the whole number of Males descended from Kohath compare this with III. 28. there was a fourth part and better that were fit for Service Ver. 37. These were they that were numbred of the Families of the Kohathites all that might do Service in the Tabernacle Such Service as is particularly mentioned from v. 4. to v. 16. Verse 37 Ver. 38. And these are they that were numbred of the Verse 38 Sons of Gershon c. He proceeds in the same order to number them which he observed in giving them their Charge beginning with the Children of the second Son of Levi and then going back to the eldest Ver. 39. From thirty years old and upward c. Verse 39 This Verse is the very same with 35. Ver. 40. Two thousand and six hundred and thirty Verse 40 A third part and little more of their Males were fit for Service Compare this with III. 22. Ver. 41. These are they that were numbred of the Families Verse 41 of the Sons of Gershon of all that might do Service in the Tabernacle c. Such Service as is described from v. 24. to v. 29. Ver. 42 43. These two Verses are the same with Verse 42. 43. v. 38 39. Ver. 44. Even those that were numbred of them after Verse 44 their Families were three thousand and two hundred It is very remarkable the Descendants from the youngest Son of Levi III. 17. which had the fewest Males in it of a Month old and upward had the most robust Men fit for Service For here are above half compare this with III. 34. of the whole number of Males grown up to Thirty Years of Age. Which was a singular Providence the heaviest Burden lying upon them who were to carry the Boards c. of the Tabernacle Not indeed upon their shoulders but in Waggons which they were to load after they had taken them down and unload when they were to set them up again and for that reason had more Waggons allowed them than their Brethren the Gershonites VII 7 8. Verse 45 Ver. 45. These are those c. whom Moses and Aaron numbred Who were principally employed in this business According to the Word of the LORD by the hand of Moses To whom the Command is expresly directed v. 21. Verse 46 Ver. 46. All those that were numbred of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron and the Chief of Israel numbred For they took in others to their assistance v. 34. which is here repeated to show that there was no fraud in the business there being Witnesses of every Tribe that they proceeded impartially and did not favour the Levites who were their Brethren Verse 47 Ver. 47. Every one that came to do the Service of the Ministry and the Service of the Burden in the Tabernacle c. The first of these the Service of the Ministry one would think related to their serving the Priest when the Tabernacle was standing and the later the Service of the Burden to their carrying the Tabernacle when it was taken down and removed and so I expounded those words v. 24. But he mentioning here only those that were numbred from Thirty Years old I think upon further consideration that there is no regard in these Expressions to the Service they did to the Priests in the Tabernacle unto which they were admitted at Twenty five Years old See v. 3. but only to the Service mentioned here in this Chapter which relates altogether to the taking down and carrying the Tabernacle And therefore these must be lookt upon as two Phrases for the same thing the former of which is not exactly translated for there is nothing of Ministry in the Hebrew but the words are Every one that cometh to serve the Service of the Service and the Service of the Burden or Carriage For it is the same word which being joyned with work we translate servile XXIII Lev. 7. and other places Ver. 48. Eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore Verse 48 If the three Sums mentioned v. 36 40 44. be put together they amount exactly to this Sum in the whole Ver. 49. According to the Commandment of the Verse 49 LORD they were numbred by the hand of Moses By the assistance of Aaron and others v. I 34 46. Every one according to his Service and according to his Burden I observed before v. 47. that Service and Burden are two Expressions of the same thing For though the Sons of Kohath had the noblest part of the Work yet their Employment is called both a Service and a Burden v. 19. as that of the Gershonites is v. 24. For which Service all the Tithes of the Country of Canaan were given to them and continued to be theirs when this kind of Service ceased as it did when the Temple was built For then there were no Burdens to be carried on their shoulders as Josiah speaks 2 Chron. XXXV 3. but their Duty was changed even by David before the Building of the Temple who made them Singers and Keepers of the Treasury as well as Porters at the Gates of God's House and likewise Judges and other Officers in the Country as we read in 1 Chron. XXVI But the alteration in their Service made no alteration in the Wages allotted to them for they still enjoyed all the Tithes Thus were they numbred of him as the LORD commanded Moses This is so often repeated v. 37 41 45. that all Posterity might reverence these Ordinances as Divine Institutions and not merely Humane Appointments And so we are to look upon all these Laws as wise Orders made by the Soveraign of the World for the better Government of that People whom he had taken for his own peculiar And it argues a very profane Spirit in those as Conr. Pellicanus here observes who can admire and praise Ovid de Fastis and such like Books and have no regard at all if they do not ridicule them to these Sacred Writings which are of such venerable Antiquity CHAP. V. Chapter V Verse 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying It is not said when this was spoken which here follows but it 's likely immediately after the foregoing Commandments upon which it hath some dependance Verse 2 Ver. 2. Command the Children of Israel that they put out of the Camp every Leper and every one that hath an Issue and whosoever is defiled by the dead There were three Camps as Maimonides and a great many other mentioned by Mr. Selden observes L. II. de Synedr cap. I. n. 5. the Camp of the SCHECHINAH or of the LORD viz. the Sanctuary with its Courts which are called the Tents of the LORD 1 Chron. XXXI 2. And next the Camp of the Levites who with Aaron and his Sons made a Camp about the Tabernacle Chapter III. of this Book and then the Camp of Israel Chapter II. which incompassed them all Answerable to these when the Temple was built they reckoned the Temple it self from the East-Gate to be the Camp of
him in the fifth Month called Ab as St. Hierom notes from the Jews of the second Year after they came out of Egypt It is not certain upon what day but it is likely in the beginning of the Month which answers to the nineteenth of our July sent them from the Wilderness of Paran From Radesh-Barnea XXXII 8. I Deut. 19 20. IX 23. XIV Josh 7. All those Men were heads of the Children of Israel So the Rulers of Thousands and Hundreds are called XVIII Exod. 25. as well as the Princes I Numb 16. But these were a lower sort of Heads or great Men in the several Tribes of Israel Ver. 4. And these are their Names Of the Tribe of Verse 4 Reuben Shammua the Son of Zaccur There is little to be observed concerning this Verse and those that follow to the XVIth but that it is evident these were not the same Men who in the first Chapter of this Book are called the Heads and Princes of the Tribes being inferiour Persons who ruled over some part not over a whole Tribe The three first Tribes also that are here mentioned sprang from the three eldest Sons for Levi did not make a Tribe in Israel of Jacob But in the Enumeration of the rest there is not any Order observed of which I can give an account Perhaps they being to disperse themselves when they entred the Country they were to search see verse 22. and thinking it not prudent to go above two at the most in company cast Lots who should be associated And the first Lot fell to those of the Tribe of Reuben and Simeon the next to those of Judah and Issachar and so to the rest Verse 11 Ver. 11. Of the Tribe of Joseph i. e. Of the other Branch of Joseph's Family viz. of the Tribe of Manasseh as it here follows Verse 16 Ver. 16. These are the Names of the Men that Moses sent to spy out the Land He would have their Names remembred which is the reason of this Remark for the sake of those two worthy Men Caleb and Joshua whose Vertue was very illustrious in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation And Moses called Oshea the Son of Nun. So he is called v. 8. being named for the Tribe of Ephraim Jehoshua He was called by this name presently after they came out of Egypt XVII Exod. 9. when he went to fight with Amalek Whom he having overcome Moses lookt upon it as a Token that he should save and deliver the People of Israel and then called him by this Name Which imports some thing more than Oshea for that denotes only a Prayer for Salvation as Menochius observes but this carries in it a Promise of it And some think the addition of the first Letter in the name Jehoshua was from the name of JEHOVAH Implying that the LORD would imploy him in leading and conducting his People into the Land of Promise Wherein he was a Type of the Saviour of the World the LORD JESUS whose Name is the same with this who conducts those that believe on him to an Heavenly Inheritance If I could find the like comfortable Signification in the rest of the Names of these Men I should think there might be some ground for their Opinion who fancy Moses chose Joshua because there was a good Omen in his very Name For all Nations took great care that no Man should be imployed in Affairs of moment whose Names carry any unlucky Signification in them So Cicero observes in his first Book of Divination that the Generals of Armies and the Censors took care that none should so much as lead the Sacrifices to the Altar but who were bonis Nominibus of Names that signified Good Of which the Consuls also were very observant ut primus miles fiat bono nomine that the first Souldier whom they listed should be of a good Name such as Valerius Salvius Statorius or the like On the contrary the Name of Naevius was deemed so bad that in his Oration pro Quinct Sext. he saith having named the Man methinks I have said enough Ver. 17. And Moses sent them to spy out the Land and Verse 17 said unto them That is when he sent them to spy out the Land as was said in the foregoing Verse he gave them the following Directions Get ye up this way Southward This South-part of Canaan fell afterward to be part of the Lot of the Tribe of Judah XV Josh 1 2 3. and was very dry and consequently barren I Judg. 15. and therefore fittest for their entrance to spy out the Land unobserved being less inhabited than the better parts of the Country Besides it was nearest to the place where they now were encamped And go up into the Mountain Where the Amorites dwelt I Deut. 19. together with some Amalekites and other People XIV 43 45. From whence they were to go down into the Valleys Verse 18 Ver. 18. And see the Land what it is and the People that dwell therein These are the general Directions which he gave them to inform themselves both of the Country and of its Inhabitants Whether they be strong or weak few or many In particular with respect to the latter he directs them to inform themselves whether the Inhabitants were strong bodied or feeble and whether their number was great or small Verse 19 Ver. 19. And what the Land is that they dwell in whether it be good or bad And with respect to the former he would have them bring an account first what sort of Country it was whether healthful and delightful or unwholesome and unpleasant And what Cities there be that they dwell in And then how large their Cities were and of what strength Whether in Tents or in strong Holds Whether they lived in Tents as the Arabians did and the Israelites while they were in the Wilderness or in Houses and whether they were fortified Or rather as we would say in our Language whether in open Villages or in walled Cities For so the word Mahanaim signifies not Tents as we here translate it but Hosts or Camps XXXII Gen. 1. and here Towns without Walls as the LXX interprets it And the Vulgar Verse 20 also only inverting the order of the words whether in walled Towns or without walls Ver. 20. And what the Land is c. And last of all what is the Soil of the Country whether rich and fertile or poor and barren and also whether it be a woody Country or otherwise And be ye of good courage and bring of the fruit of the Land In which Discoveries there being some hazard he bids them be confident God would preserve them so that they might venture to bring away with them some of the Fruit which the Country produced Now the time was the time of the first ripe Grapes Towards the Vintage Ver. 21. So they went up and searched the Land Verse 21 from the Wilderness of Zin Which was on the South of the Land of Canaan XXXIV
Lightning and perhaps scorched as they likewise sometimes are The latter seems most probable from what follows v. 37. and from the like punishment by Fire from the LORD which is said to devour Nadab and Abihu and yet their Bodies remained intire X Lev. 2 4. This was the more astonishing because Moses and Aaron who stood with them at the Door of the Tabernacle v. 18. had no hurt Verse 36 Ver. 36. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Immediately after the Death of those Men. Ver. 37. Speak unto Eleazar the Son of Aaron the Priest Who it is likely stood by them as next Successor to Aaron in the Office which was disputed And therefore perhaps imployed in what follows rather than Aaron that his Succession might be confirmed Though others will have it that it was below the Dignity of Aaron to perform such a mean Office and besides he might have been in danger to be polluted by the dead Bodies of the Men that were burnt That he take the Censers out of the Burning Out of the place where the Men were burnt as some understand it Or which differs not much from among the dead Bodies which were burnt Burning being put for Bodies burnt as Captivity XXI 1. for those that were carried Captive or made Prisoners as we there translate it But there is no need of either of these Additions burning signifying the Fire which burnt in them which he orders Eleazar to throw out that the Censers might be brought away And scatter thou the Fire yonder The Men were burnt as soon as ever they put fire to the Incense in their Censers v. 18. which flaming at the Door of the Tabernacle where they stood near the Altar from whence they took the Fire God commanded to be thrown away without the Camp into that place I suppose where they were wont to throw the Ashes VI Lev. 11. or rather into some unclean place where they threw the Dust scraped from the Walls of Leprous Houses XIV Lev. 41. For it was to show that God abhorred their Offering For they are hollowed Or had Fire from the Altar put into them which some think sanctified them But the plain reason is given in the next verse because they offered them before the LORD i. e. they had been employed to an holy use and that by God's command v. 6 17. and therefore God would not have them hereafter serve for any other Ver. 39. The Censers of these Sinners against their Verse 39 own Souls Who have brought destruction upon themselves by their Presumption Let them make of them Either Aaron or Eleazar were to cause them to be beaten into such Plates as here follow Broad Plates for a covering of the Altar Of Burnt-offering which was covered with Brass XXVII Exod 12. but these Plates were to be laid upon that Covering which it had already for the end mentioned in the Conclusion of this verse And hereby also the proper Covering of the Altar lasted the longer For they offered them before the LORD Presented them before the LORD when they offered Incense in them v. 35. Therefore they are hallowed Or holy That is I will have them separated for this reason to my use alone and no other It is a thing worthy to be taken special notice of that the Impiety of the Men that offered Incense did not discharge their Censers of the discriminative Respect as our famous Mr. Mede speaks due unto things sacred As these in some sort were by being presented to the LORD which made it unlawful to imploy them to common uses For as the LORD himself is that singular incommunicable and absolutely Holy One and his Service and Worship therefore incommunicable to any other so should that also which is consecrated to his Service be in some proportion incommunicably used and not promiscuously and commonly as other things are See Book I. Discourse 2. p. 18. And they shall be a Sign unto the Children of Israel That God accepts no Sacrifice which is not presented by the Hands of the Sons of Aaron This the Levites were to remember who attended upon the Priest when they saw these Plates laid upon the Altar of Burnt-offering every day Verse 39 Ver. 39. And Eleazar the Priest took the brazen Censers c. By this it appears these Censers were made of the same Metal though it was not said before that Aaron's Censer was of and wherewith the Altar was overlaid He took them up out of the burning no doubt immediately upon the foregoing Commands and as soon as the Mutiny was quite quelled they were employed as Moses had directed Ver. 40. To be a Memorial unto the Children of Israel This explains what is meant by a Sign v. 38. viz. to put them in mind or rather to keep in their memory That no Stranger Though he were an Israelite nay a Levite if he were not as it here follows of the Seed of Aaron he was reputed a Stranger to this Office Come near to offer Incense before the LORD Presume to execute the Office of a Priest in the Sanctuary That he be not as Korah and his Company Destroyed in a dreadful manner By this it appears that Korah perished as well as the Two hundred and fifty Men and it is likely as they did by Fire from the LORD As the LORD said unto him i. e. To Eleazar By the hand of Moses Ver. 36 37. Ver. 41. But on the morrow An astonishing Instance Verse 41 of the incurable hardness and insensibility of some Mens hearts which were not in the least altered by God's terrible Judgments and singular Mercies but instantly forgat both All the Congregation of the Children of Israel Not merely the Rulers of the People as this Phrase sometimes signifies but all the People in general v. 47. who were incited it is probable by that lewd Rout which Korah had gathered together against Moses and Aaron v. 19. Some of which were swallowed up but most of them remained still alive to do more Mischief Murmured against Moses and against Aaron In such a mutinous and threatning manner as demonstrated the contagious Nature of a Seditious Humour beyond all example For from a discontented Party who grumbled that they were not preferred suitably to the opinion they had of themselves it spread it self into the whole Body of the People And so infected them as to kindle a new Flame as soon as the former had been extinguished by such a terrible Vengeance as one would have expected should not have left the smallest Spark of this mutinous Humour in them Saying Ye have killed the People of the LORD So they impudently call those Men whom God himself had declared by a visible Token to be presumptuous Sinners against their own Souls Some imagine they quarrelled with Moses and Aaron because they had not prevailed with God to pardon them which they could as well have done as procured this Judgment upon them But the displeasure which God here expresses against this
form of Speech to be kept or reserved in the Ark was a Type of Christ as he was the Food of Life or the Bread that came down from Heaven So were these Ashes kept as an Emblem of the everlasting Efficacy of his Sacrifice For there is no bodily Substance under Heaven as Dr. Jackson speaks Book X. chap. 55. which can be so true an Emblem or Model of Incorruption as Ashes are for being the remainder of Bodies perfectly dissolved or corrupted they are not capable of a second Corruption For the Congregation of the Children of Israel This one Heifer being slain and its Blood sprinkled and Body burnt afforded Ashes enough to season as many Vessels of Water as the whole People of Israel should need Wherein it was a notable Representation of Christ's Blood shed for the whole World to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Yea they were sufficient for all the People for many Generations though they had frequent occasion to use them for Legal Purification Wherein still they more lively represented the Vertue of Christ's one Sacrifice which continues for ever For the Jews say this red Heifer was killed but nine times while their State lasted First By Eleazar here in the Wilderness which was not repeated till after the Destruction of Solomon's Temple i. e. not during the space of more than a Thousand Years The second time it was burnt by Ezra after their return from the Captivity of Babylon and but seven times more till the Destruction of the second Temple Since which they have not adventured to make these Ashes but expect it to be done the tenth time by the King Messias Who indeed came to put an end to this and all other Legal Rites not after the Legal manner but by offering himself once for all instead of all other Sacrifices or ways of Purification For a Water of Separation To be put into Spring-water which was always accounted more pure than other by which those Persons were to be cleansed who for their Pollutions were separated from the Congregation and those things also which had been defiled were restored to their common use Ashes all know are of great use in scouring things polluted and the ancient Gentiles used them much in their Lustrations as appears from Virgil Ovid and many other Authors But the Water into which they put them was prepared with Magical Rites and for the most part was drawn out of some pretended Sacred Fountain and sometimes it had a burning Torch taken from the Altar quenched in it and in some places they put Sulphur and Spittle and other cleansing things into it In which I suppose at first they imitated this Rite prescribed by Moses but in process of time added many Superstitions of their own to it It is a purification for sin In the Hebrew the words are It is sin and we add a purification to explain the sence For it was not a proper Sacrifice for Sin as this Phrase for sin sometimes imports IV Lev. 24. but had something of that Nature in it as I observed before and may be properly said to Purifie or Cleanse Men from their Sin i. e. from such Legal Defilements as are mentioned afterwards And it may in a less proper sence have the Name of a Sin-offering inasmuch as the Body of it was burnt without the Camp as the great Sin-offering was on the Day of Atonement and its Blood sprinkled seven times towards the Sanctuary though not shed at the Altar Whereby it became a more compleat Representation of the Sacrifice of Christ Especially if we consider that this Purification here mentioned doth not signifie only one or a few Acts of Purification but a continued Purification the Ashes being to be laid up as a Treasure or Store-house to use Dr. Jackson's words for making as many Purifications or Waters of Sprinkling as the Israelites should have occasion to use For therein consisted the Excellence of this Purification that the Ashes were not to be made by burning a Heifer every time the People had occasion for them but the Ashes of this one Sacrifice as we call it was sufficient for the use of many Generations Accordingly the Apostle saith our LORD Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having made a purification of our sins I Hebr. 3. sat down at God's right hand Which word purification in that place doth not signifie one Act or Operation but implies that by this one act of Sacrificing himself he was consecrated to be a perpetual Fountain of Purification being still the propitiation for our sins Ver. 10. And he that gathereth the Ashes of the Heifer Verse 10 shall wash his Clothes and be unclean until the Even This is one of the strange things which the Jews say Solomon himself did not understand and Maimonides professes he could find no reason of More Nevochim P. III. cap. 47. and the Author of Sepher Cosri also ascribes purely to the Will and pleasure of God of which he could give no account P. III. sect 53. that the same thing should both cleanse and pollute as these Ashes did which polluted him that gathered them and made those that used them clean from the highest Legal Pollutions But this is not strange to those who consider that all those great Sacrifices which were offered for Sin which I mentioned v. 7. though they purified those for whom they were offered were very impure themselves because the Sins of Men were laid upon them as all our Sins were upon Christ who therefore is said to be made sin for us 2 Corinth V. 21. that we might be made the Righteousness of God i. e. freed from all Sin And it shall be unto the Children of Israel and unto the Stranger c. All Proselytes to their Religion were to have the benefit of this Purification as well as the Jews by an unalterable Law By which was figured the Propitiation Christ made for the Sins of the whole World Verse 11 Ver. 11. He that toucheth the Body of any dead Man shall be unclean seven days This long Uncleanness by touching a dead Body was the ground of those strict Injunctions to the Priest about mourning for their dead Relations which is forbidden lest they should be hindred too long in their Ministration See XXI Lev. He that touched the Carcase of any unclean Creature was defiled only till the Even XI Lev. 24. nor was he longer who touched the Bed of him that had an Issue or his Seat c. XV Lev. 5 6 7 8 c. He shall purifie himself with it With the Water of Separation mentioned v. 9. Which seems here to be designed chiefly if not only for the purging of this great Impurity by touching any Man's dead Body On the third day Then he was to begin his Purification by being sprinkled with it Which makes it probable that these Ashes were kept in more places than the Jews mention without the Camp as afterwards near Jerusalem and it is most likely in all the Cities
he spake these words I see him As Balak desired he might XXII 41. though for another purpose that he might curse them And from the Hills I behold him The same thing again in other words according to the manner of the Eastern People And both these may relate not only to the present view he had of the Camp of Israel but to their future Settlement in their own Land wherein they were represented to him as dwelling securely under the special Protection of the Almighty Lo the People shall dwell In the Land of Canaan Alone Not mingled with other Nations but separated from them by different Laws Religion and Manners It seems also to import their Security and Safety by the Situation of their Country and God's care of them And shall not be reckoned among the Nations Be a peculiar People by themselves and therefore not liable to the power of my Curses like other Nations All this came to pass partly by the natural situation of their Country which was surrounded with high Mountains and rocky Precipices so that the coming to it was very difficult but more especially by their Rites and Customs and particularly by their Diet which restrained them from common Conversation with other Nations because they could not eat of their Food Swines flesh for instance which was a delicate Dish among the Gentiles was an Abomination to the Israelites By which means they were the better secured from learning the Religion of the Gentiles having so little Communication with them that they were called by Diodorus Siculus and others an unsociable People and thought to have an Enmity to the rest of the World Ver. 10. Who can count the dust of Jacob This may refer either to their present or their future Increase which was so great that they might be compared to the Dust of the Earth or the Sand on the Verse 10 Sea-shore which is without number Hereby he confirmed the Promise made by God to Abraham XIII Gen. 16. and to Israel XXVIII 14. where he saith expresly Thy Seed shall be as the dust of the Earth And the number of the fourth part of Israel Any one of their Camps every one of which was grown to a vast number For the whole Host of Israel was divided into four Camps under the Standards of Judah Reuben Ephraim and Dan as we read in the second Chapter of this Book one of which Camps lay more plainly before him than the rest viz. that on the West under the Standard of Ephraim Let me die the death of the righteous By the Righteous he means Israel who were now a People free from Idolatry which was the great Crime of those days And he desires either to be as happy as they in the other World or that he might not die an immature and violent Death but enjoy such a long Life here as was promised to them The Author of Sephar Cosri takes it in the former sence alledging this place as a proof that a future state was believed in ancient Times though not so clearly expressed in the Prophetical Writings as other things are for there is a certain Prayer saith he of one that prophecied by the Holy Ghost who desired that he might die the death of the righteous Pars I. sect 115. And my last end be like his Or Let my Posterity for so the word we here translate last end often signifies CIX Psal 13. XI Dan. 4. or those that come after me be like unto his Descendants Ver. 11. And Balak said unto Balaam what hast thou done unto me This is very surprising I took thee to curse mine Enemies and behold thou Verse 11 hast blessed them altogether Thou hast not only frustrated my desires in not cursing them but quite contrary hast pronounced great Blessings upon them For so the Hebrew words signifie Blessed them with blessings Verse 12 Ver. 12. And he answered and said Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth He had told him so before more than once XXII 23. XXIII 3. and now makes him Judge Whether it was safe for him to disobey the LORD to comply with his Desires Verse 13 Ver. 13. And Balak said unto him come I pray thee with me to another place He thought Balaam gave him a reasonable Answer and therefore gently intreats him to make a trial whether God would be pleased to be more favourable to his desires if he sought him in some other place For whatsoever Balaam thought of this matter Balak was possessed with a Superstitious Fancy that the very Place or Prospect had been a Cause concurrent to produce the contrary Effect to what he desired and therefore intreated he would come with him to another where he might not see too many of them at once From whence thou maist see them It seems this was thought necessary to make their Curses effectual that they should have a sight of those whom they cursed and that they should look upon them Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them The Skirts of their Camps And shalt not see them all He imagined perhaps that Balaam was affrighted at the sight of their Multitude and therefore durst not meddle with them And curse me them from thence He seems to desire him to curse only that small parcel of the Israelites whom he saw in the utmost part of the Camp hoping he might by degrees get them all in like manner destroyed Ver. 14. And he brought him unto the field of Zophim Verse 14 Or as some translate it unto Sedâ— Zophim a place by the very name apt to enchant a Superstitious Mind with expectation of Success as Dr. Jackson speaks It is thought by some to be so called from the Watchers that were placed here which the word Zophim imports To the top of Pisgah A very high Mountain in the Country of Moab from whence one might see a great way and take a view of all the Parts of Canaan III Deut. 27. XXXIV 1 2 c. but on that side of it whether Balak brought him Balaam could not see much of the Camp of Israel It is likely he thought by bringing him to a place so exceeding high he should be nearer Heaven and so procure a more favourable Audience than before And built seven Altars and offered a Bullock and a Ram on every Altar As he had done before at Balaam's desire in another High-place v. 1 2. for there only he imagined their Sacrifices would be acceptable From hence Conradus Pellicanus concludes Balaam to have been a Worshipper of the true God as Jethro was because he still continues to offer only such clean Creatures as were wont to be sacrificed to him by his own People Ver. 15. And he said unto Balak stand here by thy Burnt-offering The same Direction which he had given before v. 3. Verse 15 While I meet the LORD yonder In a place to which he pointed Balaam made a peradventure of it before whether the
to deliver what follows Verse 14 Ver. 14. And now behold I go to my People And now I will obey thee as well as God and be gone to my own Country Come therefore and I will advertise thee c. But before I go permit me to give thee some Advice So the Hebrew word Jaatz constantly signifies to give Counsel And so the Vulgar here translates it but took it for the wicked Advice which we read in the next Chapter was executed after Balaam's departure and of which he was certainly the Author XXXI 16. and therefore thus translates the next words What thy People shall do unto this People But the Hebrew Text and the LXX are directly contrary unto this being as we translate the words What this People shall do to thy People Therefore Onkelos to take in the foregoing sence without altering the latter part of the verse puts in one word and makes the whole run thus I will give thee counsel what to do and will show thee what this People shall do to thy People in the latter days And the Hierusalem Targum more largely and plainly I wll advise thee what thou shalt do to this People make them to sin Otherwise thou shalt not have dominion over them but this People shall domineer over thy People in the latter end of days In the latter days In future Ages This shows the foregoing words do not speak of what Moab should do to Israel by his Advice for that was done as soon as he was gone Ver. 15. And he took up his Parable and said Balaam Verse 15 the Son of Beor hath said c. This was the Preface to his foregoing Prophecy See v. 3. Ver. 16. He hath said who heard the words of God Verse 16 c. This verse also is the same with the fourth only a few words added And knew the knowledge of the most High Which he adds to show his intimate acquaintance with the Supreme LORD of the World For he speaks of God in the very same stile which Moses doth calling him both El and Schaddai and Eljon and Jehovah Which demonstrates that he was not a Stranger to the true God though corrupted with bad Affections and addicted also to foul Superstitions Verse 17 Ver. 17. I shall see him Or I do see him for the Future Tense is often used for the Present that is he saw the Person of whom he was going to speak represented to him in a Vision But not now He saw him not as in being now at present but to come in future times I shall behold him but not nigh The same thing in other words but more plainly telling them they must not expect this Person in their time nor in the next Generation but in remoter Ages There shall come a Star out of Jacob. A Star denotes a great Person and being understood to be spoken of Christ it denotes his Caelestial Original And both Onkelos and Jonathan and the Hierusalem Targum take the Messiah to be here meant and so doth R. Moses Haddarsan and Bereschith Rabbath and a great many Christian Interpreters as Huetius observes in his Demonstr Evang. Propos VII sect 9. particularly Eusebius and Cyril of Alexandria Who in his VIIIth Book against Julian confutes his Exposition of these words which is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That this belongs to David and to his Successors is sufficiently manifest To which St. Cyril replies That if Balaam had spoken of David and the Kings of Israel he would have said There shall arise Stars out of Jacob c. whereas he speaks of one alone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as very illustrious among the Stars which it is evident can be none but Christ Unto which I shall add the words of a later Writer of the Jewish Nation R. Isaac in his Illumin Fidei set forth not long ago by the learned Wagenseil Where he argues this cannot be understood of David or any other King of Israel because none of them ever reigned over all the Earth i. e. over all the Children of Seth whom none of them destroyed but it is meant he concludes of the MESSIAH who is compared to a Star because of the perennity of his Kingdom and the splendor of his Dominion and his great Acts throughout the World p. 72 and 80. Where he makes this a Prophecy of one Kingdom alone to be in the World viz. that of the Israelites who are called the People of the Saints of the most High VII Dan. 27. Which is true enough if he had understood the right meaning of Israelites who are those not after the Flesh but after the Spirit It is not fit to conclude this without one Observation more that so long ago as the time of the Emperour Adrian this was understood by the generality of the Jews to be a Prophecy of the Messiah For they followed one whose Name was Chocab i. e. a Star to whom the famous R. Akiba a Doctor who they say had Four and twenty thousand Scholars applied these words of Balaam and calling him Barchoceb i. e. the Son of a Star anointed him their King and carried a Sword before him crying Behold the very King Messiah This is reported by the Jews themselves in Tzenach David and several other Books All which I think doth not hinder but that King David may be hereby signified in the first sence though as a Type of the MESSIAH the great Son of David in whom it was compleated And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel This some think may first have a respect to David and then to the MESSIAH the King of Israel But the Chaldee paraphrast refers the whole to Christ whose words are these A King shall arise out of the House of Jacob and the Messiah shall be anointed of the House of Israel Nor is it any wonder that Balaam should prophesie of him so many years before he was born and so plainly that Moses himself doth not speak in plainer terms but it is to be lookt upon as the effect of God's infinite Goodness who would not have those that were not of the Seed of Abraham to be wholly ignorant of what he intended to do for all Mankind And this was necessary to be plainly told them because otherwise they would not have understood it And shall smite the Corners of Moab The latter part of this Prophecy Huetius thinks belongs to David as the former part to Christ. Which was the opinion of Maimonides who divided the Prophecy between them And this was indeed literally fulfilled in David who subdued the Moabites intirely as we read 2 Sam. VIII 8. LX Psal 8. CVIII 9. Some translate these words He shall smite through the Princes of Moab So the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth not alter the sence And it is no unusual thing with the Prophets when they intend to speak of something nearer to them to be transported by the Spirit of God to speak of things a great deal more
in Egypt See this there explained And she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their Sister Who seems to have been born before Moses if not before Aaron II Exod. 4. Ver. 60. And unto Aaron was born Nadab and Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar VI Exod. 23. where he tells the name of their Mother Ver. 61. And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered Verse 60 strange Fire before the LORD See X Lev. 2. Verse 61 and the third Chapter of this Book v. 4. But Eleazar who was the eldest next to them was now alive and made High-Priest and it is likely Ithamar also being under Twenty years old when the People murmured upon the Report of the Spies and so not cut off with that wicked Generation XVI 29. All this is here recounted to show that the Tribe of Levi was preserved by the blessing of God as well as the rest of the Israelites though they were to have no Inheritance in the Land of Canaan Ver. 62. And those that were numbred of them were Verse 62 twenty and three thousand c. So they were a thousand more than at the last numbring III. 39. For they were not numbred among the Children of Israel But by themselves for the reason following Because there was no Inheritance given them among the Children of Israel For God was their Inheritance as he told them XVIII 20 c. And therefore they were ordered not to be numbred Thirty eight years ago no more than now I Numb 49 c. The Jews are something curious in their Observations upon these words among or in the midst of the Children of Israel from whence they conclude that the Levites might have Lands out of the Bounds of the Land of Canaan though not within it among their Brethren Ver. 63. These are they that were numbred by Moseâ— Verse 63 and Eleazar the Priest who numbred the Children of Israel in the plains of Moab c. By a special command of God v. 1 2 c. Ver. 64. But among these there was not a Man of them whom Moses and Aaron the Priest numbred when they numbred the Children of Israel in the Wilderness of Verse 64 Sinai See the first Chapter of this Book v. 1 2 c. so exactly were God's Threatnings fulfilled as well as his Promises Chapter XXVII Verse 65 Ver. 65. For the LORD had said of them they shall surely die in the Wilderness He had pronounced this irreversible Sentence upon the whole Congregation XIV 23 28 29. where he swears they should not enter into the Land of Canaan because they had brought or entertained an evil report of it See also II Deut. 14 15. And there was not left a Man of them save Caleb the Son of Jephunneh and Joshua the Son of Nun. Whom God promised to spare because they were of another Spirit XV. 24 30 38. And their survival was as remarkable an instance of the truth of God's word as the Death of all the rest CHAP. XXVII Verse 1 Ver. 1. THEN came the Daughters of Zelophehad the Son of Hepher c. Who are mentioned before XXVI 33. just as they are here only their Genealogy is here more fully set out that their Father was the Grandson of Manasseh the Son of Joseph from whom he was lineally descended but left no Sons behind him Now these young Women hearing Moses say as he doth in the foregoing Chapter that the LORD commanded the Land of Canaan should be divided among those that were now numbred and observing that only Males from Twenty years old were numbred v. 2. presently apprehended that they being Females were excluded from having any Inheritance among the Israelites and so the Family of the Hepherites XXVI 32. would be extinguished This was the ground of what follows Whereby it appears that every body was immediately acquainted with the Laws which Moses received from God and that there was a faithful Register kept of every one that was born in every Family and Tribe to prevent all Disputes about the true Heirs to Mens Estates Ver. 2. And they stood before Moses c. To represent Verse 2 before him and the rest of the Judges who were now assembled the Case which I have mentioned Before Moses and Eleazar the Priest and before the Princes and all the Congregation These made up the greatest Court of Judicature that at any time sate For by Princes are meant either the Heads of the Tribes or the highest of the Judges appointed XVIII Exod. called the Heads of the People v. 25. And by all the Congregation is meant the LXX Elders mentioned in this Book XI 24. For they are called col ha edah the whole Congregation and sometimes only Edah the Congregation as R. Solomon observes See Bertram de Republ. Jud. p. 72. Now at the Head of all these sat Moses and next to him Eleazar the Priest By the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Near to which this august Assembly it is likely was wont to sit when they met together that Moses might presently if there were occasion go and consult with God himself in any difficult matter that came before them And thus Mr. Selden observes out of Maimonides that in future times the great Sanhedrim followed the Tabernacle sitting sometimes in one place sometimes in another according as that was settled As after they came to Canaan it was first at Shiloh then at Mizpeh and afterwards at Gilgal Nob Gibeon the House of Obed-Edom till at last it was fixed in Jerusalem Lib. II. de Synedr cap. 15. n. 4. As concerning that which the Talmudists say concerning the proceedings in this case of Zelophehad's Daughters nothing certain can be determined But they give this account of it That they first brought this Cause into the Courts appointed by the advice of Jethro XVIII Exod. 21. and began with the Rulers of ten who knowing not what to say to them they went to those of fifty and from thence to the Centurions and at last to the Chiliarchs None of which durst adventure to give Judgment but referred the Cause by reason of its difficulty to Moses who brought it to the SCHECHINAH as they speak i. e. to the Divine Majesty Seld. ib. cap. 16. n. 1. Verse 3 Ver. 3. Saying Our Father died in the Wilderness Among the rest mentioned v. 64 65. of the foregoing Chapter They seem to have drawn up their Cause in the form of a Petition or as Mr. Selden speaks in the Legal Phrase presented a Libel to the Court containing the intire matter of their Petition and that artificially enough And he was not one of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the Company of Korah They use the very words of Moses concerning that rebellious Company XVI 11. And instance in this Sin rather than any other either to show that their Father had a due regard to the Authority of Moses who they hoped therefore would be the more favourable to his Posterity or
rather to insinuate that he was not guilty of such a Crime as might make Men justly forfeit what they had for their Children as well as for themselves For all the Family of Dathan and Abiram perished and it is taken notice of as a singular Mercy that the Children of Korah did not XXVI 10 11. But died in his own Sin i. e. For his own Sin which God had declared should not affect the Children XIV 31. For to that General Sin in which all the People were engaged these words seem to refer And so it was his own sin not with respect to the rest of the People for they were all alike guilty but with respect to his Children it being a personal Guilt in which they were not concerned The Jews commonly say that Zelophehad was the Man that was stoned for gathering Sticks on the Sabbath-day For which they have no authority but a fancy of R. Aquiba who is sharply reproved for it by another considerable Rabbi who saith it is a rash Judgment for if it were true since the Scripture conceals it he ought not to have revealed it but hath reproached a just Man for any thing that appears See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr cap. 1. sect 9. And had no Son As was found when the People were numbred XXVI 33. Ver. 4. Why should the name of our Father be done Verse 4 away from among his Family One Family of the Tribe of Manasseh viz. the Hepherites being in danger to be wholly extinguished R. Judah will have the word Name in this place to signifie as much as hereditary possession and so he thinks it signifies XXV Deut. 6. as Mr. Selden observes out of Pesikta Lib. de Successionibus cap. 14. Because he hath no Son Merely for want of Issue-Male when he hath left many Daughters Give unto us therefore a possession among the Brethren of our Father Let us come in for a share among those that are descended from Manasseh Which if they did the Name of their Father could not be thereby preserved but by the Son of one of these Daughters taking upon him not the Name of his Father that begat him but of his Mother's Grand-father viz. Hepher which was ordered afterwards by a general Law XXV Deut. 6. Verse 5 Ver. 5. And Moses brought their Cause before the LORD This was too difficult a Cause though there seemed to be a great deal of Reason on their side to be judged by the great Court before-mentioned and therefore it was referred to Moses alone as other weighty Causes used to be See XV. 32. XXV 4. for neither Eleazar nor any other Person before whom it was brought v. 2. are here mentioned as the Judges of this matter And he durst not judge it though the equity appeared very plain without bringing it before the LORD for his direction which he could have upon all important occasions XXV Exod. 22. VII Numb 89. Verse 6 Ver. 6. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying This shows that the Cause was devolved upon Moses alone for the LORD tells him and no other Person how it should be determined Verse 7 Ver. 7. The Daughters of Zelophehad c. The LORD approves of their Claim and gives a Sentence in their favour Thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their Father's Brethren Because the word for them in the Hebrew is of the Masculine Gender some think it signifies they were to be considered as if they had been Sons And thou shalt cause the Inheritance of their Father to pass unto them So that they were to enjoy what would have faln to his share had he been alive ob indutam defuncti patris personam as the Lawyers speak because they stood in the place of their dead Father and represented his Person And accordingly they put in their Claim at the Division of the Land and had their Portion therein according to this Decision XVII Josh 2 3 c. How the Portion was divided among them according to the Hebrew Doctors Mr. Selden shows at large in his Book de Successionibus in bona defunctii cap. 23. Ver. 8. And thou shall speak unto the Children of Israel Verse 8 saying Upon this occasion he passes this special Case into a General Law to be hereafter observed If a Man die and have no Son then ye shall cause his Inheritance to pass unto his Daughter It being a reason as Maimonides observes More Nevochim P. III. cap. 42. that what a Man leaves should come to his Family and to those who are next of Kin to him for the nearer any Person is to us we are inclined by natural affection to have the greater regard to him But all this is to be understood of Land as for Money and moveable Goods which were of his own getting the Father might dispose of them by his Will to whom he pleased Ver. 9. And if he have no Daughter then ye shall give his Inheritance unto his Brethren Unless his Father was alive who undoubtedly the Jews say was Verse 9 the next Heir but not mentioned because it was not necessary Or as some say because it was too sad a thing to speak of a Fathers burying all his Children without Issue See Selden de Success in bona defuncti cap. 12. Where he observes that according to the Rule v. 11. it must come to the Father because he is nearest of kin to it And therefore the Jews interpret this as if Moses had said If he have Daughter he shall give his inheritance to the next of his Kindred to his Father for instance and afterwards ye shall give it to his Brethren i. e. the Children of his Father And the same is to be said of the Grandchildren unto whom the Brethren of a Father dying without issue are heirs For the Grandfather stands in the same relation to a Father that a Father doth to his Son Verse 11 Ver. 11. And if his Father have no Brethren then ye shall give it to his Kinsman that is next of Kin to him of his Family and he shall possess it To his Brothers Children or to those who are descended from them or from his Fathers ' Brethren But no consideration was to be had of his Mother's Kindred as the Jewish Lawyers say who could never be capable of the Inheritance Which they gather not only from these words which determine the Inheritance to his Family i. e. the Family of the Father before-mentioned not to the Family of the Mother but from the frequent mention of the Father of Mischpachoth which we translate Families or rather Kindreds of the Fathers in the Books of Moses Chronicles Ezra and others From whence this solemn Maxim of the Talmudists The Family or Kindred of the Mother is never called by the name of Kindred That is it hath not the effect of a Kindred in Successions to Inheritances Which is the same with that in the ancient Book Siphri Families follow the Fathers as Mr. Selden
That the People may begin to submit to his Authority and learn to obey his Commands as well as thine Ver. 21. And he shall stand before Eleazar the Priest Verse 21 c. For the incouragement of Joshua to undertake this Charge he assures him he shall never want direction from God what to do when he was in any doubt but in the manner here prescribed most certainly receive it And what is here said concerning him belongs to all their succeeding Governours And it is observed by Maimonides and other Jewish Doctors that the High-Priest stood before the Kings of Israel out of great respect to them but no King is said to stand before the High-Priest but only in this case when he was to consult the holy Oracle That it might appear the Honour was given not to the Priest but unto the Divine Majesty whom he consulted by the Priest Who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Vrim Because the word Thummim is here wanting some understand these words as if he had said the High-Priest shall ask counsel for him by the illumination of the Spirit of God So Conradus Pellicanus But the word Thummim in all likelyhood is here to be understood though not expressed being always joyned with Vrim except in this and one other place where Vrim only is named after a short manner of speaking in XXVIII Exod. XXXIII Deut. II Ezra VII Nehem. For they were inseparable from the Breast-plate of Judgment as it is called XXVIII Exod. 30. See there with which the High-Priest appeared before God when he consulted him in great Affairs concerning the Publick Safety more especially in times of War of which we have many Instances in I Judg. 1. XX. 18. 1 Sam. XIV 18. XXVIII 6. David indeed is said to consult God by the Ephod but it must be observed that the Breast-plate was annexed to it which Abiathar brought along with him when he fled from Saul who commanded the Priests to be slain 1 Sam. XXII 2 9. XXX 8. 2 Sam. V. 19. And it is further to be noted that though David thus frequently consulted God this way being engaged in Wars yet we never read that Solomon asked counsel by it being a peaceable King Grotius also observes that Joshua now and the Kings of Judah afterwards therefore stood before the Priest that they might be near to the Vrim and Thummim which he had upon his Breast without which he could not receive any answer De Imperii Sum. Potest c. cap. 6. Before the LORD The High-Priest never inquired by Vrim and Thummim but standing before the LORD that is before the Ark where the SCHECHINAH was At his word shall they go out and at his word shall they come in That is saith Grotius in the place fore-named at the Word of the LORD by the Judgment of Vrim which goes just before Others at the word of the Priest which comes to the same And this the Hebrew Doctors understand concerning the People of Israel making War which is wont to be meant in Scripture by the words going out and coming in And they distinguish between the War that was made by the Divine Commandment against the VII Nations of Canaan and against Amalek and that which was voluntary against any of their Neighbours or others as there should be reason In the former case they think there was no need to ask whether they should make War or no because it was commanded and Joshua and the Kings afterward did it when they pleased But in the other they were not to make War without this Divine Order See Selden Lib. III. de Synedr cap. 12. n. 4. But it is plain from I Judg. 1. that they consulted the LORD also in the first sort of War with the People of Canaan how to manage it to the best Advantage Both he and all the Children of Israel with him even all the Congregation By the first word he the Jews understand Joshua and all the succeeding Princes of Israel who were bound to advise with God by Vrim and Thummim before they made War And by the next words all the Children of Israel with him they understand the Priest that was particularly anointed to go with the People to War XX Deut. 2. And by the last words the whole Congregation they understand the LXX Elders or the great Sanhedrim So Maimonides Abarbinel and a great many others expound these words as Mr. Selden shows in the same place from which they have framed this general Maxim That no private Man might consult this Oracle but the King and the Head of the great Sanhedrim and he that was appointed by all the People in their name And that Col haedah all the Congregation signifies frequently the great Assembly of the Elders and Judges See also Bertram de Repub. Jud. p. 72. Here the Jews start a difficulty as they account it why we never read in the whole Book of Joshua that he consulted the LORD after this manner but as soon as ever he was dead they did I Judg. 1. From whence Abarbinel concludes that Joshua was bound to do this only at the first entrance upon his Office that all Israel might know he was Moses his Successor and that God was with him but that afterward the Spirit of Prophecy rested upon him and conducted him without this Oracle But if nothing was done that is not recorded in the Scripture he might as well have said that Joshua never consulted the Oracle at all for we do not read he did though he be here so ordered R. Levi ben Gersom therefore seems to me to speak more reasonably when he says that those words in the beginning of the Book of Judges do not import that they did not consult God by Vrim in the Life of Joshua but only that after his Death the Children of Israel would not adventure to proceed in the War of Canaan without the same direction And there is something else which they might have observed from this verse with great reason which is how much inferiour Joshua was to Moses though he succeeded him in the Conduct of the People For Moses never made use of the Vrim and Thummim to consult God by the High-Priest but went directly and immediately to God himself whereas Joshua was not admitted to such Familiarity nor had he such frequent Revelations from God as Moses had Yet sometimes God vouchsafed him the honour to speak to him as we find in the beginning of Joshua III. 7. IV. 1 15 c. And there was a most illustrious appearance of God to him before Jericho V. 13 c. Ver. 22. And Moses did as the LORD commandded him and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar and before all the Congregation According as he was ordered v. 18 19. In this we see the great Verse 22 Integrity the sincere Humility and Self-denial of Moses that he readily submitted to have the Government of Israel translated from his own Family and Tribe