Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 1. These be the words which Moses spake] The five first verses of this chapter contain the introduction to the rest of the book: they do not appear to be the work of Moses, but were added probably either by Joshua or Ezra.

On this side Jordan] n3>'3 beeber, at the passage of Jordan, i. e., near or opposite to the place where the Israelites passed over after the death of Moses. Though 12>' eber is used to signify both on this side and on the other side, and the connection in which it stands can only determine the meaning; yet here it signifies neither, but simply the place or ford where the Israelites passed over Jordan.

In the plain] That is, of Moab; over against the Red Sea — not the Red Sea, for they were now farther from it than they had yet been: the word sea is not in the text, and the word =^1D suph, which we render red, does not signify the Red Sea, unless joined with D'' yam, sea; here it must necessarily signify a place in or adjoining to the plains of Moab. Ptolemy mentions a people named Sophonites, that dwelt in Arabia Petrma, and it is probable that they took their name from this a

2 ( There are eleven days' j'owrney from Horeb by the way

of Mount Seir ^ unto Kadesh-.

3 And it came to pass « in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the

place; but see the note from Lightfoot, Num. xx., at the end.

Paran] This could not have been the Paran which was contiguous to the Red Sea, and not far from Mount Horeb; for the place here mentioned lay on the very borders of the promised land, at a vast distance from the former.

Dizahab.] The w^ord should be separated, as it is in the Hebrew, nnt "T Di Zahah. As Zahab signifies gold, the Septuagint have translated it -a x^yvaia, the gold mines; and the Vulgate ubi aurum est plurimum, where there is much gold. It is more likely to be the name of a place.

Verse 2. There are eleven days' journey] The Israelites were eleven days in going from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, where they were near the verge of the promised land; after which they were thirty-eight years wandering up and down in the vicinity of this place, not being permitted, because of their rebellions, to enter into the promised rest, though they were the whole of that time within a few miles of the land of Canaan!

Boundaries of the land to be possessed by the Israelites him in commandment unto them;

4 ^ After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth? in Edrei:

5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

6 The Lord our God spake unto us ^ in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long "■ enough in this mount:

7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto ^ all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea-side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Isaac, and give unto them and to their seed

year to the Hebrews in different respects; in the first month of this year Miriam died, Num. xx.; on the first day of the fifth month Aaron died, Num. xxxiii. 38; and about the conclusion of it, Moses himself died.

Verse 5. Began Moses to declare this laiv^ Began, 7'Nin hoil, willingly undertook; to declare, 1N3 beer, to make hare, clear, <^-c., fullij to explain, this law. See the conclusion of the preface.

Verse 6. Ye have dwelt long enough, c^c.] They came to Sinai in the third month after their departure from Egypt, Exod. xix. 1,2; and left it the twentieth of the second month of the second year, so it appears they had continued there nearly a whole year.

Verse 7. Go to the mount of the Amorites'\ On the south of the land of Canaan, towards the Dead Sea.

Land of the Canaanites^ That is, Phcenicia, the country of Sidon, and the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea from the country of the Philistines to Mount Libanus. The Canaanites and Phcenicians are often confounded.

The river Euphrates.] Thus Moses fixes the bounds of the land, to which on all quarters the territories of the Israelites might be extended, should the land of Canaan, properly so called, be found insufficient for them. Their south border might extend to the mount of the Amorites; their west to the borders of the \ Mediterranean Sea; their north to Lebanon; and their -EAST border to the river Euphrates: and to this extent S'nlomon reigned; see 1 Kings iv. 21. So that in his lime, at least, the promise to Abraham was literally fulfillt^d; see below.

Vese> 10. Ye are this daij as the stars of heaven for multitude.] This was the promise God made to Abraham, Gen..XV. 5, 6; and Moses considers it now as amply fulfilled'. But was it really so 1 Many suppose the expression vo be hyperbolical; and others, no friends

8 Behold, I have ^ set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, "^ Abraham, Jacob, to after them.

9 And '^ I spake unto you at that time, say ing, I am not able to bear you myself alone.

10 The Lord your God hath multiphed you, and, behold, ° ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11 (P The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, i as he hath promised you!)

1 2 ^ How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife!

13 ^ Take ^ you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14 And ye answered me, and said. The thing

to revelation, think it a vain empty boast, because the stars, in their apprehension, amount to innumerable millions. Let us consider this subject. How many in number are the stars which appear to the naked eye T for it is by what appears to the naked eye we are to be governed in this business, for God brought Abraham forth abroad, i. e., out of doors, and bade him look toivards heaven, not with a telescope, but w'ith his naked eyes, Gen. xv. 5. Now I shall beg the objector to come forth abroad, and look up in the brightest and most favourable night, and count the stars — he need not be terrified at their abundance; the more they are, the more he can count; and I shall pledge myself to find a male Israelite in the very last census taken of this people, Num. xxvi., for every star he finds in the whole upper hemisphere of heaven. The truth is, only about 3,010 stars can be seen by the naked eye in both the northern and southern hemispheres; and the Israelites, independently of women and children, were at the above time more than 600,000. And suppose we even allow that, from the late discoveries of Dr. Herschel and others with telescopes which have magnified between 35 and 36,000 times, there may be 75 millions of stars visible by the help of such instruments, which is the highest calculation ever made, yet still the Divine word stands literally true: St. Matthew says, chap, i., that the generations from Abraham to Christ were 42; now we find at the second census that the fighting men among the Hebrews amounted to 603,000; and the Israelites, who have never ceased to be a distinct people, have so multiplied as far to exceed the number of all the fixed stars taken together. Verse 13. Take you wise men] 0"!:)Dr\ chachamim, such as had gained knowledge by great labour and study. Understanding 0'J3J nebonim, persons of dis-

The civil constitution of the

Israelites in the wilderness.

A. M. 2553. which thou hast spoken is ffood

tribes, wise men, and known, ° and ^ made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and ^ judge righteously between every man and his * brother, and the stranger that is with

17 ''Ye shall not ^ respect persons in judgment; hut ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for ^ the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, ^ bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

18 And I commanded you at that time, all the things which ye should do.

1 9 And when we departed from Horeb, "^ we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and ^ we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.

21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the

Lord God of thy fathers hath a. m. 2553.

cernment, judicious men. Known, 'Oy\'' 7/eduim,TpeT sons practised in the operations of nature, capable of performing curious and important works.

Verse 15. Captains over ihousaiids, 4"C.] What a curious and well-regulated economy was that of the Israelites! See its order and arrangement: I.GOD, the King and Supreme Judge; 2. Moses, God's prime minister; 3. The priests, consulting him by Urim and Thummim; 4. The chiefs or princes of the twelve tribes; 5. Chiliarchs, or captains over thousands; 6. Centurions, or captains over hundreds; 7. Tribunes, or captains over fifty men; 8. Decurions, or captains over ten men; and, 9. Officers, persons who might be employed by the different chiefs in executing particular commands. All these held their authority from God, and yet were subject and accountable to each other. See the notes on Num. ii.

Verse 17. Ye shall not respect persons'] Heb. faces. Let not the bold, daring countenance of the rich or mighty induce you to give an unrighteous decision; and let not the abject look of the poor man induce you

22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said. We will send men before us. and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

23 And the saying pleased me well: and *" I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

24 And ^ they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.

25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us woixi again, and said, ^ It is a. good land which the Lord our God doth give us.

26 ' Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:

27 And ye murmm-ed in your tents, and said, Because the Lord ^ hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have ^ discouraged our heart, saying, ^ The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the ° Anakims

either to favour him in an unrighteous cause, or to give judgment against him at the demand of the oppressor. Be uncorrupt and incorruptible, for the judgment is God's; ye minister in the place of God, act like Hni.

Verse 28. Cities — walled up to heaven] That is, with very high walls which could not be easily scaled. High walls around houses, &c., in these parts of Arabia are still deemed a sufficient defence against the Arabs, who scarcely ever attempt any thing in the way of plunder but on horsebacJc The monastery on Mount Sinai is surrounded with very high walls without any gate; in the upper part of the wall there is a sort of window, or opening, from which a basket is suspended by a pulley, by which both persons and goods are received into and sent from the place. It is the same with the convent of St. Anthony, in Egypt; and this sort of wall is deemed a sufficient defence against the Arabs, who, as we have already observed, scarcely ever like to alight from their horses.

The evil consequences of the

DEUTERONOMY, had report brought hy the spies.

Then I said unto you, not, neither be afraid of them.

30 ° The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

3 1 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God p bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32 Yet in this thing '^ ye did not believe the Lord your God,

33 ''Who went in the way before you, * to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, * and sware, saying,

35 " Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

36 '' Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because''' he hath ^ wholly followed the Lord,

37 yAlso the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

38 ^ But Joshua the son of Nun, ^ which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither; ^ encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Verse 30. The Lord — shall Jight for you] In the Targum of Onkelos, it is, the Word of the Lord shall fight for you. In a great number of places the Targums or Chaldee paraphrases use the term "n NID'D meimera dayeya or Yehovah, the Word of the Lord, exactly in the same way in which St. John uses the term Aoyoc Logos in the first chapter of his Gospel. Many instances of this have already occurred.

Verse 34. The Lord — ivas ivrolh] That is, his justice was incensed, and he evidenced his displeasure against you; and he could not have been a just God if he had not done so.

Verse 37. The Lord was angry with 7n€] See on Num. XX. 10, &c., where a particular account is given of the sin of Moses.

39 •= Moreover your little ones, a.m. 2553. which ^ ye said should be a prey. An. Ex. isr. 40. and your children, which in that ^^^^^' day ^ had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 '^ But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea,

41 Then ye answered and said unto me, ^ We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

42 And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, ^ Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and * went ^ presumptuously up into the hill.

44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you and chased you, ^ as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

4 5 And ye returned and ™ wept before the Lord; but the Lord ° would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46 '^ So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode

Verse 44. The Amorites — chased you] See the note on Num. xiv. 40; as bees do — by irresistible numbers.

Verse 46. According unto the days that ye abode there.] They had been a long time at this place, see Num. xiii. 27; xx. 1, 14, 21. And some think that the words mean, " Ye abode as long at Kadesh, when you came to it the second time, as ye did at the first." Or, according to others, " While ye were in that part of the desert, ye encamped at Kadesh."

1. As one grand object of the law of God was to instruct the people in those things which were calculated to promote their peace and insure their prosperity; and as they were apt to lose sight of their spiritual interests, without a due attention to which their secular interest could not be promoted; Moses, not only in this chapter, but through the whole book, calls upon them ( 48*) a to recollect their former miserable situation, in which they held neither life nor property but at the will of a merciless tyrant, and the great kindness and power of God manifested in their deliverance from a bondage that was as degrading a.s it was oppressive. These things properly remembered would lead them to prize their blessings, and duly appreciate the mercy of their Maker. 2. But it was not only this general display of God's kindness, in the grand act of their deliverance from Egypt, that he wished them to keep constantly in view, but also that gracious providence which was manifested in every step they took; which directed all their movements, provided for all their wants, continually showing ivhat they should do, how they should do it, and also the most proper time and place for every act, whether religious or civil. By bringing before them in one point of view the history of almost forty years, in which the strangest and most stupendous occurrences had taken place that had ever been exhibited to the world, he took the readiest way to impress their minds, not only with their deep obligation to God, but also to show them that they were a people on whom their Maker had set his heart to do them good, and that if they feared him they should lack nothing that was good. He lays out also before them a history of their miscarriages and rebellion, and the privations and evils they had suffered in consequence, that this might act as a continual learning, and thus become, in the hands of God. a preventive of crimes.

3. If every Christian were thus to call his past life into review, he would see equal proofs of God's gracious regards to his body and soul; equal proofs of eternal mercy in providing for his deliverance from the galling yoke and oppressive tyranny of sin, as the Israelites had in their deliverance from Egypt; and equal displays of a most gracious providence, that had also been his incessant companion through all the changes and chances of this mortal life, guiding him by its counsel, that he might be at last received into glory. 0 reader, remember what God has done for thee during thy forty, fifty, &c., years! He has nourished, fed, clothed, protected, and saved thee. How often and how powerfully has his Spirit striven with thee '. How often and how impressively thou hast heard his voice in his Gospel and in his providences I Remember the good resolutions thou hast made, the ingratitude and disobedience that have marked thy life; how his vows are still upon thee, and how his mercy still spares thee! And wilt thou live so as to perish for ever ''. God forbid! He still waits to be gracious, and rejoices over thee to do thee good. Learn from what is before thee how thou shouldst fear, love, believe in, and obey thy God. The Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, is still before the throne; and whosoever cometh unto God through him shall in nowise be cast out. He who believes these things with an upright heart will soon be enabled to live a sanctified life.

Moses continues to relate how they compassed Mount Seir, 1. And the commands they received not to meddle loith the descendants of Esau, 2—8; nor to distress the Moabites, 9. Of the Emims, 10, 11; the Horims, 12. Their passage of the brook Zered, 13. The time they spent between Kadesh-barnea and Zered, 14; during ivhich all the men of ivar that came out of Egypt ivere consumed, 15, ll>. The command not to distress the Ammonites, 17-19. Of the Zamzummims, 20, the Anakims, 21, the Horims, 22, the Avims and Caphtorims, all destroyed by the Ammonites, 23. They are commanded to cross the n'uer Arnon, and are promised the land o/Sihon, king of the Amorites, 24, 25. Of the message sent to Sihon, to request a passage through his territories, 26-29. His refusal, 30. The consequent tvar, 31, 32. His total overthrotv, 33; and extermination of his people, 34. The spoils that were taken, 35. And his land possessed from Aroer to Arnon by the Israelites, 36; tvho took care, according to the command of God, not to invade any part of the territories of the Ammonites, 37.

^ Ye are to pass through the coast A. M. 2553. of your brethren the children of An. Ex. isr. 4p. Esau, which dwell in Seir; and ^^ ^^'

T^HEN we turned, and took journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, '^ as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed Mount Seir many days,

2 And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

3 Ye have compassed this mountain ^ long enough: turn you northward.

4 And command thou the people, saying,

Seir, in order to get to Canaan. This was not the way they went before, viz., by Kadesh-barnea, but they were to proceed between Edom on the

they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, ^ no, not so much as a foot breadth; ® because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau /or a possession.

^ Hebrew, even to the treading of the sole of the foot. ° Gen.

one hand, and Moab and Ammon on the other, so as to enter into Canaan through the land of the Amorites.

Verse 5. Meddle not tvith them] That is, the Edomites. See on Num. xx. 14-21.

the JSJomitts nor Moabites.

A. M. 2553. 6 Ye shall buy meat of them An. Ex. isr. 40. for moiiey, that ye may eat; and

ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7 For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: ^ these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

8 ^ And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from ^ Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9 And the Lord said unto me, ' Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given ^ Ar unto Uhe children of Lot /or a possession.

10 "" The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as ^ the Anakims;

1 1 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

12 ° The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau p succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their i stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.

Verse 7. The Lord — hath blessed thee, cj-c] God had given them much property, and therefore they had no need of plunder; they had gold and silver to buy the provender they needed, and therefore God would not permit them to take any thing by violence.

Verse 10. The Emims dwelt therein] Calmet supposes that these people were destroyed in the war made against them by Chedorlaomer and his allies, Gen. xiv. 5. Lot possessed their country after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. They are generally esteemed as giants; probably they were a hardy, fierce, and terrible people, who lived, like the wandering Arabs, on the plunder of others. This was sufficient to gain them the appellation of giants, or men of prodigious stature. See below.

Verse 1 1. Which also were accounted giants] This is not a fortunate version. The word is not giants, but D'XST Rephaim, the name of a people. It appears that the Emim, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were probably the same people, called by different names in the different countries where they dweit; for they appear originally to have been a kind of wandering free-

14 And the space in which we came * from Kadesh-bamea, until we were come over the brook Zered, loas thirty and eight years; " until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, '' as the Lord sware unto them.

1 5 For indeed the ^ hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16 So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17 That the Lord spake unto me, saying,

18 Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19 And ivhen thou comest nigh over agamst the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto '^ the children of Lot /or a possession.

20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: slants dwelt therein in old time; and the Am monites call them ^ Zamzummims;

21 ^ A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them

hooters, who lived by plunder. (See on the preceding verse.) It must be granted, however, that there were several men of this race of extraordinary stature. And hence all gigantic men have been called Rephaim. (See on Gen. vi. 4, and xiv. 5.) But we well know that fear and public report have often added whole cubits to men's height. It was under this influence that the spies acted, when they brought the disheartening report mentioned Num. xiii. 33.

Verse 12. The Horims also diccli in Seir] The whole of this verse was probably added by Joshua or Ezra.

Verse 20. That also was accounted a land of giants] That was accounted the land or territory of the Rephaim.

Zamzum7nims] Supposed to be the same as the Zuzim, Gen. xiv. 5. Of these ancient people we know very little; they were probably inconsiderable tribes or clans, " pursuing and pursued, each other's prey," till at length a stronger totally destroyed or subdued them, and their name became either extinct or absorbed in that of th* ir conquerors. From the 1 0th to the 12th, and from the 20th to the 23d verse inclusive, we have certair historical remarks introduced

The command to possess the

An. Ex. isr. 40. them, and dwelt in their stead: ^^^^^- 22 As he did to the children of

Esau, °- which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed ^ the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23 And •= the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, eve7i unto ^ Azzah, ^ the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and ^ pass over the river Ai-non: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: ^ begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25 ^ This day will I begm to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee, upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth, unto Sihon king of Heshbon, ■ with words of peace, saying,

27 ^ Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high-way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

28 Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: ' only I will pass through on my feet;

29 ("" As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan, into

which do not seem to have been made by Moses, but rather by Joshua or Ezra. By the introduction of these verses the thread of the narrative suffers considerable interruption. Dr. Kennicott considers both these passages to be interpolations. That they could not have made a part of the speech of Moses originally, needs little proof.

Verse 29. -4* the children of Esau which dwell in Seir] See the note -on Num. xx. 21.

Verse 30. The Lord — hardened his spint] Seethe notes on Exod. iv. 21, and ix. 15, &c.

Verse 36. From Aroer — by the brink of the river of Arnon] See on Num. xxi. 13, &c. a

the land which the Lord our God giveth us.

30 ^ But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for ° the Lord thy God p hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might dehver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31 And the Lord said unto me. Behold, I have begun to i give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

3 2 "■ Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33 And ' the Lord our God delivered him before us; and ^ we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34 And we took all his cities at that time, and >* utterly destroyed ^ the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36 "^ From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: ^ the Lord our God delivered all unto us:

37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river ^ Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto ^ whatsoever the Lord our God forbade us.

Verse 37. Onli/ unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not] God gave them their commission; and those only were to be cut off, the cup of whose iniquity was full. Though the Moabites and Ammonites w^ere thus spared, they requited good with evil, for they fought against the Israelites, and catjt them out of their possessions, Judg. xi. 4, 5; 2 Chron. XX. 1, &c., and committed the most shocking cruelties; see Amos i. 13. Hence God enacted a law, that none of these people should enter into the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth generation; see chap, xxiii. 3-6.

The war with Og, king of Bashan, 1, 2. He is defeated, 3. Sixty fortified cities with many unwalled towns taken, 4, 5. The utter destruction of the people, 6. The spoils, 7; and extent of the land taken, 8-10. Account o/Og's iron bedstead, 11. The land given to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh, 12, 13. Jair takes the country of Argob, 14. Gilead is given unto Machir, 15. And the rest of the land possessed by the Reubenites and Gadites, 16, 17. The directions given to those tribes, 18-20. The counsel given to Joshua, 21, 22. Moses''s prayer to God for permission to go into the promised land, 23-25; and God's refusal, 26. He is commanded to go up to Mount Pisgah to see it, 27; and to encourage Joshua, 28. They continue in the valley opposite to Beth-peor, 29.

out against us, he and all his people, to battle

2 And the Lord said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto ° Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

3 So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: <^ and we smote him until none was left to him remaining.

4 And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, ^ all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5 All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.

6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon, king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city.

7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.

Verse 4. All the region of Argob"] DJIN S^n Sd col chebel Argob, all the cable or cord of Argob; this expression, which is used in various other parts of Scripture,) see, in the original, Amos vii. 17; Mic. ii. 5; Deut. xxxii. 9; Psa. xv. 6,) shows that anciently land was measured by lines or cords of a certain length, in a similar way to that by the chain among us, and the schoenus or cord among the Egyptians. Some think that it was the region of Argob that was afterwards called the region of Trachonitis.

Verse 9. Herman the Sidonians call — Shenir'] I suppose this verse to have been a marginal remark, which afterwards got incorporated with the text, or an addition by Joshua or Ezra.

8 And we took at that time out a. m. 2553. of the hand of the two kings of An. Ex. Isr. 40. the Amorites the land that was ^ ^^'

on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto Mount Hermon;

9 ( Which ^ Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it ^ Shenir;)

1 0 ' All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and ^ all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

1 1 1 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of "^ giants: behold, his bedstead loas a bedstead of iron; is it not in ° Rabbath, of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

1 2 And this land, lohich we possessed at that time, ° from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half Mount Gilead, and p the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

131 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, v/hich was called th© land of giants.

the last king of the Amorites; his kingdom appears to have taken its name from the hill of Bashan; the country has been since called Batanma.

His bedstead was — of iron] Iron was probably used partly for its strength and durability, and partly to prevent noxious vermin from harbouring in it.

Is it not in Rabbath, of the children of Ammon.?] The bedstead was probably taken in some battle between the Ammonites and Amorites, in which the former had gained the victory. The bedstead was carried a trophy and placed in Rabbath, which appears, from 2 Sam. xii. 26, to have been the royal city of the children of Ammon.

15 " And I gave Gilead unto Machir.

1 6 And unto the Reubenites ^ and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, "^ which is the border of the children of Ammon:

17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from "" Chinnereth ^ even unto the sea of the plain, ^ even the salt sea, ^ under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward.

1 8 And I commanded you at that time, saying. The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it: '' ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are '^ meet for the war.

19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you;

Allowing the bedstead to have been one cubit longer than Og, which is certainly sufficient, and allowing the cubit to be about eighteen inches long, for this is perhaps the average of the cubit of a man, then Og was twelve feet high. This may be deemed extraordinary, and perhaps almost incredible, and therefore many commentators have, according to their fancy, lengthened the bedstead and shortened the man, making the former one-third longer than the person who lay on it, that they might reduce Og to six cubits; but even in this way they make him at least nine feet high. On this subject the rabbins have trifled most sinfully. I shall give one specimen. In the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel on Num. xxi. 35, 36, it is said that " Og having observed that the camp of the Israelites extended six miles, he went and tore up a mountain six miles in its base, and put it on his head, and carried it towards the camp, that he might throw it on the Israelites and destroy them; but the ivord of the Lord prepared a ivorm, which bored a hole in the mountain over his ^head, so that it fell down upon his shoulders: at the same time his teeth, growing out in all directions, stuck into the mountain, so that he could not cast it off his head. Moses, (who was himself ten cubits high,) seeing Og thus entangled, took an axe ten cubits long, and having leaped ten cubits in height, struck Og on the ankle bone, so that he fell and was slain."

2 0 Until the Lord have given rest a. m. 2553. unto your brethren, as well as unto An. Ex. isr. 40. you, and untilthey also possess the ^^^^^' land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye ^ return every man unto his possession,whichI have given you.

2 1 And ® I commanded Joshua at that time, saying. Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the liORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest.

22 Ye shall not fear them: for ^ the Lord your God he shall fight for you.

23 And ^ I besought the Lord at that time,

24 O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant ^^ thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for ' what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see ^ the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

26 But the Lord ^ was wroth with me for

From this account the distance from the sole of Og's foot to his ankle was thirty cubits in length! I give this as a very slight specimen of rabbinical comment. I could quote places in the Talmud in which Og is stated to be several miles high! This relation about Og I suppose to be also an historical note added by a subsequent hand.

Verses 24, 25. The prayer of Moses recorded in these two verses, and his own reflections on it, ver. 26, are very affecting. He had suffered much both in body and mind in bringing the people to the borders of the promised land; and it was natural enough for him to wish to see them established in it, and to enjoy a portion of that inheritance himself, which he knew was a type of the heavenly country. But notwithstanding his very earnest prayer, and God's especial favour towards him, he w^as not permitted to go over Jordan! He had grieved the Spirit of God, and he passed a sentence against him of exclusion from the promised land. Yet he permitted him to see it, and gave him the fullest assurances that the people whom he had brought out of Egypt should possess it. Thus God may choose to deprive those of earthly possessions to whom he is nevertheless determined to give a heavenly inheritance.

your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me,

27 " Get thee up into the top of " Pisgah, and •hft up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward,and behold it with thine ■^eyes: for thou shalt not go over tliis Jordan.

Verse 26. Let it suffice thee] "jS D1 rab lack, there is an abundance to thee — thou hast had honour enough already, and may well dispense with going over Jordan. He surely has no reason to complain who is taken from earthly felicity to heavenly glory. In this act God showed to Moses both his goodness and severity.

Verse 28. But charge Joshua, dfcl Give him au^Aority in the sight of the people, let them see that he has the same commission which I gave to thee. Encourage him; for he will meet with many difficulties in the work to which he is called. And strengthen him — show him my unfailing promises, and exhort him to put his trust in me alone; for he shall go over before this people, and shall cause them to inherit the land; of this let him rest perfectly assured.

Verse 29. Beth-peor.] This was a city in the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites; and as JT^ beth signifies a house, the place probably had its name from a temple of the god Peor, who was worshipped there. Peor was nearly the same among the Moabites that Priapus was among the Romans — the obscene god of an obscene people. This we have already seen.

encourage him, and strengthen An. Ex. isr. 40. him: for he shall go over ^^^^^- before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt

29 So we abode in ''the valley over against Beth-peor.

It is very likely that what God speaks here, both concerning Moses and Joshua, was designed to be typical of the procedure of his justice and grace in the salvation of man. 1. The land of Canaan was a type of the kingdom of heaven. 2. The law, which shows the holiness of God and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, could not bring the people to the possession of that kingdom. 3. Moses may probably be considered here as the emblem of that law by which is the knowledge of sin, but not redemption from it. 4. Joshua, the same as Jesus, the name signifying a Saviour, is appointed to bring the people into the rest which God had provided for them; thus it is by Jesus Christ alone that the soul is saved — fitted for and brought into the possession of the heavenly inheritance, (see John i. 17; Gal. ii. 16; iii. 12, 13, 24;) for he is the end of the laiv — the great scope and design of the law, for righteousness — for justification, to them that believe; Rom. x. 4. Such a use as this every pious reader may make of the circumstances recorded here, without the danger of pushing analogy or metaphor beyond their reasonable limits.

Exhortations to obedience, 1. Nothing to be added to or taken from the testimonies of God, 2. The people are exhorted to recollect hoio God had destroyed the ungodly among them, 3; and preserved those ivho 10 ere faithful, 4. The excellence of the Divine law, 5, 6. No nation in the world could boast of any such statutes, judgments, <^-c., 7, 8. They are exhorted to obedience by the wonderful manifestations of God in their behalf 9—13. Moses exhorts them to beioare of idolatry, and to make no likeness of any thing in heaven or earth as an object of adoration, 14—20. He informs them that he must die in that land, as God had refused to let him go into the promised land, being angry ivith him on their account, 21, 22. Repeats his exhortations to obedience, 23, 24. Predicts the judgments of God against them, should they turn to idolatry, 25-28. Promises of God''s mercy to the penitent, 29-31. The grand and unparalleled privileges of the Israelites, 22-^0. Moses severs three cities on the east side of Jordan for cities of refuge, 41, 42. Their names, 43. When and where Moses gave these statutes and judgments to Israel, 44—49.

you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go

Verse 1. Hearken — unto the statutes'] Everything that concerned the rites and ceremonies of religion; judgments — all that concerned matters of civil right and wrong.

2 ''Ye shall not add unto the word which I

Verse 2. Ye shall not add] Any book, chapter, verse, or word, which I have not spoken; nor give any comment that has any tendency to corrupt, weaken, or destroy any part of this revelation.

A. M. 2553. command you, neither shall ye An. Ex. isr. 40. diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments

3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of " Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.

4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is ^ your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say. Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 For ^ what nation is there so great, who hath ^ God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

take away any larger portion of this word, but ye shall not take one jol or tittle from the law; it is that word of God that abideth for ever.

Verse 6. Keep — and do them; for this is your wisdom] There was no mode of worship at this time on the face of the earth that was not wicked, obscene, puerile, foolish, or ridiculous, except that established by God himself among the Israelites. And every part of this, taken in its connection and reference, may be truly called a ivise and reasonable service.

The nations — and say. Surely this great nation is a loise and understanding people.] Almost all the nations in the earth showed that they had formed this opinion of the Jews, by borrowing from them the principal part of their civil code. Take away what Asia and Europe, whether ancient or modern, have borrowed from the Mosaic laws, and you leave little behind that can be called excellent.

Keep thy soid diligently] Be mindful of thy eternal interests. Whatever becomes of the lody, take care of the soul.

Lest thou forget] God does his works that they may be had in everlasting remembrance; and he that forgets them, forgets his own mercies. Besides, if a a

and ^keep thy sou! diligently. An. Ex. isr. 40. ^ lest thou forget the things which ____!_!____ thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but ' teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

1 0 Specially ^ the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me. Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain: and the ' mountain burned with fire unto the ™ midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

12" And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ° ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; p only 1 ye heard a voice.

13 "^And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ^ ten commandments; and * he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 And '^the Lord commanded me at that

Lest they depart from thy heart} It is not sufficient to lay up Divine things in the memory, they must be laid up in the heart. Thy loord have I hidden in my heart, says David, that I might not sin against thee. The life of God in the soul of man can alone preserve the soul to life everlasting; and this grace must be retained all the days of our life. When Adani fell, his condition was not meliorated by the reflection that he had been once in paradise; nor does it avail Satan?ioiv that he was otice an angel of light. Those who let the grace of God depart from their hearts, lose that grace; and those who lose the grace, fall from the grace; and as some have fallen and risen no more, so may others; therefore, take heed to thyself, &c. Were it impossible for men finally to fall from the grace of God, exhortations of this kind had never been given, because they would have been unnecessary, and God never does an unnecessary thing.

But teach them thy sons] If a man know the worth of his own soul, he will feel the importance of the salvation of the souls of his family. Those who neglect family religion, neglect personal religion; if more attention were paid to the former, even among those called religious people, we should soon have a better

A. M. 2553. time to teach you statutes and An. Ex. isr. 40. judgments, that ye might do them ^^^^^- in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15' Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of " similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

1 6 Lest ye ^ corrupt yourselves, and ^ make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, ^ the likeness of male or female,

17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,

18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

19 And lest thou * lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even ^ all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to ^ worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath ^ divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

State of civil society. On family religion God lays much stress; and no head of a family can neglect it without endangering the final salvation of his own soul. See the note at the conclusion of Gen. xviii.; and that at the end of Gen. xix., and the note on chap. vi. 7.

Yerse 15. Ye saio no inanner of simililtidel Howsoever God chose to appear or manifest himself, he took care never to assume any de.scribable form. He would have no image worship, because he is a Spirit, and they who worship him must ivorship him in Spirit and in truth. These outward things tend to draw the mind out of itself, and diffuse it on sensible, if not sensual, objects; and thus spiritual worship is prevented, and the Holy Ghost grieved. Persons acting in this way can never know much of the religion of the heart.

Verse 16. The likeness of male or female] Such as Baal-peor and the Roman Priapus, Ashtaroth or ^5- tarlc, and the Greek and Roman Venus; after whom most nations of the world literally ivent a ivhoring.

Verse 17. The likeness of any beast, c^-c] Such as the Egyptian god Apis, who was worshipped under the form of a white bull; the tins and hawk, among the FOWLS, had also Divine honours paid to them; serpents and the crocodile among reptiles; besides monkeys, dogs, cats, the scarabccus, leeks, and onions! See this explained at large, Exod. xx. 4.

Verse 19. When thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars] The worship of the heavenly bodies was the oldest species of idolatry. Those who had

20 But the Lord hath taken a. M. 2553. you, and « brought you forth out An. Ex." isr. 40. of the iron furnace, even out of ^^'^^^-

Egypt, '' to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

2 1 Furthermore ^ the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:

22 But ''I must die in this land, ' I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess ^ that good land.

23 Take heed unto yourselves, ^ lest ye for get the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, " and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.

24 For " the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even ° a jealous God.

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and p shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the

not the knowledge of the true God were led to consider the sun, moon, planets, and stars, as not only selfexisting, but the authors of all the blessings possessed by mankind. The knowledge of a rational system of astronomy served to destroy this superstition; and very little of it remains now in the world, except among a few Christian and Mohammedan astrologers; those miserable sinners who endeavour, as much as possible, to revive the old idolatry, while vainly professing to believe in the true God! Nor is it to be doubted that God will proceed with them as he has done of old with the worshippers of the host of heaven. Sound philosophy is next in importance to sound divinity; and next to the study of the work of grace is that of the operations of God in nature; for these visible things make known his eternal power and Godhead.

Verse 20. Out of the iron furnace] From this mention of the word iron furnace there can be little doubt that the Israelites were employed in Egypt in the most laborious works of metallurgy. Digging, smelting, and forging oC iron, in so hot a climate must have been oppressive works indeed.

Verse 21. The Lord ivas angry ivith me] And if with me, so as to debar me from entering into the promised land, can you think to escape if guilty of greater provocations ■?

Verse 24. Thy God is a consuming fre] They had seen him on the mount as an unconsuming fire, while

A. M. 2553. likeness of any thing, and ^ shall An.Ex. isr.40. do cvil in the sight of the Lord Sebat. j^i^y Qq^^ ^q provoke him to anger •

26 '"I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

27 And the Lord ^ shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.

28 And ' there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, " which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 ^ But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou

appearing to Moses, and giving the law; and they had seen him as a consuming fire in the case of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their company. They had, therefore, every good to expect from his approbation, and every evil to dread from his displeasure.

Verse 26. I call heaven and earth to ivitness against you] A most solemn method of adjuration, in use among all nations in the world. So Virgil, ^n., lib. xii., ver. 176, &c.

Turn pius ^neas stricto sic ense precatur: Esto nunc Sol testis et ha»c mihi terra vocanti — Fontesque fluviosque voco, quaeque aetheris alti Relligio, et quas caeruleo sunt numina ponto, &c.

" Then the great Trojan prince unsheathed his sword. And thus, with lifted hands, the gods adored: Thou land for which I wage this war, and thou Great source of day, be witness to my vow! — Almighty king of heaven and queen of air, Propitious now and reconciled by prayer, — Ye springs, ye floods, ye various powers who lie Beneath the deep, or tread the golden sky, — Hear and attest!" Pitt.

God and man being called upon to bear testimony to the truth of what was spoken, that if there was any flaw or insincerity, it might be detected; and if any crime, it might not go unpunished. Such appeals to God, for such purposes, show at once both the origin and use of oaths. See the note on chap. vi. 13.

Verse 27. The Lord shall scatter you among the nations] This was amply verified in their different captivities and dispersions.

Verse 28. There ye shall serve gods — ivood and stone] This was also true of the Israelites, not only in their captivities, but also in their own land. And it may now be literally the case with the ten tribes

30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things ^ are come upon thee, ^ even in the latter days, if thou ^ turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

3 1 (For the Lord thy God is ^ a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

32 For ^ ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask ^ from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

33 <= Did ever people hear the voice of God

who were carried away captive by the Assyrians, and of whose residence no man at present knows any thing with certainty. That they still exist there can be no doubt; but they are now, most probably, so completely incorporated with the idolaters among whom they dwell, as to be no longer distinguishable: yet God can gather

Verse 29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord^ God is longsuffering, and of tender mercy; and waits, ever ready, to receive a backsliding soul when it returns to him. Is not this promise left on record for the encouragement and salvation of lost Israel?

Verse 30. When thou art in tribulation — in the latter days] Are not these the times spoken ofl And is there not still hope for Israel 1 Could we see them become zealous for their oivn law and religious observances— could we see them humble themselves before the God of Jacob — could we see them conduct their public worship with any tolerable decency and decorum — could we see them zealous to avoid every moral evil, inquiring the road to Zion, with their faces thitherward; then might we hope that the redemption of Israel was at hand: but alas! there is not the most distant evidence of any thing of the kind, except in a very few solitary instances. They are, perhaps, in the present day, more lost to every sacred principle of their own institutions than they have ever been since their return from the Babylonish captivity. By ivho?n shall Jacob arise? for in this sense he is small — deeply fallen, and greatly degraded.

Verse 33. Did ever people hear the voice of God] It seems to have been a general belief that if God appeared to men, it was for the purpose of destroying them; and indeed most of the extraordinary manifestations of God were in the way of judgment; but

A. M. 2553. speaking out of the midst of An. Ex. isr. 40. the fire, as thou hast heard, and

34 Or hath God assayed to go and take Aim a nation from the midst of another nation, ^ by temptations, ^ by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and *" by a mighty hand, and ^ by a stretched-out arm, ^ and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God: ' there is none else beside him.

36 ''Out of heaven he made thee to hear iiis voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; and

here it was different; God did appear in a sovereign and extraordinary manner; but it was for the deliverance and support of the people. 1. They heard his voice speaking with them in a distinct, articulate manner. 2. They saw the fire, the symbol of his presence, the appearances of which demonstrated it to be supernatural. 3. Notwithstanding God appeared so terrible, yet no person was destroyed, for he came, not to destroy, but to save.

Verse 34. From the midst o/" another nation] This was a most extraordinary thing, that a whole people, consisting of upwards of 600,000 effective men, besides women and cliildren, should, without striking a dIow, be brought out of the midst of a very powerful nation, to the political welfare of which their services were so essential; that they should be brought out in so open and public a manner; that the sea itself should be supernaturally divided to afford this mighty host a passage; and that, in a desert utterly unfriendly to human life, they should be sustained for forty years. These were such instances of the almighty power and goodness of God as never could be forgotten.

In this verse Mo.ses enumerates seveii different means used by the Almighty in effecting Israel's deliverance.

1. Temptations, nD'O massoth, from HDJ nasah, to try or prove; the miracles which God wrought to try the faith and prove tho obedience of the children of

2. Signs, nnx othoth, from nn« athah, to come near; such signs as God gave them of his continual presence and especial providence, particularly the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, keeping near to them night and day, and always directing their journeys, showing them when and tvhere to pitch their tents, &c., &c.

thou heardest his words out of a. m. 2553. the midst of the fire. An. Ex. isr. 4a

37 And because ' he loved thy ^^^^^- fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and "brought thee out in his sight, with his mighty power, out of Egypt;

38 "To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land /or an inheritance, as it is this day.

39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that ° the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

40 p Thou shall keep therefore his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee

is used, Zech. iii. 8. Joshua, the high priest, and his companions were n£31T3 *jyJX anshey mopheth, typical men, raised up by God as types of Christ, and proofs that God would bring his servant The Branch. All the dealings of God with this people, and even the people themselves, were types — present significators of distant facts and future occurrences.

4. War, n^snSo milchamah, hostile engagements; such as those with the Amalekites, the Amorites, and the Bashanites, in which the hand of God was seen, rather than the hand of man.

5. A MIGHTY HAND, npin T" yad chazakah; one that is strong to deal its blows, irresistible in its operations, and grasps its enemies hard, so that they cannot escape, and protects its friends so powerfully that they cannot be injured. Neither stratagem nor policy was used in this business, but the openly displayed power of God.

6. A stretched-out arm, n"1DJ;,M1I zeroa netuyah; a series of almighty operations, following each other in quick and astonishing succession. Let it be noted that in the Scriptures, 1. The finger of God denotes any manifestation of the Divine power, where effects are produced beyond the power of art or nature. 2. The hand of God signifies the same power, but put forth in a more signal manner. 3. The arm of God, the Divine omnipotence manifested in the most stupendous miracles. 4. The arm of God stretched out, this same omnipotence exerted in a continuation of stupendous miracles, both in the way of judgment and mercy. In this latter sense it appears to be taken in the text: the judgments were poured out on the Egyptians; the mercies wrought in favour of the Israelites.

7. Great terrors, D'^IJ D'N"11*3 moraim gedolim; such terror, dismay, and consternation as were produced by the ten plagues, to which probably the inspired penman here alludes: or, as the Septuagint has it, ev bpafiaGiv fisynloi^, with great or portentous sights; such as that when God looked out of the cloud upon the Egyptians, and their chariot wheels

prolong thy days upon the earth, which the

41 Then Moses 'severed three cities on this side Jordan, toward the sunrising;

42 ^That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

43 Namely, ^ Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.

44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:

45 These are the testimonies, and the sta-

were taken off, Exod. xiv. 24, 25. More awful displays of God's judgments, power, and might, were never witnessed by man.

Verse 41. Then Moses severed three cities] See the law relative to the cities of refuge explained Num. XXXV. 9, &c.

tutes, and the judgments, which a.m. 2553. Moses spake unto the children An. JEx. isr. 40. of Israel, after, they came forth ^ ^^'

46 On this side Jordan, "in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel ^ smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:

47 And they possessed his land, and the land ^^ of Og king of. Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan, toward the sunrising;

48 ^ From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto Mount Sion, which is y Hermon.

49 And all the plain on this side Jordan, eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the ^ springs of Pisgah.

of refuge are generally understood to be types of the salvation provided by Christ for sinners; so their names have been thought to express some attribute of the Redeemer of mankind. See them explained Josh. XX. 7, 8.

I SUPPOSE the last nine verses of this chapter to have been added by either Joshua or Ezra.

God's covenant with the people in Horeb, 1-4. Moses the mediator of it, 5. A repetition of the ten commandments, 6-21; ivhich God wrote on two tables of stone, 22. The people are filled with dread at the terrible majesty of God, 23-26; and beseech Moses to be their mediator, 27. The Lord admits of their request, 28; and deplores their ungodliness, 29. They are exhorted to obedience, that they may be preserved in the possession of the promised land, 30—33.

^^^^^' O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may.earn them, and * keep, and do them. 2 ^ The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

Verse 1. And Moses called all Israel, and said — Hear, c^c.] 1. God speaks to the people. 2. The people are called to hear what God speaks. 3. To learn what they heard, that they may be thoroughly instructed in the will of God. 4. To keep God's testimonies ever in mind, and to treasure them up in a a covenant with our lathers, but ah. Ex. isr. 40. with us, even us, who are all of ^ ^^'

4 ^ The Lord talked with you face to face, in the mount, out of the midst of the fire,

5 (^ I stood between the Lord and you at

believing and upright heart. 5. That they might do them — obey the whole will of God, taking his word for the invariable rule of their conduct. Should not all these points be kept in view by every Christian assembly?

Verse 3. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers (only) but with us (also.)

A. M. 2553. that time, to show you the word An. E^'. I^n 40. of the Lord: for ^ ye were afraid ^^'^^^- by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,

6 ^ 1 am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of ^ bondage.

7 ^ Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

8 ^ Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, ^ visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

10™ And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

11° Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

1 2 ° Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

1 3 P Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14 But the seventh day is the i Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant.

A''erse 6. / am the Lord thy God^ See these commandments explained in the notes on Exod. xx.

Verse 15. And remember that thou ivast a servant^ In this and the latter clause of the preceding verse Moses adds another reason why one day in seven should be sanctified, viz., that the servants might rest, and this is urged upon them on the consideration of their having been servants in the land of Egypt. We see therefore that God had three grand ends in view by appointing a Sabbath. 1. To commemorate the creation. 2. To give a due proportion of rest to man and beast. When in Egypt they had no rest; their cruel task-masters caused them to labour without intermission: now God had given rest, and as he had showed them mercy, he teaches them to show mercy to their servants: Remember that thou ivast a servant. 3. To afford peculiar spiritual advantages to the soul, any 01 thy cattle, nor thy stranger An. Ex. isr. 40. that is within thy gates; that ^^^^^' thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.

15'' And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence ^ through a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.

16 * Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; "^ that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

17 ^ Thou shalt not kill.

18 "^ Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

19 ^ Neither shalt thou steal.

20 y Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

21 ^Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's,

22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And ^ he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

23 ^ And it came to pass, when ye heard

that it might be kept in remembrance of the rest w^hich remains at the right hand of God.

Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.'] Here is a variation in the manner of expression, Sabbath day for seventh, owing, it is supposed, to a change of the day at the exodus from Sunday to Saturday, effected upon the gathering of the manna, Exod. xvi. 23. The Sabbath now became a twofold memorial of the deliverance, as well as of the creation; and this accounts for the new reason assigned for its observance: " Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." See Dr. A. Bayley's Heb. and Eng. Bible, and the note on Exod. xvi. 23.

Verse 21. His field] This clause is not in the tenth commandment as it stands in Exod. xx. 17.

An. Ex. isr. 40. darkness, (tor the mountain did ^ ^^' burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24 And ye said. Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and '^ we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he '^ liveth,

25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: " if we ^ hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.

26 f For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27 Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and ^ speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

28 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the

ye heard the voice] See the notes on Exod. xx.

Verse 29. O that there ivere such a heart in them] Or rather, n? D337 n'm in' 'D mi yitlen vehayah lehdbam zch, Who will give such a heart to them, that they may fear, &c. They refuse to receive such a heart from me; who then can supply it 1 If they had not been such perfectly free agents as could either use or abuse their liberty, could God have made the complaint or expressed the earnest desire we find in this verse 1 He made the human will free; and in spite of all the influence of sin and Satan, he preserves its liberty. Had man no free will, he could neither be punished nor rewarded, because a mere machine, and consequently no more accountable for his actions than the fire for its consuming quality, or the stone for its gravity; the one having burned the house of the righteous, the other having crushed the innocent to death. See the note on chap. xxix. 4.

Verse 32. Ye shall observe to do] He who marks not the word of God. is never likely to fulfil the will

Ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.] The way of truth and righteousness is a right line; a man must walk straight forward who wishes to go to glory; no crooked or devious path ever led to God or happiness.

words of this people, which they A. m. 2553. have spoken unto thee: ' they An. Ex. isr. 40 have well said all that they have __^!^!!__. spoken.

29 '' O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and ^ keep all my commandments always, "> that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!

30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

3 1 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, ■^ and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ° ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

3 3 Ye shall walk in p all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, '^ and that it may be well, with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

never gave a commandment to man which he did not design that he should obey. He who selects from the Divine testimonies such precepts as he feels but little inclination to transgress, and lives in the breach of others, sins against the grand legislative authority of God, and shall be treated as a rebel.

That ye may live] jvnn ticheyun, iha.t ye may enjoy life, (for the paragogic J 7iun, at the end of the word, deepens the sense,) that it may be well with you, DD/ 2)12) vetob lachem, and good shall be to you — God will prosper you in all things essential to the welfare of your bodies, and the salvation of your souls.

That ye may proloiig your days in the land] That ye may arrive at a good old age, and grow more and more meet for the inheritance among the saints in light.

On this very important verse we may remark, a long life is a great blessing, if a man live to God, because it is in life, and in life alone, that a preparation for eternal glory may be acquired. Those who wish to die soon, have never yet learned to live, and know not the value of life or time. Many have a vain hope that they shall get either in death, or in the other world, a preparation for glory. This is a fatal error. Here, alone, we may acquaint ourselves with God, and receive that holiness without which none can see him. Reader, be thankful to him that thou art still in a state of probation; and pray that thou mayest live for eternity.

7%e great design of God in giving his laws is, that the people may fear and obey him, that they may continue in peace and prosperity, and be mightily increased, 1-3. The great commandment of the law, 4, 5, u-hich shall be laid up in their hearts, 6; taught to their children, 7; and affixed as a sign to their hands, heads, doors, and gates, 8, 9. Hoio they are to act when they shall come into the promised land, 10-19. How they shall instruct their children, and relate the history to them ofGod^s wonderful acts, 20-25.

IVrOW these are ^ the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye ^ go to possess it:

2 '^ That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy

Verse 1. Noio these are the commandmeyits, 4-c.] See the difference between commandments, statutes, judgments, &c., pointed out Lev. xxvi. 15.

Do them] That is, live in the continual practice of them; for by this they were to be distinguished from all the nations of the world, and all these were to be in force till the Son of God should come. Whither ye go, D'13>^ oberim, whither ye pass over, referring to the river Jordan, across which they must pass to get into Canaan.

Verse 2. That thou mightest fear the Lord] Respect his sovereign authority as a lawgiver, and ever feel thyself bound to obey him. No man can vi'alk either conscientiously or safely who has not the fear of God continually before his eyes. When this is gone, more than a guardian angel is fled.

Thou, and thy son, and thy son's so7i] Through all thy successive generations. Whoever fears God will endeavour to bring up his children in the way of righteousness, that they also may fear God, and that pure and undefiled religion may be preserved in his family through all its generations, not only in word, but in practice also.

Verse 3. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it] Literally, Ye shall hear, O Israel, and thou shall keep to do them. 1. God is to be heard; no obligation without law to found it on, and no laiu in religion but from God. 2. The commandment must be understood in order to be obeyed. 3. It must be observed — attentively considered, in order to be understood. And, 4. It must be performed, that the end for which it was given may be accomplished, viz., that God may be glorified, and that it may be ivell with the people. What is here spoken applies powerfully to every part of the moral law; God has given it as a rule of life, therefore obedience to it is indispensably necessary, not to the purchase of salvation, for no human merit can ever extend to that, but it is the ivay by which both the instic3 and mercy of God choose to

and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, ^ as the Lord God of thy fathers hath pro mised thee, in '' the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4 ^Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

conduct men to heaven. But let it be fully understood that no man can walk in the way of obedience but by and under the influence of the grace of God.

Verse 4. Hear, O Israel] U'H^X nin^ h^yZ'^ l/DK? "iinJ* TWiV shemA Yisrael, Yehovah Eloheinu, Yehovah achaD. These words may be variously rendered into English; but almost all possible verbal varieties in the translation (and there can be none other) amount to the same sense: " Israel, hear! Jehovah, our God, is one Jehovah;" or, " Jehovah is our God, Jehovah is one;" or, " Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone;" or, " Jehovah is our God, Jehovah who is one;" or, " Jehovah, who is our God, is the one Being." On this verse the Jews lay great stress; it is one of the four passages which they WTite on their phylacteries, and they write the last letter in the first and last words very large, for the purpose of exciting attention to the weighty truth it contains. It is perhaps in reference to this custom of the Jews that our blessed Lord alludes, Matt. xxii. 38; Mark xii. 29, 30, where he says, This is the first and great commandment; and this is nearly the comment that Maimonides gives on this place: " Hear, O Israel; because in these words the property, the love, and the doctrine of God are contained."

Many think that Moses teaches in these words the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity. It may be so; but if so, it is not more clearly done than in the first verse of Genesis, to which the reader is referred. When this passage occurs in the Sabbath readings in the synagogue, the whole congregation repeat the last word nnx achad for several minutes together with the loudest vociferations: this I suppose they do to vent a little of their spleen against the Christians, for they suppose the latter hold three Gods, because of their doctrine of the Trinity; but all their skill and cunning can never prove that there is not a plurality expressed in the word IJTI^N Eloheinu, which is translated our God; and were the Christians, when reading this verse, to vociferate Eloheinu for several minutes as a

5 And ^ thou Lord thy God

heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And ^ these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:. 7 And ^ thou shalt ■" teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 " And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes,

the Jews do achad, it would apply more forcibly in the way of conviction to the Jews of the plurality of persons in the Godhead, than the word achad, of one, against any pretended false tenet of Christianity, as every Christian receives the doctrine of the unity of God in the most conscientious manner. It is because of their rejection of this doctrine that the wrath of God continues to rest on them; for the doctrine of the atonement cannot be received, unless the doctrine of the Godhead of Christ is received too. Some Christians have joined the Jews against this doctrine, and some have even outdone them, and have put themselves to extraordinary pains to prove that D'nSx Elohim is a noun of the singular number! This has not yet been proved. It would be as easy to prove that there is no plural in language.

Verse 5. Thou shalt love the Lord, cf-c] Here we see the truth of that word of the apostle, 1 Tim. i. 5: Now the END of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, &c. See the whole of the doctrine contained in this verse explained on Matt. xxii. 36-40.

Verse 6. Shall be in thine heart] For where else can love be? If it be not in the heart, it exists not. And if these ivords be not in the heart — if they are not esteemed, prized, and received as a high and most glorious privilege, what hope is there that this love shall ever reign there '\

Verse 7. Thou shalt teach them diligently] DrUJi^ shinnantam, from p'vy shanan, to repeat, iterate, or do a thing again and again; hence to whet or sharpen any instrument, which is done by reiterated friction or grinding. We see here the spirit of this Divine injunction. God's testimonies must be taught to our children, and the utmost diligence must be used to make them understand them. This is a most difficult task; and it requires much patience, much prudence, much judgment, and much piety in the parents, to enable them to do this good, this most important work, in the best and most effectual manner. See at the end of this chapter.

And shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house] Thou shalt have religion at home, as well as 'n the temple and tabernacle.

9 ° And thou shalt write them a. m. 2553. upon the posts of thy house, and An. Ex. isr. 40. on thy gates. ^^^^^-

10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, p which thou buildedst not,

1 1 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not; 1 when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord,

And ivhen thou walkest by the ivay'\ Thou shalt be religious abroad as well as at home, and not be ashamed to own God wheresoever thou art.

When thou liest down, and ivhen thou risest up.\ Thou shalt begin and end the day with God, and thus religion will be the great business of thy life. O how good are these sayings, but how little regarded!

Verse 8. Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand] Is not this an allusion to an ancient and general custom observed in almost ever}' part of the world? When a person wishes to remember a thing of importance, and is afraid to trust to the Qommon operations of memory, he ties a knot on some part of his clothes, or a cord on his hand or finger, or places something out of its usual Order, and in view, that his memory may be whetted to recollection, and his eye affect his heart. God, who knows how slow of heart we are to understand, graciously orders us to make use of every help, and through the means of things sensible, to rise to things spiritual.

And they shall be as frontlets'] JIStDtD totaphoth seems to have the same meaning as phylacteries has in the New Testament; and for the meaning and description of these appendages to a Jew's dress and to his religion, see the notes on Exod. xiii. 9, and on Matt, xxiii. 5, where a phylactery is particularly described.

Verse 9. Write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.] The Jcios, forgetting the spirit and design of this precept, used these things as superstitious people do amulets and charms, and supposed, if they had these passages of Scripture written upon slips of pure parchment, wrapped round their foreheads, tied to their arm. or nailed to their door-posts, that they should then be delivered from every evil! And how much better are many Christians, who keep a Bible in their house merely that it may keep the devil out; and will have it in their rooms, or under their pillows, to ward off spirits and ghosts in the night? How ingenious is the heart of man to find out every wrong way, and to miss the right!

Verse 12. Beware lest thou forget the Lord] Iij earthly prosperity men are apt to forget heavenly things. While the animal senses have every thing which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of '^ bondage. Thou shalt ^ fear the Lord thy God,

and serve him, and ' shalt swear by his name

14 Ye shall not "go after other gods, '^ of the gods of the pepole which are round about you;

1 5 (For ^ the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you;) ^ lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

they can wish, it is difficult for the soul to urge its way to heaven; the animal man is happy, and the desires of the soul are absorbed in those of the flesh. God knows this well; and therefore, in his love to man, makes comparative poverty and frequent affliction his general lot. Should not every soul therefore magnify God for this lot in life 1 " Before I was afflicted," says David, " I went astray;" and had it not been for poverty and affliction, as instruments in the hands of God's grace, multitudes of souls now happy in heaven would have been wretched in hell. It is not too much to speak thus far; because we ever see that the rich and the affluent are generally negligent of God and the interests of their souls. It must however be granted that extreme poverty is as injurious to religion as excessive affluence. Hence the wisdom as well as piety of Agur's prayer, Prov. xxx. 7—9: " Give me neither poverty nor riches, lest I be full and deny thee, or lest I be poor and steal,^'' &c.

Verse 13. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God] Thou shalt respect and reverence him as thy Lawgiver and Judge; as thy Creator, Preserver, and the sole object of thy religious adoration.

And serve hini] Our blessed Lord, in Matt. iv. 10; Luke iv. 8, quotes these words thus: And him ONLY {avTu /lovo)) shalt thou serve. It appears, therefore, that ITdS lebaddo was anciently in the Hebrew text, as it was and is in the Septuagint, (aurw fiovG),) from which our Lord quoted it. The Coptic preserves the same reading; so do also the Vulgate, {illi soli,) and the Anglo-Saxon, (peopa liUn anum.) Dr. Kennicott argues, that without the vi'ord only the text would not have been conclusive for the purpose for which our Lord advanced it; for as we learn from Scripture that some men worshipped false gods in conjunction with the true, the quotation here would not have been full to the point without this exclusive word. It may be proper to observe that the omitted word n^b lebaddo, retained in the above versions, does not exist in the Hebrew printed text, nor in any MS. hitherto discovered.

17 Ye shall ^ diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

1 8 And thou ^ shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,

in any case of promise, &c., gave full and sufficient se curity for the performance; and if done in evidence, or to the truth of any particular fact, it gave full security for the truth of that evidence. An oath, therefore, is an appeal to God, who knows all things, of the truth of the matter in question: and when a religious man takes such an oath, he gives full and reasonable satisfaction that the thing is so, as stated; for it is ever to be presumed that no man, unless in a stale of the deepest degradation, would make such an appeal falsely, for this would imply an attempt to 7nake God a party in the deception.

Verse 14. Ye shall not go after other gods] The object of religious worship among every people, whether that object be true or false, is ever considered as the pattern or exemplar to his worshippers. Christians are termed the folloivers of God; they take God for their pattern, and ivalk — act, as he does. Hence we see the meaning of the terms in this verse: Ye shall not go after — ye shall not take false gods for your patterns. The Canaanites, Greeks, Romans, &c., were a most impure people, because the objects of their worship were impure, and they went after them, i. e., were like their gods. This serves to show us that such as our Redeemer is, such should we be; and indeed this is the uniform language of God to man: Be ye holy, for I am holy. Lev. xxi. 8; Be ye perfect, as your Father ivho is in heaven is perfect, Matt. v. 48.

Verse 15. A jealous God] Jehovah has betrothed you to himself as a bride is to her husband. Do not be unfaithful, else that love wherewith he has now distinguished you shall assume the form of jealousy, and so divorce and consume you.

Verse 16. Ye shall not tempt the Lord] Ye shall not provoke him by entertaining doubts of his mercy, goodness, providence, and truth.

As ye tempted him in Massah.] How did they tempt him in Massah 1 They said, Is the Lord among us or not? Exod. xvii. 1-7. After such proofs as they had of his presence and his kindness, this was exceedingly provoking. Doubting God's kindness where there are so many evidences of it, is highly insulting to God Almighty.

Verse 17. Ye shall diligently keep, <!fC.] On this and the following verse see the note on ver. 3

20 And ^ when thy son asketh thee ® in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son. We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt ^ with a mighty hand:

22 ^ And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and ^ sore, upon Egypt, upon

Verse 20. And lohen thy son asketh thee, c^c] " Here," as Mr. Ainsworth justly remarks, " followeth a brief catechism, containing the grounds of religion."

What mean the testimonies, c^c] The Hebrew language has no word to express to mean or signify, and therefore uses simply the substantive verb ivhat is, i. e., what mean or signify, &c. The seven thin ears are, i. e., signify, seven years of famine. This form of speech frequently occurs.

Verse 25. It shall be our righteousness] The evidence that we are under the influence of the fear and love of God. Moses does not say that this righteousness could be wrought without the influence of God's mercy, nor does he say that they should purchase heaven by it; but, God required them to be conformed to his will in all things, that they might be holy in heart, and righteous in every part of their moral conduct.

1. On a very important subject in this chapter, it may be necessary to make some farther observations.

A most injurious and destructive maxim has lately been advanced by a few individuals, which it is to be hoped is disowned by the class of Christians to which they belong, though the authors affect to be thought Christians, and rational ones too; the sum of the maxim is this: " Children ought not to be taught religion for fear of having their minds biassed to some particular creed, but they should be left to themselves till they are capable of making a choice, and choose to make one." This maxim is in flat opposition to the command of God, and those who teach it show how little they are aflfected by the religion they profess. If they felt it to be good for any thing, they would certainly wish their children to possess it; but they do not teach religion to thpir children, because they feel it to be of no use to themselves. Now the Christian rel'gion properly applied saves the soul, and fills the heart with love to God and man; for the love of God is shed abroad in the heart of a genuine believer, by the Holy Ghost given to him. These persons have no such love, because they have not the religion that inspires it; and the spurious religion which admits of

23 And he brought us out ^^^^^- from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our

24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, ' to fear the Lord our God, ^ for our good always, that ^ he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

25 And "* it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

the maxim above mentioned, is not the religion of God, and consequently better untaught than taught. But what can be said to those parents who, possessing a better faith, equally neglect the instruction of their children in the things of God "? They are highly criminal; and if their children perish through neglect, which is very probable, what a dreadful account must they give in the great day! PARENTS! hear what the Lord saith unto you: Ye shall diligently teach your children that there is one Lord, Jehovah, Elohim; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: and that they must love him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might. And as children are heedless, apt to forget, liable to be carried away by sensible things, repeat and re-repeat the instruction, and add line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, carefully studying time, place, and circumstances, that your labour be not in vain: show it in its amiableness, excite attention by exciting interest; show how good, how useful, how blessed, how ennobling, how glorious it is. Whet these things on their hearts till the keenest edge is raised on the strongest desire, till they can say, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ■? and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee!"

See the notes on chap. iv. 9, and on Gen. xviii. and xix. at the end.

2. Without off'ence to any, I hope, a iew words more may be said on the nature of an oath, in addition to the note on ver. 13. The matter is important, and perhaps not well understood by many.

The making an appeal to the Supreme Being, and calling him to witness and record, constitutes the spirit and essence of an oath. It is no matter inwhatybrwi this appeal is made, whether by putting the hand under the thigh, as among the patriarchs; by the ivater of the Ganges, as among the Hindoos; on a surat or chapter of the Koran, as among the Mohammedans; on a Hebrew Pentateuch, as among the Jeivs; on the form of the cross, as among the Roman Catholics; kissing the New Testament, as among Protestants in general; or holding up the hand, and making affirmation, as among the people called Quakers; still the oath is the same, for the appeal is made to God. On this ground (and this is the true ground) the holding up of the hand in a court of justice, is as perfect, as substantial, and as formal an oath, as kissing the New Testament. Why then so many objections against taking an oath in a court of justice by any one particular form, when the same thing is done in spirit, essence, and substance, when God is called to witness and record, though the /orm be different ■? When God says. Thou shale fear the Lord thy God, and shall swear by his name, he says, in effect, Thou shall have no god besides me; thou shalt consider me the fountain of truth, the rewarder of righteousness, and the punisher of perfidy and wickedness. Swear by my name — bind thyself to me; take me for witness to all thy actions; and act in all things as having me continually before thine eyes, and knowing that for every act and word thou shalt give account to me in the day of judgment. Our Lord's command, Swear not at all, can never relate to an oath in a civil cause, taken according to the definition above given: profane and common swearing, with all light, irreverent oaths and imprecations, and all such oaths as are not required by the civil magistrate, in cases where the Lord is supposed to be witness, are certainly intended in our blessed Lord's prohibition. See on chap. iv. 26

With the seven nations that God shall cast out, 1, they shall make no covenant, 2, nor form any matrimonial alliances, 3; lest they should be enticed into idolatry, 4. All monuments of idolatry to be destroyed, 5. The Israelites are to consider themselves a holy people, 6; and that the Lord had 7nade them such, not for their merits, but for his own mercies, 7, 8. They shall therefore love him, and keep his commandments, 9-11. The great privileges of the obedient, 12-24. All idolatry to be avoided, 25, 26.

An. Ex. isr. 40. shall bring thee into the!_!___ land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, '' the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebuzites, seven nations '^ greater and mightier than thou;

2 And when the Lord thy God shall ^ deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and * utterly destroy them; ^ thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto

3 ^ Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughters shalt thou take unto thy son.

NOTES ON CHAP. VIL Verse 1. Seven nations greater and mightier than thou'\ In several places of the Hebrew text, each of these seven nations is not enumerated, some one or other being left out, which the Septuagint in general supply. How these nations were distributed over the land of Canaan previously to the entering in of the Israelites, the reader may see in the note on Josh. iii. 10. Verse 2. Thou shalt smite them, dfc] These idolatrous nations were to be utterly destroyed, and all the others also which were contiguous to the boundaries of the promised land, provided they did not renounce their idolatry and receive the true faith: for if they did not, then no covenant was to be made with them 75«

4 For thev will turn awav thy A. M. 2553.

son from following me, that they An. Ex. isr. 40. may serve other gods: ^ so will ^ ^''

the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

5 But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall ' destroy their altars, and break down their ^ images, and cvit down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

6 ^ For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: ™ the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were ° the fewest of all people.

on any secular or political consideration whatever; no mercy was to be shown to them, because the cup of their iniquity also was now full; and they must either embrace, heartily embrace, the true religion, or be cut off.

Verse 3. Neither shalt thou make marriages, d^c] The heart being naturally inclined to evil, there is more likelihood that the idolatrous wife should draw aside the believing husband, than that the believing husband should be able to bring over his idolatrous wife to the true faith.

Verse 6. Thou art a holy people] And therefore should have no connection with the workers of iniquity.

A. M. 2553. 8 But ° because the Lord loved An. Ex! isr. 40. jou, and becausc he would keep ^^'^^^- p the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, "^ hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, " the faithful God, ^ which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations:

1 0 And ' repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: ^ he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

1 1 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

12^ Wherefore it shall come to pass, "^ if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee ' the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

13 And he will ^love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: ^ he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: * there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

1 5 And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the ^ evil

words as they stand in the Septuagint are quoted by the apostle, 1 Pet. ii. 9.

Verse 8. But because the Lord loved you] It was no good in them that induced God to choose them at this time to be his peculiar people: he had his reasons, but these sprang from his infinite goodness. He intended to make a full discovery of his goodness to the world, and this must have a commencement in some particular place, and among some people. He chose that time, and he chose the Jewish people; but not because of their goodness or holiness, a diseases of Egypt, which thou a. m. 2553. knowest, upon thee; but will lay An. Ex. isr. 40. them upon all them that hate thee. ^^^^^'

1 6 And '^ thou shalt consume all the people vi^hich the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; "^ thine eye shall have no pity upon them: nei ther shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be " a snare unto thee.