Exposition of the Whole Bible

down into Egypt 3” after he had beeh in perifhing circumftances in Syria, and-when he was fore prefied with famine in Canaan: and fojourned there with a few; with 70 fouls as Yarchir and became there a great nation, mighty and populous, infomuch that the king of Egypt was jealous of them, left thro’ their ftrength and numbers they fhould get away from them, when any favourable incident happened; they being when they came out from thence 600,000 men able to bear arms, befides women and children..

¥. 6. And the. Egyptians evil intreated us; &c.] Ordered their male children to be killed by the midwives, and by another edict to be drowned by the people: and ‘affitted us; by fetting tafk-matters over them, who put heavy burdens upon them: and laid upon us hard bondage, in mortar and brick, and all manner of field-fervice, in. which they made them ferve with rigour, and whereby. their lives were made bitter; fee Exod. i. ga—22.

¥. 7. And when we cried unto the Lord our God, &c.] As they did by reafon of their hard bondage, Exod. ii. 23: and the Lord beard our voice, and vided for: thow and the Levite, and the ranger that ts among you; by which it feems, that not only: a bafket of firft-fruits was brought and prefented to the Lord, which is the-perquifite of the prieft, but there were others alfo brought, or bought with their money at Yerufalem, and a fort of afeaft kept, which the Levité, and {tranger’ or profelyte, partook of along with the owner; fee ch. xii: 11, 12, and xvi. 10, 11. though archi underftands, it of the Levite and ftranger being obliged to bring: the firft-fruits; the Levite, he fays, is bound to the firft-fruits of the plants in the midft of his cities, though he had. no part in the divifion of the land; and the fame writer fays, the ftranger brings the firft-fruits, butdoes not proclaim, becaufe he can’t fay, which be fware to our fathers, ¥. 3. but it is faid ‘, 1f his mother was an J/raelite s he might proclaim; yea, Maimonides ® fays, on account of what is faid of Abraham, Gen. xvii. 5. who is the father of the: whole world; fee Rom, iv. 12, 13. becaufe mention is made,of rejoicing; hence it is concluded, as Farchi fays, that the proclamation of the firft-fruits was only made in the time of looked upon our afficion, and our labour, and our opprefion 5 with a look of pity and compaffion, heard joy, from Pentecoft unto the featt that a man ga- their cries, anfwered their petitions, and fent them a deliverer, Exod, ti. 25. and iii. 7, 8.; ¥. 8. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt, &c.} Afterfome time: with a mighty hand and with an out-ftretched arm; by his almighty power, of which thers in his increafe, and his fruits, and his wine, and his oil; tho’ from that feaft and onward he may bring but not proclaim; to the fame purpofe fays the Mifnabh », from Pentecoft to the feaft of tabernacles a man may bring the firft-fruits, and proclaim; andeven from the feaft of tabernacles to the full proof was given by what he then did, Dewt.

v. 15. and with great terriblenefs; to Pharaob| and his people, through the plagues that were inflicted on them, efpecially the laft, the flaying of their firft-born; fee Deut. iv. 34. and with figns dedication of the temple, he may bring, but not proctaim,; the reafon given in Sipbri ‘is, becaufe proclamation is only to be performed in ‘time of joy—and the joy of the year is finithed at the end of the feaft of tabernacles, as in Lev. xxv. 40.

and with wonders; wrought by the hands of Mo/es and Aaron, meaning the ten plagues often fo called.

¥.9. And be hath brought us unto this place, &c.] | After forty years travel through the wilderdernefs: and hath given us this land, a land that floweth with milk and boney, an uiual defcription of the land of Canaan, becaufe of the great fertility of it, and the abundance of good things in it; fee Exod, iii: 8.

¥. 10. And now bebold I have brought the firft fruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, haft given me, &c.| Directing his fpeech not to the prieft, but to the Lord himfelf; owning that the part of the land he had, and the fruits he enjoyed, were the gifts of God to him, and therefore, as in gratitude bound, brought him the firft-fruits: and thou foalt. fet it before the Lord thy God; thefe are the words of Mo/es, or of the law, directing the man what further he had to do; and this, as Farebi thinks, fhews that he took it after the prieft waved it, and laid hold on it with. his hand whilt he was reading (his confeffion) turning and_waving: and worfbip before the Lord thy God; bow before him in a reverend and humble manner, fenfible of his obligations to him, and dependence on

¥. 11. And thou fhalt rejoice in every good thing, &c.} In all the bleflings of goodnefs and mercies of life, which God in his kind providence had favoured them with: which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine houfe; to them and their families, by which they were comfortably pro- y¥. 12. When thou haft made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increafe, &c.| Which, according to Maimonides *, is to be underftood of the feaft, in which all tithes are finifhed; which is the feaft of the paflover: the third years which is the year of tithing; that is, the third from every feventh, when the land lay untilled. Every year a tithe was paid to the Levites; and befides that a fecond tithe, which was carried to Feru/alem and eaten there; and every third year it was eaten at home, in their towns and cities in the country inftead of it, with the Levite, poor and ftranger, and was called the poor’s tithe; and hence the Targum of Fonathan here calls this year the year of the poor’s tithe, as was alfo the fixth year, and was reckoned not compleat till the paflover in the following year, as the Fewifh-writers! fay; and bath given it unto the Levite, the flranger, the fatherle s and the widow, that is, the poor’s tithe of the third year, which thefe were to eat of with the owner, ch. xiv. 28, 29. though the Yews commonly diftinguith the Levize from the reit, and fuppofe that both firft and fecond tithes are meant, the one to be given to the former, and the other to the latter; fo the Targum of ‘fonathan and Yarchi: that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; for this was a confiderable entertainment, a fort of a feaft, a full meal however; hence it is concluded, as Farchi fays, that they did not give lefs of corn to a poor man.than half a kab of wheat, which was above three pints. ¥.13. Then thou fhalt fay before the Lord thy God, &c.] Make the following declaration as Hip > is

106 DEUTERONO MY. Ch.xxvi.¥.14—18) — that God would vouchfafe to look with aneyeof — love, complacency, and delight, upon him and ‘upon all his people, from heaven his holy habitation, though they were on earth, and unholy perfons in themfelves, and efpecially if compared with him; fee J/ Ivii. 15. and Ixiii. 15. and blefs thy people Irael, with bleflings temporal and {piritual: and the land which thou haft given us 5 with fertility and plenty’ of all good things, that it might be as thou fwareft to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey; fee ¥. 9. Lilt Sypam eee

¥. 16. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do thefe ftatutes and judgments, &c. Thele -

arethe words of Mofes, as Aben Ezra rightly obferves, and refer not only to the laws laft mentioned, but to all others which he had repeated, or the Lord by him had ordered to be obferved, recorded in this book: and though it is very probable Mo/es had been feveral days repeating former laws, and acquainting them with new ones; yet this being the laft day, in which the whole account was finifhed, they are faid to be commanded that day, and though commanded that day were to be obierved _ and done every day; for, as Farchifays, every day was to be aaa and reckoned as new, as if-on that day they were commanded them: tou fhalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, cordially, readily, willingly, fincerely, conftantly, and to the utmoft of their abilities, “Rae

¥. 17. Thou haft avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, &c.| Said, affirmed, protefted, and in the moft folemn manner declared, that the Lord was their God, and him only; and that they would have no other God, nor worfhip, ferve, or obey any other. The Lord is the God of all mankind, as he is the creator and preferver of them, and was of the people of J/rae/ in a peculiar manner, they being chofen, redeemed, and privilegedby him above all others; and efpecially is of his elect in Chri among all nations, whom he has loved and fet apart for himfelf, and determined to fave;whom he has adopted and regenerated; heprovides for them, protects and preferves them, gives them grace here and glory hereafter: he is their God in Chrift, and by virtue of the covenant of his grace made with them in him; and is known by them to be fo in effectual vocation by the application of covenant-bleflings to them; and which is certified to them by the Spirit of God, upon which they claim their intereft in him, and make profeffion’of him as their God: and to walk in bis ways, and to keep bis ftatutes and his commandments, and his judgments, and to bearken unto bis voice; that is, this was then their refolution and determination, their proteftation and declaration, to walk in all: the ways of God, both in private and in public, he direéted unto; and to obferve all his laws, ceremonial, moral, and judicial, which he had given them as the rule of their walk and behaviour; and to regard whatfoever he fhould reveal by his prophets and minifters, as his will; and a view of covenant-intereft in God lays all good men under the ftrongeft obligation in the ftrength of divine ~ grace to attend to his will; nor can there bea — greater motive to them than covenant-love, grace, and mercy... Mo y. 18. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be bis peculiar people, &c') Affirmed and clared them to be his fpecial people, above all people on the face of the earth, and that they were his prefence; for this was not made in the tabernacle or temple at ferufalem, fince the tithe was to be eaten with the poor in the gates of the owner, as in the preceding verfe; I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine boufe; which Aben Ezra and Onkelos interpret of the tithe; but it feems befides that, to take in every thing devoted to all holy ufes, be they what they will; which were at this time to be feparated from a man’s own common goods, and applied to the purpofes for which they were defigned and devoted, and particularly what was to be given to the poor: and alfo have given them unto the Levite, and unto the firanger, to the fatherle/s, and to the widow, according to all th commandments which thou haft commanded me, giving to each according as the law directs; which the Targum of Fonathan and Farchi interpret as before, giving the firft tithe to the Levites; and the fecond tithe to the reft: I have not tranfgreffed thy commandments, neither have 1 forgotten them: neither broken them wilfully, nor omitted them thro’ carelefsnefs, negligence, and forgetfulnefs, but was mindful to obferve them punctually and exactly. y. 14. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, &c.] When in grief and forrow on account of any afflictive circumftance, for thefe were to be eaten with joy, ¥ 11. and ch. xvi. rf. and efpe-! cially of the lofs of relations by death, when holy things were not to be eaten by fuch perfons; fee Lev. x. 1g. and particularly tithes, though it is faid *, ‘* what is doubtful of tithing (whether it has been tithed or no) might be eaten by a mourner;” and a man was reckoned fuch an one until his dead was buried. So Maimonides ° obferves, ‘‘ a mourner may not eat holy things, as it is written Deut. xxvi. 14. he is one whofe relation is dead, when he is obliged to mourn; for he is called by the law a mourner as Jong as the dead lies upon the face of the earth (above ground) or as long as heis not yet buried, he is called a mourner; and fo likewife on the day of burial:” neither have 1 taken away ought thereof for any unclean ule; or common ufe, or any other ufe than it was defigned for, and devoted to; or for any unclean perfon, who by the law might not eat thereof; or, as Farchi interprets it, that he had not removed it, or taken it away from being eaten, on account of any unclean perfon, becaufe I am unclean and he pure, or he pure and I unclean: zor given ought thereof for the dead, for the neceffities of the dead, as Aben Ezra; more particularly archi, to make for him a coffin and grave-clothes; and fo the Tar gum of Fonathan interprets it of grave-clothes for the dead; though that of Yerufalem of clothes for thofe that are polluted by thedead. It may have refpect alfo to the parentalia, or funeral feafts made at the interment of the dead; though Avex Ezra fays there are fome that fay it was for idolatry, and fo the perfon here fpeaking denies that he had made ufe of any of the holy things in honour of idols, of dead men deified, and fome are ‘of ‘opinion, that all the above things may have fome refpect to idolatrous practices’: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou haft commanded me, obferved his word, and kept clofe to it, and not fwerved from: it, but acted according to it in all things before referred to. q ¥. 15. Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven, &c.} This is a prayer of the perfon that makes the above declaration annexed toit, defiring looked upon and confidered by him as his jewels, his peculiar treafure: as be hath promifed thee; on condition of their obedience to him, as he did in Exod. xix. 5. and that thou foouldeft keep all bis commandments; at the fame time declared this as his will, that they fhould obferve all his precepts, to which they were laid under obligation by the fpecial favour and peculiar privileges he beftowed upon them, Deut. vii. 6,7. The Targums interpret both thefe verfes of the people of J/rael chufing and making the Lord their king, and of his being made king over them; and fo it refpects their peculiar form of civil government, being a cracy. The Lord’s people in Cri? are a peculiar people; they are diftinct from all people, and are peculiarly regarded by him; they are the objects of his peculiar love, andreceive peculiar favours from him; and whom having chofen and redeemed, he calls by his fpecial grace, and witnefles their _y. 19. To make thee high above all nations, &c.] None of them having the Lord to be their God and king, in fuch fenfe as J/rael, nor they his peoplein fuch a peculiar fenfe as they were; nor having fuch laws'and ftatutes as he had given to them; thefe things gave them a fuperiority over all other nations: which he bath made, in praife, and in name, and in honour, that is, which nations he made praife-worthy, famous, and honourable, for their extent, wealth, riches, and number; and yet on the above accounts J/rae/ was advanced higher than they: end that thou mayeft be an holy people unto the theo-)Lord thy God, as he bath fpoken; the end of the Lord in being their God, and making them his people, was not only to make them high above all others, but to make them more holy thanothers; to fet them apart for himfelf, as a people facred to his worfhip and fervice, as he had both determined pecial relation to him by his Spirit; which grace obliges and excites them to a chearful obedienceto his commands.

N this chapter the people of J/rael are ordered to write the law on bvlaftered ftones, and fet them on mount Eda/, ¥. 1—4. where they are bid to ereét an altar, and offer facrifices on it, y. 6—8. and are charged by Mo/es and the priefts to obey the Lord, and keep his commandments, y. 9, 10. and a direction is given to the feveral tribes which fhould ftand and blefs, and which curfe, and where, ¥. 11, 12, 13. and the curfes which the Levites fhould pronounce with a loud voice, and the people fhould fay Amen to, are recited, yw. 14-25. and the whole is concluded with a curfe on all who in general do not perform the

¥.1. And Mofes with the elders of Irael commanded the people, faying, &c.] The feventy elders, at the head of whom was Moj/es, which made the

¥. 3. And thou fhali write upon them all the words of this law, &c.] Not the whole book of Deuteronomy, as fome think, at leaft not the hiftorical part of it, only what concerns the laws of God; and it may be only a fummary or abftraét of them, and perhaps only the ten commandments. Fofephus *is of opinion, that the bleffings and the curfes after recited were what were written on them: when thou art paffed over; that is, the river Fordan: that thou mayeft go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, aland flowing with milk and honey; this account of the land of Cavaan is fo frequently obferved, to imprint upon their mindsa fenfe of the great goodnefs of God in giving them fuch a fruitful country, and to point out to them the obligation they lay under to obferve the laws of God ordered to be written on plaftered ftones, as foon as they came into it: as the Lord God of thy great fanbedrim, or council of the nation; Mojes fathers hath promifed thee, Exod. iii. &.

having recited all the laws of God to the people, thefe joined with him in an exhortation to them to obferve and obey them: keep ail the commandments which I command you this day, not in his own name, as being the fupreme legiflator, but in the name of the Lord whom they had avouched to be their God and king, from whom he had received

¥. 2. And it fhall be on the day when you fhall pafs over Fordan, &c.]|~Not the precife day exactly, but about that time, alittle after they paffed that river, 28 foon as they conveniently could; for it was not tll after 4 was deftroyed, that the following order was put in execution; indeed as foon as they paffled over Yordan, they were ordered to take twelve ftones, and did; but then they were fet up in a different place, and for a different pur-

¥.4. And therefore it fhall be, when ye be gone over Fordan, &c.| Some time after they had paffed that river: that ye foall fet up thefe fiones which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, a mountain near Shechem in Samaria, and was, as Benjamin of Tudela fays', dry as ftones and rocks itielf, and perhaps had its name, as fome think *, from the root in the Arabic language which fignifies to ftrip atreeof its leaves, and a derivative from it, white {tones and a mountain in which fuch are found. Hither the ftones commanded to be fet up were to be brought, and fixed here; from whence it is not certain; it may be from fome part of the mountain. Herethe Samaritan verfion has Gerizzim inftead of Edal, which is generally thought to be a wilful corruption of the Samaritans, in favour of their temple built at Gerizzim: and thou fhalt plai- land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou foalt fet thee up great flones; not in Fordan, as Farchi, but. on mount Eval, ¥. 4. nor had the ftones fet up in orden any fuch infcription as what is here ordered to be fet on thefe: and plaifter them with plaifier; that fo words might be written upon v.65. And there foalt thou build an altar to the Lord thy God, &c.] On the fame mountain, tho’ not of the fame ftones. ‘archi’s note is, ** after that (the fetting up of the plaftered ftones) thou fhalt bring from thence (from Yordan) others, and build of them an altaron mount Eéal;” but Fo- them, and be more confpicuous, and more eafily | epbus ‘ places this alcar not on mount Zéal, but be- tween that and Gerizzim. ordered

ordered to be built» towards:the rifing fun, not far from the city Shechem, between two mountains, Gerizzim and Ebal; but the text is exprefs, that it was to be built where the ftones were fet up, which was on mount £da/, and there it was built, » Fofo. viii. 30. an altar of fiones; as in the next verfe, not broken, nor hewed, bat) be eafily read; in 70 languages, according t fewifb writers 5 which they fay was*dor whoever would learn the law might learn it, a the Gentiles had no excufe'*; for it is a prev notion with them, that there were fo n. of whole ftones, and languages. The*law being written on denotes the duration of it,’ which con

:|only during: her times of the old teftam on Exod. xx. 25. Chrift has art iri his pai from fi curfe and

¥.6. Thou fhalt build the.

God of whole flones, &c.] And of fuch Fofbua build it, Fob. viii. 31. and thou fhalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God; and very likely fin-offerings too; for thefe frequently went together, the one to Alaice atonement for fin, altar if the Lord thy;condemnation of it, yet it: is in his hands as arule didjof direétion to them as to their walk and:converfation; nor is it made void by any doétrine of the gofpel, and nothing more ftrongly enforces obedience to it than the gofpel. The moral law and'is immutable, invariable, and eternal in itsnature, the other as a gift, and by way of thankfulnefs for! the acceptance ‘of the former

¥. 7. And thou fhalt offer peace-offerings, &c.]| fered them; and the reft to the owner that brought them, which he eat of with his friends; fo it fol: lows: and fhall eat there, and rejoice “before the Lord thy God; now this altar where thefe facrifices were offered, was on the very fpot where the tones were on which the law was written; and may point at the gracious provifion God has made’ for the redemption of his people from the curfe of it by Chrift, who became a fubftitute for them in their law-place and ftead. The altar being of rough unhewn ftones was a type of him in his human nature, who is the ftone inthe vifion cut out of the mountain without hands; and being unpolifhed, may denote the meannefs of his outward appearance, on account of which he was rejected by the Fewifh builders; and no iron tool being to be lifted up on them, may fignify that nothing of man’s and in the matter of it. This may alfo- point at and both typical of|the hardnefs of men’s hearts, Chrift, the true facrifice, and the antitype of all their hon-fubjection tothe law, and difobedience of it; and thefe ftones being covered with plafter, may be an emblem of formalifts and hypocrites, who are like whited

| walls and fepulchres, have a form of the Jaw in their on the altar, and another part to the prieft that ofheads, but not in their hearts; are Jews outwardly, but not inwardly; externally righteous before men, as if they were {trict obfervers, “of the law, but internally very wicked; and’ have hard, blind, and impenitent hearts, under the Cover f the (aie! and a profeffion of f{tri€t regard to it';'and this being done on the fame mount ‘whereklla curfes were pronounced, fhews that they were on account | of the breach of this law.

¥.9. And Mofes and the priefts the Levites Spake unto all Ifrael, &c.\ The priefts who were Levites, as all’ the priefts that were lawful ones were; and there were none but fuch at this time, who were Eleazar anid Ithamar, and their fons; thele joinéd with Mo/es in the following exhortations to the people of I/rael, as being particularly concerned in inftructing them in the knowledge of the Jaws, and in feeing them put in execution: Saying, take is to be added tothe facrifice and fatisfaGtion of heed, and hearken, O Irael; to what was about to

Chrift, and falvation by him’; and this being in Foal, where the curfes were pronounced, fhews that Chrift by the offering up of himfelf for the fins of his people has made atonement for Bai and thereby has delivered them from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for them; all whith is matter of joy-and eladnels to them.

¥. 8. And thou foalt write upon the ftones all the _-avords of this law, &c.\ Not upon the ftonés of the altar, but upon the firft {tones brought to mount bal, and {et up there before, and on which the words were infcribed before the altar was erected; though according to the Mi/nab * the altar was built of thefe ftones, and on that the law written; for it is faid, “* they fhall bring the ftones (y. 2, 4.) and build the altar, and plafter it with’ plafter, and write upon it all the words of the law:” with which ‘fofepbus agrees, who fays~, ‘* that when Mo/fes was about to die, he ordered the bleffings and the curfes to be written on the altar, on both fides of it:” could this be made clearly to appear, it would be eafy to obferve’ the accompli ets of it in Cbriff, who’ was made under the law, became fubje&t to it, ‘had it written on his heart, obeyed the precepts and bore the penalty of it, and had all the curfes of it laid on him, and thereby redeemed his people from them.’ ‘However, be it on which it may that the words of the law were written, be faid unto them, as well as to,what had been faid: this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God; they were his people before; fe had chofen them to be his fpecial people above all others 5 ‘he had redeemed them out of Egypt; he had led them through the wildernefs, and provided for them and protedted them there, and had given them laws and ftatutes'to obferve to walkin; all which fhewed them to be his peculiar peoplé: but now in avery formal and folemn manner they were avouched and declared by him to be his people, and they had folemnly avouched and declared. that he was their God and king; and every day, aceording to Farchi, was to be confidered as this day, asif ic was the day of entering into covenant with him. y. 10. Thou foalt therefore obey the v PF, Lord thy God, 8zc.] In whatfoever hed word, and by his prophets, and eff Son, "eminently called the Word of the do his commandments and bis ftatutes, mand thee this day; fee the note on y. 1 y.11, And Mofes charged the people the f &c.] That he gave the above orders to fet aud plafter them, and write the law ont 1 build analtar in the fame place, and offer f when come into the gs se Aoi vs fe geese *;

2 am T Belt foall pond upon showin they were written very plainly; fo that they might by the people, when ye are come over For

® Sotah, CoP sp hiege archi in loc.

Which was a mountain in Samari@ oppolite to mount Eba/, a valley ‘of a furlong broad lay be- em’; and according to /dillerus*, had prewast from being broken off from that, they being, as it fhould feem, originally on¢ mountain, and now two tops of the fame; fo Burchard, but others think it fignifies the mountain of the mowers or cutters down *; that is, of grafs or corn, being a very fruitful ones and Benjamin of Tudela fays », that in his time, on mount Gerizzim were fountains and orchards; and being fuch a fertile mountain, it was very proper to blefs. upon, Mr. Maundrel‘, a late traveller in thofe parts, fays, ‘‘ though neither of the mountains have much to boaft of as to their pleafantnefs, yet as one pafies between them, Gerizzim feems to difcover a fomewhat more verdant fruitful a- {pect than Ebel; the reafon of which may be, becaufe fronting towards the north it is fheltered from the heat of the fun by its own fhade; whereas Edal looking fouthward, and receiving the fun that comes dire€tly upon it, muft by confequence be rendered more feorched and. unfruitful.”” 7ofepkus “ fays, that Gerizzim was on the right hand, and Ebal on the left; which may ferve to ftreng-

* then the obfervation of Ainfworth, in allufion hereunto, that in the laft judgment thofe.on the right hand will be pronounced bleffed, and thofe on the left hand curfed: Simeon, and Levi, and Fudab, and Ifachar, and Fofeph, and Benjamin; thefe appointed for bleffing were children of the miftrefs, or free-woman, as Aben Ezra and many others have obferved; the four firft were the fons of Leah, and the two lait the fons of Rachel, and therefore employed in the moft honourable and defirable fervice: and who fo proper to pronounce or receive the bleffing as the children of the free woman, of Jerufalem above, which is free, the mo-. ther of us all chat are born again, and are made free by the Son of God, and are free indeed, and are entitled to all the bleffings of grace and > Fs 13. And thefe [ball and upon mount Ebal to curfe, &¢c.| Which was dry and rocky, barren and unfruitful, and like the earth that bears briars and thorns, is rejected and nigh unto curfing, and foa proper place to curfe, and a fit emblem of thofe to be curled; fee Heb. vi. 8. Reuben, Gad, and Afper, of them are not recorded, becaufe they were not to be had from the law, and through obedience to it; and therefore there is a profound filence about them, to put men upon feeking for them elfewhere, and which are ‘only to be hadin Chrif, efpecially fpiritual ones; but we may fuppofe, they were delivered.in, the fame) form, and refpecting the fame things as the curfes, only juft the reverfe of them; as, dleffed is the man that maketh not any graven image, &c, The order of both is given in the Targums of Fouathan and Ferufalem, as in ch: xi: 29. fee the note there. This curfe. refpeéts the breach of the firft table of the law, and every thing included in it relating to the nature and being of God, the worfhip. of him, and the honour of hisname to do any thing contrary to which, particularly to. make an image, whether graven or molten, to. worfhip, is an abomination to the Lords and therefore fubjeéts a man to the curfe of his law, it being the work of the bands of the craftfinan; and therefore it muft be a moft ftupid thing to afcribe deity to it, and worfhip it as fuch: and putteth it in a fecret place; though it is not fet in a place of public worthip, or in the houfe, fo as to be feen by every one; but in fome retired place, in a fecret chamber, and there worfhipped, or kept to look at with pleafure; which would be a temptation, and lead on to idolatry, and therefore is forbidden, and to be guarded againft: now one that committed idolatry, or any thing like it, in the moft fecret manner, was liable to this curfe; forthe omni- {cient God, the legiflator, knows what is done ini the moft.private manner, and will refent and revenge every affront and injury to his honour and glory. And ben Ezra obferves, that all that follow refpect things done in a fecret way, and which were not cognizable by the civil magiftrate, and therefore to deter perfons from them thefé curfes were pronounced: and all the people fhall an- {wer and fay Amen; even thofe on the one mountain as on the other, thereby approving of, and affenting to, the juftice of the fentence profouniced.

¥.16. Curfed be he that fetteth light by bis fa« ther or bis mother, &c.] That fecretly -defpifes them in his heart, and by looks and geftures mocks yat_ them in a private manner, unfeen by others, Prov. xxx. 17. for if he publickly curfed them,

Z, Dan, and Napbibali; four of thefe: ar REA curfing sige the children of the} was to Perciusaics, Gad, Afber, Dan, and Napbibali; and fince two were wanting, as Aven Ezra obferves, and the fons of Leah were many, the oldeft and the youngeft were taken; Reuben, who had defiled his father’s bed, and expofed himfelf to the be put to death, Lev. xx. 9. This follows next, as in the order of the ten commands, to that which refpects the fear and worthip of God; honouring parents being next to the glorifying of God, the Father of all: and all the people Soall Say curfe Amen; applaud the righteous fentence, faying fo of the law, and Zedulun the laft and youngeft of let it be. ae Leah’s fons 5 fee Gal. iii. 10. and iv. 24, 30. ¥.

: ibe who were placed in the valley, between ey Goel —_ pronounced both the blef-| y. 18. fings and the curfes in the hearing of all the tribes of I/rael, to which they were to anfwer Amen; and that they might plainly hear, they exprefied their words with a loud voice, clearly and diftinctly, 17. Curfed be he that removeth bis neighbour's land-mark, &c.] Removes it backward, and fteals ground, as Farchi explains it; this is commonly onjdone fecretly; fee ch. xix. 14. and all the people but es aN of Jay Amen, fee the notes on the two preceding verfes.:

y. 14. And the Levites foall {peak and fay unto all the. men of Irael, &c.] Rather, anfwer * and fay; not the whole tribe of Levi, for that ftood mount Gerizzim to blefs, ¥. Lge.

Curfed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way, &c.] By directing him wrong knowingly, or laying a ftumbling-block in his way, Lev. xix. 14. The Targum of Fonathan is, ** that maketh a traveller wander out of the way, as follow. who is like a blind man;” who knows his way y. 15. Curfed be the man that maketh any graven er molten image, &c.] The bleffings and the form no more than a blind man does. archi interprets it, ‘ that blinds in any thing, and gives evil coun- that was cognizable by the civil magiftrate, and he