7. The grievous hail, the seventh plague, attended with rain, thunder, and lightning, in a country where these scarcely ever occur, and according to an express prediction of Moses, must in the most signal manner point out the power and justice of God. Fire and water were some of the principal objects of Egyptian idolatry; and fire, as Porphyry says, they considered jieyav eivai 6eov, to be a great god. To find, therefore, that these very elements, the objects of their adoration, were, at the command of a servant of Jehovah, brought as a curse and scourge on the whole land, and upon men also and cattle, must have shaken their belief in these imaginary deities, while it proved to the Israelites that there was none like the God of Jeshurun.
8. In the eighth plague we see by what insignificant creatures God can bring about a general destruction. A caterpillar is beyond all animals the most contemptible, and, taken singly, the least to be dreaded in the whole empire of nature; but in the hand of Divine justice it becomes one of the most formidable foes of the human race. From the examples in the notes we see how little human power, industry, or art, can avail against this most awful scourge. Not even the most contemptible animal should be considered with disrespect, as in the hand of God it may become the most terrible instrument for the punishment of a criminal individual or a guilty land.
9. The NINTH plague, the total and horrible darkness that lasted for three days, afforded both Israelites and Egyptians the most illustrious proof of the power and universal dominion of God; and was particularly to the latter a most awful yet instructive lesson against a species of idolatry which had been long prevalent io that and other countries, viz., the worship of the celestial luminaries. The sun and moon were both adored as supreme deities, as the sole dispensers of light and life; and the sun was invoked as the giver of immortality and eternal blessedness. Porphyry, De Abstin., 1. 4, preserves the very form used by the Eg)'ptian priests in addressing the sun on behalf of a deceased person, that he might be admitted into the society of the gods: Q, deairoTa 'K'kLE, Kai Oeot navTE(, oi ttjv l^urjv Toig avdpunoic dovTsg, irpocjde^aaBe pe, nai -rzapa- SoTE Toig aidioig Qeolq avvoiKov. " O sovereign lord the sun, and all ye other deities who bestow life on mankind! receive me, and grant that I may be admitted as a companion with the immortal gods!" These objects of their superstitious worship Jehovah showed by this plague to be his creatures, dispensing or withholding their light merely at his will and pleasure; and that the people might be convinced that all this came by his appointment alone, he predicted this awful darkness; and that their astronomers might have the fullest proof that this was no natural occurrence, and could not be the effect of any kind of eclipse, which even when total could endure only dhoni four minutes, (and this case could happen only once in a thousand years,) he caused this palpable darkness to continue for three days!
10. The TENTH and last plague, the slaying of the first-horn or chief person in each family, may be considered in the light of a Divine retribution: for after that their nation had been preserved by one of the Israelitish family, " they had," says Mr. Bryant, " contrary to all right, and in defiance of original stipulation, enslaved the people to whom they had been so much indebted; and not contented with this, they had proceeded to murder their offspring, and to render the people's bondage intolerable by a wanton exertion of power. It had been told them that the family of the Isi-aelites were esteemed as God's first-born, chap. iv. 22; therefore God said: Let my son go, that he may serve me; and if thou refuse — behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born, ver. 23. But they heeded not this admonition, and hence those judgments came upon them that terminated in the death of the eldest in each family; a just retaliation for their disobedience and cruelty." See several curious and important remarks on this subject in a work entitled. Observations upon the Plagues inflicted on the Egyptians, by Jacob Bryant, 8vo., 1810.
On the whole we may say. Behold the goodness and severity of God! Severity mixed with goodness even to the same people. He punished and corrected them at the same time; for there was not one of these judgments that had not, from its peculiar nature and circumstances, some emendatory influence. Nor could a more effectual mode be adopted to demonstrate to that people the absurdity of their idolatry, and the inefficacy of their dependence, than that made use of on this occasion by the wise, just, and merciful God. At the same time the Israelites themselves must have received a lesson of the most impressive instruction on the vanity and wickedness of idolatry, to which they were at all times most deplorably prone, and of which they would no doubt have given many more examples,
first-born oj man and beast.
bad they not had the Egyptian plagues continually before their eyes. It was probably these signal displays of God's power and justice, and these alone, that induced them to leave Egypt at his command by Moses and Aaron; otherwise, with the dreadful wilderness before them, totally unprovided for such a journey, in which humanly speaking it was impossible for them and their households to subsist, they would have rather preferred the ills they then suffered, than have run the risk of greater by an attempt to escape from their present bondage. This is proved by their murmurings, chap, xvi., from which it is evident that they preferred Egypt with all its curses to their situation in the wilderness, and never could have been induced to leave it had they not had the fullest evidence that it was the will of God; which will they were obliged, on pain of utter destruction, to obey.
Ood establishes the law concerning the first-born, and commands that all such, both of man and least, should be sanctified unto him, 1, 2. Orders them to remember the day in which they ivere brought out of Egypt, when they should be brought to the land of Canaan; and to keep this service in the month Abib, 3—5. Repeats the command concerning the leavened bread, 6,7, and orders them to teach their children the cause of it, 8, and to keep strictly in remembrance that it was by the might of God alone they had been delivered from Egypt, 9. Shows that the consecration of the first-born, both of man and beast, should take place when they should be settled in Canaayi, 10—12. The first-born of man and beast to be redeemed, 13. The reason of this also to be shown to their children, 14, 15. Frontlets or phylacteries for the hands and forehead commanded, 16. And the people are not led directly to the promised land, but about through the wilderness; and the reason assigned, 17, 18. Moses takes the bones of Joseph tvith him, 19. They journey from Succoth and come to Etham, 20. And the Lord goes before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire, 21, which miracle is regularly continued both by day and night, 22.
first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
3 And Moses said unto the people, ^ Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of •= bondage; for '^ by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: « there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
Verse I. The Lord spake unto Hoses'] The commands in this chapter appear to have been given at Succoth, on the same day in which they left Egypt.
Verse 2. Sanctify unto me all the first-born] To sanctify, tJ'Tp kadash, signifies to consecrate, separate, and set apart a thing or person from all secular purposes to some religious use; and exactly answers to the import of the Greek ayca^u, from a, privative, and yri, the earth, because every thing offered or consecrated to God was separated from all earthly uses. Hence a holy person or saint is termed aytof, i. e., a person separated from the earth; one who lives a holy life, entirely devoted to the service of God. Thus the persons and animals sanctified to God were employed in the service of the tabernacle and temple; and the animals, such as were proper, were offered in sacrifice.
The Hindoos frequenly make a vow, and devote to an idol the first-born of a goat and of a man. The goat a
5 And it shall be, when the ^bib or Nisan. Lord shall ^ bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he ^ sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, ' that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
6 ^ Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
is permitted to run wild, as a consecrated animal. A child thus devoted has a lock of hair separated, which at the time appointed is cut off and placed near the idol. Hindoo women sometimes pray to Gunga (the Ganges) for children, and promise to devote the firstborn to her. Children thus devoted are cast into the Ganges, but are generally saved by the friendly hand of some stranger. — Ward's Customs.
Whatsoever openeth the ivomb] That is, the_^r.y^- born, if a male; for females were not offered, nor the first male, if a female had been born previously. Again, if a man had several wives, the first-born of each, if a male, was to be offered to God. And all this was done to commemorate the preservation of the first-born of the Israelites, when those of the Egyptians were destroyed.
Verse 5. When the Lord shall bring thee into the land] Hence it is pretty evident that the Israelites were not obliged to celebrate the passover, or keep
with thee, neitlier shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
8 And thou shalt "^ show thy son in that day, saying, This is done, because of that which the Lord did unto me, when I came forth out
9 And it shall be for " a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine
Verse 9. And it shall be for a sign — upon thine hand] This direction, repeated and enlarged ver. 16, gave rise to phylacteries or tephillin, and this is one of the passages which the Jews write upon them to the present day. The manner in which the Jews understood avA kept these commands may appear in their practice. They wrote the following four portions of the law upon slips of parchment or vellum: Sanctify unto me the first-born, Exod. xiii., from verse 2 to 10 inclusive. And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land, Exod. xiii., from verse 1 1 to 16 inclusive. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, Deut. vi., from verse 4 to 9 inclusive. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently, Deut. xi., from verse 13 to 21 inclusive. These four portions, making in all 30 verses, written as mentioned above, and covered with leather, they tied to the forehead and to the hand or arm.
Those which were for the head (the frontlets) they wrote on four slips of parchment, and rolled up each by itself, and placed them in four compartments, joined together in one piece of skin or leather. Those which were designed for the hand were formed of one piece of parchment, the four portions being written upon it in four columns, and rolled up from one end to the other. These were all correct transcripts from the Mosaic text, without one redundant or deficient letter, otherwise they were not lawful to be worn. Those for the head were tied on so as to rest on the forehead. Those for the hand or arm were usually tied on the left arm, a little above the elbow, on the inside, that they might be near the heart, according to the command, Deut. vi. 6: And these ivords which I cominand thee this day shall be in thine heart. These phylacteries formed no inconsiderable part of a Jew's religion; they wore them as a sign of their obligation to God, and as representing some future blessedness. Hence they did not wear them on feast days nor on tiie Sabbath, because these things were in themselves signs; but they wore them always when they read the law, or when they prayed, and hence they called thein pSi)n tephillin, prayer, ornaments, oratories, or incitements to prayer. In process of time the spirit of this law was lost in the letter, and when the word was not in their vwuth, nor the law in their heart, they had their phy- in thy mouth: tor with a strong An. Exod. isr. l hand'hath the Lord brought thee Abib or Nisan. out of Egypt.
1 0 ° Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season, from year to year.
1 1 And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,
1 2 p That thou shalt ^ set apart unto the Lord
lacteries on their heads and on their hands. And the Pharisees, who in our Lord's time affected extraordinary piety, made their phylacteries very broad, that they might have many sentences VAiritten upon them, or the ordinary portions in very large and observable letters.
1. As signs or remembrancers. This was the original design, as the institution itself sufficiently proves.
2. To procure reverence and respect in the sight of the heathen. This reason is given in the Gemara, Berachoth, chap. i.: " Whence is it proved that the phylacteries or tephillin are the strength of Israel 1 Ans. From what is written, Deut. xxviii. 10: All the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord (mri"' Yehovah) and they shall be afraid of thee."
3. They used them as amulets or charms, to drive away evil spirits. This appears from the Targum on Canticles viii. 3: His left hand is under my head, dfC. " The congregation of Israel hath said, I am elect above all people, because I bind my phylacteries on my left hand and on my head, and the scroll is fixed to the right side of my gate, the third part of which looks to my bed-chamber, that demons may not be permitted to injure me."
One of the original phylacteries or yi2i\ tephillin now lies before me; it is a piece of fine vellum, about eighteen inches long, and an inch and quarterhrodiA. It is divided into four unequal compartments; the letters are very well formed, but written with many apices, after the manner of the German Jews. In the first compartment is written the portion taken from Exod. xiii. 2-10; in the second, Exod. xiii. 11-16; in the third, Deut. vi. 4-9; in the fourth, Deut. xi. 13-21, as before related. This had originally served for the hand or arm.
These passages seem to be chosen in vindication of the use of tlie phylactery itself, as the reader may see on consulting them at large. Bind them for a sign upon thy hand; and for frontlets between thy eves; write them upon the posts of thy house and upon thy gates; all which commands the Jews take in the most literal sense. To acquire the reputation of extraordinary sanctity they wore the fringes of their garments of an uncommon length. Moses had com-
A. M. 2513. all that openeth the matrix, and An.Exod. isr. 1. every firstling that cometh of a Abib or Nisan. bcast which thou hast; the males shall he the Lord's.
1 3 And ^ every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a * lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the first-born of man among thy children * shalt thou redeem.
14 '^ And it shall be when thy son asketh thee " in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, "^ By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that ^ the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the
manded them, Num. xv. 38, 39, to put fringes to the borders of their garments, that when they looked upon even these distinct threads they might remember, not only the law in general but also the very minutiae or smaller parts of all the precepts, rites, and ceremonies belonging to it. As those hypocrites (for such our Lord proves them to be) were destitute of all the life and power of religion within, they endeavoured to supply its place with phylacteries and fringes loithout. The same principles distinguish hypocrites every where, and multitudes of them may be found among those termed Christians as well as among the Jews. It is probably to this institution relative to the phylactery that the words. Rev. xiv. 1, allude: And I looked, and, lo, a hundred and forty-four thousand having his Father's name ivritten on their foreheads. " That is," says Mr. Ainsworth, " as a sign of the profession of God's law; for that which in the Gospel is called his NAME, (Matt. xii. 21,) in the prophets is called his L.A.W, (Isa. xlii. 4)." So again antichrist exacts the obedience to his precepts by a mark on men's right hands or on their foreheads. Rev. xiii. 16.
Verse 13. Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamh] Or a kid, as in the margin. In Num. xviii. 15, it is said: " The first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem; and the firstling of an unclean beast shalt thou redeem." Hence we may infer that ass is put here for any unclean least, or for unclean beasts in general. The lamb was to be given to the Lord, that is, to his priest, Num. xviii. 8, 15. And then the owner of the ass might use it for his own service, which without this redemption he could not do; see Deut. XV. 19.
The first-bom of man — shalt thou redeem.'] This was done by giving to the priests five standard shekels, or shekels of the sanctuary, every shekel weighing twenty gerahs. What the gerah was, see on Gen. xx. 16. And for the shekel, see Gen. xxiii. 15.
first-born of man, and the first- A. M. 2513. born of beasts: therefore I sacri- An. Exod. isr. 1. fice to the Lord all that openeth ^bib or Nisan. the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
1 6 And it shall be for y a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
1 7 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said. Lest peradventure the people ^ repent when they see war, and ^ they return to Egypt:
1 8 But God '' led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea:
brew doctors teach, that if a father had neglected or refused thus to redeem his first-born, the son himself was obliged to do it when he came of age. As this redeeming of the first-born was instituted in consequence of sparing the first-born of the Israelites, when the first-born both of man and beast among the Egyptians was destroyed, on this ground all the first-born were the Lord's, and should liave been employed in his service; but he permitted the first-born of a useful unclean animal to be redeemed by a clean animal of much less value. And he chose the tribe of Levi in place of all the first-born of the tribes in general; and the five shekels were ordered to be paid in lieu of such first-born sons as were liable to serve in the sanctuary, and the money was applied to the support of the priests and Levites. See this subject at large in Num. iii. 12, 13, 41, 43, 45, 47-51.
Verse 17. God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, cj-c] Had the Israelites been obliged to commence their journey to the promised land by a military campaigji, there is little room to doubt that they would have been discouraged, have rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and have returned back to Egypt. Their long slavery had so degraded their minds that they were incapable of any great or noble exertions; and it is only on the ground of this mental degradation, the infallible consequence of slavery, that we can account for their many dastardly acts, murmurings, and repinings after their escape from Egypt. The reader is requested to bear this in mind, as it will serve to elucidate several circumstances in the ensuing history. Besides, the Israelites were in all probability unai-med, and totally unequipped for battle, encumbered with their flocks, and certain culinary utensils, which they were obliged to carry with them in the wilderness to provide them with bread, &c.
A. M. 2513. and the children of Israel went An. Exod. isr. 1. up "= harnessed out of the land
1 9 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, ^ God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
has shown that there were two roads from Egypt to Canaan, one through the valleys of Jendilly, Rumeleah, und Baideah, bounded on each side by the mountains of the lower Thebais; the other lies higher, having the northern range of the mountains of Mocatee running parallel with it on the right hand, and the desert of the Egyptian Arabia, which lies all the way open to the land of the Philistines, to the left. See his account of these encampments at the end of Exodus.
Went up harnessed] D'tyon chamushim. It is truly astonishing what a great variety of opinions are entertained relative to the meaning of this word. After having maturely considered all that I have met with on the -subject, I -think it probable that the word refers simply to that orderly or well arranged manner in which the Israelites commenced their journey from Egypt. For to arrange, array, or set in order, seems to be the ideal meaning of the word K?on chamash. As it was natural to expect that in such circumstances there must have been much hurry and confusion, the inspired writer particularly marks the contrary, to show that God had so disposed matters that the utmost regularity and order prevailed; and had it been otherwise, thousands of men, women, and children must have been trodden to death. Our margin has it hy five in a rank; but had they marched only five abreast, supposing only one yard for each rank to move in, it would have required not less than sixty-eight miles for even the 600,000 to proceed on regularly in this way; for 600,000 divided hy five gives 120,000 ranks of five each; and there being only 1760 yards in a mile, the dividing 120,000 by 1760 will give the number of miles such a column of people would take up, which by such an operation will be found to be something more than sixty- eight miles. But this the circumstances of the history will by no means admit. — Harmer. The simple meaning therefore appears to be that given above; and if the note on the concluding verse of the preceding chapter be considered, it may serve to place this explanation in a still clearer point of view. Verse 19. Moses took the hones of Joseph] See the note on Gen. 1. 25. It is supposed that the Israelites carried with them the bones or remains of all the twelve sons of Jacob, each tribe taking care of the bones of its own patriarch, while Moses took care of the bones of Joseph. St. Stephen expresslv says. Acts vii. 15, 16, that not only Jacob, but the fathers were carried from Egypt into Sychem; and this, as Calmet remarks, was the only opportunity that seems to have presented itself for doing this: and certainly the reason that rendered it proper to remove the bones of Joseph to the promised land, had equal weight in
20 And ^ they took their jour- a. M. 2513. ney from Succoth, and encamped An. Exod. isr. 1. in Etham, in the edge of the AbiborNisaiL wilderness.
21 And f the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give
reference to those of the other patriarchs. See the notes on Gen. xlix. 29.
Verse 20. Encamped in Etham] As for the reasons assigned on ver. 17, God would not lead the Israelites by the way of the Philistines' country, he directed them towards the wilderness of Shiir, chap. XV. 22, upon the edge or extremity of which, next to Egypt, at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf, lay Etham, which is the second place of encampment mentioned. See the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of Exodus.
Verse 21. The Lord went before them] That by the Lord here is meant the Lord Jesus, we have the authority of St. Paul to believe, 1 Cor. x. 9: it was he whose Spirit they tempted in the wilderness, for it was he who led them through the desert to the promised rest.
Pillar of a cloud] This pillar or column, which appeared as a cloud by day, and a fire by night, was the symbol of the Divine presence. This was the Shechinah or Divine dwelling place, and vi'as the continual proof of the presence and protection of GOD. It was necessary that they should have a guide to direct them through the wilderness, even had they taken the most direct road; and how much more so when they took a circuitous route not usually travelled, and of which they knew nothing but just as the luminous pillar pointed out the way! Besides, it is very likely that even Moses himself did not know the route which God had determined on, nor the places of encampment, till the pillar that went before them became stationary, and thus pointed out, not only the road, but the different places of rest. Whether there was morel than one pillar is not clearly determined by the text. If there was but one it certainly assumed three differ~ ent appearances, for the performance of three very important offices. 1. In the day-time, for the purpose oi pointing out the way, a column or pillar of a cloud was all that was requisite. 2. At night, to prevent that confusion which must otherwise have taken place, the pillar of cloud became a pillar of fire, not to direct their journeyings, for they seldom travelled by night, but to give light to every part of the Israelitish camp. 3. In such a scorching, barren, thirsty desert, something farther was necessary than a light and a guide. Women, children, and comparatively infirm persons, exposed to the rays of such a burning sun, must have been destroyed if without a covering; hence we find that a cloud overshadowed them: and from what St. Paul observes, 1 Cor. x. 1, 2, we are led to conclude that this covering cloud was composed of aqueous particles for the cooling of the atmosphere and refreshment of themselves and their cattle; for he represents a them light; to go by day and I of the cloud by day, nor the a. m. 2513. night: pillar of fire by night, from before An. Exod. isr. 1
22 He took not away the pillar the people. Abib or Nisan.
the whole camp as being sprinkled or immersed in the humidity of its vapours, and expressly calls it a being under the cloud and being baptized in the cloud. To the circumstance of the cloud covering them, there are several references in Scripture. Thus: He spread a CLOUD ybr their covering; Psa. cv. 39. And the Lord will create upon everrj dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by DAY, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a defence, (or covering,) Isa. iv. 5; which words contain the most manifest allusion to the threefold office of the cloud in the wilderness. See Num. ix. 16, 17, 18, &c.
Verse 22. He took not away the pillar of the cloud] Neither Jews nor Gentiles are agreed how long the cloud continued with the Israelites. It is very probable that it first visited them at Succoth, if it did not accompany them from Rameses; and that it continued with them till they came to the river Jordan, to pass over opposite to Jericho, for after that it appears that the a7-k alone was their guide, as it always marched at their head. See Josh. iii. 10, &c. But others think that it went no farther with them than Mount Hor, and never appeared after the death of Aaron. We may safely assert that while it was indispensably necessary it continued with them, when it was not so it was removed. But it is worthy of remark that the ark of the covenant became its substitute. While a miracle was necessary, a miracle was granted; when that was no longer necessary, then the testimony of the Lord deposited in the ark was deemed sufficient by Him who cannot err. So, under the Gospel dispensation, miracles were necessary at its first promulgation; but after that the canon of Scripture was completed, the new covenant having been made, ratified by the blood of the Lamb, and published by the Holy Spirit, then God withdrew generally those outward signs, leaving his word for a continual testimony, and sealing it on the souls of believers by the Spirit of truth.
It is also worthy of remark that the ancient heathen writers represent their gods, in their pretended manifestations to men, as always encompassed with a cloud; Homer and Virgil abound with examples of this kind: and is it not very probable that they borrowed this, as they did many other things in their mythologic theology, from the tradition of Jehovah guiding his people through the desert by means of the cloud, in and by which he repeatedly manifested himself!
1. Extraordinary manifestations and interpositions of providence and grace should be held in continual remembrance. We are liable to forget the hole of the pit whence we were digged, and the rock whence we were hewn. Prudence and piety will institute their anniversaries, that the merciful dealings of the Lord may never be forgotten. The passover and the feast of unleavened bread, by an annual commemoration, became standing proofs to the children of Israel of the Divine origin of their religion; and are supporting pillars of it to the present day. For when a fact is reported to have taken place, and certain rites or ceremonies have been instituted in order to commemorate it, which rites or ceremonies continue to be observed through succeeding ages, then the -fact itself, no matter how remote the period of its occurrence may. have been, has the utmost proofs of authenticity that it is possible for any fact to have; and such as every person pretending to reason and judgment is obliged to receive. On this ground the Mosaic religion, and the facts recorded in it, are indubitably proved; and the Christian religion and its facts, being commemorated in the same way, particularly by baptism and the Lord''s Supper, stand on such a foundation of moral certainty as no other records in the universe can possibly boast. Reader, praise God for his ordinances; they are not only means of grace to thy soul, but standing irrefragable proofs of the truth of that religion which thou hast received as from HIM.
2. A serious public profession of the religion of Christ has in all ages of the Church been considered not only highly becoming, but indispensably necessary to salvation. He who consistently confesses Christ before men shall be confessed by him before God and his angels. A Jew wore his phylacteries on his forehead, on his hands, and round his garments, that he might have reverence in the sight of the heathen; he gloried in his law, and he exulted that Abraham was his father. Christian! with a zeal not less becoming, and more consistently supported, let the words of thy mouth, the acts of thy hands, and all thy goings, show that thou belongest unto God; that thou hast taken his Spirit for the guide of thy heart, his word for the rule of thy life, his people for thy companions, his heaven for thy inheritance, and himself for the portion of thy soul. And see that thou hold fast the truth, and that thou hold it in righteousness.
3. How merciful is God in the dispensations of hisprovidence! He permits none to be tried above what he is able to bear, and he proportions the burden to the back that is to bear it. He led not the Israelites by the way of the Philistines, lest, seeing war, they should repent and be discouraged. Young converts are generally saved from severe spiritual conflicts and heavy temptations till they have acquired a habit of believing, are disciplined in the school of Christ, and jistructed in the nature of the path in which they go, and the difficulties they may expect to find in it. They are informed that such things may take place, they are thus armed for the battle, and when trials do come they are not taken by surprise. God, the most merciful and kind God, " tempers even the blast to the shorn lamb." Trust in him therefore with all thy heart, and never lean to thy own understanding.
4. The providence and goodness of God are equally observable in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire The former was the proof of his providential kindness by day; the latter, by night. Thus he adjusts the assistances of his grace and Spirit to the exigencies of his creatures, giving at some times, when peculiar trials require it, more particular manifestations of his mercy and goodness; but at all times, such evidences of his approbation as are sufficient to satisfy a pious faithful heart. It is true the pillar of fire was more observable in the night, because of the general darkness, than the pillar of cloud was by day; yet the latter was as convincing and as evident a proof of his presence, approbation, and protection as the former. It is the duty and interest of every sound believer in Christ to have the witness of God's Spirit in his soul at all times, that his spirit and ways please his Maker; but in seasons of peculiar difficulty he may expect the more sensible manifestations of God's goodness. A good man is a temple of the Holy Spirit; but he who has an unholy heart, and who lives an unrighteous life, though he may have an orthodox creed, is a hold of unclean spirits, and an abomination in the sight of the Lord. Reader, let not these observations be fruitless to thee. God gives thee his word and his Spirit, obey this word that thou grieve not this Spirit. The following figurative saying of a Jewish rabbin is worthy of regard: " God addresses Israel and says. My son, I give thee my lamp, give me thy lamp. If thou keep my lamp, I will keep thy lamp; but if thou quench my lamp, I will extinguish thy lamp:" i. e., I give thee my word and Spirit, give me thy heart and soul. If thou carefully attend to my word, and grieve not my Spirit, I will preserve thy soul alive; but if thou rebel against my word, and quench my Spirit, then thy light shall be put out, and thy soul's blessedness extinguished in everlasting darkness.
The Israelites encamp
The Israelites are commanded to encamp before Pi-hahiroth, 1, 2. God predicts the pursuit of Pharaoh, 3, 4. Pharaoh is informed that the Israelites are fled, and regrets that he suffered them to depart, 5. He musters his troops and pursues them, 6-8. Overtakes them iii their encampment by the Red Sea, 9. The Israelites are terrified at his approach, 10. They murmur against Moses for leading them out, 11, 12. Moses encourages them, and assures them of deliverance, 13, 14. God commands the Israelites to advance, and Moses to stretch out his rod over the sea that it might be divided, 15, 16; and promises utterly to discomfit the Egyptians, 17, 18. The angel of God places himself between the Israelites and the Egyptians, 19. TAe pillar of the cloud becomes darkness to the Egyptians, while it gives light to the Israelites, 20. Moses stretches out his rod, and a strong east wind blows, and the waters are divided, 2 1. The Israelites enter and walk on dry ground, 22. The Egyptians enter also in pursuit of the Israelites, 23. The Lord looks out of the pillar of cloud on the Egyptians, terrifies them, and disjoints their chariots, 24, 25. Moses is commanded to stretch forth his rod over the ivaters, that they may return to their former bed, 26. He does so, and the ivhole Egyptian army is overwhelmed, 27, 28, while every Israelite escapes, 29. Being thus saved from the hand of their adversaries, they acknowledge the power of God, and credit the mission of Moses, 30, 31.
Israel, * that they turn and encamp before '' Pi-hahiroth, between '^ Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon; before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
Verse 2. Encamp before Pi-hahiroth] nTHH ''£) pi hachiroth, the mouth, strait, or bay of Chiroth. Between Migdol, SlJD migdol, the tower, probably a fortress that served to defend the bay. Over against Baal-zephon, |3V "?>'D baal tsephon, the lord or master of the ivatch, probably an idol temple, where a continual guard, watch, or light was kept up for the defence of one part of the haven, or as a guide to ships. Dr. Shaw thinks that chiroth may denote the valley which extended itself from the wilderness of Etham to the Red Sea, and that the part in which the Israelites encamped was called Pi-hachiroth, i. e., the mouM or bay of Chiroth. See his Travels, p. 310, and his account at the end of Exodus.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^ They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
4 And ^ I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I *' will \\q honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host;
Verse 3. They are entangled in the land] God
himself brought them into straits from which no human power or art could extricate them. Consider their situation when once brought out of the open country, where alone they had room either to fight or fly. Now they had the Red Sea before them, Pharaoh and his host behind them, and on their right and left hand fortresses of the Egyptians to prevent their escape; nor had they one boat or transport prepared for their passage! If they be now saved, the arm of the liord must be seen, and the vanity and nullity of the Egyptian idols be demonstrated. By bringing them into such a situation he took from them all hope of human help, and gave their adversaries every advantage against them, so that they themselves said. They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
Pharaoh pursues and CHAP.
A. M. 2513. g that the Egyptians may know An.Exod. isr. 1. that I am the Lord. And they
5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and ^ the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7 And he took ' six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8 And the Lord ^ hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and ^ the children of Israel went out with a high hand.
9 But the "" Egyptians pursued after them, (all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army,) and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
lenting and giving them permission to depart, he now changes his mind and determines to prevent them; and without any farther restraining grace, God permits him to rush on to his final ruin, for the cup of his iniquity was now full.
Verse 5. Anditivas told the king — that the people fled] Of their departure he could not be ignorant, because himself had given them liberty to depart: but the word fled here may be understood as implying that they had utterly left Egypt without any intention to return, which is probably what he did not expect, for he had only given them permission to go three days' journey into the wilderness, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah; but from the circumstances of their departure, and the property they had got from the Egyptians, it was taken for granted that they had no design to return; and this was in all likelihood the consideration that weighed most with this avaricious king, and determined him to pursue, and either recover the spoil or bring them back, or both. Thus the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we let Israel go from serving us? Here was the grand incentive to pursuit; their service was profitable to the state, and they were determined not to give it up.
Verse 7. Six hundred chosen chariots, ^c] According to the most authentic accounts we have of war-chariots, they were frequently drawn by ttoo or by four horses, and carried three persons: one was charioteer, whose business it was to guide the horses.
Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel ^ cried out unto the Lord.
11° And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12^/5 not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
1 3 And Moses said unto the people, ^ Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to-day: "^ for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 ^ The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall * hold your peace.
but he seldom fought; the second chiefly defended the charioteer; and the third alone was properly the combatant. It appears that in this case Pharaoh had collected all the cavalry of Egypt; (see ver. 17;) and though these might not have been very numerous, yet, humanly speaking, they might easily overcome the unarmed and encumbered Israelites, who could not be supposed to be able to make any resistance against cavalry and war-chariots.
Verse 10. The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.] Had their prayer been accompanied with faith, we should not have found them in the next verses murmuring against Moses, or rather against the Lord, through whose goodness they were now brought from under that bondage from which they had often cried for deliverance. Calmet thinks that the most pious and judicious cried unto God, while the unthinking and irreligious murmured against Moses.
Verse 13. Moses said — Fear ye not] This exhortation was not given to excite them to resist, for of that there was no hope; they were unarmed, they had no courage, and their minds were deplorably degraded.
Stand still] Ye shall not be even workers together with God; only be quiet, and do not render yourselves wretched by your fears and your confusion.
See the salvation of the Lord] Behold the deliverance which God will work, independently of all human help and means.
Ye shall see them again no more] Here was strong faith, but this was accompanied by the spirit of pro
1 6 But " Hft thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will ''harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will "■" get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians ^ shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour
19 And the angel of God, ^bib or Nisan. ^ which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians, and the camp of Israel; and ^ it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
2 1 And Moses * stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and
phecy. God showed Moses what he would do, he believed, and therefore he spoke in the encouraging manner related above.
Verse 14. The Lord shall fight for you] Ye shall have no part in the honour of the day; God alone shall bring you off, and defeat your foes.
Ye shall hold your peace.] Your unbelieving fears and clamours shall be confounded, and ye shall see that by might none shall be able to prevail against the Lord, and that the feeblest shall take the prey when the power of Jehovah is exerted.
Verse 15. Wherefore criest thou unto me?] We hear not one word of Moses' praying, and yet here the Lord asks him why he cries unto him 1 From which we may learn that the heart of Moses was deeply engaged with God, though it is probable he did not articulate one word; but the language of sighs, tears, and desires is equally intelligible to God with that of words. This consideration should be a strong encouragement to every feeble, discouraged mind: Thou canst not pray, but thou canst iceep; if even tears are denied thee, (for there may be deep and genuine repentance, where the distress is so great as to stop up those channels of relief,) then thou canst sigh; and God, whose Spirit has thus convinced thee of sin, righteousness, and judgment, knows thy unutterable groanings, and reads the inexpressible wish of thy burdened soul, a wish of which himself is the author, and which he has breathed into thy heart with the purpose to satisfy it.
Verse 16. Lift thou up thy rod] Neither Moses nor his rod could be any effective instrument in a work which could be accomplished only by the omnipotence of God; but it was necessary that he should appear:'n it, in order that he might have credit in the sight of the Israelites, and that they might see that God had chosen him to be the instrument of their deliverance.
Verse 18. Shall knoiv that /am the Lord] Pharaoh had just recovered from the consternation and confusion with which the late plagues had overwhelmed him, and now he is emboldened to pursue after Israel; and God is determined to make his overthrow so signal by such an exertion of omnipotence, that he shall get himself honour by this miraculous act, and that the Egyptians shall know, i. e., acknowledge, that he is Jehovah, the omnipotent, self-existing, eternal God.
Verse 19. The angel of God] It has been thought by some that the angel, i. e., messenger, of the Lord, and the pillar of cloud, mean here the same thing. An angel might assume the appearance of a cloud; and even a material cloud thus particularly appointed might be called an angel or messenger of the Lord, for such is the literal import of the word ']n'?0 malach, an aJigel. It is however most probable that the Angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus, appeared on this occasion in behalf of the people; for as this deliverance was to be an illustrious type of the deliverance of man from the power and guilt of sin by his incarnation and death, it might have been deemed necessary, in the judgment of Divine wisdom, that he should appear chief agent in this most important and momentous crisis. On the word angel, and Angel of the covenant, see the notes on Gen. xvi. 7; xviii. 13; and Exod. iii. 2.
Verse 20. It was a cloud and darkness to them, cj-c] That the Israelites might not be dismayed at the appearance of their enemies, and that these might not be able to discern the object of their pursuit, the pillar of cloud moved from the front to the rear of the Israelitish camp, so as perfectly to separate between them and the Egyptians. It appears also that this cloud had two sides, one dark and the other luminous: the luminous side gave light to the whole camp of Israel during the night of passage; and the dark side, turned towards the pursuing Egyptians, prevented them from receiving any benefit from that light. How easily can God make the same thing an instrument of destruction or salvation, as seems best to his godly wisdom! He alone can work by all agents, and produce any kind of effect even by the same instrument; for all things serve the purposes of his will.
Verse 2 1. The Lord caused the sea to go back] That part of the sea over which the Israelites passed was, according to Mr. Bruce and other travellers, about /our leagues across, and therefore might easily be crossed in one night. In the dividing of the sea two agents
22 And ^ the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, upon the dry ground: and the waters were * a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all
appear to be employed, though the effect produced can be attributed to neither. By stretching out the rod the waters were divided; by the blowing of the vehement, ardent, east wind, the bed of the sea was dried. It has been observed, that in the place where the Israelites are supposed to have passed, the water is about fourteen fathoms or twenty-eight yards deep: had the wind mentioned here been strong enough, naturally speaking, to have divided the waters, it must have blown in one narrow track, and continued blowing in the direction in which the Israelites passed; and a wind sufficient to have raised a mass of water twenty-eight yards deep and tioelve miles in length, out of its bed, would necessarily have blown the whole six hundred thousand men away, and utterly destroyed them and their cattle. I therefore conclude that the east wind, which was ever remarked as a parching, burning wind, was used after the division of the waters, merely to dry the bottom, and render it passable. For an account of the hot drying winds in the east, see the note on Gen. viii. 1. God ever puts the highest honour on his instrument. Nature; and where it can act, he ever employs it. No natural agent could divide these waters, and cause them to stand as a ivall upon the right hand and upon the left; therefore God did it by his own sovereign power. When the waters were thus divided, there was no need of a miracle to dry the bed of the sea and make it passable; therefore the strong desiccating east wind was brought, which soon accom^ plished this object. In this light I suppose the text should be understood.
Verse 22. And the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.] This verse demonstrates that the passage was miraculous. Some have supposed that the Israelites had passed through, favoured by an extraordinary ebb, which happened at that time to be produced by a strong wind, which happened just then to blow! Had this been the case, there could not have been waters standing on the right hand and on the left; much less could those waters, contrary4o every law of fluids, have stood as a ivall on either side while the Israelites passed through, and then happen to become obedient to the laws of gravitation when the Egyptians entered in! An infidel may deny the revelation in toto, and from such we expect nothing better; but to hear those who profess to believe this to be a Divine revelation endeavouring to prove that the passage of the Red Sea had nothing miraculous in it, is really intolerable. Such a mode of interpretation requires a miracle to make itself credible. Poor
24 And it came to pass, that in ^^ib or Nisan.
the morning watch ^ the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels, ^ that
' See Psalm Ixxvii. 17, &c. e Or, and made them to go infidelity! how miserable and despicable are thy shifts!
Verse 24. The morning ivatch] A watch wa.s the fourth part of the time from sun-setting to sun-rising; so called from soldiers keeping guard by night, who being changed four times during the night, the periods came to be called ivatches. — Dodd.
As here and in 1 Sam. xi. 11 is mentioned the 7norning watch; so in Lam. ii. 19, the beginning of the loatches; and in Judg. vii. 19, the middle watch is spoken of; in Luke xii. 38, the second and third watch; and in Matt, xiv 25, the fourth watch of the night; which in Mark xiii. 35 are named evening, midnight, coclc-croiving, and day-dawning. — Ainsworth.
As the Israelites went out of Egypt at the vernal equinox, the morning watch, or, according to the Hebrew, 'y'DllTy r\"l^K/N3 beashmoreth habboker, the watch of day-break, would answer to our four o'clock in the morning. — Calmet.
The Lord looked untol This probably means that the cloud suddenly assumed a fiery appearance where it had been dark before; or they were appalled by violent thunders and lightning, which we are assured by the psalmist did actually take place, together with great inundations of rain, &c.: The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also tverit abroad. The voice of thy thunder ivas in the heaven; /^e lightnings lightened the tvorld; the earth trembled and shook. Thy ivay is in the sea, and thy path in the great toaters. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron; Psa. Ixxvii. 17—20. Such tempests as these would necessarily terrify the Egyptian horses, and produce general confusion. By their dashing hither and thither the wheels must be destroyed, and the chariots broken; and foot and horse must be mingled together in one universal ruin; see ver. 25. During the time that this state of horror and confusion was at its summit the Israelites had safely passed over; and then Moses, at the command of God, (ver. 26,) having stretched out his rod over the waters, the sea returned to its strength; (ver. 27;) i. e., the waters by their natural gravity resumed their level, and the whole Egyptian host were completely overwhelmed, ver. 28. But as to the Israelites, the waters had been a wall unto them on the right hand and on the left, ver. 29. This the waters could not have been, unless they had been supernaturally supported; as their own gravity would necessarily have occasioned them to have kept their level, or, if raised beyond it, to have regained it if left to their natural
A. M. 2513. they drave them heavily: so that An. Exod. isr. 1. the Egyptians said, Let us flee
26 And the Lord said unto Moses, ' Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea ^ returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord ^ overthrew ™ the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And ^ the waters returned, and ° covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the
law, to which they are ever subject, unless in cases of jpoiraculous interference. Thus the enemies of the Lord polished; and that people who decreed that the male children of the Hebrews should be drowned, were themselves destroyed in the pit which they had destined for others. God's ways are all equal; and he renders to every man according to his loorks.
Verse 28. There remained not so much as one of them.] Josephus says that the army of Pharaoh consisted of Jifty thousand horse, and two hundred thousand foot, of whom not one remained to carry tidings of this most extraordinary catastrophe.
Verse 30. Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.] By the extraordinary agitation of the waters, no doubt multitudes of the dead Egyptians were cast on the shore, and by their spoils the Israelites were probably furnished with considerable riches, and especially clothing and arms; which latter were essentially necessary to them in their wars with the A?naleJcites, Basanites, and Amorites, &c., on their way to the promised land. If they did not get their arms in this way, we know not how they got them, as there is not the slightest reason to believe that they brought any with them out of Egypt.
Verse 31. The people feared the Lord] They were convinced by the interference of Jehovah that his power was unlimited, and that he could do whatsoever he pleased, both in the way of judgment and in the way oi mercy.
And believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.] They now clearly discerned that God had fulfilled all his promises; and that not one thing had failed of all the good whrph he had spoken concerning Israel. And they believed his servant Moses — they had now the fullest proof that he was Divinely appointed to work all these miracles, and to bring them out of Egypt into the promised land.
Thus God got himself honour upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and credit in the sight of Israel. After this overthrow of their king and his host, the Egyptians interrupted them no more in their journeyings, convinced a 370 host of Pharaoh, that came into a. m. 2513. the sea after them; there re- An.Exod.isr!i. mained not so much as one of -^^'b "f Nisan.
29 But P the children of Israel walked upon dry land, in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them, on their right hand, and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord 1 saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel ' saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.
3 1 And Israel saw that great ^ work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and * believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
of the omnipotence of their Protector: and how strange, that after such displays of the justice and mercy of Jehovah, the Israelites should ever have been deficient in faith, or have given place to murmuring!
1. The events recorded in this chapter are truly astonishing; and they strongly mark what God can do, and what he will do, both against his enemies and in behalf of his followers. In vain are all the forces of Egypt united to destroy the Israelites: at the breath of God's mouth they perish; and his feeble, discouraged, unarmed followers take the prey! With such a history before their eyes, is it not strange that sinners should run on frowardly in the path of transgression; and that those who are redeemed from the world, should ever doubt of the all-sufficiency and goodness of their God! Had we not already known the sequel of the Israelitish history, we should have been led to conclude that this people would have gone on their way rejoicing, trusting in God with their whole heart, and never leaning to their own understanding; but alas! we find that as soon as any new difficulty occurred, they murmured against God and their leaders, despised the pleasant land, and gave nc _ credence to his word. ■
2. Their case is not a solitary one: most of those ^ who are called Christians are not more remarkable for faith and patience. Every reverse will necessarily pain and discompose the people who are seeking their portion in this life. And it is a sure mark of a worldly mind, when we trust the God of Providence and grace no farther than we see the operations of his hand in our immediate supply; and murmur and repine when the hand of his bounty seems closed, and the influences of his Spirit restrained, though our unthankful and unholy carriage has been the cause of this change. Those alone who humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, shall be lifted up in due season. Reader, thou canst never be deceived in trusting thy all, the concerns of thy body and soul, to Him wlio divided the sea, saved the Hebrews, and destroyed the Egyptians.
Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to God for their late deliverance, m which they celebrate the power of God, gloriously manifested in the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, 1; express their confidence in him as their strength and protector, 2,3; detail the chief circumstances in the overthrow of the Egyptians, 4-8; and relate the purposes they had formed for the destruction of God^s people, 9, and how he destroyed them in the imaginations of their hearts, 10. Jehovah is celebrated for the perfections of his nature and his wondrous loorks, 11—13. A prediction of the effect which the account qf the destruction of the Egyptians should have on the Edomites, Moabites, and Canaanites, 14—16. A prediction of the establishment of Israel in the profnised land, 17. The full chorus of praise, 18. Recapitulation of the destruction of the Egyptians, and the deliverance of Israel, 19. Miriam and the women join in and prolong the chorus, 20, 21. The people travel three days in the wilderness of Shur, and find no water, 22. Coming to Marali, and finding hitter waters, they murmur against Moses, 23, 24. In ansiver to the prayer of Moses, God shows him a tree by which the waters are sweetened, 25. God gives them statutes and gracious promises, 26. They come to Elim, where they find twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and there they encamp, 27.
Verse 1. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this songl Poetry has been cultivated in all ages and among all people, from the most refined to the most barbarous; and to it principally, under the kind providence of God, we are indebted for most of the original accounts we have of the ancient nations of the universe. Equally measured lines, with a harmonious collocation of expressive, sonorous, and sometimes highly metaphorical terms, the alternate lines either answering to each other in sense, or ending with similar sounds, were easily committed to memory, and easily retained. As these were often accompanied with a pleasing air or tune, the subject being a concatenation of striking and interesting events, histories formed thus became the amusement of youth, the softeners of the tedium of labour, and even the solace of age. In such a way the histories of most nations have been preserved. The interesting events celebrated, the rhythm or metre, and the accompanying tune or recitativo air, rendered them easily transmissible to posterity; and by means of tradition they passed safely from father to son through the times of comparative darkness, till they arrived at those ages in which the pen and the press have given them a sort of deathless duration and permanent stability, by multiplying the copies. Many of the ancient historic and heroic British tales are continued by tradition among the aboriginal inhabitants of Ireland to the present day; and the repetition of them constitutes the chief amusement of the winter evenings. Even the prose histories, which were wTitten on the ground of the poetic, copied closely their exemplars, and the historians themselves were obliged to study all the beauties and ornaments of style, that their works might become popular; and to this circumstance we owe not a small measure of what is termed refinement of language. How observable is this in the history of Herodotus, who appears to have closely copied the ancient poetic records in his inimitable and harmonious a
Lord, for he hath triumphed An. Exod. isr.' i. gloriously: the horse and his Abib or Nisan.
prose; and, that his books might bear as near a resemblance as possible to the ancient and popular originals, he divided them into nine, and dedicated each to one of the muses! His work therefore seems to occupy the same place between the ancient poetic compositions and mere prosaic histories, as the polype does between plants and animals. Much even of our sacred records is written in poetry, which God has thus consecrated to be the faithful transmitter of remote and important events; and of this the song before the reader is a proof in point. Though this is not the first specimen of poetry we have met with in the Pentateuch, (see Lamech's speech to his wives. Gen. iv. 23, 24; Noah's prophecy concerning his sons, chap. ix. 25-27; and Jacob's blessing to the twelve patriarchs, chap. xlix. 2—27, and the notes there,) yet it is the first regular ode of any considerable length, having but one subject; and it is all written in hemistichs, or half lines, the usual form in Hebrew poetry; and though this form frequently occurs, it is not attended to in our common printed Hebrew Bibles, except in this and three other places, (Deut. xxxii., Judg. v., and 2 Sam. xxii.,) all of which shall be noticed as they occur. But in Dr. Kennicott's edition of the Hebrew Bible, all the poetry, wheresoever it occurs, is printed in its own hemistich form.
After what has been said it is perhaps scarcely necessary to observe, that as such ancient poetic histories commemorated great and extraordinary displays oi providence, courage, strength, fidelity, heroism, and piety; hence the origin of epic poems, of which the song in this chapter is the earliest specimen. And on the principle of preserving the memory of such events, most nations have had their epic poets, who have generally taken for their subject the most splendid or most remote events of their country's history, which either referred to the formation or extension of their empire, the exploits of their ancestors, or the establishment of their religion. Hence the ancient Hebrews had their Shir Mosheh,t\ie piece in qne.?tion: the Greeks, their
and '^ song, and he is become my salvation:
Confidence of Israel
Bias; the Hindoos, their Mahabarat; the Romans, their Mneis; the Norwegians, their Edda; the Irish and Scotch, their Fingal and Chronological poems; the Welsh, their Taliessin and his Triads; the Arabs, their Nebiun-Nameh (exploits of Mohammed) and Hamleh Heedry, (exploits of Aly;) the Persians, their Shah Nameh, (book of kings;) the Italians, their Gerusalemme Liberata; the Portuguese, their Lusiad; the English, their Paradise Lost; and, in humble imitation of all the rest, {etsi non passibus aquis,) the French, their Henriade.
The song of Moses has been in the highest repute in the Church of God from the beginning; the author of the Book of Wisdom attributes it in a particular manner to the wisdom of God, and saj's that on this occasion God opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent; chap. x. 2 1. As if he had said. Every person felt an interest in the great events which had taken place, and alllaboured to give Jehovah that praise which was due to his name. " With this song of victory over Pharaoh," says Mr. Ainsworth, " the Holy Ghost compares the song of those who have gotten the victory over the spiritual Pharaoh, the beast, (Antichrist,) when they stand by the sea of glass mingled with fire, (as Israel stood here by the Red Sea,) having the harps of God, (as the women here had timbrels, ver. 20,) and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, the Son of God;" Rev. xv. 2-4.
/ will sing unto the Lord] Moses begins the song, and in the two first hemistichs states the subject of it; and these two first lines became the grand chorus of the piece, as we may learn from ver. 21. See Dr. Kennicott's arrangement and translation of this piece at the end of this chapter.
Triumphed gloriously'] nxj T\^l O ki gaoh gaah, he is exceedingly exalted, rendered by the Septuagint, Ev(5ofwf yap deSo^aarai, He is gloriously glorified; and surely this was one of the most signal displays of the glorious majesty of God ever exhibited since the creation of the world. And when it is considered that the whole of this transaction shadowed out the redemption of the human race from the thraldon and power of sin and iniquity by the Lord Jesus, and the Jinal triumph of the Church of God over all its etiemies, we may also join in the song, and celebrate Him who has triumphed so gloriously, having conquered death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Verse 2. The Lord is?ny strength and so7ig] How judiciously are the members of this sentence arranged! He who has God for his strength, will have him for his song; and he to whom Jehovah is become salvation, will exalt his name. Miserably and untunably, j^ in the ears of God, does that man sing praises, who is jgfiot saved by the grace of Christ, nor strengthened by ''power of his might.
It is worthy of observation that the word which we translate Lord here, is not mri" Jehovah in the original, but rf Jah; " as if by abbreviation," says Mr. Parkhurst, " for 7^'7V yeheieh or TT' yehi. It signifies the Essence 'O AN, He who IS, simply, absolutely, and independently. The relation between TV Jah and the verb n'n, to subsist, exist, be, is intimated to us the first time D"' Jah is used in Scripture, (Exod. xv. 2:) ' My strength and my song is H' Jah, and he is become (Tfl vajehi) to me salvation.' " See Psa. Ixviii. 5; Ixxxix. 6; xciv. 7; cxv. 17, 18; cxviii. 17.
Jah rr is several times joined with the name Jehovah nin% so that we may be sure that it is not, as some have supposed, a mere abbreviation of that word. See Isa. xii. 2; xxvi. 4. Our blessed Lord solemnly claims to himself what is intended in this Divine name TV Jah, John viii. 58: "Before Abraham was, {yeveadai, ivas born,) eyu eifti, I AM," not / ivas, but I am, plainly intimating his Divine eternal existence. Compare Isa. xliii. 13. And the Jews appear to have well understood him, for then took they up stones to cast at him as a blasphemer. Compare Col. i. 16, 17, where the Apostle Paul, after asserting tliat all things that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, were created, eKTiarai, by and for Christ, adds. And HE IS {avrog eotl, not i]v, ivas) before all things, and by him all things avveaTrjKe, have subsisted, and still subsist. See Parkhurst.
From this Divine name H' Jah the ancient Greeks had their I??, I?;, in their invocations of the gods, particularly of Apollo (the uncoinpounded one) the light, and hence ei, written after the oriental manner from right to left, afterwards ie, was inscribed over the great door of the temple at Delphi! See the note on chap. iii. 14, and the concluding observations there..
/ will prepare him a habitation] iniJXI veanvehu. It has been supposed that Moses, by this expression, intended the building of the tabernacle; but it seems to come in very strangely in this place. Most of the ancient versions understood the original in a very different sense. The Vulgate has et glorificabo eum; the Septuagint So^aau avrov, I will glorify him; with which the Syriac, Coptic, the Targum oi Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Targum, agree. From the Targum of Onhelos the present translation seems to have been originally derived; he has translated the place tt'lpO n^ 'JDJ^I veebnei leh makdash, " And I will build him a sanctuary," which not one of the other versions, the Persian excepted, acknowledges. Our own old translations are generally different from the present: Coverdale, " This my God, I will magnify him;" Matthew's, Cranmer's, and the Bishops' Bible, render it glorfy, and the sense of the place seems to require it. Calmet, Houbigant, Kcnnicott, and other critics, contend for this translation.
3 The Lord is a man of s war: the Lord is his *name.
4 ' Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: ^ his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 ^ The depths have covered them: "» they sank into the bottom as a stone.
6 "Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of thine ° excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which p consumed them 1 as stubble.
8 And >• with the blast of thy A. M. 2513. nostrils the waters were gathered An^E?od'fsJ' 1 together, nhe floods stood up- Abib or Nisan. right as a heap, anc? the depths were congealea in the heart of the sea.
9 ^ The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will Mivide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall ^ destroy them. ■
10 Thou didst ^ blow with thy wind, ^ the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
1 1 y Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord, among the ^ gods? who is like thee, ^ glorious in
who translates the original, ':]X 'mSn Elohey abi, Deus mens, pater meus est, "My God is my Father." Every man may call the Divine Being his God; but only those who are his children by adoption through grace can call him their Father. This is a privilege which God has given to none but his children. See Gal. iv. 6.
Verse 3. The Lord is a man of ivar] Perhaps it would be better to translate the words, Jehovah is the man or hero of the battle. As we scarcely ever apply the term to any thing but first-rate armed vessels, the change of the translation seems indispensable, though the common rendering is literal enough. Besides, the object of Moses was to show that man had no part in this victory, but that the whole was wrought by the miraculous power of God, and that therefore he alone.should have all the glory.
The Lord is his name.] That is, Jehovah. He has now, as the name implies, given complete existence to all his promises. See the notes on Gen. ii. 4, and Exod. vi. 3.
Verse 4. Pharaoh'' s chariots — his host — his chosen captains] On such an expedition it is likely that the principal Egyptian nobility accompanied their king, and that the overthrow they met with here had reduced Egypt to the lowest extremity. Had the Israelites been intent on plunder, or had Moses been influenced by a sph-it of ambition, how easily might both have gratified themselves, as, had they returned, they might have soon overrun and subjugated the whole land. "^
Verse 6. Thy right hand] Thy omnipotence, mani- 1 fested in a most extraordinary way.
Verse 7. In the greatness of thine excellency] To this wonderful deliverance the Prophet Isaiah refers, chap. Ixiii. 11-14: "Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him ^ That led them by the right hand of Moses with nis glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that
they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name."
Verse 8. The depths were congealed] The strong east wind (chap. xiv. 21) employed to dry the bottom of the sea, is here represented as the blast of God's nostrils that had congealed or frozen the waters, so that they stood in heaps like a wall on the right hand and on the left.
Verse 9. The enemy said] As this song was composed by Divine inspiration, we may rest assured that these words were spoken by Pharaoh and his captains, and the passions they describe felt, in their utmost sway, m their hearts; but how soon was their boastmg confounded? " Thou didst blow with thy wind, and the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters!"
Verse U. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods.?] We have already seen that all the Egyptian gods, or the objects of the Egyptians' idolatry, were confounded, and rendered completely despicable, by the ten plagues, which appear to have been directed principally against them. Here the people of God exult over them afresh: Who among these gods is like unto Thee 1 They can neither save nor destroy; Thou dost both in the most signal manner.
As the original words mn^ dSnd riDOD ^D mi chamochah baelim Yehovah are supposed to have constituted the motto on the ensign of the Asmoneans, and to have furnished the name of Maccabeus to Judas, their grand captain, from whom they were afterwards called Maccabeans, it may be necessary to say a few words on this subject. It is possible that Judas Maccabeus might have had this motto on his ensign, or at least the initial letters of it, for such a practice was not uncommon. For instance, on the Roman standard the letters S. P. Q. R. stood for Senatus Populus Que Romanus, i. e. the Senate and Roman People; and ' 3 D D M. C. B. I. might have stood for Mi Chamochah Baelim Jehovah, " Who among the gods (or strong
An. Exod. isr. 1. ing wonders f Abib or Nisan. jg Thou stretchedst out <= thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 Thou in thy mercy hast ^ led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto ® thy holy habitation.
14 f The people shall hear, and be afraid: ^ sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
1 5 ^ Then ' the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; ^ the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; ' all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
ones) is like unto thee, O Jehovah!" But it appears from the Greek MaKKalSaioc, and also the Syriac » *ne-\Sf\ makabi, that the name was written originally with p koph, not 2 caph. It is most likely, as Michaelis has observed, that the name must have been derived from DpO makkah, 2. hammer or mallet; hence Judas, because of his bravery and success, might have been denominated the hammer or mallet by which the enemies of God had been beaten, pounded, and broken to pieces. Judas, the hammer of the Lord.
Glorious in holiness] Infinitely resplendent in this attribute, essential to the perfection of the Divine nature.
Fearful in praises] Such glorious holiness cannot be approached without the deepest reverence and fear, even by angels, who veil their faces before the majesty of God. How then should man, who is only sin and dust, approach the presence of his Maker!
Doing loonders 1] Every part of the work of God is wonderful; not only miracles, which imply an inversion or suspension of the laws of nature, but every part of nature itself. Who can conceive how a single blade of grass is formed; or how earth, air, and water become consolidated in the body of the oak 1 And who can comprehend how the different tribes of plants and animals are preserved, in all the distinctive characteristics of their respective natures? And who can conceive how the human being is formed, nourished, and its different parts developed ] What is the true cause of the circulation of the blood 1 or, how different aliments produce the solids and fluids of the animal machine? What is life, sleep, death? And how an impure and unholy soul is regenerated, purified, refined, and made like unto its great Creator 1 These are wonders which God alone works, and to himself only are they fully known.
upon them; by the greatness oi An.Exod. isr. i. thine arm, they shall be as still Abib or Nisan. "> as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, ° which thou hast purchased.
1 7 Thou shalt bring them in; and p plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the i sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
18 ' The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
1 9 For the ^ horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the
multitudes were overwhelmed by the waters, whose dead bodies were afterward thrown ashore. The psalmist strongly intimates that there was an earthquake on this occasion: The voice of thy thunder tvas in the heaven; the lightnings lightened the world; the EARTH TREMBLED and SHOOK; Psa. Ixxvii. 18.
Verse 13. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.] As this ode was dictated by the Spirit of God, it is most natural to understand this and the following verses, to the end of the 18th, as containing a prediction of what God would do for this people which he had so miraculously redeemed. On this mode of interpretation it would be better to read several of the verbs in the future tense.
Verse 15. The dukes of Edom] Idumea was governed at this time by those called D'D^X alluphim, heads, chiefs, or captains. See the note on Gen.
Verse 16. Till thy people pass over] Not over the Red Sea, for that event had been already celebrated; \ but over the desert and Jordan, in order to be brought into the promised land.
Verse 17. Thou shalt bring them in] By thy strength and mercy alone shall they get the promised inheritance.
And plant them] Give them z fixed habitation in Canaan, after their unsettled wandering life in the wilderness.
In the mountain] Meaning Canaan, which was a very mountainous country, Deut. xi. 11; or probably Mount Zion, on which the temple was built. Where the pure worship of God was established, there the people might expect both rest and safety. Wherever the purity of religion is established and preserved, and the high and the low endeavour to regulate their lives according to its precepts, the government of that country is hkely to be permanent.
Verse 18. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.] This is properly the grand chorus in which all the people joined. The words are expressive of God's
20 And Miriam " the prophetess, ^ the sister of Aaron, ^ took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her * with timbrels and with dances.
everlasting dominion, not only in the world, but in the Church; not only under the law, but also under the Gospel; not only in time, but through eternity. The original 1^*1 D^^ leolam vaed may be translated, for ever and onward; or, by our very expressive compound term, ybr evermore, i. e. for ever and more — not only through time, but also through all duration. His dominion shall be ever the same, active and infinitely extending. With this verse the song seems to end, as with it the hemistichs or poetic lines terminate. The 20th and beginning of the 21st are in plain prose, but the latter part of the 21st is in hemistichs, as it contains the response made by Miriam and the Israelitish women at different intervals during the Bong. See Dr. Kennicott's arrangement of the parts at the end of this chapter.
Verse 20. And Miriam the prophetess'] We have already seen that Miriam was older than either Moses or AaroQ: for when Moses was exposed on the Nile, she was a young girl capable of managing the stratagem used for the preservation of his life; and then Aaron was only three years and three months old, for he was fourscore and three years old when Moses was but fourscore, (see chap. vii. 7;) so that Aaron was older than Moses, and Miriam considerably older than either, not less probably than nine or ten years of age. See on chap. ii. 2.
There is great diversity of opinion on the origin of the name of Miriam, which is the same with the Greek Mapia/i, the Latin Maria, and the English Mary. Some suppose it to be compounded of "lO mar, a drop, (Isa. xl. 15,) and □'' yam, the sea, and that from this etymology the heathens formed their Venus, whom they feign to have sprung from the sea. St. Jerome gives several etymologies for the name, which at once show how difficult it is to ascertain it: she loho enlightens me, or she who enlightens them, or the star of the sea. Others, the lady of the sea, the bitterness of the sea, Jfc. It is probable that the first or the last is the true one, but it is a matter of little importance, as we have not the circumstance marked, as in the case of Moses and many others, that gave rise to the name.
The prophetess] nX'Iljn hannebiah. For the meaning of the word prophet, N'D3 nabi, see the note on Gen. XX. 7. It is very likely that Miriam was inspired by the Spirit of God to instruct the Hebrew women, as Moses and Aaron were to instruct the men; and when she and her brother Aaron sought to share in the government of the people with IMoses, we find her laying claim to the prophetic influence, Num. xii. 2:
2 1 And Miriam ^^mswere^ -A. M. 2513. them, ^ Sing ye to the Lord, for he ab. ExodlsJ.' 1 hath triumphed gloriously: the Abi^) or Nisan. horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
22 So Moses brought Isratel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of " Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not SPOKEN also by us 1 And that she was constituted joint leader of the people with her two brothers, we have the express word of God by the Prophet Micah, chap. vi. 4: For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt — and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Hence it is very likely that she was the instructress of the women, and regulated the times, places, &c., of their devotional acts; for it appears that from the beginning to the present day the Jewish women all worshipped apart.
A timbrel] ^n toph, the same word which is translated tabret. Gen. xxxi. 27, on which the reader is desired to consult the note.
And with dances.] rhvs^ mecholoth. Many learned men suppose that this word means some instruments of wind music, because the word comes from the root 77n chalal, the ideal meaning of which is to perforate, penetrate, pierce, stab, and hence to wound. Pipes or hollow tubes, such as flutes, hautboys, and the like, may be intended. Both the Arabic and Persian understand it as meaning instruments of music of the pipe, drum, or sistrum kind; and this seems to comport better with the scope and design of the place than the term dances. It must however be allowed that religious dances have been in use from the remotest times; and yet in most of the places where the term occurs in our translation, an instrument of music bids as fair to be its meaning as a dance of any kind. Miriam is the first prophetess on record, and by this we find that God not only poured out his Spirit upon men, but upon ivomen also; and we learn also that Miriam was not only a prophetess, but a poetess also, and must have had considerable skill in music to have been able to conduct her part of these solemnities. It may appear strange that during so long an oppression in Egypt, the Israelites were able to cultivate the fine arts; but that they did so there is the utmost evidence from the Pentateuch. Not only architecture, weaving, and such necessary arts, were well known among them, but also the arts that are called ornamental, such as those of the goldsmith, lapidary, embroiderer, furrier, &c., of which we have ample proof in the construction of the tabernacle and its utensils. However ungrateful, rebellious, &c., the Jews may have been, the praise of industry and economy can never be denied them. In former ages, and in all places even of their dispersions, they appear to have been frugal and industrious, and capable of great proficiency in the most elegant and curious arts; but they are now greatly degenerated.
A. M. 2513. 23 And when they came to An. Exod.*?sr. 1, ^ Marah, they could not drink Abib or Nisan. ^^ ^^^ waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called <= Marah.
24 And the people ^ murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he ^ cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a ^ tree, ^ which when he
Verse 23. Marah] So called from the Jiiierioa^er^ found there. Dr. Shaw conjectures that this place is the same as that now called Corondel, where there is still a small rill which, if not diluted with dews or rain, continues brackish. See his account at the end of Exodus.
Verse 24. The people murmured] They were in a state of great mental degradation, owing to their long and oppressive vassalage, and had no firmness of character. See the note on chap. xiii. 17.
Verse 25. He cried unto the Lord] Moses was not only their leader, but also their mediator. Of prayer and dependence on the Almighty, the great mass of the Israelites appear to have had little knowledge at this time. Moses, therefore, had much to bear from their weakness, and the merciful Lord was long-suffering.
The Lord shoived him a tree] What this tree was we know not: some think that the tree was extremely bitter itself, such as the quassia; and that God acted in this as he generally does, correcting contraries by contraries, which, among the ancient physicians, was a favourite maxim. Claims clavo expellitur. The Targuras of Jonathan and Jerusalem say that, when Moses prayed, " the word of the Lord showed him the tree "•JJJTIN ardiphney, on which he wrote the great and precious name of (Jehovah,) and then threw it into the waters, and the waters thereby became sweet." But what the tree ardiphney was we are not informed.
Many suppose that this tree which healed the bitter waters was symbolical of the cross of our blessed Redeemer, that has been the means of healing infected nature, and through the virtue of which the evils and hitters of life are sweetened, and rendered subservient t'i'tV.e best interests of God's followers. Whatever may b? in the metaphor, this is true in fact; and hence the greatest of apostles gloried in the cross of our Lord Jesus Chffit, by which the world was crucified to him and he unto I'je world.
It appears th^t these waters were sweetened only for that occasion, as Dr. Shaw reports them to be still brackish, which appears to be occasioned by the abundance of natron whic^ prevails in the surrounding soil. Thus we may infer thit the natural cause of their bitterness or brackishness was permitted to resume its operations, when the occasion that rendered the change necessary had ceased to exist. Thus Christ simply 37^
had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There
and an ordinance, and there ^ he proved them
26 And said, ^ If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all
changed that water into wine which was to be drawn out to be carried to the master of the feast; the rest of the water in the pots remaining as before. As the water of the Nile was so peculiarly excellent, to which they had been long accustomed, they could not easily put up with what was indifferent. See the note on chap. vii. 18.
There he made for them] Though it is probable that the Israelites are here intended, yet the word lb lo should not be translated for them, but to him, for these statutes were given to Moses that he might deliver them to the people.
There he proved them.] IHDJ nissahu, he proved him. By this murmuring of the people he proved Moses, to see, speaking after the manner of men, whether he would be faithful, and, in the midst of the trials to which he was likely to be exposed, whether he would continue to trust in the Lord, and seek all his help from him.
Verse 26. If thou luilt diligently hearken] What is contained in this verse appears to be what is intended by the statute and ordinance mentioned in the preceding: If thou loilt diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, and ivilt do that ivhich is right in his sight, and ivilt give ear to his cominandmenls, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, <^c. This statute and ordinance implied the three following particulars: 1. That they should acknowledge Jehovah for their God, and thus avoid all idolatry. 2. That they should receive his word and testimony as a Divine revelation, binding on their hearts and lives, and thus be saved from profligacy of every kind, and from acknowledging the maxims or adopting the customs of the neighbouring nations. 3. That they should continue to do so, and adorn their profession with a holy life. These things being attended to, then the promise of God was, that they should have none of the diseases of the Egyptians put on them; that they should be kept in a state of health of body and peace of mind; and if at any time they should be afflicted, on application to God the evil should be removed, because he was their healer or physician — / am the Lord that healeth thee. That the Israelites had in general a very good state of health, their history warrants us to believe; and when they were afflicted, as in the case of the fiery serpents, on application to God they were all healed. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel states that the statutes which Moses received at this time were commandments con-
A. M. 2513. his Statutes, I will put none of An.Exod. isr!i. these ^diseases upon thee, which AbiborNxsan. j ^.^^^ brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord "^ that healeth thee.
cerning the observance of the Sabbath, duty to parents, the ordinances concerning wounds and bruises, and the penalties which sinners should incur by transgressing them. But it appears that the general ordinances already mentioned are those which are intended here, and this seems to be proved beyond dispute by Jer. vii. 22, 23: " For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices: but this thing commanded I them, saying. Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you."
Verse 27. They came to Elim] This was in the desert of Sin, and, according to Dr. Shaw, about two leagues from Tor, and thirty from Marah or Coroiidel.
Tioelve loells of water] One for each of the tribes of Israel, say the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem.
Dr. Shaw found nine of the twelve wells, the other thf-ee having been choked up with sand; and the seventy palm trees multiplied into more than 2000, the dates of which bring a considerable revenue to the Greek monks at Tor. See his account at the end of this book, and see also the map. Thus sufficient evidence of the authenticity of this part of the sacred history remains, after the lapse of more than 3000 years.
In the preceding notes the reader has been referred to Dr. Kennicott's translation and arrangement of the song of Moses. To this translation he prefixes the following observations: —
" This triumphant ode was sung by Moses and the sons of Israel: and the women, headed by Miriam, answered the men by repeating the two first lines of the song, altering only the first word, which two lines were probably sung more than once as a chorus.
" The conclusion of this ode seems very manifest; and yet, though the ancient Jews had sense enough to write this song differently from prose; and though their authority has prevailed even to this day in this and three other poems in the Old Testament, (Deut. xxii.; Judg. V.; and 2 Sam. xxii.,) still expressed by them as poetry; yet have these critics carried their ideas of the song here to the end of verse 19. The, reason why the same has been done by others probably is, they thought that the particle ^2 for, which begins verse 19, necessarily connected it with the preceding poetry. But this difficulty is removed by translating O when, especially if we take verses 1 9-2 1 as being a prose explanation of the manner in which this song of triumph was performed. For these three verses say that the men singers were answered in the chorus by Miriam and the women, accompanying their words with mu^ sical instruments. ' When the horse of Pharaoh had?one into the sea, and the Lord had brought the sea
wells and palm trees of Elim.
27 "^ And they came to Elim, A. M. 2513. where were twelve wells of water, An. Exod. isr! 1. and threescore and ten palm trees: ^bib or Nisan. and they encamped there by the waters.
upon them; and Israel had passed, on dry land, in the midst of the sea; then Miriam.took a timbrel, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances; and Miriam (with the women) anstoered them' {uvh lahem, the men, by way of chorus) in the words, O sing ye, &c.' That this chorus was sung more than once is thus stated by Bishop Lowth: Maria, cum mulieribus, virorum choro identidem succinebat. — Praelect. 19.
" I shall now give what appears to me to be an e.\- act translaton of this whole song: —
1. I will sing to Jehovah, for he hath triumphed
gloriously; The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
2. My strength and my song is Jehovah; And he is become to me for salvation: This is my God, and I will celebrate him; The God of my father, and I will exalt him.
,,, f Perhaps a chorus sung
Chorus, by Miriam and the ivomen.
Perhaps sung first in this place.
O sing ye to Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously!
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
4. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into
the sea; And his chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.
5. The depths have covered them, they went down; (They sank) to the bottom as a stone.
6. Thy right hand, Jehovah, is become glorious in
power; Thy right hand, Jehovah, dasheth in pieces the enemy.
7. And in the greatness of thine excellence thou
overthrowest them that rise against thee. Thou sendest forth thy wrath, which consumeth them as stubble.
8. Even at the blast of thy displeasure the waters
are gathered together; The floods stand upright as a heap, Congealed are the depths in the very heart of the sea. O sing ye to Jehovah, &c. Chorus by the women.
9. The enemy said: ^ I will pursue, I shall overtake t I shall divide the spoil, my soul shall be satiated
loith them; I IV ill dratv my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
10. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered
them; They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11. Who is like thee among the gods, O Jehovah? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness!
corne to the wilderness of Sm.
12. Fearful in praises; performing wonders! Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the earth swal-
13. Thou in thy mercy leadest the people whom thou
hast redeemed; Thou in thy strength guidest to the habitation of thy holiness! O sing ye to Jehovah, &c. Chorus by the women.
1 4. The nations have heard, and are afraid; Sorrow hath seized the inhabitants of Palestine.
15. Already are the dukes of Edom in consternation, And the mighty men of Moab, trembling hath
seized them; All the inhabitants of Canaan do faint.
16. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; Through the greatness of thine arm they shall be
still as a stone:
17. Till thy people, Jehovah, pass over [Jordan;] Till the people pass over whom thou hast redeemed.
18. Thou shalt bring them and plant them in the mount
of thine inheritance: The place for thy rest which thou, Jehovah, hast
made; The sanctuary, Jehovah, which thy hands have
Grand chorus by all. Jehovah for ever and ever shall reign."
1. When poetry is consecrated to the service of God, and employed as above to commemorate his marvellous acts, it then becomes a very useful handmaid to piety, and God is honoured by his gifts. God inspired the song of Moses, and perhaps from this ver) circumstance it has passed for current among the most polished of the heathen nations, that a poet is a person Divinely inspired; and hence the epithet of 7rpo<l)7}Ti]c, prophet, and vates, of the same import, was given them among the Greeks and Romans.
2. The song of Moses is a proof of the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea. There has been no period since the Hebrew nation left Egypt in which this song was not found among them, as composed on that occasion, and to commemorate that event. It may be therefore considered as completely authentic as any living witness could be who had himself passed through the Red Sea, and whose life had been protracted through all the intervening ages to the present day
3. We have already seen that it is a song of triumph for the deliverance of the people of God, and that it was intended to point out the final salvation and triumph of the whole Church of Christ; so that in the heaven of heavens the redeemed of the Lord, both among the Jews and the Gentiles, shall unite together to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. See Rev. XV. 2—4. Reader, implore the mercy of God to enable thee to make thy calling and election sure, that thou mayest bear thy part in this glorious and eternal triumph.
The Israelites journey from Elim, and come to the ivilderness of Sin, 1. They murmur for lack oj bread, 2, 3. God promises to rain bread from heaven for them, 4, of ivhich they ivere to collect a double portion on the sixth day, 5. A miraculous supply o/ flesh in the evening and bread in the moTning, promised, 6—9. The glory of the Lord appears in the cloud, 10. Flesh and bread promised as a proof of God^s care over them, 11, 12. Quails come and cover the lohole camp, 13. And a Aew fell ivhich left a small round substance on the ground, ivhich Moses tells them was the bread which God had sent, 14, 15. Directions for gathering it, 16. The Israelites gather each an omer, 17, 18. They are directed to leave none of it till the next day, 19; which some neglecting, it became putrid, 20. They gather it every morning, because it melted when the sun waxed hot, 21. Each person gathers two omers on the sixth day, 22. Moses commands them to Jccep the seventh as a Sabbath to the Lord, 23. What was laid up for the Sabbath did not putrefy, 24. Nothing of it fell on that day, hence the strict observance of the Sabbath was enjoined, 25-30. The Israelites name the substance that fell with the dew manna; its appearance and taste described, 3 1. An omer of the manna is commanded to be laid up for a memorial of Jehovah'' s kindness, 32-34. The manna now sent continued daily for the space of forty years, 35. How much an omer contained, 36.
gregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of '' Sin, which
Verse 1. The wilderness of Siri] This desert lies between Elim and Sinai, and from Elim, Dr. Shaw savs, Mount Sinai can be seen distinctly. Mr. Ains- the fifteenth day of the second An. Exod.lsr. i. month after their departing out _ •'^'^ "'^