Exodus
Vem 1. That are tk« names] Though this book is k eOQtiDUKtioD of th* book of Geneais, with which probably it vtm in former timeB conjoined, Moaei thought it neceanry to introduce it with an account of the namea and number of the family of Jacob when they cams to E^c^t, to show, that though Ihey were then veir few, jet io a ahort tim& under the etpeoial Mewing of God, thmr had multipliea exceedingty; and thue the promiK to Abraham had been literally ramlled. — See the ttolea oa Gen. xlvL
Verae 6. Joteph died, and all kU brethren] That ia, Joaeph had now been ume time dead, aa alao all hia brethreo t and all the Egyptians, who had known Jaeob and hii twelve aona: and tma ia a aort of leaaon why the inportimt aervioea performed by Joaeph were finjiotiaiL Verae 7. 7%a ehUdren if braet were Jrui^fid] eort^ a general tertn, aignifyuw (hat they were Uln tree*, bnnging forth an afrunaanee t^Jruit.
And inertaaed\ yia/iretou, they increaaed Wu
JUut, aa the original word impliea. — See Gen. i. 20. and the note there.
■AbtmdaitU]/] \srf yiretnt, they multiplied: thia ia a separate term, and duiuld not have been uaed aa a^ adverb by our tnuMMIora.
Amd waxtd exceeding mighty] 'WD utoa toip^ vayoACmw k^meod meod, and they became etnog beyond meuoie— M^MpUiwIy, euperlatively — ao that the land (Ooahen) tKW jUtal m» iMm. Thia aatonishing iikcraaae ma, under ibe providence of God, chiefly owing to two ca^Bi; i. The Hebrew women were ezeeedingly fruitfiil, Mifiend very little in parturition, and probablj often brought forth fwina. 2. There Kppean to have been no premature deaths among them. Thua io about two hundred and fifteen yean Uiey were multiplied to upwards of 600/100, iadepeitdently 01 oU man, wamm, and ebUdren.
Verae & ITtere aroet itp a nm Mnr] Who diia was, it ia difficult to say. It was pnbably Jamttne JMtamua, or hia son Ammaphi», who sueeeeaed him in ttw Kovemment of Enpt, about A. M. 2400, before Chriat 1^.
WhiA Knew not JoeephJ] The verb yadi, which we translate to knowj often aigniflea to aehunoledge or opproiM, see Judges ii. 10. Pau. i. 6. zxxi. 7. Hob. ii. EL and Amos iii. 2. The Greek verbs •<>■. and j-oim., are used preeisaly in the same aenae in die New Testament, ne HatL zzv. 12. and 1 John iii. 1. We may therefore nndsrstand 1^ dw nev king'e not knowing Jbevph, his dimpminM of that system of govenuneot which Joseph
6 And ' JoBeph died, and all hia bre- fc^SS thren, and all that generation.
7 'And the children oflsrael were fruitful, and increasedabandantly,aDd multiplied, ud waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with
8 Now there ' arose up a new king ^ eS iS over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. '■ —
9 Ana he sidd unto his people. Behold, > the people of the chUdren of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us ' deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there folieth out any war, they jom also unto our enemies, and fight against ub» and to get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters ^ to afflict them with their > burdens.
ledge the obligations under which the whole land of Egypt was laid to this eminent prime minister of one of hia predeccseora.
Verae 9. He eaid tmto hie people\ He prtAiably summoned a council of bis nobles ana eldera to conaioer lbs subject; and the result wa% to persecute and destrc^'lban) aa IS afterward stated,
Verae 10, They join aleo unto our enemtea] It bSB been conjectured, that Pharaoh had probably hia eye on the oppresaiOQS whi^ Egypt had Buffered under the ahepktrd kmge, who for a long series of vears bad, according ts Manetha governed the land with extreme criielty. Ai the Isfaeiites were of the same occupation, viz. ehepker^e, the jealoua, cruel king found it easy to attribute to than die matt motives; taking it for granted, that th^ woe only waiting for a favoorable opportunity to join the enemies of Esypt, and so overrun the whole land.
Verse IL Set over Stem taek-maetere] wa eartf miaeim, chi^e or princes of burdens, worke, or lriintt»— Sept. overeeere qf &e worJu. Tba persons who appointed them dteir wwk, and exacted tba performance ot it. The toorJk itself beinir oppreeaive, and the fnann«r in which it was exacted still more ao. there is some room to think that diey not only worked tbem unmercihilly, but also obliged them to pay an exorbitaal tribute at the same time.
TVcorars cttiat] muon ^rey miecenoth, Here eilite — publie granariee. Calmet aupposea this to be the name of a oi^, and tranalates the verae tnua: " ^ley built eiliec, vis. Keeenoth, Pithoni, and Ramcaes." PiUiom is cupposed to be that which Herodotus calls Patumaw. Raamsea, or rather Rameeee, for it ia the same Hebrew wordai in Otn. zlvii. 11. and ahould be written the sante waybere as (here, ia supposed to have been the capital of the land of Goshen, mentioned in the book of Qeneaia by on/tctpstion; for It was probably not erected till after the days of Joseph, when dte IsmditM were brought under that seven oppression deaeribed in the book of Exodus. The Septaa-
Emt add here, a*, n •mi tUiwirtxx, md ON, vMdk t> Hetiopolie: i. a. the city of the Sua. The nme lesding is found also in the Coptic version.
Some writers suppose, dial, besides these cities, the Israelites builded the Pyramide. If this conjecture be wellfounded, pertiapa th^ are intended in the word man miecenoth, which friira \» eaean, to fay up in store, miAx be intended to signify places where PbaraiA hud up ub treasiuss; and firma nteir structure, they appear to Mm besB dengnsd for sonwthing of diis kfari. If ths hiMiy
And they built for Pharaoh, treanire cities, Pithom " and Raamses.
12 ■ But the more they aflUcted them, the more Chey multiplied and grew. And they were (rieved beoause of the children ot'IsraeL
13 And the E^yptiims made the children of Israel to eerve with rigour:
14 And they "made their Uvea bitter with hard bondage. ' in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
16 ^ And the lung of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whieh the name of the one tteu Shiphrah, and the name of the other Pnah:
of tba jiyiamids be not foood in the book of Exodu% it ii nowhere else extant; their origin, if not alluded to here, being loat in their, very remote antiquity. Diodonie Sicuia*, vho bu given the best traditioiu he could find relative to them, says, that there was no agreement either among the inhabitonu, or the historians, concerning the building «f the pyrainids. Bib. Hist. lib. 1. cap. Ixiv.
Jowpnus expressly says, that one part of the ocpression suffered by the Israelites in Egyp^ 'WBi oeeasioiwd 1^ hoilding pyramufs. — See on ver. 14.
In the book of Oeneais, and in this book, the word I^iaraoA frequently occurs, which, though many suppose to be a proper navu, peculiar to one person, and Inr this suppMiti<m confound the acta of sernal Egyptian kings; yet tt is to be understood only as a name ofngtee.
It may be necessary to observe, that all the Egyptian kings, whatever their mm name was, took the surname of PAorotA when they came to the throne; aname, which in iu general aeceptation, signified the same as king or numanh; but in its lUtnd meaning, as Bochort has amjdy proved, it signifies a ameadiU, which betog a tacred animal oatong toe BgyftiaoM, the word nu^t to added lo ibeirAui^ in order to proeort them the greater reverence and respect
Verse 12. Bui Ou more they q^ieUd th«m] The margin has wetty nearly preserved iKe import of the original — Aiid Oug^MieUd Hum, se tk*y muUiptitdj and so Ouy 4[TW. tbu, it, in proportion to their afflictions was their |in»parityi and bad their sufferings been greuer, their menaM wmld have bean more abundanL
Tene 13. Tb sstm vUk rigour] itu b»-plurte, with ■<rutUy, great <f]^Mgim,hangferocimuvithiiiem. Tht word ^^me is supposed by some to be derived from the Hebrew, as well as the Lcainyero?, from which we m<H« iiamedialely bring our English term. This kind of cruelty to slavei^ tmd Ceroeiouaness, unfeelingness, and hard-heart- «daesB, were particularly forbidden to the children of Israel. See LeviL xxv. 43, 46. where the same word is tued—thmt thaU not ruU over him wit/i, sioouo, but ehalt fear thy
Terse 14. They made their Uvea Inlter'] So that they became weary of lib through the severi^ ol dwir aervi- Ude.
WiA hard hoTtdage] mrp fnaya heSbodah kathah^ with grievous servitude. Tbii was dte general character «f their life in Egypt) it was a life of the moet painful servitude, oj^ressive enou^ in itself, but made much more •0^ bv the cruel mooDer oftheir treatmeut, while performink Uieir tasks.
Jh mortar and in brUU] First in dining the day, kneadina and preparing it, and sacondl^wnung it into irielet, drying them in the sun, Sus.
Sermee in Uu afield] Carrying these materials to the ^ooes where they were to be foiuied into buildings, and sBrring the buildOTs, while employed in thoK public works. JoHsphua says the Egyptians contrived a variety of ways to amict the Israelilea: for dwy enjoined dMm, says he, to «)t agraat number of chaaneb for the river, and to build wsJlsur their eitiea and ramparts, that they might reatmin the river, and hinder its waters from stagnating, upon its orerranning its own bonks: they set them also to build pyramids, nt'i^'tit ti it>g.Ht:^i»ri(, and wore them out, and forced them to learn all sorts of mechanic arts, and to accustom themselves to hard labour.— Aniiq. 1U>. ti. cap. is. •ect. 1. Philo bean nearly the ssme testimony, p. 86.
Terse ISL ifelrew mtdtn'ves] Siiphrah and Puah, wbaA are liere mentioned, were probably certain dU^e, under whom aU die rest acted, and by whom d»ey were uwnieted in the abatitrie art Men Ezra supposes, there •Kdd not have been bwec than five hundred midwives
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see (hem upon the stools; if it 6e a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it 6« a daughter, tiien she Hball live.
17 But the midwives ' feared Qod, and did not * as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye dons this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And > the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in onto them.
20 " Therefore God dealt with the mid-
among the Hebrew women at this time} but that very few were requisite, see proved on ver. 19.
Verse 16. l^xm the stooU] cnMn Vjr M ha-abenayim. This is a difficult word, ana occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, but in Jer. xviii. 3. where we translate It the potter'* vheeU. As pH often, signifies a stou the ahenayim haa been suppooed to si^iify a stone frouj^ in which they received oncf washed the iiubnt as soon as bom. Jardii, in his book of Hebrew roots, gives a very different interpretation of it; he derives it from p ben, a «on; or CfiS banim, diildren: his words muat not be liteially translated; but this is the sense — " When ye do the office of a midwife lo the Hebrew women, and ye aee that dM birth is broken forth, if it be a son, then ya shall kill him." Jonathan ben Vzziel gives us a curious reason for the command given by Pharaoh to the Egyptian women — " Pharaoh slept, and saw in his sleep a balance, and behold the whole laud of Egypt stood in one scale, and a lamb in the other; and the scale in which the lamb was outweuhled that in which was the land of EgypL Immediate^ he sent and called all the chief maguuans^ and told them his dream. And Jmea and Jimbree, (see 2 Tim. ill. 8.) vho were chief of the magicians, opeiiied their mouths and said to Pharaoh, A child p shortly to be bom in the congregotion of the Israelites, whose nand shall destroy the whole land of Egjrpt." Ther^ore Pharaoh epaJce lo the mtd-
Verse 17. Th« midtrivee feared God\ Because th^ knew that Qod had forbidden murder of every kind: for tbou^ the law was not yet given, Exod, xx. 13. being Helwewa, they must have known mot God hod from the b^inning declared, Wkoaoever riuddeOi marie blood, by man ahail hie btood be duA Oen. iz. 6. Therefore they saved the male children of all to whose assistance they were called. See ver. 19.
Terse 19. T^eHdtreawmm-arenotaethtEgyptim women] This is a simple statement of what general ez< perience knows to be tijaei, viz. that women, who* during the whole of their pregnancy, are accustomed to hara labour, especially in the open air, have comparatively litde pain in partvAtion. At this lime tlie whole Hebrew nation, men and women, were in a state of alavery, and were obliged to work in mortar and brick, and ou manner nf oerviee m ran field, ver. 14. and this at once accounts for the ease and sneediness of (heir travail. With the strictest troth the miawives might say, th* Bebreio women are not as Uu Egyptian women; the latter fare delicately, are not inured to labour, and are kept shut up at honke; merefore they have hard, difficult, and dangerous labours: but the Hebrew women ore lively, n\*n chaiyoth. are ahwigt hale, and vigorous, and therefore are deiivered ■ere Ae nuowiTw come in unto them. In such case^ we may naturally conclude, that the midwives were very seldom even sent far. And this is probably the reason why we find but two mentioned; as in such a state of society, there could be but very little employment for persons of that profession, as a mother, an aunt, or any female acquaintance or ntighbour, could readily afford all the assistance necessarv in swdi cases. Commentators, pressed with imaginary difficulties have sought for examples of easy parturition in Ethiopia, Persia, and India, as parallels to the ease before us t but they might have spared themselves the trouble, because the case is common in all jtarts o/" the gUAe where the women labour hard, and especially in the open air. I have known several instances of toe kind myself^ among the labouring poor. I shall mention one i I saw a poor woman in the open field at bard labour — she staid away in the afternoon; but Ae returned the next mommg to her work, with her inbnt child, having in the interim Men safely delivered I She continued at her dsi^. wmk, having unarently suffered no ipconveaimM| wlrei: and tbe people moIt^jiUBd, and waxed SS T And Pfaanoh cha^^ all hie people, very mightr. sayine, * Every eon that ii born ye ahall cait
21 Ana it came to paaa, because the midwives into the river, iod every daoffbtw ye ihall nn feared GK>d, * that he made them houses. alive.
I have entered more particnlBrly into thii ml^l, be- Cftuse, ihrcAi^ti want of proper information (perha^ from a worn motive) certain peraooe have apoken very unguaidedlj wainet thia inspired reeortt— *"nie Hebrew midwivea told palpable lies, and Ood etx&mends them for it: thiu we may do evil that good may conke of it, and amUfy the tuana bv.ibe «iuL" Now, I eoDtend that Ibenwaanaitber ttenrae^ un vwtnpnparieatioK in tbe caae. Tba midwivea boldly alale to Pbaraob hfaet, (had it not been ao, be had a thoiuand meana of aaoertaining tbe truth) and they state it in iuch a way, as to bring conviction to hia mind, on the nibjeet of hia oppreaaive cruelty oo the one hand, and the of Jehovan on the other. A» if they hod aai<L "The very oppreasion, under which, dirough thy eruel^, the Israalitea groan, tbeir God haa turned to their advaatage: they an not only fyuUfvi, but they bring forth with comparatively no trmiSUi m nave •carcely any employment among them." Here then ia a /act, boldly announced in the fwe of danger: and we aee that God wa« pleased with thia franknesa of the midwivea, and he bletsed tliem for it.
VerK 20. ITur^on God dealt well aith A* midwivea: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mtxA^] Tiu* ahovs an eapecial provicUnce uk) Uesnng of God; for though in all cases where females are kept to hard labour, thay have comparatively easy and safe travail; yet in a state of slavery, the inereaae ia generally very small; as the children die for want of proper nursing, the wom^ throu^ their laboar, being obliged to aspect their offspring j BO that in tbe slave countries, the etadc is obliged to be recruited by foreign imports; yet, in the caas Mwve, it was not so; there was not one barren amonc their tribes; and even tbeir women, diougb constantly obliged to perfonn tluir dailv taakt, wen neidier rendered unfruitftil 1^ ^^ Bar tiJien off by premature deaths, throu^ Ae violence and contiauanoe m tbeir labour, when even in tbe delicate aitaatim mentjooed above.
Terse 21. Be made them Aousat] Dr. Shuckford thinki that there is something wroiu: both in the punctuation and translation of this J^aee, anareads the passage thus, adding the 21st to the 20th verse. " And Uiey multipted and waxed migh^ i and this happened <vr> vayehi) because the midwives feared Ood: ana he {Pharaoh) made orfj latum, (masc.) them (the Uraelitea) houses i and commanded all hia people, saying, Every son that la bora" Ac The doctor supposes ttml previous to this time the Israelites had no fixed dwellings, but lived in tents, and therefore had a better opportunity of coiioealtng their children: but now Pharaoh Duilt them houses, and obliged tbem to dwell in them, and caused the Egyptians to watch over them, that all the male children taigbt be destroyed, which eouid not have been easily effected had die Israelites continued to live in their usual scattered manner in tents. That the howee in question were not made for the midwivet, but for the Isnteliies in general, the Hebrew text seems pretty plainly to indicate: for the pronoun orf} tahem, to tbem, la the maeeuliTU gender: bad tbe midtaivea been meu^ the fombune pronoun \ffi taken, would have been uaed. Others eonteno, that 1^ making them houaea, not only the midwivea are intei>ded, but auo that the words mark an increase of their fomilies, and (hat the cAijecUon taken from tbe masculine pronoun is of no weight, because these pronouns are often interchanged i see 1 Kings xxii. 17. where onV laham is written, and in the parallel place, 2 Cbron. xviiL 6. |r6 lahen is used. So ona ftoAnn, in 1 Chron. x. 7. ia written rna ftoAen, 1 Sam. xxzi. 7. and ia several other places, tlwe ia no doubt that Ood did bless the midwives; his approbation of their conduct is strictly marked; and there can be no doubt of his prospering tbe Israelites; (or it is partieularlysaid that the people multiplied and waxed very mig^^. jBut the words most probably refer to the Israelites, wnoae hoxiMt* otJamUiea, were built up by an extraordinary increase of children, notwithstanding the cniel policy of the Egyptian king. Vain is the counsel of man, when opposed to tbe determinations of God I All the means used for the destruction of this people, became in his hand instruments of their prosperi^ and inereaae. How true is tbe saying, if Ood be for us, who can be againat ual
Verae 22. Fe AaS eaat inio A* Hmt] Aa the IHU, wbicb ia ben iotended, was a aaerel Htn- anumg tbe Vgyptiaa^iaitnot likely that PhHaohiatended ihejomg
Hebrewa aa an offering to his god, liaving two objects in view, 1. To increase the fertili^ of the country by tfaM procuring, as he night suppoae, a proper and au&amt annual inundation; aind 2. To prevent an increase of lotion among the Israelites, and in process of time ptooors tbeir entire extermination 7
It ia coiyeetured, with a gnat abov of pnbabiUtf, thai the edict, menliiMiM ia diia ven^ was not made liu aAtr tbe birth of Ataoat and Ibat it vaa levoked oom after die birth of Moses t as, if it had aubaisted in iu rigour, daring the ei^Uy-tix yean which elapsed between this and the deliverance of the Israelites, it is not at all likely that tfaar males would have amounted to aix hundred thauraand, and those all effective men. •
In the General Preface to this vrori, reference haa been made to OaMin'a method interpreting the Srrriptaret, and some specimens promised. Cm the plain account of i simple matter of ihct, related in dte preceding chapter, this very eminent man, in bis 2d homily on Exodus, imposes an interprelatioi^ of which the following ia tbe aubatanee.
Pharaoh, king Egypt, represents the devil} — tbe male and /emale cnildr^ of die Hebrews^ represent die animal and rational hcultiea of the soul. Pharaoh, the devil, wishes to destroy all the malea, i. e. the seeds of raiimaUty and epiritaal science, ihrou^^i which the said tenda to, and seeks heavenly thinge; out he widies to preserve the yemo^ alive, i. e. all dKwe onfmo/ pnpe^ aiiiea of man, through which he beeonwa oonwi aad deviH^ Hence, says he, when you see a man living ia luxury, banquetii^ pleasures, and sensual gratifications { know, that there the king qf Egypt has slain all tbe malea, and preserved all the femaUe alive. Ilie nwfwiVM.represent die Old and rfete Teatammta; the one ■s called Smhora, which signifies a aparrov, and means that sort of inalruetion, by whidt the soul is led to iWt. Kod coniemplata beavenly things. The other ia caflea Pkua, which signifies ruddy or baalJut, and pointa out the OoapeL which is ruddy with the blood of Christ, spreading the doctrine of his passion over the earth. Br these, as midwives, the souls tbat are bom into the church are healed; for the reading <^ the Scripturea toriteU and heala what is amiss in the mind. Pharaoh, the devit, wishes to eerrupt those midwivea, that all the malea, the apiriluat propenaitiea, may be destroyed | and this he wideavoors to do, bringing in hereaiea and corrvpt But the foundadon of Ood standedi sure. 7tm midwivea /eared Chd, ther^ort he builded them kouaea. If this be taken literally, it has little or no meaning, and is of no importance; but it points out, that the midwivea, tbe law and die Ooapel, \^ teatMng the fear of Ood, build the Aouses ^ the dmrdi, and nil the whole earth with houaee prayer. Hierefore these midwives, because they feared God, and taught the fear of God, did not fulfil the command of tbe king of Efivpt — they did nut kilt the malea: and I dare confidently uBrm, that diey did not preserve lhafemalea aUve; for th^ do not teach vicious doctrines in toe diureh, nor preadi up luxury, nor foster ain, which are what PnaroM wishes, in keeping the femalea aUve; for by these virtue alone is cultivatra and nourished. By PharatA'a daughter, I suppose tbe cAurtA to be inienud, which is gathered from among the Gentiles; and aldMU^^ At baa an impious and- iniquitous Euber, yet the prophet aaye unto her. Hearken, O dau^- ter, and eonaider, inline thine ear; forget atao thin* own people, and thyfather^t houae, ao mall the king greatly deaire thy beauty. Paal. xlv. 10. 11. Thia, diere* fore, is she who comes to the watera to bathe, i. e. to tbe bcgitiamat font, that she may be washed frmn the sina vroicb she has contracted in hei faSter'a houae. Immediately she receives bowels of commiseration, and [ritiea the infant — That is, the ehurek, coming from among dM Gentiles, finds IHoaea, the law, lying in the pool; com out, and expoeed by hia own pemle, in ^ ark ^ bxdruihea datAea over with pitch, deformed and obscured by tbe carnal and alMurd glosses of the Jews, who are ignorant of its spiritual sense; and while it continues with them, is aa a helpless and destitute in&nt t but 9s soon as it entera the doors of the Christian church, it becomes atronff and vigorous; and thus Maaea, the la-w, growa up, and become^ through meant of the Chriatiao eburdi, mort raapeetMle ma ia As ryt» of tbe Jew* diemselve^ ae-
AND there went 'a man of the house of Levi, and took to vifa a daughter of Len. a And the woman oonceived, fmd bare a Bon:
aordiactthiflowii pn^hecy— /ieitfimMA«n-<oJ«(i^oii«y wMMoM wAtcft <ir« not a jmpU i IwiU prwo/u A&m!■ coiger iaith afoMah. nation, 0«ut. xxxii. 21. Thiu taaAt ibe ChmtisB church, the amagogv^ fomkea aiMafry t for when it seea tbo GenttUa wDrabippuig th« tne God, it is ■dbuaecl of lU ideb, Mtd woralups tbm no more, in like mumsr, thooj^ we have bad PharaA for •Mr fmAir, though the prinoe of this workl has begotten ua by wicked works, yet when ws come unto the waier* b^fim, we take imio vm Mout^ the Aw ^ Ottd^ in Ml true and HMiitua] mayii'ng; what u low or weak in it, we lean) what ia atrong and perfect, we take and pJaoe in the royoi palact of our hiart. Ttien we have Hom irrmm tw i we. no longer eonsider the law as Jttt/e or ■nan all ie magnifieeat, exeelleni, elegant— for all is ■MiiloaUy ondaretood. Let lu beseech ibe Lord Jesus CbiisI, mat he may rereel himself u> lu more and more, and now vabow gnstaod subUme XoMsisi fivbotby bis Spii^ temb dwsa thin^ to iriiomsocTO be wilL Iv him n gkMTHRl dominion fivew and ever 1 and ' when ahe caw him that he wa« a goodlj dtiM. she hid him three mootha.
3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bntnishea, and daubed it with slime and with {)itch, and put the child therein; and ehe laid t< in the nags by the river's brink.
4 ' And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5 IT And the 'daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash Kerteif at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; ^id when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it
6 And when she had opened U, she saw the
Nsilber the praise of nor the merit of ingtwaxty, an ba denied to this eminent man, in such interpretations Bs these. But who, at (he same time, doee not see, that if Budi a mode of axpoaitioo were to be allowed, the trumpet ooukl no longer give a eertoin sound. Every pessage and fact mifffat tbaa be (AUged to say wimChuw', any lUiig-, •MryMigf, or nothing, aeoording to Ibe/siMy, paeoUar crttdy or e^/rie* of the interpreter.
IhsfBgiven this htm qieaimen from on* of OemdtHb, muttr to save the modsmt; from whose works oo ibe wtofa writingi^ I oould produce many ipeeimens, afiMf migular, and more abturd. Reader, it is possible to trifU with the teatimooiea of God, and all the while neak MrioHs Ain^s; but if all be not dona according to tbs pattera shown in the mount, much evil may be pniaeid, aad many aoimhling-blocks dirown in the wi^ of atbmt wfaidi may tun uem totally out of dM way of nadarsuodingi and then iriiat a dreadful aeeoont must •ueb interpreters have to give to that God, who has pronounced a corse, not only on those irtio take am^ from his word, but also on thMe who add to it
Verse 1. Thore mnt a mem] Amxam, bod of Ecdiath, •on of Levi, cliap. vi. 16—30. A daughter Jj«ri — JocHDSD, sister to Kcdkatb, and cooseijuently both the wiCs and aunt of her hnsband A'"r*fni cb^ vi. 20. Numb. zxvi. 19. Such marriages were at this time bnrftU, though they were afterward forbidden, Lev. zviii. 12. But it IB pOMibla that daughter <^ Leii, maaiM no mm dam « dBBBewkurt ot that family j and Ant prafaaUy Ammm and Jodwbed were only eounn-gennanM. As a nsw 1«8 was to be Kiven, and a new pr\«tlhood formed, God chose a itUgiotu ^fimily, out of which the tatogi9w tad. tlie high priatt, were bod) to epring.
V«ae 2. Bor* a soa] Tbim certainly was not her first ^Ud, for Aaron wm fiwneore and thrte years old, when Moaeswaabat Aiir«eer<^seedie|>. viL 7. And there was • eistir, pfobaUy Miriam, vbo was alder than aidMr, see Wow, ver. 4. and see Numb, xxri 69. Miriam and Aiuvn had, w> doubt, been both bom before the decree was passed for the deatructioo of the Hebnnr mala diildimi, mantiooed in the preceding chapter.
OsocBy child] The text shnpbr san, mn yv>siibib «i| that be was good, which signifiea that be was not only a aerfaet well-formed ohitd, but that he was very b«autifidi hence the Septnagint translate the place amOTTiiM, sasfaf Atmlofrsfremf^ui-^tucb Su Stephen mierpretB, «*«mt*t -r* was eomsly t» Ged^ or dtmbulm UatO^iil. This toy taronmstanw was wisely owMd by the kind providenoe of Ood, to be one means of bis pfeaervatum. Scarce^ any diing intaresta tha heart more, than the sig^t of a lovely babe in ilisruisi His beauty would induce even his parents to double their exertions to save hiin, and was probably the sole motive «4uch led the Egyptian princeM to take such particular care of him, and to educate him as her own son, «4iieb tn all likelihood ahe would not have done, had he been only an ordinary ofaild.
VersaS. Anorkf^frtdnuAss} tm ran Ubath gamM, a small boat or bwket, made of the Emtian reed sailed papynu, so famous in alt antiquity. 'Iliis plant grows on the banka of the Nile, and in msrahy grounda % the atalk rises to the height of sir or ssesn cubit* above the wat«r, is triangtilar, and terminates in a crown of small filaip ments, resembling hsir, which the ancients used to oompoi* to a thjrrsis^ liiis reed was <tf the greatest uae to Aa inbsMtiiint tt l^jpt, the pith imnlaiiiwl in the scaJ^ serving them for roo& and the woody part to build vessels with t v^ich vessels frequently i^ipear on engraved stonea and other mooumsnu of E^rptian antiaui^. For this purpose they made it up like rushes into nindlea^ and by tying them tomtber, gave their vessels the neeesaary figure and solidi^. The vessels of bulrushes or papyrtu^ says Dr. Shaw, were no other than lai^ fabrics m tha same kind with that of Mosei^ Exod. it. 3. which, from the late introduotion of plank and stronger materiala, are now laid aaide. lliua Pliny, lib. vi. chap. 16. takes notice of the Naves papyraeeaa armamoniaque NiU, " Ships mode of papyrus and die equipments of tbo Nilei" and lib. xiiL ehap. II. be observes, Ex ipaa modem papyro navigia texvnt — " Of the papynu ilaelf tbey conatruct sailing veasels." Herodotue and DiodoruM have recorded the aame fact, and among the poeta, Luean, lib. iv. ver. 136. Cmteritur bibulaflfemphitiM cymba nqjyro-— "The Memphian or Egyptian boat is constructed mnn the soakiiw papyrus." The epithet bibuta is particularly remarkaSle, as correaptKiding with great ezactnem to the nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew name mqi gomi, which signifies to sooA^ to drink up. See Parkmtret sub voce.
She laid it in thejlage] Not williiur to tinist it in the Hrtam, for faar of a duaMer { and probably choosing the plaoe to whioh the Egyptian ptineem was accustomed ta come, for the pwrposes speeined in tfae nou on tbs following verse.
Terse 6. And the daughter qf i^orook] Jossphns oalla her Tkermuthie, and says, that " the ark was borne along by the current, and that she sent one that oould swim after it— that ehe was struck with the figure and uncommon beauty of the child: that ahe inquired for a nurse— but that he having refuaed the breasts of several, bis aiater, proposing to bnng a Hebrew ntirse, bis own mother was procured." But all this is in Joaephus's iiwtttisr, as well as the long eireumatantial dream, that he gives to Ammm concerning the future greatness of Hosea ^rtiieb cannot be considered in any other li^ (ban that 01 a J^iUtle, and not even a cunningly deviaeavae..
To vaah herself at the river] Whether the daughter <d nianudi went to bathe in the river tbrou^ motives of pleasure, healdi, or religion: or whether the bathed atalL the text does not specify. It is merely stated by the saered writer, that ahe went down to A« river to wash; for the wtnd hereM is not in the tniginal. Mr. Banner ObservaL voL lii. p. 529. is of opintoo that (he time referred to shove, was that in which the Nile begins to riee; and as the oancing girla in Egypt are aeeiutoined now to plunge themselves into the nver at its riainK by which aa they testify their gratitude for tfae inestimable blessing of its inundationa, so it might have been formerly; ana that Pharaoh's daughter was now coming down to tha river on a similar acoonnL— I see no lilNliiMOdJn alL(lue> IM Digitized by VjOOQIC cbM: and, behold, the babe wept. And she bad compaasion on him, and said, This ia one of the Hebrews* children.
7 Then said hia sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8 And Pharaoh*s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went, and called the child's mother.
9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her. Take this cldld away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's dauehter, and he became ^bcf son. And she calledliis name ' Mosea; and sho said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11 1[ And it came to pass in those days,
* when Mosea was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their *hmdens: and he spied an Egyptian nnitine aHebrew, one of his brethren.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there wtu no man, he ' slew the Enrptian, and hid him in the mid.
13 And > mien he went out the Meond day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove tof«-
If die wuiied hemU at it might have been a religioua ablution, and yet extended no farther than to the Sand* and Jace: for the word fr\-\ racftaU, to «mjA, is repeatedly used in the Pentateuch to n^vify religimu a£bUum» of dififannt kinds. Jonathan in lua Targum myw, that God had antitten all Egypt with uleera, and that ttw daugtiter of Pharaoh came to waah in the river in order to find relief; and that as soon as she touched the ■rk where Hoses was, her ulcen were healed. This is all flible. I believe there was no bathing in the case, but simply what the text slates, waMng, not of her jMTson, iMt of her etolku, which was an emfdojinent that even kings* doi^^iters did not think beneath them la those primitive times. Homer, Odyas. vi. represents NauHeaa, daagM^ if Aleinmu, king m Uu I^ueaeian*, ia company with her maidens, employed at the sea side, in waniiig her own clothes, and ibdise of her J{r« brothers! While tlraa entptoyed they find Ulysses just driven ashort alter having been shipwrecked] utterly helpless, naked, and destitute of every necessary of life. Tne wiurio scene is ■0 perfisctly like that before us, that they appear to ma to be almost jmnllels. I shall nbjmn a few lines. The princess having piled her clothes on a carriage dimwn by ■everal moles, and driven to the place of washing, eommeiwes her work, which the poet aeschbes thus:
" tbtaniui n*it, Ibn hn In budj
When this task was finished, we find the Phnacian princess and her ladies (Kaufn f taxa^oi*— >f>v>ir*xii •xxai) employed in amuaing themselves upon the beach, (ill the garments they had washed shouM bs dry, and fit to be folded up, that they mi^t reload iheir carriage and return.
In the text of Hoses, the Egyptian princess, accompanied with her maid* nvr^pa naanteyah, comes down to the river, not to bathe keres^ for tnis is not intimated, but nurely to iMsft, ftvh KrSActti at the time in whitdi the ark is perceived, we may s^ntpose that she axul her ocnananions had finished their task, and like the daughter of JucinouB and her maidens, were amusing themsMves, wlkmg along by tKt rivet' 9 tide, as the others did by lotting a bail, rfm rat T* af trnj^tr, when they as sutidmly and as unexpectedly discovered JMoses Mtrf/t on dke flood, as Naiaieam and hnr eompanioiM disoimrad Ulysses, just escaped naked from ritipwreok. In both the histories, that of the poti, and this of the prmAet, both Ibe stnutgers, the shipwrecked CHreek, and the almost drowned Hebrew, ware rescued by the princesses, nourisbad and preserved alive! Were it lawful to suppose that Homer bad ever seen the Hebrew story, it would be reasonable to conclude that he had made it the basis of the 6th book of the Odyssey.
Terse 8. She had eompattion on htm} TTie sight of a beautifiil babe in distress, could not fiul to make the impression here mentioned; see on ver. 2. It has already been conjectured, that ihe cruel edict of the Egyptian king did not continue long in force; see chap. i. 22. And it wiU not mtear unreaoKHi^Ue to sutq;)ose, that the circumstaaBSB raUiad hm might have brmwusbent itsaboliiioiL Ths dstighier ot nirniib, atruek wiA Um dutnased awe of the Hebrew diildrcai, from what she had seen in the case of Hoses, would probably implore her father to abolish this sanguinary edict.
VtneJ. ShaUIg»mdc«U—«nune?] HadDotOa different circamstancea marked ben^ been ^aoed imd« the BUperinleodeiiee of an espeetal Provideac*^ there is m human nobabiUty that they could have had such a hupj issue. The parents had done every thing to save thsir child, that piety, affection, and prudence could dieiate, and having done ao^ they left the event to God. ByfaiA, says the apostle, Heb. xt. 23. Motet was hid, vhai kt wot bom, thru monlht s^f hit parentt, tcesttss tkmf tarn htm»a pn^ekildt and Ouf wtr* net tjraid e^tks Jung's ammandment. Because of the Unfra conunaodment they were obliged to make use of the most prwbat caution to save the child's life; and their &uth m God enabled them to risk Vuir own tafety t for they were net abaid of the king's commandment — they feared Ood, aal they had no other fear.
Verse 10. And he becoTM htr son] Prom this time tt his being brought home by hia nurs& his education oonimenced, and >u vat Itamtd in oU ikt vitdam ^ th* fgypfian^ Aeis viL 22. who, in the knowledge of naatt^ probably e«eeded all Ota natioiM then on die fiwa of dia
And ilu cxiUtd hit name] nvo moakeh, beeanse avn to min ho-moytm, out y Ac wafers, mrrvD meiAtfai^ kovs I drown Atm. nro madtak signifies to draw otUf and vwAeh is the person dratm out: the word is used in the same sense, Psnl. xviii. 17. and 2 Sam. ixii. 17. What Dame be had from his parenu we know not [ but whaiaver it might be, it was ever after lost in the name givMi tohim by the princess of Egypt Abul Farajius says diot TUnmutbia delivered him to the wise inei^ Janeem and Jls^ frrees, to be instraoted in wisdom..
Terse 11. When Motet vxi* grom] Beingfull ^br^ years of age, as Sc Stephen says, Acts vii. 28. it eamt into hit heart to vitit ha brethren— i. e. he was excitsd to it by a divine inspiration— and teeing one <if them t^fer wrong— by an E^mtian smiting him; probably one of the (aajlr.masters— As awnj^sd him and tmote, alew tts Egyptian f tuppoting thiu Ood, wfto had given him commission, had given also his brethren to understand, that they were to M delivered by his hand, see Acts vii. 23—26. Probably the Egyptian kiUed the Hebrew, and therefore on the Ifoahie precept. Hoses was justified is killii^ him: and he was authorized bo to Aa, ay the coaamission v^eh he had received from God, as all sue* cesding events amply prove. Previous to the mission at Hoses to deliver the Israelites, Joaqibus says, the Ethiopians having made an irruption into Egypt, and subdued a neat part of it, a divine oracle advised them to employ B^ses the Hebrew. On this, tlie king of Egypt raoM him general of the E^ptian fbnes; with these be attackad the &ii«>iana, delieMea and drove Ibem back into tbair own land, and foreed than to take refiiga in the dty of Saba, where he besieged them. Tliat liiarbis, doufpiier of the Ethiopian king, seeing him, fell desperately in love with him, and promised to give up the city to him, on condition that be would take lier to wife, to which Ho " agreed, and the cin' was put into the hands of the tuna. Joa. Ant. lib. iL dum. 9i St Stephen, alluded to ooneihing of this kinL when he aoid luaaB was m^rUy in dttda as well as wards.
Terse 13. Two men itf the tfebrem ttrott together\ How strange, diat in the very place where they were soffcring a heavy persecution, beouise they were Hebrewt, diat the very persons themselves, who suffered it, diouH be fiwod persecuting each other 1 It has been often seen, that in those times in «4udk the ungodly oppressed the ohurA of Qnisi, its own nmben have been aepAiUad firom sMh
Oer: kcmI he aaid to him that did the wrong, Wherefore sinifest thou thy fellow?
14 And he said, *^ Who made thee i a prince aod a judxe over us; intendest thou to kill me, as thou kitledat the Esvptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely taw thing is known,
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he. •oacht to slar Mosee. But ^ Moses fled From -UieTace of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Hidian: and he sat down by ■ a well.
16 ^ ' Now the " priest of Midian had seven daughters; "and they came and drew water, and fiUed the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 And the shepherds came and drove them ttway: bat Moses etood up and helped them, and p watered their flock.
13 Ana when they came to t Reuel, their father, he said, How ts U that ye are come bo ■ODD to^y 1
Other, by disputes CDoeeraiiig comparatively unessentia} bointi of doctrine and discipliue; in consequence of which, DOth they and the truth have become an easvprey to those whooe deaire waa to waste the heritoge of the Lord. The Taigata of Jonathan oaya that thft two persoju who itrove were DaUian and Abiram.