Exposition of the Whole Bible

bleffings and privileges thereof; as they alfo will in the latter day, when converted: and to the firangers thet fojourn among them, not fuch as were ftrangers to fpiritual and divine things; for this would contradict the rule in ch. xliv. 9, but converted Gentiles, fo called becaufe of their natural defcent and civil ftate, being with refpect to both, aliens from the commonwealth of J/rael; yet were to be, as they have been, and will be, taken into the fame gofpel-church-ftate with the believing Fews: which foall beget children among yous not among them: but this refpects gofpel-times, and the coalition of Fews and Gentiles in the fame church-ftate; where there is no difference, but Chrift is all in all; where they are admitted to the fame ordinances of baptifm and the Lord’s fupper; partake of the fame bleffings of grace, and promiles of the word, and have an equal right to.

the heavenly inheritance: Eph. iii. 6. is the bet commentary on this paflage; which contains the fame myttery the apoitle Pau/ was acquainted with, that the Gentiles foould be fellow heirs, and of the only in a natural, but in a fpiritual fenfe; be the fame body, and partakers of his promife in Chrijt by means of begetting many fouls again to the lively hope of a glorious inheritance: and they fhall be unto you as born in the country among the children of ‘Tjrael; that is, the children begotten by the Gentiles, fhall be confidered all one as thofe of the children of J/rael, being born again of the fame Spirit and grace; and fo have an equal right to the fame privileges, and to which they fhall be admitted: they fhall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Ifrael; this is a new thing, and what in a literal fenfe was never granted; for tho’ in the times of Mofes and onward, and by his direction from the Lord, fuch as have been called profelytes of the gate, and profelytes of righteoufnefs, have been admitted to various privileges, by conforming to certain rules, rites and ceremonies, yet never were al- Jowed to have any inheritance in the land; and after the captivity, Zzra and Nebemiah drove out the ftrangers, who by affinity with fome had got

N this chapter an account is given of the por- I tions of the twelve tribes in the land of Jrael; feven to the north of the fanctuary, Dan, Afer, Napthali, Manaffeb, Ephraim, Reuben, and Fudah, y. 1—7. between which and Benjamin lay the holy portion of the land, for the fanctuary and the priefts of it, and for the Levites, and for the city and its fuburbs, and for the prince, ¥. 8—22. then the portions of the other five tribes to the fouth of the fanctuary, Benjamin, Simeon, IfJachar, Zebulun, and Gad, ¥. 23—29. after which the city is defcribed by its outlets, north, eaft, fouth, and weft; by its twelve gates, three at each point; by its circumference, and by its name, ¥. 30—35.

y. 1. Now thefe'are the names of the tribes, &c.] That fhall inherit the land; and an account is iven of the feveral portions of it they fhall have Por an inheritance; by which are meant, not the twelve tribes of J/rae/ literally, among whom the land was never fo divided as here, either in Fofoua’s time, or after the captivity of Babylon; but the chriftian church, or the people of Chrift under the gofpel-difpenfation, as in Rev. vii. 4. built upon the doétrine of the twelve apoftles of Chrift: the ftranger-fojourners are not here mentioned, who according to the preceding chapter were equally to inherit with the children of Z/rae/, but are included; they being J/raelites indeed, and fellow-heirs, and all one in Chrift, be they of whatfoever nation. From the north end to the coaft of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, the divifion of the land, and the diftribution of the portions, begin at the north, and fo go on to the fouth, by the

XY. 23. And it fhall come to pafs, that in what tribe the firanger fojourneth, 8c.) Whatfoever particular congregation or church, thefe ftrangers and fojourners, as all the Lord’s people are in this world, and even in their church-flate, or thofe Gentiles before deferibed, fhall be neareft unto, and to which they fhall propofe themfelves for communion, they fhall be readily admitted: there fhail ye give him bis inheritance, faith the Lord God; allow him a name and a place; put him in the poffeffion of all church-privileges and immunities; look upon him as a member, a brother, a fellow-citizen, as an heir together of the grace of life, and as equally intitled to the inheritance of the faints in hght; and for this they have the authority and order of Jehovah himfelf.:

way of Hethlon and Hamath; of which fee ch. xlvii, 15, 16. and along by Hazar-Enan, the border of Dama/fcus, northward to the coaft of Hamath; fee ch. xlvii. 17: for thefe are his fides eaft and weft, the fides of the tribe of Daw next mentioned, and fo of every other tribe; which was meafured from eaft to weft, and confifted of 25,000 reeds four- {quare, as appears from ¥. 8, 20: @ portion for Dan or, Dan one; either one tribe, or one portion. ‘This tribe has its portion firft affigned it, tho’ it was provided for laft in Fo/bua’s time, and not fufficiently neither, Fo/b. xix. 40o—47. and is left out in Rev. vii. having fallen into idolatry; but here being provided for firft, confirms what our Lord fays, that the firft fhall be laft, and the laft firft, Matt, xix. 30. and xx. 16. and fhows that the chief of finners are received by Chrift, and provided for by him, with grace here, and glory hereafter, who come to him, and believe in him; and that their inheritance is of grace, and not of works. ¥. 2. And by the border of Dan, &c.] Next to it, juft by it, clofely adjoining to it; for it fhould be obferved, that thefe tribes, and their inheritances, are contiguous to each other; which denotes the union of true chriftians, or believers in Chrift, with each other; they are members one of another, one body, one bread, and all one in Chrift; and their harmony, unity, and concord, their comfortable communion and fellowfhip with each other; efpecially as it will be in the latter day, when they fhall no more grieve and vex each other, nor feparate from one another; but the two fticks fhall be one in the hand of the Lord, J xi. 13. Ezek,

Ezek. xxxvii. 19: from the eaft fide unto the weft fede; being jutt in the fame pofition as the former tribe, and of the fame meafure and extent: @ portion for Afher; an inheritance for the tribe of Aber, the dleféd of the Lord with all bleffings, {piricual and eternal: and it fhould be known, once for all, that the portions of the feveral tribes are exaétly alike: true believers have the fame covenant- God and Father for their portion; the fame Lord, Redeemer and Saviour, head and hufband Jefus Chrift; they are members of the fame body; _partake of the fame Spirit, and his graces; obtain like precious faith; are called in one hope of their calling; have a right to the fame privileges and ordinances, and will fhare in the fame heavenly inheritance, Eph. iv. 4, 5, 6. y¥. 3. And by the border of Afber, from the eaft fide, even unto the weft fide, a portion for Naphial.

Clofe to the tribe of /her-and his inheritance, in the fame direction from eaft to weft, lay the part affigned to the tribe of Nephtali: fuch chriftians who are wreflers with God in prayer, and againft their {piritual enemies, and ftrive and contend for the doctrines of the gofpel, may be defigned. ¥. 4. And by the border of Naphtali, from the eaft fide unio the weft fide, a portion for Manaffeb.] Juft in like manner, next to Naphtali lay the tribe of Manafeh, and the portion of land appointed for that tribe; even fuch chriftians who forget the things that are behind, and reach to thofe that are before; forget their former companions, their own. people, and father’s houfe; their carnal lufts and pleafures, and their own works of righteoufnefs, and follow after Chrift and his righteoufnefs. ¥. 5. And by the border of Manaffeh, from the eaft Jide unto the weft fide, a portion for Ephraim. | Clofe to the tribe of Manajjeb, and the inheritance of it, which is no more reckoned a half, but a whole tribe, and has an inheritance equal to the reft, lay the tribe of Ephraim, and the inheritance affigned to that; even to fiich believers as are Jruitful in grace and good works. o/eph is not mentioned, as in ch. xlvii. 13. the two portions there given him, being here allotted to his two fons, Manaffeh and Ephraim. ¥..6. And by the border of Ephraim, from the eaft

proceeding in length from eaft to weft: this takes in the whole allotted to the fanctuary, the priefts, the Levites, the'city, and the prince; each of whi are taken notice of in the following verfes: which they foall offer of jive and twenty thoufand reeds in breadth; trom north to fouth; which makes, as the Fews “ fay, feventy-five miles; fome make it feventy-feven, and others more: and in Jength as one of the other parts, from the eaft fide unto the weft fide, that is, equal to one of the portions allotted to any one of the tribes, which were alike: what this meafure was is not faid, but was the fame with the breadth; fince the whole oblation was five.and twenty thoufand- by five and twenty thoufand, ¥. 20: and the fanliuary foall be in the midft thereof; of the holy portion of land; fee ch, xlv. 3, not in the tribe of Fudah or Benjamin; nor in the city of Yerufalem, as before; but many miles from thence.. ¥. 9. The oblation that ye feall offer to the Lord, &c.] That which belonged to the fanétuary, and to the prieits, which was taken and feparated for that ufe; which here, and in the following -verfes, is particularly and feparately confidered: fhall be of five and twenty thoufand in length; that is, five and twenty thoufand reeds from eaft to weft: and of ten thoufand in breadth; from north to fouth; fee ch. xl¥,..9s ‘ ¥..10. And for them, even the priefts, foall be this holy oblation, &c.|} ‘This holy portion of land, excepting that which is for the fanctuary, is to be for the ufe of the priefts to build houfes on to dwell in; fignifying, that the minifters of the gofpel are to be taken care of, and fufficient provifion made for their maintenance; fee ch. xlv.4: toward the north five and twenty thoufand in length, and toward

the weft ten thoufand in breadth, and toward the eaft

ten thoufand in breadth, and toward the fouth five and

twenty thoufand in length; to the north and fouth five and twenty thoufand reeds each; and to the eaft and weft ten thoufand each; all this belongs to the priefts, excepting the place for the fanctuary, that ftood in the middle of it, as repeated in the following claufe: and the fanétuary of the Lord fhall be in the midft thereof; as in ¥. 8.

y. 11. It fhall be for the priefts that are fanéii-

fide unto the weft fide, a portion for Reuben.]| fied, &c.] That are fet apart by the Lord; called

Who, thro’ his fin, loft his birth-right; but now his fin being forgiven and forgotten, has a portion affigned him upon the border of Ephraim, and next to the tribe of Yudah; when in Mo/es and TFofbua’s time it lay on the other fide Jordan: this points to fuch perfons that fhall have their lot and portion in fpiritual things; that fee the fon, that Jook to Chrift alone for righteoufnefs, peace, pardon, and eternal life..

y. 7. And by the border of Reuben, from the eaft fide unto the weft fide, a portion for Fudab.| Such who -confe/s the Lord before men, and praije his name for all bleffings, temporal and fpiritual, they receive from him: thefe feven tribes already men; tioned, as they lay contiguous to each other,.and had portions and inheritances alike affigned to them; fo they were all of them to the north of the fanctuary and city after mentioned.

XY. 8. And by the border of Fudah, from the eaft fide unto the weft fide, fhall be the offering, &c.

Or the oblation of an holy portion of the land unto the Lord before made mention of, ch. xlv. 1. this was clofe by the tribe of ¥udeb, and in the fame direction with that, and the reft of the tribes, » Jarchi and Kimchi in loc. e Siphri; for accommodations for them; for chamb fo Lipman, Tzurath Beth Hamikdafh, fol, 1, 1.

by him to this office, and fanétified with the gifts and graces of his Spirit; and fo fitted and qualified for the work: of the fous of Zadok, which have kept my charge, which went not aftray, when the children of Ifrael went aftray, as the Levites went aftray; minifters faithful to the Lord in the worft:

of times; and who are, and. will be taken notice of by him, both now and hereafter, Mayr, xxv. 21. Rev. iii. 10, fee the notes on ch. xliy. 15, 16.

y. 12. And this cblation of the land that is of-

Sered, foall be unto them a thing moft holy, &c.]

peculiarly theirs, and not converted to any other ufe; but be accounted moft facred, and not alien- able, or made ufe of by other perfons, or to other — purpofes: by the border of the Levites; it thould be continued, and reach unto their border; or where that fhould begin, and their part affigned them, which is next confidered. © es y. 13. And over-againft the border of the pri &c.] Next to their border, clofé to it, runn parallel with it: the Levites thall have jive

twenty thoufand in length, and ten thoufand in breadth;.

lodge in, and other ufes; all concerned in the houie and worfhip of God, fhall be provided for with every thing neceflary and convenient for them, fee the note on ch. xlv. 5: all the length fhall be

Jive and twenty thoufand,. and the breadth ten thoufand, all the length of the land, both for the priefts and Levites, fhould be five and twenty thou- - farid reeds, and the breadth of the land for both ten thoufand reeds: this is repeated for the certainty of it, and to prevent any miftake about it. y. 14. And they fhall not fell of it, 8c.) Any part of it that is allotted to them, neither the priefts, nor the Levites; {imony is not to be practifed: meither exchange, for any other land in lieu of it: nor alienate the firft-fruits of the land; or appropriate them to any other ufe, than that of the priefts and Levites: whatever is appointed for ecclefiaftic ufes, ought not to be converted to any other; nor fhould church-privileges be parted with on any account: minifters and ether officers, nay even private chriftians, fhould not part with their chriftian liberty, nor with any of the do¢trines and ordinances of ‘the gofpel: for it is holy unto the Lord; what is feparated and devoted to religious ufes, is facred to the Lord. ¥. 15. And the five thoufand that are left in the breadth over-againft the five and twenty thoufand, &c.} Which bélonged to the Levites, which was a fquare of twenty five thoufand reeds by twenty five thoufand; by the fide of, or parallel to the twenty five thoufand in length, ran twenty five thoufand in breadth, two ten thoufands, as in the portion of the priefts, ¥. ro. fo in theirs, y. 13. the refidue whereof five thoufand, /ball be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for fuburbs; to build a city upon for the J/raelites to dwell in, and fuburbs to be inhabited by thofe that were not of the city; or for fields and gardens, to fupply the city with things neceflary and convenient; tho’ the Fewi/b commentators, Farchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, fay, the fuburbs were an open place, where were neither houfes, nor fields, nor gardens: when this fpot for the city and fuburbs is faid to be a profane place, it is to be underftood comparatively, with refpect*to the portion for the priefts and Levites; otherwife it was a part of the holy oblation; or rather, that it was common to al] the people of J/rael, who might all dwell in it; and therefore Symmachus and Theodotion render it dreuxov. This city fignifies the gofpel-church, often compared to a city in feripture, being compact together; confifting of chriftians knit together in love, of the fame fentiment, and joining in reliious worfhip: a city feated on an eminence; well Soniye: built on the rock Chrift Jefus; its buildings large and beautiful, and of lively ftones; its inhabitants many, the fellow-citizens of the faints, thefe divers, of all nations, of every rank, age and fex; and very healthful, none of them fick and difeafed; healed of all maladies; living in a wholefome air, by a river the ftreams whereof make glad this city, and the inhabitants of it; who have many privileges, being Chrift’s freemen; governed by laws, under proper officers appointed to exlain them, and fee them executed: a city well fortified with the bulwarks of falvation; the city of folemnities, and of the great king. The fuburbs of it are for fuch who are not yet of it, but are waiting at wifdom’s gates, and at the pofts of her door, hoping for admittance ere long: and the city fhall be in the midft thereof, of the area of five thoufand reeds.

the north two bundred and fifty, &c.]

¥. 16. And this fhall be the meafures thereof; &c.] Of the city: the north fide four thoufand and five kundved; that is, meafures or reeds: the

South fide four thoufand and five hundred, and on the

eaft fide four thoufand and five hundred, and the weft ide four thoufand and five hundred; in all eighteen hundred meafures or reeds, as in ¥. 35. which denotes the largenefs of the gofpel-church, efpecially in the latter day; when ‘ews and Gensiles will be converted, aid multitudes, eaft, weft, north and fouth, will be gathered to it; and as ir is an equilateral fquare, this fhews the perfection, firmnefs, ftability and duration of the church of Chrift, fo the holy city, the new Jeru/alem is for the fame reafons faid to be four-fquare, Rev. xxi. r6.

¥. 17. And the fuburbs of the city fhall be toward That is, fo many reeds: and toward the fouth two hundred and fifty; which make five hundred; and thefe being added to four thoufand five hundred, north and fouth, make five thoufand: and toward the eal two hundred and fifty, and toward the weft two huidred and fifty; which being added to four thoufand five hundred, eaft and weft, make five thoufand; and fo an equilateral fquare on each fide, length and breadth.

¥. 18. And the refidue in length over-againft the oblation of the holy portion fhall be ten thoufand caftward, and ten thoufand weffward, 8cc.] What remained in length, which ran parallel with the holy portion of the land, after five thoufand reeds were taken out for the city and fuburbs, were twenty thoufand; ten thoufand to the eaft, and ten thoufand to the weft: and it hall be over-againk the oblation of the boly portion; that is, that pace as yet undifpofed of, the twenty thoufand reeds, ten on the eaft, and ten on the weft of the city, were clofe to, and ran even with, the oblation of the holy: portion affigned to the priefts and Levites: and the increafe thereof; or what thefe twenty thoufand reeds of land fhould produce, or could be made of them: hall be for food for them that ferve the city, not the Gibeonites given to be hewers of wood and' drawers of water, as archi interprets it; which fenfe is juftly rejected by Kimchi; fince, as he obferves, the Grdeonites fhall not dwell in Ferufalem the holy city, nor minifter in time to come: but either civil magiftrates, who ferve the church of Chrift, when they fecure the peace of it, protect and defend it; as they will, efpecially in the latter day, when thefe officers will be peace, and thefe exactors righteoufnels, do all things juftly and equitably; and when. kings fhall be nurfing fathers, and queens nurfing mothers to the church;, and it is but right they fhould be provided for fuitable to their rank, dignity and office, and tribute be given to whom tribute is due:. or minifters of the word, who are the church’s fervants, and ferve it in preaching the gofpel, and adminiftring the ordinances of it; and go. by various names, as hufbandmen concerned in_ ploughing, fowing, reaping, and gathering in the harvelt; as labourers in the vineyard, and employed in planting, watering, pruning, and propping the vines; and as ftewards of the myfteries and manifold grace of God, to give to every one in the city and family, his portion of meat in due feafon; and as guides and. governors, engaged in taking care of the good order and difcipline of it; a8 watchmen, that go about it, or are fet on the walls of ir: and it is the will of God they fhould be comfortably provided for, and eat of the fruit of the field and

vineyard they labour in; and of the milk of the flock they take care of; and reap carnal things, where they have fowed fpiritual things: or elfe private believers, who ferve the intereft of Chrift and one another by love; praying with, and for one another; bearing one another’s burdens, and building up each other on their moft holy faith: and for whom food, or dread“, as in the original, both temporal and fpiritual, is provided, both being to be had of the Lord, with whom there is enough, and to fpare; Chrift is the bread of life, and his word and ordinances are the provifions of Zion; which all that ferve the city or church of God may partake of.

y. 19. And they that ferve the city, fhall Serve it out of all the tribes of Ifrael.| Whether they be civil magiftrates, or minifters of the word, they fhall be of Jrael, and be J/raelites indeed; and fhall be taken out of the feveral tribes; fome out of one tribe, and fome out of another; all hall have the honour, as well as the labour, of ferving the church and intereft of Chrift; yea, all true Tjraelites fhall contribute as much as in them lies to the fervice of it.

y¥. 20. All the oblation fhall be five and twenty thoufand, by five and twenty thoufand, &c.| Or, every oblation™; every one of the oblations; that for the priefts and the fanctuary; that for the Levites, and that for the city, its fuburbs, and the maintenance of thofe that ferved the city; each were a fquare of five and twenty thoufand reeds: ye foall offer the holy oblation four-fquare, with the poffeffion of the city; taking in the poffeffion of the city, or what that poffeffed, the oblation of land for that, and its fuburbs, and for produce to fupport thofe that ferved it, fhould be a four-fquare of the above dimenfions.

y. 21. And the refidue thall be for the prince, &c.] Not the civil magiftrate, but the prince Meffiah, the king, governor, and protector of his church and people: ov the one fide, and on the other of the boly oblation, and of the poffeffion of the city; his portion fhall lie on each fide of the portion for the fanétuary, the priefts and Levites, and for the city and its appurtenances; fo, that he will be the guardian and preferver of them all; fee the note onch. xlv. 7: over-againft the five and twenty thou- Sand of the oblation toward the eaft border, and weftward over-againft the five and twenty thoufand toward the weft border; or, before the face * of the five and twenty thoufand of the oblation, &c. that is, next to the tribe of Judah, clofe by that, and juft before the holy oblation of five and twenty thoufand reeds, both eaftward and weftward, fhould be the portion of the prince on one fide: over-againft the portions for the prince, or, over-againji thefe fhall be that for the prince’; parallel with the portions of the feveral tribes before defcribed, fhall be that of the prince, which belongs to him: and it hall be the holy oblation; and the fanéiuary of the houfe fhall be in the midft thereof; that is, the holy oblation of the land for the priefts and Levites, and the fanctuary fhould be between that part of the prince’s portion which lay next to Fudah, and that which lay next to Benjamin; of which in the next verfe.

¥. 22. Moreover, from the poffeffion of the Levites, and from the poffeffion of the city, &c.] Or, beyond thefe, as it may be rendered, on the- other fide of

E L. Ch. xiv. ¥.19—28. them; or, except * thefe: being in the midft of that — which is the prince’s, between his two portions; or ~ as itis next explained, Zetcween the border of Fudab, and the border of Benjamin, foall be for the prince; that is, all beyond and excepting that which belonged to the priefts and Levites, ithe fanétuary and the city, were the prince’s, which lay between Fudab and Benjamin: or thus it was; before the holy ob- — lation one part of the prince’s portion ran; pa-— rallel with the tribe of Fudab, eaft.and weft mp oh the holy oblation on the other fide, another part of his portion touched the tribe of Benjamin, and ran parallel with the eaft and weft; and fo were between them both, as well as on each fide of the holy oblation; all this denotes the nearnefs of Chrift to his church and people; his proteétion of them on all fides; and the largenefs of his intereft and kingdom; fee ch. xly. 7. ina.

¥. 23. As for the ref of the tribes, &c.} Not yet mentioned, which lay to the fouth of the fanetuary, and are as follow: from the eaft fide to the weft fide, Benjamin hall have a portion; the fons of God’s right hand, who are as near and dear to him as a man’s right hand is to him. Fadab and Benjamin are neareft to the holy oblation, fanétuary, city and prince; the one to the north of them, the other to the fouth; thefe tribes being faithful to God, and with his faints, when others departéd from him; the Lord takes great notice of his faith-. ful ones, and honours them, Hof xi. 22°) ¥.24. And by the border of Benjamin, from the eaft fide unto the weft fide, Simeon fhall have a por= tion.] _Clofe by the border of Benjamin, running eaft and weft, Simeon’s part and inheritance in the land fhall be; even fuch true J/raelites as hear, underftand, and believe the gofpel, and praétife what they hear. ‘This tribe is not now to be divided and fcattered in J/rael, or to have its inheritance in Fudab, as formerly, Gem. xlix. 5—7. Foo. xix. 1-—g. but to be diftinét, and have a portion by itfelf. xt. 2. ¥. 25. And by the border of Simeon, from the eaft fide unto the wef fide, Ifachar a portion:] Next, clofely adjoining to Simeon’s inheritance, and in the fame direction fhall be JJachar’s; fuch chriftians as fhall have the rewards of grace for their. fervices and fufferings in times of tribulation, ¥. 26, And by the border of Ifjachar, from the capt fide unto the weft fide, Zebulun a portion. } In like manner, next to Jachar’s inheritance, and bordering on it, fhall be Zebulun’s; who thall be no more an haven for fhips, having a different — fituation and allotment; and may deftribe fuch — chriftians as dwe// in Chrift, and he in them. ia. ¥.27. And by the border of Zebulun, from the eaft fide unto the weft fide, Gad a portion.) The laft of the tribes; a troop of overcomers, who are more than conquerors over all their enemies thro’ Chrift: all chriftians fhall have their part and portion in the church below, and in all the. privi~ leges and immunities of it; and in the church — above, in all the glories and bleffednefs thereof.. 4 ¥. 28. And by the border of Gad, at the foutle Jide fouthward, &c.| Of the fanétuary of the'Lord,, of the portion of the priefts and Levites, of the city, and what belonged to that, and of the prit portion. The defcription begins at the northerm — border fhall be even from Tamar unto the waters of * nogdwaee ‘notg@ath, aay ¥ verespaan bs omnis oblatio, Pagninus, ont, oy sews> corpdm moy) ex adver

Strife in Kadefh; and to the river toward the fea; {ee the note on ch. xlvii. 19. ¥. 29. This is the land which ye fhall divide by lot unto the triles of Irael for inheritance, &c.] This is the land, as ‘thus defcribed; and thefe the tribes of J/rael, or the [raelites indeed, who fhall have their refpective fhares in it, as thus allotted to them for their inheritance; which is not of a worldly, but fpiritual, nature; and a goodly heritage it is, a place and a name better than fons and daughters; namely, a place in the houfe and church of God; and a right to enjoy all the ordinances of it: and thefe are their portions, faith the Lord God; which he has appointed to them, of his grace beftows on them, and of which they may be affured, fince he has faid it: no mention is made of any cities of refuge in this divifion of the land, as in Fofoua’s time, becaufe now the antitype of them is come, the Meffiah, to whom all fenfible finners are directed to flee; and there is-no other aiylum for them, nor falvation in any other but in him; and befides, in this period, there will be no manflayers, nor any that will hurt and deftroy in all the holy mountain; and fo no need of cities of refuge, J/. xi. 9. ¥. 30. And thefe are the goings out of the city, &c.] The gates of it, as archi and Kimchi interpret it, by which they went out of it, and into it, and alfo the fides of it. The Lord here returns to the city again, to give an account of its circumference and name: om the north fide four thoufand and five hundred meafures; the north fide of the city meafured fo many meafures; that is, reeds, as Farchi explains it. ¥. 31. And the gates of the city fhall be after the names of the tribes of Trael, &c.], According to the number of them, twelve, and called by their names; the names of the feveral tribes being written on them; fee Rev. xxi. 12. this fhews that all true J/raelites indeed, J/rael not after the flefh, but after the fpirit, have a right of entrance into, and communion with, the church of God; even the whole //rael of God, whom he has chofen for himfelf; Chriit has redeemed by his blood, and the Spirit calls by his grace, and fanctifies; thefe are all, be they Fews or Gentiles, fellow-citizens with the faints, and of the houfhold of God: thefe gates, tho’ twelve, with refpect to the twelve tribes that enter in at them, and the twelve apoftles of the Lamb that direét unto them, and whofe doctrine they embrace and profefs that go in by them; yet are but one in the main, which is Chrift, faith in him, and a profeffion of it, and a profeffed fubjection to his gofpel and ordinances, obn x. 1,9: three gates northward, for thofe that lay on that fide to enter in at: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, and one gate of Levi; thefe tribes, and fo the reft, were not placed according to their encampment about the tabernacle in the wildernefs, or as they were placed by 7o/bua in the land of Canaan; which fhows that the tribes literally confidered are not intended. evs had a gate, tho’ it had nota portion in the manner the other tribes had. ¥. 32. And at the caft fide four thoufand and five bundred, &c.] Meafures or reeds: this fide was ial'to the north, as the reft were to this; the. th city in its circumference making an equilateral fquare: and three gates; which were as follow: one gate of Fofeph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan; Fofepb is here as having a gate, tho’