CHAPTER vm.
Verae 1. Lit my jmpU go] Ood, in great mer^ to Pharaoh and the Egyptiana, givea Ihem notice of the evila he inleoded to bring upoa theII^ if thcfy continued in their obatina^. Having had, thereRMre, such wamii^, the cnrU might have been pnventod by a timely humihatioa sad return to God.
Verse 2. thou r^iue] Nothing can be plainer, thaa that Pharaoh bad it atill in bia power to have diamiaand the people; and that hia refusal wa* the mere effect of his own wOfiil obstinacy.
Tf^ Jrogt} O'y'nm ta^tareMim. lUa woid ii of doubtful e^muogy i almoat all interpreten, both aaejaat and modem, agree to render it si we da though soma mentioned by Aben Ezra diink the erooooUe ia meant i but theae can never weig^i againat the conjoint testimony of the ancient veraiona. Parkhurst derives the wora from m Uaphar, denoting the bruit action or maiion (&e and ■yy yad&, to fttL aa they aeem to f«d or T^tnet in the lighi. croaking all the summer montba, yet hiding diemaelvea in the wmior. Hie Arabic name for this animal ta very near^ die same with the Hebrei^ F.Aa.e xf^d&t where the Mttcra are die aame, the a i>mca being omitted. It ia uaed aa a ijuadriliieral root in the Arabic language, to signify froggy, or eontatnjng frogOf see GfoUua. But the true etymology aeema to be given oy Bochart, who aaya the word ia compounded of «f/B, a bankf and radS, imui, beeauae the ^og deligjita in Biuddy or muAf placea; and that fr«m these two words, the BOnn tMnfr is ftimwd, the) re being dropped.
In the JafroeftonqiwaacAaa of Homer, the frog naa auu^ of its epitheta from thia venr circumatance; hence A.fir*- Xfi, delighting in ttu laJte; BofC*riHgiT«(, tying or engendering in iae mud; n^xjvf and ni|iL*CaT«(, baanging to the muOy leaMngin &e mud, &c. Ac.
A frog IB in itaeU a very hannleas animal: but to most people, who oae it not as an article of food, exceeding^ loathsome. God, with equal ease, could uve brougbk eroeodilM, &<ara, lunu, or tigert, to have punished thess people and their impious king, instead oijTog*, Uce,JUeo, oc But had be used any of thoae formidable animal^ the effect would have appearad so oommenaurate to the cause, that the hand of God might have been forgotten in die puniahment; and the peopk would have been exa»> pwated, without being humbled. In the present inataoee^ ne shows tlw greatneaa of hia power, by msUng sa animal devoid of every evil quality, the meana <^ a tei^ rible amiction to hia enemiea. How eaay ia it, both to ths jualice and mercy of God. to destroy or aave by meana of the moat despicable ana inugnificont of instrumental Though be ia dw Lord of hosta, he has no need of powerful armies, the ministry oi angels, or the ihuoder-bolta jostiee, to punish a sinner, or a sinful nation: thayVsf or the^innia band^ iaa saffioienl instniraent of vsageance.
Verse 3. 71^ river AaU bring /orth froge aftuadanHy\ The river Nile, which waa an object of their adoration, was here one of the inatnimenta of their paniahmenL Hie expreaaion, bring forA. abundanUy, not only shows the vaat numbere of those animals wbkll ahould now infast the land, but it aeema alio to imply, that all the apaim or om of those animals, which wery already in die river and mamhea, diould be brought milaoukui^ to a stats of perfootiQa. We ma^ mfptm, thst dM animsls wsw alcsadjr^na — htyo ejtmsac^ but
6 And Aaron stretched out hia hand aver the waters of Egypt; and ' the f^oga came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Effvpt.
■ 8 ti Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, > Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.
0 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, ^ Glorr over me: > when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, "to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
10 And he said, ■ To-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest
nultituclos of them would not have come to a state of pertwtion, had it not been for tfaia miraculoua interference, niia wppoaition will appear the more natural, when it ia eonaidered that the Niw was remarkable nr breeding froga, and such other animals, as are prioeipal^ engendered in such marshy place* as must be left in the Tiemity of (he Nile, after its amiual inundations.
into thine ovena\ In various parts of the east, instead of what we call ovtna, they dig a hole in the ground, in which they insert a kind of earthen po^ which having sufficiently heated, ihtj stick their cakes to the inside, and baked, remove tbem, and supply their j^aeei with others, and so on. To find such places 7W< tffrogt, when tbey oame to heat tbem in order to bake thor \a^, must be both disgusting and distressing in the extreme.
Verse B. SlreSA forth thine handr-~oMr the streams, over the rivers] The streams and rivers here may refer to the grand aivision* of the Nile in the lower £gypt, which were at least ttven, and to the «znaZs by vmich these were connect«l, as there were do oUier streamy &c but what proceeded firom this great river.
VeiSB 6. The Jngm came up, and covered the land of Egypt.] In some ancient writers, we have examples of a similar plague. The Abderites, according to Orosiua, and the inhobitanu of Pceonia and Dordonia, according to AthsMBiUj were obliged to abandon their country, on account of the great numbers of frogi^ by iriiidi dinr land was infeated.
Terse 7. 7^e magficiatu did so] A littls JuggKng or dexteri^ of hand mig^t have been quite sufBcient for the imitation of this miracle, because fir^s ia abundance had already been produced and some of these kept in readi- Dess, might have been brought forward by the magicians, as proon of their pretended power, and equality in influence to Moses and Aaron. "Veras 9. Olmy over me] >^|r ■WMin hiApaer &lai. Tbtm words have greatly puzzled commentators in general I and it ia not easy to assign dieir true meaning. Hie S^luagint render the words thus, rmlmi ir(*c mri, &c. emMiniunio me when I shall pray, Ao. He eonsHlue mvii ^uando of the Vulgate is exactly the same; and in this sense almost all the versions undentood this place. I^iis countenances the conjectural emendation of /^e Gsre, who, by the diange of a aingia letter, reading Ktartn kUhbaer, for *wsnn fttMpsnvgiTCs the same sense as that in the aneieiK venrioat. Wrubigant, supposing a corruption in the original, amends the reading thus, iHS nnM atiah boar atai — Die mihi quo tempore. Ac. " Tctt me when thou wishest me to pray for thee," &«. which amounts to the same in sense, with that proposed by Le Gen. Several of our Engluh versioiu preserve toe some meaning; so in the Saxon Heptateuch Leyeccs ma aoM an tessnt >o in Beckers BiUe 1649— "And Moses said wUo PoarocA, Awoint thou the time onto ise.' TUs appears to be the genuine import of the words, and the sense taken in this way is strong and good. We may conceive Moses addressing Phaiwih in this way — ** lliat thou mayest be persuaded that Jehovah alone ia the inflicter of those plagues; M^toint tlie lime when tboD wouldest have the present caumi^ ranoved, and I will pray unto Ood, and tnou dnlt plainly se^ from his answer, that dm Is no easttal offictioD, and that in oontinainK to hard» thy heart sad reabt, than art ainning Pgainst Cbd." Nothin^erald bs a fiilkr pn>ef that thu
11 And the frogs shftll depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, sod from thy peoi^e; they shall renmin m the river
12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses p cried unto the Lord, because of the frogs which he had brought agaiiut Pharaoh.
13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; Etnd the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, * he hardened his heart, and hearkeo'
16 7 And the LoBn said imto Moses, Say ontir Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite tlw dmt
plague was supernatural, than the circumstance of Pharaoh's being permitted to assign hirrueff the time of iti being removed, and its removal at the intercessioii of Mose^ aecordiDg to that sppointmenL And this is the very use made n it by Moses himself ver. 10. when be says— Be it aecarding to thy word: thai thou mayml know that there is notu like unto the Lord our God; snl that, consequently, he mi^t no longer trust in his nagicions, or in his nlse gods.
Verse 14. 7%cy gathered them together upon htaips] T\m kUling of the mws was a mitigation of the pumibment; but the leaving Oiera to rot in uie land, was aecB> ttnual proof tbad audn a plague And taknt plac*, anaiMl the displeasure of the Lonl still eontinucd.
Tbe conjecture of Cahnet is at least rational: he mpposes that the plague otjlies originated from the olague of frogs: that the former deposited their ova in uie putrid masses, and that from these the innumerable awarms word mentioned were hatdied. In vindication of ihii supposition, it may be obaerred, that Ood never wcnki a miracle when the end can be accomplished by merely nttnnd means: and in the operatioiu <rf Divine Proviaence we always find, that the greaieat number of effoOs posable, arc accomplished yjym^feweH causes. Am dierefen the natural means for this fourth plague had been miiacolously provided by the second, the Divine Being had a rigjit to use the instruments which he had already pnptovd.
The THIBD plague — uca. Verselfi. 8miie&edustiiftheland,Aatiimay become fice] If the vermin commonly desisted by this name be intended, it must have been a very cneadfuf and afflicting plague to the Egyptians, and especially to their priest^ who were obliged to shave the hair off every port of their bodies, and to wear a single tunic, that no vermin of dui kind might be permitted to harbour about them. 9ee Herod. Si EuUr^. ch. xxxvii. p. 104. ediL GaU. Of the nature of these insects, it is not necessary to say much. The common louse is very prolific. In the mpoac of tweln days a full-grown flsmue lays one hundred eggs, from which, in the space of six daj^ about fifty male^ sud as many females, ore produced. In eighteen days these younK females are at their full growth, each of which may kcf one hundred eggs, which will be all hatched in mx. dns more. Tlius in the course of six weeks, the parent fcsiili may see 6000 of its own descendants I So iiu|d)tily does this scourge of indottnce uidJlUhiness increase!
But learned men are not agreed on the aignificatioa *^ the original word es''U Ainntm, which di&rent copies id the Septuagiot lender saift, s*tnt, snd rwmptt, gMbi and the Tolgste rendtfi sefn^iAei^ wbiA sigttiMi tki lame.
in the word tarrtniss, mentinud by Viniamtf, one of oat ancient Englid) writers; who, speaking of the expeditiao of king Richard I. to the Holy Land, says, that "while the army were marching from Cavphas to Cnsarca, ibej were greatly disttassed eveiy night 07 oertain worms oalkd tarrmiea, which cr^ on the ground, and oeoasioDed a very burning bea^ by most painful punctures: for taeinK anned with atiag^ueyetmveyed a poison, which <|uiel$ oecanonett those who were wounded by them to swdli snd was attended with the moat acuta ptin." All diiiii fer-fotehed. Bochart has endeavoured to prove, that m
17 And they dia bo; for Aaron stretched out his hand with nis rod, and smote the dast of the earth, and ' it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became Uce, throttghout ttUthe land of Egypt.
. IS And " the natgicmna did so with their enchantments, to bring forth Ilee, but they * could not: eo tibere were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19 Then the magiraana said onto Pharaoh, This i> * the Snger of God: and Pharaoh's 'heart was hardened, and he hearkened not onto them: as the Lord had said.
30 And the Lord said unto Moses, ' Rise up early in the morniiw, and stand before Pharaoh i (lo, he Cometh forth to the water 0 and aay unto him, Thus aaith the Lord, * Let my people go, that they may serve me.
kinnim of the text m&y mean /tea in the common aooqitation of the term, and not gnaU. 1. Because those •B question sprang from the dust of the earth, and not from the wafers. 2. Because they were both on men and cattUt, whieb eaanot be spoken of gnats. 3. Because tlieir name Mnaes from the radix kun, which sighifiea to msVn jfi wi.jT r estaUuft, which can never a^ee to gnata, JHOf Ac whiidi are ever changing their puiee, and are alBQst eoastaotlr on flu wing. 4. Because nu kinnah, i* the term by which the Talmudists express the louse, Ac See bis HUrtzoieon, voL II. c zvii. col. 671. The tiseumsUnce of their being in man and in b«ut, agrees so weU with the nature of (he acarut sanguieugua, tornmoaly called the tttk, belonging to the aeventii order of insects called apteu, that I am ready to conclude this is the insect meanL ilis animal buries both its aucber and head equally tn man or beast; and can with very great diffeul^ be extracted, before it is grown to its proper siz^ •ad filled with the blood and juices of the anitnal on which it prsjrs. When fully grown, it baa a glossy black oval bedy: not only horses, cows, and sheep, are infested with it, io certain countriea, but even the common people, espedally those who labour in the field, in woods, &c. I fcaffw no insect to which the Hebrew term so properly applies. This is thejtxed, eitabHthed insect, which will permit itself to be pulled in [rieces rather than let go its fkoM; and this is literally norayi bims ha-adamuba^AentoA. iv nan and in beatt, burying its tnink and head in ibe flsshof both. In woodland countries, 1 have seen many feroonM as well as cattU, grievously infested with these
31 Else, if tliou wilt not let my_people go, behold, I will send 'swarms of fixes upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy. people, and into thy houses: and tlie houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of fiiM, and also the groimd whereon they are.
22 Ana *'I will sever io Uiat day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no awarms ofjiiea shall be there: to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
23 And I will put ' a division between my people and thy people: 'to-morrow shall this sun be.
34 And the Lord did so: • and there came a grievous swarm qffiiea into the house of Pharaoh, and into bis servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was ' corrupted by reason of the swarm affiles.
Terse 18. Tlu magUian* did so] 7%at is, they tried the ntmoat of tbeir skill, either to produce these insects, or lo remoM this plague; bitt they could not — no Juggling eould avail here, because insects must be produced which would sftob to and ir^fix themselves in man and beast, which no kind of tri£k could possibly imitate; and to rsiMM ibem, as some would translate the pBssage, was to Aur power equally impossible. If As magi^ans even acted m spiritual ageots, we find from this case, that these •gents nad assigned limits, beyood which they could not m: for every agent in the universe is acting under the dirtctim or control of the Almif htv.
Tersel9. TVti* iatht finger qfCiod] That is, the power and skill of God are here evident. Probably, before this, the magicians supposed Moses and Aaron to be coi^Jurtra, like ibranaelves; but now they are convinced, that no men eootd do these miracles which these holy men did, unless God ware with him. God permita evil spirits to manifest ihsnuelvss in a certain way, that men may see that there is a spiritual world, and be on their guard against seduction, at the same time^ shows that all thsse agents •re under his conuvl, that men may have eonftdenoe ui his goodnsas and power.
The rocB-m plague — plih. Terse 21. Stearms of flies upon thet} It is not easy to aseertain the oreeise meaning of the original word anyn ht-drabi as the word comes from any Arab, he mingled, it may be »ip posed to express a multimde of various sorts of insects. And if the conjecture be admitted, that the putrid fro^ became the occasion of this plague, different tntcU la^ug their eggs in the bodies or those dead animal^ which would soon be hatched, (see on ver. 14.) then lbs aapposiliDa, that a multitude of dlj'trtnt kindt of InmtB MM mmat, will seem the more probaUa. Utougn the plague of the locuats was miraculous, yet God bodi brotu^t it and removed it by natural raeana. See diapter
Bothart, who has treated this subject with his usual learning and abiUty, follows the Septuagint, explaining the origmal 1^ Hurt^vts, the dog-fiy, which roust be parti* cAilarly hateful to the Egyptians, because they held dogs in the hiehest veneration; and worshipped AnvSnM under the form of a dc^. In a case of this kind, the authori^ of the Septuagint is very high, as they translated the Pentateuch in the veir place where these plagues happened. But as the Egyptmos are well known to nave paid religious veneration to all kinds of animals and monsters, hence the poet,
I am inclined to favour the literal constructian of the word % fbr as anjr Ireb, chap. xii. 38. expresses that mixed multitude tiS dil^fent kinda of people who accompanied the Israelites in their departure from Egypt; so here, the same term being used, it may have been designed to express a muliitude of d^erent kinds qf inaedi, such as fiiee, waepe, homeie, Ac &c The ancient Jewish interpreters suppose, that all kinds of beaets and reptiUe are intended, auch as volvee, tiotu, btare, eerpente, &c. Mr. Bale thinks the roren is meant, beeanse the orisinal is so understood in other places; and thus he translates it in his literal version of the Pentateuch; lait the meaning already given is the meet likely. As to the objection against this opinion, drawn from ver. 31. there remaUud not one, it can have very tittle weight, when it ta considfcred, that this may as well be apoken of one of any of the diferent kinds, as of an individttal of one epeeiee.
Terse 22. / will sever in that day] vnSim Mphliti, has been translated by some good oities, IwUl miraatlo^y e^rate — so the Vvlgate,fiKiam mirabilem — " 1 will do a marvellous thing." And the Septuagint, nf-iigtira, / will render illustrious the land oi Goshen in that day; and this be did, by exempting that land and its inhabitania, tiie Isreelitei^ from the ptagoes, bf urttich be afflicted iba land of ^gfp^
Verse And I vUl put a diviaton] niB peAiA. a red^tption^ between my people and thy people: God hereby showing, that he bad redeemed them from those plagues to which he had abandoned tbe others.
Verse 24. 7^ land was comtpied] Every thing waa spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed | neing probably atung to death by these venomous insects. Thii seems to be mtimated by tbe Psalmist—" He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which nxvotntSD them," Psal. Ixxviii. 4B.
In andeot times, when political, domestic, and persona) cleanliness was but little attended to, and onal of diAimnt kinds permitted to corrupt in the streets, and breed vermin, flies multiplied exoeedingtjr) so that we read in ancient auihors of iriwle districts oeing laid waste by them t bcoee diffimni people bad deities, whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these we may reckon BaaJxebub, Una Jty-god of Eknm; Hereulse, muscarum abactor, Hercules, the ezpeller of flies, of the Romans; the Afuagrus of the Kleans, whom they invoked a^iosl peaiiiential awanna of flies: and hence Jupiter, the supreme god of the heathens, had the epitheu of A't/w>*(, and Uawint, becs^ he was aupposcd to expel fiise, and Mfend his worshippers against them.— See Dodd.
Aaron, and aaid, Qo ye, laerifiee to yam God in the land.
26 And Moses said. It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice ' the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyea, and will they not stone us?
27 We will go * three days* journey into the vrilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our Qod, as 1 he shall command us.
28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you so, that ye may sacrifice to the LtWD your God in the wHderness; only ye shall not go very &r away: ^ entreat for me.
Ye iball not leave EgTpt, but I shall cauH your wonhip to be tolerated here.
Tene 26. We shall aaeri^e the ahominatiim qf th« B^ptian»\ l^at is, the animolt which they hold lacred, uoa vill not permit to be slain, are those which our cuitoma require us to sach£c« to our God: and should we do this in Egypt, the people would rise in a mass, and stone us todetuh. Perhaps few people were more niperBtitious than the Egyptians. Almost every production of nature was an object of their religious worsnip: the sun, moon, ^aoM^ stars, the river Nile, animals of all sorts, from the huioaD being to the monkey, dog, cat, and ibis, and even the onions and leeks whi^ grew in their gardeos. Jupiter was adored by them under the form of a ram; ApoUo under the form of a crow; Bacchus under that of a jgaof; and Juno under that of a heyfer. The reason jroy the Egyptians wonhippni those animals, is given by Buiebhit, viz. that when the giants made war on me gods, dtsy wore obliged to take refi^ge in Egypt, and assume the shapM or diwiise themselves under different kinds of •nimaja, in order to escape. Jupiter hid himself in the body of a mm; Apollo in that of a crow; Bacchus in a goat } Diana in a cat; Juno in a white heifer; Venus in •Ash; and Mercury in the bird ibis; all which is summed up fay Ovid in the following lines:
£9 And Moses said, B^old, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarms o/Jltet may depart from Pharaoh, from his servant?, and from his people, to-morrow: but let nnt r^uiraoh 'deal det^itiully any more in not Imtins the people go to sacrifice to the Loao. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and
'il And the Lord did according to the word of Mnqes; and he removed the swarms i/ Jlia (ram Pharaoh, from his servants, and from hif pdonlp; there remained not one.
3'2 And Pharaoh ■ hardened his heart at this lime riUo, neither would he let the people go.
Hese animals, therefivs, became sacred to them on oceoont of the deities, who, as the fsble reports, bad taken rshge in them. Others oppose, that the reason why the Egyptiaoi would aot ■aorifiee or kill thoae creatures, was their belirf in Ae doctrine of the mstempaychoais, or transmigration of souls; for they feared lest, in killing an animal, th^ should kill a relative or a friend. lUs doctrine is still hield by the Hindoos.
Yerse Z7. And aacrytct to Ou Lord, as he ifiall command tw) It is very likely, that neither Hoses nor ASKHi knew as yet in what manner Qod would be wor- Aippsd; and they exMoted to receiva a direet revelation ftom him, relaUve to this suttject, wheo they dtouU come into the wildemesB.
Terse 28. IwtU Ut you giy—otUy ye akall not go very fair oiK^] Pharaoh relemed, because the hand of Qod was heavy tmon him; but he was not willios to give up his gain, lite Israelites were very pro/Uools to him i they vera sfovas of the state, and their hard labour waa vary productive t hence ha professed a willingness, fint to Uierate thair religion in ttie land, (ver. K.) or to permit them to go into me wilderness, so that they went not fer away, and would soon nMm. How ready is fooltdt man, when the hand of Qod presses him sore, to compound with his Maker I He will consent to give op some sins, provided Ood will permit him to ke^ Mbera.
jSnfrsof Jar maTl Exactly similar to dM case of Simon Migu^ who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judnnents, bened an interest in the prmrera <« Peter, Acts vin. 24.
Verse 31. The Ijord did aoeording to the word qf JMwm] How powerfid is prayer I God pwrnits his servants to pmsoribe even the mannw and time in which ha shall work.
HeTmovtdtKtewaintu'\ Probably by means of a atrtmg wind, which swept them into the sea.
Verse 32. PharadiKaTdeaed hie heart at thia time aleo} 8ae ver. 15. This hoideningwas the mere effect of his aelf-det«rmining obetina^. He preferred his gain to the will and oommand of Jwovah j and Ood made his obatitmtj the means of showing forth his own power and proviisnofc in a sopareminent degree.
1. As emy felas religion proves then is a true one, as * sspK hovvw msrrad or imperiwt, diows that thera S12
-was an or^tnof from iriiieh it was ttkent so false mixac)e<i prove that there were genuine miracles, and fhat Qod climsc?, at particular time& for the moat impcnrtant par* p(>Ersr invert the established order of nature, and tbas prove tiia omnipotence and universal agency. Tbet the miroiclcs wrought at this time were real, we nave the folltsi prooH The waters, for instance, were not turned ialt blood in appearance merely, but were really thus chanced. HetWihe people ooold notdriidtof themi aadasfauod in a veiy uiort time, when exposed to the air, beeasMS putri J, so did the bloody waters, therefore all the fish bat ■.VTK Lii tlie river died.
2. rv<i human power or ingenuity cootd produce nek Jrn^w as anooyeo the land M %Tpt. "Rus also «Bsa r<mr not an imaginary plague. Innumerable mnltitodM of liieBe animals were promiced for the purpose; and dw baapa of their dead eareasssa, iriricfa putrefied sod iirfwttd tlic land, at (uoe demonstrated the rMli^ of the admriain. Tl le lice, both on man and beast mrou^ the idiote ii >, ' od the innumerable noorms o^jKes, gave Acb itijuIh of their reality, as to put the trutn of these miracles mit cf question for ever. It was necessary that this point pibmud be fidly proved, that both dte Egyptians and Inariiiea Ru^tseemefinnrof Ood in dieae awfbl woiki.
4. To superfieiat obaerven <mlydo "Hosea and the mngiclans appear to be neariy matched.*' Tlie power «( Grod was shown in produuag and removing the plagiiea In n^rtqin cases, the magicians imitated the production of a plague j but they had no power to remove any. 1%eycoeU not sccm to reTnove the bloody colour, nor the putrescenn from waters, through which the fish were deMrma; though they ooold imitate the colour itaelf— they conU not r<iiiOM the frogs, dw liee^ or swarms of flies, thoi^ tfaqr rould imitate thefbrmer and latter — they could, by dexterif of hriTid, or diabolic influence, produce serpents; but dtn cDiild not bring one forward that could swallow up tbeitn of Aanm. Ineveryrespectthey fall infinitely short of ^ Gai9.-pr imd wonderful eneigy evidenoed in the miraeks of MoEea and Aaron. 'Hie opposition, therefbn^ ^ those m<% sanred bnlyasafoil to setoff the exeollenoe of tbatpoww by iriliieh these messengers ctf God acted.
The courage, constancy, and feithttf Mose^anwsr* ibvof the most serious eonsidetation. Had he not been Fxlly Kktisfied of the truth and eertaintv of his divine niii- Bitiii, Jm could not have encountered suui a boat of diSenlli^si; had he not been certain of the issue, he could not liavi pe^sevc^ed amidst so many discouraging eircurastanees; 4Dd had he not had a deep acquaintance with Qod,hisfeidi in evaiy trial must have necessarily feiled. So sttong m this gtace in him. that he eoidd even pledge his Hakartl the perfonnanoe oi works concemingwhich he hsil MtM yd consulted him 1 He therefore let Pharaoh fix the ven time nil which he would wish to have theplague removeai and when this was done, he went to God by laiih and prayer, to obtain this new miracle i and Qod, in the DMSt QXBBtaiid circumstantial manner, nilfilled the word of bit
^ From all dtis, let us learn that then is a God «)» worketh in the earth — that universal nature is under bii [■onircl — that he can alter, suspend, counteract or invert iv (fftnatal laws, whensoever he pleases — and that be can atvt or destroy by the most feeble and most contemptible isaWlr nietits. We should therefore deeply reverence his eteml power and Godhead, and XwHl with respect on every ontute he has made, as the meanest of (hem may,inldBbaaA b«come the instrument of our salvation or our ndn.
1. IjtX us not ima«ne, that God has so bound himsen wDrk by general laws, that those destructions cannot taks place which designate a particular Pro vidcnce. Pbsr raoh aad the ^^tians are confounded, aflKcMd. leuM, Hdfuined, nhile die land of Goshen aod the bnsHM ilHn* from sTsiy plsguel No blood ap^mos in mm
THEN the Lord said onto MoseB, <* Oo in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Losn God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 For if thou p refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
3 Behold, the ' hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which t* in the field, npon the horses, upon the asses, iq>oa the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: AereMoU freavery griev^ OOB marram.
4 And 'the Lord shall sever between the
eattis of Israel and ofttde of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all tJuU i« the children's of Israel.
5 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the lend.
6 And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and t all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
7 And Pharaah sent, and behold, there wea not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And " the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the peo[de go.
e 1[ And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the fbmace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 And it shall become small dnat in all the land of Egypt, and shall be * a boil breakuotf forth vith Drains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egyvt.
10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; turn it became ■ a boil breafciiig forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
1 1 And the ' magicians could not stand before Moses, because aT the bofls; fiur the boil waa upon the magicians, and uptm all the Sgyi^ tians.
Tbtj traMed in ine tnw God, and could not be oonfound- •d. — ^Bcsder, how aeeim auijwit dioa hm^ if thou have Ihii God for thy friend I He mm tb« ProiACtor and Friend tt the Imuditei, through the blood of thai covenant -which im the Tery chtrter of (fty nlvadoQ: trust in and any to hiia, M Mom did, and then Satsn and hia aiwelB abaft be hniind anW thy feet, and Owm ihalt not only be preserved from sray pb^ue^ but be crowned with bis loiingkind- Mss and teodar mBUsj. He ia the mne to-day mat he waa wenHy, sad AaH commua the eame for ever.— Halmifk^ tha Lord God onnipotent rrisnethl
Tsvse 1. 71^ Loan Chd of the Hebrew.} It ia very Ekoly that the term Lord, mrp Ytlunah, te used here to Mint out partienlarly hii etenal power and Godhead; and Ibat the term God, ftrH BMiay, ii intended to be undenrtood Id tha sMue of Supporter, Defender, Protector, Ac. Thui Mid) dw Mlf-euetent, omnipotent, and eternal Being, the ftwum and Defender of the Hebrewt, " Let my people go^ mat iher nay vordiip me."
The nrra pfcw««— The Mcbbaik. T«fM 3. Tha hand of the Lord] Tht power of God nanifemd in judgment.
IAmi Ou AoFMf] mm tuim. 'ntia ii the first place As ftofM ia mentioDed; a ereature for ^ich Eeypt and Alalia were alwaya famous, oe ms, is suppoaeS to have Ae same meaniiw with w ns, whidi signifies to be meiive, bruk, or l&>ely; all Trtiich are proper emwllatives «f the bOTse, especially in Arabia and Kgypt. Because of their aetiTi^ and swiftness they were sacrUtoed and dedicated lo the sun } and pCThaps^itwaa prin^mlly on this aeeount that God prohitrited the nsa of them *aoag the laraelitea.
A very grimmu miirrajn.] The murrain ia averyeon- M^ous diaease among cattle, the symptoms of ^idi are, abaajginffdown and awellmg of the head, nhundancatu mm m the eyea, rattling in the diroat difficulty of breathbifc palpitation of the heart, staggering, a hot braub, and a ahmmg tongue J which aymptomii prove, that a general BWaiHgialion has taken pbee. The oi^^nal word ■^^<l dtdet, ia variously translated. The Septxiagint have ^■■MTK.dsBfft; the Fii^guts has petfis, a sl^gus or pesMimeti the old Saxon version, cpealme, tram cpealan, to dl^anr/oialdiwase. Our Eagliahvrordmurratn, comes siftar from the French mourtr, to <li«, or from the Gheek it»rmtm, MTotea to gTow Um, wstt owajf. "Hie term mgrtalUjf would be the nearest to seaae ta the originaL as ttoparttcular disorder is spaeifled by the Hdirew wwd.
Tern 5. IV-morrow OuLord riuiU do A£»] By thus fataMlling the evil, he showed hia preameooe and power; and from tbia both the Egyptiana and Hebrews must see, OMl (be mortali^ that eiuued was no oaaualty, but the •Am sf a pfedMemined purvM m die DMna Jbstice.
cattle that did die, bdonged to the Egyptians, but not oos died that belonged to die Israelites, ver. A. and & That the whole stock of osttle belonging to the Egyvtiaa^ did not die, we have the fiiUest pro(rf) because there wars cattle, both to be lolled and saved alive, in the ensuing plagiM, ver. 26. By this judgment, the Egyptians must see the vanity of die whole of uieir natiaoal wordiia when they found the aaimals, irtuch they not only held •■iered, but deified, shun without diatioetion, amotw tha eomuofl herd, by a pestilence sent from the hand of Jabe- ▼di. One nugnt naturally suppose, that after thia, dia Baimal wor^ip of the Egyptians eotud never more msiatain its ground.
Terse 7. And Pharaoh amt &c] Finding so many of his own cattle and thoae of nis sut^eets slain, he sent to see whether the mortaUw bad reached to the cattle olF die lamelitaa, that he miOTt know whether thia were a judgment inflieted by their God| and probably dasignitig to replaoe die lost eeMla of die Egyptiaiis with those of the laraelites.
Verse 6. Han^i^ tf osftea fivm tha fumac*] Am one part of the tmpreasion of the laraelites consisted in their Uhour to the hrick-kilns, some have observed a eoagiutty between the crimt and the pimtthmmt. Tbt.fiimattt, in labour of which ihey oppressed the Hebrews, now yielded the instramenta of tneir punishment; for every pardcle of those tuA«s, formed by unjust and oppressive labour, seemed to be a bile or a blain on the ^lanmc king, and Us cruel and hard-hMrted people.
Terse 9. Shall h« a hoU] nnv AtdUn. ThU word is generally expounded, «t in^tammatary n^Uing, a fruro- JngHle— ooeof die most poignant afflietions, not immetoJehr mortal that can well saect the surfece of the humanbody. If a single bile on any part of the body, throws the frttofe iystem into a fever, what aaguiiii must a multitude of thraa on the body at the same time, oocasion 1
BvMng forth with bUtbu] nira^aN (Mtbioth, supposed to ootne from n^a badh, to simU, bulge oat, anv it^Ummatory maMng, node, or fuHule, in any part oi the body, but more especially in mt more glandular parts^ the neck, arm-pits, groin, m. 'Hie Saptuagint translate an ulcer wim burning puatuUe. It seema to have bem a disorder of an uneomtiwm kind, and hence it is oalled, far way of distitMstion, the boteh qf Egypt, Deut xzviii. 27. pntiapa never known before in that or any other ctNntrr. OroftiM says, that in the sixth plague, '' all the people were blistered, that the blisters burst with tormenting pain, and that worms issued out of them." Dnc call rSa pay on blabpan, "iBa jnajun j^lbe hTCO^Uea tMitreanbai ftmlnr ucfloDhe. — Ayretre Oroe. hh. i. & vii.
Terse 11. Tlis boU was upon the magicians] 1>wy oould not produce a sisLUar malady ttf throwiw sAes to dieairi aod diey oould nntber lemsve the jttSguefriim thspsopla^mfeOKttMlra>im wrmaBMdfledL IVbedMr
12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not onto them; r aa the Lord had spoken unto Moaes.
13 IT And the Lobd said unto Moses, ' Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him. Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; ' that tnoa mayest know that mere is none like me in all the earth.
15 For now I will ■> stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence: and thou shalt be cut off rrom the earth.
16 And in very deed for "this catise have 1 * raised thee up, for to show tn thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all- the earth.
17 As yet exaltest thou thyself acainst my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will
they perished in this plagfoe, we know not{ but diey are no more mentioned. If thsyirare not destroyed by this awful judgment, they u least left the field, and no longer oontended with these messengers of Ood. The trium[d) of Ood'e povrer was now complete; and both, the Hebrews and Eg7)itians must see that there was neither might, nor wisdom, nor cransel, against the Lord; and that as universal nature acknowledged his power, devils and men must bit before him.
Terse 16. naio I wiU ttrtiA out my band] In die Hebnw, the verbs are in the paH tense, am not in the fiitiire, as our translation improper^ expresaen them, by wfaieh means a contradiction appears in the text t for neither Pharaoh nor his people nere mUUm 6y a peuHimcty nor was he any kind ofmortality cui <fff' Jrem Ou earth. It iatnie, the Jlrtt-bom-wen slain by a destroying angel, and Pharaoh himself was drowned in tlie Red sea; out these judgments do not appear!o be referred to in tkU pUee. If the words be translated as they ought, in the snlgonctive mood, or in the pasf instead of the jwure, this laemiiw contradiction to facts, as well as all ambiguity, will be avoided. /Vr if note I had STKBTCHKn our OnriSr sAoiocAii, had lent forth my hand) and had amitten tht4 (irnN tm ta-ae ottca) and thy peopU, with the ptsOtenet, thou SBODLDBST HAVB BEEN cui ojf (tnsn tiUil^lt^ from. 8\i earth. ^ But truhf, on this veri/ account, have Icauted thee to sttBsisT, (iv^D]'" ht-tmadOca) thai I MiORT eauM thee to tte my power, (mu nM '^nNVi hareottea tteoAi) andthatmynameimmbedet^edthroughoui ail the earth; ot, F'^x^ ^33 beeal, ha'aret; in ail rum LAMD. See Ainaworth and Houbigant.
Tlius God gave this impious king to know, that it was in oonsequenee of his eqieeial providence that both he and bis people had not been already destroyed by means of the paat plagues; but God had preserved him for this very purpose, Uiat he might have a farther opportunity of roani- RMing that he, Jehovah, was the only tnie Om, for the flill conviction both of the Hebrews and Egyptians: that the former mi^t follow, and tlie latter fear before him. Judicious critics of almost all creeds, have agreed to translate the original aa above; a translation which it not only can bear, but requires! and which is in strict conformi^ to both the Septuagint and Targum. Neitlier the Hebrew TWiBpn he^madiiea, I have eauaed thee to *tand, nor the apostle's translation of it, Rom. iz. 17. Ihave raieed thee — nor that of the Septuagint, timfnlv, on this account art tiiou preeerved, viz. in the past leagues — can Douoletiaaee that most exceptionable meanmg put on the words by certain commentators, viz. "l%at God ordained or appointed niaraoh,/nmt aU eternity, by certain means, to Ihi* end; that he made him to exist in time; that be raised him to the throne; promoted him to that high honour and digni^; that he preserved him, and did not cut him oSom yat; that he ttrengihened and hardened his heart; irritated, provoked, and ttirred him up againot hi* penile Israel; and suffered him to go ■11 die leiigtbt hs did go in his obstinate and rebellion; ul which was dons for lir sAote jn him hUpower, in destrtnring him and his host in the Red Sea. Tno sum of which is, that this man was raised up by God, in every sense, for God to show his power in his destixiction. So man speaks: thus, Goo naih not spoken. Vena 17. Asytt exaUeel thou titgoetfagmbut mppoo-
cause It to rain a very erievous hail, such as hath not been in "Egypt, since the foandatkM thereof, even untO now.
19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; fhrvpon eveiy man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the haU sbali come down upon them, and they shall die.
20 He that feared the word of the Loan among the servants of Pharaoh made h^ servants am his cattle flee into the houses:
21 And he that ^ regarded not the word of the Lord left hie servants and his cattle in the field.
22 IT And the Lord said imto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be ■ hail in all the land of Egypt, uptm man, and upon beast, and upon every nerb of the fidd, throughout the land of EgrpL
23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon tno land of Egypt.
plef\ So it I4>pebrs, that at this time he might bam mitted, and thus prevented his own destruction.
Verse 18. 7V morrow about this Hme} The timtof this plague is marked thus circumstantially, to show Pbknu^ that J^ovah was Lord of heaven and earth; «.Dd diBt the water, the fre, the earth, and the air, which were sU objects of fjgyptian klolatry were the creatures of his pinr> er, and subservient to his will: and that, fiur ban ning able to help them, they were now, in ibe bands oS GoS, instntmeou of their deatructioii.
a avery grifvouo hait] 7b rain Aat^ may appear, to some Buperfioial observers, aa an unphihMopiuoal mode of cTpreniont but nothing can be more correct "Drops of rain falling through a cold region of ibe atmosphere, are frozen ana converted into hail;" and thus die hail is produced by rain. When it begins to fall, it is rain; when it is fiaJling, it is converted into bail / thus it is literally true, that if roinsAoii. Tlte farther a hallstOM falls, the larger it generally ia; because, in iu dewenL meeting with umumerable panicles ci water, they baeona attached to it, are also frozen, and thus its bulk is oontinnally increasing till it reaches the earth. In the case in question, if nauirai means were at all used, we may suppose a highly electrified stale of an atmosphere loaded widi vapours, which becoming condensed and frozen, and having a considerable space to toll through, were of an unusually large size. Though this was a supernatural storm, dier* have been many of a natural kind, that have been exceedingly dreadful. A storm of hail felt near Liverpool, in Lancashire, in the year 1795, which greatly damaged ihs vegetation, broke windows, oc. dec. Many of the stones measured five inches in circumference. Dr. Halley mcntions a similar storm of hail in Lancashire, Cheshire^ As. in the year 1797, April 2^ thai for sixty nilea in lengtl^ and too miles in breadth, aH immense daotage, fay qilianig trees, killing fbwls and all small animals, knocung down men and horses, &c. Sus. Mezeray, in his HiMory of France, says, that in Italy, in ISIO, there was for aome time a horrible darkness, thicker than that of ni^it; after whicli the clouds bn^e into thunder and lightning, and there fell a aliower of hailstones, which destroyed all the beasts, birdi^ and even fish, of the country. It waaattendad with a strong smell of sulf^ur, and the stones were of a blueish colour, some of them weighing one hundred pounds weight. The Almighty says to Job—" Hast tl>ou seen the treasures of the hail, whicn I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war Y' Job, chap, xxxviii. ^ 23. WhUe God has such artillery at his command, how aooa may be desolats a oouaiiy, or a world I
Verse 19. Send now and gather thy eotflcl So in tha midst of judgment Ood remembered mernr. The miraele should be wrought, that they mi^t know he was the Lord; but oil the lives, both of men aiid beasts, might have been saved, had Pliaraoh and bis servants taken the waraiog so mercifully given them. While some regarded not the wosd of die Lm^ others feared it, and their cattle and dieir servants were saved. See ver. 20, 21.
Verse 23. The Lord oent Ihundor—r/^f kololh, M>£m i but loud repeated peals of thunder are meant— onrf hail, and thejtr* ran along upon Ou ground] nrsi m iVnn* M-tOolM mA ontaa^ md wa/isd i^Mn <b
24 So there waa hail, and fire mingled vith the bail, very e^ievtma, eucfa as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt, unce H became a
25 And the hail smote throughoat all the land of Egypt all that wa« in the field, both man and beast; and the hail ' smote ever^ herb of the field, and brake erery tree of the field.
26 " Only in the land of Gioehen, where the oliildren orlsrael were, was there no hail.
27 ^ And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and eaid unto them, ' I have sinned this time: " the Lobd ia righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
It wai not & middcD flaofa of lightoiDg', but a devouriiw fir^.valkiHg through ev^fy part, deitroyin^ both aniouua an TMctahleB, andiu progreas waa irresUtible.
Vene 'H. Nail, and ^6 mingled vith Ihe haU\ It u ■CDentllj allowed, that the electric fluid is eaaeniiu to the nnuAkin otT bniL On ttiis occaaion it waa supplied in a ■uperoalural sbuBdance; for Btreama of fire aeem to have accompaoied the deaeending bail, ao that herbs and treea^ beasts sod men, were all destroyed (hem.
Terse 2fi. Onltf in tlu land qf Goshen— wu thtre no iailj What a si^al proof of a moat particular Providence I Surely both tlie Hebrews and E^ptians profiled by this ditmlay of the iroo(in<aa and seventy of Qoo.
verse 27. Tlu lA>rd im riffkltoua, and I and my people are iKldced.\ The original is very emphatic — The Lord is TBS BtOHTBODs Okb, y\trt ho'ttadik, and J and my poapU ar» tub sum ebb, BS^vtn ha-numim; i. e. He is oima rij^iteoua, and we atota are transgressors. Who eould have imagiped thai, after such an aouiowledgment and confesaioD, Pharatdi should have again hardened his beartl
Terse 2& It ia enough] There ie no need of any farther plague; I submit to toe auibority of Jehovah, and will label no more.
AfigA/y tAundering*] BviVm rfyp kolotk elohim, voicea i^Qod; that ia, auperlatively loud thunder. Somoimlatna nf God, Paal. xxxvi. 7. mean, exceeding high mountaina. So a prince <ff Gad, Oen. xxiii. 6. means, a miriitr prinoe. See a deachption of Ikunder, PsaL xzix. 3—8. ' Ibe TOics OP TUX Lobd is upon the waters; the God of glory AmdtreA: the Lord is upon many waters. The vojee ^ A« liord ia powerful t die votceqnCA<£«r(i ia full of m^BMy. Hw tmee tff Ike Lord breaJceth the cedara | the voice qf the Lord dividetfa the flames of fire. 1^ roict q^MaZiordahakethlhewildemeaa," &c The production of rain by the electric aparlt, ia alluded to in a ve^ beauliAU manner, Jerem. x. 13. When he uUereth hte voice, there if a nuUUud4 ^ water* in the Aaarena. See tlie note on Gen. viL 11. imd viii 1,
Terse 29. /wItt epread abroad my hande} Tbst I will make ai^ipiicaftoR to God, that he may remove this plague, llua may not be an improper place to make aome observations on the ancient manner of approaching the Divine Being in prayer. Knteling down, etretching out ^ the hande, and lyKng them, up to heaven, were in fre- MMOi use among the Hebrewa in their religuMia wwahip. Seunwir Aneatai dtnen on his knew, andaprcoci forth m* hamd» 19 Jbowitj 2 Chron. vi. 13. So David, Pnd. oxliii. 6. IttrelAfaHk my hands unto thee. So Eeba, IJlUi iqnm. my meee, andepread out my hande unto the Lord mjf Qoat chap. ix. 6. See also Jos zt 13. ffthou pre-
KKUfw hearty and etretch out thy hande toaarde aim. saMoM who pretended to soy kind of worship, made ttse of die ssme means in approaching the objecu of their adomin^ vix. kneeHng down^ and etretehing out th^r hamdtt wfaieh eustoms, it is very likely, th^ borrowed from the people of God. KneeUng was ever considered to be the prefer poature of soppIicatioiL as it ezpresaed AuweUitj/t contrition, and eubjoMon. u the pnaon to whom ihe siqiiriication waa addreased, waa within reach, the atfplieaitf «ai^t bim 1^ the kneea: iot, as among the WMienti, the jbnhead waa ocmsecrMed to genixu, the ear Is SHiiMrft ud die r^At Aond lo/oiM, so the knees were oansMnaed to maney. Henoe thoee who entreated fiivour, fell at and caught hold of the knees of the peraoo whoae kindnw they supplioaled. This mode of aupplicadon is IMtiealarly raimad to in the following pssMgea in Homer.
26 " Entreat the Lord (for it ia enongfa) that there be no more * mighty thunderings tutd Itail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
29 And Moses said unto him. As soon as 1 am ffone oat of the city, I will p spread abroad my fiands imto the Loan; and the thunder shall cease, neither shadl there be anv more hail: that thou mayest know how that the ' earth xa the Lord's.
30 But as for thee and thy servants, ■ I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God.
31 And the flax and the barley was smitten: ■ for the barley v>aa in the ear, and the flax wo* boUed.
To iriucb the following answer is made:
In the same manner we find our Lord accoste<L Matth. xviL 14. There came to htm a certain man, fcr^eJing down to him, yatumrmr uvrtr, JoUing doum at hte kneee.
As to the lifting up, or e^etdiing out ^ the hande (often joined to kneelmg) of which we have seen already sevenu instances, and of which we have a very remarkable one in this book, chap. xvii. II. where the l^ing vp^ or atretiAing out of the hands of Moaea waa the means of larael's prevailing overAmelek; we find many examples of both in ancient authors, "nius Tiboil,
MySa /ovmiBWilbiiaaivplB «ru« aifUk HdhiWiM timkU llaSilMirf thanditoMkodi, a iefOemeam'wee* mmm ed tUwmiMiaL Uls.Mr.ML 1^ ItlM MtU* AoiiA ud TClea to *«awi. In some cases, the pereon petitioning came forward, and etdier eat in the duat or kneeled on the ground placing hia l^ hand on the knee at him from whom he expected dw favour, ^le be touched the pereen'e cAin vridi bis WgAf. We have an instanca of this also in Hohxb:
When the supplicant eould not approach the person to whom he prayed, aa where a deity waa the object of the prayer, he waahed hia banda, made an ofierin^ and kneeling down, eithn- etrettAed out both hie Annas to heaven, or laid them upon the offet<ng or eaerifice or upon the oUor. Thus Homer represents the priest of Apollo praying:
TtancndqT^ " WtaibifaMwti And Blmsi
How neeeasary ablutions of the whole body and of the partieularly, accompanied with offerings and sacrifices, were under the law, every reader m (he Bible knows: see especially Exod. xxix. 1—4, where Aaron and his sons were commanded to be wsdied, previoushr to their performing die priest's oflice; and chap. xxx. 19 their Aonda— that thcydie not." See also Leviticus ivii. 19. When the high priest amoM the Jews blessed the leople, Ad (t^ed up Am Aoncfa, Lev. ix. 23. And the araelitefc when they presented a sacrifice to God, /(/ted tu> fAeirAond*, and placed them on ihe head iff me vietim. "If any man of you bring an offering unto Uie Lord — of the catue, of the herd, and of die flock— he ahall put hie hand upon the head qfOie burnt qftring, and it shall be acceptM for him; to make atonement for him. ' Lev. i. 2—4. To these eiicuroatances the apostle alludei^ 1 Tim. ii. 8. "I will dterefore that men pray every where, ^fl- Sl5
33 Aod Moms -weDt out of the citr from Pharaoh, and * apread alH-oad hi* hands unto the Low: and uie tfaondere and hiuL eeaaed, and the rein was not ponred xxpon the
34 And When Pharaoh caw that the rein azkd the hatt and the thnndera were ceased, be liiF ned yet more, and hardened hie heart, he and
35 And "the heart of Pharaoh waabatdcgMd, neither would he let the children of Inrnelgoi as the LoBD had spoken ■ by Moses.
ing tu> holy haiwti without wmdt sod doobting.** In the ■imAM's vord, mtMn-at, l^fKng up, then is a nunifeat TV&renoe to ttrOdung out the Kanaa to ftace A<m eidwr en the aliar, or on the head <^ Uu victim. Pour thinga were aigmfied b; tbia lifting of the haoda. 1. It wu the poature of supplicatioii, un expreaaed m atmig iuritatian— Cma to mjflulp. 2. It amtMSud the eamett deaire of the peraon to wjr hold on the help b« required, hy brii^Dg hun who ms the oinect of bis prayer to hia saaiataiioe. 3. It abcrmd the ardour of the peraon to receive the bleaainga he ezpeeted. And 4. By thia act he dM^notad and eonaecra^ea hia ofiring or aaoriflee to hia
From a great number of evideneea and ooiocidenoea it ia not unreaaonable to conclude, that the heathena borrowed all that waa pure and rational, even in their nuxU tijf iMnAip, from the ancient people of God; nod that the preceding ijuotationa are proon cn thia.
Vene31. Tiufiax and th« harieu teoc mitten] The word nnrs f»«A«toA, JLax^ Mr. Parbhurat thinka ia detived from du root m>b, poMof, to afrip, becauae the aubatance which we term Jtox, ia properly the hark or rind of the vegetable, pilled or atrippea off the atalka. Prom time immemorial, Egypt was celebrated for the proditctioD and the manubcture of flax: hence the linecu and fioe linen of Egjrpt, ao often apoken of in ancient auuunv.
faWey] mpp afteMiA, from t^v aA4ar, to atond on mdt to »• rou^ bfiaU|y, dbc henoe '^pv, «a^, 0\t Aa^ ^ Ihe head, £aa yw, Mr. a lu-gtnt, beoaiiae of its thaggy Aotr; and benoe alao^ bcerhtf, beeauM at dte rough and pHddy beard with which the eara an covered •nd delended.
Dr. Pocock baa obaerved that there ia- a doidile aeedtime and harveat in Egypt i rice, huKan uAaai; and a grain called the cam iifLfamtumu, and in Italian, mrgo nmo, an aown and reaped at a very different time from wfcaaf, bariey, and j<aj. Tbe firat are aown in JMoreft, Iwfore tkeoverilowii« of dw Nile, and reaped about October; whereas the vtuat and barU^ are sown in November, and Deetmber, aa soon u m Nile is goqa oB, aod an rented before lUdy.
Vliay obaervea, HUl. Sat. lib. xviii. chap. 10. that in Egypt the barlev ia ready for rea^iing in aur months after it IS aown, and uAeat, m aevan. in Bgypto, HOioxnt saxto a aoAt monaa nmmrra sqttima miruntur.
TheJUix waa bolleid] Meaning, I auppoae, was grown up into a atalk: the ongiital ia ^]}3i gibel, poad«d, or waa in the pod, He woid wdl expreaaea that globoua pod on the t<^ of the atalk of flax, much auceeeda the flower, ftod contains the aead t veiT properiy expressed by the S^tnngint, T« tt >.iv» mfitmrtZ*it but tht JUtx was in sead) or was ntding.
Verae 32. But Ouu/taatand OurUvtrenotmitim^. Wheat nan MOahy which Mr. PaiUrarst thinks aboult be derived from the Chaldee and Samaritan -mn duiH, which aigni&ea Under, deUdoue, delicate^ becauae of the superiority of ita^wur, Ac to every o^er kind of grun. iBut thia term in ScHpbire appears to mean any kind of bread-eom. Rie, nsM cuaeemelk, from aos, eaeam, to Aosa tong' hair; and heno^ thot^ the particular apeciea is not known, the word mtiat mean aome bearded grain. The Saptuagmt call it the Tulgate far. and Aquila {la, which aignify the grain called epelt; ana aome suppose that rice ia meant.
Mr. Harmer, referring to the double harveat tn Egypt, mentioned by I>r. Poco^ aaya that the dreumatance ol the ^rtieat and the rie being n^sM apKUatk, dark or hidrfm, aa the margin rendera it, (L e. Qier were aown, but Dot grown up) ahowa that it was the fidtan tDluat, or turgo roeeo, mentioned ver. 31. which, with the rw, eacaped; while the barley and Jtax were amitten, becauae they were at or nearly at a etate of maturity. See Hormer'aOba. vol. iv. p. II. edit 1806. But what ia intended by the worda in the Hdnew text, we cannot poaitively say: aa there is a great variety of opinions on this aubiect, both among the vertiane and the eommentators. lie Anglo-Saxon translator, [nobably from not knowing the meaning of the word^ omits the whole verae.
rod of God in them. See what has been aaid on the ■praadfnr out ^ the hand* in prayer, ver. 29.
Terse 34. A atnnad yrfmora, oMAonlenMf AtoAssri] Theae were menly acts of hia own: *' For who cam deny," aays Mr. Paslmanezcr, " that what Ood did am Pbimok waa much more proper to ofiften than to hwdsB hia heart; especially when it is obaernbles diat it was not till after aeeing each miiacl& and after the ceoaing of each plague, thattut heart is aaid to have been hardenedt TIm verba here need an in the conjugationa vihal and WpM^ and often signify a ban permieeion, from which it is (lain, that the worda Aoula have been read, God eunred he heart of Pharaoh to be Aordanad."— vmreraaTHist voL i. p. 494. NoU D.
Terse 36. And the heart of Pharaoh wot hardened] In conaeouence of hia ainntnj^ yet more, and hardenHig hie own heart, againat both the judgmenta wid mereiea « Ood } we need not be aurpriaed, that after God had gtrea him the meana of aoftening and npentance, and he had ia every inatance reaiated and afauaed ihem, he ahould at lait have been left to (he hardneaa and darimeas of hia own obatinate heart, ao as to fill up die measure his iniquity, and rush headlong to his own destruction.
Iir die JifOt, eixth, and Mtventk plague^ deacribed la thia ehuNer, ve have additional proob of the Juafiee aod mmy of God, aa well aa of the etupidity, rtSeliian, and wiekedneee of Pbanoh and his courtiera. Aa these eon> tinned to contradict and resist, it waa juat that God AouM continue to inflict those pnnirfnnents which their iniqnitisi deaervod. Tet, in the midst of judgment, be rememban y I and therefbn Moses and Aaron an sent to inform the Errotiana that auch plagues would oome, if they eeotinued Aatinate. Here ia mernr; the cattle tmly an deatroyed, and the people aavedl la it not evident, from all theae meaaagea, and the repeated eipootulationa of Meaaa and Aaron, in the name and on the onlbority of God, thM Pharaoh waa bound by no btal neeeasiM to eoetimN Ids obstinacy: that he might have bumbled himself htkn God, and tfaua {mvented the diaaalera thai MI on the laa^ and saved himaelf and hia people from deatructioni But he mntld ma. and thoefore he rouat be punidted.
In the eixOt plague Pharaoh had odnniagea wfaieh ha hadnotbdbre. I^e mogieiana, by their aueoeasAd initations of the miraeles wrou^t by Mose^ made it dookiftd to die Egyptian^ whether Hoses himself was not *mag^ dan, acting without soy divine auihtvf^} but the piv* of the biles, wfaieh diey eould not imitate, by wfaieh may were diemaelvea afflicted, and whidi they confeaaed to bs the Jlnger ^ Ood, decided the budneaa. Pharaoh had no longer any ezcuae, and muat know that he had new to contend, not with Moaea and Aaron, mortala like lihnael( but with the living God. How strange^ then, that hs dtoutd cotttinos to reaiatl Maw afibet to be MODiahed at thia, and think It muat be attributed mly ton aovenin controlling influence of Ood, which rendered it impoanbia for him to repent or take warning. But the whole eMMtaet of God, idiowB the improbability of thia opinion. And is not the conduct of Phanudi and hia eourtien copisd sad reacted by thouautds, who are sever auapeoted to n undw any auen neceaaiiatiitt decree? Evnry shmer ondir heaven, who has (be Bible in his hand, U aetiBg the aaat part. God aaya to the swearer and d» proflute — T^ae ahaU not take the name nf the Lord thy Ood in vote i and yet common awearing and profanity are most acands louafy eomraoo among multitudes who bear the ChrUtimm name, and who preoume on the mercy of God to get at laat to the kingdom of heaven I He aaya olao— -AaMUSiber the Sabbt^-day to keep it haty— thou ehaU not ltlO~ thou Aalt not eommit adtdtenf—thau ehaU mat.' thou ehalt not bear faiee vdlneti — thou ehaU not • and aanctiona all these oommondmanta with iba awful penaltiea) yet, with all theae (hinga before thesa, and die profiessBd belief diat they came from Ood, 8al^ bath-breakers, mcn-alayera, aduherera, formcalon, (hievea, diahoneat men, fidse witnesses, liara, alandereis, bac^ bitera, eovetoua men, loms of the world more (baa lame of God, an found by hundreda and thooaanda 1 What wen Ibe erinss of the pocv^faalf-bUnd Egyptian kin^ ndien eompwed widi ihosfti BennDsdicHnstaeaavap
AND the Lord said unto Moses, Go ia unto Pharaoh: 'for I have hardcoied his heart, vMmtjr wbbiMm Q«d: iImm sin agaiut the God of dieir huhtrt ■gaiart tha Ood nnd Father of Him vttom thay cftll ibeir L«rdaal Saviour J«Mu Chriit I TheynKwitfa the Bible in their band, and a eooriotion of its divine ■utluiri^ ia their hearu I They ein against Ught and koowleage— agaiiut the checka of xbeir conacieacea, the rqinmfa of their fnenda, the odmonitioiu of the oieasea* gen of God — oeaiiut Mosea and Aaron in the law — againat me teotiiBony « all the prophets — against the evangeliita, the apoatlei, tha Maker oTheavea and earth, the Judge of all meo, and tha Saviour of the world I what vere nantoli's crtuu^ to the oimea of dieae? On oompariaoD, his atom of oioral turpitude is loat in dwir world of iniquity. And 3ret, vho n^poeea tlwae to be under any neeasiuting decree to ein on, and go to perdition t Nor ■re iber — nor waa Pharaoh. In all toin^ God has nored both hia iustice and merCT to be clear in this point. Phara<di, through a principle of eoveioumets refiiaed to dismiss the Israelite^ wbcne senrices be found profitable to the state; thcta an absorbed in the love <A toe wca-ld, the Ion of pleasure and the love of gain t nor will they let one lust go, even in the presence of the tbunderi <n Sinaij or in s^t of the agony, bloody sweat, crucifixion, ■nd death of Jesus CSiristl— Alas! bow many are in the hsMt of eonsidering Pharaob the worst of human beings, iaeritaUy out off from the possibility of being saved, beeanse of hia ini^piities, who outdo nim so for in the vidousneas of their lives, that Pharaoh hardening his haart uainst ten plagues, appears a saint, when compared with those who are hamenmg their hearts a^nst ten millions of mercies. — Reader, art Oum of this number 1 Proceed no forther I Qod's judgments linger ooL Desperate as thy state is, thou mayest return; and diM even AoM, find mercy through the blood of the Lamb. Stt the note at tba eooelasion of the next chapter.
N(yroS ON CHAPTER X. Verse 1. Hvdenad Ua Aearf] God suffered his natural obstinacy to prevail, that be mi^t have forther <^partuai' ties of iliowing forth hia eienial power and Godhead. See die noisa on chap. iv. 21.
Verse 2. That Oiau maytH tdlinOu ear* ^ thy son] m>at the miracles wrought at this time might be a record for the instruction of the latest posted^, that Jehovah •lone, the Ood of the Hebrews, was the sole Ifaker, Governor, and Supporter of the heavens and the earth, ^lus vc find, God so did hit marvethtu loorkw, that they wugfU is had in eterUuling renumbrancg. It was not 10 crush the poor worm, Phanob, that he wrought aueh ivince nia enemies, to the end
Mf wonders, but to convince of ma vorld, that no cunning or power can prevail against htm) and to show his followers, that irtwadaver triAed in htm should never be confounded.
Verse 3. Abw long wUi thou. r^fa»t to humble Ay»e|/'7] Had it been tmpoeMh for Plwaob, in all the preoeding plagues, to have humbled himself and repented, can we aa^MMe that Ood could have addressed him in such language as the preceding? We may f«at assured, that there was always a time in which be mij^bt have relented, and thai it was because be hardened his heart at such times, that Ood is said to harden him; L e. to give him up to hia •va stubborn and obBtinale heart, in oonsequenoe of wWch he refused to let the people go, so that Ood had a fraah flpfortunity to work aaoutar miracle, for the very gmcwRH purposes n)endooed.in verse 2d. Had Pharaoh zekstad A^gre, ttie samia|^ioua ehds would have been
2 Ani that < Uioa mayest tdl in t^e ears of thy son, and of thy Bon*8 son, what thinni have wrought in Egypt, aod my ugns which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.
3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews. How long wilt thou rafusa to <* humble thyself before me? let my people go. that the^ may serve me;
* Blse, ii thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the * locusts into thy coast:
5 And they shall cover the ' ihce of tht earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: ana
Hu aiOHTH plague — ^llie Locmrs. Yerae 4. To-TJUfmnc will I briTig the loaute] Tbti word na-M orM, a letaat, is probably from the root rabah, he multijHied, became great, mi^ty, A/C bfKiaHst of the immense swarms of these animaiB, which different countries, eapeciolly the east, are infested. Tba locust, in entomology, belongs to a genus of insects known among naturalists by the term obtlu; and includes thiea specie^ crickets, grasshoppers, and those commonly called locusts; and as they multiply foster than any other ■T'imal in creation, they are properly entitled to me name ro-M arbA, which might be translated the numerma or nvJli- rUdineect. See this circumstance referred to Judg. vt, vii. 12. Paal. ev. 34. Jerem. xlvi. 23. li. 14. Joel i. 6. Nahum iii. 14. Judith ii. 19, 'iO. where the most numerous armies are compared to the arbeh or loetut. The loctist has a large open mouth; and in its two jaws it has four incisive teeth, which traverse each other like acissoriL being calculatedL from their mechanism, to fiipe or eat. Bir. volney, in TVavels in Syria, gives a atnicing accotmt of this moat awfiil eetmrge of God:
" Syria partakes, toother witli Egypt and Persia, and almost all the whole middle part Of Asia, in that terrible ecourge, 1 mean those clouds of locuste of which travellers nave spoken; the quantity of which is incredible to any person who has not himself seen them, the earth being covered bj| them for several leagues round. Tb» noise they make in Ivowsing the plants and trees, may be heard.at a distance, like an army plundering in secret. Fire seems to follow their tracks. Wherever meir lesdons march) the verdure disappears from the country, like a curtain drawn aside; the trees and plants^ derooiled of their leaves, make the hideous appearance of winter instantly auceeed to the bright soenes of spring. When these clouds of locuste take meir flis^t, in order to surmount some obstacle, or the more nqiidQ' to cross some desert, one may literally say, that the sun ie tlarkened by them," Baron de Tott gives a similar account: "Clouds of locuste frequently alight on the plains of the Noguai^ (the Tartars) and living preference to their fields of mille^ ravage diem in an instant. Their i^proqch darkens the horizon, and so enormous is tlieir multimd& it hidea Om Ught qf the tun. They alight on the fields, and them form a bed of Hx or weven inAee thick. To the noise of their flight succeeds that of their devouriiw actively, which resembles die rattling qf haiUtonet; but its con-, sequences are infinitely more deatructive. Fire itself eatt not so fost i nor ia there any appearanea of vcset^on to be found when ihey again take their flight, ana go ebewbere to produce new disasters."
Dr. Shaw, who witnessed most formidable swarms of these in Barbary, in the year 1734 and 172B, gives the following account of them: '"Riey were much larger than our graaahoppen^ and had brown spotted wings, with legs and Dodies of a In-ight yellow. 'Hieir first aprcAranee was towaid the latter end of March. In the middle of April, their numerous swarms, like a succession of clouds, darkened the tun. In the month of Hay, they retired to Ote ^iacent plains to deposit their ^gs; ^ese were no sooner hatched, in June, than the young brood first produced, while in their caterpillar or wormlike state, formed themselves into a compact body of more than a furlong sminre, and marching directly forward, climbed over trees, walls, and hooses, devouring evsiy plant in insir waj.
Within a day or two, anoAsr brood was Utdie^ and advancing in the same mauM^ gnawed off the yoqi^
t they Bhall eat the reiidue of ttiat which is escaped, which renuuoeth onto vou from the hail, and anall eat every tree whieh groweth for jrou out of the Geld:
6 And they >* shall fill thy houses, and the hooses of all thy serranta, and the houses of all the Egyptians: which neither thy fathers, nor thy fauiers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he tijrned hiniBelf, and went out from Pharaoh.
7 H And Pharaoh's servants said unto him. How long shall this man be i a snare unto usl let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet, that Egypt is destroyed?
8 And Moses and Aarmi were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said tmto them, Qo, serve the Lord your Ood: buC ^who arc ihsy that Shalt go?
9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds wilt we go } for < we mutt Hold a feast unto the
10 And he said unto them, Let the Lord be •0 with you, as I will let jrou go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.
11 Not so: go now ye (foremen, and 1
the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they wer« driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 ^ And the Lord said unto Moees, Stretdi out thine baod over the land of Egypt for the locustB, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and ■ eat every herb of the land, even all that the haU hath ief\.
13 And Moses stretched forth his rod ovw the land of Egypt, and the Lord J>rought an east wind upoq the land all that day, and all Uuai night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14 And ' the locusts went up over alt the land of Egyijt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they: p before them were were no such locusts as they, neither afler them shall be such.
15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that)ht land was darJcaned; and they ■did eat every lierb of the Innd, snd au the fruit ofthetre*— \vhic)itheb«i! hnJleft: andtherere' mained nci uwy green Uiing in ttic iroes, or in the herbs of the liitld, through all the land of Egypt
16 1 Thea Pbanoh > called for MosoTaad Aaron in haete; and he eaid. luive atnned against th>' T.'uin ^onr l iud, r.gainst you.
btuichu Knd bark of the trees left fav the former, making a complete deBolation. Hie inhabitants, to stop their progress, made a variety of piu and trenches all over their fields and ganfen% vbich they filled vilh water, or else beiu>ed up therein heath, stubble, &c. which they set on fin, DUt to DO purpose; for the trenches were quickly flUUed upi and the fins extinguished, by infinite sworma succeeding one snodier: while the front seemed r^ordless of danger, and the rear pressed on so close, that a retreat was Mtc^ether imposaible. In a month's time they threw off their wonn-Iike stale; and in a new form, with wings and ten and additional powers, returned to their former voracity."— fiAat^s TntfOa, 187, ISa 4U) edition.
The descrip^ons given by these travellers show that 6b(f « army, descriued by the prophet Joel, ch^>. ii. wss innumerable swarms of locusts, to which the account given by Dr. Shaw and others exactly agrees.
Verse 5. T^tutf ^taU cover the face ttf the earth] They ■ometimea cover the whole ground to the depth of six or incftss. See the prec«3inz accounts.
Verse 7. Hoalon^Aallthit mKabe amaTeuntoui7\ As there is no noun in the text, the pronoun nt xth, may either refer to the Israelites, to the plague by which they were then afflicted, or to Moses and Aaron, the inElruments used by the Most High in their chastisement. The Vulgate translates Usquequb patiemur hoc nandalum? — "How long shall we suffer this scandal or reproach 1"
Ijct the men go, thai they may werve the Lokd their God] Uudi of the energy of several passages is lost, by translating mn> YehowA, by the term Lord. The ^yptians had their gods, wpd they supposed that the HeDrcws had a Ood uka unto their own; that diis Jehovah required their services, and would continue to affliet Cgypt till his people were permitted to worship him in his own way.
Verse 8. Who ore they that shall goT} Though the Enptians, about fourscore vears before, wished to destroy the Hebrews, yet ihey found them now so profitable to the ttaie, that they were unwilling to part wiln them.
Verse 9. We vHU go with our young and with ortr eld, dtc.] As a feast was to be eelebrated to the honour of Jehovah, all who were partakers of hia bounty and providential kiodneas must go and perform their part of the solemnity. The men and the women must make the feast, the Aitdren muat witness it, and the cattle must be taken along with Ihwn, to ftiroiah the sacrifices oecessary on this occasion. This must i^pear reasonable to the Egyptians, because it was their oim custom in their religious assemblies. Men, women, and childrei^ attended thein, often to the amount of several hundred thousand, aerodotu* infonas us, ia speaking of the six sannal (basts, eeis- ^18 brated by the Egyptians in honour of tlieir deities, that they hold their chief one at the city of BubaatiM in honour of!S'eith or Diana; that thev go tnither by water in boots^ men, women, and children; that during their voyagei bo me of the women play on caatenets, aod some n me men upon flutes, while the rest are employed in singiiv aad clapping their hands; and that, when they arrive at Bobastts, they sacrifice a tasi mimber «f victims, and drink much wine; and that, at one festival, the inhabitants as- Bured him, that there were not aasemblecT fewer than 700,000 men and women, without reckoning the children. EuterpSt diap. lix. Ix.
Hoses and Aaron re<)ueating liberty for die H«b«wa to go three dayi^ journey into the wilderness, and with them all their wives, little ones, and cattle, in order to hold a feast imto Jehovah their Ood, muat have, at least, appeared aa reasonable to die Egyptiana as their going to the city of Bubastia with their wives, little ones and cattle, to hokl a feast to Neith^ or Diana, who was there worshipped. The parallel, in theae two cesea, ia too striking to pass unno(ic«d.
Verse 10. I^t the Cord be so vith you] This is on obscure sentence. Some auppoos that Pharaoh meant it oa a curse, as if he had said, " May your God be oa surely with you, OS I shall let you go 1" For as he purposed not to permit them to go, so he wiahed them as much of the divine help as they should liave of his permission.
Look—for evU ia before you\ OTiD f« ny-i rai ki raSh neged pancycem — See ye thai evil ts before your facta. If you attempt to go, ye ahatl meet with the jxinishment ye deserve. Probably Pharaoh intended to inainuaie, that they had some einister desif^s, and that Ifacy wished to go in a body, that diey might the better accompliah their purpose; mit if they had no such designs, they would be cwiented for the males to go, and leave their u-ives sod children behind; for lie well knew, if the mat. went and left their/aTnt/tea, they would Infallibly return; but that if he permitted them to take their families with them, they would undoubtedly make their escape: therefore he says, ver. U. Go now ye that oi'e men, andterot
Verse IS. The Lord brought an coat wind\ Aa locusts abounded in those countries, and porticularly iu EthimtB, and more especially at diia time of the year, Ood had no need to create new swarms fbr this purooae; all that was requisite, woa to cause such a wind to blow as would bring those which already existed, over the land of Egypt. Hie miracle in this busineaa was the bringing the locusts at the appointed time, and oaonng the proper wind to blow te that purpose, and then taking them away after a similar manner.
Verae 14. B^ore Aem there were no nuA toeu^ Ac] Tliey exceeded all that went before, or were atnce^ in number, and in the detaatatume they produced. Probablr boih dieae ihinga ore intended in the passage. — See ver. 16.
Verso 16. Tnere remained net any gi-een thing} Stm the note on ver. 4.
17 Now therefore foreiTe, I prmy <^ee. my. lin mhr tfaie once, and * entreat tm Lobd Vour Ood, that be majr take away from me this death niy.
18 And he * went oat from Pharaoh, aod entreated the Lord.
19 And ^e Lobd tarned a mighty stronf; west wind, wl^h took awmy the locusts, tmd ■ cast them 7 into the Red sea; there remaiaed not ODe locust in all the coasts of Earypt.
20 But the Lobd * hardened Fharaob^ heart, ■0 that he would not let the children of Israel sp.-
21 11 And the Lord s&id unto Moses, ^ Stretch out thiae hand toward heaven, that there may be darknew orer the land of Egypt, even darkneu wkidt raay be felL
22 And Mosea etrelehed forth hia hand toward heaven; and there was a < thick darkness m all Ae land of Egrpt three days:
33 They saw not one another, neitiier rose
any from his place for three days: bpt all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
24 If And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and *Baid, Oo ye, aerve the Lobd; only let yonr flocks and your lierda be atayed: let your ' little ones aleo go with you.
23 And Moses said. Thou must give ' ue also sacrifices and burnt-olTeringB, that we maf sacritice unto the Lord our God.
26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behina; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God: and we know not with what we must serve ihe Lord, until we come thither.
27 Tf But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see ray lace no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou ^alt die.
y«rw 17. FWgvBt, I pray lifM, my tin only thit once] Wbal ft stnuiffB caae E Aod what ft series of Bol'ceniiig ana hardetiin^ of amDiog and rejMntui^l Had he not now Another opportuniiy of returotu^ to God 7 But the love of gain, ftira die grftiificatioa of Uii owa self-wLU and obetinacjr finaUy jirevailed.
Vierae 19. A migbig -tlrmg laat vind\ omiruocA yam, literailTi Ike vmd ijf Hu **a i the wind diat blew Irom tha MeditcmoeaB ms, which lay northwest of Egypt, which liad the Red tea on the eaat. Here again God works by natund meaos: he brought the locusts by ihe east wind, and took them away by the weal or nortAnesi wind, which cftiried Uiem to the Rad saa, where ihey were drowned.
TTte Red *ea] ■)« a< yam mtph, the twedy sea, ao called jn some sunposei from uie great quaati^ <n alga, or aeaw«ed, irhim grom in ii, Sai aboat its ahoru] hit Mr. Bnicf^ who has niled the i^iole extent of it, deelarea that he never saw in it ft weed of any kind; and sun^vM it has its name SxijA from the vast quantity of coral which growl in it, as trees and plants do on land. One of these, ne observe^ from a not nearly eentnl, du«w out ramifica- (ions OD a aearly circular form, meemnaej^eHty-^ix feet djameter every va^, Travels, voL ii. n. 133. In the Sepluagiiu it is called iM^arwa if^f the Red sea, from which Tereum we have borrowed the name: and Mr. Bruce supposes that it had this name from Edom, or Eaau, whose terriuriea extended to its coasts; for it is well known that the word ow Bdam, in Hebrew, signifies red oc ruddy. ITio Red sea, caUed also the ^raMe gu^f, aeperaiea Arabia from U^wr Ethiopia and part of E^rpc It is computed tobe tAir«AuiuirMand./{/lljrleagtiea m length from Sues to the Straits of Babelmtndsl, and is Blwut,^r4r -kagues.iobnadtb.
It is not very tenpeataous; and the winds usually Mow from north to touUi, and from south to north, six months in the^eart and Uke' the monsoens of India, invariably dMsrauMlbeeeaaons of sailing ioio or out of this aea. It is divided into two goUik that to the east called the ^ni- <ic gM{f, firom the eity otEtana to the north end of it: and that to the west ealled the HeroopolUie guif, from the city of Xbrssmits; the former ef which belonn to AraUa, (he Utter to Egypt. The Elanitic gulf is called liy the Arabiana Bohr elKolxum the sea of tieetn^tim or of Ctrnna, aaaaeienttawninihatvurter) and (be HeteopcAitio gulf Aa4r «l ^6a, the •« «r Afcofto, atowa ■ituated on its Boat inland point
The wurra plague — The thick DASKifsas. - Terse 2L fianbt^ass which may be fait] Probably this was ooeasioaed by a ■aperabuodaoee of aqueoua vapours ■Qtiiig in the atmoaphete; whieh wen ao thick as to pre* wot die nys of the aun from penetratiog throogh them: an •xtmocunary thick mist, supematunuhr, i. e. miraculooaly braocfat on. An awfiil emblem of the dariuned ■(ate of the Biryptians and their king.
VswiK. TTuy sats not one anoMer] So deep was OM olaeim^i and probably such was its nature, that no •rtiietal light eoald be procured, as the thick clammy nponrs wnild prevent lamps, Ac. (Wtm burning; or if "qrevsp eouki be ignited, the light, through the palpable obMwi^, eould diAise itself to no distance from the bum. mg body. The author of the book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 2—19. gives a feariitl description of this plague. He says ifaa BgypciaQa toera ehutm in th*tr hetute, the pritontrs ^daWntmi ondwmyMiridwtA AstmA^Talnv mighL T^tey were eeatlered under a dark i>eU offorgA- JiUnen, being horribly attoniahod and tnmoled with strange appan/ion«; Jor neitlur might du comer thai held Utem, Keep them from fear t but noioee aa of waters falling aoien, eounded about Hum; atid ood visions appeared unto them loiik heavy comtmanete. No pemr qf the Jlre eould give them tight, — otily there mpeared ■unto Ikem afire kmdled nf iteej/* very dreadful t Jor being mttek lerri^d, they f AougAf the thingt -uMch they sou to be worte than the tight they earn not — For though no terribU thing did eeare them, yet being eeared vt/h beaeta that ftaeeed by, and hieoing <f eerpenie, they died for fear t— for tsoeAsr he vere hMebandman, or ^tepherd, or a labourer in the field, he ipaa overtaka^-for they WTO all bound vith one eftoin qf darkmee. Whether it vere a vduaUing wnd—or a iorrible eound'tf stones coot down, or a rwmlng thai could not be seen, qf tr^- ping beaeiet of a roMmg voice qf meet oatage wild beaete, or a rdMunding ediofrom Am haUow mountains, theee thinge mads Ikm to noon fBir fearj—Sot Pnd. Ixxviii. 49.
To this description nothing need be eddel ezeept this circumstance, that the dariutesa, with its attendant horrors, lasted lor three day*.
All the dtUdron of lerad had light} By thus distinguishing the Imeliteik Ood showed the Egyptians that the darknem was promiced by his power— that he sent it in judgment against them for their cruelty to his people-^ that because they trusted in him, they were exempted firam these jfilagues— that in the displeasure of audi a Being, his enemies had every thing to fear, and iA his appnAation bis followers had every thing to hope.
Terse M. Only Id your Jloeka and your herde he etayed\ Pharaoh cannot get all he wishes; and as he sees it impoesible to conteM with Jehovali, he now cnnsents to give up the IsraelitcB, their wives and their children, provided he nay keep dieir.Jfoc&s and their Aerds. The' mief(y of Aia danwno, is not more evident than its avarUe. Had ot* hundred Ihoueand men, besides women and childreik, gone ihfce days* journey into the wildemeee, without their canle, diey must have inevitably perished, being without milk for tneir little ones, and animal food for tnelr own sustenance, in a place where liule as a substitute could possibly be found. It is evident from this, that Pharaoh mtended the total destruetum of the whole Israelitish host.
Terse 26. We hum not vUh what we mttsf eerte the Lord, Ac] TYm teat was not jret given— the ordinances concerning the difTerent kinds of sacrifices and offerings not known. What kind and what number of animals Ood should require to be sacrificed, even Hoses himself could net as yet tell. He tlwrefbre very proper^ insiaU oo taking the whole of their herds with them, and not leaving even one hoqfbAind.
Terse 27. 77w Lord hardened Pharaoh e heart] Ha had yet another miracle to work for the complete conviedon of the Egyptians, aud triumph of his people; and till that was wrSurfit, he permitted the naftual obstinacy of Pharaoh's hau^ty heart to have iu AiU sway, after eaah resistance of the gracious influence, which wai intended to soften and bring turn to repentance.
Terse 23. See my face vo more] Hitherto Pharaoh had left the way open for n^tialion: but now, in wrath against Jehovah, he dismisses his ambassadw, and ihreateoB hhn widi death, if be should attempt asy more to eo■l^ into bh pmeoes. ^
£9 And Mosea aaid, Thou haM qwken well, ^1 wfll see thy dee again no mcH-e.
A ND the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I Jli. bring one plague more iu>on Pharaoh, and apon Egypt; afterward he will let you go hence: 1 when ie shall let you go, he shall rarely thrust you out hence altogether.
2 Speak now in the «ars of the people, and let every man borrow of his ne^fabour, and errery woman of her neighbour, ' jewels of sil- TOT, and jewels of gold.
3 " And the Lobd gave the people mTonr m the sight of Uie Egyptians. Moreover the man
Vene 29. IwiU »eethyf<m again no more\ It ia very Ucely that thia wu the laat interview that Moaea had witn nisnwh; tot what ia related, dt^. xi. 4 — 8. mi^t have been nxdcen on thia my occasion, oa it ia very poMible ibst God gave Moaea to underatand hi* purpoae to slay dtafirat-b^ikirhile before Pharaoh, at thia lime; ■oinall ^obabili^, ue interview meDtioned here, vaa the laat wlti^ Moaea had with the Egyptian kinv. It ia trua^ that ta VM-. 31. of chap. xii. it ia aOued, that Pharaoh ealUd for MauM and Aaron by niM, and ordered them to leave Egypt, and to take all their aubatanee with tbem, which ■eema to imply that there waa another interview; but the worda may imply no more than that Moaea and Aanm raeatMcf tutk a Tiuawage from Pharaoh. I^ however, thia mode of interpreting theae paaaagea riuxild not aeem MtiafeotMy to ai^, he may underaiand the worda of Moaea thus, / wiU Ma Ay fact, aeek thy fiivour no more in behalf of mj people — which waa literally true: fw if Hoaes did appear any more before Phaiacii, it waa not aa a wwp^ piiant, bat merely aa the ambaaaador of Ood, to denoanee hia judgments, by giving him the final determinatioD of JFefaovah, relative to the deatnietion of the firat-bom.
1. To the obaervationa at the concluaion of ths praeadiw ebutw, we may add. that at firat view it seems axeeeoingfy atrance. ml after all the proofa Pbanoh had of the power of Ckxi, he ahould have acted in the manner related in thia and the precediiw dtaptera, alteroaiely ainning and repenting i but it ia really a einnmon eaae: and nmlutudea WW "wtfmn the eonduot of thia miaerable Egyptian kinftSctioaaiDularmaiuter. TTiey relent when aman-, ing ooder God's judgnenla^ but haraen their hearla ytbtai tMH jadgnenta an removed. Of this kind I have witaaasaa numemus oasea. To such Ood •»« by hia prophet, WhyAavldy*ht»tri^teaanyvior»7 ytwUrnett mart ana mor*. Reader, are not the vowa of God upon tiiet? Often when afflicted in thyaelf or family, haat tnou not asid like Pharaoh, (ver. 17.) Nme Our^forc, forfrit-*, Ipray thae, my tin only this omos — and lata awayj^vm nu mt$ fuaA omlt. And yet when thou hadst reapite, dUUt ibou not harden thy heart, and with retuming health and streng^ didat tfaou not return unto ioiqui^l And art thou not atill in the broad road of tranagreaaion 7— Be not deceived: Ood ta not mocked — He wama tbee, but he will not be mocked by thee.— What thou aoiMaf, that tbou must rtap. tiuak iben, what a moat drssdfiil harvest tbou mayeat expect firom the aeeda of vioe which xbou haat alrsady aownl
2. Even In the fiue of God's nKUnnent^ the apirit of avarice will make itarequiaitiooa I Only Utyour Jtodu and your furdt 6e afayed, anys Pharaoh. The lota of
Sin waa the ruling principle of this man's aoul i and he oosea deaperately to contend with the mattoe of hia Maker, rather than give up hia boaom ain I Kaader, ia thia not It^ own caaal And art thou not ready with Phanurfi to say to the meaaenger of God, who rebukes thee for Ihy worUly-miodedneaa, dto. Qtt thee gtmcjhm MS Take lu<d to thyialf, and tee ray face no mon. Esau and Pharaoh have both got a very bad name, and many persona who are repeating their crimea, are the foremost to cover them with obloquy I When ahall we learn u> look at home? to lake wareiiig by the mtacarriagea of others, and thuB shun the pit into which we have seen ao many fidl? If God wars U citii the history of sveryman who tutrdena bimsalf from Eis ftar, kow many Pharaoh-like caaea should w« have on reeovd I But a cwy ia coming in whidi the seercta of eveir heart ahall be revealsd, anduu hiMory of svery na&'a lib laid open to an aasombled world. 2S0
• Moees vdom very great hi the land of Vimn^ h> the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in tfis of the people.
4 T And Moaes said. Thus aaith the Lou. p About midnight wiU 1 go into tte midst or Egypt:
5 And 4all the firetpbom ia the land of EgrpC shall die, from the frat-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his thr<Hie, even unto the first4iorn of the maid-servant that is behind the mfll; and all the first-born of beasts.
6 ' And there shall be a great ery thrat^oM all the land of Egypt, such as there was nane like ic, nor shall be like it any more.
7 * But against any of the chfldren of Israel t shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lout doth putadi&rence Between the Egyptians and
Terael. The Lord aaidvnto Mocai\ CalnstcoMeads that this Aould be read in the preterptupcrftel imae—for the Lord hao 9aid lo Moeea, aa the lourtb, fifth, sin^ ■evenU^ and eighth veraea appear to have been qxten vhai Moaea had ibe interview with Pharaoh mentiancd in the preceding ch^ter; see the note there (m ver. 29. If tborefore thia oiapttr be connected with the preceding, as it 'dwuM be, and the first three versea not onfy read is the post tense, but also in a parendteaia, the aenae wlS ks much more distinct and clear than it now appears.
yerae2. Let every borrow] For aprcpercsHeetica of the sb-ange miitranalatioo of the word?NV afceol ia thia vera^ see the note on chap. iiL 21.
Verse 3. Th« man Motet waa very great] The minclea whidi Pharaoh and hia aervanu had already aeen him work, had doubtleaa impreased them with a high opiniea of his wisdom and power. Had he not speared in their ai^t aa a very extraordinary person, whom it wouU have been very daiweroua to molest, we may nstmally eoDchkk that aome violenee weald, long are flui^ bavs seen ofieni lo hia peraon.
Ver«e4. About viidnight v>iUI gooui] Whether Ood did thia by the miniatry of a wood, or of an af*I angel, is a matter of little importance, though some eommentalots have greatly magnified it Both kinds of aiwela are under his power and juriadictim, and be may employ tftem aa he pleaaea. Such a work of deatructioa aa the alaying o£ the firat-bom, is auppoaed to be mwe proper for a bad, tfaaa for a good angel. But the worita of God's juatioe aia not leas holy and pure than the works of Us merey; aad ifaa higfaeat archangel may, widi die utmost proprk^, be enployed in either.
Verae 6. TTke Jbvl-bom <f noraoh, Ac] Frosa tte heir to the Egyptian throne, to the aon of the moat al^eat alave, or the principal peraon in each ftmily. Sea oo chap, xii. ver. '29.
The maiO-eertant that ia behind Aa milt] Tbe maaar eat slaves ware empl<7ad in thiswerit la nsaypasts of the east, they stiU grind all their com with a Uh «C portable mUlstonea the upper one of whidi ia turned round by a aort of leter fixed in the rim. A drawiiwof one of tbaae maehinea, as used in Chiaa, ia new bdbta me, and the person who ninda, ia represented aa puahing ibe Uter baore bim, ana thus running round with the stone. Parik^Msomediing like this is intended by the «xpreaaioiH sraiim the mUt, in tbe t«b On this pswy Dr. Shaw baa the Ibllowing tdtaervatioa i "Bbst faaihis grind their wheat and barley at home, having ftao porioMa miJUtaiee for that purpoaei tbe uppermost of \^ich ia turned round by a email bandla of wood or iron that is placed in the rim. When thia stone is large, or ensditiim required, a sseond person iaeaUed in utaasiBtt and as it is usual for vomm alone lo be cDnoerned in (bia enmioynea^ w1k> aeai tbraiselves over againat sacb other witb the milleUme between them, we may aee not only the proprien of tbe ezpraaaion, Esod. xi. 6. of a righMndthamiU,\n\ the force of another, MalL xxiv. t. that teo womtm ihatt be grinding at the mitL the oru hoil be taken and At olherl^" 'rmv«ls,p.231.4to.edh. Tbeae portable mills under the name of guamj^ were used among our anoeators in this and tbe sister kingdoma, aad aome of ihem are ia uae to the present day. Both ibe inatramant and its nams^ our forefattwra seen to have borrowed from the eontinssit.
6 And ■ all thoae thy Mmnta daH come down wOo m», and bow down thrauelves unto me, sayioff, Oet thee out. and all the people * that IbUow thee: and after that I will go oat. And he went out fVom Pharaoh in * a great anger.
9 ^ And the Lord said unto Moses, ' Pharaoh
Vene 7. Not a dog mov* hia tongue] This paasage bu beat genmilj undcratood u ^proverbuU cxpreuion. intim^*!*^ dut ihe laraeiitet should not only oe free m>m thi« AJtti, but that thejr should depart without any Idnd «r inolestatioa: For, dtough there must be much bustle and eomparatiTe oon&uion in uie sudden removal of fix hmdrtd UiauaandptrooH*, with their wive^ children, goods, eattle, Ac yet this should produce so little alerm, that even the dogs should not tei^ at (bua, irtiioh it would be natural to expect, as the principal stir was to be about nudDuht.
After giving this geiMral explanation from others, Inwr be innwnr* u> banurd a conjecture of my own. And, l. Ii tt aot proWUa that the imusion is here made to a wellknown eoMom of dog* howling when any mortality is in « Tillage, stnet, or even house, where sueh animals are 1 ^liere are inimmerable instances of the &ithful housedog bowling when a death happens in the fiunily, as if disCreMed on the account, feeling for the logs of his benefiwuw; but their apparent prnaging such an event by Ibair crie^ as anne will have it, may be attributed, not to naypwseieoce, but to the exquisite keenness of their scent. If lbs words mav be midarsiood in Oiia way, dien the grMi cry throu^ the whole land trf Egypt nuy refer to UUB very circumstance; as dogs were sacred among them, and consequently religiously preserved, they must have •listed in great multiuides. 2. We know that one of their nrineipal £ities was Osiris, whose son, worshipped under BM form of a dog, or a man with a dog's head, was called MmMm fafrotor, the hariAng Anvbt*. May he not be wprebepled as d^loring a calamity wfaidi he had no ptnsw to prevent amoi^&is worshippers, nor influence to tnfliet punishment upon those who set his deity at noughll Hoaee while there was a great cry, Ti>v npjn Ut&kahgtdoioK, througfooot all the land at Egypt, because of the mortHitv in every bouse, yet among the Israelites there was no oealb, eooaeouently no doc moved his longue to bowl fte their calamity I nor couUtha object of ibefigyptiani^ woiahw inflict aiqr similar punishment on the worihofmof Jehovah.
In honour of this dog-god, there was a city called Anubit ia Egypt, by the Greeks called C^nopoji^ the oi^ frf the dog, oie same that is now called JMmfal: indushebad a temple, and dogs which were Mored to him, wwe here M with caasaeraied victuals.
ThiK as in the first plagues, their magidaru were ooo- Cgaada^ so in the last, their gudt w«ra put to flight And BM^'BOt this be referred to in chap. xii. 12. when Jdiovah ■ayt, Ag^iut alt tht godt qf Egypt IwUl exectUe judg- 9umtf Should it be objected, that to consider the passage in thn)>S^t, would be to noknowledge the beijig and dtUj/ ot the fiiMtious AnulM^ it may be answered, that in the SMrad Wriiinn it is not an unctnomon thing to see the idbl aAaowlad^ in order to show its nullity, and the won foreibly to express eontcmpt fiir U, for iu worshiptiers, aad for its worship. Thus Isaiah represents ttie SabyloniA idolras being endued with sense, bowing down under the judgments of God, utterly unable to help them- ■elvea or Ihetr wonhipperm, and being a burden lo the beaMs that carried diem) Bu bowOi down, Nnao stoopsA; thsir idol* were vpon th» bt<uU and upon the eaitU: ymtr oarriagea were keavyloadmt they are a iunfsn to ttu warm bcosL Tmtr *toop, Uieg boa down together; Osy csMM not deliver Ac burden, but fhemMhee have gvne into coptivU}/. Chap. zIvL 1, 2. The case of Elijah and Ibe prapheu of Baal should not be CorgottMi bant Ada pepne^ I? seaming to acknowledge the laali^ <rf JRmT a MnA ttioagh by a strong irony, poured the most MvareigB contempt upon him, bis wonhippers, and his wflsdlip. AndS!l^aJimoekedtlismand9aid.CryiUoudi rem mm tm aood: eilherlu io taikingt or keu jmming. •r As is in a Joarnmf, or ptradmmbtn k« ste^Mtt tmd «Mut*«mmUdL 1 KnogszviiL37. Sea the obaervatioos •t Aeandof efaui. ziL
7%« Iiorri doM ^ a dffbrsnMl See ga chm. Tiii. 2E. Afld te dw *ariatiai» between the Hebrew and Samaritan Fewataudi in this place, see at (he end of die chapter.
Teres 8. And aU tb^oe l/iv oervanU ekaU eotne] A predieticttaf iriiat actually took place. See chap. xii. 31— ^
Vamflk nanmh liaff naitaaribniwtoMwt) TboiMh ^Mwlvfaanbeihnptfad agni of dw fbtan tme,
shall not hearken unto you; that ' my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
10 And Moees and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: ■ and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let tlw children of Israel go out of hia land.
and by many indiscrimioately used; yet they make a most essential di0erenee in composition, m a variety of cases. For instance, if we translate yavr to yiehma, Pbara<dk snxLL not hearken, as in our text, dte word ehaU strongly intimates that it was inuiosii&/e ibr Pharaoh to hearken, and that Ood had placed him. under that impoeaibitity t but if we translate, as we should do, I%areoh wux vot hearken, ii alters the case most essentially, and agrees with the many passages in the preceding chapters, wnere he is said to have hardened hi* own heart: as this proves thttf he, without any impulsive necessity, obstinately refused to attend to what Hoses said or threatened; and that God took the advantage of this obstinacy to work another mir> acle, and thus multiply his wonders in the land.
Pharaak will noT hearken unto you; and because ba would not, Oed b"^*"*^ his hear^— Jen him to hia own obstinacy.
To most critics it is well known that there are, ia several parts of die P^tatcuoh, oonsidorablc differences between the Hdnvw and Samaritan copies of this work. In this chapter, the variations are of considerable importanoa; and competent critics have allowed that due Samaritan text, especially in this chapter, ia fuller and better connected tnan that of the Hebrew. 1. It is evident that th« eighth verse in the present Hd>rew text has no natural ooimexion wiih the seventh. For in the seventh verse Hoses delivers to the Israelites what God had commanded him to say) and in the eighth he appears to eoniinue a direet discourse tmto niaraob, dioum it does not appear wh^ this discourse was begun. Irus is quite contrary to the custom of Moses, who always particularly notes ihs conunenosment of his discourses.
2. It is not likely (hat the Samaritans have added these portions, as th^ could have no private interest to serve by so doing! and therefore it is likely that these additioM were mwoally parts of the Sacred text, and might have bm omitUdibecHnise an weieM ccngrist found the subsianeo of them in other places. It must however he granted, that the principal additions in the Samaritan, are repetitions of qweches whidi exist in the Hebrew texL
3. TbK principal part of these additions do not appear to have been borrowed from ainr other quarter. Interoolation^ ia general are easily discerned from the confusion tbnr introduce I but instead of deranging the sense, the adtutioos Aers, make it much more apparent: for should these not be admilied, it is evident that something is wanting, without which the connexion is incomplete. See Calm«f. But the reader is still requested to observe^ that the supplementary matter in the Samaritan ti collected from other parts of ihs Hebrew text; and diat the princ^ mwit of the SamariMn diat it presenves the words in • better airangemenL
Dr. ifmntcott has entered into this subject at large, and by printing the two texts in parallel columns, the supplementary matter in the Samaritan, and the hiatus in Ihe Hctoew text, will be at once perceived. It is well knon-n that he preferred the Samaritan to die Hebrew Pentateuch) and his reasons for that preference in thi* caee, I shall sobjoint as the work is extremely scarce from which I select them, one class of readers especially, will be glad to meet with them in this place.
" Widiio these Jfre chapters, vii., viii., ix^ x., and xi. am seven wy great difierenoes between (he Hebrew and iSomaritan Fen(ateuch, relating to the ^eeiAea which denoimeed ssesn out of the ton judgments upon the Egypiiansi viz. teolerv into bb>odyfrog*,J^, murrain, hail^loeuel*, and deetrudion Ikejlr^bom. The BArew text gives the speeches concerning these judgmenu onfy once at each } but tne Samaritan gives each speech twicb. In the Bebrew we have the speeches concerning the Jtee first as in command from God to Moaea, wiAouf readme lAo^.Afcm deHvered them; and eonoeming the two last as delivered by Moses to PhanohiWfAoufrsadtegAalOonAad commanded them. Whereas in the Samaritan wt find everr ntaeeh twios. Gmt commands JMbses to go and apeak Ihue or thu* btfore I^uiraoh—Moaee geea and denomeea Ae judgmmt— Pharaoh diaobem, and Ms Judgment takea pUee. All this is pateeOv regular, and «xae^ wreaub to the dmUs meecbea of Absisr in veiy andmt waes. I have not the Isast doubt, but diat die Hebrew