Verse 1. The wilderness of Sin] This desert lies
the nltccnln day oi the second An. Exod.isr. J. month after their departing out iJ^orZif.
worth supposes that this wilderness had its name from a strong city of Egypt called Sin, near which it lay. See Ezek. xxx! 15, 10. Before they came to the wilderness of Sin, they had a previous encampment by tb^
2 And the whole congregation
An. Exod. isr! 1. of the cliildrcn of Israel ' mur- Ijaror Zif. mured against Moses and Aaron, in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, ^ Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord, in the land of Egypt, ' when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain ^ bread from heaven for you; and tlie people shall go out, and gather ^ a certain rate every day, that I may ''prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which thej' bring in; and ' it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
The fifteenth, day of the second month^ This was afterwards called Ijar, and they had now left Egypt one month, during which it is probable they lived on the provisions they brought with them from Rameses, though it is possible they might have had a supply from the sea-coast. Concerning Mount Sinai, see the note on chap. xix. 1.
Verse 2. The ivhole congregation — murmured] This is an additional proof of the degraded state of the minds of this people; see the note on chap. xiii. 17. And this very circumstance affords a convincing argument that a people so stupidly carnal could not have been induced to leave Egypt had they not been persuaded so to do by the most evident and striking miracles. Human nature can never be reduced to a more abject state in this world than that in which the body is enthralled by political slavery, and the soul debased by tlie influence of sin. These poor Hebrews were both slaves and sinners, and were therefore capable of the meanest and most disgraceful acts.
Verse 3. The flesh pots] As the Hebrews were in a state of slavery in Egypt, they were doubtless fed in various companies by their task masters in particular places, where large pots or boilers were fixed for the purpose of cooking theu- victuals. To the.se there may be a reference in this place, and the whole speech only goes to prove that they preferred their bondage in Egypt to their present state in the wilderness; for they could not have been in a state of absolute want, as they had brought an abundance of flocks and herds with them out of Egypt.
Verse 4. / loill rain bread] Therefore this substance was not a production of the desert: nor was
6 And Moses and Aaron said A. M. 2513. unto all the children of Israel, An. Exod. isr.' 1. ''At even, then ye shall know ^'" "' ^'''- that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning, then ye shall see ' the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and "^ what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 And Moses said. This shall he when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmuring which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but " against the Lord.
9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, ° Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.
the dew that was the instrument of producing it common there, else they must have had this bread for a month before.
Verse 6. Ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out] After all the miracles they had seen they appear still to suppose that their being brought out of Egypt was the work of Moses and Aaron; for though the miracles they had already seen were convincing for the time, yet as soon as they had passed by they relapsed into their former infidelity. God therefore saw it necessary to give them a daily miracle in the fall of the manna, that they might have the proof of his Divine interposition constantly before their eyes. Thus they knew that Jehovah had brought them out, and that it was not the act of Moses and Aaron.
Verse 7. Ye shall see the glory of the Lord] Does it not appear that the glory of the Lord is here spoken of as something distinct from the Lord ] for it is said He (the glory) heareth your murmurings against the Lord; though the Lord may be here put for himself, the antecedent instead of the relative. This passage may receive some light from Heb. i. 3: Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, &c. And as St. Paul's words are spoken of the Lord Jesus, is it not likely that the words of Moses refer to him also? " No man hath seen God at any time;" hence we may infer that Christ was the visible agent in all the extraordinary and miraculous interferences which took place both in the patriarchal times and under the law.
Verse 8. In the evening flesh to eat] Via., the quails; and in the morning bread to the full, viz., the manna.
10 And it came to pass, as children of Israel: speak unto a.m. 2513
An. Eiod. isr. 1. Aaron spake unto the whole con- ^'" °' ^^^ gregationof the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord p appeared in the cloud.
1 1 And the Loud spake unto Moscs, saying,
Your murmurings are not against us] For we have not brought you up from Eg^'pt; but against the Lord, who, by his own miraculous power and goodness, has brought you out of your slavery.
Xerse 9. Come near before the Lord] This has been supposed to refer to some particular place, where the Lord manifested his presence. The great tabernacle was not yet built, but there appears to have been a small tabernacle or lent called the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which, after the sin of the golden calf, was always placed without the camp; see chap, xxxiii. 7: And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it The Tabernacle of the Congregation; and it came to pass that every one that sought the Lord went out unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation, lohich 7cas without the camp. This could not be that portable temple which is described chap, xxvi., &c., and which was not set up till the first day of the first month of the second year, after their departure from Egypt, (chap, xl.,) which was upwards of ten months after the time mentioned in this chapter; and notwithstanding this, the Israelites are commanded (ver. 34) to lay up an omer of the manna before the testimony, which certainly refers to an ark, tabernacle, or some such portable shrine, already in existence. If the great tabernacle be intended, the whole account of laying up the manna must be introduced here by anticipation, Moses finishing the account of what was afterwards done, because the commencement of those circumstances which comprehended the reasons of the fact itself took plat- now. See the note on ver. 34.
But from the reasonings in the preceding verses it appears that much infidelity still reigned in the hearts of the people; and in order to convince them that it was God and not Moses that had brought them out of Egypt, he (Moses) desired them to come near, or pay particular attention to some extraordinary manifestation of the Lord. And we are told in the tenth verse, that " as Aaron spake unto them, they looked toward the tcildemess, and behold the glory of the Lord appeared, and the Lord spake unto Moses," &c. Is not this passage explained by chap. xix. 9, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear, when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever?" May we not conclude that Mosefi invited them to come near before the Lord, and 80 witness his glory, that they might be convinced it was God and not he that led them out of Egypt, and that they ought to submit to him, and cease from their murmurings f It is said, chap. xix. 1 7, that Moses
shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.
1 3 And it came to pass, that at even » the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning "the dew lay round about the host.
brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. And in this instance there might have been a similar though less awful manifestation of the Divine presence.
Verse 10. As Aaron spake] So he now became the spokesman or minister of Moses to the Hebrews, as he had been before unto Pharaoh; according to what is written, chap. vii. 1, &c.
Averse 13. At even the quails came] rlZ' selav, from TnTS salah, to be quiet, easy, or secure; and hence the quail, from (heir remarkably living at ease and plenty among the corn. ".\n amazing number of these birds," says Hasselquist, Travels, p. 209, " come to Egypt at this time, (March,) for in this month the wheat ripens. They conceal themselves among the corn, but the Egyptians know that they are thieves, and when they imagine the field to be full of them they spread a net over the corn and make a noise, by which the birds, being frightened, and endeavouring to rise, are caught in the net in great numbers, and make a most delicate and agreeable dish." "Vhe Abbe Pluche tells us, in his Histoire du Ciel, that the quail was among the ancient Egyptians the emblem of safety and security.
" Several learned men, particularly the famous Lu dolf. Bishop Patrick, and Scheuch:er, have supposed that the D'lSiV selavim eaten by the Israelites were locusts. But not to insist on other arguments against this interpretation, they are expressly called "IN'J sheer, flesh. Psalm Ixxviii. 27, which surely locusts arc not; and the Hebrew word is constantly rendered by the Septuagint oprvyouriTpa, a large kind of quail, and by the Vulgate coturnices, quails. Compare Wisd. xvi. 2, xix. 12; Nvim. xi. 31, 32; Psa. cv. 40; and on Num. xi. observe that □"nrJSO keamathayim should be rendered, not two cubits high, but as Mr. Bate translates it, 'two cubits distant, (i. e., one from the other,) for quails do not settle like the locusts one upon another, but at small distances.' And had the quails lain for a day's journey round the camp, to the great height of two cubits, upwards of three feet, the people could not have been employed two days and a night in gathering them. The spreading them round the camp was in order to dry them in the burning sands for use, which is still practised in Egypt." See Parkhurst, sub voce r\hii! salah.
The difl[iculties which encumber the text, supposing these to be quails, led Bishop Patrick lo imagine them to be locusts. The difficulties are three: " 1. Their coming by a wind. 2. Their immense quantities, covering a circle of thirty or forty miles, two cubtt« thick. 3. Their being spread in the sun for drying, which would have been preposterous had they been quails, for it would have made them corrupt the sooner; but this is the principal w.iy of preparing locusts to keep for a month or more, when they are boiled or otherwise dressed." This difficulty he thinks interpreters pass over, who suppose quails to be intended in the te.xt. Mr. Harmer takes up the subject, removes the bishop's difficulties, and vindicates the common version.
" These difficulties appear pressing, or at least the two last; nevertheless, I have met with several passages in books of travels, which I shall here give an account of, that they may soften them; perhaps my reader may think they do more.
" No interpreters, the bishop complains, supposing they were quails, account for the spreading them out in the sun. Perhaps they have not. Let me then translate a passage of Maillet, which relates to a little island which covers one of the ports of Alexandria; ' It is on this island, which lies farther into the sea than the main land of Egypt, that the birds annually alight which come hither for refuge in autumn, in order to avoid the severity of the coM of our winters in Europe. There is so large a quantity of all sorts taken tliere, that after these little birds have been stripped of their feathers, and buried in the burning sands for about half a quarter of an hour, they are worth but two sols the pound. The crews of those vessels which in that season lie in the harbour of Alexandria, have no other meat allowed them.' Among other refugees of that time, Maillet elsewhere expressly mentions quails, which are, therefore, I suppose, treated after this manner. This passage then does what, according to the bishop, no commentator has done; it explains the design of spreading these creatures, supposing they were quails, round about the camp; it was to dry them in the burning sands in order to preserve them for use. So Maillet tells us of their drying fish in the sun of Egypt, as well as of their preserving others by means of pickle. Other authors speak of the Arabs drying camel's flesh in the sun and wind, which, though it be not at all salted, will if kept dry remain good a long while, and which oftentimes, to save themselves the trouble of dressing, they will eat raw. This is what St. Jerome may be supposed to refer to, when he calls the food of the Arabs carries semicruda. This drying then of flesh in the sun is not so preposterous as j: the bishop imagined. On the other hand, none of the authors that speak of their way of preserving locusts in the east, so far as I at present recollect, give any account of drying them in the sun. They are, according to Fellow, first purged with water and salt, boiled I in new pickle, and then laid up in dry salt. So, Dr. Russel says, the Arabs eat these insects when fresh, and also salt them up as a delicacy. Their immense quantities also forbid the bishop's believing they were quails; and in truth he represents this difficulty in all
lay ' a small round thing, as A. M. 2513. small as the hoar frost on the An. Exod. isr! 1.
its force, perhaps too forcibly. A circle of forty miles in diameter, all covered with quails to the depth of more than forty-three inches, without doubt is a startling representation of this matter: and I would beg leave to add that the like quantity of locusts would have been very extraordinary: but then this is not the representation of Scripture; it does not even agree with it; for such a quantity of either quails or locusts would have made the clearing of places for spreading them out, and the passing of Israel up and down in the neighbourhood of the camp, very fatiguing, which is not supposed.
" Josephus supposed they were quails, which he says are in greater numbers thereabouts than any other kinds of birds; and that, having crossed the sea to the camp of Israel, they who in common fly nearer the ground than most other birds, flew so low through the fatigue of their passage as to be within reach of the Israelites. This explains what he thought was meant by the two cuius from the face of the earth — their flying within three or four feet of the ground.
" And when I read Dr. Shaw's account of the way in which the Arabs frequently catch birds that they have tired, that is, by running in upon them and knocking them down with their zerwattys, or bludgeons, as we should call them, I think I almost see the Israelites before me pursuing the poor, fatigued, and languid quails.
" This is indeed a laborious method of catching these birds, and not that which is now used in Egypt; for Egmont and Heyman tell us, that in a walk on the shore of Egypt they saw a sandy plain several leagues in extent, and covered with reeds without the least verdure; between which reeds they saw many nets laid for catching quails, which come over in large flights from Europe during the month of September. If the ancient Egyptians made use of the same method of catching quails that they now practise on those shores, yet Israel in the wilderness, without these conveniences, must of course make use of that more inartificial and laborious way of catching them. The Arabs of Barbary, who have not many conveniences, do the same thing still.
" Bishop Patrick supposes a day's journey to be sixteen or twenty miles, and thence draws his circle with a radius of that length; but Dr. Shaw, on another occasion, makes a day's journey but ten miles, which would make a circle but of twenty miles in diameter. and as the text evidently designs to express it very indeterminately, as it were a dat/s journey, it might be much less.
" But it does not appear to me at all necessary to suppose the text intended their covering a circular or nearly a circular spot of ground, but only that these creatures appeared on both sides of the camp of Israel, about a day's journey. The same word is used Exod. vii. 24, where roundabout can mean only on each side of the Nile. And so it may be a little illustrated by
The Israelites see the manna,
hut know not what tl ti.
JJHr or Zif.
15 And when the children
saw it, they said
what Dr. Shaw tells us of the three flights of storks which he saw, when at anchor under the Mount Carinel, some of wliich were more.scattered, others more compact and close, eacli of which took up more than three hours in passing, and extendcil it.silf more than half a mile in breadth. Had this fliijht of quails been no greater than these, it might have been thought, like them, to have been accidental; but so unusual a flock as to extend fifteen or twenty miles in breadth, and to be two days and one niglit in passing, and this, in consequence of the declaration of Moses, plainly determined that tlic finger of God was there.
" A third thing which was a difl^culty with the bishop was their being brought with the wind. A hot southerly wind, it is supposed, brings the locusts; and why quails miglit not be brouglit by the instrumentality of a like wind, or what difTiculty there is in that supposition, I cannot imagine. As soon as the cold is felt in Europe, Maillet tells us, turtles, quails, and other birds come to Egypt in great numbers; but he observed that their numbers were not so large in those years in which the winters were favourable in Europe; from whence he conjectured that it is rather necessity than habit which causes them to change their climate: if so, it appears that it is the increasing heat that causes their return, and consequently that the hot sultry winds from the south must have a great effect upon them, to direct their flight northwards.
" It is certain that it is about the time that the south wind begins to blow in Egypt, which is in April, that many of these migratory birds return. Maillet, who joins quails and turtles together, and says that they appear in Egypt when the cold begins to be felt in Europe, does not indeed tell us when they return: but Thevenot may be said to do it; for after he had told his reader that tliey catch snipes in Egypt from January to March, he adds that in May they catch turtles, and that the turtles return again in September; now as tbev go together southward in September, we may believe Ihey return again northward mucli about the same time. Agreeably to which, Russel tells us that quails appear in abundance about Aleppo in spring and autumn.
"If natural history were more perfect we might speak to this point with great distinctness; at present, however, it is so far from being an objection to their being quails that their coming was caused by a wind, that nothing is more natural. The same wind would in course occasion sickness and mortality among the Israehtes, at least it does so in Egypt. The miraculousness then in this story does not lie in their dying, but the prophet's foretelling with exactness the coming of that wind, and in the prodigious numbers of the quails that came with it, together with the unusualness of the place, perhaps, where they alighted.
" Nothing more remains to lie considered but the
gathering so large a quantity as ten omers by those
that gathered fewest. But till that quantity is more
precisely ascertained, it is suflScicnt to remark that this
for they wist not what it was. A. M. 2513. And Moses said unto them. An. Exod.iw.l 'This is the bread which tiie 'J"°^^'^-
is only affirmed of those expert sportsmen among the people, who pursued the game two whole days and a whole night without intermission; and of them, and of them only, I presume it is to be understood that he that gathered fewest gathered ten omers. Ilasselquist, who frequently expresses himself in the most dubious manner in relation to these animals, at other times is very positive that, if they were birds at all, they were a species of the quail different from ours, which he describes as very much resembling the ' red partridge, but as not being larger than the turtle-dove.' To this he adds, that 'the Arabians carry thousands of them to Jerusalem about Whitsuntide, to sell there,' p. 442. In another place he tells us ' it is found in Judea as well as in Arabia Petraea, and that he found it between Jordan and Jericho,' p. 203. One would imagine that Ilasselquist means the scata, which is described by Dr. Russel, vol. ii., p. 194, and which he represents as brought to market at Aleppo in great numbers in May and June, though they are to be met with in all seasons.
" A whole ass-load of them, he informs us, has often been taken at once shutting a clasping net, in the abovementioned months, they are in such plenty." — Harmer, vol iv., p. 367.
Verse 14. Behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a smalt round thing] It appears that this small round thing fell with the dew, or rather the dew fell first, and this substance fell on it. The dew might have been intended to cool the ground, that the manna on its fall might not be dissolved; for we find from ver. 21, that the heat of the sun melted it. The ground therefore being sufliciently cooled by the dew, the manna lay unmelted long enough for the Israelites to collect a suflicient quantity for their daily use.
Verse 15. Thct/ said one to another. It is manna: for they tcist not what it was.] This is a most unfortunate translation, because it not only gives no sense, but it contradicts itself. The Hebrew Nin p man hu, literally signifies. What is this? for, says the text, they tvist not ivhat it was, and therefore they could not give it a name. Moses immediately answers the question, and says, This is the bread trhich the Lord hath given you to eat. From ver. 31 we learn that this substance was afterwards called p man, probably in commemoration of the question they had asked on its first appearance. Almost all our own ancient versions translate the words. What is this?
What this substance was we know not. It was nothing that was common to the wilderness. It is evident the Israelites never saw it before, for Mose8 says, Deut. viii. 3, 16: He fed thee with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; and it is very likely that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before; and by a pot of it being laid up in the ark, it is as likely that nothing of the kind ever appeared more, after the miraculous supply in the wilderness had ceased. It seems to have been created for the present occasion, and, like Him whom it typified.
the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, y an omer ^ for every man, according to the number of your " persons; take ye every man for the?n which are in his tents.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did mete it with an omer,
to have been the on/y thirty of the kind, the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man, as Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven, and was given for the life of the world. See John vi. 31-58.
Verse 16. An omer for every mmi] I shall here once for all give a short account of the measures of capacity among the Hebrews.
Omer, 1:d", from the root amar, to press, squeeze, collect, and bind together; hence a sheaf of corn — a multitude of stalks pressed together. It is supposed that the omer, which contained about three quarts English, had its name from this circumstance; that it was the most contracted or the smallest measure of things dry known to the ancient Hebrews; for the 3p kab, which was less, was not known till the reign of Jehoram, king of Israel, 2 Kings vi. 25. — Parkhurst. The EPHAH, nax or nS'N eiphah, from n£3X aphah, to bake, because this was probably the quantity which was baked at one time. According to Bishop Cumberland the ephah contained seven gallons, two quarts, and about half a pint, wine measure; and as the omer was the tenth part of Oie ephah, ver. 36, it must have '.ontained about six pints English.
The KAB, 3p, is said to have contained about the sixth part of a scah, or three pints and one third English.
The HOMER, Tin chomer, mentioned Lev. xxvii. 16, was quite a different measure from that above, and is a different word in the Hebrew. The chomer was the largest measure of capacity among the Hebrews, being equal to ten baths or ephahs, amounting to about eventy-five gallons, three pints, English. See Ezek..xlv. 11, 13, 14. Goodwin supposes that this measure derived its name from i:2n chamor, an ass, being the ordinary load of that animal.
The BATH, n^, was the largest measure of capacity next to the homer, of which it was the tenth part. It was the same as the ephah, and consequently contained about seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint, and is always used in Scripture as a measure of liquids.
The SEAH, nxD, was a measure of capacity for things dry, equal to about two gallons and a half English. See 2 Kings vii. 1, 16, 18.
The HiN, ]"n, according to Bishop Cumberland, was the one-sixth part of an ephah, and contained a little more than one gallon and two pints. See Exod.
•"he that gathered much had a.m. 2513. nothing over, and he that gather- An. Eiod. I»r! 1 ed little had no lack; they gather- l^'^o^Ztfed every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
30 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them
for liquids among the Hebrews: it contained about three quarters of a pint. See Lev. xiv. 10, 12.
Take ye — for them which are in his tents.] Some might have been confined in their tents through sickness or infirmity, and charity required that those who were in health should gather a portion for them. For though tlie psalmist says, Psa. cv. 37, There loas not one feeble person among their tribes, this must refer principally to their healthy state when brought out of Egypt; for it appears that there were many infirm among them when attacked by the Amalekites. See the note on chap. xvii. 8.
Verse 17. Some more, some lessl] According to their respective families, an omer for a man; and according to the number of infirm persons, whose wants they undertook to supply.
Verse 18. He that gathered much had nothing over] Because his gathering was in proportion to the number of persons for whom he had to provide. And some having fewer, others more in family, and the gathering being in proportion to the persons who were to eat of it, therefore he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack. Probably every man gathered as much as he could; and then when brought home and measured by an omer, if he had a surplus, it went to supply the wants of some other family, that had not been able to collect a sufficiency, the family being large, and the time in which the manna might be gathered, before the heat of the day, not being sufficient to collect enough for so numerous a household, several of whom might be so confined as not to be able to collect for themselves. Thus there was an equality, and in this light the words of St. Paul, 3 Cor. viii. 15, lead ns to view the passage. Here the 36th verse should come in: Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
Averse 19. Let no man leave of it till the morning^ For God would have them to take no thought for the morrow, and constantly to depend on him for their daily bread. And is not that petition in our Lord's prayer founded on this very circumstance. Give us day by day our daily bread?
Verse 20. It bred loomis] Their sinful curiosity and covetousness led them to make the trial; and they had a mass of the most loathsome putrefaction for their pains. How gracious is God! He is continually rendering disobedience and sin irksome to the transgressor; that finding his evil ways to be unprofitable, he may return to his Maker, and trust in God alone
22 And it came to pass, that on tlic sixth day they gallicred twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 And lie said unto them. This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is " the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to-daij, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which rcmaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not ^ stink, neither was there any worm therein.
Verse 22. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much'\ This they did that tliey might have a provision for the Sahl)ath, for on that day no manna fell, ver. 26, 27. MTiat a convincing miracle was this! No manna fell on the Sabbath! Had it been a natural production it would have fallen on the Sabbath as at other times; and had there not been a supernatural influence to keep it sweet and pure, it would have been corrupted on the Sabbath as well as on other days. By this series of miracles God showed his own power, presence, and goodness, 1. In sending the manna on each of the six days; 2. In sending 7ionc on the seventh, or Sabbath; 3. In preserving it from putrefaction when laid up for the use of that day, though it infallibly corrupted if kept over night on any other day.
Verse 23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath] There is nothing either in the text or context that seems to intimate that the Sabbath was now first given to the Israelites, as some have supjjosed: on the contrary, it is here spoken of as being perfectly well known, from its having been generally observed. The commandment, it is true, may be considered as being now renewed; because they might have supposed that in their unsettled state in the wilderness they might have been exempted from the observance of it. Thus we find, 1. That when God finished his creation, he instituted the Sabbath; 2. When he brought the peojile out of Egypt, he insisted on the strict observance of it; 3. When he gave the L.VW, he made it a tenth part of the whole, such importance has this institution in the eyes of the Supreme Being! On the supposed change of the Sabbath from what we call Sunday to Saturday, effected on this occasion, see the note on Deut. V. 15.
26 " Si.x days yc shall gather it; but on the seventh day, lohich is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long 'refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
the camp, and have generally supposed that no man should go out of the place, i. e., the city, town, or village in which he resides, any farther than one thousand cubits, about an English mile, which also is called a Sabbath day's journey, Acts i. 12; and so many cubits they consider the space round the city that constitutes its suburbs, which they draw from Num. xxxv. 3, 4. Some of the Jews have carried the rigorous observance of the letter of this law to such a length, that in whatever posture they find themselves on the Sabbath morning when they awake, they continue in the same during the day; or should they be up and happen to fall, they refuse even to rise till the Sabbath be ended! Mr. Stapleton tells a story of one Rabbi.Solomon, who fell into a slough on the Jewish Sab- I bath, Saturday, and refused to be pulled out, giving his ' reason in the following Leonine couplet: —
Sabbatha sancta colo, De stercore surgere nolo. " Out of this slough I will not rise, For holy Sabbath day I prize."
The Christians, finding him thus disposed, determined he should honour their Sabbath in the same place, and actually kept the poor man in the slough all Sunday, giving their reasons in nearly tlie same way: —
Sabbatha nostra guidem, Solomon, celebrabis ibidem. " In the same slough, thou stubborn Jew, Our Sabbath day thou shall spend too."
Tliis might have served to convince him of his folly, but certainly was not the likeliest way to convert him to Christianity.
Faby.\n, in his Chronicles, tells the following story of a case of this kind. "In this ycre also (1259) fell that happe of the lewe of Tewkysbury, which fell into a gongo upon the Satj-rday, and wolde not for reverence of liis sabbot day be pluckyd out; whereof heryng the Erie of Gloucetyr, that the lewc
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and ^ it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers mode with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandcth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
dyd so great reverence to his sabbot daye, thought he wolde doo as nioche unto his holy day, which was Sonday, and so kepte hym there tyll Monday, at whiche season he was foundyn dede." Then the earl of Gloucester murdered the poor man.
Verse 34. Laid it up lefore the testimony] The nn>' eduth or testimony belonged properly to the tabernacle, but that was not yet built. Some are of opinion that the tabernacle, built under the direction of Moses, was only a renewal of one that had existed in the patriarchal times. See the note on ver. 9. The word signifies reference to something heyond itself; thus the tabernacle, the manna, the tables of stone, Aaron's rod, &c., all bore reference and testimony to that spiritual good which was yet to come, viz., Jesus Christ and his salvation.
Verse 35. The children of Israel did eat manna forty years] From this verse it has been supposed that the book of E.Kodus was not written till after the miracle of the manna had ceased. But these words might have been added by Ezra, who under the direction of the Divine Spirit collected and digested the different inspired books, adding such supplementary., explanatory, and connecting sentences, as were deemed proper to complete and arrange the whole of the sacred canon. For previously to his time, according to the universal testimony of the Jews, all the books of the Old Testament were found in an unconnected and dispersed state.
\ erse 36. AVio an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.] About six pints, English. See the note on ver. 16. The true place of this verse seems to be immodiately after ver. 18, for here it has no connection.
1 On the miracle of the manna, which is the chief subject in this chapter, a good deal has already been said in the preceding notes. The sacred historian has given us the most circumstantial proofs that it was a supernatural and miraculous supply; that nothing of the kind had ever been seen before, and probably nothing like it had ever afterwards appeared. That it was a tvpe of our blessed Redeemer, and of the salva-
I ake a pot, and put an omer An. Exod. isr. 1. full of manna therein, and lay it ^'" °' ^'^' up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up ' before the testimony, to be kept.
35 And the children of Israel did eat manna ^ forty years, ' until they came to a land in habited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is iheteMh part of an ephah.
tion which he has provided for man, there can be no doubt, for in this way it is applied by Christ himself; and from it we may gather this genera! conclusion, that salvation is of the Lord. The Israelites must have perished in the wilderness, had not God fed them with bread from heaven; and every human soul must have perished, had not Jesus Christ come down from heaven, and given himself for the life of the world.
2. God would have the Israelites continually dependent on himself for all their supplies; but he would make them, in a certain way, workers with him. He provided the manna; they gathered and ate it. The first was God's work; the latter, their own. They could not produce the manna, and God would not gather it for them. Thus the providence of God appears in such a way as to secure the co-operation of man. Though man should plant and water, yet it is God who giveth the increase. But if man neither plant nor water, God will give no increase. We cannot do God's work, and he will not do ours. Let us, therefore, both in things spiritual and temporal, be workers together with HIM.
3. This daily supply of the manna probably gave rise to that petition, Give us to-day our daily bread. It is worthy of remark, 1. That what was left over night contrary to the command of God bred worms and stank; 2. That a double portion was gathered on the day preceding the Sabbath; 3. That this alone continued wholesome on the following day; and, 4. That none fell on the Sabbath! Hence we find that the Sabbath was considered a Divine in.stitution previously to the giving of the IMosaic law; and that God con tinned to honour that day by permitting no manna to fall during its course. Whatever is earned on the Sabbath is a curse in a man's property. They who WILL be rich, fall into tetnptation and into a snare, (5fC.; for, using illicit means to acquire lawful things, they bring God's curse upon themselves, and are drowned in destruction and perdition. Reader, dost thou work on the Sabbath to increase thy property? See thou do it not '. Property acquired in this way will be a curse both to thee and to thy posterity.
4. To show their chddren and children's children what God had done for their fathers, a pot of manna was laid up before the testimony. We should remember our providential and gracious deliverances in sucli a way as to give God the praise of his own grace. \n ungrateful heart is always associated witli aii unbelieving iniiul and an unholy life. Like Israel, we should consider with what bread God has fed our fathers, and see ttiat we have the same; the same Christ — the bread of life, the same doctrines, the same ordinances, and the same religious experience. How little are we benefitted by being Protestants, if we be not partakers of the Protestant faith! And how useless will even that faith be to u.=, if we hold the troth in unrighteousness! Our fathers had religion enough to enable them to burn gloriously fur the truth of God! Reader, hast thou so much of the life of God in thy soul, that thou couldst burn to ashes at the stake rathfcT tlian lose it 1 In a word, couldst thou be a martyr? Or hast thou so little grace to lose, that Ihy life would be more than an equivalent for thy loss? Where ia the manna on which thy fathers fed?
The Israelites journey from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, 1, where they murmur for lack of water, 2, 3. Moses asks counsel of God, i, who commands him to take his rod and smite the rock, 5, and promises that water should proceed from it for the people to drink, G. The place is called Massah and Meribah, 7. The Anialckitcs attack Israel in Rephidim, 8. Joshua is commanded to fight with them, 9. Moses, Aaron, an<i Hur, go to the top of a hill, and ivhilc Moses holds up his hands, the Israelites prevail; when he lets them down, Amalek prevails, 10, 11. Moses, being iveary, sits doum, and Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, 12. The Amalekitcs are totally routed, 13, and the event commanded to be recorded, 14. Moses builds an altar, and calls it Jehotah-nissi, 15. Amalek is threatened with continual wars, 16.
after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there luas no water for the people to drink.
2 ^ Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said. Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye " tempt the Lord?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people ^ murmured against Moses,
Verse 1. Pitched in Rephidim] In Num. xxxiii. 12-14 it is said, that when the Israelites came from Sin they encamped in Dnphkah, and next in Alush, after which they came to Rephidim. Here, therefore, two stations are omitted, probably because nothing of moment took place at either. See the notes on Num. xxxiii.
Verse 2. Whij chide ye with me?] God is your leader, complain to him; Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? As he is your leader, all your murmurings against me he considers as directed against himself; why therefore do ye tempt him? Has he nr)t given you sufficient proofs that he can destroy his enemies and support his friends? And is he not among you to do you good? ver. 7. Why therefore do ye doubt his power and goodness, and thus provoke him to treat you as his enemies 1
Verse 3. And the people murmured] The reader must not forget what has so often been noted relating to the degraded state of the minds of the Israelites. a 386
4 And Moses ' cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to ^ stone me. ■
5 And the Lord said unto Moses, f^ Go on before the people, and lake with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith '' thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, jmd go.
G ' Behold, I will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite
A strong argument however may be drawn from this in favour of their supernatural escape from Egypt. Had it been a scheme concerted by the heads of the people, provision would necessarily have been made for such exigencies as these. But as God chose to keep them constantly dependent upon himself for every necessary of life, and as they had Moses alone as their mediator to look to, they murnmred against him when brought into straits and difficulties, regretted Iheir having left Egypt, and expressed the strongest desire to return. This shows that they had left Egypt reluctantly; and as Moses and Aaron never appear to have any resources but those which came most evidently in a supernatural way, therefore the w hole exodus or depart urc from Egypt proves itself to have been no human contrivance, but a measiu-e concerted by God himself. Verse 6. I will stand before thee there, upon the rock in Horeb] Twrock,^^-ir\'hatstsur. It seems as if G od had directed the attention of Moses to a particular rock, with which he was well acquainted; for every part of the mount and its vicinity must have been weU ( 26* J
An. E.TOd. isr. 1. Water out 01 It, that the people 'J""*"™ may drink. And Moses did so known to Moses during the time he kept Jethro's flocks in those quarters. Dr. Priestley has left the following sensible observations upon this miracle: —
" The luminous cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence, would appear on the rock, and Horeb was prohably a part of the same mountain with Sinai. This supply of water, on Moses only striking the rock, where no water had been before nor has been since, was a most wonderful display of the Divine power. The water must have been in great abundance to supply tuw 77iillions of persons, which excluded all possibility of artifice or imposture in the case. The miracle must also have been of some continuance, no doubt so long as they continued in that neighhourhood, which was more than a year. There are sufficient traces of this extraordinary miracle remaining at this day. This rock has been visited, drawn, and described by Dr. Shaw, Dr. Pocock, and others; and holes and channels appear in the stone, which could only have been formed by the bursting out and running of the water. No art of man could have done it, if any motive could be supposed for the undertaking in such a place as this."
This miracle has not escaped the notice of the ancient Greek poets. Calliinachns represents Rhea bringing forth water from a rock in the same way, after the birth of Jupiter.
Xllti^ev opoQ aKrjTTTpa, tc Se ol Sixa vovXv dun-r/. Ek S' exeev jieya x^v/ia. Hymn ad Jov., ver. 31.
With her sceptre struck The yawning cliff: from its disputed height.4down the mount the gushing torrent ran. Prior.
The rock mentioned above has been seen and described by Norden, p. 144, 8vo.; Dr. Shaw, p. 314, 4to., where there is an accurate drawing of it; Dr. Pocock^ vol. i., p. 143, &c., where the reader may find some fine plates of Mount Horeb and Sinai, and four different views of the wonderful rock of Meribah. It is a vast block of red granite, fifteen feet long, ten broad, and twelve high. See Dr. Shaw's account at the end of Exodus. My nephew, who visited this rock in 1823, confirms the account of the preceding travellers, and has brought a piece of this wonderful stone. The granite is fine, and the quartz, mica, and feldspar equally mixed in it. This rock or block of granite, is the only type of Christ now existing.
A''erse 7. He called the name of the place Massah, and Mcrihah] DDO Massah signifies temptation or trial; an<l nnnn Meribah, contention or litigation. Prom 1 Cor. x. 4, we learn that this rook was a type of Christ, and their drinking of it is represented as
9 And Moses said unto " Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to moiTOW I will stand on the top of the hill,
their being made partakers of the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus; and yet many who drank fell and perished in the wilderness in the very act of disobedience! Reader, be not liigh minded, but fear!
On the smiting of the rock by the rod of Moses, Mr. Ainsworth has the following pious note: " This rock signified Christ, and is therefore called a spiritual Rock, 1 Cor. X. 4. He being smitten with Moses'^i rod, and bearing the curse of the law for our sins, and by the preaching of the Gospel crucified among his people. Gal. iii. 1, from him floweth the spiritual driidv wherewith all believing hearts are refreshed." John vii. 37, and Isa. liii. 1-3.
Verse 8. Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel] The Amalekites seem to have attacked the Israelites in the same way and through the same motives that the wandering Arabs attack the caravans which annually pass through the same desert. It does not appear that the Israelites gave them any kind of provocation, they seem to have attacked them merely through the hopes of plunder. The Amalekites were the posterity of Amalek, one of the dukes of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and consequently Israel's brother. Gen. xxxvi. 15, 16.
Fought with Israel] In the most treacherous and dastardly manner; for they came at the rear of the camp, smote the hindmost of the people, even all that were feeble behind, lohen they were faint and weary; see Deut. xxv. 18. The baggage, no doubt, was the object of their avarice; but finding the women, children, aged and infirm persons, behind with the baggage, they smote them and took away their spoils.
Verse 9. Moses said unto Joshua] This is the first filace in which Joshua the son of Nun is mentioned: the illustrious part which he took in Jewish affairs, till the settlement of his countrymen in the promised land, is well known. He was captain-general of the Hebrews under Moses; and on this great man's death he became his successor in the government. Joshua was at first called Iloshea, Num. xiii. 16, and afterwards called Joshua by Moses. Both in the Septuagint and Greek Testament he is called Jesus: the name signifies Saviour; and he is allowed to have been a very expressive type of our blessed Lord. He fought with and conquered tlie enemies of his people, brought them into the promised land, and divided it to them by lot. The par.allel between him and the Saviour of the world is too evident to require pointing out.
Top of the hill] Probably some part of Horeb or Sinai, to which thev were then near.
ii''""^'(- 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fouglit witli Amalck: and Moses, Aaron, and Hiir went up to the top of the hill.
1 1 And it came to pass, when Moses i held ' up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses' hands were 'heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed
Verse 1 0. Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up] It is very likely that tlio Hur mentioned here is the same with that Hur mentioned 1 Chron. ii. 19, who appears from the chronolojrv in that chapter to have been the son of Caleb, the son of Ezron, the son of Pharc:, the son of Judah. The rabbins and Josephus say he was the brother-in-law of Moses, having married his sister Miriam, lie was a person in whom Moses put much confidence; for he left him conjoint governor of the people with Aaron, when he went to confer with God on the mount, chap. sxiv. 14. His grandson Bezaleel was the chief director in the work of the tabernacle; see chap. xxxi. 2—5.
Verse 1 1. When Moses held up his hand] We cannot understand this transaction in any literal way; for the lifting np or letting down the hands of Moses could not, humanly speaking, influence the battle. It is likely that he held up the rod of God in his hand, ver. 9, as an ensign to the people. We have already seen that in prayer the hands were generally lifted up and spread out, (see the note on chap. ix. 29,) and therefore it is likely that by this act prayer and snppliration are intended. The Jerusalem Targum says, " When Moses held up his hands in prayer, the house of Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hands yV-om prayer, the house of Amalek prevaded." We may therefore conclude, that by holding up the hands in this case these two things were intended; 1. That hereby a reference was made to God, as the source whence all help and protection must come, and that on him alone they must depend. 2. That prayer and supplication to God are essentially necessary to thoir prevalence over all their enemies. It is indisputably true that, while the hands are stretched out, that is, while the soul exerts itself in prayer and supplication to God,.we are sure to conquer our spiritual adversaries; but if our hands become heavy — if we restrain prayer before (Jod, Amalek will prevail — every spiritual foe, every internal corruption, will gain ground. Several of the fathers consider Moses, with his strctchcd-out hands, as a figure of Christ on the cross, siiflcring for mankind, and getting a complete victor}' over sin and Satan.
A'^erse 1 3. Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people] Amalek might have been the name of the ruler of this oeople continued down from their ancestor, (see on up his hands, the one on the one A.M. 2513. side, and the other on the other An. Exod Ur. 1. side; and his hands were steady ij" Q' Zif. initil the going down of the sun.
1 3 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 And tlie Lord said unto Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for ' I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
15 And Moses built an altar, and called
ver. S,) as Pharaoh was the name of all succeeding kings in Egypt. If this were the case, then Amalek and his people mean the prince and the army that fought under him. But if Amalek.stand here for the Amalekites, then his people must mean the confederates he had employed on this occasion.
Verse 14. Write this for a memorial in a look] This is the first mention of writing on record: what it signified, or how it was done, we cannot tell. But it is evident that either this passage is introduced here instead of Deut. xxv. 17, by way of anticipation, at that by the words "(SD 303 kethob and sepher was intended only a monumental declaration of the defeat of Amalek by Joshua, by some action or symbolical representation; for it is immediately subjoined, " And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jchovahnissi." See Dr. A. Bayley, and see the note on chap. XXX. It is very likely that the first regular alphabetical writing in the world was that written by the finger of God himself on the two tables of stone. What is said here was probably by way of anticipation, or means some other method of registering events than by alphnhetical characters, if we allow that God gave the first specimen of regular writing on the tables of stone, which did not take place till some time after this.
Rehearse it in the ears of Joshua] Thus showing that Joshua was to succeed Moses, and that this charge should be given to every succeeding governor.
/ will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek] This threatening was accomplished by Sal'L, 1 Sam. XV. 3, &c., four hundred and twelve years af^er. Judgment is God's strange work; but it must take place when the sins which incensed it are neither repented of nor forsaken. This people, by their continued transgressions, proved themselves totally unworthy of a political existence; and therefore said God to Saul, Go, and utterly destroy the sinnkrs the Amalekites; 1 Sam. XV. 18. So their continuance in sin was the ■ cause of their final destruction. ■
Verse 15. Jehovah-nissi] Jehovah is my ensign or banner. The hands and rod of Moses were held up as soldiers are wont to hold up their standards in the fl time of battle; and as these standards bear the arms ~ of the countr}', the soldiers are said to fight under that banner, i. e., under the direction and in the defence of that government. Thus the Israelites fought under the direction of God, and in tlie defence of his truth; and therefore the name of Jehovah became the armorial bearing of the whole congregation. By his direction they fought, and in his name and strength they conquered; each one feeling himself, not his own, but the Lord's soldier.
Verse 16. The Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have ivar with Amalek, <SfC.'\ This is no translation of the words nonSa TV 33 ^y T ^3 hi yad al kes yah milchamah, which have been variously rendered by different translators and critics; the most rational version of which is the following: Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of God, therefore loill I have war with Amalek from generation to generation. This gives a tolerably consistent sense, yet still there Is considerable obscurity in the passage. Houbigant, a most judicious though bold critic, supposes that, as 'DJ nin' Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah my ensign, was spoken of immediately before, 03 kes, a throne, in this verse, is an error of some transcriber for D3 nes, an ensign, which might be readily occasioned by the great similarity between the 3 caph and the J nun. He thinks faf her that the two letters n' yaA, which are supposed to be here a contraction of the word niiT' Yehovah, are separated, the ' yod from the D3 nes, which should de written 'DJ nissi, and the n he, from nonSo milchamah, which should be written nonS'Dn hammilchamah, and then the whole verse will run thus: For the hand shall be upon the ensigns of war unto the Lord, against Amalek for ever, i. e., God makes now a declaration of war against the Amalekites, which shall continue till their final destruction. The conjecture of Mr. Julius Bate, in his Literal Translation of the Pentateuch, deserves attention. He supposes that, as 03 cos signifies a cup, and a cup is emblematically used for wrath, on one of the stones of the, altar, mentioned in the preceding verse, a hand holding a cup was sculptured, this being a memorial, according to the cu.stom of hieroglyphical writing, that the Lord would con-
"" the Lord halh sworn that the a. m. 2513. Lord will have war with Amalek, An. Exod. isr.' 1. from generation to generation. Ijar or Zii.
tinue the cup of wrath, portending continual war, against Amalek for ever. I prefer HoubiganVs exposition.
1. This first victory of Israel must have inspired them with a considerable measure of confidence in God, and in his servant Moses. Though God alone could give them the victory, yet it was necessary to show them that it was by the influence of Moses they got it. Moses could not deliver Amalek into their hands; yet if Moses did not continue to hold up his hands, i. e., to pray, Amalek must prevail. God, therefore, wrought this work in such a way as to in struct the people, promote his own glory, and secure the true honour of his servant. The Divine Being always performs the greatest number possible of ends, by the fewest and simplest means. In every work of God there is as much of wisdom and economy, as there is of sovereign uncontrolled power.
a. It is not probable that the people whom Joshua chose out to lead against Amalek were unarmed; and we have already seen that it is not at all likely that they came armed out of Egypt. And as the whole circumstances of this case show that those who fought against the Amalekites were properly equipped for the fight, we may then safely presume that they got their arms from the Egyptians, whose bodies were thrown on the shore after having been overwhelmed in the Red Sea. Thus, what was a judgment in the one case, was a most gracious providence in the other. Judgment on GoA^sfoes is mercy to \\\s friends.
3. Of the efficacy of prayer we have already had the most striking examples. He who has the spirit of prayer, has the highest interest in the court of heaven; and the only way to retain if, is to keep it in constant employment. Apostasy begins in the closet: no man ever backslid from the life and power of Christianity who continued constant and fervent, especially in private prayer. He who prays rcilhout ceasing is likely to rejoice evermore.
lethro, called the father-in-law of Moses, hearing of the deliverance lohich God had granted to Israel, 1, look Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, and brought them to Moses, when the Israelites were encamped near Horeb, 2—5. He sends to Moses, announcing his arrival, 6. Moses goes out to meet him, 7, and gives him a history of God^s dealings loith the Israelites, 8. Jethro greatly rejoices, and makes striking observations on the power and goodness of God, 9—1 1. He offers burnt-offerings and sacrifices to Jehovah, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel feast with him, 12. The next day Jethro, observing how much Moses was fatigued by being obliged to sit as judge and hear causes from morning to evening, 13, inquires why he did so, 14. Moses answers, and shows that he is obliged to determine causes between man and man, and to teach them the statutes and laws of God, 15, 16. Jethro finds fault, and counsels him to appoint men ivho fear God, love truth, and hate covetousness, to be judges over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, to judge and determine in all smaller matters, and refer only the greater and most important to himself, 17-22; and shows that this plan ivill be advantageous both to himself and to the people, 23. Moses hearkens to the counsel of Jethro, and appoints proper officers over the people, ivho enter upon their functions, detertnine all minor causes, and refer only the most difficult to Moses, 2i-26. Jethro, who returns to his own country, 27.
done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and
3 And her '' two sons; of whicli the " name of the one was ^ Gershom; for he said.
Verse 1. When Jethro, the priest of Midian, <]fc.] Concerning this person and liis several names, see the notes on chap. ii. 15, 16, 18; iii. 1; and iv. 20, 24. Jethro was probably the son of Reuel, the father-inlaw of Moses, and consequently the brother-in-law of Moses; for the word [nn cholhen, which we translate father-in-law, in this chapter means simply a relative by marriage. See the note on chap. iii. 1.
Verse 2. After he had sent her bad] Why Zipporah and her two sons returned to Midian, is not certainly known. From the transaction recorded chap. iv. 20, 24, it seems as if she had been alarmed at the danger to which the life of one of her sons had been exposed, and fearing worse evils, left her husband and returned to her father. It is however possible that Moses, foreseeing the troubles to which his wife and children were likely to be exposed had he taken them down to Egypt, sent them back to his father-in-law till it should please God to deliver his people. Jethro, now finding that God had delivered them, and totally discomfited the Egyptians, their enemies, thought it proper to bring Zipporah and her sons to Moses, while he was in the vicinity of Horeb.
Verse 3. The name of the one wslS Gershom] See the note on chap. ii. 22.
Verse 5. Jethro — came with his sons] There are several reasons to induce us to "believe that the fact related here is out of its due clironological order, and that Jethro did not come to Moscs till the beginning of the second year of the exodus, (see Num. x. 1 1,) some time after the tabernacle had been erected, and the Hebrew commonwealth established, both in things civil and ecclesiastical. This opinion is founded on the following reasons: —
1. On this verse, where i»iis said that Jethro came to Moses while he was encamped at the mount of God. Now it appears, from chap. xix. 1, 2, that they were not yet come to Horeb, the mount of God, and that they did not arrive there till the third month after their departure from Egypt; and the transactions with which this account is connected certainly took place in the second month; see chap. xvi. 1.
2. Moses, in Deut. i. 6, 0, 10, 12-15, relates that when they were about to depart from Horeb, which.vas on the 20th day of the second month of the second year from their leaving Egypt, that he then complained that he was not able to bear the burden alone of
I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other 'J" °' ^'''- loas e Eliezer; for the God of my father,.^nid he, ivas mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at '' the mount of God:
the government of a people so numerous; and that it was at that time that he established judges and captains over thousands a,ni hundreds ■3J\A fifties and tens, which appears to be the very transaction recorded in this place; the measure itself being recommended by Jethro, and done in consequence of his advice.
3. From Num. x. 11, 29, &c., we find that when the cloud was taken up, and the Israelites were about to depart from Horeb, that Moses addressed Hobab, who is supposed to have been the same as Jethro, and who then was about to return to Midian, his own country, entreating him to stay with them as a guide while they travelled through the wilderness. It therefore seems necessary that the transaction recorded in this chapter should be inserted Num. x., between the 10th and 11th verses.
4. It has been remarked, that shortly after they had departed from Sinai the dispute took place between Miriam, Aaron, and Moses, concerning the.iDthiopian woman Zipporah whom he had married, (see Num. xii. I, &c.;) and this is supposed to have taken place shortly after she had been brought back by Jethro.
5. In the discourse between Moses and Jethro, mentioned in this chapter, we find that Moses speaks of the statutes and laws of the Lord as things already revealed and acknowledged, which necessarily implies that these laws had already been given, (vcr. 16,) which we know did not take place till several months after the transactions mentioned in the preceding chapters.
6. Jethro offers bumt-offerinffs and sacrifices to God apparently in that way in which they were commanded in the law. Now the law respecting burntofferings was not given till after t\\e transactions mentioned here, unless we refer this chapter to a time pesterior to that in which it appears in this place. See the note on ver. 12.
From all these reasons, but particularly from the two first and the two last, it seems most likely that this chapter stands out of its due chronological order, and therefore I have adjusted the chronology in tiie margin to the time in which, from the reasons above alleged, I suppose these transactions to have taken place; but the matter is not of much importance, and the reader is at liberty to follow the common opinion..\s Moses had in the precedmg chapter related the war with Amaiek and the curse under which they were
An. Exod. isr.2. thy tather-in-law Jethro am come ^^^ "'' ^'^- unto tliee, and th)^ wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses ' went out to meet his fatherin-law, and did obeisance, and '' kissed him; and they asked each other of tlieir ' welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LoKD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had "come upon them by the way, and how the Lord "delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he
laid, he may be supposed to have introduced here the account concerning Jethro the Midianite, to show that he was free from that curse, although the Midianites and the Kenites, the family of Jethro, were as one people, dwelling with the Amalekites. See Judg. i. 16; 1 Chron. ii. 55; 1 Sam. xv. 6. For although the Kenites were some of those people whose lands God had promised to the descendants of Abraham, (see Gen. XV. 18, 10,) yet, in consideration of Jethro, the relative of Moses, all of them who submitted to the Hebrews were suffered to live in their own country; the rest are supposed to have taken refuge among the Edomites and Amalekites. See Calmet, Locke, dfc.
Averse 6. And he said unto Moses\ That is, by a messenger; in consequence of which Moses went out to meet him, as is stated in the next verse, for an interview had not yet taken place. This is supported by reading VilT\ hinneh, behold, for 'JX ani, I, which is the reading of the Septuagint and Syriac, and several Samaritan MSS.; instead therefore of /, thy father, we should read. Behold thy father, &c. — KennicotCs Remarks.
Verse 7. And did oheisance\ Tini^'l vaiyishtachu, he bowed himself down, (see on Gen. xvii. 3, and Exod. iv. 31;) this was the general token of respect. And kissed him; the token of friendship. And they asked each other of their welfare; literally, and they inquired, each man of his neighbour, concerning peace or prosperity; the proof of affectionate intercourse. These three things constitute good breeding and politeness, accompanied with sincerity.
And they came inhi the tent.] Some think that the tsbcrnacle is meant, which it is likely had been erected before this time; see the note on ver. 5. Moses raight have thought proper to take his relative first to the house of God, before he brought him to his own tent.
tft Jehovah (ver. 10) is a striking proof of it; he first
be the Loud, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
1 1 Now I know that the Lord is p greatei than all gods: 1 for in the diing wherein they dealt "■ proudly he ivas above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law, ^ before
blesses God for the preservation of Moses, and next for the deliverance of the people from their bondage.
Verse 1 1. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods] Some think that Jetliro wafe noio converted to the true God; but it is very probable that he enjoyed this blessing before he knew any thing of Moses, for it is not likely that Moses would have entered into an alliance with this family had they been heathens. Jethro no doubt had the true patriarchal religion.
Wherein they dealt proudly] Acting as tyrants over the people of God; enslaving them in the most unprincipled manner, and still purposing more tyrannical acts. He was above them — he showed himself to be infinitely superior to all their gods, by the miracles which he wrought. A^arious translations have been given of this clause; the above I believe to be the sense.
Verse 12. Jethro — took aburnt-ojfering] TVl'J olah. Though it be true that in the patriarchal times we read of a burnt-offering, (see Gen. xxii. 2, &c.,) yet we only read of one in the case oi Isaac, and therefore, though this offering made by Jethro is not a decisive proof that the law relative to burnt-offerings, &c., had already been given, yet, taken with other circumstances in this account, it is a presumptive evidence that the meeting between Moses and Jethro took place after the erection of the tabernacle. See the note on ver. 5.
Sacrifices for God] D'n^r zebachim, slain beasts, as the word generally signifies. We have already seen that sacrifices were instituted by God himself as soon as sin entered into our world; and we see that they were continued and regularly practised among all the people who had the knowledge of the only true God, from that time until they became a legal establishment.. Jetliro, who was a, priest, (chap. ii. 16,) h.id a right to offer these sacrifices; nor can there be a doubt of his being a worshipper of the true God, for those Kenites, from whom the Rechabites came, were descended from him; 1 Chron. ii. 55. See also Jer. xxxv.
And Aaron came, and all the elders of hrael, to eat bread] The humt-offering was wholly consumed; every part was considered as the Lord's portion, and
An. K.\oil. isr. 2. the niorrow, that Moses sat to 'J" °^ ^''^^ judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father-in-law saw all thai he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by tiicc, from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because ' the people come unto me to inquire of God:
1 6 Wiicn they have " a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between ^ one and
17 And Moses' father-in-law said onto him. The thing that thou doest is not good.
18=" Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too hea\-y for thee; ^ thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and ^ God shall be with thee: Be thou '^ for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest '' bring the cause unto God:
20 And thou shalt "^ teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them '' the way
therefore it was entirely burnt up. Tlie other sacrifices mentioned here were such that, after the blood had been poured out before God, the officers and assistants might feed on the flesh. Thus, in ancient times, contracts were made and covenants sealed; see the notes on Gen. xv. 13, &c. It is very likely, therefore, that the sacrifices offered on this occasion, were those on the flesh of which Aaron and the ciders of Israel feasted with Jethro.
Before God.^ Before the tabernacle, where God dwelt; for it is supposed that the tabernacle was now erected..See on ver. 5; and see Deut. xii. 5-7, and 1 Chron. xxix. 21, 22, where the same form of speech, before the Lord, is used, and plainly refers to his manifested presence in the tabernacle.
Verse 13. To judge the people] To hear and determine controversies between man and man, and to give them instruction in things appertaining to God.
From the morning unto the evening.] Moses was obliged to sit all day, and the people were continually coming and going.
Verse 15. The people come unto me to inquire of God] To know the mind and will of God on the subject of tlieir inquiries. Moses was the mediator between God and the people; and as they believed that all justice and judgment must come from him, therefore they came to Moses to know what God had spoken.
Verse 16.7 do mnle them know the statutes of God, and his laws.] These words are so very particular that tliey leave little room for doubt that the law had been given. Such words would scarcely have been used had not the statutes and laws been then in existence. And this is one of the proofs that the transaction mentioned here stands out of its due chronological order; see on ver. 5.
Verse 18. Thou will surehj wear away] 73n 73J nabol libbol, in wearing aivay, thou wilt wear away — Dy being thus continually employed, thou wilt soon become /ina//y exhausted. And this people that is with thee; as if he had said, " Many of them are obliged to wait so long for the determination of their suit that their patience must be soon necessarily worn out, as there is no one to hear ever)' cause but thyself."
Verse 19. / will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee] Jethro seems to have been a man of great understanding and prudence. His advice to Moses was most appropriate and excellent; and it was probably given under the immediate inspiration of God, for after such sacrificial rites, and public acknowledgment of God, the prophetic spirit might be well expected to descend and rest upon him. God could have showed Moses the propriety and necessity of adopting such measures before, bat he chose in this case to help man by man, and in the present instance a permanent basis was laid to consolidate the imion of the two families, and prevent all future misunderstandings.
Verse 20. Thou shalt teach them ordinances] D'pH chukkim, all such precepts as relate to the ceremonies of religion and political economy. And laws, minn, hattoroth, the instructions relative to the whole system of morality.
And shalt show them the way] ■l^^^ ns eth hadderech, TH.vT very way, that only way, which God himself has revealed, and in which they should walk in order to please him, and get their souls everlastingly saved.
And the work that they must do.] For it was not suflicient that they should know their duty both to God and man, but they must do it too; pwi' " yaasun, they must do it diligently, fervently, effectually; for the paragogic ] nun deepens and extends the meaning of the verb.
What a very comprehensive form of a preacher's duty docs this verse e.vhibit! 1. He must instruct the people in the nature, use, and importance of the ordinances of religion. 2. He must lay before them the whole moral laic, and their obligations to fulfil all its precepts. 3. He must point out to each his particular duty, and what is e.\pected of him in his situation, connections, &c. And, 4. He must set them all their work, and see that they do it. On such a plan as this he will have full opportunity to show the people, 1. Their sin, ignorance, and folly; 2. The
Moses hearkens to Jethro's counsel, CHAP. XVIII. and appoints judges over the pe(^le.
A.M. 2514. wherein they must walk, and An. Exod. isr! 2. ° the work tliat they must do.
Ijai or Zif. 2 1 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people ^ able men, such as ^ fear God, '' men of truth, ' hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people '' at all seasons: ^ and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and ■" they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God commamd thee so, then thou shalt be ° able
pure and holy law which they have broken, and by which they are condemned; 3. The ^race o/ Gorf that bringeth salvation, by which they are to be justified and finally saved; and, 4. The necessity of showing their faith by their toorh; not only denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, but living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Verse 21. Able men] Persons of wisdom, discernment, judgment, prudence, and fortitude; for who can be a ruler without these qualifications?
Such as fear God] Who are truly religious, without which they will feel little concerned either for the bodies or souls of the people.
Men of truth] Honest and true in their own hearts and lives; speaking the truth, and judging according to the truth.
Hating covetousness] Doing all for God's sake, and love to man; labouring to promote the general good; never perverting judgment, or suppressing the testimonies of God, for the love of money or through a base, man-pleasing spirit, but expecting their reward from the mercy of God in the resurrection of the just. Rulers of thousands, cj-c] Millenaries, centurions, quinquagenaries, and decurions; each of these, in all probability, dependent on that officer immediately above himself. So the decurion, or ruler over ten, if he found a matter too hard for him, brought it to the quinquagenary, or ruler of fifty; if, in the course of the exercise of his functions, he found a cause too complicated for him to decide on, he brought it to the centurion, or ruler over a hundred. In like manner the centurion brought his difficult case to the millenary, or ruler over a thousand; the case that was too hard for him to judge, he brought to Moses; and the case that was too hard for Moses, he brought immediately to God. It is likely that each of these classes had a court composed of its own members, in which causes were heard and tried. Some of the rabbins have sup-
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
25 And P Moses chose able men out of aU Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they 1 judged the people at all seasons: the ■■ hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and ^ he went his way into his own land.
posed that there were 600 rulers of thousands, 6000 rulers of hundreds, 12,000 rulers of fifties and 60,000 rulers of tens; making in the whole 78,600 officers. But Josephus says (Antiq., lib. iii., chap. 4) that Moses, by the advice of Jethro, appointed rulers over myriads, and then over thousands; these he divided into five hundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties; and appointed rulers over each of these, who divided them into thirties, and at last into twenties and tens; that each of these companies had a chief, who took his name from the number of persons who were under his direction and government. Allowing what Josephus states to be correct, some have supposed that there could not have been less than 129,860 officers in the Israelitish camp. But such computations are either fanciful or absurd. That the people were divided into thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens, we know, for the text states it; but we cannot tell precisely how many of such divisions there were, nor, consequently, the number of officers.
Verse 23. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee] Though the measure was obviously of the utmost importance, and plainly recommended itself by its expediency and necessity; yet Jethro very modestly leaves it to the wisdom of Moses to choose or reject it; and, knowing that in all things his rela live was now acting under the immediate direction of God, intimates that no measure can be safely adopted without a positive injunction from God himself. As the counsel was doubtless inspired by the Divine Spirit, we find that it was sanctioned by the same, for Moses acted in every respect according to the advice he had received.
Verse 27. And Moses let his father-in-law depart] But if this be the same transaction with that mentioned Num. X. 29, &c., we find that it was with great reluctance that Moses permitted so able a counsellor to leave him; for, having the highest opinion of his judgment, experience, and discretion, he pressed him to stay with them, that he might be instead of eyes «• them in the desert. But Jetliro chose rather to return to his own country, wliere probably his family were so settled and circumstanced that they could not be conveniently removed, and it was more his duty to stay with them, to assist them with his counsel and advice, than to travel with the Israelites. Many others might be found that could be eyes to the Hebrews in the desert, but no man could be found capable of being a father to his family, but himself. It is well to labour for the public good, but our own families are the first claimants on our care, attention, and lime. He who neglects his own household on pretence of labouring even for the good of the public-, has surely denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
It is strange that after this we hear no more of Zipporah! \Miy is she forgotten? Merely because she was the u-ife of Moses; for he chose to conduct himself so that to the remotest ages there should be the utmost proofs of his disinlerestedness. While multitudes of the families of Israel are celebrated and dignified, his own he writes in the dust. He had no interest but that of God and his people; to promote this, he employed his whole time and iiis uncommon talents. His body, his soul, his whole life, were a continual offering to God. They were always on the Divine altar; and God had from his creature all the praise, glory, and honour that a creature could possibly give. Like his great antitype, he went about doing good; and God was with him. The zeal of God's house consumed him, for in that house, in all its concerns, we have the testimony of God himself that he teas faithful, Heb. iii. 2; and a higher character was never given, nor can be given of any governor, sacred or civil. Ho made no provision even for his own sons, Gershom and Eliczer; they and their families were incorporated with the Levites, 1 Chron. xxiii. 14, and had no higher employment than that of taking care of the tabernacle and the tent, Num. iii. 31-26, and merely to serve at the tabernacle and to carri/ burdens, Num. iv. 24—28. No history, sacred or profane, has been able to produce a complete parallel to the disinterestedness of Moses. This one consideration is sufficient to refute every charge of imposture brought against him and his laws. There never was an imposture in the world (says Dr. Pbideal'X, Letter to the Deists) that had not the following characters: —
3. Both of these must necessarily appear in the very contexture of the imposture itself.
contain some palpable falsities, which will discover the falsity of all the rest.
1. The keenest-eyed adversary of Moses has never been able to fix on him any carnal interest. No gratification of sensual passions, no accumulation of wealth, no aggrandizement of his family or relatives, no pursuit of worldly honour, has ever been laid to his charge.
2. His life was unspotted, and all his actions the oflspring of the purest benevolence.
3. As his own hands were pure, so were the hands of those whom he associated with himself in the work.
4. No palpable falsity has ever been detected in his writings, though they have for their subject the most complicate, abstruse, and diiBcult topics that ever came under the pen of man.
. 5. No craft, no fraud, not even what one of his own countrymen thought he might lawfully use, innocent guile, because he had to do with a people greatly degraded and grossly stupid, can be laid to his charge. His conduct was as open as the day; and though continually watched by a people who were ever ready to murmur and rebel, and industrious to find an excuse for their repeated seditious conduct, yet none could be found either in his spirit, private life, or public conduct.
6. None ever came after to say, " We have joined with Moses in a plot, we have feigned a Divine autho rity and mission, we have succeeded in our innocent imposture, and now the mask may be laid aside." The whole work proved itself so fully to be of God, that even the person who might wish to discredit Moses and his mission, could find no ground of this kind to stand on. The ten plagues of Egj'pt, the passage of the Red Sea, the destruction of the king of Egypt and his immense host, the quails, the rock of Horeb, the supernatural supply by the forty years' manna, the continual miracle of the Sabbath, on which the preceding day's manna kept good, though, if thus kept, it became putrid on any other day, together with the constantly attending supernatural cloud, in its threefold ofllce of a guide by day, a light by night, and a covering from the ardours of the sun, all, all invincibly proclaim that God brought out this jjcople from Egypt; that Moses was the man of God, chosen by him, and fully accredited in his mission; and that the laws and statutes which he gave were the offspring of the wisdom and goodness of Him who is the Father of Lights, the fountain of truth and justice, and the continual and unbounded benefactor of the human race.
The children of Israel, having departed from Rcjihidim, come to the wilderness of Sinai in the third month, 1, 2. Moses goes up into the mount to God, and receives a message which he is to deliver to the people, 3—6. He returns and delivers it to the people before the elders, 7. The people promise obedience, 8. The Lord proposes to meet Moses in the cloud, 9. He commands him to sanctify the people, and promises to come down visibly on Mount Sinai on the third dai/, 10, 11. //(' commands him also to set bounds, to prevent the people or any of the cattle from touching the mount, on pain of being stoned or shot through 394 a with a dart, 12, 13. Moses goes down and delivers this message, 14, 15. The third day is ushered in with the appearance of the thick cloud upon the mount, and loith thunders, lightning, and the sound of a trumpet; at which the people are greatly terrified, 16. Moses brings forth the people out of the camp to meet ivilh God, 17. Mount Sinai is enveloped with smoke and fire, 18. After the trumpet had sounded long and loud, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice, 19. God calls Moses up to the mount, 20, and gives him a charge to the people and to the priests, that they do not attempt to come near to the mount, 21, 22. Moses, alleging that it was impossible for them to touch it because of the bounds, 23, is sent down to bring up Aaron, and to warn the people again not to break through the bounds, 24. Moses goes down and delivers this message, 25; after jvhich we may suppose that he and Aaron went up to meet God in the mount.
TN the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day " came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 For they were departed from ^ Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before "= the momit.
NOTES ON CHAP. XIX. Verse 1. In the third month] This was called Sivan, and answers to our May. For the Jewish months, years, &c., see the tables at the end of Deuteronomy. The same day] There are three opinions concerning the meaning of this place, which are supported hy respectahle arguments. 1. The sarne day means the same day of the third month with that, viz., the 15th, on which the Lsraelites had left Egypt. 2. The same day signifies here a day of the same number with the month to which it is applied, viz., the third day of the third month. 3. By the same day, the first day of the month is intended. The Jews celebrate the feast of pentecost fifty days after the passover: from the departure out of Egypt to the coming to Sinai were forty-five days; for they came out the fifteenth day of the first month, from which day to the first of the third month forty-five days are numbered. On the 2d day of this third month Moses went up into the mountain, when three days were given to the people to purify themselves; this gives the fourth day of the third month, or the forty-ninth from tlie departure out of Egypt. On the next day, which was the ^/'/'if/A from the celebration of the passover, the glory of God ap- [leared on the mount; in commemoration of which the Jews celebrate the feast of pentecost. This is the opinion of St. Augustine and of several moderns, and is defended at large by Houbigant. As the word Win chodesh, month, is put for new moon, which is with the Jews the first day of the month, this may be considered an additional confirmation of the above opinion.
The wilderness of Sinai.] Mount Sinai is called by the Arabs Jibcl Mousa or the Mount of Moses, or, by way of eminence, El Tor, the Mount. It is one hill, with two peaks or summits; one is called Horeh, the other Sinai. Horeb was probably its most ancient name, and might designate- the whole mountain; but as the Lord had appeared to Moses on this mountain ia a bush, HJD seneh, chap. iii. 2, from this circum-
Thus shall thou say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel;
4 f Ye have seen what I did imto the Egyp tians, and how ^ I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now '' therefore, if ye will obey my voice
stance it might have received the name of Sinai or TD in har Sinai, the mount of the bush or the mount of bushes; for it is possible that it was not in a single bush, but in a thicket of bushes, that the Angel of God made his appearance. The word bush is often used for ivoods ox forests.
Verse 3. Moses went up unto God] It is likely that the cloud which had conducted the Israelitish camp had now removed to the top of Sinai; and as this was the symbol of the Divine presence,' Moses went up to the place, there to meet the Lord.
The Lord called unto hi?n] This, according to St. Stephen, was the Angel of the Lord, Acts vii. 38. And from several scriptures we have seen that the Lord Jesus was the person intended; see the notes on Gen. xvi. 7; xviii. 13; Exod. iii. 2.
Verse 4. How / bare you on eagles' wings] Mr. Bruce contends that the word TiVJ nesher does not mean the bird we term eagle; but a bird which the Arabs, from its kind and merciful disposition, call rachama, which is noted for its care of its young, and its carrying them upon its back. See his Travels, vol. vii., pi. 33. It is not unlikely that from this part of the sacred history the heathens borrowed their fable of tliB englc being a bird sacred to Jupiter, and which was employed to carry the souls of departed heroes, kings, &c., into the celestial regions. The Romans have struck several medals with this device, which may be seen in different cabinets, among Which are the following: one of Faustina, daughter of Antoninus Pius, on the reverse of which she is represented ascending to heaven on the back of an eagle; and another of Salonia, daughter of the Emperor Galie7iu.t, on the reverse of which she is represented on the hack of an eagle, with a sceptre in her hand, ascending to heaven. Jupiter himself is sometimes represented on the bad of an eagle also, with his thunder in his hand, as on a medal of Licinus. This brings us nearer to the letter of the text, where it appears that the heathens con.. 395.
A. M. 2513. indeed, and keep my covenant, An. Exod. Isr 1. then ' yc shall be a peculiar trea- ""*"' sure unto me above all people: for '' all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a ' kingdom of priests, and a "^ holy nation. These are the words which thou shall speak unto the children of Israel.
7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
founded tlie figure made use of by the sacred penman, / bare you on eagles' tvings, with the manifestation of God in thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai. And it might be in reference to all this that the Romans took the eagle for their ensign. See Scheuchzer, Musellius, &c.
Brought you unto myself.] In this and the two following verses, we see the design of God in selecting a people for himself. 1. They were to obey his voice, ver. 5, to receive a revelation from him, and to act according to that revelation, and not according to their reason or fancy, in opposition to his declarations. 2. They were to obey his voice indeed, yoBTI;?in"^ shamoa tishnicu, in hearing they should hear; they should con.sult his testimonies, hear them whenever read or proclaimed, and obey them as soon as heard, affectionately and steadily. 3. They must keep his covenant — not only copy in their lives the ten commandments, but tliey must receive and preserve the grand agreement made between God and man by sacrifice, in reference to the incarnation and death of Christ; for from tlie foundation of the world tlie covenant of God ratified by sacrifices referred to this, and now the sacrificial system was to be more fully opened by the giving of tlie law. 4. They should then be God's peculiar treasure, nSjD scgullah, his own patrimony, a people in whom he should have all right, and over whom he should have exclusive authority above all the people of llie earth; for though all the inhabitants of the world were his by his right of creation and providence, yet these should be peculiiirly his, as receiving his revelation and entering into his covenant. 5. They should be a kingdom of priests, ver. 6. Their state should be a theocracy; and as God should be the sole governor, being king in Jcshurun, so all his subjects should be priests, all icorshippers, all sacrificers, every individual offering up the victim for himself. A beautiful representation of the Gospel dispensation, to which the Apostles Peter and John apply it, 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9; Rev. i. 6; v. 10, and xx. 6; under which dispensation every believing soul offers up for himself that Lamb of God which was slain for and which takes away the sin of the world, and through which alone a man can nave access to God.
8 And " all the people answered together, and said. All that the Loud hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of people unto the Lord.
9 And tiie Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee ° in a thick cloud, " that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and i believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto
nation, one people; firmly united among themselves, living under their own laws; and powerful, because united, and acting under the direction and blessing of God. They should be a holy nation, saved from their sins, righteous in their conduct, holy in their hearts; every external rite being not only a significant ceremony, but also a means of conveying light and life, grace and peace, to every person who conscientiously used it. Thus they should be both a kingdom, having God for their governor; and a nation, a multitude of peoples connected together; not a scattered, disordered, and disorganized people, but a royal nation, using their own riles, living under their own laws, subject in religious TiiM.ers only to God, and in things civil, to every ordinance of man for God's sake.
This was the spirit and design of this wonderful institution, which could not receive its perfection but under the Gospel, and has its full accomplishment in every member of the mystical body of Christ.
Verse 7. The elders of the people] The head of each tribe, and the chief of each family, by whose ministry this gracious purpose of God was speedily communicated to the whole camp.
Verse 8. And all the people answered, <^c.] The people, having such gracious advantages laid before them, most cheerfully consented to lake God for their portion; as he had graciously promised to take them for his people. Thus a covenant was made, the parties being mutually bound to each other.
Moses returned the icords] ^^'hen the people had on their part consented to the covenant, Moses appears to have gone immediately up lo the mountain and related to God the success of his mission; for he was now on the mount, as appears from ver. 14.
Verse 9. A thick cloud] Tliis is interpreted by ver. 18: And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke — and the s.moke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace; his usual appearance was in the cloudy pillar, wliich we may suppose was generally clear and luminous.
That the people may hear] See the note on chap. XV. 9. The Jews consider this as the fullest evidence their fathers had of the Divine mission of Moses; themselves were permitted to see this awfully glorious sight, and to hear God liimself speak out of the thick dark-
A.M. 2513. 10 And the Lord said unto An.Exod. isrii. Moses, Go unto the people, and ^"'^"- ^sanctify them to-day and tomorrow, and let them " wash their clothes,
1 1 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord ' will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.
12 And thou shall set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: " whosoever toucheih the mount shall be surely put to death;
13 There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live:
ness: for before this, as Rabbi Maymon remarks, they might have thought that Moses wrought his miracles by sorcery or enchantment; but now, hearing the voice of God himself, they could no longer disbelieve nor even doubt.
Let them loash their clothes] And consequently bathe their bodies; for, according to the testimony of the Jews, these always went together. It was necessary that, as they were about to appear in the presence of God, every thing should be clean and pure about them; that they might be admonished by this of the necessity of inward purity, of which the outward washing was the emblem.
From these institutions the heathens appear to have borrowed their precepts relative to icashings and purifications previously to their offering sacrifice to their gods, examples of which abound in the Greek and Latin writers. They washed their hands and clothes, and bathed their bodies in pure water, before they performed any act of religious worship; and in a variety of cases, abstinence from all matrimonial connections was positively required, before a person was permitted to perform any religious rite, or assist at the performance.
Verse 12. Thou shall set bounds] Whether this was a line marked out on the ground, beyond which they were not to go, or whether a fence was actually made to keep them off, we cannot tell; or whether this fence was made all round the mountain, or only at that part to which one wing of the camp extended, is not evident.
This verse strictly forbids the people from coming near and touching Mount Sinai, which was burning with FIRE. The words therefore in ver. 15, l!2;:n Ss nz'X 7X al tiggeshu el ishshah, come not at your wives, seem rather to mean, come not near unto the fire; especially as the other phrase is not at all probable: but the fire is, on this occasion, spoken of so emphatically (see Deut. v. 4, 5, 22-25) that we are naturally
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and "^ sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
15 And he said unto the people, '' Be ready against the third day: ^ come not at your wives.
16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were ^thunders and lightnings, and a * thick cloud upon the mount, and the "^ voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp '^ trembled.
17 And " Moses brought forth the people
led to consider niyN ishshah here as lyxn ha-esh transposed, or to say, with Simon in his Lexicon, niVX fcBm. idem quod masc. iVN ignis. So, among other in.stances, we have "13N and niJN a toing; "IIN and miX light; I'OK and nS'DN strength; and ION and mON a speech. — Buxt. See Kknnicott's Remarks.
Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surety put to death] The place was awfully sacred, because the dreadful majesty of God was displayed on it. And this taught them that God is a consuming fire, and that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Verse 13. There shall not a hand touch it] 13 bo, HIM, not the mountain, but the man who had presumed to touch the mountain. He should be considered altogether as an unclean and accursed thing, not to be touched for fear of conveying defilement; but should be immediately stoned or pierced through with a dart, Heb. xii. 20.