Commentary on the Holy Bible

Neither eunuchs, bastards. Ammonites, nor Moabites, shall be incorporated with the genuine Israelites, 1-3. The reason why the Ammonites and Moabites were excluded, 4—6. Edomites and Egyptians to be respected, 7. Their descendants in the third generation may be incorporated with the Israelites, 8. Cautions against wickedness when they go forth against their enemies, 9. To keep the camp free from every defilement, and the reason lohy, 10-14. The slave who had taken refuge among them is not to be deli- 794 a vered up to his former master, 15, 16. There shall be no prostitutes nor sodomites in the land, 17. The hire of a prostitute or the price of a dog is not to be brought into the house of God, 18. The Israelites shall not lend on usury to each other, 19; but they may take usury from strangers, 20. Vows must be diligently paid, 21-23. In passing through a vineyard or field a man may eat of the grapes or com, but must carry away none with him, 24, 25.

9 When the host goeth forth a. M. 2553.

against thine enemies, then keep An. Ex. isr. 40. thee from every wicked thing. ^^ ^*'

2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.

3 '' An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation, shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:

4 "^ Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and ^ because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor, of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

5 Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.

6 ^ Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their ^ prosperity all thy days for ever.

7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; *>' for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because ^ thou wast a stranger in his land.

8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.

Verse 1. Shall not enter into the congregation, ^c] If by entering into the congregation be meant the bearing a civil office among the people, such as magistrate, judge, &c., then the reason of the law is very plain; no man with any such personal defect as might render him contemptible in the sight of others should bear rule among the people, lest the contempt felt for his personal defects might be transferred to his important office, and thus his authority be disregarded. The general meaning of these words is, simply, that the persons here designated should not be so incorporated with the Jews as to partake of their civil privileges.

Verse 2. ^4. bastard shall not enter] "li'3'D mamzer, which is here rendered bastard, should be understood as implying the offspring of an illegitimate or incestuous mixture.

10 'If there be among you any man, that is not clean, by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:

1 1 But it shall be, when evening ^ cometh on, ' he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.

12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou ^ wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

14 For the Lord thy God '^walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no ° unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee:

1 5 P Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in

A^'erse 3. An Ammonite or Moabite] These nations were subjected for their impiety and wickedness, (see ver. 4 and 5,) to peculiar disgrace, and on this account were not permitted to hold any office among the Israelites. But this did not disqualify them from being proselytes: Ruth, who was a Moabitess, was married to Boaz, and she became one of the progenitors of our

Even to their tenth generation] That is, for ever, as the next clause explains; see Neh. xiii. 1.

Verse 12, <^c.] These directions may appear triffing to some, but they were essentially necessary to this people in their present circumstances. Decency and cleanliness promote health, and prevent many diseases.

Verse 15. Thou shalt not deliver — the servant ivhich is escaped — unto thee] That is, a servant who left an idolatrous master that he might join himself to God

one of thy gates, where it '^ liketh him best: ■■ thou shalt not oppress him.

1 7 There shall be no ' whore * of the daughters of Israel, nor a " sodomite of the sons of

18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.

19 ^Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother: usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

20 "^ Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: ^ that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that tliou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

3 1 y When thou shalt vow a vow unto the

and to his people. In any other case, it would have been injustice to have harboured the runaway.

Verse 18. The hire of a tvhorc, or the price of a dog] Many public prostitutes dedicated to their gods a part of their impure earnings; and some of these prostitutes were publicly kept in the temple of Venus Melytta, whose gains were applied to the support of her abominable worship.

slack to pay it: for the Lord thy An.' Ex. isr 40. God will surely require it of thee; ^^^'^*- and it would be sin in thee.

22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

23 ^ That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill-offering, according as "thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, ■* then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, ^ then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

Verse 24. Thou shalt not put any tn thy vessel.] Thou shalt carry none away with thee. The old English proverb, Eat thy fill, hut pocket none, seems to have been founded on this law.

Verse 25. Thou mayest pluck the ears ivith thine hatid] It was on the permission granted by this law that the disciples plucked the ears of corn, as related Matt. xii. 1. This was both a considerate and humane law, and is no dishonour to the Jewish code.

The case of a divorced wife, 1-4. No man shall be obliged to undertake any public service for the first year of his marriage, 5. The mill-stones shall not be taken as a pledge, 6. The man-stealer shall be put to death, 7. Concerning cases of leprosy, 8, 9. Of receiving pledges, and returning those of the poor before bed-time, 10-13. Of servants and their hire, 14, 15. Parents and children shall not be put to death for each other, 16. Of humanity to the stranger, fatherless, toidow, and bondman, 17, 18. Gleanings of the harvest, Jfc, to be left for the poor, stranger, widow, fatherless, dj-c, 19—22.

it come to pass that she find no

Verse 1. Some unclcanness] Kny cvMse oi dislike, for this great latitude of meaning the fact itself authorizes us to adopt, for it is certain tint a Jew might put away his wife for any cause that seemed good to himself; and so hard were their hearts, that Moses hath found ^ some uncleanness in An. Ex, isr. 40. her: then let him write her a bill ^°^''^- suffered this; and we find they continued this practice even to the time of our Lord, who strongly reprehended them on the account, and showed that such license was wholly inconsistent with the original design of marriage; see Matt. v. 31, &c.; xix. 3, &o.; and the notes there.

^Ex. isr.40. her hand, and send her out of his

2 And when she is departed out of his house, ^ she may go and be another man's wife.

3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;

4 « Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee /or an inheritance.

5 ^ When a man hath taken a new wife, he ehall not go out to war, « neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall ^ cheer up his wife which he hath taken.

Verse 3. And write her a bill of divorcement] These bills, though varying in expression, are the same in Bubstance among the Jews in all places. The following, collected from Maimonides and others, is a general form, and contains all the particulars of such instruments. The reader who is curious may find a full account of divorces in the Biblioth. Rab. of Bartolocci, and the following/orm in that work, vol. iv., p. 550.

or from the supputation (of Alexander) after the account that we are accustomed to count by, here, in the place B., I, C, the son of D., of the place B., (or if there be any other name which I have, or my father hath had, or which my place or my father's place hath had,) have voluntarily, and with the willingness of my soul, without constraint, dismissed, and left, and put away thee, even thee, E., the daughter of F., of the city G., (or if thou have any other name or surname, thou or thy father, or thy place or thy father's place,) who hast been my wife heretofore; but now I dismiss thee, and leave thee, and put thee away, that thou mayest be free, and have power over thy own life, to go away to be married to any man whom thou wilt; and that no man be refused of thine hand, for my name, from this day and for ever. And thus thou art lawful for any man; and this is unto thee, from me, a writing of divorcement, and book {instrument) of dismission, and an epistle of putting away; according to the Law of Moses and Israel.

C, son of D., witness." "Verse 4. She is defiled] Does not this refer to her having been divorced, and married in consequence to

6 No man shall take the nether a. m. 2053. or the upper mill-stone to pledge: An. Ex. isr. 40. for he taketh a man's life to ^!_^_1__ pledge.

7 ' If a man be found stealing any of hia brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief siiall die; "^ and thou shalt put evil away from among you.

8 Take heed in ^ the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently,.and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall ob-^ serve to do.

9 ™ Remember what the Lord thy God did " unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.

10 When thou dost " lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.

1 1 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to

another] Though God, for the hardness of their hearts, suffered them to put away their wives, yet he considered all after-marriages in that case to be pollution and defilement; and it is on this ground that our Lord argues in the places referred to above, that whoever marries the woman that is put away is an adulterer: now this could not have been the case if God had allowed the divorce to be a legal and proper separation of the man from his wife; but in the sight of God nothing can be a legal cause of separation but adulter!/ on either side. In such a case, according to the law of God, a man may put away his wife, and a wife may put away her husband; (see Matt. xix. 9;) for it appears that the wife had as much right to put away her husband as the husband had to put away his wife, see Mark x. 12.

Verse 5. When a man hath taken a new icife] Other people made a similar provision for such circumstances. Alexander ordered those of his soldiers who had married that year to spend the winter with their wives, while the army was in winter quarters. See Arrian, lib. i.

Verse 6. The nether or the upper mill-stone] Small hand-mills which can be worked by a single person were formerly in use among the Jews, and are still used in many parts of the East. As therefore the day's meal was generally ground for each day, thoy keeping no stock beforehand, hence they were forbiuden to take either of the stones to pledge, because in such a case the family must be without bread. On this account the text terms the mill-stone the man's life.

Verses 8, 9. The plague of leprosy] See on Lot. xiii. and xiv.

whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.

12 And if the man be poor,

] 3 P In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and i bless thee: and ^ it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.

14 Thou shalt not ^ oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that a7-e in thy land within thy gates:

15 At his day * thou shalt give Am his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and "^ setteth his heart upon it: "^ lest he cry against thee imto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.

16"^ The fathers shall not be put to death for "the children, neither shall tho children be put to death for the fathers every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 '^ Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless;

Verse 12. And if the man be poor, cjc-] Did not this law preclude pledging entirely, especially in case of the abjectly poor 1 For who would take a pledge in the morning which he knew, if not redeemed, he must restore at night 1 However, he might resume his claim in the morning, and have the pledge daily returned, and thus keep up his property in it till the debt was discharged; see the note on Exod. xxii. 26. The Jews in several cases did act contrary to this rule, and we find them cuttingly reproved for it by the Prophet Amos, chap. ii. 8.

Verse 15. He is poor, and setteth his heart upon if] How exceedingly natural is this! The poor servant who seldom sees money, yet finds from his master's affluence that it procures all the conveniences and comforts of life, longs for the time when he shall receive his wages; should his pay be delayed after the time is expired, he may naturally be expected to cry unto God against him who withholds it. See most of these subjects treated at large on Exod. xxii.

1 8 But ^ thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

19 ^ When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may ^ bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, *= thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

2 1 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it ^ afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

22 And ® thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

the children, <^c.] This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezek. xviii.

Verse 18. Thou shalt remember that thou xoast a bondman'] Most people who have affluence rose from comparative penury, for those who are horn to estates frequently squander them away; such therefore should remember what their feelings, their fears, and anxieties were, when they were poor and abject. A want of attention to this most wholesome precept is the reason why pride and arrogance are the general characteristics of those who have risen in the world from poverty to affluence; and it is the conduct of those men which gave rise to the rugged proverb, " Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride to the devil."

Verse 19. When thou cuttest doivn thine harvest^ This is an addition to the law, Lev. xix. 9; xxiii. 23. The corners of the field, the gleanings, and the forgotten sheaf, were all the property of the poor. This the Hebrews extended to any part of the fruit or produce of a field, which had been forgotten in the time of general ingathering, as appears from the concluding verses of this chapter.

Punishment by whipping not to exceed forty stripes, 1—3. The ox that treads out the com is not to he muz zled, 4. The ordinance concerning marrying the wife of that brother who has died childless, 3—10. Of the woman luho acts indecently in succouring her husband, 11, 12. Of false weights and measures, 13—16 Amalek is to be destroyed, 17—19.

An. Ex. isr. 40. tween men, and they come ^ ^^" unto judgment, that the judges

may judge them; then they ^ shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.

2 And it shall be, if the wicked man he " worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause

Verse 1. They shall justify the righteous^ This is a very important passage, and is a key to several others. The word Dl^ tsadak is used here precisely in the same sense in which St. Paul sometimes uses the corresponding word dcKuiou, not to justify or make just, but to acquit, declare innocent, to remit punishment, or give reasons ivhy such a one should not be punished; so here the magistrates Ip'Ti'n hitsdikii, shall acquit, the righteous — declare him innocent, because he is found to be righteous and not luicked: so the Septuagint: Kai diKaiuaovacv tov duaiov, they shall make righteous the righteous — declare him free from blame, not liable to punishment, acquitted; using the same word with St. Paul when he speaks of a sinner's justification, i. e., his acquittance from blame and punishment, because of the death of Christ in his stead.

Verse 2. The judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face] This precept is literally followed in China; the culprit receives in the presence of the magistrate the punishment which the law directs to be inflicted. Thus then justice is done, for the magistrate sees that the letter of the law is duly fulfilled, and that the officers do not transgress it, either by indulgence on the one hand, or severity on the other. The culprit receives nothing more nor less than what justice requires.

Verse 3. Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed] According to God's institution a criminal may receive forty stripes; not one more! But is the institution from above or not, that for any offence sentences a man to receive three hundred, yea, a thousand stripes? What horrible brutality is this! and what a reproach to human nature, and to the nation in which such shocking barbarities are exercised and tolerated! Most of the inhabitants of Great Britain have heard of Lord Macartney^s embassy to the emperor of China, and they have also heard t)f its complete failure; but they have not heard the cause. It appears to have been partly occasioned by the following circumstance: A soldier had been convicted of some petty traflic with one of the natives, and he was sentenced by a court-.Tiartial to receive sixty lashes! Hear my author:

" The soldiers were drawn up in form in the outer court of the palace where we resided; and the poor a him to lie down,'' and to be beaten a. m. 2553. before his face, according to his An. Ex. isr. 40. fault, by a certain number. ^^'^'**-

3 ^ Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these, with many stripes, then thv brother should ^ seem vile unto thee.

culprit, being fastened to one of the pillars of the great portico, received his punishment without mitigation. The abhorrence excited in the breasts of the Chinese at this cruel conduct, as it aj>peared to them, was demonstrably proved by their words and looks. They expressed their astonishment that a people professing the mildest, the most benevolent religion on earth, as they wished to have it believed, could be guilty of such flagrant inattention to its merciful dictates. One of the principal Mandarins, who knew a little English, expressed the general sentiment. Englishmen too much cruel, too much bad." — Accurate account of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, by an attendant on the embassy, 12mo., 1797, p. 88.

The following is Mr. Ainsworth's note on this verse: " This number forty the Scripture uses sundry times in cases of humiliation, affliction, and punishment. As Moses twice humbled himself in fasting and prayer forty days and forty nights, Deut. ix. 9, 18. Elijah fasted forty days, 1 Kings xix. 8; and our Saviour, Matt. iv. 2. Forty years Israel was afl3icted in the wilderness for their sins. Num. xiv. 33, 34. And forty years Egypt was desolate for treacherous dealing with Israel, Ezek. xxix. 11-13. Forty days every woman was in purification from her uncleanness for a man-child that she bare, and twice forty days for a woman-child. Lev. xii. 4, 5. Forty days and forty nights it rained at Noah's flood. Gen. vii. 12. Forty days did Ezekiel bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, Ezek. iv. 6. Jonah preached. Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, Jonah iii. 4. Forty years' space the Canaanites had to repent after Israel came out of Egypt, and wandered so many years in the wilderness, Num. xiv. 33. And thrice forty years the old world had Noah preaching unto them repentance. Gen. vi. 3. It was forty days ere Christ ascended into heaven after his resurrection, Acts i. 3,9, And forty years' space he gave unto the Jews, from the time that they killed him, before he destroyed their city and temple by the Romans.

" By the Hebrews this law is expounded thus: How many stripes do they beat (an offender) with? With forty, lacking one: as it is written, (Deut. xxv. 2, 3,) by number forty, that is, the number which is next to fortv, Talmud Bab, in Maccoth, chap. iii. This their

A. M. 2553. 4 ^ Thou shall not muzzle the An. Ex. isr. 40. ox whcu he ^ treadeth out the

6 ' If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without, unto a stranger: her ^ husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take hor to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.

6 And it shall be, that the first-born which she beareth ^ shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that "^ his name be not put out of Israel.

7 And if the man like not to take his ^ brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the ° gate unto the elders, and say, My hus-

understanding is very ancient, for so they practised in the apostles' days; as Paul testified: Of the Jews five times received I forty (stripes) save one; 2 Cor. xi. 24. But the reason which they give is not solid; as when they say, If it had been written forty in NUMBER, / would Say it were full forty; but being written, in number forty, it means the number ivhich reckons forty next after it, that is, thirty-nine. By this exposition they confound the verses and take away the distinction. I rather think this custom was taken up by reason of the manner of their beating forespoken of, which was with a scourge that had three cords, so that every stroke was counted for three stripes, and then they could not give even forty, but either thirtynine or forty-two, which was above the number set of God. And hereof they write thus: When they judge (or condemn) a sinner to so many {stripes) as he can bear, they judge not but by strokes that are fit to be trebled [that is, to give three stripes to one stroke, by reason of the three cords.] If they judge that he can bear tiventy, they do not say he shall be beaten with one and tiventy, to the end that they may treble the stripes, but they give him eighteen. — Maimon in Sanhedrin, chap, xvii., sec. 2. Thus he that was able to bear twenty stripes, had but eighteen: the executioner smote him but six times, for if he had smitten him the seventh they were counted one and twenty stripes, which was above the number adjudged: so he that was adjudged to forty was smitten thirteen times, which being counted one for three, make thirty-nine. And so R. Bechaios, writing hereof, says, The strokes are trebled; that is, every one is three, and three times thirteen are nine and thirty."

Thy brother be vile, or be contemptible. — By this God teaches us to hate and despise the sin, not the sinner, who is by this chastisement to be amended; as the power which the Lord hath given is to edification, not to destruction, 2 Cor. xiii. 10.

Verse 4. Thou shall not muzzle the ox, 4"C.] In Tudea, as well as in Egypt, Greece, and Italy, they band's brother refuseth to raise a. m. 2553. up unto his brother a name in An. JEx' isr. 40. Israel, he will not perform the ^^'^^^-

8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, p I like not to take her;

9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and 1 loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say. So shall it be done unto that man that will not ^ build up his brother's house,

10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

1 1 When men strive together one with an-

make use of beeves to tread out the com; and Dr. Shaw tells us that the people of Barbary continue to tread out their corn after the custom of the East. Instead of beeves they frequently made use of mules and horses, by tying by the neck three or four in like manner together, and whipping them afterwards round about the nedders, as they call the treading floors, (the Libycae areas Hor,) where the sheaves lie open and expanded, in the same manner as they are placed and prepared with us for threshing. This indeed is a much quicker way than ours, though less cleanly, for as it is performed in the open air, (Hos. xiii. 3,) upon any round level plot of ground, daubed over with cow's dung to prevent as much as possible the earth, sand, or gravel from rising; a great quantity of them all, notwithstanding this precaution, must unavoidably be taken up with the grain, at the same time that the straw, which is their chief and only fodder, is hereby shattered to pieces; a circumstance very pertinently alluded to in 2 Kings xiii. 7, where the king of Syria is said to have made the Israelites like the dust by threshing. — Travels, p. 138. While the oxen were at work some muzzled their mouths to hinder them from eating the corn, which Moses here forbids, instructing the people by this symbolical precept to be kind to their servants and labourers, but especially to those who ministered to them in holy things; so St. Paul applies it 1 Cor. ix. 9, &c.; 1 Tim. v. 18. Le Clerc considers the injunction as wholly symbolical; and perhaps in this view it was intended to confirm the lavi's enjoined in the fourteenth and fifteenth verses of the former chapter. See Dodd and Shaw.

In Bengal, where the same mode of treading out the corn is used, some muzzle the ox, and others do not, according to the disposition of the farmer. — Ward.

Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficuh to find the reason of these ceremonies of degradation. Perhaps the shoe was the emblem of power; and by stripping it off, deprivation of that power and authority was represented. Spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost

that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:

1 2 Then thou shalt cut off her hand, « thine eye shall not pity her.

1 3 * Thou shalt not have in thy bag " divers weights, a great and a small.

14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small,

15 But thou shah have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: ^"^that thy days maybe lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

1 6 For ^ all that do such things, and all that

ignominy; but the Jews, who are legitimate judges in this case, say that the spitting was not in his face, but before his face on the ground. And this is the way in which the Asiatics express their detestation of a person to the present day, as Niebuhr and other intelligent travellers assure us. It has been remarked that the prefix 3 beth is seldom applied to 'ja peney; but when it is it signifies as well before as in the face. See. Josh. xxi. 44; xxiii. 9; Esther ix. 2; and Ezek. xlii. 12; which texts are supposed to be proofs in point. The act of spitting, whether in or before the face, marked the strong contempt the woman felt for the man who had slighted her. And it appears that the man was ever after disgraced in Israel; for so much is certainly implied in the saying, ver. 10: And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Verse 13. Divers xv eights] pNI pX eien uaaJe?i, a stone and a stone, because the weights were anciently made of stone, and some had two sets of stones, a light and a heavy. With the latter they bought their wares, by the former they sold them. In our own

did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;

18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he ^ feared not God.

19 Therefore it shall be, =* when- the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which. the Lord thy God giveth the for an inheritance, to possess it, that thou shalt '' blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven: thou shalt not forget it.

country this was once a common case; smooth, round, or oval stones were generally chosen by the simple country people for selling their wares, especially such as were sold in pounds and half pounds. And hence the term a stone iceight, which is still in use, though lead or iron be the matter that is used as a counterpoise: but the name itself shows us that a stone of a certain weight was the material formerly used as a weight. See the notes on Lev. xix. 35, 36.

Verse 14. Divers measures] Literally, an ephah and an ephah; one large, to buy thy neighbour's wares, another small, to sell thy own by. So there were knaves in all ages, and among all nations. See the notes on Exod. xvi. 16, and Lev. xix. 35.

Verse 18. Smote the hindmost of thee] See the note on Exod. xvii. 8. It is supposed that this command had its final accomplishment in the death of Haman and his ten sons, Esth. iii., vii., ix., as from this time the memory and name of Amalek was blotted out from under heaven, for through every period of their history it might be truly said. They feared not God.

First-fruits must be offered to God, I, 2. The form of confession to be used on the occasion, 3—11. The third year''s tithe to be given to the Levites and the poor, 12, and the form, of confession to be used on this occasion, 13—15. The Israelites are to take Jehovah for their God, and to keep his testimonies, 16, 17. And Jehovah is to take them for his people, and make them high above all the nations of the earth, 18, 19.

Verse 2. Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit, dfc] This was intended to keep them in continual Vol I. ( 63)

2 ^ That thou shalt take of the

remembrance of the kindness of God, in preserving them through so many difficulties and literally fulfilling the promises he had made to them. God being

A. M. 2553. first of all the fruit of the earth, •An. Ex. Is?. 40. which thou shalt bring of thy ^^'^^^- land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt ^ go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, to place his name there.

3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

5 And thou shalt speak, and say before the Lord thy God, •= A Syrian ^ ready to perish was my father, and ^ he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a ^ few, and l»ecame there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

6 And ^ the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

7 And ^ when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression.

the author of all their blessings, the first-fruits of the land were consecrated to him, as the author of every good and perfect gift.

Verse 5. A Syrian ready to perish was my father^ This passage has been variously understood, both by the ancient versions and by modern commentators. The Vulgate renders it thus: Syrus persequebatur patrem meum, " A Syrian persecuted my father." The Septiiagint thus: 'Lvpiav aireiSaTiev 6 ■Karrjp /lov, " My father abandoned Syria." The Targum thus: HDN rv' NI^IX*? ^'^2 nxo^N pS Lahan arammaah lea leobada yalh ahha, " Laban the Syrian endeavoured to destroy my father." The Syriac: " My father was led out of Syria into Egypt." The Arabic: " Surely, Laban the Syrian had almost destroyed my father." The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel: " Our father Jacob went at first into Syria of Mesopotamia, and Laban sought to destroy him."

Father Houhigant dissents from all, and renders the original thus: Fames urgebat patrem meum, qui in JEgyptum descendit, " Famine oppressed my father, who went down into Egypt." This interpretation Houbigant gives the text, by taking the ' yod from the word ■'OIX arammi, which signifies an Aramite or Syrian, and joining it to TDX' yeabud, the future for the perfect, which is common enough in Hebrew, and which may signify constrained; and seeking for the meaning of D1X aram in the Arabic ^ A arama, which

8 And ' the Lord brought us a. m. 2553. forth out of Egypt with a mighty An. Ex.\tr.^40. hand, and with an outstretched ^^'^'^^- arm, and ^ with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even ^ a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:

1 1 And ^ thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the '^ tithes of thine increase the third year, which is " the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

1 3 Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the haflowed things out of mine house, and also have given them

signifies famine, dearth, &c., he thus makes out his version, and this version he defends at large in his notes. It is pretty evident, from the text, that by a Syrian we are to understand Jacob, so called from his long residence in Syria with his father-in-law Laban. And his being ready to perish may signify the hard usage and severe labour he had in Laban's service, by which, as his health was much impaired, so his life might have often been in imminent danger.

Verse 1 1. Thou shalt rejoice'] God intends that his followers shall be happy; that they shall eat their bread with gladness and singleness of heart, praising him. Those who eat their meat grudgingly, under the pretence of their unworthiness, &c., profane God's bounties, and shall have no thanks for their voluntary humility.

Thou, and the Levite, and the stranger] They were to take care to share God's bounties among all those who were dependent on them. The Levite has no inheritance, let him rejoice with thee. The stranger has no home, let him feel thee to be his friend and his father.

An. Ex. isr. 40. Stranger, to the latherless, and to ^^^^^" the widow, according to all thy

commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, P neither have I forgotten them:

14 1 1 have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead: hut I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

1 5 ^ Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

16 This day the Lord thy God hath com-

xiv. 28. But from the letter in both these places it would appear that the tithe was for the Levites, and that this tithe was drawn only once in three years.

Verse 14. I have not — given aught thereof for the dead] That is, I have not consecrated any of it to an idol, which was generally a dead man whom superstidon and ignorance had deified. From 1 Cor. x. 27, 28, we learn that it was customary to offer that flesh to idols which was afterwards sold publicly in the shambles; probably the blood was poured out before the idol in imitation of the sacrifices offered to the true God. Perhaps the text here alludes t& a similar custom.

Verse 17. Thou hast avouched the Lord] The people avouch — publicly declare, that they have taken Jehovah to be their God.

Verse 18. Atid the Lord hath avouched] Publicly declared, by the blessings he pours down upon them, that he has taken them to be his peculiar people. Thus the covenant is made and ratified between God and his followers.

Verse 19. Make thee high above all nations] It is written, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people, Prov. xiv. 34. While Israel regarded God's word and kept his testimonies, they were the greatest and most respectable of all nations; but when they forsook God and his law, they became the most contemptible. O Britain, even more highly favoured than ancient Israel! learn wisdom by what they have suffered. It is not thy fleets nor thine ar- manded thee to do these statutes a. m. 2553. and judgments: thou shalt there- An.Ex. isr.40 fore keep and do them with all ^^''^'■

17 Thou hast ^ avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and lo keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

18 And Hhe Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep. all his commandments;

1 9 And to make thee '^ high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be ^ a holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

mies, howsoever excellent and well appointed, that can ultimately exalt and secure thy permanence among the nations. It is righteousness alone. Become irreligious, neglect God's ordinances, profane his Sabbath, despise his word, persecute his followers, and thou art lost. But fear, love, and serve him, and thy enemies shall be found liars, thou shalt defeat their projects, and trample on their high places.

The form of confession when bringing the firstfruits, related ver. 4-10, is both affecting and edifying. Even when brought into a state of affluence and rest, they were commanded to remember and publicly acknowledge their former degradation and wretchedness, that they might be ever kept humble and dependent; and they must bring their offering as a public acknowledgment to God that it was by his mercy their state was changed, and by his bounty their comforts were continued. If a man rise from poverty to aflluence, and forget his former state, he becomes proud, insolent, and oppressive. If a Christian convert forget his former state, the rock whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit whence he was digged, he soon becomes careless, unthankful, and unholy. The case of the ten lepers that were cleansed, of whom only one returned to give God thanks, is an awful lesson. How many are continually living on the bounty of God, who feel no gratitude for his mercies! Reader, is this thy state? If so, then expect the just God to curse thy blessings.

Moses commands the people to write the law upon stones, when they shall come to the promised land, 1—3. And to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, 4; and to build an altar of unhewn stones, and to offer on it burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, 5-7. The words to be written plainly, and the people to be exhorted to obedience, 8-10. The six tribes which should stand on Mount Gerizira to bless the people, 11, 13. Those ivho are to stand upon Mount Ebal to curse the transgressors, 13. The different transgressors against whom the curses are to be denounced, 14—26.

2 And it shall be, on the day ^ when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that ^ thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:

3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, '^ in Mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.

5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: ^ thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

6 Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God:

Verse 2. Thou shalt set thee up great stones] How many is not specified, possibly tioelve, and possibly only a sufficient number to make a surface large enough to write the blessings and the curses on.

Plaster them ivith plaster] Perhaps the original I'l^l Dnx miyi vesadta otham hassid should be translated, Thou shalt cement them ivith cement, because this was intended to be a durable monument. In similar cases it was customary to set up a single stone, or a heap, rudely put together, where no cement or mortar appears to have been used; and because this was common, it was necessary to give particular directions when the usual method was not to be followed. Some suppose that the writing was to be in relievo, and that the spaces between the letters were filled up by the mortar or cement. This is quite a possible case, as the Eastern inscriptions are frequently done in this way. There is now before me a large slab of basaltes, two feet long by sixteen inches wide, on which there is an inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Tamul; in the two former the letters are all raised, the surface of the stone being dug out, but the Tamul is indented. A kind of reddish paint had been smeared over the letters to make tlicm more apparent. Two Arabic marbles in the University of Oxford have the inscriptions in relievo, like those on the slab of basalt in my possession. In the opinion of some even this case may cast light upon the subject in question.

Verse 3. All the u-ords of this law] After all that has been said by ingenious critics concerning the law

7 And thou shalt offer peace- a. m. 2553. offerings, and shalt eat there, and An. Ex. itr.*40. rejoice before the Lord thy God. ^'^'^^*-

8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

9 And Moses, and the priests the Levites, spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; ® this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God.

10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice ol the Lord thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

1 1 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

1 2 These shall stand ^ upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

13 And & these shall stand upon Mount Ebal ^ to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Ze bulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 And ' the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,

ordered to be written on these stones, some supposing the whole Mosaic law to be intended, others, only the decalogue, I am fully of opinion that the (miH torah) law or ordinance in question simply means the blessings and curses mentioned in this and in the following chapter; and indeed these contained a very good epitome of the whole law in all its promises and threatenings, in reference to the whole of its grand moral design. See at the end of this chapter.

Verse 4. Set up these stones — in Mount Ebal] So the present Hebrew text, but the Samaritan has Mount Gerizim. Dr. Kennicott has largely defended the reading of the Samaritan in his second dissertation on the present state of the Hebrew text, and Dr. Parry has defended the Hebrew against the Samaritan in his Case betiueen Gerizim and Ebal fairly slated. So has J. H. Verschuir, in his Dissert. Critica. Many still think Dr. Kennicott's arguments unanswerable, and have no doubt that the Jews have here corrupted the text through their enmity to the Samaritans. On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked and as barren as a rock. On this very account the former was highly proper for the ceremony of blessing, and the latter for the ceremony of cursing.

Verse 12. These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people] Instead of upon Mount, &c., we may translate by, as the particle S> al is sometimes used; for we do not find that the tribes did stand on either mount, for in Josh. viii. 33, when this direction

A. M. 2553. 15'' Cursed he the man that An. Ex. Isr. 40. maketh any graven or molten ^^^^^- image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. ' And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.

16 ■" Cursed he he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say. Amen.

17 " Cursed he he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

18 ° Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.

19 P Cursed he he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say. Amen.

was reduced to practice, we find the people did not stand on the mountains, but over against them on the plain. See the observations at the end of this chapter.

Verse 15. Cursed be the man, tj-c] Other laws, previously made, had prohibited all these things, and penal sanctions were necessarily understood; but here God more openly declares that he who breaks them is cursed — falls under the wrath and indignation of his Maker and Judge. See the note on Exod. xx. 4.

Verse 16. Setteth light hy his father or his mother.^ See the note on Exod. xx. 12.

Verse 17. Removeth his neighbour''s landmark.] See before on Deut. xix. 14, and on Exod. xx. 17. And for all the rest of these curses, see the notes on Exod. XX., and the observations at the end of it.

Verse 18. The blind to ivander out of the way.] A sin against the sixth commandment. See on Exod. XX. 13.

Verse 26. That confirmeth not all the words of this laio] The word Sd col, all, is not found in any printed copy of the Hehreio text; but the Samaritan preserves it, and so do six MSS. in the collections of Kennicott and De L.ssi, besides several copies of the Chaldee Targum. The Septiiagint also, and St. Paul in his quotation of this place, Gal. iii. 10. St. Jerome says that the Jews suppressed^ the word, that it might not appear that they were bound to fulfil all the precepts in the law of Moses.

1. Dr. Kennicott, who contends that it was the Decalogue that was wi-itten on the stones mentioned in this chapter, says, " If we examine these twelve curses, they will appear to contain a strong enforcement of the ten commands; and it is highly probable a

21'' Cursed he he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.

22 ^ Cursed he he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

23 ' Cursed he he that lieth with his motherin-law. And all the people shall say. Amen.

24 " Cursed he he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.

25 "" Cursed he he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

26 '^ Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say. Amen.

that the curses were here proclaimed principally to secure obedience to the commandments, as will be made more clear by the following table: — The first, second, third, and fourth Commandments. Verse 15. Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination to the Lord, &,c. The fifth Commandment. Verse 16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother.

The sixth Commandment. A''erse 25. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person.

The seventh Commandment. Verse 20. Cursed be he that lieth with his fathers wife.

Verse 21. Cursed be he that lieth with any beast. Verse 22. Cursed be he that lieth with his sister. Verse 23. Cursed be he that lieth with his motherin-law.

The eighth Commandment. Verse 17. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark.

The ninth Commandment. Verse 19. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The tenth Commandment. Verse 26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them."

Many will think this arrangement fanciful; and the analogy far from being natural.

2. In pronouncing these blessings and curses, the Talmud says, six tribes went up towards the top of Mount Gerizim, and six towards the top of Mount Ebal; and the priests and the Levites, and the ark stood beneath in the midst. The priests encompassed the ark, and the Levites stood round about the priests; and all Israel on this side and on that; see Josh. viii. 33. Then they turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and pronounced the blessing, Blessed be the man, &c., and those on each side answered Amen! then they turned their faces towards Mount Ebal, and pronounced the curse. Cursed be the man, &c., and those on each side answered Amen! till they had finished the blessings and the curses; and afterwards they brought stones and built an altar. Some suppose that the Levites were divided into two grand bodies, part standing at or on Mount Gerizim, and part on Mount Ebal, and that with each division were some of the priests. The whole Dr. Parry supposes to have been arranged in the following manner: —

3. It is worthy of remark that Moses assigns to the children of Rachel and Leah, the two mothers of the family, the office of blessing the people, as being the most honourable; and these he places on Mount Gerizim. On the contrary, he assigns the office of cursing the people to the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah, as being the least honourable office; but with these he joins Zebulun, the youngest of Leah's sons, and Reuben, the eldest. As there must be six tribes on each mountain, it was necessary that while six of the sons of Rachel and Leah, the legitimate wives, should be employed in blessing, two tribes descending from the same mothers should be joined to the other four who proceeded from the handmaids in order to make up the number six. The question is, which two of the more honourable tribes should be joined to the four least honourable, in order to complete the number six 1 Zebulun is chosen, because being the sixth and youngest of all Leah's sons, he was the least honourable of those who proceeded from the free woman; and Reuben is chosen, who, though the eldest of Jacob's sons, and entitled to the birthright, had lost it by his transgression. And hence he, in his posterity, was degraded, and was obliged to pronounce the curse, Cursed is he that lieth with his father^s ivife. See Gen. xlix. 3, 4, and xxxv. 22, and the notes on both places.

4. It is strange how long the disgrace consequent on some flagrant transaction of a parent may cleave to his posterity! See this exemplified in the posterity of Reuben. Hence, with great propriety we may pray, " Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins." — Litany. For the offences of our forefathers may be so remembered against their posterity, that God, in the course of his providence, may still keep up a controversy in secular matters with the descendants (though even pious) of unholy ancestors; for as all men are seminally included in their parents, they come into the world depraved with their depravity, and in some sort liable to their curses, though not so far as to affect their eternal interests without the addition of their own personal offences. Thus God may be said to visit the sins of the fathers upon the chil dren, even unto the third and fourth generation; as he may have a controversy with the land for the evil which has been done in it, and for which no proper atonement has been made. Why is it that at this moment Spain is suffering the most afflictive and cruel desolations? What has she done to merit all this? Is she more wicked than all the European nations because she suffers such things'? Here is the mystery: Nations, as such, can only be punished in this world. Look at the torrents of innocent blood shed by their ancestors in South America 300 years ago; and see now and adore the awful hand of retributive justice! (December, 1811.) We often see persons tried and afflicted, for whose distresses we can give no legitimate reason. We find others who, though they rise early, sit up late, work hard, eat the bread of carefulness, and have a full knowledge of their business, yet never get on in life. Who can account for this % Shall we say that some injustice in their ancestors has brought down the displeasure of God upon the earthly possessions that descended in that line, so that the goods ill gotten shall never be permitted to multiply? I knew an honest man, dead many years since, who by great diligence, punctuality, and integrity in his busi ness, had acquired considerable property. Some time before his death, having by will divided his substance among his sons and his daughters, he expressed himself thus: " Children, you need not fear the curse of God on this property; every penny of it was honestly earned." Many years have since elapsed, and the blessing of God has been in the basket and in the store of all his children. Parents! leave nothing behind you that you cannot say before your God, with a clear conscience, " This has been honestly earned." If all bequests of a contrary description were to be deducted from last wills and testaments, the quantum of descending property would be, in many cases, small indeed.

The blessings which God pronounces on the obedient, 1—6. Particular privileges lohich the faithful shall receive, 7-13. The curses pronounced against the ungodly and idolatrous, 14-19. A detailed account of the miseries which should be inflicted on them, should they neglect the commandments of the Lord, 20. They shall be smitten with the pestilence, 21; with consumption, fever, 6{c., 22; drought and barrenness, 23, 24; they shall be defeated by their enemies, 25, 26; they shall be afflicted with the botch of Egypt, 27; with madness and blindness, 28, 29; they shall be disappointed in all their projects, 30; deprived of all their possessions, and afflicted in all their members, 31—35; they and their king shall go into captivity, 36, and become a by-ivord among the nations, 37; Their land shall be unfruitful, and they shall be the loivest of all people, 38-44. All these curses shall come on them should they be disobedient, 45—48. Character of the people by tuhom they should be subdued, 49, 50. Particulars of their dreadful sufferings, 51—57. A recapitulation of their wretchedness, 58-63. The prediction that they shall be scattered among all the nations of the earth, 64—68.

^^'^^'^- unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe aiid to do all his commandments v^rhich I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God '' will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and "= overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken

Verse 2. All these blessings shall come on thee^ God shall pour out his blessing from heaven upon thee. And overtake thee. Upright men are represented as going to the kingdom of God, and God's blessings as following and overtaking them in their heavenly journey. There are several things in this verse worthy ©f the most careful observation: —

1. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. The voice of God must be heard; without a Divine revelation how can the Divine will be known 1 And if not known, it cannot be fulfilled.

2. When God speaks, men must hearken to the words of his mouth. He who does not hearken will not obey.

3. He who hearkens to the words of God must set cut for the kingdom of heaven. The curse must fall on him who stayids in the way of sinners, and will overtake them who loiter in the way of righteousness.

4. Those who run in the way of God's testimonies shall have an abundance of blessing. Blessings shall come upon them, and blessings shall overtake them — in every part of their march through life they shall continue to receive the fulfilment of the various promises of God which relate to all circumstances, vicissitudes, trials, stages of life, &c., &c., each overtaking them in the time and place where most needed.

Verse 3. In the city] In all civil employments. In the field — in all agricultural pursuits.

Verse 4. Fruit of thy body] All thy children. Increase of thy kine, &c.; every animal employed in domestic and agricultural purposes shall be under the especial protection of Divine Providence.

3 "^ Blessed shalt thou he in the city, and blessed shalt thou he ® in the field.

4 Blessed shall he ^the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

5 Blessed shall he thy basket and thy ^ store.

Store.] n"lNtyo mishereth, kneading-trough, or remainder; all that is laid up (or future use, as well as what is prepared for present consumption. Some think that by basket all their property abroad may be meant, and by store all that they have at home, i. e., all that is in the fields, and all that is in the houses. The following note of Mr. Harmer is important: —

" Commentators seem to be at a great loss how to explain the basket and the store mentioned Deut. xxviii. 5, 17. Why Moses, who in the other verses mentions things in general, sliould in this case be so minute as to mention baskets, seems strange; and they that interpret either the first or the second of these words of the repositories of theh- corn, &c., forget that their barns or storehouses are spoken of presently after this in ver. 8. Might I be permitted to give my opinion here, I should say that the basket, XJtD tene, in this place means their travelling baskets, and the other word mXi^O mishereth, (their store,) signifies their leathern bags, in both which they were wont to carry things in travelling. The first of these words occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures but in the account that is given us of the conveyance in which they were to carry their first-fruits to Jerusalem; the other nowhere but in the description of the hurrying journey of Israel out of Egypt, where it means the utensils in which they then carried their dough, which I have shown elsewhere in these papers means a piece of leather drawn together by rings, and forming a kind of bag. Agreeably to this, Hasselquist informs us that the Eastern people use baskets in travelling; for, speaking of that species of the palm tree which pro-

6 ^ Blessed shalt thou he when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou he when thou goest out.

7 The Lord ' shall cause thine enemies that ■rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

8 The Lord shall ^ command the blessing upon thee in thy ^ storehouses, and in all that thou "" settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

9 ^ The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.

10 And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art ° called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be ^ afraid of thee,

1 1 And 1 the Lord shall make thee plenteous ■■ in goods, in the fruit of thy ^ body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy

duces dates, and its great usefulness to the people of those countries, he tells us that of the leaves of this tree they make baskets, or rather a kind of short bags, which are used in Turkey on journeys and in their houses; pages 261, 262. Hampers and panniers are English terms denoting travelling baskets, as tene seems to be a Hebrew word of the same general import, though their forms might very much differ, as it is certain that of the travelling baskets mentioned by Hasselquist now does.

" In like manner as they now carry meal, figs, and raisins, in a goat's skin in Barbary for a viaticum, they might do the same anciently, and consequently might carry merchandise after the same manner, particularly their honey, oil, and balm, mentioned Ezek. xvii. 17. They were the proper vessels for such things. So Sir J. Chardin, who was so long in the East, and observed their customs with so much care, supposed, in a manuscript note on Gen. xliii. 11, that the balm and the honey sent by Jacob into Egypt for a present were carried in a goat or kid's skin, in which all sorts of things, both dry and liquid, are wont to be carried in the East.

" Understood after this manner, the passage promises Israel success in their commerce, as the next verse (the 6th) promises them personal safety in their going out and in their return. In this view the passage appears with due distinctness, and a noble extent."— Observations, vol. ii., p. 181.

Verse 6. When thou comest m] From thy employment, thou shalt find that no evil has happened to the family or dwelling in thy absence.

ground, in the land which ihe a. m. 2553. Lord sware unto thy fathers to Aif E^.is^r^^40 give thee. Sebat.

1 2 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven * to give thee rain unto thy land in his season, and ^ to bless all the work of thine hand: and '' thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

1 3 And the Lord shall make thee ^ the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

14 ' And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

15 But it shall come to pass, y if thou will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this

When thou goest out.'\ Thy way shall be made prosperous before thee, and thou shalt have the Divine blessing in all thy labours.

Verse 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies, c^c.] This is a promise of security from foreign invasion, or total discomfiture of the invaders, should they enter the land. They shall come against thee one loay — in the firmest and most united manner. And flee seven ways — shall be utterly broken, confounded, and finally routed.

Verse 8. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee] Every thing that thou hast shall come by Divine appointment; thou shalt have nothing casually, but every thing, both spiritual and temporal, shall come by the immediate command of God.

Verse 9. The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself] This is the sum of all blessings, to be made holy, and be preserved in holiness.

If thou shalt keep, ^c.] Here is the solemn condition; if they did not keep God's testimonies, taking them for the regulators of their lives, and according to their direction walking in his ways, under the influence and aids of his grace, then the curses, and not the blessings, must be their portion. See ver. 15, &c.

Verse 12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure] The clouds, so that a sufficiency of fructifying showers should descend at all requisite times, and the vegetative principle in the earth should unfold and exert itself, so that their crops should be abundant.

Verse 14. Thou shalt not go aside — to the right hand or to the left] The way of obedience is a straight way; it goes right forward; he who declines either a

16 Cursed shalt thou be ^ in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

1 8 Cursed 5/iaZZ Z>e the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

1 9 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

20 The Lord shall send upon thee ^ cursing, '- vexation, and '' rebuke, in all that thou setcest thine hand unto ^ for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

21 The Lord shall make ^the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

Verse 20. Cursing\ This shall be thy state; vexation— grief, trouble, and anguish of heart; rehuke — continual judgments, and marks of God's displeasure.

Verse 21. The pestilence cleave unto thee] DDT *13Tn nx 13 nirr yadlek Yehovah becha ethhaddaber, the Lord shall cement the pestilence or plague to thee. Sept., UpoaKoXXriaei KvpioQ etg ere tov davarov, The Lord ivill GLUE — inseparably attach, the death unto thee How dreadful a plague it must be that ravages without intermission, any person may conceive who has ever heard of the name.

Verse 22. Consumption] nsnty shachepheth, atrophy through lack of food; from y^^ shacaph, to be in want.

Extreme burning] inin charchur, burning upon burning, scald upon scald; from "in char, to be heated, enraged, &c. This probably refers, not only to excruciating inflammations on the body, but also to the irritation and agony of a mind utterly abandoned by God, and lost to hope. What an accumulation of misery! how formidable! and especially in a land where great heat was prevalent and dreadful.

Sword] War in general, enemies ivithout, and ciiiil broils tvithin. This was remarkably the case in the last siege of Jerusalem.

Blasting] piJTC* shiddaphon, probably either the blighting east wind that ruined vegetation, or those

and with an extreme burning, and with the ^' sword, and with ' blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

23 And ^ thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the ea,rth that is under thee shall be iron.

24 The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust; from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be.destroyed.

25 ^ The Lord shall cause thee to be smit ten before thine enemies: thou shalt go ou one way against them, and flee seven way before them: and "* shalt be "^ removed into al the kingdoms of the earth.

26 And ° thy carcass shall be meat unto aL fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

awful pestilential winds which suffocate both man and beast wherever they come. These often prevail in different parts of the East, and several, examples have already been given. See Gen. xli. 6.

Mildew] jlpT' yerakon, an exudation of the vegetative juice from different parts of the stalk, by which the maturity and perfection of the plant are utterly prevented. It comes from pT yarak, to throw out moisture.

Of these seven plagues, i\\Q. five former were to fall on their bodies, the two latter upon their substance. What a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God!

Verse 23. Thy heaven — shall be brass, and the earth — iron.] The atmosphere should not be replenished with aqueous vapours, in consequence of which they should have neither the early nor the latter rain; hence the earth — the ground, must be wholly intractable, and, through its hardness, incapable of cultivation. God shows them by this that he is Lord of nature; and that drought and sterility are not casualties, but proceed from the immediate appointment of

Verse 24. The rain of thy land poivder and dust] As their heavens — atmosphere, clouds, &c., were to be as brass — yielding no rain; so the surface of the earth must be reduced to powder; and this, being frequently taken up by the strong winds, would fall down in showers instead of rain. Whole caravans have been buried under showers of sand; and Thevenot, a French traveller, who had observed these showersof dust, &c., says, " They grievously annoy all they fall on, filling their eyes, ears, nostrils, &c." — Travels in the East, part 1, book ii., chap. 80. The ophthalmia in Egypt

scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not

28 The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and '' astonishment of heart:

29 And thou shalt ^ grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

30 * Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another

appears to be chiefly owing to a very fine sand, the particles of which are like broken glass, which are carried about by the wind, and, entering into the ciliary glands, produce grievous and continual inflammations.

Verse 27. The Lord will smite thee with the botch] yVW shechin, a violent inflammatory swelling. In Job ii., one of the Hexapla versions renders it eTiecpag, the elephantiasis, a disease the most horrid that can possibly afflict human nature. In this disorder, the whole body is covered with a most loathsome scurf; the joints are all preternaturally enlarged, and the skin swells up and grows into folds like that of an elephant, whence the disease has its name. The skin, through its rigidity, breaks across at all the joints, and a most abominable ichor flows from all the chinks, &c. See an account of it in Aretceus, whose language is sufficient to chill the blood of a maniac, could he attend to the description given by this great master, of this most loathsome and abominable of all the natural productions of death and sin. This was called the botch of Egypt, as being peculiar to that country, and particularly in the vicinity of the Nile. Hence those words of Lucretius: —

Est Elcphas morbus, qui circum flumina Nili

Scab] DtJl garab does not occur as a verb in the Hebrew Bible, but ^7^ gharb, in Arabic, signifies a distemper in the corner of the eye, {Castel.,) and may amount to the Egyptian ophthalmia, which is so epidemic and distressing in that country: some suppose the scurvy to be intended.

Itch] D'ln cheres, a burning itch, probably something of the erysipelatous kind, or what is commonly called <S/. Anlhony\^ fire.

Whereof thou canst not be healed. ] For as they were inflicted by God's justice, they could not of course be cured by human art.

Verse 28. The Lord shall smite thee with madness] \y^lM} shiggaon, distraction, so that thou shalt not know what to do.

shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not ^ gather the grapes thereof.

3 1 Thine ox shall he slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall he violently taken away from before thy face, and ^ shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall he given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue the7n.

32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes

And blindness] jHlj? ii;i>aro7i, blindness, both physical and mental; the 31^ garab, (ver. 27,) destroying their eyes, and the judgments of God confounding their understandings.

Astonishment] piTDn timmahon, stupidity and amazement. By the just judgments of God they were so completely confounded, as not to discern the means by which they might prevent or remove their calamities, and to adopt those which led directly to their ruin. How true is the ancient saying, Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat! " Those whom God is deter-, mined to destroy, he first infatuates." But this applies ' not exclusively to the poor Jews: how miserably infatuated have the powers of the continent of Europe i been, in all their councils and measures, for several years past! And what is the result? They have fallen— most deplorably fallen!

Verse 29. Thou shalt be only oppressed, dfc] Perhaps no people under the sun have been more oppressed and spoiled than the rebellious Jews. Indeed, this has been their portion, with but little intermission, for nearly 1,800 years. And still they grope at noon day, as the blind gropeth in darkness — they do not yet discover, notwithstanding the eff'ulgence of the light by which they are encompassed, that the rejection of their own Messiah is the cause of all their calamities.

Verse 30. Thou shalt betroth a wife, <5)-c.] Can any heart imagine any thing more grievous than the evils threatened in this and the following verses? To i be on the brink of all social and domestic happiness, and then to be suddenly deprived of all, and see an enemy possess and enjoy every thing that was dear to them, must excite them to the utmost pitch of distraction and madness. They have, it is true, grievously sinned; but, O ye Christians, have they not grievously. suffered for if? Is not the stroke of God heavy enough j upon them? Do not then, by unkind treatment or \ cruel oppression, increase their miseries. They are, above all others, the men who have seen affliction by the stroke of his rod; Lam. iii. 1.

Verse 32. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people] In several countries, particularly in Spain and Portugal, the children of the.Tews have been taken from them by order of govern-

A. M. 2553. shall look, and ^ fail with long- An.Ex.lsr.40. ing for them all the day long: ^^^^^- and there shall he no might in thine hand.

33 ^ The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up: and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

34 So that thou shalt be mad ^ for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

35 The Lord shall ^ smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

36 The Lord shall "= bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and ^ there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

37 And thou shalt become ^ an astonishment, a proverb, ^ and a by word, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.

38 ^ Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather hut little in; for ^ the locust shall consume it.

39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat

40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.

4 1 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but ' thou shalt not enjoy them; for ^ they shall go into captivity.

42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust ^ consume.

ment, and educated in the Popish faith. There have been some instances of Jewish children being taken from their parents even iri Protestant countries.

Verse 36-45. Can any thing be conceived more dreadful than the calamities threatened in these verses 1

Verse 48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies] Because they would not serve GOD, therefore they became slaves to men.

43 The stranger that is within a.m. 2553. thee shall get up above thee very An. Ex. isr. 40. high; and thou shalt come down ^^^^^-

44 "* He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: ° he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

45 Moreover ° all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

4 6 And they shall be upon thee p for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever-

47 '^ Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, ^ for the abundance of all things;

48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he ^ shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed

49 * The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, " as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not " understand;

50 A nation '^ of fierce countenance, ^ which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:

5 1 And he shall ^ eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed

52 And he shall ^besiege thee in all thy

As the eagle flieth] The very animal on all the Roman standards. The Roman eagle is proverbial.

Whose tongue thou shalt 7iot understand] The Latin language, than which none was more foreign to the structure and idiom of the Hebrew.

Verse 52. He — Nebuchadnezzar first, (2 Kings xxv. 1, 2, &c.,) and Titus next; shall besiege thee — beset thee round on every side, and cast a trench

A. M. 2553. gates, until thy high and fenced An. Ex. isr. 40. walls comc down, wherein thou

and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

53 And ^ thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own ^ body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which tlie Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

54 So that the man that is tender amonsr you, and very delicate, •= his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward ^ the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:

55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

56 The tender and delicate woman amonop you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, « her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

57 And toward her'"yoiuig one that cometh out s from between her feet, and toward her

around thee, viz., lines of circumvallation, as our Lord predicted; (see Matt. xxiv. 1, &c., and Luke xxi. 5, &.C.;) in all thy gales throughout all thy land — all thy fenced cities, which points out that their subjugation should be complete, as both Jerusalem and all their fortified places should be taken. This was done literally by Nebuchadnezzar and the Romans.

Verse 56. The tender and delicate woman] This was literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans; a woman named Mary, of a noble family, driven to distraction by famine, boiled and ate her own child! See a similar case 2 Kings vi. 29; and see on Lev. xxvi. 29.

Verse 57. Toward her young one — and toward her children which she shall bear] There seems to be a i species of tautology in the two clauses of this verse, which may be prevented by translating the last word, nn'bz/ shilyathah, literally, her sccondines, which is the \ meaning of the Arabic ^^ sala, not badly understood by the Septuagint, x'^P'-'^v avrric, the chorion or exterior j membrane, which invests the foetus in the womb; and still better translated by Luther, Irfc after oeOuct!), the after-birth; which saying of Moses strongly marks the deepest distress, when the mother is represented,

children which she shall bear: a. m. 2553. for she shall eat them for want An. e^. isr^io. of all things secretly in the siege ^^^^^^- and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, v that thou mayest fear ^ this glorious and fear

59 Then the Lord will make thy plagues

' wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even '. great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all ^ the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord ' bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

62 And ye ™ shall be left few in number, whereas ye were '^ as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

63 And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord ° rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord p will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught; and ye shall be plucked from off the

as feeling the most poignant regret that her child was brought forth into such a state of suffering and death; and 2dly, that it was likely, from the favourable circumstances after the birth, that she herself should survive her inlaying. No words can more forcibly depict the miseries of those dreadful times. On this ground I see no absolute need for Kennicott's criticism, who, instead of nn'S'tyjl ubeshilyathah, against her secondines, reads vh^if^y ubashelah, and she shall boil, and translates the 56th and 57th verses as follows: " The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter. 57. And she shall boil that which cometh out from between her feet, even her children which she shall bear, for she shall eat them, for want of all things, secretly." These words, says he, being prophetical, are fulfilled in 2 Kings vi. 29, for we read there that two women of Samaria having agreed to eat their own childre^i. one w-as actually boiled, where the very same word, IVf^ bashal, is used. See Kennicott's Dissertations on 1 Chion. xi., (fee, p. 421.

thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and ■■ there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

65 And • among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: ' but the Lord shall give thee there a trembhng heart, and failing of eyes, and '' sorrow of mind:

66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before

Verse 64. The Lord shall scatter thee among all peaple] How literally has this been fulfilled! The people of the Jews are scattered over every nation under heaven.

Verse 65. No ease — a trembling heart, and failing of eyes] The trembling of heart may refer to their state of continual insecurity, being, under every kind of government, proscribed, and, even under the most mild, uncertain of toleration and protection; and the failing of eyes, to their vain and ever-disappointed expectation of the Messiah.

Verse 68. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again\ That is, into another state of slavery and bondage similar to that of Egypt, out of which they had been lately brought. And there ye shall be sold, that is, he exposed to sale, or expose yourselves to sale, as the word or^iJ'DiTI hithmaccartem may be rendered; they were vagrants, and v\-ished to become slaves that they might be provided with the necessaries of life. And no man shall buy you; even the Romans thought

thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: j 67 '^ In the morning thou shalt say, Would 1 God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, W ould God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and ^ for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

68 And the Lord ^ shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, ^ Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye sHall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.