Commentary on the Holy Bible

In tba very same words Nestor, O^rss. itL ret. 382, promises a similar sacrifice to Pallaa;

"nie Bomans bad the same ralia;ioii with the GreeVs, ud oODBBipiently the saoa kind tH sftcrifices: w Vireil, a«org. iT. vor. 00.

It is very likely that the Gentilea ksvat their first saeriicial riles from the patriarchs: and on diis aacount we need not wonder to fiod so many eoinoidenoea in the Mori^- oial system of the patriarchs and Jews, and all the nai^- bouring nations.

Verse 9. For a voter qf aeparation] I e. The ashes were to be kept in order to be mixed widi water, ver 17 and sprinkled on dioae who bad conUacted any Ian] de-

1 1 f " He that toucheth the dead body of aar ^ man shall be unclean seven dms.

12 'He shall purify himselT with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purily not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean,

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of ai^' man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, ' d&- fileth the tabernacle ot the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because < the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean: ^his uncleanness tV yet upon

14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that it in the tent, shall be imclean seven days.

15 And every ' open vessel, whioi hath no covering bound upon it, tit unclean.

16 And ^ whoBover toucheth one that is slaio with a swprd in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be undean seven days.

17 And for an unclean person they shall tain of the 'ashes 'of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and ° rimning water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

18 And a clean person shall take "hyssop, end

Verse 11. Be thai touduth the dead body tif any maa riutUbemuieanaevendaye.j How low does this lay msn I he who touched a dead beaet was only unclean tor one day, Lev. xi. 24, 27, 39. but be who touches a dead noa, is unclean for eevendaya. Thia ttss rrrtnintr linsiriMd tn mark the peculiar impurity of man, and lo showfis » fulness — seven times worse than the vilest antmal! O Am son of the momuie, hew art thou fallen!

Verse 12. He ahaU puryfy hiwelf widt it} •o mnn' yWidtata bo, literally, ft« e&ali ein hime^ with iL Ttaa Hebrew form of apeeeti is common enough among us is other matters.' Tdom to fieece, kdA to sAin, do not sjKuify to add a.fleece, or a »)a,n. but ro take one away, "nia*- fore, Ut mn himaAf, in the Hebrew idimn, is aot le ddd sin, but to take it away — to purify. The verb mm ahotSt signifies to mwa the rtiark—Vi Mn, — to pw\fy fmn aitt — and to maice a ein-qff'erinr. — See tiie note oo Oen. siiL 13L

Tax Hebrews generallv sacrificed males, no matter of wbateolour; but here aneiJer, andafaeifer of a red eo* lour, is ordered. Tbarasaonof these eircumsuowes isaot very well known.

■^Hw nLblHni^ with hU dieir btddneia." saya Calmci^ " who stick at aodiing vbaa it is neeesaair lo explam vbat they do not undersumd, dedare, that ihe causa «f this law IS entirely unknown: and tliat SoUnnon, widi all his wisdom, coulu not find it oul"

Several^i^A«rs, as well modem as ancient, piofesa!• understand the whole olearly. " 1. Tht red beifer, with tbeiB, signifies the Jleeh of our Lord, formed out of mm eartfalyaubalaiiDa. 2. Being ifilkeiit ^lot, d^ die im/imiU AoKnesr of Christ, 3. Tlie mt of the animal, the ujfrmto of our fiesh widi which he clothed himself. 4. TU rsd colour his paeeion. 6. Being unyoked — his being rigfatp eous in all his conduct; and never under the yoke ^ mn. 6. Bteaxar, saaificing the beifer instead of Janm, ver. S. sigDifieB die tiiange the prieethood from the fanulv of Aarpn, in order diat a new and more perfect priaatbood might take place. 7. Uie red heifer being taken mAamt the oamp, ver. 3. to be slain, points out the erueifirian tit our Lord without the city. 8. Tlie complete eanaunuMg of the heifer by fire — the ampleie qfenng of (be whole body and soul of Christ as a sacrifice to God fiir the ain of man; for as the heifer was without blemiek, the whoh mi^tbe offered to God; and as Christ was immaeuIaX*, hia whole body and soul was made a saoifiee for ain. 9. As die fire of this sacrifice aeeended up to God; aa U paints out the reaurrse^Min and aae«nnon of our bleaaed Lord. 10. And as the aahea of this victim communicated a legal purity to' those who were defiled; so true repmtano«, signified by tbowosAet, is necessary for the ezputiasi of the olTences committed after baptism." A great part of this is true in itself— hut how uule evidence ia tocra that all these ihiqga were intended in the ordiaaaca of tha nd heifer 7— See on chap, viii. 7.

dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, aod upon all the vessels, nnd upon the persons that were there, and upon him that toucheth a Iwne, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

19 And the rlenn person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: f and on the seventh day he shall purify himself and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shaH be clean at even.

20 But thQ roan that Bhall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that enui shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath 4 defiled vie sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

31 And it shalt be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation ehaU wash his clothes: and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean nntil eren.

22 And 'whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and ■ the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.

A.uvm. T^HEN < came the children of Israel, ■. „ J- even the whole congregation, into

the desert of Zin, in the first month: and the people abode ini Kadesh; and " Miriam died there, and was buried there.

3 IT • Afid there was no water for the congregation: 'and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

3 And the people 'chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died ' when our brethren died- before the Lord!

4 And 'why have ye brOught up the congre-

Tene 1. TTun came the diiidrtn of Ztroei, &c.] Thn mts die first month of the Jbrlieih yeac after Uieir departure fr«m Gi^ypt. See chop, xzxiii. 38. oompared wiih ver. 28. of thu chapter, and Deut. i. 3. The tranBactkms of Ikiriy-taen yean MtMca paaaea by, beoauie he writes not an ahutorian, but as a leginlator; and givea tu particularly an aceoont of tho laws, ordiDances, abd twlier occurrences of the first and la«t y^ars of their jKregrinatioDs. Ute year now ■[nken of was the last of their joumeyinn; ibr, front the goin^ out of t}ie spies, chap. xiii. unto inis timo, was about tkirty-tigM years, DeuL i. 22, 23. ii. 14.

Dtmrt Zin] Calmet eoDlenda that this is not tJie ■sine desert mentioiied Emd. zvU 1. where Isnel hod ■heir tigiUK encampment. That in Exodus, beinfj: called in (he ori^iDal ri> *^ ihis here ]>i inn; but ibis is no fMsitive proof, as.ieUsrs of the same orfrao are frequently interchanEed in all langiia^s, and particularly in Hebrew.

And Miriam died tkere^ Mrriam was certainly older than Hoses. When be was an iti^t, exposed on the river Nile, aha was enlnisted 1^ her parents to watch the conduct of Phanudi's dauf^iier, and to manage a most - delicate busineaa, that required much address and prudence. See Exod. ii. It is supposed, that die was at the time of her death orw hundred and UUrly years of a^, having been |U least t*n years old ai her brother's birth. Hie Catbolie writers represent her bj a type- of the Vir^ Msry, as having preserved a perpetual viri;iiiity, as being legiMatriz over the Israeliiiah women, as Hoses was over the tneo; and as having a large portion of die sisrit of mpheef. Eusdiius swa that her tomb was to be sera at uomA, ne«r ihe city of Petca, in bin ticne. She appears la have died about Jour monih« before Iter brother Aaron, ehftp. uuciii. 38. and tleven before her brother Hoses t so ibmt these three, the most eroioBnt of huosB beings, died •mtbe space <^ one y««r!

gation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there 7

5 And wherefore have nuide us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of fies, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is- tnere any water to drink.

6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of tlie assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and • they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.

8 ' Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes j and it shall give forth his water, and ^ thou shalt bring forth to them Water out of the rock: so thou ahalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

9 And Moses took the rod • from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and be said unto them, ' Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11 And Moses lifled up his hand, and with Ms rod he smote the rock twice: and ■ the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

12 TI And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because '■ye believed me not, to ' sanctify me in the eves of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation iivto the land which I have given them.

13 ' This is the water of i Meribah: because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, umJ he was sanctified in them.

14 TI " And'Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Bdom, "Thus saith thy brother iFrael, Thou knowest all the travel that hath " befallen us:

15 P How our fathers went down into Egypt, 4 and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time j ' and the Egyptians vexed us and our famera:

16 And ■ when we cried unto the Lord, he

Terse 2. And th ere tnu no valer far Ihe congregation] The same occurrence took place to the children of Israel at KadtA, as did tormerly to their fathers at BhqikidiM, see Exod. xvii. 1. and as ibtJatlierM murmured, so alio did the dUldrati

Verse 24. Because ve helievtd mt not] What wse the oflence fitr which Hoses was excluded from the pro. mised land? It appears to have consisted in some or all of the following particulars: I. God had commanded him, Ver. 8. to talu au rod in hia hand, and go and bpzak to THK socx: and U AouUl give forth water. It seems Hoses did sot think tpeaking would be sufficient, therefore lis smote the rock, withotit any command so to do. 2. He did this taioe, which, eertainly in this case, indicated a great perturbatitn of spirit, and want of attention to the presence of God. 3. He permitted his spirit to be carried away by a sense of the people's disobedience, and thus being protokedj he was led to speak unadvisedly icitk his lips, Psal. cvi. 33. Hear note, ye bebxlb, vcr. lO. 4. He did not acknowledge God in the miracle which was about 10 be wrought, but took the honour to himself and Aaron. Must vrx fetch von viUer out of tliia bock 1 Thus it ploinlv appears, that they did not properly bditve in God, and did nut toioitrhim in the sight of ihe people; for in their presence, they seemed to express a doubt, whether the thing could be possibly done. As Aaron spears to have been oonsentiog in ine above partieulars, therefore he is also excluded from the promisra land.

Verse 14. Ssnt msmengsrs—to Ou king if Edom\ Archbishop Ussber supposes that the king now reigning in Edom, was Badar, mentioned Gen. xxxvi. 39.

saith thy brother Israel] Hie Edomites were UM descendants of bdom or Esau, the brother of Jacob or Israel, from whom the luraelites were descended.

Verse 17. W* wilt go bj/lhelnn^'s high wy) Hwis the first tins this pimsa oceursi it appears to have been

heard our voice, and ' sent an ang-el. and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold^ we are in Kadesh, a city in the attermost of thy border:

17 "Let UB pass, I pray Ihcc, throiirh thy eonntrr: we will not pase throog-h the fielda, or througn the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go bv the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the lefl, until we have passed thy borderB.

18 And Edom said unto him, Tnou 'shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

19 And the children of Israel said unto him. We will go by the highway: and if I and my cattle drmk of thy water, ' then will I pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing el»e, go through on my ffeet.

20 And he said, ' Thou ahalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

21 Thus Edom ' refused to give Israel passage tltfough his border: wherefore Israel ^ turned awayirom him.

23 And the children of Israel, even the whole cmgregation, journeyed from ■Kadesh, 'and cfune unto mount Hor.

23 And the LoBn spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, _, ^.

24 Aaron shall be i>catheTea unto ms pciople: for he ^all not enter mto the land vriiidi I nave given unto the chlldrui of larael, because ^ ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

25 * Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, aao bring them up unto mount Hor:

Veru 21. Thtu Edom re/uttd to gipt bratl pmuage through hi* border] Though cTCiy ting baa a ri^t w refuae pasaage throu^ his temtoriea to any Btrangeni yet in a caae like this, and in a time also, in which emigrationa were irequenl, and univerially allowed, it waa both cruelty and oppresaion in Edom to rcfiiBc a paaaage to a comparatiTcly unanne<^ and inoffensive multitude; who were all their own near kiwiun. It appear^ however, that it waa only the EdomSieu of KideaA, Aat were thus unfriendly and cruel; for, from Deut ii. 29. we learn, that the Eiiomite» who dw«lt hi moiait Seir, treated them in a hospitable manner. This cruelw in the Edomiles of Kadesh is strongly reprehended, and uireatened by the prophet Obadi^, ver. 10, Ac.

Terse 'X. Strip Aaron of hia gamuntA This waa, in c^ec^ depriviiur him oi hia olBoe: and putting the •lodiea ea hia aon Eleasar, implied a transfer of that office to him. A transEsr of office, from tfiia eireumalanee of jnMing the dothea of the laie posaeisor on the person intended to succeed him, waa called inveeting, orimaiment, (clothing;) as removing aperson from an office waa termed aiveeting, or unclothing. Amon^ the Catholics and in the Church of England, thiB same method ia used in degrading ecclesiastics. Hence, such a degradation is termed by the common people, etripping a man hie govn.

Verae 29. And Aaron died m«r(] Hence, aa Dr. Li^- foot has juatly observed, we have an "indisputable proof that the earthly Canaan waa not the utmost felicity at which Ood'a promiaea to the laraaliles aimed; atnce the bait men txaai^ them were excluded from it'*

Tt» remark of some of the Fathers her^ is worthy of attention. " Neither Hoses the representative of the Law, nor Miriam, the representative ot the propheta, nor Aaron die representative of the priesthood uid ita aoeriftiUl rites, eould bring die lamelitea into die powearion of the promised land. This waa reaerved for •^sftuo, -vbo waa id name and oonduet the lively type of our Lord and Saviour Jeaiw ChriaL" He ahnt can bring Aoae who believe in hia name, into that rest which remaina. for the people of Ood.

THxac are aome ohaervationa made by Dr, Li^tfbot on Ihi^ and some of the preceding chapters, which should be moregenerolly known.

"Ine p/oee where the people nmrmured uj^the return eS the spies was RadeA-bmnto, Numb. xia. 26. zxxii. 8.

S6 And strip Aaron of his garmepts, and wit them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shalfbe gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

27 And Moses did as the Loud eomma^ed: and they went vp into mount Hot, in the aigbt of an the cotwregatton.

28 '' And Hoses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazcu: his son; and

> Aaron died there in the top* of the mount: and ' Moses and Eleazar came down from the monnL

29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron ^thirty days, even all the house of IsraeL

heard tell that Israel came ^ by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

2 1 And Isr^ vowed a vow unto the Lou, aiid said. If thou wilt indeed deliver' this peo|de into my hand, then ' I will utterly destroy their

3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the CanEuinites: and they utterly deetroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place " Hormah.

Deut. i. 19. This fdace waa called RiAamah be6in; Numb, xzziii. IS. compared with Numb. zii. 16. and zin. 26. and waa so called, prob^ly from die fttnipor Wm that grew there; but now named JDufeaft, beeausa die Lord waa there sanctified up«n the people, aa chap. zz. 13. and Bamea or the wndering aon, because here waa the decree made of their long vandtHng in the wildemeai: lliey continued a eood space at £adeah bafnie tbey removed; for ao said Moses, Ye abode in Kadeth nujiy days; or aa the Hebrew, According to the d^ thai ye had made abode, namely, at Sinai, ver. 6. Aod so tb«r ment one u^ole year th4ff^ for so tbtj had done at Slnai. And whereas God conunanda them, at their mormonn^, to mm back to the Red aea, Deut. L 40- hia meaning was, that at their next march, whensoever it was, they shoMld not go forward unto Canaan, but beck acun toward Aa Red am whence they came, (but see on Deut. i. 1.) Aod they did so, for ther wandered by many atatians and marches from KadeJi-bamea, till they came to fflirffsft bamea a^^in, »even or eight and thiHy years after Asy had first left it Itiese marges, mentioned in Numb, xxxiii. were thesei From Kadeih, or Rilkma, to Rimmon Parex, to Labnahf to Riaeah, to Kelaihah, to mount Shaphar, to Haradah, to MaJdtehA^ to TahatK, to 7^- rah, to iUtcAoA, to HaAmonah, to Materotk, to flbnkigidgad, to Jotbaihah, to Ebronah, to Eam-gabor, to Kadeih again in the fortieth year. And dioo^ it was onl^ eleven days' journey from Honbbvtbe wayof moimi Seir, to Kadah-bamea, Dent i. 2. they maiie it above thrice elaen years' journey 1" Had diey trusted in God, and obeyed hin^ their enemies lonr are thia would have beoD diaeomfltedi and themselves quntly aatablidiad in jwaaeaaiDa of the promiaed inheritance. Butthiygriewldw Spirit of God and did not believe his promise; and it would have been inconsistent with the whole mmkubjt of ^itaoe, to have introduced unbelievers into that rest whidt waa a ^^pe of the kingdom of God.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XX3. Verse L TTtaww ftoapies] d^vtk nOiarim. Seme dtink that thia aigmfiea the way that the spies took, when they went to seaMh the land. But this is impoaaibie, as Dr. Kennicott juatly remarks, because Israel had ntnr marched from Meribdt-Kadeih to mount Bor. beyeod Ezion-gebef; aad were tuminr round Edom to the wotAeast; and dierefore the word ta to be understood hate ■• the name of a ptaee. r\r\r%\t> * Digitized by VjOOQ Ic

4 1 And ° ther-jooraeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red aea, to i> compass the land bf Edom; and the bouI of the people was much 4 discouraged ' becauae of the way.

5 And the people 'spake against God, and against Moaes, > Wherefore have ve brought us vp oat of Egypt to die in the wilderness 1 for there it no bre^, neither is there any water, and ■ our eoul loatheth this light bread,

6 And * the Lord sent * fiery serpents among the people, and thev bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

7 If ' Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, lor f we have spoken against the Lobd, and against thee: * pray unto

"Verse 3. The Lord hearkened to (he voice itf Iarat£\ nie whole of this verae asprara to me lo have been ttddea ft6er difi days of Joshua. It is certain the CanaanitMwere not utterly aeitroyed at the dine here spoken for this did not lake pliiee till afierdie death of Hosea. IfinsMvlof vMktIm autrmtd Ihem, onm waiyaiharmii, we ti«iulal« MagrAvofsd Am tavtUr dettruetvm, it will make a good MpH, and not reptunant to the Hebrew; tbouirh some dunk it more probable that the vene via added afterward by Joahua or £zra, in testtuony of the fulfilment of God's prosaiae; for Mad, who is mentioned as beinf deatroyed' ABK^,i« Bwnlioned among those destroyed by Joahua long aftsri aee Josh. xu. 14.: but this is ^'le conaiatent wiui Cwir being detettd to OMtradion, as this mi^t be fulfilled any tuneaAer. Seethenote, Eier.zxvii.

Verse 6. Fiery aerpeatt] i»>B*\m owwn ho-netAaakim ha-*erapiiia%. IbarediBmredbeforeonOen.iii Ibatitis diffienlt to assign « name to the creature tenned in Hebrew natkoAt it has difltrfint sfgnifieatioiu; but its nwioing here, and in Oen. iiL is most diflfcnlt to be aaoerbined. Seravkim is one of the orders of angetio beings, Isa. vi. 2, 6. out as it cornea from the root tpnr earaph, which siniiiies. to bum, it has been translated Jl«ry in iba text. It » likely that St. Pant allodes to the Sen^diiin, Heb.i.7. TrJ^m«kettAi«dR^eiasp{rUt/ and hisniiiiisters a TLAMM qf FiRB. Tbt anitnala meationed here by Mose% may have bees called jCery, beeanse of the heat, violent inflammation, and t^rat ocetutonedl^theiT bite; ana eeaaetiuently, \(»erpent», tneywereof the;»'(Mt«r or dtp- •osipectesi, whose bite, especially that of the former, ocear awnada violent inflammation through the whole body, and a fltry appearaoce of the countenance, lie poet Lucan hats weU expressed this leirible effect of the bite of the vraeter, and also of (be dfosos, in tbs lUnth book ot his Pnamlia, whid^ for the sake of those who may apt have the work •I hand, I shall here insert

Of the mortal effecu of the bite of Uie dipeaa in the de- "n of Lybia, he gives the foUiJwing deaenption.

the Lord, that he take away the serpents from

8 And the Lord said unto Moees, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he loobeth upon it shafi live.

9 And ■ Moses made a serpent of brass, and put It upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he hved.

10 7 And the childTen of Israel set fbrward, and k pitched in Oboth.

11 And they iournej;ed from Oboth, and \ pitched at Ije-aiMirim, in the witdemess which IS before Moab, toward the Bunrising.

Sodiart supposes that the hydnu or Aera/dnu is meant: a aerpent that Hvei to marthy ptatxe, uw bite of which produces the most terrible inflammations, burning hea^ fetid T^mitings^ and a putrid solution of the whole body. See hia works, vol. ill. col. 421. It ia more likely to iiave been a serpent of the prieat*r or dvpeaa kind4 as the wildenuM through which the Israelites passed did neither afford rt«er« nor mara/ut, tbot^b Bomari endea* vours to prove that there might have Men maiahes In that part; but his arguments haVe venr liule weight. Nor ia there ne«d of a water aerpent as long as the praaCer and dipaaa, which abound in me deserts of Lybia, might have ^minded in the deserts of Arabia also. But very probably the aerpenta themselves were immediately sent by Qod, for the chasdaement of this rebelliona people. The curs waa certainly |nretematuial; ibis no person doubts; and why might not UuagnU be so, Oiat inflicted the disease 1 Verae 8. Jllii&s Ass (O^ery Mrpe7i<] Liteml^ inake thee a seraph.

Verae 9. And Moata made a serpent of braaa] vra nvKneduuhtudioaheL Hence we find that the wotu trass or copper comes 6raa the sane root with nocAosft, whidl hm signifias a serpent, probably on account of the eolour, as loostserpeDtai, eapecially those of the brif^t spotted kind, have a vei^ glistering appearance, and those who have brown or yellow spots, appear something like AumwAed brass; but the true meaning of the root cannot be easily ascenained, <

On the subject of the cure of the serpent-bitten laroelites^ by looking at the Iwaaen serpent, there is a good commeat in the bow of f^sdoo, timp. zvi. vtr. 4 — 12. in which are these teoMikable words:—"Th^ were admonished, having a sign of salvation (L e. the brazen serpent) to put them in rememtemce of the commandments of thy law. For he that turned himself towards it, was not saved by the THiife that he saw, but by tuxx, that art the Saviour of all," ver. 6, 7. To the circumstance of looking at the braaen serpeat, in order lo be healed, our Lord refers, John hi. M, 16. Aa Moaek l^tad up the brazen aerpent tn tlu isiUmtSBs, etaaaomiualthe Sonofman he l^edup, fftat uhoaoaver betiaeih in him tkauM not peruh. but have eternal Itfe. The brazen serpent was certainly no type of Jesus Christ— 4x11 from our Lord's words, we may learnt 1. "niat OS the serpent was lifted up on the pole or J so Jesos Christ was lifted up on the eroai. 2. Hun aa the Israelites were to look at the brazen serpent; so sinners must look to Christ for salvation. 3. That ae God provided no other remedy than this looking, for the wounded Israelites, so be has provided no other way of solvatitm than /aith in the blood of his Son. 4. That da he who looked at the brazen serpent was cured and did h>«,- mIm that believeth on the Lord Jesus Chriat shall not periah, hat have ttematl^e. 6. That aa neither the aerpent. nor lookingat it, but the mviaible power of God, healed the; teople; so neither the cross of Christ, nor his merelv bo-! ng entered; but the pardon he has bought by hia blood, eomroantcWed by the power/itt energy qf hie ^rit, mvea the Boulanf men. May not all these things be plainly seen in the csreumstonce* of this trtuiseetion, without makiar the aerpeni a type of Jesus Christ, (the most exceptionabls that could poBsiuy be chosen) and running the parallel, as some have done, through ten or a dozen particulars I TarselS. Thay—vUdud in the vaitey i^f Zared.'J ^ro » naAel xarad. ihis should be ttan^ated the brook

12 •From thence they removed, ami pitched in the valley of Zared.

13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which ia in the ivildcrneae that cometh out of the counta of the Amoritee: for *■ Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Anioriten.

14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LoHD, ' What he did ia the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,

15 And at the elream of the broolcs that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, ""and i lieth upon the border of Moab.

16 And from thence Iheyicent *to Beer: that ia the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Grather the people tosether, and 1 will give them water.

18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it By the direction qf ' the lawgiver, with their Btaves. And from the wilderness they tcent to Mattanah:

19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nalialiel to Bamoth:

20 And from Bamoth, in the valler, that i« in the i> country of Moab, to the top of 4 Pisgah, which looked ' toward ■ Jeshimon,

,21 IT And ^ Iirael aent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,

Zared, as it is Deut. ii. 13, 14. This stream hai iu origin in the mountains eutwnrd of Moab, and mns from east (o «eat, and (ItBcliargea iteelf into the Dead sea.

Terae 13. Amm^ Another river which takes lis rise in the mountuns of Moab; and after having separated the ancient territories of the Moabitea and Ammonites, it falls into the Dead sea, near the mouih of Jordan.

Verse 14. Tfu ioot ^ the wars of the Lord] There are endless conjeoturea about this book, both among ancienu and modems. Dr. Lightfoot'a opinion ia the most simple, •nd to me, bears the greatest appearance of being the true one. " thie book seems to have been some book of remeti^raneee Kaddirectioiu, vritten by Moses for Joshua's private inatruciion, for the management of the wars after hira. — See Exod, ivii. 14—16. it may be that this was the some book which is called the book qf J(uh*r, i. e. the book of the upright, or a directory for Joshua from Moses, what to do, aad what to expect m his wars: and in this book it seemsasif Moses directed thesettingup of arcA«r|r, see 2 Sam. i. 18. and warrants Joshua to command £a auD, and expect its obedience." Josh. xiii. 10.

Whaihedid in the Red tea, and in ihabrooksnf Ariu>n\ Tbia clause is impenctmbly obscure. All the versions, ail the tmnslators, and all the commentators, have betm puzzled with iL Scarcely any two agree. The original is nimu sm rm a toAab besunAoA, which our translators render, vhat ht did in the Red sea, fbllowing Ytere the Chaldee Targum; but not satisfied with this version, tb<Qr have put die utost difficult words in EngtM- Itttera, in the margin, taheb in mjihah. Calmed* conjecture here is ingenious, and is adopted by HoutngaTit: instead of am vmeb, he reads -rv xared. Now a t zain, may be easily mipioken fora ^ i»)u, and vice versa, and a n U fors-tnun, if the left limb happened to be a little obliterated, whidi frequently occurs not only in MSS.butin prtn^e<f booka: the a bUh also might be miataken fir a i dalelh if die ruled lint, on which it stood, happened in that place to be a litde tAic&er or blacker than usual, "ntus then am roAeb, might be easily formed out of tu xartd, mentioned ver. 12. the whol? might then be read, 7%ey encamped at &e brook Zarad, anu they came to Sujihah, and thence to the brook Anion. Take ibe oasaage as we may, it is evidently detective. As 1 judge the whole clause to have been a common proverb in those days, and Vaheb to be a proper name, I therefore propose the following traaslation, whidi I believe to be the best: From VaAw unto Siqih and unto tlu streams of Amon. If we allow it to have been a proverbial expression, used to point out extensive distance, then it was similar to that well-known frfiraae, fVom Dan even unto Befrsheba.

Verse 17. Spring up, O usU, Sut.] T%is is one of the most ancient war-songs in the world— Imt ia not eatily UBdenrtood, wfaid) it eommo^ the oanwith all VC17 BincieBt

22 " Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the Selds, or into the vineyai^: we -will not drink of the waters of the well: bvt' we will go along by the king'fi high way, xml'd we be past thy borders.

23 • And Sihon would not Buffer Israel to nasa through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out againat Israel into the wilderness; * and he came to Jahaz, and fought aeainet Israel.

24 And • Israel emote him with the edge of the swpE(L«nd posieaaeri hie land from Arnon unto Jnhhok, even unto the children of Ammon: for til.' ijirderof the children i>f Ammon trovstrof^.

And E.-iracI took 0II iliese cities; and iRrael di< i-lt in aUtiWfkifeB of Hie Amorites, in Heahh Pi, initf%jWlg(irT[illTii I II thereof..

Foi* HesMSn irott the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought asainst the former kmg of Moab, and taken ttU bu land out ot his hand, even unto Arnon.

27 Wherefore they tliat speak in proverbs say. Come into Heehbon, let the city of Siiion be built and prepared;

28 For there is * a fire gone out of Heshboo, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath conBuined ■ Ar of Moab, and the lords <if the places of Arnon.

29 Wo to thee, Moab I then art undone.Opeoi pie of >■ Chemosh: he hath given his sons that

Verse 1& TJu princet digged the iMtt— wiA Adr etave»\ Tbia ia not easily understood. Who ran auppeae tliat the princes dug this well with their ttares? and ia there any other idea conveyed by our translation T "Hie word i-'Bn duijAaru, which is translated thet/ digged^ should be rendered, they searched out, which is a &«queitt meaning of the root: and Dnvvaa be mi^notam, whi<^ we render, v>iih Ouir tUnes, ghaiM be tfanaUted, on Aeir borders, or oonftTies, from the root |pV shadn, to along. With these corrections the whole song may ht read ihuR

This is the whole of the quotation from what is called the book of ibe wus of the Lord.— Bttt aee Dr. KiamfcoU's remarks at the end of (he chapter.

Verse 26. ' Par Beshbon was the city of Sihon, Ac] It appears, therefore, that the territory now taken frma Sihon by the laraelites, was taken from a former king of Moab; ip commemoration of which an epicedioa or war^ song was made, several verses of whid^ m their KnasM poetic form, are here quoted by Moses^

Verse 27. They that speak in piv»<F6t} P^nn k«- meshc/tm, from Vvs, mashal, to rule, to «x<rnac oufftariiy! hence, a wiglUy proteiitial saying, beAuse admitted as an axiom, for the government itf l\fe. The mcAeiim of the ancient Anotics were the same, in alt profaabihtTt as the Poeia, among the Oreeka and Latins; the t)mja ^laara, among the Arabs, who were esteemnl as tHvine persons, and who had their name from skaara, he knew, ujuterttaad, whose poems celebrated past [iiiiisaii tiotu, and especially those which concerned the.ntiiterw history of their natioiL These poets were also termed ialHf^ iV>t^T.>« soAeAi deevan, companions or lards the council stofe, because their vmghtjt sayii^ aad universal hwwUdgo were held in ibe nghert npme. Similar to these were the bards among the ancient DriMs, and the Sennadiies among die ancient Celtic jitWafpf of these nationa.

The ode from die 27di to the 30th verae is wmtwsed of three parts. The Jtrst takes in verses 27 and 2B. Tbe second, verse 29. and tbe third, ver. 30.

The Jfrat records, with Utter irony, die late insuha of Sihon and his mbjeeta over the conquered KoaUtes.

Ihe second expresses the eompessiori of the lamelHca over the'desolations of Moab^ with a bitter sarcasm against their god CkanoA, who had abandoned his votariea m their distres^ ot was not able to rescue them out of ibo hands of their enemica.

30 We nave shot at them: Heihbon ia perished even < unio Dibon,.uad we have laid them wottte even unto Nopbiui, which reachelb vnto * Medeba.

3^ And Moi^e^i sent to spy out * Jaazer, and they took iho villages thereof, and drove out th^ Amoritcti Umt wei-e there.

33 TI And they turned, and went up by the

The whole poem, divided into iti proper hemiatichs^ aa it BUuds ia Kemiicott'i Hebrew Bible, U as foltowa:

Vene 36. 8o tiu^ muU kim (Ox) and all hU mm*] There is a. eario«u note of Dr. Ligbtioot here, of which 1 ritould think it wrong to deprive ube rMder.

" Sihon bud Og conquered, A. M. 2663. Of the life of Mom 120^ from 9>e Bzodus 40. It is now viz and tmntjf gencntioiM fnn the creation; or frtwa Ad«m to.Hoaee; ■ikd BCoordio^ doth Pnlm exxxrL rebonne tbe durablenoM of Qod'a mercy mod ftMtUy times over, b^innin^ dte aioiy with tha creation: and ending it in the conquest of Sihon and Og. The nuraeraU of the name ntn> Jihovak, amount to the sum of nx and batnijf."

On aome difficulties in this cliaptert Dr. ""^miw^t makes tbe following obaervationa:

"Tbia one eb^Ker has several very constdenble difficulties, and sMne versea as now translated, are remarkably unintelligible. A true state of this chapter is not, however, to be despfttrod of; and it has in ii aome cireumsiances which merit more than common attention. It contains the biUoiy of die laat part of the travels of tbe Israelilee in their way to the |>rotiused land: beginaiog with ibem at mount Hot, the thirty-fourth eiwaropment, and concluding with them, aa in their forty-second and last encampment near Jordan, m the eountry which they had acquu^ by conquest over Sihon, king of the Aotoniea.

" It begins with aaying — that king Arad the CanaatiiU, uko dvat ta Uu Smtlh, Ua the bud of Canaan, Numb. uzHL 40.) attacked Isntd, and WM defoMed, and that Urad datroi/ed Uuir eitiu, and that, after detuoying these Canaaniit cUia, and consequently after being in a part of Canaan, a port of the very country they were going^to, on the west of the Dead sea, they returned towanf the ffea «ea, and near ihe ea»Urn tongue or gulf of the Red lea, on the *outk of Edom, marched rouml Edem to the taH of tbe Dtad sea, in order to enter Canaan from tha aotf ■Ida of Jordan I

"lliiB aurpriaing repreeeatation of ao vaat and dangerous a march, quite unnecessarily perfivnied, is owing to two circurastoncu. The first is, (xxt. 1.) (be Canaanites heard that Israel was coming by th» "oayef liu apif — fpeaning, by the wt^ Ibt »piea went from Sjide^bartua.into Canaan. But this being impossible, because Israel had now marclieii from Menbak-Kaduk to mounf ^or, beyond Exion-geber, and were tumit^ round Edom to tbe southeast; it is hnppy that the word rendered avto, in our version, is in iSoK Greek a proper name {AatantiC) whioh removes that difficulty. Ana tha other difficult, (verses 2, 3.) is removed by tlie Greek version likewise; according to which the vow made, with the fact lubsequent, doea not signify deatroying- the Caoaanita cities, tint devoting Hum to dettructum at aome future time. — See WalCf CriL Nutea

"It proceeds with aaying— dut after defeating the Canaanites at mount Hor, they journeyed from mount Her by Uu leoy <if tha Red *aa (in tbe rood from Amnum, SRdian, Ac to tbe taatom gidf of ibe Bed sea) to torn' pata llu la»d ^ Edom — ilaat on their murmuring lor waM b0th 9t braad and of. watnr, they.were punirii«d by

way of Eoehan: and Of; the kins of Bashan went out against them, he, and i^hia people, to the battle ► at Edrei.

31 And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivi>red him into thy hand, and ali h ia people', and his land; and ' thou shall do to him as thou diilat unto Sihon king of the Amoritea, which dweh at HeBltbon.

35 ^So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they posseesed liie land.

fiery serpenia— after which they inarched to Oboth, and * thence to Jje-abarirn. ia tlie vUdtrnest eiut Moab. The encampments of the Israelites amounting to Jorty-ttco, are recorded all togellier, in historical 'succession, in chap, xzziii. where f}e-abarim is tbe 39th — Dibongad, 3^ Atmm'Diblathaim, 40 — mouniaijit Afrorifn, 41 — and As plaint qf Moab by Jordan, 42. This rcguJar det^ in chap, xxziti. has oocaskmed great penluitv, as to chap. zxi. where, after the Htationa at Oboth and Ijt-abarim, Id verses 10 and 11, we have, in verses 19 and 20, the words MaUanah, Nahaliei, and Bamoth; which are usually considered as the proper names of three places, but widely diSWent from the uu-ee proper names oiler T/e-o&O' rim, in the catalogue at chap, zxxiii.

"But there is, in realilv, no inconsistency here. In tha l^ain and historical catalogue (chap, xuiii.) the words are ■trictly iha proper namea of the three placet; but here tbe words Mattanah, Nahaliet, and Bamoth, follow some lines of poetry, and seem to form a continuation of tbe song. They evidently express figurative and poetical ideas. The verbs joumtyeA/rom, and pitthed in, are not found here, though necessary to prose narration; sea verses 10 and 11 here, and chap, xzziii. Lastly, verse the 20th, (in this 21st chapter) usually supposed to express ihe last. eiKampmrnt, does not. IHegah signifies a hUi; and the Israelites could not encamp on the top of any single hiH, such as this is described. Bolak took Balr~i to the top qf Peor, which looketh ioword Jtthimon, (xziii. 28.) wmim Peor undoubtedly was in Jlfoofr. He took him to another hill ia Moabi when he took him (xziii. 14.) to the top of FHagah, in the field vf Zoj^im. And if ^ Ptagan. or hill, in zxi. 20. wss in the countiy of B^ak, it could not point out thelatt encampment, which was not in Balak's countrv, but north qf Amon.

" The word Mattanah probahlY alludes to a place dia- 4inguished by some g\fl or bltanng from God. Fogius, says — Nomen loci, ao eventu Ofuarum gwu DoTtUntu ibi dedit, eie oppeilati, Twvo nam eignifieat donum — 'The name of the place was so called, from the circumstance of the waters which the Lord gave there: for Mattandi, signifies a gift' ^vrhra Nahaltel, ia lorrentea Dei: i. e. great streams, partioilarly seasonable or salutarv. And rYiD3 Bamoth, (ver. 28.) may point out any high places, of ngnal benefit, in the country of Moab: or it may answer to the laat elation but one, which W 0" mounfolna ^ Abarim. If, therefore, these words were meant to express poetically some eminent blessing, what blessing was BO Ukely to be then celebrated as copious alreamt qf water 7 And after they had wojudered near forty years thraurii many a barren des»t, and after (compare Deul, viii. IB.) having passed through that great ajid terrible mldemese, wherein were Jlery sayenla and drought. where there was no wUer: it ts no wonder tliey should shout for joy at finding voter in plenty, and finding it almost on the banks of Amon, the lost riv« ibey were to pass in the way to their last station east of Jordan. No wonder diey should sing, in poetic rapture — that after the toildemesa vn* (Mattanah) ttiecipr of God| meaning tAs sTsoi teeli in Moab, dug by publie authority — and no wonder, that, afier snch a gift, there were {Nahatiel)btesatd wtreama, by which they pRased, till they came to (Bamolk) the high placea, &«m which, peihaps, these streams descended. And tlie thanksgivii^ ends, where the blessing was no longer wanted, on tlieir coming down into Ihe w:^ ley, along the banks of Amen, which was then the north bouiMlary of Moafau

" The Israelites had spent no lAs than Ihirty^hl ywra in coming from J^ades^ftamea to tlieir encampment north of Zared. Here, at this /orfie/A station, they were commanded to pass through Moab, by "^f Ar, tlie chief citrt but were not to slop till Ibey came to the valley on the south of Amon, At this lost stoUon but one, they probably continued no longer than was nmsaary for mnutng mtesangert to StAon, king of the Amoritw, at Heahbon, and rectivii^ his auwcr. They then ctossc^^the Arnon: and

2 \ And " Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all thftt igrael bad done to the Amorites.

3 And " Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

having vawHiubed SOun aad Olf, toA poMWriao of die /brty-*ecimd, and lut encampmenL

"Thia one chapter has three pieces of poetiy, either tm^enu or complete: attd poetiy, mMoib found in ao hiatoncal narrati're, may l)e here accounted for — from the exuberance of ioy which must have afiected then ivearied travellera^ wnen arriving that happily near thdr jouney'e and. What oceunfirat, bill vena 14; and baa often bean called the fragment an old AmoHte tong. But it may have oeen Amorite or Moabite, or ellher or futiftor, for the subject matter of it, u it is generally undantood, if indeed it can be said to beuodetatoodatall. The vords p3N« ts^nn n>n nmoa am ntt, usually nimNMod to contain Ibis fragment, do not signifr, as in our KngiiA versioi) — WuU lutein the J7ada«a, and jn Ae broekt ^Amon. Without enumerating the aiany intwprBlatuw giTeii by odiers, I rikall oftr a new- one, whkh Menu to mwa good sense, and a sense very perttiwnL

" Observe first, that tmre must have been a efdce called iS^fpA, near the conflux of the Amon and.wnlanr banuue Hoaes whilst in that lost station, begins DtaUrmomy with saying — he was on Out tkU, (L e. east) of Jordan, over against Suph. By this word is not hen neant the Ad mo; pwthr, because that has every where else Ae word for Mabenre it, tndpartly, becaase of the greatdiatance of the Red sea now from Moses. The sin^ word, therefore, signifies here some plaee, in itself obscure, because nowhere mentioned but in these two parages. And yet we cannot wonder that M oaea should mention it twice, as the word Sri^ introduced in speaking of the two last eRCBmpn)ent& reealled to mind the iSm qf Sttph, so glorious to Israel, near the h^nningof dteir narm townda Canaan.

" Moses had now led Israel /rom the Rtd sm to die river Amon, through many dreadful dangers, partly from hostile natioDB, piurtly frtim themselves-, suai dangers as no other people ever experieniced, and such aa no pemle could have surmounted, widtout the signal fitvoor <tf the Almighty. And here, just before the battles with SUun and Og, ne reminds them of PAorooA, &c. and he anerts, that in the hUtory qf the wars it ahall frs recorded, that Jbhovah, who had triumphantly broi^t hrael duin^ the sea ^ Siiph, itear Egypt u first, nod now conducted him to Suph, near Arnon; that

Jtiirf Jta HUM IB A* tlrmmf 9f iln«m.

*'T^ general meaning of the next [Meee of poetnr aaems to be this: that at some distaim frtm the city 01 Ar, by which the Israelites were to pass {DeuL. ii. 18.) tbey came to A WELL, of uncommon sue aiid magmfiowce, which ■eems (b have bean taught out, buiit up, and adorned, for die public, by the ruUn of Moab. And it is no wonder, that on their arrival, at ntch a imU, ihey should look upon it aa a bteanngjrom heaven, and spoak of it aa a new mitaela in their mvour. '

4 And Moab said unto " the elders of Mi£an, Now shall thia -company lick up all thai are round about us, as the ox licketh up the fcraas of the field. And Balak, the son of Zippor, va§ king of the Moabltes at that time.

5 I* He sent messengerH therefore unto Balaanij the son of Beor, to ' Pethor, fvhich is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a peoi^e come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the ' face of the earth, and they abide over against me:

6 Come now, therefore, I pray thee, * corse me this people; for they are too migh^ for me: perad venture lehalt prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blesaest U blessed, and he whom thou eursest is coned.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXH. Verse 1. TTtey pitdud in the ptaina <tf JUaab} IVy bad token no part of the oouittry uiat at preami appertained to the Uoanites — diey bad taken only that part which had ftinaerly balonged to das peo^ but had ooen takes from them ay SSton, king of tm Amorites.

Vsise 5. To Pethor, idtich iabythe river qf the land qf the ehiUren qf hie people] Dt. Eennicoa juatfy re-' marks, that "the description now given of Balaam's tmdeoca, iistoad of boing partisolar, agrees widt any jdsce, in any coontiy, whsco then is a rissr for bs Jmd br Pethor, MAiabg At rinrqf Ike Imd^aUikiUrm of hie people. Bat was P«hor dten, near the JVSb a Sgypt f Or in Canaan, near Jordan} Or in Jiftsspi toauo, near tha Eivphratee. and belonging to the Amnwniteet lUs last was in net die ease: and tbersAm ft ii well diat twelve Hebmw M8S. (with two of />e AsseCe) oonfinn the fiSmwrtton tszt bMC^ in rending, instead of yay Smo, hie patfrffc pop Antmon, with die Cmiao aod Vulgata Tenions." Boobigant properly oonlesMs for this ing; aad nacaati^ nrgas the (wophe^of adoptiviL It sboiAd tbentea atsad thnBt telUrjwr ^/'OaloMf 4f the ekHdren qf Ammoii/«od nus it sgraas widi Oanl. xxiii. 4.

Tone 6. Cinn« now, Ourrfort, I proji thee, emroe me Aie people] Balaam, once a praphBt of tha true God, afH peaia to have been one of the Mtehelim, see dis|i. xxL 37. who had added to his poetic gift, that of omsryordikvinaiion. It was suppoaea that popoets and laeeMia had a power to curse wrsons and ^aeee, ao aa to eoi^mmd all tbeir deeigne, Jruetrate their cawnasfi^ ensrvole their atrengtlL and fifl them widi fear, tamr, ud diamiw. Sss OeuTuL 2& PoaL cix. 6, 20. JodL vi. »L Jer. xvn. &

Afacrahiae has a whole chapter, De tmmiMi, emeoK eolebant dH tutelartM, et amt vrbee, ant exea^hie devoverL "Of the ineantatitms which were used to induce the tutelary gods to (onako tha cities:, dbc. ovw irtiieh tbey presidM, and u devote ciliea aad whole armies to dMtntotioa." See Satumal. lib. iiL cap. iz. He gives us two of the ancient fbnn% used in referaaee lo ths oestnwtini of Carthage; the first to call «e«r the prs* teeling deiHee, was proixnneed by die dicAalor or geamX and none other, when they began the siege. It is as fetlows, UeroMm ^puncfo^tm:

** Whamer it be god or.goddess, under whose proloetiH the people and city of Carthage ore placed: ana tbee, especially, v^o hast undertaken to defend this ciiy and people, I pray, beaeooh, and oaiaBsdv ontieM that yon would for^ke the people and oiiy of CorUiage, aad haw their plaeeib templM^sancd diiiic% ad ci^t nnd dspsft

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midiaa departed with ' the rewards of divinatiDD in their hand; aod they came untu Balaam, and Bpake unto hitn the worda of Balak.

8 And he said unto them, ■ Lodge here this night, and I will bring yon word again, as the Lord ehalL speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

9 ' And Qod came unto Balaam, and said, What men are theee with thee?

10 And Balaam said anto God, Balak the eon of ZiMMf, king of Moab, hath lent ttnto me,

Sehold. there it a people come out of Egypt, wbien eovereth the face of the earth: come noWf eursa me them; peradventure * I ■hall be thle to oTcrcome them, and drive Aem out

12 And God said onto Bakam, Thou ehalt not go with them } thou shiUt not curse the peofie: for ' they are Messed.

13 And Balaam rose up in Uie morning and

lUU lAali rmati la

from tbsni ved ifaat you -would iiwpiFs diia Peiq>Ie and city with bar, terror, and foixetfulneea: and that oomnK out from thetn, you would paas over to Rome, to me, and to mine; and that our places, temples, sacred things, aod citT, auty be more agreeable and more acceoEable to you: ■no that you would preside over me, the Roman people, and mv soldiers; that we may know and perceive it. If je will do ihiik I promise to consecmte to your honour DOth temple mm gamea.**

TVi secood, le devote the eity to deatnwtion, which it was supposed the tutelary gods had abandoned, is the following:

Dia, Patar, Vejoma, Manm, or by whatsoever name you win to be invoked, I pray you to fill this city of Carthago with fear and terror, and to put that anny to fli^t which I mention, and which beara arms or dana against oun legitnu and armies. And ^at ye may lake away this army, those enemies, those dwd, their allies, «od their oountiy, and all who dwell in those places, regions, countries, or cities, and deprive them of the light above. And let alt their armies, citiei^ country, chl^s, aztd people, be held by 3rou ooitsecrated and devoted, according to those laws by which, and at miai time, enemies eon be most effitctually devoted. I also give, and devote them as vicarious saerificea for myself and my rosgistra- ^1 for the Roman people, a&d for all our armiea and legMos: and for the whole empire, and that oU the armies nd legions which are employed in these eountries, may be preoervfld in safety. If, therefbre, ye will do these tfati^ as I know, conceive, and intend, then he who SMlns this vow, wheresoever and irttensoever he shall mJk* it, I eogaga shall sacrifice three black sAsm to thee, O mothsr aarth, and to thae, O Ji^tar." — "When the axeeiator mentions the earth, he stoops down and places bed) his hands en it: and when he names Jupiter, na lifts ■p both his hands to heaven; and when he mentions his flOM^ be places his hands upon his breast." Among the ■aeient records^ Monrobios nys, he found many eitles and people devoted in this way. The Romans held, that no eiry eoukl be taken till iu fuMory god hod forsaken it, or if It oould be token, it would be unlawfiiLas it wmikl be foerilegioaB to have the god* in n^ivi^. lliey, iherefere, said unto the princes of Balak. Qet you intA vour land: for tlie Lobd reftiaeth to gire tarn leave to go with j'oti.

U And the prioees of Monb rose up, and they went unto Balak, and eoid, Balaam refuseth to come with ue.

15 Tf And Bnlak sent yet ngain princes, mor6, and more honourable than they.

16 And they came to Balaam, and eaid to him, Thue Baitb Balak the eon of Zipper, ^ Let nothing, I pray thee, liinder thee from coming unto me:

17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and 1 will do whatsoever thcra sayest unto me: ' come therefive, I pray thee, curse me this people.

J8 And Balaam answered and eaid unto the servants of Balak, * If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, ^ 1 cannot go be* yond the word of the Lobd my Qod, to do less or more.

19 Now therefore, I pray you * tarry ye also

endeavoured to persuoile the gods of their enemies to ccnw over 10 their party. Virgil intimates, dial Troy was destroyed only because the tutelary gods had foraakeu it.

"All the gods, by v-hoM aselstantM the empire had hitherto been preserved, forsook their altars and their temples." Ana it was on this account that the Greeks aupltmd all their artifiea to steal away the PaUadium^ on wbieh they believed the saftiy of Troy depended.

IVitus observes, that when Saetoniua PaxUinua had prepared his army to cross over into Mono {Angleaea) when the Britona end Draida mode their last stand: the prieateaaea, with ditilievelled hair, white vpslmenis, and torches in their handit, ran about like fiiries, devoting their enemita to deatruction f and Ite farther adds, that tba ai^Ut the allUutle, and horrible tmprteationa of disss

Siriestesses, had such effect on the Komaii soldiery that or a while they stood still, and suffered ihemselvea to be pierced widi the darts of the Britons, without making any resistance. Tacit. Ann, I. xiv. c. 29.

"Hie Jews also had a moat horrible form of execratiOA, as may be seen in Buxtorfs Talmudical Loxicoo, under the word I9vu These observations and authorities, drawn out in so much detail, ore necessary In oast light on iha strange and curious history related in tltis and the two following chapters.

Verse 7, TTuretearda <if divination] Who ever wei« to consult a prophet, took widi him a present — as it was on such gmtiutous offerings the prophets lived — but here^ more thw a mere present is intended; perhaps eveiy thing necessary to provide materials for the ineantalien. TTio druga, &c. used on such occasions, were often vesy ta^ penaive. It appears that Balaam was very coveiotu, mi that he loved this wages of unrighteousness, and probably lived by it; tee 2 Pet. ii. 15.

Terse 8. / vfill bring you word again, aa the Z^ord ekaU apeak) So it appears, he knew the true God, end had been in the habit of cMuulting bim, and leceiTing oiocles from his mouth.

Verse 12. Thou ehalt not go with them; thou ^lalt notcurse the peopU] i. e. Thou shalt not go with them to curse the people— With them he might go, as we find h» afterward dkC by God's own command t but not to eurss the people} ihis was wholly forbidden. Probably the command, TTiou ahaU not go, refers hen to Ikat Hmo, viz. the first invitation: ana in this senae it was most punctually obeyed hy Balaam i see ver. 13.

Verse M. Balaam rtfuaeth to come with us.] " Ob> serve," says Mr. Aineworth, "Solon's practjoe against a«4's wokI, seeking to lessen the stune/ond diat from hand to hand, till he brinar it to nought. Balaam toM the princes leae than God tokl him, aad they relate to Balak leea than Balaam told ihem: so that when the answer came to the of Honh, it was not the word qf God but the vmrd tg man r it was simply, Balaam rafuaetn to eomr, without ever intimating that God had forbidden him." But in diis Balaam is not to blam^ he told the messengers in the most positive manner, JAotah r^iioalk to giM me UoMt9go you, ver. 1& and mora ai^ieit be oould not be.

Terse 18. t cannot go betjona thamrd ^ the Lordmv Ood] Balaam knew God too well to supi^ he could here this ni^ht, that I may know what the Lord will Bay unto me more.

20 And God came unto Balaam at night, ajid said unto him. If the men come to call thee, rise up. and go with them; but ' yet the word which I shall Bay unto thee, thai shalt thou do.

SI And Balaam rose up in the mormng, and saddled his ass, and went with the prmcee of Moab.

22 1[ And God's anger was kindled because he went: ' and the angel of the Loan stood in the war for an adversary against him. Now he was ridttig upon his ass, and his two servants vere with tiim.

23 And ' the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside (Alt of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the asa, to turn her into the way.

34 But the angel of the Lord stood ^in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, aod crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.

26 And the angel of th& Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where ira* oo way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

27 And when the aas saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: anoBalaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the asa with a

28 And the Lord ^ opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three tones 1

29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, ' for now would I kill thee.

30 k And the ass said unto Balaam, ^Im not I thine ass, i upon which thou hast ridden " ever

nveraetuiy of hispurpooes; and h« respected him too much to ^tempt to do any thing without hia permiaaion. Though ba WAS eovetotu, yet he dared not, even when etronKly tempted both by ndu» and hoTumn, to go oontnury to the eommand of hia God. Many make all the profewiona of Balaam, without jUBtifying them by ibeir conduct. " lli^ pretBDd,'' says one, " they would not do any thing twuiut the word of Ood fora houM fiill of gold, and yet viUdoit for a handful t! "

TerM 19. f^uU the Lord via My nnio nu store.] Hs did not know but God ini|^t maka ■ lardwr disoovery of hia will to him, and therefore be might Tory iimoeaatly seek farther information.

Vene 20. If the mm come— go with Am] "niia ia a eonfirmacion of what waa observed on the twelfth verse. Though we find ihat bia going waa nwu-ked with the divine diapleaiure, beoauaehe wiriied, forrheaakeof theAonour« ■narevar(u,toblfil,BaforaflpoHible,thewill of the king of Hodk How many an restrained from ainning, merely through the fear of God I— they would gladly do the evil — but it is forbidden, on awfal pen^iie^ — tney widi the thing were not pronibHad, for th^ have a strong desire to do iL

' Verse 23. And the an aaw the angtl] When God granted cinma, those alone, who were particularly interested, saw them; while othicn in the same company saw nothing. Dan. z. 7. Acta ix. 7.

Verse 36. ATtd the anget—stood in a narrowjrfoM} In this carriage of the angeL aays Mr. Ainswortb, the Lord rfiowa ua the proceedings of hia judgmenu against sinners: fKrMt, He mOdlj ikaket his rod at ibem, but lets them go uaUMobed. Seamdltf, He coaaea neartr, and touches ihem with an easy correctioB, as it were wringing ihsir foot against the walL Thirdhf, When all Ibis ia indPwIiiali M brings them into such sfrsito, that they ew itddwr turn to the right hand, nor to the left, but must fall before hia jadntaiML if ihey do not folly torn to him.

since / was tliine tmto this day 7 was I ever wmt to do so unto thee 1 And he said, Nay.

31 Then the Lord "opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: andhe <* bowed down hishead, and cfellflatonhis&ce.

32 And the angel of the Lord said unto faim. Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass thma Uiree times? behold, I went out to ^withstand thee, because thy way is ' perverse before me:

33 And the ass saw me, and turned firom me these three times: unless «he had turned fktm me, Burely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

34 And Balaam said tmto the angel of the Lord, ■ I have sinned; for I knew not that thou Btoodeat in the way asainet me: now therefore, if it < diBplease thee, Iwill get me back again.

35 And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: " but only the word that I shall speak imto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36 IF And when BaJak heard that Balaam was come, ^ he went out to meet him tmto a ci^ Moab, * which is in the border of Armm, miicii is in the utmost coast.

37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to caU thee? iriierefore earnest thou not imto me? am I not able indeed 'to promote thee to honour?

38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at aU to say any thing? 'the word that God patteth ia my mouth, that shall I speak.

39 And Balaam went wiUi Balak, and came unto ■ Kirjath-liazoth.

40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, aadaeat toBalaara.andtothe princes that were wHhbho.

41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought bim up into the ■ high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of die peojde.

where is the wonder of allOiis? If the oae had opened Aar Men mouth, and reproved the nab prophet, we raigbl well be osUmished I but when Oodi^>m» llu «muA, an sm can apeak as well aa a man. It ia worthy of remark bm, that Balaam testifies no surprise at thia miracle, because be saw it.was the Lonffo doings. Of animate and inanimalij things receiving, for a short time, the gift of speech, ^ heauieo myduMogy faraiahea many ietitioua rrwmnlr^ with wbkh I do not deem it iM<oper to oonqiy the Teaasi*s time.

VwaaSS. 8»rd9itowal»oIhadMlain0ue\'aawt/bm sn the neanast animals, and the most trivial ocourrence^ instroments of the preservation of our livee, and of the salvation of our souls I llie messenger of Justioe would have killed Baleam, had iwt the mercy of God prevented the asB from proceedii^.

Here is a proo^ that thourii ne low. the wagtm wingAfeoBsne*^ yet he atill nani Ood; and he la nowwillif^a; to drop the enterprise, if Ood be dieploasad with Ins proceeding. The piety of many called ChriatiBna,doaaMt extend thus far — Uiey see that the ihii^ diq>lcaKS Oodt and yet they prooeed. — Reader, ia thia tbv easel

VarseSa The word that God putteAm my imiMA,tM thail I fpeak] Here waa a noble resolution— and he wan certainly failhnil to it: though he wished to please the kiag, and get wealth and honour, yet he would not diapleaaa Oo* to realixe even thoee brtgbt prospects. Many who sl—riwr this poor asmi-antinnniaa prophet, have not half his piay.

Verae 40. And Baiak ^fftrtd Ac] This wSa ■> gain the favour of hia goas, and pexhi^M to pnpitiwtB Janovah, that the end for which be had seat for Balaa» nught be aecompUahed.

Verae4l. Thatktwightttihevtmfialfanf^ A*fif^ pU.] As be thought Balsam must have them aU in has eya. wbM» he prooouneed bis curse, lest it might not ixtmJ to thsae who were not in aMit. On thia sommMi hs took himupintottaehic^plaesBocBasl. 8s8CodMqk.zxiii.41.

2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak aad Balaam * offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

3 And Balaam said onto Balak, * Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go, peradventure the LoBD will come * to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And ' he went to a high t^ace.

4 < And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and 1 have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.

5 And the LoRn put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou flhalt speak.

6 And he returned onto him, and, lo, he stood br his burnt-eaerifieef he, and all the princes of Moab.

7 T And he i took up his parable, and said, Balaki the kinr of Moab, hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, «<^'n^, ' Come, curse me Jacob, and come, i deiy Israel.

8 ■ How shall I curse, whom Qod mith not cursed? or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied t

9 For from the.top of the rocks 1 see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and " shall not be reckoned among the nations.

10 » Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth pari of Israel? Let ^ me

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXHT. Tens 1. BmU mc here eeven aUar*, Ac] The oxen sad dM ram* were woAt aa the Hokuo law hu ordered lo be oAred u Qod in sMrifice — tbe building of aeven sltora «M not eonuQsnded. Some dunk that UMw levaii alUn vers built to the aeven jrfnnirfi fhji is moat gntuiioudy nkl— of it there ia no jiroof whatever — it is mere trifiing, ereo with eoajeeture. As aeten wu a aambeT of perfectioa, Balaam dioee it od thii occaeion, becauae he intended lo omr a gmnd eacrifioe, and to offer a biilloek and a ram upon each of tbe altara-, the vhole to be made a burntonbrinc «t tbe Mme Hme. And as he intended to offer mnm pollock* and aeven nms at the sama time, it eould not be oomoatsntl J done on AM oAor, Iberelbre he ordarad ••TCDtobebailti and we need go no fitrtber to find out his

Verae 3. Standby OiybMmt-offering\ Wehavaalreadj ■een that bleaing and cuning in thie way were conaidered aa religioua nUe, and tberefcve must be always preceded by taonllee. Se« this exemplified in the case of haac before he Ueaaed Jacob and Beau, Geo. zxvii. snd tbe notoe there. Tub veniwn that was brought to Isaac, of which he did eat, waa properly the preparatory aacrifice:.

Verse?. jlB<ifc«tooii*pA»paro*Z«J -rSew JlfMft«to,aee •n efaan. xzi. 27. AU theae oracular apeerhes of Balaam are in lumietieh metre in the original. They are higbly dignified, and may be considered as immediou voetie prodoetione ef the Spirit of God j for it is ezpreasly aoid, ver. fi. that God put itw word in Balaam'a moudi, and that the Bpirit of €hd eattu upon him, zxiv. 2.

Verae 8. Boa tfiaU I curst whom Ood hath not eureaii7] It waa granted on all hands, th&t no ineaniationm, tor inpreeationi could avail, unless God concurred and ratified them. From God's cooimunication to Balaam, he saw, that Ood was determined to bleas and defend laraet; and therafbre all endeavours to injure them nnut be in vain.

Verae 9. FyomtiutapqfOurocka Jeeehim\ Thatia, ftom ilie high slama ef Baal, where he went, oiap. xzii. 4L that he mii^t dw moie advantageously see the w&sts camp of Israel.

Jtu people ehall dieeU "ionA They shall evw be pre- ■Bf red aa a diMinot nation, "niia prophecy has bees lit-

11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? ■ I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold thou hast blessed them altogether.

12 And he answered and said, ■ Must I not take heed to speak that which the Loan bath put in my mouth 1

13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayeet see them: thou shalt see but the utmost jMU-t of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.

14 Tf And he brought him into the field of Zophim.to the top of "Pisgah,' and built seven altars, and offered a oullock and a ram on every altar.

15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet tht LORD yonder.

16 And the Loan met Balaam, and "put a wnrt} in htK mouthy and said, Go again unto Bar lek, nnd s.iv chuM.

17 And wheJi he came to him, behold, he stood by hiis bvirnt-otrcriiig, and the princes of Moab with liicii. And BfilEik said imto him. What hath the LoKn snok^T 7

18 1 Ana he took up his parable, and said, *Riee up. Balali, and near; nearken unto me, tbou of Zipper;

19 7 Gild is tiol a. man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or b&th he spoken, and shall he not make it good 7

20 Behold. I have received commandment to bless: and ■ he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

21 ■ He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness m Israd: *> the Lord bis God i» with him, ' and the shout of a king is among them.

eraily fulfilled, through a period of 3,300 yean^ to the present day I "niia is truly astonishing 1

Vene lO. Let me die me death qf the righteoue] Probably Balaam had some presentiment that he should be taken off by a premature death; and therefore he lodges Ihie petition uainat it. Tiie death of the righteous in thoaa times, impliea being ^ihered to one's Jathera in a good old age—im.viiig seen nis children and i^ildren's children i and to this, probably, the latter part of thia petition applies And let my Uut end he like lua, visa TmnK inni vtehl iKhariti eemokn, And let my rOBTSBiTT be like hi*. It has been generally supposed, that Balaam is here praying for a hapi^ deadi, such as true Chriatisna die, who die in dwLorai and in thia way hia worda are generally applied: but I am satisfied thia ia not their meaning. The pi^yer, however, understood in the common way, ia a good one, and may be offered to Ood profitably. A righteous man. is one who ia eaved from hte »ina — who is juetifled ana tanetified through the blood of the covenant; and who lives, not only on innocent, but also a holy and uaeful life. He who would die veil should live well: for a bad death must be the issue of a bad Ufe.,

Verse 13. Thou ehalt tee but the utmoat part fff tkmi] Balak thought tbat the sight of auch an immense camp had intimidated Balaam; and this he might gailter from what he said in the 10(h verse, Who can count the duatqf Jacob, A«. he thoueht therefore Uiat he might get Balaam to curse them in detathed partiia: till uie vhole camp riiould be devoted to destruction by mi-^esaive eiecrationa.

Verae 17. What hath the Lord spoken] Balak himu-lf now undentood. tliat Balaam was wholly under the influenee of Jdtatah; and would say nothing but what God commanded him; but not knowing Jehovah as Balaam did. he hoped that ho might be induced to change his mind, and curse a people whombe had hitherto determined to bley.

Verse 19. Ood ia not a man, that he thould liej lliia aeema to be lOokBa lo correct the foregoing suppontion of Balak, that God could chaiwe his mind.

Verae 21. He hath not haeid ini^ilyin Jacob, neither hath he teen perrereenue in leraeH This ia a difficult passatce; for if we tske the words as spoken of the ptopU Israel, aa their inieuUn and iheir perverteneat were almoet ' * 427

32 •> God brought them out of Egypt; he hath aa it were • the strength of a uoicorn.

23 Surelv there is no eRchantment ' against Jacob, neither is there any divination ajrainst Israel: according to this time it ehall be said of Jacob and of Israel, « What hath God wrought 1

24 Behold, the people shall rise up aa a great lion, and lift up hiraeelf as a young hon: I he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

■ 35 It And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor biesa them at all,

26 But Bninam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, ^ All that the Lord n>eaketh, that I miiRt do t

27 And Batak said unto Balaam, i Come, I pray thee, I witi brine thee unto another place; peradvcnture it will please Qod that thou mayest curee me them from thence.

38 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh " toward Jeshimon.

29 And Balaam said unto Batak, " Bniid me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven buHocke and peven rams.

DDp&ralleled, riich words cannot be apokeii of tktm, with Blrict truth. If we consider them lu apoken of the pntri- (urdi Jacob Atvl hrael, or of Jacob after he became iBrael, they are moat atrinly true, aa, after that Hme, a more unbkmisbed and noble character, AhrahoHt excepted, ia not to be Hinind in the pa^ of hiatbry, whether Mcred or profame; and for hia lake, ami for the nke of A** fiuber haae, and hia grandbithef Abraham, God isever repreKntad u filvouring, hleMing, and apariag a rebelliotia aiid undewrving people; aee me coitcluding note, Gen. xlLx. In tliia W"y, I think, thia difficult text may safely underatood.

There is another way in which the words may be inter- Iffeted, which will give a good sense. pK Aven, not oii!^ ■igoifiea tnt^ity, but most frequently fnni&/(^ labour,dUtrttt, and a^iction, and these indeed are its icUal meoning»— ^md iniquity ia only an accommodated or metaphorical one, because of the pain, dialrtai, &c. produced 1^ ain.

Voy &m<U^ inmslAted here perveracneai, occurs often in the Scripture: but ia never translated ptrccr^eneM except in Ibla place. It aignifiea aimply, labour, especially that which is of an affiictive or vppruaivt kiiid. The words, therefore, may he conaidered as impljring, that God will notaufierdte people eithertobeexierminandbylhe^iwrd; i>r U) be brought under llie yoke of slavery. Either of iheae methods of interpretation gives a go«] sense; but our common vereion gives none. Dr. Kennicott contends for the reading of the Samaritan; inMoad of t^sn hibbit, he kalh not 'ten; (he Samaritan bos v^sh lo abH, i do not M — I do not discover any thing amoi^ them on whiidi I could groond my corae. But the aenao above given is to "be preferred.

Terse 22. 7%« strengOi a vnieorn] Btn reem and taivy raim. It is senemlly allowed, that there is no such beast in nature aa the unieom; i. e. a crpaiure of the horae kind, with one long rich curled horn in the forehead. TIm creature, painted from fancy, is npren^nted as one of the Stmportera of the rat/al armt of Great Britain. It ia diffifltut to aay what kind of beast is intended bv the original word. Tha Septungini translate the woni /oMatp^i, the unicorn, or one-horned antmati the Vul^aie, sometimes uni«>mu»; and in the text, rhinfKero/ue, by which the rhinoeeroa, a creature which has ita name from the korn on its nose, is supposed to be meant. That no ■tngle-homed animal can be intended by the reem. ot Moses, is sufficiently evident from this, that Moses, ppeoking of Joseph, saya. "bshaa (he Hoana of a ukipom," or reem; where Ote hams are apoken of in the plural, the animal in the nni^lar. "nie creature referred to is either the rhinoetro*, some varieties of which hnve tw horns on the noae, or the wild buU, unu, or buffidoi (hougti some think the beast intended ia a species of gcat; but the rhinoceros seema the most likely.

Verse 23. There ia no cndianfmenf, oc.] BemdseGod has determined to aani them, thereforo no enehaoinent can prevail againat them.

Axeorditig to this lime, dbe.] I think thia clause should be readthua: " Aa at this time, Itahallbetold to Jacoband to loroel, what Qod worketh i. e. this people ahall alwavs }uiTe^>roph«^tcti|/brm(ifionof what God i» about to work. And, indeed, ihey are the only people under heaven who ever had ihit privilege. When (3od himself designed to

30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and ottered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

BalH IMkv ihM CM n cMniwd Iff tta 1«mI. Khi tiv« fcr ■ maik, I' TH epirll of Onl oamWv pliniDiMnibk S-S. B>U>>i I ilniin Id Ua an mnifir

went not, as at "other times, ■■to seek lor enchantments, but he set Mb face toward the

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel v abiding in his teats according to their tribes; and ' the Spirit of Giod came upon him.

3 ■ And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man • whose eyes are open hath said:

4 He hath said, which heard the words of God. which saw the vision of the Almighty, " falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

pimlah them because of their sino, he alwaya formamtd them t^ the prophets i and also took oarc to apprise tbn of all the plots of their enemies against them.

Verse 24. Behold, the people thail rite up a* a great Hon] ira^ labia, tlie greixt, mighty, or old Bon, the king of this forest, who ia foued and respected by all the other beaaiB of the field. So aliall Israel n the subduer and poaseasor of the whole land of Canaan; and as a youn^ Ham, ari, from n-ttarah, to tear off", ih^ predalory hotuot the lion in the act of seizing ara tearing hia prey. TTm nations against whom the Israelites are now going, riiaU be no more able to defend themselves against their attack^ than the feebleat beasts of the forest are against the ottaeka of the strong lion.

Verse 28. Unto Ou top qf Peor] Proboblr the place where the fiunouji Baal-peor had hia chief temple. He appears to have been the Prie^xis of the Moabiira, and to have been worshipped with the same olwcene and ■t™*'" rites.

Verse 1. He went not, aa at other tiiiu*,t« seek ^fiormehantments} We have already had occasion to eha»TS that the pro{>er meaning of the word mi nadtoA, is ao4 easily ascertained; see chap. xzi. 9. and see on Gen. iiL I. Here the plural O^vnj ncchos&un, Is rendered enchanimmts! but it probably means no more than the Imtndedgv qf future etenU. When Balaam saw thai it pleased God to bless Israel, he dierefore thou^t it unneeesMTy W apply for any fonher prophUU dtdaraiioni of God's will, aa b had done beforei for he eouM safely infer cTfliy nod 10 this peof^e, from iheevidrat dispoaitioa of God toward thcBL.

Verse 2. The Spirit tf God came upon Atm] Thia divine olBatua he had not expected on the praamt occor aion: but God had not yet dedarcd the whole of his wiU.

Verae 3. He took up Aw parable} His pro|dtatic declaraiioD cnuched in highly poetio tertn% wd in ngnhr metre, as the preceding were. '

The man iiAose eves ore open} 1 believe the cviginal Bnv shetwn, should he translatea ehtt, not open; for in the next verse, where the opening ^f bis eves ia mentioaicd, ft widely differeiit-word ia used, rfy> galah, which aignifiaa to open, or reveal. At firat, the eyes of Balaam were skit, and BO closely too, that he could not tee the an^ who withotood him, till God opendd-his eyes; nor eould be see the gracious intentions of God towards Inael, till the eyes of kit taulertlandiitg were opened fay the power of ma Divine Spirit This, thetefore, be mentions, we may suppose, with humility and gratitude: and to the credit of ih« prophecy whicli he ia now about to deliver, that the Hoabites m&y receive it as the vord nf God, which nuist-bs fulfilled in due seaaon. Hia worda, in their meaitiiM', am similar to those of ^e blind man in the Goqial— " tinoe I was blind, but now I see."

Verae 4. FaJHng into a tmtce] lliera ia no iadieMiw in the Hebrew, that he fell into a francs; dwaewwdaara added by our traiulators: but they are not in the orignad. *itii nappet, is the only word used, and aimply ngnifie* falling, or falling doum, perh^is, in ibis instancy qr w^ of religions prostration.

VerBe6. Lign alaet,vhiiit the l^ord hath ptantedf} Or, OS the teitfa which the Loidhaih pitched t forit iadMssM

Erdena by the river's side, ' as the trees _n aloes " which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.

7 He shall poor the water out or his bucRetc, and his seed shatt be 'in nuuiy waters, and his lung shall be higher than ' Aga^, and his ■ kingdom shall be exalted.

8 ' God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall ^ eat up the nations his enemies, and shall ■break their bones, and ''pierce them through with his arrows.

9 • He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? ' BlesBed M ne that blesBeth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

10 K And Balalc*B anger was kindled against Balaaiu, and he 'smote his hands together; and Balalt said unto Balaam, ^ 1 called thee to

word, i3»Vr»< oAalfiB, which ii uaed in the 6th verse. But frMD other part* of Smpture, w* find that the word alao ■ignifie* a species of Iree, called by some iha tandat tree, awl by othera the lignum, or wood aloet. The tree is de- Bcritnd SB being eight or tm feet high, with very large leaves growing at the top; and it i> suppoaed that a form of thoae, at Mnne diataoce, muit bear eome reaemblanoe to ■ numenua eneampmeni. As the word eomes from the root ^HM ahU, which signifies to mread or brmA out, and therefore ia applied (o tent*, becauae of their being extended or spread out on the ground; ao, when it ia applied to (TMa, it must neceasarily mean such aa were remarkable tor their widely extended brandiea: bat what the partkular apeciea is, cannot be satiafitctorily aacertain- •d. By the Z^ontt plantmr, ia probably meant, wch trees aa grow independently of the wttivotion <if man. — AuUk homltam eogenilbu* i or,aa Vtrgit exprewea it,

At eedar-treea] Gabriel Sionita, a very learned Syrian Maronite, wno aMialed in editing the Pahs Polyglots a man worthy of all credit, thus deioribee the cedars of Mount Lrinnoa, which he had examined on the spot:

** The esdor grows on the most elevated part of the moantain, is taller than the pine, and so thick that five men together could scarcely fathom one. It shoots out ita brandies at ten or twelve feet from the ground: they are large, and distant from each other, ana are pernetually green. The cedar distils a kind of gum, to wnicK different effects are attributed. He wood of it is of a brown colour, very solid, and incorruptible if preserved from wet. It bears asmall apple, like to that of the pine,"

De la Jtoqu* relates some curious particulars concerning this tree, which he learned from the Maronitea of Mount Libanus. " The branches ^row in parallel rows round the tree, but lessen gradually from the bottom to the (op, abootiag out parallelto the liorizon, so that the tree ia, m •ppeamnoe, simitar to a eoiS. As the anows, which fall in vast <]uantitiea on this mountain, must necessarily, by their weight on such a vast surface, break down these braoches, nature, or rather the God of nature, has so ordered it, that at the approach of winter, and during the •Dowy season, the branches erect themselveia and cling eloee to the body of the tree, and thus prevent any c]uantity of aitow from lodging on them."

Mr. Mamdrel, who visited Mount Libamu in 1697, ffivee the fbllowinlg description of the oedan aiitl growing mere:

" These noble treea grow among the snow, near the highest port of Lehanoti, end are remarkable' aa well for dieir own an and lamness, aa for thoee frequent alluaiona to tbnn in the word tn God. Some of them are very old, and of a prodigious bulk: others younger, and of a smaUcr size. Of the former, I could reckon only eixleen s but die latter are very nuroerons. 1 measured one of the laMeat, and found it fisetos yards and wix inches in girth, ■ad yat satcntf; and Otirty-teven yards in the q>read of Hs hraDchea. At about five or six yards from the ground, it was divided into five limba, each of which was e<iual lo a great tree." — Joumey from Aleppo to Jenuahm,

curse mine enemies, and behold, thou bast akogether Uessed them these three Umes.

11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: > t thought to oromote thee unto great honour t but lo, the Loan hath kept thee back from honour.

13 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy measengere which thou aenteat unto me, saying.

13 k If Balak would give me his houae full of silver and gold, i oannot go beyond the commaodment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mme own mind; Imt what the Lord saith that will I speak?

14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come ther^ore, and 1 1 witradvertise thee what this people shall do to thy peojde ■> in the latter daye.

15 TT " And he took up his parable, and aaid, Balaam the son of Peer hath said, and the maa whose eyes are open hath said:

16 He hath said, which heard the words of

Verse 7. Ho ahaU pour the miter out of kU buekelt. &o.} Here is a very plain allusion to their meihod or raising water in different parts of the East. By the weit, a tall pole is erected, which serves as a fulcrum to a very long Lsver, to the smaller end of which a bucket is oppenoed. On the oppoeite end, which is much taiger, are many notdies cut m the wood, wfaieh Hrve aa steps for a man, whose business it is to climb up to the fuWum, iq order to lower the bucket into the well, whi^ when filled, he raiaea by walking back on the opposite arm till his weight brings the bucket above the well's mouth: a person standing by the well, empties the bucket into a trench, which communicates with the ground intwrifd to be watered.

Hui eeed shall be in many wo^ors] Anodier siDiple allusion lo the sowiitg of rice. The grouuxl must not only be «mU tMlered; &t.;loo(is^ in order to serve for the prqier growth of this erain. Trie rice that was sown in many tm/^rs. must be (be most Ihiitful. By an dMsnt and chaste metaphor, all this isappliad to tba'praereaflon nf a numerout potteritu.

Hie king thaU oe higher Hum Agog] This name is supposed to have been as common to aU the Amalekitish kings, aa Pharaoh was to those of Egypt. But several criticiL with the Septuagint, suppoee t&at a small duuige has takes place here in die original word; and that instead of um me Agag.tKan Agag, we should read >un Migog, than Gog. As uog in Scripture, seems to mean the ei^ miea of God's people, then the promise here may imply that the true worsnippera of the Most High shall ultimately have dominion over all their enemies.

Verse 8. Qod brought Aim out qf Egml] They wero neither expelled thence; nor came vMoUariljf nnw. God alone, with a high hand and u]rfifiled arm broufdit them forth. Concerning the unicorn, see on chap, xxiii. 22.

Verse 9. He eoudud, he lay dowt aa a lion, &c.] See the original terms explained chnp. xxiii. 24.

These (m^cIcb delivered by Balaam, are evident propheciee of the victories which the IsroeUtes should gain over their enemies^and of their firm possession of the Promised Land. Tbey may also refer to the great victories to be obtained by the Lewd Jems Christ, Uiat Lion oS die tribe tf JbiMA, over ml^ death, and Eman, the great enemies of tbe human nee: and to that most numeroua poaterity of apAritv/al thitdren. which should be bt^ttvn by the preaching of the Gospel.

Verse II. Lo, the Lard hath kept Ihee back from honour.} A bitter and impious stu^asm. "Hadsi diau cursed this people I would have promoted thee to great honour i but dini hast chosen ratber to follow the direetioos of JdKmh than min^ and vdiat will As do for iheer

Verse 15. 77w man vhote «yc» are open] Seeonver. ' 3. It seems strange that our version should have faUea into such a mistake as to render Dnv tAchna, open, which it does not Mgoify, when the very settnd of the word expreaess die sctim. The Vulgate nas very properly preserved the true meaning bv rendering the clause cwf* obturatue eet oeuiue i he whose eyes are shut. The tar-

Ood. «nd knew the knowlodee of the Mort Hurh, which, saw the vUion of the Almiffhty, f&g into a trance, but baniig hu eyes

*^ • I ahall see him, but not now: I ehall behold him, but not niffh: there shall come ' a Star out of Jacob, and <) a Sceptre ■hall rue out of Israel, and fhall ' smite the corners of Moab, and dcBtPoy all the children of Sheth.,, 1& And -Edom shall be a possession, Seir

" I riiall see him, but not now: I shall b^ld him, but hata not nrar. When a king ahall arise from the booae tt Jacobs the Heaaiah be anointed from the houae of linel: he ahall slay the prineea of Moab, and role ow oil the children of men."

The Jertualem 7\irgiim ia a little differenti "A king ahall arise frmn the houae of Jacobs a redeemer and governor from the houae of larael, who shall alay the chiefa of die Hoabites, and empty out and destroy all the diil-.dna of the East."

SMn Moaa ben Mdimen haa, in my opinion, perfectly hit the meaning of the prophecy in trie foltowinKparo- ^irase of the text: lahallaee lum, butnotTUViTnxni» 0AVIO. / ahall behold him, bvi not nixA. lUa ia the Icing Mbssiah. A Star thall come out Of Jacob. Thia ia Bavid. And a Sceptre thall rite out qf Itrael. This ia the king MsaaiAH. And Aall tmite the eomera qf JMoob. "Hus ia David, oa it ia written (2 Sam. viii.'20 And he tmote Moab — eaHing them down to the ground. And ^alt destroy aU the Aildren of SAetA. Thia ia the king MiaaiAH, of whom it ia written, Pa. Izzii. 6. Ht ihw have dominion from tea to tea.

Verae 18. And Edom thall be a potteatimt] i. e. To Davii>, aa it ia said, and alt they of Edom became Dor ▼id's servants. (2 Sam. viii. 14.)

And Seir shall be a potteation] That is, unto the king HsaetAH, aa it is said: " And saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Eaon, and die kinguom ahall be the Lord'a." Obod. ver. 21.— Sea Atrwimr^

Verae 19. Oat qf Jacob thall cvnu, &e.] Hiis is supposad to refer to Christ, because of what is said, Gen. ihr. 10.

It ia exceedingly dinicult to fix the true sense of this CTophecy in all its particulars. Probably the ator, ver. 17. IS only an emblem of kingly power. Among die E^yptiam a ttar ia mid lo have been the symbol of the Divine Being. Tbe teeptre refers to the kingly power in exerdte. 'tkt Comoro, or ootakirta, may mean the petty IHoabitiah govenimenta, as the ChaKlee naa understood the term. If Mrkar, whidh we translatt, utterhf deotroy, be not the name oif a place here, (whieh is not very likely) aa it is in JiKlgee viii. 10. it may be taken in one <rf thoae senaea assigned to it, (see on ver. 17.) and signify the blending t^Oher; the children qf Sheth, that is, all the inhabitonta of the earth, for so the children of Stih muat rttiiiiiaaniily be undsralood, nnleaa we conaider it here as meaning aome kingoT the JMboAite*, according to OroHut, or a city on the borders of Hoab^ according to Aa6M Na- Utan. Aa neither Israel nor the Neaaiah ever destroyed all the children of men, we must (in order m leave the children of Sbedt what diCT' are generally nnderatood to \^ aU tho inhaHtanto or Aa World) nitderatand the whole u ft prophecy of the final imivwial awanr of the semtn t/t Cnris^ when the middie wall of psrtitmi Aall be taKrtna dow& and the Jinps and OanWaa become one

19 >Ont of Jacob snail come he that shall have dominion, and shaj] destroy him that remaineth of the city.

20 And whenhelooked on Amalek.fae tookuD his parable, and said, Amalek vat ■ the first tn the nations; but his latter end *«AitU b» that he perish for ever.

21 And he looked on the Kenitea, and took up

I eamtot think that the meliorie afar, which gaided the wise men of the East to Bethlehem, can be intcsded here: nor do I think that Petar refers to this prophet^ when he calls Christ the day-etar, 2 Epist. i. 19i nor that in Rev. ii. 38. where he is colled the Tnaming-etar, nor that in Rev. zzii. 16. where Christ is called the bright and morning ttar, refer at all to thia prophecy of Balaam. Nor do I think that the falta Oiritt who rose IB the tins of AtHan, and who called himself Bartoeab, whieb Hkrally signifies the son qf a ttar, did refer to this prq^iecy. Had he, he must have defeated his own intention, becauae the Son of the ttar, ia not the Stab that ^ould ariae, but, at the uimoat, a dtoeendanti and then to vim&eaia hia right to the Jewiah thione, he must ahow that the person who waa called tha Star, and of whrnn be prettMed to be the sen or detoendant, had actually reigiked befare him. Aa the aun, moon, tiar*, planeU, iMt, opimdor effulgenoti day,.d&p. were alwaya conaider^ among ibe AaiaUca^ aa emblema of royalty, nvemment, &c, tbvefore many, both men and women, nad theae namea given to them aa tiilea, surnamea, dtc So the queen of Alexander the Great, called Boxana, by the Ctredts, waa s Peraloa priDceaa; and in her native tongue her name waa h^<il]9 AeuaAan, aplendor. Hddatoah, who became quean to Akotuarua, in idace of the repudiated KoaAti, and is called Bother, by ^ropeaas in gencfat, waa eallef^ in the language of Persia SiUiw SUareh; from whenc^ by corruption came both BaOier, the Peraian queen, and our word otar. And to wave all fiuber exampns, s Mohammedan prince, at first named Eeaanf, or Joeepk, waa c^led^l^r Lr^} Aouaften ilMfar, wnen he was raiacd to the throne, which aignifiea a splendid or htminotu etor. Ttua prince, fay a joyiul rererae of fortuaau waa bnwriii from a gloomy pnaoa, and exalted lo the throne of Hmdoostan; on which account, die following couplet waa mode, in which there ia a paranomaaia, or play on the name Houston AJchler; and tlie laat line anuwe to the history of the patriarch Joooph, who waa btnaht oat ot priton, sod exalted to the highest honows in Egyfi.

Verae 20. Amofei vao the first of Ao mMmu] Hm moat ancient, and moat powerfiit of all the nattooa or states then within the view of Balaam; bvt kit latter end ^uUi be that he perish for ever, or his posterity, vrw« aekarilo, AaU be destroyed, or diall vtteHy faiL Tiaa oracle began to be fulfilled by Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 7. 8. whs overthrew the Amalekitea, and took their king Agar paiaoner. Afterword, they were nearly destroyed W Dmiid, I Sam. xxvii. 8. ajid they were finally exterasMted by the sons of Simeon in the days (tf BexekUdt, 1 Chron. iv. 41—43. since that lirne, (hey have ceased to exist aa a people, and now no ^Tatige of them nmaina oa the itao ot tba earth; ao completely la their pootority cut off, sceoiABf m this pnqAiecy. The mof^gwialreaaiiif doss itM^pcsr to give the proper acnae.

Verae 21. Ht loolted on &o Konitoo] Cmaisiiiislnw are not well agreed who the Kenitea wam,- Dr. J>odd*s opinion ia, I think, nearest to tlie truth. Je/hro, the hthertn-law of Moaea, ia called a priest or prince of Miitaa, Exod. iii. 1. and in Judgea i. lo. he ia called a Memito! we may infer, therefbre, aaya he, that the Xeoites and tbeMidianitea were the oune; or at least that the Kcaites aid the Hidianius were eonfadeiste tribes. Somesf ihase, w* learn from Judges L fallowed dte Iwaelhea^ oiheis sMb alill among (he HMisaitss and Anmlakttes. Whsn SasI his parable, and aaid, Strong ts thy dvreUingplace, and thou putteat thy neat in & rock.

32 Nevertheless * the Kenites shall be wasted ■ until Asahur shall carry thee way captive.

23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, viio shall live when God doeth this I

24 And ships gkalt come from the coast of y Chittim, and shall afflict Aashur, and shaU afflict ■ Eber, and he ^eo shall perish for ever.

25 And Balaam rose up^nd went and ■ returned to bis place: and Balak also went hie

dMroyMl the t&tter, we find he hod no commiBBioc a^ioat the Eenitea, 1 Stun. xv. 6. but it appevs that they were (ben a amnll and inc<nuiderable people; they had, doutrtleaa, been wcaMil ai the text tmyt, though by what meaiM doM not appear from histny. On the odier bwod, it may ba obaerTM, that the MiriianitBi, mentioned hare, lived «kM to the Dead sea, at a great diatanca from Ibe Kadian, where Jethro lived, which was near Horeb. Perhapa thay wan a colony or tribe that had migrated from the vicinity of mount Sinai. It aeenu that at thia lima, the Kmila occupied a very strODg poeition; tlnmg U iky dwUingptaee, and thaupuUeat thy neat in a rock: where there ia Kpla^ on the ongioal word |'<p kin, which aignifiee both & Ktntte and a not. High rocka in those eouDthea were generftlly uaed aa dieir atrong places. Verae 22. Until A»^ur Malt carry thee atam/ eapUvt'\ dead thia aeetna pretty evident, as we find aome Kenites mentimed among the Jewa, after their retam from the B^lmiah captivi^, 1 Chron. iL 66.

Versa 23. Who thatl lice n/ttn God doeth ftwi] Tbtih are two aenaes in which theae worda may be tuen i 1. 7%ac the event i« so diatant, that none then alive could poaaiUy live to aee it. 2. "Hiat the timea would be so diatrcHing and desolating, that scarcely any ahould be able to esc^. The words are veiv similar to diose of our Lord, and probably are to be taken in the nune senae: " Wo to them that are with diild, and to tbua that give suck in tbeae daya."

Verae 24. Shim riiall come from the coast qf Chittim] Soma think bv Chiuim the Bomana, others the Macedonlana under Alexander the Great, are meant. It is certain that the Romans did conquer the Aaajn-ians, including all the people of Syria, Heaopotamia, &c. but Calmet atrongty ooatenaa that by Chittim, Macedonia ia meant; and that the profAeey refera to the conquests of Alexander. Chittim was one of the aooa of Javan, the son of Jaf^et, the •on of Noah, Oen. x. 4. and hie poateritj, according to Josephos, Antiq. 1. iii. e. 22. aetilea in Cilieia, Hacedonia, Cypnia, and Itejy also; and therefore, saya Mr. Ainawordi, tfaie prai^ecy may imply both the troublea diat befell the Assyrians and Jews by the Oreeka and Seleucida, in the troablooa daya of Antiochus.

Anif thtUi qifliet Eber] Probably Dot the Hdirewa, as ■Mm dunk, but the people on the other side die Euf^raioa, from "up taar, to pa»» owr, go beyond — all which people were dtseomfited, and their empire destroyed Alexander the Gh«aL

Terse 25. And Balaam — returned to kia j>taee] Intended to have gone to Mesopotamia, hit native country; ■ee DauL xxiii. 4. but seems to have settled among the Midianite^ where he waa slain by the laraelitea, aee chap, xxxi. 8.

Thoooh the notes in the preceding chapters have been e»Mi»deJ 10 a considerable length, yet a few additional ramarka maybenecesnry: the render's attention is earnestly reouested to the following propoeidons.

1. It appears suffieienuy evident from the preeeding aceoont, that Balaam knew and worshipped the true Ood.

2. That he liad been a tme prophet, and appears to have been in die habit of receiving oraotea from Ood.

3. T^iat he practised some illicit branches of knowladn, or waa reputed bv the Meabitea as a sorcerer — probably baerase of the hi|^ reputation be bad for wisdom— «ad we know that even in our own ooontry, in the Sfleeadi and sixteenth oenturies, penoos who excelled their coo temporaries in wisdom, were repiUed as nugiciana.

4. 'nMltboaah ha was a believer in the true Ood, yet be was eoviioa»-be IsMd As 1s^Jws ^tHtr^AimunaM.

AND Israel abode in * Shittim, and ^ ' the people began to commit. -■ whoredom with the daughtera of Moab.

6. That it ia possible he did not know thia at first Balak told him that there was a numerous people come out of Egypt; and as marauden^ wandering hordes, fra*- bootars, iic were frequent ia those days, be might take ihem at first for soan spoilers} and (he more rnalilygQ at Balak'a request lo consult Ood concerning them.

7. That so conacientiously did be act in the whole buainea^ that aa soon aa he found that it diapleased Ood, he cheerAiUy offered to return; and did not advance, till he had not only the permiitaion, but the authority of Ood to proceed.

8. "ntat when he came in view of the larnelitish canj^ be did not attempt to make use of any means of soroerfi evocation of spirits, necromantic apella, &«. to accompliin the wish of Balak.

9. That he did seek to find out die will of the true Ood, by uaing thme meant which Ood himaelf had preseribed, viz. supplication and prayer, and the sacrifice of clean beaata.

10. That though he knew it -vtijaM greatly dimleasa Balak, yet he most faithfidly and firmly tohl him that Ood aaid on every occasion.

11. Iliat notwithstanding hia allowed covetoUa disposition, yet he refused all promised honours, and proffered rewards, even of the moat extensive kind, to induce him to act in any respect contrary to the declared will of Ood.

12. That Ood, on thia occasion, communicated to him some of the most extraordinary prophetic influences ever conferred on man.

13. That hia propheues are, upon the whole, clear and pointed, and have been folfillod m the most rennailnbit manner \ and fiuniah a very atrong argumBnt in pnxtf of Divine revelation.

14. That nolwithatanding the wicked counsel given to the Midianites, the effects S which are mentioned in the folbwing chapter, on which account he probably lost his lifts' chop. xxxi. 8. the badness of this man's character has been very fer overrated; and that it does not appear that he was either a hypocrite, falee prophet, or a •orc«rer, in dw common acceptation of the term, and that he riiked evea life itself in following and fulfilling the will of the Lord.

16. That though it is expressly asserted, chap. xxxi. 16. and Rev. ii. 14. t^ Israel's committing whoredom with the daughten of Mo^ was tevught about bv the evil counsel given by Balaam to cast this stumbling'block in their way t yet it does not appear from the text that he had those most criminal intentiona which are generally attributed to him i for as we have already seen so much good in thia man's charaderj and that thia, and hia love of money, (and who thinks this a $in 7) are almost the only blots in it } it nuist certainly be consistent with candour and charity U> suggest a method of removing at least some part of diia blame.

16. I would therefore simply say, that the counsel given hj Balsam to Balak might nave been, "to form allianeet wiib diis people, espeoiuly dirough the medium of molri- OTonJoi emtuxianM; end seeing tbey eauM not eonouar them lo endeavour to make them dteir JHende" Now, though diis might not be designed Balaam to bring them into a anare; yet it waa a bad doctrine, as it led to the corruption of die holy seed, and to an unequal yoking with unbelievers; which, though even in a mofrisieafal way, is as oontniry to sound policv, as to the word of God. — See the notes on chap. xxv. 1 and 6.

17. Tliat it waa the Hoidiitiah women, not Balaam, that called the people to the sacrifices of their gods t aod U argued great dqnoeracy and iniquity in me hearts of ths people, on so sligbc an invitation, to join so suddenly in so ira|Hire a worship, and so speedily to cast off the wiiole form of godliness with •very portion of the fear of the Alnigh^: tbeiefore the hi|^ blame reeta altimaldj with, dismselves.