The; Fifth Book
nl dikileh badebarim, from the
‘ 3. “words with which it. begins; Z\\ and fometimes by the Hews
Sy -Vihueh Torab, the repetition jz of the law; and fo in the Syriac verfion, with which agrees the Arabic title of it 5 and when the Greeks, and we after them, call it Deuteronomy, it is not to be underftood of a fecond, a new, or another law, but of the law formerly delivered, but now repeated, and alfo more largely explained; to which are likewife added, feveral particular laws, inftruétions, amd directions; all which were neceflary, on account of the people of J/rae/, who were nowa new generation, that either were not born, or not at an age to hear and underftand the law when; iven on mount Sivai; the men that heard it there being all dead, excepting a very few; and thefe people were alfo now about to enter into the Jand of Ca-' naan, which they were to enjoy as long as they | kept the law of God, and no lon 5 and there-. fore it was proper they fhould be reminded of it; and befides, Adofes was now about to leave them, and having an hearty defire after their welfare, {pends the little time he had to be with them, by inculcating into them, and impreffing on them the laws of God, and in opening and explaining them to them, and inforcing them on them, which were to be thé rule of their obedience, and on which their civil happinefs depended. And Docume hy:
HE. time and place when the fubject-matte of this book was delivered to the J/raelites, are obferved by way of preface, y. prc! ph it begins with reminding them of an order to them to depart from meunt» Hered, and pafs on to the land of Canaan, which the Lord had given them, | y. 6,7, 8. and with obferving the very great in- | crcafe of their number, which made it neceffary
‘for Mofes to appoint perfons under him to be ru- Jers over them, whom he inftruéted in the duty oft their Office, x. g—18. and he that when they were come to the mountain of the the Fews call this boo'c the book of reproofi, becdufe _ oe the ay be angty with « goes on to obferve, |. them, that they d di and o “~- Po there are in it feveral fharp reproofs of the people of J/rael for their rebellion aiid difobedience; and. * fo the Targums of Fonathan and Ferufalem begin it._ he by. calling.ic. the words.of reproof which Mofes ~~ © fpake, &c. That this book was written by Mo/es there can be no doubt, from cd. i. 1. and xxxi. 4, 9, 24. only the eight laft vetfes which give an account of his death, and of his character, were wrote by another hand, equally infpired by God, as either Eleazar the prieft asfome, or Samuel the prophet as others; of as it is the more commonly ’ received opinion of the Fews, Ezra; though it is highly probable they were wrote by Fo/hua his fucceffor. This book was writtefi and delivered by © Mo/es, at certain times in the laft month of his life, and towards the clofe of the 4oth year of the childrenof J/rael’s coming out of Egypt. And that it is of me ucnorty need not be queftioned, when the feveral quotations out of it are obferved, as made by the apoftles of Chrift, in Ads iii. 22. Rov.
ii, ig. Heb. ¥. 30. Gal. iii. 10. out of cb xviii. 15. and xxxil. 35, 36, and xxvii. 26, ar by our Lord himfelf, Aait. xviii. 16. from ch. xix. x Yea, it is remarkable, that all the paffages of fcrip- 4 5 ture prodiiced by Criff to repel the temptations of Satan, are all taken out of this book, Ma+t. iv. 4, 7,10. compared with Deut, vili. 3. and vi. 16, 13 and the voice from heaven direéting the apoftles to. hearken to him,: to a prophecy’of him in ch,
Aimorites; they were bid to go up and poflefs the land; but inftead of that, they defired men might fent to fearch the land firft, which was ee ¥. 19—23./and though thefe men upon their re=* turn brought of the fruits of the land, and a good report of parca two of them; yet being - difcouraged by the report of the reft, they murmur-
, and were afraid to enter, though by Mofes, ¥. 24—33. which
‘until they had all heard them: on this fide Fordan;
fc mw EVTERONOMY. ejoy the land, and therefore were bid to turn and) de Sea there is uch go take their i ewildernefs, ¥. 34—40. gint v Lape is ines, Cate but being con of their evil, they propofed| makes me ulfed by the Amorites, they fed with |to write Deuteronomy; elfewhere * he calls it Dy? * it of Moab, near ee ny, days, TA ry ‘ + againft Jericho.
-¥. 2. There are eleven 9,6 journey from m Hore
+}. x. Thee be t the lPdsiaollet Majes Ipake unto by the way of mount Scir to Kadefb-barnea;| Not tl: that all Ifrael, Sc.) Not what are related in the latter! the I/raeiites came thither in, 11 days from Hi part of the preceding book, but what follow in for they ftaid by'the way at Kibroth-hattaavab, this; and which were fpoken by him, not to the whole month at leaft, and feven days at Hazeroth 5 whole body of the people gathered together to him, which they could not do without a miracle; but te the heads of the people, the reprefentatives of them, who were convened to hear what he had to fay, in order to-cOmmunieate it to the people; unlefs we can fuppofe that Mo/es at different times hear but the fenfe is, that this was the computed dif-. tance between the two places; it was was reckoned 2 man might walk in 11 days; and if we - reckon a day’s journey 20 miles, of which ° note on Jonab1 ui. 3. the diftance muft be 220 But Dr. Shaw‘ allows but 10 miles fora day’s to feveral parties of them delivered the fame things, journey, and then it was no more than 110, and indeed a camp can’t be thought to move fafter; but not the day’s journey of a camp, but of a man leems to be intended, who may very weil walk 20 miles a day for 11 days running; but it feems more_ ftrange that another learned traveller *fhould place Kadefo-barnea at $ hours, or 20 miles diftance. only from mount Sinai. Mofes computes not the time that elapfed between thofe two places, their ftations, but only the time of travelling; and yet archi fays, though it was 11 daysj according to common computation, the Ifraelites performed it in three days; for he obferves that they fet out from Horeb on the 20th of Jar, on the 29th of Sivan the {pies were fent out fro Kadefb-barnea; and if you take from hence the whole month they were at one place, and the feven, days at another, there will be but three days left for them to travel in. And he adds, that the fhekinab, or divine majefty, pufhed them forward, to haften their going into the land; but pting themfelves, he turned them pee ee 40 years. It is not eafy to fay for what reafon thefe words are exprefied, unlefs it be to thewin how fhort a time the Sjraclites might have been in the land of Canaan, in a few day’s journey from Horeb, had it not been for their murmurings and — ‘unbelief, for which they were turned into the wildernefs again, and travelled about for the pace of
38 years afterwards. Aben Ezra is of opinion, — that the 11 days, for the word journey is not in the text, are to be connected with the preceding words; and that the fenfé i is, th ofes fpake t aa in “5 above places, in th days. x Mo Hered to Kadep. es “$ 3. And it came to pafs in the 40th year, a hat is, of the coming of the children of J/rael ou of Egypt: in the 11th month; the mon be. as the Targum of Fonathan, which a an of Fanuery and part of February: in of rbd month, that Mofes Ipake unto tb Ufrdel according to all that the Lord h commandment unto them; repeated to a > fe yeral commandments, which the bee vered to him at different time Mm)
before the paflage of the J/raelites over it into land of Canaan; for Mofes never went in thither, and therefore it muft be the traG& which the Greeks call Perea, and which with refpect to the Jjraelites when in the land of Cazzaan is called beyond Jordan, for here now Mofes was; and the children of J/rae! had been here with him a confiderable time in the wildernefs, the vaft wildernefs of Arabia, which reached hither: in the plain; the plains of Moab, between Beth-Fefoimoth and Abel- Soittim, where the Iraclites had lain encamped for fome time, and had not as yet removed; fee Num. XXxill. 49. over-againft the Red fea; the word fea is not in the text, nor is there any thing in it which anfwers to Red; it fhould be rendered» over againft Supb, which feems to be the name.of a place in Moab, not far from the plains of it, and perhaps is the fame with Supbeh in Num. xxi. 14. for from the Red fea they were at a confiderable diftance: between Paran and T. opbel,- and she and Hazeroth, and Dizabab; thefe are names of places which were the boundaries and limits of og plains of Moabyor lay very near them; for Paran cannot be ulllieefivod of the wilderneis of Paran, which was too remote, but a city or town of that name. Tapbel and Laban we read of no whereelfe; a learnman * conjectures Tophel is the name of the ftation where the J/raclites loathed the manna as. light bread, becaufe of the infipidnefs of it, which he obferves this word fignifies; but that ftation was “either Zalmonab, or Punon, or this ftation muft be
‘omitted in the account of their journies, and befides waS too remote. © Farchi helps this conjecture a little, who puts-Topbel and Laban-together, and thinks they fignify their murmuring becaufe of the manna, which was white, as Lahgid fignifies; but the above writer takes Laban tobe a difting ftation, the fame with Lidzab, Numb. xxxiii. 20. and Hazeroth to be the ftation between mount Sinai Kadefo, Nam. xii.16. But. both feem to be ote from the plainsof Moab; and Dizabad d have to be the fame with Ezion-geber, ‘Nom. Xxxiii. 95. which he fays the Arabs now call. Dfabab, or Meenab el Dfabab, that is, she part of Gold; and certain it is that. -Dizabab has the fi cripaial grb anti by UR invoke: indielp perhaps either through ye the port by. oh or by reafon of a mine ies or near it; * Vulgate Zatis re ren- doe c shew Bi Joc. Heb pe A. sine
0 MY, other borders of it: and by the fea-fide = the weftern border of the land,
B. 5: On thisefide Fordan, ix the land of Moch, &c.] On that fide of Ferdaz in which the land of; Moab was, and which with refpe& to the land of Cenean was beyond Fardan; this the Vulgate L2- siz verfion joins to the preceding verie: fes to declare this law, to explain it, make it clear and manifeit; namely, the whole fyfiem and body! « of laws, which had been before given him, which hewilled*, as fome render the word, or willingly - took upon him to repeat 2nd explain unto them, which thew fathers had heard, and had been delivered unto them; but before he entered upon this, he gave them a fhort hiftory of events which had befallen them, from the time of their departure! from Hered unto the prefent time, which is con- » tained in this and the two next chapters: the land, which the Lord fwere uate your fathers Abraham, Ljaac, ond Faced, to give wate them and their feed after thers; and ‘which beg thus made fure unto them, they had nothing more to do than began Mo- to go and take poficfiion of ir.
¥. 9: And I fpake unto yeu at that time, &c.]} About that time; for it was after the rock in Hered was fmitten, and before they encamped 2t mount Sinai, that Jethro gave the advice which Béajes took, and proceeded on it, as here related; &e Exed. xvi. fayzez, I em not able to bear yon muyjelf alone; to rule and govern them, juder, and determine maners between them. fetére iugecited this to Mojes, and he took the hint, and was confcious to himélf that it wes teo much for him, and fo deayizg; clared it to the people, though it is not before re-
¥. 6. The Lord cur God fpake unto usin Hereb, &c.] The fame with Sinai, as Aen Ezra ob- &c. ferves; whilit the [/raclttes lay encamped near this mountain, the Lord fpoke unto them:
¥.10. The Lord year God bath multipied you; Which was the reafon why he could nop bear them, or the government of them was too he2vy /ayizz, pel os him, becaufe they were fo numerous, and the cafes brought before him to decide were fo many: ed bebeld you are this ay as th: farscf peaven for they) multitude; whereby it appeared one Abrcham was fulfilied, Gen. xv. 5. they were now 600,000 men fit for war, befides women and children, and thofe under age, which muff make the number of them very r have dwelt ienz enough in this mount; or near it; for hither they came on the firft dzy of the third month from their departure out of Ezypt, and did not remove from thence until the 2oth day of the 2d month in the ad year, Exod. xix. s. Numb. x. 11. fo that they were here a year wanting ten days; in which fpace of time the law was given them, the tabernacle and all things ini. it were made by them, rulers both ecclefi, and civil were appointed over them, and they were numbered and marthalled in order under four fianthoufand times fo maky more as ye are, Sc.) This prayez i them, to fhew that he did not envy their increafe, dards, and fo ready to march; and all this bei donc, they muft flay no longer, but fer forward for the and of Cex: It is well for perions that not to under the law, and the jou;
terrors of it, bur are directed to mount Zios; fec though he gave it asa reaion of his not being able ro erm them alone: and bicf{s you, as be bath with all kind of blefiings,.as he had often promifed their fathers. =
Heb. ML 138—24.; ¥.12. How can 1 myfeif alone bear your cam-; ¥-7- Tarn sou ond take your j s teed on in their journey, in which they had been icaufes, and determine all their law-fuits, and deit being |nor was any ways untafy atit, bur rejoiced in it, - left they bring difcredit to him, and deftru&tion on ‘s themfelves: and the caufe that is too hard for you bring it unto me, and I will bear tt s which is faid for their encouragement, as well as was an inftruction to them, not to undertake a caufe too dificule for them; fee Exod. xviii. 22, 25. ¥.18. And I commanded you at that time all the y things which ye foould do} Delivered to them all the laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, which,-> were eae given him at mount Sinai. And when we departed from Horeb, &e. j Ag the Lord commanded them to do, when they ° were obedient: we went through all the great and terrible wilderne/s; the wildernefs of Paran, called great, it reaching from mount Sivai to Kadefhbarnea, 11 a Journey, as Adrichomius ' relates; and terrible, being fo hard and dry, as not to be plowed nor fown, and prefented to the fight fomething terrible and horrible, even the very image of death; to which may be. added the fiery ferpents and fcorpions it abounded with, ch. viii. 15. which ye faw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites; that is, in the way that led to the mountain: as the. Lord our God commanded us, to depart from Horeb, and take a tour through the wildernefs towards the faid mountain: and we came to Kadefh-barnea, having ftayed a month by the way. at Kibroth-hatiaavah, “where they lufted after fleth, and feven days at Hazeroth, where Miriam was fhut out of the camp for leprofy during that time. ¥. 20. And I faid unto you, you are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, &c.| Which was inhabited by them, and was one of the feven nations the J/raelites were to deftroy, and poffefs their land, — and which lay on the fouthern part of the Jand of Canaan: which the Lord our God doth give unto us; not the mountain only, but the whole country of that people, and even all the land of Canaan. —- ¥.21. Bebold, the Lord thy God hath fet the land before thee, 8cc.| The land of Canaan, on the borders of which they then were; fee the note on ¥. 8. goup; the mountain, by that way of it which was the way the-fpies went, and up towhich fome of the Tfraelites prelumed to go when forbidden, they nor — complying with the call of God: and poffe/sit, as the Lord God of thy fathers bath faid unto thee; as in ¥. 8. fear not, neither be difcouraged; though the people of the land were numerous and ftrong, and” their cities large and walled. ¥. 22. And ye came near unto me every one of you, &c } Not every individual of them, but the heads of their tribes, that reprefented them; this isnot to be underftood of the prefent generation perfalig, but of their fathers, who all died in the wildernefs, fave avery few of them; but they being the fame people and nation, it is fo exprefled: and faia, we will fend men before us; that is, they thought it. was proper and prudent ‘fo. to do, and came to Mofes to coniult him about it; for we are not to fuppofe that they had determined upon it, whether he approved of itor no: and they fhall fearch us out the land; that they might know what fort of aa it was, whether, good or bad, fruitful or not, a whether woody or no; fee Num. xiii. 19, 20. and bring us word again, by what way we muft go up; ot, concerning the way ™ in which we muft go, which -— is the beft way of entering it, moft eafy ad ac~ rulers over you; the people were allowed to chufe their own officers, whom they were to bring to Mofes, and prefent before him, to be invefted with their office. A like method was taken in the choice and conftitution of deacons in the Chri/tian church, when the fecular affairs of it lay too heavy upon the apoftles, és vi. 3.
¥. 14. And ye anfwered me and’ faid, &c.| As the fpeech of Mo/es to the people is\,not exprefied before, fo neither this anfwer of theirs to him: the thing which thou haft {poken is good for us to do; to look out for and prefent perfons to him as before defcribed; this they faw was for their own good and profit, as well as for the eafe of Mo/es, and therefore readily agreed to it. 6
¥. 15. So [took the chief of your tribes, wife men, and known, &c,.] The principal perfons among them, that were remarkable and well known for their wifdom and underftanding, whom the people prefented to him; and made them beads over you; rulers of them, as follows: captains over thoufands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over. fifties, and captains over tens; fee Exed, xviii. 21—25. and officers among your tribes; which JFarchi interprets of fuch that bind malefactors and fcourge them, according to the decree of the judges, even the executioners s of juftice; and fo the Fews commonly underftand them to be, though fome have thought they were judges alfo.
y. 16. And I charged your judges at that time, &c.] When they were appointed and conftituted, even the heads and rulers before fpoken of; this charge is alfo new, and not recorded before: /aying, bear the caules between your brethren 5 hear both fides, and all that each of them have to fay; not fuffer one to fay all he has to fay, and oblige the other to cut his words fhort, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrafes it; but give them leave and time to tell their cafe, and give the beft evidence they can of it: and judge righteoufly, impartially, juft as the cafe really appears to be, and according to the evidence given: between every man and bis brother; between an Tfraelite and an Ifraelite: and the firanger that is with him; between an J raelite and protelyte, whether a profelyte of the gate, or of righteoufnefs; the fame juftice was to be done to them, as toan J/raelite.
¥.17. Ye fhall not refpeét perfons in judgment, &c.
Or pais judgment, and give fentence according to the outward appearances, circumftances, and _relations of men; as whether they be friends or foes, rich or poor, old or young, men or women, learned or unlearned; truth and juftice fhould always take place, without any regard to what perfons are: but you fhall hear the finall as well as the great; perfons in low life, and in mean circum{tances, as well as great and noble perfonages; or little caufes and of no great moment, as well as thofe of the utmoft importance; all muft be attended to, a caufe about a prutah or a farthing, as wel] as one about a hundred pounds, in which “Farchi inftances, and if that came firft it was not to be poftponed: you fall not be afraid of the face of man; of the frowns and threatenings of rich men, and of fuch as are in power and authority;; not be awed or intimidated by them from doing juftice; fee Fob Xxxi. 34. for the judgment is God's:; judges ftand in the place of God, are put into their office by him, and aét under him and for him, and are ac. countable to him; and therefore fhould be careful what judgment they make, or fentence they pafs, ceflible, where the paffes are mott open a heat dangerous: and into what cities we Sfrall co which it would be the moft " of Es fubdue firft.
ing it to bea rational and prudent fcheme, not imagining it was the effect of fear and diftruft: and I took twelve men of you out of a tribe 5 whofe names are given in Numb. xiii. 4—15.
¥.24. And they turned and went up into the mountain, 8cc.| As they were ordered and direéted by Méofes, Numb. xiii. 17. and came unto the valley of Ejbcol; fo calledfrom the clutter of grapes they cut down there; as they returned: aad fearched it eut; the whole land, and fo werecapable.of giving a particular account of it.
¥.25. And they took of the fruit of the land in their bands, &c.| Befides the clufter of grapes, which was carried between two men on a ftaff, even pomegranates and figs, Numé. xiii.23. and brought it down unto us; who lay encamped at the bottom of the mountain: and brought. us word again; what fort of a land it was: and faid, it is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us; that is, Caleb and Fofhua, two of the fpies, faid this, as the Targum ot Fonathan exprefies it, and fo Farchi; yea, all of them agreed in this, and faid at firft that it was a land flowing with milk and honey, Numb. xiii. 27.
¥. 26. Notwithfanding, ye would not go up, &c.] And poffefs it, as the Lord had bid them, and Mofes encouraged them to do, as well as fa/bua and Caleb, who were two of the fpies fent into it: but rebelled againft the commandment of the Lord your God; difregarded the word of the Lord, and difobeyed his command, and thereby bitterly provoked him, which, rebellion againft him their King and God, might well do.
y. 27. And ye murmured in your tents, 8cc.] Not in a private manner; for though the murmurs began there, they having wept all night after the report of the fpies; yet it became general and public, and they gathered together in a body, and openly exprefied their murmurs againft Mo/es and Aaron, Numb. xiv. 1, 2. and faid, becaufe the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt 5 a ftrange expreffion indeed! when it was fuch a plain amazing inftance of his love to them, as could not but be feen by them; being done in fuch a remarkable and extraordinary manner, by inflicting judgments on their enemies in a miraculous way, giving them favour in their eyes, to lend them their clothes and jewels, and bringing them out with fuch an high hand, openly and publicly in the fight of them, where they had been in the moft wretched flavery for many years; yet this is interpreted an hatred of them, and as done with an ill defign upon them, as follows: to deliver us into the Land of the Amorites, to deftroy us; which now under the power of their fears and unbelief, they thought would be quickly their cafe; fee ch.
the fpies; they told them they were gieat, large, and populous, walled, and ftrongly fortified 3 which appeared in their frighted imaginations as if their walls were fo high asto reach up to heavens fo that it was impoffible to fcale them, or get poffeffion of them: and moreover, we have feen the fons of the Anakim there, the giants fo called from Anak, the fon of Arba, the father of them § their names are given, Num. xiii. 22, 33. fee Joh: xiv. 15. and xv. 13, If,
¥. 29. Then I faid unto you; dread not, neither be afraid of them | With fuch like words he had exhorted and encouraged them before the fpies were fent, and he ftill ufes the fame; or ftronger terms, notwithftanding the report that had been made of. the gigantic ftature and walled cities of the Canaanites. This fpeech of Mofes, which is continued in the two following verfes, is not recorded in Numb, xiv. 5. it is only there faid, that Mofes and Aaron fell on their faces, but no account is given of what was faid by either of them.
¥. 30. The Lord your God which goeth before you, &c.] In a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night: he /hall fight for you; wherefore though their enemies were greater and tallef than they, yet their God was higher than the higheft; and cities walled up to heaven would fignity nothing to him, whofe throne is in the heavens: aeccording to all that ke did for you in Egypt before your eyes; which is obferved to encourage their faith in God; for he that wrought fuch wonders in Egypt for them, which their eyes, at leaft fome of them, and their fathers however had feen, what is it he cannot do?
¥. 31. And in the wildernefs, &c.] Where hé had fed them with manna, brought water out of rocks for them, protected them frotn every hurtful creature, had fought their battles for them, and given them victory over Amalek, Sibon, and Og: where thou kaft feen how the Lord thy God bare theé, asaman doth bear his fon; in his arms, in his bofom, with great care and tendernefs: in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place; fupplying their. wants, fupporting their perfons; fubduing their enemies, and preferving them from every thing hurtful to them; and therefore having God on their fide, as appeared by fo many inftances of his favour to them, they had nothing to dread or fear frorn the Canaanites, though ever {6 mighty.
¥. 32. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God;| That they might go up and poffefs the land at once, and that he would fight for them, and fubdue their enemies under them; or notwithftanding the favours beftowed upon them, and becaufe of them, they did not believe in the Lord their God, and which was a great aggravation of ° their unbelief; and was the caufe of their not entering into the good land, Hed. iii. 19.
¥. 33. Who went in the way before you, to fearch you out a place to pitch your tents in,&c.] For when the cloud was taken up they journeyed, and when that refted, there they pitched their tents; and hereby they were directed to places the moft convenient for water for them and their flocks, or for fafety from thofe that might annoy them: i# frre by night, to foew you by what way ye foould go; which otherwife they could not have found in dark nights, in
Ve FF. ¥. 28. Whither fhall we ge up, &c.] What way can we go up into the land‘? where is there any accefs for us? the mountain we are come to, and directed to go up, is poffeffed by the Amorites, a ftrong and mighty people, who keep and guard the paffes, that there is no entrance: our brethren have difcouraged our hearts; ten of the fpies; for. Fofoua and Caleb encouraged them with very powerful arguments, which had they liftened to, it would have been well for them: /aying, the people is greater and taller than we; more in number, larger in bulk of body, and higher in ftature: the cities are great, and walled up to heaven, an hyperbolical expreflion; their fears exaggerated the account of which they fometimes travelled, and in a wildernefs where there were no tracks, no beaten path, no common way: and in a cloud by day; to fhel- | ter them from the feorching fun, where there were no trees nor hedges to: fhade them, rocks and hills.
¥. 34. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, &c.] Of their murmurings againft Mo/es and Aaron, and of their threatenings to them, Fo/bua and Caleb, and of their impious charge of hatred of them to God for bringing them out of Egypt, and of their rafh wifhes that they had died there or in the wildernefs, and of their wicked {feheme and propofal to make them a captain, and return to Egypt again: aud was wroth, and fware, by his life, Hinsolé.: fee Numb. xiv. 225 28. saying s as follows.
¥. 35. Surely there foall. not one of thefe men of this evil generation fee the good land, &c.) The land of Gaszaan; not only not one of the fpies that brought the ill report of that land, but of that body of people that gave credit to it, and murmured upon it: which I fware to give unto your fathers; Abraham, Ifaac, and Facob; fee ¥. 8.
y. 36. Save Galeb the Son of Fepbunneb, be foall fee it, &c.|} Enter into it, and enjoy it, and Fofoua alfo; who was the other fpy with him, that brought a good report of the land; fee ¥. 38. and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to bis children; not the whole land of Canaan, but that part of it which he particularly came to and fearched; and where the giants were, and he faw them, and notwithftanding ' was not intimidated by them, but encouraged the people to go up and poffefs it; and the part he came to particularly, and trod on, was Hebron, Numb. xiii. 22. and which the Te argum of Fonathan, Farchi, and Aben Ezra, interpret of that; and this was what was given to him and his at the divifion of the land, Jo/b. xiv. 13, 14,15. and xv. 13, 14. becaufe he hath wholly followed the Lord; fee Numb, XIV. 24,
¥. 37. Alfa the Lord was angry with me for your fakes, &c.} Not at the fame time, though as fome think at the fame place, near 38 years afterwards, they provoking him to fpeak unadvifedly with his lips; fee Numb, xx. 10, 11, 12. Pf. cvis 325 33. faying, thou foalt not go in thither, into the land of Canaan; and though he greatly importuned it, he could not prevail; fee ch. iil. 25, 26, 27.
y. 38. But Jofbua the fon of Nun which ftandeth before thee, &c.] His fervant and minifter, which this phrale is expreflive of: be jhall go in thither, into the good land, inftead of Ado/es, and as his fucceffor, “and who was to go- before the children of J/rael, and introduce them into it, as a type of Chri, who brings many fons to glory: excourage him; with the promife of the divine prefence with him, and of fuccefs in fubduing the Casaanites, and fettling the people of J/rae/ in their land,; and fo we read that Mo/es did encourage him,:ch. xxxi. 7, 8. for be foall caufe Ifrael to inkerit it; go before them as their captain, and lead them intoit; fight their battles for them, conquer their enemies, and divide the land by lot for an inheritance unto them; fo the heavenly inheritance is not by the Jaw of. Mofes, and the works of it, but by Fohua, or Fefus the faviour, by his atchievements, victeries, and conquefts.
¥. 39: Moreover, your little ones, which ye faid Soould be a prey, &c.] To the Amorites, into whofe hands they expected to -be delivered, ¥. 27. fee iNumb. xiv. 3. and your children which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, not being at years of underftanding, and which is a common detsription of children; it is particularly exprefled in that day, for now they were the very perfons Mo= es was dire€ting his fpeech unto, and relating hiflory, ic being 38 years. ago when this affair was, fothat now they were grown up.to years of difcretion: they foall go in thither, and unto them will I give dt, and they fhall poffefs it; thesia vad which now might ferve greatly to encourage faith, as. well as it would be a fulfilment fee Fears! mife of the land made unto Abrabam, ie pro Jacob, which was not made-of none effect through the unbelief of the J/raelites, whofe carcafes fel in the wildernefs, fince their aa was to enjoy and did.
¥. 40. But as for you, turn 0, &c.] From the mountain of the Amorites, the border of the land of Candan: and take your journey into the wilder= — nels, by the way of the Red-fea', fee Numbo xiv. 25:
Jarchi fays this wildernefs was by the fide‘of the Red-fea, to the fouth of mount Seir, and divided between the Red-fea andthe mount; fo that now they drew to the fide of the jea, and compafied mount, Sezr, allthe fouth of it, from weft toeaft. °
¥. 41. Then ye anfwered, and faid unto me; 8c.) Not being willing to goyinto the wildersefs again, though they wifhed they had died in it; nor to go the way of ‘the Red:feay which was their way back again to Egypt, though they had been for appointing acaptain, and returning thither; but now the repented of what they had faid.and done }avébaw
Janedagainft the Lord; by murmuring againft his fervants, and difobeying ‘his commands: we wilf go up and fight according to all thatthe Lord: our God hath commanded us; which is more than they were bid to do; they were only ordered to’ goup and pofféfs the land, and it was promifed them the Lord would, fight for them: and when ye had girded on every man his weapon; his {word upon his thigh; alarge number of them, for all of them were not fo difpoled, though many were: Ye ‘were ready to go up unto the bill, though before backward enough, when they were bid todo it.’ De Diex from the ufe of the word ® in the Arabic language, renders it, ye reckoned it eafy to go up unto the bill 5 before it was accounted very difficult, by reafon the paffes were kept and guarded by the Amorites; but now there was no difficulty, when they were bid to
‘go another way, but were ready at once to go up, which comes to the fame fenfe; he further oblerves, that the word in another conjugation in the fame language, fignifies to make light of, or defpife o, and fo may be rendered, and ye defpifed that i is, rejected and defpifed the order given them to go into the wildernefs by the way of the Red-/egin the preceding verfe, by their attempting £0 go up the hill; though the word fo taken will bear another foaies agreeable to the firft, that they now — made a light matter of it, as if it was nothing, and there was no difficulty in it to go up the h i, which before was too hard and heavy for them.
¥. 42. And» the Lord faid unto me, bec.) When the people had armed themfelves, and were in mo-— tion, or ready to fet forward to afcend the hill’: ’ Jay unto them, go not up, neither fight; neither go up the hill, and if they did contrary to this © and fhould meet with enemies, not fight them, but retreat: for I am ‘not among you; the pe covenant, the fymbol of his prefence, a among them, but itdid not go with spe tinued in the camp, Numb. xiv. 44. nor “a Lord exert his power, or. fhew himfelf prefent with — them, or to be on their fide, but. lefdhentl to. 'elyes, and to their enemies: Je? ye be nae