Exposition of the Whole Bible

and the other was near it;

Spirit of the Lord firft began to move him, and here his father’s fepulchre was, in which he was laid; fee ch. xiii. 2,25. and be judged Irael20 years; by diftreffing and weakening their enemies and though he did not compleat their deliverance out of their hands, yet no doubt their were fewer, and their burdens eafier on his account; the time of his judging J/rael is obferved before, ch. xv. 20. and here repeated forthe confirmation of it, and the rather becaufe they yer now ended by his death. Ben Gerfom obferves, two that this is faid to fhew that the time that Sam dwelt in the land of the Pdiij/fines is included in arid between thefe the thefe twenty years; fome would infer from “hence As that he judged J/rael 40 years, 20 in the days of va the Pbili/tines, as it is exprefied in the above place; that is, when they had the dominion over rael,;;and 20 more afterwards; but it does not appear | that their dominion over J/rael ceafed in his time. oppreffions In the Ferufalem Talmud * it is alfo faid, that he - judged I/rael 40 years, but for it there is no foundation; nor is the reafon given of any force, that the Philiftines feared him 20 yeats after his death; This other Talmud * fays he judged J/rael twentyyears; but the word fwo is put into a paren on thefis. Se!

gion, might be laid together fomewhat near. That. the facts after related were fo early done as has been obferved, appears from the following things; the prieft of the idol, Micab made, was a grandfon of Mo/es, ch. xviii. 30. the Danites feeking to enlarge their poffeffions, related in the fame chapter, was moft probably as foon as they were driven into the mountains by the Amorites, ch. i. 34. Mahanah Dan from whence they marched, and had its name from their expedition, ch. xviii. 12. is mentioned before in the hiftory of Sam/on, ch. xv. 25. and therefore the expedition muft be before his time. Phinebas the fon of Eleazar, was alive at the battle of Gzbeab, ch. xx. 28. and Deborah fpeaks of the 40,000 J/raelites (flain, by Benjamin at it, ch. 5, 8. This man with whom the idolatry began was of the tribe of Ephraim, and dwelt in the mountainous ‘part of it: whofe name was Miz coh; in the original it is Micajehu, with part og the name Fehovah affixed to it, as Dr. Lightfoot» remarks, till he fet up his image,.and thenceforward was called Micah; but according to dbarbinél, the former was his name whilft he was a child, and in his youth, and with his mother, being a diminutive term, and when he became a man he was called Micah, ¥. 5. °: ¥.2..And he faid unto his mother, &c.] Who feems to have been a widow, and an ancient woman, fince Micah had fons, and one of them at an agé to become a prieft: the 1100 fhekels of flver that were taken from thee; which were taken away by ftealth from her, though it may be rendered taken to thee’ which fhe -had taken to herfelf out of the reft of her fubftance, and had feparated and devoted it to religious ufes; but Farchi and Kimchi interpret it as we do, and which feems to be the beft fenfe; of the value of this fum, fee the note on ch. xvi. 5. and becaufe the like fum is

HIS chapter relates the firft rife of idolatry in bs Trael after the death of Fo/bua, which began in mount Ephraim, occafioned by a fum of money ftolen by aman from his mother, which being re- {tored, part was converted to an idolatrous ufe; two images were made of it, ¥.1— 5. and there being no king in J/rael to take cognizance of it, the idolatry took place and continued, and afterwards {pread; y. 6. and this idolater not only made one of his fons a prieft, but took a Levite for another, whom he hired by the year to ferve him, y.

¥. 1. And there was a man of mount Ephraim, &c.] This and the four following chapters contain an hiftory of facts, which were done not after the death of Samfon, as fome have thought, and as they may feem at firft fight, by the order in which they are laid; but long before his time, and indeed before any of the judges in J/rae/, when there was no king, judge, or fupreme governor among them, as appears from y. 6. and xix. 1. and xxi. 25. even between the death of o/hua and the elders, and the firft judge of J/rae/, Orhniel; and fo Fo- Jephus «places them in his hiftory, and the connexion of them is with ch. it»1o. and fo accounts tor the rife of idolatry in J/rae/, how it gotinto the tribe of Dan, and fpread itfelf over all the tribes of Ifrael, ch. ii. 11. which brought on their fervitude to Cufhan Rifbathaim, in which time the Fewifh chronology ‘ places thofe events; but they were certainly before that, for the idolatry they. fell into was the caufe of it; yet could not be fo early as the times of Yo/bua, and before his death; becaufe in his days, and the days of the elders, J rael ferved the Lord; the reafons why they are poftponed to the end of this book, and the account of them given here are, according toDr. Lightfoot®, that the reader obferving how their ftate-policy failed in the death of Samfon, who was a Danite, might prefently be fhewed God’s juftice in it, becaufe their religion had firft failed among the Danites; that when he obferves that 1100 pieces of filver were given by every Phili/tine prince for the ruin of Samfon, ch. xvi. 5. he might prefently obferve the 1100 pieces of filver that were given by Micak’s mother for the making of an idol, which ruined religion in Sam/on’s tribe; that the ftory of Micah of the hill-country of Ephraim, the firft de- {troyer of religion, and the ftory of Samuel, of the hill-country ot Ephraim, the firft reformer of relithere offered, and was given to Delilab, hence fome have thought, as archi relates, that this woman was Delilah; but, as he obferves, it is a miftake; for this woman lived long before the times of Sam- /ov and Delilah: about which thou curfeaft; which when fhe perceived was ftolen from her, the fell. into a paflion, and curfed and fwore, curfed the thief that took it, whether of her own family or another; or adiured her fon, that if he knew any thing of it, that he would declare it, fufpecting him of the robbery; fome think this refers to the oath fhe had made, that fhe would devote theffilverto a religious ufe: and /pakeft of alfo in mine

Ch.xvi. vog—8.5 F UDG ES. 343 igious worfhip: and made an epbod; a prieftly sarment, a linen one very probably, not fo rich an one with a breaft-plate to it as the high-prieft had, which was very coftly. Ben Meélech interprets it a girdle, and there was a curious girdle of the ephod, vith which it was girt; this may be here put for che reft of the prieftly garments which Micah provided: and Teraphim; which were a fort of houfhold gods, like the Lares and Penates of the <omens, and by which confultations were made; fee the notes on Hof. iit. 35 4. and Zech. x. 2. Micah propofed to have an oracle in his houfe, whereby he might confult the Lord about future things, and not be at the trouble of going to the tabernacle, ahd confult there by Urim and Thummim, and the fame fome take the Teraphim to be: and confecrated one of bis fons, who became bis prieft or, filled the hand* of one of them; that is; with offerings, as Ben Melech interprets it; in which way priefts were initiated, and confecrated to their office; fee Ewod. xxviii. 41. and xxix. g, 24. or, as Kimchi exprefles it, he offered his offerings by the hand of one of his fons, and appointed him to bea prieft, very probably his eldeft fon.

¥. 6. In thofe days there was no king in Ifrael, &c.] That is, no fupreme magiftrate, judge, or ruler, Fofbua being dead and Caleb alfo, and the elders cotemporary with them; for what the Samaritan chronicle fays! is without foundation, that Jofoua a little before his death caft a lot in the prefence of the congregation, to know who fhould govern after him, and the lot came to one del, of the tribe of Judah: but every man did that which was right in bis own eyes; which accounts for the idolatry of Micab, there being no fupreme magi- {trate to take cognizance of his fin, and reftrain him from it, or punifh him for it according to the law of God.

¥.7. And there was ayoung man out of Bethlebem Fudab, &c | As there were two Bethlebems, one in ears; of the fum how much it was, and of the ufe fhe defigned it for; or rather the curfe was delivered in iis hearing, and cut him to the heart. and wrought that conviétion in him, that he could not retain the money any longer, not being able to bear his mother’s curfe; though.4darbine! connects this with the following claule, bebold the filver is with me; as if the fenfe was, that fhe fpake in his ears, and charged him with the thefi to his face; faying, verily the filver is with thee thou haft certainly taken it; upon which he conteffed it, J took it’; but the former fenfe feems bett, that not being willing to lie under his mother’s curfe, he owned that the money was in his hands, and he had taken it from her: and his mother faid, bleffed be thou of the Lord my fon; the reverfed the curfe, and pronounced a bleffing on him, or withed one to him, and that without reproving him for his fin, rejoicing to hear of her money again. ¥. 3. And when be had reftored the 1100 fhekels of filver to his mother, &c.| The whole fum, having embezzled none of it: Ais mother faid, I bad wholly dedicated the filver unto the Lord from my hand, for my fon to make a graven image and a molten image, this fhe had done either betore it was ftolen, and it troubled her the more, and caufed her the rather to curfe the man that had taken it; or after it was ftolen, that if it fhould be recovered again fhe would appropriate it to fuch a ufe; fo Abarbinel; and by the Lord, or Fehovab, fhe doubtlefs meant the true God; for fhe had no intention to forfake him, but to worfhip him in and by thefe images, and which fhe defigned for the ufe of her fon and his family, that they might not go fo far as Shiloh to worfhip at the tabernacle there: therefore I will reftore it unto thee, for that ufe, and fo gave him the money again, to be laid out in images, or to make images of it. ¥. 4. Yet he reftored the money unto bis mother, &c.] Gave it to her a fecond time, not as difap-, proving her idolatrous intention, as the fequel fhews, but being defirous to be entirely quit of it, and not have his mind difturbed with it as it had been, and that fhe might do with it as fhe fit: and his mother took 200 Jhekels of filver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a image, and a molten image;

y. 5. And the man Micab bad an houje of gods, &c.] Having two images in it, befides Teraphim, which were a fort of idols; and the Targum is, an ~ houfe of images, or idols; though it may be rendered, an boufe of God, a temple, a place for rethe tribe of Zebulun, Fofb. xix. 15. and another 19 the tribe of Judah, the place here defigned, Fa- ¢a/ is added to it todiftinguifh it from the other: thought of the family of fudab; which refers either to the jyoung man, who was by his father’s fide a Levite, graven and by his mother’s fide, as ‘farchi thinks, of the the other goo pieces tribe of Judab, which feems very probable, though be- the genealogies of families were not reckoned from the mother; wherefore he might be fo called becaufe he had lived chiefly in the tribe of Fudah, and particularly at Bethlebem, but Kimchi, and feveral to other Fewi/b commentators, refer this to the city 200 of Bethlebem, that was of the tribe of Fudab, family being put for the tribe; or belonged to the children of Fudah; though one would think there was no need to have added this, fince it was fully exprefied before by calling it Bethlebem Fudah; the former fenfe therefore feems beft: who was a Levite; his father being, as before obferved, of that tribe, though his mother might be of the tribe of ' Judab: and be fojourned there that is, at Beth- /ebem; he was not a native, nor an inhabitant there, but a fojourner, it not being a Levitical city.”

fhe kept to herfelf, repenting of her vow, and ing unwilling to part with fo much money for fuch an ufe; or elfe they were laid out in an ephod, and Teraphim, and what elfe were thought neceffary for the idolatrous worfhip they were about fet up; though Kimchi is of opinion, that the fhekels were what fhe gave the founder for making the images, and of the goo the images were made; and indeed the images muft be very {mall ones, if made out of 200 fhekels of filver only; fome have thought there was but one image, called h molten and gtaven; becaufe after the filver was melted, and caft into a mould, it was fafhioned with a graving tool, as the golden calf was by Aaron; but they are manifeftly diftinguifhed and reprefented as two, ch. xviii. 17, 18. ed were in the boule of Micah; in an apartment in his houte, ecaibak Hf them, as wspeues by thenext verfe; here they were put and continued.

¥.8. dud the man departed out of the city from — bi a Bethlebem Judab, to fajourn where be could find a place, &c.\ Either being a man that had a rambling head, and of an unfettled mind, and could not eafily fix any where; or elfe there being no fupreme magiftrate, to take care that the Levites had their due maintenance, for which a meh a and the people ther for winter, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; and fufficient provifion made by law 5 being negligent of paying their tithes, tl chual none to oblige them to it, and they indifferent toj the true worfhip of God, and prone to idolatry; this man was obliged to go abroad, and feek for a livelihood where he could, get it, and fojourn in a place the moft convenient for ‘him:

¥.9. And Micah faid unto him, whence comeft thou? &c.] For ashe might afk for ameal, or for a night’s lodging, it was but natural to put fuch queition to him, as from whence he came, andjof went ia; into his houfe, and it looks asif the parley was made, and the bargain ftruck at the door, - Micah being at it as the Levite pafled by, or came toit upon his knocking at it; he went after his and be came to countel and advice, as archi, or to do his bufinefs, as Kimchi. > mount Ephraim, to the houfe of Micah, as he journeyed not with a defign to ftay there, but called by the way, having heard perhaps that Micah was) botha wealthy and an hofpitable man, and he alfo! might have heard of the new form of worfhip he had fet up in his houfe.: able to him:

¥. 11. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, &c.] ‘To continue with him; after he had made trial for fome time, he liked his fervice, and his wages, and way of living; it was all agreeand the young man was unto himas — one of his fons; as dearly beloved by him, and ufed as kindly and tenderly, as if he had been one ~ alof his own children;. fo ftrong were the affeétions Micah tohim, and fo well pleafed was he with what was his bufinefs in thefe parts? or whither hejhis fervice.

there being’ thy vidtuals 5 his meat and.drink: fo the Levites was going? and be faid unto him, Lam a Levite ¢ Bethlebem Judah; the tribe he was of was Levi, and fo a Levite by tribe and office, and the place he came Jaft from, and where he had fojourned a while, was Bethlehem, a city in the tribe of Fudab: and I go to fojourn where I may find a place; the moft convenient to abide in, where he could get a livelihood.

y.10. And Micah faid unto him, dwell with me, &c.] Hearing that he was a Levite, he thought him a fit man for his purpofe, and would give fome credit to, and put a better face upon his new form of worfhip, and therefore without farther enquiry after him and his character, invites him to make his abode with him: and be untome a father and a prieft; afather to inftrucé him in the knowledge of divine things; fo prophets were called fathers, and their difciples their fons; and a prieft to offer facrifices for him, and to confult before him y.12. And Micah confecrated the Levite, &c.J Inftalled him into, and invefted him with the prieflly office; in like manner he had confecrated his fon before, by filling his hand with faerifices; fee ¥. 5. and the young man became his pri, and did the work and office of one; this was a yey daring piece of prefumption in them both; in M@- cab, to take upon him to confecrate a prieft, who was himlelf of the tribe of Epbraim; and in the young man, to fuffer himfelf to be put into fuch an office, which did not belong to him; for tho® every prieft was a Levite, or of the tribe of Levi, yet every Levite had not a right to bea prieft, only ithofe who were of the family of Aaron: and was in the houfe of Micah; and continued there. 7 pleafed with what he had done, and with what he engaged in: now know I that the Lord will do me good; that I fhall enjoy his favour, be a happy -

- of apparel™; fuch as was fit for one of his rank by his Teraphim upon occafion:

thee ten fhekels of filver by the year; or yearly, which was but a fmall fum, a poor falary for a prieft, at moft amounting but to 25 fhillings, fcarce fo much: and a fuit of apparel; and I will give man, and profper; and by this it appears, that notwith{tanding the idolatry he had fallen into, he had not utterly forfaken the Lord, but worfhipped him andjin and by his images; there was a mixture of the or an order, worfhip of God, and of the worfhip of images:

feeing I have a Levite to my prieft; who was of A a and order as a prieft to wear, fo Jarchiand Abarbinel; or a couple of garments, as the Targum and Septuagint, a double fuit of apparel, according to f{ame tribe the priefts- were, and fo the neareft to them of any, and which he thought would be acceptable to God, and an omen of good to hini- the order of the feafon, one for fummer and ano- elf.: Pa? wi

St Baan chapter relates how the Danites being ftraitened in their inheritance, fent out fpies to fearch the land, and fee if they could find any proper place to add unto it, and enlarge it, y. 1—6. who returned and reported Lai/h as fuch, and encouraged the Danites to go and pofiefs it; for which purpofe they fent 600 men up to it, ¥. 7—12. and as they went, called at the houfe of Mcab, and took away his prieft and his gods, ¥. 13—27. and having taken Lai/h, fet up Micab’s graven image there, ¥. 28—31.

¥.4. In thofe days there was no king in Ifrael, &c.] No fupreme magiftrate, no judge, for it was before the time of the judgesy after the death of Folbua, and before Otbuiel the firft judge; this is obferved before, ch. xvii. 6. and here repeated to account for the evil things done by the Danites, their confulting Micab’s oracle, taking away his prieft and his gods, and fetting up his graven image in Dan; by which means idolatry was {fpread in J/rael, and brought on their fervitude to Cu ban- rifoathaim, from which Othniel the firft judge was their deliverer: and in thofe days the tribe of the Danites fought them an inheritance to inane im; that is, a family of them, as in the next verfe, not the whole tribe; for as afamily is fometimes put fora tribe, Job. vii. 17. {0a tribe for a family, ch. xx, 12. for unto that day all their inheritance bad not. fallen to them among the tribes of Ifrael; we rightly fupply the words a/ their; for otherwife an inheritance had fallen to them by lot, as the other tribes, Fofp. xix, 40. but that was not only too little for them, ¥. 47. but all that was allotted to them did not come into their poffeffion, buta part remained unfubdued; and fome they had poffeffion of they could not keep, either through the fuperior ftrength — of the Amorites, or their own floth and cowar-; dice, or for want of the help of their brethren; how he enquired of him who he was, and, from feech.i9aeg3S- eet - |whence he came, and whither he was going, and

¥. 2. And the children of Dan fent of their family Jive men, &c.) According to Abardinel one out of a family, as Mo/es {ent one out of a tribe to fpy the land; and fo there muft be five families concerned in this affair: from their coajis, men of valeur, from Zorah, and from Efhtael, to fpy out the land, and to fearch it; thefe men were fent from the borders of the tribe, the extreme parts of it, as the word may fignify, where perhaps they were the moft prefled and ftraitened.; Zorah and Ejbtaol are particularly: mentioned, and were the firft cities in their lot, and were the coatt inheritance, fo/. xix. 41. fee the notethere: fome take the phrafe, rendered, from their coafis, to fig- » nify perfons of extreme meannefs, men of the loweft clafs among them; but the above-mentioned writers interpret it to a quite contrary fenfe, by Katzinim, princes, fuch as Mo/es fent to {py the land; and this better agrees with the next claufe, men of velour, and the word ufed fignifies not only magnanimity and fortitude of mind, but lof wealth and riches; and thefe were fent not to fpy the land of Cazaan, but fuch places as fell to tribe, but were pofiefled by the Canaanites; and their errand was to obferve in what condition they were, and whether fit for their purpofe, and to obtain, and how they might get the pofleffion of any of them? and they faid unto them, go the land; and fee if fome.

be found out to enlarge their inheritance, and them more room and liberty for their families, pent up, anda paflurage for their flocks andherds: who-wben-they.came to mount Ephraim, which lay upon the borders of them: #0 the boufe of Micab, they lodged there, that is, when they. come near to the houfe of Micah, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it, they took up their,lodging in the neighbourhood of it, perhaps at a public houfe or inn; for the fenfe is not, that they lodged in Micab’s houfe, for after this we read of their turning into it, as.in the next verfe. According to Bunting *, this place was 24 miles from Zorah and Efhtaol, ftom whence thefe men then invited him into his houfe to ftay with him: and bath hired me; by the year for ten thekels of filver, a fuit of clothes, and meat and drink, and by this means he got a livelihood, and was fupported: and I am his prieft, and that was his bufinefs to offer facrifice for his family, and to confult his oracle for him, and for whomfoever fhould apply.

y.5. And they faid unto him, afk counfel, we pray thee, of God, &c.] They did not reprove him for affuming the prieftly office, when they knew he of their|was a Levite, fuch was the corruption. of thofe times, and the great depravity and declenfions they were fallen into; nor even for the idolatry he was guilty of, but encourage him in it, and thought they had got a fine opportunity, which they readily laid hold on, to have counfel afked for them of God, about the fuccefs of the errand they were fent about; to this they were led at fight of the ephod, which was like that in the tabernacle, and the Teraphim, images, which, according to a notion that prevailed, when confulted, foretold future this things; whether by God they meant the true God, who they thought would give an anfwer by thefe, or Micah’s gods, is not certain; according to the Tareafy'gum of Fonatban, they meant the true God, which paraphrafes it, ‘¢ afk of the Word of the Lord:” fearch that we may know whether our way which we go convenient place can’t foal be profperous or no, whether they fhould find give jout'a proper place to dwell in, and be able to get now’ pofleflion of it.

y. 6. And the prieft faid to them, go in peace, &c.] After he had confulted the oracle, or had afked countel by the ephod and teraphim; either of his werejown head, or by a voice he had heard, which fatan might be permitted. of God to deliver, he very roundly told them, that they might proceed on in their journey with their minds quite ea‘y, and with full affurance of fuccefs: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go; itis feen, obferved and taken notice of by him, and he approves of it; it is according to his will, and under his direction and protection, and fuccefs from him may be depended came. upon; though fome obferve that this anfwer is de-

¥. 3: When they were by the houfe of Micab, &c.] At their inn, which might be next to it, or.as they were pafling by it: ¢hey knew the voice of the young man the Levite; who had been in their country, and they had been in his company and converfation, and they knew the tone,of his voice when they heard it; a particular brogue he might have. Abarbinel conjectures, that he was finging to MZcab’s idol, or multiplying his prayers before him: and they turned in thither, into Micah’s houfe, and into the apartment where the young man was; gud faid unto bim, who brought thee hither? they knew he was of Bethlehem-judabh, they enquire therefore how he came there, who fent for him, and by what means he was brought to that place: and.what makeft thou in this place? they knew he was a Levite, and that fuch an one had no bufinefs to minifter but at the tabernacle, and therefore they enquire what. was his employment here: 4 _what hoft thou here? to fupport himfelf with, what he had for his maintenance, or how he lived. _ y.4. And he feid unto them, thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, &c.) Told them the wholejof ftory, how he.came to the door of Micah’s houle, livered in ambiguous terms, as generally the oracles of demons were, and might be taken in a good or bad fenfe, as the event fhould be; as that their way was before the Lord, and was feen by him either with pleafure or difpleafure, with approbation or difapprobation, for their good, or for their hurt: fo that let it fall out as it might, the credit of the oracle was faved.

y.7. Aud the five men departed, &c.) From mount Ephraim, Micab’s houfe there: and came to Laifo; which, according to Bunting *, was 104 miles from mount Ephraim, and fo many he makes it to be from Ferufalem; it lay at the fartheft. northern border of the land of Canaan, at the foot of mount Lebanon, near the fountain of Fordan'; it was four miles from Paneas, as Ferom fays‘, a3 you go to Tyre; it is the Ce/area P/ilippi.of the New Teftament, and the fame that is called Lefoem, Fofb. xix. 47. fee the note there’: and faw the people that were therein, went into the city, and made their obfervations on the inhabitants of it, their number, ftrength and manner living: bow they dwelt carele/s, after the manner of the Zidomians, quiet and fecures the inhabi- shat WouvHiesNt, a apels owes ras Te ft matter; or by way of exhortation, be /lent, either that the people may remain in their quiet, eafy, carelefs ftate, and left on hearing defigns againft them, fhould prepare for their defence; or, as Abarbinel, \eft any of the other tribes jof J/rael fhould hear of it, and go and take it before them: be not flothful to go, and to enter to poffe s the land s they fuggeft, that there was fcarce any thing more to be done than to go and take poffeffion, and that it would be altogether owing to their floth and indolence if they did not. ee

¥. 10. When ye go, ye fhall come to a people fecure, and toa large land, 8&c.| For though it was but one city, the territories of it were large, and the villages belonging to it might be many; which, with the fecurity of the people, might eafily be furprized and taken, not being upon their guard, are the arguments ufed by the fpies to encourage their countrymen to go up and take it, to which they add others: for God hath given it into your hands; which they concluded from the ftate and condition they found the people in, thoughtlefs and defencelefs; or it may be on account of the oracle in Micah’s houfe they had confulted, and to which they gave credit; though fome think their faith was grounded upon this place being given by lot to: the tribe of Dar, but this does not appear? 4 place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth; in the land of Canaan; meaning, that there was nothing in the whole land but might be found there, as wheat and barley, vines, fig-trees, pomegranates, olives, and honey, with all other neceffaries and conveniences of life.; a y. 11. And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, &ec.] Or families, the fingular ° being put for the plural; for it cam hardly be thought that fuch'a number of men, as after mentioned, went out of one family: out of Zorab, and out of Efptaol; the two places the fpies were fent from, and now had returned unto: and*upon their report, and at their inftigation, and by the encouragement they gave, there wete 600 men appointed with weapons of war, that fet out arméd from the above:places, on the ‘expedition to take Laz/h. y.12. And they went up and pitched in Kirjath-

¥.8. And they came unto their brethren to Zorab and Efptaol, &c.] “After they had well viewed the city, and made their remarks on the inhabitants of it, the'condition and circumftances in’ which they were, and took noticé of-the goodnefs of the land about it, they returned to'their brethren’ that fent them, particularly thofe that dwelt at the two mentioned: and their brethren faid unto them, what fay ye?_what.tidings do you bring? what account ‘of the place and country whéte you have been? - ng. And: they faid, arife, that we may go up againft them, &c.| That is, prepare for war, and -go up in ‘an hoftile manner againft thé prefent spofiefiors of the land, not doubting of being mafcters ‘of iteafily: for we bave\feen the' land, and be- ‘bold, it is very good.. Adrichomius* fays, ‘it was ‘very. good -pafture-land,’ aid fertile, abounding swith fruits. of all kinds;

fay, and /icem*carelefs<and indifferent about the « Adrichom, Theatrum Terra Sané. p. 105. w Antig.: 7 foe $134 * DVN CM ves autem defidetis, jearim in Fudab, &c.J * Of which place fee Fofp. xv: 9,:60. According to Bunting* it was 16 miles from® Zorab and Ejsiaol, ‘and this ‘was their firft day’s match: wherefore they called the name of that place Mabaneb-dan ‘unto ‘this day, which fienifies the camp of Daz,’ or of the Danites fo it was calplaces[led in the times of Samfon, ch. xiii. 25, and isa proof that this expedition was before his time; and it was fo-ealled, it! feems,'in the time of Samuel, the writer of this: book: ‘bebold, it is behind Kirjathjearim’ to the welt of it; for though they are faid to pitch 7 that place, the meafing is, that they' pitched near ‘it, in “the fields adjacent to it, which were the moft “proper and’convenient for a camp. tO oO: ee ~~. 13. And they paffed thence untomount Ephraim, &c.} Steering their coaft ftill north-ward; this, and the fame'%is at- according to Bunting * was eight ‘miles from ir'- jathjeartm, or Mabaieb-dan, in “which Micab’s houfe was, for as yet they were not come to it,: {ee y. 15: Ws Tee SUS CS Se “44 tefted by Fofepkus’: and “are ye fill? can ye fit fil, and beeafy, and not*bettir. yourfélves to go -ap- and poffels fo good ‘a*'country, ‘of which an ~ealy conqueft. may be. made’? or affirmatively, ye are ftill or filent *; ye make:

¥.14. Then they anfwered the five men that went —__ no anfwer to what wel to /py out ‘the country of Laifo; &c.) That were {ent by their brethren, ¥. 5. and, asic! % 1.5. ¢. 3. §. F 1% Ut fe: Wes af Tigurine verfion; & vos quié(citis, Muniter.

tants of Zidon, whofe cuftoms they might imitate, whofe laws they might ufe, and might be under their government, fince they are faid to have no magiftrate within themfelves; and their carelefinefs and confidence might arife from their ftrong fortreffes; or rather becaufe they thought their city, and the land adjacent to it, did not belong to the land of J/rcel, and did not Know that the J raelites made any pretenfions-to it, and therefore were quite eafy, and in no fear of them; had no watchmen to guard their city, and did not take care to furnith themfelves with weapons of war ‘for their defence, even as the Zidonians; who, befides their city being a ftrong and fortified one, were in no fear of the J/raelites, becauie their city was. not in ‘the land of Canaan, only the border of it reached to it: aad there was vo magifirate in the land that “mizht put them to fame in any thing; to reftrain them from vice, and punifh them for it, or even to reprove and correct them, and fo put them to fhame; or’ put ‘any mark of infamy and difgrace upon them in a public manner, that might fhame them; hence they lived in a diforderly and diffolute manner, whereby they became the more eafy prey to others: or the fenfe is, there was no king, nor an heir of the kingdom, as Kimchi interprets it, fo that there were none to conteft his right to the government of the place, or to accufe another, and put him to fhame for taking it away from him. Farchi takes the fenfe to be, that none needed to turn back his neighbour empty, when he afked any thing of him for his relief, fince there was no want of any thing in the land, as after obferved but the firft fenfe feems beft: and they were far from the Zidonians; who were the only people that could help them, being in friendfhip with’ them; and it may be they were under their government, ‘as before obferved; they are faid-’ to be about 11 miles from them, ‘ofephus fays *; a day’s journey: and had no bufine/s with any man, no trade or commerce, but-lived independent of others, and within themfelves, their land affording them every thing fufficient for them. Some -underftand- it of their not being in any league or alliance with any other people, and fo had none to call in to their affiftance in cafe of any attack upon them.

hence, were fent particularly to Laifh; they had fome notion of that place as proper tor them, and therefore fent thofe men to reconnoitre it; and now as they had paffed this way before, when they came within fight of Micah’s houte, it put them in mind 6f what they had feen there, wherefore one in thé name of the reft, and with their approbation,:.acquainted the company with it: and Jaid unto their brethren, do ye know that there is in thofe houfes; in one of them, pointing to the houfes.a village or town in fight: a epbed and tcrapbim, and a graven image, and a molten image? of which fee ch. xvii. 4, 5. and no doubt but they acquainted them, not only that they had feen them, and fo were certain of it, but had confulted them, and that with fuccefs: now therefore confider, fay they, what ye have to do, whether it may not be proper to confult them again, or rather to take them with us, to confult as occafion may require, and as) tokens and pledges of God being with us, and fo may the rather hope that every thing will fucceed what do you mean by this? is this your kindnef to me, to take away what are my care and charge, and on which my livelihood depends? and do you confider the wickednefs, the fin of facrilege you are guilty of, to take away thefe facred things, thefe objects of religious devotion?. _ y¥.19. dud they jaid unto bim, hold thy peace, &c.] Be filent, make no. difturbance, be quiet and eafy: lay iby hand upon thy mouth; as a token ofjof filence; fo the Agyptiams ufed to paint Harpocrates, the god of filence, with hig fingers prefling his lips: and go with us; for they wanted him as well as his gods, not knowing well how to make ufe of them without him: azd be tous a father aud a prief, to direct them, inftruét them, perform acts of devotion for them, and afk counfel on their account; it feems as if it was common in thofe days to call a’prieft a father, fee ch, xvii. 10. is it better for thee to be a prieft. unto the boufe of one man, or that thou be a prieft unto a tribe and a family in I/rael? fuggefting, that it muft be much to our wifhes. more honourable for him, and more to his advan-

¥. 15. And they turned thitherward, &c. ] Ir feems as if the houfe lay a little out of their way, and therefore they turned on one hand to go unto it: and came to the houje of the young man the Levite, even unto the houfe of Micah; tor the young man’s houfe was only an apartment of Micab’s, and lay very probably next to that in which images and oracle were;

young man’s apartment, rather than to Micah’s, becaule the above things were under his care: and faluted him, afked him of his welfare in a kind and obliging manner, the rather to ingratiate themfelves age, to officiate as a prieft to a body of people, that might be called a tribe, or to a family confilting of various houfes, than in the houfe of a \private perfon; this they left him to confider and judge of.

. y.20. And the pricft’s heart was glad, &c.] He thejrejoiced that fuch an opportunity offered it fuited and they made upto the well with his covetous, ambitious, rambling and unfettled difpofition of mind: and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image; and no doubt the molten image alfo, out of the hands of the five men into his own, agreeing to go with unto him.; them, and officiate for them: aud went in the midjft

¥. 16. And the 600 men appointed with their weapons of war, &c.] Who weré armed men, and| marched with their armour about them: which were of the children of Daw; for no other were concerned in this expedition: ftood by the entering of the gate, not of Micab’s houfe, but of the city in of the people, the 600 armed men, either for the ecurity of himfelf, if Micah fhould raife his fervants, and his neighbours, to purfue after him, and fetch him back, with his images; or, as,others think, in imitation of the priefts bearing the ark, who in journeying marched in the miiddle of the which his -houfe was; here they ftood whilit the) camp. rey: five men went up to the houfe. ¥.21.

¥. 18. And thefe went into Micah’s houfe, &c.| Into that part of it where his gods were; not the 600 men laft mentioned, but the five men who knew the houle, and the chapel where the things were: and fetched the carved wage, the epbod, and the terapbim, and the molten image; and brought them away in-theit hands ‘to their brethren ar the gate, where the prieft alfo was.: and when he faw them, then faid the prieft to them, what -do ye? So they turned and departed, &c.| Turned from the gate of the city where Micab dwelt, and They!marched forward to Lath: and put the. little ones, and the cattle, and the carriage before them; partly for fafety from Micah, and his friends and -neighbours, and partly that they might not be overdriven: ‘their wives, who doubtlefs were with them, though. not mentioned, and their children, and alfo their flocks and herds, they brought with them from Zorah and Efbtaol, as never intending to return again thither, and being fully affured they fhould take Lazb, and the country about, and fettle there; and alfo all their wealth and fubftance, as the Targum renders the word for carriage, whatever they were poffefled of that was moveable; their veflels, filver and gold, and other moveables, as Kimchi interprets it, whatever. was weighty, valuable and glorious, as the word fignifies, or that was of, any importance and worth.

y. 17. And the five men that went out to /py the land, went up and came thither, &c.] firft came to Micab’s houfe, and faluted the young man, and after that falutation, told him there was fuch a number of their brethren at the gate of the city, very probably, who would be glad to fee him; and the young man being defirous alfo of feeing them, and paying his refpects to them, went with them thither, and after they had introduced him, left him difcourfing with them, and then returned to his apartment: and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and, brought them away with them, and from hence it appears plainly, that there were two images, the one graven, and the other molten, fince they are fo manifeftly diftinguifhed, and the ephod and teraphim are fpoken of between them: and the pricft ftood in the eniering of the gate, with the 600 men that were appointed with the weapons of war, who kept him in talk, whilft the five men went and ftole the above things.

y.22. And when they were a good way from the hox/e of Micah, &c.] For it might be foie time betore Micah knew that his gods were ftolen, and his prieft was decoyed from him; and it muft take: up more time ftill to get his fervants and neighbouts together to purfue after thofe that injured him: the men that were in the boufes near to Micah’s boufe were gathered together, no doubt at the requeft of Micab, who informed them of what had happened to him; and they being not only his neighbours, but deeply involved in the fame fuperitition and idolatry, and clofely addicted to

5 «Rah Vila Wael Ts S we i SAY cig

348 TF UD it, and to whom it might in fome refpeéts be advantageous, as it brought people from various parts to worfhip, or to confult the oracle: thefe being got together in a body, purfued and overtook the children of Dan; who were obliged to move but flowly, becaufe of their wives, little ones, and heavy fubftance they carried with them. y¥.23. And they cried unto the children of Dan, &c.] When they had got pretty near them, and in their hearing, they called to them aloud, and defired they would ftop, having fomething to fay to them: and they turned their faces; that is, the Danites turned and looked at them, and ftopped to hear what they had to fay to them; thefe were they who were in the rear in marching: and faid unto Micah; who was at the head of them: what aileft thou that thou comeft with fuch a company? as if he intended to attack them in an hoftile way, and therefore afks what fhould be the occafion of it? what affront had been given him? what injury had been done him, that had provoked him to come out and follow them in fuch a manner? y. 24. And he faid, ye have taken away my gods that I made, &c.| Meaning his graven and molten images, which he had made, or caufed to be made, out of the filver his mother gave him, or however had paid for the making of; and though this might be an argument proving his right unto them, it was a very poor one in favour of their deity; and it is aftonifhing he fhould call them gods he knew the making of, and who could not fave themfelves from being ftolen and carried off: and the prieft, and ye are gone away; they had not only took away his them, he perceived it was to no purpofe, fince they ~ were more numerous and more mighty than he — and his neighbours? he turned and went unto bis — own houfe, and if he returned from his idolatry to the true God, and the right worfhip of him, having loft his gods, it was well for him they were taken away.! y¥.27. And they took the things which Micah haa made, &c.| The ephod, teraphim and the two images, the Danites took them, or having taken them kept them, and went on with them: aad the _ pric which be had; him alfo they took, and who was willing enough to go withthem: aad came unto Laifh, unto a people that were quiet and fecure, having no centinels placed at any diftahce to give them’ warning of an enemy, nor any watchmen on their walls to defcry oné and perhaps their gates not fhut, nor any guard at any of their pafles and avenues, having no. apprehenfion at all of being vifited by an enemy, efpecially from J/rae/, not being apprized that they had any pretenfions to their city, and the, land about it: and they /mote them with the edge of the fword, entered their city, and fell on them fuddenly, and cut them to pieces: and burnt: the city with fire, to ftrike terror to all about; or it may be only they fet fire to fome part of it, as they entered, only to frighten the inhabitants, and throw them into the greater confufion, that they might become a more eafy prey to them; for their intention was to inhabit it, and it feems to be the fame city ftill, though they rebuilt it, and called it by another name.

¥. 28. And there was no deliverer, becaufe it was

gods, but the prieft that facrificed for him unto far from Zidon, &c.] Under whole government them, and affifted him in aéts of devotion to them, or toGod by them, and were gone off with both: and what have I more? fignifying, that all he had in the world, wife, children and fubftance, were all nothing in comparifon of thefe; there was nothing he fo much valued as he did thefe, nor could he take any pleafure or comfort in any thing, being deprived of them, fo much was his heart fet on them: and what is this that ye fay unto me, what aileth thee? what. a queftion is this you afk, as if the injury done me was none at all, and that I had no reafon to complain; that it was a trifling, infignificant thing, worthy of no regard, when it was a matter of the greateft moment and importance to him in hfe?

¥.25. And the children of Dan faid unto him, let not thy voice be heard among us, &c.] Complaining of us as having done an unjuft thing, charging and reproaching us with theft and facrilege, infifting upon a reftoration of the things taken, and abufing with odious names and characters: Jef angry fellows run upon thee, \eft men of bitter and paffionate fpirits, provoked by ill language given them, fhould draw their {words and fall upon thee: and thou lofe thy life, and the life of thy boufbold, the life of himfelf, his family, fervants, tenants and neighbours with him, which ought to have been more precious and valuable than his gods; of which there was great danger in demanding his gods, which by this they let him know they would hot part with.

¥.20. And the children of Dan went their way, &c.] Went their way, would not ftay to have any farther talk with him, as being an impertinent man, and unworthy of their regard, bidding him defiance, and do his worft, having nothing to fear from him: and when Micah faw they were too firong for bim; that he-could not prevail upon them by words and arguments; to take up arms, and ule and protection they feem to have been; and that city being at a diftance from them, and the Danites coming upon them fuddenly, there was no time to fend to them for help, or any to come in to their affiftance, and fave them from their enemies, fee ¥. 7. and they had no bufine/s with any man; that could have given them notice of the defign of the children of Dan againft them, nor to the Zidonians to come foon enough for their protection and defence; none there were in alliance with them except them: and it was in the valley that lieth Zy Beth-rebob; which lay in the northern border of the land of Canaan, as you go to Hamath of Syria, Numb. xiii. 21. fee the note there: and they built a city to dwell there; not anew one altogether, but. they rebuilt and enlarged Lai, and made it convenient for them to dwell in.: ¥. 29. And they called the name of the city Dan, &c.] The name of their tribe, and to fhew, that though they were at the fartheft part of the land northward, and at fuch a diftance from their tribe, which lay to the fouth-weft, yet they belonged to it: after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Ifrael, one of the twelve fons of Jacob or Ifrael: however, the name of the city was Laifh at jirft; which fignifies a ion, and might be fo called from its being infefted with lions, which might come from the mountain of Lebanon, near to which it was, and whither Daz, as a lion’s whelp. leaped, Deut. xxxiii. 21. and now the prophecy had its accomplifhment. This place was alfo called Lefbem, Fofb. xix. 47. and it is remarkable, that Lefbem is the name of the precious ftone in high-prieft’s breaft-plate, on which the name of Dan was engraved, which was done many years before this city fell into the hands of the ‘Deut though that might portend it. a ¥. 30. And the children of Dan fet up the graven image, &c.] In their new city Dan, and vety proi bably i. Ch. XV. yY. 3 I. a U D bably had a houfe built for it, oe to it, in the fame place where Feroboam, in after-times, fet

‘up one of his golden calves. The Danites having -fucceeded, according to the oracle in Micah’s houfe, they had a very great veneration for the images they brought away with them from thence, and fet them up for religious worfhip in a proper place; for though only mention is made of the graven image, yet no doubt the molten image, and the teraphim, ‘with the ephod, were all placed together for devotion and confultation: and Fonathan the fon of Gerfoom, the fon of Manaffeh, he, and bis fons were pritfts to the tribe.of Dan; not to the whole tribe, but to that part of it which refided in this city, called Dan; and this Fonathan feems to be no other than the Levite Micad took into his houfe, and made a prieft of; and whom the Danites took with them to Laifh, to be their prieft, who is faid to be the fon of Gerfbom, the fon of Manaffeb: now Gerfoom was the fon of Mofes, and this man is thought by fome to be a grandfon of his; and with this agrees the time in which he lived, for as Phinckas the grandfon of Aaron was now living, ch. xx. 28. fo might a grandfon of Mo/es; and though he is called a young mfan, he might be a younger fon of Gerfhom’s; nor is his being a Levite any objection, fince it is a clear cafe that Mo es made no provifion for his family, fo difinterefted was he, which may be ‘obferved againft the deifts: and it is remarkable that the nun, or N in Manafjeb, is fufpended over the other letters in our printed copies of the Hebrew bible, and fo without it may be read, Mo/es; and the Fews * have a notion, that this was done for the honour of Mojes, and to obferve that he was more like a fon of AG-

1 ln chapter gives an account of a fad af- - fair of a Levite and his concubine, and of. the bad confequence of it, how that fhe played the whore, and went away from him to her father’s houfe, whither he followed her, and where he was kindly entertained by her father feveral days, y. i1—g. and then fet out on his journey to his own country; and pafling by Jebus or Ferufalem, he came to. Gibeab, and could get ‘no ‘lodging, y. yo—1s5. but at length was‘taken in by an old man, an Ephraimite, ¥. 16—21. when the houfe where he was, was befet by fome wicked men in Gibeah, with the fame intent as the men of Sodom befet the houfe of Lot, ¥. 22—24. and after fome expoftulation of the old man with them, the concubine was brought out to them, and abufed by them even unto death, ¥. 25—28. upon which the Levite her hufband cut her into 12 pieces, and fent them into all the-coafts of [/rae/, which was fhocking and furprizing, ¥. 29, 30. the confequence of which is related in the next chapter.

y.1. And it came to pafs in thofe days, when there was no king in Ijrael, &c.| The fame is obferved in ch. xvii. 6. and xviii. 1. and refers to the fame times, the times before the judges, between them and the death of Fefsua, during which time there was no fupreme magiftrate or naffeh than of Mofes; though rather this being the firitt letter of ws) to forget, may fuggelt, as Aiting * obferves, that he had forgot the virtues of his grandfather; and the Vulgate Latin verfion reads, the fon of Mofes; and fOme° are of opinion, that this is the true reading of the text; though it may be that another Gerfhom than the fon of Mofes, and another Manaffeb we know nothing of, are here intended, fo Marcus Marinus‘: however, this man, and his fons in fucceffion after him, were priefts in Dan, until the day of the captivity of the land; not till the captivity of Sexacherib or Salmanefer,when Daa,with the reft of the ten tribes, were carried captives, as Farchi, for this idolatry, and thefe idolatrous priefts, can hardly be thought to be continued here through the times of Samuel, David and Solomon: nor is it to be underftood of the captivity of [rael by Fabin king of

Canaan, as Ben Gerfom; for as the other is too long a time, this is too fhort, fince it is clear by the next verfe, that this idolatry continued all the time the houfe of God was at Shiloh; and which direéts us to the captivity here fpoken of, when the ark was carried captive by the Phili/ftiies, and the houfe of Shilob was forfaken; which is the fenfe of

Kimchi, R. Iaich, and Abarbinel, and may be illu- {trated and confirmed by fome paffages in Pf

¥. 31. And they fet them up Micab’s graven image, which be made, &c.] Which is repeated for the: fake of the titne of its continuance next exprefled: all the time the houfe of God was in Shilob, which, according to fome Fewi/h writers *, was 360 years; that is, fo long as the tabernacle was there, which was afterwards removed to Nod.

ruler in J/rael, which is meant; and this is ob-« ferved as before, to account for wickednefs being committed with impunity, fuch as adultery, fodomy, murder, &c. afterwards related: that there was a certain Levite fojourning on the fide of mount Ephraim; in a city that was on one fide of.that mountain; it feems not to have been a Levitical city, becaufe he was only a fojourner in it; perhaps he chofe to refide there, as being near to the tabernacle at Shiloh, which was in that tribe: who took to bim a concubine out of Bethlebem-judah, the fame place from whence the wicked Levite came, fpoken of in the preceding chapters, and who was the means of fpreading idolatry in J/rae/; and here a wicked concubine of a Levite comes from the fame, and was the caufe of great effufion of blood in I/rael; which two inftances may feem to reflect difhonour and difgrace on Bethlebem, which were wiped off by the birth of fome eminent perfons in it, as Boaz, Feffe, David, and efpecially the Meffiah. The woman the Levite took from hence, is in the Hebrew called a wife, a concubine*; for a concubine was a fecondary wife, taken without efpoufals and a dowry: fome think they were efpoufed, though there was no dowry, and were reckoned truly wives, though they had not all the honour and privilege as others; and that this woman was accounted the wife of the Levite, appears from his

The ‘time the Levite had agreed to ftay being yy 7 “ when they arofe early in the morning; the Levite, being called her hufband frequently; and her father is faid to be his father-in-law, and he his fonin-law; nor could fhe have been chargeable with adultery otherwife. their journey:

his concubine and fervant, in order to fet out on that be arofe to depart, the Levite rofe up from his feat to take his leave of his fatherin-law, and depart from his houfe, and proceed on way homeward; for rifing out of his bed, is ¥ before exprefled: and the dam/el’s Janes to his; Jon in-law, comifort thy heart with a morfel of bread 5: take a breakfaft firft, that he might be fitter, for » his journey, for bread comforts or ftrengthens mens hedrts, Pf. civ. 15. though here it may be put for fo Kim-tany, and all forts of provifions, whatever ogee proper to take early in a morning, and before etting outon a journey: and afterwards go your way; he feemed as if he was willing he fhould fet forward, after he had refrefled himielf with a meal.

¥. 2. And his concubine played the whore againft him, &c.] Was unfaithful to him and his bed,.and broke the covenant and agreement between his them; or with bim', whilft fhe was with him ip the houfe; or before him*, of which he had knowledge and full proof; though fome think this is not to be underftood of whoredom or adultery, but of her ill ufage of him, and departure from him. TheTargum is, fhe defpifed him;

chi and Ben Gerfom interpret it, of her declining and turning afide from him, and returning to, her father’s houfe, as follows: and. indeed, had fhe ‘ been guilty of fuch a crime, one would think he would never have fought after her to reconcile her, and take her again, fince fhe not only to be put away, but to be put to death according to the law of God: aud went away from him to ber father’s boufe to Bethlehem-judah; where fhe was received, as fhe knew fhe fhould, having a parenc perhaps too indulgent, and which was an encouragement to her to leave her hufband: and was there fone whole months;

¥. 6. And they fat down, &c.] Not only fat deferved down upon their feats again, the Levite having role up in order to go away, but fat down at table: and did eat and drink both of them together; both the Levite and his father-in-law;.and it appears by this, and what follows, that the Levite did not take only a fhort repaft, or breakfaft with him, but ftayed and dined with him, when they ate a or a year and four months, plentiful meal, and drank freely after dinner: for and Ben Me- the damfel s father had faid to the man, be content, / pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine beart %e merry; let us {pend a pleafant evening together, in drinking freely, though not to excels, in chear- according to Ben Gerfom; fo Kimchi.

lech obferve the copulative and, is wanting, which is exprefled in 1 Sam. xxvii. 7. and yamim days is ‘fometimes ufed for a year, fee ch. xiv. 8. and xy.

¥. 3. Aud her bufband arofe, &c.] From the place where he lived: and went ‘after her, to{toit. “Betblebem-judab, where her father lived: to /peak comfortably to ber, or to ber heart'; having heard perhaps that fhe repented of her fin, or if it was only upon a quarrel between them,, his anger might cool and fubfide, and therefore fought for.a ciliation; and which was the more commendable _in him, as he did not put her away, but fhe departed from him: and to bring ber again; to his own. city, and to his own houfe and bed, as before: having bis fervant with him, and a couple of affes; one of them for her to ride upon, and the other to carry provifions on: and fhe brought him -into her father’s haufe; it feems fhe met with him -before he came thither, in the fields, or in the ftreet; and by this. it appears, that. fhe was glad to fee him, and received him.in a loving manner,.and introduced him into. her father’s houfe, fo that things looked well, and promifed fuccefs:. amd when the father of the damfel faw him, he rejoiced to meet. bim; having a. good opinion of him, ‘and perhaps underftood' even by his daughter’s ftory, that fhe was moft in fault, and therefore was.well _pleafed to fee him come after her; though he ought before this. time to have fent her home,.or fought fora reconciliation of her to her hufband..

¥. 4. And bis father-in-law, the damfel’s fathers retained him, &c.| Prevailed upon him to ftay fome time with him; and he abode with bimthree days; it _ feems as if he agreed to ftay with him fo long, that time.he, ftayed contentedly: /o «hey did eat and drink, and.lodged, there;, the Levite and his, fervant -were very handfomely entertained, and had every propofed to him, and hoped he would agree ~ iy a ¥-7- 4nd when the man rofe up to depart, Sc.) Rofe up from table, having eat and drank fuffi- Ciently, in order to depart the houfe, and proceed 0n his journey: Ais father-in-law urged him; with recon-;much entreaty, and earneft folicitations, that he ~ would ftay all night with him: ¢herefore he lodged ¢here agam, another night, being prevailed upon through his father’s importunity.:

_¥. 8. |dud he rofe early in the morning on the th day'to depart, &c.| With a full intention! te! take his leave of his father, and be gone: amd the damfel’s father faid, comfort thine heart, 1 pray thees with a meal’s meat, with a breakfaft, before he fet out on his journey, that he might be heartier and ftronger for it: and they tarried until afternoons or watil the decline of the day", when the fan had ~ paffed the meridian, and was declining, as it immediately does when ‘noon is:paft: and they did eat both of them, the man ftayed and took a dinner with his father-in-law; and though) no mention is. made of the concubine, neither in this; /norin the other inftances, no doubt fhe eat with them, > ».9. Aad when the man rofe up to depart, be ad bis concubine, and bis fervant, &c.| Role up from, table, having comfortably refrefthed themfelves: bis father-in-law, the damfel’s father, faid unto. him, bebold, now the day draweth towards evening, or is remi/s, or weak”; that is, the hear, andjlight and-ftrength of the fun abated, \and became weaker and more remifs, as it does: the more itdes — clines; and is nearer, fetting: J pray you tarry ail #ghi; faggefting, it was a very improper time to

<3 5. dnd it came to pas on the fourth day, &c.] day°, when the day or fun feems to be pitching its ae tee a = ‘ “tent, and going to reft; or it being the time when * an army on the march ftops and pitches their tents, in order to continue all night; or when men go to their tents and habitations, and lie down and take - their reft: lodge bere, that thine heart may be merry; _and let us have another pleafant evening together, _ which can’t be had in an inn upon the road; you - can’t be comfortable there, as a and theretore _ be perfuaded to ftay, fince it is not poffible to get home to-night: and to morrow get you early'on your way, that thou mayeft go home to thy city, as the Targum; fignitying, that he fhould not infift upon their ftaying any longer, and then they might fet out. on their journey as {oon as they pleafed.

think, he would not have fo called, had it been inhabited, though but in part, by the children of /udab and Benjamin: by this it appears, that this Levite was a good man, and conf{cientious, and fhunned all appearance of evil, and the company of wicked men, as became his character and ptofeffion: and it is added, that is not of the children of J/rael,; which farther confirms the above conjecture, that this city was not as yet at all in the hands of the Jjraelites; or if it had been, was res taken, and now in the hands of the. ebufites: we wll pafs over to Gibeah, which was in the tribe of Benjdmin,,and inhabited by men of that tribe, and fo more agreeable to this Levite, though it proved fatal to him this was, as Fo/ephus fays’, 30 furlongs, or near four miles from’ Febus or Feru/alem;, and though it was near fun-fetting, he chofe rather to proceed on to this place, than to was refolvedjlodge at Yebus, and the rather it may be, as it was but be rofe upja Levitical city, Fofh. xxi. 17.. y.13. And he faid to bis fervant, come, and let “s draw near; &c.| And get on as faft as we can: to one of thefe places to lodge all night, in Giinha-)beah or in Ramah; which were both in the tribe follow-jot Benjamin, and he left it to his fervant to go to Bethlehem °;jeither, to that which was moft convenient, becaufe home-jof the time of the day, it being near fun-fetting; now, as before obferved, Gibeab was not quite © four miles from Jerufalem; whereas; according to Jerom*, Ramab was {ix miles, and therefore we find they took up at Gideab, as being neareft of thefe two places; fee the notes on Jah. xviii. 24, 25. and in Ao/. v. 8. ‘

¥.10. But ‘the man would not tarry that night, &c.] He was determined upon his journey; he erceived there was no end of the, folicitations of his father-in-law, and did not know how long he intended to detain him, and therefore; not to hearken to him any longer:

and departed; rofe up from his feat, took his leave of his father-in-law, and proceeded on his journey: and came over-againft Febus, which is Ferufalem; which was then called Feous, becaufe bited by the Febujfites, as appears from the ing verle; this was,about fix miles from fo far they were come on in their journey wards: and there were with him two affes faddled; which he brought with him when, he came to Betblebem, ¥. 3. now faid to be faddled, either for him and his concubifie to ride on; or they were bound or girt, as the. word fignifies, being loaded with bread, and wine, and provender; or it may be one of them was for him and his concubine to ride on by turns, and the other to carry the provifions: and bis concubine alfo was with bim, matters being now made up between them, fhe had agreed to go with him, and did, which was the end of his coming to her father’s houfe; and therefore this is obferved on that account, as well as for what follows in the tragical part of this hiftory. -y¥.11..And when they were by Jebus, the day was far {pent, &c.| Or was gone down very much3, the fun. was going down apace, and near fetting: and the fervant faid unto his mafter, come, I pray thee; he propofed it to him in a fubmiffive manner, and might ufe fome intreaty for his mafter’s good and fatety: and let us turn in to this city of the Febufites, and lodge in it; for though that part of the city which belonged to the tribe of Fudab, was taken by them after the death of Yo/bua, that which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, part of it was ftill poffefled by the Febufites, whom Beujamites could not expel, ch. viii. 21. Gerfom thinks, that this affair of the Levite, and his concubine, was before the men of Fudah fought again it, and took it; which is not unlikely, feeing it is called here a city of the Zedw/ites, and becaufe the Levite objected going into it on that ac- -count; whereas there would not have been much in his objection, if one part of it was in the poffeflion of the men of Yudah, and the other in the hands of the tribe of Benjamin, though they had fome Febujfites dwelling among them. y. 16.

¥. 14. And they paffed on, and went their way, &c.] Proceeded on in their journey from Fedzs or Ferufalem, near to which they were: and the fug went down upon them when they were by Gibeab, wéich belongeth to Benjamin; which is added, to diftinguifh it from another Gisead in the tribe of fudab, Fob. xv. 57. when they were come pretty near to this place, on the fide of it, as.it {eeins, the fun was juit fetting, which determined them to take up their lodging here, as follows.

y.15. Aud they turned afide thither to go in and lodge in Gibeab, &cc.| AInftead of going right forward, and paffing by Gideah, over-againit which they were, they turned out of their road, and went into the city to feek a lodging in it: and when he went in, he fat him down in a fireet of the city; to {ee whether any perfon would invite him into any yetlof their houles; as was ufual in thofe hofpitable times and countries, and where there were few inns thejfor the entertainment of travellers and {trangers, and Bezjor none at all, and efpecially. in cities; \if any where, they were upon the public road: for there was. xo man that. took them into bis houfe to lodging; the fpirit of hofpitality being greatly declined, and even gone from among them; or, as fome think, thofe that had fuch a fpirit, and were willing to receive ftrangers, -were afraid, becaufe of their wicked neighbours, who would befet their houfes to abufe ftrangers, as the fequel of this hiftory thows.;, And bebold, there came an eld man from his work out of the field at even, &c.] Which is | the time that men come, from their labour, and take their reft,; and this man, though a man in fevyen years, and of fome fubftance, as appears by what follows, yet attended the bufinefs of his calling, and which, one wouldjwhich was very commendable in him: wé:cb was

¥. 12. And bis mafter faid unto him, we will not tarn afide hither into the city of a jfiranger, &c. A city of the children of the Gentiles, as the Zargum, as the Febujites were, being one of the nations of the land of Canaan, who were to be _difpoffefed and deftroyed;

alfo. of mount Ephraim, as the Levite was, which when the old man under{tood, he was the more be fojourned in Gibeah, he was not a native of the place, and yet more kind to {trangers than fuch as were; nor does he appear to be a Levite, though jt was a Levitical city; on what account he tojourned here, is not maniteft: but the men of the place were Benjamites; for as yet the number of Levites were not large, others dwelt in the cities befides them, even fuch as were of the tribe to which they belonged.

y. 17. And when he had lift up bis eyes, &c.] For it may be as he came out of the field, he was mufing and meditating with his» eyes downwards direéted, but coming into the city looked up: 4e faw a wayfaring man in the fireet of the city; whom he {uppofed to be a traveller and a ftranger by his drefs, and other circumftances, having never feen him before, and knowing pretty well the inhabitants of the place: and the old man faid, whither goo thou? and whence comeft thou? the meaning of the queftions is, what place he was travelling to, and from whence he came latt.

y.18. And he faid unto him, we are paffing from Bethlebem-judab, &c. | He anfwers to his latt queftion firft, for this was the place from whence they came: ftowards the fide of mount Ephraim, thither they were going, which is an anfwer to the firft queftion: and then adds, which is more than what was requefted, from thence am I; that is, he was an inhabitant of a city on one fide of mount Ephraim, but what that city was, he fays not, nor is it elfewhere faid: and I went to Bethlehem-judab, on what account he does not declare, but the above narrative clearly fhews for what reafon he went thither: but 1am now going to the houje of the Lord; that is, the tabernacle in Shiloh, there he propofed to go firft to offer facrifice for the fucceis of his journey, and for the reconciliation of his wife to him, and to pray to God for happinefs in his family yet to come, and where fome think his ha bitation was; but rather it was at fome diftance, not far from mount Ephraim, and on the fide of it, whither he fhould return when he had performed thofe acts of religion and devotion, which he judged were his duty: avd there is no man that receiveth me to boufe, that had invited him to him to his houfe to take a lodging there, as was common to do to travellers, as the inftances of Abraham, Lot, Fob, and others fhew. It was a law with the Lucani (a people in /¢a/y) that if a ftranger came at fun-fetting, and was defirous of coming under the roof of an} one, if fuch an one did not receive him, he was to be mulcted, and fuffer the punifhment of inhofpitality *.

y.19. Yet there is both flraw and provender for our affes, &c.] Straw to litter them with, and provender to feed them with, which he had brought with him on ‘them: and there is bread and wine alfo for me, and for thine band-maid; meaning himfelf and his concubine; there were enough for them both, which were packed up, and carried by the affes: and for the young man which is with thy fervants, the fupplement, which is, feems quite needlefs, and even impertinent; for as yet the young man, by whdém. he means his fervant, was not as yet in company with the fervants of the old man; but the tenfe is, that there was not only provifions with him for himfelf, and his wife, and alfo for his fervant, but even enough for the fervants of the old man, whether maid or man-fervants: there is