8 Thus did your fathers, ^ when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea *'to see the land.
9 For ' when they went up unto the valley
Verse 3. Ataroth, and Dibon, Sfc] The places mentioned here belonged to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bii.shan, which being conquered by the Israelites, constituted ever after a part of their territories, ver. 33.
Verse 5. Let this land be given unto thy servants] Because it was good for pasturage, and they Had m3,Dy Jlocks, ver. 1.
of Eshcol, and saw the land, they A. M. 2553. discouraged the heart of the chil- An. Exod.isr dren of Israel, that they should not *"'
10 ''And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
1 1 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, ' from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because "" they have not " wholly follovi'ed me:
12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nuu: "for they have wholly followed the Lord.
1 3 And the Lord's anger waskindled against Israel, and he made them f wander in the wilderness forty years, until 1 all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.
1 4 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the ■■ fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.
1 5 For if ye ' turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
A'erse 12. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite] It was Jephunneh that was the Kenezite, and not Caleb. Kenaz was probably the father of Jephunneh.
Averse 16. We will build — cities for our little ones] It was impossible for these, numerous as they might be, to build cities and fortify them for the defence of their families in their absence. Calmet supposes they meant no more than repairing the cities of the Amorites which they had lately taken; which work might
An.Exod. isr. ready armed before the ciiildrcn '*"• of Israel, until wc have brought
tliein unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 " Wc will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel iuive inherited every man his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; '' because our inheritance is fallen to us on tiiis side Jordan eastward.
20 And '' Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,
2 1 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22 And "^ the land be subdued before the Lord: tiicn afterward ^ ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and ' this land shall be yo.ur possession before
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have.sinned against the Lord: and be sure " your sin will find you out.
24 '' Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying. Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26 ' Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
have been very easily accomplished in the time which they spent on this side of Jordan, before they went over witli their brethren, to put them in possession of the land.
Verse 17. IJccait.ic of the inhahilanls of the land.] These were the Ammonites, Moabites, Idnmeans, and the remains of the Midianiles and Aniorites. But could the women and children even keep the defenced cities, when placed in them? This certainly cannot be supposed possible. Many of the men of war must of course stay behind. In the last census, chap, x.xvi,, the tribe of Reuben consisted of 13,730 men; the tribe of Gad, 10,500; the tribe of Manas.seh, 52,700; the half of which is 36,350. Add this to the sum of the othei two tribes, and the amount is 110,580.
over, every man armed lor war. An. Eiod. Isr, before the Lord to battle, as my *^'
28 So • concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:
29 And Moses said unto them. If the chil dren of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
3 1 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.
33 And *^ Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, " the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
34 And the children of Gad built '' Dibon, and Atarolh, and ' Aroer,
Now from Joshua iv. 13 we learn that of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, only 10,000 armed men passed over Jordan to assist their brethren in the reduction of the land: consequently the number of 70,580 men were left behind for the defence of tlie women, the children, and the flocks. This was more than sufficient to defend them against a people already panic struck by their kite discomfitures and reverses.
Verse 31. The children of Gad built — Aroer] This was situated on the river Arnon, Deut. ii. 30; 2 Kings X. 33. It w;is formerly inliabitcd by the Emim, a warlike and jierhaps afigantic people. They were expelled by the Moabites; the Moabites by the Amorites; and the Amorites by the Israelites. The Gadites then
36 And ' Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, "" fenced cities: and folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben " built Heslibon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,
.38 And " Nebo, and f Baal-meon, (i their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and ■■ gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
39 And the children of ^ Machir the son of Manassch went to Gilead, and took it, and
possessed it till the captivity of their tribe, with that of Reuben and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by the Assyrians, 2 Kings xv. 29, after which the Moabites appear to have repossessed it, as they seem to have occupied it in the days of Jeremiah, chap, xlviii.
Verse 38. And Ncbo — their flames being changed] That is, Those who conquered the cities called them after their own names. Thus the city Kenath, being conquered by Nobah, was called after his name, ver. 42.
unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and dwelt therein.
4 1 And '■ Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them " Havoth-jair.
42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
habitations of Jair; and thus they should have been translated. As these two tribes and a half were the first, says Ainsworth, who had their inheritance assigned to them in the promised land, so they were the first of all Israel that were carried captive out of their own land, because of their sins. " For they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after other gods. And God delivered them into the hands of Pul and Tiglath-Pilneser, kings of Assyria, and they brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan, unto this day." See 1 Chron. v. 25, 26
Egypt witli their armies, under the '■' hand of Moses and Aaron.
Verse 2. And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys] We may consider the whole book of Numbers as a diary, and indeed the first book of travels ever published. Dr. Shaw, Dr. Pococke, and several others, have endeavoured to mark out the route of the Israelites through this great, dreary, and trackless desert, and have ascertained many of tne stages here described. Indeed there are sufficient evidences of this important journey still remaining, for the descriptions of many are.so particular that the places are readily ascertained by them; but this is not the case with all. Israel was the Church of God in the wilderness, and its unsettled, wandering state under
The journeyings of the Israelites written out by Moses, according to the commandment of the Lord, 1, 2. They depart from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the passover, the firstborn of the Egyptians having been slain, 3, 4. Their forty-two stations enumerated, 5-49. They are authorized to e.xpel all the former inhabitants, and destroy all remnants of idolatry, 50—53. The land ts to be divided by lot, 54. Should they not drive out the former inhabitants, they shall be to them as pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides, 55. And if not obedient, God will deal with them as he has purposed to do with the Canaanites, 56.
2 And Moses wrote their "= goings out according to their journeys, by the commandment of the Lord: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.
Moses may point out the unsettled state of religion under the law. Their being brought, after the death of Moses, into the promised rest by Joshua, may point out the establishment, fixedness, and certainty of that salvation provided by Jesus Christ, of whom Joshua, in name and conduct, was a remarkable type. Mr. Ainsworth imagines that the forty-two stations here enumerated, through which the Israelites were brought to the verge of the promised land, and afterwards taken over Jordan into the rest which God had promised, point out the forty-two generations from.A.braham unto Christ, through whom the Saviour of the world came, by whose blood we have an entrance into the holiest, and enjoy the inheritance among the saints in light. 71'j
^'"'' "' ^"''°- the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out ^ with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, K which the Lord had smitten among them: "^ upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments..
5 ' And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.
6 And they departed from ^ Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
7 And ' they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol.
8 And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and " passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey
And Mr. Bromley, in his Waij to the Sabbath of Rest, considers each name and place as descriptive of the spiritual state through which a soul passes in its \Tay to the kingdom of God. But in cases of this kind fancy has much more to do than judgment.
Verse 3. From Rameses] This appears to have been the metropolis of the land of Goshen, and the place of rendezvous whence the whole Israelitish nation set out on their journey to the promised land; and is supposed to be the same as Cairo. See the notes on Exod..xii. 37.
Station I. A'erse 5. And pitched in Svccoth.] This name signifies booths or tetits, and probably refers to no town or village, but simply designates the place where they pitched their tents for the first time after their departure from Rameses.
Stat. II. Verse 6. Etham, which is m the edge of the wilderness.] This place is not well known; Dr. Shaw supposes it to have been one mile from Cairo. Calmct thinks it is the city of Buthmn mentioned by Herodotus, which he places iu Arabia, on the frontiers
Stat. III. Verse 7. Pi-hahiroth] See on E.\od. xiv. 1. Baal-zephon Calmet supposes to be the Clijstna of the Greeks, ajid tlie Kolzum of the Arabians.
Stat. IV. Verse 8. And went three days'' journey in the wilderness of Etham] Called the wilderness of Shur, Exod. xv. 22.
And pitched in Marah.] Dr Shaw supposes this place to be at Sedur, over against the valley of Baideah, on the opposite side of the Red Sea.
9 And they removed from ^''"' "' •"''""'"■ Marah, and " came unto Elim: and in Elim lucre twelve fountains of water, and three score and ten palm trees; and they pitched
10 And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red Sea.
1 1 And they removed from the a..m. 2513. Red Sea, and encamped in the An. Exod. isr! 1. ° wilderness of Sin. 'J"°''^''-
12 And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
13 And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.
14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at p Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.
Stat. V. Verse 9. And came unto Elim] A place on the skirts of the deserts of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and nearly thirty from Cnrondcl, a large bay on the east side of the Red Sea. Dr. Shaw, when he visited this place, found but nine of the twelve wells mentioned in the text, and instead of 70 palm trees, he found upwards of 2,000. See on Exod. xv. 27.
Stat. VI. Verse 10. Encamped bi/ the Red Sea.] It is difficult to assign the place of this encampment, as the Israelites were now on their way to Mount Sinai, which lay considerably to the east of Elim, and consequently Hirther from the sea than the former station. It might be called by the Red Sea, as the Israelites had tt, as the principal object, still in view. This station however is mentioned nowhere else. By the Red Sea we are not to understand a sea, the waters of which are red, or the sand red, or any thing else about or Ml it red; for nothing of this kind appears. It is called in Hebrew ^iD □' yam suph, which signifies the weedy sea. The Scptuagint rendered the original by Oa'kaaaa epvOfia, and the Vulgate after it by mare rubnim, and the European versions followed these, and, in opposition to etymology and reason, translated it the Red Sea. See the note on Exod. x. 19.
Stat. VII. Verse 11. The wilderness of Siy] This lies between Elim and Mount Sinai. Dr. Shaw and his companions traversed these plains in nine hours.
Stat. VHI. Verse 12. Dophkah.] This place is not mentioned in Exodus, and its situation is not known.
Stat. IX. Verse 13. Alush.] Neither is this mentioned in Exodus, and its situation U equally unknown.
19 And ihey departed from Rithmaii, and pitched at Rimmon-parez.
20 And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitclied in Libnah.
21 And they removed from Libnali, and pitched at Rissah.
22 And they journeyed from Rissaii, and pitched in Kehelathah.
23 And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.
24 And they removed from Mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.
25 And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.
rebellion of the Israelites against Moses, because of the want of water, Exod. xvii.
Stat. XI. Verse 15. The wilderness of Sinai.] Somewhere northward of Mount Sinai, on the straight road to the promised land, to which they now directed their course.
Stat. XII. Verse 16. Kibroth-hattaavah.] No city, village, &c., but a place in the open desert, which had its name from the plague that fell upon the Israelites, through their murmuring against God, and their inordinate desire of flesh. See on chap. xi. But it appears that the Israelites had travelled three days' journey in order to reach this place, chap. x. 33, and commentators suppose there must have been other stations which are not laid down here, probably because the places were not remarkable.
St.vt. XIII. Verse 17. Hazeroth.] This place Dr. Shaw computes to have been about thirty miles distant from Mount Sinai.
Stat. XIV. Verse 18. Rithmah.] This place lay somewhere in the wilderness of Paran, through which the Israelites were now passing. See chap. xiii. 1. The name signifies the juniper tree; and the place probably had its name from the great number of those trees growing in that district.
Stat. XVI. Verse 20. Libnah.] The situation of this place is uncertain. A city of this name is mentioned Josh. X. 29, as situated between Kadesh-barnea and Gaza.
Stat. XVII. Verse 21. Rissah.] A place mentioned nowhere else in the sacred writings. Its situation utterly uncertain.
26 And they removed Makheloth, and encamped Tahath.
27 And they departed from
28 And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.
29 And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.
30 And they departed from Hashmonah. and " encamped at Moseroth.
31 And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan.
32 And they removed from "^ Bene-jaakan, and '^ encamped at Hor-hagidgad.
33 And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.
34 And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.
35 And they departed from Ebronah, >'and encamped at Ezion-gaber.
unknown; though some conjecture that it might have been the place called Keilah, 1 Sam. xxiii. 1, &c.,but this is unlikely.
Stat. XIX. Verse 23. Shapher.] Where this mountain lay cannot be determined.
Stat. XX. Verse 24. Habadah.] Unknown. Calmet supposes that it may be the place called Bered, Gen. xvi. 14, which was in the vicinity o{ Kadesh.
Stat. XXI. Verse 25. Makheloth.] Aname found nowhere else in Scripture.
Stat. XXIV. Verse 28. Mithcah.] Calmet conjectures that this may be Mocha, a city in Arabia Petra;a.
Stat. XXV. Averse 29. Hashmonah.] Supposed by some to be the same as Azmon, chap, xxxiv. 4.
Stat. XXVI. Verse 30. Moseroth.] Situation unknown. In Deut. x. 6 it is said that the Israelites took their journey from Beeroth, the wells of the children of Jaalian, to Mosera, and there Aaron died. If so, Mosera, Moseroth, and Hor, must be different names of the same place; or Moseroth, or Mosera, must have been some town or village near Mount Hor, for there Aaron died. See ver. 38.
Stat. XXVII. Verse 31. Bene-ja.4Kan.] Unknown. The sons of Jaakan. See the preceding verse.
Stat. XXVIII. Verse 32. Hor-hagidgad.] The hole or pit of Gidgad. Unknown. It was a place perhaps remarkable for some vast pit or cavern, from which it took its name.
Stat. XXIX. A'erse 33. Jotbathah.] Situation unknown. It is said in Deut. x. 7 to be a land of rivers of waters.
37 And they removed from " Kadesh, and pitched in Moimt Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.
38 And '' Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month.
39 And Aaron was a hundred and twenty and three ycar.s old when he died in Mount Hor.
40 And " King Arad, the Canaanitc, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
4 1 And they departed from Mount ^ Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.
42 And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.
43 And they departed from Pimon, and • pitched in Oboth.
Stat. XXXI. Terse 35. Ezion-gaber.] Dr. Shaw places this port on the western coast of the Elanitic irulf of the Red Sea. It is now called Meenah el Dsahab, or the golden port, by the Arabs; because it was from this place that Solomon sent his ships for gold to Ophir, 1 Kings ix. 26. He supposes it to be about sixty miles distant from Mount Sinai. — Travels, p. 322, 4to. edition.
St.vt. XXXII. Verse 36. Zin, which is Kadesh.] A place remarkable for the death of Miriam the prophetess, and bringing water out of the rock. As this place was on the borders of Edom, the Israelites, being denied permission to pass through their land, which lay on the direct road to the promised land, were obliged to turn to the right to Mount Hor, now called Accaba by the Arabs.
Stat. XXXIII. Verse 37. Hor.] Famous for the death of Aaron. See on chap. xx. Perhaps Moseroth or Mosera, ver. 30, was a village near this mountain. See the note on ver. 30.
St.\t. XXXIV. A'erse 41. Zalmonah.] Probably in the neighbourhood of the land of Edom. As D^i" tselem signifies an image, this place probably had its name from the brazen serpent set up by Moses. See chap. xxi. 5, &c. From the same root the word tetesm, corruptly called talisman, which signifies a consecrated image, is derived.
45 And they departed fromlim, and pitched ' in Dibon-gad.
46 And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon'' -diblathaim.
47 And ihey reiDoved from Almon-diblathaim, ' and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48 And they departi3d from the mountains of Abarim, and '" pitched in tJie plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
49 And they pitched by Jordan, from Bethjesimoth even unto " Abel-shittim " in the plains of Moab.
50 And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, p When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52 1 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy
Stat. XXXVII. Verse 41. Ije-abari.m.] The heaps of Abarim. See chap. xxi. 11. Situation uncertain. It is called lim in the following verse. As the word signifies heaps or protuberances, it probably means tumuli or small hills near some of the fords of Jordan.
St.^t. XXXVIII. Verse 45. Dibon-g.u>.] Supposed to be the same as Dtbon, chap. x.^i. 34, and to be situated on tlic brook Arnon.
Stat. XXXIX. Verse 46. Almon-dibl.\thai.m.] Situation not known. It belonged to the Moabites in the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Jer. xlviii. 22.
St.\t. XL. Verse 47. Mountains of.Vbarim, before Nebo.] The mountain on which Moses died. They came to this place after the overthrow of the AmorUes. See chap. xxi.
Stat. XLI. Verse 48. The plains of Mo.vb.] This was the scene of the transactions between Balaam and Dalak; see chapters xxiii., xxiv., xxv.
Stat. XLII. Verse 49. From Beth-jesimoth even unto.Veel-shittim] The former of these places fell to the Reubenites, Josh. xiii. 15—20. The Israel iles were now come to the edge of Jordan, over agains' Jericho, where they afterwards passed.
For farther information on the subject of these dif ferent encampments, the reader is requested to refei to the extract from Dr..Shaw at the end of the book of Exodus.
all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places.
53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
54 And "■ ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall ' give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall ' give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be
DiTDK'O mashiyotham, from ilDtV sacliah, to be lilie, or resemble, either pictures, carved work, or embroider!/, as far as these things were employed to exhibit the abominations of idolatry. Molten images, DODDO "D^X tsalmei/ massechotham, metallic talismanical figures, made under certain constellations, and supposed in consequence to be possessed of some e.xtraordinavy influences and virtues.
Verse 55. Shall be pricks in your eyes'\ Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and extinguishing the sight?
1. It has been usual among pious men to consider these Canaanites remaining in the land, as emblems of indwelling sin; and it must be granted that what those remaining Canaanites were to the people of Israel, who were disobedient to God, such is indwelling sin to all those who will not have the blood of the covenant to cleanse them from all unrigliteousness. For a time, while conscience is tender, such persons feel themselves straitened in all their goings, hindered in all their religious services, and distressed beyond measure because of the law — the authority and power of sin, which they find w.irring in their members: by and by the eye of their mind becomes obscured by the constant piercings of sin, till at last, fatally persuaded that sin must dwell in them as long as they live, they accommodate their minds to their situation, their consciences cease to be tender, and they content themselves with expecting redemption where and when it has never been promised, viz., beyond the grave! On the subject of the journeyings of the Israelites, the following observations from old Mr. Ainsworth cannot tali to interest the reader.
2. " The Tr.wels of Israel through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein ivere fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water, Deut. viii. 15, which was a land of deserts, and of fits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through, and where no man
in the place where his lot falleth; A. M. 2553. according to the tribes of your An. Exod*isr. fathers ye shall inherit. •*°-
55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall he " pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
dwelt, Jer. ii. 6, signified the many troubles and afflictions through which we must enter into the kingdom of God, Acts xiv. 22. The helps, comforts, and deliverances which God gave unto his people in their distresses, are examples of his love and mercy towards his followers; for he comforts them in all their tribulation, that as the sufferings of Christ abound in them, so their consolation also abounds in Christ, 3 Cor. i. 45. The punishments which God inflicted upon the disobedient, who perished in the wilderness for their sins, happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the loorld are come, 1 Cor. x. 1, 11; Heb. iii. 17, 18, 19, and iv. 1, 2. By the names of their encamping places, and histories adjoined, it appears how Israel came sometimes into straits and troublesome ways, as at Pihahiroth, Exod. xiv. 2, 3, 10, &c.; and at Zalmonah, Num. ii. 1, 4, &c.; sometimes into large and ample room, as at the plains of Moah: sometimes to places of hunger and thirst, as at Rephidim and Kadesh, Exod. xvi., xvii.; Num. xx.; sometimes to places of refreshing, as at Elim and Ppeer, Exod. xv. 27; Num. xxi, 1 6; sometimes where they had loars, as at Rephidim, Kadesh, Edrei, Exod. xvii. 8; Num. xxi. 1, 33; sometimes where they had rest, as at Mount Sinai: sometimes they went right forward, as from Sinai to Kadcsh-barnea; sometimes they turned backward, as from Kadesh-barnea to the Red Sea: sometimes they came to mountains, as Sinai, Shapher, Hor-Gidgad; sometimes to valleys, as Tahath, &c.: sometimes to places of bitterness, as Marah; sometimes, of sweetness, as Mithcah.
3. " The SINS which they committed in the wilderness were many and great: as open idolatrv by the calf, at Horeb, Exod. xxxii., and with Baal-pcor, Num. XXV. Unbelief, at Kadesh, Num. xiv.; and afterwards presumptuous boldness in the same place; MURMURING against God sundry times, with tempting of Christ, (as the apostle speaks, 1 Cor. x.) Contention and rebellion against their governors often; lusting for flesh to fill their ap])Clite, and loathing manna, the heavenly food; whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and many other provocations; so that this complaint is after made of them. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert; Psa. Ixxviii. 40. All sorts of persons sinned against God; the multitude of people very often; the
Desaiplwn of the
mixed mulliltide of strangers among them, Num. xi. The princes, as the ten spies, DaChan, Ahiram, &c. The Leoites, as Korah and liis company; Miriam the prophetess. Num. xii.; Aaron the priest with her, besides his sin at Horeb, Exod. xxxii.; ami at the water of Meribah, Num. xx. Moses also himself at the same phice, for which he was excluded from the land of Canaan.
4. '• The PUNISHMENTS laid on them by the Lord for their disobedience were many. Tliey died by the sword of the enemy, as of the AmaUkites, Exod. xvii., and of the Canaanites, Num. xiv. 45; and some by the sword of their brethren, Exod. xxxii. Some were burned with fire. Num. xi., xvi.; some died ivith surfeit. Num. xi.; some were swallowed up alive in the earth, Num. xvi.; some were kilted with serpents. Num. xxi.; many died of the pestilence. Num. xvi. 46, and chap. v. 25; and generally all that generation which were first mustered, after their coming out of Egypt, perished, Num. xxvi. 64, 65. God consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror, Psa. Ixxviii. 33.
5. " Nevertheless, for his name's sake, he magnified his MERCIES unto them and their posterity. He had divided the sea, and led them through on dry land, drowning their enemies, Exod. xiv. He led them
with a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, continually. He gave them manna from heaven daily. He clave the rock, and gave them water for their tlursi. He fed them with quails, when they longed for flesh. He sweetened the bitter waters. He saved them from the sword of their enemies He delivered them from the fiery serpents and scorpions. Their raiment waxed not old upon them, neither did their foot swell for forty years, Deut. viii. 4. He delivered them from the intended curse of Balaam, and turned it into a blessing because he loved them, Num. xxii.; Deut. xxiii. 5. He came down from Mount Sinai, and spake with them from heaven, and gave them right judgn>enls and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and gave also his good Spirit to instruct them, Neh. ix. 13, 20. In the times of his wrath he remembered mercy; his eye spared them from destroying them, neither did he make an end of them in the wilderness, Ezek. xx. 17, 22. He gave them kingdoms and nations, and they possessed the lands of their enemies; and he multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land promised unto their forefathers, Neh. ix. 22, 23. Now whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comtort of the Scriptures, might have hope, Rom. xv. 4." Let him that readeth understand.
The land of Canaan is described, 1, 2. The south quarter, 3-5. The western border, 6. The north border, 7-9. The east border, 10-12. This land to be divided by lot among the nine tribes and half, 13; two tribes and half, Reuben and Gad, and the half of Manasseh, having already got their inheritance on the cast side of Jordan, 14, 15. Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, to assist in dividing the land, 16, 17; and with them a chief out of every tribe, 18. The names of the twelve chiefs, 19-29.
Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into ^ the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)
3 Tlien ^ your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edoin, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of '^ the salt sea eastward:
NOTES ON CH.'VP. XXXIV. Verse 2. The land of Canaan with the coasts thereof\ All description here is useless. The situation and boundaries of the land of Canaan can only be known by actual survey, or by consulting a good map.
Verse 3. The salt sea\ The Dead Sea, or lake Asphaltitcs. See the note on Gen. xiz. 25.
4 And vour border shall turn A.M. 2553.
and the goins forth thereof shall be from the south " to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to f Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon:
5 And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon? unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.
6 And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
Verse 5. The river of Egypt] The eastern branch of the river Nile; or, according to others, a river which is south of the land of the Philistines, and falls into the gulf or bay near Calieh.
A'erse 6. Ye shall even have the great sea for a border] The Mediterranean Sea, called here the Great Sea, to distinguish it from the Dead Sea, the Sea of Tiberias, &c., which were only a sort o( takes.
8 From Mount Hor ye shall point out your border ' unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to '' Zedad:
9 And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at ' Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.
10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham:
1 1 And the coast shall go down from Shepham ™ to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the " side of the sea " of Chinnercth eastward:
12 And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at p the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.
13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, iThis is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the Lord com-
In Hebrew there is properly but one term, D' yam, which is applied to all collections of water apparently stagnant, and which is generally translated sea. The Greek of the New Testament follows the Hebrew, and employs, in general, the word daXaaaa, se.4., whether it speaks of the Mediterranean, or of the sea or lake of Galilee.
Verse 1 1. The sea of Chinnereth] The same as the sea of Galilee, sea of Tiberias, and sea of Gennesareth.
Verse 12. The border shall go down to Jordan'] This river is famous both in the Old and New Testaments. It takes its rise at the foot of Mount Libanus, passes through the sea of Chinnereth or Tiberias, and empties itself into the lake Asphaltites or Dead Sea, from which it has no outlet. In and by it God wrought many miracles. God cut off the waters of this river as he did those of the Red Sea, so that they stood on a heap on each side, and the people passed over on <lry ground. Both Elijah and Elisha separated its waters in a miraculous way, 2 Kings ii. 8-14. Naaman, the Syrian general, by washing in it at the command of the prophet, was miraculously cured of his leprosy, 2 Kings v. 10-14. In this river John baptized great multitudes of Jews; and in it was Christ himself baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and the voice from heaven proclaimed him the great and only Teacher and Saviour of men. Matt. iii. 16, 17; Mark i. 5-11.
Verse 13. This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot] Much of what is said concerning this land is peculiarly emphatic. It is a land that contains a muiti- manded to give unto the nine A. M. 2553. tribes, and to the half tribe: An. Exod. is'r.
14 'For the tribe of the chil- ^-
dren of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:
15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.
17 These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: ^ Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
1 8 And ye shall take one ' prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.
19 And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, " Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20 And of tlie tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
tude of advantages in its climate, its soil, situation, &c. It is bounded on the south by a ridge of mountains, which separate it from Arabia, and screen it from the burning and often pestiferous winds which blow over the desert from that quarter. On the west it is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea; on the north, by Mount Libanus, which defends it from the cold northern blasts; and on the east by the river Jordan, and its fertile, well-watered plains. It is described by God himself as " a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land wherein there was no scarcity of bread, and where both iron and copper mines abounded," Deut. viii. 7-9: a land finely diversified with hills and valleys, and well watered by the rain of heaven, in this respect widely different from Egypt; a land which God cared for, on which his eyes were continually placed from the beginning to the end of the year; watched over by a most merciful Providence; in a word, a land which flowed with milk and honey, and was the most pleasant of all lands; Deut. xi. 11. 12; Ezek. xx. 6. Such was the land, and such were the advantages that this most favoured people were called to possess. They were called to possess it by lot that each might be satisfied with his possession, as considering it to be appointed to him by the especial providence of God; and its boundaries were ascertained on Divine authority, to prevent all covetousness after the territories of others.
21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogh.
23 The prince of the children of Josepii, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24 And tiic prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiplitan.
25 And tiie prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphaii the son of Parnach.
It is wonliy of remark that Moses does not follow any order hitherto used of placing the tribes, neither that in chap i., nor that in chap, vii., nor that in chap. xxvi., nor any other; hut places them here exactly in that order in which they possessed the land. 1. Judah; 2. Simeon; 3. Benjamin; 4. Dan; 5. Manasseh; 6. Ephraim; 7. Zebulun; 8. Issachar; 9. Asher; 10. Naphtali. Judah is first, having the first lot; and he dwelt in the south part of the land, Josh. XV. 1, &c.; and next to him Simeon, because his inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah, Josh. xix. 1. Benjamin was third; he had his inheritance by Judah, between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph, Josh, xviii. 11. Dan was the fourth; his lot fell westward of that of Benjamin, in the country of the Philistines, as may be seen in Josh. xix. 40, 41, &c. Fifth, Manasseh; and sixth, by him, his brother Ephraim, whose inheritances were behind that of Benjamin, Josh. xvi. 7. Next to these dwelt, seventh, Zebulun; and eighth, Issachar;
26 And the prince of the tribe a.m. 2553. of the children of Issachar, Paltiel An.Exod. isr. the son of Azzan. ^'
27 And the prince of the tribe of tlie children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Sliclomi.
28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29 These are they whom the Lord commanded to ■" divide.the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Cannan.
concerning whose lots see Josh. xix. 10-17. Ninth, Asher; and tenth, Naphtali; see Josh. xix. 24,32, &c. And as in encamping about the tabernacle they were arranged according to their fraternal relationship, (see chap, ii.,) so they were in the division and inheriting of the promised land. Judah and Simeon, both sons of Leah, dwelt abreast of each other. Benjamin, son of Rachel, and Dan, son of RachePs maid, dwelt next abreast. Manasseh and Ephraim, both sons of Joseph, son of Rachel, had the next place abreast. Zebulun and Issachar, who dwelt next together, were both sons of Leah; and the last pair were Asher, of LeaVs maid, and Naphtali, of RacheVs maid. Thus fiod, in nominating the princes that should divide the land,.signified beforehand the manner of their possession, and that they should be so situated as to dwell together as brethren in unity, for the mutual help and comfort of each other. See Ainsivorth. In this arrangement there is much skill, judgment, and kindness every where displayed.
The Israelites are commanded to give the Levitcs, out of their inheritances, cities and their suburbs for themselves and for their cattle, goods, <^c., 1-3. The suburbs to be 3,000 cubits round about from the wall of the city, 4, 5. The cities to be forty-two, to which six cities of refuge should be added, in all forty-eight cities, 6, 7. Each tribe shall give of these cities in proportion to its possessions, 8. These cities to be appointed for the person who might slay his neiglibour unawares, 9-12. Of these six cities there shall be three on each side Jordan, 13, 14. The cities to be places of refuge for all ivha kill a person unawares, tohelher they be Israelites, strangers, or sojourners, 15. Cases of murder to ivhich the benefit of the cities of refuge shall not extend, 1 G-2 1. Cases of manslaughter to which the benefits of the cities of refuge shall extend, 22, 23. Hoio the congregation shall act between the manslaycr and the avenger of blood, 24, 25. The manslayer shall abide in the city of refuge till the death of the high priest; he shall then return to the land of his possession, 26-28. Tico witnesses must attest a murder before a murderer can be put to death, 29, 30. Every murderer to be put to death, 31. The manslayer is not to be permitted to come to the land of his inheritance till the death of the high priest, 32. The land must not be polluted ivith blood, for the Lord dwells in >t, 33, 34.
Verse 4. And the suburbs of the C(/if,s— -shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
Verse 5. And ye shall measure from tpithout the city — two thousand cubits, cj-c] Commentators have been much puzzled with the accounts in these two verses. In ver. 4 the measure is said to be 1,000
3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all. their beasts.
4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
5 And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side tv/o thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be ^ six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and ■= to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be ^ forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.
8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be * of the possession of the children of Israel: *^from them that have many, ye shall give
cubits from the wall; in ver. 5 the measure is said to be 2,000 from without the city. It is likely these two measures mean the same thing; at least so it was understood by the Septuagint and Coptic, who have iicx'^iovf nrix^iCi 2,000 cubits, in the fourth, as well as in the Jiflh verse; but this reading of the Septuagint and Coptic is not acknowledged by any other of the ancient versions, nor by any of the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi. We must seek therefore tor some other method of reconciling this apparently contradictory account. Sundry modes have been proposed by commentators, which appear to me, in general, to recjuire full as much explanation as the text itself. Maimonides is the only one intelligible on the subject. " The suburbs," says he, " of the cities are e.xpressed in the law to be 3,000 cubits on every side from the v/all of the eity and outwards. The first thousand cubits are the suburbs, and the 2,000, which they measured without the suburbs, were for fields and vineyards." The whole, therefore, of the city, suburbs, fields, and vineyards, may be represented by the following diagram; —
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, '' When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
1 1 Then ' ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; tliat the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person '' at unawares.
13 'And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.
1 3 And of these cities which ye shall give, " si.x cities shall ye have for refuge.
14 "Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and ° for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them; that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
1 6 P And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Verse 11. Ve shall ajipoinl. — cities of refuge] The cities of refuge among the Israelites were widely dif-
* ' may die, and he die, he is a
18 Or if he smite him with a hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, iie is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
19 ■■ The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
20 But " if he tlirnsl liiiii of hatred, or hurl at him ' by laying of wait, that he die;
21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he ineeteth him.
22 But if he thrust him suddenly " without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man ma)' die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
24 Then ' the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
25 And the consrejjation shall A. M. 2553
deliver the slayer out of the hand ah^ Exod. isr. of the revenger of blood; and *"■
the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and " he shall abide in it unto the death of tiie high priest, ' which was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the slayer shall at any time como without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; >' he shall not be guilty of blood:
28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 So these things shall be for ^ a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the ° mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
3 1 Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is ^ guilty of death; but he shall be surely put to death.
tereiit from the asyla among the Greeks and Romans, as also from the privileged altars among the Roman Catholics. Those among the Hebrews were for the protection of such only as had slain a person involuntarily. The temples and altars among the latter often served for the protection of the most profligate characters. Cities of refuge among the Hebrews were necessary, because the old patriarchal law still remained in force, viz., that the nearest akin had a right to avenge the death of his relation t)y slaying the murderer; for the original law enacted that whosoever shed man's blood, by man should his blood be shed, Gen. ix. 6, and none was judged so proper to execute this law as the man who was nearest akin to the deceased. As many rash executions of this law might take place, from the very n.-iture of the thing, it was deemed necessary to qualify its claims, and prevent injustice; and the cities of refuge were judged proper for this purpose. Nor do we ever read that they were ever found inefficient, or that they were ever abused.
sence of the people, or the elders their representatives; and this was done in the city or place where he had done the murder, Josh. xx. 4, 6. If he was found worthy of death, they delivered him to the avenger that he might be slain, Deut. xix. 12; if not, they sent him bafck to the city of refuge, where he remained till the death of the high priest, ver. 25. Before the cities of refuge were appointed, the altar appears to have been a sanctuary for those who had killed a person unwittingly; see on Exod. xxi. 13, 14.
Verse 19. The revenger of blood] Dnn SnJ goel haddam, the redeemer of blood; the next in blood to him who was slain. See on the preceding verse.
Vorse 30. Jitit one witness shall not testify against any] This was a just and necessary provision. One man may be mistahen, or so violently prejudiced as to impose even on his own judgment, or so wicked as to endeavour through malice to compass the life of his neighbour: but it is not likely that tipo or mmre should be of this kind; and even were they, their separate examination would lead to a discovery of the truth, and to their conviction.
Verse 31. Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer] No atonement could be made for Aim,
come again to dwell in the land, imtil the death
33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein Ve are: for blood ° it defileth the land: and
nor any commutation, so as to save him from death. All the laws of the civilized world have either adjudged the murderer to death, or to a punishment equivalent to it; such as perpetual imprisonment, in a dungeon, under ground, on a stone floor, without light, and to be fed on a small portion of bread and water. In such circumstances a man could live but a short time; and though it is not called the punishment of death, yet, from its inevitable consequences, it only differed from it by being a little longer respite than was usual where the punishment of death was awarded. See the note on Gen. ix. 6.
Verse 32. Until the death of the priest.] Probably intended to typify, that no sinner can be delivered from his banishment from God, or recover his forfeited inheritance, till Jesus Christ, the great high priest, had died for his offences, and risen again for his justification.
Verse 33. For blood it defileth the land] The very land was considered as guilty till the blood of the murderer was shed in it. No wonder God is so particularly strict in his laws against murderers, 1. Because he is the author of life, and none have any right to dispose of it but himself 2. Because life is the time to prepare for the eternal world, and on it the salvation of the soul accordingly depends; therefore it is of infinite consequence to the man that his life be lengthened out to the utmost limits assigned by Divine Providence.
^ the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein,
34 f Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for » I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.
As he who takes a man's life away before his time may be the murderer of his soul as well as of his body, the severest laws should be enacted against this, both to punish and prevent the crime.
The Mosaic cities of refuge have in general been considered, not merely as civil institutions, but as types or representations of infinitely better things; and in this light St. Paul seems to have considered them and the altar of God, which was a place of general refuge, as it is pretty evident that he had them in view when writing the following words: " God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, (his oath and promise,) in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us," Heb. vi. 17, 18. Independently of this, it was a very wise political institute; and while the patriarchal law on this point continued in force, this law had a direct tendency to cool and moderate the spirit of revenge, to secure the proper accomplishment of the ends of justice, and to make way for every' claim oi mercy and equity. But this is not peculiar to the ordinance of the cities of refuge; every institution of God is distinguished in the same way, having his own glory, in the present and eternal welfare of man, immediately in view.
The inconveniences which might be produced by daughters, inheritrixes, marrying out of their own tnbe, remedied on the recommendation of certain chiefs of the tribe of Joseph, who stated the case of the daughters of Zelophehad, 1—4. The daughters of Zelophehad are commanded to marry in their oion tribe, 5, 6; which is to be an ordinance in all similar circumstances, 7—9. The daughters of Zelophehad marry their father^s brother^s sons, and thus their inheritance is preserved in their own tribe, 10-12. The conclusion of the commandments given by the Lord to the Israelites in the plains of Moab, 13.
son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses,
Verse 2. To give the inheritance of Zelophehad — unto his daughters.] See this case spoken of at large on chap xxvii.
and before the princes, the chief a.m. 2553. fathers of the children of Israel: An. E.xod. Isr. 2 And they said, "> The Lord
commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel:
Either the first eleven verses of chap, xxvii. should come in before this chapter, or this chapter should come in immediately after those eleven verses; they certainly both make parts of the same subject.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fatlicrs, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe ^ whereunto they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when * the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they arc received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying. The tribe of the sons of Joseph ' hath said well.
6 This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them ^ marry to whom they think best; '' only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.
7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every
Here Moses determines that heiresses should marry in their own tribe, that no part of the ancient inheritance might be alienated from the original family.
Verse 6. Let them marry to whom they think best] Here was latitude sufficient, and yet a salutary and reasonable restraint, which prevented a vexatious mixture of property and possession.
Verse 8. Every daughter that possesseth an inheritance] This law affected none hut heiresses; all others were at liberty to marry into any of the other tribes. The priests and Levites, who could have no inheritance, were exempt from the operation of this law. Jehoiada had the king of Judah's daughter to wife, 2 Chron. xxii. 11. And another priest had for wife one of the daughters of liurzillai the Gileadite, Kzra ii. 61. "By reason of such marriages," says Mr. Ainsworth, " there might be kindred between Elizabeth, the mother of John the Haptist, who was of the daughters of Aaron, and Mary tlic virgin, the mother of our Lord, who was of the lineage of David, and tribe of Judah;" Luke i. 5, 36; iii. 23-31.
Verse II. Mahlah, Tirzah, <^c.] For a curious account of these names, see the notes on chap,.xxvii. 7.
Verse 12. Atid their inheritance remained in — the family] " I)y this example, and the law of inheritftocee in the Holy Land, the people of God," says Ains-
one of the children of Israel shall ' keep "^ himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And ' every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
10 Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:
11"" For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brother's sons:
12 AntZ they were married " into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
13 These a?-e the "commandments and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel p in the plains of Moab, by Jordan?tear Jericho.
worth, " are taught to hold fast their inheritance in his promises, and their right in Christ, which they hold by faith; that as the Father hath made them meet to be partakers of the inheritance among the saints in light, Col. i. 12, so they may keep the faith and grace which they have received to the end."
Verse 13. These Tire the commandments, Jfc] See these different terms analyzed and explained. Lev.
Thus ends the hook of Numbers, containing a series of astonishing providences and events. Scarcely any piece of history in the sacred writings is better calculated to impress the mind of a serious reader with a sense of the goodness and severity of God. In every transaction his holiness and justice appear in closest union with his benevolence and mercy. From such a Being what have the wicked not to fear! From such a Father and Friend what have the upright not to hope! His justice requires him to punish iniquity, but his mercy inclines him to pardon all who truly repent and believe in the Son of his love.
The journeyings of this people, from the time they left Egypt, ehxibit a series of providential wonders. Every where, and in every circumstance, God appears and yet there is no circumstance or occasion thai doe* not justify those signal displays of his grace and his JUSTICE. The genuine history of God's providence must be sought for in this booli alone; and as every occurrence happened as an example, we have authority to conclude that in every case where his own glory and the salvation of man are interested, he will interfere and give the fullest proofs that he is the same today that he was yesterday, and will continue unchangeable for ever and ever. Reader, are these matters ensamples to thee? Art thou, like the Israelites, come into the plains of Moab, on the very verge of the promised land? Jordan alone separates thee from the promised inheritance. O, watch and pray, that thou come not short of the glory of God. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death; see then that the sting of death, which is sin, be extracted from thy soul, that, being justified by Christ's blood, thou mayest be made an heir according to the hope of an eternal life. Amen, amen.
" I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face, like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. And I wdl cause you to pass under the rod, and bring you into the bond of the covenant," Ezek. XX. 35-37.
" He (Christ) is the Mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that ivere under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance," Heb. ix. 15.
SECTIONS in the Book of Numbers, carried on from Leviticus, which ends with the thirty-third.
M.4S0RETIC Notes on Numbers.
The number of verses in this book is 1,288, of which nBIN is the symbol: for X aleph stands for 1000, 1 resh for 200, 3 phe for 80, and n cheth for 8.
The middle verse is the 20th of chap. xvii. And the marl's rod whom I shall choose shall blossom. (N. B. Incur English Bibles this is ver. 5 of chap, xvii.)
Its pareshioth, or larger sections, are 10, expressed by the letters of the word n3 badad, alone: The Lord alone did lead him, Deut. xxxii. 12. T daleth stands for 4, repeated here, 8, and 3 beth for 2.
Its sedarim, or Masoretic sections, are 32, expressed by the word 2'? leb, heart, Psa. li. 12: Create in me a clean heart, O God; in which word 2 beth stands for 2, and '7 lamed for 30.
Its chapters are 36, expressed by the word I7 lu, O! Deut. xxxii. 29: O that they were wise! in which word 7 lamed stands for 30, and 1 vau for 6.
The number of its open sections is 92; its close or shut sections, 66; together 158; expressed in the memorial word ■lp'7n chelkccha: I am thy portion; in which word p koph stands for 100, 7 lamed for 30, 3 caph for 20, and n chelh for 8.
Though this sort of notations may appear trifling to some, yet to an upright Jew they were of much consequence. The very technical words used in such cases put him always in mind of something in which the glory of God and the happiness and salvation of his own soul were concerned. See the note at the end of Genesis, and see the concluding notes on the Book of Deuteronomy.
l^l^E have borrowed the name of this book, as in former cases, from the Vulgate Latin, D enter onoinium, as the Vulgate has done from the Greek version of the Septuagint, Afurcpovo/iiov, which is a compound term literally signifying the second laic, because it seems to contain a repetition of the preceding laws, from which circumstance it has been termed by the rabbins n:E?o mishneh, the iteration or donhling.
It appears that both these names are borrowed from chap. xvii. 18, where the king is commanded to write him a copy of this law; the original is niinn n:a'"D mishneh hattorah, a repetition or doubling of the laiv, wliich the Septuagint have translated to dcv-epovoinov, this second law, which we, properly enough, translate a copy of the law: but in Hebrew, like the preceding books, it takes its name from its commencement, o'l^nn nSs elleh iiaddebarim, these are the words; and in the best rabbinical Bibles its running title is q-i2t 133 sepher DEBARiM, the book of debarim, or the book of the words. Our Saxon ancestors termed it 6eo nspcer ffi, the after law.
The Book of Deuteronomy contains an account of what passed in the wilderness from the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after the departure of the Israelites from Egypt to the seventh day of the twelfth month of the same; making in the whole a history of the transactions oi exactly five weeks, the months of the Jews being lunar. The history is continued about seven days after the death of Moses; for he began to deliver his first dis course to the people in the plains of Moab the^'^'^s' day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, ciiap. i. 3, and died on the first day of the twelfth month of the same year, aged 120 years.
As the Israelites were now about to enter into the promised land, and many of them had not witnessed the different transactions in the wilderness, the former generation having been all destroyed except Joshua and Caleb; to impress their hearts with a deep sense of their obligation to God, and to prepare them for the inheritance which God had prepared for them, Closes here repeats the principal occurrences of the forty years, now almost elapsed; shows tliem the absolute necessity of fearing, loving, and obejang God; repeats the ten commandments, and particularly explains each, and the ordinances belonging to them, adding others which he had not delivered before; confirms the whole law in a most solemn manner, with exceeding great and precious promises to them that keep it, and a denunciation of the most awful judgments against those who should break it; renews the covenant between God and the people; prophesies of things which should come to pass in the latter days; blesses each of the tribes, propheticall}', with the choicest spiritual and temporal blessings; and then, having viewed the whole cxient of the land, from the top of Mount Nebo or Pisgah, he yielded up the giiost, and was privately buried by God, leaving Joshua the son of Nun for his successor.
The Book of Deuteronomy and the Epistle to the Hebrews contain the best comment on the nature, design, and use of the law; the former may be considered as an evangelical commentary on the four preceding books, in wliich the spiritual reference and signification of the different parts of the law are given, and given in such a manner as none could give who had not a clear discovery of the glory which was to be revealed. It may be safely asserted that very few parts of the Old Testament Scriptures can be read with greater profit by the genuine Christian than the Book of Deuteronomy.
The contents of the different chapters may be thus briefly summed up: —
On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortietli year, after llie departure from Egypt, the Israehtes being then on the east side of Jordan, in the land of the Moabites, Moses gives them a brief recapitulation of what took place in the wilderness, from their leaving Mount Horeh till they came to Kadesh; chap. i.
Their travels from Kadesh till they come to the country of the Amorites, with the defeat of Sihon their king; chap. ii.
The war with Og, king of Bashan, with the dividing his land and that of Sihon among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; chap. iii.
Moses exhorts them to observe the Divine precepts; threatens those who should violate them; and appoints Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan, to be the cities of refuge on the east side of Jordan; chap. iv.
Repeats the decalogue, and tells the people what effect the publication of it had on their fathers, when God spoke to them from the mount; chap. v.
Exhorts them to love God with all their heart, and promises them an abundance of good things; chap. vi.
Repeats the command to exterminate the Canaanites, and all vestiges of their idolatry, chap. vii.
Recites the many interpositions of God's kindness which they had received during their forty years' travel in the wilderness, and strongly exhorts them to remember those mercies, and not to forfeit a continuance of his favours by ingratitude and disobedience; chap. viii.
Sliows them that they were to pass Jordan in a short time, and that God was about to bring them in, not on account of their goodness, but of his mercy; chap. ix.
Gives an account of the second tables of the law, which he made at the command of God ■ mentions their journey from Beeroth to Jotbatb, the choosing of the Levites, and the neces sity of having the heart circumcised; chap. x.
Continues an account of God's mighty acts in their behalf, and shows the blessings which should come on them who kept his law, and the curse on those who were disobedient. The blessings to be pronounced on Mount Gerizim, and the curses on Mount Ehal; chap. xi.
Commands them to destroy all monuments of idolatry in the land, to offer the different offerings and sacrifices, and to avoid eating of blood; chap. xii.
Forbids their cutting themselves at funerals, recapitulates the law concerning clean and unclean animals, and exhorts them to remember the Levites; chap. xiv.
Every seventh year shall be a year of release for the poor of usury; first-born, &c.; chap. xv.
Concerning the annual feasts, passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; the establishment of judges and officers; no groves to be planted near the altar of God; chap. xvi.
Idolaters are to be put to death; difllicult cases in equity to be referred to the superior judges; of a king and his duties; chap. xvii.
All divination is prohibited. The grand promise of an extraordinary Prophet. How false prophets are to be distinguished; chap, xviii.
The laws relative to the cities of refuge, and how the intentional murderer is to be treated; chap. xix.
Laws relative to the carrying on of war; who should be sent back from the army, how they are to treat the Canaanites, and how they are to commence sieges, chap. xx.
How to make expiation for an uncertain murder; marriages with captives; rights of the first-born, &c.; chap. xxi.
Things lost or strayed are to be restored to their rigiit owners; men and women must not interchange apparel; ianproper mixtures to be avoided; of the tokens of virginity; adulterers and adulteresses to be put to death; chap. xxii.
Eunuchs, bastards, Moaljites, and Ammonites, are not to be permitted to enter into the congregation of the Lord. Harlots not to be tolerated; chap, xxiii.
More than forty stripes shall not be given. If a man die childless, his brother shall take his wife. Of weights, measures, &c.; chap. xxv.
Different ceremonies to be used in offering the first-fruits; tithes. Of full self-consecration to God; chap. xxvi.
The words of the law to be written on stones, and to be set up on Mount Ebal. The tribes which stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the obedient, and those which should stand on Mount Ebal to curse the disobedient. Who they are that are to be cursed; chap, xxvii.
Tlie blessings of tiiosc who are faithful; curses against the disobedient; chap, xxviii. A recital of the covenant of God, made not only with them, but for their posterity; chap. xxix. Promises of pardon to the penitent; good and evil, life and deatli, are set before tliem; ch. xxx. Moses, being now 120 years old, delivers a copy of the law wliich he liad written into the hands of the priests, to be laid up in the ark, and to be publicly read every seventh year; a charge is given to Joshua; chap. xxxi.
Tlie propiietical and historical song of Moses: he is commanded to go up to Mount Nebo tliat he may see the promised land; chap, xxxii.
The prophetical blessing of tlie twelve tribes. The indescribable happiness of Israel; chap. xx.\i.
Moses views tlie promised land from the top of IMount Nebo, dies, and is privately buried by tlie Lord. The Israelites mourn for him thirty days. Joshua takes command of the people. The character of Moses; chap, xxxiv.
At the close of this book I have added a number of useful Tables, such as no edition of the Bible ever could boast, viz.:
Table I. A perpetual table, showing through the course of 13 lunar cycles (which embrace every possible variation) the day of the iveek with which tlie Jewish ijear begins, and on which the passover is held; as also the lengths of the months Marchesvan and Cisleu.
Table II. Containing the whole variations in the reading of the Pareshioth or sections of the laxc for every year of the Jewish cycle of 247 years. Table III. To find, with the help of Table IV., the day of the iceek upon which any Jewish new moon or festival happens. Table IV. To determine upon tvhat day of the xceek ami Jewish month commences for any given year; as also the day of the iveek upon which the Jews celebrate their principal fasts and festivals. Table V. Containing the order of leading the Pareshioth and Haphtaroth for 90 Jewish years, i. e., from A. M. 5572 to A. M. 5661, both inclusive, connected with the corresponding dat^s in the Christian era, according to the Gregorian or new style. Table VI. Containing the year of the Jewish lunar cycle, the golden number, the first day of the Jewish passover, Easter Sunday, and the commencement of each Jewish year according to the Ch-egorian Calendar, A. D. 1812 to A. D. 1900, both inclusive. All concluded with an explanation of the preceding tables. To them succeeds A Chronology of the Pentateuch, with the Book of Joshua; or a Systematic Arrangement of Events from the creation of Adam, A. M. 1, to the birth of Peleg, A. M. 1757, and thence to the death of Joshua, A. M. 2561. This chronology includes two tables, viz.: Table I. The birth and death of all the patriarchs, from Adam, A. M. 1, to Rhea, son of Peleg, A. M. 1787. Table II. A chronology oi ancient kingdoms sj-nchronized with the sacred history, from A. M. 1757, B. C. 2247, to A. M. 2561, B. C. 144.3. The whole so calculated as to prevent the necessity of having recourse to.systems of chronology for historic facts in anywise connected witii those mentioned in the sacred writings. The great utility of these tables will, I think, be at once evident to every Biblical critic, chronologist, and antiquary; and for the immense labour employed in their construction the editor, no doubt, will have their hearty thanks. Adam Clarke.
Introduction to the book, 1, 2. Moses addresses the people in the fortieth year after the exodtts from Egypt, 3-5; and shows how God had spoken to them in Horeb, and the directions he gave them, 6-8. How, at the commandment of the Lord, he had appointed officers, judges, Jfc, to share the government tvith him, 9—18. Of their travels in the terrible icilderness, 19—21. The people's request to have spies sent to search out the land, 22—25. Of their murmuring and rebellion lohen they heard the report of the spies, 36-28. Hoio Moses encouraged them, 29—33. The displeasure of the Lord against them because of their murmurings, and his purpose to exclude them from the good land, and give it to their children only, 34—40. How they repented, and yet, without the authority of God, went against the Amorites, by whom they tuere defeated, il—ii. Their return to Kadesh, where they abode many days, 45, 46.
T'HESE he the words which Moses spake unto all Israel
° on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against ** the Red.Sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and "^ Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
Verse 1. These be the words which Moses spake] The five first verses of this chapter contain the introduction to the rest of the book: they do not appear to be the work of Moses, but were added probably either by Joshua or Ezra.
On this side Jordan] IDi'S beeber, at the passage of Jordan, i. e., near or opposite to the place where the Israelites passed over after the death of Moses. Though "l^i* eber is used to signify both on this side and on the other side, and the connection in which it stands can only determine the meaning; yet here it signifies neither, but simply the place or ford where the Israelites passed over Jordan.
In the plain] That is, of Moab; over against the Red Sea — not the Red Sea, for they were now farther from it than they had yet been: the word sea is not in the text, and the word ^13 suph, which we render red, does not signify the Red Sea, unless joined with D' yam, sea; here it must necessarily signify a place in or adjoining to the plains of Moab. Ptolemy mentions a people named Sophonites, that dwelt in Arabia Petrcea, and it is probable that they took their name from this
2 ( There are eleven da.ys^ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir "^ unto Kadeshbarnea.)
3 And it came to pass " in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the
place; but see the note from Lightfoot, Num. xx., at the end.
Paran] This could not have been the Paran which w^as contiguous to the Red Sea, and not far from Mount Horeb; for the place here mentioned lay on the very borders of the promised land, at a vast distance from the former.
Dizahab.] The word should be separated, as it is in the Hebrew, arii '1 Di Zahab. As Zahab signifies gold, the Septuagint have translated it ra;i-piiCT(a, the gold mines; and the Vulgate ubi aurum est plurimum, where there is much gold. It is more likely to be the name of a place.
Averse 2. There are eleven days' journey] The Israelites were eleven days in going from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, where they were near the verge of the promised land; after which they were thirty-eight years wandering up and down in the vicinity of this place, not being permitted, because of their rebellions, to enter into the promised rest, though they were the whole of that time within a few miles of the land of Canaan!
Boundaries of the land to be