Verse 24. If aught be committed by ignorance^ See the notes on Lev. iv. 2, and v. 17. The case here probably refers to the whole congregation; the cases above, to the sin of an individual.
Verse 25. The priest shall make an atonement] Even sins committed through ignorance required an atonement; and God in his mercy has provided one for them.
Verse 30. But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously] Bold daring acts of transgression against the fullest evidence, and in despite of the Divine authority, admitted of no atonement; the person was to be cict off — to be excluded from God's people, and from all their privileges and blessings.
29 ^ Ye shall have one law A. M. 2514. for him that ^ sinneth through ig- An. Exod. Isr norance, both for him that is born ^'
among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.
30 ^ But the soul that doeth aught ^presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
3 1 Because he hath ^ despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; ^ his iniquity shall be upon him.
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, ^ they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
33 And they that foimd him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him "" in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the Lord said unto Moses, " The man shall be surely put to death: all the con gregation shall ° stone him with stones without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses.
38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid 1' them that they make them fringes in the bor
bably a case similar to that mentioned Heb. vi. 4-8; X. 26—31; on which passages see the notes.
Verse 32. They found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath] This was in all likelihood a case of that kind supposed above: the man despised the word of the Lord, and therefore broke his commandment; see ver. 31. On this ground he was punished with the utmost rigour of the law.
Verse 38. Bid them — make them fringes] We learn from ver. 39 that these /nVio-e* were emblematical of the various commands of God. That there was any analogy between a fringe and a precept, it would be bold to assert; but when a thing is appointed to represent another, no matter how different, that first object becomes the regular representative or sign of the other. There is no analogy between the term bread and the farinaceous nutritive substance thereby signified; but a
their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue:
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye 'i seek not after your own heart and
because this term is used to express and represent that thing, every person thus understands it; and when the word bread is seen or heard, a perfect knowledge, not of the letters which compose tliat word, but of the thing signified by it, is conveyed to the mind. So the fringes, being appointed by God to represent and
your own eyes, after which ye use ' to go a whoring:
40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be ^ holy unto your God.
4:1 1 am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.
bring to mind the commandments of God, ver. 39, the mention or sight of them conveyed the intelligence intended. All the Jews wore these, and so probably did our Lord; see Matt. ix. 20, where the word Kpacr- Tzedov is rather to be understood oi ih.e fringe than of the hem of his garment.
The rebellion of Korah and his company against Moses, 1—3. He directs them hotv to try, in the course of the next day, ivhom God had called to the priesthood, 4—1 1. Dathan and Abiram use the most seditious speeches, 12—14. Moses is wroth, 15; and orders Korah and his company to be ready on the morrow with their censers and incense, 16—18. Korah gathers his company together, 19. The glory of the Lord appears, and he threatens to consume them, 20,21. Moses and Aaron intercede for them, 22. The people are commanded to leave the tents of the rebels, 23—26. They obey, and Korah and his company come out and stand before the door of their tents, 27. Moses in a solemn address puts the contention to issue, 28-30. As soon as he had done speaking, the earth clave and swallowed them, and all that appertained to them, 31—34; and the 250 men ivho offered incense are consumed by fire, 35. The Lord commands Eleazar to preserve the censers, because they were hallowed, 36—38. Eleazar makes of them a covering for the altar, 39, 40. The next day the people murmur aneio, the glory of the Lord appears, and Moses and Aaron go to the tabernacle, 41-43. They are commanded to separate themselves from the congregation, 44, 45. Moses, perceiving that God had sent a plague among them, directs Aaron to hasten and make an atonement, 46. Aaron does so, and the plague is stayed, 47, 48. The number of those who died by the plague, 14,700 men, 49, 50.
the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth,
2 And they rose up before Moses, with cer-
Verse 1. Now Korah — took men] Had not these been the most brutish of men, could they have possibly so soon forgotten the signal displeasure of God manifested against them so lateiy for their rebellion. The word men is not in the original; and the verb np'l vaiyikkach, and he took, is not in the plural but the singular, hence it cannot be applied to the act of all these chiefs. In every part of the Scripture where this rebellion is referred to it is attributed to Korah, (see chap. xxvi. 3, and Jude, ver. 11,) therefore the verb here belongs to him, and the whole verse should be translated thus: — Now Korah, son of Yitsar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, he took even Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth, tain of the children of Israel, two A. M. cir. 2533. hundred and fifty princes of the An. Exod. Isr.' assembly, ^ famous in the congre- ^""" ^^" gation, men of renown:
3 And *= they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said
SON OF Reuben; and they rose up, &c. This makes a very regular and consistent sense, and spares all the learned labour of Father Houbigant, who translates np'' yikkach, by rebellionem fecerunt, they rebelled, which scarcely any rule of criticism can ever justify. Instead of pIXI "'J3 beney Reuben, sons of Reuben, some MSS. have p ben, son, in the singular; this reading, supported by the Septuagint and the Samaritan text, I have followed in the above translation. But as Eliab and Peleth were both Reubenites, the common reading, sons, may be safely followed.
Verse 3. Ye take too much upon you] The original is simply DD'? J'^ rab lachem, too much for you. The spirit of this saying appears to me to be the following: — " Holy offices are not equally distributed:
An. Exod. Isr. upon you, seeing " all the con- '"'"• '^"' grcgation are holy, every one of them, ^ and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yoiurselves above the congregation of the Lord?
4 And when Moses heard t7, « he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the Lord will show who are his, and toho is '' holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath ' chosen will he cause to •' come near unto him.
b This do: Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall he holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Secmeth it but ^ a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath "* separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister uiUo them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
1 1 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: " and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
you arrogate to yourselves the most important ones, as if your superior holiness entitled you alone io them; whereas ail the congregation are holi/, and have an equal right with you to be employed in the most holy services." Moses retorts this saying ver 7: Yc take loo much upon you., DjS DT rah laclicm; Ye have too Inuch already, i/e sons of Levi; i. e., by your present spirit and disposition you prove yourselves to be wholly unworthy of any spiritual employment.
Verse 5. The Lord will show who are his] It is supposed that St. P;iul refers to this place, 2 Tim. ii. 19: The foundation of God — the whole saeriticial system, referring to Christ Jesus, the foundation of the salvation of men; standelh sure, notwithstanding the
Dathan and Abiram, the sons of An. E^xod. isr" Eliab: which said, We will not *'""■ ^^- come up:
13 ° Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou p make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into 1 a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou "" put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, ' Respect not thou their offer ing: ' I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
1 6 And Moses said unto Korah, " Be thou and all thy company "^ before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
1 8 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
1 9 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and '^' the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
rebellions, intrusions, and false doctrines of men; having- this seal — this stamp of its Divine authenticity. The Lord /(noweth them that are his; eyvu Kvpioc roi'f oiTof avTov, a literal translation of lS IC'N HN mn* ^HM veijoda Yehovah eth ashcr lo; and both signifying, The Lord approveth of his own; or, will own that which is of his own appointment. And let every one that namcth the name of Christ depart from iniquity, alluding to the exhortation of Moses, ver. 26: Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these leicked men.
YcTse 15. Respect not thou their otferimr] There was no danger of this: they wished to set up a priesthood and a sacrificial system of their own; and God never has blessed, and never can bless, any scheme
22 And they ^ fell upon their faces, and said, 0 God, " the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the ciders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, ^ Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest yc be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, " Hereby yc shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for / have not done them ^ of mine own mind.
29 If these men die ® the common death of
of salvation which is not of liis own appointment. Man is ever supposing tliat he can mend his Maker's work, or that he can make one of his own that will do in its place.
Verse 22. O God, the God of the spirits ofalljlcsh] liy:] SdS nnnn 'hSn ^N El Elohey haruchoth Icchol basar. This address sufficiently proves that these holy men believed that man is a being compounded of fle.sli and spirit, and that these principles arc perfectly distinct. Either the materiality of the human soul is a human fable, or, if it be a true doctrine, these men did not pray under the influence of the Divine Spirit. In chap, x.xvii. 1 6 there is a similar form of expression: Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh. And in Job xii. 1 0: In whose hand is the soul (tvaj nephesh) of all living; and the spirit (nn ruach) of all flesh of man. Are not these decisive proofs that the Old Testament teaches that there is an immortal spirit in man ■? " But does not nn ruach signify wind or breath V Sometimes it does, but certainly not here; for how absurd would it be to say, O God, the God of the breaths of all flesh! a alter the visitation ot all men; An. Exod. isr. then the Lord hath not sent me. _ """• '^*^'
30 But if the Lord e^ make •* a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they ' go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31'' And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under th.em:
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and ' all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry ot them: for they said. Lest th» earth swallow us up also.
35 And there '"came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed " the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the Loud spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the
Verse 30. If the Lord make a new thin<r] riN^n DN1 mn'' Nl^' vcim bcriah ijibra Ychovah, and if Jehovah should create a creation, i. e., do such a thing as was never done before.
And they go down quick into the pit] nSxty shcolah, a proof, among many others, that l^fil shrol, signifies here a chasm or pit of the earth, and not the place called hell; for it would be absurd to suppose that their houses had gone to hell; and it would be wicked to imagine that their little innocent children had gone thither, though God was pleased to destroy their lives with those of their iniquitous fathers.
Verse 33. They, and all that appertained to them] Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all that appertained to their respective families, went down into the pit caused by this supernatural earthquake; while the fire from the Lord consumed the 250 men th.at bare censers. Thus there were two distinct punishments, the pit and the fire, for the two divisions of these rebels.
Verse 37. The censers — are hallotved] W\p kadeshu, are consecrated, i. e., to the service of God, though in this instance improperly employed. l\r,9
38 The censers of these p sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: i and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 To be a. memorial unto the children of Israel, ' that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.
4 1 But on the morrow ^ all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, ^ the cloud
Verse 41. On the morroiu all the congregation — murmured] It is very likely that the people persuaded themselves that Moses and Aaron had used some cunning in this business, and that the earthquake and fire were artificial; else, had they discerned the hand of God in this punishment, could they have dared the anger of the Lord in the very face of justice?
Verse 46. The plague is begun.] God now punished them by a secret blast, so as to put the matter beyond all dispute; his hand, and his alone, was seen, not only in the plague, but in the manner in which the mortality was arrested. It was necessary that this should be done in this ivay, that the whole congregation might see that those men who had perished were irot the people of the Lord; and that GOD, not Moses and Aaron, had destroyed them.
Verse 48. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague, dfc] What the plague was we know not, but it seems to have begun at one part of the camp, and to have proceeded regularly onward; and Aaron went to the quarter where it was then prevailing, and stood with his atonement where it was now makinnits ravages, and the plague was stayed; but not before 14,700 had fallen victims to it, ver. 49.
If Aaron the high priest, with his censer and incense, could disarm the wrath of an insulted, angry
43 And Moses and Aaron came ^""- ^^- before the tabernacle of the congregation.
45 "^ Get you up from among this congre gation, that I may consume them as in a mo ment. And ^ they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from oflf the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: "" for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Deity, so that a guilty people, who deserved nothing but destruction, should be spared; how much more effectual may we expect the great atonement to be which was made by the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom Aaron was only the type! The sacrifices of living animals pointed out the death of Christ on the cross; the incense, his intercession. Through his death salvation is purchased for the world; by his intercession the offending children of men are spared. Hence St. Paul, Rom. v. 10, says: If, ivhile we ivere enemies, ive ivere reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, loe shall be saved THROUGH HIS LIFE, i. c., by the prevalence of his continual intercession. 2 Cor. v. 18, 19: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
By the awful transactions recorded in this chapter, we may see how jealous God is of the sole right of appointing the way and means of salvation. Had any priesthood, and any kind of service, no matter how solemn and sincere, been equally available in the sight of Divine justice and mercy, God would not have resented in so awful a manner the attempts of Korah and
The princes of the people lay up CHAP. XVII. their rods before the testimony.
his company in their new service. The way of God's own appointment, the agony and death of Christ, is the only way in which souls can be saved. His is the priesthood, and his is the only available sacrifice. All other modes and schemes of salvation are the inven» tions of men or devils, and will in the end prove ruinous to all those who trust in them. Reader, forget not the Lord who bought thee.
The twelve chiefs of the tribes are commanded to take their rods, and to write the name of each tribe upon the rod that belonged to its representative; but the name 0/ Aaron is to be ivritten on the rod of the tribe of Levi, 1-3. The rods are to be laid up before the Lord, who promises that the man's rod whom he shall choose for priest shall blossom, 4, 5. The rods are produced and laid up before the tabernacle, 6, 7. Aaron'' s rod alone buds, blossoms, and bears fruit, 8, 9. It is laid up before the testimony as a token of the manner in which God had disposed of the priesthood, 10, 11. The people are greatly terrified, and are apprehensive of being destroyed, 12, 13.
Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod.
3 And thou shalt \vrite Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall he for the head of the house of their fathers.
4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle *of the congregation before the testimony, * where I will meet with you.
5 And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, ^ whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, •= whereby they murmur against you.
Verse 2. And take of every one of them a rod] ntOO maiteh, the staff or sceptre, which the prince or chief of each tribe bore, and which was the sign of office or royalty among almost all the people of the earth.
Verse 5. The man^s rod, luhom I shall choose, shall blossom] It was necessary that something farther should be done to quiet the minds of the people, and for ever to settle the dispute, in what tribe the priesthood should be fixed. God therefore took the method described in the text, and it had the desired effect; the Aaronical priesthood was never after disputed.
Verse 8. The rod of Aaron — was budded, <}fc.] That is, on the same rod or staff were found buds, blossoms, and ripe fruit. This fact was so unquestionably miraculous, as to decide the business for ever; and probably this was intended to show that in the priesthood, represented by that of Aaron, the beginning, middle, and end of every good work must be found. The buds of good desires, the blossoms of holy resolutions and promising professions, and the ripe fruit of faith, love.
6 And Moses spake unto the a. m. cir. 2533. children of Israel, and every one An. Exod. isr. of their princes gave him '^ a rod ^^^' ' ' apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
7 And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in ® the tabernacle of witness.
8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.
9 And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Bnng
and obedience, all spring from the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. It has been thought by some that Aaron's staff (and perhaps the staves of all the tribes) was made out of the amygdala communis, or common almond tree. In a favourable soil and climate it grows to twenty feet in height, is one of the most noble, flourishing trees in nature: its flowers are of a delicate red, and it puts them forth early in March, having begun to bud in January. It has its name Hpiy shaked from shakad, to awake, because it buds and flowers sooner than most other trees. And it is very likely that the staves of office, borne by the chiefs of all the tribes, were made of this tree, merely to signify that watchfulness and assiduous care which the chiefs should take of the persons committed, in the course of the Divine providence, to their keeping.
Every thing in this miracle is so far beyond the power of nature, that no doubt could remain on the minds of the people, or the envious chiefs, of the Divine appointment of Aaron, and of the especial interference of God in this case. To see a piece of wood
<■ Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept s for a token
shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.
1 1 And Moses did so: as the Lord commanded him, so did he.
13^ Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?
long cut off from the parent stock, without bark or moisture remaining, laid up in a dry place for a single night, with others in the same circumstances, — to see such a piece of wood resume and evince the perfection of vegetative life, budding, blossoming, and bringing forth ripe fruit at the same time, must be such a demonstration of the peculiar interference of God, as to silence every doubt and satisfy every scruple. It is worthy of remark that a sceptre, or staff of office, resuming its vegetative life, was considered an absolute impossibility among the ancients; and as they were accustomed to swear by their sceptres, this circumstance was added to establish and confirm the oath. A remarkable instance of this we have in Homer, Iliad, lib. i., ver. 233, &c., where Achilles, in his rage against Agamemnon, thus speaks: —
ATSk' EK Toi, epeu, Kac enc fieyav bpaov opovfiar Noi fia Tode aKTjnrpov, to fiev ovttote (pvl2.a Kai o^ov( ivaet, enetdr} npura toutjv ev opscjai TiEXoLnsv, OvS' avadr]'kr)aEL' irspi yap f)a i xc^Akoc eXsTpE
Virgil represents King Latinus swearing in the same way, to confirm his covenant with ^Eneas: —
Ut ScEPTRUM hoc (dextra sceptrum nam forte gerebat) Nunquam /ron^e levi fundet virgulta neque umbras. Cum semel in silvis imo de stirpe recisum.
Matre caret, posuitque comas et brachia ferro; Olim arbos, nunc artificis raanus aere decoro Inclusit, patribusque dedit gestare Latinis. Talibus inter se firmabant fcedera dictis.
Even as this royal sceptre (for he bore A sceptre in his hand) shall never more Shoot out in branches, or renew the birth; An orphan now, cut from the mother earth By the keen axe, dishonour'd of its hair. And cased in brass, for Latian kings to bear. And thus in public view the peace was tied With solemn vows, and sworn on either side.
When the circumstance of the rod or sceptre being used anciently in this way, and the absolute impossibility of its revivescence so strongly appealed to, is considered, it appears to have been a very proper instrument for the present occasion, for the change that passed on it must be acknowledged as an immediate and incontestable miracle.
vXXa TE Kai (pXoiov
Verse 12. Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.} IJJ^U gavaenu signifies not so much to die simply, as to feel an extreme difficulty of breathing, whicli, producing suffocation, ends at last in death. See the folly and extravagance of this sinful people. Ax first, every person might come near to God, for all, they thought, were sufficiently holy, and every way qualified to minister in holy things. Now, no one, in their apprehension, can come near to the tabernacle without being consumed, ver. 13. In both cases they were M'rong; some there were who might approach, others there were who might not. God had put the difference. His decision should have been final with them; but sinners are ever running into extremes.
The priests are to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, 1. The Leviies to minister to the priests, and have charge of the tabernacle, 2-4. The priests alone to have the charge of the sanctuary, <!f-c., no stranger to come nigh on pain of death, 5-7. The portion allowed for their maintenance, 8. They shall have every yneat-offermg; and they shall eat them in the holy place, 9, 10. The ivave-offerings, 11. The firstfruits of the oil, wine, and wheat, and whatever is first ripe, and every devoted thing, 12-14; also, all the first-born of men and beasts, 15-18; and heave-offerings, 19. The priests shall have no inheritance, 20. The Levites shall have no inheritance, but shall have the tenth of the produce in Israel, 21-24, of ivhich they are to give a tenth to the priests, taken from the best parts, 25-30.
''"^' ^^" father's house with thee, shall ** bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be ''joined unto thee, and "^ minister unto thee: but ® thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
3 And they shall keep thy charge, and ^ the charge of all the tabernacle: ^ only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, ^ that neither they, nor ye also, die.
4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: ' and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
5 And ye shall keep ^ the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: ^ that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
6 And I, behold, I have "" taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: ^ to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 Therefore ° thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and p within the veil; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, 1 1 also have given thee the charge of mine
Verse 1. Thou and thy sons — shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, c^c.] That is, They must be answerable for its legal pollutions, and must make the necessary atonements and expiations. By this they must feel that though they had got a high and important office confirmed to them by a miraculous interference, yet it was a place of the highest responsibility; and that they must not be high-minded, but fear.
Verse 2. Thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi — may be joined unto thee] There is a fine paronomasia, ex play upon words, in the original. mS Levi comes heave-offerings of all the hallowed A. M. cir. 2533. things of the children of Israel; An. Exod. Isr." unto thee have I given them "^ by *'^'"' ^^■
reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.
9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every ^ meat-offering of theirs, and every ' sinoffering of theirs, and every ** trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
10 ' In the most holy place shalt thoii eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto
1 1 And this is thine; "^ the heave-offering of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto * thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: ^ every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
12 ^ All the "^best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, ^ the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee.
13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, ° which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine; ^ every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.
14 ^ Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.
1 5 Every thing that openeth ^ the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless ^ the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
from the root Hw lavah, to join to, couple, associate: hence Moses says, the Levites, US'" yillavu, shall be joined, or associated with the priests; they shall conjointly perform the whole of the sacred office, but the priests shall be principal, the Levites only their associates or assistants. For an explanation of many parts of this chapter, see the notes on several of the passages referred to in the margin.
Verse 15. The first-born of man — and the firstling of unclean beasts'] Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with (he worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean.
A. M. cir. 2533. 1 6 And those that are to be An. Exod.^isr.' redeemed from a month old shalt '"'"• ^"- thou redeem, ^ according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, ' which is twenty gerahs.
17'' But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: ' thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord.
Verse 16. Shalt thou redeem — -for the money of Jive shekels] Redemption of the first-born is one of the rites which is still practised among the Jews. According to Leo of Modena, it is performed in the following manner: — When the child is thirty days old, the father sends for one of the descendants of Aaron: several persons being assembled on the occasion, the father brings a cup containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into his arms, and addressing himself to the mother, says: Is this thy son? — Mother. Yes. — Priest. Hast thou never had another child, male or female, a miscarriage or untimely birth? — Mother. No. — Priest. This being the case, this child, as first-born, belongs to me. Then, turning to the father, he says: If it be thy desire to have this child, thou must redeem it. — Father. I present thee with this gold and silver for this purpose. — Priest. Thou dost ivish, therefore, to redeem the child? — Father. I do wish so to do. — The priest then, turning himself to the assembly, says: Very well; this child, as first-born, is mine, as it is written in Bemidbar, (Num. xviii. 16,) Thou shalt redeem the first-born of a month old for five shekels, but I shall content myself ivith this in exchange. He then takes two gold crowns, or thereabouts, and returns the child to his parents.
Verse 19. It is a covenant of salt] That is, an incorruptible, everlasting covenant. As salt was added to different kinds of viands, not only to give them a relish, but to preserve them from putrefaction and decay, it became the emblem of incorruptibility and permanence. Hence, a covenant of salt signified an everlasting covenant. We have already seen that, among the Asiatics, eating together was deemed a bond of perpetual friendship; and as salt was a common article in all their repasts, it may be in reference to this circumstance that a perpetual covenant is termed a covenant of salt; because the parties ate together of the sacrifice offered on the occasion, and the whole transaction was considered as a league of endless friendship. SeQ the note on Lev. ii. 13.
Averse 20. /am thy part and thine inheritance] The principal part of what was offered to God was the portion of the priests, therefore they had no inheritance of land in Israel; inu'cpendently of that they had a very ample provision for their support. The rabbins a 67f4^
1 8 And the flesh of them shall a. m. cir. 2533. be thine, as the " wave-breast. An. Kxod. isr.' and as the right shoulder are *'"^- ^^- thine.
19 "All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: ° it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, unto thee and to thy seed with thee.
20 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither
say twenty-four gifts were given to the priests, and they are all expressed in the law. Eight of those gifts the priests ate nowhere but in the sanctuary: these eight are the following: —
1. The flesh of the sin-offering, whether of beasts or fowls, Lev. vi. 25, 26.
4. The remainder of the omer or sheaf. Lev. xxiii.
5. The remnants of the meat-offerings of the Israelites, Lev. vi. 16.
8. The LOG of oil offered by the leper, Lev. xiv
1. The breast and shoulder of the peace-offerings, Lev. vii. 31, 34.
5. The field of possession. Num. xxxv. These two were common.
1. The gifts of the beasts slain, Deut. xviii. 3.
3. The lamb for the firstling of an ass, Exod. iv 20; Num. xviii.
4. The restitution of that taken by violence from a stranger, Num. v. 8.
An. Exod. isr. them: ^ i am thy part and thme ''"^' ' inheritance among the children
21 And, behold, 1 1 have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even ' the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
22 ^ Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, * lest they bear sin, ° and die.
23 "" But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
24 ■" But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, ^ Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them. When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer
One gift was due unto them from the sanctuary: — 1. The skins of the burnt-offering, and all the skins of the other most holy things, Lev. vii. 8. In all 24.
Verse 2 1. Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth] First, the Levites had the tenth of all the productions of the land.
3. They had 2,000 cubits of ground round each city. Total of the land they possessed, 53,000 acres.
4. They had the first-fruits and certain parts of all the animals killed in the land.
Canaan contained about 11,264,000 acres; therefore the portion possessed by the Levites was rather less than as one to two hundred and twelve; for a
27 ^ And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the wine-press.
28 Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave-offering to Aaron the priest.
29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave-offering of the Lord, of all the '^ best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.
30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, ^ then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the wine-press.
3 1 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is <= your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.
32 And ye shall '^ bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye ^ pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.
11,264,000 divided by 53,000, quotes only 212tf. — See Lowman, Dodd, &c. But though this was a very small proportion for a whole tribe that had consented to annihilate its political existence, that it might wait upon the service of God, and labour for the people's souls; yet let it be considered that what fhey possessed was the best of the land: and while it was a slender remuneration for their services, yet their portion was such as rendered them independent, and kept them comfortable; so that they could wait on the Lord's work without distraction. This is a proper pattern for the maintenance of the ministers of God: let them have a sufficiency for themselves and families, that there may be no distracting cares; and let them not be encumbered with riches or loorldly possessions, that they may not be prevented from taking care of souls. Verse 28. Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering] As the Levites had the tithe of the whole land, they themselves were obliged to give the tithe of this tithe to the priests, so that this considerably lessened their revenue. And this tithe or tenth they were obliged to select from the best part of the substance they had received, ver. 29, &c. A portion of all must be given to God, as an evidence of his goodness, and their dependence on him. See the end of chap. xx.
The ordinance of the red heifer, 1,2. She shall he slain by Eleazat without the camp, and her blood sprinkled before the tabernacle, 3, 4. Her whole body and appurtenance shall be reduced to ashes, and while burning, cedar ivood, scarlet, and hyssop, shall be thrown into the fire, 5, 6. The priest, and he that burns her, to bathe themselves and be reputed unclean till the evening, 7, 8. Her ashes to be laid up for a water of purification, 9. How, and in ivhat cases it is to be applied, 10—13. The law concerning him who dies in a tent, or who is killed in the open field, 14—16. How the persons, tent, and vessels are to be purified by the application of these ashes, 17—19. The unclean person who does not apply them, to be cut off from the congregation, 20. This is to be a perpetual statute, 21, 22.
2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, * and upon which never came yoke:
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her ^ forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and •= sprinkle of her
Verse 2. Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring thee, 6fC.'\ The ordinance of the red heifer was a sacrifice of general application. All the people were to have an interest in it, and therefore the people at large are to provide the sacrifice. This Jewish rite certainly had a reference to things done under the Gospel, as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has remarked: " For if," says he, " the blood of bulls and of goats," alluding, probably, to the sin-offerings and the scape-goat, " and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God!" Heb. ix. 13, 14. As the principal stress of the allusion here is to the ordinance of the red heifer, we may certainly conclude that it was designed to typify the sacrifice of our blessed Lord.
1. A heifer was appointed for a sacrifice, probably, in opposition to the Egyptian superstition which held these sacred, and actually worshipped their great god- Jess Isis under this form; and this appears the more likely because males in general were preferred for sacrifice, yet here \.\\e female is chosen.
2. It was to be a red heifer, because red bulls were sacrificed to appease the evil demon Typhon, worshipped among the Egyptians. See Spencer.
3. The heifer was to be ivithout spot — having no mixture of any other colour. Plutarch remarks, De
5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; ^ her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
6 And the priest shall take * cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
7 ' Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
8 And he that burnetii her shall wash his
Iside et de Osiride, that if there was a single hair in the animal either white or black, it marred the sacrifice. See Calmet, and see the note on chap. viii. 7.
4. Without blemish — having no kind of imperfection in her body; the other, probably, applying to the hair or colour.
5. On which never came yoke, because any animal which had been used for any common purpose was deemed improper to be offered in sacrifice to God. The heathens, who appear to have borrowed much from the Hebrews, were very scrupulous in this particular. Neither the Greeks nor Romans, nor indeed the Egyptians, would offer an animal in sacrifice that had been employed for agricultural purposes. Of this we have the most positive evidence from Homer, Porphyry, Virgil, and Macrobius.
Just such a sacrifice as that prescribed here, does Diomede vow to offer to Pallas. — Iliad, lib. x.,ver. 291.
" So now be present, 0 celestial maid; So still continue to the race thine aid; A yearling heifer falls beneath the stroke. Untamed, unconscious of the galling yoke, With ample forehead and with spreading horns, Whose tapering tops refulgent gold adorns." Altered from Popb. In the very same words Nestor, Odyss., lib. iii., ver 382, promises a similar sacrifice to Pallas.
9 And a man that is clean shall gather up p the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel ^ for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
1 1 ' He that toucheth the dead body of any ^ man shall be unclean seven days.
1 2 ^ He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, "" defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because ° the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; ° his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every ^ open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
1 6 And 1 whosoever toucheth one that is
The Romans had the same religion with the Greeks, and consequently the same kind of sacrifices; so Virgil, Georg. iv., ver. 550.
Quatuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros Ducit, et intacta tolidem cervice juvencas.
" From his herd he culls
For slaughter four the fairest of his bulls; Four heifers from his female stock he took, All/atr, and all unknowing of the yokey — Dbyden.
It is very likely that tlje Gentiles learnt their first sacrificial rites from the patriarchs; and on this account we need not wonder to find so many coincidences in the sacrificial system of the patriarchs and Jews, and all the neighbouring nations.
Verse 9. For a water of separation] That is, the ashes were to be kept, in order to be mixed with water, ver. 17, and sprinkled on those who had contracted any legal defilement.
17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ^ ashes ^ of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and * running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
1 8 And a clean person shall take ^ hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
1 9 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: "^ and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath ^ defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
22 And ^ whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and ^ the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
Verse 1 1. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.] How low does this lay man! He who touched a dead beast was only unclean for one day, Lev. xi. 24, 27, 39; but he who touches a dead ma?i is unclean for seven days. This was certainly designed to mark the peculiar impurity of man, and to show his sinfulness — seven times worse than the vilest animal! O thou son of the morning, how art thou fallen!
Verse 12. He shall purify himself with ii] ID NCOniT yithchalta bo, literally, he shall sin himself ivith it. This Hebrew form of speech is common enough among us in other matters. Thus to fleece, to bark, and to skin, do not signify to add a fleece, another bark, or a skin, but to take one away; therefore, to sin himself, in the Hebrew idiom, is not to add sin, but to take it away, to purify. The verb NDH chata signifies to miss the mark, to sin, to purify from sin, and to make a sin-offering. See the note on Gen. xiii. 13.
The Hebrews generally sacrificed males, no matter of what colour; but here a heifer, and a heifer of a red colour, is ordered. The reason of these circumstances is not very well known.
" The rabbins, with all their boldness," says Calmet, " who stick at nothing when it is necessary to explain what they do not understand, declare that the cause of this law is entirely unknown; and that Solomon, with all his wisdom, could not find it out."
Several fathers, as well modern as ancient, profess to understand the whole clearly. 1. The red heifer with them signifies the fiesh of our Lord, formed out of an earthly substance. 2. ^emg ivithout spot, Slc, the infinite holiness of Christ. 3. The sex of the animal, the infirmity of our flesh, with which he clothed himself 4. The red colour, his passion. 5. Being unyoked, his being righteous in all his conduct, and never under the yoke of sin. 6. Eleazar^s sacrificing the heifer instead of Aaron, ver. 3, signifies the change of the priesthood from the family of Aaron, in order that a new and more perfect priesthood might take place. 7. The red heifer being taken without the camp (ver. 3) to be slain, points out the crucifixion of our Lord without the city. 8. The complete consuming of the heifer by fire, the complete offering of the whole body and soul of Christ as a sacrifice to God for the sin of man: for as the heifer was without blemish, the whole might be offered to God; and as Christ was immaculate, his whole body and soul were made a sacrifice for sin. 9. As the fire of this sacrifice ascended up to God, so it points out the resurrection and ascension of our blessed Lord. 10. And as the ashes of this victim communicated a legal purity to those who were defiled, so true repentance, signified by those ashes, is necessary for the expiation of the offences committed after baptism. A great part of this is true in itself; but how little evidence is there that all these things were intended in the ordinance of the red heifer? See on chap. viii. 7
The Israelites come to Zin, and Miriam dies, 1. They murmur for want of water, 2—5. Moses and Aaron make supplication at the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appears, 6. He commands Moses to take his rod, gather the congregation together, and bring water out of the rock, 7, 8. Moses takes the rod, gathers the Israelites together, chides loith them, and smites the rock tivice, and the waters flow out plenteously, 9-11. The Lord is offended with Moses and Aaron because they did not sanctify him in the sight of the children of Israel, 12. The place is ca//e<^ Meribah, 13. Moses sends a friendly message to the king of Edom, begging liberty to pass through his territories, 14—17. The Edomites refuse, 18. The Israelites expostulate, 19. The Edomites still refuse, and prepare to attack them, 20, 21. The Israelites go to Mount Hor, 22. Aaron is commanded to prepare for his death, 23, 24. Aaron is stripped on Mount Hor, and his vestments put on Eleazar his son; Aaron dies, 25—28. The people mourn for him thirty days, 29.
T'HEN » came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, mlo the desert of Zin,
in the first month: and the people abode in
Verse 1. Then came the children of Israel, cj-c] This was the first month of the fortieth year after their departure from Egypt. See chap, xxxiii. 38, compared with ver. 28 of this chapter, and Deut. i. 3. The transactions of thirty-seven years Moses passes by, because he writes not as a historian but as a legislator; and gives us particularly an account of the laws, ordinances, and other occurrences of the first and last years of their peregrinations. The year now spoken of was the last of their journeyings; for from the going out of the spies, chap, xiii., unto this time, was about thirty-eight years, Deut. i. 22, 23, ii. 14.
Desert of Zin] Calmet contends that this is not the same desert mentioned Exod. xvi. 1, where Israel had their eighth encampment; that in Exodus being called in the original pO sin, this here j'X tsin: but this is no positive proof, as letters of the same organ are frequently interchanged in all languages, and particularly in Hebrew.
And Miriam died there] Miriam was certainly older than Moses. When he was an infant, exposed on the river Nile, she was intrusted by her parents to watch the conduct of Pharaoh's daughter, and to manage a most delicate business, that required much address and prudence. See Exod. ii. It is supposed that she was at the time of her death one hundred and thirty years of age, having been at least ten years old at her brother's birth. The Catholic writers represent her as a type of the Virgin Mary; as having preserved a perpetual virginity; as being legislatrix over the Israelitish women, as Moses was over the men; and as having a large portion of the spirit of prophecy. Eusebius says that her tomb was to be seen at Kadesh, near the city of Petra, in his time. She appears to have died about four months before her brother Aaron, chap, xxxiii. 38, and eleven before her brother Moses; so that these three, the most eminent of human beings, died in the space of one year!
Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died ^when our brethren died before the Lord!
4 And ^why have ye brought up the congregation of the LoRB into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and ^ they fell upon their faces: and ' the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
8 ^ Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and ^ thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod "^ from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the con-
tiori] The same occurrence took place to the children of Israel at Kadesh, as did formerly to their fathers at Rephidim, see Exod. xvii. 1; and as the fathers murmured, so also did the children.
Verse 12. Because ye believed me not] What was the offence for which Moses was excluded from the promised landT It appears to have consisted in some or all of the following particulars: 1. God had commanded him (ver. 8) to take the rod in his hand, and go and SPEAK to the rock, and it should give forth water. It seems Moses did not think speaking would be sufficient, therefore he smote the rock without any command so to do. 2. He did this twice, which certainly in this case indicated a great perturbation of spirit, and want of attention to the presence of God. 3. He permitted his spirit to be carried away by a sense of the people's disobedience, and thus, being provoked, he was led to speak unadvisedly with his lips: /fear wow, ye REBELS, ver. 10. 4. He did not acknowledge GOD in the miracle wjjich was about to be gregation together before the rock, a. m. 2553. and he said unto them, "^Hear An. Exod. isV. now, ye rebels; must we fetch ^^'
1 1 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and ° the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12 And the Lord spake vmto Moses and Aaron, Because p ye believed me not, to 1 sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
1 3 ^ This is the water of ^ Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
14 * And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, " Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travel that hath ^ befallen us:
15 "^ How our fathers went down into Egypt, ^ and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; y and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
1 6 And ^ when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and ^ sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
17 ^ Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields,
wrought, but took the honour to himself and Aaron: " Must WE fetch you water out of this rock V Thus it plainly appears that they did not properly believe in God, and did not honour him in the sight of the people; for in their presence they seem to express a doubt whether the thing could be possibly done. As Aaron appears to have been consenting in the above particulars, therefore he is also excluded from the promised land.
Verse 1 4. Sent messengers — unto the king of Edom] Archbishop Usher supposes that the king now reigning in Edom was Hadar, mentioned Gen. xxxvi. 39.
Thus saith thy brother Israel] The Edomites were the descendants of Edom or Esau, the brother of Jacob or Israel, from whom the Israelites were descended.
Verse 17. We ivill go by the king's high-way] This is the first time this phrase occurs; it appears to have been a public road made by the king's authority at the expense of the state.
Eleazar to succeed Aaron, who goes up to Mount Hor and dies
A. M. 2553. or through the vineyards, neither An. ExocLisr. will wc drink q/'the water of the
_ wells: we will go by the king's high-way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
19 And the children of Israel said unto him. We will go by the high-way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, " then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
20 And he said, ^ Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
2 1 Thus Edom " refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel 'turned away from him.
22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from ^ Kadesh, ^ and came unto Mount Hor.
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses and
Verse 2 1. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border] Though every king has a right to refuse passage through his territories to any strangers; yet in a case like this, and in a time also in which emigrations were frequent and universally allowed, it was both cruelty and oppression in Edom to refuse a passage to a comparatively unarmed and inoffensive multitude, who were all their ovpn near kinsmen. It appears however that it was only the Edomites of Kadesh that were thus unfriendly and cruel; for from Deut. ii. 29 we learn that the Edomites who dwelt in Mount Seir treated them in a hospitable manner. This cruelty in the Edomites of Kadesh is strongly reprehended, and threatened by the Prophet Obadiah, ver. 10, &c.
Verse 26. Strip Aaron of his garments] This was, in effect, depriving him of his office; and putting the clothes on his son Eleazar implied a transfer of that oflBce to him. A transfer of office, from this circumstancO of putting the clothes of the late possessor on the person intended to succeed him, was called investing or investjnent, {clothing;) as removing a person from an office was termed divesting or unclothing. Among the Catholics, and in the Church of England, this same method is used in degrading ecclesiastics. Hence such a degradation is termed by the common people stripping a man of his gown.
Verse 28. And Aaron died there] Hence, as Dr. Lightfoot has justly observed, we have an " indisputable proof that the earthly Canaan was not the utmost
Aaron in Mount Hor, by the coast a. m. 2553. of the land of Edom, saying, An.Exod. isV.
24 Aaron shall be ' gathered ^'
unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ^ ye rebelled against my ' word at the water of Meribah.
25 ™ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor:
26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
27 And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into Mount Hor, in the sight of all the congregation.
28 ^ And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and " Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron P thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
felicity at which God's promises to the Israelites aimed, since the best men among them were excluded from it."
The remark of some of the fathers here is worthy of attention: " Neither Moses the representative of the law, nor Miriam the representative of the prophets, nor Aaron the representative of the priesthood and its sacrificial rites, could bring the Israelites into possession of the promised land. This was reserved for Joshua, who was in name and conduct the lively type of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." He alone can bring those who believe in his name into that rest which remains for the people of God.
There are some observations made by Dr. Lightfoot on this and some of the preceding chapters which should be more generally known.
" The place where the people murmured upon the return of the spies was Kadesh-Barnea, chap. xiii. 26; xxxii. 8; Deut. i. 19. This place was called Rithmah before, (chap, xxxiii. 18, compared with chap. xii. 16, and xiii. 26,) and was so called probably from the juniper trees that grew there; but is now named Kadesh, because the Lord was there sanctified upon the people, as chap. xx. 13; and Barnea, or the wandering son, because here was the decree made of their long ivandering in the wilderness. They continued a good space at Kadesh before they removed; for so said Moses, Ye abode in Kadesh many days; or as the Hebrew, According to the days that ye had made abode, namely, at Sinai, ver. 6. And so thev spent a
Arad fights against Israel, one whole year there, for so they had done at Sinai, And whereas God commands them at their murmuring to turn back to the Red Sea, (Deut. i. 40,) his meaning was, that at their next march, whensoever it was, they should not go forward unto Canaan, but back again towards the Red Sea, whence they came; (but see on Deut. i. 1.) And they did so, for they wandered by many stations and marches from Kadesh- Barnea till they came to Kadesh-Barnea again, seven or eight and thirty years after they had first left it. These marches, mentioned in chap, xxxiii., were these: From Kadesh or Rithmah to Rimmon Parez, to Libnah, to Rissah, to Kehelathah, to Mount Shapher, to Haradah, to Makheloth, to Tahath, to Tarah, to Mithcah, to Hashmonah, to Moseroth, to Benejaakan, to Horhagidgad, to Jotbathah, to Ebronah, to Ezion- Gaber, to Kadesh again, in the fortieth year. And though it was only eleven days'' journey from Horeb, by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-Barnea, (Deut. i. 2,) they made it above thrice eleven years^ journey!" Had they trusted in God, and obeyed him, their enemies long ere this would have been discomfited, and themselves quietly established in possession of the promised inheritance. But they grieved the Spirit of God, and did not believe his promise; and it would have been inconsistent with the whole economy of grace to have introduced unbelievers into that rest which was a type of the kingdom of God.
Arad, a king of the Canaanites, attacks Israel, and makes some prisoners, 1. They devote him and his people to destruction, 2; which they afterwards accomplished, 3. They journey from Hor, and are greatly discouraged, 4. They murmur against God and Moses, and loathe the manna, 5. The Lord sends fiery serpents among them, 6. They repent, and beg Moses to intercede for them, 7. The Lord directs him to make a brazen serpent, and set it on a pole, that the people might look on it and be healed, 8. Moses does so, and the people who beheld the brazen serpent lived, 9. They journey to Oboth, Ije-abarim, Zared, and Arnon, 10-13. A quotation from the book of the wars of the Lord, 14, 15. From Arnon they come to Beer, 16. Their song of triumph, 17—20. Moses sends messengers to the Amorites for permission to pass through their land, 21, 22. Sihon their king refuses, attacks Israel, is defeated, and all his cities destroyed, 23—26. The poetic proverbs made on the occasion, 27—30. Israel possesses the land of the Amorites, 31, 32. They are attacked by Og king of Bashan, 33. They defeat him, destroy his troops and family, and possess his land, 34, 35.
came ^ by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
2 ^ And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then '^ 1 will utterly destroy their cities.
3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites: and
Verse 1. The tvay of the spies] D'lnx atharim. Some think that this signifies the way that the spies took when they went to search the land. But this is impossible, as Dr. Kennicott justly remarks, because Israel had now marched from Meribah-Kadesh to Mount Hor, beyond Ezion-Gaber, and were turning round Edom to the south-east; and therefore the word is to be understood here as the name of a
Verse 3. The Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel
they utterly destroyed them and a. m. 2553. their cities: and he called the An. Exod.lsr. name of the place ^ Hormah. '*^-
4 And <■ they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to e compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much ^ discouraged ' because of the way.
5 And the people '' spake against God, and against Moses, ' Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any wa ter, and »* our soul loatheth this light bread.
spoken of, for this did not take place till after the death of Moses. If, instead of utterly destroyed them, Diri'l vaiyacharem, we translate they devoted them to utter destruction, it will make a good sense, and not repugnant to the Hebrew; though some think it more probable that the verse was added afterwards by Joshua or Ezra, in testimony of the fulfilment of God's promise; for Arad, who is mentioned as being destroyed here, is mentioned among those destroyed by Joshua long after, (see Josh. xii. 14:) but this is quite consistent with their being devoted to destruction, as this might be fulfilled any time after. See the note on Lev. xxvii.
people, f Israel died, "7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and
s?d, We have sinned, for ^ we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee: "■ pray unto the Lord, that he take aw^ay the serpents from
word of excessive scorn; as if they had said, This innutritive, unsubstantial, cheat-stomach stuff.
Verse 6. Fiery serpents] D"£3i:i*n D'tyn^n/iannecAashim has seraphim. I have observed before, on Gen. iii., that it is difficult to assign a name to the creature terned in Hebrevr nachash; it has different significations, but its meaning here and in Gen. iii. is most difficult to be ascertained. Seraphim is one of the orders of angelic beings, Isa. vi. 2, 6; but as it comes from the root "^Ity saraph, which signifies to burn, it has been translated ^er?/ in the text. It is likely that St. Paul alludes to the seraphim, Heb. i. 7: Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of FIRE. The animals mentioned here by Moses may have been called fiery because of the heat, violent inflammation, and thirst, occasioned by their bite; and consequently, if serpents, they were of the prester or dipsas species, whose bite, especially that of the former, occasioned a violent inflammation through the whole body, and a fiery appearance of the countenance. The poet Lucan has well expressed this terrible effect of the bite of the prester, and also of the dipsas, in the ninth book of his Pharsalia, which, for the sake of those who may not have the work at hand, I shall here insert.
Of the mortal effects of the bite of the dipsas in the deserts of Libya he gives the following description: —
" Signiferum juvenem Tyrrheni sanguinis Aulum Torta caput retro dipsas calcata momordit. Vix dolor aut sensus dentis fuit: ipsaque laeti Frons caret invidia: nee quidquam plaga minatur. Ecce subit virus taciturn, carpitque medullas Ignis edax, calidaque incendit viscera tabe. Ebihit humorem circum vitalia fusum Pestis, et in sicca linguani torrere palato Ccepit: defessos iret qui sudor in artus Non fuit, atque oculos lacrymarum vena refugit."
Aulus, a noble youth of Tyrrhene blood, Who bore the standard, on a dipsas trod; Backward the wrathful serpent bent her head, And, fell with rage, the unheeded wrong repaid. Scarce did some little mark of hurt remain, And scarce he found some little sense of pain. Nor could he yet the danger doubt, nor fear That death with all its terrors threatened there. When lo! unseen, the secret venom spreads, And every nobler part at once invades; Swift flames consume the inarrow and llie hrain, And the scorched entrails rage with burning pain; Upon his heart the thirsty poisons prey, And drain the sacred juice of life away,
8 And the Lord said unto
Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And ^ Moses made a serpent of brass, and
No kindly floods of moisture bathe his tongue, But cleaving to the parched roof it hung; No trickling drops distil, no dewy sweat. To ease his weary limbs, and cool the raging heat.
The effects of the bite of the prester are not less terrible: —
" Nasidium Marsi cultorem torridus agri Percussit prester: illi rubor igneus ora Succendit, tenditque cutem, pereunte figura, Miscens cuncta tumor toto jam corpore major: Humanumque egressa modum super omnia membra Efflatur sanies, late tollente veneno."
A fate of different kind Nasidius found,
A burning prester gave the deadly wound;
And straight, a sudden flame began to spread,
And paint his visage with a glowing red.
With swift expansion swells the bloated skin,
Naught but an undistinguished mass is seen;
While the fair human form lies lost within.
The puffy poison spreads, and heaves around,
Till all the man is in the monster drowned.
Bochart supposes that the hydrus or chersydrus is meant; a serpent that lives in marshy places, the bite of which produces the most terrible inflammations, burning heat, fetid vomitings, and a putrid solution of the whole body. See his works, vol. iii., col. 421. It is more likely to have been a serpent of the prester or dipsas kind, as the loilderness through which the Israelites passed did neither afford rivers nor marshes, though Bochart endeavours to prove that there might have been marshes in that part; but his arguments have very little weight. Nor is there need of a water serpent as long as the prester or dipsas, which abound in the deserts of Libya, might have abounded in the deserts of Arabia also. But very probably the serpents themselves were immediately sent by God for the chastisement of this rebellious people. The cure was certainly preternatural; this no person doubts; and why might not the agent be so, that inflicted the disease?
Verse 9. And Moses made a serpent of brass] VfTM ntiTIJ nechash nechoshcth. Hence we find that the word for brass or copper comes from the same root with nachash, which here signifies a serpent, probably on ac-
A. M. 2553. put it upon a pole, and it came to AnlExod.isr. pass, that if a serpent had bitten *^" any man, when he beheld the
10 And the children of Israel set forward, and ' pitched in Oboth,
1 1 And they journeyed from Oboth, and ^ pitched at ^ Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
12'^ From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. 1 3 From thence they removed, and pitched count of the colour; as most serpents, especially those of the bright spotted kind, have a very glistening appearance, and those who have brown or yellow spots appear something like burnished brass: but the true meaning of the root cannot be easily ascertained.
On the subject of the cure of the serpent-bitten Israelites, by looking at the brazen serpent, there is a good comment in the book of Wisdom, chap. xvi. 4-12, in which are these remarkable words: " They were admonished, having a sign of salvation, (i. e., the brazen serpent,) to put them in remembrance of the commandments of thy law. For he that turned himself towards it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by thee, that art the Saviour of all." To the circumstance of looking at the brazen serpent in order to be healed, our Lord refers, John iii. 14, 15: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." The brazen serpent was certainly no type of Jesus Christ; but from our Lord's words we may learn, 1. That as the serpent was lifted up on the pole or ensign, 50 Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross. 2. That as the Israelites were to look at the brazen serpent, so sinners must look to Christ for salvation. 3. That as God provided no other remedy than this looking for the wounded Israelites, so he has provided no other way of salvation than faith in the blood of his Son.
4. That as he who looked at the brazen serpent was cured and did live, so he that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life.
5. That as neither the serpent, nor looking at it, but the invisible power of God healed the people, so neither the cross of Christ, nor his merely being crucified, but the pardon he has bought by his blood, communicated by the powerful energy of his Spirit, saves the souls of men. May not all these things be plainly seen in the circumstances of this transaction, without making the serpent a type of Jesus Christ, (the most exceptionable that could possibly be chosen,) and running the parallel, as some have done, through ten or a dozen particulars 1
"Verse 12. They — pitched in the valley of Zared.]
brook Zared, as it is in Deut. ii. 13, 14. This stream on the other side of Anion, which a. m. 2553. is in the wilderness that cometh An. Exod. is'r. out of the coasts of the Amorites: '^^'
for ^ Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, ^ What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, ^ and * lieth upon the border of Moab.
1 6 And from thence they went ^ to Beer: that
Verse 13. Arnon'] Another river which takes its rise in the mountains of Moab, and, after having se« parated the ancient territories of the Moabites and Ammonites, falls into the Dead Sea, near the mouth of Jordan.
Verse 14. The book of the tears of the Lord] There are endless conjectures about this book, both among ancients and moderns. Dr. Lightfoot's opinion is the most simple, and to me bears the greatest appearance of being the true one. " This book seems to have been some book of remembrances and directions, written by Moses for Joshua's private instruction for the management of the wars after him. See Exod. xvii. 14-16. It may be that this was the same book which is called the book of Jasher, i. e., the book of the upright, or a directory for Joshua, from Moses, what to do and what to expect in his wars; and in this book it seems as if Moses directed the setting up of archery, see 2 Sam. i. 18, and warrants Joshua to command the sun, and expect its obedience. Josh. x. 13."
What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon] This clause is impenetrably obscure. All the versions, all the translators, and all the commentators, have been puzzled with it. Scarcely any two agree. The original is nD1D3 3m HX elh vaheb besuphah, which our translators render, what he did in the Red Sea, following here the Chaldee Targum; but not satisfied with this version, they have put the most difficult words in English letters in the margin, Vaheb in Suphah. Calmefs conjecture here is ingenious, and is adopted by Houbigant; instead of 2ni vaheb, he reads Til zared. Now a r zain may be easily mistaken for a 1 vau, and vice versa; and a PI Ae for a T resh, if the left limb happened to be a little obliterated, which frequently occurs, not only in MSS., but in printed books; the 3 beth also might be mistaken for a n daleth, if the ruled line on which it stood happened in that place to be a little thicker or blacker than usual. Thus then 3ni vaheb might be easily formed out of l"ir zared, mentioned ver. 12; the whole might then be read, They encamped at the brook Zared, and they came to Suphah, and thence to the brook Arnon. Take the passage as we may, it is evidently defective. As I judge the whole clause to have beep
is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of '"the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
1 9 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the e country of Moab, to the top of ^ Pisgah, which looketh ' toward ^ Jeshimon,
2 1 And ^ Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
22 "^ Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high-Wdiy, until we be past thy borders.
a common proverb in those days, and Vaheb to be a proper name, I therefore propose the following translation, which I believe to be the best: From Vaheb unto Suph, and unto the streams of Arnon. If we allow it to have l)een a proverbial expression, used to point out extensive distance, then it was similar to that well known phrase, From Dan even unto Beersheba.
Verse 17. Spring up., O well, cj-c] This is one of the most ancient war songs in the world, but is not easily understood, which is commonly the case with all very ancient compositions, especially the poetic. See the remarks Exod. xv. 1, &c.
Verse 18. The princes digged the ivell — ivith their staves.} This is not easily understood. Who can suppose that the princes dug this well with their staves? And is their any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word nDH chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and Dnj>"kyrD3 bemishanotham, which we render tvith their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from the root ji'iy shaan, to lie along. With these corrections the whole song may be read thus: —
This is the whole of the quotation from what is called the book of the wars of the Lord. But see Dr. Kennicott''s remarks at the end of this chapter.
23 ° And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: ° and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
24 And P Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the i villages thereof.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
28 For there is ^ a fire gone out of Heshbon,
It appears therefore that the territory now taken from Sihon by the Israelites was taken from a former king of Moab, in commemoration of which an epikedion or war song was made, several verses of which, in their ancient poetic form, are here quoted by Moses.
Verse 27. They that speak in proverbs} D^'St^Dn hammoshelim, from St^O mashal, to rule, to exercise authority; hence a weighty proverbial saying, because admitted as an axiom for the government of life. The moshelim of the ancient Asiatics were the same, in all probability, as the Poeta, among the Greeks and Latins, the)j**i* shaara among the Arabs, who were esteemed as Divine persons, and who had their name from >3ui> shaara, he knew, understood; whose poems celebrated past transactions, and especially those which concerned the military history of their nation. These poets were also termed vj!^^ iN.%i»V>» sahebi deewan, companions or lords of the council of state, because their loeighty sayings and universal knowledge were held in the highest repute. Similar to these were the bards among the ancient Druids, and the Sennachies among the ancient Celtic inhabitants of these nations.
The ode from the 27th to the 30th verse is composed of three parts. The first takes in verses 27 and 28; the second ver. 29; and the third verse 30.
The first records with bitter irony the late insults of Sihon and his subjects over the conquered Moabites.
The second expresses the compassion of the Israelites over the desolations of Moab, with a bitter sarcasm against their god Chemosh, who had abandoned his votaries in their distress, or was not able to rescue them out of the hands of their enemies.
An.Exod. isr. it hath consumed » Ar of Moab, ^- and the lords of the high places
29 Wo to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of * Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even ^unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto ' Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent to spy out ^ Jaazer, and
thev took the villages thereof, and a. m. 2553. drove out the Amorites that were An. Exod. isr. there. ^"-
The third sets forth the revenge taken by Israel upon the whole country of Sihon, from Heshbon to Dibon, and from Nophah even to Medeba. See Isa. XV. 1, 2.
The whole poem, divided into its proper hemistichs, as it stands in Kennicott's Hebrew Bible, is as follows: —
Come ye to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; The city of Sihon, let it be established.
Verse 28. For from Heshbon the fire went out. And a flame from the city of Sihon: It hath consumed the city of Moab, With the lords of the heights of Arnon.
Verse 29. Part II. Alas for thee, O Moab! Thou hast perished, O people of Chemosh! He hath given up his fugitive sons And his daughters into captivity, To the king of the Amorites, Sihon.
Verse 30. Part III. But on them have WE lifted destruction, From Heshbon even to Dibon; We have destroyed even to Nophah, The fire did reach to Medebah.
Verse 35. So they smote him, and his sons'] There IS a curious note of Dr. Lightfoot here, of which I should think it wrong to deprive the reader.
" Sihon and Og conquered, A. M. 2553. Of the life of Moses, 120. From the Exodus, 40. It is now SIX and twenty generations from the creation, or from Adam to Moses; and accordingly doth Psa. cxxxvi. rehearse the durableness of God's mercy six and twenty times over, beginning the story with the creation, and ending it in the conquest of Sihon and Og. The numerals of the name nin' Jehovah amount to the sum oi six and twenty ^
33 ^ And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle y at Edrei.
34 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^ Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and * thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
35 ''So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
On some difliculties in this chapter Dr. Kennicott makes the following observations: —
" This one chapter has several very considerable difiiculties; and some verses, as now translated, are remarkably unintelligible. A true state of this chapter is not, however, to be despaired of; and it has in it some circumstances which merit more than common attention. It contains the history of the last part of the travels of the Israelites in their way to the promised land; beginning with them at Mount Hor, the thirty-fourth encampment, and concluding with them, as in their forty-second and last encampment, near Jordan, in the country which they had acquired by conquest over Sihon, king of the Amorites.
" It begins with saying — that King Arad, the Canaanite, loho dwelt in the south, (in the land of Canaan, chap, xxxiii. 40,) attacked Israel and was defeated, and that Israel destroyed their cities; and that, after destroying these Canaanite cities, and consequently after being in a part of Cannaan, a part of the very country they were going to, on the ivest of the Dead Sea, they returned towards the Red Sea, and near the eastern tongue or gulf of the Red Sea, on the south of Edom,ma,Tched loundEdom to the east of the Dead Sea., in order to enter Canaan from the east side of Jordan!
" This surprising representation of so vast and dangerous a march, quite unnecessarily performed, is owing to two circumstances. The first is, (chapter xxi. 1,) the Canaanites heard that Israel was coming by the way of the spies, meaning, by the way the spies went from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan. But this being impossible, because Israel had now marched from Meribah-Kadesh to Mount Hor, beyond Ezion-gaber, and were turning round Edom, to the south-east; it is happy that the word rendered spies, in our version, is in the Greek a proper name, (Atharim,) which removes that difficulty: and the other difliculty (verses 2, 3) is removed by the Greek version likewise, according to which, the vow made, with the facts subsequent, does not signify destroying the Canaanite cities, but devoting them to destruction at some future time. See
Critical remarks on several
" It proceeds with saying, that after defeating the Canaanites at Mount Hor, they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, (in the road from Amman, Midian, &c., to the eastern gulf of the Red Sea,) to compass the land of Edom; that on their murmuring for want both of bread and of water they were punished by fiery serpents, after which they marched to Obolh, and thence to Ije-abarim in the wilderness, east ofMoab. The encampments of the Israelites, amounting to forty-two, are recorded all together, in historical succession, in chap, xxxiii., where Ijeabarim is the 38th; Dibon-gad, 39; Almon-Diblathaim, 40; mountains of Abarim, 41; and the plains of Moab, by Jordan, 42. This regular detail in chap. xxxiii. has occasioned great perplexity as to chap, xxi., where, after the stations at Oboth and Ije-abarim, in verses 10 and 11, we have, in verses 19 and 20, the words Matianah, Nahaliel, and Bamolh; which are usu illy considered as the proper names of three places, but widely different from the three proper names after Ije-abarim in the catalogue at chap, xxxiii.
" But there is, in reality, no inconsistency here. In the plain and historical catalogue (chap, xxxiii.) the words are strictly the proper names of the three places; but here the words Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth follow some lines of poetry, and seem to form a continuation of the song. They evidently express figurative and poetical ideas. The verbs journeyed from and pitched in are not found here, though necessary to prose narration: see verses 10 and 11 here, and chap, xxxiii. Lastly, verse 20th, (in this 21st chapter,) usually supposed to express the last enca?npment, does not. Pisgah signifies a hill; and the Israelites could not encamp on the top of any single hill, such as this is described. Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which looketh tou-ard Jeshimon, (chap, xxiii. 28,) M'liich Peor undoubtedly was in Moab. He took him to another hill in Moab, when he took him (chap, xxiii. 1 4) to the top of Pisgah, in the field of Zophim. And if the Pisgah or hill in chap. xxi. 20, was in the country of Balak, it could not point out the last enca7n]nnent, which was not in Balak's country, but north of Am on.
" The word Mattanah probably alludes to a place distinguished by some gift or blessing from God. Fagius says: Nomcn loci, ab eventu aquarum quas Dominus ibi dedit, sic appellati; n^HD nam significat donum — ' The name of the place was so called, from the circumstance of the waters which the Lord gave there; for Matianah signifies a gift.'' Sx'bnJ Nahaliel is torrenles Dei; i. e., great streams, particularly seasonable or salutary. And niD3 Bamoth (vcr. 28) may point out any high places of signal benefit in the country of Moab, or it may answer to the last station but one, which was (he mountains of Abarim. If, therefore, these words were meant to express poetically some eminent blessing, what blessing was so likely to j be then celebrated as copious streams of loater? And after they had wandered nearly forty years through many a barren desert, and after (compare Deut. viii. 1.5) having passed through that great and terrible wilderne.ss, wherein were fiery serpents and drought, ' wlierp tliere was 7io water, it is no wonder they should ehinit for joy at finding water in plenty, and finding it;
NUMBERS. difficulties in this chapter.
almost on the banks ofAmon, the last river they were to pass, in their way to their last station, east of Jordan. No wonder they should sing in poetic rapture, that after the wilderness was {Mattanah) the gift of God; meaning the great ivell in Moab, dug by public autho - rity; and no wonder that, after such a gift, there were (Nahaliel) blessed streams, by which they passed, till they came to (Bamoth) the high places from which, perhaps, these streams descended. And the thanksgiving ends, where the blessing was no longer wanted, on their coming down into the valley, along the banks of Arnon, which was then the north boundary of Moab.
" The Israelites had spent no less than thirty-eight years in coming from Kadesh-Barnea to their encampment north of Zared. Here, at i\\is for tie'th station, they were commanded to pass through Moab by "ly Ar, the chief city; but were not to stop till they came to the valley on the south of Arnon. At this last station but one they probably continued no longer than was necessary for sending messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbon, and receiving his answer. They then crossed the Arnon; and having vanquished Sihon and Og, took possession of the forty-second and last encampment.
"This one chapter has ^Aree pieces of poetry, either fragments or complete; and poetry, seldom found in a historical narrative, may be here accounted for from the exuberance of joy which must have affected these wearied travellers, when arriving thus happily near their journey's end. What occurs first is in ver. 14; and has often been called the fragment of an old Amorite song. But it may have been Amorite or Moahite, or either or neither, for the subject matter of it, as it is generally understood, if indeed it can be said to be understood at all. The words 3m nx, pjlX D'bnjn nxi naiDD usually supposed to contain this fragment, do not signify, as in our English version. What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon. Without enumerating the many interpretations given by others, I shall offer a new one, which seems to make good sense, and a sense very pertinent.
" Observe first, that there must have been a place called Suph, near the conflux of the Arnon and Jordan; because Moses, whilst in that last station, begins Deuteronomy with saying, he was on this side (i. e., east) of Jordan, over against Suph. By this word is not here meant the Red Sea; partly, because that has every where else the word for sea before it, and partly, because of the great distance of the Red Sea now from Moses. The single word, therefore, signifies here some place in itself obscure, because no where mentioned but in these two passages. And yet we cannot wonder that Moses should mention it twice, as the word Suph, introduced in speaking of the two last encampments, recalled to mind the Sea of Suph, so glorious to Israel, near the beginning of their march towards Canaan.
" Moses had now led Israel from the Red Sea to the river Arnon, through many dreadful dangers, partly from hostile nations, partly from themselves; such dangers as no other people ever experienced, and such as no people could have surmounted, without the signal favour of the Almighty. And here, just before the battles with Sihon an Og, he reminds them of Pho'
in the plains of Moah.
raoh, &c.; and he asserts, that in the history of the wars it shall be recorded that Jehovah, who had triumphantly brought Israel through the Sea of Suph, near Egypt, at first, had now conducted him to Suph, near Arnon; that
Jehovah went with him to Suph, And he came to the streams of Arnon.
" This version removes the difficulties urged by Hoibes, page 266, fol. 1750; by Spinoza, page 108, 4to., 1670; and retailed in a deistical pamphlet called The Doubts of the Infidels, page 4, 8vo., 1781.
" The general meaning of the next piece of poetry seems to be this: that at some distance from the city of Ar, by which the Israelites were to pass, (Deut. ii. 18,) they came to a well of uncommon size and magnificence, which seems to have been sought out, built up, and adorned for the public, by the rulers of Moab. And it is no wonder that, on their arrival at such
a well, they should look upon it as a blessing from Heaven, and speak of it as a new miracle in their favour.
17. Then Israel sang this song: —
18. The well! princes searched it out; The nobles of the people have digged it; By their decree, by their act of government. So, after the wilderness, was Mattanah!
19. And after Mattanah were Nahaliel! And after Nahaliel were Bamoth I
20. And after Bamoth was the valley; Where, in the country of Moab, Appeareth the top of Pisgah, Which is over against Jeshimon.
See Dr. Kennicott's J?emar^.s upon Select Passages in the Old Testament.
The Israelites pitch in the plains of Moab, I. Balak, king of Moab, is greatly terrified, 2-4; and sends to Balaam, a diviner, to come and curse them, 5, 6. The elders of Moab take a reward and carry it to Balaam, 7. He inquires of the Lord, and is positively ordered not to go with them, 8—12. He communicates this to the elders of Moab, 13. They return to Balak with this information, 14. He sends some of his princes to Balaam ivith promises of great honour, 15-17. He consults God, and is permitted to go, on certain conditions, 18—20. Balaam sets off, is opposed by an angel of the Lord, and the Lord miraculously opens the mouth of his ass to reprove him, 21—30. Balaam sees the angel, and is reproved by him, 31-33. He humbles himself, and offers to go back, 34; but is ordered to proceed, on the same conditions as before, Zb. The king of Moab goes out to meet him, ZQ. His address to him, Zl. Balaam's firm answer, 38. Balak sacrifices, and takes Balaatn to the high places of Baal, that he may see the whole of the Israelitish camp, 39—41.
A.M. 2553. AND ^the children of Israel An.Exod. isr. set forward, and pitched in
^^" the plains of Moab, on this side
2 And ^ Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And •= Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they loere many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto ^ the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are
Verse 1. And pitched in the plains of Moab] They had taken no part of the country that at ^re^e/ii appertained to the Moabites; they had taken only that part which had formerly belonged to this people, but had been taken from them by Sihon, king of the Amorites.
Verse 5. To Pethor, ivhich is by the river of the land of the children of his people] Dr. Kennicott justly remarks, that " the description now given of Balaam's residence, instead of being particular, agrees round about us, as the ox hcketh A. M. 2553. up the grass of the field. And An. Exod. Isr. Balak the son of Zippor ivas ^°-
5 ^ He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to ^ Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the ^ face of the eartli, and they abide over against me:
with any place in any country where there is a river; for he lived by Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people. But was Pethor then near the Nile in Egypt? Or in Canaan, near Jordan? Or in Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates, and belonging to the Ammonites? This last was in fact the case; and therefore it is well that twelve Hebrew MSS. (with two of De Rossi's) confirm the Samaritan text here in reading, instead of 1D>' ammo, his people, jTD;,' Ammon, with the Syriac and Vulgate versions." Houbigant properly contends for this reading; and necessity urges the propriety of adopting it
^°" they are too mighty for me:
It should therefore stand thus: by the river of the land of the children of Ammon; and thus it agrees with Deut. xxiii. 4.
Verse 6. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people] Balaam, once a prophet of the true God, appears to have been one of the Moshelim, (see chap, xxi. 27,) who had added to his poetic gift that oi sorcery or divination. It was supposed that prophets and sorcerers had a power to curse persons and places so as to confound all their designs, frustrate their counsels, enervate their strength, and fill them with fear, terror, and dismay. See Gen. ix. 25; Psa. cix. 6, 20; Josh. vi. 26; Jer. xvii. 5, 6.
Macrobius has a whole chapter De carmine quo evocari solebant dii tutelares, et aut urbes, aut exercitus devoveri. " Of the incantations which were used to induce the tutelary gods to forsake the cities, &c., over which they presided, and to devote cities and whole armies to destruction." See Saturnal., lib. iii., cap. ix. He gives us tioo of the ancient forms used in reference to the destruction of Carthage; the first, to call over the protecting deities, was pronounced by the dictator or general, and none other, when they began the siege. It is as follows, literatim et punctatim: —