before the congregation CHAP. XXI THen a When the whole Land was distributed unto the several Tribes but not actually possessed by them which was the proper season for them to put in their claim came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites b The Fathers of the Levites were Kohath Gershom and Merari and the heads of these were the chief persons now alive of these several Families unto Eleazar the priest and unto Joshua the son of Nun and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel 2 And they spake unto them * Chap. 〈◊〉 at Shiloh in the land of Canaan saying ‡ Numb 〈◊〉 The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in with the suburbs thereof for our cattel 3 And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites c It seems most probable that they gave to the Levites promiscuously such Cities as God commanded and that the Lot appropriated them to their several Houses or Families out of their inheritance d i. e. Out of their several Possessions partly that the burden and loss might be equally divided and principally that the Levites being dispersed among the several Tribes according to Iacobs Prediction Gen. 49. 7. might more easily and frequently and effectually Teach the Israelites Gods Law and Iudgments which they were engaged to do Deut. 33. 10. and that the People might upon all occasions resort to them and require the meaning of the Law at their mouths Mal. 2. 7. at the commandment of the LORD these cities and their suburbs e Not only the use but the absolute Dominion of them as is manifest both from v. 11 12. where a distinction is made between the City and Suburbs of Hebrâ—… and the Fields and Villages thereof and the former are given to the Levites the latter to Caleb and from the return of these Cities in the Iubilee unto the Levites as to their proper owners Levit. 25. 33 34. 4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites and the children of Aaron the priest which were of the Levites had * See Châ—… 33. by lot out of the tribe of Judah and out of the tribe of Simeon and out of the tribe of Benjamin f Which three Tribes were nearest to the Temple where their business lay thirteen cities g For though the Priests were now few enough for one City yet respect was to be had to their succeeding numbers this division being made for all future Generations And seeing the Levites might sell their Houses until the Iubilee Levit. 25. 33. much more might they Let them and therefore it is probable their Cities were not very long uninhabited many being inclined to dwell with them by vertue of relations contracted with them or dependance upon or expectation from them or oâ—… of respect to the Service of God and the good of their Souls 5 And the rest of the children of Kohath h Who were not of Aarons Family or Priests but Levites onely had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim and out of the tribe of Dan and out of the half tribe of Manasseh i Which Tribes are nearest to the three former and so the Kohathites are placed next to their Brethren the Aaronites ten cities k Fewer than they gave out of the three former Tribes because their inheritance was no less than the former See Numb 35. 8. 6 And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar and out of the tribe of Asher and out of the tribe of Naphtali and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan thirteen cities 7 The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben and out of the tribe of Gad and out of the tribe of Zebulun twelve cities 8 And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs k Of which see on Numb 35. 2. as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses 9 ¶ And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon l These are mentioned together because the Cities of Siâ—… lay within Iudah's Portion these cities which are here ‡ 〈◊〉 mentioned 〈◊〉 name 10 Which the children of Aaron being of the families m i. e. Of the family the Plural Number for the Singular which is not unusual of the Kohathites who were of the children of Levi had for theirs was the First lot 11 And they gave them ‖ Or Kiriathâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…3 2. the city of Arbah the father of Anak which city is Hebron in the hill â—…ntrey of Judah with the suburbs thereof round about it 12 But ‡ Chap. 14. 14. 1 〈◊〉 6. 56. the fields n i. e. All beyond the 2000 Cubits expressed Numb 35. 5. This is here mentioned not as his peculiar case but as one â—…ment Instance to shew that it was so in all the rest of the Cities here named that the Fields and Villages thereof still belonged to the several tribes from whom the Cities and their Suburbs were taken and to make the rest of the Israelites more contentedly and chearfully resign so great a part of their Possessions to the Levites because even Caleb did so though his Possession had been long before promised and now actually given to him by Gods special command as a mark of honour and compensation for his long and faithful Service of the city and the villages thereof gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession 13 ¶ Thus they * 1 Chro. 6. 57. gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs to be a city of refuge for the slayer and Libnah with her suburbs 14 ¶ And Jattir with her suburbs and Eshtemoa with her suburbs 15 And * 1 Chr. 6. 58. 〈◊〉 Holon o Called Hilen 1 Chron. 6 58. as Iuttah here is called Ashâ—… 1 Chron. 6. 59. and Kibzaim called Iokmeam 1 Chron. 6. 6â—… and so some others the names of the places being changed by length of time and upon special occasions as was frequent among the Jews Though their Doctors add that some of these places here mentioned being now in the Canaâ—…tes Possession and not speedily recovered from them there were others put in their stead with her suburbs and Debir with her suburbs 16 And * 1 Chro. 6. 59 â—…shan Ain with her suburbs and Juttah with her suburbs and Bethshemesh with her suburbs nine cities out of those two tribes â—…â—…in here and Gibeon v. 17. and some others here named are not named 1 Chron. 6. either because they were destroyed in some of those Hostile Invasions and Wars wherewith their Land was grievously harassed and wasted before that time or they appear there under other Names as was said 17 And out of
the tribe of Benjamin Gibeon with her suburbs Geba with her suburbs 18 Anathoth with her suburbs and * 1 Chron. 6. â—…0 Alemeth Almon with her suburbs four cities 19 All the cities of the children of Aaron the priest were thirteen cities with their suburbs 20 ¶ And the families of the children of Kohath the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath q Oveâ—… and above those of them who were Priests even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim 21 For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim to be a city of refuge for the slayer and Gezer with her suburbs 22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs and Beth-horon with her suburbs four cities 23 And out of the tribe of Dan Eltekeh with her suburbs Gibbethon with her suburbs 24 Aijalon with her suburbs Gath-rimmon with her suburbs four cities 25 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh r To wit that half which dwelt in Canaan by comparing this with v. 27. Tanach with her suburbs and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs two cities 26 All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained 27 ¶ And unto the children of Gershon of the familites of the Levites out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs to be a city of refuge for the slayer and Beeshterah with her suburbs two cities 28 And out of the tribe of Issachar Kishon with her suburbs Dabareh with her suburbs 29 Jarmuth with her suburbs En-gannim with her suburbs four cities 30 And out of the tribe of Asher Mishal with her suburbs Abdon with her suburbs 31 Helkath with her suburbs and Rehob with her suburbs four cities 32 And our of the tribe of Naphtali Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs 〈◊〉 a city of refuge for the slayer and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs and Kartan with her suburbs three cities 33 All the cities of the Gershâ—… according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs 34 ¶ And unto the families of the children of Merari the rest of the Levites out of the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam with her suburbs and Kartah with her suburbs 35 Dimnah with her suburbs Nahalal with her suburbs four cities 36 And out of the tribe of Reuben Bezer s A City of Refuge as it is called Ios. 20. 8. and therefore needless to he here repeated with her suburbs and Jahazah with her suburbs 37 Kedemoth with her suburbs and Mephaath with her suburbs four cities 38 And out of the tribe of Gad Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs to be a city of refuge for the slayer and Mahanaim with her suburbs 39 Heshbon with her suburbs Jazer with her suburbs four cities in all 40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families which were remaining of the families of the Levites were by their lot twelve cities 41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities t Qu. Why hath this Tribe which was the least of all more Cities than any of them Answ. First It doth not appear that they had more for though all the cities of the Levites be expressed it is not so with the other Tribes but divers of their Cities are omitted as is evident Secondly The Levites were confined to their Cities and Suburbs the rest had large Territories belonging to their Cities which also they were in a capacity of improving which the Levites were not so that one of their Cities might be more considerable than divers of the Levites Thirdly God was pleased to deal liberally with his Ministers partly to put honour upon those whom he foresaw many would be prone to despise and partly that being free from all outward distractions they might more intirely and fervently devote themselves to the service of God and the instruction of Souls with their suburbs 42 These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them thus were all these cities 43 ¶ And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land u He gave them the right to All and the actual Possession of the greatest part of it and power to Possess the rest as soon as it was needful and convenient for them which was by degrees when their numbers were increased c. Exod. 23. 29 30. and the absolute dominion of all the people remaining in it which he sware to give unto their fathers and they possessed it and dwelt therein 44 And the LORD gave them rest round about according to all that he sware unto their fathers and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them x To wit all the days of Ioshua by comparing Ios. 1. 5. for afterwards it was otherwise with them the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand 45 ‡ Chap. 21. 44 〈◊〉 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel all came to pass CHAP. XXII THen Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh 2 And said unto them Ye have kept * Num. 32 20. 〈◊〉 â—… 18. all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you 3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days a i. e. For divers years together so long as the War lasted See Jos. 11. 18. and 14. 10. unto this day but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God 4 And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren as he promised them therefore now return ye and get ye unto your tents b i. e. To your settled habitations as appears from v. 8. which are oft called Tents as Iudg. 19. 9. 2 Sam. 18. 17. Hos. 9. 6. Mal. 2. 12. and unto the land of your possession ‡ Numb 32. 〈◊〉 Chap. 13. â—… which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan 5 But take diligent heed c Watch over your selves and all your actions to do the commandment and the law d Two words expressing the same thing the Law of Commandments delivered by Moses which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you * Deut. 10. 12. to love the Lord your God and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cleaye unto him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul e With the whole strength of your Minds and Wills and Affections 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away and they went unto their tents 7 ¶ Now to the one half of the Tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents then he
6. of the congregation with singing until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem and then they waited on their office according to their order s Which David had appointed by the Spirit as it follows in this Book 33 And these t To wit Heman here mentioned and Asaph v. â—…9 and Ethan v. 44. are they that †Heb. stâ—…od waited with their children of the sons of the Kohathite Heman a singer the son of Joel the son of Shemuel u Or Samuel the Prophet 34 The son of Elkanah the son of Jeroham the son of Eliel the son of ‖ Ver. 26. Nahâ—…th Toah 35 The son of ‖ or Zophai Zuph the son of Elkanah the son of Mahath the son of Amasai 36 The son of Elkanah the son of ‖ Ver. 24. Shaul Uzziah Uriel Joel the son of Azariah the son of Zephaniah 37 The son of Tahath the son of Assir the son of * Exod. 6. 24. Ebiasaph the son of Korah 38 The son of Izhar the son of Kohath the son of Levi the son of Israel 39 And his brother x Asaph is here called Hemans Brother both by birth being of the same Tribe and Father Levi and by his Office and Employment which was the same with his Asaph who stood on his right hand even Asaph the son of Berechiah the son of Shimea 40 The son of Michael the son of Baasiah the son of Melchiah 41 The son of Ethni the son of Zerah the son of Adajah 42 The son of Ethan the son of Zimmah the son of Shimei 43 The son of Jahath the son of Gershom the son of Levi. 44 And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand Ethan y Called also Ieduthun 1 Chron. 9. 16. 2 Chron. 35. 15. and in the Titles of divers Psalms the son of ‖ Or Kushajah Ch. 15. 17. Kishi the son of Abdi the son of Malluch 45 The son of Hashabiah the son of Amaziah the son of Hilkiah 46 The son of Amzi the son of Bani the son of Shamer 47 The son of Mahli the son of Mushi the son of Merari the son of Levi. 48 Their brethren also the Levites z Such of them as had no skill in Singing were otherwise employed were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God 49 But a Having mentioned the Work and Employment of the High-Priests he briefly rehearseth the Names of the Persons who successively performed it Aaron and his sons offered * Lev. 1. 9. upon the altar of the burnt-offering and * Exod. 30. 7. on the altar of incense and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy and to make an atonement for Israel according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded 50 And these are the sons of Aaron Eleazar his son Phinehas his son Abishua his son 51 Bukki his son Uzzi his son Zerahiah his son 52 Merajoth his son Amariah his son Ahitub his son 53 Zadok his son Ahimaaz his son 54 Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts of the sons of Aaron of the families of the Kohathite for theirs was the lot b Or this Lot or Portion which here follows Or the first Lot as appears by the sequel 55 And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah and the suburbs thereof round about it 56 But the fields of the city and the villages thereof they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh 57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities c Or out of the Cities the Hebrew eth being put for meeth as hath been oft noted of Judah namely Hebron the city of refuge and Libna with her suburbs and Jattir and Eshtemoa with their suburbs 58 And ‖ Or Holon Josh. 21. 15. Hilen with her suburbs Debiâ—… with her suburbs 59 And ‖ Or Ain Josh. 21. 16. Ashan with her suburbs and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs 60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin Geba with her suburbs and ‖ Or Almon Josh. 21. 18. Alemeth with her suburbs and Anathoth with her suburbs All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities d Whereof 11. are here numbred and two more added to them Ios. 21. 13. 61 And unto the sons of Kohath which were left e Over and above the Priests who were of the same Family of Kohath and Tribe of Levi. of the family of that tribe were cities given out of the half tribe namely out of the half tribe of Manasseh * Josh. 21. 5. by lot ten cities f Or by lot with a full Point for there the Sense ends All their Cities were ten cities as it is expresly said Ios. 21. 26. Those words all their cities were are to be understood out of the former Verse which is not unusual in the Holy Scripture And so this sacred Writer explains himself v. 66 c. where eight of these Cities are named whereof onely two are taken out of this half Tribe of Manasseh v. 70. the other two being named Ios. 21. 21 c. where these things are more plainly and fully declared 62 And to the sons of Gershom g Understand here cities were given which is also understood v. 61 and expressed v. 64. throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar and out of the tribe of Asher and out of the tribe of Naphtali and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan thirteen cities 63 Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot throughout their families out of the tribe of Reuben and out of the tribe of Gad and out of the tribe of Zebulun * Josh. 21. 7 34. twelve cities 64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites h i. e. To the Tribe of Levi consisting of Priests and other Levites these cities i Which are numbred or named in this Chapter with their suburbs 65 And they gave k To wit to those Levites of the Family of Kohath who were Priests as appears both by v. 57 c. where the Cities given to the Aâ—…ronites are said to be taken out of the Tribes here named even out of Iudah under which Simeon is comprehended because his Lot lay within that of Iudah and Benjamin and by the next Verse where the other Kohathites who were not Priests are called the Residue of the Families of the Sons of Kohath by way of distinction from those of them to whom this v. 65. relates by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin these cities which are called by their names l Which are expressed by their Names above v. 57 c. 66 And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts m Or of their borders i.
Ephraim had one here v. 5. and Manasseh another Ios. 17. 1. but because in these first Verses he speaks of them in common and of the South border which seems to be the same either wholly or in a great part and then he comes to the particular description of their several portions It is here farther remarkable that God so disposed of these Lots that they came forth in decent and due order Iudah's first to whom the Sovereignty was promised and then Ioseph's who succeeded Reuben in the other Priviledg of the Birth-right the double-portion 1 Chron. 5. 1 2. * fell ‡ Heb. Wâ—… forth from Jordan by Jericho unto the †water of Jericho b Of which see 2 King 2. 19 20 21 22. on the east to the wilderness c The Wilderness of Beth-aven as appears by comparing Ios. 18. 12. which speaks of the very same border which was on the South of Ephraim and on the North of Benjamin that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Peth-el 2 And goeth out from Beth-el to * Judg. 1. 〈◊〉 Luz d Or from Bethel-luzah as the LXX here join the words for Bethel was anciently called Luz Gen. 28. 19. and 48. 3. Though some think this was another Luz spoken of Iudg. 1. 26. Others make Bethel and Luz two neighbouring Towns which afterwards being more built and inhabited became one as oft hath happened and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth 3 And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether e Of the two Beth-horons see Jos. 10. 10 11. and to Gezer and the goings out thereof are at the sea 4 So the children of Joseph Manasseh f i. e. Half Manasseh by a Synecdoche and Ephraim took their inheritance g i. e. Their several Portions which here follow Some think that they had but one Lot between them and therefore they are now said to take their inheritance to wit by dividing it between them according to the direction of Ioshua and Eleazar c. For that Phrase being used of them and not to my remembrance of any other Tribes may seem to have some peculiar signification which doth not agree to the other Tribes But there being mention of a peculiar Lot taken out for Manasseh Josh. 17. 1. shews that their several inheritances fell to them as the rest did to the other Tribes even by several Lots and it is said of them that they took their inheritance which also Iudah had done before them because the Tribes of Iudah and Ioseph did take their Inheritances before the rest and it was fit they should do so for the security of the main Camp and the body of the people which were at Gilgal See Ios. 18. 5. g i. e. The North-east side It is no wonder if some of these Descriptions are dark and doubtful to us at this distance of time and place there having been so many alterations made in places and so many circumstances being now altogether undiscoverable But this is evident to every man of common sense that this and all the descriptions here mentioned were then certain and evident to the Israelites because these were the foundation of their present practice and of all the Possessions which then they took and peaceably possessed in succeeding Ages 5 ¶ And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus even the border of their inheritance on the east-side h was from Ataroth-addar unto Beth-horon the upper 6 And the border went out toward the sea i The Mid-land sea towards the West to Mickmethah on the north-side and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh and passed by it on the east to Janohah 7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and to Naarath and came to Jericho k Not to the City of Iericho which belonged to Benjamin's Lot Ios. 18. 21. but to its Territory and went out at Jordan 8 The border went up from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah and the goings out thereof were at the sea This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families 9 And the * Chap. 17. 9. separate cities l i. e. Besides those Cities which were within Ephraim's bounds he had some other Cities to which also their Territories were annexed out of Manasseh's Portion because his Tribe was all here and was larger than Manasseh's for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh all the cities with their villages 10 And they * â—…udg â—… 29. drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer m Nor were they driven out till Solomon's time 1 King 9. 16. but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day and serveth under tribute n As Ios. 17. 13. 1 King 9. 16. CHAP. XVII THere was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh for he was the * Gen. 41. 51. and â—…6 20. first born of Joseph a The sense is though Ephraim was to be more potent and numerous yet Manasseh was the First-born and had the priviledg of the First-born which was translated to Ioseph to wit a double portion and therefore though this were but half the Tribe of Manasseh yet they are not made Inmates to Ephraim but have a distinct Lot of their own as their Brethren or other half Tribe had beyond Iordan to wit for ‡ Gen. 50. 23. Numb 32. 39 40. Machir b The only Son of Manasseh who therefore is here and â—…udg 5. 14. put for the whole Tribe the first-born c So even onely Sons are sometimes called as Mat. 1. 25. See Exod. 4. 22. of Manasseh the father of Gilead d Or and the Father or who was also the Father of Gilead not of the Land of Gilead but of the man Gilead who was Machir's Son Numb 26. 29. because he was a man of war e He i. e. Machir had given great proof of his Valour in his Generation though the particular History be not mentioned and his Posterity were no degenerate Sons but had his valiant Blood still running in their Veins therefore he had Gilead and Bashan f i. e. Part of those Countreys for part of them also was given to the Reubenites and part to the Gadites as appears from Ios. 13. 30 31. This may be added as a reason either 1. Why he got those places from the Amorites or 2. Why they were allotted to him or his Posterity because this was a Frontier Country and the Out-works to the Land of Canaan and therefore required such valiant persons to defend it 2 There was also a lot g Or a Portion or distinct Inheritance for * Numb 26. â—…9 the rest of the children of Manasseh h To wit those of them which had not received their Possessions beyond Iordan Numb 26. 30 c. by their families for
the children of Abiezer and for the children of Helek and for the children of Afriel and for the children of Shechem and for the children of Hepher and for the children of Shemida these were the male-children i This expression is used to bring in what follows concerning his Female Children of Manasseh the Son of Joseph by their families 3 But * Numb 26. â—…3 and 27. 1. â—…nd 36. 2. Zelophehad the son of Hephir the son of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh had no sons but daughters k Of whom see on Numb 26. 33. and 27. 1. and these are the names of his daughters Mahlah and Noah Hoglah Milcah and Tirzah 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the princes saying The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he l i. e. Eleazar or Ioshua with the consent of the Princes appointed for that work gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father 5 And there fell ten portions m Either 1. Six portions for the six Sons whereof one was Hepher and because he had no Sons his part was subdivided into five equal parts for each of the Daughters Or 2. Ten Portions five for the Sons and five for the Daughters for as for Hepher both he and his Son Zelophehad was dead and that without Sons and therefore he had no Portion but his Daughters had several Portions allotted to them to Manasseh beside the land of Gilead and Bashan which were on the other side Jordan 6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons n i. e. No less than the Sons so their Sex was no bar to their Inheritance and the rest of Manassehs sons had the land of Gilead 7 ¶ And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah that lieth before Shechem and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah 8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah but the city of Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim 9 And the coast descended unto the ‖ Or Brook of Reeds river Kanah southward of the river * Chap. 16. 9. these cities of Ephraim o Tappuah and the cities upon the Coast descending to the River c. last mentioned are among the cities of Manasseh p i. e. Are intermixed with their Cities which was not strange nor unfit these two being linked together by a nearer Alliance than the rest the coast of Manasseh also was on the north-side of the river and the out-goings of it were at the sea 10 Southward it was Ephraims and northward it was Manassehs and the sea is his border q Either 1. Manasseh's whose portion is here described and whose Name was last mentioned Or 2. Ephraim's and Manasseh's both expressed in the foregoing words and implyed in the following they and they met together in Asher r i. e. Upon the Tribe of Asher for though Zabulon came between Asher and them for the greatest part of their Land yet it seems there were some Necks or Parcels of Land both of Ephraim's and of Manasseh's which jutted out farther than the rest and touched the borders of Asher And it is certain there were many such incursions of the Land of one Tribe upon some parcels of another although they were otherwise considerably distant one from the other See Ios. 19. 34. And you must not judg of these things by the present Maps which are drawn according to the Opinions of late Authors which many times are false and they are to be judged by the Scripture and not the Scripture by them But that part of Manasseh did reach to Asher appears from hence that Dor a City of Manasseh v. 11. was as Iosephus witnesseth near Carmel which belonged to Asher Jos. 19. 26. on the north s and in Issachar on the east 11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher t Either 1. Bordering upon them as in Asher is taken v. 10. and as Aarons Rod is said to be in the Ark i. e. close by it Heb. 9. 4. or 2. Properly in them as Ephraim had some Cities in the Tribe of Manasseh Jos. 16. 9. and as it was not unusual when the place allotted to any Tribe was too narrow for it and the next too large to give away part from the larger to the less portion nay sometimes oâ—…e whole Tribe was taken into another as Simeon was into Iudah's Portion when it was found too large for Iudah Jos. 19. 9. Beth-shean and her towns and Ibleam and her towns and the inhabitants of Dor u Not the places onely but the people whom contrary to Gods Command they spared and used for Servants whom therefore they are said to have or possess and her towns and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns even three countreys x This may be referred either to some to wit the three last places or to all the places named in this verse which are here said either to have three Countreys or Tracts of Land belonging to them or to be in three several Countreys or Portions as they seem to have been some in Issachar and some in Asher and yet both belonging to Manasseh Or the words may be rendred the third part of that Countrey for the Hebrew word is of the Singular Number and the Article seems emphatical and so the meaning may be That the Cities and Towns here mentioned are a third part of that Country i. e. of that part of Issachars and Ashers Portion in which those places lay 12 Yet * â—…udg 1. 〈◊〉 the children of Manasseh could not y drive out the inhabitants of those cities but the Canaanites would dwell z Were resolved to Fight rather than he turned out of their ancient habitations in that land q See on Ios. 15. 63. 13 Yet it came to pass when the children of Israel were waxen strong that they put the Canaanites to tribute but did not utterly drive them out a Which they were obliged to now they were strong and numerous enough to possess those places 14 And the children of Joseph b i. e. Of Ephraim and Manasseh as is manifest partly from v. 17. where it is so explained and partly because they mention it as an unreasonable thing that they being two should have but one Lot spake unto Joshua c i. e. Expostulated with him when they went and saw that Portion which was allotted to them and found it much short of their expectation saying Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion d Either 1. Because they really had but one Lot which afterwards was divided by the Arbitrators between them Or 2. Because the Land
Mizpeh d Near Ramah in the same Mountain where Silo was There were divers other Cities of that name and Chephirali and Mozah 27 And Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah 28 And Zelah Eleph and Jebusi which is Jerusalem e So it seems this City did properly and primarily belong to Benjamin although the Tribe of Iudah had also an Interest in it either because some part of it was allotted to them or because the Benjamites gave them a share in it for the Assistance which either they had received or did expect from that Potent Tribe for the getting or defending of that very Important Place See more on Ios. 15. 63. Gibeath and Kir-jath fourteen cities f It is more than probable that all the Cities belonging to this Tribe are here named because Anathoth and Almon are omitted â—…ere but expressed Ios. 21. 18. with their villages This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families CHAP. XIX ANd the second lot came forth to Simeon even for the Tribe of the Children of Simeon according to their families and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah a This was so ordered by Gods Providence partly to fulfil that threatning that he would divide and scatter this Tribe in Israel Gen. 49. 7. which was hereby done in part because they had no distinct part of their own but were as Inmates to Iudah partly because now upon the more exact survey of the Land it appeared to Ioshua and Eleazar and all the Princes and People even to the Tribe of Iudah themselves that the Part given to Iudah did far exceed the Proportion which either they needed and could occupy or which the other Tribes could expect and partly because this was the least of the Tribes as is evident from Numb 26. 14. and therefore fittest to be put within another Tribe 2 And they had in their inheritance Beersheba and b Or or 1. i. e. otherwise called for that Beersheba and Sheba were one and the same City is manifest both from v. 6. where all the Cities are reckoned to be but Thirteen and from 1 Chron. 4. 28. where Simeons Cities are enumerated and Sheba omitted as superfluous Sheba and Moladah 3 And Hazar-shual and Balah c Called also Billah 1 Chron. 4. 29. and Baalah Ios. 15. 29. For let this be observed once for all that the names of Persons or Places are frequently changed through length of time or difference of Dialects or study of brevity and easiness in Pronunciation or new accidents or other causes Thus Eltolad and Bethul v. 4. are called Tolad and Bethuel 1 Chron. 4. 29 30. and for Beth-lebaoth v. 6. is Beth-birei 1 Chron. 4. 31. and Azem 4 And Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah 5 And Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah 6 And Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen thirteen cities d Or Towns as some of them are called 1 Chron. 4. 32. Nor are all Simeons Cities here numbred for Elam is added 1 Chron. 4. 32. unless that were built afterward and their villages 7 Ain Remmon and Ether and Ashan four cities and their villages 8 And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalathbeer Ramath of the south This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families 9 Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them 10 ¶ And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun e Who is here put before Issachar his elder Brother as he is also Gen. 49. 13 14. Deut. 33. 18. according to their families and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid 11 And their border went up toward the Sea f i. e. The Midland Sea as on the other side it reached to the Sea of Galilee and so those Prophecies concerning him Gen. 49. 3. Deut. 33. 18. were abundantly fulfilled and Maralah and reached to Dabbasheth and reached to the river that is before Jokneam g Supposed to be Kishon Iudg. 4. 7. or Belus or Pagis 12 And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sun-rising unto the border of Chisâ—…oth-tabor and then goeth out to Daberath h A City in Issachar as appears from Ios. 21. 28. and goeth up to Japhia 13 And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittah-hephir to Ittah-kazin and goeth out to Remmon ‖ Or which is drawn Methoar to Neah 14 And the border compasseth it on the north-side to Hannathon and the out-goings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el 15 And Kattath and Nahallal and Shimron and Idalah and Beth-lehem i Not that where Christ was born which was in Iudah thence called Bethlehem Iudah Matt. but another twelve cities k There are more numbred here but the rest either were not Cities properly so called having Villages under their jurisdiction or were not within this Tribe but onely bordering upon it and belonging to other Tribes which is evident of some of them and may well be presumed of others with their villages 16 This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families these cities with their villages 17 ¶ And the fourth lot came out to Issachar for the children of Issachar according to their families 18 And their border was toward Jezreel l The Royal City 1 King 21. 1. This Tribe because it lay between Benjamin on the South and Zebulun on the north is not here described by its borders which were the same with theirs but by some of its Cities and Chesulloth and Shunem m The Birth-place of Abishag 1 King 1. 3. 19 And Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath 20 And Rabbith and Kishion and Abez 21 And Remeth and En-gannim n A different place from that Engannim in the Tribe of Iudah Ios. 15. 34. and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez 22 And the coast reacheth to Tabor and Shahazimah and Beth-shemesh and the out-goings of their border were at Jordan Sixteen cities with their villages 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families the cities and their villages 24 ¶ And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families 25 And their border o On the North-west side was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph 26 And Alammelech and Amad and Misheal and reacheth to Carmel westward p Or Carmel by the sea to distinguish it from that Carmel in the Tribe of Iudah 1 Sam. 25. 2. This was a place of eminent fruitfulness Isa. 33. 9. and 35. 2. and 37. 24. agreeable to the Prophecy concerning Asher Gen. 49. 20. Deut. 33. 24. and to Shihor-libnath 27 And turneth toward the sun-rising to Beth-dagon and reacheth to
Zebulun and to the valley of Jiphthah-el toward the northside of Bethemek and Neiel and goeth out to Cabul q Either 1. That Countrey called Cabul wherein were 20 Cities of which 1 King 9. 13. But this is not probable because that was not within nor belonging to any particular Tribe for then Solomon could not have alienated it from them and given it unto Hiram whereas this did belong to Asher or 2. A certain City so called on the left hand r i. e. On the North which when men look towards the East as is usual is on their left hand 28 And Hebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah s To wit Kanah the greater in the upper Galilee not Kanah the less which was in the lower Galilee even unto great Zidon t Called great for its Antiquity and Riches and Glory This City either was not given to the Israelites but is only mentioned as their border or at least was never possessed by them not without a singular Providence of God that they might not by the opportunity of so good a Port be ingaged in much Commerce with other Nations from which together with Wealth that great corrupter of Mankind they might contract their Errors and Vices 29 And then the coast turneth s From the North Southward to Ramah and to the strong city ‡ Heb. Tzoâ—… Tyre t Exclusively for this City was no part of the Land given them and the coast turneth to Hosah and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to * Gen. 38. 5. Judg. 1. 31. 〈◊〉 â—… 14. Achzib 30 Umma also and Aphek and Rehob twenty and two cities x Here are more named but some of them were not within this Tribe but only bordering places with their villages 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families thâ—…se cities with their villages 32 ¶ The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali even for the children of Naphtali according to their families 33 And their coast y Their Northern Border drawn from West to East as appears because when this Coast is described and brought to its end the Coast is said to turn from the East Westward v. 34. was from Heleph from Allon to Zaanannim and Adami Nekeb and Jabneel unto Lakum and the out-goings z i. e. The end of that Coast. thereof were at Jordan 34 And then the coast turneth west-ward a This is unquestionably the Southern Border described from East to West to Aznoth-tabor and goeth out from thence to Hukkok and reacheth to Zebulun on the south-side and reacheth to Asher on the west-side and to Judah upon Jordan b Qu. How can this be when there were divers Tribes between this and Iudah all which reached to Iordan Ans. He doth not say of Iudah as he doth of Zebulun and Asher that it reacheth to it but as it seems purposely leaves out that word which he had used in both the former branches lest it should be understood of a Local Reaching to it or being Contiguous with it which was not true and that he might signifie that he meant this Clause in another sense to wit that it did in some sort go or reach to or converse with Iudah by Iordan And so this may be here added to shew the accomplishment of that famous and obscure Prophecy That Napthali though he should be planted in the utmost border of the Land on the North-east yet he should possess the riches of the West and South Deut. 33. 23. i. e. of those Tribes which were at great distance from him Westward and Southward and this he should do in way of Commerce with them by their famous River Iordan which he did not onely touch in a small part â—…s some of the other Tribes did but lay all along it for a good space together even from the very Fountain unto the Sea of Genesareth Some think that this is verified by that Royalty of this River which they suppose God gave to the Tribe of Iudah which extended as far as Napthali toward the sun-rising 35 And the â—…enced cities are Ziddim Zer and Hammath c Or Hamath of which see Numb 34. 8. 1 King 8. 65. 2 King 23. 33. Rakkath and Cinnereth d Whence the Lake of Cinnereth or Genesareth received its Name 36 And Adamah and Ramah and Hazor 37 And Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor 38 And Iron and Migdal-el Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh nineteen cities e See on v. 15 22 30. with their villages 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Napthali according to their families the cities and their villages 40 ¶ And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families 41 And the coast of their inheritance f Which is here described onely by its Cities not by its Borders which are in part the same with Iudah's and their Inheritance is in good part taken out of Iudah's too large Portion as appears from divers of the Cities here mentioned which are also reckoned as in Iudah's Portion was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh 42 And Shaalabbin and Ajalon and Jethlah 43 And Elon and Thimnathah and Ekron 44 And Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath 45 And Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon 46 And Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the border ‖ Or over against before ‖ Or Joppa Act. 9. 〈◊〉 Japho 47 And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them g Heb. Went out from them to wit out of their hands or Possession for so this Hebrew Word is used concerning those Lands which in the year of Jubilee are said to go out Levit. 25. 28 30 31 33. i. e. out of the hands of the present Possessor to the first and ancient Owner And so peradventure this may signifie that many of the Danites were forced by their powerful Neighbours the Philistins to relinquish their Coast and their allotted Habitations which put them upon the following course therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem h This was done after Ioshuah's death as appears from Iudg. 18. and seems to be here inserted partly that all the Chief Places where the Danites dwelt though far distant might be mentioned together and partly to give an account of this strange accident why they removed from their appointed Portion to so remote a Place which may be this That being much molested and terrified by their bad Neighbours they thought fit to go to some place remote from them which also they were in a manner constrained to do because otherwise they must have taken some part of the Portions of other Tribes whereas now going to the very utmost Northern Point of the Land they took that which did not belong to or at least was not in the Possession of any other Tribe See more on Iudg. 18.
and took it and smote it with the edge of the Sword and possessed it and dwelt therein and called Leshem ‡ Judg. 18. 29. Dan after the name of Dan their father 48 This is the inheritanee of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families these cities with their villages 49 ¶ When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts the children of Israel gave i i. e. They are said to give it because the whole Land was given to Ioshua and Eleazar and the Princes as joynt Trustees acting in the name and for the good of the People so that even Ioshua could take nothing without their gift an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them 50 According to the word of the LORD k As God Promised or Commanded either First formerly as may be gathered from Ios. 14. 6. Where we read That the Lord said something unto Moses concerning me Caleb and thee Joshua though onely what is said to Caleb be there expressed the other not being to his purpose there for Ioshua having shewed the same courage and faithfulness which Caleb did did doubtless receive equal encouragement and comfort from God at that time Or Secondly now at this time by Eleazar they gave him the city which he asked even * Chap. 24. 30. Timnath-Serah l Called Timnath-heres Iudg. 2. 9. in mount Ephraim and he built m i. e. Repaired and enlarged it in which sense Nebuchadnezzar is said to have built Babylon Dan. 4. 30. the city and dwelt therein 51 * Numb 34. 17. These are the inheritances which Eliazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation so they made an end of dividing the countrey CHAP. XX. THE LORD also spake unto Joshua saying 2 Speak to the children of Israel saying * Exod. 21. 13. Numb 35. 6 11 14. Deut. 19. 2 9. Appoint out a The Possessions being now divided among you do you reserve some of them for the use which I have commanded for you cities of refuge whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses 3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly b Heb. Through Ignorance or Error or Mistake and without Knowledg The same thing twice repeated to cut off all the claims and expectations that Wilful Murderers might have of Protection here and God having declared That such should be taken even from his Altar that they might be killed Exod. 21. 14. and accordingly Ioab was by Solomons Order killed even at the Altar 1 King 2. 28 29 30 31 34 it is the more strange and impudent that any Christians should make their Sanctuaries give Protection to such persons whom God hath so expresly excepted from it which the Papists do and their Doctors are not ashamed to defend it upon frivolous reasons may flee thither and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood c The Kins-man who had right or power to demand or take vengeance of the slaughter 4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entring of the gate d Where the Judges used to sit of that city and shall declare his cause e Or his matters or business what he hath done and why and how he shall give them a true relation of the Fact and all its circumstanâ—…es in the ears of the elders of that city they shall take him into the city f Understand if they are satisfied in the relation he makes concerning the Fact otherwise it had been a vain thing to examine his Cause unto them and give him a place g Which they might well allow him because God gave them the City with a reservation for such persons that he may dwell among them 5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand because he smote his neighbour unwittingly and hated him not before time 6 And he shall dwell in that city until he stand h Which was the posture of the Accused and Accusers Exod. 18. 13. Isa. 50. 8. Zech. 3. 1. before the congregation i Or Company or Assembly to wit the Councel appointed to judg of these matters not the Council of the City of Refuge for they had examined him before v. 4. but of the City to which he belonged or in or nigh which the Fact was committed as appears from Numb 35. 25. for judgment and * Numb 35. 12 25. until the death of the high priest k Of which see on Numb 35. 25. that shall be in those days then shall the slayer return and come unto his own city and unto his own house unto the city from whence he fled 7 ¶ And they ‡ Heb. Sanctified appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali and Shechem in mount Ephraim and Kirjath arba which is Hebron in the mountain of Judah l Concerning these Cities note 1. That they were all upon Mountains that they might be seen at a great distance and so direct those who fled thither 2. That they were seated at convenient distance one from another for the benefit of the several Tribes for Kedesh was in the North Hebron in the South and Shechem between them 3. That they all belonged to the Levites partly that these Causes might be more impartially examined and justly determined by them who are presumed best able to understand the Law of God and most obliged and likely to follow it in their Judgment and not to be biass'd by any affection or corrupt interest and partly that their just reputation with the people and their good Counsels might lay some restraint upon revengeful persons who might be inclined or tempted to follow the Man-slayer thither and endeavour to kill him there 8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward they assigned m Or gave or had assigned or given for they were given by Moses Deut. 4. 41 c. or they confirmed Moses his Grant and applied them to that use to which Moses designed and separated them * Deut. 4. 43. 1 Chron. 6. 78. Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh 9 These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger n Not onely Proselites but others also because this was a matter of common right that a distinction might be made between casual Man-slayers and wilful Murderers that sojourneth among them that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood
peâ—… saluted him b Heb. asked him of Peace i. e. if he were in peace Peace being commonly put for Health and Prosperity 16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war which were of the children of Dan stood by the entring of the gate 17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up and came in thither c To wit into the House and that part of it where those things were and took the graven image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image and the priest stood in the entring of the gate d Whither they had drawn him forth that they might without noise or hindrance take them away with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war 18 And these e To wit the five mentioned v. 17. went into Micahs house and fetched the carved image the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image then said the priest unto them What do ye f What do you mean to do I hope you will not do so Impious and Injurious an action 19 And they said unto him Hold thy peace lay thy hand upon thy mouth g i. e. Be silent as this Phrase is used Iob 21. 5. and 29. 9. and 40. 4. Prov. 30. 32. The same thing repeated in other words and go with us and be to us a father and a priest h See on Iudg. 17. 10. Is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family i To wit a tribe that is and being oft put for that is a family For it is certain this was not an expedition of the whole tribe which numbred 64000 men Num. 26. 43. but only of one family which it seems were more vexed with the Philistines or Amorites and therefore resolved to seek new habitations at a great distance from them And after this time we find the Body of the Danites in their old and proper portions in Sampson's time which though placed before this was long after it in Israel 20 And the priests heart was glad k Being wholly governed by his own Interest and making all his obligations of Justice and Gratitude give place to it But it is not strange if he who was before perfidious to God should prove so to men and he took the ephod and the teraphim and the graven image and went in the midst of the people l i. e. Among the People or properly in the midst both for the greater security of such precious things and that Micah might not be able to come at him either to injure or upbraid him and it may be because that was the place where the Ark used to be carried 21 So they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattel and the carriage before them m For their greater security if Micah should pursue them 22 ¶ And when they were a good way from the house of Micah the men that were in the houses near to Micahs house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they cried unto the children of Dan and they turned their faces and said unto Micah What ails thee ‡ Heb. that thou art gathered together that thou comest with such a company 24 And he said Ye have taken away my gods which I made n So far was he besotted with Superstition and Idolatry that he esteemed those gods which were man's work But he could not be so stupid as to think these were indeed the great Iehovah that made Heaven and Earth but only a lower sort of gods by whom as Mediators he offered up his Worship unto the true God as it is manifest divers of the Heathens did and the priest and ye are gone away and what have I more o I value nothing I have in comparison of what you have taken away Which zeal for Idolatrous trash may shame multitudes that call themselves Christians and yet apparently value their Worldly conveniences more than all the concerns even of the true Religion and of their own Salvation and what is this that ye say unto me What aileth thee 25 ¶ And the children of Dan said unto him Let not thy voice p The complaints and reproaches be heard among us lest ‡ Hebr. bitter of soul. angry fellows q The Soldiers who are in themselves sharp and fierce and will soon be enflamed by thy provoking words run upon thee and thou lose thy life r Which notwithstanding all thy pretences thou dost value more than thy Images as indeed appeared from his following practice with the lives of thy houshold 26 And the children of Dan went their way and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him he turned and went back unto his house 27 And they took the things which Micah had made and the priest which he had and came unto Laish unto a people that were at quiet and secure and they smote them with the edge of the sword and burnt the city with fire s Not wholly but in a great measure to strike the greater terror into the Inhabitants and to make their conquest of the place more easie 28 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Zidon and they had no business with any man and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob t A place near Libanus and Hamath of which see Numb 13. 21. Ios. 19. 28. and 21. 31. Iudg. 1. 31. and they built a city and dwelt therein 29 And they called the name of the * â—…osh 19. 47. city Dan after the name of Dan their Father u That it might be manifest that they belonged to the tribe of Dan though they were seated at a great distance from them even in the most-Northerly part of the Land whereas the lot of their tribe was in the Southern part of Canaan who was born unto Israel howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first 30 ¶ And the children of Dan set them up the graven image x Having succeeded in their expedition according to the prediction which as they supposed they had from this Image they had a great veneration for it and Jonathan the son of Gershom the son of Manasseh he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land y Either 1. When the Ark and the Israelites were taken captives by the Philistines 1 Sam. 4. 10 11. Though there is no mention of any who were then taken captives or that the Philistines did pursue the Victory and Conquer the Land at that time for their Victory was quickly damped and turned to Mourning 1 Sam. 5. Or 2. After that time when the Philistines slew Saul and Ionathan and discomfited the whole Host of Israel and made the rest of the People flee out of their Cities
Word implies Whereby he also intimates That he would not be so rigid and severe towards them as to mark every thing that was amiss but would bear with much as he did in David c. onely that â—…e would not endure a total defection from him ye or your children and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you but go and serve other gods and worship them 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them and this house which I have hallowed * â—…er 7. 15. for my name will I cast out of my sight l I will not regard it I will take away my Protection and gracious Presence from it and Israel shall be a proverb m Their Miseries shall be named Proverbially to express extreme Calamities See Deut. 28. 37. and a by-word among all people 8 And at this house which is high n i. e. Exalted in its Priviledges Glorious and Renowned The Particle which is oft understood and is here fitly supplied out of 2 Chron. 7. 21. where it is expressed every one that passeth by it shall be astonished o At its unexpected and wonderful Ruine and shall hiss p By way of Contempt and Derision See Ier. 19. 8. and 49. 17. and 50. 13. and they shall say * Deut. 29. 24. â—…er 22. 8. Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land and to this house 9 And they shall answer Because they forsook the LORD their God who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshipped them and served them therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil 10 ¶ And * 2 Chro. 8. 1. it came to pass at the end of twenty years * Chap. 6. 37 38. 7. 1. when Solomon had built the two houses the house of the LORD and the kings house 11 Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees and with gold according to all his desire that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee p Or near as Beth oft signifies as hath been proved before the Land of Galilee bordering upon it in those parts which were near and adjoyning to Hiram's Dominions with the Cities understand the Lands and Territories belonging to them Quest. How could Solomon give away any part of that Land wherein the People had a Right by a Divine Lot and God had a Right as being the onely Proprietary of it upon which ground the total Alienation of it or any part of it was forbidden Levit. 25. 23 Answ. 1. It is not said that he gave them away wholly and for ever but he might Assign them to him onely for a time until he was fully satisfied for his Debt 2. If these Cities were possessed by Israelites Solomon did not give him their particular Possessions but onely his own Royalties over them and all the Profits he received from them which were very considerable as may be gathered from that passage Chap. 12. 4. 3. These Cities though they were within those large bounds which God fixed to the Land of Promise Gen. 15. 18. Ios. 1. 4. yet were not within those parts which were distributed by Lot in Ioshua's time nor belonging to the Tribe of Asher as some suppose as may be gathered both from Iosh. 19. ver 27. where their border is said to go out onely to the Land of Cabul to wit exclusively and ver 30. where all their Cities are said to be but twenty and two and from 2 Chron. 8. 2. where it is said of those Cities when Hiram restored them That Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there Which makes it more than probable that these Cities were not Inhabited by Israelites but by Canaanites or other Heathens who being Subdued and Extirpated by David or Solomon those Cities became a part of their Dominion and at their Disposal and afterwards were reckon'd a part of Galilee as Iosephus notes And may be one reason why he gave these rather than other Cities because they were in his power to give when others were not 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him and they ‡ Heb. were not right in his eyes pleased him not q He did not accept them for satisfaction because the Cities were out of repair as appears from ver 13. and the Soyl not good in his Eyes and therefore he refused them 2 Chron. 8. 2. and expected and doubtless had satisfaction some other way as may be gathered from the following Story 13 And he said What cities are these which thou hast given me my brother And he called them the land of ‖ That is displeasing or dirty Cabul r i. e. Of dirt as most interpret it Not that it was a barren Soyl as some imagine for they who describe those parts commend them as Fruitful nor would Solomon have made him so unworthy a return but because it was not pleasant nor agreeable to his nor to his Peoples humour because though the Land was very good yet being a thick and stiff Clay and therefore requiring great pains to Manure and Improve it it was very unsuitable to the disposition of the Tyrians who were Delicate and Lazy and Luxurious and wholly given to Merchandise unto this day 14 And Hiram sent s Or rather for Hiram had sent And this seems to be here added both to declare the quantity of the Gold sent which had been onely named before ver 11. and as the reason why he resented Solomon's Action so ill because so great a Sum required a better Recompence to the king sixscore talents of gold 15 ¶ And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised t Both the Levy of Men of which Chap. 5. 13. and the Levy of Money upon his People and Subjects which is sufficiently evident from many Scriptures And this Sentence may look both backward and forward He raised this Levy both to pay what he owed to Hiram which is mentioned before and to Build the Works here following for to build the house of the LORD and his own house and Millo u It seems to have been an eminent and large and strong Fort or Castle in Ierusalem as may be gathered from 1 King 11. 27. 2 Chron. 32. 5. and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor x In Napthali See Iosh. 11. 10. and 19. 36. and Megiddo y In that part of the Tribe of Manasseh within Iordan of which see Iosh. 17. 15. and Gezer z In Ephraim Iosh. 21. 21. It now was and long had been in the possession of the Canaanites Iosh. 16. 10. Iudg. 1. 29. and permitted so to be by David and Solomon either by neglect or because they were busied in greater and more necessary Employments 16
the noun mechirah derived from it signifies a spouse And so the words may be rendred thus their contracts or agreements or their nuptial contracts were instruments of cruelty Which Translation seems better than the other 1. because it keeps closest to the words of the text and leaves out that particle in which is not in the Hebrew Text but was added by our Translators to compleat the sense 2. Because this best agrees with the history recorded Gen. 34. where we read that they did cover their bloody design with 〈◊〉 pretence of an agreement and nuptial contract with the Sichemites which was a great aggravation of their villany that those things which to others are bonds of love and peace were made by them instruments of cruelty 6 O my soul come not thou into their secret k Or Counsel or company as the word is used Psal. 64. 2. Ier. 15 17. i. e. do not partake with them in their secret and wicked designs Hereby he signifies to all posterity that that bloody enterprize was undertaken without his consent or approbation and that he could not think of it without detestation nor let it pass without a severe censure Or O my soul thou wast not in their secret as the Chald. Syr. and Arab. take it by a common Enallage of the future tense for the past unto their assembly mine honour l Either 1. properly so called So the sense is let not my honour or good name be bound up with theirs They gloried in their wickedness which I abominate and which indeed is their shame Or 2. Improperly so he understands either 1. His Soul which is indeed the glory of a man Though I do not remember any place of Scripture where that word must necessarily be so understood So this is a repetition of the same thing in other words which is usual in Scripture Or rather 2. His tongue for which the word honour or glory is commonly put as Psal. 16. 9. compare with Acts 2. 26. Psal. 30. 12. and 57. 8. and 108. 1. because the Tongue or speech is the glory of a man by which he is distinguished from unreasonable creatures and if well used it brings much honour to God and to the man that speaks with it So the sense is as my Soul did not approve of that wicked action so my Tongue never gave consent to it nor shall it now by silence seem to own it but shall publickly witness my abhorrency of it be not thou united for in their anger they slew a man m i. e. Men the Sichenites Gen. 34. 25 26. the singular number for the plural as Gen. 3. 2. and 32. 5. 1 Chron. 10. 1. compared with 1 Sam. 31. 1. He saith man rather then men either with respect unto the Prince whose slaughter was principally designed or to shew that they slew them all to a man and in their self-will n It may note that this cruelty of theirs was committed 1. By their own will and choice not by Iacobs will or consent which they never asked nor obtained 2. Without any necessity or sufficient provocation but meerly by their own will and proper motion 3. Not rashly and hastily but wilfully and resolvedly after mature deliberation 4. Not unwillingly but chearfully and with delight and good will as that word commonly signifies they ‖ Or houghed Oxen. digged down a wall o Not the walls of the City but of private houses it may be onely of the Princes house who upon the first noise of the tumult might and probably did retire and secure himself in some strong room of the house whose wall they brake down that they might come at hâ—…m For neither were the walls of houses or Cities so strong then as now many are nor were Simeon and Levi destitute of fit instruments to break down a wall which doubtless they brought with them as easily foreseeing that difficulty in their enterprize But because the Hebrew word is not Shur a wall but Schor an Oxe others translate the words thus They houghed or killed an Ox or Bull meaning Shechem so called either from his lust or from his strength and power from which Princes are oft so called as Deut. 33. 17. Psal. 22. 12. and 68. 30. Or rather thus They rooted out or drove away an Ox i. e. the Oxen the singular number for the plural as before and under them are comprehended the other cattle of the Sichemites which they drove away as we read they did Gen. 34. 28. For as the words may bear this sense so it seems more reasonable to understand them of that which certainly was done by them then of their breaking a wall of which we do not read any thing in the history 7 Cursed be p Or Cursed was It was execrable and abominable both before God and Men such as deserved and brought the curse of God upon themselves which I as Gods instrument am now to pronounce against them their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel I * Josh. 21. 5 6 7. will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel q i. e. I do here declare in the name of God that they shall be divided and dispersed in Iacob c. that is among the children or Tribes of Iacob or Israel Prophets are said to do what they foretel that God will do as Ieremy is said to roâ—…t out and pull down Kingdomes Ier. 1. 10. and Ezekiel to dâ—…stroy the city Ezek. 43. 3. Adde Hos. 6. 5. Note here how suitable their punishment was to their crime They sinned by conspiracy and consederation in the counsel and action and they are punished with division or separation not onely of the two brethren and their tribes but of the children and families of the several Tribes one from another This was eminently fulfilled in the tribe of Levi which had no proper portion or inheritance but was scattered among all the Tribes Ios. 18. 7. though afterwards God turned this curse into a blessing And for Siâ—…on he had no part of his own in the division of the land but the portion of Iudah being too large for that Tribe he was taken into that lot and was as an inmate to them Ios. 19. 1 2 9. and afterwards part of them were forced to seek new seats and so were divided from the rest of their brethren 1 Chron. 4. 27 39 42. And moreover the Jewish Doctors write that that Tribe was so straitned in their habitations and conveniencies that a very great number of them were forced to scatter themselves amongst the other Tribes to get a subsistence by teaching their children 8 Judah thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise r Or rather Thou art Iudah thy brethren shall praise or celebrate thee So the expression is like that 1 Sam. 25. 25. as his name is so is he Nabal is his name and folly is with him or in him so here the sence
was gone the Lawgiver remained there still Nor was their Government and Commonwealth quite destroyed until the destruction of Ierusalem by Titus And therefore some translate the place thus and that with great probability The Scepter shall not depart until the Shiloh come and until which word is repeated out of the former member as is most usual in the Scripture the gathering of the people be to him i. e. until the Gentiles be converted and brought in to Christ. And this interpretation receiveth countenance from Mat. 24. 14. The Gospel shall be preached in all the world and then shall the end come not the end of the whole world as it is evident but the end of the Commonwealth and Government of the Iews when the Scepter and Lawgiver should be wholly taken away from that tribe and people be 11 Binding his foale unto the vine and his asses colt unto the choice vine i He signifies the plenty of vines in Iudahs portion that they shall be planted every where even in the commons and high-ways where men travel and where upon occasion they use to tie the beasts on which they ride to any tree which is near them he washed his garments in wine k Such shall be the plenty of it that if it were convenient men might use wine in stead of water to wash their garments and his cloathes in the blood of grapes l So the wine is called also in Dâ—…t 32. 14. 1 Macc. 6. 34. and by Pliny Hesiod and others As oil is called the blood of the olive 12 His eyes shall be red with wine m Which shews not onely the plenty of wine but also the excellency and strength of it which though not drunk in great quantity or to excess will make the eyes red See Prov. 23. 29. and his teeth white with milk 13 * Deut. 33. 18. Josh. 19. 10. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea n Acknowledge here and adore the divine providence which directed Iacob thus exactly to foretell the portion 〈◊〉 Zebulon which fell to them 200 years after this and that not by choice or any design of men but meerly by lot His portion was extended from the sea of Galilee to the great Mediterranean sea and to such parts of it where there were convenient havens and he shall be for an haven of ships and his border shall be unto Zidon o Or his side or coast to wit that which is upon the Mediterranean sea is near Sidon understanding not the city but the territory belonging to it unto which that Tribe reached upon the sea-coast For though Aher might seem to intercept them yet he did not reach to the sea Or his coast looks towards Sidon hath it in view and lies commodiously for commerce with that great City which then was the mart of the Nations 14 Issachar is a strong ass p Heb. an ass of bone i. e. of great bulk and bones and strength of body but of little spirit and courage couching down between two burdens q Which are laid upon his back and which he is contented to bear Or lying down i. e. enjoying his ease and rest between the borders to wit of the other Tribes with which he was encompassed and secured from forreign enemies which made him more secure and slothful Or between the orders or folds of cattle as a word very near akin to it and proceeding from the same root signifies Iudg. 5. 16. to the feeding and minding whereof he wholly gave himself neglecting more generous things 15 And he saw that rest r Or rather his resting place as this very word signifies Gen. 8. 9. Psal. 116. 7. and 132. 8. Isa. 11. 10. i. e. his portion or habitation as the Chald. and Syr. translate it So this agrees with the following member where after the manner of the Hebrews the same thing is repeated in other words And if it be objected against this version that it is not said his rest but rest in the general it may be replyed that so it is in the following branch the land though it be apparently meant of his land or portion of land allotted to him Besides the pronouns are often omitted and to be understood in the Hebrew text as may appear by comparing 1 King 10. 7. with 2 Chron. 9. 6. and Psal. 41. 9. with Ioh. 13. 18. and Mat. 3. 12. with Luk. 3. 17. was good and the land that it was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant unto tribute s Willingly paying whatsoever Tributes were imposed upon him either by the neighbouring Tribes or by forreign powers rather than to forfeit his pleasant and fruitful country and his sweet repose 16 Dan shall judge t i. e. Rule and govern them Though he be the son of my Concubine yet he shall not be subject to any other Tribe but shall have an absolute power within himself What is said of him is to be understood of the rest of the sons of the Concubines and hereby all difference between the sons of the Wives and Concubines is taken away It is said of Dan because he is the first-mentioned of that sort his people as one of the tribes of Israel u As the rest of the Tribes do having distinct Governments and Governours amongst them See Numb 1. 4 16. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way an †Heb. an arrow-snake adder in the path x Which covereth and hideth it self in the sand or dust of the high-way watching for men or beast that pass that way He notes the subtilty of that Tribe which should conquer their enemies more by craft and cunning than by strength or force of armes that biteth the horse heels so that his rider shall fall backward 18 I have waited for thy salvation O LORD y I do earnestly wait and hope and pray for thy helping hand to save me and my posterity from the manifold temporal calamities which I foresee will come upon them and especially from spiritual and eternal mischiefs by that Messiah which thou hast promised Iacob in the midst of his great work doth take a little breathing and finding himself weakned by his speech to his children and drawing nearer death he opens his arms to receive it as the thing for which he had long waited as the onely effectual remedy and mean of Salvation or deliverance from all his pains and miseries and particularly from his present horrours upon the contemplation of the future state of his children And this pathetical exclamation may look either 1. backward to the state of the tribe of Dan which he foresaw would be deplorable both for its great straits and pressures of which see Ioâ—… 19. 47. Iudg. 1. 34. and especially for that Idolatry which that Tribe would introduce and promote Iudg. 18. 30. and 1 King 12. 29. whereby they would ruine themselves and most of the other tribes with them
for us then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26 And if the man have none to redeem it †Heb. his 〈◊〉 hath attained and found sufficiency and himself be able to redeem it 27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof m i. e. From the time of the sale to the Jubilee See above ver 15 16. and restore the overplus n i. e. A convenient price for the years from this Redemption to the Jubilee unto the man to whom he sold it that he may return unto his possession 28 But if he be not able to restore it to him then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile and in the jubile it shall go out and he shall return unto his possession o i. e. Out of the buyers hand without any Redemption mony 29 And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold within †Heb. dayes 1 Sam. 1. 3 and 27. 7. a full year may he redeem it 30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations it shall not go out in the jubile p The reason is from the great difference between such houses and lands The reasons before alledged for lands do not hold in such Houses there was no danger of confusion in Tribes or Families by the alienation of Houses The seller also had a greater propriety in Houses than in Lands as not coming to him by Gods meer gift but being commonly built by the owners cost and diligence and therefore had a fuller power to dispose of them Besides God would hereby encourage persons to buy and possess Houses in such places which frequency and fulness of Inhabitants in Cities was a great strength honour and advantage to the whole Land 31 But the houses of the villages q Because they belonged to and were necessary or very convenient for the management of the lands which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country †Heb. 〈◊〉 belongeth unto it they may be redeemed and they shall go out in the jubile 32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites and the houses of the cities of their possession may the Levites redeem at any time 33 And if ‖ Or one of the Levites redeem them a man purchase of the Levites then the house that was sold and the city of his possession shall go out r Or thus But he that shall redeem it shall be or must be of the Levites i. e. No person of another Tribe though by Marriage near akin to the selling Levite shall redeem it but Levites onely and any of them shall have the same power to redeem it which in other Tribes onely the nearest kindred have and in case none of them redeem it yet the house that was sold and the City of his possession i. e. his share or interest in the City of his possession shall go out and return to the Levites without any redemption in the year of jubile for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel 34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities s Of which see on Numb 35. 5. may not be sold t Not sold at all partly because it was of absolute necessity for them for the keeping of their Cattle and partly because these were no enclosures but common fields in which all the Levites that lived in such a City had an interest and therefore no particular Levite could dispose of his part in it Some conceive that this Law was altered in ensuing ages which they gather from Ier. 32. 7 8. c. and Act. â—… 36 37. But those examples do not prove it That sale of Ieremiahs was made by a particular dispensation and command of God and that in a time when the Levites as well as the people were to be destroyed or dispersed and carried into captivity and therefore could receive no considerable injury by it and besides this sale was onely made formally and for signification as it is explained ver 14 15. And for the land sold by Barnabas a Levite Act. 4. as it was at a time when the Jewish Church was dissolved and their state upon the brinks of utter ruine so it is not evident that it was such Suburb land which would have yielded but a small price but it might be other land either such as he might have in right of his wife or such as he might have purchased For though the Levites in general had no other share of land beside this allotted them by God yet it is conceived that particular Levites might purchase lands to themselves for it is their perpetual possession 35 And if thy brother be waxen poor and †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fallen in decay u Heb. his hand 〈◊〉 or faileth or is decayed so that he hath not power to get or keep wealth as the phrase is Deut. 8. 18. as on the contrary when a man is able his hand is said to attain and find sufficiency as here above ver 26. with thee then thou shalt †Heb. 〈◊〉 relieve him x Heb. strengthen him comfort his Heart and strengthen his Hand yea though he be a stranger or a sojourner y Understand it of Proselytes onely for of other strangers they were permitted to take usury Deut. 23. 20. that he may live with thee 36 * Exod. 22. 25. Deut. 23. 19. Prov. 28. 8. Ezek. 18. 8. and 22. 12. Take thou no usury of him z i. e. Of thy brother whether he be Israelite or Proselyte or increase a This some conceive relates to the fruits of the earth food c. as 〈◊〉 doth to mony But here may rather feem to be two words expressing the same thing to meet with the subtil evasions of crafty and covetous men who make gain of their poor brethren for of such onely he speaks here as is evident from ver 36. by the lending of mony or other things and that they may quiet their consciences and palliate their sin they disguise it under other names and to shew that all kinds of usury are in this case forbidden whether of mony or of victuals or of anything that is commonly lent by one man to another upon usury or upon condition of receiving the thing lent with advantage and overplus as it is said Deut. 23. 19. but * Nehem. 5. 9. fear thy God that thy brother may live with thee 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury nor lend him thy victuals for increase 38 I am the LORD your God which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt to give
thee and to thy seed with thee 20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land r i. e. In the land of the children of Israel mentioned ver 19. You shall not have a distinct and separate portion of land as the other tribes shall The reason of this law was partly because God would have them wholly devoted to and employed in his service and therefore free from worldly encumbrances and businesses partly because God had abundantly provided for them otherwise by tithes and first-fruits and oblations of all sorts partly because God would have their worldly comfort and happiness depend singly upon him and his service and so would oblige them to use more zeal and diligence in the advancement of piety even for their own interest which was either better or worse as true religion flourished or decayed See Iudg. 17. 9 10. and 19. 18. 2 Chron. 13. 9. and 30. 22. and 31. 4. partly that this might be a firm bond of hearty love and affection between the people and their teachers the Levites who as they performed religious services for the people so they received their subsistence from them and partly that by this means being dispersed among the several tribes they might have the better opportunity for teaching and watching over the people which was their duty Deut. 33. 10. 2 Chron. 30 22. Mal. 2. 4 5 6 7. neither shalt thou have any part among them * Deut. 1â—… â—… 12. 12. 〈◊〉 2. Josh. 13. 14 33. Ezek 〈◊〉 28. I am thy part s i. e. I have appointed thee a liberal maintenance out of my oblations and thine inheritance among the children of Israel 21 And behold * Lev. 27. 32. I have given the children of Levi all the tenth t For the tithes were all given to the Levites and out of their tithes the tenth was given to the Priests here ver 26 c. and Neh. 10. 37 38. in Israel for an inheritance for their service which they serve eveâ—… the service of the tabernacle of the congregation 22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation u i. e. So nigh as to do any act proper to the Priests or Levites lest they bear sin †Heb. to 〈◊〉 and die 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation and they shall bear their iniquity x i. e. The punishment due not onely for their own but also for the peoples miscarriage if it be committed through their connivance or negligence And this was the reason why the Priests withstood their King Uzziaâ—… when he would have burnt incense to the Lord 2 〈◊〉 26. 17 18. it shall be a statute for ever throughout their generations that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance 24 But the tithes of the children of Israel which they offer as an heave-offering unto the LORD y i. e. As a rent-charge or an acknowledgment that they have and hold all their lands and the fruits of it from Gods bounty Note that the word heave-offering which is for the most part understood of a particular kind of offerings heaved or lifted up to the Lord is here used for any offering in general as before ver 8. I have given to the Levites to inherit therefore I have said unto them Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses saying 26 Thus speak unto the Levites and say unto them When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance then ye shall offer up an heave-offering of it for the LORD even a tenth part of the tithe 27 And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor z It shall be accepted of you as much as if you offered it out of your own lands and labours and as the fulness of the wine-press 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave-offering unto the LORD of all your tithes which ye receive of the children of Israel and ye shall give thereof the LORDS heave-offering to Aaron the priest a And to his children which were one with him and were all to have their share herein 29 Out of all your gifts b Not onely out of your tithes but out of the other gifts which you receive from the people and out of those fields which shall belong to your cities ye shall offer c To wit to the Priest every heave-offering d i. e. As many gifts so many heave-offerings you shall reserve a part out of each of them for the Priest of the LORD of all the †Heb. â—…at best thereof even the hallowed part thereof e This may describe either 1 the nature and proportion of this offering and so peradventure he means the tenth part which was the part or proportion that God hallowed or sanctified to himself as his proper portion both here and elsewhere or 2. the reason or ground of this offering because it is a thing hallowed or appropriated by God to himself and given by him to the Priest and because the payment of this due doth hallow all the rest so as they may use it with comfort and good conscience as it follows ver 31 32. out of it 30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them When ye have heaved the best thereof from it then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor and as the increase of the wine-press 31 And ye shall eat it in every place f i. e. In every clean place and not in the holy place onely ye and your housholds for * 1 Tim. 5. 18. it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation 32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it when ye have heaved from it the best of it g Implying that if they neglected this duty they sinned in the use of such unhallowed food * Lev. 22. 15 16. neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel h As you will do if you abuse their holy offerings by reserving that intirely to your selves which they offer to God to be disposed as he hath appointed to wit part to you and part to the Priests lest ye die CHAP. XIX 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying 2 This is the ordinance of the law a Or The constitution of the Law i. e. that which God hath ordained or established by Law which the LORD hath commanded saying speak unto the children of Israel that they bring thee b At their common charge because it was for the common good a red c A fit colour to shadow forth both the bloody nature and complexion of sin Isa. 1. 8. and the humane nature and
the Israelites and so repossessed by the Moabites 3. This place may be thus rendred it shall consume Ar of Moab the past tense being put for the future as is usual in prophetical passages and so this may be the Amorites prediction or presage that having taken Heshbon and its territories they should now extend their victories to Ar of Moab though they fell short of that hope as ordinarily men do and the lords of the high places d Either 1. the princes or governours of the strong holds which were frequently in high places especially in that mountainous country and which were in divers parts all along the river of Arnon and having taken some of these they promised to themselves that they should take all the rest and so proceed further and further till they had taken Ar it self Or rather 2. the priests and people that worship their God in their high places which may seem more probable 1. because as the Israelites worshipped God so the heathens worshipped Baal in high-places Numb 22. 41. and particularly the Moabites are noted for so doing Ier. 48. 35. 2. because amongst the eminent places of Moab there is mention of Bamoth-baal or of the high-places of Baal Ios. 13. 17. of Arnon 29 Wo to thee Moab e Alas poor Moab thou couldst not save thy self from Sihons sword thou art undone O people of * 1 Kin. 11. â—… 33. Chemosh f i. e. The worshippers of Chemosh so the God of the Moabites was called 1 King 11. 7 33. 2 King 23. 13. Ier. 48. 46. he hath given his sons that escaped and his daughters into captivity g He i. e. their God hath delivered up his own people to his and their enemies he could not defend them but suffered many of them to be killed nor could he secure even those that had escaped the sword but suffered them to fall into their enemies hands and by them to be carried into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorite h Now the words of this and the following verse seem to be not a part of that triumphant song or poem made as I suppose by some Amoritish bard or poet which seems to be concluded ver 28. but of the Israelites making their observation upon it And here they scoffe at the impotency not onely of the Moabites but of their God also who could not save his people from the sword of Sihon and the Amorites 30 We have shot at them i Though you feeble Moabites and your God too could not resist Sihon we Israelites by the help of our God have shot to wit with success and victory as the following words shew at them to wit at Sihon and his Amorites which is easily and plainly understood both from the foregoing and following words Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon k Heshbon the Royal City of Sihon and by him lately repaired is perished is taken away from Sihon and so is all his Territory or Countrey even as far as Dibon which as some think is called Dibon-gad Numb 33. 45. and we have laid them wast even unto Nophah which reached unto Medebah l i. e. Whose Territory extendeth to Medeba Or yea even to Medeba for the Hebrew word asher is sometimes used for yea or moreover as 1 Sam. 15. 20. Psal. 10. 6. and 95. 11. The sense is the whole Country of Sihon taken by him from the Moabites is wasted and perished 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorite 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer m One of the Cities of Moab formerly taken from them by Sihon and now taken from him by the Israelites Numb 32. 1 3 35. and after the decay or destruction of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes repossessed by the Moabites Ier. 48. 32. and they took the villages thereof and drove out the Amorite that was there 33 * Deut. 3. 1. and 29. 7. And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan and Og n Who also was a King of the Amorites of whom see Deut. 3. 1 11. And it may seem that Sihon and Og were the leaders or Captains of two great colonies which came out of Canaan and drove out the former inhabitants of these places the King of Bashan o A rich Countrey famous for its pastures and breed of Cattel Deut. 32. 14. Psal. 22. 12. Ier. 50. 19. and for its Oaks Ezek. 27. 6. went out against them he and all his people to the battel at Edrei 34 And the LORD said unto Moses Fear him not p A necessary caution for he was a great Giant Deut. 3. 11. likely to strike them with terrour for I have delivered him into thy hand and all his people and his land and * Psal. 135. 10 11. 136. 20. thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon King of the Amorites which dwelt at Heshbon 35 So they smote him and his sons and all his people until there was none left him alive and they possessed his land CHAP. XXII 1 AND * the children of Israel set forward chap. 33. 48. and pitched in the plains of Moab a Which still retained their antient title though they had been taken away from the Moabites by Sihon and from him by the Israelites on this side Jordan by Jericho b i. e. Over against Iericho Or near the passage over Iordan to Iericho or its territories 2 And Balak the son of Zippor c The son or successour of him whom Sihon had spoiled of part of his Kingdom Numb 21. 26. Of him see Indg. 11. 25. Mich. 6. 5. saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite 3 And Moab was sore afraid d As it was foretold both in general of all Nations Deut. 2. 25. and particularly concerning Moab Exod. 15. 15. of the people because they were many and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel 4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian e Called the Kings of Midian Numb 31. 8. and Princes of Midian Ios. 13. 21 who though divided in their Kingdomes yet were now united upon the approach of the Israelites their common enemy and being as it seems a potent and crafty people and neighbours to the Moabites these seek confederacy with them We read of Midianites near mount Sinai Exod. 2. and 3. which seem to have been a part or colony of this people that went out to seek new quarters as the manner of those times was bâ—…t the body of that people were seated in those parts as is evident from many Scriptures Now shall this company lick up f i. e. Consume and utterly destroy in which sense the fire is said to lick up the water and sacrifices 1 King 18. 38. The meaning is we can expect no mercy from them they will utterly root us out as they did the Amorites if we do not make a stout and timely opposition all that are round
and his land before thee begin to possess that thou mayest inherit his land 32 * Num. 21. 23. Then Sihon came out against us he and all his people to fight at Jahaz 33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us and we smote him and his sons and all his people 34 And we took all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed g By Gods command these being a part of those people who were devoted by the Lord of Life and Death to utter destruction for their abominable wickedness See Deut. 7. 2. and 20. 16. the †〈…〉 men and the women and the little ones of every city we left none to remain 35 Onely the cattel we took for a prey unto our selves and the spoyl of the cities which we took 36 From Aroer h Which was in the border of Moab but now in the hands of the Amorites which is by the brink of the river of Arnon and from the city that is by the river i Heb. In the river wherewith it was encompassed Numb 21 15 28. Ios. 12. 2. and 13. 9. He speaks exclusively for this was Ar which now was in the Moabites Jurisdiction above v. 9. even unto Gilead there was not one city too strong for us the LORD our God delivered all unto us 37 Onely unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not nor unto any place of the river * â—…en 32. 22. Jabbok k i. e. Beyond Iaâ—…ok for that was the border of the Ammonites Ios. 12. 2. Obj. Half the land of the Ammonites is said to be given to the tribe of Gad Ios. 13. 27. Answ. This is true of that half of it which the Amorites had taken from them but not of the other half which yet was in the possession of the Ammonites nor unto the cities in the mountains l The mountainous Country of the Ammonites nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us m Heb. commanded us commanding is put for forbidding here as Gen. 2. 16. and 3. 11. Levit. 4. 2. Deut. 4. 23. The words may be thus rendred Concerning which the Lord gave us command or charge to wit that we should not meddle with them as was said before So it is only an ellipsis of the preposition which is very frequent CHAP. III. 1 THen we turned and went up the way to Bashan and * Num. 21. 33. c. chap. 29. 7. Og the King of Bashan came out against us he and all his people to battel at Edrei 2 And the LORD said unto me Fear him not a Though he be of so frightful a look and stature ver 11. for I will deliver him and all his people and his land into thy hand and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto * Num. 21. 24. Sihon King of the Amorite which dwelt at Heshbon 3 So the LORD our God delivered into our hands * Num. 21. 33. Og also the King of Bashan and all his people and we smote him until none was left to him remaining 4 And we took all his cities at that time there was not a city which we took not from them threescore cities all the region of Argob b A Province within Bashan or at least subject and belonging to Bashan as appears from ver 13. and 1 King 4. 13. called Argob possibly from the name of a man its former Lord and owner the kingdom of Og in Bashan 5 All these cities were fenced with high walls gates and bars c Which may encourage you in your attempt upon Canaan notwithstanding the fenced cities which the spies told you of and you must expect to find besides unwalled towns a great many 6 And we utterly destroyed them as we did unto Sihon King of Heshbon utterly destroying the men women and children of every city 7 But all the cattel and the spoil of the cities we took for a prey to our selves 8 And we took at that time out of the hand of the two Kings of the Amorite the land that was on this side Jordan d So it was when Moses wrote this book but afterward when Israel passed over Iordan it was called the land beyond Iordan from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon e 9 Which Hermon the Zidonians call Sirion and the Amorite call it Shenir f Elsewhere called mount Gilead and Libanus or Libanon and here Shenir and Sirion and by abbreviation Sion Deut. 4. 48. Which several names are given to this one mountain partly by several people and partly in regard of several tops and parts of it whence Scâ—…nir and Hermon are mentioned as distinct places Cant. 4. 8. 10 All the cities of the plain and all Gilead f Gilead is sometimes taken largely for all the Israeâ—…ites possessions beyond Iordan and so it comprehends Bashan but here more strictly for that part of it which lies in and near mount Gilead and so it is distinguished from Bashan and Argob and * â—…osh 12. 5. â—…d 13. 11. all Bashan unto Salchah and Edrei cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan 11 For only Og King of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants g The other giants of Bashan were destroyed before and therefore when Og was killed the Israelites work was done behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron is it not in * 2 Sâ—…m 12. 26. Jer. 49. 2. Rabbath of the children of Ammon i Where it might now be either because the Ammonites in some former battel with Og had taken it as a spoil or because after Ogs death the Ammonites desired to have this monument of his greatness and the Israelites permitted them to carry it away to their chief city nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits the breadth of it after the cubit of a man k To wit of ordinary stature So his bed was four yards and an half long and two yards broad 12 And this land which we possessed at that time from Aroer which is by the river Arnon and half mount Gilead and * Num. 32. 33 Josh. 13. 8. c. the cities thereof gave I unto the Reubenite and to the Gadite 13 And the rest of Gilead and all Bashen being the kingdom of Og gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh all the region of Argob with all Bashan which was called the land of giants 14 * 1 Chro. 2. 2â—… Jair the son of Manasseh took all the countrey of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri l Or Geshurites a people towards the North of Canaan 2 Sam. 3. 3. and 15. 8. See also Ios. 13. 13. and Maachathi m Of whom see 2 Sam. 3. 3. and 10. 6. and called them after his own name Bashan * Num. 32. 41. Havoth-Jair unto this day n This must be put among those other passages which were not written by Moses but added by those holy men who
21. and 35. 17. and partly from the nature and business of this feast wherein there being so many extraordinary sacrifices to be offered and feasts made by the people upon the sacrifices and two days of solemn assemblies it is not probable that they would absent themselves from these solemn services for the performance whereof they came purposely to Ierusalem Or 2. The morning after the first day and so they were permitted to go then and possibly some that lived near Ierusalem might go and return again to the last day of solemn assembly But the former seems more probable and go unto thy tents l i. e. Thy dwellings which he calls Tents as respecting their present state and withal to put them in mind afterwards when they were settled in better habitations that there was a time when they dwelt in Tents 8 Six dayes m To wit besides the first day on which the passeover was killed or rather besides the seventh and the last day which is here mentioned apart not as if leavened bread might be eaten then for the contrary was evident from many places but because there was something more to be done to wit a solemn assembly to be kept So in all there were seven dayes as it is said Exod. 12. 15. Levit. 23. 6. Numb 28. 17. thou shalt eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day shall be a †Heb. restraint solemn assembly to the LORD thy God thou shalt do no work therein 9 * Exod 23. 16. Lev. 23. 15. Num. 28. 26. Seven weeks n Of which see on Exod. 34. 22. Levit. 23. 10 15. thou shalt number unto thee begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn o i. e. To reap thy corn thy Barly when the first-fruits were offered Levit. 23. 10 11. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks p i. e. Of Pentecost Act. 2. 1. unto the LORD thy God with a ‖ Or sufficiency tribute of a free-will-offering of thine hand which thou shalt give q Over and besides what was appointed Levit. 23. 17 20. Numb 28. 27 31. unto the LORD thy God according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee 11 And thou shalt rejoyce before the LORD thy God thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy man-servant and thy maid-servant and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that are among you in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his Name there 12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in Egypt and thou shalt observe and do these statutes 13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles r Of which see on Exod. 23. 16. Levit. 23. 34. Numb 29. 12. seven days after that thou hast gathered in thy †Heb. floor and they winepress corn and thy wine 14 And thou shalt rejoyce in thy feast thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy man-servant and thy maid-servant and the Levite the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that are within thy gates 15 Seven dayes shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase and in all the works of thine hands therefore thou shalt surely rejoyce s To wit in God and the effects of his favour praising him with glad heart 16 * Exod. 23. 14 17. and 34. 23. Three times in a year shall all thy males t Not the Women partly because of their infirmity and unfitness for many journeys partly because the care of their children and families lay upon them and partly because they were sufficiently represented in the men appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall chuse in the feast of unleavened bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of tabernacles * Exod. 34. 20. they shall not appear before the LORD empty 17 Every man shall give †Heb. according to the gift of his hand as he is able according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee 18 Judges u Chief Magistrates to examine and determine causes and differences and officers x Who were inferiour and subordinate to the other to bring causes and persons before them to acquaint people with the mind and sentence of the Judges and to execute their sentence See Deut. 20. 5 9. Ios. 1. 10 11. and 3. 2 3. shalt thou make thee in all thy gates y i. e. Thy Cities which he here calls gates because there were seats of judgment set Compare 1 Chron. 23. 4. which the LORD thy God giveth thee throughout thy Tribes and they shall judge the people with just judgement 19 Thou shalt not wrest judgement z i. e. Not give a perverse forced and unjust sentence See on Exod. 23. 8. thou shalt not †Heb. acknowledge respect persons a i. e. Not give sentence according to the quality of the person his riches or poverty friendship or enmity but according to the justice of the cause * Exod. 23 8. Lev. 19. 15. neither take a gift for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise b Corrupts and byasseth his mind that as he will not so oft-times he cannot discern between right and wrong and pervert the ‖ Or 〈◊〉 words of the righteous c Either 1. The words i. e. The sentence of those Judges who are inclined and used to do righteous things and have the repute of righteous men it makes them give wrong judgment Or 2. The words i. e. The matters or causes as word oft signifies of righteous persons or of them whose cause is just 20 †Heb. 〈◊〉 justice That which is altogether just d Heb. Righteousness Righteousness i. e. nothing but Righteousness in all causes and times and to all persons equally Compare Isa. 26. 7. shalt thou follow that thou mayest live and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee 21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees e Because this was the practise of Idolaters 1 King 15. 13. and might be an occasion of reviving Idolatry See Iudg. 3. 7. 1 King 14. 23. and 16. 33. and 18. 19. near unto the altar of the LORD thy God which thou shalt make thee 22 * Lev. 26. 1. Neither shalt thou set thee up any ‖ Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pillar image f Heb. statue whether with a picture or representation or without it as the Idolaters used to worship smoothed and polished stones or pillars without any image upon them which the LORD thy God hateth CHAP. XVII 1 THou * chap. 1â—… 11. Mal. 1. 8. shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock or ‖ Or gâ—… sheep a i. e.
Chap. 13 â—… Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenite and Gadite and the half tribe of Manasseh 7 And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto * Chap. 1â—… the mount Halak that goeth up to Seir which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions 8 In the mountain and in the vale and in the plain and in the springs and in the wilderness i This word here and elsewhere in Scripture notes not a Land wholly desart and uninhabited but one thin of Inhabitants as 1 King 2. 34. and 9. 18. Mat. 3. 1 3. and in the south countrey the Hittite the Amorite and the Canaanite the Perizzite the Hivite and the Jebusite 9 ¶ * Chap. 〈◊〉 The king of Jericho one * Chap. 〈◊〉 the king of Ai which is beside Beth-el k This is added to distinguish it from Ai of the Ammonites of which Ier. 49. 3. one 10 * Chap. 〈◊〉 The king of Jerusalem one the king of Hebron one 11 The king of Jarmuth one the king of Lachish one 12 The king of Eglon one * Chap. 〈◊〉 the king of Gezer one 13 * Chap. 〈◊〉 The king of Debir one the king of Geder one 14 The king of Hormah one the king of Arad one 15 * Chap. 〈◊〉 The King of Libnah one the king of Adullam one 16 * Chap. 〈◊〉 The king of Makkedah one the king * Chap. 〈◊〉 of Beth-el one 17 The king of Tappuah one the king of Hepher one 18 The king of Aphek one the king of †Lasharon ‡ Or 〈◊〉 one 19 The king of Madon one * Chap. 〈◊〉 the king of Hazor one 20 The king of Shimron-meron one the king of Achshaph one 21 The king of Taanach one the king of Megiddo one 22 The king of Kedesh one the king of Jokneam of Carmel one 23 The king of Dor l Of which Ios. 11. 2. in the coast of Dor one the king of * Gen. 〈◊〉 the nations of Gilgal m Not of that Gilgal where Ioshua first Lodged after his passage over Iordan where it doth not appear that there was either King or City but of another City of the same Name as was frequent in those parts probably in Galilee towards the Sea whither divers people might possibly resort for Trade and Merchandise over whom this was King as formerly Tidal seems to have been Gen. 14. 1. one 24. The king of Tirzah one all the kings thirty and one n Each being confined to a narrow compass and being King only of one City or small Province belonging to it which was by the wise and singular Providence of God that they might be more easily and successively conquered by the Israelites one after another as they were CHAP. XIII NOW Joshua * See Chap. 14. 〈◊〉 was old and stricken in years and the LORD said unto him Thou art old a Therefore delay not to do the work which I have appointed and commanded thee to do and stricken in years and there remaineth yet very much land †to be possessed b To be conquered and so possessed by the people ‡ Heb. to posâ—… 2 * Judg. 3. 3. This is the land that yet remaineth c Unconquered by thee and to be conquered by the Israelites if they behave themselves aright all the borders of the Philistines and all Geshuri d A People in the North-east of Canaan of which see Deut. 3. 14. as the Philistines are on the South-west 3 From Sihor e A River of which see Isa. 23. 3. and Ier. 2. 18. which is before Egypt even unto the borders of Ekron northward which is counted to the Canaanite f i. e. Which though now possess'd by the Philistines who drove out the Canaanites the old Inhabitants of it Deut. 2. 23. Amos 9. 7. yet is a part of the Land of Canaan and therefore belongs to the Israelites five lords of the Philistines the * Zech. 9. 5. Gazathites and the Ashdothites the Eshkalonites the Gittites and the Ekronites also the * Deut. 2. 13. Avites g Or the Avims as they are called Deut. 2. 23. who though they were expelled out of their ancient Seat and most of them destroyed by the Caphtorâ—…ns or Philistines as is there said yet many of them probably escaped and planted themselves in some other place not very far from the former 4 From the south all the land of the Canaanites ‡ Or the Cave h i. e. From those Southern parts of the Sea-coast now possessed by the Philistines all the more Northern parts of the Sea-Coast being yet inhabited by the Canaanites almost as far as Sidon as it here follows For there is no mention made of any Conquests of Ioshua upon the Sea-Coast The Canaanites properly so called are said to awell by the Sea Numb 13. 29. and these are here spoken of though some of them dwelt in other parts of the Land and â—… Mearah i A strong place it matters not whether it was a City or an Impregnable Cave which some Writers mention to be in those parts that is beside the Sidonians unto Aphek k Not that of Iudea of which Ios. 15. 53. but another in the Tribe of Aser of which Ios. 12. 18. Iudg. 1. 31. to the border of the Amorite l The Amorites were a strong and very numerous people and we find them dispersed in several parts some within Iordan and some without it some in the South and others in the North of whom he speaks here 5 And the land of the * 1 Kin. 5. 18. Psal. 83. 7. Giblâ—…tes m A people dwelling near Sidon in Gebal of which see King 5. 18. Ezek. 27. 9. and all Lebanon toward the Sun-rising from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entring into Hamath 6 All the inhabitants of the hill-countrey from Lebanon * Chap. 11. 8. unto Misrephoth-maim and all the Sidonians them will I drive out from before the children of Israel n Presently after thy Death if the Israelites do not hinder it by their unbelief or wickedness only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance o Though they be now unconquered yet divide them partly as a pledg to assure them of my help in conquering them after thy Death partly to lay an obligation upon the Israelites to proceed in Conquering-work and to bear Witness against them in case they did not and partly as a Wall of partition between them and the Canaanites to prevent all Agreements Contracts and Confederacies with them to which God saw they began to encline as I have commanded thee 7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine
or Battel as appears by comparing Numb 21. 23 24. with Numb 31. 8. but in the same manner And they are here mentioned partly because they were slain not long after and upon the same occasion even their enmity against Israel and partly because of their relation and subjection to Sihon as it here follows Evi and Rekem and Zior and Hur and Reba which were dukes of Sihon l â—…u How could they be so when they were Kings of Midian Numb 31. 8. Ans. There were divers petty Kings in those parts which were subject to greater Kings and such these were but are here called Dukes or Princes of Sihon because they were Subject and Tributaries to him and therefore did one way or other assist Sihon in this War though they were not killed at this time It is probable that when Sihon destroyed those Moabites which dwelt in these parts he frighted the rest of them and with them their Neighbours and Confederates the Midianites into some kind of Homage or Tribute which they were willing to pay to him dwelling in the countrey m Heb. inhabiting that Land namely Midian last mentioned whereby he signifies that though they were subject to Sihon yet they did not dwell in his Land but in another 22 * Num. 22. 25. Balaam also the son of Beor the †soothsayer n So he was in truth though a Prophet 2 Pet. 2. 16. in Title and Profession See Numb 24. 25. did the children of Israel slay with the ‡ Or diviner sword among them that were slain by them 23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan and the border thereof o i. e. Those Cities or Places which bordered upon Iordan Compare Numb 34. 6 this was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families the cities and villages thereof 24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad even unto the children of Gad according to their families 25 And their coast was Jazer and all the cities of Gilead p i. e. All the Cities of note and eminency all Cities properly so called which it seems lay in that part of Gilead and so this may well agree with v. 31. where half the Country of Gilead is said to be given to the Manassâ—…tes but there is no mention of any Cities there and half the land of the children of Ammon q Not of that which now was theirs for that they were forbidden to meddle with Deut. 2. 9. but of that which was anciently theirs but taken from them by the Amoâ—…ites Numb 21. 26. from whom the Israelites took it Iudg. 11. 15. unto Aroer r The border between them and Moab that is before Rabbah s The chief city of the Ammonites 2 Sam. 11. 1. and 12. 26 27. 26 And from Heshbon t Either exclusively or inclusively See before on v. 17. unto Ramath-mizpeh u Called Ramoth-Gilead or Ramoth in Gilead Jos. 20. 8. and elsewhere and Betonim and from Mahanaim x Exclusively for Mahanaim was in the portion of Manasseh beyond Iabbok which was the border of Gad and Manasseh unto the border of Debir 27 And in the valley Beth-aram and Bethnimrah and Succoth and Zaphon the rest of the kingdom of Sihon y The Northern part of his Kingdom king of Heshbon Jordan and his border even unto the edge of the sea of Cinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families the cities and their villages 29 And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh z Not that they desired it as Reuben and Gad did Numb 32. 1. but partly as a recompence to Machir the Manassite for his valiant acts against Og and partly for the better security and defence of the other two Tribes by so considerable an accession to them which also was without any inconvenience to them because the Country was too large for the two Tribes of Reuben and Gad. and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families 30 And their coast was from Mahanaim all Bashan all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan and all the towns of Jair a Who though of the Tribe of Iudah by the Father 1 Chron. 2. 21 22. yet is called the Son of Manasseh Numb 32. 41. because he Married a Daughter of Manasseh and wholly associated himself with those valiant Manassites and with their help took Sixty Cities or great Towns Deut. 3. 4 14. which thence were called the Towns of Jair which are in Bashan threescore cities 31 And half Gilead and Ashtaroth and Edrei cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh even to the one half of the * Numb 〈◊〉 children of Machir b Whom before he called the Children of Manasseh he now calls the Children of Machir because Machir was the most eminent and as it may seem the onely surviving Son of Manasseh Numb 26. 29. 1 Chron. 7. 14 15 16. For the other half of Machirs or Manasseh's Children see Iosh. 17. 1. c. by their families 32 These are the countreys which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward 33 * Chap. 〈◊〉 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance the LORD God of Israâ—… was their inheritance * Numb 〈◊〉 as he said unto them CHAP. XIV AND these a Mentioned Chap. 14 15 16 17 18 19. are the countreys which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan * Numb 34. 17. which Eleazer the Priest b See on Iosh. 8. 33. and 9. 15 18. and 19. 51. He best understood the Laws of God by which this division was to be regulated and he was to consult God upon any difficult occurrence and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers of the tribes c Twelve persons each the head of his Tribe which were appointed and named by God Numb 34. 19. and if any of them were now dead no doubt Ioshua and Eleazar by Gods direction put others in their stead of the children of Israel distributed for inheritance to them 2 * Numb 26. 5â—… 33. 54. By lot was their inheritance d This course God ordained partly to prevent discontents Enmities Animosities and Quarrels among the Tribes about the quality of their several Portions and partly to demonstrate the Truth and Wisdom of his Providence by which alone those parts fell to each of them which Iacob long since and Moses lately foretold so that as a learned man saith He must be more stupid than stupidity and more impudent than impudence it self that doth not acknowledg and confess a divine Hand and Providence in this matter The Lot did only determine the several Parts or Provinces to the several Tribes
the reasonableness of his request Or 3. consented to his desire and as it follows gave it to him as Gods Blessing is oft put for his actual conferring of favours upon men and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance 14 * Chap. 21. 12. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel 15 And * Chap. 15. 13. the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba which Arba was a great man c In stature and strength and dignity and authority as being the Progenitor of Anak the Father of those famous Giants called Anakims Iosh. 14. 15. among the Anakims and the land had rest from war d Which gave them opportunity for the distribution of the Land CHAP. XV. THis then was the lot a For the general understanding of this business it must be known 1. That this work of casting Lots was transacted with great seriousness and solemnity in Gods presence with Prayer and Appeal to him for the decision of the matter 2. That although an exact survey of this Land was not taken till Iosh. 18. 4 5. yet there was and must needs be a general Description of it and a division thereof into nine parts and a half which as far as they could guess were equal either in Quantity or in Quality 3. That the Lot did not at this time so peremptorily and unchangeably determine each Tribe that their Portion could neither be increased nor diminished as is manifest because after Iudahs Lot was fixed Simeons Lot was taken out of it Iosh. 19. 9. though after the Land was more distinctly known and surveyed Iosh. 18. it is likely the Bounds were more certain and fixed 4. That the Lot determined only in general what part or quarter of the Land belonged to each Tribe but left the particulars to be determined by Ioshua and Eleazar c. For the manner of this Lottery it is probably conceived that there were two Urns or Pots into one of which were put the names of all the Tribes each in a distinct Paper and into the other the names of each Portion described then Eleazar or some other person drew out first the name of one of the Tribes out of one Pot and then the name of one Portion out of the other Pot and that Portion was appropriated to that Tribe and so the rest And with respect to these Pots in the bottom of which the Papers lay these Lots are oft said to come up or come forth of the tribe of the children of Judah b Whose Lot came out first by Gods disposition as a note of his Preeminency above his Brethren by their families * Numb 34. 3. even to the border of Edom c Which lay Southeast from Iudahs Portion the * Numb 33. 36. wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south-coast 2 And their south-border was from the shore of the salt-sea from the †bay d Heb. the Tongue By which he understands either a creek or arm of that Sea or a Promontory which by learned Authors is sometimes called a Tongue it is noâ—… material to know that looketh ‡ Heb. tongue southward 3 And it went out to the south-side e Concerning this description of the Southern-Coast of Iudah See Numb 34. 3 4 5. to †Maaleh-acrabbim ‡ Or the going up to Acrabbim and passed along to Zin and ascended up on the south-side unto Kadesh-barnea and passed along to Hezron and went up to Adar and fetched a compass to Karkaa 4 From thence it passed toward Azmon and went out unto the river of Egypt and the goings out of that coast were at the sea this shall be your south-coast 5 And the east-border was the salt sea even unto the end of Jordan f i. e. The place where Iordan runs into the Salt-sea and their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan 6 And the border went up to Beth-hogla and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah g Or on the North or Northward to Beth-arabah Which place is attributed to Iudah here v. 61. and to Benjamin Josh. 18. 22. because it was a Frontier Town in the borders of Iudah and Benjamin and therefore promiscuously belonging to both which also was the case of some other places and this Cohabitation was convenient to maintain brotherly love and union between the several Tribes especially in the borders where differences oft arise and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Renben h A place so called not from Bohan's dwelling there for the Reubenites had no portion on this side Iordan but from some notable exploit which he did there though it be not recorded in Scripture 7 And the border went up toward Debir i A differing place from that Debir v. 15. which was near Hebron and remote from Iudahs border as also from that Debir Josh. 13. 26. which was beyond Iordan from the valley of Achor and so northward looking toward Gilgal k Either that Gilgal nigh Iordan Josh. 4. 19. or another place of that name that is before the going up to Adummim which is on the south side of the river l Or brook or valley and the border passed towards the waters of En-shemesh and the goings out thereof were * 1 King 1. 3. at En-rogel 8 And the border went up m Properly for the Line went from Iordan and the salt-Sea to the higher grounds nigh Ierusalem and therefore the Line is said to go down Josh. 18. 16. because there it takes a contrary course and goes downwards to Iordan and the Sea by the valley of the son of Hinnom n A very pleasant place but afterward made infamous 2 King 23. 10 unto the south-side of the * Jebusite o i. e. Of the City of the Iebusites which was anciently called Iebusi Josh. 18. last Iudg. 19. 10. the same is Jerusalem p It may seem hence and from Deut. 33. 12. Iosh. 18. last Iudg. 1. 21. that Ierusalem properly or at least principally belonged to Benjamin and yet it is ascribed to Iudah also here v. 63. and elsewhere either because a part of the City was allotted to Iudah or because the Benjamites needed or desired the help and conjunction of this powerful Tribe of Iudah for the getting and keeping of this most important place And when the Benjamites had in vain attempted to drive out the Iebusites this work was at last done by the Tribe of Iudah who therefore had an interest in it by the right of war as Ziglag which belonged to the Tribe of Simeon being gotten from the Philistines by David was adjoined by him to his Tribe of Iudah 1 Sam. 27. 6. and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before
the valley of Hinnom westward which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward 9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah and went out to the cities of mount Ephron q i. e. Belonging to or bordering upon Mount Ephron and the border was drawn to Baalah which is Kirjath-jearim 10 And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir s Not that of Edom but another so called from some resemblance it had with that in quality and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim which is Chesalon on the north side and went down to Beth-shemesh r Called Kiriath-baal v. 60. and Iosh. 18. 14. and passed on to Timnah t There were divers Cities of this name this in Iudah here and Iosh. 21. 16. 2 King 14. 11. another in Issachar and a third in Naphtali Josh. 19. 22 38. 11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward and the border was drawn to Shicron and passed along to mount Baalah and went out unto Jabneel and the goings out of the border were at the sea 12 And the west border was to the great sea and the coast thereof this is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families 13 ¶ And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he u i. e. Ioshua as appears by comparing this with Iosh. 14. 6. 12. 13. gave a part among the children of Judah according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua even * Chap. 14. 〈◊〉 †the city of Arba x Or Kiriath-arba Not the City which was the Levites but the Territory of it Iosh. 21. 13. the father of Anak which city is Hebron ‡ Or Kirjath-arbâ—… 14 And Caleb drove thence y i. e. From the said Territory from their Caves and Forts in it compare Iosh. 14. 12. This and the following work was done either in Ioshuahs life-time as may seem from Iosh. 11. 21. or after his death as is related Iudg. 1. 10. These Giants having either recovered their Cities or defended themselves in the mountains * â—…udges 1. 〈◊〉 the three sons of Anak Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai z Either the same who are mentioned Numb 13. 33. and so they were long-liv'd men such as many were in those times and places or their Sons called by their Fathers names which is very usual the children of Anak 15 And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir a The same mentioned above v. 7. and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher b This câ—…ause seems to be added to distinguish this from the other Debir subdued by Ioshua Josh. 10. 38 39. 16 ¶ And Caleb said He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher and taketh it to him will I give Achshah my daughter to wife c Which is to be understood with some Conditions as if he were one who could marry her by Gods Law for every Promise contrary to that is void and if she were willing for though Parents had a great Power over their Children they could not force them to marry any person against their own wills He might otherwise be an unfit and unworthy person but this was no ordinary motion propounded to the imitation of others but a divine impulse that Othniel's valour might be more manifest and so the way prepared for his future Government of the People Iudg. 3. 9. 17 And * Judg. 1. 13. and 3. 9. Othniel the son of Kenaz the brother of Caleb d Obj. This Marriage was unlawful Ans. No for it was not Othniel but Kenaz who was Caleb's Brother and besides the word Brother is commonly used for any Kinsman And that Caleb was not properly Othniels Brother sufficiently appears because Caleb is constantly called the Son of Iephunneh and Othniel the Son of Kenaz here and 1 Chron. 4. 13. took it and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife 18 And it came to pass as she came unto him e Or as she went to wit from her Fathers house to her Husbands as the manner was See on Matth. 1. 18. that she moved him to ask f She perswaded her Husband either 1. That he would ask or rather 2. That he would suffer her to ask as she did of her father a field and she lighted off her ass g That she might address her self to her Father in an humble posture and as a Suppliant which he understood by her gesture and Caleb said unto her What wouldst thou 19 Who answered Give me a blessing h i. e. A gift as that word signifies Gen. 33. 11. for thou hast given me a south land i i. e. A dry Land which was much exposed to the South-wind which in those parts was very hot and drying as coming from the Desarts of Arabia give me also springs of water k i. e. A Field as she desired v. 18. wherein are Sgrings of Water which in that Countrey were of great Price for it is not probable that he would give her the Springs and give to another the grounds in which the Springs were who could thereby at their pleasure deprive her of the use and benefit of her Springs so she begs a well moistned Field which also might give some relief to that which was dry and barren And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs l i. e. Springs both in the higher and in the lower grounds or two Fields one in high another in low grounds or rather one above and the other below that South and dry ground which she complained of that by this means it might be watered on both sides 20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families 21 And the uttermost cities m Those which were on the borders of the Land not the mid-land cities It is apparent that all the Cities belonging to this Tribe are not mentioned in this Catalogue of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel n Called Iekabzeel Neh. 11. 25. and Eder and Jagur 22 And Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah 23 And Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan 24 Ziph and Telem and Bealoth 25 And Hazor Haddattah o Possibly it should be read as one word Hazor-haddattah as there is Hazar-gaddah v. 27. and Hasar-shual v. 28. such compounded proper names being usual and this may seem the more probable because if Hazor and Haddattah were two different Cities the conjunction and would have been put between them as it is generally in the rest and Kerioth and Hezron which is Hazor p Or which also is called Hazor but to distinguish it from the other Hazor v. 23. this was called also Hezron 26 Aman and Shema q Called also Seba Jos. 19. 2. and Moladah 27 And Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-palet 28 And Hazar-shual and Beersheba
severally allotted to them was no more than was little enough for one of them to inherit seeing I am a great e Or numerous for so the Hebrew word oft signifies people forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto 15 And Joshua answered them If thou be a great people f He reports their own Argument Seeing thou art a great and numerous People turn thy Complaints into Actions and valiant Exploits and enlarge thy Borders by thy own hand to which thou maist confidently expect Gods assistance then get thee up to the wood-countrey g To the Mountain as it is called v. 17. where among some Towns there is much Wood-land which thou maist without much difficulty possess and so get the more room and cut down h Either the Wood v. 18. for thy own advantage and use partly in building more Cities and Towns and partly in preparing the Land for the use of Pasture and Tillage for thy self there in the land of the Perizzites i Supposed to be a savage and brutish kind of people that lived in Woods and Mountains and of the ‖ Or Rephaims giants k Who lived in Caves and Mountains now especially when they were driven out of their Cities if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee l Or seeing Mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee as thou complainest take to thy self the rest of that Hilly and Wood Countrey Mount Ephraim was a particular and eminent Portion of the Land belonging to the Tribe of Ephraim as appears from Iosh. 19. 50. and 20. 7. and 21. 21. Iudg. 4. 5. And this seems to be here mentioned Synecdochically for all the Portion allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh as appears from their complaint which was not that this part but that their whole Portion was too strait for them 16 And the children of Joseph said The hill is not enough for us m If we should Invade and Conquer it and cut down both Wood and Men yet it would not be sufficient for us Heb. The Hill will not be found i. e. obtained by us those fierce and strong people the Perizzites and the Giants will easily defend themselves and frustrate our attempts having the advantage of the Woods and Mountains and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley n i. e. And if thou sayest as we know thou wilt reply That if the Hill either cannot be Conquered or be not sufficient for us we may go down and take the more Land out of the pleasant and fruitful Valleys we shall meet with no less difficulty there than in the Mountains Or thus in going to the Hills to which thou directest us we must pass through Valleys where we shall be way-laid by powerful and armed Enemies have * Judg. 4. 3. charets of iron o Not all made of Iron but armed with Iron not only for Defence but for Offence also having as it were Sithes and Swords fastned to them to cut down all that stood in their way both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns and they who are of the valley of Jezzeel p Which was either in the Tribe of Issachar or upon the Borders of it Ios. 19. 18. 17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph even to Ephraim and to Manasseh saying Thou art a great people and hast great power thou shalt not have one lot onely q Thou needest and deservest more than that Lot of which thou art actually possessed and thou hast Power to get more which if thou endeavourest to do God will bless thee and give thee more 18 But the mountain shall be thine for it is a wood and thou shalt cut it down and the out-goings of it r Either 1 The Productions or Fruits of that Land when it is cleared from the Wood and purged or rather 2. The Valleys and Fields belonging or adjoining to it for there the Canaanites were v. 16. shall be thine for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites though they have iron charets and though they be strong CHAP. XVIII ANd the whole Congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there a By Gods appointment as is manifest from Deut. 12. 5 c. Ier. 7. 12. Hither it was removed from Gilgal partly for the honour and conveniency of Ioshua that he being of the Tribe of Ephraim and seating himself there might have the opportunity of consulting with God as oft as he desired and needed and partly for the conveniency of all the Tribes that being in the heart and center of them they might more easily resort to it from all places Here the Tabernacle continued for above 300 Years even till Samuels days 1 Sam. 1. 3. and b Or for because these words contain a reason of the former action the Particle and is oft used for for as hath been shewed the land was subdued before them 2 And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance 3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel How long are ye slack to go to possess the land c This slackness is supposed to arise partly from their dissatisfaction in the portions already allotted Iudahs being too large as it appeared and Iosephs too narrow as they complained partly from an opinion of the impossibility of making any regular and equal distribution of the Parts till the Whole were better known and more exactly Surveyed which accordingly is here done and partly because being weary of War and having sufficient plenty of all things in their present condition they grew slothful and secure and were unwilling to run into new Hazards and Wars as they perceived by Ioshua's answer to the Tribe of Ioseph Ios. 17. 15 c. they were likely to do when they entred upon their several Possessions which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you 4 Give out from among you three men d Three not One for more exact observation both of the measure and quality of the several Portions and for greater assurance and evidence of their care and faithfulness in giving in their Account of each tribe e Either One of each of these Tribes who were yet unprovided for or rather Two of all the Tribes even of them who had already received their Portions which was highly expedient that in case it should appear that there was not a sufficiency for each of these Tribes who wanted their Portions their Brethren might be more ready either to assist them in procuring more Land or to part with some of their own Portion to them and I will send them and they shall rise and go thorow the land f Which they might now safely do because the Terror of the late War was yet upon the Canaanites who were loath to rouse so near and potent an Enemy and describe it according to the
inheritance of them and they shall come again to me 5 And they shall divide it into seven parts f Which were of equal extent or worth for no Tribe was so great but one of these parts in its full extent would abundantly suffice them and there was no reason why the Portions should be greater or less according as the Tribes at present were more or fewer in number because of the various changes which happened therein successively it being usual for one Tribe to be more numerous than another in one Age which was fewer in the next And if the several Tribes had increased more and not diminished their Numbers by their Sins they might have sent forth Colonies and taken any part of the Land even as far as Euphrates all which the Lord of the whole Earth had given them a Right to which when they pleased they might take Possession of Judah shall abide in their coast on the south g They shall not be disturbed in their Possession but shall keep it except some part of it shall be adjudged to another Tribe and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coast on the north h In respect of Iudah not of the whole Land for divers other Tribes were more Northern than they 6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts and bring the description hither to me that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD i i. e. Before the Ark or Tabernacle that God may be Witness and Judge and Author of the Division that each may be contented with his Lot and that your several Possessions may be secured to you as things Sacred and not to be aâ—…enated our God 7 But the Levites have no part among you k Therefore it shall be divided only into Seven parts as I have said for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance and Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them 8 ¶ And the men rose and went away and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land saying Go and walk through the land and describe it and come again to me that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh 9 And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities l Or according to the Cities to which the several Parts or Territories belonged into seven parts in a book and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh 10 ¶ And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions 11 ¶ And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph m Wherein we see the wisdom of Divine Providence this being the onely place in which that Prophecy Deut. 33. 12. could have been accomplished 12 And their border on the north-side was from Jordan and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the North-side and went up through the mountains westward and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven n A place distinct from but near unto Bethel as may be gathered from Ios. 16. 1. 13 And the border went over from thence toward Luz to the side of Luz * Gen. 28. 19. which is Beth-el southward and the border descended to Ataroth adar near the hill that lieth on the south-side of the nether Beth-horon 14 And the border was drawn thence and compassed the corner of the sea southward from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward and the goings out thereof were at Kirjath-baal which is Kirjath-jearim o The Israelites changed the name to blot out the remembrance of Baal Compare Ios. 15. 9. Numb 32. 38. a city of the children of Judah this was the west quarter 15 And the south quarter p The same with the North-quarter of Iudah See Ios. 15. 5 6 11. was from the end of Kirjath-jearim and the border went out on the west and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah 16 And the border came down to the end of the mountain q i. e. The place where the Mountain ends and the Valley begins that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom r i. e. In the prospect of that Valley or that reacheth to that Valley on the South and which is in the valley of the giants on the north s Which extends to this other Valley on the North-side of it and descended to the valley of Hinnom * Chap. 15. 8. to the side of Jebusi t To that part where the Iebusites lived which was in and near Ierusalem on the south and descended to * Chap. 1â—… â—… Enrogel 17 And was drawn from the north and went forth to En-shemesh and went forth toward Geliloth u Called also Gilgal as appears from Ios. 15. 7. Iudg. 3. 19. but differing from that Gilgal by Iordan which is over against the going up of Adummim and descended to * Chap. 15. 6. the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben 18 And passed along toward the side over against ‖ Or the plain Arabah x Called Beth-arabah Ios. 15. 6. northward and went down unto Arabah 19 And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward and the outgoings of the border were at the north ‡ Heb. tongue bay of the salt sea y Where an Arm of that Sea runs into the Land which is opposed to the South-bay that was in the South-border of the Tribe of Iudah Ios. 15. 2. at the south end of Jordan z Where it enters into the salt Sea which is here opposed to the North-end of it or the Spring-head which was in the North. this was the south coast 20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin by the coasts thereof round about according to their families 21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho a For though the City was destroyed the Territory remained and some Houses probably were built and inhabited there though it was not made a City with Walls and Gates which was the only thing forbidden Ios. 6. 26. and Beth-hoglah and the valley of Keziz b Or Emec-keziz the proper name of a City or great Town 22 And †Beth arabah and Zemaraim c Which either gave name to or took name from that Mountain 2 Chron. 13. 4. and ‡ Gr. Bethabara Joh. 1. 28. Bet-hel 23 And Avim and Parah and Ophrah 24 And Chephar-haammonai and Ophni and Gaba twelve cities with their villages 25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth 26 And
by Moses to their Father Numb 10. 31 32. and whence they might remove either to avoid the Society or Molestation of the Neighbouring Canaanites or out of love to the children of Iudah whom they went to or to avoid temptations to Luxury and exercise themselves in self-denial and contempt of the present evil World and the Lusts thereof as may be thought from Ier. 35. 6 c. Or for some other cause unknown to us at this distance and they In the Southern part of the Land of Canaan where Arad was Numb 21. 1. u i. e. Some of them for others of them dwelt in the contrary quarter in the most Northern part of the Land went and dwelt among the people x Heb. that people to wit those Children of Iudah that lived there 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother y According to his Promise v. 3. and the Laws of Justice and Gratitude and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it and the name of the city was called Hormah z Either 1. The same place so destroyed and called Numb 21. 3. and so what was there Vowed â—… here Executed Or 2. Some other place called by the same Name upon the like occasion which was frequent among the Hebrews This seems more probable 1. Because this was but one City that divers Cities Numb 21. 2 3. 2. Because that seems to have been done in Moses his time though Interpreters generally think otherwise of which see my Notes there 18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof and Askelon with the coast thereof and Ekron with the coast thereof a The principal Cities of the Philistines Qu. How could this be when among the people leâ—…t to try Israel are the five Lords of the Philistines Judg. 3. 3 Ans. It is onely said that they took the Cities and probably contented themselves with making them Tributary but it is not said that they slew the people as they ought to have done and as it is said of the other Cities here v. 5 8 17 25. And the people being thus spared did by Gods Just Judgment recover their strength and expel the Iews out of their Cities as we find afterwards It is further observable that Ekron here taken was one of Dan's Cities Ios. 19. 43. and it was attempted and taken here by Iudah and Simeon partly out of love to their Brother Dan and partly to secure their new Conquests and other adjoining Territories from such potent Neighbours 19 And the LORD was with Judah and ‖ Or he 〈◊〉 the mountain he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain but could not b Because of their unbelief whereby they doubted and distrusted Gods power to destroy those who had Chariots of Iron and so gave way to their own fear and sloth whereby God was provoked to withdraw his helping hand from them and so they were really made impotent as they were unwilling See Ios. 17. 16. drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had charets of iron 20 * Numb 14. 24. Josh. 14. 9 13. and 15. 13. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb as Moses said and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak c Above mentioned v. 10. 21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin d See on Ios. 15. 36. in Jerusalem unto this day 22 ¶ And the house of Joseph e i. e. The Tribe of Ephraim as appeaars from their opposition to the Tribe of Manasseh v. 27. they also went up against Bethel and the LORD was with them 23 ¶ And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel now the name of the city before was * Gen. 28. 19. Luz 24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city and they said unto him Shew us we pray thee the entrance into the city f On which side it is weakest that we may best invade and take it and * Josh. 2. 12 14. we will shew thee mercy 25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city they smote the city with the edge of the sword but they let go the man and all his family g Together with his Estate as the following Verse manifests 26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites h Where the Hittites seated themselves after they were driven out of Canaan which seems to be Northward from Canaan and near unto it See 1 King 11. 1. 1 Chron. 1. 17. and built a city and called the name thereof Luz which is the name thereof unto this day 27 ¶ * Josh. 17. 11 12 13. Neither did Manasseh i i. e. That half of this Tribe which dwelt in Canaan drive out the inhatants of Beth-shean k A place near Iordan Ios. 17. 11. and her ‡ Heb. daughters towns nor Taanach l Of which see Ios. 1â—… 21. and 17. 11. and her towns nor the inhabitants of Dor m A great City with large Territories See Ios. 11. 2. and 12. 23. and 17. 11. and her towns nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns nor the inhabitants of Megiddo n A Royal City See Ios. 12. 21. and 17. 11. and her towns but the Canaanites would dwell in that land 28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out 29 ¶ * â—…sh 16. 10. Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer o Which they possessed till Solomons time 1 King 9. 16. among them 30 ¶ Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries 31 ¶ Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho nor the inhabitants of Zidon nor of Ahlab nor Achzib nor Helbah nor Aphik nor of Rehob 32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land for they did not drive them out 33 ¶ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath but he dwelt among the Canaanites the inhabitants of the land nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh p A place differing from that Bethshemesh Ios. 15. 10. and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley q i. e. Into the Plain Countrey which was the occasion of that Expedition for the getting of new quarters of which we read Ios. 19. and Iudg. 18. 35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Ajalon and in Shaalbim yet the hand of the house of Joseph r i. e. Of the Ephraimites who helped their Brethren the Danites against the Amorites and
put for the People or Inhabitants of it Gad and Manasseh abode beyond Jordan e In their own Portions and did not come over Iordan to the help of the Lord and of his People as they ought to have done and why did Dan remain in ships f Dan whose Coast was near the Sea was wholly intent upon his Merchandise and Shipping as the great instrument both of his riches and safety and therefore would not joyn in this Land-Expedition Asher continued on the sea ‖ Or part shore g Where their Lot lay and abode in his ‖ Or creeks breaches h Either First in the creeks of the Sea whether in design to save themselves by Ships in case of danger as Dan also intended or upon pretence of repairing the breaches made by the Sea into their Country Or Secondly In their broken and craggy Rocks and Caves therein in which they thought to secure themselves 18 * Chap. 4. 10. Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that ‡ Heb. exposed to reproach jeoparded i Heb. despised or reproached or contemned comparatively they chose rather to venture upon a generous and honourable Death than to enjoy a shameful and servile Life their lives unto the death in the high places of the field k i. e. Upon that large and eminent Plain in the top of Mount Tabor where they put themselves in Battel Array and expected the Enemy though when they saw he did not come up to them they marched down to meet and Fight him 19 The kings l Either confederate with him or subject to him for it is known that there were divers petty Kings in those parts which also oft-times were subject to one greater and more potent king and particularly this Hazor where this Iabin now Reigned Iudg. 4. 2. was beforetime the head of divers petty Kingdoms Ios. 11. 10. came and fought then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo l Taanach and Megiddo were two eminent Cities belonging indeed to Manasseh Iudg. 1. 27. but seated in the Tribe of Issachar Ios. 17. 11. not far from Mount Tabor Ios. 17. 10. Iudg. 1. 27. nor from the River Kishon they took no gain of mony m Either First from Sisera they fought without Pay whether from meer hatred of the Israelites and a desire to be revenged upon them or from a full hope and confidence of Paying themselves abundantly out of Israels spoils Or Secondly From the Israelites so the sence is They fell lost all their hopes of Money and rich Spoils and Booty which they assured themselves of instead of gaining a Prey they lost Themselves 20 They fought from heaven n Or they from heaven or the heavenly Host fought by Thunder and Lightning and Hail-stones possibly mingled with Fire Compare Ios. 10 11. and 1 Sam. 7. 10. the stars o Which raised these Storms by their Influences which they do naturally and ordinarily but now far more when God sharpned their Influences and disposed the Air to receive and improve their Impressions in their ‡ Heb. paths courses p Or from their paths or stations or high-places As Souldiers fight in their ranks and places assigned them so did these and that with advantage as those Enemies do which fight from the higher ground fought against Sisera 21 The River of Kishon q Which though not great in it self and therefore fordable was now much swelled and increased by the foregoing Storm and Rain as Iosephus affirms and therefore drowned those who being pursued by the hand of God and by the Israelites were forced into it and thought to pass over it as they did before swept them away that ancient river q So called either First in opposition to those Rivers which are of a later date being made by the hand and art of Man Or Secondly Because it was a River anciently famous for some remarkable Exploits for which it was Celebrated by the ancient Poets or Writers though not here mentioned the river Kishon O my soul thou hast troden down strength r i. e. Thou O Deborah though but a weak Woman hast by Gods Assistance and Blessing upon thy Councels and Prayers subdued a potent Enemy Such Apostrophes and abrupt Speeches are frequent in Poetical Scriptures 22 Then were the horse hoofs broken s Their Horses in which they put most confidence had their Hoofs which are their support and strength broken either by dreadful Hail-stones or rather by their swift and violent running over the stony grounds when they fled away with all possible speed from God and from Israel by the means of the ‖ Or tramplings or pluagings pransings t Or because of their fierce or swift courses the pransings of their mighty ones u Either First of their strong and valiant Riders who forced their Horses to run away as fast as they could Or Secondly Of their Horses as this word signifies Ier. 8. 16. and 47. 3. and 50. 42. i. e. Of themselves the Antecedent for the Relative 23 Curse ye Meroz x A place then no doubt eminent and considerable though now there be no remembrance of it left which possibly might be the effect of this bitter Curse as God Curseth Amalek in this manner that he would utterly blot out their remembrance c. Exod. 17. 14. Deut. 25. 19. And this place above all others may be thus severely Cursed either because it was near the place of the Fight and therefore had the greatest opportunity and obligation to engage with and to assist their Brethren and their denying their help was a great discouragement to all their Brethren whose hearts no doubt were greatly Afflicted and might have utterly fainted at this great miscarriage and scandalous Example or for some other great aggravation of their Cowardise and Treachery which may easily be imagined though it be not here expressed said the angel of the LORD y She signifies that this Curse proceeded not from her spleen or ill-will towards that place nor from her own private opinion or affection but from Divine Inspiration and that if all the rest of the Song should be taken but for the breathings and expressions of a pious and devout Soul but liable to mistake yet this Branch of it was immediately dictated to her by the Lord by the Ministry of an Angel otherwise â—…he neither would nor durst have uttered so bitter a Curse against them curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof because they came not to the help of the LORD z Either First of the Lords People for God takes what is done for or against his People as if it was done to himself See Isa. 63. 9. Zech. 2. 8. Matt. 25. 45. Or Secondly Of the Lord himself who though he did not need yet did require and expect their help and concurrence and he expresseth it thus to shew the sinfulness and unreasonableness of
man of Zorah c A City of which see Iosh. 15. 33. and 19. 41. of the family d i. e. Of the Tribe or People as family sometimes signifies Iosh. 7. 17. Ier. 8. 3. and 10. 25. Amos 3. 1. Mich. 2. 3. Zach. 14. 18. of the Danites whose name was Manoah and his wife was barren and bare not e An Emphatical repetition of the same thing in divers words which is an usual Elegancy both in Scripture and other Authors 3 And ‡ Heb. an angel the angel of the LORD f The Son of God oft so called in the old Testament as may be gathered from v. 18. yet distinguished from the Lord because he appeared here as it were in the form of a Servant as a Messenger sent from God and was really a distinct person from God the Father appeared unto the woman and said unto her Behold now thou art barren and bearest not but thou shalt conceive and bear a Son 4 Now therefore beware I pray thee g Because the child was to be a Nazarite from the Womb v. 5. and from the conception and because the Mothers Pollution extends to the Child she is enjoyned from this time to observe the following rules belonging to the Nazarites * Numb 6. 2 3. and drink not wine nor strong drink h Under which by a Synecdoche are comprehended the other particulars mentioned Numb 6. 2 3 4. as is implyed v. 14. and eat not any unclean thing i Any of those meats forbidden Levit. 11. which were forbidden to all but especially to the Nazarites 5 For lo thou shalt conceive and bear a son and * Numb 6. 5. 1 Sam. 1. 11. no rasor shall come on his head for the child shall be a Nazarite k A person separated from others and consecrated to Gods service unto God from the womb and he shall begin to deliver Israel l And the deliverance shall be carried on and perfected by others as it was in part by Eli and Samuel and Saul but especially by David out of the hand of the Philistines 6 ¶ Then the woman came and told her husband saying A man of God m A Prophet or sacred person sent with a Message from God came unto me and his countenance was like the countenance of an Angel of God very terrible n Or venerable or awful full of Majesty but I asked him not whence he was neither told he me his name 7 But he said unto me Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son and now drink no wine nor strong drink neither eat any ‡ Heb. uncieanness unclean thing for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death 8 ¶ Then Manoah intreated the LORD and said O my LORD let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born 9 And God hearkned to the voice of Manoah and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sate in the field but Manoah her husband was not with her 10 And the woman made haste and ran and shewed her husband and said unto him Behold the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said unto him Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman and he said I am 12 And Manoah said Now let thy words come to pass o Or thy words shall come to pass I firmly believe that thy promises shall be fulfilled ‡ Heb. what shall be the manner of the c. how shall we order the child p What rules shall we observe about his Education and ‖ Or what shall he do ‡ Heb. what shall be his work how shall we do unto him 13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware q Whilest the Child is in her Womb and after the Child is Born let him observe the same Orders 14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine neither let her drink wine or strong drink neither eat any ‡ Heb. uncleanness unclean thing all that I commanded her let her observe 15 ¶ And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD I pray thee let us detain thee until we shall have made ready a kid ‡ Heb. before thee for thee r Supposing him to be a Man and a Prophet to whom he would in this manner express his respect as was usual to strangers See Gen. 18. 5. Iudg. 6. 18. 16 And the Angel of the LORD said unto Manoah Though thou detain me I will not eat of thy bread s i. e. Meat as bread is commonly taken in Scripture and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering thou must offer it unto the LORD t Not unto a man as now thou apprehendest me to be but unto the Lord as thou wiltst by and by perceive me to be for Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD What is thy name that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee hononr u Either by making honourable mention of thee or by performing respect and service to thee by a Present which they usually gave to Prophets 1 Sam. 9. 7 8. 2 King 14. 3. 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him Why * Gen. 32 29. askest thou thus after my name seeing it is ‖ Or wonderful secret x Or hidden from mortal Men or wonderful such as thou canst not comprehend my nature or essence which is oft signified by name in Scripture is incomprehensible This shews that this was the Angel of the Covenant the Son of God 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering y Which were generally joyned with the chief Sacrifices and offered it upon a rock z The Angels presence and command being a sufficient Warrant for the offering of Sacrifice by a person who was no Priest and in a place otherwise forbidden to the LORD and the angel did wondrously and Manoah and his wife looked on 20 For it came to pass when the flame a Either arising from the fire which Manoah brought for the offering or produced by the Angel out of the Rock in a miraculous manner went up toward heaven from off the altar b i. e. From that part of the Rock which served instead of an Altar upon which the Sacrifice was laid that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame c To manifest his nature and essence to be Spiritual because not capable of hurt by the fire and Caelestial of the altar and Manoah and his wife looked on it and fell on their faces d Partly in Reverence to that glorious
and took possession of their Cities and Land Or 3. When the whole Land of the ten Tribes whereof Dan was one was Conquered and the People carried Captive by the Assyrian 2 King 17. 6 23. which is called by way of Eminency the Captivity 1 Chron. 5. 22. But against this it is Objected That it is not probable that this Idolatry should continue so long in such a publick place and manner or that David and Solomon would suffer it Ans. It is not said that the graven Image was there so long for that is restrained to a shorter date even to the continuance of the Ark in Shiloh v. 31. which was removed thence 1 Sam. 4. But only that Ionathan's posterity were Priests to this Tribe or Family of Dan which they might be under all the changes even till the Assyrian Captivity sometimes more openly and allowedly sometimes more cunningly sometimes more secretly sometimes in one way of Superstition or Idolatry and sometimes in another and in and after Ieroboam's time in the Worship of the Calves for which service though he did make Priests of the meanest of the People 1 King 12. 31. yet that was not by choice but out of necessity because the Priests and Levites generally forsook him 2 Chron. 11. 13 14. and therefore when he could engage any of the Priests or Levites in that service he was doubtless very glad of them to gain reputation to his Impious and absurd device 31 And they set them up Micah's graven image which he made all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh CHAP. XIX AND it came to pass in those days a Of which see on Iudg. 17. 1. â—… and 〈…〉 when there was no king in Israel that there was a certain Levite â—…journing on the side b Heb. in the sides i. e. in one of the sides as Verse 18. of mount Ephraim who â—…k to him ‡ Heb. a woman a â—…bine or a wâ—…e a concubine a concubine c Heb. a Wiâ—…e a Concubine i. e. such a Concubine as was also his Wife as appears from v. 3 4 5 7 9 26 27. and Iudg. 20. 4. See of these Gen. 22. 24. and 25. 1. out of Bethlehem-Judah 2 And his concubine played the whore against him d i. e. Against her Faith given to him or to his wrong or with him i. e. in his House or whilest she lived with him which is opposed to her going away which here follows and went away from him e Either for fear of his severe rebukes or punishment or because her heart was alienated from him unto her fathers house to Bethlehem-Judah and was there ‖ Or a year and four months ‡ Days for months four whole months f Heb. some days to wit four months or a year so days commonly signifie and four months wherein not only she sinned but her Father by some indulgence and connivence at her Sin and neglect of just endeavours for her reconciliation to her Husband the ill effects whereof he speedily felt in the loss of his Daughter in so dreadful a manner 3 And her husband arose and went after her to speak ‡ Heb. to her heart friendly unto her g Or to speak to her heart i. e. kindly and comfortably as that phrase is taken Gen. 50. 21. Hos. 2. 14. to offer her pardon and reconciliation and restitution to her former state and to bring her again h To wit to his own House having his servant with him and a couple of asses t Partly for himself or his Wife to ride upon as there was occasion and partly for carrying their Provision as appears from v. 19 and she brought him into her fathers house and when the father of the damsel saw him he rejoiced to meet him k Hoping the breach would be made up by this means 4 And his father in law the damsels father retained him and he abode with him three days so they did eat and drink and lodged there 5 ¶ And it came to pass on the fourth day when they arose early in the morning that he rose up to depart and the damsels father said unto his son in law ‡ Heb. strength en Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread and afterward go your way 6 And they sate down and did eat and drink both of them together for the damsels father had said unto the man Be content I pray thee and tarry all night and let thine heart ‡ Heb. bâ—… good be merry 7 And when the man rose up to depart his father in law urged him therefore he lodged there again 8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart and the damsels father said Comfort thine heart I pray thee And they tarried ‡ Heb. till the day declined until afternoon and they did eat both of them 9 And when the man rose up to depart he and his concubine and his servant his father in law the damsels father said unto him Behold now the day ‡ Heb. is weak draweth towards evening I pray you tarry all night behold ‡ Heb. it is the pitching time of the day the day groweth to an end l lodg here that thine heart may be merry and to morrow get ye early on your way that thou mayest go ‡ Hebr. to thy tent home l Heb. It is the encamping time of the day i. e. the Evening when Armies having marched in the day begin to pitch their Camp or when the Sun that makes the day begins to encamp himself and go toward rest so it is a Poetical expression taken from hence That the Sun when he sets seems to vulgar eyes to go to rest 10 But the man would not tarry that night but he rose up and departed and came ‡ Hebr. to over against Jebus over against Jebus which is Jerusalem and there were with him two asses sadled his concubine also was with him 11 And when they were by Jebus the day was far spent and the servant said unto his master Come I pray thee and let us turn in unto this city of the Jebusites and lodg in it 12 And his master said unto him We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger m i. e. Of a strange Nation which the Canaanites posses for though the City Ierusalem had been taken by Caleb Iudg. 1. yet the strong Fort of Zion was still in their hands 2 Sam. 5. 6 7. whence it is likely they did much molest and afterwords by Gods permission and for the punishment of their Sin drive out the Israelites who dwelt there that is not of the children of Israel we will pass over to Gibeah 13 And he said unto his servant Come and let us draw near to one of these places to lodg all night in Gibeah or in Ramah n Both which places lay in Benjamin's Portion a little Northward from
ye are all children of Israel q The Sons of that Holy man who for one filthy action left an Eternal brand upon one of his own Sons a People in Covenant with the holy God whose Honour you are obliged to vindicate and who hath expresly commanded you to punish all such notorious Enormities give here your advice and counsel 8 ¶ And all the people arose as one man saying We will not any of us go to his tent r i. e. His habitation to wit until we have revenged this Injury neither will we any of us turn into his house 9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah we will go up by lot against it 10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel and an hundred of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand to â—…etch victual for the people that they may do when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin accord ing to all the folly that they have wrought s That we may punish them as such a wickedness deserves in Israel t This is added as an aggravation that they should do that in Israel or among Gods peculiar People which was esteemed abominable even among the Heathen 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city ‡ Heb. fellows knit together as one man 12 ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe u Heb. tribes Either the Plural Number for the Singular or rather tribe is put for family as was noted before as families are elsewhere put for tribes They take a wise and a just course in sending to all the parts and families of the tribe to separate the Innocent from the Guilty and to give them a fair opportunity of preventing their ruin by doing nothing but what their Duty Honour and Interest obliged them to even by delivering up those vile Malefactors whom they could not keep without horrid guilt and shame and bringing the Curse of God upon themselves of Benjamin saying What wickedness is this that is done among you 13 Now therefore deliver us the men the children of Belial which are in Gibeah that we may put them to death and put away evil x Both the Guilt and the Punishment wherein all Israel will be Involved if they do not Punish it from Israel but the children of Benjamin would not hearken y Partly from the Pride of their Hearts which made them scorn to submit to their Brethren or to suffer them to meddle in their Territory partly from a conceit of their own Valour and Military skill and partly from Gods just judgment to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel 14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah to go out to battel against the children of Israel 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbred at that time out of the city twenty and six thousand men that drew sword beside the inhabitants of Gibeah which were numbred seven hundred chosen men z Object This agrees not with the following numbers for all that were slain of Benjamin were 25100 men v. 35. and there were only 600 that survived v. 47. which make only 25700. Ans. The other thousand men were either left in some of their cities where they were slain v. 48. or were cut off in the two first Battels wherein it is unreasonable to think they had an unbloody Victory and as for these 25100 men they were all slain in that day i. e. the day of the third Battel as is affirmed v. 35. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men * Chap. 3. 15. left handed a Heb. shut up on their right hand i. e. using their left hand instead of their right every one could sling stones at an hairs breadth and not miss b An Hyperbolical expression signifying that they could do this with great exactness There are many Parallel Instances in Historians of Persons that could throw Stones or shoot Arrows with great certainty so as seldom or never to miss Of which see my Latin Synopsis And this was very considerable and one ground of the Benjamites confidence because in those times they had no Guns 17 And the men of Israel c To wit such as were here present v. 2. for otherwise it is most probable they had a far greater number of men being 600000 before their entrance into Canaan Num. 1. 2. beside Benjamin were numbred four hundred thousand men that drew sword all these were men of war 18 ¶ And the children of Israel d i. e. Some sent in the name of all arose and went up to the house of God e To wit to Shiloh which was not far from Mizpeh where they were and * Chap. 1. 1. asked counsel of God and said Which of us shall go up first to the battel f This they ask to prevent Emulations and Contentions but they do not ask whether they should go against them oâ—… no for that they knew they ought to do by the will of God already revealed nor yet do they seek to God for his help by Prayer and Fasting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all reason they ought to have done but were confident of Success because of their great Numbers and Righteous Cause against the children of Benjamin And the LORD said Judah shall go up first 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah 20 And the men of Israel went out to battel against Benjamin and the men of Israel put themselves in aray to fight against them at Gibeah 21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men g Quest. Why would God suffer them to have so great a loss in so Good a Cause Ans. Because they had many and great Sins reigning amongst themselves and they should not have come to so great a Work of God as this with polluted hands but should have pulled the Beam out of their own Eye before they attempted to take that out of their Brother Benjamin's Eye which because they did not God doth it for them making them by this loss more clearly to see their own Sins and their need of Gods help without which their great Numbers were insignificant and bringing them through the Fire that they might be purged from their Dross it being probable that the great God who governs every stroke in Battels did so order things that their worst and rotten Members should be cut off which was a great Blessing to the whole Common-wealth 22 And the people the men of Israel incouraged themselves h Heb. strengthned themselves partly by supporting themselves with the Conscience of the Justice of their Cause and the hopes of success and partly by putting themselves in better order for
LORD smote Benjamin before Israel and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men i This is the Total Sum whereof the particulars are related v. 44 45. and for the odd hundred not there mentioned they were killed in other places not their expressed all these drew the sword 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah 37 And the liers in wait hasted and rushed upon Gibeah and the liers in wait ‖ Or made a long sound with the trumpet drew themselves along k Or extended themselves i. e. whereas before they lay close and contracted into a narrow compass now they spread themselves and Marched in Rank and File as Armies do Or marched or went Heb. drew their Feet So this Verb is oft used as Gen. 37. 28. Exod. 12. 21. Iudg. 4. 6. Iob 21. 33. and smote all the city with the edge of the sword 38 Now there was an appointed ‖ Or time sign between the men of Israel ‡ Heb. with and the liers in wait that they should make a great ‡ Hebr. elevation flame with smoke to rise up out of the city 39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battel Benjamin began ‡ Heb. to smite the wounded to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons for they said Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battel 40 But when the flame began to rise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke the Benjamites looked behind them and behold the ‡ Heb. the whole consumption flame of the city ascended up to heaven 41 And when the men of Israel turned again the men of Benjamin were amazed l Because of their great disappointment and the present danger wherewith they were surrounded on every side for they saw that evil ‡ Heb. touched them was come upon them 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness but the battel overtook m i. e. The Men of Battel or War The abstract for the concrete as Poverty 2 King 24. 14. Pride Psal. 36. 11. Deceit Prov. 12. 25. Dreams Ier. 25. 9. Election Rom. 11. 7. are put for Persons that are Poor Proud Deceitful Dreamers Elect. them and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them n So the sence may seem to be this That the Israelites did not only kill the Inhabitants of Gibeah and all the Benjamites that came into the Field against them 600 excepted but in the midst of them or together with them they killed also the rest of the Benjamites who when they saw their Army was wholly Destroyed made haste to flee out of their several Cities or Towns that so they might escape the Sword which was coming towards them But the words may be rendred thus And them who were of the other cities to wit of Benjamin i. e. who abode in their own Cities and did not go up to Gibeah they Destroyed in the midst of them i. e. in their several Cities or in the midst of it i. e. of every City for so it is said v. 48. where it is said That they smote the men of every City But this I submit to the Learned 43 Thus they enclosed the Benjamites round about and chased them and trode them down ‖ Or from Manuchah c. with ease o Without great difficulty Now that God gave them his presence and assistance they easily did that which before they found too hard for them Or unto Menuchah or as far as Maâ—…uchah a place so called See 1 Chron. 2. 52. Ier. 51. 59. ‡ Heb. unto over against over against Gibeah towards the sun-rising 44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men p To wit in the Field or Battel all these were men of valour 45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon and they gleaned q i. e. They cut off the remainders in the pursuit and spared none A Metaphor from those who gather Grapes or Corn so clearly and fully that they leave no relicks for those who come after them of them in the high-ways five thousand men and pursued hard after them unto Gidom and flew two thousand men of them 46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand r Besides the odd hundred expressed ver 35. but here only the great number is expressed the less being omitted as inconsiderable which way of numbring is frequent in Scripture as Iudg. 11. 26. 2 Sam. 5. 5. and in other Authors and in vulgar use as when they are called the 70 Interpreters who in truth and exactness were 72. Here are also a thousand more omitted because here he speaks onely of them who fell in that third day of Battel See on v. 15. men that drew the sword all these were men of valour 47 * Chap. 21. 13. But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon and abode in the rock s In a Cave within that Rock where they Fortified themselves and fetched in Provision as they had opportunity which they could easily do when the heat of the Battel was over and the Israelites were not solicitous to pursue them further Rimmon four months 48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin t Having destroyed those that came to Gibeah and into the field now they follow them home to their several habitations and smote them with the edge of the sword as well the men u Comprehensively taken so as to include women and children If this seem harsh and bloody either it may be ascribed to Military Fury or rather it may be justified partly from that high guilt brought upon the whole Tribe in which it is no wonder if their Infants suffered which was not unusual in such cases as Numb 31. 17. 1 Sam. 15. 3. Iâ—…s 7. 15. partly from that Command of God in a Parallel case Deut. 13. 15. and partly from that Solemn Oath by which they had Anathematised or devoted to Death all that came not up to Mizpeh Iudg. 21. 5. which none of the Benjamites did for which cause also they destroyed all the Men Women and Children of Iabesh-Gilead Judg. 21. 10. of every city as the beast and all that ‡ Heb. was found came to hand also they set on fire all the cities that ‡ Heb. were found they came to CHAP. XXI NOw the men of Israel had sworn a In the beginning of this War after the whole Tribe had espoused the quarrel of the Men of Gibeah Iudg. 20. 13 14 in Mizpeh saying There shall not any of us
give his daughter unto Benjamin to wise b They do not as some suppose here swear the utter extirpation of the Tribe which fell out beyond their expectation Iudg. 21. 3 6. but only not to give their Daughters to those Men who should survive justly esteeming them for their harbarous Villany to be as bad as the worst of Heathens with whom they were forbidden to Marry In this Case the Benjamites might have Married among themselves if any of their Men and Women were left alive 2 And the people came to the house of God c Partly to mourn for the common loss and partly to ask counsel from God about the repairing of it and abode there till even before God and lift up their voices and wept sore 3 And said O LORD God of Israel Why is this come to pass in Israel that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel d Why hast thou given them up to such wickedness and us to such rage that the whole Tribe should be in a manner lost Hence it appears that they did not swear to root them all out as is further manifest from the different matter and words of this Oath ver 1. which only denied them their Daughters in Marriage and that concerning the people of other Tribes who joyned not with them in this business which was that they should be put to death v. 5. And their sparing of those 600 Men in the Rock Rimmon v. 13 14. plainly shews that they were not obliged by any Oath or Vow to extirpate them 4 And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose early and built there an altar e Not for a Monument of the Victory as some say but for Sacrifices as the next words shew Qu. What need was there of this when the ordinary Altar was there to which also they seem to be restrained Deut. 16. 2 Answ. They are not there restrained to one Altar but to one place of Worship as is expressed and therefore there might be in that place more Altars than one when the Multitude of Sacrifices so required which was the case 1 King 8. 64. and probably at this time when all the Tribes being met they had many Sacrifices to offer some in common for all and some peculiar to every Tribe Nay other Altars might be and oft-times were Erected in other places by Divine Direction or Dispensation as Iudg. 6. 24 26. 1 Sam. 7. 9 17. and 11. 15. and 16. 2 5. and offered burnt-offerings and peace offerings 5 And the children of Israel said Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD for they had made a great oath f i. e. A solemn Oath joyned with some terrible Execration against the Offenders herein concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh saying He shall surely be put to death g Because by refusing to execute the Vengeance due to such Malefactors they were justly presumed guilty of their Crime and therefore liable to the same Punishment as was the case of that City that would not deliver up an Idolater dwelling among them to Justice 6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother h Not for the War which was just and necessary and good but for their immoderate severity in the Execution of it and for the dreadful consequences of it and said There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day 7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives 8 And they said What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD And behold there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead i A City in Gilead and in the Tribe of Manasseh of which see 1 Sam. 11. 1 3 9 c. and 31. 11 c. to the assembly 9 For the people were numbred and behold there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there 10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest and commanded them saying Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword with the women and the children k Who in such publick and scandalous Crimes were for the greater Terrour of such Transgressors and prevention of the like Sins oft involved in the same Punishment with the men as Deut. 13. 15. Ios. 7. 24 c. 11 And this is the thing that ye shall do * Numb 31 Ye shall utterly destroy every male and every woman that ‡ Heb. knoweth the lying with man hath lien by man l But not the Virgins as appears from the next Verses It is questionable whether they were not obliged to destroy these also by vertue of their Oath and of Gods express Command concerning Devoted Persons such as these certainly were that they should surely be put to death Levit. 27. 29. which was also particularly enjoyned and practised in such Cases as Deut. 13. Ios. 7. c. But the natural and necessary duty of preserving a Tribe from total Ruine might seem to render the case difficult and doubtful and incline their Opinions as well as their Affections to the more favourable side And it may be the Lord whom they were here consulting with upon all their occasions gave them a Dispensation thus to do though that be not expressed which is the case of many other things which were done though not Recorded as this very Oath was omitted in its proper place and had not been Recorded if this extraordinary occasion had not been offered 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred ‡ Heb. young women Virgins young virgins m Not Married yet marriageable it is probable there were other and younger Virgins but whether they were slain or spared Scripture determines not and the Learned do not agree But these could not serve the present and urgent occasion and therefore he takes notice onely of these 400 which were of riper Age. that had known no man by lying with any male and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan 13 And the whole congregation sent some ‡ Heb. and â—…pake and called to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon and to call ‖ Or proclaim peace peaceably unto them 14 And Benjamin n The poor remainders of the Tribe of Benjamin came again at that time and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead and yet so they sufficed them not 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin o Were yet more grieved upon this unhappy disappointment for they supposed here would have been Wives sufficient for them because that the LORD had made a breach p The Benjamites were the onely
than kept Thirdly Yet they cannot be wholly excused from Sin in this matter for as it was folly to take such an Oath as it is expressed so the manner of freeing themselves from their own Snare is fraudulent and injurious to the Parents in disposing of their Children without their consent 23 And the children of Benjamin did so and took them wives according to their number d i. e. Each Man his Wife as is said v. 22. By which we â—…ay see they had no very favourable opinion of Poligamy because they did not allow it in this case when it might seem most necessary for the reparation of a lost Tribe of them that danced whom they caught and they went and returned unto their inheritance e Which being very near the place they could speedily do before the Parents could obtain redress and repaired the cities and dwelt in them f Not at that instant which could not be but by degrees increasing their Buildings as their number increased 24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time every man to his tribe and to his family and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance 25 * Chap. 〈◊〉 and 18. 〈◊〉 19. â—… In those days there was no king in Israel every man did that which was right in his own eyes RUTH The ARGUMENT THis little Book by whomsoever Written which is not material to know is annexed to the Book of Judges and by some of the Hebrew Doctors made a part of it It is useful as for many other points so especially to shew the Genealogy of David and consequently of Christ and the Rise of Christ from a Moabitish Woman which was an useful document and a great encouragement to the Gentiles to believe in Christ. CHAP. I. NOw it came to pass in the days when the Judges ‡ Heb. judged Ruled a Which is noted as the cause of the following Famine because in much of that time they were guilty of great defection from God But under which of the Judges this happened Scripture being silent it seems presumptuous to determine nor is it necessary to know what is said about this matter from the Genealogy mentioned Chap. 4. 18 c. it will be most proper to consider it there that there was a * 2 King 8. 1. famine in the land b Or in that land to wit of Canaan and a certain man of Bethlehem-Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab c A Fruitful Land beyond Iordan Eastward he and his wife and his two sons 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion Ephrathites d So called because this Bethlehem is otherwise called Ephrath or Ephratha Gen. 35. 19. Mich. 5. 2. either from Caleb's Wife of that name 1 Chron. 2. 19. and 4. 4. or from the fertility of the Soyl about it which title may therefore be used here to shew the greatness of the Famine which affected even fertile parts of Bethlehem-Judah e and they came into the countrey of Moab and ‡ Heb. were Numb 9. 21. continued there f To wit during the Famine 3 And Elimelech Naomies husband died and she was left and her two sons 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab g Either these were Proselytes when they Married them which may well be doubted from v. 15. or they sinned in marrying them as appears from Deut. 7. 3. and 23. 3. Ezra 9. 1 2. Nehem. 13. 23. and therefore were punished with short Life and want of Issue v. 5 19 21. the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth and they dwelt there about ten years h As long as the Famine lasted 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband 6 Then she arose with her daughters in law that she might return from the country of Moab for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread i i. e. Food so she staid no longer there than necessity forced her 7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was and her two daughters in law with her and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah 8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law * See 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 15. Go return each to her mothers house k Not that they wanted Fathers Ruth 2. 11. but because Daughters used to converse more frequently with their Mothers and to be most endeared to them and to dwell in the same apartments with them which then were distinct from those parts of the House where the Men dwealt the LORD deal kindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead l With my Sons your Husbands whilest they lived and with me 9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest m i. e. A quiet and happy life free from those cares vexations incumbrances and troubles which Widows are in a special manner exposed unto each of you in the house of her husband Then she kissed them n As the manner there was when friends parted and they lift up their voice and wept 10 And they said unto her Surely we will return with thee unto thy people 11 And Naomi said Turn again my daughters why will ye go with me are there yet any moe sons in my womb that they may be your husbands o According to the Ancient Custome Gen. 38. and the express Law of God Deut. 25. 5 which doubtless she had acquainted them with before among other branches of the Jewish Religion wherein she did instruct them 12 Turn again my daughters go your way p for I am too old to have an husband if I should say I have hope ‖ Or if I were 〈◊〉 an husâ—…d if I should have a husband also to night and should also bear sons n Qu. Why doth she disswade them from this journey and not rather perswade them to go with her and to embrace the Jewish Religion Answ. 1. Possibly she thought such disswasion might be the best way to perswade them as it oft happens especially in that Sex 2. She would not have them rashly and inconsiderately to embrace the Jewish Religion in hopes of some advantage from it which she justly thought they would be disappointed of and withal exposed to many straits and troubles and on that occasion revolt from the True Religon which would be far worse than never to have embraced it And therefore she doth justly and wisely and piously in representing to them the truth of the business and the outward inconveniences which would accompany the Change of their Place and Religion as also our Blessed Lord Christ did Mat. 8. 20. 13 Would ye ‡ Heb. hope tarry for them till
and so by preserving another Mans Name he should lose his own Or Secondly Because as his Inheritance would be but very little increased by this Marriage so it might be much diminished by being divided amongst his many Children which he possibly had already and might probably have more by Ruth redeem thou my right l Which I freely Renounce and Resign to thee to thy self for I cannot redeem it 7 * Deut. 25. 〈◊〉 Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing for to confirm all things m i. e. In all Alienation of Lands So that it is no wonder if this Ceremony differ a little from that Deut. 25. 9. because that concerned only one Case but this is more general Besides he pleads not the Command of God but only ancient Custom for this Practice a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour n He who relinquished his right to another plucked off his own Shoe and gave it to him This was Symbolical and a significant and convenient Ceremony as if he said Take this Shoe wherewith I used to go and tread upon my Land and in that Shoe do thou enter upon it and take possession of it and this was a testimony in Israel o This was admitted for sufficient Evidence in all such Cases 8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz Buy it for thee so he drew off his shoe 9 ¶ And Boaz said unto the elders and unto all the people Ye are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelechs and all that was Chilions and Mahlons of the hand of Naomi 10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess the wife of Mahlon have I purchased to be my wife to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place p i. e. From among the Inhabitants dwelling within the Gate of this City which was Bethlehem-Iudah ye are witnesses this day 11 And all the people that were in the gate and the elders said We are witnesses The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah q Amiable and Fruitful Those two are singled out partly because they were of a Foreign and Heathenish Original and yet ingrafted into Gods people as Ruth also was and partly because of that singular Fertility which God vouchsafed unto them above their Predecessors Rachel and Leah Rachel is placed before Leah because she was his most Lawful and only Intended and Chosen and best-Beloved Wife which two did build the house r i. e. Increase the Posterity See Gen. 16. 2. Exod. 1. 21. of Israel and ‖ Or get 〈◊〉 riches or power do thou worthily in Ephratah s Two Names of one and the same Place of which see on Ruth 1. 2. and ‡ Heb. proclaim thy name be famous in Bethlehem s Two Names of one and the same Place of which see on Ruth 1. 2. 12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez t As honourable and numerous as his Family was whom though he also was Born of a stranger God so far Blessed that his Family was one of the five Families to which all the Tribe of Iudah belonged and the Progenitor of the Inhabitants of this City * Gen. 38. 〈◊〉 1 Chron. â—… â—… Matth. 1. 3. whom Tamar bare unto Judah of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman 13 ¶ So Boaz took Ruth u Which he might do though she was a Moabite because the Prohibition against Marrying such is to be restrained to those who continue in the Heathenish estate as is evident from the reason of it Whereas Ruth as a sincere Proselyte and Convert to the God and Faith of Israel and she was his wife and when he went in unto her x i. e. Had Conjugal Converse with her See Gen. 6. 4. the LORD gave her conception y i. e. Strength to Conceive and Retain Seed and in due time she bare a son 14 And the women said unto Naomi Blessed be the LORD which hath not ‡ Heb. caused to cease unto thee left thee this day without a ‖ Or redeemer kinsman z Which is understood Either First Of the Son new Born Or rather Secondly Of Boaz For the Name of Goel which is Translated Kinsman or Redeemer is never that I know of given to the Child Born but always to the Person Begetting him of his Brother's or near Kinsman's Wife And whereas it is Objected That there was no Cause for this Congratulation at this time in reference to Boaz because that was done divers Months before this time It may be Replied That the Memory of that generous Action was revived upon this occasion and therefore is fitly mentioned as the foundation of this Childs Birth and this happy effect justly leads them to the Cause and Original of it which was this that Boaz had shewed himself to be a Kinsman or Redeemer not only in Name and Title as the other Kinsman was v. 6. but in Truth and Reality The words may be rendred Which hath not made or suffered thy Kinsman to fail to thee i. e. To neglect or refuse the performance of his Duty to thee and thine as the other Kinsman did that his name may be famous in Israel a Heb. and his Name shall be famons in Israel for this Noble and Worthy Action wherein he gave so great an Example of Piety Charity Humility and self-Denial 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life b i. e. Of the comfort of thy life which was in a great measure dead and gone and ‡ Heb. to nourish a nourisher of ‡ Heb. thy gray hairs thine old age for thy daughter in law which loveth thee which * 1 Sam. 1. 8. is better to thee than seven sons hath born him c To wit a Son the Pronoun for the Noun understood which is frequent in the Hebrew Tongue Or Hath born to him i. e. to thy Kinsman to wit a Son which is easily understood and so the Pronoun affix is put for the separate of which there are Instances as Ios. 15. 19. 1 King 19. 21. Iob 31. 37. Ezek. â—…9 3. 16 And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom and became nurse unto it 17 And the women â—…er neighbours gave it a name d i. e. They gave her advice about the Name for otherwise they had no power or right to do so saying There is a son born to Naomi and they called his name Obed e A servant to wit to thee to nourish and comfort and assist thee which Duty Children owe to their Progenitors he is the father of Jesse the father of David 18 ¶ Now these are the generations of Pharez * 1 Chron. 2.
Eli might think him Guilty of Arrogancy or secret Complacency in his Calamity which was like to tend to Samuel's advancement And not being commanded by God to acquaint Eli herewith he prudently suspended the publication of it till a fit occasion were offered which he might reasonably expect in a very little time knowing that Eli would be greedy to know the matter of that Revelation the Preface whereof he was acquainted with and that it would be less offensive and therefore more useful to Eli when he saw that Samuel was not puffed up with it nor forward to vent it until Eli forced it from him 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said Samuel my son And he answered Here am I. 17 And he said What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee I pray thee hide it not from me God do so to thee and ‡ Heb. â—…o add more also m God inflict the same Evils upon thee which I suspect he hath pronounced against me and greater Evils too Or God do so i. e. let God deal with thee so severely as I cannot or am loath to express So it is a kind of Aposiopesis usual in Oaths and in Adjurations The same Phrase is in Ruth 1. 17. Thus he adjures him to utter the whole truth as was usual among the Hebrews as 1 King 22. 16. Matth. 26. 63. if thou hide any ‖ Or word thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee 18 And Samuel told him ‡ Heb. all the things or words every whit and hid nothing from him And he said It is the LORD n This severe Sentence is from the Sovereign Lord of the World who hath an absolute Power and Right to dispose of me and all his Creatures as he pleaseth to whose good pleasure I therefore freely submit from Israel's God who was known by this Name of Iehovah who is in a special manner the Ruler of the People of Israel to whom it properly belongs to punish all mine offences whose Chastisement I therefore accept Let him do what seemeth him good 19 ¶ And Samuel grew o As in Stature so in Wisdom and Piety and God's Favour and Reputation with the People and the LORD was with him and did let none of his words * 1 King 8. 56. fall to the ground p i. e. Want its effect or success God made good all his Predictions A Metaphor from precious Liquors which when they are spilt upon the Ground are altogether useless and ineffectual This Phrase is oft used as Ios. 21. 45. Esth. 6. 10 c. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba q Through the whole Land from the Northern Bound Dan to the Southern Beer-sheba which was the whole length and largest extent of the Land See Iudg. 20. 1 2. 2 Sam. 17. 11. knew r Both by Eli's Testimony and particular Relation of the 〈◊〉 going History to the People that came from all Parts 〈◊〉 by succeeding Revelations made to him whereof mention is made in the next Verse which though placed after might be done before that Samuel was ‖ Or faithful established to be a prophet of the LORD 21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel s Or did use to Reveal his mind to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD t i. e. By his word the Noun for the Pronoun which is frequent as Levit. 14. 15 c. by his word of command which he chose to deliver to Israel by his Mouth as it hâ—…e follows or by his word of Prophesie concerning future events CHAP. IV. AND the word of Samuel a i. e. The Word of the Lord revealed to Samuel and by him to the People Either First The Prophetical Word mentioned before chap. 3. 11 c. which is here said to come or to come to pass as it was foretold to all Israel But the subject of that Prophesie was not all Israel but Eli and his House as is evident Or rather Secondly A Word of command that all Israel should go forth to Fight with the Philistines as the following Words explain it that so they might be first humbled and punished for their Sins and so prepared by degrees for their future Deliverance ‖ Or came to pâ—…ss ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 came to all Israel Now Israel went out against the Philistines b Or to meet the Philistines who having by this time recruited themselves after their great loss by Sampson Iudg. 16. 30. and perceiving an eminent Prophet arising among them by whom they were likely to be United Counselled and Assisted thought fit to Suppress them in the beginning of their Hopes and Designs of Rescuing themselves from their power to battel and pitched beside Eben-ezer c A place so called here by Anticipation from a following event chap. 7. 12. and the Philistines pitched in Aphek d A City so called in the Tribe of Iudah Ios. 15. 53. upon the Borders of the Philistines Country not that Aphek in Asher Ios. 19. 30. Iudg. 1. 31. which was very remote from them 2 And the Philistines put themselves in aray against Israel and when ‡ Heb. the battel was spread they joyned battel e Heb. When the Battel was spread i. e. when the two Armies had drawn forth themselves into Military Order and put themselves into the usual Posture for Fighting and began to Fight in their several Places Israel was smitten before the Philistines and they slew of ‡ Heb. the aray the army in the field about four thousand men 3 ¶ And when the people were come into the camp the elders of Israel said Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines f Seeing our Cause is so just our own just and necessary Defence from God's and our Enemies and we came not forth to Battel by our own motion but by God's command delivered by Samuel This was strange blindness that when there was so great a corruption in their Worship and Manners chap. 2. and such a Defection to Idolatry chap. 7. 3. Psal. 78. 58. they could not see sufficient reason why God should suffer them to fall by their Enemies Let us ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 unto us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD g That great pledge of God's presence and help by whose Conduct our Ancestors obtained success Numb 10. 35. and 14. 44. Ios. 6. 4. instead of the performance of Moral Duties humbling themselves deeply for and Purging themselves speedily and throughly from all their Sins for which God was displeased with them and now had chastised them they take an easier and cheaper Course and put their trust in their Ceremonial Observances not doubting but the very presence of the Ark would give them the Victory And therefore it is no wonder they meet with so sad a disappontment out of Shiloh unto us that
of his way 27 And as they were going down to the end of the city Samuel said to Saul Bid the servant pass on before us k That thou and I may speak privately of the matter of the Kingdom Which Samuel hitherto endeavoured to conceal lest he should be thought now to impose a King upon them as before he denied one to them and that it might appear by the Lot mentioned in the next Chapter that the Kingdom was given to Saul by God's destination and not by Samuel's contrivance and he passed on but stand thou still ‡ Heb. to day a while that I may shew thee the word of God l i. e. A Message delivered to me from God which now I shall impart to thee CHAP. X. THen Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head a Which was the usual Rite in the Designation as of Priests and Prophets so also of Kings as 1 Sam. 16. 1 13. 1 King 1. 39. 2 King 9. 1 3 6. whereby was signified the pouring forth of the Gifts of Gods Spirit upon him to enable him for the Administration of his Office which he might expect and should receive upon the discharge of his Duty and kissed him b Partly in token of that Reverence which he did owe and that Subjection which he and all the People were shortly to perform to him whereof Kissing was a sign as Gen. 41. 40. 1 King 19. 18. and partly as a Testimony of his sincere Friendship and Affection to him and how far he was from envying his Successor in the Supreme Dignity and said Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance c i. e. Over his own peculiar People Whereby he Admonisheth Saul that this People were not so much his as Gods and that he was not to Rule and Manage them according to his own will and pleasure but according to the will and mind of God 2 When thou art departed from me to day then thou shalt find two men by * Gen. 3â—… 19 20. Rachels sepulchre in the borders of Benjamin d In the way to Bethlehem Gen. 35. 19. which City was in Iudah and her Sepulchre might be either in Iudah or in Benjamin for the possessions of those two Tribes were bordering one upon another and oft intermixed together See Ios. 18. 11. at Zelzah and they will say unto thee The asses which thou wentest to seek are found and lo thy father hath left ‡ Heb. the business the care of the asses and sorroweth for you saying What shall I do for my son 3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor e Not that at the foot of Mount Tabor which was far from these parts but another belonging to some other place or Man called Tabor and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel f Properly so called which was in Ephraim where there was a Noted High-Place famous for Iacob's Vision there Gen. 28. 19. where it is probable they Offered Sacrifices in this confused state of things when the Ark was in one place and the Tabernacle if not destroyed in another Or to the House of God i. e. to Kiriath-jearim where the Ark the habitation of God now was 1 Sam. 7. 1 2 16. one carrying three kids and another carrying three loaves of bread g Which might be Offered either by themselves as Levit. 2. 4. or with other Sacrifices and another carrying a bottle of wine h Which was poured forth in Drink-Offerings See Levit. 23. 13. Numb 15. 5. 4 And they will ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 of peâ—… salute thee and give thee two loaves of bread i Two of those three designed for Sacrifice supposing they could easily procure a supply of other Loaves at Bethel But the more strange the Present was the more fit it was for a sign of Gods extraordinary Providence in Saul's affairs which thou shalt receive of their hand 5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God k An Hill near Geba or Gibeah of Benjamin where a Garison of Philistines was 1 Sam. 13. 3. called here the Hill of God because it was a place Devoted to the Service of God either for Sacrifice this being an high place as it here follows or for a School or Colledge of Prophets where is the garison of the Philistines and it shall come to pass when thou art come thither to the city l Adjoyning to that Hill that thou shalt meet a company of prophets m By Prophets here and in such like places he understands Persons that did wholly Devote themselves to Religious studies and exercises such as Preaching Praying Praising of God c. For the term of Prophesying is not onely given to the most Eminent act of it viz. foretelling things to come but also to Preaching as Rom. 12. 6. 1 Cor. 14. 31 32. 1 Thess. 5. 20. and to the making or Singing of Psalms or Songs of Praise to God as 1 Chron. 25. 1 2 3. And they that wholly attended upon these things are oft called Sons of the Prophets which were commonly combined into Companies or Colledges as 2 King 2. 3 5. that they might more conveniently edify and assist one another in Gods work Which Institution God was pleased so far to Honour and Bless that sometimes he Communicated unto those Persons the knowledge of future things as 2 King 2. 3 5. coming down from the high place n Where either their habitation was or they had now been offering Sacrifice And although they used to perform this following exercise either in their Colledge or in the place of their Sacrifices yet now they did it in the descent of the Hill which probably was beside their Custome and therefore more proper for a sign to Saul of a more than ordinary hand of God towards him with a psaltery and a tabret and a pipe and a harp before them o Such Instruments of Musick being then used by Prophets and other persons for the exhileration and excitation of their spirits in Gods Service See 2 King 3. 15. and they shall prophesie p Either sing Gods Praises or speak of the things of God 6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee q Heb. will leap or rush upon thee to wit for a season So it may be opposed to the Spirits resting upon a man as Numb 11. 25. Isa. 11. 2. and thou shalt prophesie with them and shalt be turned into another man r i. e. Thou shalt be suddenly endowed and acted with another Spirit filled with skill of Divine things with Courage and Wisdome and Magnanimity and other qualifications befitting thy Dignity 7 And ‡ Heb. it shall come to pass that when these signs c. let it be when these signs s Which were certain evidences of Gods calling of him to
Jonathan cried after the lad Make speed haste stay not m So he bids him because finding the coast clear he made haste to take the opportunity to speak with his dearly beloved David And Jonathans lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master 39 But the lad knew not any thing onely Jonathan and David knew the matter 40 And Jonathan gave his ‡ Heb. instruments artillery n His Bow and Arrows and Quiver unto ‡ Heb. that was his his lad and said unto him Go carry them to the city 41 ¶ And assoon as the lad was gone David arose out of a place toward the south o In respect of the Stone where David by appointment hid himself and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times and they kissed one another and wept one with another until David exceeded p As well he might because he was driven away not onely from his dear friend Ionathan but also from his Wife and all his Relations and from the Common-wealth of Israel and from the Service of God as he complains below Chap. 26. 19. 42 And Jonathan said to David Go in peace ‖ Or the Lord â—…e witness of that which c forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the Name of the LORD saying The LORD be between me and thee and between my seed and thy seed for ever q Therefore doubt not but I will ever love thee and faithfully serve thee and the like I assure my self from thee and this must be our comfort in our state of Separation And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the City CHAP. XXI THen came David to Nob a A City of Priests as it is called Chap. 22. 19. Either 1. Because it was assigned to the Priests For though it be not expressed by this Name among their Cities Ios. 21. yet it might be one of those Cities there named by some other name which name might be changed or another new name added to the old for some reason now unknown as was very usual among the Hebrews compare 1 Chron. 6. Or 2. Because it was now inhabited by the Priests for the service of the Tabernacle which now was here as appears from v. 7 9. For as the Kings of Israel were to Consult with God's Oracle in all their weighty Affairs so they endeavoured to have it in or near their own Habitations Hence it was first carried by Ioshua to Shiloh in his Tribe of Ephraim and afterwards by David into his Tribe and City and now as it seems had been by Saul carried to Nob a City in the Tribe of Benjamin Neâ—… 11. 32. near to Anathoth 1 King 2. 26. Hither David resorted partly for a supply of his necessities which he supposed he might receive here without danger of being betrayed into Saul's hands and principally that in this great distress and his resolution of going out of the Kingdom he might seek and receive comfort and counsel from the Lord. to Ahimelech the priest b To wit the chief Priest brother to that Ahiah Chap. 14. 3. and he being now dead his successor in the Priest-hood for they were both sons of Ahitub 1 Sam. 14. 3. and 22. 11. and Also called 〈◊〉 Mar. 2. 26. Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David c Suspecting some extraordinary cause of his coming in such a manner and fearing the worst as men usually do in such cases and said unto him Why art thou alone and no man with thee d For though David had some servants and companions as is manifest from v. 4 5. and from Matt. 12. 3 4. whom Ionathan probably had sent to a place appointed to serve and guard him yet they were left at another place as David himself affirmeth v. 2. And David was now alone as also he was when he fled to Achish v. 10. 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest The King hath commanded me a business e This seems to be a plain lye extorted from him by fear and necessity But as it was officious for himself so it was pernicious to all the Priests there Whence David afterwards declares his Repentaâ—…ce for this sin of Lying Psal. 119. 29. and hath said unto me Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee and what Heb. to the 〈◊〉 of Peloni 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 a man 〈◊〉 4. 1. King 6. 8. 〈◊〉 3. 13. I have commanded thee and I have appointed my servants †to such and such a place f To a certain place which it is not material noâ—…â—…onvenient now to mention because the whole business 〈◊〉 concealment 3 Now therefore what is under thine hand g To wit in thy power and ready for thee to give and for me to take and eat give me five loaves of bread in mine hand or what ‡ other 〈◊〉 there is ‡ 〈◊〉 found present 4 And the priest answered David and said There is no common bread under mine hand h To wit here in the Tabernacle though doubtless he had enough of that and of other Provisions in his House but David was in great haste and in fear of Doeg whom he saw and knew there Chap. 22. 2â—… and therefore would not stay till any thing could be fetched thence but there is * 〈…〉 hallowed bread i The Shew-bread which was appropriated to the Priests of which see Exod. 25. 30. Levit. 24. 5. if the young men have kept themselves at least from women k Either from 〈◊〉 by Women which might be divers ways contracted or from Conjugal converse with their Wives which though it did not defile them yet he thought might debar them from the participation of such very Sacred things which he gathered by the Analogy of that Precept Exod. 19. 15. There was a double impediment to the giving of this Bread to them 1. It s Sacredness in its self which the Priest implies and David answers v. 5. and the Priest was satisfied therein by Davids extraordinary Occasions and great necessities 2. The Purity and Abstinence from all Women which he supposeth should be in those that use it concerning which he now enquires And though he mention this onely concerning David's young men and out of Modesty and Reverence to David forbears to name him yet he is also included in the number as Davids answer shews 5 And David answered the priest and said unto him Of a truth women have hâ—…en kept from us about these three days l As long as the Law required Exod. 19. 15. And so long David and his men had it seems hid themselves for fear of Saul in some of those Caves whereof there were many in those parts whereby they were kept both from all Converse with any other persons besides themselves and consequently from Women and withal from Food convenient for them since I came out m From the place
both men and women children and sucklings and oxen and asses and sheep with the edge of the sword 20 ¶ And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub named Abiathar m Who by his Fathers death was now High-Priest escaped and fled after David n To Keilah chap. 23. 6 7. 21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORDS priests 22 And David said unto Abiathar I knew it o His malice and ambition made me suspect that he would do it that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would surely tell Saul I have accasioned the death of all the persons of thy fathers house 23 Abide thou with me fear not for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life but with me thou shalt be in safeguard p Because God will certainly preserve me to the Kingdom which he hath promised and I by his help will protect thee CHAP. XXIII THen they told David a Or Now they had told David to wit before he heard of the slaughter of the Priests saying Behold the Philistines fight against Keilah b A City in the Tribe of Iudah Ios. 15. 44. not far from the Forest of Hareth where David now was chap. 22. 5. and they rob the threshing-floors c Which usually werewithout the Cities in places open to the wind See Iudg. 6. 11. Ruth 3. 2. c. 2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD d Either by Abiathar or rather by Gad who was a Prophet 2 Sam. 24. 11. and David's Seer 1 Chron 21. 9. and was now with David chap. 22. 5. for Abiathar was not yet come to him v. 6. saying Shall I go and smite these Philistines e For the case was both doubtful and new he having not yet made any attempt upon the Philistines but by Saul's Commission and dangerous because of the small number of his Forces And the LORD said unto David Go and smite the Philistines and save Keilah 3 And Davids men said unto him Behold we be afraid here in Judah f i. e. In this part of Iudah whereas yet we have no Army to oppose us for else Keilah also was in Iudah how much more then if we comâ—… to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines g When we shall have a Potent Enemy before us the Philistines and it may be another behind us even Saul who probably will come forth either to resist the Philistines or to intercept us 4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again h Not for his own but for his Soldiers satisfaction and encouragement as Gideon did Iudg. 7. And the LORD answered him and said Arise go down to Keilah for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand 5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattel i Which the Philistines had either brought out of their Land or had taken from the Israelites in their March for the sustenance of their Army and smote them with a great slaughter so David saved the inhabitants of Keilah 6 And it came to pass when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech * Chap. 〈◊〉 fled to David to Keilah that he came down with an ephod k Or with the Ephod to wit the High-Priests Ephod in which were the Urim and the Thummim Exod. 28. 30. which when Ahimelech and the rest of the Priests went to Saul were probably left in his hand and to his care which gave him the opportunity both of escaping whilst Doeg the Butcher was killing his Brethren and of bringing away the Ephod which Saul had oft grosly neglected and now was justly deprived of it in his hand 7 ¶ And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah and Saul said God hath ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 nâ—…ted him 〈◊〉 sold him delivered him into mine hand l He easily believed what he greedily desired though his own experience had oft shewed him how strangely God had delivered him out of his hands and what a singular care God had over him for he is shut in by entring into a town that hath gares and bars m So that which he chose for his safety will be his certain ruin 8 And Saul called all the people together to war to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men 9 ¶ And David knew that Saul secretly practised n Whereby it may seem he pretended that he raised this Army to defend Keilah and his Country from the Philistines and kept his intention against David in his own Breast Or designed or devised for so the word signifies and it is here Translated by many and it seems both from v. 8. and from his publickly avowed jealousie oâ—… and rage against David that he declared his design to be against him as a Traitor to his Crown and Dignity mischief against him and * Num. 〈◊〉 he said to Abiathar the priest Bring hither the ephod o And put it upon thee that thou maist ask Counsel of God for me 10 Then said David p To wit by the Priest for he was to make the enquiry of God Numb 27. 21. and David puts the words into his mouth O LORD God of Israel thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand q To wit if I continue in their City and if Saul come down Will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard O LORD God of Israel I beseech thee tell thy servant And the LORD said r From this place it may appear that Gods answer by Urim and Thummim was not by any change in the colour or situation of the precious Stones in the Brest-Plate of the Ephod but by a Voice or Suggestion from God to the High-Priest He will come down s i. e. He purposeth to come if thou continuest here For still as David's question so Gods answer is upon a supposition as is here sufficiently implied 12 Then said David Will the men of Keilah ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul And the LORD said They will deliver thee up t To wit if thou abidest there For God saw their hearts their purposes and passions their aversion from David and their affections to Saul and knew better than themselves what they would do in that case 13 ¶ Then David and his men which were about six hundred u Two hundred being added to his former number chap 22. 2. upon his last and great Success against the Philistines arose and departed out of Keilah and went whithersoever they could go x Hither or thither where they could find refuge or an hiding place and it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah and he forbare to go forth 14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds and remained
would punish them for no fault we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered save to every man his wife and his children that they may lead them away and depart 23 Then said David Ye shall not do so my brethren f He useth his Power and Authority to over-rule them but manageth it with all sweetness calling them Brethren not onely as of the same Nation and Religion with him but as his fellow-Soldiers with that which the LORD hath given us g What he hath freely imparted to us we should not unkindly and injuriously with-hold from our Brethren who hath preserved us and delivered the company that came against us into our hand 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter h What wise or just man will be of your opinion in this matter but * â—…ee Num. 31. as his part is that goeth down to the battel so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff they shall part alike i A prudent and equitable Constitution and therefore practised by the Romans as Polybius and others note The Reason of it is manifest because they were exposed to hazards as well as their Brethren and were a Reserve to whom they might retreat in case of a Defeat and they were now in actual Service and in the station in which their General had placed them 25 And it was so from that day ‡ Heb. and forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day 26 ¶ And when David came to Ziâ—…lag he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah k Partly in gratitude for their former favour to him and partly in Policy to engage their Affections to him now when he apprehended Saul's Death near even to his friends saying Behold a ‡ Heb. blessing present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD l He intimates that though he was fled to the Philistines yet he imployed not his Forces against the Israelites as no doubt Saul's Courtiers and Soldiers reported that he designed but onely against Gods Enemies 27 To them which were in Bethâ—…el m In Kiriath-jearim where the Ark was 1 Sam. 10. 3. and to them which were in * Iesh 19. 8. south-Ramoth n A City in the Tribe of Simeon Jos. 19. 8. so called by way of distinction from Ramoth in Gilead which was more Northward 1 King 22. 12. and to them which were in Jatter o Of which see Ios. 15. 48. 28 And to them which were in Aroer p Not that beyond Iordan Numb 32. 34. as many think which was too remote from David but another Place of that Name in Iudah where the rest of the Places here named were This being one of those places where David and his men were wont to haunt as is expressed v. 31. and to them which were in Siphmoth and to them which were in Eshtemoa 29 And to them which were in Rhachal and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites 30 And to them which were in Hormah and to them which were in Chor-ashan and to them which were in Athach 31 And to them which were in Hebron and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt q Or to go Whither they used to resort in the time of Saul's Persecution either to hide themselves in some of their Territories or to get Provision from thence CHAP. XXXI NOW * 1 Chron. 10. 1. the Philistines fought against Israel a Whilest David was Ingaged against the Amalekites So he returns to the History which had been interrupted to give an account of David's concerns and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down ‖ Or wounded slain in mount Gilboa 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons and the Philistines slew * 1 Chro. 8. 33. Jonathan b David's dear friend God so ordering it for the further exercise of David's Faith and Patience and that David might depend upon God alone for his Crown and receive it solely from him and not from Ionathan who doubtless had he lived would have speedily settled the Crown upon David's Head which would have in some sort Eclipsed the Glory of God's Grace and Power in this Work There was also a special Providence of God in taking away Ionathan who of all Saul's Sons seems to have been the fairest for the Crown for the preventing Divisions which have happened amongst the People concerning the Successor David's way to the Crown being by this means made the more clear and Abinadab c Called also Ishui 1 Sam. 14. 49. Ishbosheth was not here being possibly at home for the management of Publick Affairs there and Malchishua Sauls sons 3 And the battel went sore against Saul and the ‡ Heb. shooters men with bows archers ‡ Heb. found him hit him and he was sore wounded of the archers 4 Then said Saul unto his armour-bearer Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and ‖ Or mock me abuse me d Lest they take me and put me to some shameful and cruel Death But his armour-bearer would not for he was sore afraid therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it e And died of the Wound as it follows 5 And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead he fell likewise upon his sword and died with him 6 So Saul died with his three sons and his armour-bearer and all his men that same day together 7 ¶ And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley f To wit the Valley of Iezreel where the Battel was Fought and they that were on the other side Jordan g Or rather on this side Iordan for these were in the most danger and the Hebrew Preposition is indifferently used for on this side or for beyond saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons were dead they forsook the cities and fled and the Philistines came and dwelt in them 8 And it came to pass on the morrow when the Philistines came to strip the slain that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa 9 And they cut off his head h As the Israelites did by Goliah and stripped off his armour and sent into the land of the Philistines round about to publish it in the house of their idols i To give them the glory of this Victory and among the people 10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth and they fastned his body to the wall of Beth-shan 11 ¶ And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead k Which was beyond Iordan for the people on this side Iordan were fled from their Cities as was
Jonathan thou wast slain in thine high places t Which were in thy Country and had not thy Father disinherited thee by his Sins in thy Dominions 26 I am distressed for thee u i. e. For the loss of thee For besides the loss of a true Friend and all the comfort of friendship which is inestimable he lost him who both could and undoubtedly would have given him a speedy and quiet and sure Possession of the Kingdom whereas now he met with long and troublesome interruptions my brother Jonathan very pleasant hast thou been unto me thy love to we was wonderful passing the love of women x i. e. That Love wherewith they love their Husbands or Children for their Affections are usually more vehement and ardent than Mens 27 How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war y Either 1. Metaphorically so called to wit Saul and Ionathan and the brave Commanders and Soldiers of Israel who might have been called the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof Or rather 2. Properly for together with the Men their Arms were lost which was a very great aggravation of their loss and that loss seems to be at this time more irrecoverable and dangerous than the loss of their men perished CHAP II. AND it came to pass after this that David enquired of the LORD a By Urim as 1 Sam. 23. 6 9. and 30. 7 8. Thus David begins at the right end and lays his Foundation in Gods counsel and assistance which now he seeks saying Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah b He asketh not whether he should take the Kingdom for that was appointed and known before and he would not offend God nor dishonour his Ordinances with frivolous and unnecessary enquiries but onely where he should enter upon it whether in Iudab as he supposed because of his relation to that Tribe and his interest in it or whether in some other Tribe for he doth not limit God but resolves exactly to follow his Counsels And the LORD said unto him Go up And David said Whither shall I go up And he said Unto Hebron c Which was next to Ierusalem part whereof the Iebusites now possessed the chief City of that Tribe and a City of the Priests Iosh. 21. 10 c. and in the very center or middle of that Tribe to which the whole Tribe might speedily resort when need required 2 So David went up thither and his two wives also Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail Nabals Wife the Carmelite 3 And his men that were with him did David bring up every man with his houshold and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron d i. e. The Cities or Towns belonging and subject to Hebron which was the Metropolis Ios. 21. 11 12. For in Hebron it self there was not space for them all because it was filled with Priests and with David's Court. 4 And * 1 Mac. 2. 57. the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah e This they did upon just grounds because not onely the Kingdom was promised to that Tribe Gen. 49. 10. but David was Designed and Anointed by God whose will both they and all Israel were obliged to observe and obey And they Piously resolved not to neglect their Duty though they saw the other Tribes would Yet their prudent caution and modesty is observable That they make him King of Iudah onely and not of all Israel And therefore there was need of a Third Anointing to the Kingdom over all Israel which he had chap. 5. 3. But as for that First Anointing 1 Sam. 16. 13. it was onely a designation of the Person who should be King but not an actual Inauguration of him to the Kingdom and they told David saying That * â—… Sam. 31. 13. the men of Jabesh-Gilead were they that buried Saul 5 ¶ And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead and said unto them Blessed be ye of the LORD that ‡ Or because ye have shewed this kindness f This respect and affection to procure him Burial For as it is and ever was esteemed an act of inhumanity to deny Burial to the Dead so it is an act of mercy and kindness to Bury him unto your lord even unto Saul and have buried him 6 And now the LORD shew kindness and truth g i. e. True and real kindness not in words onely but also in actions as you have now done to your King the Lords Anointed unto you and I also will requite you this kindness h So far am I from being offended with you for this kindness to my late Enemy that I will requite it because ye have done this thing 7 Therefore now let your hands be strengthned and †be ye valiant i Be not afraid lest the Philistines should punish you for this Fact but take good courage I will defend you for your master Saul is ‡ Heb. be ye the Sons of valour dead k Or though your Master Saul be dead and so your hearts may faint within you as if you were now Sheep without a Shepherd and also ‡ Know this for your comfort that the house of Judah have anointed me king over them 8 ¶ But Abner the son of Ner l Partly out of envy and malice against David and partly out of his own ambition and desire of Rule because he knew that Ishbosheth would have onely the name of King whilst he had the power captain of ‡ Heb. the host which was Saul's Sauls host took ‖ Or Eshbaal 1 Chr. 8. 33. Ishbosheth m Called also Eshbaal 1 Chron. 8. 33. and 9. 39. It being usual with the Hebrews instead of Baal the name of false gods to put Bosheth which signifies shame or confusion or a shameful thing as appeareth by comparing Iudg. 9. 53. with 2 Sam. 11. 21. and 2 Sam. 4. 4. with 1 Chron. 8. 34. and from Ier. 3. 24. Hos. 9. 10. the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim n A place beyond Iordan whither he carried him partly to secure those Brave and Valiant Men of Iabesh-Gilead to himself and principally because this place was most remote from David and from the Philistines too and therefore here he might recruit his Forces with less disturbance than in other places 9 And he made him king over Gilead o Largely so taken for all the Land of Israel beyond Iordan as it is Ios. 22. 9. Iudg. 10. 8. and over the Ashurites p i. e. The Tribe of Asher as the Chaldee Paraphrast and others understand it and over Jezreel q A large and rich Valley scituate in the Borders of the Tribes of Zebulun Issachar and Napthali and so put Synecdochically for them all and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over all ‡ the rest of Israel r Except Iudah as it follows 10 Ishbosheth
speak unto the king for he will not withhold me from thee s This the spake either because she did not understand or not remember that the Law of God prohibited such Marriages between a Brother and his half-Sister or because she thought her Royal Father could or would dispense with it upon this extraordinary occasion to save his first-born Sons life or that by this pretence she might free her self from her present and most urgent danger knowing she should have opportunity enough to prevent other mischiefs 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice but being stronger than she forced her and lay with her 15 ¶ Then Amnon hated her ‡ Heb. with great hatred greatly exceedingly s Partly because his Lust being now satisfied his mind and conscience had a true and clear prospect and deep sense of the Natural turpitude and baseness of the action and of that shame and contempt and loss and mischief which was likely to follow it and consequently an utter aversion from her who had been the instrument and occasion of his sin and principally by the just Judgment of God both upon Amnon and David that so the sin might be made publick and way made for the succeeding Tragedies for otherwise it would probably produce Love and Kindness to her as it did in another Gen. 34. 2 3. especially in him whom both Nature and Interest and even Lust it self obliged to allay her grief and shame by all possible demonstrations of kindness so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her and Amnon said unto her Arise be gone 16 And she said unto him There is no cause ‖ To wit given thee by me this evil in sending me away is greater than the other t This she might truly say because though the other was in it self a greater sin yet this was an act of greater inhumanity and barbarous cruelty and a greater wrong and calamity to her which she means by evil because it exposed her to publick infamy and contempt as if she had been an impudent Strumpet and had either enticed him to the sin or at least consented to it and besides it turned a private offence into a publick scandal to the great dishonour of God and of his people Israel and especially of the Royal Family and was likely to cause direful passions and breaches and mischiefs among them that thou didst unto me but he would not hearken unto her 17 Then he called his servant that ministred unto him and said Put now this woman out from me and bolt the door after her 18 And she had a garment of divers colours u Of Embroidered work Compare Gen. 37. 3. up on her for with such robes were the kings daughters that were virgins apparelled Then his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her 19 ¶ And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment x To signify her grief for some Calamity which had befallen her and what that was concurring circumstances did easily discover of divers colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head y In token of grief and shame as if the were unable and ashamed to shew her face See Iâ—…r 2. 37. and went on crying z To manifest her abhorrency of the Fact and that it was not done by her consent 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee a i. e. Lien with thee Behold and imitate the modesty of Scripture-expressions but hold now thy peace my sister he is thy brother b Therefore thou must forgive and forget the injury therefore thy disgracing of him will be a blot to us all therefore thou wiltst not get right from David against him because he is as near and dear to him as thou therefore thy dishonour is the less because thou wast not abused by any mean person but by a Kings Son therefore this Evil must be born because it cannot be revenged And thus he covers his design of taking vengeance upon him at the first opportunity ‡ Heb. not thine heart regard not this thing c So as to torment thy self So Tamar remained ‡ Heb. and was desolate desolate d Neglected and forsaken by others none now seeking her in Marriage and through shame and dejection of mind giving her self up to solitude and retirement in her brother Absaloms house 21 ¶ But when king David heard of all these things he was very wroth e To wit with Amnon whom yet he did not punish at least so severely as he should either from the conscience of his own guilt in the like kind or from that foolish indulgence which he oft shewed to his Children or because the case was perplexed for if he had been put to death for the Fact by vertue of that Law Deut. 22. 23 24. she also who was innocent must have died with him because she did not cry out although indeed that Law did not reach the present case Tamar not being betrothed to an Husband and for the following Law concerning a Virgin not betrothed that could have no place here he could not force Amnon to Marry Tamar because that Marriage had been incestuous 22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad f i. e. He said nothing at all to him to wit about that business It is a Synecdochical expression used in like manner Gen. 31. 24. He neither debated it with him nor threatned him for it but seemed willing to cover it and pass it by with Brotherly kindness For if he had wholly forborn all discourse and converse with him it would have raised great jealousies in Amnon and David and hindred him in his intended and desired revenge for g Or rather but or though as the Hebrew Particle Chi commonly signifies for the following Clause is not added as a reason of the former but by way of exception or opposition Though he outwardly expressed no dislike of the Fact yet he inwardly hated him Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar 23 ¶ And it came to pass after two full years ‖ This circumstance of time is noted partly as an aggravation of Absalom's malice which was so inveterate and implacable and partly as an act of Absalom's policy that both Amnon and David might more securely comply with his desires as being now free from all suspition of revenge that Absalom * 1 Sam 〈◊〉 had sheep shearers h According to the manner of those ancient times when Princes did not give themselves up to sloth and luxury but spent their time and pains in some honest imploiment in Baal-Hazor which is besides Ephraim i Either First The City called Ephraim or Ephrem Ioh. 11. 54. Or Secondly The Tribe of Ephraim towards or nigh unto which this place was scituate and Absalom
came to the king and told him and when he had called for Absalom he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king and the king kissed Absalom k In testimony of his thorough Reconciliation to him Which Absalom did very ill requite as the next Chapter manifesteth CHAP. XV. AND it came to pass after this that Absalom * 1 King 1. 5. prepared him charets and horses and fifty men to run before him a As being the Kings eldest Son now Amnon was dead for Chileab who was his eldest Brother 2 Sam. 3. 3. was either dead or manifestly uncapable of the Government And this course he knew would draw the eyes and minds of people to him and make them conclude that David intended him for his Successor 2 And Absalom rose up early b Thereby making a shew of self-denial and diligence and solicitude for the good of the publick and of every private person as he had opportunity and stood beside the way of the gate c Either First Of the Kings Palace Or rather Secondly Of the City for that was the place of Judicature or Iudgment for which these Men came and it was so that when any man that had a controversie ‡ Heb. to 〈◊〉 came to the king for judgment then Absalom called unto him d Preventing him with the offers of his assistance and said Of what city art thou e As if he were ready to make particular enquiry into the state of his cause And he said Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel f Or rather of one City which word is easily understood out of the foregoing question of the tribes of Israel i. e. of an Israelitish City either this or that of such or such a City 3 And Absalom said unto him See thy matters are good and right g Upon some very flight hearing of their case he approved it that he might oblige all but ‖ Or none will hear thee from the King downward there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee h To wit none such as will do thee Justice The other Sons and Relations of the King and the rest of the Judges and Rulers under him and them are wholly corrupted and swayed by favour or bribes or at least not careful and diligent as they should be and my Father being grown in years is negligent of publick affairs leaving them wholly to their conduct 4 Absalom said moreover O that I were made judge in the land i For the King had onely restored Absalom to favour but thought not fit to put him into any place of Power and Trust. that every man k I should refuse no man and decline no pains to do any man good So he pretends to a very publick spirit which hath any suit or cause might come unto me and I would do him justice 5 And it was so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him l Putting on the Garb of singular humanity and good will to all men For that seems to have been a Ceremony in frequent use in those times of shewing respect as pulling off the hat and bowing or imbracing is at this day with us 6 And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel m i. e. He secretly and subrilly undermined his Father and robbed his Father of the good opinions and affections of his people that he might gain them to himself by such insinuations into their affections by his plausible and over-civil carriage 7 ¶ And it came to pass after forty years n Quest. Whence are these to be computed Ans. Not from Absalom's Birth for he was Born in Hebron some considerable time after David had begun his Reign 2 Sam. 3. 3. much less from the time of his Vow made or of his return from Banishment but either first from the time of David's election or designation to the Kingdom 1 Sam. 16. 13. Or Secondly From the beginning of Saul's Reign which being a Solemn time and observable for the change of the Government in Israel might very fitly be made an Epocha from which the computation or account of times begin as the Greeks and Romans began their accounts in the same manner and upon the same ground Or rather Thirdly From the beginning of David's Reign who Reigned 40 Years and so the words may be rendred about or towards the end of forty years i. e. in the beginning of the fortieth Year And so this very Phrase is used Deut. 15. 1. At the end of every seven years i. e. in the seventh Year even from the beginning of it as is manifest and confessed So in a like expression After three days will I rise again Mark 8. 31. i. e. on the beginning of the third day when Christ did rise the number of three days being then compleated when the third day is begun And the 40 Years are here expressed as one motive or inducement to Absalom to Rebel because now his Fathers end grew near and one of the Hebrew Doctors affirms that there was a tradition or rumour or prediction that David should Reign but 40 Years And Absalom might easily understand that David intended to decline him and to make Solomon his Successor as well by the conscience of his own wickedness and unfitness for so great a trust as by that eminent Wisdom and Piety which appeared in Solomon in his tender Years and that great respect and affection which his Father must needs have and manifest to him upon this account and by that Promise and Oath given to Bathsheba concerning his Succession mentioned 1 King 1. 30. but made before that time which also might come to Absalom's ear Against this opinion two things are Objected First That David was in the time of this Rebellion a strong Man for he Marched on Foot v. 30. whereas in his last Year he was very infirm and bed-rid Secondly That after this Rebellion was ended divers other things happened as the three Years Famine 2 Sam. 21. 1. and other things following in the History But it may be Answered to the first That David might in the beginning of his last Year have so much strength and vigour left as to March on Foot especially when he did so humble and afflict himself as it is apparent he did v. 30. and yet through his tedious Marches and the tormenting Cares Fears and Griess of his Soul for Absalom might be so strangely and suddenly impaired as in the end of the same Year to be very feeble and bed-rid it being a very common accident especially in old Men and upon extraordinary occasions to languish and decline exceedingly and to fall from some competent degree of health and vigour to be very infirm and bed-rid
for David d He that wisheth David good success against Sheba and against all Rebels Whereby he implies that though this Fact of his was done against the Kings Command yet it was for his Interest and Defence let him go after Joab 12 And Amasa wallowed e Heb. rolled himself being in the Pangs of Death yet having so much Life left as to move himself a little though not to raise himself up from his place in blood f In his own blood which was shed there in the midst of the high-way and when the man saw that all the people g To wit the Soldiers which were upon their March stood still h Wondering at the Spectacle and enquiring into the Author and occasion of it he removed Amasa out of the high-way into the field i Perceiving that it both incensed them against Ioab and hindred the Kings present Service and cast a cloth upon him when he saw that every one that came by him stood still 13 When he was removed out of the high-way all the people went on after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri ¶ 14 And he k Either 1. Ioab who pursued Sheba through all the Tribes as far as Abel Or rather 2. Sheba who was last mentioned who Marched from Tribe to Tribe to stir them up to Sedition and to him the following words seem best to agree went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel and to Beth-maachah l Or rather to Abel even to Bethmaachah i. e. unto Abel-beth-maachah as this place is called here in the Hebrew text ver 15. and 1 King 15. 20. 2 King 15. 29. to distinguish it from other Abels and to signifie that this was that Abel which was in the Tribe of Napthali in the Northern border of Canaan towards that part of Syria called Maachah 2 Sam. 10. 8. and all the Berites m Such as lived in the City or Territory of Beeroth of Benjamin Iosh. 18. 25. who being of the same Tribe if not City with Sheba and his greatest Acquaintance and Friends or being most Implacable against David adhered to Sheba and followed him through all the Tribes of Israel and they n to wit the Tribes of Israel i. e. a considerable Number of them as might well be expected when the discontents were so high and general were gathered together and went also after him o i. e. After Sheba 15 And they p i. e. Ioab and his Army which is easily understood both from the foregoing and following Verses came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah and they cast up a bank against the city q From whence they might either batter the Wall or shoot at those who defended it against them who should Assault it See 2 King 19. 32. Ier. 32. 24. and 33. 4. Otherwise they threw down the bank of the City which they had raised up to Defend the City on the weakest side and ‖ Or it stood against the outmost Wall it stood in the trench r i. e. The Bank stood in or near to the Trench or the Wall of the City so that the City was in great danger of being taken Otherwise the City stood within the Trench or Wall being Defended onely by a single Trench or a weak Wall the Bank which was raised up there to Defend it being thrown down and all the people that were with Joab †battered the wall to throw it down ‡ Heb. marred to throw down 16 ¶ Then cried a wise woman out of the city Hear Hear say I pray you unto Joab Come near hither that I may speak with thee 17 And when he was come near unto her the woman said Art thou Joab And he answered I am he Then she said unto him Hear the words of thine handmaid And he answered I do hear 18 Then she spake saying ‖ Or They plainly speak in the beginning saying Surely they will ask of Abel and so make an end They were wont to speak in old time saying They shall surely ask counsel at Abel and so they ended the matters s According to this Translation the sence is This City which thou art about to Destroy is no mean and contemptible one but so honourable and considerable for its Wisdom and the Wise People in it that when any differences did arise among any of the Neighbours they used Proverbially to say We will ask the Opinion and Advice of the Men of Abel about it and we will stand to their Arbitration and so all parties were satisfied and Disputes ended But there is another Translation in the Margent embraced also by some others which seems to be the best They i. e. The Citizens of this City plainly or commonly spake among themselves in the beginning to wit when Sheba and his Men first came into the City and they were informed That Ioab was pursuing him saying Surely they will ask of Abel and so make an end i. e. They will peaceably Expostulate the business with us and enquire Why we received Sheba into our City and whether we would deliver him up into their hands and would inform us of the reason of their Hostile Attempt upon us and offer to us Conditions of Peace which by Gods Law Deut. 20. 10. they were to do even to strange and much more to Israelitish Cities So she doth both modestly reprove Ioab for the neglect of his Duty and oblige him to the Performance of it 19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel t Or I to wit the City of Abel in whose Name and Person she speaks this am one of the peaceable and faithful Cities of Israel Whatsoever Sheba may design whom we have innocently received into our City before we well understood the matter We of this City abhor the thoughts of Warring and Rebelling against the King as having had no hand in Absalom's late Rebellion which is probable enough considering both their Scituation in the utmost Borders of the Land very remote from the Seat of that Civil War and their open Profession of their Peaceableness and Fidelity or Loyalty to the King which had been Impudent if they had been so lately Involved in the last War and Rebellion thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother u i e. A Mother City for great Cities are commonly called Mothers as lesser Towns or Villages subject to them and depending upon them for Direction and Defence are called their Daughters as Ezek. 16. 27 46. in Israel why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD x i. e. A considerable part of that Land which God hath chosen for his peculiar Possession The Destruction which thou art about to bring upon us is an injury also to Israel and to the God of Israel 20 And Joab answered and said Far be it far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy 21 The matter is not
26. 19. and to turn the hearts of the Egyptians to hate his people Psal. 105. 25. and to make men to err from his ways Isa. 63. 17. and to send strong delusions c. and to harden their hearts All which Expressions are not so to be understood as if God did work these sinful Dispositions which neither was necessary because they are naturally in every man's heart nor possible for the holy God to do but because he permits them and withdraws his grace and all restraints and hindrances from them and giveth occasions and advantages to them and directs their thoughts to such Objects as may indeed be innocently thought of which yet he knows they will wickedly abuse and give them up to Satan who he knows will deceive and entiâ—…e them to such and such Sins which being tempted to do by Satan and being effected by their own Wicked hearts he so orders and over-rules that they shall be Punishments for their former Sins against them c i. e. For Israels Punishment to say d Or saying For this may be referred either 1. to God of whom the same Expression is used 2 Sam. 16. 10. The Lord said to Shimei Curse David Which in both places is not to be understood of any command or impulse of God but of his secret Providence disposing things in manner here above expressed Or 2. to David he moved David to say to wit to Ioab as he did ver 2. Go number Israel and Judah 2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host which was with him ‖ Or Compass Go now through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba and number ye the people that I may know the number of the people e Which Expression points at David's Sin in this matter that he numbred them not by direction from God nor for any important business of the Church or Kingdom but out of meer curiosity and pride and vain-glory accompanied either with a secret distrust of God's Promise or rather with a carnal confidence in the Numbers of his People All which were great Sins and were so manifest that not onely God saw them and all the degrees and aggravations of them in David but even Ioab and the Captains of the Host were very sensible of them ver 3 4. 3 And Joab said unto the king Now the LORD thy God add unto the people how many soever they be an hundred fold and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing f What reason or necessity is there for this Action It is to no purpose and will be burdensome to thy People and may offend God and produce ill Effects 4 Notwithstanding the kings word prevailed against Joab g Ioab perceiving the King bent upon it would not hazard the King's favour by further disputing or disobeying his Command and against the captains of the host and Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel 5 ¶ And they passed over Jordan h They began their Computation in the Eastern part of David's Dominions which were beyond Iordan and pitched i Or encamped For Ioab carried with them divers of his Commanders and others partly for his Honour and the credit of the Work partly to assist him in that troublesom Work and partly to overcome the People in case they should Oppose it as sinful or burdensome or favouring of some Evil Design which David might have upon them in Aroer on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the ‖ Or Valley river of Gad k i. e. Of the River which lay in the Tribe of Gad or upon the borders of Gad and Reuben which was called Arnon Deut. 2. 36. and toward Jazer l Or near Iazer which also was upon the River Arnon 6 Then they came to Gilead m To Mount Gilead which lay Northward from Arnon and to the ‖ Or Nether land newly inhabited land of Tahtim-hodshi n A Place so called Or the low-land lately gained i. e. not given by Ioshua but taken lately from the Hagarens by Saul which was near Gilead 1 Chron. 5. 10. and they came to Dan Jaan o i. e. Probably the Famous City of Dan as it is called Iosh. 19. 47. Iudg. 18. 7. for this was in the Northern Border of the Land and in the way from Gilead to Zidon and about to Zidon p i. e. To the City and Territory of Zidon but not into it because it was not in the Power and Possession of the Israelites and the like it to be thought concerning Tyre and the Cities which the Hivites and Canaanites yet Possessed in the Neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon 7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites and they went out to the south of Judah even to Beer-sheba 8 So when they had gone through all the land they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days 9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand q Obj. In 1 Chron. 21. 5. They are Numbred 1100 thousand Answ. The sum here Expressed is onely of such as were not in the ordinary and settled Militia waiting upon the King which being 24000 for every Month as is largely related 1 Chron. 27. amounts to 288 Thousand which either with their several Commanders or with the Soldiers placed in several Garisons might very well make up 300 Thousand Or 288 Thousand may pass in such accounts for 300 Thousand it being frequent in such great Sums to neglect a smaller number But in the Book of the Chronicles which was to gather up the Fragments omitted in the former Books both sorts are put together and so they amount to 1100 Thousand valiant men that drew the sword and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand r In 1 Chron. 21. 5. but 470 Thousand Answ. Either 1. they were exactly no more but are called 500 Thousand in a round sum as is usual in Scripture and other Authors Or 2. the Garison-Soldiers and such as were imployed in other Services about the King are here included which are there excluded Or 3. They were 500 Thousand when Ioab gave up the Number to the King though presently after that they were but 470 Thousand 30000 being slain by the Plague in the Tribe of Iudah which being David's own Tribe it was but just and fit it should suffer more than the rest for this Sin And though it be true that Ioab gave up the Sum before the Plague begun yet the Sacred Penman of the Book of Chronicles thought fit to make a defalcation of them who had been swept away by the Plague that the Judgment of God therein
For Pharaoh king of Eggpt had gone up and taken Gezer a Not now but long before this time and presently after the Marriage of his Daughter as is most probable and it is here mentioned onely as the occasion of Solomon's Building it Possibly the Canaanites of this place had been guilty of some Hainous Crime and because Solomon thought not fit to destroy them himself he desired Pharaoh to do it for him or Pharaoh might offer his Service therein for his Daughters advantage and burnt it with fire and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the City and given it for a present unto his daughter Solomons wife 17 And Solomon built Gezer and Beth-horon the nether b In Benjamin Ios. 18. 13 14. and Bethoron the upper which is added 2 Chron. 8. 5. a City in the Tribe of Ephraim Ios. 16. 5. possibly bordering upon Benjamin and â—…igh unto the lower Bethoron which alone may be here mentioned either because it was the more famous place or be cause it needed more reparations 18 And Baalath c In the Tribe of Dan Ios 19. 40 44. and Tadmor d Supposed to be called Tamar Ezek. 47. 19. in the wilderness in the land e This Clause may belong either first to all the places above-mentioned which are here declared to be in the Land of Canaan But so that Clause may seem superfluous for none would easily think that he would Build much out of his own Land Or rather Secondly To Tadmor which otherwise being in that Wilderness which was the border of the Land might have been presumed to have been out of the Land 19 And all the cities of store f To lay up Arms and Ammunition for War and Corn or other Provisions against a time of scarcity See Exod. 1. 11. that Solomon had and cities for his charets and cities for his horsemen and ‡ Heb. the desire of Solomon which he desired that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon g Either in the Mountain of Lebanon which being the Border of his Land he might Build some Forts or a Frontier City in it Or in the House of the Forest of Lebanon of which see chap. 7. 2. and in all the land of his dominion 20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites Hittites Perizzites Hivites and Jebusites which were not of the children of Israel 21 Their children * Judg. 1. 21 27 29. that were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service h He used them as Bond-men and imposed Burdens and Bodily Labours upon them See 2 Chron. 2. 18. Hence some think they are called Solomon's servants Ezra 2. 55 58. Quest. Why did not Solomon destroy them as God had commanded when now it was fully in his power to do so Ans. First The command of destroying them Deut. 7. 2. did chiefly if not onely concern that Generation of Canaanites who lived in or near the time of the Israelites entring into Canaan Secondly That Command seems not to be Absolute and Universal but conditional and with some exception for those who should submit to them and embrace the True Religion as may be gathered both from Ios. 11. 19. and from the History of the Gibeonites Ios. 9. whom Ioshua did not sin in sparing when he had Sworn to do so and Saul did sin in indeavouring to destroy them But if Gods Command had been Absolute the Oaths of Ioshua and of the Princes could not have obliged them nor dispensed with such a Command unto this day 22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon * Lev. 25. 39. make no bond-men but they were men of war and his servants and his princes and his captains and rulers of his charets and his horsemen 23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomons work five hundred and fifty i Obj. They were onely 250 in 2 Chron. 8. 10. Ans. First Those might be Officers of another sort for they are not said to be over the work as these are but onely over the people Secondly The 250 were Israelites who are therefore distinctly mentioned in that Book where many things are more exactly noted than in the former and the other 300 were strangers who therefore are neglected in that more accurate account Or Thirdly There was but 250 at one time which is noted there and 250 at another time for it is apparent they did their work by turns and the other 50 either were Superior to all the rest or rather were a reserve to supply the place of any of the 500 when there was occasion which might frequently happen And so this was an act not unbecoming Solomon's Wisdom to make provision for Emergencies which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work 24 ¶ But * 2 Chr. 8. 11. Pharaohs daughter came up out of the city of David unto * Chap. 7. 8. her house which Solomon had built for her then did he build Millo 25 ¶ And three times in a year k i. e. At the three Solemn Feasts Which is not said exclusively as is evident both from 2 Chron. 8. 13. and from the express and oft-repeated Commands of God to offer at other times which it is absurd to think that Solomon not yet fallen into sin should so wickedly and scandalously neglect but because then he did it more Solemnly and more costlily and more publickly whereby it might be presumed that he did so at all other appointed times did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD and he burnt incense ‡ Heb. upon it upon the altar that was before the LORD so he finished the house l Or so he perfected the house to wit by applying it to the use for which it was made in which the perfection of such things consists Or the house may be put Metonymically for the Work or Service of the House as it is elsewhere commonly used for the things or persons in the House Or the words may be and are rendred thus After that for so the Hebrew Vau oft signifies as Isa. 37. 9 36. Hos. 1. 11. Zech. 12. 2. he finished the house i. e. From the time of the finishing of the House until this time he continued to do so 26 ¶ And * 2 Chr. 8. 17. king Solomon made a navy of ships m Not now in the order in which it is placed in the History but in the beginning of his Reign as appears because the Almug-trees which he used in this Work were brought in this Navy from Ophir chap. 10 11 12. 2 Chron. 9. 10 11. which was a three Years Voyage there ver 22. For Ophir and Tharsis were either the same place or one near to another in Ezion-Geber which is beside Eloth n on the ‡
10 c. king of Zobah k A part of Syria between Damascus and Euphrates of which see 1 Sam. 14. 47. 2 Chron. 8. 3. Psal. 60. 2. 24 And he gathered men unto him and became captain over a band l To wit of Soldiers who fled and dispersed themselves upon that Defeat 2 Sam. 10. and others who readily joyned themselves with them and lived by Robbery as many Arabians did * 2 Sam 8. 3. and 10. 18. when David slew them of Zobah and they m When they were increased in number and strength went to Damascus n And took it whilst Solomon was wallowing in Luxury and grown Effeminate and dwelt therein and reigned in Damascus 25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon o He was a secret Enemy watching all occasions to do them mischief cunningly and privately all that time and when Solomon had forsaken God and was forsaken by God he shewed himself more openly and maliciously beside the mischief that Hadad did p So the sense is This infelicity was added to the former concerning Hadad mentioned above v. 14 c. Whilst Hadad molested him in the South Rezon threatned him in the North. But some understand this of Hadadezer who is here called Hadad by way of abreviation which is not unusual in proper Hebrew names as is well known and that for or because of for the Hebrew Particle eth is sometimes put for el which oft signifies for or because of as Hebricians know the evil which befel Hadad or Hadadezer i. e. he bore a grudge against the Israelites from and ever since the slaughter that Ioab made in Hadadezer's Army whereof he was a member although he also took that occasion of making a defection from his Master and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria q Over all that part of Syria enlarging his Empire more and more and thereby laying a foundation for much misery to Solomon's House and Kingdom 26 ¶ And * 2 Chr. 13. 6 Jeroboam the son of Nebat an Ephrathite of Zereda Solomons servant whose mothers name was Zeruah a widow woman even he lift up his hand against the king r i. e. Rebelled against the King not now and immediately in the Person of Solomon himself but in his Son and Successor Rehoboam 27 And this was the cause that he lift up his hand against the king * Chap. 9. 24. Solomon built Millo and Heb. closed repaired the breaches of the city of David his father 28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour s Or a man of great strength of Body or courage of mind or both and Solomon seeing the young man that he Heb. did work was industrious s Ingenious and diligent and active and every way fit for business and for command he made him ruler over all the Heb. burden charge t i. e. The Taxes and Tributes which were to be gathered of the People by his Power and Authority of the house of Joseph u Either of Ephraim and Manasseh who were jointly comprehended under this name Ios. 17. 17. Or of Ephraim onely who elsewhere comes under that name as 1 Chron. 5. 1. Psal. 78. 67. Ezek. 37. 16. And it seems most probable that each Tribe had a several Ruler 29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem x Upon some occasion possibly to execute his charge that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way and he had clad himself with a new garment and they two were alone in the field y Having gone aside thither for some private conference for otherwise it is most likely that he had Servants attending upon him who though they heard not the words yet might see the action and the rending of Ieroboam's Coat and thus it came to Solomon's ears who being so acute and wise could easily understand the thing by what he heard of the action especially when a Prophet did it 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him and * See 1 Sam. 15. 27. and 24. 5. rent it in twelve pieces 31 And he said to Jeroboam Take thee ten pieces z Whence the Kingdom of Israel is oft called the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes by which expression it may seem that David's Posterity should have one Tribe reserved out of the Kingdom of Israel besides that of Iudah which because of its greatness and eminency is commonly distinguished from Israel and that not onely after the division of the two Kingdoms but even before it as 1 Sam. 11. 8. and 2 Sam. 5. 5. for * Ver. 11. thus saith the LORD the God of Israel Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee 32 But he shall have one tribe a See the Notes above on v. 13. for my servant Davids sake and for Jerusalems sake the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel 33 Because that they b i. e. The King and his Concubines and People who easily followed his example but were not at all excused by it have forsaken me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians Chemosh the god of the Moabites and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon and have not walked in my ways to do that which is right in mine eyes and to keep my statutes and my judgments as did David his father 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom c To wit of Israel that which I have designed for thee Or rather I will not take any thing or part of the kingdom For the Hebrew Phrase lo col which properly signifies not all or not the whole doth usually signify not any thing as Deut. 8. 9. thou shalt not want every thing i. e. not anything So also Gen. 4. 15. and 23. 6. and 39. 23. Psal. 49. 18. and 143. 2 c. out of his hand d He shall possess it whilst he lives as it follows and therefore thou shalt not yet attempt to invade it but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servants sake whom I chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes e Whereby he sheweth that he doth not judgâ—… of men by some particular acts but by their general â—…purpose and course of life 35 But * Chap. 12. 1â—… I will take the kingdom out of his sons hand and will give it unto thee even ten tribes 36 And unto his son will I give one tribe that * 2 King â—…â—… David my servant may have a ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 or candâ—…e light f i. e. A Son and Successor to preserve his name and memory and to give Light to the people in his stead Kings are oft called Lights partly from their great Splendor and partly for the Counsel and
Family neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse s So they call David in contempt q. d. Rehoboam hath no reason to carry himself with such Pride and Contempt toward his People for if we trace his Original it was as mean and obscure as many of ours And since he abuseth his Power let us reduce him to his former Obscurity to your tents O Israel t i. e. Let us all forsake him and go to our own homes there to consider and then to meet and conclude how to provide otherwise for our selves now see to thine own house David u i. e. Govern thy own Family for thou shalt no longer Rule over us Thus they brake out into Actual Rebellion against him whom God had made their Lawful Soveraign wherein though they fulfilled God's Counsel yet they Violated his Authority and Command And they do again make an opprobrious mention of David whom they should not have named without Honour So Israel departed unto their tents 17 But * Chap. 11. 32. as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah x By which Phrase he principally understands the Tribe of Iudah but withal those parts and parcels of the Tribes of Levi and Simeon and Benjamin whose dwellings were within the Confines of Iudah or intermixed with them Rehoboam reigned over them 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram who was over the tribute y Him he sent either 1. To pacifie the People and promise them Relief now when it was too late But then he would not have sent a person so ungrateful to the People as that sort of men use to be Or rather 2. To pursue the Counsel which he had resolved upon and to execute his Office and exact their Tribute with Rigor and Violence if need were and all Israel stoned him with stones that he died therefore king Rehoboam ‡ Heb. strengthned himself made speed to get him up to his chariot to flee to Jerusalem z From Shechem where it seems he yet staid and his Guards and friends with him that being there in the midst of his Kingdom and among the Seditious Tribes he might over-awe them by his Presence and repress any Tumults in their first rise 19 So Israel ‖ Or fell away rebelled a Their Revolt is called Rebellion and therefore was sinful because it was contrary to God's Authority and Command of subjection to David and his Seed for ever from which the People were not freed by God's Promise and Grant made to Ieroboam which was but a Secret Transaction not yet sufficiently Revealed to them and was not a grant of present and actual Possession but onely a Promise That God would give it to him in his own time and way which might have been done though neither Ieroboam nor the People had used these indirect and evil Courses to bring it about as it befel David upon the same occasion Besides the People did not this in compliance with God's Counsel but to gratifie their own Passions and get themselves a little ease against the house of David unto this day 20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again b To wit from Egypt which was known before to the chief of the Tribes and to them who met at Shechem and now was more universally known by all the People that they sent c To his Tent or Habitation to which he had retired himself as others also generally did see above ver 16. and called him unto the congregation d Which was summoned by the Elders of the several Tribes to take advice how to settle their Affairs which they easily agreed to do by conferring the Crown upon Ieroboam according to God's Promise made to him and made him king over all Israel there was none d i. e. No intire Tribe See on Chap. 11. 13 31 32. that followed the house of David but the Tribe of Judah * Chap. 11. 〈◊〉 onely 21 And * 2 Chrâ—… 11. 1. when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin e i. e. That part of it which was next to Iudah and joyned with them See on Chap. 11. 13. an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men which were warriours to fight against the house f i. e. The Families or Tribes for these Words are promiscuously used one for the other of Israel of Israel to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon 22 But * 2 Chroâ—… 〈◊〉 2. the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God g i. e. The Propher so called partly to distinguish him from others of that Name See Nehem. 6. 10. Ier. 29. 31. And partly to add the more weight to his words saying 23 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people saying 24 Thus saith the LORD Ye shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel return every man to his house for this thing is from me h This event is from my Counsel and Providence to punish Solomon's Apostacy though they procured it by sinful means and therefore if you proceed you must fight with me as well as them They hearkned therefore to the word of the LORD i Either from conscience of their duty or because they durst not oppose so Potent an Adversary and returned to depart according to the word of the LORD 25 ¶ Then Jeroboam built Shechem k i. e. He repaired and enlarged and fortified it for it had been ruined long since Iudg. 9. 45. He might chuse it as a place both auspicious because here the Foundation of his Monarchy was laid and commodious as being near the Frontiers of his Kingdom in mount Ephraim and dwelt therein and went out from thence and built Penuel l A place beyond Jordan of which see Gen. 32. 30. Iudg. 8. 17. to secure that part of his Dominions 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart m i. e. Reasoned within himself The Phrase discovers the Fountain of his Error That he did not consult with God who had given him the Kingdom as in all reason and â—…ustice and gratitude he should have done nor believed God's Promise Chap. 11. 38. but his own imaginations and carnal policies Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David 27 If these people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their LORD n Which in it self might seem a prudent conjecture for this would give Rehoboam and the Priests and Levites the sure and faithful friends of David's House many opportunities of alienating their minds from him and of reducing them to their former Allegiance But considering God's Providence by which the hearts of all
15. 29. and more fully 2 King 17. 6. because they have made their groves h For the Worship of their Idols Exod. 34. 13. Deut. 16. 21. God having before condemned the making and worshipping of the Calves by which they designed or pretended to Worship the True God he now takes notice that they were not contented with the Calves but as it is the nature of Idolatry and all sin to proceed from evil to worse were many of them fallen into another and a worse kind of Idolatry even their worship of the Heathenish Baals which they commonly exercised in Groves See on 1 King 18. 19. provoking the LORD to anger 16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam who did sin and who made Israel to sin i To wit by his invention and making of the occasion of their sin the Calves by his example by encouraging those and onely those that worshipped the Calves and by his Authority requiring and compelling them to do it This is mentioned as a monstrous aggravation of his wickedness that he was not content with his own sin but was the great Author and chief cause of drawing others into sin and of corrupting and undoing the whole Kingdom which therefore God would never forgive him nor forget him but upon all occasions mentions him with this Eternal brand of infamy upon him 17 ¶ And Jeroboams wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah k An Ancient and Royal City Ios. 12. 24. in a pleasant place Cant. 6. 4. where the Kings of Israel had a Palace chap. 15. 33. and 16. 6 8 23 24. whither Ieroboam was now removed from Shechem either for his pleasure or for his Sons recovery by the healthfulness of the place and when she came to the threshold of the door l To wit of the Kings House which probably was upon or by the Wall of the City and near the Gate which was the place of Judicature See v. 12. the child died 18 And they buried him and all Israel mourned for him according to the word of the LORD which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam how he warred and how he reigned behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel m Heb. in the book of the words or things of the days c. By which you are not to understand that Canonical Book of the Chronicles for that was written long after this Book but a Book of Civil Records the Annals wherein all remarkable passages were Recorded by the Kings command from day to day out of which the Sacred Penman by the direction of Gods Spirit took out those passages which were most considerable and useful for Gods Honour and Mens Edification 20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years So he lived till Asa's second year chap. 15. 25. and he ‡ Heb. lay down slept with his fathers o Either First He was Buried with his Ancestors But their Sepulchre seems to be too mean and improper for a great King and Kings use to be Buried in peculiar Sepulchres Or Secondly He died as his Fathers did and Nadab his son reigned in his stead 21 ¶ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah 2 Chr. 12. 13. Rehoboam was forty and one years old p Therefore he was born a year before Solomon was King as appears from 1 King 11. 42. This is noted as an aggravation of Rehoboam's folly that he was old enough to have been wiser when he began to reign and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem the city which the LORD did chuse out of all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there and his mothers name was Naamah an Ammonitess q A People Cursed by God and shut out of the Congregation of his People for ever Deut. 23. 3. Neh. 13. 1. This is observed as one cause both of Gods displeasure in punishing Solomon with such a Son and of Rehoboam's Apostacy after his three first years 2 Chron. 11. 17. 22 And Judah did evil r After a little time 2 Chron. 11. 17. in the sight of the LORD and they provoked him to jealousie with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done 23 For they also s They followed the example of the Israelites although they were better instructed and had the Temple in their Kingdom and liberty of access to it which was denied to the Israelites and the priviledge of Worshipping God in his own way and the Counsels and Sermons and Examples of the Priests and Levites to teach and stablish them and the dreadful example of Israel's horrid Apostacy to caution and terrify them built them high places t Which was unlawful and now especially when the Temple was Built and ready to receive them unnecessary and therefore expressed a greater contempt of God and his express Command to the contrary and ‖ Or standing images or statues images and groves u Not only after the manner of the Heathens and Israelites but against a direct and particular prohibition on every high hill and under every green tree x The People were universally corrupted which is a prodigious all things considered and is a clear evidence of the greatness and depth of the Original corruption of Mans nature which without Gods Grace is ready to break forth into all sorts of wickedness 24 And there were also Sodomites y i. e. Males who prostitured their Bodies to the filthy Lusts of others of whom see on Deut. 23. 17. who also did this in the worship and to the honour of their Idols as also the Women did Numb 25. 1 2. And this might be one occasion of so great a spreading of Idolatry among the Lustful Israelites And on the other side God doth frequently punish Idolatry with Corporal uncleanness Rom. 1. 21 28. See 1 King 15. 12. and 22. 46. 2 King 23. 7. in the land and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel 25 ¶ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam z Presently after his and his Peoples Apostacy which was not till his fourth year when the Apostatical Israelites enjoyed Peace and some kind of Prosperity at first for many Years together of which difference two reasons may be given First That Iudah's sins were committed against clearer Light and more powerful means and remedies of all sorts and therefore deserved more severe and speedy Judgments Secondly That God discovered more Love to Iudah in chastizing them speedily that so they might be humbled and reformed and so graciously preserved as it happened and more anger against Israel that he spared them and by their impunity hardned and ripened them to that total destruction which he intended to bring upon
when he was in distress and going to fight with Ieroboam 2 Chron. 13. though afterwards he did not perform his Vows nor bring in what he had Devoted whether because he was prevented by Death or because he afterwards relapsed to Idolatry as may seem probable from the 12 Verse of this Chapter and the things which himself had dedicated into the house of the LORD silver and gold and vessels 16 ¶ And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days u So long as they two Lived and Reigned together Which is not so to be understood as if there were a solemn and declared War continuing all that time for Asa was quiet in a great measure for his first ten years 2 Chr. 14. 1. till the Israelites had recovered themselves from that dreadful blow given them by Abijam 2 Chron. 13. and Baasha began to Reign in Asa's third Year but so that there were many private and particular Hostilities practised among them in which sense the same Phrase is used chap. 14. 30. 17 And 2 Chr. 16. 1. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah x Perceiving Asa's great success of which see 2 Chron. 14 and 15. and the defection of many of his own Subjects to him upon that occasion 2 Chron. 15. 9. he began to bestir himself and commenceth a War against him and built y i. e. Repaired and Fortified Ramah z A City of Benjamin which either belonged to the Kingdom of Israel from the division as some other places of that Tribe are supposed to have done of which see on 1 King 11. 13. or belonged to Iudah but was now Invaded and taken by Baasha and Fortified that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah a Therefore he chose this place because it was in the way from his Kingdom to Ierusalem and as some add in or near the straits of the Mountains where they could easily discover and hinder all Passengers that way 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left b These poor remainders which either Shishak had left at that time chap. 14. 26. or Abijam or Asa or others both of Israel and Iudah had dedicated which probably was not inconsiderable because Asa had got great spoils from Zerah 2 Chron. 14. and he and his numerous and prosperous People did at this time express a great Zeal for the House and Worship of God in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the kings house and delivered them into the hand of his servants and king Asa sent them to * 2 Chr. 16. 2. Benhadad c Wherein he committed three great faults amongst many others First he Alienated things Consecrated to God without necessity Secondly He did this out of Carnal fear and distrust of that God whose Power and Goodness he had lately experienced Thirdly He did this for an ill intent to hire him to the breach of his League and Covenant with Baasha v. 19. and to take away part of that Land which by Right and the special Gift of God belonged to the Israelites the son of Tabrimon the son of Hezion king of Syria that dwelt at Damascus saying 19 There is a league between me and thee and between my father and thy father d Whereby it appears that albeit he was an adversary to Israel all Solomon's days chap. 11. 25. yet after the division of the Kingdoms of Israel and Iudah he was in League with both of them either because his designs lay upon the enlargement of his Empire other ways or rather because he thought it his Wisdom and Interest to leave them to themselves to undo one another by their intestine Wars and so to prepare the way to his Conquest of both whereas his Invading of either of them might have made up the breach and forced them to unite against their common Enemy And therefore as soon as he was free from this fear and one of them needed and earnestly desired his help against the other he gladly embraced the opportunity behold I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel that he may ‡ Heb. go up depart from me e That being called to defend himself he may be forced to depart from my Territories 20 So Ben-hadad hearkned unto king Asa and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel and smote Ijon and Dan and Abel-beth-maachah and all Cinneroth f The Northern parts of Baasha's Kingdom which were nearest to his own Kingdom of Damascus and most remote from those parts where Baasha was now employed which were in the most Southern parts of his Dominions with all the land of Naphtali 21 And it came to pass when Baasha heard thereof that he left off building of Ramah and dwelt in Tirzah g Now the Royal City of Israel See chap. 14. 17. There he abode to defend his own Kingdoms and durst not return to oppose Asa lest the Syrian King should make a second and worse Invasion So Asa met with success in his ungodly course as on the other side good men sometimes meet with disappointment in a good cause and course So there is no judging of Causes by Events 22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah none was ‡ Heb. free exempted All sorts of Persons were obliged to come except those who were disenabled by age or infirmity or absence or by the publick service of the King and Kingdom in other places and they took away the stones of Ramah and the timber thereof wherewith Baasha had builded and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah h i. e. Repaired and strengthned them for they were built before See Ier. 41. 9. Quest. Why did he not rather perfect the Fortifications of Ramah which Baasha had begun Ans. Because Baasha might have returned and recovered it afterwards and he thought it most convenient that there should be no City nor Fort in that place 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah Nevertheless i Notwithstanding the great things which he had done and the glory and prosperity which he enjoyed he felt the effects of humane infirmity and of his own sins of which see 2 Chron. 16. 12 13. in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet 24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father and * 2 Chr. 1â—… â—… Matth. 1. 8. called Joâ—…phat Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead 25 ¶ And Nadab the son of Jeroboam ‡ Heb. reiâ—…d began to reign over Israel in the
king of Judah the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah at Beth-shemesh and came to Jerusalem x Commanding entrance in Amaziah's name and with his consent which he durst not deny and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim y Which led to Ephraim unto the corner-gate four hundred cubits z Which was done partly in scorn and contempt and partly that he might re-enter and re-take it if they should attempt to renew the War 14 And he took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the kings house and hostages a To assure their peaceable carriage towards him and returned to Samaria b He did not keep Ierusalem nor seek to gain the possession and dominion of that Kingdom partly because he thought he could not keep it considering the difficulty he found in keeping his own from such potent and near Enemies as the Syrians were and the great affection which 〈◊〉 Iudah bare to David's House and partly because God so inclined his heart that he might make good his promue to David and his Family 15 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead 17 ¶ And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years 18 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah 19 Now * 2 Chr. 25 27. they i. e. The People or the Princes and chief men among them possibly those whose Sons he had delivered up as Hostages to Iehoash with the connivence if not approbation of the People as appears because the desigâ—… was carried on openly and steddily and irresistibly as the following words shew made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish c A strong City in Iudah towards the Philistines Of which see Ios. 10. 31. and 15. 39. 2 King 19. â—… but they sent after him d Either secret Murderers or rather bands of Soldiers for this Rebellion was carried on by strong hand and open force Compare 2 King 12. 20. and 15. 10 15. to Lachish and slew him there 20 And they brought him on horses e Or with horses to wit in a Chariot and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David 21 ¶ And all the people of Judah took * Chap. 15. 13. 2 Chron. 26. 1. he is called Uzziah Azariah which was sixteen years old and made him king in stead of his father Amaziah f Which they did either in opposition to the conspirators or to shew their affection to the House of David and that their quarrel was onely personal against Amaziah whom they looked upon as the Author of all their late Calamites This Azariah is called Uzziah 2 King 15. 30. 2 Chron. 26. 1. both names signifying the same thing for substance that Gods help and this Gods strength 22 He built Elath g i. e. Repaired and Fortified it for it was built before Deut. 2. 8. and restored it to Judah h From whom it had revolted with the rest of Edom in which Land this place was upon the Red-Sea after that the king i i. e. His Father Amaziah who did not perfect his Conquest of Edom but left some work for his Son slept with his fathers 23 ¶ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria and reigned forty and one years 24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin 25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entring of Haâ—…nath k Which was the Northern border of the Kingdom of Israel Numb 13. 21. and 34. 8. unto the sea of the plain l i. e. Unto the dead Sea which once was a goodly plain Gen. 13. 10. which was their Southern border according to the word of the LORD God of Israel which he spake by the hand of his servant * Matth. 22. 39 40. called Jonas Jonah m Or Ionas one of the small Prophets though this Prophecy of his be not Recorded there and thereâ—…re it is remembred here the son of Amittai the prophet which was of Gath-Hepher 26 For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel that it was very bitter n Whereby he was moved to pity and help them though they were an unworthy people for there was not any shut up nor any left o See of this Phrase on Deut. 32. 36. 1 King 14. 10. and 21. 21. nor any helper for Israel 27 And the LORD said not o i. e. Not yet he had not yet declared this as afterwards he did by the succeeding Prophets though not in those words See Hos. 1. 5 6 9. that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash 28 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might how he warred and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath which belonged to Judah ‡ For Israel p These were Cities of Syria but were taken from the Syrians by David and Solomon 2 Sam. 8. 6. 2 Chron. 8. 3. and probably by them incorporated with and added to the possessions of their own Tribe to which from that time they belonged but afterwards they were re-taken by the Syrians and were now recovered by this Ieroboam are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers even with the kings of Israel and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead CHAP. XV. IN the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel a Quest. How can this be true seeing Amaziah the Father of this Azariah lived onely till the 15th Year of Ieroboam's Reign chap. 14. 2 23 Ans. This might be either First Because Ieroboam was made King by and Reigned with his Father eleven or twelve Years and afterwards Reigned alone and so there is a twofold beginning of his Kingdom by the former this was his 27 Year and by the later his 15th Year Or Secondly Because there was an inter-Reign for eleven or twelve Years in the Kingdom of Iudah either through the prevalency of that Faction which cut off Amaziah the Father and kept the Son out of his Kingdom or because Azariah was
of it Cities and Countries are oft called Mothers as 2 Sam. 20. 19. and their Inhabitants Daughters as Numb 21. 25. Iosh. 17. 16. Iudg. 1. 27. Psal. 45. 13. and 137. 8. hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee y Laughed at all thy proud and impotent Threatnings This is a Gesture of Contempt and Derision of which see Psal. 22. 7. and 44. 13. Ier. 18. 16. Matt. 27. 39. 22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice z By Rabshakeh who cryed with a loud voice Chap. 18. 28. and lift up thine eyes on high a A Gesture of Pride and Scornfulness Pro. 21. 4. even against the holy One of Israel b Not against man but against the Holy God who will not suffer thy Impious Blasphemies to go unpunished and against the holy one of Israel who hath a special relation and kindness to Israel having as it were set himself apart for them and set them apart for himself as being at this time the God of the Iews onely and not the God of the Gentiles whom as yet he suffered to walk in their own evil ways Act. 14. 16. And therefore he will Plead their Cause against thee 23 By ‡ Heb. By the hand of c. thy messengers c So thou hast advanced thy very Servants above me thou hast reproached the LORD and hast said With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains d I have brought up my very Chariots to those Mountains which were thought inaccessible by my Army to the sides of Lebanon e An high Hill famous for Cedars and Fir-trees here following and will cut down ‡ Heb. the tallness c. the tall cedars thereof and the choice fir-trees thereof f This may be understood either 1. Mystically I will destroy the Princes and Nobles of Iudah which are sometimes compared to cedars c. Or their strongest Cities Or rather 2. Literally I will cut down the Trees that hinder my March and plain and prepare the way for all my Numerous Army and Chariots And by this one Instance he intimates That nothing should stand in his way no not the highest and strongest Places and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders g i. e. Those Towns and Cities which he calls Lodgings in way of Contempt which are in his utmost Borders and most remote from me I am come into the Land of Canaan at one Border Lebanon and I resolve to March on to the other extreme Border and so to Destroy the whole Countrey from one Border to another the borders of a Land being oft put for the whole Land within its Borders as Exod. 8. 2. Psal. 74. 17. and 147. 14. Isa. 54. 12. Or as it is in the Hebrew into the lodging of his border for which in the Parallel place Isa. 37. 24. it is into the height of his border And so this may be understood of Ierusalem which it is not probable that in all his brags he would omit and against which his chief Design now lay which he here calleth a lodging for its contemptible smallness if compared with his great and vast City of Niniveh or as it is in Isa. 37. the height for its Two famous Mountains Zion and Moriah or for the Mountains which were round about Ierusalem Psal. 125. 2. and he adds of his border because this City was in the Border of Iudah as being part of it in the Tribe of Benjamin and near the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes which was now in the Assyrians hands and into the ‖ Or the forest and his fruitful field forest of his Carmel h i. e. The Forest of Mount Carmel which may seem to be another Inaccessible Place like Lebanon Or into his forest and his fruitful field For Carmel though properly it was a pleasant and fruitful Mountain in the Tribe of Issachar of which see Iosh. 12. 22. yet it is oft used to signifie any fruitful place as is manifest from Isa. 10. 18. and 16. 10. Ier. 2. 7. And thus all the parts of the Land are here enumerated the Mountains the Cities the Woods and the Fruitful Fields Or his fruitful forest to wit Ierusalem which is thought by many Interpreters to be called a Forest Ier. 21. 14. Ezek 20. 46. a name which agrees well enough to Cities where Buildings are very numerous and close and high like Trees in a Forest And if Ierusalem might be called a Forest it might well be called Hezekiah's Carmel or Fruitful Place because his Chief Strength and Treasure and Fruit was now in it and this last Word may seem to be added here to intimate That this was not like other Forests unfruitful and barren And so both this and the foregoing words are understood of the same place even of Ierusalem the last Branch being joyned to the former by way of Apposition into the lodging of his border the forest of his Carmel or his fruitful Forest there being no more words in the Hebrew Text. 24 I have digged and drank strange waters i Such as were never discovered nor used by others And therefore all thy indeavours to deprive me of Water for my Army 2 Chron. 32. 3. are Idle and Fruitless and * Deut. 11 1â—… with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of ‖ Or fenced besieged places k And as I can furnish my Army with Water digged out of the Earth by their Labour and my Art so I can deprive my Enemies of their Water and can dry up their rivers and that with the sole of my feet i. e. With the March of my Vast and Numerous Army who will easily do this either by Marching thorough them and each carrying part away with them or by Drinking every one a little of them or by their Pains making many new Channels and deriving the Waters of the River into them as Cyrus dried up Euphrates and thereby took Babylon 25 ‖ Or Hast thou not heard how I have made it long ago and formed it of ancient times should I now bring it to be laid waste and fenced cities to be ruinous heaps Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it and of ancient times that I have formed it l Hast thou not long since learned that which some of thy Philosophers could and did teach thee That there is a Supreme and Powerful God by whose Decree and Providence all these Wars and Calamities were sent and ordered whose meer Instrument thou art so that thou hast no cause for these vain Boastings This Work is mine more than thine Or as it is in the Margent of our Bibles Hast thou not heard that a Particle oft understood I have made i. e. Constituted or Purchased or Adorned for all these ways is this Hebrew Verb used
Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead 49 And when Shaul was dead Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead 50 And when Baal-hanan was dead ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Gen. 36. 〈◊〉 Hadad reigned in his stead and the name of his city was ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Gen. â—…6 〈◊〉 Paâ—… and his wives name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mezahab 51 Hadad died also And the * 〈…〉 Dukes of Edom were Duke Timna Duke Aliah Duke Jetheth 52 Duke Aholibamah Duke Elah Duke Pinon 53 Duke Kenaz Duke Teman Duke Mibzar 54 Duke Magdiel Duke Iram These are the Dukes of Edom. CHAP. II. 1 THese are the sons of ‖ 〈…〉 Israel * 〈…〉 Reuben Simeon Levi and Judah Issachar and Zebulun 2 Dan Joseph and Benjamin Naphtali Gad and Asher 3 The sons of * 〈…〉 Judah a Whom he puts first because the best part of the Right of the First-born to wit the Dominion was conferred upon him Gen. 49. 8. and because the Messiah was to come out of his Loyns Er and Onan and Shelah which three were born unto him of the daughter of * 〈…〉 Shua the Canaanitess And Er the first-born of Judah was evil in the sight of the LORD and he slew him 4 And * 〈…〉 Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah All the sons of Judah were five 5 The Sons of * 〈…〉 Pharez Hezron and Hamul 6 And the Sons of Zerah ‖ 〈…〉 Zimri * 〈…〉 and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and ‖ 〈…〉 Dara b If these be the same who are mentioned as the Sons of Machol 1 King â—…4 31. Either the same Man had two Names Zerah and Machol as was usual among the Hebrews Or one of these was their immediate Father and the other their Grandfather five of them in all 7 And the sons of Carmi c Who is here mentioned because he was the Son of Zimri who is also called Zabdi Ios. 7. 1. ‖ 〈…〉 Achar d Called Achan Ios. 7. 1. and here Achar with a little variation for greater significancy For Achar signifies a Troubler the troubler of Israel who transgressed in the thing * 〈…〉 accursed 8 And the sons of Ethan Azariah 9 The sons also of Hezron that were born unto him Jerahmeel and ‖ 〈…〉 Ram and ‖ 〈…〉 Chelubai 10 And Ram * 〈…〉 begat Amminadab and Amminadab begat Nahshon prince of the children of Judah 11 And Nahshon begat Salma and Salma begat Boaz 12 And Boaz begat Obed and Obed begat Jesse 13 * 〈…〉 And Jesse begat his first-born Eliab e Called also Elihu 1 Chron. 27. 18. unless that was another person and the word Brother be taken more largely for a Kinsman as it is frequently used and Abinadab the second and ‖ 〈…〉 Shimma the third 14 Nethaneel the fourth Raddai the fifth 15 Ozem the sixth David the seventh f For though he had eight Sons 1 Sam. 16. 10. one of them either died presently after that time or is neglected for some reason now unknown as others are See the Notes on Mat. 1. 8 9. 16 Whose sisters were Zerujah and Abigail And * 〈…〉 the sons of Zerujah Abishai and Joab and Asahel three 17 And Abigail bare Amasa and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite g By Birth or Habitation but by Profession an Israelite 2 Sam. 17. 25. where see my Notes 18 And Caleb the son of Hezron h Not that Caleb Numb 13. 6. for he was the Son of Iephunâ—… of whom he speaks Ch. 4. 15. but another Caleb †begat children Heb. gâ—…t wâ—…th 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Azubah his wife and of Jerioth her sons i i. e. The Sons either 1. of Ierioth she being last mentioned Or rather 2. of Azubah who is by way of distinction called his Wife when 〈◊〉 probably was onely his Concubine and as it may seem 〈◊〉 And therefore upon Azubah's death he married another Wife v. 19. And those other Sons of this Caleb mentioned below v. â—…2 are his Sons by some other Wife distinct from all these are these Jesher and Shobab and Ardon 19 And when Azubah was dead Caleb took unto him Ephrath which bare him Hur. 20 And Hur begat Uri and Uri begat * Exod. 31. â—… Bezaleel 21 And afterward Hezron went in k i. e. Lay with her as that Phrase is commonly used as Gen. 4. 〈◊〉 6. 4. to the daughter of * 〈…〉 Machir the father of Gilead l Of a Man so called Or if Gilead be the Name of that known Country Father is put for Head or Governour as it is used 1 Sam. 24. 11. 2 King 5. 13. 16. 7. Isa. 22. 21. Or for Protectour or Curatour as Father is used Iob 29. 16. Ier. 2. 2â—… 〈◊〉 â—… 3. This Man being a Man of noted Valour and the Great Champion in those Parts whom he †married m Heb. And he took her to wit to Wife Or After he had taken her For so the Particle vau is used as hath been formerly noted when he was n Heb. And he was to wit when he went in unto her Or when he married her threescore years old and she bare him Segub 22 And Segub begat Jair who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead o Which he had though he was of the Tribe of Iudah as 〈◊〉 we see because he married a Daughter of Manasseh Num. â—…6 29. whence he is called a Son of Manasseh Numb 32. 41. Deut. â—… 14. And because being a Man of great Courage he joyned himself 〈◊〉 that half Tribe in subduing Gilead wherein he acted so Valâ—…ntly and Successfully that he had 23 Cities or great Towns given to him to possess or dispose off or rather to Rule over them 〈◊〉 have some Advantage from them As a King is said to have his Kingdom although he hath not the propriety of all the Lands and Houses in it 23 * 〈…〉 And he took p Or For he had taken So this is the Reason why he had so great a Territory and Jurisdiction given to him Geshur and Aram q Two Cities or great Towns so called with the towns of Jair r i. e. With those 23. Cities which he is 〈◊〉 to have v. 22. from them s i. e. From the former Inhabitants which is easily understood with Kenath t Which was taken by Nobah one of Iairs Commanders sent by him to take it as may be gathered from 〈◊〉 32. 41 42. and the towns thereof even threescore cities all these belonged to the sons of Machir u Partly to his own Sons and partly to his Son-in-law Iair who by reason of that dear Affection which was 〈◊〉 them and his forsaking his own Tribe and Kindred to 〈◊〉 for them and to dwell with them is here reckoned as his own Son the
Mered as may seem by comparing this with v. 18. Miriam and Shamma and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa 18 And his wife a Either Ezra's Wife or rather another Wife of Mered. ‖ Or the Iewesâ—… Jehudijah b Or the Iewess so called to distinguish her from his Egyptian Wife here following bare Jered the father of Gedor and Heber the father of Zocho and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah And these c To wit Miriam and the rest following v. 17. are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh d Either 1. of Pharaoh King of Egypt For Mered might be a Person of great Estate and quality Or this might be onely Pharaohs Illegitimate Daughter Or of some other Egyptian or Israelite called by that Name which might easily happen upon divers occasions which Mered took 19 And the sons of his wife ‖ Or Iehudijah mentioned before Hodiah e His third Wife the sister of Naham the father of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maachathite 20 And the sons of Shimon f Another Son of the Father of Keilah mentioned v. 19. were Amnon and Rinnah Ben-hanan and Tilon And the sons of Ishi g son of Tilon last mentioned were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth 21 The sons of Shelah h Having treated of the Posterity of Iudah by Pharez and by Zare he now comes to his Progeny by Shelah of whom see Gen. 38. * Gen. 38. 1 5. the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah and Laadah the father of Mareshah and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen of the house of Ashbea 22 And Jokim and the men of Chozeba and Joash and Saraph who had the dominion in Moab i Which they ruled in the name and for the use and service of the Kings of Iudah to whom Moab was Subject from Davids Time Or who had Possessions in Moab or who married Wives in Moab and Jashubi-lehem And ‖ Or But. these are ancient things k The Sence is either 1. These Persons and things were in Ancient Times and therefore it is not strange if now they be so little known But that might have been with equal truth said of divers other parts of this Account Or rather 2. But those Blessed times and Things are long since past and gone Our Ancestors then had the Dominion over the Heathen but their degenerate Posterity are now Slaves to them in Chaldea Persia c. where they are employed as Potters or Gardiners or in other Servile Works 23 These were l Or rather these are for he seems to oppose their present Servitude to their former Glory and to shew their low and mean Spirits that had rather tarry among the Heathen to do their Drudgery than return to Ierusalem to serve God and enjoy their Freedom the Potters and those that dwelt amongst plants and Hedges there they dwelt m Or tarrâ—…ed or now dwell when their Brethren are returned with the King n Of Babylon or Persia Esteeming it a greater Honour and Happiness to serve that Earthly Monarch in the meanest Employments than to serve the King of Kings in his Temple and in his most Noble and Heavenly Work for his work 24 The sons of Simeon o These are here joyned with Iudah because their Possession was taken out of Iudahs Portion Ies. 19. 1. This Account seems to differ from that Gen. 46. both in the Number and Names of the Persons which is not strange considering how Customary it was amongst the Hebrews for one Person to have 2 or 3 Names given to him upon several occasions And for Ohad Gen. 46. 10. he may be omitted here because he left no Posterity or Family after him as the rest did were ‖ Or Ieâ—…uel Gen. 46. 10. Exod. 6. 15. Nemuel and Jammi Jarib Zerah and Shaul 25 Shallum his son p i. e. Son of Saul last mentioned Mibsam his son Mishma his son 26 And the sons of Mishma Hamuel his son Zacchur his son Shimei his son 27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters but his brethren had not many children neither did all their family multiply †〈…〉 like to the children of Judah q The Tribe of Simeon did not increase proportionably to the Tribe of Iudah in which they dwelt as appears by those two Catalogues Numb 1. 22. 26. 14. Which is to be ascribed to Gods Curse upon them delivered by the Mouth of Holy Iacob Gen. 49. and signified by Moses his neglect of them when he Blessed all the other Tribes 28 And they dwelt at * 〈…〉 Beer-sheba r This and the following Cities are mentioned Ios. 19. 2 c. with no great Alterations and Moladah and Hazar-shual 29 And at ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Josh. 19. â—… Bilhah and at Ezem and at ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Josh. 19. â—… Tolad 30 And at Bethuel and at Hormah and at Ziklag 31 And at Beth-marcaboth and ‖ 〈…〉 Hazar-susim and at Beth-birei and at Shaaraim These were their cities unto the reign of David c Either 1. of Davids Posterity i. e. as long as the Kingdom of Iudah lasted or until the Captivity of Babylon But this seems not to be true for Simeon was gone into Captivity with the rest of the Ten Tribes long before that time Or rather 2. of David himself And this may seem to be added because some of these Cities though given to Simeon by Ioshua yet through the Sloth or Cowardize of that Tribe were not taken from the Philistins until Davids Time who took some of them and the Simeonites having justly forfeited their Right to them by their neglect gave them to his own Tribe For it is evident concerning Ziklag one of them that it was in the Philistins Hands in Davids Time and by them given to him and by him annexed to the Tribe of Iudah 1 Sam. 27. 6. 32 And their villages were ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Josh 19. â—… Etam and Ain Rimmon and Tochen and Ashan five cities 33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities unto ‖ Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Josh 19. â—… Baal These were their habitations and ‖ 〈…〉 their genealogy 34 And Meshobah and Jamlech d These and the rest here following are particularly mentioned for their Valiant and Successful Atchievements related v. 39 c. and Joshah the son of Amaziah 35 And Joel and Jehu the son of Josibiah the son of Serajah the son of Asiel 36 And Elioenai and Jaakobah and Jeshohajah and Asajah and Adiel and Jesimiel and Benajah 37 And Ziza the son of Shiphi the son of Allon the son of Jedajah the son of Shimri the son of Shemajah 38 These e Named v. 34 35 36 37. †Heb. 〈◊〉 mentioned by their names were princes in their families and the house of their fathers †〈…〉 increased greatly f Which forced them to seek for new and larger Habitations
e. of their Country contained within its Borders as that word is oft used as hath been noted before out of the tribe of Ephraim 67 * Josh. 21. 21. And they n Either the Ephraimiter or rather the Children of Israel as it is expressed v. 64. who gave part out of Ephraim and part out of the half-tribe of Manasseh as it here follows But the Ephâ—…aimites could not give away any Cities belonging to the Manassites gave unto them o i. e. To the residue of the Kohathites last mentioned of the cities of refuge p Or the cities i. e. the City the plural Number used of one of which frequent Examples have been given before see ch 7 3 12 14. of refuge Or cities the construct form being put for the absolute of which there wants not Examples in the Hebrew Language the City of refuge As to the Names of these Cities divers of them are differing from those Names which were given to them Ios. 21. 15. Nor is it at all strange that the Names of Places should be changed in so many hundreds of years as were between Ioshua and this time And to the Cities themselves this is further to be observed that they are dispersed among all the Tribes partly that Iacobt Prophecy might be fulfilled concerning the scattering of Levi Gen. 49. 7. and partly that every Tribe might have Teachers among them by whom they might be directed in and quickned to the observation of Gods Laws upon which their safety and happiness wholly depended Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs they gave also Gezer with her suburbs 68 And * Seâ—… 〈◊〉 22 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where 〈◊〉 these 〈◊〉 have 〈◊〉 names Jokmeam with her suburbs and Beth-horon with her suburbs 69 And Ajalon with her suburbs and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs 70 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Aner with her suburbs and Bileam with her suburbs for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath 71 Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with her suburbs and Ashtaroth with her suburbs 72 And out of the tribe of Issachar Kedesh with her suburbs Deberath with her suburbs 73 And Ramoth with her suburbs and Anem with her suburbs 74 And out of the tribe of Asher Mashal with her suburbs and Abdon with her suburbs 75 And Hukok with her suburbs and Rehob with her suburbs 76 And out of the tribe of Naphthali Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs and Hammon with her suburbs and Kirjathaim with her suburbs 77 Unto the rest of the children of Merari â—…rt given out of the tribe of Zebulun Rimmon with her suburbs Tabor with her suburbs 78 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho oâ—… the east-side of Jordan were given them out of the tribe of Reuben Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs and Iahzah with her suburbs 79 Kedemoth also with her suburbs and Mephaath with her suburbs 80 And out of the tribe of Gad Ramoth iâ—… Gilead with her suburbs and Mahanaim with her suburbs 81 And Heshbon with her suburbs and Iazer with her suburbs CHAP. VII 1 NOw the sons of Issachar were * Gen. 〈◊〉 1â—… Numb 〈◊〉 Tola and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Puah Jashub a called by way of contraction Iob Gen. 46. 13. and Shimron â—…our 2 And the sons of Tola Uzzi and Rephajah and Jeriel and Jahmai Jibsam and Shemuel heads of their fathers house to wit of Tola they were valiant men of might in their generations * 2 〈◊〉 1 2. whose number was in the days of David b When he numbred the People 2 Sam. 24. 1 c. two and twenty thousand and six hundred 3 And the sons c For the son for he names buâ—… one Son of Uzzi Izrahiah and the sons of Izrahiah Michael and Obadiah and Joâ—…h Ishiah five d Including their father Izrahiah all of them chief men 4 And with them by their generations after the house of their fathers were bands of souldiers for war six and thirty thousand men e To wit of the Posterity of Uzzi as the other 22600 v. 2. were the Posterity of Tobah for they had many wives and sons 5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were men of might reckoned in all by their genealogies four score and seven thousand 6 The sons of * 〈◊〉 16. 21. Benjamin Bela and Becher and Jediael three f They were Ten Gen. 46. 21. and five of them are named ch 8. 1. but here onely three are mentioned either because these were most Eminent for Courage or Fruitfulness or because the other Families were now extinct 7 And the sons of Bela Ezbon and Uzzi and Uzziel and Jerimoth and Iri five heads of the house of their fathers g Each of them Head or Chief or Commander of that House or Family from which he was descended or to which he belonged For it may seem by comparing this with ch 8. 3 c. that these were not the immediate sons of Belah but his Grandchildren descended each from a several Father and their Fathers are here omitted peradventure because they were obscure persons as their sons are mentioned for their Eminency mighty men of valour and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four 8 And the sons of Becher Zemira and Joash and Eliezer and Elioenai and Omri and Jerimoth and Abiah and Anathoth and Alameth All these are the sons of Becher 9 And the number of them after their genealogy by their generations heads of the house of their fathers mighty men of valour was twenty thousand and two hundred 10 The sons also of Jediael Bilhan and the sons of Bilhan Jeush and Benjamin and Ehud and Chenaanah and Zethan and Tarshish and Ahishahar 11 All these the sons of Jediael by the heads of their fathers mighty men of valour were seventeen thousand and two hundred souldiers fit to go out for war and battel 12 Shuppim also and Huppim h Called Muppim and Huppim Gen. 46. 21. also Hupham and Shupham Numb 26. 39. the children of 〈◊〉 1. Ir and Hushim the sons of ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 16. 18. Aher i But divers take the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 for a Common not Proper Name and render the words thus â—…uther son or the son of another Family or Tribe to wit of Dan as may be gathered 1. from Gen. 46. 23. where Hushim is mentioned as the onely Son of Dan where also the word sons is used of that one Man as it is here 2. From the Clause of the next Verse the sons of Bilhah who was Mother both to Dan and Napthali 3. Because otherwise the Genealogy of Dan is quite left out 4. From the word another which is used in the Hebrew Writers to design an Abominable thing which the Writer disdained to mention whence they call a Swine which to
place for thy dwelling for ever 3 And the king turned his face and blessed the whole congregation of Israel and all the congregation of Israel stood 4 And he said Blessed be the LORD God of Israel who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David saying 5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in that my name might be there neither chose I any man to be * â—… Sam. 6. 21. Chr. 28. 4. a ruler over my people Israel 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there and have chosen David to be over my people Israel 7 Now * 2 Sam. â—… 2. Chr. 28. 2. it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel 8 But the LORD said to David my father Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my Name thou didst well in that it was in thine heart 9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins he shall build the house for my Name 10 The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken for I am risen up in the room of David my father and am set on the throne of Israel as the LORD promised and have built the house for the Name of the LORD God of Israel 11 And in it have I put the ark wherein is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the children of Israel 12 And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands 13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold of five cubits †〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… long and five cubits broad and three cubits high and had set it in the midst of †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the court and upon it he stood and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven 14 And said O LORD God of Israel * 〈◊〉 15. 11. 〈◊〉 3. 24. there is no God like thee in the heaven nor in the earth which keepest covenant and shewest mercy unto thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart 15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him and spakest with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thine hand as it is this day 16 Now therefore O LORD God of Israel keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him saying * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 12. 1 〈◊〉 24. 〈◊〉 †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if 〈◊〉 132. 12. There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me 17 Now then O LORD God of Israel let thy word be verified which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David 18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 49. Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee how much less this house which I have built 19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication O LORD my God to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee 20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy Name there to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 towards this place 21 Hearken therefore unto the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel which they shall †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 make towards this place hear thou from thy dwelling place even from heaven and when thou hearest ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gr. forgive 22 If a man sin against his neighbour †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear and the oath come before thine altar in this house 23 Then hear thou from heaven and do and judge thy servants by requiting the wicked by recompensing his way upon his own head and by justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness 24 And if thy people Israel ‖ Or be smitten be put to the worse before the enemy because they have sinned against thee and shall return and confess thy Name and pray and make supplication before thee ‖ Or towardâ—… in this house 25 Then hear thou from the heavens and forgive the sin of thy people Israel and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers 26 When the * 1 Kin 17. 1. heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee yet if they pray towards this place and confess thy name and turn from their sin when thou dost afflict them 27 Then hear thou from heaven and forgive the sin of thy servants and of thy people Israel when thou hast taught them the good way wherein they should walk and send rain upon thy land which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance 28 If there * Ch. 20. 9. be dearth in the land if there be pestilence if there be blasting or mildew locusts or caterpillars if their enemies besiege them †Heb. in the land of their gates in the cities of their land whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be 29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man or of all thy people Israel when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief and shall spread forth his hands ‖ Or towards this house in this house 30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place and forgive and render unto every man according unto all his ways whose heart thou knowest for thou onely * 1 Chr. 28. 9. knowest the hearts of the children of men 31 That they may fear thee to walk in thy ways †Heb. all the days which so long as they live †Heb. upon the face of the land in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers 32 Moreover concerning the stranger * Joh. 12. 20. Act. 8. 27. which is not of thy people Israel but is come from a far country for thy great Names sake and thy mighty hand and stretched out arm if they come and pray in this house 33 Then hear thou from the heavens even from thy dwelling place and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for that all people of the earth may know thy Name and fear thee as doth thy people Israel and may know that †Heb. thy name
some for Baal and some for the True God whom he pretended and would be thought to worship in and by the Calves which he had made 16 And after them out of all the Tribes of Israel such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel f Such as loved and feared God in truth and with their whole Heart came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong three years for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon g This honourable mention of Solomon as a Pattern of Piety is a considerable Evidence of his true Repentance before his death of which see more on 1 King 11. 43. 18 And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth to wife and Abihail the daughter of Eliab h He declared him his Successor and gave him the Dominion over his Brethren wherein if he was not the First-born as it seems to be implyed because this is mentioned as an Effect of his Superlative Love to his Mother he transgressed that Law Deut. 21. 15 16. unless God was pleased to dispence with it at this time the son of Jesse 19 Which bare him children Jeush and Shamariah and Zaham 20 And after her he took * 1 Kin. 15. 2. She is called Michaiah the daughter of Uriel Chap. 13. 2. Maachah the daughter of Absalom which bare him Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith 21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubins for he took eighteen wives and threescore concubins and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters 22 And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief to be ruler among his brethren i Lest his other Sons should after his death unite their Counsels and Forces together against Abijah he wisely dispersed them into several and distant Places and under pretence of honouring them with the Government of them he made them Prisoners in a sort appointing several persons to observe their motions and prevent their Combinations for he thought to make him king 23 And he dealt wisely and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin unto every fenced city k Agreeable to their Quality that their Restraint might be more easie to them and he gave them victuals in abundance and desired †Heb. a multitude of wives many wives l Either 1. for his Children Or rather 2. for himself by comparing this with v. 21. CHAP. XII 1 ANd it came to pass when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself * 1 Kin. 14. 22. he forsook the law of the LORD and * Ch. 11. 3. 28. 19. all Israel with him 2 And it came to pass that in the fifth year a Presently after the Apostacy of the King and People which was in his fourth year by comparing this with ch 11. 17. of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem * 1 Kin. 14. 24 25. because they had transgressed against the LORD 3 With twelve hundred chariots and threescore thousand horsemen and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt the Lubims b A People of Africa bordering upon Egypt of whom see ch 16. 8. Dan. 11. 43. Nah. 3. 9. the Sukkiims c A People living in Tents as the Word signifies and such there were not far from Egypt both in Africa and in Arabia and the Ethiopians d Either those beyond Egypt or the Arabians 4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah and came to Jerusalem 5 Then came Shemajah the prophet to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak and said unto them Thus faith the LORD Ye have forsaken me and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak 6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and they said The LORD is righteous 7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves e Which though they did but forcedly yet God was pleased so far to regard it as to mitigate their Calamity the word of the LORD came to Shemajah saying They have humbled themselves therefore I will not destroy them but I will grant them ‖ Or a lâ—…ttle while some deliverance and my wrath shall not be poured out f I will give some stop to the course of my Wrath which was ready to be poured forth upon them to their utter Destruction upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak 8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries g That they may experimentally know and feel the Difference between my Yoke and the Yoke of a Foraign and Idolatrous Prince and what Mischief they have done to themselves by forsaking me and my Service 9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the kings house h Upon which Condition and Rehoboams Submission to him he delivered up to him the fenced Cities of Judah which he had taken v. 4. But of this and the two next verses see on 1 Kin. 14. 26 c. he took all he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had * 1 Kiâ—… 10. 16. Ch. 9. 15. made 10 Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard that kept the entrance of the kings house 11 And when the king entred into the house of the LORD the guard came and fet them and brought them again into the guard-chamber 12 And when he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him that he would not destroy him altogether ‖ Or and yet in Iudah there werâ—… good things and also in Judah things went well i Heb. There were good things The meaning is either 1. Though there were many Corruptions in Judah yet there were also divers good things there which were not in Israel as the Word and Ordinances and pure Worship of God Prophets and Ministers of Gods Institution and divers truly Religious People And so this is an additional Reason why God would not destroy them Or 2. Notwithstanding this loss they began to recruit themselves and to regâ—…in some degree of their former Prosperity Whence it follows v. 13. So there being some respite given and Peace being restored Rehoboam strengthened himself c. 13 So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned for * 1 Kiâ—… 14. 21. Rehoboam was one and sorty years old when he began to reign and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of
Kingdom of the Ten Tribes for an hundred talents of silver 7 But there came a man of God to him saâ—…ing O king let not the army of Israel go with thee for the LORD is not with Israel c He hath forsaken them and for their sakes will cursâ—… thy Forces if thou joynest thy self with them to wit with all the children of Ephraim 8 But if thou wilt go do it be strong for the battel d Take Courage and strengthen thy self as much as thou canst It is an Ironical Concession like that Go and prosper God shall make thee fall before the enemy for God hath power to help and to cast down 9 And Amaziah said to the man of God But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the †Heb. hand army of Israel And the man of God answered The LORD is able to give thee much more than this 10 Then Amaziah separated them to wit the army that was come to him out of Ephraim to go †Heb. to 〈◊〉 place home again wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah e Because they were both disgraced by this Rejection and disappointed of that Prey and Spoil which they hoped to gain whereas now they were sent away empty for the 100 Talents probably were given to their Officers onely to raise Men for this Service that Sum being otherwise too small to be distributed into so many hands and they returned home †Heb. in heaâ—… of anger in great anger 11 And Amaziah strengthened himself and led sorth his people and went to the valley of salt and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand 12 And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry captive and brought them away unto the top of the rock and cast them down from the top of the rock that they were broken all in pieces 13 But †Heb. the sons of the band the souldiers of the army which Amamaziah sent back that they should not go with him to battel fell upon the cities of Judah from Samaria even unto Beth-horon f To wit Beth-horon the Lower which was in the Tribe of Benjamin and from thence to Samaria either 1. to the City of Samaria for the Kings of Judah had taken divers Places within the Kingdom of Israel Or 2. To the Kingdom of Samaria Beth-horon and all other Places between that City and their own Kingdom and smote g i. e. Killed as that word is generally understood three thousand of them h Not 3000 Cities but 3000 Persons dwelling in them who possibly opposed them in taking the Spoil which was the Thing they sought and took much spoil 14 Now it came to pass after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites that he brought the gods of the children of Seir and set them up to be his gods and bowed down himself before them and burned incense unto them 15 Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah and he sent unto him a prophet which said unto him Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand i Therefore thou art not onely ungrateful and impious but also ridiculously foolish in offending that God whose Power and Goodness thou hast now found and in worshipping such gods of whose Impotency thou hast had late Experience 16 And it came to pass as he talked with him that the king said unto him Art thou made of the the kings counsel k Who art thou that presumest to direct and govern my Affairs without my Commission forbear why shouldest thou be smitten l Provoke me no further lest I cause thee to be killed for thy Sawciness Then the prophet forbare and said I know m This he might know either by the plain and positive Rules of Gods Word as Prov. 29. 1. or by the Suggestion of Gods Spirit that God hath †Heb. counselled determined to destroy thee because thou hast done this and hast not hearkned unto my counsel 17 Then * 2 Kin. 14. 8. Amaziah king of Judah took advice n i. e. About the Injury which the Israelites had done to his People v. 13. and how he should repair it But of this and the following Verses see on 2 King 14. 8 c. and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel saying Come let us see one another in the face 18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah saying The ‖ Or furbush or thorn thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon saying Give thy daughter to my son to wife and there passed by †Heb. a beast of the field a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trode down the thistle 19 Thou sayest Lo thou hast smitten the Edomites and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast abide now at home why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt that thou shouldest fall even thou and Judah with thee 20 But Amaziah would not hear for * Ch. 22. 7. it came of God o Who gave him up to his own Errour and Passion in order to his Ruine that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies because they â—…ought after the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash the king of Israel went up and they saw one another in the face both he and Amaziah king of Judah at Beth-shemesh which belongeth to Judah 22 And Judah was †Heb. smitten put to the worse before Israel and they fled every man to his tent 23 And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz at Beth-shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to †Heb. the gate of it that looketh Ch. 26. 9. the corner-gate four hundred cubits 24 And he took all the gold and the silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom p i. e. With Obed-edoms Posterity to whom the Custody of the Sacred Treasures was committed See 1 Chron. 26. 15. and the treasures of the kings house the hostages also and returned to Samaria 25 And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah first and last behold are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel 27 Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away †Heb. from after from following the LORD they †Heb. conspired a conspiracy made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish but they sent to Lachish after him and slew him there 28 And they brought him upon horses and buried him with his fathers in the city
sufficient for those Offerings which were comparatively few ch 29. v. 32 33 34. neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem g As they used and ought to do at that time from all places which now they could not do because neither the thing was agreed upon nor the People summoned thither till the proper time was past 4 And the thing †〈…〉 pleased the king and all the congregation 5 So they established a decree h They fixed this Resolution to make proclamation throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem h They fixed this Resolution for they had not done it †〈…〉 of a long time in such sort as it was written i i. e. So as God had commanded them to do it to wit That all the Males in Israel should do it Which Express Command of God they ought to have obeyed rather than the Wicked Commands or Edicts of Men to the contrary which was both the Judgment and Practise of the Priests and Levites and other godly Israelites as is manifest from 2 Chron. 15. 8 c. 6 So the posts went with the letters †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah and according to the commandment of the king saying Ye children of Israel turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham Isaac and Israel and he will return to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hands of the kings of Assyria k To wit Pul and Tilgath-pilneser who had carried their Brethren away Captives 2 King 15. 19 29. 1 Chron. 5. 26. 2 Chron. 28. 20. 7 And be not ye like your fathers and like your brethren which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers who therefore gave them up to desolation as ye see 8 Now †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be ye not stiff-necked as your fathers were but †Heb. 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 yield your selves l Heb. Give the Hand to him i. e. submit your selves to him by obeying his Command and renew your Covenant with him both which things were done amongst Men by this Ceremony of giving the Hand See 1 Chron. 29. 24. Ezra 10. 19. Ezek. 17. 18. unto the LORD and enter into his sanctuary which he hath sanctified for ever m Not for a transient and temporary use but as long as the State and Church of Israel had a Being whatsoever Alterations should happen therein and serve the LORD your God that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you 9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive so that they shall come again into this land for the LORD your God is * Exod. 〈◊〉 6. gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you if ye return unto him 10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun but they n i. e. The Generality of the ten Tribes who by long want of Meat had now lost all their Appetite to Gods Ordinances and from a Neglect were now fallen into a Contempt and Derision of them for which they paid dear For about 6 years after their Refusal of this Offer of Grace they were all carried Captive 2 King 18. 1 10. laughed them to scorn and mocked them 11 Nevertheless * Ch. 11. 16 divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of the LORD o i. e. God by the Power of his Grace inclined their Hearts to an unanimous Compliance with Gods and the Kings Will. And this is mentioned as the Reason of this wonderful Change wrought in these Men who had lately been utterly averse from Gods Worship and wholly given up to Idolatry as was noted before on ch 29. 36. 13 And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month a very great congregation 14 And they arose and took away the * 〈…〉 altars p To wit of Burnt-offerings because they are distinguished from the Altars of Incense here following both which were removed and destroyed partly because all the Israelites were confined to the Altars of the Temple and partly because these Altars were erected to Idols that were in Jerusalem and all the altars for incense took they away and cast them into the brook Kidron 15 Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month and the priests and the Levites were ashamed q Their Negligence and Remisness being upbraided by the great and general Alacrity and Forwardness of the People and sanctified themselves and brought in the burnt-offerings into the house of the LORD 16 And they stood in †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their place after their manner according to the law of Moses the man of God the priests sprinkled the blood r Of the Sacrifices upon the Altar Levit. 1. 5. which they received of the hand of the Levites s Who flayed and killed the Sacrifices which the Priests if they had been sanctified should have done as it was observed before ch 29. 34. 17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified t That had more desire to come to the Passover than care and diligence to cleanse and prepare themselves for it Now these persons were either 1. The Priests who were before taxed with Uncleanness and Unpreparedness Or rather 2. the People as is implied in the word Congregation and expressed in the next verse and confirmed by the Reason here following therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing u Because many of the People were unclean and therefore many more Sacrifices were to be offered for their Purification than the Priests could kill of the passovers x i. e. Either 1. The Paschal Lambs which the Levites here offered because of the Impurity of many of the Masters of Families who otherwise as some think should have killed the Paschal Lambs in their own Houses Exod. 12. 3. Or 2. The other Sacrifices which accompanied the Passover which also are called by the same Name as is evident from Deut. 16. 2 3. where see my Notes Which the Levites here killed for the Reason now mentioned for every one that was not clean y So far as they could make any discovery of their uncleanness either by their own Confession or otherwise But there were many whose Uncleannesses were not known and therefore did not cleanse themselves as is said v. 18. as they ought to have done to sanctifie them unto the LORD 18 For a multitude of the people even
many of Ephraim and Manasseh Issachar and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written z They had so eager a Desire to partake of this Ordinance that rather than neglect it they would venture upon it with some Ceremonial Uncleanness upon them but Hezekiah prayed for them saying †〈…〉 The good LORD pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God the LORD God of his fathers though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary a i. e. With that Ceremonial Purification which was required of them that came into Gods Sanctuary So he calls it to distinguish from that Moral and Internal Purity which they are here acknowledged to have 20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people b From their Uncleanness which it self was a Spiritual Disease and which probably produced a Disease or Distemper or Trouble in their Minds and Consciences which also had formerly brought and might justly now bring even outward Diseases upon the Body or at least Guilt which is a Disease upon the Soul From all which the Lord was pleased now to heal them by pardoning this their Sin and accepting them and their Services as if they had been clean Which it is likely God was pleased to manifest by some outward Sign possibly by fire from Heaven consuming the Sacrifices which was the usual Token of Gods Approbation as hath been formerly noted more than once 21 And the children of Israel that were †Heb. found present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day singing with †loud instruments unto the LORD 22 And Hezekiah spake †Heb. instruments of strength comfortably unto all the Levites c Encouraged them to a chearful and diligent Attendance upon their Holy Ministrations by the Promise of his Favour and utmost Care for them which he faithfully performed ch 31. 4 c. that taught the good knowledge of †Heb. to the heart of all c. the LORD d Who by their Office were to instruct and build up the People in the Knowledge and Fear of God which is mentioned as the Cause of his Respect and Kindness to them which was for their works sake as it is said 1 Thes. 5. 13. and they did eat throughout the feast seven days offering peace-offerings and making confession e Either 1. Confessing their Sins which Work was to accompany many of their Sacrifices of which see Levit. 5. 5. 16. 21. Or rather 2. Confessing Gods Goodness or praising of God which oft goes under this Name as 1 Chron. 16. 8 24. which also seems to be more proper work for this Season of Joy unto the LORD God of their fathers 23 And the whole assembly took counsel to keep * See 1 Kin. 8. 65. other seven days and they kept other seven days with gladness f Not in the same manner as they had done the former with offering new Paschal Lambs and eating onely Unleavened Bread of which there is not the least intimation in the Text but onely in the solemn Worship of God by Sacrifices and Prayers and Praises and publick Instruction of that great Congregation in the Good Knowledge of the Lord which was so dear to Hezekiah v. 22. and at this time most seasonable and necessary for the People after so long and dismal a Night of Ignorance Superstition and Idolatry as both Israel and Judah had been involved in 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah †Heb. lifted up or offered did give to the congregation g First to God to whom the parts appointed were offered in way of Thanksgiving and then to the People who feasted upon the Relicks as the Offerer used to do in Peace-offerings and Hâ—…zekiah who was the Offerer gave away his Right in the Remains of the Sacrifices to the People a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep h Which Generosity is the more considerable because it was in the Beginning of his Reign when he found the Royal Exchequer exhausted and empty and when he had been at great Expence about the Cleansing and refitting of the Temple and making Preparations for this great Feast and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep and a great number of priests sanctified themselves i Having now both more Time and further Need of sanctifying themselves to offer these Numerous Sacrifices 25 And all the congregation of Judah with the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came out of Israel and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel and that dwelt in Judah rejoyced 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem 27 Then the priests the Levites k Those of the Levites who were Priests also for to them onely this Work belonged 1 Chron. 23. 13. Or the Priests and the Levites For as the Levites did some other part of the Priests Work at this time it is not strange if they did this also Or the Priests might bless by solemn pronunciation of the Blessing and the Levites by their Acclamations or with their Musical Instruments arose and * Numb 6. 23. blessed the people l Either commended them for their great Zeal and Diligence in Gods Service Or rather solemnly prayed to God to bless them and their Prayer was not in vain as the following words shew and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to †Heb. the habitation of his holiness his holy dwelling place even unto heaven CHAP. XXXI 1 NOw when all this was finished all Israel that were †Heb. found present went out to the cities of Judah and * 2 Kin. â—… 〈◊〉 brake the †Heb. 〈◊〉 images in pieces and cut down the groves and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin in Ephraim also and Manasseh †Heb. until to make an end until they had utterly destroyed them all Then all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession into their own cities a Either 1. In those Cities belonging to Ephraim and Manasseh which the Kings of Judah had formerly taken from the Kings of Israel Or 2. In the Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh For although these were a part of Hoshea's Kingdom yet Hezekiah presumed to do this partly by vertue of the Law of God to which both Israel and Judah owed Subjection which commanded the extirpation of these things out of the whole Land of Canaan Partly by the special Impulse and Direction of Gods Spirit which sometimes did put persons upon Heroical and Extraordinary Actions not to be drawn into Imitation And partly because he knew that Hoshea
to distribute x To the Priests and Levites to whom they were appropriated by God the oblations of the LORD and the most holy things y To wit the remainders of the Free-will-offering Levit. 2. 3 10. The Sin-offering and Trespass-offering Levit. 6. 18 22. 7. 1. and the Shew-bread Levit. 24. 9. 15 And †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hand next him were Eden and Minjamin and Jeshua and Shemajah Amariah and Shecaniah in * Josh. 21. the cities of the priests z Who were intrusted with the Receiving and Distributing of the several Portions belonging to the Priests who abode in their several Cities whilest their â—…rethren came up to Jerusalem in their ‖ Or 〈◊〉 set office to give to their brethren by courses as well to the great as to the small 16 Beside their genealogy of males from three years old and upward a To whom a Portion of these things was allotted as is here implied even unto every one that entreth into the house of the LORD b That were capable of entring thither and doing Service there which they were at twenty years old as is expressed here v. 17. 1 Chron. 23. 24. Through the whole Company of the Priests and Levites his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses 17 Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers and the Levites ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 from twenty years old and upward in their charges by their courses 18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones their wives and their sons and their daughters through all the congregation c This is alledged as a Reason why their Wives and Children were provided for out of the Holy things because they sequestred themselves from worldly Affairs by which they might otherwise have provided for their Families and intirely devoted themselves to Holy Administrations for in their ‖ 〈◊〉 set office they sanctified themselves in holiness 19 Also the sons of Aaron the priests which were in * 〈◊〉 25. 34. 〈◊〉 35. 2. the fields d Who are opposed to those that lived in or resorted to the great City Jerusalem of the suburbs of their cities in every several city the men that were expressed by name to give portion to all the males among the priests and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites 20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God and in the law and in the commandments to seek his God he did it with all his heart and prospered CHAP. XXXII 1 AFter * 〈◊〉 18. 13 〈◊〉 these things and †〈◊〉 36. â—… c. â—… Heb. tâ—…is the establishment thereof a An Emphatical Preface signifying that notwithstanding all his Pious Care and Zeal for God yet God saw fit to Exercise him with a fore Trial and Calamity which yet he turned to his great Honour and Advantage Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entred into Judah and encamped against the senced cities and thought †〈◊〉 Gr. 〈◊〉 31. 20. â—… Heb. 〈◊〉 break 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to win them for himself b He designed and bragged that he would win them all and did actually win many of them 2 King 18. 13. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come and that †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 face 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was purposed to sight against Jerusalem 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains c With Earth or other things cast into them and withal to derive the Waters by secret Paths and Pipes under ground to Jerusalem which were without the city and they did help him 4 So there was gathered much people together who stopt all the fountains and the brook that †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ran through the midst of the land saying Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water d Which was a scarse Commodity in this Country and the want of it might much annoy the Assyrian Army 5 Also * 〈◊〉 22. 9. he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken e By Joash ch 25. 23. and not since repaired 2 Chron 25. 23. and raised it up to the towers f Either 1. As high as the Towers or the tops of the Wall Or 2. As far as the two Towers or Gates which were made in the Form of Towers and had the use of Towers to wit that of Ephraim and the Corner-Gate both mentioned above ch 25. 23. Or brought up Engines or Instruments of Defence upon the Towers and another wall without and repaired * 2 Sam. 5. 9. Millo g Of which see 1 King 9. 24. 11. 27. in the city of David and made ‖ Or swords or weapons darts and shields in abundance 6 And he set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and †Heb. spake to their heart spake comfortably to them saying 7 Be strong and couragious be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria nor for all the multitude that is with him for * 2 Kin. 6. 16. there be mo with us than with him 8 With him is an * Jer. 17. 5. arm of flesh but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battels And the people †Heb. leaned rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah 9 After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem h Of this and the following Verses see the Notes on 2 King 18. 17. c. and 19. 10 c. but he himself laid siege against Lachish and all his †Heb. â—… mâ—…n power with him unto Hezekiah king of Judah and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem saying 10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria Whereon do ye trust that ye abide ‖ Or in the strong hold in the siege in Jerusalem 11 Doth not Hezekiah perswade you to give over your selves to die by famine and by thirst saying The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria 12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem saying Ye shall worship before one altar and burn incense upon it 13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand 14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of mine hand that your God should be able to deliver you out of
two and twenty years old when he began to reign and reigned two years in Jerusalem 22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD as did Manasseh his father for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made and served them 23 And humbled not himself before the LORD as Manasseh his father had humbled himself but Amon †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 trespass trespassed more and more 24 And his servants conspired against him and slew him in his own house 25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead CHAP. XXXIV 1 JOsiah * 2 Kin. 22. â—… c. was eight years old when he began to reign a Of this Chapter see the Notes on 2 King 22. 23. and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of David his father and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left 3 For in the eighth year of his reign while he was yet young b In the 16th Year of his Age when he was entring into the Age and State of Temptations and Youthful Lusts and had the Administration of his Kingdom wholly in his own Hand and Power and none to rebuke or restrain him yet even then he begins to be Religious in good Earnest he began to seek after the God of David his father and in the twelfth year he began * 1 Kin 13 2. to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places and the groves and the carved images and the molten images 4 * Lev. 26. 30. 2 Kin. 23. 4. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence and the ‖ Or sun-images images that were on high above them he cut down and the groves and the carved images and the molten images he brake in pieces and made dust of them and strowed it upon the †Heb. face of graves graves of them that had sacrificed unto them 5 And * 2 Kin. 23. 20 he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem 6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and â—…imeon even unto Naphtali c Which was in the utmost and northern Borders of the Kingdom of Israel For it must be remembred that the ten Tribes were now gone into Captivity and those who were come in their stead were weak and few and not able to withstand the Power of Josiah with their ‖ Or mauls mattocks round about 7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves and had beaten the graven images †Heb. to make powder into powder and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel he returned to Jerusalem 8 Now in the * 2 Kin. 22 3. eighteenth year of his reign when he had purged the land and the house d The House of God called the House by way of Eminency he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah and Maasejah the governour of the city and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder to repair the house of the LORD his God 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high-priest they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim and of all the remnant of Israel and of all Judah and Benjamin and they e i. e. The Levites who had gone abroad through all Josiahs Kingdom to gather Money for this good Use and now came with it to Jerusalem to lodge it in the Treasuries of the Lords House returned to Jerusalem 10 And they put it in the hand of the work-men that had the oversight of the house of the LORD and they gave it to the work-men that wrought in the house of the LORD to repair and mend the house 11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it to buy hewen stone and timber for couplings and ‖ Or to rafter to floor the houses f i. e. The Chambers joyning to the Temple or within the Courts which the kings of Judah had destroyed 12 And the men did the work faithfully and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites of the sons of Merari and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites to set it forward and other of the Levites all that could skill of instruments of musick g Or all these here named were skilful in Instruments of Musick Which may be here mentioned either to their Commendation that they were fit for and careful and diligent in this Employment wherewith they were now entrusted no less than in their own proper Work Or to intimate that as they were skilful so they were exercised in both their Employments and did successively oversee the Work and praised God with their Voices and Instruments for his Gracious and Powerful Help in carrying on the Work 13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service and of the Levites there were scribes and officers and porters 14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD Hilkiah the priest * 2 Kin. 22. 8 c. found a book of the law of the LORD given †Heb. by the hand of by Moses 15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan 16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king and brought the king word back again saying All that was committed †Heb. to the hand of to thy servants they do it 17 And they have †Heb. poured out or melted gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and to the hand of the workmen 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king saying Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book And Shaphan read †Heb. in it it before the king 19 And it came to pass when the king had heard the words of the law that he rent his clothes 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and ‖ Or Achbor 2 Kin. 22. 12. Abdon the son of Micah and Shaphan the scribe and Asajah a servant of the kings saying 21 Go enquire of the LORD for me and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah concerning the words of the book that is found for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD to do after all that is written in this book 22 And
Bebai Jehohanan Hananiah Zabbai and Athlai 29 And of the sons of Bani Meshullam Malluch and Adajah Jashub and Sheal and Ramoth 30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab Adna and Chelal Benajah Maasejah Mattaniah Bezaleel and Binnui and Manasseh 31 And of the sons of Harim Eliezer Ishijah Malchiah Shemajah Shimeon 32 Benjamin Malluch and Shemariah 33 Of the sons of Hashum Matanai Mattathah Zabad Eliphelet Jeremai Manasseh and Shimei 34 Of the sons of Bani Maadi Amram and Uel 35 Benajah Bedejah Chelluh 36 Vaniah Meremoth Eliashib 37 Mattaniah Mattenai and Jaasau 38 And Bani and Binnui Shemei 39 And Shelemiah and Nathan and Adajah 40 ‖ Or 〈◊〉 â—…bai according to some copies Machnadebai Shashai Sharai 41 Azareel and Shelemiah Shemariah 42 Shallum Amariah and Joseph 43 Of the sons of Nebo Jehiel Mattithiah Zabad Zebina Jadau and Joel Benajah 44 All these had taken strange wives and some of them had wives by whom they had children c Whereby he implies that most of their Wives were barren Which came to pass by Gods special Providence partly to manifest his displeasure against such matches and partly that the practice of this great and necessary duty might not be encumbred with too many difficulties NEHEMIAH THis Book seems not to have been written by Ezra because it is written in a quite differing and more plain and easy stile and without that mixture of Chaldee or Syriack words which is in the Book of Ezra but by Nehemiah ch 1. 1. who writ an account of his own Transactions as Ezra did of his But whether this be the same Nehemiah who came up with Zerubbabel Ezra 2. 2. Nehemiah 7. 7. may be questioned the same name being oft given to divers Persons And for the name of Tirshatha which is used both Ezra 2. 63. Nehem. 7. 65 70. that seems to be the Title of his Office and so belongs to any Governour whether it was Zerubbabel or Nehemiah or any other CHAP. I. 1 THe words a Or rather the acts or deeds as the word oft signifies of which he here treats of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah And it came to pass in the month * Zech. 7. 1. Chisleu b Which is the 9th month containing part of November and part of December in the twentieth year c Of Artaxerxes ch 2. 1. as I was in Shushan d The Chief and Royal City of Persia Esth. 3. 15. the palace 2 That Hanani one of my Brethren e Of my Family or Tribe or Nation came he and certain men of Judah and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped f Out of the slavery which they indured in strange Lands which were left of the captivity g The remnant of those numerous Captives and concerning Jerusalem 3 And they said unto me the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province h i. e. In Iudea which was now made a province under the Persian Monarchs see the Notes on Ezra 5. 8. are in great affliction and reproach i Despised and distressed by the neighbouring Nations the wall of Jerusalem also * 2 Kin. 25. 10. is broken down and the gates thereof are burnt with fire k i. e. The walls and gates continue in the same woful plight in which Nebuchadnezzar left them the Jews not being yet in a condition to rebuild them nor having Commission from the Kings of Persia to do so but onely to build the Temple and their own private houses And this made their enemies scorn them who also would have ruined them but for fear of offending the Persian King 4 And it came to pass when I heard these words that I sate down and wept and mourned certain days and prayed before the God of heaven 5 And said I beseech thee * Dan. 9. 4. O LORD God of heaven the great and terrible God * Exod. 20. 6. that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments 6 Let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee both I and my fathers house have sinned 7 We have dealt very corruptly l Or we have wholly corrupted to wit our selves and our ways and thy Worship against thee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandedst thy servant Moses 8 Remember I beseech thee the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses to deliver to us saying * 〈◊〉 26. 39. 〈◊〉 4. 25. â—… if ye transgress I will scatter you abroad among the nations 9 But if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them * 〈◊〉 30. 4. though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of heaven yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand 11 O LORD I beseech thee let now thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant to the prayer of thy servants †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who desire to fear thy name and prosper I pray thee thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man m The King who though a God by Office is but a man by Nature and therefore his heart is wholly at thy disposal For I was the kings cup bearer n Whereby I had opportunity to speak to him and some Favour and Freedom with him which encouraged me to make this Prayer and to hope for some success CHAP. II. 1 And it came to pass in the month * 〈◊〉 3. 7. Nisan a Which was four months after he had heard those sad ridings The reason of this long silence and delay might be manifold either because he thought fit that some time should be spent by himself and possibly others of his brethren in seeking God by solemn Prayer and fasting for Gods blessing and the good success of this great affair or because he could not take so long and dangerous a journey in the depth of Winter or because his turn of attending upon the King did not come to him till that time or because till then he wanted a fit opportunity to move it to the King by reason of the Kings indisposition or occasions or multitude of attendants among whom there probably were diverse enemies to the Jews who he feared might hinder his design and desire in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes b Artaxerxes Longimanus the Son of the great Xerxes who reigned both with his Father and after his death alone whence the years of his reign are
â—…3 the work of their Lord l Either 1. Of Nehemiah who was their Lord and Governour and had given a general command for the carrying on of this work Or 2. Of God whom they owned for their Lord whose work this was partly because it had proceeded thus far by Gods singular Providence and Blessing and partly because it was done for the defence of the City and People and Temple of God And therefore they are branded to all posterity for the neglect of so great and pious a work 6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehojada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodejah they laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite the men of Gibean and of Mizpah unto the throne of the governour on this side the river l i. e. Unto the place where the Governour of the Country on this side Euphrates for and under the Persian Kings somtimes had a Palace or Throne to which all Persons living in the adjacent parts were to resort for judgment 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhajah of the goldsmiths next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries and they ‖ 〈…〉 fortified m It is not said they repaired as was said of the rest but they fortified it either because this part of the Wall was less demolished than the other and therefore they needed not to repair it but one ly to make it stronger by some additions or to note their extraordinary care and diligence that they would not onely repair it and restore it to its former state but make it stronger than ever it was which also might be fit to be done in that part of the City Others render it they left as this word commonly signifies and so the meaning is They omitted the building of that part of the Wall because it remained standing this being that space of 400 cubits which was pulled down by Ioash King of Israel and rebuilt by Uzziah who made it so strong that the Chaldeans could not pull it down without more trouble than they thought fit to imploy about it But this Chapter gives us an account of what they did in the Building not of what they did not but left as they found it Jerusalem unto the broad wall 9 And next unto them repaired Rephajah the son of Hur the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem n As Rome was anciently divided into several quarters or Regions so was Ierusalem and especially this was divided into two parts whereof one was in the Tribe of Benjamin and nearest to the Temple the other in the Tribe of Judah and more remote from it which accordingly had two several Rulers this man and the other v. 12. but both under the chief Governour of the City 10 And next unto them repaired Jedajah the son of Harumaph even over against his house o That part of the Wall which was next to him which his own Interest obliged him to do with care and next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab repaired the †〈…〉 other piece and the tower of the furnaces 12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem p i. e. Of the other half c. see on v. 9. he and his daughters q Who were either Heiresses or rich Widows and caused part to be done at their charges 13 * Ch. 2. 13. The valley-gate repaired Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah they built it and set up the doors thereof the locks thereof and the bars thereof and a thousand cubits on the wall unto * Ch. 2. 13. the dung-gate 14 But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem r A Town or Territory the Government whereof was divided between two persons he built it and set up the doors thereof the locks thereof and the bars thereof 15 But * 〈◊〉 2. 14. the gate of the fountain repaired Shallum the son of Col-hozeh the ruler of part of Mizpah he built it and covered it and set up the doors thereof the locks thereof and the bars thereof and the wall of the pool of * 〈…〉 †〈…〉 Siloah s That part of the Wall which was directly against that Pool by the kings garden and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David 16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur unto the place over against the sepulchres of David t i. e. The place which David appointed for his own Sepulchre and the Sepulchres of his Successors the Kings of Israel and Iudah and to the * 〈◊〉 â—…0 20. pool that was made u To wit by Hezekiah 2 King 20. 20. Whereby it is distinguished from that Pool which was natural and unto the house of the mighty x Or of the valiant which possibly was formerly appointed for the receipt of those chief Captains that should attend upon the King in their courses or of some other valiant Commanders who should upon occasion resort to Ierusalem 17 After him repaired the Levites Rehum the son of Bani next unto him repaired Hashabiah the ruler of the half part of Keilah in his part 18 After him repaired Bavai the son of Henadad the ruler of the half part of Keilah 19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshus the ruler of Mizpah another piece over against the going up to the armory y Either to the house of the forrest of Lebanon which was their Armory from Solomons days Isa. 22. 8. or to some other place which either before or since that time had been used as another and less Armory for common occasions at the turning of the wall z Or as the corner or which is in the corner 20 After him Baruch the son of ‖ Or 〈◊〉 Zabbai earnestly repaired a Did his work with eminent diligence and fervency which is here noted to his commendation the other piece from the turning of the wall b Or from the corner as v. 19. unto the door of the house c Unto that part of the Wall which was over against or next to this door of Eliashib the high priest 21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib d Therefore the door was not in the middle of the House as now they commonly are but at one end of it 22 After him repaired the priests the men of the plain e Either of the plairs of Iordan or of the plain country round about
I have done for this people p As I have done thy People good for thy sake so do me good for thine own sake for thou art pleased and hast promised graciously to reward us according to our works and to mete to men the same measure which they mere to others CHAP. VI. 1 NOw it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left therein though at that time I had not set up the doors a Not all of them See on ch 3. 1 2 3. upon the gates 2 Then Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me saying Come let us meet together b To consult about the common Service of our Master the King of Persia or to make a friendly accommodation in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono c A City in the Tribe of Benjamin of which see chap. 11. 35. and 1 Chron. 8. 12. But they thought to do me mischief 3 And I sent messengers unto them saying I am doing a great work d He tells them one but not the onely nor the principal reason of his refusal because his coming might cause the work to cease not only by the neglect of it during his absence but by his death which they by this means might compass though he thought it not fit to express so much to them so that I cannot come down why should the work cease whilest I leave it and come down to you 4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort and I answered them after the same manner 5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter e Thereby bidding open defiance to him as before he had used secret practices and intimating that he would do that by manifest force which he had intended to do by sudden surprize in his hand 6 Wherein was written It is reported among the heathen f The neighbouring People whom you proudly and disdainfully call Heathens or Gentiles and ‖ Or 〈◊〉 ver 2. Gashmu g Called Geshem v. 1. Who affirmed it and would prove it saith it that thou and the Jews think to rebel for which cause thou buildest the wall that thou maist be their king according to these words h i. e. According to these reports or that thou maist justifie and verifie these rumours Others according to these things i. e. when these things which thou art now doing shall be finished But the first sense seems most agreeable to the use of the same words in the next verse 7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem saying There is a king in Judah i We have now a King of our own Nation and are free from the Bondage of a forreign yoke and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words Come now therefore and let us take counsel together k That we may impartially examine the matter that either thy Innocency may be cleared and false accusations may be prevented or if thou art guilty the King may be informed 8 Then I sent unto him saying There are no such things done as thou saist but thou feignest them out of thine own heart 9 For they all made us afraid l i. e. They endeavoured to do so and actually did terrifie some persons saying Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it be not done Now therefore O God strengthen my hands 10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemajah the son of Delajah m Probably one of the chief of the Priests 1 Chron. 24. 26. the son of Mehetabel who was shut up n In his chamber adjoining to the Temple upon pretence of singular Devotion Sequestration from the World and special acquaintance and much communion with God in his retirements after the manner of the Prophets and withal of certain knowledg which he had by the Spirit of God and of Prophecy concerning their approaching danger from which they could be safe no where but in the Temple which the very heathens owned for a Sanctuary which they might not violate and he said Let us meet together in the house of God within the Temple o For the danger is so near that we cannot safely tarry here so long as to consult what to do in this juncture His design herein was partly to discourage and disgrace Nehemiah and thereby to strike a dread into all the People and give a speedy and full stop to the work partly to prepare the way for the Enemies to assault and take the City whilest Nehemiah was shut up and unable to give them any opposition partly to justifie their accusation of Nehemiah to the King by his flight upon it and partly that there by the help of other Priests who were conscious of his plot he might either destroy him or secure his person till the City by some of his complices were betrayed into the Enemies hands and let us shut the doors of the temple for they will come to slay thee yea in the night will they come to slay thee 11 And I said should such a man as I p â—… the chief Governour upon whose presence and Counsel and conduct the very Life and Being of the whole City and Nation in a great measure depends I who have professed such Resolution and Courage and Confidence in God I who have had such eminent experience of Gods gracious and powerful Assistances of his calling me to this employment and carrying me through it when our danger was greater than now it is Shall I now dishonour God and Religion and betray the People and City of God by my cowardize God forbid This is not the counsel of God nor of a Friend but a Plot of mine Enemies as it here follows flee and who is there that being as I am would go into the temple to save his life q As if I had an evil Cause or Conscience as if I were a a malefactor who fled thither for refuge as if I durst not trust God with my preservation except I went into the Temple which it is not lawful for me being no Priest to do I will not go in 12 And lo I perceived r Partly by considering the sinful Nature and pernicious consequence of this Counsel partly by the suggestion of Gods Spirit whose counsel and help I sought in this matter and partly by the event which discovered that there was no such danger from the approach of the Enemy as was pretended that God had not sent him but that he pronounced this prophecy against me for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him 13 Therefore was he hired that I should be afraid and do so and sin s By going into a place forbidden to me and that in such a time and manner and upon such an occasion which would
the people r Whose passions being once raised could not suddenly be composed saying Hold your peace s Cease from weeping and mournful cries and turn your lamentations into thanksgivings for the day is holy neither be ye grieved 12 And all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make great mirth because they had understood the words that were declared unto them r Because they now knew Gods mind and their own duty which they were resolved to practise which gave them ground of hope and trust in Gods mercy and consequently of great and just joy 13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people the priests and the Levites u Chusing rather to confess their ignorance for their edification then vainly to pretend to more knowledge than they had wherein they shew both true humility and serious godliness that they were more careful to learn and practice their duty than to preserve their reputation with the people unto Ezra the scribe even ‖ Or that they might instruct in the words of the law to understand the words of law x That they might more exactly understand the meaning of some things which they had heard before and so instruct the people in them 14 And they found y Upon Ezra's information and their discourse with him written in the law which the LORD had commanded †Heb. by the hand of by Moses that the children of Israel should dwell in * Lev. 23. 34. Deut. 16. 1â—… booths in the feast of the seventh month 15 And that they should publish z i. e. And they found this also written which is to be supplied out of the former verse that they should c. which though it be not particularly required so as is expressed in the words here following yet in the general is required by vertue of that precept Levit. 23 4. Numb 10. 10. And according to this translation it must be understood in the close of this verse that they did accordingly publish and proclaim c. But these words may be rendred which as this Hebrew word is rendred here v. 14. and most commonly also so the particle vau is used Isa. 6. 1. Ier. 1. 3. also they did publish c. For so they did as is evident and acknowledged and it seems fit that so much should be expressed and these words being so particular and proper to this special occasion seem to intimate that this is rather an historical relation of what they now did than a declaration of that which the law required them to do which was but in very general terms and not so exact and particular as this following precept is said to be and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem saying Go forth unto the mount a The mount of Olives which was next Ierusalem and stored with Olive-branches and probably with the rest here mentioned for these trees may seem to have been planted here abouts principally for the use of this capital City in this very feast which though long neglected should have been celebrated once every year And therefore this place seems to be here designed as the most eminent place but with an usual Synecdoche this place being put for any place nearest to the several cities of Judah where these branches were to be procured fetch olive-branches pine-branches and myrtle-branches and palm-branches and branches of thick trees b Of which see on Levit. 23. 34 Deut. 16. 13. to make booths as it is written 16 So the people went forth and brought them and made themselves booths every one upon the roof of his house c For the houses there were made â—…at of which see Deut. 22. 8. and in their courts d Belonging to their own Houses for these might be any where in the open air and in the courts of the house of God and in the street of the water-gate and in the street of the gate of Ephraim e That gate of the City which led to the Tribe of Ephraim 17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sate under the booths for f Or surely as the Hebrew chi is oft used as hath been noted before For the following words seem not so much to give a reason of what was last said or done concerning their dwelling in booths as to contain the holy writers reflection upon the present celebration of this feast since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so g Either 1. So as to the matter or substance of the thing So it implies that all this while the feast of Tabernacles was not observed Which seems altogether improbable considering how expresly this was commanded to be celebrated Levit. 23. c. and what excellent Kings and Priests and Prophets there had been within that time such as were persons of great understanding and most expert and studious in Gods Word and therefore could not be ignorant of so plain a duty and withal so throughly pious and careful and zealous for God and the observation of his law and worship and some of them commended for their universal obedience to all Gods commands and therefore would not be guilty of so gross a neglect Besides that this feast was observed is sufficiently implied in 1 Kings 8. 2 65. 2 Chr. 7. 9. is particularly expressed Ezra 3 4. Or rather 2. So as to the manner circumstances They never kept this feast so joyfully as the next words declare having not only the same causes of rejoycing which they formerly had but some special causes to increase their joy towit the remembrance of their stupendious deliverance both out of the land of their Captivity out of the hands of their wicked malicious Neighbours ever since their return especially now when they were new building the walls of Ierusalem they never kept it so solemnly and religiously for whereas at other times only the first and last day of that feast were celebrated with an holy convocation Levit 23. 35 36. Ioh. 7. 37. now there was an holy convocation and the people assembled and attended upon the reading of the law everyday of this feast as is noted in the next verse and there was very great gladness 18 Also day by day from the first day unto the last day he read in the book of the law of God h Which was commanded to be done at this feast Deut. 31. 10 11 12. though not injoyned to be done every day as now out of a singular zeal they did and they kept the feast seven days and on the eighth day was †Heb. 1 restraint a solemn assembly * Lev. 23. 36. according unto the manner CHAP. IX 1 NOW in the twenty and fourth day of this month
tithes of the tithes unto the house of our God to the chambers into the treasure-house y To wit of the Temple where it was laid up for the use of the Priests 39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi * 〈◊〉 1â—… 6 â—…1 shall bring the offering of the corn of the new wine and the oil unto the chambers where are the vessels of the Sanctuary z Where other things belonging to the Temple are laid up and therefore these things also shall be put there and the priests that minister and the porters and the singers ‖ i. e. Where also are the Priests and others that Minister in their courses for whose use these provisions are made and we will not forsake the house of our God †i. e. We do here solemnly declare and engage our selves that we will take care from time to time that the house and service of God be not neglected or forsaken for want of necessary provisions to support it CHAP. XI 1 ANd the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem a Which their very Office in some sort obliged them to do the rest of the people also cast lots to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem b That the buildings of the City might be compleated and the Honour and Safety of it better provided for the holy city and nine parts to dwell in other cities 2 And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem c Because they denied themselves and their own safety and profit for the publick good for this City was the Buâ—…t of all the malicious plots of their Enemies and for the present it was rather chargeable than beneficial to its Inhabitants whereas the Country did more easily and certainly afford them supplies 3 Now these are the chief of the province d i. e. Of Iudea which was now made a province that dwelt in Jerusalem but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities to wit Israel e i. e. The generality of the People of Israel whether of Iudah or Benjamin or any other Tribe as appears by this general enumeration of all the Inhabitants of the Land in which either the People of Iudah and Benjamin are included under the title of Israel or they are not here mentioned which is absurd to think because they made up the greatest number of them And these he calls Israel rather than Iudah partly because there were many of the other Tribes now joined and incorporated with them and partly because none of the Tribes of Israel except Iudah and Benjamin dwelt in Ierusalem as appears from the sequel the priests and the Levites and the * 〈◊〉 2. 43. Nethinims and the * 〈◊〉 2. 55. children of Solomons servants 4 And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin f For to these two Tribes this City anciently and most properly belonged although some also of other Tribes dwelt in it Of which and other things relating to this catalogue see 1 Chron. â—… 3 c. of the children of Judah Athajah g And his Family and relations with him and under him as their head as appears from v. 6. the son of Uzziah the son of Zechariah the son of Amariah the son of Shephatiah the son of Mahalaleel †one of the children of Perez 5 And Maasejah the son of Baruch the son of Col-hozeh the son of Hazaiah the son of Adajah the son of Jojarib the son of Zechariah the son of Shiloni 6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men h Such were most proper for this place and time because of its many Enemies round about it 7 And these are the sons of Benjamin Sallu the son of Meshullam the son of Joed the son of Pedajah the son of Kolajah the son of Maasejah the son of Ithiel the son of Jesajah 8 And after him Gabbai Sallai nine hundred twenty and eight i So here were more of Benjamin than of Iudah because the City did chiefly and most properly belong to that Tribe as hath been noted before 9 And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer k The Captain of their Thousand and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city 10 Of the priests Jedajah the son of Jojarib Jachin 11 Serajah the son of Hilkiah the son of Meshullam the son of Zadok the son of Merajoth the son of Ahitub was the ruler of the house of God l One of the chief-Priests who ruled with and under the High-Priest See Numb 3. 32. 1 Chr. 9. 11. 2 Chr. 19. 11. 31. 13. 12 And their brethren that did the work of the house †of God were eight hundred twenty and two and Adajah the son of Jeroham the son of Pelatiah the son of Amzi the son of Zechariah the son of Pashur the son of Malchiah 13 And his brethren chief of the Fathers two hundred forty and two and Amashai the son of Azareel the son of Ahasai the son of Meshillemoth the son of Immer 14 And their brethren mighty men of valour an hundred twenty and eight and their overseer was Zabdiel ‖ Or the 〈◊〉 of Haggedojiâ—… the son of one of the great men m i. e. Of a person then or lately eminent in Valour or Worth or Dignity Or of Gedolim or Haggedoliâ—… a man so called 15 Also of the Levites Shemajah the son of Hashub the son of Azrikam the son of Hashabiah the son of Bunni 16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad of the chief of the Levites †Heb. 〈◊〉 over had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God n i. e. For those things belonging to the Temple and its service which were to be done without it or abroad in the Country as for the gathering in of the voluntary Contributions or other necessary provisions out of the several parts of the Land See 1 Chr. 26. 29. 17 And Mattaniah the son of Micha the son of Zabdi the son of Asaph was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer o i. e. In the publick and solemn Prayers and Praises which were constantly joined with the morning and evening Sacrifice at which the Singers were present and praised God with a Psalm or Hymn which this man began and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren and Abda the son of Shammua the son of Jeduthun 18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four 19 Moreover the porters Akkub Talmon and their brethren that kept 〈◊〉 at the 〈◊〉 the gates were an hundred seventy and two 20 And the residue of Israel of the priests and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah every one in his inheritance 21 * See ch â—… 26. But the
water-gate eastward 38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them a To wit on the other side of the City Northward and Eastward and I after them and the half of the people upon the wall from beyond * Ch. 3. 11. the tower of the furnaces even unto the * Ch. 3. 8. broad wall b Which they made thicker and stronger than the rest of the Wall for some special reason 39 And from above * 2 Kin. 14. 1â—… the gate of Ephraim and above the * Ch. 3. 6. old gate and above * Ch. 3. 3. the fish-gate and the tower of Hananeel and * Ch. 3. 1. the Tower of Meah even unto the sheep-gate and they stood still in the prison gate c Waiting as also their Brethren did that they might go together in due order into God's House there to perfect the solemnity 40 So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God d i. e. In the Courts of the Temple and I and the half of the rulers with me e And Ezra and the other half with him as appears by comparing this with v. 31 36. 41 And the priests Eliakim Maasejah Miniamin Michajah Elioenai Zechariah and Hananiah with trumpets 42 And Maasejah and Shemajah and Eleazar and Uzzi and Jehohanan and Malchijah and Elam and Ezer and the singers †Heb. made their voice to be heard sang loud with Jezrahiah their overseer 43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced for God had made them rejoice with great joy the wives also and the children rejoiced so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off f Either their loud voices and instruments were heard to a great distance or the fame of it was spread far and near 44 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures for the offerings g Such as they had lately ingaged themselves to give or other voluntary or prescribed offerings for the first-fruits and for the tithes to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions ‖ That is appointed by the law of the law h i. e. The foresaid first-fruits and Tithes and other things which God by his Law appointed for them for the priests and Levites †Heb. for the joy of Iudah for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites †Heb. that stood that waited i Partly for the eminent Gifts and Graces which they observed in many of them and partly for the great benefit which they had now received by their Ministry and therefore for the competent provision which hereby was made for them that so they might wholly wait upon their office to the Peoples Edification and Comfort 45 And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God k i. e. That Ward or Charge or Business which God had prescribed to them and the ward of the purification l And in particular the charge of purification i. e. of taking care that no unclean person or thing might enter into the House or Courts of the Lord which care did certainly belong to the Porters as is expressed 2 Chron. 23. 19. and at this time and in some sort as it seems to the singers who besides their proper imployment were also over the business of the house of God as is affirmed ch 11. 22. Which being a general expression may-well comprehend if it doth not principally design this that they should take care to keep the House of God free from all pollution And possibly as the Porters were to take care that no unclean thing might enter there so if it should through their madvertency enter in the Singers were to remove it * 1 Chr. 25. 26. according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son 46 For in the days of David * 1 Chr. 25. 1 c. and Asaph m of old there were chief of the singers n There were some overseers whose Office it was to see that the Singers were fit for and diligent in their work and therefore they took care of it at this time and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God n And Heman and Ieduthun 1 Chron. 25. 1. but Asaph only is mentioned here as the most eminent and useful in that work 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the portions of the singers and the porters every day his portion and they ‖ That is set apart sanctified holy things o i. e. They sequestred or set apart the First-fruits and Tithes from their own share and devoted them to the use of the Levites to whom they belonged And so did the Levites by the Tithe of the Tithes Thus they all conscientiously paid their dues to God or his Assigns and did not profane those things which God had sanctified nor take them to their own common use as divers ungodly or covetous persons had formerly used to do when they had opportunity unto the Levites * Num. 18. 26. and the Levites sanctified them unto the childeren of Aaron CHAP. XIII 1 ON that day a Not now presently after the dedication of the wall and gates and City but upon a certain day as that phrase is very commonly used in Scripture without any relation to the time or things mentioned next before it to wit when Nehemiah was returned again from the Persian court to Ierusalem from which he had been absent for some considerable time in which some errours and abuses had crept in which now he endeavours to remove †Heb. there was read they read in the book of Moses in the †Heb. ears audience of the people b Partly because it was not only the Priests but also the peoples duty to study and understand Gods Law and their own duty and partly that the people hearing that this was the express mind and will of the great God might the more willingly yield to the following duties some of which were attended with difficulty and required self denial and therein was found written * Deut. 23. 3. that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God c i. e. Not be incorporated into the common wealth of Israel nor be joyned with any Israelite in marriage relation as appears from v. 3. That practice being a plain comment upon this law But of this and the next verse see the notes on Deut. 23. 3 4. for ever 2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water but * Numb 22. 5. Josh. 24. 9. hired Balaam against them that he should curse them howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing 3 Now it came to pass when they heard the law that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude d i.
great work 2 How he sware unto the LORD and vowed c He made a solemn vow and confirmed it with an oath Which he undoubtedly did although no mention be made of it 2 Sam. 7. Thus many historical passages which were omitted in their proper places are afterwards recorded upon other occasions of which examples have been formerly noted unto the mighty God of Jacob d Of Israel Iacob and Israel are frequently put for their posterity as hath been frequently observed 3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house nor go up to my bed e This and the following clauses are not to be understood strictly and properly as if he would never come into his house or bed till this was done which is confuted by the history 2 Sam. 11. 2. but figuratively as an hyperbolical expression such as are usual both in Scripture and in all other Authors to signifie his passionate desire of doing this work which was so earnest that neither his house nor bed nor sleep could give him any content till this work was done or in some forwardness 4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eye-lids 5 Until I find out a place for the LORD f Either 1. until I can understand from God what place he hath chosen for his house to be built in Or rather 2. until I have fitted or raised an house in which the Ark may be put an habitation as this is explained both in the next clause and in v. 7. and Act. 7. 46. For this and not the former was the matter both of Davids desire and of Gods answer delivered by Nathan 2 Sam. 7. †Heb. habitations an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. 6 Loe we have heard of it g Of the place or habitation for the Lord last mentioned at Ephratah h Either 1. in Bethlehem which is called Ephratah Gen. 35. 19. 48. 7. Mich. 5. 2. So the sence is either this We heard a rumour at Bethlehem among Davids relations that the Ark should be removed to a new place and that David had pitched upon it or this We heard that Bethlehem would be the place for it because it was the City of David Or rather 2. in the Tribe of Ephraim which was called also Ephratah or Ephrathah as is manifest because the men of Ephraim were called Ephrathites as Iudg. 1â—… 5. in the Hebrew Text though in the English it be Ephraimite So Ieroboam is called an Ephrathite 1 Kings 11. 26. So the sence is We heard it from our fathers that the ancient place of it was Shiloh which was in the land of Ephraim Whereby he covertly intimates that God rejected and forsook that place and chose not the tribe of Ephraim as it is said Psal. 78. 67. that so he might make way for Zion which was the place chosen by God for it as it follows here v. 13. we found it i Afterwards we found it elsewhere in the fields of the wood k i. e. In a field or in one of the fields of the wood for that little spot of ground in which the Tabernacle or Temple was built was not likely to be in several fields Thus Iepthah was buried in the cities of Gilead Iudg. 12. 7. i. e. in one of them This is meant either 1. of the Mount Moriah which might possibly be called the field of the wood as being anciently a place full of wood Gen. 22. 13. or of the threshing-floor of Araunah of which see 2 Sam. 24. 28. which before the building of the Temple is said to have been a woody place Or rather 2. of Kiriath-jearim which signifies a city of woods in the field or territory whereof the Ark was seated for twenty years as we read 1 Sam. 7. 1 2. And from this place it was removed to Zion 2 Sam. 6. 1 c. 7 We will go l Seeing the Ark is now fixed in a certain place we will go to it more generally and constantly than formerly we did into his tabernacles m Into his Tabernacle or Temple the Plural number put for the Singular as Psal. 43. 3. 46. 4 c. * Psal. 99. 5. we will worship at his footstool n Either the Temple or rather the Ark so called 1 Chron. 28. 2. Lament 2. 1. because God is oft said to sit between the Cherubims which were above the Ark. 8 * Num. 10. 35. 2 Chr. 6. 41 42. Arise o i. e. Arise and come One word put for two as Gen. 43. 33. marvelled i. e. marvelled looking one at another and v. 34. he took messes i. e. he took and sent messes as our Translation renders it And this word is very proper in this place because it was to be used by Gods appointment when the Ark was to be removed from one place to another Numb 10. 35. as now it was from the Tabernacle in Zion to the Temple in Moriah upon which occasion this and the two following verses were used by Solomon 2 Chron. 6. 41 42. O LORD into thy rest p Into thy resting place the Temple so called Isa. 66. 1. where thou hast now a fixed habitation thou and the ark of thy strength q The seat of thy powerful and glorious presence from whence thou dost put â—…orth and manifest thy strength on the behalf of thy people when they desire and need it 9 Let thy priests be cloathed with * Ver. 16. righteousness r Not onely with those outward Sacerdotal garments of glory and beauty which thou hast appointed for them but especially with those inward ornaments of righteousness and true holiness that so their persons and services may be accepted by thee both for themselves and for all thy people and they may be cloathed with salvation as it is expressed here below v. 16. and 2 Chron. 6. 41. which is the effect or consequent of the former clothing and let thy saints shout for joy s Let all thy people have cause of rejoycing in the tokens of thy goodness which they eminently had at the dedication of the Temple as is noted 1 Kings 8. 66. 10 For thy servant Davids sake t In regard of thy singular kindness and promises vouchsafed to David as this is explained in the following verses And this verse makes it more than probable that David was not the Penman of this Pslam who never used to beg mercies from God for his own sake but constantly for his names sake and for the sake of his truth mercy goodness or righteousness as will be evident to any one that reads this Book turn not away the face u Cast me not out of thy presence do not reject or deny my request as this phrase is expounded 1 Kings 2. 16. of thine anointed x Of me whom thou hast anointed to be King over thy people He speaks of himself in the third person as
patient and merciful to thee that he gives thee liberty to demand of him any Signal or miraculous Work whereby thou mayst be assured of the Truth and Certainty of this Promise thy God u Both by right of Dominion and by vertue of his gracious Covenant made with all Israel of whom thou art a Member and King and by thy own Profession for he still worshipped God together with his Idols and by the continuance of his Care and Kindness to thee and to thy People notwithstanding all your Wickedness whereof this Promise and Offer is a clear Demonstration ‖ Or make thy pâ—…on deep ask it either in the depth or in the heighth above x Demand some Prodigie to be wrought either in Earth or in Heaven at thy pleasure 12 But Ahaz said I will not ask y This Refusal proceeded not from the strength of his Faith but from his contempt of God and total distrust and disregard of his Word and inward Resolution to take another Course as is manifest both from the following words and from the History of Ahaz 2 Chron. 28. neither will I tempt the LORD z Either 1. by asking a Sign as if he questioned the Truth of his Word So this was deep Hypocrisie Or 2. by neglecting any means necessary for my preservation which were indeed a tempting of God And therefore I shall not sit still and relie upon God till I be destroyed which will be the effect of thy Counsel but I shall do as becometh a wife King seek for Succour from Potent Allieâ—… such as the Assyrian is So this is flat Rebellion against God 13 And he said Hear ye now O house of David a Of which see above v. 2. He reproveth them all because they were the Kings Counsellors and promoted the Design of sending for the Assyrian Succours Is it a small thing for you b Is not that Wickedness more than enough Must you add more to it to weary men c To vex God's Prophets and People and the generality of your Subjects with your Oppressions and horrid Impieties but will ye weary my God also d By your cursed Ingratitude and Unbelief and Disobedience to his Commands He saith my God i. e. the God whose Servant and Prophet or Messenger I am to intimate that this heinous Offence was not committed against a weak and foolish Man such as they might think the Prophet to be but against God himself who sent the Message Compare Exod. 16. 8. 14 Therefore e Because you despise me and the Sign which I now offer to you God of his own free Grace will send you a more honourable Messenger and give you a nobler Sign to try whether that will cure you of your Infidelity Or Nevertheless as this Particle seems to be understood Isa. 30. 18. Ier. 16. 14. 30. 16. Although you deserve no Sign nor Favour yet for the comfort of those few Believers which are among you and to leave you without excuse I shall mind you of another and a greater Sign which God hath promised and will in his due time perform which also â—…s a Pledge of the certain Accomplishment of all God's Promises Or Surely as this Particle is sometimes used as Gen. 4. 15. Ier. 2. 33. 5. 2. Zech. 11. 7. the Lord himself shall give you a sign f To wit of your Deliverance Qu. How was this Birth of a Virgin which was not to come till many Ages after a Sign of their Deliverance from the present Danger Answ. 1. Because this was a clear Demonstration of God's infinite Power and Goodness and Faithfulness and consequently of the certain Truth of all God's Promises from time to time which can never fail so long as those Attributes of God stand And mens Faith is either strong or weak as they believe them or doubt of them Of which see Psal. 77. 8. 78. 19 20. Rom. 4. 20 21. And so this was a proper Remedy for Ahaz his Disease which was a secret Suspicion that God either could not or would not deliver them 2. Because that Promise I say not onely the actual Giving which was long after but even the Promise of the Messiah which had been made long since and oft renewed and was universally believed by all the People was the Foundation of all God's Mercies and Promises unto them 2 Cor. 1. 20. and a Pledge of the Accomplishment of them 3. Because this promised Birth did suppose and require the Preservation of that City and Nation and Tribe in and of which the Messiah was to be born and therefore there was no cause to fear that utter Ruine which their Enemies now threatned to bring upon them 4. This is one but not the onely Sign here given as we shall see at v. 16. * Maâ—… 1. 2â—… Luk. 1. â—…1 Behold g You who will not believe that God alone is able to deliver you from the united Force of Syria and Israel take nocice for your full satisfaction that God is not onely able to do this Work but to do far greater and harder things which he hath promised and therefore both can and will accomplish a virgin h Strictly and properly so called The Iews that they may obscure this plain Text and weaken this Proof of the Truth of Christian Religion pretend that this Hebrew Word signifies a young woman and not a virgin But this corrupt Translation is easily confuted 1. Because this Word constantly signifies a virgin in all other places of Scripture where it is used which are Gen. 24. 43. compared with v. 15. Exod. 2. 8. Psal. 68. 25. Cant. 1. 3. 6. 8. To which may be added Prov. 30. 19. the way of a man with a maid or a virgin For though it be supposed that he did design and desire to corrupt her and afterwards did so yet she may well be called a virgin partly because he found her a Virgin and partly because she seemed and pretended to others to be such which made her more careful to use all possible Arts to preserve her Reputation and so made the discovery of her impure Conversation with the Man more difficult whereas the filthy Practices of Common Harlots are easily and vulgarly known 2. From the scope of this Place which is to confirm their Faith by a strange and prodigious Sign which surely could not be that a young Woman should conceive a Child but that a Virgin should conceive c. shall conceive and bear i Or rather bring fâ—…rth as it is rendred Mat. 1. 23. and as this Hebrew Word is used Gen. 16. 11. 1â—… â—…9 Iudg. 13. 5. a son and ‖ Or thou O virgin 〈◊〉 alâ—… call shall call k The Virgin last mentioned shall call Which is added as a further Evidence of her Virginity and that this Son had no Humane Father because the Right of Naming the Child which being a Sign of Dominion is primarily in
truth the baseft part of the whole Body of the People 16 * Chap. 3. 12. For ‖ Or they that 〈◊〉 them blessed the leaders h Their Governours both Civil and Ecclesiastical and especially the latter their Teachers even the false Prophets last mentioned Or they that bless or praise them to wit the false Prophets that flatter them in their wicked Ways with Hopes and Promises of Peace as their manner was Ier. 6. 14. 28. 9. Both ways the sence is the same of this people cause them to err i Either compelling them by Power or deceiving them by false Doctrines and evil Counsels and Perswasions and ‖ Or they that are called blessed of them they that are led of them are †Heb. swallowed up destroyed k Shall certainly perish nor will it excuse them that they followed the Counsel and Conduct of their Leaders 17 Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men l Shall not rejoyce over them to do them good as he doth to his People Isa. 62. 5. Zeph. 3. 17. will not have mercy or pity on them as the next Clause explains it but will abhor and utterly destroy them for more is here intended than is expressed as Prov. 17. 21. neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows m Who are the special Objects of his Care and Pity Deut. 16. 11 14. 24. 19 20. and much less upon others for every one n Not precisely for there were Seven thousand Elect Persons among them when they seemed to Elijah to be universally corrupt 1 Kings 19. 18. but the Body or generality of the People is an Hypocrite o For though they professed to worship and serve the true God yet indeed they had forsaken him Or a prophane person as this Word is rendred Ier. 23. 15. as also Isa. 32. 6. and an evil doer p Elsewhere called a worker of iniquity as Iob 31. 3. Psal. 5. 5. Mat. 7. 23. one that gives up himself to a constant course and custom of sinning and every mouth speaketh ‖ Or villany folly q i. e. Wickedness which is commonly called folly They are not ashamed to proclaim their own Wickedness and the Corruption of their Hearts breaketh forth into ungodly Speeches for all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still 18 For wickedness burneth r i. e. Shall burn you as it follows shall devour Your iniquity shall be your ruine as God threatens Ezek. 18. 30. as the fire * Chap. 10. 17. it shall devour the briers and thorns s Either 1. the Wicked who are oft compared to briers and thorns as 2 Sam. 23. 6. Isa. 27. 4. or rather 2. the low and mean Persons for these are opposed to the thickets of the forest in the next Clause and shall kindle in the thickets of the forrest t In the Wood where the Trees are tall and stand thick having their Boughs entangled together which makes them more ready both to catch and to spread the Fire and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke u Sending up Smoke like a vast Furnace Heb. with heighth or pride of smoke i. e. with aspiring Smoke which in that case riseth high and spreadeth far and filleth all the neighbouring Air. 19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is * Chap. 8. 22. the land darkned x Either with the Smoke last mentioned or with Misery Or burnt up as the LXX Chaldee and Arabick Interpreters render it and the people shall be as the †Heb. meat fewel of the fire no man shall spare his brother y They shall destroy one another as they did in their Civil Wars which were frequent among them The name brother is oft largely used among the Hebrews even of the remoter Kindred yea of the Fellow-members of one City or Tribe or Nation 20 And he shall †Heb. cut snatch z Every one shall greedily and violently seise upon any Provisions that come in his way Which implies either great Scarcity or insatiable Covetousness as is manifest from the next Clause on the right hand and be hungry and he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied * Chap. 49. 26. they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm a Either 1. properly so it notes extreme Famine in which case men are apt to eat their own Flesh. Compare Ier. 19. 9. Or 2. metaphorically which seems best to suit with the following Verse the Flesh of his Brethren by Nation and Religion which are as it were our own Flesh and are so called Isa. 58. 7. Zech. 11. 9. and consequently the Flesh of their Arm is in a manner the Flesh of our own Arm. And one Tribe was to another as an Arm i. e. a Support or Strength which is called an arm 2 Chron. 32. 8. Ier. 17. 5. and elsewhere 21 * Chap. 11. 13. shall eat Manasseh Ephraim b Though more near and dear one to another than any other Tribe being both Sons of Ioseph and Ephraim Manasseh and they together shall be against Judah c Which might be accomplished either before Sbalmaneser took Samaria or afterwards For though the Israelites were miserably destroyed at that time yet they were not utterly rooted out Of which see my Notes on Isa. 7. 8. For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still CHAP. X. WO unto them that * Psal. 58. 1. 94. 20. decree unrighteous decrees a Unto those Magistrates who make unjust Laws and give unjust Sentences and ‖ Or to the writers that write grievousness that write b Either 1. the Scribes who were assistant to the Magistrates and oft times did promote or execute such Decrees or 2. the unjust Magistrates whose Decrees were usually written So the same thing is repeated in other Words Onely this writing may note their Obstinacy or Perseverance in their unjust Decrees and their proceeding to the Execution of them grievousness c Grievous things such unjust Decrees as cause Grief and Vexation to their Subjects which they have prescribed 2 To turn aside the needy from Judgment d Or from their right as it is in the next Clause or from obtaining a just Sentence because they either denied or delayed to hear their Causes or gave a wrong Sentence and to take away the right from the poor e Whom I have in a special manner committed to your Care of my people f Of Israelites who profess themselves to be my People and whom I did take into Covenant with my self and therefore this is an injury not onely to them but to me also that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless 3 And * Job 31. 14. what will ye do g To save
called is oft put for to be the city of the sun or as the Graecians call it Heliopolis which the Egyptians called On Gen. 41. 45. which was a very eminent City and a chief Seat of Idolatry being a City of Priests as Strabo reports and therefore its Conversion to the Faith was more wonderful shall be called the city ‖ 〈◊〉 of Heres 〈◊〉 of the sun of destruction 19 In that day shall there be an altar a For God's Worship not a Levitical but a Spiritual and Evangelical Altar as appears from hence because that was confined to one place Deut. 12. 13 14. The altar is put for the Worship of God as it is in many places both of the Old and New Testament And nothing is more common in the Prophets than to speak of Gospel-worship in the Phrases of the Law to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar b A Monument of the True Religion Here also he alludes to the ancient Custom of erecting Pillars to God of which see Gen. 12. 7. 28. 18 c. Ios. 22. 10. 24. 26 27. at the border thereof c As before in the midst of it The meaning is There shall be Evidences of their Piety in all Places to the LORD 20 And * See Jos. â—… 20 21. 22. 27. d The Altar or Pillar last mentioned it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD e To testifie that they own the Lord for their God of hosts in the land of Egypt for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors f Being sorely distressed and finding the weakness of their Idols they shall turn unto the True God and he shall send them a Saviour and a great one g A great or mighty Saviour by a common Figure called Hendiaduo as a cloud and smoke is put for a smokie cloud Isa. 4. 5. or a Saviour and a Prince even Christ who is so called Act. 5. 31. as is evident from the whole Context which apparently speaks of Gospel-times And the emphatical Phrase here used directed them to look for an extraordinary Saviour and he shall deliver them 21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the LORD h Shall acknowledge and love and serve them for Words of Knowledge in Scripture commonly include Affection and Practice as hath been often observed in that day and shall do sacrifice and oblation i Shall worship God spiritually which yet is signified by Typical Phrases as it is Mal. 1. 11. and in many other Places yea they shall vow a vow unto the LORD and perform it k They shall not onely profess and promise Piety but shall seriously and diligently practice it 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt he shall smite and heal it l God will afflict them by Oppressours v. 20. and otherwise and by those Afflictions he will convert and save them and they shall return even to the LORD and he shall be intreated of them and shall heal them 23 In that day * Ch. 11. 16. shall there be a high-way out of Egypt to Assyria and the Assyrian shall come into Epypt and the Egyptian into Assyria m They who were implacable Enemies one to another and both to the Church and People of God shall now be reconciled and united together in the Service of God and Love to his Church and the Egyptians shall serve n To wit the Lord who is easily understood from v. 21. 25. with the Assyrians 24 In that day shall Israel be the third o The third Party to wit in that sacred League whereby all of them oblige themselves to God with Egypt and with Assyria p These People are named because they were the most obstinate and malicious Enemies to God's Church and therefore in a special manner accursed by God but they are here put Syncchdochically for all the Gentiles even a blessing q This is peculiar to Israel who is not onely a third Party as the others are but is the most eminent and blessed of the three as being the Fountain or rather the Conduit-pipe by which the Blessing is conveyed to the other two because Christ was to be born of them and the Gospel-Church and Ordinances were first established among them and from them derived to the Gentiles in the midst of the land r Or of the earth Which may be added to imply that God's Blessing should be convey'd from and by Israel not onely to the Egyptians and the Assyrians but to all the Nations of the Earth in the midst of which the Land of Israel might well be said to lie Or of that land of which I am here speaking or the Singular Number being put for the Plural of those lands Egypt and Assyria between which Israel lay 25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless s Whom i. e. which People to wit Israel Egypt and Assyria expressed both in the foregoing Verse and in the following Clause of this Verse of whom he speaks as of one People in the Singular Number because they are all united into one Body and Church Or For or Because as this Particle is taken 1 Sam. 15. 15. and elsewhere the Lord of hosts shall bless him or them So this is added as a Reason why he said Israel should be a Blessing to them all saying Blessed be Egypt my people t This Title and those which follow that were peculiar to the People of Israel shall now be given to these and all other Nations of the World and Assyria the work of my hands and Israel mine inheritance CHAP. XX. IN the year that * 2 Kin. 18. 17. Tartan a A great Commander in Sennacherib's Army 2 Kings 18. 17. came unto Ashdod b An eminent and strong City of the Philistins Ios. 13. 3. 1 Sam. 5. 1. in the utmost part of the Land of Canaan towards Egypt when Sargon c What King of Assyria this was is much disputed It is well known and confessed that one and the same Person hath frequently several Names both in Scripture as hath been observed again and again and in other Authors And therefore this may be either 1. Salmaneser who when he took Samaria might also by Tartan take this Place or 2 Sennacherib who before he came to Ierusalem came up against and took all the fenced cities of Iudah 2 Kings 18. 13. of which Ashdod might be reckoned one as being in the Tribe of Iudah Ios. 13. 3. 15. 47. and taken by Hezekiah from the Philistins as it seems very probable from that Passage 2 Kings 18. 8. He smote the Philistins even unto Gaza and the borders thereof from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city Or 3. Esarhadden Sennacherib's Son who by cutting off the first Letter is called Sarchedon Tobit 1. 21. and thence possibly by abbreviation
to offer up Levitical Sacrifices in such time and manner as God appointed it was necessary upon supposition of the general conversion of the Gentiles that that way of Worship ship should be abolished and such a way prescribed as they were capable of practising 8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the out-casts of Israel e Which will gather to himself and bring into their own Land those poor Israelites which are or shall be cast out of their own Land and from Gods presence and dispersed in divers parts of the World saith Yet will I gather others to him †Heb. to his gathered besides those that are gathered unto him f As there are some few Gentiles whom I have made Proselytes and added to the Jewish Church so I shall make another and a far more comprehensive gathering of the Gentiles whom I shall bring into the same Church with the Jews making both Jews and Gentiles one fold under one Shepherd as it is promised Ioh. 10. 16. 9 All ye beasts of the field come to devour yea all ye beasts in the forrest g This invitation or proclamation is a prediction of Israel's Destruction by their cruel Enemies which are oft expressed in Scripture under the names of ravenous Beasts But the great Question is What connexion this part of the Chapter hath with the former Which may be thus conceived The prophet having largely disâ—…sed concerning the Messiah and his Church and Kingdom and particularly of the great accession and conversion of the Gentiles to it and of the Infidelity Apostacy and manifold Wickednesses of the Jewish Nation and having comforted and encouraged the Gentiles with Gods gracious promises made to them he now proceeds to terrifie the unbelieving and ungodly Jews and to shew that as the Gentiles should believe and be saved so they should reject their Messiah and be utterly destroyed although we need not labour much about the coherence For this may be a new Sermon and therefore many learned Interpreters make this the beginning of the 57th Chapter 10 His h Israels as is evident from the following verses the Pronoun Relative being put without and instead of the Antecedent of which I have given divers Instances before watchmen i Priests and Prophets or other Teachers who are commonly called Watchmen as Ezek. 3. 17. 33. 2. Hos. 9. 8. He mentions only the Teachers because Ignorance was most shameful in them but hereby he supposeth the gross ignorance of the People who neither pretended nor desired to be wiser than their Teachers are blind they are all ignorant k Of Gods Will and Word and of their own and the Peoples duty and of the true Messiah they are all dumb dogs they cannot bark l They are also slothful and negligent in instructing the people and do not faithfully reprove them for their sins nor warn them of their dangers nor keep them from Errours and corruptions in Doctrine and Worship and Conversation as they ought to do ‖ Or dreaming or talking in their sleep sleeping lying down loving to slumber m Minding their own ease and safety more than the Peoples benefit 11 Yea they are †Heb. strong of appetite greedy dogs which †Heb. know not to be satisfied * Ezek. 34. 2 3. can never have enough n Insatiably covetous and they are shepherds that cannot understand o Heb. that know not to understand that do not care or love or desire as knowing is frequently taken either to understand the Law or Word of God themselves or to make the People to understand it they * Ch. 53. 6. 57. 17. all look to their own way p They regard neither Gods Command and Glory nor the Peoples good but only the satisfaction of their own base Lusts. See on Isa. 53. 6. every one for his gain from his quarter q In their several places and stations as they have opportunity Heb. from his or their end or extremity i. e. universally or all from one end of that Body or Society of men unto the other as the same word signifies Gen. 19. 4. from one end of the City to the other or as we there render it from every quarter and as the same word is by divers learned Men rendred 1 Kin. 12. 31. not of the meanest of the people but out of all the people or indifferently out of every Tribe of which see my note there But if that Phrase be rightly rendred there out of the meanest of the people as divers also expound the same Phrase Gen. 47. 2. of the meanest of his Brethren why may it not as well be rendred here even from the meanest or poorest of his flock which is a great aggravation of their covetousness and cruelty to extort gains from such as needed their Charity 12 Come ye say they q Unto their Brethren by Office and in Iniquity unto their Fellow-Priests or other jolly companions I will fetch wine and we will fill our selves r We will drink not only to Delight but even to Drunkenness as this word signifies Mich. 1. 10. and elsewhere with strong drink and to morrow shall be as this day and much more abundant s Which sheweth their dreadful security and contempt of God and of his Judgments and their total and resolved abandoning of all care of their own or Peoples Souls CHAP. LVII 1 THe righteous a Just and holy men who are the pillars of the place and state in which they live yea as the Jews call them the pillars of the World perisheth and no man b Few or none of the People So he sheweth that the corruption was general in the People no less than in the Priests layeth it to heart c Is duly affected with this severe stroke and sad sign of Gods displeasure and †Heb. men of kindness or 〈◊〉 * Ps. 12. 1. Mic. 7. 2. merciful d Or godly the same whom he now called righteous whose duty and practice it is to exercise both Mercy or Kindness and Justice men are taken away * 2 Kin. â—…2 20. none considering that the righteous is taken away ‖ Or 〈◊〉 that which is evil from the evil to come e From those dreadful Calamities which are coming upon the Nation 2 He shall ‖ Or go in peace enter into peace f This just and merciful man shall enter in a state of peace and rest where he shall be out of the reach of the approaching miseries Or he shall go to wit to his Fathers as it is fully expressed Gen. 15. 15. Or he shall die going being put for dying as 1 Chr. 17. 11. compared with 2 Sam. 7. 12. Iob 10. 21. 14. 20. Luk. 22. 22. and elsewhere in peace they g Just men Here is a sudden change of the number which is very frequent in the Prophets shall rest in their beds