I ed from among the Gentiles: and although she has an imi pious and iniquitous father, yet the j)ropliet says unto her,; Hearken, O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear; forget i also thine own people, and thy father's house, so.iliall the kin" \ greatly desire thy beauty. Psal. xlv. 10, 11. This, therefore, I is she who comes to the waters to bathe, i. e. to the baptismal

* font, that she may be washed from the sins which ^he has contracted in \kt father's house. Iinniediately she receives bowels

• in the pool, cast oat, and e.rposed by his own people, in an ark 1 of bulrushes, daubed over with pitch, deformed and obscured, by the rarnal and absurd glosses of the Jews, who are igno- ■ rant of its spiritual sense; and while it continues with them, ' is as a hclplfss and destitute infant; but as soon as it enters I the doors of the Christian C'liurch, it becomes strong and I vigorous; and thus IMoses, the law, grows up, and becomes I through means of the Christian Church, more respectable even in the eyes of the Jews themselves, according to his own prophecy — / will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger wi'h a foolish nation, Dc'.it. xxxii. 21. Thus taught by the Christian Church, the Synagogue foi-sakes idolatry; for when it sees the Gentiles worsnipjiing the true God, it is ashamed of its idols, and wor- I ships them no more. In like manner, though we have had Pharaoh for our father, though the prince of this world has begotten us by wicked works, yet when we come unto the •waters of baptism, we take unto us Jiloses, the law of God, in its true and spiritual meaning; what is low or weak m it, we leave; what is strong and tier xct, we take and place in the royal palace ol' m\r heart. Tlicn we have Moses g'-o-.cn up; we no longer consider the law as little or mean — all is maonificent, excellent, elegant — for all is spiritually understood. Let us beseech the Lord.lesus Christ, that he may reveal himself to us more and more, and shew us how great and sublime Moses is; for lie, by his Holy Spirit, reveals iht-se things to whomsoever he will. To him be glory and donii- Tiiou for ever and ever! Amen.

Neither the praise of pieli/, nor the merit o(in<raunti/, can be denied to this eminent man, in siieh' interpretations as these. But who, at the same time, does not see, that if such a mode of exposition were to be allowed, the trumpet could no longer give a certain sound. Eveiy passage and fact might then be obliged to say some thing, atty tiling, every tiling, or 7;otliing, according to l\\t fancy, peculiar creed, or caprice of the interpreter.

I have given this large specimen from one of the ancients, merely to save the niodernx, from whose works on the sacred writings, 1 could produce many specimens, equally singular, and more absurd Header, it is possible to trife with tiie testimonies of God, and all the while speak serious things: but if all be not done according to the pattern shewn in tlic mount, mvc'a evil may be produced, and many stumbling blocks tlir;n>u in the way of others, which may turn tl>em totally out of the v\ ay of underslanding; and then what a dreadful account n)tist such interpreters have to give to that God, who has pronounced a curse, not only on those who take away from his word, but also on those who add to it!

^mram and Jochebed marry, 1. Most^s is horn, and is hid />•/ itis mother three months, 2. /s exposed in an ark of bulrushes on the river Nile, and u-atched by his sister, 3, 4. lie is found by the daughter of Pharaoh, wlw commits him fo the care of hi.i oicn mother, and has him educated as her oaii son, 5 — 9- When gromt up, he is brought to Pharaoh's daughter, zcho receives iiim as her orrn child, and calls him iNIoses, 10. Finding an Egyptian smiting a Hebretc, lie kills the Egyptian, and hides him in the sand, 11, 12. lieprovcs tiro Hebrews that xcere contending together, one of uhom charges him with killing the Egyptian, 13, 14. Pharaoh heating of the death nf the Egyptian, sought to slay 3Iuses, zcho being alarmed, escapes to the land of Midian, 15. Meets zcith the seven daughters of lieuel piieit of Midian, who came to uater their flocks, and asMsts them, l6, 17. -On their return, theij iiform their father Reue], nho invites Moses to his house, IS — 20. Moses dzvells nith him, and receives Zipporah his daughter to trife, 2i. She bears him a son, zchom he calls Gershom, 22. The children of Israel, grievously oppressed in Egypt, cry for deliverance, 2'J. Gud remembers his covenant tiith ylbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and /tears their prayer, 24, 25.

N D there went ' a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife XI daughter of Levi.:2 And the woman conceived, and bare a

"Verse 1. There ivenl a man] vVmraM, son of Kohath, son of Levi, chap. vi. 16—20. A daughter of I^vi — JoCHEBED, sister to Kohath, and consequently both the wife and aunt of her liuhband Amram, chap. vi. 20. Numb. x;;vi. 19. Such iiiarriagcs were at this time lawful, though they were after- •»vards forbidden. Lev. xviii. 12. But it is jwssible thai ditvgliier of Levi, means no more than a descendant of that family; and that probably Amram and Jochebed were only cousin germans. As a nevi law was to be given, and a new priesthood formed, God chose a religious family, out of which tiie lawgiver, and the liigh-priest, were both to spring.

Verse 2. Bare a soil] This certainly \\ as not her first child, for Aaron was/oiirscore find three years old, when Moses was but/oi(;vico/f, see chap. vii. 7. And there was a sister, protjably Miriam, who was elder than either, see below, ver. 4 and set r<iumb. xxvi. 59. Miriam and Aaron had, no doubt, been both

son: and •" when she saw him that he xi'as a goodly child, slic hici him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him,

born, before the decree was passed for the destruction of the Hebrew male children, mentioned in the preceding chapter.

Goodly chilli] The text simply says, MPl 31t2 O ki tob hu, that he was gnud, which signifies that he was not only a perfect well-formc<l child, but that he was very beautiful: hence the.Septua<rint translate the place, i^ite; Je avTo artiov, seeing liiiii to be beiiuliftd — whic-h St. Stephen interprets, riv artioq Til) ®coi, he was comely to God, or divinfly beautiful. This very circumstance was wisely ordained by the kind providence of God, to be one means of his preservation. Scarcely any thing interests the heart more, tlian the sight of a lovely babe in distress. Mis beauty would induce even I'.is parents to double their exertions to save him, and was probably the sol. motive, Mliicli led the Egyptian jirincess to take such purticular care of him, and to educate him as hrr own son, which in all likelihood she would not have done, had he been only an ordinary child.

A.M. 2ii;. she took for him an ark of buhaishes, °'^'°''' and daubed it with sHmc and with

4 ' And his sister stood afar off, to wit what woidd be done to him.

5 If And the '' daughtci" of Pharaoh down to wasli herself at the river

Verse 3. An ark of huhitshes] S'ljj nan tehath gome, a small boat or basket, inaile of the E;jyi)tiaii reed called pi'pyluj,.«o famous in all anti(]uitj'. Tliis plant grows on llie bank.« of tlie Nile, and in marshy grounds; the stalk rises to the height of str or seven cubits above the water, is triani^ular, and terminates in a crown of small filaments, resembling hair, which the ancients used to compare to a tliyrsis. This reed was of the greatest use to the inhabitants of Egypt, the pith contained in the stalk, serving thein for food, and the \^oody part to build vessels with; which vessels frequently appear on engraved stones and other monuments of Egyptian antiquity. For this purpose they made it up like rushes into bundles, and by tying them together, gave their vessels the necessary figure and.«olidity. The vessels of bulrushes or papyrus, says Dr. Shaw, were no Other than large fabi-ics of the same kind with that of Moses, D^xod. ii. 3. which, from the late introduction of plank and stronger materials, are now laid aside. Tlius I'liny, lib. vi. chap. 16. takes notice of die Naves papt/- rauas, ar-mamesitaque Sill, " Ships made of papyru.s and the equipments of the Nile;" and lib. xiiu chap. 1 1. he observes, £r ipsa quidcm papyro namgia teiunt — ''Of the papyras itself they construct sailing vessels." Herodotus and Diodorus have recorded the same fact, and among the poet?, Lucan, lib. iv. ver. 13o. Conseritur bibula Mempliitis ci^niba papyro — "The Memphianor Egyptian.boat is constructed from the soaking papyius." The epitliet bibula is particularly remarkable, a> corresponding with great exactness to the nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew name NQJ gome, which signifies to soak, to drink up. i^ce ^'arkhurst sub voce.

She laid it in thejiags] Not willing to trust it in the stream, for fear of a disaster; and probably choosing the place to vhieh the Egyptian princess was accustomed to come, for the purposes specified in the note on the following verse.

Verse 4. And the daughter of Pharaoh] Josephus calls her ThermutLis, and says, that "the ark was boiue a]ong by the current, and that she sent one that could swim after it — -that she was struck w ith the figure and uncommon beauty of the child; that she enquired for a nurse— but lliat he having refused the breasts of several, his sister, proposing to bring a Hebrew nurse, bis own mother was procured." But all this is in Josephus's manner, as well as the long circumstantial dream, that he gives to Amram concerning tlie future greatness of Moses, which cannot be considered in any other light than that of a fable, and not even a cunningly daised one.

To Hash herself at the rii-er} Whether the daughter of Pharaoh went to bathe in the river through motives of pleasure, health, or religion; or whether she bathed at all, the text does not specify. It is merely stated by the sacred writer, that she ivent down to the river to WASH; for the word herself, is not in the original. Mr. Manner, Observat. vol. iii. p. 529. is of opinion that the time referred to above, was that in which the Nile begins to rise; and as the dancing girls in E;;ypt, arc accustomed now to plunge themselves into the river at its rising, by which act they testify their gratitude for the inestimable blessing of its inundations, so it might have been formerly; and that Pharaoh's daughter was now coming down to the river on a similar account. — I see no likelihood in all this. If she washed herself at all, it yitight have been a religious ablution, and yet extended no farther than to the hands and face; for the word JTH rachals, to wash, is rejieatedly uscfl in the I'eiUateuch to signify religious ablutions of diflcrent kinds. Jonathan in his Targum says, that God had smitten all Egypt with ulcers, and that the daughter of Pharaoh came to wash in the river in order to find relief; and that as soon as she touched the ark where Moses wa.s, her ulcers were healed. This is all fable. I believe there was no bathing in the case, but simply what the text states. Hashing, uot of her person, but of her clothes, which was an employment, that even kini^s' daughters did not think beneath them in those primitive times. Homer, Odyss. vi. represents A'aMU'Wrt, daughter of Alciiuius. king of the Phuacians, in company with her maidens, employed at the sea side, in washing her own clothes, and those of her /Ire brothers! While tluis employed tliey find Ulysses just drives ashore, after having been shipwrecked; utterly helpless, naked, and destitute of every necessary of lite. 'J'lie vihole scene is so perfectly like that before us, that they appear lo me to be almost parallels. I shall subjoin a few lines. The princess having piled her clothes on a carriage drawn by several mules, and (lri\en to A\e place of washing, commences her work, whicli the poet describes thus:

Odyss. hb. vi. ver. 90. " Lighl'ningthe carriage, next, they bore in hand The garments do-jsn to the unsullied xiave, And thrust t/iem, heap'd into the pools, their task Dispatching brisk, and with an emulous haste. \V hen all ivere purified, and neither spot Could be perceived or blemish more, they spread Tlie raiment orderly alon^ the beach, 'Where dashing tides had cleans'd tlie pebbles most."

When this task was finished, we find the Phscacian princess and her ladies (Ksi/p J' ck BaXa/xoio — a/jt^i'7rc?<3t a\?.xi) employed in amusing themselves upon the beach, till the "ar. ments they had washed should be dry, and fit to be folded up> that they might reload tlieir carriage and return..;

maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when slie had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And siie had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' 'children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter. Shall I go and cull to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her. Go. And the maid went, and called the child's mother.

In the text of Moses, the Egyptian princess accompanied ■with her 7nrtids, n'r\ij?3 nadrouyah, comes down to the river, not to liathe herself, iur this is not intimated, but merely to ■wash. \'TTh lirechots: at the time in which the nrk is perceived, we may suppose that she and her companions had finished their tasii, ami like tlie daughter of Alcinous, and her maidens, were amusing themselves, walking along by the river's side, as tlie others did by tossing a ball, atpaipn rai r'ap sTrai^ov, when they as suddenly and as unexpectedly discovered Moses adrift on the flood, as Nausicaa and her companions discovered Ulysses, just escaped naked from shipwreck. In both the histories, that of the;>o« and tiiis oi' the prophet, both the strangers, the shipwrecked Greek, and the almost drowned Hebrew, were rescue'i by the princesses, nourished and pre served alive! Were it lawful to suppose that Homer had ever seen the Hebrew story, it would be reasonable to conclude that lie had niadL' it the basis of the 6th book of the Odyssey.

Verse 6. Slie had compassion on him] The sight of a beautiful babe in distress, could not fail to make the impression here mentioned; see on ver. 2. It has already been conjectured, that the cruel edict of the Egyptian king did not continue long in force; see chap. i. 22. And it will not appear unreasonable to suppose, that the circumstance related here might have brought about its abolition. The daughter of Piiaraoh, struck with the distressed state of the Hebrewchildren, from wliat she had seen in the case of Moses, would probably implore her father to abolish this sanguinary edict.

Verse 7. Shall I go and call — « nurse.?] Had not the different circumstances marked here, been placed under the superintendancc of an especial Providence, there is no huiuaii probability that they could have had such a happy issue. The parents had done every thing to save their child, that piety, alTcctign, and prudence could dictate, and having done MO, they left the event to Gud. By faith, says the Apostle, Heb. xi. 23. Moses was hid, when he was born, three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were' not afraid of the Icing's commandment. Because of the king's commandment tiiey were obliged to make use of the most prudent caution lo kavc the child's life; and their faitb in God

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became ' her son. And she called his name '' Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

11 •![ And it came to pass in those a. m. 2*73. days, ' when Moses was grown, that ^ ^' "^'' he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their " burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. \

enabled them to risk their own safety; for they were not afraid of the king's commandment — they feared God, and they had no other fear.

Verse 10. And he became her son] From this time of liis being brought home by his nurse, his education commenced, and he ivas learned in all theivisdom of tlie Egyptians, Acts vii. 22. who, in the knowledge of nature, probably exceeded all the nations then on the face of the earth.

And she called his name] rviTO mosheh, because D'On JO min ha-mayim, out of the waters, inn'*it3 meshitihu, have I drawn him. nWO mashah signifies to draw out, and mosheh is the person drawn out: the word is used in the same sense, Psal, xviii. n. and 2 Sam. xxii. 17. What name he had from his parents we know not; but whatever it might be, it was ever after lost in the name given to him by the princess of Egypt. Abul Farajius says that Thermuthis delivered him to the wise men, Janees and Jimbrees, to be instructed in wisdom.

Verse 1 1. When Moses was grown] Being full forty years of age, as St. Stephen says. Acts vii. 23. it came into his heart to visit his brethren — i. e. he was excited to it by a divine inspiration — and seeing one of them suffer wrong — by an Egyptian smiling him; probably one of the task masters — he avenged him ami smote, slew the Egyptian; supposing that God who had given him commission, had given also his brethren to understand, that they were to be delivered by his hand, see Acts vii. 23 — 25. Probably the Egyptian killed the Hebrew, and therefore on the Nnahic precept, Moses was justified in killing him: and be was authorized so to do, by the commission which he had received from God, as all succeeding events amply prove. Previous to the mission of IVIoses to deliver the Israelites, Josephufi saj's, the Ethiopians having made an irruption into Egypt, and subdued a great part of it, a divine oracle advised them to employ Moses the Hebrew. On this, the king of Egypt made him general of the Egyptian forces; with these he attacked the Ethiopians, defeated and drove them back into their own land, and forced them to lake refuge in the city of Saba, where he besieged them. That Tharbis, daughter ot the Ethiopian king, seeing him, fell desperately in love with him, and promised to give up the city to him, on condition

"*-• '•"'^'" that way, and wlien he saw that there was no man, he " slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

13 And '' when he went out the second day, behold, two men of ihe Hebrews strove to- i pether: and he said to him that did the wrong, | Wherefore smitcst thou thy fellow? |

14 And he said, ' Who made thee " a prince and a judge over us? intcndest thou to kill me, as (hou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses, feared, and said. Surely tliis thing is known.

15 Nmv when Pharaoh heard this thing, he, sought to slay Moses. But ° Moses fled from

ithat he wouM take lur to wife, to v.liicli Moses agreed, and Hie city was put into the hands of the I' iryptians. Jo». Ant. (\\h. ii. chap. y. St. Stephen probably alluded to sonietliing'!of this kind, when lie said, Moses was mighlj/ in deeds as fwell as words.

[ Verse 13. Two men of ihe Hcbreui siroz-e logetlier'] How Ittrang-c, that in the very place where they were siilFerinj^- a heavy ptrsecution, because they were Ilcbre-^s, that the very 'persons themselves, who suffered it, should be found persc- Icutinof each other! It has Ijcen often seen, that in those itimft- in which the nngodly oppressed the Church of Christ, i its own members have been separated from encii clluT, by [ (disputes concerning comparatively unessential points of <loc- I trine and discipline; in consequence of which, both they and Itlie truth have become an easy prey to those whose ilesire was to waste the heritage of the Lord. The Taroum of Jonathan says that the two persons who strove were Dutluin and Aiiiiam. \'erse 14. And Moses feared] He saw that the Israelites "Were not as yet prepared to leave their bondage; and that: though God liad called him to be their leader, yet his provijdenee had not j'ot sufficiently o|5ened the way; and had he 'staid in Egypt, he must have en<langered his life. Prudence therefore dictated an escape for the present, to the land of IMidian,

Verse 15. Pliarrioh — sov^lit to slut/ 3Toscs — hut Moses Jled.from the face of l'lii:nioli.] How can this be reconciled with Heb. xi. 27. by faith he (Moses) forsook E'jypt, not feariii'jr the v:ruth of the ki't'^? — Very easily: the Apostle speaks not lof //(i> forsaking of Egypt, but of his and the Israelites' final [departure from it; and of the b;ild and courageous manner in iwliich Moses treated Pharaoh and the Kgyptian^^ ilisregardlioij his tbreatenings, and the tnidiitudes of tliciii tliat pursued ■-after the people whom, in the name and strength oi' God, he lied, in the face of their enemies, out of Egypt.

Duelt in the land if iVlidianl A country generally supposed to have been in Arabia Petrea, on the esstern coast of the 'Red Sea, not far from Mount Sinai. This place is still '.ailed 'by the Arabs, the Land of Midian, or tlw Land <i)' Jnhro..

the land of Midian: and he sat ° ^ '"'*' ' down by ' a well.

16 % ^ Now the "priest of Midian had seven daughters: 'and they came and drew waicTy and filled the troughs to water their fiithcr's flock.

17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and " watered their flock.

18 And when they came to ' Rcuel, their father, he said. How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us

Abul Farnjius calls it the land of the Arabs. It is supposed that the Midianites derived their origin from Madian, the fourth son o! Abraham by Keturah, thus: Abraham, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan and Midian, Ragiiel, Jethro;.see Gen.xxv. I. But Calmet contends, that if Jethro had been of the family of Abraham, either by Jokshan or Midian, Aaron and IVliriam could not have reproached Mo^es with marrying a i Cushite, Zipporah, the daughter of Keuel. Ke thinks therefore that the Midianites were of the progeny oi Cash, the son of U(im; see Gen. x. 6.

Vcr.se 1 6. The priest of Midian] Or prince, or both: for the original, jro cohen, has bulb meanings. See it explained at large, Gen. xv. 18. The trans.iction here, very nearly resembles that mentioned Gen. xxix. concerning Jacob and Rachel; see the notes there.

Verse 11. The shepherds — droie them] The verb CIC^J' yei^areshtim, being in the masculine gender, seems to imply that the sliephcrds drove away theji<H-ks of Reuel's daughters, ami not the daughters lliemsclves. The fact seems to be, that as the daughters of Rene! filled the troughs, and brought their flocks to drink, the shcjihcrds drove those away, and profiting b)' the young ■women's labour, watered their own cattle. Moses resisted this insolence, and assisted them to water their flocks; in consequence cf which, they were enabled to return much sooner than they were wont to do, ver. 1 8.

Verse 18. li.'uel their father] In Numb. x. 29. this person is called Ragiie!; but the Hebrew is the same in both places. The reason of this difierence is, tliat the I? din in 7N'in, is sometimes used merely as a ■unncl, sometimes as a g, ng, and gii, and this is occasionu'd by the difficulty of the sound, which scarcely any European organs can enunciate. As ]>ronouncc(l by the Arabs, it strongly resembles the fust effort made by the tliroat in gitr:;!iiig, or as Meninski says, est vox x'iluli mairem roca7iti.':, ii is like the sound made by a calf in.seeking its dam. liiigiiel is the worst method of pronouncing it; Re-u-el, the first syllable strongly accented, is nearer to the true sound. A pro]>cr uniformity in pronouncing the same word wherever it may occur, either in the Old or New Tes-

out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

20 And he said unto his daughters, And where u he I why is it that ye have left the man? call ])im, that he may ^ eat bread.

'1\ And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses '' Zipporah his daughter.

'I'l And she bare lum a son, and he called his name " Gershom **: for he said, I have been *•» stranger in a strange land.

lament, is greatly to be desired. The person in question appears to have several names. Here be is called Reuel; in Kumb. X. 29. Rnguet; in Exod. iii. l.Jeiltro; in Jiidg. iv. 1 1. Hobah, and in Judg^ i. 16. he is called 'J'p Ktyni, which in llie 4th. chap, we translate Kenite. Some suppose that Rn-ti-d was father to Hobab, who was also caWed Jethro. This is the most likely; see the note on chap. iii. I.

Ver.<e 20. Tliat lie may eat bread.] That be may be entertained, and receive refreshment to proceed on his journey. Bread, amon^ the Hebrews, was used to signify all kinds of Jbod, commonly used for the support of man's life.

Verse 21. Zipporah his dauglder'] Abul Farajius calls her *• Saphura the black, daughter of Rewel the Midianite, the son of Dedan, the son of Abraham by his wife Keturah." The Targiim calls her the grand-daughter of Reuel. It appears that Moses- obtained Zipporah, something in the same way that Jacob obtained Rachel; namely, for the performance of certairt sci vices; probably keeping of sheep, see chap. iii. 1.

Verse 22. Called his name Girshom'] Literally a stranger — the reason of which Moses immediately adds — -for I have been an AI.IE.S in a strange lund.

The Vulgate, the Septuagint, as it stands in the Complulensian Polyglott, and in.several WSS. the Sjjrlac, the Coptic, and the Arabic add the following words to this verse. And the ■name of the.lecitnd he culled Elicter; fur the God ofmyfatlicr has been- my hr'p and delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh. These words are found in chap, xviii. 4. but they are certainly necessary here, for it is very likely that these twosons were born ■within a sliort space of each other; for in chap. iv. 20. it is said, I\lo^cs took his wife and his SONS, by which it is plain, that he had both Ucrshom and Eliezer at that time. Honbipant introduces this addition in his Latin version, and contvnils that Ibis is its most proper place. Notwithstanding the authority of the above versions, the clause is found in no copy printed or I\LS. of the Hebrew text.

Vt-r.sc 23. /;) process of time the king of Egypt died] Aceording to St. Stephen (Actsvii. 30. compared with E\od, vii. 1.) the death of the Egyptian king happened about forty years after the escape ff Moses to Wuhan. The Hebrew words Dr\n iy3in coo 'HM va-ythi ba-yiimim ha-rabbim ha-hetn,

23 ^ And it came to pass ^ in process of time, that the king of Egypt died t and the children of Israel ^ sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and " their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

24 And God ' heard their groaning, and GoA " remembered his ' covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25 And God " looked upon the children o| Israel, and God " had respect unto them °.

which we translate. And it came to pass in process of time, signify. And it ivas in many days from these, that the king, &c. It has already been remarked, that Archbishop Usher suj>- poses this king to l>ave been Ramests Miamiin, who was sueceded by his- son Amenopbis, who was drowned in the Red Sea, when pursuing the Israelites;, but- Abul Farajius says it was Amunfathis, (Amenophis) be who made the cruel edict against the Hebrew children. tj

Some suppose that Moses wrote tlte book of Job, daring- j the time he sojourned in Midian, and also the book of Genesis.

Sighed by reason of the bondage] For the nature of their bondage, see on chap. i. 14.

Verse 24. God rcmetnhered his covenant] God's covenant » God's engagement — he had promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give their posterity a land flowing with milL and iioney, &c. They are now under the most oppressiva bondage, and this was the most proper time for God to shewthem his mercy and power in fulfilling his promise. This i»- all that is meant by God's remembering his covenant, for it wa»- now tliat he began to give it its eO'ect. j

Verse 25. And God had respect unto theiii] D'nSsf in<1 vaiyedA [ Elohiin — God knew thein, i.e. he approved of them, ani i therefore it is said that their cry came up before God, and he heard their groaning. The word ^T yudd, to know, in the! Hebrew Bible, as well as y(vu<r.<ai in the Greek Testament,.; are frequently used in the sense of approving; ami because God knew, had' respect for, and approved of them, tlierefore he was determined to deliver tlicm. For DTiSh Elohim, GOD, inthe last clause of this verse, Houbigant reads DiTTX alihem, UPON THEM; which is countenanced by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Chaldec, Coptic, and Arabic, and appears to have been the original reading. The ditlerence In tlie original, consistsin the iiUercliange of two letters!, the ^j/orf and rt /le. Our tran.slators insert unto them, in order to make up that sense, which this various reading gives without trouble.

The farther we proceed ii» the Sacred Writings, the more ■ the history both of the grace and providence of God opens toour view. He ever cares tor his creatures, and is mindfal; of his promise. The very means raad.e use of to destroy hi*

Remarks on the providence of

God towards the Israelites, work, are, in his hands, the instrurricntS of its accomphshmenl. I'haraoli orders tlic male ciiiidren of the Hebrews to be tliroHH into the river — Moses, wlio was thus exposed, is I found by his own daii^Miter, brought up as litr own son; and from his Egyptian education, becomes much better quaHfied for the fjreat work to wliich God had called him: and his being obliged to leave Kgypt, was undoubtedly a powerful means to woaa his heart from a land, in which he had at his conuTiand all the advantages and luxuries of life. His sojourning also ii\ a strange land, where he was obliged to earn his bread by a very painful employment, fitted him for the perilous journey he was obliged to take in the wilderness, and enabled him to bear the better, the privations to which he was in consequence, exposed.

The bondage of the Israelites was also w'isely permitted, that they might with less reluctance leave a country where they had sufl'ered the greatest oppression and indignities.

Had diey not suffered severely, previous to their departure, there is much reason to believe, that no inducements could have been suflicient to have prevailed on them to leave it.

And yet their leaving it, was of infinite consequence, in the order both of grace and providence, as it was indispensably necessary that they should be a people separated from all the

,5 rest of the world, that ihey nnght see the promises of God fulfilled under their own eyes, and thus have the fullest per-

; suasion that their law was divine, their prophets inspired by

': the Most High, and that the Messiah came according to the

'] prophecies before delivered concerning him.

[ and the seven daughters of Jeihro, (ver. 16.) we learn that in the days of primitive simplicity, and in this respect the best days, the children, particularly the daughters of persons

1 in the highest ranks in life, were employed in the most la- liorious offices. Kings' danghters performed the office of the laundress to their own families; and the daughters of princeS tended and watered the flocks. We have seen similar instances in the case of Rebckah and Rachel; and we cannot be too pointed in calling the attention of modem delicate females, who are not only above serving their own parent*' and family, but even their own selves: the consequence of which is, they have neither vigour nor health; their growth, for want of healthy exercise, is generally cramped, their natural powers are prematurely developf;d, and their whole course is rather an apology for living, than a state of eflcctive life. Many of these live not out half their days, and their otTspring, when they have any, is more feeble than themselves; so that the race of man, where snch preposterous conduct is followed, and Where is it not fofiowed? is in astate of gradual deterioration. Patents, who wish to fulfilthe intention of God and nature, will doubtless see it their duty to bring up their children on a dilTcrent plan. A worse than the present can scarcely be found out.

Afflictiom under the direction of God's providence, and the influences of his grace, are often the means of leading, men to pray to, and acknowledge God, who, in the time of their prosperity, hardened their necks from his fear. When the Israelites were sorely oppressed, they began to pray. If the cry of oppression had not been among them, probably the cry for mercy had not been heard. Though allliction«i considered in themselves, can neither atone for sin, nor improve the moral state of the soul, yet God often uses them as nieiins to bring sinners to himself, and to quicken those, who, having already escaped the pollutions of the world, were falling again under the influence of an earthly mind. Of many millions besides David, it may truly be said, before they were afilicted, tbey went astray!

Moses, keeping the Jlock of J ethro, at Mount Horeb, 1, the angel of the Lord appears to him in a burning bush, C, jlstonis/ied at the sight, lie turris aside to examine it, 3, when God speaks to him out of the fire, and declares himself to be the God of Ahralmm, Isaac, and Jacob, 4 — 6; announces his purpose of delivering the Israelites from tluir oppression, and of bringing litem into tin promised land, 7 — 9; commissions him to go to Pharaoh, and to be leader of the children of Israel from Egypt, 10. Moses excuses himself, II; and God, to encourage him^ promises him his protection, IG. Moses doubts zchetlier the Israelites zcill credit him, 13, and God reveals to him his Name, and informs him zchat he is to.sn;/ to the people, 14 — 17, and instructs him and the elders of Israel, to apply unto Pharaoh fur permission to go three days journey into the uiUlerness to sacrifice unto the Lord, 18;

• foretells the obstinacy of the Egyptian king, and the miracles which he himself should work in the sight of the Egyptians, 1 9, QO; and promises, that, on the departure of the Israelites, the Egyptians should be induted to furmsit them with all necessaries Jpr their Journey, 21j 22.

Moses keeps the Jlock of Jethro. EXODUS.

,TOW Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, ' the

priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desart, and came to ^ the mountain of God, eveti to Horeb.

Verse 1. Jethro his father-in-laxv] Concerning Jethro, see the note on chap. ii. 18. Learned men are not agreed on the signification of the word jnh cholen, wliich we translate fiaher-in-ta-x, and which, in Genesis xix. 14. we translate soii-in-laxo. ' It seems to be a general term for a relatr'e by vmrriage, and the connection only in wliich it stands, can determine its precise meaning. It is very possible tliat Reuel was now dcud, it being forty years since ]Moses came to Midian; that Jethro was his son, and had succeeded him in his office of prince and priest of Midian; that Zipporah was the sister of Jethro, and that consequently the v/ord jnn chotat, should be translated brother-iu'luiu in this place, as we learn from Gen. xxxiv. 9. Dent. vii. 3. Jo.-h. xxiii. 12. and other places, that it simply signifies to contract affiniiij hj/ iiiurriagr. If this conjectiiie be right, we may well suppose, that Reuel being dead, Moses was continued by his brother-in-law Jethro in the same employment he had under his father.

Blountuin of God] Sometimes named Horeh, at otlier times Sinai. Tlie mountain itself had two peaks, one was called Hon-b, the other Siiuii. Horeb was probably the primitive name of the moimtain, which was afterwards ealle<l the mountain of God, because God appeared u|ion it to Moses; and mount Sinai, 'J»D, from HJD scneh. a bush, because it was in a bush or bvaiiibie, in a flame of fire, that this appearance was made.

Verse 2. TItc angel of the Lord] Not a created angel certainly; for he is called HTl' Jehovah, ver. 4, &c. and has the most expressive attributes of the Godhead applied to him, ver. 14, &c. Yet he is an angel, IxSo malac, a 7ncsi-engcr, in whom was the name of God, ciiap. xxiii. 21. and in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Col. ii. 9. and who, in all these primitive time^, was the messenger of the covenant, Mai. ill. 1. And who was this but Jesus, the Leader, Redeemer, and Saviour of mankind? — Seethe note on Gen. xvi. 7.

A flume of lire out of the midst of a bush] Fire was not only among the Hebrews, but also among many other ancient nations, a very significant emblem of the Deity. God accompanied the Israelites in all their jonrneyings throuL;li the wildernt.ss as a pillar of fire by night, and probably a fire or flame in the Holy of Holies, between the Cherubim, was the general symbol of his presence; and traditions of these things, which must have been current in the East, have probably given birth, not only to the pretty general ojilnion that God appears in the likeness of fire, but to the whole of the Zoroustrian si/steni of fire-uorsliij). It has been reported of Zoroa.ster, or Zerudusht, that having retired to a mountain for the study of wisdom, and the benefit of solitude, the

2 And "^ the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

whole mountain was one day enveloped with flame, out of the midst of which, he came without receiving any injury; on which he oftered sacrifices to God, who, he was persuaded, had then appeared to him. M. Anquetil du Perron gives much curious intijrmation on this subject in his Zend Avesta. The modern Parsees call fire the oflspring of Ormusd, and worship it with a vast variety of ceremonies.

Among the fragments attributed to /Eschylus, and collected by Stanley, in his invaluable edition of this poet, p. 647. col. 1. we find the following beautiful verses:

" Distinguish God from mortal men; and do not sup. po^e, that any thing fleshly is like unto him. Thou knowesi him not: sometimes indeed he appears as a formless and inipetucus FIRE — sometimes as water — sometimes as thick dark-

" Tlie mountains, the earth, the deep and extensive sea, and tlie summits of the highest mountains, tremble, whenever the terrible eye of the Supreme Lord looks down upon them."

These are very remarkable fragments, and seem all to be collected from traditions relative to the different manifestations •jf God to the Israelites in P^gypt, and in the wilderness. Moses wished to see God, but he could behold nothing but an indescribable glory; nothing like mortals, nothing like a human body, appeared at any time to his eye, or to those of the Israelites. " Ye saw no manner of similitude," said Moses, " on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the FlltE," Deut. iv. 15. But sometimes the divine power and justice were manifested by the indescribable, formless, impetuous, consuming flume — at other times he appeared by the uuiter which he brought out of the flinty rock — and in the thick darkness on Horeb, when the fierj/ law pr(iceed(_d from his right ha;ul, then the earth ijuaked and the mountain trembled: and when his terrible eye looked out upon the Egyptians, through the pillar of cloud and fire, their chariot wheels were struck off, and confusion and dismay were spread through all the hosts of Pharaoh, Exod. xiv. 24, 25.

And the hush was not consumed.] I. -An emblem of 1]k state of Israel in its various distresses and p-jr.-ecutions: it was i» the fire of adversity, but was not consumed. 2. An emblem

3 And Moses said, I will now turn

saw that he turned '' unto him out of the midst o£ the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said. Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: " put off thy shoes from oflf" thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, '^ I am the God of thy

I also of the state of the Church of God in the wilderness, in persecution.s often — in the midst of its enemies — in the region of tlie sliadow of Death — yet not consumed. 3. An emblem also of tlie state of every follower of Christ — cast down, i)Ut not forsaken — grievously tempted, hut noi destroyed — yalking through the fire, hut still unconsuined! VV hy are jail these preserved in the midst of those things which have a ilnatural tendency to destroy them.? Because (jOD IS IN THE •AllDST OF THEM — it was this that preserved the bu.sh from destruction — and it was this that preserved the Israelites — 'and it is this, and this alone, that preserves the Church, and holds the soul of every genuine believer in the spiritual life. He in whose heart Christ dwells not by faith, will soon be jconsumed by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Verse 5. Put off thi/ shoes] It is likely, that, from this cir-.cumstance, all the Eastern nations have agreed to perforin all the acts of their religious worship barefoo'ed. All the Mohammedans, Iirahmins, and Parsees, do so still. The Jews were remarked for this in the time of Juvenal: herkce he speaks of their performing their sacred rites bunfooted: Sat. vi. ver. 158.

The ancient Greeks did the same: Jamblichu.s in the life!of Pythagoras, tells lis, that this was one of his ma.vims — •amTTo^tjTOi 6us xai tt^oo'kvvsi — offer sacrifice, and worship, Xiilh your shoes off. And Sohnus asserls, that no person was Iperinittcd to enter into the temple of Duma, in Crete, till ihe had taken off his shoes. " JEdtni Kuininis [Diuiitr) pnxtcr- ''fjuam nudus vestigio nullus licito ini^rcditur." Tertullian observes, de jejunio, that in a time of drought, the worshippers!of Jupiter deprecated his wrath, and prayed for rain, walkjing barefooted. " Cum stupet ca>luni, et aret annus, nudiipedalia denunciantur." It is probable that ohvi ntdlim, in illie text, signifies sandals, tr.anslated by the Clialdee V^JO taridal, and sSlJD sandula, see Gen. xlv. 23. which was the same as the Roman solea, a sole alone, stra])ped about the foot. As this sole "must let in dust, gravel, and.sand about the foot in travelling, and render it very uneasy, hence the;custom of frequently leashing the feet in those countries, •where these san<lals were worn. Pullim^ off the shoes was, 'iliereforc, an emblem of laying aside the pollutions con- 1 flither, the God of Abraham, the *• *'"'• God of Isaac, and the Ciod of.Jacob. "'^ '*'"• And Moses hid his face; lor ' he was afraid to look upon God.

7 1[ And the Loud said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and "^ have heard their cry * by reason of their taskmasters; l()r " I know their sorrows;

8 And ' I am come down to " deliver tliem out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to briuL

traded by walking; in the ti'flj/ of sin. Let those who name the Lord Jesus Christ depart from iniquity. In our A\'csCerti countries, reverence is expressed by pulling off the hat; but how much more significant is the Eastern custom!

The place xvhcreon thou standest is holy s^round.] It was now particularly sanctified by the Divine Presence: but if we may credit Josephus, a general opinion had prevailed that God dwelt on thai mountain; and hence the shepherd.s, considering it as sacred ground, did not dire to feed their flocks there. Mo.ses, however, finding the soil to be rich, and the pasturage good, boldly drove his flock thither to feed on it. — Antiq. b. II. c. xii. s. 1.

Verse 6. / am tlic (iod of thy father] Though the word ON' abi, father, is here used in the singular, St. Stephen, quoting this place. Acts vii. 32. uses the plural, o Geo; raiy waTcoiv a-Oii, the God of thy FATHERS; and tl»at this is the meaning, the following words prove — The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. These were the fathers of Moses in a direct line. This reading is confirnif d by the Samaritan and by the Coptic. Abr.\H.\.M was the father of the hhniaelites, and with him was the covenant first))mde. Is.-\AC was the father of the Edomites as well as the Israelites, and with him was the covenant renewed. JacOB was the father of the twelve patriarchs, who were founders of the Jewish nation; and to him were the promises particularly confirmed. Hence we see, that the Arabs and Turks in general, who are descendants of Ishmael; the Edomites, now absorbed among the Jew.s, see the note on Gen. xxv. 23. who are the descendants of Esau: and the Jewish people, whercsoe(er scattered, who are the descendants of Jacob, are all heirs of the promises included in this primitive covenant; and their gathering in, with the f'ldness of the Gentiles, may be confidently expected.

And Moses hid his face] For similar acts, see the pas.sage» referred to in the margin. lie was afraid to look — he was overawed by God's presence, and dazzled with the splendor of the appearance.

Verse 1. I have surely seeyi] 'n'NI r.X^ rcoh reiti, seeing, I have seen — I have not only seen the afflictions of this peo])le, because I am oumiscient; but 1 have considered their sorrow. s and mine eye allccts my heart.

flowing with milk and honey; unto the phice of '' the Canaanitcs, and the Hittites, and the Amoiites, and the Perizzites, and the Hilutcs, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, " the children of Israel is come unto me also seen the '^ oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 " Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

'^Who am I, that I should go unto.

Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, ^Certainly I will be with, thee; and this shall he a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, 'wJien I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath

Verse 8. And I am come dox^n to deliver thenr\ This is the very pm'pose for ^vhich I am now come down upon this mountain I and for which I manifest "inyself to thee.

Lar^e land] Canaan, when compared with the small tract of Gosiien, in which they were now situated, and where, we karn, from chap. i. 1. they were straitened for room, mig^ht be well called a large land: see a fine deacription of this -Jand, Deut. viii. 7,

A landflowin'j; with milk and honey] Excellent for pasturage, ■because abounding in the most wholesome herbage and flowers; and from the latter an abundance of wild honey was collected by the bce.s. Though cultivation is now almost entirely neglected in this land, because of the badness of the governpient, and tiie scantiness of the inhabitants, yet it is etili good for pasturage, and yields an abundance of honei/. The terms used in the text to express the fertility of this land, ore commonly used by ancient authors on similar subjects. Jt ii a metaphor taken from a brean, producing copious streams of milk. Homer calls Argos, cuiap apoufrj;, tlie breast of the country, as aftbrding sireawis -of milk end honey, U. ix. jpr, 141. So Virgil,

« The land that first produced you,.fihall receive you again into its joyous bosom."

The poets feign that Bacchus, the fable of whom they hav« ^faken from the history of Moses, produced rivers of milk and honey, of water and wine:

"The land flpws with milk; it flows also with wine; it flows also with the nectar of bees (honey)." This seems to be a mere poetical copy from the Pentateuch, where the sameness.of the metaphor, anfl tk correspondence of the descriptions.are obvious.

fitd that this was beyond his power, and all the means that he possessed, that he is astonished that even God himself should appoint hiin to this work! Such indeed was the bondage of the children of Israel, and the power of the people by whom they were enslaved, that had not their deliverance come through supernatural means, their escape had been utterly impossible.

Verse 12. Certainly I will be ivith thee] This great event shall not be left to thy wisdom and to thy power — my counsel shall direct thee; and my power shall bring all these mighty things to pass.

And this shall be a token] Literally, And THIS to thee for a sign, i. e. this miraculous manifestation of the burning bush, shall be a proof that I have sent thee; or, my being with thee to encourage thy heart, strengthen thy hands, and enable thee to work miracles, shall be to thyself and to others, thft evidence of thy divine mission.

Ye shall serz-e God on this mountain] This was not the sign, but God shews him that in their return from ICgypt, they F.hould take this mountain in their way, and should worship him in this place. There may be a prophetic allusion here to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. As Moses received his commands here, so likewise sliould the Israelites receive theirs in the same place. After all, the Divine Being.seeins to testify a partial predilection for this mountain. See iIm: note on ver. 5.

Verse 13. They shall say — What is his name?] Does not this suppose that the Israelites had an idolatrous notion evenof the Supreme Being? They had probably drank deep into the Egyptian superstitions, and had gods many and lords many; and Moses conjectured, tliat hearing of a supernalural deliverance, they would enquire who that God was, by whom it was to be etlccted. The reasons given here by the Rabbins, are too refined for the Israelites at ibii; time. When God, ' say they, judgeth his creatures, he is called D'hSs Elohijn. Wlien he xvarrclh against the wicked, he is called ri1X33C tse~ booth; but when he shevveth mercy unto the world, he is culled nw Ychovak. It is not likely that the Israelites bad; much knowledge of God or of his ways, at the time to which the Sacred Text rel'eis: it is certain they had no wriuen.

A.M. 2513. sent me unto you; and they shall " ^ "^'" say to me,.What is his name? what shall I say unto tliem?

14 And God saiil unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, * I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 ^ And God said moreover unto Moses,

16 Go, and 'gather the elders of aM'-JS'^. Israel together, and say unto them, '^'^^'*^'' The LoKD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, ■* I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, " I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the

Thus shalt thou say unto tlic children of Israel, Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Aniorites, The Lord God ol your fiithers, the God of,, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and tlie Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and Jacob, hath sent nie unto you: this is ''my I honey, name tor ever, and this w my memorial unto all IS And "^they sliall hearken to thy voice:

word — tlic book of Genesis, if even written (for some suppose it liad been compo.^ed l>y Mases during- his residence rn Midian) liad not yet been communicated to the people; and being so lon^ witliout any revelation, and j)erhaps widiout even the form of divnie worship, their minds being- degraded bj* the state of bondage in whicli they had been so long held, and seeing and hearing little in religion, but the superstitions of those among vhom they sojourned, they could have no distinct notion of the Divine Being. Moses himself iliight have been in doubt at first on this subject; and he seems to have been greatly on his guard against illusion: hence he asks a variety of questions, and endeavours, by all prudent means, to assure, himself of the truth and certainty of the present appearance and commission. He well knew the power of the Egyptian magicians, and he could not tell from these first views, whether there might not have been Rome delusion in this case. God, there'ore, gives him the fullest proof, not only for the satisfaction of the people to whom he was to be sent, but for his own full conviction, that it was the supreme God who now spoke to him.

Verse 14. 1 AM that I AM] nT.N '^tTX HTIX EnEYF.H aslier Ehf.VEH. These words have been ^ariously understood. 'I'he Viili^aie translates — E(iO SUM QUI SUM, lam u-ho am. The Scptiut^hu — Eya ei/x( o '2v, / am, he tv/io exixls. The Sj/riac, the Persic, and the Chuldee, presenc the original words, without any gloss. The Arabic paraphrases tliem — The Eternal, ivho pus.ses not au'ay; which is the.same interpretation given by Abid Fartijiiis, «ho al>o preserves the original words, and gives the above as their interpretation. J he Targiwi of Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Turt^um, paraphra.se the \iords thus — " 1 le who spako, and the worhl was — who spake, and all things exi.sted." As the original words literally signify, I iiill be what I will he, some have supposed that God simply designed to inform Moses, that what he had been to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, r:nd.lacob, he «oukl be to him and the Israelites, and that he would perform the promises he had made to his fathf rs, by giving their descendants the promised land. It is dilhcult to put a meaning on the words; thry seem intended to point out the eternity and selfexistence of ( jod. — Sec the conclusion of this chapter, and on the word Jehovah., chap, xxxiv. 6. and 7.

Verse 1 5. This is my name for ever'] The name here referred to is that which immediately precede*, D'hSn ni.f Yehovuh Elohiin, which we translate the LoilD GuD, the name by which God had been known from the creation of the world, (see Gen. ii. 4.) and the name by which he is known among the same people to the present day. Even the heathens knew this name of the true God; and hence out of our nin' Yehovah, they formed their Jao, Jeve, and Jove; so that the word has been literally fulfilled — This is my viemoriul unto all generations. See the note on the word Eiohim, (Jen. i. 1. As to be self-existent and eternal must be attributes of God fiir ever, does it not follow that the oVl'S k-6iam, for ever, in the text, signifies eternity. " This is my name to eternity — and my memorial," m to ledor dor, " to all succeeding generations." ^\'hile human generations continued, he should be called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the (jod of Jacob; but vhen time should be no more, he should be.lehovah I'.lohini. Hence the first expression refers to his eternal existence, the latter to the "discovery he should make of himself as long as time should last. See Gen. xxi..'53. Diodorus Siculus says, that " among the Jews, Moses is reported to hayc received his laws from the God named./ao," laa, i.e. Jctie, Jove, or Jeve; for in all these ways the word nin» Yehovah,.wny he pronounced: and in this way I have seen it on Egypti.tn monuments. —.See Diod. lib. 1. c. xciv.

Verse IG. Elders of I.'rael] Thougii it is not likely the Hebrews were permitted to have any regular government at I this time, yet there can be no doubt of their having.such a government in the time of Jo.«eph, and for some considerable time after; the elders of each tribe forming a kind of court of magistrates, by which all actions were tried, and legal decisions made, in the Israelitish community.

/ have.■iurely visited you] An exact fulfilment of the prediction of.losiph, Gen. I. 24. — God will surely visit you-— and in the same words too.

Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him. The Lokd God of the Hebrews hatii " met with us: and now let us go, we l)esecch thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to tl\c Lord our God.

19 % And 1 am sure that the king of Egypt "uill not let you go, "no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will "^ stretch out my hand, and

smite Egypt with ' all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof:

Verse 18. They sliall hearken to thy voice] Till? assurance was necessary to encourage him in an enteiprize so dangerous and important.

Three daya journey into the wilderness] E^ idently intending Blount Sinij.!, wliich is reputed to be about three days journey, the shortest way, from the land of Goshen. In ancient times, distances were computed, by the time required to pass over them. Thus, instead of miles, furlongs, &c. it was said the distance from one place to another was so many days, so many hours journey; and it continues the same in all countries where there are no regular roads or highways.

\'erse 1 9. / am sure that the king of Egypt xeill not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand] When the facts detailed in Ihis history have been considered in connection with the assertion as it stands in our Bibles, the most palpable contradiction has appeared. That the king of Egypt did let them go, and that by a mighty hand, the book itself amply declares. We should, ilierefore, seek for another meaning of the original word: nSi vlo, wh^ch gentrally means and not, has sometimes the meaning of if not, unless, except, &c. and in Beck's Bible, 1549, it is thus translated — / am sure that the kyng of Egypt wyl not let you go, F.XCIil'T uylh a myghty hand. This import of the negative particle, which is noticed by Noldius, Heb. Part. p..328. was perfectly understood by the Vulgate, where it is translated 7iisi, unless; and the Sepluugint in their eav /xri, which is of the same import, and so also the Coptic. The meaning, therefore, is very ]ilain — The king of Egypt, who now profits much by your servitude, will not let you go, till he sees my hand stretched out, and he and his nation be smitten with ten plagues. Hence God immediately adds, ver. 20. / will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all tuy wonders: and after that, he will let you go.

V'erse 22. Eveiy woman shall BORROW] This is certainly not a very correct translation: tlie original word hifOf shaal, signifies simply to ask, request, demand, require, inquire, &c. but it does not signify to borrow, in the proper sense of that word, though in a very few places of Scripture it is thus used. In this and the parallel place, chap. xii. 35. the word signifies to ask or demand, and not to borrow, wliich is a gross mistake, into which scarcely any of the versions, ancient or modern, have fallen, except our own. 'i'lie SePTU.\G1NT have aiTEtrn, she shall ask; the VULGATE poitulabit, she shall demand; the SyRIAC, CuaLDEE, Sa-,

and ^ after that he will let you go.

21 And ^ I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

22 ^ But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold,

MARiTAN, Samaritan Version, Coptic, and Persian, are the same as the Hebrew. The European versions are generally correct on this point; and our comwow English version is almost the sole transgressor: I say, the co?nmon version, which copyuig the Bible, published by Becke in 1.^4-9, gives us the exceptionable term borrow, for the original Sxif shaal, which in the Gcncia Bible, and Barker's Bible of 1615, and some others, is rigiilly translated a.ske. God commanded the Israelites to ask or demand a certain recompence for their past services, and he inclined the hearts of the Egyptians to give liberally; and this, far from being a matter of oppression, wrong, or e\en ch:irity, was no more than a very partial rccompcnce for the long and painful services, which we may s-jy i/.r Inmdred thousand Israelites had rendered to Egypt, during a considerable number of years. And there can be no doubl, that while their heaviest oppression lasted, they were permitted to accumulate no kind of property, as all their gains went to their oppressors:

Our exceptionable translation of the original, has given some countenance to the desperate cause of infidelity: its abettors have cxultingly said — " Moses represents llie just God as ordering the Israelites to borrow the goods of the Egyptians under the pretence of returning them, whereas be intended that they should inarch oft' with the booty." Let these men know, that there was no borroiving in the case; and that if accounts were fairly balanced, Egypt would be t'ound still in considerable arrears to Israel. Let it also be considered, that the Egyptians had never any right to the services of the Hebrews. Egypt owed its policy, its opulence, and even its political existence, to the Israelites, j ^Vhat had Joseph for his important services? NothingI He had neither district, nor city, nor lordship, in Egypt; nor did he reserve any to Jiis children. All his services were gratuitous; and being animated with a better hope than any earthly possession could inspire, he desired that even his bones should be carried up out of Eg5'pt. Jacob and his family, it is true, were permitted to sojourn in Goshen, but' they were not provided for in that place; for they brought j their cattle, their goods, and all that they had, into Egypt, \ Gen. xlvi. 1, 6. so that they had nothing but the bare landi to feed on; and had built treasure-cities, or fortresses, we know not how many; and two whole cities, Fithom and Raumses, besides: and for all these services they had no compmsation whatever, but were besides, cruelly abused, and j obliged to witness, as the sum of their calauiitie.'s, the daily nuirilrr of their male infants. These particiilai-s considerecl, will Infidelity ever dare to prodtiee this case again, in support I of its worthless pretensions!

I Jenels ofsUva-, 4"c.] The word »?D kclty, we have already! seen, signifies vessels, instruments, weapons, &.C. and may be very: 'well translated by our Kng;lish term, articles or zonds. The; Israelites got both gold and silver, probably both in coin and

■ in plate of dillerent kinds; and such raiment as was necessary,, for the journey which they were about to undertake.

I Ye shall spoil the Egi/ptiunsJ The verb 7XJ natsal, signifies j hot only to spoil, snatch aiiay, but also to get aivui/, to I escape, to deliver, to regain or recover. SpoiL signifies what I is taicen by rapine or violence — but this cannot be the mean-! ing of the original word here, as the Israelites only asked, and the Egyptians, without./V^r, teiror, or constraint, freely, gave. It is worthy of remark, that the original word is used '• 1 Sam. XXX. 22. to signify the recovery of property that had ■g been taken aiuay by violence. " Then answered all the wicked i! men, and men of Belial, of those that went wilii David —;• Because they went not with us, v.e will not give them ought

■ of the spoil., VWno rne-ha-SUALAL; that we have KRCOVERED,! uVxn "HTN ashcr lUTSALENU. In this sense we should under-! stand the word here. The Israelites recovered a part of their I property, their wages, of which they had been most unjustly j deprived by the Egyptians.

I In this chapter we have much curious and important information; but what is most interesting is the?iaine b)- which i God was pleased to make himself known to Moses and to the j Israelites; a name by which the Supreme Being w as afterwards known among the wisest inhabitants of the earth. He I who IS, and who^\TLL BE what he LS. Tliis is a proper j characteristic of the Divine Being, who is, properly speaking, the only BEING, because he is indepcndant and eternal; I whereas all other beings, in whatsoever forms they may ap- I p€ar, arc derived, finite, changeable, and liable to destruc- I tion, decay, and even to annihilation. When God, ihere- ' fore, announced himself to Moses by this name, he proj.claimed his own eternity and immateriality; and the very I' name itself precluded the ])ossibiliiy oi idolatry, because it i was impossible for the mind, in considering it, to represent i the Divine Being in any assignable shape; for who could re- ' present Being or Existence by any limited fonn ^ And who I can have any idea of a form that is unlimited? Thus then we I find, that the first discovery which God made of himself, was in-! tended to shew the people, the simplicity and spirituality of his I nature; that, while they considered him as BEING, and the I cause of all being, they might be preserved from all idolatry I for ever. The very name itself, is a proof of a divine Re- velation: for it is not possible that such an idea could have I ever entered into the mind of man, unless it had been communicated from above. It could not have been produced by reasoning, for there were no premises on which it could be builded, nor any analogies by which it could have been formed. We can as easily comprehend eternity as we can bcin;j:, simply considered in and of itself; when nothing of assignable forms, colours, or qualities e.tistcil, besides its infinite and uiilimilable SELF.

To this divine discover}', the ancient Greeks owed the inscription which they placed above the door of the temple oi Apollo at Delphi: the whole of the inscription consisted in the simple monosyllable EI, THOU ART, the second person of the Greek substantive verb fi/ou, / am. On this inscription, Plutarch, one of tiie most intelligent of all the Gentile philosophers, made an express treatise, TTffi tou EI Ef AfX^otj, having received the true interpretation in his travels in Egypt, whilliir In; had gone for the express purpose of enquiring into then ancient learning; and where he had doubtless seen these words of God to Moses, in the Greek version of the Septuagint, which had been current among the Egyptians {for whose.<:ake it hhis Jirst made) about ilitu" hundred years previous to the death of Plutarch, 'i'his philosopher observes, that ■" this title is not only proper, but peculiar to God, because He alone is being: lor mortals have no participation of true being, because that which begins and ends, and is continually changing, is never one tior the same, nor in the same state. The deity, on whose temple this word was inscribed, was called Apollo, A'ttoxxuv, from at, negative, and vo\Ui, many, because God is ONE, bis nature siynple, his essence uncompounded." Hence, he informs us, the ancient mode of addressing God was — " EI 'EN, Thou art One, ot/ ■yap '!ro\>,!x. to 6(.iov friv, for many cannot be attributed to tlie divine nature: — xcu ouis srpoTffov cvhv triv, oui' unBav, ouSs f/.i->J^ov, ouie Tra^ax^f^^yo'') ouh Tr^ecroure^ov, ouJ'e vearepov. in which there is neither /rs< nor last, past nor future, old nor young; a>.>J £i; icv in rco vuv to ait TtTAijfa^f, but as being one, fills up in one NOW an eternal duration." And he concludes with observing, that " this word corresponds to certain others on the same temple, viz. FNXiOI XEATTON, Know Thyself; as if, under the name EI, Tnou Art, the Deity designed to excite men to venerate HlM as eternally existing, ej cvrct S'lXTravTOi, and to put thera in mind of the frailty and mortality of their own nature."

What beautiful things have the ancient Greek philosophers tolen from the testimonies of God, to enrich their own works, without any kind of ackno« ledge;nent! And, strange perversity of man, these are the very things which we so highly applaud in the heathen copies, while we neglect or pass them by in the divine originuls.'

Moses continuing to express his fear that the Israelites would not credit his divine mission, 1. Cod, to strengthen his faith, and to assure him that his countrymen would believe him, changed his rod into a serpent, and the serpent into a rod, 2 — 5,• made his hand leprous, and nftertcards restored it, 6, 7, intimating that he had noie endued him tcith pozcer to uork sueh miracles, and that the Israelites uould believe, 8; and further assures him that he should have pozcer to turn the ztater into blood, Q. Moses excuses himself on the ground of his not being eloquent, 10, and God reproves him for his unbelief, and promises to give him supernatural assistance, J 1, 12- Moses expressing his utter unrcillingness to go on any account, God is angri/, and then promises to give him his brother Jaron to be his spokestnan, 13 — Hi, and appoints his rod to be the instrument of working miracles, 17. Moses returns to his fathcr-in-laio Jethro, u)td requests liberli/ to visit his brethren in Egypt, and is permitted, 18. God appears to him in Midian, and assura him, that the Egi/piians who sought his life zcere dead, 19. Moses, Tcith his Zi'ife and children, set out on their journey to Egypt, 20. God instructs him what he shall say to Pharaoh, 21 — 2o. He is in danger of losing his life, because he had not circumcised his son, 24. Zipporah immediately circumcising the child, Moses escapes unhurt, 25, 26. Aaron is commanded to go and meet his brother Moses; he goes and meets him at Horeb, 27. Moses informs him of the commission he had received from Cod, 28. They both go to their brethren, deliver their message, and work miracles, 29, 30. The people believe and adore God, 31.

AND ]\Ioses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say. The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

2 And the Lord said unto him. What is that in thine hand? And he said, * A rod.

3 And he said. Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

Verse 1. They luill not belkve me] As if he had said. Unless I be enabled to work miracles, and give them proofs by extraordinary works, as well as hy xvords, they will not believe that thou hast sent me.

Verse 2. A rod"] HBD muttcli, a staff, probably his shepherd's rrook; see Levit. xxvii. 32. As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called the rod of God; see ver. 20.

Verse 3. A serpent'] Of what sort we know not, as the word cru naehask, is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Gen. iii. 1. but it was either of a kind ihal he had not seen before, or one that lie knew to be dangerous; for it is said, hejledfrom before it. Some suppose the stall" was changed into a crocodile, see on chap. vii. 1.

5 That they may '' believe that " the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6 ^ And the Lord said furthermore unto him. Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand xvas leprous " as snow.

7 And he said. Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, 'it was turned again as his other flesh.

the light in which Moses had viewed this serpent, it required considerable (aitli to induce him thus implicitly toobey the command of God; but he obeyed, and the noxious serpent became instantly tije miraculous rod in his hand! Implicit faith and obedience conquer all difficulties; and he who believes in God, and obeys him in all things, has really nothing to li-ar.

Verse 5. That tliey may believe] 'J his is an example of what is called an imperfect or unfinished speech; several of which occur in the Sacred Writings. It may be thus supplied, Dn this before them, that they may believe that the Lord — hath appeared unto thee.

Verse 6- His hand ivus leprous as snow.] That is, the leprosy spread itself over the \ihole body in thin white scales, and from iliis appearance it has its Grci k name ^sTrpa, from | f^ivig a scale. Dr. Mead says, " 1 have seen a remarkable | case of this in a country-man, whose whole body was so mise-

8 And it sliall come to pass, if they nor.since \hou hast spoken unto thy will not believe thee, neither hearken servant: but ' I am slow of speech,

to the voice of tiie first sign, that they will and of a slow tongue, behevc the voice of the latter sign. [.11 And the Loitu said unto him, ^ Who hath

9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not; made man's mouth? or who niaketh the dumb, believe also these two signs, neither hearken i or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I unto thy voice, that thou.shalt take of the water the Lord?

of the river, and pour?7 upon the dry fowrf; and j 12 Now therefore go, and I will be ^ with *the water which thou takest out of the river l' thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say,

10 % And Moses said unto the Lord, O my

rably seized with it, tliat his skin nvas shining as if covered with snoic; and as the furfuraceous scales were daily rubbed oflj the flesh appeared quick or raw underneath." The leprosy, at least amoiiif the.lews, was a most iaveterale and contagious disorder; and deemed by them, incurable. Among the heatliens, it was considered as inflicted by their gods, and it was supposed that they alone could remove it. It is certain that a similar belief i)revailed among the Israelites; hence, when the king of.Syria sent his general, Naaman, to the king of Israel to cure him of his leprosj-, that he rent his clothts, saying, /Im I God, to kill and make alive, that this man doth send unto me, to recover a man of his leprosy? 2 Kings v. '". This appears, therefore, to be the reason why God chose this sign; as the instantaneous infliction and removal of this disease were demonstrations, which all would allow, of the sovereign power of God. We need, therefore, seek for no other reasons for this miracle: the sole reason is sufficiently obvious.

Verse 8. If they will not believe — the voice of the first sign, &c.] Probably intimating that some would be more difficult to be persuaded than others: some would yield to the evidence of the first miracle; others would hesitate till they had seen i\\e second; and others would not believe, till they bad seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry land; ver. 9.

Verse ID. /am not eloquent] D'"i3T U"N xV lo isli deharim, I am not a man of words— u per jihrasis, common m tlie Scriptures. So Job xi. 2. DTSB' S"X ish sepetayim. a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. P.-al. cxI. 1 2.)Viy'7 U^N ish lashon, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts. Acts vii. 22. that he wnf^yn/gfity in words, as well as in deeds? There are three ways of.solving this difficulty: 1. Moses might have had some natural infirmity, of a late standing, which, at that time, rendered it unposNible for him lo speak readily, and which he aflenvards overcame; so thai though he was not then a man <)/■ ivords, yet he might afterwards have been mighty in words, as well as deeds. 2. It is possible he was not intimately acquainted with the Hebrew tongue, so as to speak clearly and distinctly in it. The first forty years of his life he had spent in Kgypt, chiefly at court; and though it is very probable there Was an affinity between the two lasguages, yet lliey certainly

13 And he said, O my Lord, "send, I pray thee, by the hand q/' him ichom thou ' wilt send.

were not the same. The hst forty he had spent in Midian, and it is not likely that the pure Hebrew tongue prevailed there, though it is probable that a dialect of it was there spoken. On these accounts, Moses might find it difficult to express himself with that readiness and persuasive flow of language, which he might deem essentially necessary on such a momentous occasion; as he would frequently be obliged to consult his memory ibr proper expressions, which would necessarily produce frequent hesitation, and general slowness of utterance, which, he might think, would ill suit an ambassador of God. 3. Though Moses was slow of speech, yet when acting as the messenger of God, his word was with power; for at his command, the plagues came and the plagues were stayed: thus was he mighty in words, as well a.^ in deeds: and this is probably the meaning of St. Stephen.