12 Have I concmved ail this people? have I b^otten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, " C«rry them in thy bosom, as a ' nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou ■•warest unto their fathers'?
13 *■ Whence xhould I haxe flesh to give unto aA this people? for they weep unto me, saykig, Qive UB flesh, that we may eat.
14 I am not i^le to bear all this people alone, beeause it is too heavy for me.
15 And if thou deal thus with me, * hill me. I pray thee, ont of hand, if 1 have found favour. ID thy ught; and let me not * see my wretchedness.
16 T And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather mmp, oooaoquentty the banting might have been confiDed ID dMm.
Teras 2. Th^ fire wa* guendud] Was mnk, or av&lloved up, u in the margin. Tltt plague, of whatever ■Oft oeaaed to act, and the people had respite.
VeriB 4. The mixt mttUiiudt] epoDttn luuaphsupli. As tMvitd or gaSuTtd people. Such a* came out of ^{ypt with the laraeliteat and are mentioned Bxod. xii. 3S. Thie mongrU pec^le, who had comparatively little o( the knowledge of God, feeling the difiicultiee and Eatigue* of die journey, were the firat to complain— and then we find the children of laraet joined them in iheir complnininn, and made a common cauae with these demi-infidels.
Verse 6. Wt remtmbtr, dkcj The choice alimeota wbioh those murmurera complaidra of having loal by their Iwving lB^n>*i ^ rollowing; JUh, cummbera, fiubma, uaem, oniant, and garlic. An European may ■mile at such tUHeaciee; but delicaciti they were in that aolintry. l^eir jbA is eroollent, their tnuumbera and vatw-maUma hi^ly salubrioua and refre^tn^: and their animUf garUe, &c exquisitely flavoured, dilfenng as much from vt^etables of the same apeeiea in these nor^em dimes, aa a ftorftemfp does from a goodappte. In short, Am ewunaration takes in almost alfQw eommonly attainfiAe delicacies in those countries.
Verse 7. The manna was a* coruinder teed] Probably thia abort description is added to show (he ini^ily of (he people in murmuring, while th«r had so adeqnUe a provuioD. But Uie baaniesa of their miuds appears in every part of iheir condiiet.
AboQt the bdellium of the anoients. the learned are not uned: and I diall not troitble the reednr with conjectures. &t the note on Qtn. ii. \% Concerning the manna, see the notes on Exod. xvi.
Terse 11 — 16. llie complaint and remonstranee of Hoses (n ihoae verses, serve at once to show the deeply distresaed Mate d'his mind, and the degradation of the nrunds of the psople. We have already seen, that the slavery they had so K>ng.endured, had served to debase their minds, and to render them ineapable of every high and dignified MDtimeat, sad of eveiy gwteroo* aot.
unto me 'seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knoWest to be the eldere of the peolAe, and ' oflicers over them; and bring them anto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
1? Aria 1 will > come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which w iwdn thee, and will put it upon thcra; and they anall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyeelf alooe.
IS And say tl>ou unto the peoj^e, ' Sanrti^ yourselves aeainst to-morrow, and ye ahall eat fleeh: for ye have wept ^ in tiieearsof theLoBD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eel 7 i for it was well with us in £gypt: therefore tfaeLaan will give you fleeh, and ye shall eat.
19 xe shall not eat one day, nor two daja, new, five days, neither ten days, nor tw«aty days;
20 " Bni even a " whole monUi, until it coaae out at your aostrilfl, and it be loaljksome unto you: because that ye have despised tJieL<nu» which is among you, aad have wept befin-e him, saying, 'Why came we forth out of E^yptl
21 il And Hoses said, f The people among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast eaid, I will rive them flesh, that they may eat a whole month!
22 '' Shall the flocks and the herds be shtin far them, to suffice them? or ehaU all the fish of the sea be gathered tf^ether for them, toeufficetheai?
2'3 And the Lord.Mid unto Moses, ■Is th* Lord's hand waxed short? thou sfaalt see now whether ' my word shall oome to pass onto thev or not:,
24 ^ And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and "gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And Uie Lobd * came down in a dond, and
From this plaec Orwen and Tbeudorat IRke ocean on m compare Moaes to a laoip, at which seventy others wen lighted, without losing any of its brightness. To cenviaM Hosea that Ood had suffieieutly qualified him for the werk which he bad given him to 'do, be tells him that of iba gifts and grace* which be has gives him, he will fumlify seventy pennu to bear the diarge with him. Una was probably ittended as a sraeioua reproof. Query. Did not Motes lose a measure M his gills in this busineis 1 Asd is it not ri^t that he whom God hai called to and <]onkfied for some particular office, should lose those jrifts vhiea he either undervalues or refuses to employ for Uod io the way appointedl Is (here not much reason to believ^ thM many cases have occiuTcd where the qtritual eodomnoHa of partMular persMia have been taken ewan^ and giv«a M others who made a better use of them t Sbnee me ffpriety of that exhortation, Rev. iii. il. Ebld that Jini whim thott htut, that no wan take Iky erwn.
The graeioua God neverealied aman toperfunawask withoutfuraidiing him with adewmts amiigih: loiefcae to do it, on the preienee of inaUli^, is little abort of M> bellion axainat God.
■ lUs matitutton of Kventy peraona to lielp][oaa% the raUnna -coiiBider as the origin <rf their gnmd eoooai^ called the eanAedrijn, But we find that a coundl of seventy men, dders of Israel, had existed among the peo|ile a year before this time. See Exod. xxiv. 9. see ibe mivioes given hy Jethro to. Moses, Exod. xviii. 17, Ac mai the notes there.
Verse 22. Shall IkeJoHceattdlhehade be elaUl Tim* is certainly a considerable meesure of vealmeee ana iMi6«- manifpsted in the complaiots and cjuestjaiH of on this occasion: but his conduct appears at the mne ti •o very nimvle, honeet, and ^edwnate, that we bttt admire it, while we wonder that he had not siron*^ oonfidodce in that God, whose miraelea be had se oAra witneesed in Egypt.
Terse 23. A lAe LanTa hand mmd ^mri 7\ Hast that for[^oiten the miracles which I have already performed t Or Ifainkestdiou that my power iadeereaaedl Thepowsr that iatm/iflitfed, ima never be dttdiitidUd.
I onto him, and took of the spirit that wag ttpon him, and gave it unto the seveoty elders: aiid it came to pass, that, * when the eoirit retted upon then, * iaey prophesied, and did not cease.
But there remained two qf the men in the eamp, the name ol' the one 1009 Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and Uie spirit rested upon them: and they were <tf them that were written, but ' went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 Ana there ran a youn^ man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad ao proiihesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his joang men, answered and ■aid. My lord Moses. ' forud them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Eoviest thou for my sake? 'wtnddQod that ell the Loan's peojde were prc^thets, and that the Lobb wwiid put his spirit upon Uiem.
30 And Moees ^t him into the caaip, he and the elders of Israel.
f^mUdi Bf propft««ynu- hen we are to UDdentsnd their perfimmor those ciTil and ■acred functions for which iAhj were soawad t exboTting die petnde U quiet and pesoea- IfesMnmiirion, to tniat and confidwieB hi the goodness mm! proridenee of God, would make no email part <rf the duties of their new office. The ideal meaaing of the word •O) tuba, is to pray, entreat, dko. Hie pn^hBt is called MQi nahL because ne prayii supptieatea, in isfannoa 10 Ooii— ezhort% entnafi^ la immtcs to sum. See ou Geo. zx. 7.
Teise 27. EUad and Medai do ^rmtMy] Tbim, it swHmi. made two <tf the seveo^ elders— UH? wm writtea, dMunt they weat not out to die l^ieniaele— they ware enrolled as M the elders, but -went not to meet God at the tabernacle, probably at that time prevented by lome legal hinderanoe— but they continued m the oamp unng their new fimctatHi in exbortinf the people.
Terse 28. flfy lord AKaei, joroid Ihetn] Joshua waa afiaid that the authorinr and influence of hia maater Moaea mi^t be laesBoed by the part Eldad and Medad were taking in the government of the people; whleh might olti- DMiely ezeite lediUon or inaurrection among them.
Versa 29. EnvUtt thou for mi/ take] Art thou jealous oClheir infloenoe only Ml my aecountt I am not alarmed i OD (be cootfary, I w«i]d to Qod that all his perale were •Ddoed with toa aame influence and actuated by the Muna motivea.
Persona may be under the especial direction of naoe mod providence, while appareDtly performing a voik out o£ regular otder. And if the act be good, and die efiects ■ood, WB have so ri^t to question the motive, nor to forbid aw wtak. Whai are order and tegutarity in the siriit of man, noay be diaorder and eonfuatoa in the sight of Ood, and vcce v*na. John wiahed to prevent a man from eastlac out demooa in the name of Jeaus, 'because be did not follow Christ in company with the disciples. Our Ixird't eondtiot in that ease should regulate oun in all nmilar oaest see Luke is. 49, 60.
Terse 31. A windfrowt tiu Lord] An eztraordiDary oncynotthsefieetttfanabiraloause. And brottghi quaiU, a hod wfaieh in great companiea viaits EsTpt about the lisM at the year, March or April, at which the circumstaikce marked here took place. Hr. U<i»»*lquUl, the friend and pt^l of the famoua Liniunis, saw many of them about ihia time of ibe year, when he waa in Egypt. Sse bis Travels, p. 209.
7W«»&UtbighiqmiiAe/(M«4^lha<arih.] We may eoaader the quaib m jMm wwUa hss wMb «f Uu ground; ao ibat ths Isneliias could essily take as many of them as they wiahed while flying within the reach of their handi or their eluba. Tob 00 nun on notion ia^ that die quails wera brought round about die camp, and fell there in such multitiMes as to lie two feet ihk^ upon the muDd: but the Hebrew will not bear diis Tsnioo. The Vidgnie has szpressed dH seas^ vdabantgua in aire dttokHO aMtia altUudina mtptr ttrrtm. And they flew in the air, two ciAils high above the graand.
Terse 32. The poopU ttood %j>, Ae.] While iheee iiaraSBse flocks were flying at this ihort distance from the Knund, biigaed with the strong wind, and dis diattuoe UksrhndeoBHtlbeywersaKsi^iahsabrthapsoplei and as moons iosks aiaiiaiHd tosneessdsedtMhsrfar two
31 Tf And there went forth a >• wind from the Lord, and brought qoails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were ' a day's journey on this eide^ and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp; and as it were two cubits high upon the face (tf the
33 And the people stood up all that day, and all that nieht, and all the next day. and tiiey ^thered the quails: he that gathered least ga* thered ten <* homers: and they spread them aU abroad for themeelves round about the camp.
33 And while the 'flesh idoji yet between their te^ th, ere it was chewed, the wrath of (he Loan was kindled a^fainBt the people, and the LOUD smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of tiiat place ' iOM-oth-faattaavah: becaiue there they bnried the people that lusted.
35 > And the people joomeyed from Eibrothhattaavah nnto Hazeroth; and ^ abode at H»- zeroth.
dsTi and a night, enow for a month'a provision might be collected in that time. If the quaita had fallen about the tenia, there waa no need to have atood up iwa days and a night in gathering them *, but if they were on the wiog, as the text aeema to auppoae, it waa ncceaaary for them to uae despatch, and avail themeelvea of the passing of these birds wbilat it continued. — See Hsrmer, and see the oole on Exod. zvi. 13.
And ffuf tpraad them ail abroad] Haillet obaerves, that birds of all kinds come to Egypt for refuge from the cold of a northern winter: and that the people catch them, pluck, and bury them in the bumingaaDd fiw a few miiratea, and thus ptepars Ihsm tor use. Tiaa ia iMrabaUy what is meantby sfvearftef Ifcsm aU abroad rmmd A* camp.
Some andkOfs think that the word s-^v Aelatim, r«Ddered ^uaUa in our tranalation, should be rendered loaato^ lliere ia no need of this conjecture) all difficulties am easily resolved without iL The reader is partiouls^ referred to the note on Exod. xvi. 13.
Verae 33. 'Hie wrath of tha Lord was kindltd] la what way, and with what efiecta, we cannot precisely determine. Some heavy judgment fell upon these murmurera and complainerB, but of what kind the aaorod writer say a nothing.
Verse 34. JTibrofA-Aalfaaeah] Hie graves <rf lust; and thus their Boaikdalow erime was peipewatsd by dw nanw of die place.
1. St. Jods speaks of persons w1k> were murmnrera and ecnnplainers, walking aner their own lusts, ver. 16. mad seems to have this people particularly in view, wboni the mared text calk f>ifii)-t^i«)t, eomplajners A«Cr M. They could never be Mtisfied; even God hmiself eotdd not please them, because they were ever preferring their own wisdom to hia. Ood will aava us in hia own way, or not at all; because that way being the plan of in&nite wisdom, it IB tmpoaeible that we can be eaved in any other. How often have we profeeaed lo pray, " Thy will be done I" And bow seldom, very aeldoio, have our hearts and lips oorreqionded 1 now careful should we be in all our fsrajrers to ask nothing but what is perfectly consistent with the will of God. Many times our prayera and desires are such, that, were they answered, our ruin would be inevitsble. Tht will be donet is the greatest of all prsyers; and he who would pray sq/Wy ud successfiilly, muit at least have the spirit a these words in all his petitions. The Israelites ssked fleab when diey should not have naked for it: Ood yields to their murmuring: sod ihe deadi of multitudes of these murmnrers was the consequence I We hear of surh punishments, sod yet iralk in the aame way, presurains; on God's mtrejf, while we continue lo provmie his jtuUcc. Let ua asttle u as as indisputable Imtfa, that God is better acquunied with our wants than w« are ourselves; that he knows infinitely better what we need: and ihia be is ever more nady to hear than we an to pmy: and is went to give more than «e can deaiie or deaem.
2. In no ease has God at any time withheld from his meaneat followers any of the spiritual or temporal mercies they needed. Were he to call us to trevel direu{^ a
' viM*m*m, he would send us bread from keaotn, or I canss ths wiUarnaa to smiknd blossom as ths rssa.
Mriinmil lirrm nkeii ■dill™ (((iMt Mom b«eu»iif the KthtoplaD raoui bi tnd muTW, I: u>d ihnughjnkiaircfblitncmulnff pvmuiil (aihodtT.l Tta cluneuT at Mow, 3. Mw.Auai,iuid Motui an nldnilr «JM lo
woman whom he had married: for ^ he had 1 married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken oniy by Moses 7 " hath he not spoken also by nsf And the Lord 'heard it.
3 (Now the man MoBes was "very meek, above all the men which were upon the fkee of the earthO
4 p And the Lord spake suddenly nnto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 V And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernade, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there
be a prophet among rou, / the Lohd frill make myflelf known unto nim ' in a vision, and will speak unto him * in a dream.
7 ' My servant Moses w not so, ■ who t# fhithful in all * mine house.
8 With him will I speak * mouth to mouth, even "apparently, ana not in dark speeches; and f the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then ■ were ye not afVaid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them: and he departed.
10 TF And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle J and ■ behold, Miriam became * leprous, white ae snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she wag leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, ' lay not the sin upon as, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not be ' as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried noto the Loud, saying. Heal her now, O Ood, I beseedi thee.
14 T[ And the Lord said unto Moses, • If her father had but spit in her face, should ehe ooC
How itrange is it that we will neither believe that God has worked, or will work, unlest we see him working I
Tene I. JUiriam and Airon aptUet againat JlfiiM*] It appears that jealouay of the power and iofluence of Mose* was the real cause of their complaint, though hia having married an Kthi<^ian woman; rcvsn mncTi Aa itAoA haeuahitk; that wohak, the CuMU, probablv meaning Zipporah, who waa an Ar(Ut bom in Oie land of MUiian, was the ottmsibU caute.
Verae 2. HatKthe Lord indeed spoken only by Sfy»t$] It ii certun that both Aaron and Miriam had recaivad a rion of the prophetic spirit, see Exod. iv. 15. and xv. and therefore they thought they might have a share in the goBemmeni; for though there waa no kind of gain as^oied to this government; and no honour but auw aa came from Ood, yet the love of power ia natural to the human mind; mm in many instaneea men will sacrifice even kmuw.jiUaMre, aadpni/Utoibs bial at jtowtr.
Terae 3. Aote the man Maiet was very meek] How eould Hoaes, who certainly waa aa humble and modest aa be waa meek, write this encomium upon himaelf? I think the word is not rightly understood; ^i? Snar, which we translate meeA, cunes from rup dnah, to act upon, to kamble, depress, afflict, and is translated eo in many tua in the Old l^stament: and in this sense it should imderatood here. "Now this man Hoaea, was depresstdoT tiptieted more than any man, Tvotttnha-adamah, of that land." And why was he sol Because of the neat burden be had to bear in the care and government of mis people; and because of their ingratitude and rebellion both agirfnst God and himself: of this depression and affliction, see the fttllest proof in ihe preceain^ chapter. Hbft very power they envied was oppressive to iu possessor, and waa more than either of Aeir ahoolders coold sustain.
Terse 4. And the Lord spake ntddenly] l^e sudden interference of Ood in ihis business, shows at once the importance of tlie case, and his displeasure.
verse 6. ^ therebeaprophef] Weseeheretttadi^mit ways in which God usually made himself known to the pmphtta, viz. by visions, emblematic appearances, and bv dreams, in which the fiitnre was announced by dark speeehes, rmns be-diidaOi, by enigmas or figurative representations, ver. 8. But to Moses God had communienled himaelf in a different way-4ie spoke to him faee to face, apparently, showing him his glory; not in dark or enig^ matical speeches; this couM not be admitted in the case in whirh Moses was engaged, for he was to receive laa» by divine inspiratioii, die precepts and expressions of which must all be ad eaptum rulgi, within the reach of the meanes.t capacity. Aa Hoaes, therefore, was chosen of Ood to be the lawgiver.m waa be ehosen to see these laws duly enforced for the benefit of the people amongwhem he presided.
iii. 20. Darid is so called, I Sam. zviii. 27. Neeman, and son-in-law of the king. Job xii. speaks of tba Neeanim aa a name of dignity. It aeems also te hava been a title of tespeet given to ambassadors, Prov. xiii. IT. XXV. 1^ Calmet well observes that the word ^fideUty is often used for an employ, oifice, or digni^, and refers to 1 Chron. ix. 22, 26, 3l. 2 Chron. jtixi. 12, 16. miv. 12, Ac Moses was a fiuthfbl well-lried swvaat in the liiwii of God; and therefi»« he uses him as a bmiliar, aad pals confidence in him.
Terse 10. Miriam became I^rvua] It is likeir Miriam was ekief in this mutiny; and it is probable nat it was on this ground she is mentioned JlrH, sec ver. I. asd punished here, while Aaron is spared. Had he been smitten with the leprosy, his sacred character must hava greatly suffered, ana perhaps the pruslhood itself haw nillen into contempt. How many priests and preachers who deserved to be exposed to reproach and infamy, have been qand for the sake of hmy diarseter they boi& that dw ministry mi^t not be blamed! but the msl Ooit will visit their transgressions in some other way. nothing' tends lo discredit the work of God so much as the transgreasions and miscarriages of those who minister in hofy things.
Verse 14. 1^ kerfa&er had but spit in herfaee] llua appears to have been (tone only in cases of great provocation on the part of the child; and strong irritation on the side of the parent. Uniting in the jaee was a sign of the deepest contempt — See Job xxx. 10. Isai. 1. 6. msrk xiv, 65. In a case where a parent waa obliged, by the disobedient conduct of his diild, to treat him in this way, it t4)pears he was banished from the feiher's presence for seven days. If then this was an allowed and judged case in natters of high provocation on the part of a chBd \ sbouM not tha punishment be equally severe, when the creamn hits rebeUed against the Creator 7 — tbeiefcra Miriam was shut ont of the camp for se\-en days, and thus debarred from coming into the presence of God ber father, who is represented as dwelling among tlie pta^it^ To a soul who knows the value and inexpressible bloKdness of communion with God, how intglenble must seven days of spiritual darkness be 1 But how indnenliably wntcbed miiM Ibeir case be, who are cast oat iMo outer darkiwse, where the lia^l of God no more sUnes; and where his approbation can no more be felt for ever I Reader, Ciod save thee from so great a curse I
Several of the fathers suppose there is a great mnlery hidden in the quarrel of Miriam and Aaron with Moae« and Zipporah. Origen, and after him several others, speak of it in the following manner; "1. Zipporah, a CaaWfi^ espoused by Moses, evidently points out the dioice which Jesus Chnst has made t/t the G^tlss for his iqMmsa and church. 2. 7%e jealousy of Aaron and Miriam d^ainM Moses and Zipporah, signifies the hatred and envy of iba Jews against cAiriat and the apostles, when (hey aaw that the mysteries of (he kiiwdom of heaven had bMn op«nad to die Oaoiiles) of iHiiob ibey had raadMvd ihesssslna
be ashamed seven days? let her be ' shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
15 s And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people^ journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 H And afterward the people removed from ^ Hazeroth, uid pitched in the wildemesa of Paran.
IVdi* inni. ant aal at trrrj Drlbc, ui HH U lumlM ibe hUdii Mil Mat* at lha l>Dd«C CvHiui, I— 3- Their lunm, 4— IS Mom flm ijtai puiioulv ^ne- ■fcrn^ll-^ Tlwr|ir«inl HI JKit VMinH, Con lo £Wknil, ud oil dovD > hnndi wiiA ■ cJuiKr oT gnpH. which ilirjr l»ul)itnatiniiiru«n|Mn mtuff. Altttfanfdtfmiliry murn u> Para>i,<rom murtMar Uk [ud, uI
BaitlMiMJiniipcniflinibilr CnvMaiHiiaiiiill; udfiBulf unpiuy itadUBimtterf fmn»««,aii.».
2 > Send thou men, that they may search the land of Caoaanr v^iieh I give unto the children of lorael: of every tribe of their fathers, shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
3 And Moses dv the commandment of the Lord sent them * from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were beads of the children of Israel.
4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammoa the son of Zaccur.
6 1 Of the tribe of Judah, - Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
unworthy. 3. HbB tepntjf widi which Miriam wm smitten, Aowa the gron igAonuice of the Jews; and the ruinoui^ diaofderad state of their religion, in vhicb there ia neither s head, a temple, nor a tachfice. 4. Of none but Jtmu Christ can it be aaid, that he waa the Tnottmtekutd puiant of men — tbathe tme Ood face to fact; thattiehad every thing clearly revealed without enigmatical represen- Istioiu; and dtat he woa /uitt/u/ in ail the kmm qf Ood," Una, and much more, Origen atotes in the aizth and •eventh homilies on the boot <h Numbera t andyetall this he eonaiders as Utile in comparison of the vast mysteries that lie hidden in these accounts; for the shortness of tfae time, and the magnitude of the mysteries, only permit lum "tophu^ a few flowers from those vast fields — notas many as the exuberance of those fields affords; but onlv ■ooh aa by their odour he waa led to select from the rest. lAc^xU tomen tx ingatUilma campis paueo* JIokuIm Ugere, *t turn qua/Uum ager exuberet, ted quatUam odorattti i^Jficiat earpere.
Terse 16. TTte wUdemcM qf Paran.'] lUs could not be tfte same Pana wiUi that mentionecL Deut i. 1. for dist was on the borders of Ibe promised land, see the note on I>eaL i. 1, 2. they were long near the borders of Canaan, ■nd mif^t have apradilj entered into it, had it not been for their pronicationa and miijuitiee. They spent tbirty>eie:ht years in a joamevwhieh might have been accomplished ii^ a flaw weeks I How many through their unfaithfulneas have bean many yean io gaining that for which, in the ordfatarjr procedure o( divine grace, a-fnn dajf had been anflleiMt. How much ground may a man lose in the divinc life, by one act of unnithfulness or traosvression! Israel wandered in the wilderness because Israel despised the pleasant land, and did not give credence to the word of the Lord. Hmt would have a golden cal^ and they had nothingbot triooladon and wo m return.
NOTES ON CHAPTER XIH. Tersa 2. filnuf nun that tluff may weardi] It appears from Deut I. 19—24. diat this was done in eonsecraence of the request of ihe people, after the following aadress of Mnaea: And when lee departed from Hortb, we went titrmtgk ail that great and terrible wildemen — and ve eamemUo Ruteeh-bamea! and I eaid tmto you. Ye are come unto the mountain qf the Amoj-Uea, which Ae Lord Mtr God doth give unto ue. Behold, the Lord thy God hath eet the land before Out: go up aiid poeecee it, ae the Lard Ood of Ay faihtrt hath eatd unto ih6e,/ear not, neither be dieeovragetL And yeeame near unio me every sMff ysH, and sMd.* Wa wni amis jcn sorou vs
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim. ' Oshea the son of Nun.
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely^ of the tribe of Manaseeh, Gaddi the son of Suel
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Of the tribe of Ashur, Sethur the son of Michael.
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbithe son of Vophsi.
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the sonof MachL
16 TheaeorethenamesofthemenwhichMoses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called "Oshea the son of Nun, Jehoahoa.
17 IT And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this wan p southward, and go up into ^ the motutain:
18 And see the land what it tc; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell io, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And wliat the land is, whether it be 'fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And * be ye of good courage, and bring of the fVuit of the land. Now the time was me time of the first ripe grapes.
. 21 li So they went up, and searched the land tfi-om the vrildernesa of Zin unto "Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
word again, fry what way we must go up, and into vAat cUiee we maiteome. And the eaying pleased me well, and I took twelve men of you, one of a iribe, if-c. Nearly the whole of these verses is added here by uie So' maritan.
Every man a ruler} Not any of the princes of the people; see chap. i. for these names are different from those: but these now sent, were men of consideration and importance in their respective tribes.
Verse 13. Scthor the son qfMitAael.'] It would have heea strange had the numerous searchers after the explanoition of the mystical number 666, Rev. xiii. 18. xvii.S.met with nothing to their pun>ose, in the name of this son of Michael. Sethur, -nno, from ^D, salhar, to hide or con* ceal, signifies hidden or mysterious, and includes in it the numerical letters of the No. 666. d 60. -|- n 400. + 1 6. -f. i 200 = 666. But of what utility can auch expositions be to any subject of history or theology 1
Verte 16. Atid Moses called Oshea — JAoekual Osrba, Heb. yv^n should be written Hashed. The word swnifiM saved, or a saviour, or tatvatum—int he Aalltave: or the salvaHon of God; a letter, says Catmet, of the incommun)C(U)1e name of God, being added to his former name. This was not the first time in which he bad ths name JbsAua; see Exod. xvii.9.and dienote there. Sons suppose he luui this change of name in consequence of bis victory over Amalek; see Exod. xvii. 13, 14.
Terseia fSwMeland^ tohaf if isl What sortof a couiP- Tav it is; how situated; its natural advantages or disadvantages.
And the people — whether Ihey be strong or weak] Healthy robust, hardy men; or little, weak, axid pusillanimous.
Terse 20. 71u land, whether ii he fat or lean'] Whether the SOIL be rich or poor; which might be known by ita being well wooded, and the fruue it produced; and therefore they were desired to examine it ai to the Itms, &c and to bring some of the fruits witli dtem.
Verse 21, Prom the wiidemess tf Zin] The place called rt TVtn, here, is different from that called Stn, or iSeen, Exod. zvi. 1. the latter waa nigh to Egypt, but the former was near t^desk'bamea, not for from the boidera of the promised land.
•< The spies, havin;; left Esdeeh-banws, ^ich was in the desert of Paran, see ver. 28. they proceeded to lbs desert of TVn, all along the land of Ouiaan, nearly following the course of the river Jordan, till ttiVf came to Behob, a ei^ siUMted near mount Libanu^ at the nordien
22 And they Eiscended bv the south, and came Unto Hebron; where 'Amman, Sheahai, and Tahnai, * the children of Anf^, were. Q(ow 'Hebron was buUt Bcven years before ' Zoan in Egypt.)
23 ■ And they came unto the ■ brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of Rrapea, and they bare it between two upon a atatf; and they brought of the pomegranateajjind of the figs.
24 The place was called the *> brook Eschol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Isfael cut down from thence.
25 And they returned from searching of the land ^ter forty days.
26 IT And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the coneregation of the children of Israel, ' unto the wildernesB of Paran, to ■ Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and sure^ it floweth with ' milk and honey; > and this it the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless ^tbe people be stronc that dwell in the land, and the Qittes are walira, and very great: and moreover We saw > the childrea of Anak there.
29 ^ The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites. and the Amoriies, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And 1 Caleb stilled the people before Hoses, and said. Let us go up at once, and possess it i for we are well able to overcome it.
31 "But the men that wuit up with him si^ We be not aUe to kg up against the people; ibr they are stronger than we.
32 And they " brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, sayii^. The land, through which we have gone, to search it, is a land that eateth op the inhabitants thereof: " and all the people that we saw in it, are ^ men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, ^ the boos iit Aiiiak,v>hich come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as ' grasshoppers, and so we vna * in their sight.
extremity of the holy luu], towards the road tltat leads to AtmaiAk Hience they returoed through the midat of the same \aai, hy the borders of the SidoniaaB and Pbilistinea, aad pawing by mount Hebron, reikdered Aunous by the r»- ■idenoe of Abrah&m formerly, and by the gigantie oeBcendants of Anak, at that time, uiey paued through the valley of the brook of EsKeol, where they cut down die bui»m of gii4>es, mentioned ver. 23. and returned to the Israelitirfi wxtf, after an abaence of fbrty day^" vsr. 26. — See Calnef on this place.
Terse 22. jBc&ron va» buiU Msm ymn More Zoan in Bmt\ The Zoan ot the Scriptures ia aluivcd to be die Tania of the heathen historiana, which was the capital of lower Egypt. Some think it was to humble the pride of the Egyptians, who boasted the bi^xst aotioui^, that this note, concerning the higher aotiqui^ of Hmron,' was introduced by Hoaes. Some have supposed that it is mere liltely to have been originaUy a marginal nate, vbidt, in prooeas of time crept into the test: but all the Teraiona adinowledge ft, and all the MSS. that hare as yet been colletsd.
Verse 23. TA«y bare it belaeen tteo upon a atafl It would be very easy lo^roduee a great numberof witneuas to prove that grapes m the promised laitd, and indeed, in vonoui other hot countries, j^ow to a prodigious size. By Cabnet, Sekaulaer, bmJl ^rmer, this subject has been exhausted, and to these I may refer the reader. Pliny mentions bunches of grapes in Africa, each of whiui was larger than an infanL RadztU saw at Rhodes, bunches of grapes three quarters of an ell in length, each grape as large as a plum. Dandini saw grapes of this size at mount Libanus: aod Paul Lucag mentions soma bunches which he saw st Oamasciia, that weighted above fbrty-tive pounds. From the most autherriic aooounts, the Egyptian rrape is very amoU, and tlua being die onlyone with which the Israelites were acquainted, the great size of the f>:rapes of Hebron would appear still more extraordinary. I have myself once cut down a bunch of grapes nearly twenty pounds in weight. Those who live in cold climates can aosroely have nay eooception to wtiat perfection both gruM and other iruiu grow in climates that are warm, and where the soil is suitable to them. _ From what is mentioned, ver. note tht lime mia the time the firat ripe grape*, it is very probaUc, thai the ^es reoeivM tlieir orders about the beginning of August, wad returned about the middle of September, as in those countries gmpen, pomegranates, and figs, are ripe about this timej see 11 irmer, vol. i. p. 103—110. At Sheeraz, in Persia, I find irom a HS. journal, that the small white grape, aokerie, came into season August 6; and pome-
The spies carrying the bunch of grapes on a staff between two men, was probably not rendered necessary by tht $ix4 ot the bunch or chister; but to preserve it mm being bruited, that the Israelites might have a fair specimen of the As Joshua aad Ciueb were the only per- BpDs who gave a bvoorable account of the land, it ia most likely thai thay vera the persons who had gathered these vD8 fhiit^ and who bimilbt them to the IsraelitiA c&sopt. Apd It is likely th^ were gathered as dum a lime as mmuble before their return, that they might not be ti^orsa hf the length of (he tins uiesr had been separated tnm ^nr resMcliTe trees.
Verse 27. We earn* unto the tand, Ac.} It is asloDidiing, that men so dastardly as these, diould have h»d courage enough to risk their persons in searching the land. But probably, though destitute of valour, lh«y Itsd a watficieney of ouiming: and ihia carried them ihnsjt^. llw report they brou^t, was exceedhKly diaeouisgin^ and naturally tended to prodnes the e&ct nentionsd la ihs next chapter. The oonduct of Joshua sod Caleb was alona magnanimous, and worthy of the cause in which th^ wen embarked.
Verse 33. Tktre im mit the gitmtti] o'^si NepltHim, It is evident that they had seen a robust, atuidy, warlAs race of men, and of great siature: for the aaseited &et is not denied 1:^ Joshua or Caleb.
Tales of gigantic men are frequent in all eountnesj but they are generally of such as have lived in times vasj remote from those in which such tales are toM. Tlisi4iMI have been gianta at different times, in various parts of lbs earth, there can be no doubt: — but that there aver was a nation of men twelve and fourlsen (eet high, we cannot, sfaouU not believe. Goliah appears to have been at kasl nise fcd high: this was very extraordinary. I knew three young men in my own neighbourhood — two of ihera brwMn, each of whom was upwards of seven feet, the thinl vss eight feet six inehss: and these Smu ware my wall pi^ portioned. Others I have seen of sxtntordinary mann, but they were generally disproportioned, especially ia tbeic limbs. "nieM instances serve to prove die possibility of casea of this nature. The EnaJetm, might ^ipesx to Am Israelites as a very tall, robust nation; and, in cnraparistHi of the latler, it ia very prolnble tliai ihey were ao; as it is very likely, that the growth erf the laraelitee bad hsaa greatly cramped witli their long and severe senrkwls ia Egypt And this may, in M»ne meaaure, aeoount tat iksir alarm. On this subject the reader is desired to turn back to the note on Gen. vi. 4.
Canaan was a type of the kingdom of God: the wiMernesa through which the Israelites passed, of the difiieuliies and trials to be met with in the present world — the nnsniss of the kingdom of God is given lo ever)* believer; out b«vr many are discouraged by tlie difficulties io the way! A slothful heart sees dangers, lions, and gianla, every wbei*; and thorefore refuaes to proceed in the beaveidy padtl. Many of the api€9 contribute to this by the bad r^Mnslhcf britig of the heavenly csunirv. Certain preacliers aUsw, " that the laul is good, that it flows with milk and bansy," and go so far as to show SDme of its fruits; lut ihtf courage the people by slating the impositbihiy of overcoming their enemie*. "Sin/' say tfaicy, "esnaotba destroyed in this lifi»— it wUl i^sys dwsU in ysu ihs AhoWw cannet to seoqwwd-w ars to ss gissihoff sss
2 ■ And all the'cBildreD of Israel murmured acaiofit Mosea and asainst Aaron: and the uraote congregation sau unto them. Would God Uiat we had died in the land of Egypt I or * would God we had died in this wUdernesB 1
3 And wherefore hath the Lou brought ua unto this land to fall by the sword, that odr wives and our children should be a prey 1 were it not better for us to return into Egypt t
4 And they said one to another, * Let us make a captaki, and f let us return into Bgntt
5 Then ' Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the ehildren of leraeL
Q H ■ And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb, the aon <^ Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent Uieir clothes:
7 And they spate unto all the company of the ^dlildren of Israel, saying:, " The land, which we
8 If the Lord delight in us, then be will bring us into this land, and sive it us; 'a land whicli floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye asainst the Lord, • neither fear ye the people of the land: for ' they are bread for us: their t defence is departed from them, and the Lord it with us: fear them
10 t But all the congregation bade atone them with Btones. And * the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children of Israel.
11 If And the Lord sEud unto Moses, How lor^ will this people 'provoke me 7 and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and "will makeortheesc^«ater nation and mightier than they.
13 If And ' Mo8«a said unto the Lord, Then the BgyptiaDB ehall hear tf, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them:>
14 And they will tell tf to the inhabitanu of this land: fjbr they hare heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to fhce, and thtU t thv cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, nod in a pillar of fire oyttight.
15 Now t/" thou shalt kill all this people aaooe man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will apeak, saying,
16 Because the Lord was not 'able to bring this people into the land whidi he sware onto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wildernesB.
agaiiut the Anakino," &c &c. Here and there, • Joohua mad a Caleb, tiuadn^ alone in the power of God, anned with faith in the uifioite efficacy of that blood which cleaniei from aU unrighleousneas, ooldly stsad forth end ■ay, " Uieir ds&ace is departed from them, and the Lord ia with tu.- let us go up at onee, and poueaa the land; for wt are well able to overcome" We can do all thinga ihrougfa QiriBt atrengthening lu: he will purify lu unto tUMieu', and give ui that rest from ein urn, which his <kath luk procured, and bU word baa promiMo. Beader, caaat thou not take Ood at hia word 1 He has never yet failed thee. Surely then, thou hait do reoaon to doubt. Thou hast never yet tried him to the uttermoaL Hiou knowett not how &r, and how fully he can lava. Do not be di^itiiled: the eons of Anak enall fall befiore uee, if ibou meet them in the name of die Losd of aons.
Tern 1. Critd, and—vtpi thai nigki] In almost every ease, thia people gave deplorable evidences of the degraded oiate of their minda. With acarcely any mental firauteaa, and widi almoat no reli^on, they coula bear no revcraea^ and were ever at their wil'a end. They were headstrong, preaumpUious, pusillanimous, indecisive, and fickle. Ana because tbey were sueh, iberefiA-u the power and wisdom of Ood appeared (he more conspicuously iu the whole of their history. •
Verse 4. us make a eajOain] Here was a formal renunciation of the authority of Moses t and flat rebellion against Ood. And it seems from Neh. ix. 17. that tbey had actually appointed another leader, under whose direction tbey were about to return to Egypt. How astonishing ia this 1 Hieir lives were made oilier, becuue of the Mour with which they were made to serve hi the land of E^ypt: and yetdieyare willing, yea, etwerto get back into tbeaamecircumstancesagainl Greatevils,whenoncesome time past, afTect the mind less than present ill% thou^ much inferior. They had partly forgot dieir Egyptian boodagi^ and now smart under s little discourwenient, naving totally lost sight of their high calling, ana of the power and goodness of Ood.
Veise 6. And Jo«ftua, Ac] See on the preceding chapter, ver. 33.
metaphor hifdily expressive oiprdectien and wmport in the sultry eastern couatries. Ilie preteclimt of God is so called, see Paal. xci. 1. czxi. 6. see also Isa. li. 16. xUx. 2. XXX. 2.
The Arabs and Persians have the same word to express the aame thing ay&a* Cfh** ^ W ntmayeed zuUidouletwumedoodbSd. "M^thcsAootnoofthypro*- perilybeexleoded." *:Mteij^Cj.^^Obb,ib aXt a>Jh»<s nemaveed xuiti doulet ber mufareki Oagr Idnoahax memadood b&d. "Hay the a&odow of thy [vosperity be spread over the heads of Oiy weU-viuns." llicy have also the foUowiiVf elegant distich i
" Mm Ar ■roiaoiloD wo- b« moral froa mj had, ttar Ood alcnd Uqr iladam nanUljr.''
Here the Arabic tUa answore exactly to the Hebrew Isal, both signifying to overepread, or otershadtnc. See the note on verse 14.
Verse 10. gtorp qf Ike Lord appeartdl This timely sppesranco of tHs divine glory prevented these failhfku servants of Ood from being atoned to death by this base and treacherous multitude. " firery man is immortal till hia work ia done," while in simptieity.irf heart he is M- 1 owing his Ood.
Verse 14. That thy doud atandeth over them] This doud, the symbol of the divine glory, and proof of the divine presence, appears to hav« aisunied three difienat forms, wr three important fnrposec
1. It appeared by day in the form of a piUar of a sufficient height to be ssea by all Ibe oanm and thus went before them to point oat Ibenr way in the desert. End. xl. 38.
2. It appeared by night as a pillar of fire to give them light while travelling ^ night, whieh tbey probably some limea did, see chap. ix. 21. or to illuminate their tents in their encampments. Exod. ziii. 21, 22.
3. It Mood at certain times above the whole oongrantwn, ov^rsbadowiw them l^om the scordiiiu; rays of wa sun and profaaUy at other tiroes coodensea the vapom
17 And now, I beseech thee, let th6 power of my Lord be great, accordins as thou hast apoken,
Is^^ho Lord it * long-Bufferinff, and oT great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgreesion, and by no means clearing the guilty, • visiting the iniquity of the fathera upon the children, unto the third and foarth generation.
19 ■ Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people * according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and *ae thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even * until now.
20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned ' according to thy word:
21 But a» truly as I live, ■ all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
22 ■ Because all those men which have seen my glory, and mv miracles, which I did in Egypt, and in the wilderness, have tempted me now * these ten times, and Iwve not hearkened to my voice;
23 ' Snrely * they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provdced me see it:
24 But my servant * Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and ^liath followed me fuUy, him will I bring into the land wfaereinto he went; and hta seed shall possess it.
25 (Now the Amaleldtes and the Canaanitcs dwelt in the valley.) To-morrow turn you * and
Set you into the wilderness by the way of the Led sea.
26 Y And the Lord spt^e unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,
27 ^ How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against mc? < I have
and precipitated min or dew for the refreshment tX the peopM. He upread a cloud for their covering; ajui fire to give light in tht night. I^aol. cv. 39. It waa probably from (his circumttance that the shadow qf the Lord was used to si^ify the divine protection^ not only by the Jews, b|it also ay oiner Aiialic natioiu. See the note on ver. 9. •lid see particularly the note on Exod. xiii. 21.
Terse 19. Pardon, I beteech thee, the iniquUy qf Ais peopie] From ver. 13. to 19. incluaive, we have the worda of Moaea' interceaeion; they need no explanation; they •re full of simplicity and energy; hta ar^menis with God, for he did reaaon and argue with hia Maker, are pointed, cogent, and respectful; and while ihey show a heart fiitl m humanity, iBey evidence the deepest eoneem for the glory of God. The argummtum ad hominem, ia here uMd in the moat unexceptionable manner, and with (be fulleat effect.
Verve 20. / have pardoned] That is, they shall not be cut off at they deserve, because ihou ha^t Miterceded for their lives.
Terse 21. Attihe earth ahaU be JUled] rwn ^3 Kol haarete, all this land; i. e. the land of Canaan, which was only fulfilled to the letter, when the prfaching of Christ and hia UKMtlea waa heard through all the ciuea and villagea of Judea. It does not appear, ttiat ilw whole Uie terraqueouB globe ia meant by mis expreasion in any ^ the places where it occurs, connected with ^ promise of the diffusion of the divins light. 8e« PaaL Ixxii. 19. laai. xl. 8. Hab. ii. 14.
Terse 24. But my eervatU Co/eft, Ac.] Cakb had another 'pirit, not only a bold, generous, courageous, noble, and heroic spirit; bot the Spirit and influence of the Goa of heaven thus raised him above human inquietudes and eardily fiaus, therefore hc/oUowed God fully; •^hm mSd*" ramcmaHe acharai, literally, keJUled qfter me: God «how- «d him the vay he was to take, and tlie line of conduct he waa to pursue, and h^ filled up this line, and in all things JbUowed the will of hia Maker. lie therefore aholl see the promised land, and hit seed shall possess it. A dattardly spirit in the things of God, is a heavy curac. How many are retarded in their course, and fall ahort of the blessing of the Goapel, llirough magnifying the number •Bd etrmffth of their •dve^sa^ie!^ their own weokoeas, ■ad the diffieultiea of the way, with which we may eon- 410 '
henrd the murrourings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
29 Say tmto them, >> A» tntiy at I live, sailfa the Lord, ■ as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
29 Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and "* all that were numbered of you according to your whole number, from twenty years dd and upward, which have murmured against me,
30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the kud, concerning which I ' sware to make yoa dwell therein, " save Caleb the eon of Jephanneh, and Joshua the son of Nim.
31 1> But your fittle ones, which ye said sboold be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which lye have despised.
32 But as /or you, " your carcasses, they shall fall in this wildcrneEs.
33 And. your children shall * wander * in the wUdemess • forty years, and ♦ bear your whoradoms, until your carcasses be wastra in the widerness.
34 ■ Afler the number the days ia which ye searched the land, even * forty dnys^ each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, tvai forty ^ears, ' and ye shall know » my breack sf promise.
35 ■ I the Lord have said, I wilt surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die^
36 1[ < And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, bf brfaiging up a slander upon the land,
37 Kven those men that did bring up the evil
of God. And how many are prevented from receiving ibe higher degrees of salvation, by foolishly attributing insurmountable power, either to their inward comiptiaB^ or outward enemies t Only such men as Joshua and Cajei^ who take God at hia word, and who know that ogainat hia wisdom no cunning can atand, and sgainat his mi^ no strength con prevail, are likely \af3la9 Oodjiu^ and receive the heixhta, lengths, breadths and depths of the salvation of God.
Verae 34. AJler the nmnber of tht daw] The apics were forty dayt ia searehing the land, and the people who rebelled on their evil report are condemned to wands forty year* in the wildernesa! Now let ibero make them a captain, and go back to E^ypt, {f they can. Ood had BO bedgea them about widi hia power and providence^ Aai they could neither go back to Egypt, nor get forwisd to the promised land! God has provided innumerable gpirilual blesainss for mankind: tait in the pursuit of eardthf good, they lose them, and o^n lose the others also! {Tys oe witling and obedUnt, ye ^xalleattheJruitt^Aelandt but not otherwise t unless for your fariher pumdimeM, God give you your portion in tsis life, and ye get none is the life to come. From so great a curae may God aave thee, thou money-loving, honour-hunting, pleasure- takings thoughtleas, goalees man!
And ye thall know my brtaA qf prtmuae] "nua ia certainly a most harsh expression: and most learned men agree that the words ^nmsn nM et tenuati, should be translated Tny vengeaTKc, which is the rendering of the Sejihta-
S'ni, Vulgate, Coptic, and Anglo-Saron; and whidi is llowed w almost all our ancient EngHth tronalaiims. 'nie meaning, however, appears to be thia: Aa God had promised to wing them into the good land, provided they kept his aiaiutea, ordinances, Ac. and they had now broken their engagementa, he was no longer held bv hia covenant J and, therefore, by excluding them from tiwpromiaed land, he snowed them at once his annuUing Ifcc nani, which they had broken, and his reng^ance, because they had broken it.
Verse 37. 'Vhoae men that did bring up the evil report —died] Thus, ten of the twelve that searched out the Imm^ were struck dead, by the justice of God, on the spo* 1 Caleb, of the tribe of Judah, and Joshua of the tribe of Rphraim, alone escaped— because th^ had followed God fully. Let preachers of God's word^take heed, bow ibey report upon the land, ' died by the pla^e before
38 * But JoEhua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jepbusneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
39 And Moaes told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: ' and the people mourned greatly.
40 TT And they- rose up early m the morning and gat them up inlo the top of the mountain saying, Lo, t we be here, and will go up unto ' pbce which the Ldbd hath promisea: for nave sinned.
41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do yo trejuigreEs * the commaDdment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
42 ■ Go not up, for the Lord is not among you that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye fihall fell by the sword * becanse ye are turned away from the Lord tiierefore the Lord will not be with you.
44 ' But they presumed to go up onto the hill top: neverrtieless the arkof tnfe covenant of the £jtHtD, and Moees departed not out of the camp.
45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanitea which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto " Hormah.
j^ND the Lobd epake unto Moses,
2 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of yottr habitations, which I give unto you,
3 And I* will make an oBcring by fire unto the Lord, a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice i in 'performing a vow, or in a frec-will-offering, or • in your solemn (easts, to make a » sweet savour unto Uie Lord, of the herd or of the flocki
4 Then "diall he that offereth his offering unto the Lord bring * a meat-ofi'erins of a tentfi deal of fkiur mingled * with a fourth ptn-l v€ a bin of oil.
5 ■ And the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering, shalt thou prepare with the burntoffering or sacrifice, for one lamb.
6 ' Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare /or a meatofferiog, two tenth deals of flour mmgled with the third yar( of a hin of oil.
7 And lor a drink-offering, thou shalt offer the third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the Lobd.
9 Then shall he brine 'with a bulh>ck, a meatoffering of three tenth aetda of flour mingled with half a hin of oil.
10 And thou shak bring Ibr a drmk-otfering half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire '' of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
11 ' Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram^ or for a lamb, or a kid.
IS According to the number that yc shall prepare, so shall -ye do to every one according to their number.
13 All that are bom of the country ^all do these things after this manner, in offering an dflering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto tte
14 IT And if a stranger sojourn with yon, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord; as re do, so shall he do.
15 One ordinance shallbe both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your
-enerations: as ye are, bo shall the stranger be eforc the Lord.
16 One law and one manner shall be for yon, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
17 TT And the I jORD spake unto Moses, saying, IS* Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring; you,.
19 Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of ' the bread of the land, ye shall offer up a heave-offering unto the Lord.
■tniun the w&y of sfilvation; or render, by unjust description, that way perplexed and difficult, vbich Ood has made plsin and eoay.
Verae 40. We—teill go up unto the ptaee, Ac.] They fimiid ihemselvcB on the very bordcn of the land — and they heard God n&y, they should not enter it; but dlonld^ be conmroed bv a forty yean wandering in the vildemess; — nolt^jihHtandin^ they are determined to render vain Ihia purpose of God; probably supposing that rhe temporary ■orrorw ihey felt for Iheir late rebellion, would be accepted mm a sufficient atonement for their crimes! They accordingly went up, and were cut down by their enemies: and why 1 God went not with them. How vain is the counsel of roan against the wisdom of Ood! Nature, poor fallen human nature, is ever nmning into extremes. This miserable Deo|)le, a short time ago, thought, that though UiCT had Chnoipoienee with ihcm, they could not eonnvier ■nJ posaen die huid 1 Now they ima^nc that thoug^h Ctod bimaelf go not with them, yet ihey shall be sufficient to drive out the inhabitants, and take posaeraion of their country! Man ia ever stipponng he can either do all tMngt, or do not/ting! he is therefore sometimes premrnpluoua, and at oilier times in despair. Who but an apostle, or one under the influence of tlie tame spirit, can say, 1 can dip AU TH1XQ9 THKOiraR Chribt icho slrengthmok me?
Terse 2. When ye be emt itUa the land] Some learned men are of opinion, that several ofTeringa prescribed by the law, were not intended to be made in the uiiidtmetM, but in the promised land; the former not affording those coovenieoces which were necesmy to the complete ob- «rraitee of the divine wonhip, in ihiB and aeveni other RApecte.
Verse 3. And will make an ofering] For the different kinds of offering, socrifkes, &c. see Lcvil. i. 2. and viL
Verse 5. The fourth part qf a hin] The quantity of meal and flour was augmented, in proportion to the ttas of the lacrifice wiih which it was oflered. With a lamb, or a KID, were offered, one tenth deal of flour, (the tenth part of an ephah, aee on Exod. zxis. 40.) the fourth port of a hin of ml; and ibie fourth part of a hm of mne. With a HAM, tico tenth deals of flour, a third part of a hin of QtV, and a third WJi of a hin of trine. Witn a suuoci^ three tenth deals oi flour, half a hin of ot/, and haff a bin of trine. See verses 4 — H.
Verse 14. If a atransttr ttHoum] See the notes on LeviL zix. 33. zxii. 9. When the case of the Jewish people is birly eonsidered, and their situation with respect to the surrounding idolatrous nations, we shall see the absolute necessity of having but one ^orm of tcorthip in the land. That alone was genuine, which was prescribed by the Almighty, and no others could be tolerated, becauio they were idolatrous. All strangers, all that came to mjouminthe land, were reauired to conform toil; and it was right that those who did conform to it should have e<puil rights and privileges with the Hebrews ihemselvesi \t^ich we find was the case. Hut under the Christian dispensation, as DO particular/om of worship is prescribed, the rypei and ceremonies of the Mosaic institution being all fulfilled, unlimited ttderstion should be allowed: and while the Sacred Writings are mode the heaia of the «of> ship offend to Ood, every man should be allowed (o worship according to bia own conseienee ] for in this respect, every one is
20 ■ Ye shall ofiiar up a cake of the first of your doiu^h for a heave-ofleruis: as ye do ^ the heave-oneriog of the threshiiiB^oor, «o shall ye
21 Of the firat of your dough ye shall give unto the Lord a heave-offering in your generations.
22 IT And 1 if ye have erred, and not observed all these comtnandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses, '
23 £oen all that the Lord hath commanded Tou by the luuid of Moses, from the day that the LoBD commanded -Vlfocet, and henceforward among vour generations:
24 Then it shall be ^ if ought be committed by ignorance, >-without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the coagregation shall offer one yomig bullock for a burnt-offering, for a sweet savour unto the Lord, with his meatoffering, and his drink-oflering, according to the ■ manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering.
25 p And the priest shall make an atonemfflit fttr all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it i« ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifi^ made by fire unto the Lord, and their rin-oflering before the Lord, for their ignorance:
26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the peo-
27 H And^* if any sonl sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she-goat of the lirst year for a sin-offering.
£8 ' And the priest shall make an atonement for the sool that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinnetb by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.
29 • Ye shall have one law for him tlmt t sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is bom among the children of Israel, and for the stranger ^^t sojourneth among them.
30 \ -But the soul that doeth might 'presmnptuously, v>htQ%er Ae &e born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lobd; and that sool shafl be cot off fttm among his pecmle.
31 Because he bath * despised Uie word <tf the Lord, and hath broken his commandmuit,
YmeTA. Ifoo^t be etmm,Utedb}f ignorance] SwiQm notw on Lent- chap. iv. 2. and chop. v. 27. the case here probably refen to the vbols cOQgngaticn: ihe caae above, to the am of an individual.
Verae 25. TTu prieat ahaU mate an atontmeni] Even sifH committed throogh ignorance, required an atOQemeat4 fUld Ckid, in his mercy, hoB provided one for them.
Vena 30. But At tout that doeth ought prmtmpluow- %1 Bdd dsring acU of tmiugreaaion ogainit the fulleat imdenee, and in deupitt nit the divijie authority, admitted of no atonement — the paraon waa to be cut off, to be exijuded from God*a people, and from all their privil^oa sod bleoairtgB.
Probably the presumption mentioned here, implied an Jitter contempt of the word and authority of Qod, apringing ftma. an idmatroue or othtiMlical mind. la nica a caae, ■11 rnieotance was preduded, because of the denial of ths woni aikd b^ng of God. It is probably a ease aimilaf to that mentioned Hebrews vi. 4—8. x. 26—31. on whioh paaaageaaea the notea.
Verse 32. TTuy found a man gathering sKdtt on the aabbath] Hita wa^ in all likelihood, a case of that kind aumwsea ahovfr— the maa despised the word of the hard, and thwefDrebroks hia commandment; see ver. 31. On this ground, ba was pumatwd witli the utnuM rigour of the lav.
Tana 36. Stoned him] See the note on LeviL xxiv. 23. Vena 38. Bid fkem make aumfriHgeB\y9B\euabota 41^
32 T[ And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, ^ they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the cojigregation.
34 And they put him * in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the Lord said unto Moses. ■ The man shall be sttrely put to death: alhthe congrwstion shall >■ stone him with stones without Uie camp,
36 And all the congregation broiight him without the camp, and stoned him with atones, and he died: as the Lord commanded Moses.
37 1) And the Lord sptdce onto Moses, saying,
38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid ' them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout theur generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon onblue:
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and rememb^ all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye ^ seek not after vour own heart and ymu" own eyes, after which ye use * to go a whoring:
40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be ' holy unto your God-
41 I am the Lord your Cfod, which bron^t you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your Qod.
eommande of Qod. 'Aiat there was any aaalogy betwaco OiMnge and a precept, it would be bold to assert: but when a thing is appointed to represent another, no matta how different^ that first Dbiect oecemea the regular lepn- ■ senlativQ or sign of the other. There is no analogy between the term breai, and th« fcuinaeeoat outritive anbstance thereby aignifira; but because Ihia term ia used to express and represent that thine, every person thua understmida it; and when the woia bread is seen or heard, a perfect knowledge, not of the Idtere which compose that word, but of ih^thing signified by it, ia conveyed to the mind. So tbe^rtTt^es. being appointed by God to icpresent and bring to mind the commandm^nta of Ood, ver. 39. (be mention or sight of them conveyed the intelligence intended. All the Jews wore these, and ao probably did our Lord, see Molt. it. 20. where the word ■■■rv^ttr is rather to be understood of the fringe, than of Ota Am of hia garment
NOTES ON CHAPTER XVK Vena 1. Now Korak^ && fooi noD] Had not tficse been the moat brutish of men, could they have paesibly so soon forgotten the signal displeasure <n God, manifested against them ao lately, for their rebellion. Hm word mat ia not in the oririnol, and the verb npn 9a-yikkaA, and he took, ia not in uie plural, but the shwular; benoe eannoc be applied to the act of all these ohieb. In every part of the Scripture where this rebellion la referred ttk it is attrfbuted to Etnah, sea chap. xxvi. 3. and Jimm ver. II. therefore (he vorfa here betonga to him; and the whole voae ahould be translated thus: Norn Kort^ mn ^
Bfiab, and On, the son of Feieth, eons of Reu>- ben, took men:
2 And the; roBe no before Moses, with certain of the children oi Israel, two hundred arid 6(ty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregBtion, men of renown:
3 And 1 they fathered themselves together Bfoinst Moses ana against Aaron, and said unto them, ' Ye lake too much upon you, seein? i all the congelation are holy, evety one of uiem, ~ and the JCoao is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the eoDgrecatimi of the Lord?
4 1] And when Moses hewd if," he fell upon his face:
5 And he spoke unto Korah, and unto all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the Loan will show who are his, and irAo is * holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath p chosen will he cause to *come near unto him.
p This do i Take you censers, Korah. and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the. Loan to-morrow; and it shall be that the man whom the Losn doth choose, he ghail he holy I yt take too much upon you, ye BODS of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korah» Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but 'asmall thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath ■ separated you from Uie congr^^tion of Israel^ to bring you near to himself, to. do the service of the tabernacle of the Loan, and to stand befo/e the congregation to minister nnto them l
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the Eons of Levi with thee: and Beek ye the priesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and alt thy eompai^ are gathered together against the Lord: * wid what t» Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12![ And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sous of Eliab, which said. We will not come up:
13 ■ A ifa small thing that thou hast bronght ns op out of a land that flowsdi with milk and
YiUar, ton of Kohath^ mm qf Levi, hs took, even Dathan and Abiram, the wiu v Ei*oi>i O'x' On, son feUth, mm or RxunM, and tAcy roM up, A/c This nskM a very ngalat ana coiuiitent aeue, and Bpam all the learMd labour of father Houbigant, who tmulales nm yikkoA, by re6eUion«m Jeemtni, they rebelled; wntcn ■eaieely any rule of criticiim can ever jtutify. Instead of lanm va bmeg Reuben, aon ^ Ambtn, some HSS. have ]3 5en, soir, in thA singular t this reuii» mppvtied by the Septuagiiit and tha SamarUan text, I have blloved in the above tnuulation. Butaa EHdb and PeUth were both Reubenitea, the common reading, boms, nm be nfely followed.
Verae 3. Ye take too much upcn you\ The original ia siaiply DaS rah loeem, too madt for you. The ipirit of Uus B^ing ^paan to me to be the following: " Holy oSeea are not equsHy diitriboud: you arrogate to youi^ Behrea the mo«t important onei^ ns if your euperior bolinesi entitled you alone to them; whereas all the congr^ntim are hah/, and have en equal ri^t with you to be employed in the most holy aerviccs." Uoaes retorts this saying, ver. 7. Ye lake too much upon you, oa^ an rob bteemt Te have too much already, m sons o^ X>»i.* le. hf yoor preaent spirH and diapoBiaon, you prove youi^ fldvfls to be wholly unworthy of any wpiritual employaaent.
TsfK B. The Lord iriU «*otr a/to are hU] It ia rapposed that St. Paul refers to this place, 2 Tim. ii. 19. TTu JUmdation qf God, the whole saenfieial sysl«Bi, refei^ ring to Christ Jesus, the foundation of die salvation of men; atandtih suro— notwithstanding the f^llions, intrasions, and Use doetrines of men. Raving Uda Ibis stamp of its divine auibentieity, T7»« Lord Imoweth honey, to kill ns in the wilderncBa, except thou ' miiKo thyself ultogethor a prince over ub?
14 Moreover thoii hiist not brought us into " a land that Uowcth with milk and honey, or given UB inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou ■ put out the eyas of these men? we will not come up.
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, ' Reepect not thou their offering: » I have not taken one ass from them, neither tiavo I hurt one of them.
16 IT And Moses said unto Korah, ■ Be thou and all thy company before the Lonn, uiod and they, and Aaron, to-morrow:
_ 17 And take every man bis censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers: thou, also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congrenition, with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation gainst them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and * the glory of the Lord appeared onto all the congregation.
20 And the Loan spake unto Moses and imto Aaron, saying,
21 ^ Sej^ate yourselves from among this eongregatioi^ that I may * consume them hi a moment
32 And they ^ fell upon their faces, and said, O God, B the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
23 ITAnd the Lord spake unto Moses, say-
Speak unto the congregation, aayine. Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Ehithao, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went imto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel foUowed
&eM thai are hie, lywm XtifHf t««; «wrat <wT**, a literal translation of ^ -WK riM mrri ym te vodd Ydiavah d adur lo. And bod) signi^ing, the Lorti approredi of his oxnij or, will own that which is of his own appointment. And let every one that nameth Ike name qf GiriMt depart from, injfuuw— alluding to the exhortation of Hoses, ver. 26. Depart, 1 pray you, from Uu tente if M«f< widbd
Terse IB. Rerpeet net Ouu Aeb- tifirtng] There was no danmr of this — thev wished to set up a priesthood and a sacrificial system of their own. And God never has blevedj and never can blesB, any scheme of satvation which u not of hia own utpmntnuni. Han is ever aappoaing that be can mead nis Sinker's work } or that be can tnake one of his own, that will do in its place.
Versa SZ. O aad,au ^ As spfrito qT ■« JM} t -wa nrrm v6m *m Bt Eloneykantehoth Ueol bamr. 'nm address sufficiently jvoves, that these holy men believed that man is a being compounded of fle«i and
Sirit; and that these principles ore perieetly distinct, itber die materiality of the human soul is a human &ble, or, if it be a true doctrine, these men did not pi^ under the inflaenee of the Divine S|»rit. In chap, zxvii. 16. there is anmitar form of ezpresnim, Let the Lord, th» Ood of the epiriU qf att jMi And in Job zii. 10. Jit ■uhoee hand ie the emd <vu napheah) if alt Uving; and the epirit (rm ruaeh) tf olljlesh tf man. Are not these decistve proofs diat the OM Testomeiit teaches diat there ia an immortal spirit in man? But does not ruacA, signify wfnd or oreoA? Sometimes it does, but oertainfy not A«rs; for how absurd would it be to say, OOod, the Ood of die breaa%a of all Mi. Yfstwb in. V0» Lord rnrnkt anew «^g\ ntnasn
27 So they gat up from the tabernarle of Ko- Irah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every eide: and DaUian and Abiram came out and atood m the door of their tents, and tlietr wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, i Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them * of mine own mind.
29 If these men die i the common death of all men, or if they be " visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord " make • a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they p go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
SIT' And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that vsaa under them:
33 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and '"all the men that appertained unto Korah, and ail their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the Gongresation.
34 And all Israel that irere round about them ffed (It tJie cry nf them: for they said. Lest the earth ewMow »f up ^ih"'
35 Atltl llicn- '■(■:inic our n Jir-^ Irnrn lli.' L->rd, ud eooaumed ^tht* Itvo liiuulri'Ll uiiil lifly iiiiin
• * *8 lAlWtheLoRDepnko "ntoMoaes, saving, 37 Speak \wln Ekaziir the eon of Anrmi the
SB Thficonaera of tlifcc ^ amnere arainst llicir own tonh, Ici the-cn niJikf ffj'-m bmjid jAmcf _f<}r a covering of t tic:AU\r: liir rfirv olK rcd tfii m.-M^TD the Lord, llierclope lhi?y are hiUlowcd: y^tiA they shall be & sign untv the cluldreo of
,4jhJ thry fo ifotrn quick int-j Cit^ fU] r.^n- ^-WjA, a proof among many others, that Snv dual aifciufies a tJuurn, or pit of the earth, ood not the place called hell: for it would be absurd to suppose that their hmueM had B^one to bellt Bud it would be wicked to imagine that their Tittle innocent children had gone ihilher; though Ood was * lo desirgy their Uvea with those of their iniquitous
Tkh 33. Th/if. ^!nd off that ^rpertained to them] EonlfcDmdiui, (iinrAljinm, and all liiat appemined to their mpeetrve fiuiulii'^, h iitdown into the pit caused by tliis Mt|iefTintiir^l rni:|i.|ni;.l.e; while the fire from the Lord eoDsuntcii iIk.' iii:ri that bare censers. Hius there were. puuudiiucvttL the pit and Uie Hre, for the two
; T%s «itMt« — are halLnped.] ivip kadeaJm, I" th* atrvieeqf Ood, though, in this. riy ' iJiployed. 'Oh the uimrtm all the eongrcgaium, mitr-. is vai? LikHy that the people persuaded diem- Mwfl Asd AsroD had used some tuaning in this Immiihs; and that the tarthmuUu ood fire were arti- Aeial: else, had they discerned we hand of Gkxi in this ninianmenl, ooald they have dared the anger of the Lord 10 the very face of justice 1
Yerse 46. TTie plague is begun] God now punished them by a tteret bla»t, so as to put the roatter b^ond all dispute— his hand, and his alone, was seen not only in dve plague, but in the mamur in which the mortali^ was arrested. It was neoesary that this should be done in Ihi* way, that the whole congregation might see that those men wne had perished, were not the people <{f the Lord; and that GOD, not Moeet and Aaron, bad destroyed them.
Vme 48. He ttood beiwn Ou dead and the living, md A« plague, Ac] What the plague ww we knew
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broEtd platet for a covering of the altar:
40 7? 6c a memorial unto the children of Israel " that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his cfnnpany: as the Lord said to him by the hand of
41 IT But on the morrow ' all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lchid.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, tluit they lookea towards the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, *the cloud covered it, and • the glory of the Lord appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of Uie congregation.
45 i" Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as m a moment. Ana • they fell upon their faces.
46 IT And Moses said unto Aaron, take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly tmto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: "for there is wrath gone out I'rom the Lord; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and ne put on incense, ^id made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the livjiig: and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congr^ation: and the plague was stayed.
not — bat it seems to have begun at one part of the camp^ and to have proceeded regularly onward; «nd Aaroa weal to the quarter where it was then precailing, and stood with his atonement, where it was now making its lanMsi and the j>lague vaa elaytd; but not before 14,700 ud fallen victims to it, ver. 49.
If Aaron the high priest, with his censer and incense^ could disarm the wralh of an insulted angry Deity, so thai a guilty people who deserved nothing but destruction should ba spared { now much more effbetual may we expect the great atonement to be, which was made hf the Lord Jesua Christ, of whom Aaron was only the type? The oatrificea m living animals pointed out the d*ath of Christ oa the cross; the incense hia intereetrion. lliroa^ his <teaA, salvation is purchased for the world: tqr his tniereenisR the offending children of men are spared. Hence Sl Paul, Rom. V. 10. san {f iMJe lae were enemie^ we were reeoneiUd lo Ooa by the death qf his Son, much more lyeijig reconeiledfire JuulbeiavedTHBOVOH his Lira; i.e. ^iHe. prevalence of his continual intercession, 2 Cor. v. 1^ ISL "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us tlie ministry of reconciliatioD; to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the won! of reconciliation."
By the awful transactions recorded in this chapter we may fee how jealous God is of the sols ri^t of appointing the and meana of salvatiou. Had any priesthood, aiu any kmd of service, no matter how solemn and sincere, been equally available in the si|^t of divine justiee and mefOT} God would not have resented, in so aw&] a manner, ine attempts of Korah and his company in tbor new service. T^e way of God's own appointment, the agony and death of Chrut, is the onlv way in which acula can K saved. His is HitVTxeathood, and Au is the ooly availiJile sacrifice. AQ oifter modes and schemes of wu- ■nJaoa are the inventions of men or 1
-mnnlte chMi ibe uOm kr mnvtuM to uk* datf raK ind M vHu tk* Band e»h u2» upno Ux nxl ih»i talaimrt lo icii aii i futlw j baliheiwBCDf Xamn ritobr vrkimoB UKialorUKiribtxr L*iri,I-Jl TIh mbiintB ba UU vp brfn Uw LurJ, who main, Uui om wi'tnj ««em biiliall^on for prw«.rfuJlUaaii«,l,S. The (Kb u* pnAud, aad kid u bdon ilw labemn. cle.a.T. A■rcm■■ro]•lI]Mb■A^bllHM,alklbMI■M|,S,iL It b hldn bcTon tUwbnwiy.wMAmaf thtwimxr imrttfehqad bvl dhMal if Uk dtmihood.ra.II. TbrpMvtemfnHlr l«riM,udaB«ipib«ilnii(hcliiC dg- ■UDTid, 13. IS.
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of tfitnr fathers, of all their princes accordiog to the house o'f their tathere twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod.
3 And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod «Aatt be for the heeid of the houac of their fathers.
4 And thou shall lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, • where I will meet with you.
5 Aod it shall come to pass, thai the man's rod, ' whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, > whereby they murmur against yoo.
6 TT And Moaes spalie tmto the children lerael, ana every one of their princes gave him ^ a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' nouses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron vtas among their rods.
7 And Moses laid up the rods before the Lonn in I the tabernacle of witness.
■«od prove ruinous to all thoM who trust in thena. Header, fiuset not the Lord who bought thee 1
NOTES ON CHAPTER XVII. ▼ene 2. And iaJu ectTy ont qf Hum a rod] neo matteh, ^ ttaff or tctplre, which the prinet, or eAi{r of audi tribe bore, and which waa the ngn of <{ffliee or royaliy antong almost all thepeopte of the eardi.
yeiseS. Twman'arodvihomIahattAooa»AaUUo»- wm] It WM neoesniT that aanwthing J^rA«r should be done to qimt die minoa of the people, and for ever to aettle the diapute, in what tribe the priesthood should be fi*H, Ood therefwe took the method descrilm] in the text, and it had the desired effect: the Aoronical priesthood was never after disputed.
Verse & TTu rod Aanm^vn budded, Ac] That is, on the aotne rod or staff were found buda, Mohohw, and ripe fruit. This Ihet was so unquestioiiBbly miraculous, as to decide the business for ever; and probably this was intended to show, that in the prieathood, represented by that of Aaron, the beginning, middle, and end of eyery good work miist be found. The buds of good desires, the blovsoms of holy reaolutton and promising probssions, and the npe fniit of fiiith, love, and obedience, all Qinng from the pnenfaood of the Lord Jesus. It has been thought by some that Aaron's etaf, and perhaps the tttnu of lul the tribes, were made out of the amyf^ahu eammunie, or eemmon almond tree. In a fiivourwle soil and climate it Krowfl to twenty feet in height, and is one of the most ncMe flourishing trees in nature: its flowers are of a delicate red, and it puts them forth early in Marah, having begun to bud in Janiiary. It has its name ipv sfiaM from iluUtad. to uwake, because It bods and flowers sooner than most other trees. And it is veir likely that the staves of office, borne by the chiefs of nil the tribes, were made of dtis tree, merely to si^ify, that vxUthfulnem and assiduous care which (he ehi^B should take of the persons ' committed, in the eourse of the divine providence, to their keying.
Emy thing in this miracle is so Cu beyond the power of nature, that no doubt could remain on the minds of the pet^le, or the envious ^efs, of the divine appointment of Aaron, and of the especial interference of God in this case. To see a piece of wood, long mt o^fnm the parent stock, without hark or moieture remaining, laid up in a dry flaee, for a tingle night, with otAera in the some oireumstanees, to see suefa a piece of wood resume and evince the peWeetion of vegeiaiive life, budding, bloMoming, and bringing forth ripe fruit, at the some time, must be Mch a demonstration of the peculiar tnterftrence of Ood, as to silence every doubt, and satisfy every scruple. It is worthy of remark, thai a aeeptre, or atafot office, resuming its vcffelalive Itf^ was considered an abeohUe imponibilitf among the oocieats; sad as diey wen aceuMonwd to stfcor &y Ifteir we^trw, this areantsuooe was added
9 And it came to pass, that on the morrow MoBes went into the tabernacle of witness; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed bloKsome, and yielded almonds.
9 And Mosee brought out all the rods from berore the Lord unto all the children of Israel j and they looked, and look every man his rod.
10 If And the Lord said unto Mobch, Bring * Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept 1 for a token against the " rebels; ■ and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.
11 And Moses aid bo: as the Lord commanded him. so did he.
IS And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, sayinf^, behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.
13 " Whosoever cometh any thine near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we
ViBGIi. r-iprvei-iitfi tiiniS; Littinus iwuinug In the to coLiifrii Liri >'o«rnani with J^ncoa.
When the eiretunslanoe of the nxf or *cepire beiitgnMri anciently in this way, and the absolute iiji]ioigi,biliiy atjlM reviviscence so strongly appealed to< ere considi^rBa, it j pears to have been a very proper inslrunient for dm occasion; for the change that pass>-<1 ni i<, niusl n knowledced as an immediate and in''i'[i>^> '■[oiil:- 'iiirocl^.
Verse 12, Behold we die, we pin'-j^i, in.iii inrink:] tspv gawUnu, signifies not so muci), to die atm^ly, us ia feel an extreme diffladty qf brealking, whteb israiuenkg sujfoeafion, ends at last in death. See the fclJy uut «2Ctravagance of this sinful people. Ai finti^ artry p^mn might come near fo God, lorall, they iliuucliu, w«m.iaB» cientlyAo^K and every way quolifiet I'l miuiiipt iu holy things.
NoiB, no me, in their apprehensioiL can come near to the tabernacle, without being ammmea, ver 13. In both oases tbqr were wrong.* some there were who might approoob — other* there were who might noti — Ood bod [xit the difference. His decisien should have been final with them; but sinners are ever running into extremes. NOTES ON CHAPTOR XVUl.
Terse 1. Thou and thy tone ihall bear the iniquity of the eanctuary, Ac] That is, they must be answerable for its legal pollutiMi^ and must mue the necessary atonsnunUandex^ailoiu. By this di^ must feel, that ihou^ of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with Ihee Bhatl boar the inii|uity of your ijriesthood.
2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that Uiey may be ''joined unto thee, and *ministcr unto thee: but < thou and thy sohb with thee ahall minister before the tabernocle of witness.
3 And they shall keep thy charge, and <■ the charge of all the tabernacle: "only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and ike altar, " that neither they, nor ye also, die.
4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep Uie charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for alt the service of the tabernacle: * and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
5 And ye snail keep ' the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: ' that there be no wrath any more upon the ohildren of
^^'nd I, behold, I have * taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: ^ to you tAejr ore given as a gifl for the Loan, to do the service ofthe tabernacle of the congregation.
7 Therefore ' thou and thy sons with thee ahall
irivcn your priest's office unfo you f^^crvi'co of ^ifc: and the strangor that eometh
S % And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, Behold, '] also have ^Ivl-q thee the charge of mine fasBViR-olTiTlns;!^ of:ill the hallowed things of the Mpdrca hroi'l; onto thee have I given them reaEOii oi' the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordipBQce for ever.
9 Thin nhall be itvae of the most holy things, jj-Jii'-"' fniii flii^ Ifre: every oblation of theirs,.Ml- I.I 'I lit I iig of theirs, and every sinottering ul' ihuu^s, and every ( trespass-offeriog of UieirB. which they shall render unto me, thaU be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
10 In the most holy place stialt thou eat it; every male ehrill eat it; it shall be holy unto thee.
11 And this is thine; ithe heave-ofierii^ of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto ■* tbeCf and to thy sons and to thy daoghtera with thee, by a statute for ever; " every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
12 0 AU the p best of the oil, and all the best of the vme^ and of the whe^t, •> the first-fruits of them whic^ they shall oiler unto the Lobd, them have I given thee.
13, Ami whatsoever is first ripe in the laftd, ' which they shall bring unto the Lobd, shall be thine; * every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.
15 Every thing that openeth ■ the matrix in all flesh, which tney bring unto the Lobd, eritbeuf men or oeaatB, dull be thine: nevertheless ' the firsfr-born of man afaalt thou sorely radeem, and the firstlings of undeaa beasts slmlt thou redeeuL
16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeeip, ' according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanetuary, ' which if twenty gerahs.
17 r But the firstling of a cow, or the firstliw of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shaK not redeem; they are ho^: ■ thou shalt sjwinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt bum their fat for an offering made fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord.
18 And the flesh of them shall be tJrine, as the ^wave-breast, and as the right shoulder are thine.
19 ^ Ail the heave-offerings of the holy thii^ which the children of laraefoffer unto the Lobb, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute fi>r ever; « it t« a covenant of stilt for ever before the Loan, unto thee and to thy seed witii thee.
SO And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thon shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither
fliey titu) cttt n high aixl UHpOrttAf office qonanwed to i}mm by & rmniriLli^iiH mterrensiAgi, yel it wiu & plmee tif ihe 1iil*hKBt rrj^paiuiibUity, sdi ami Utoy iilUEt tiOl be hij^- minileil, Inn fe^Lr.
VefBB 2. Thy brcihrm i^f th<: tribt iqf Lm-^ay be juiiittl unfo tlCce] Them u a fias inaaomiiia or play upon vorda in the originaL Levi, -f/f comca from the root mV ktvah, lojoin to, eeupU, amoaate: hence, HOau Ban, the Levitea, r/yy yiUavu, wtmll be Jointd or aMto^ated with the prieata; tliey ihall coDjointlv perform the whole of the ■acred officic, but the priesu Bhafl be prineipat, the Levites only their eusociate* or osvMoiUt. ForanexphiiBlionDf nHmy.parIa of this chi^r, ece the notes on aeveml of the pasngea referred to in the mavgin. Wvm 15. The Jtrat-bom qf man-und tiu frying of —. beaati] Thus vain man ia ranked with the beaata rtub; and with the worat kinda of them too^ thoae 1 vtuieani
(M. TTiou ahait redeem— for the vxoney <f,foe ' Sedemptioa of the first-born ia one of the ritea I atill practiaed amonc the Jewa. Aeeording to Modenn, ii is perform^ in the following manner:, k the child ta thirty daya old, the fiither aenda for one of ' die deaeendants of A or on; several persona being aaaemhled oD the ficcaBioo, the laiher brings a cup containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into lua amu, and addre«fiig himself to the mother, asya^— Psissr. A ttis Ay am?— -Hotmbb. Tea.— Pamr. Hatt thoa never hoa onoAer ekOd, mats or female, a miecarriage or untimely birth? — Homa. No.— Panar. TTiie being Ihe eaae,t}uMekitd, a* tret-born, belcnge to me. Then turning to the father he says: — Priest. If it bt thy deti/re to have thi* fhitd, thm must redeem it. — Patrbb. I present thee with this gold and silver for this porpoae.— Pbicst. 7%ou doat mUh therefore to redUm lft« AOd pATaaB- I do wiah so to do. Hie priest tliun turnintr hiniself to the aEscinblv, nnvs '41u
Pbibst. Very veil i tkia Mid, as^rat-bem, ia mtne, as iiisisritlsnin Bemidbar, C^vjBb. Tfiu.16.) Then thalt redeem thefril-bom of a month Ud, far Jive ijuMs^ hat lAaUemtsniii^stffiaUhthisinssdmgs. HedM t&kea two gold crowns, ar thereabouts, and rebanathaduM to hia parotta.
Ycrae 19. Bis a cotenani aott] L e. an iDCaenmtible everlasting oovenant Aa Mttwaa added to difieremkbda of viands, not only to give Uiem a relish, but te picauyt
\ng eovsnaiU. We lam shasdy seen that, among the Aaiadcs, eating togetherms dewed a bond of perpetual friendship; and aa salt was a coamoa article in all thdr repaata, it be in reference to this etrcuRiBt&nce, that a perpetual covenant is termed a coroaanf Hf ealt; because the partieB ate together of the aaarifice offered on the oceasioik, and the whole traneactioa was eonaidered as aleague of eadtesa friendiUp. — See ths bmb on Lev. ii. 13.
Terse 20. / am thy pari and thine tn&er«tenee| Hw principal part of what was oSmd to God, was the pertioe of the pneal*; therefore the? had no iiJieritanoe <i land in Israel: independently of tha^ (hey had a veiy ample {uvvision for their sopporL The rabbina aay, tismtffgmr gifts were given to the priests i and they are all rypresaed m Ihe law. £{gM of thoae cite the priest a»Bowhsre bat in the wBetoiry i tbeae e^gUare ihsfiiUowuMEt ehalt thou have an^f part among them: * I am thy part and thine inheritance amoifg the children of Israel.
21 TT And, behold, • I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel lor an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even ' the service of the tabernacle oithe congree^ation.
22 « Neither must the children of Israel hence forth come nigh the tabernacle of the congrega Uon, " leat they bear sin, i and die.
23 ^ But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shairbe a statute for ever throughoot your gcneratioDs, that among the chiJcfeen of Israel Uiey have no inheritance.
34 I Bat the tithes of the children of Israel, which they oBer as a heave-ofierbg unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites lo inherit: therefore I have said unto them, "Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance
25 If And the Lobd spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Thus speak unto the Levites. and say unto them, When ^e take of the children of Israel the tithesj which I have given you from them for your mheritance, then ye shall offer up a.heave^flering of it for the Lord, even ■ a tenth part of the tithe.
27 "And this your heave-oflering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
S8 Thus ye also shall offer a heare-ofiering •mte the L(hh> of aU your tithes, which ye re-
6. The naar-nvm, Numb, xviii. 13. Pin fftfta were oot due unto them by the lav, but in the land of brael onl^ viz. 1. TheA«an-^;f<rAi^orFiBST-rasiTa,Numb.zvuLL2.
1. The akinw iff Iht burjU-ttff'eringy and all the skins of the other moat holy thingi^ Lev. vu. 6. In all twenty - four.— See Ainraortk.
Terse 21. BAold, I have given ffu LtvUa ail tkalmth] I. Tba Levites hod tha tetitli of all the productions of the lUMl.
3. Hiey had 2,000 cubits of ground round each city. Total Of the land they poaaeaaed, 53,000 acrea.
4. Iliey had the fint-nuiu and certain paru of ril die animala killed in die land.
ceive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Loao'a heave-offering to Aaron the priest.
89 Out of all your gifts ye shall o0er every heave-offering of the Lobd, of all the Pbest thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it
30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, ' then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as ^le increase of the winepress.
31 And ye sh^ eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it m ' your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.
32 And ve shall 'bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of- it: neither shall ye > pollute the holy things ^ the children of Israd, lest ye die.
2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying. Speak unto the children, of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemisb, " and upon which never came yoke: *
Canaan eoataioed about 11,264,000 acre^ therefore the portion paeaeaaed by the Levites waa rather leu than as one to Ado huadnamA IwdM; fbr ll,36^00(^divided hj BSfiOO, qootea only 212^.— See Lownutn, Doddf Ac. But thou^ this waa a very small proportion for a teltoU tribe that nad consented to annihilate ita political existence, that it miehl wait upon the service of God, end I(dx>ur for the people s souls; yet, let it be considered, that what they poaaeaaed was the oest the land: and while it was a alender remuneration for their eervices, yet their portion was such aa rendered them independent, and kept them comlbrtablei so that they could wait on ihe Lord's work without distraction. This is a proper pattern for the maintenance of the miniBters of God: letihemttavean^j^'mcy for themaelvea and Jamiliea, that there mav be no distracting caret: and let them not be encumbered with rUAew or leormlyposteaBumt, that tliey may not be prevented from taking care of eoula.
Vcrae 28. Tftue ye aUo shall qfer a ktave-qffering] As the Levites had the tithe of the whole land, ihey themselves were obliged to give the tiihe of ihis tithe to the priests, BO thai mis considerably lessened their revenue. And this tithe or tenth, they were oblwed to select from the best paH of the ■ubatance th^ haa received, ret. &C. A portion of all muat be given to God, aa an evidence of his goodnoai^ and their dependence on him. — See the end of chap. xx.
Terse 2. Sptak unJo the ^Hdren qf Israel, thai Ihef brinf oo.] The ordinance of the red hei/er, woaa sacrifice of gnwal applieatun. All the people wen to have an iotereat in it, and therefore die people at ]ugK are to provide the sacrifice. This Jewish rite certainly hod a reference to things dona under the Gospel, as the author of the Epialle to the Hebrews has remarked: "For i^" says he, " the blood of bulla and of goats," alhidinK, prcmp biy, to the sin-ofTerings and the scape-gaaL " and me aahea of a heifer Bpnnkling the unclean, aanciineth to ihe purifying of the flesh; how much more idiall the blood of Christ, who thrtnigh the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God."-Heb. ix. 13, 14. As die principal stress of the elraaion here, ia lo the ordinance of tha red heifer we may certainly conclude that it waa deli^d to typify the sacrifice of our blessed Lord.
I. A heifer waa appointed for a sacriiice, probably in oppoailion to ihe Egyptian superstition which hekl these Mcrsrf; and actual^ worihj^^ their great goddess UU,
3 And ye shall erivc her tinio Elenzar the priest, that he may bring Iier ' forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood witti his 6nger, and ■ eprinUle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congrega^ tion seven times:
5 And on« shall burn the heifer in his sight: ■ her akin, and her flesh, eCnd her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
6 And the priest ehall take y cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the mid^t of the burning of the heifer.
7 * Then the prie^ shall wEish his clotheB, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward bo ^alt come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
9 And a man thai is clean sh^ gather up ' the ashes of the heifer, and lay tkem up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the childrea of Israel, for a water of separation: it if a porifioation for sin.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer sball wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children
under tliiB form; and thii appears the more likely, because maUa in ^neral vere preferred for saeriGce; yet here ihe fcmaU ii clioaen.
2. It WB3 to be a red heifer, becauae red buU* were sacrificed to appease the evil demoa, TSfphm, worshipped •mow; the Egyptians. — See Spencer.
3. The heifer was to be trUfumt tpot, havioK no mixture of any other colour. Plutarch remarks, De hide, ei de Oairide, that if there was a aingte hfiir in the animal, either whiie or black, it marred the sacrifice. — See Calmet, and see the note on cbap. viii. 7.
4. Without blemish — Having; no kind of imperfection in her body, the other, probably, applying to the hair or colour.
5. On which never eame yoke — Because any animal which had been used for any common purpose, was deemed improper to be oSered m sacrifice to God. The hea> thens, who appear to have borrowed much from the Hebrewn, were very scrupulous in this particular. Neither the Greeks nor Romans, nor indeed the EgyptiansI would ofier an uimal in sacrifice that had been employed for af^eoltural purposes. Of this we have the most positive •vidences from Sbmer, Porphyry, Virgil, and Jtfcerobiua.
Just such a sacrifice, as that prescribed here, does Diomede vow to offer to Pallas. Iliad x. v. 291.