Unction which is here mentioned v. 21. of this Chapter where a mixture is ordered to be made of the Blood of the Sacrifice and of the anointing Oyl which was order'd to be sprinkled both upon Aaron and his Sons and upon their Garments and was a part of their Consecration For it was done accordingly at that time as we read VIII Lev. 30. So that Aaron himself had a double Unction one proper to him alone as High Priest upon whose Head the holy Oyl was poured another common to him with his Sons as he was a Priest whose Garments were sprinkled with the Oyl and Blood mingled together Ver. 8. And thou shalt bring his sons and put coats upon them The High Priest was first habited and then his Sons in the order I have described v. 5. Ver. 9. And thou shalt gird them with girdles c. See v. 5. And the Priests office shall be theirs c. That is as long as the holy Garments were upon them the Priesthood was upon them but if they were not upon them neither was the Priesthood upon them They are the words of Maimonides in Celi Hammikdash c. 10. Or the meaning may be they shall enjoy in perpetual Succession the Office of Priests as their Father and his Successors the Office of High Priests And thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons Thus doing they shall be compleatly consecrated For in the Hebrew the phrase is Shall fill the hand of Aaron c. which was done after the manner prescribed v. 22 23 24 c. Which shows that this was the principal part of their Consecration or at least the consummation of it And there was besides this a peculiar Offering which both Aaron and his Sons are commanded to offer in the day of their anointing VI Lâ—â— 20 21. Ver. 10. And thou shalt cause a bullock The young bullock he commanded him to take v. 1. To be brought before the Tabernacle of the Congregation In order to its being offered to God for in this and in the following Verses the Sacrifices are prescribed which were to be made at the Consecration of Aaron and his Sons which were three The first is this here mentioned which was an Offering for Sin as appears from v. 14. For till their Sins were expiated they were not fit to offer any thing to God much less to offer for the Sins of others The next was an Holocaust or whole Burnt-offering as a Gift or Present whereby they were recommended to God And the third was a Peace-offering on which they made a Feast and by that were initiated into God's Family And Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock This was the form in all Sacrifices both Burnt-offerings I Lev. 4. and Peace-Offerings III Lev. 2 8. by which they devoted the Sacrifice to be the LORD's But in Sin-offerings there being a Solemn Confession of Sins made XVI Lev. 21. he that laid his hands on the Beast seemed thereby to have transferred the Guilt from himself unto the Sacrifice desiring it might be accepted for him Ver. 11. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD Though Moses was never Consecrated after the manner of Aaron yet he was made a Priest for this peculiar purpose by an extraordinary Commission from God By the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where the Altar of Burnt-offering was placed at the crection of the Tabernacle XL. 6 29. Ver. 12. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock and put it upon the horns of the Altar with thy finger Some have fancied that he means upon the horns of the Altar of Incense because when a Priest offered a Sin-offering for himself he was so to do IV Lev. 7. But it is to be considered that Aaron and his Sons for whom this Sacrifice was offered were not yet Priests but common Men who by this Sacrifice were to be made Priests Whose blood therefore was to be put upon the horns of the Altar of Burnt-offering as is expresly required in other Sin-offerings IV Lev. 25 30. And pour all the blood All the rest of the blood Beside the bottom of the Altar This shows he speaks of the Altar of Burnt-offering at the bottom of which there was a Trench into which they poured the Blood of the Sacrifice as I shall show hereafter Ver. 13. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards He means that part of the Beast which is called the Omentum in which all the Bowels are wrapped which in IX Lev. 19. is simply called that which covereth This hath a great deal of fat upon it to keep the Bowels warm and was much used in ancient Sacrifices both among the Greeks and Romans who herein followed the Jews Nay the Persians also offered to the Gods nothing but the Omentum or a part of it as Bochartus observes out of Strabo See Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 45. And from the Condition and Situation of the Omentum the Heathen Diviners made their Conjectures insomuch that some think it had the name of Omentum because they made their good or bad Omens from thence And the Caul that is above the Liver Our Interpreters take this for the Diaphragm or the Midriff upon which the Liver hangs But Bochartus hath demonstrated I think that it signifies the greatest lobe of the Liver upon which the Bladder of Gall lies L. II. Hierozoic P. I. c. 45. The only Argument against it is that this Jothereth as the Hebrews call it is said here to be above the Liver and therefore must signifie the Diophragm upon which the Liver depends But the Particle Al signifies upon as well as above and is to be here so translated upon or by the Liver And the reason why this lobe of the Liver was peculiar to the Altar was because of the fat that is upon it And the two Kidneys c. For the same reason the Kidneys were appropriated to God which had one of their names from the fat that is upon them which Homer as the same Bochartus there observes calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ver. 14. And the flesh of the bullock and his skin c. The Burnt-offering being flead the skin of it was given to the Priest VII Lev. 8. But in Sin-offerings the skin was burnt and the Flesh also in some cases and that also without the Camp not at the Altar IV Lev. 11 12. VIII 17. The Heathen sometimes burnt the skin even of their Holocausts as Bochart shews P. I. Hierozoic L. II. c. 34. Shalt thou burn with fire c. The Hebrew word here for burn is quite different from that in the foregoing Verse which is used concerning the burning of Incense which soon vanished into smoke as the fat there mentioned did But the flesh and the skin and the dung were burnt with a stronger fire and were longer before they were consumed and therefore burnt without the Camp where the Ashes were poured out
made him very unfit he thought to be an Ambassadour And this doth not disagree with what St. Stephen saith that he was mighty in Words as well as Deeds VII Acts 22. for the sense of what he spake was great and weighty though his pronunciation was not answerable to it Nor did his ill or weak pronunciation nor his slowness in bringing forth his words hinder him from being an excellent Judge and deciding Causes from Morning to Night as we read XVIII Exod. In the determination of which there was no need of Oratory but of a quick Apprehension exact Judgment and proper Language which he never wanted One would think also that by Use and Exercise he grew prompt in the delivery of his Mind for he made several very long Speeches to the People and especially an incomparable Discourse before his departure out of the World in the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy In the latter end of which his Song shows that he wanted no eloquent words when he pleased to use them Ver. 11. And the LORD said unto him who hath made mans mouth c. Cannot I who formed all the Organs of Speech and made the rest of mens Senses and when I please deprive them of their use take away this Impediment of which thou complainest and make thee to speak as roundly and gracefully as any Man living The Authour of the Life of Moses who makes Pharaoh to have condemned Moses for killing the Egyptian c. See II. 15. fancies that God puts him in mind of his Deliverance at that time As if he had said Who taught thee to make thy Defence when thou wast Arraigned before Pharaoh Who made the King dumb that he could not urge and press thy Execution Who made the Executioner deaf that he could not hear the Sentence when pronounced And who made them all blind that they could not see when thou madest thy escape which is very ingeniously invented but we have no assurance of the truth of this Explication Ver. 12. Now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say Excuse thy self no longer but obey the Commission I have given thee and I will both help thy Speech and suggest to thy Mind what thou shalt deliver This doth not signifie as I take it that if he had without further disputing gone about his Business God would have given him a better Elocution but that he would have made his words as powerful as if they had been pronounced with the greatest advantage Or the meaning may be that he should never want either words or thoughts to instruct his Brother Aaron whom God always intended to send along with him Ver. 13. And he said O my Lord. The same form of Speech with that v. 10. Send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send The Vulgar Latin having translated the word SCHILO XLIX Gen. 10. qui mittendus est him that is to be sent it hath inclined several great Men to think that Moses here desires God to send the MESSIAH And several of the ancient Fathers Just Mart. Tertull. and S. Cyprian c. were of this mind as many later Interpreters both of the Roman and of the Reformed Church have been Particularly Flacius Illyricus in his Clavis upon the word MITTO thus explains this Passage Manda id functionis c. commit this Office to the true Messiah or blessed Seed whom thou hast resolved to send who will discharge this Trust far better than I can do c. But there have been and are other very considerable Persons who think Moses means no more than this Send a more proper Person one sitter for this Imployment than I am And the truth is such Speeches as these in Scripture do not denote any certain Person or Thing but signifie something indesinite and in general Examples of which we have in 1 Sam. XXIII 13. 2 Sam. XV. 20. upon which Phrase Vado quo vado I go whither I may the same Flacius observes that it denotes an uncertain motion In like manner Moses here determines his desire to no particular Person but only wishes God would send any Body rather than himself And that he did not think of the Messiah there is this Argument that he had no reason to believe he was now born and yet God's Promise was to send one immediately to relieve the Israelites Upon which Errand also if he had prayed God to send him it would argue Moses to have been in the same Errour with the present Jews that the Messiah was to be a Temporal Deliverer Ver. 14. And the Anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses These words seem to import that God was highly displeased with him and consequently that he had very much offended him Yet some of the Fathers particularly St. Hierom and St. Basil impute his backwardness to serve in this Imployment unto his great Modesty Humility and a deep Sense of his own Infirmities of which the wisest and best Men are far more sensible than other Persons And then this Anger amounts to no more than such a Displeasure as a Father hath at his Child when he is too dissident notwithstanding all that he hath said and done to breed in him a just confidence And therefore no Punishment followed this Anger unless we think as R. Solomon doth that because of this backwardness God preferred Aaron's Family above his or that this was the Cause he would not Cure his Imperfection of Speech but only a Chiding which we may suppose went before the following Question Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother which carries something of sharpness in it And indeed this may be said in Moses his Excuse That the most Excellent Persons are the least forward to embrace the Offers of great Advancement According to the observation of Plato L. I. de Republ which I find Eusebius also hath noted out of him L. XII Praep. Evang. c. 9. that no Magistracy being designed for the Profit of him that Governs but of those that are Governed I must needs conclude saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that no Man who is considerate he means will voluntarily take upon him the Government of a People but he must be hired to it or he must be punished if he will not undertake it For he that will use his Power well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never doth that which is best for himself but for those whom he governs Such an one was Moses who sought not his own Profit or Glory as those that now seek for great Places by which they design a Benefit to themselves and not to their Neighbours and therefore was not easily perswaded to accept of the high Authority which was offered to him Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother One would think by this that Aaron was now a principal Person and of most eminent Quality in the Tribe of Levi as may be concluded also from his Marriage with the Sister of the
Nabi they fancy was not now in use to signifie a Prophet as appears say they from 1 Sam. IX 9. where it is said He that is now called Nabi a Prophet was before time called Roch a Seer Which seems to signifie that the word Nabi which Moses here uses for a Prophet was but newly come into use in Samuel's days But this is very far from Samuel's meaning whose plain sense is this that he who foretold things to come or discovered secrets was anciently called a Seer not a Prophet Which signified heretofore only an Interpreter of the Divine Will but now they began in Samuel's days to apply the word Nabi or Prophet to those who could reveal any Secret or foresee Things future Which had not been the use of the word formerly but it signified as I said one that was familiar with God and knew his Mind and delivered it to others as I observed upon XX Gen. 7. where God himself calls Abraham a Prophet as he here calls Aaron And what holy Writer would dare to alter the word which God himself used Which is far more proper also to this purpose than either ROEH or CHOSEH which these Men sancy were the words in use in Moses his time not Nabi for they do not answer the intention of God in this Speech concerning Aaron Who was not to see and Divine or to receive Revelations from God but to be a Mouth to Moses to utter what God revealed to him not to Aaron Which is the original signification of the word Nabi there being no derivation of it so natural that I can find as that of R. Solomon's from the word Nub which signifies to utter or to bring forth X Prov. 31. Ver. 2. Thou shall speak all that I command thee c. This explains the latter end of the former Verse that Moses should deliver God's Mind to Aaron and Aaron should deliver it to Pharaoh requiring him from God to dismiss the Children of Israel out of his Country Ver. 3. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart Or but I will harden c. which Avenarius translates I will permit his heart to be hardned Though there is no need of it for God here only foretels what Pharaoh would force him to do See IV. 21. after several Signs and Wonders had been wrought to move him to Obedience For he was so stupid and hardned his heart so often VIII 15 32. that in conclusion God hardned him by withdrawing all good motions from him And therefore the first time that Jehovah is said to harden his heart there is a special remembrance of this that the LORD had foretold it IX 12. And multiply my Signs and my Wonders c. The first Plagues that were inflicted on him proving ineffectual it was necessary to send more and greater that if it had been possible his heart might have been mollified Ver. 4. But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you Or rather and Pharaoh shall not hearken to your demands For this was the effect of his hardning That I may lay my Hand upon Egypt Smite all their First-born upon which immediately followed their march out of Egypt And bring forth mine Armies c. All the Tribes of the Children of Israel which were so multiplyed that every one of them singly made an Army See VI. 26. By great Judgments That is grievous Plagues which he inflicted on them one after another And thereby made good his word that Moses should be a God to Pharaoh v. 1. that is a Judge as the word Elohim sometimes signifies See VI. 6. Ver. 5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD Be convinced or made sensible that none can withstand me When I stretch forth my hand against Egypt c. This was most especially fulfilled when he smote their First-born which made them look upon themselves as lost Men if they continued disobedient XII 33. Ver. 6. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commaded them so did they He repeats what he saith of their Obedience to God's Commands because from this time forward they no longer disputed nor made any Objection but roundly went about their business Ver. 7. And Moses was fourscore years old c. The Israelites were under an heavy Persecution when Moses was born and God exercised their Patience it appears by this a very long time that their Deliverance might be for ever remembred with the greater Thankfulness and Obedience Such grave Persons as these were fittest to be imployed as God's Commissioners in this Affair for they could not well be thought to be hot-headed Men who thrust themselves forward into this Embassy without a Warrant So some of the Jews very judiciously have observed that God made choice of aged Men to work all his Miracles before Pharaoh and to receive his Revelations because they were not apt to invent nor to be under the power of Fancy at those years See Sepher Cosri L. I. Sect. 83. where Buxtorf notes that Aben Ezra observes upon this place That none besides Moses and Aaron ever prophesyed in their old Age because they were more excellent than all the Prophets Ver. 8. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron saying When they were about to renew their Address to Pharaoh God was pleased again to appear and give them his Directions in their Proceedings Ver. 9. When Pharaoh shall speak unto you saying shew a Miracle for you It was likely that Pharaoh would when he was not in a Passion ask How shall I know that you come from God with this Message to me give me some proof of your Authority And such a proof as can be done by none but by the Power of God And therefore God directs Moses what to do in this case Say unto Aaron Take thy Rod. The same Rod is sometime called the Rod of God IV. 20. sometime Moses his Rod and sometime Aarons as we find it in many places v. 10. 19. of this Chapter and VIII 5.19 c. Because God wrought all the following Miracles by this Rod which sometimes Moses and sometimes Aaron held in their hand But commonly Moses delivered it unto Aaron as an Agent under him to stretch it out for the effecting of Wonders For he tells Pharaoh in this very Chapter that with the Rod which was in his hand he would smite the Waters c. v. 17. And immediately the LORD bad him Say unto Aaron Take thy Rod and stretch out thy hand upon the Waters of Egypt v. 19. By which it appears he had delivered the Rod unto Aaron For a Rod being the Ensign of Authority Prophets were wont to carry one in their hand in token of their Office And so did the Egyptian Magicians also who had every one their Rod ready to throw down v. 12. And Mercury whom the Egyptians counted a Prophet and thence called him Anubis was represented with a Wand in his hand And cast it before Pharaoh As God had before directed Moses IV. 3 21. Ver. 10. And
Divinations upon the Water as a Magician Hierozoic P. 2. L. IV. Cap. XV. And thou shalt stand by the Rivers brink against he come Perhaps Pharaoh as the same Bochart observes had forbid him to come any more to the Court and so God directs him to take this occasion to meet with him And the Rod which was turned into a Serpent shalt thou take in thine hand To give him the greater Authority and to put Pharaoh in fear at the sight of that Rod which had lately swallowed up all the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Greg. Nyssen calls them Magical Staves which encountred him Ver. 16. And thou shalt say the LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying See V. 3. To which add that it is plain by this whole Story that all the Messages delivered by Moses and all the Answers which Pharaoh returned were true and formal Treaties of a Solemn Embassage as Dr. Jackson speaks upon which Moses was sent to the King of Egypt from the LORD God of the Hebrews that is their King as he was become in a peculiar manner under whom Moses acted as his Deputy or Viceroy Let my People go that they may serve me c. The merciful kindness of God to an hardned Sinner is here very remarkable in renewing his Message and giving him Warning of what would come upon him if he did not yield Whereas he might in Justice have inflicted it without any Notice of his Intentions He sets before him also his Sin and his Danger in being hitherto Disobedient and behold hitherto thou wouldst not hear i. e. thou hast provoked the Divine Majesty by disregarding several Messages I have brought to thee from him Ver. 17. Thus saith the LORD Attend to this new Message I bring to thee in his Name In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD He had askt in a contemptuous way Who is the LORD and said after a supercilious manner I know him not v. 2. nor indeed cared to know him but slighted him and his Messengers as the word know not sometime signifies being as much as not to regard Therefore now he bids Moses tell him He would make him know that he was the Omnipotent LORD of the World by the change of the Waters of the River which Pharaoh perhaps adored into Blood Behold I will smite with the Rod that is in mine hand God and Moses are represented in this History as one Person according to what he had said v. 1. of this Chapter and therefore it was the same thing to say the LORD whose words Moses had begun to recite will smite or to say I will smite See v. 16. It is to be observed also that Aaron smote the River v. 19. but it being by Moses his Direction and Order it was counted his Act so that he might say I will smite c. The Waters of the River and they shall be turned into Blood This Plague was the more remarkable because as Theodoret here observes they having drowned the Hebrew Children in this River God now punishes them for it by giving them bloody Water to drink XII Wisd 7 8. And if they had the same Notions then that the Egyptians had in future times the Plague was the more terrible because it fell on that which they thought had some Divinity in it and as the same Theodoret observes was honoured as a God because it made Plenty when it overflow'd its Banks The Hebrew Doctors add another reason for this Punishment because the Egyptians had hindred them from their wonted Baptisms as the Authour of The Life and Death of Moses speaks that is saith Gaulmyn from Purifying themselves in the River by Bathing after they had lain in of their Children which in the scarcity of Water in that Country could no where be done but in the River Ver. 18. And the Fish that is in the River shall die c. Here are three grievous Effects of this Plague It deprived them of their most delicious Food for so their Fish were XI Numb 5. And took away the Pleasure they had of washing by the Rivers side because it stank both by the death of the Fish and the corruption of the Blood through the heat of the Sun by which means the Water was made unfit for their Drink Ver. 19. And the LORD spake unto Moses After he had been with Pharaoh and delivered this Message to him Say unto Aaron take thy Rod and stretch out thy hand This Warning being despised by Pharaoh who would not relent God requires them actually to do as he had threatned And now Moses had delivered his Rod to Aaron that he might by his Authority execute this Judgment Vpon the Waters of Egypt These are general words comprehending all the particulurs following Vpon their Streams There were seven Branches into which the River Nile was divided before it fell into the Sea which seem to be here understood being called IX Isa 15. the seven Streams or Rivers of Egypt Vpon their Rivers There were several Cuts made by Art out of every Stream to draw the Water into their Grounds which seem to be here meant by Rivers And upon their Ponds These were digged to hold rain water when it fell as it did sometimes and near the River also they digged Wells it is likely which may be here intended And upon all Pools of Water There were here and there other Collections of Water particularly in their Gardens derived by Pipes from the River into Cisterns In Vessels of Wood or of Stone Wherein Water was kept in private Houses for their present use Ver. 20. And Moses and Aaron did so as the LORD commanded c. This first Plague our Primate Vsher makes account was inflicted about the XVIIIth day of the Sixth Month which in the next year and ever after became the Twelfth Month. Artapanus tells this Story otherwise but it is evident he had heard of it among the Gentiles and Ezekiel the Tragaedian relates it all right together with the following Miracle See Euseb Praepar Evang. L. IX Cap. XXIX p. 442. Nor is there any thing more frequent in the Roman Story as Huetius observes L. II. Alnet Quaestion Cap. XII n. 12. than Relations of Rivers of Blood flowing out of the Earth Pits full of Blood showres of Blood and Waters of Rivers changed into Blood c. And he lift up the Rod and smote the Waters that were in the River c. Here is mention only of Smiting the Water in the River And it is likely that only the Waters of the River were turned into Blood as it here follows at the first lifting up of his Rod and then all the rest of the Waters mentioned in the precedent Verse Ver. 21. And the Fish that was in the River died c. All the effects of this Plague which were threatned v. 18. See there immediately following The first of which was the death of the Fish which perished in such great numbers that
sore Plague more grievous than the former For that spoiled only their Water but not their other Liquors whereas this made them uneasie Day and Night in every place whether they sate or walkt or lay down or did eat and drink For their very Dough as we translate the word of this Verse in the Margin was infested with them as soon as they had kneaded it and so was their Drink in all likelyhood as soon as it was poured into their Cups Nay they got into their Ovens so that for the present I suppose they could not bake their bread Ver. 4. And the Frogs shall come up both upon thee and upon thy People c. They came not meerly into their Houses but crawled upon their Persons And here it is observable that this Plague is limited to the Egyptians Pharaoh his People and Servants the Israelites one would think by these words being exempted from it Ver. 5. And the LORD spake unto Moses say unto Aaron c. No doubt Moses delivered the foregoing Message unto Pharaoh but he it seems turned away and would give no Answer For here immediately follows a new Order which God perhaps gave Moses upon the spot as we speak before he returned home to inflict the Plague he had bid him threaten Ver. 6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand He as the Minister of Moses who was to him as God IV. 16. inflicted this Plague upon Egypt Over the Waters He did not go to every place where there was Water but stood by the River and stretcht his Rod over it towards every part of the Country as Eben Ezra rightly explains it and immediately God effected what Moses had denounced And the Frogs came up and covered the Land of Egypt That is there were vast numbers of them came up for they did not so cover the Land but there was room for more which the Magicians counterfeited The Jews think here was Mensura pro Mensura like for like as we speak For they say it was a piece of their Bondage that the Egyptians when they pleased sent them a fishing and now God made the River spawn nothing but Frogs Whose very croaking others of them think put the Egyptians in mind of the Cries of the poor Children whom they barbarously murdered Ver. 7. And the Magicians did so with their Inchantments c. They should rather have shown their skill in removing the Frogs or destroying those which Moses had brought Which one would think Pharaoh expected from them for they being unable to do this he betook himself to Moses whom he intreats to take them away which he would never have done if their power had not quite failed and been unable to give him any relief So Aben Ezra observes he called for Moses because he saw the Magicians had only added to the Plague but could not diminish it Ver. 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said intreat the LORD that he may take away the Frogs c. He that had proudly said not long ago Who is the LORD c. V. 2. now says Intreat the LORD c. This was an acknowledgment that the LORD sent them and that he only had power to remove them In the former Plague he did enough to make Pharaoh know he was the LORD VII 17. but this had that effect upon him for the present which made him earnestly intreat those whom he had scorned to become Intercessors to God for him and his People And I will let the People go that they may do Sacrifice unto the LORD This was not his setled Resolution but the present Danger made him consent to it For if the Frogs had continued long there had been no living in the Country As appears from what we read in Athenaeus out of Heraclides Lembus Lib. VIII Deipnos Cap. 2. who says the whole Country of Paeonia and Dardania were covered with Frogs which God rained down from Heaven in such abundance that the Houses and High-ways were full of them They spent some time in killing of them and by keeping their Doors shut they made a shift for a while to bear this Calamity but when it did no good but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. all their Vessels were full of them and they mingled themselves with their Meat whether boil'd or roast and they could tread no where but upon Frogs they left their Country being forced to it also by the stench of the Frogs when they died They that would see more of this out of several other Authours may consult Bonfrerius upon this very place and Bochartus in his Hierozoic P. 2. L. V. Cap. 2. p. 661 c. Ver. 9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh Glory over me when shall I intreat for thee Do thou appoint the time when I shall pray for thee as St. Hierom translates it and so doth the Syriack and Onkelos and the LXX who differ from the Hebrew Text in words only not in sense For by adding the word saying as we do in VII Judg. 2. where there is the same expression this Paraphrase of Bochart is very proper Hierozoic P. 2. L. V. Cap. 2. though it belongs not to thee to determine the time of thy Deliverance which depends wholly upon the Will and Pleasure of God yet I who am his Minister give thee leave to take so much upon thee as to prescribe what time thou pleasest for the removal of this Plague For thus he thinks Moses his words are to be translated Glory over me by telling me when I shall intercede for thee c. Moses saw perhaps that Pharaoh was much addicted to Astrologers who fancied all things here below to be governed by the Motion and Influence of the Stars and therefore would have him name the time that he might be satisfied there was no day nor hour under such an ill Aspect but he could prevail with God at any Moment he thought good to pitch upon to Deliver him Bonfrerius I think hath expressed in short the literal sense of the Hebrew words Tibi hunc honorem defero ut eligas quando c. I will do thee the honour that thou may'st assign the time And our Dr. Jackson still shorter Glory over me that is saith he you shall command me Ver. 10. And he said to morrow But why not on that very day all Men naturally desiring to be instantly relieved from their Sufferings Perhaps he thought as we said before to try Moses his Power believing the next day not to be so lucky as the present on which Moses had condescended to his Request Or it might now be towards night when he called for Moses who he thought would expect some time to pray to God for what he desired Be it according to thy word Thou shalt have thy desire That thou mayest know there is none like unto the LORD our God Mayest no longer depend upon thy Magicians and their Gods being convinced that our God alone whom we call JEHOVAH can wound and
be the ancient grudge of the Seed of Esau to those of Israel For Amalek was descended from the eldest Son of Esau by a Concubine XXXVI Gen. 12. But it may very fairly also be supposed that there was some League between the Amalekites and the People of Canaan of mutual Defence which might move the Amalekites to oppose the passage of the Israelites and indeavour to hinder their Settlement in Canaan unto which perhaps they imagined their own pretences to be as good though the Israelites challenged the promise of it belong'd to them alone Then came These words import that the Amalekites were the Aggressors without any provocation If they fancied the Israelites would Invade them they might have prepared to defend themselves but it was no ground for Assaulting them Unto which perhaps they were moved as for other Reasons so out of greediness of Prey hearing the Israelites were loaded with the Spoils of the Egyptians And fought with Israel They came out of their own Country to sight with them in the Wilderness Or we may suppose that they attacked their Rear as they were upon their march from Rephidim to Horeb and cut off some Straglers or such as lagg'd behind through faintness and weariness as Moses relates XXV Deut. 18. The Author of Dibre Hajamim makes the Army of Amalek to have consisted of an incredible Number all exercising Divinations and Inchantments Ver. 9. And Moses said unto Joshua Who it seems was an eminent Person at their first coming out of Egypt Chuse us out men Whom he knew to be as valiant as himself And go out and sight with Amalek Meet them and give them Battle To morrow I will stand on the top of the Hill To pray to God who had lately appeared to him there v. 6. With the Rod of God in my hand This he said to encourage Joshua to hope God would not fail to deliver them though a Miracle was required to bring it to pass Ver. 10. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him c. Nothing but a strong confidence in God could have animated Men unexperienced in the Arts of War to encounter such mighty Enemies And Moses Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the Hill The Jews do but conjecture who this Hur was But we may be certain he was a Person of great Eminence for Wisdom and Piety otherwise he would not have been joyned with the Leaders of God's People Moses and Aaron We read indeed 1 Chron. II. 19. of one Hur who was the Son of Caleb and Grandfather of the famous Bezaleel who was of the Tribe of Judah But there is nothing to perswade us that he was the Person here spoken of nor that he was the Son of Moses his Sister as some of the Jews tell us See Pirke Elieser c. 45. where strange Stories are told of him But it is more probable that he was Miriam's Husband as Josephus affirms L. III. Antiq. c. 2. though we cannot tell whence he himself was descended Ver. 11. When Moses held up his hand Lifting up the hands was a posture of Prayer and imploring the Divine Aid as we find in many places particularly III Lament 40. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in the Heavens And it implies great Earnestness in Prayer as doth also listing up the eyes and listing up the soul XXV Psal 1. CXXI 1 c. But though this be true and no doubt Moses and his Companions prayed to God most earnestly yet this was not the occasion of his lifting up his hand which was to advance the Rod of God which he held in his hand and lifted up as their Standard or Banner to which they should look and hope for help from the mighty Power of God who had done such Wonders by that Rod. That Israel prevailed The sight of the Rod of God inspired them with such Courage that their Enemies could not stand before them And when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed Their Spirits flagged when they did not see the Rod and they began to give ground imagining perhaps that Moses despaired of Victory who the Fight being long was not able alway to keep his hand erect Ver. 12. But Moses his hands were heavy Through weariness by long holding them out upon the stretch And they took a stone and put it under him and he sate thereon It seems he had been standing before which gave them the greater advantage of seeing the Rod but made him the more weary And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands Were his Supporters which it is probable was in this manner Sometimes Moses held up the Rod in his right hand and sometimes in his left for v. 11. he speaks only of one hand which was lifted up or let down and Aaron stood on one side of him suppose his right hand and Hur stood on the other Who by that means helpt by turns to uphold his hands in that posture for if they had done it both together they might have been as weary as he And his hands were steady c. Were kept up stretched out without falling down till Sun-set Ver. 13. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his People c. Routed their whole Army One would think the name of their Kings was Amalek as the Kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh because he mentions Amalek and his People Otherwise if Amalek signifies collectively the Amalekites then his People must signifie those who were confederate with them Ver. 14. And the LORD said unto Moses He appeared it 's likely to him again in this place as he had done v. 6. and gave him this order Write this for a Memorial in a Book Make a Record of it as he did both here and XXV Deut. 17. c. And no Body was so sit to do it as he who saw all that fell out in this Fight and was the undoubted Author of what we read in this Book which was written by himself And rehearse it in the ears of Joshua That he who was to be the Leader of God's People after Moses might never enter into any League with the Amalekites For his Prosperity depended upon the Observation of the Commands given by God to Moses which therefore were carefully written in a Book and delivered to him that they might not be forgotten See I Josh 7 8. where there is a plain proof that the Laws delivered by Moses were written before Joshua entred into the Land of Canaan For I will utterly put out the Name of Amalek from under Heaven Have a perpetual quarrel with them till they be quite extinct as they were partly by Saul 1 Sam. XV. and partly by David 1 Sam. XXX 17. and partly by the Children of Simeon 1 Chron. IV. 43. Balaam also prophecied of their utter Destruction XXIV Numb 20. Which may seem a hard Sentence but it was as Maimonides observes to terrifie others from the like Malice For as particular Persons are sometimes punished very severely for an
these were the Contents to give him notice of his coming Which was but necessary that he might without any impediment pass the Guards which we may well think Moses had set very carefully after the Fight with Amalek who had suddenly surprized the hindmost of the People XXV Deut. 18. I thy Father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee c. Am upon the way and come near to thee Here it may be sit to take notice that there is a great dispute among Interpreters about the time when Jethro came from Midian with Moses his Wife and Children whether immediately after the Fight with Amalek as it is here set down or some time after when the Israelites were better settled One would think that he could not but take the first opportunity to visit Moses and to bring him and his nearest Relations together after he heard the News of their coming out of Egypt and their passing the Red Sea c. The news of which could not but reach him who was a Borderer upon this Wilderness Yet the Hebrews are generally of an opinion that this fell out after the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai and many Christians have been of the same mind particularly such great Men as our most Learned Primate Vsher ad A. M. 2514. and Mr. Selden L. II. de Synedris c. 2. where he saith no other account of it is to be received nec aliam sanè sententiam omninò amplexandam sentio but they are not agreed in what year he came Some say it was in this first year after their coming out of Egypt And the Hebrews have an opinion that it was in the Month of Tisri and on the eleventh day of that Month when Jethro gave the following Counsel to Moses v. 19 c. i. e. above three Months after God gave the Law from Mount Sinai or after Moses received the second Tables But others are as consident that it was in the second year and place this Story according to order of time after X Numb 28. or as Dr. Lightfoot thinks it should come in between the 10th and 11th Verses of that Tenth of Numbers And Primate Vsher in like manner judges his coming to have been about that time But though all this be uncertain yet Mr. Selden thinks he hath a strong ground to affirm it was after the giving of the Law from what we read I Deut. 6 9 10 11 c. And I confess it seems plain from thence that the Regulation which Moses made by the advice of Jethro was after God spake to them in Horeb which is the same with Mount Sinai For though he did appear at Horeb before this as I observed XVII 6. yet he said nothing then of that which Moses mentions I Deut. which was after the giving of the Law At which time he saith there v. 9. it was that he told them he was not able to bear them himself alone c. But notwithstanding this I cannot think that the coming of Jethro to Moses was deferred so long for no reason can be given why Moses here places the Story of it if it did not follow their Fight with Amalek though he did not give him the advice for the better Administration of Justice till after God had delivered the Law from Mount Sinai as I shall observe in its proper place Ver. 7. And Moses went out to meet his Father-in-law Before he came into the Camp or at least before he came to his Tent that he might show the great respect he bare to him and his joy to see him And did obeysance and kissed him Welcomed him according to the Custom of those Countries And they asked each other of their welfare Had such discourse together as Friends commonly have at their meeting till they came into the Tent. And they came into the Tent. Into the Tent of Moses or rather the Tent prepared to entertain Jethro But the Talmudists are so possessed with the opinion that this hapned some Months if not a whole Year after the Law was given that they take this Tent to have been Beth-midrash the House of Exposition or the School where Moses made the People understand the Law For so Jonathan in his Paraphrase upon this and the foregoing Verse I thy Father-in-law am come unto thee that I may be made a Proselyte And if thou wilt not receive me for my own sake yet admit me for the sake of thy Wife and Children which I bring with me And Moses went out from under the Cloud of Glory to meet him c. and when they had mutually saluted they came into the Tabernacle of the House of Learning But nothing can be more absurd than this fancy that he carried him immediately to hear a Lecture upon the Law Ver. 8. And Moses told his Father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh c. It seems to me from these words and those that follow that all we read hitherto about this matter fell out in order of time as it is here set down For if it had hapned after the giving of the Law it is most probable he would have said something of the most remarkable passage of all other Gods glorious appearance to them on Mount Sinai and the Law he had delivered to them c. Whereas at this meeting he only relates what God had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians and how the LORD delivered them and all the Travel that came upon them by the way which comprehends their passing through the Red Sea and their want of Water and Bread and their Fight with Amalek That is all that we read in the foregoing Chapters And accordingly Jethro rejoyced for their deliverance from the Egyptians v. 9. and gives thanks to God for it v. 10. taking notice of nothing else Ver. 9. And Jethro rejoyced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel c. The Gentiles as Conradus Pellicanus here observes more devoutly acknowledged God's Mercies when they understood them than the Jews themselves did With which our Saviour when he came upbraids that People sinding such Faith among the Gentiles as he could not meet withal in Israel Ver. 10. Blessed be the LORD who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians c. This may relate to the Preservation of Moses and Aaron who had brought the sorest Plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians and yet God suffered them not to hurt them Who hath delivered the People from under the hand of the Egyptians And then this relates to the Deliverance of the whole Body of the People from the Egyptian Bondage and to the overthrow of Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea whereby the Israelites were sinally delivered from under the hand i. e. the tyranny and oppression of the Egyptians Ver. 11. Now I know that the LORD He knew the true God before but was now fully convinced that he alone was the most High Is greater then all Gods Than all that the
as a thing abominable It is a Sin-offering The Priest might eat of any Sin-offering whose Blood was not brought into the Sanctuary or rather it was his Duty so to do X Lev. 17. because it argued that the Peoples Sin was born and taken away by the Priest It may seem strange then that Moses who was in the place of a Priest is ordered to burn all this Sin-offering and not permitted to eat of it though Aaron and his Sons could not because they were not yet Priests The best reason I have found of it is that it was to signifie the imperfection of the Legal Dispensation since the Sins of the Priests themselves could not be taken away by the Priests of the Law or their Sacrifices but were to expect a better Sacrifice or a better High Priest as Dr. Jackson's words are in his Consecration of the Son of God c. 26. n. 2. Ver. 15. And thou shalt also take one ram One of the Rams mentioned above v. 1. Aaron and his Sons shall put their hands upon the head of the Ram. See concerning this v. 10. Ver. 16. And thou shalt slay the Ram. Where the Bullock was killed by the Door of the Tabernacle v. 11. And thou shalt take his blood and sprinkle it round about upon the Altar It was a different Sacrifice from the other and therefore had different Ceremonies belonging to it some of the Blood of the Bullock being only put on the Horns of the Altar v. 12. How the Blood was sprinkled round about upon the Altar will be explained I Lev. 11. Ver. 17. And thou shalt cut the Ram in pieces That the Parts might the more easily be burnt upon the Altar And wash the inwards of him c. Upon which there was a great deal of fat which being put upon the pieces and the Head made them consume the sooner by nourishing the flame Thus Homer represents the Sacrifice of the Greeks as Bochart observes when they offered to Jupiter They cut the Thighs in pieces and then covered them over with fat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iliad 2. v. 423. Vid. Hieroz Pars I. Lib. II. 2. c. 45. p. 472. Ver. 18. And thou shalt burn the whole Ram upon the Altar it is a Burnt-offering unto the LORD c. By this it appears that as the former was a Sin-offering so this was an Holocaust or Burnt-offering which would not be received till their Sins were expiated by the foregoing Sacrifice Nothing of which was offered at the Altar but some of the fat only because as R. Levi ben Gerson observes the Offerers were not yet worthy that God should accept any Offering from them Ver. 19. And thou shalt take the other Ram. Mentioned v. 1. And Aaron and his Sons shall put their hands upon the head of the Ram. See v. 10. This it will appear afterward v. 28 32. was a Peace-offering upon which being now reconciled to God and received into his favour they feasted with him at his Table Ver. 20. Then shalt thou kill the Ram. Where the Bullock was killed which was first offered v. 11. And take of his blood Which was received in a Bason And put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his Sons c. This being peculiarly called the Ram of Consecration v. 22 31. the Blood of it was not put upon the Horns of the Altar as in this first Sacrifice v. 12. nor meerly sprinkled round about the Altar as in the second v. 16. but put upon Aaron and his Sons And first upon the tip of their ears to signifie that they should hearken to the Divine Prescriptions and then upon their Thumbs and great Toes in which lye the strength of the Hands and Feet to denote their ready and strenuous performance of every thing required of them And being put upon the tip of their right ear and the Thumb of their right hand and the great Toe of their right foot it may well be thought to signifie the most exact and perfect obedience the right hand being every where represented as the most excellent and strongest to do any Execution To this purpose Abarbinel discourses on this place whose words are these All this tended to make the Priest understand that he ought to apply himself diligently to the study of the Law and to imploy his hands with the same diligence in his Sacred Ministry and to walk in the way of God's Precepts c. Some of the Jews consider these things so scrupulously as to say the Priests might not use their left hand in their Ministry no more than Minister with unwashen hands And sprinkle the blood upon the Altar round about i. e. The remainder of the Blood It is no improbable conjecture of Fortunatus Scacchus that from hence the Heathens learnt their Taurobolia and Criobolia which in process of time they disguised with Infernal Rites and Ceremonies For a deep hole being made in the Ground the Priest to be conserrated was put into it and then Planks being laid over it with a great many holes in them the Bullock or the Ram was slain over them and their Blood running down into the hole the Priest received it on his Eyes his Ears his Nose his Mouth nay he besmeared his Body with it And this was accounted the highest Consecration of a Priest the virtue of which lasted Twenty years before it was renewed and he that was thus consecrated was had in the greatest Honour and Veneration Thus filthily did the Devil pervert the most simple and cleanest Rites which Moses prescribed of putting a little Blood with a fragrant Oyl on the tip of one of their Ears Thumbs and Toes Myrothec 2. Sacr. Elaeochrism c. 77. Ver. 21. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the Altar Some of that which was sprinkled as the foregoing Verse directs round about the Altar Or perhaps some of the Blood was left in the Bason upon the Altar for that use And of the anointing Oyl Which is afterward ordered to be made XXX 23 c. And sprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his Garments and upon his Sons and upon the Garments of his Sons with him By which sprinkling both they and their Garments were separated to an holy use as it follows in the next words And he shall be hallowed and his Garments c. See upon v. 7. This may be lookt upon as a lively Representation of our Purification by the Blood of Jesus Christ and by his Holy Spirit Ver. 22. And thou shalt take of the Ram the fat All the Fat in general was to be the LORD's III Lev. 3. The Rump Here he seems to reckon up the particulars And the Rump of a Sheep was the principal in those Eastern Countries where their Tails are of a prodigious bigness and exceeding fat as Bochartus observes P. I. Hieroz L. II. c. 45. and Job Ludolphus in his Histor Aethiop L. I. c. 10. n. 16. and in his Comment in Histor L. I. c.
10. n. 76. And that covereth the inwards c. See v. 13. where these and the following words are explained And the right shouldor In Peace-offerings this belonged to the Priest VII Lev. 32. and so it is here ordained v. 27 28. But now it was to be burnt upon the Altar v. 25. because they were not yet Priests as the following words tell us which give the reason why this shoulder was burnt For it is a Ram of Consecration Whereby they were consecrated and made Priests but not yet compleated and therefore could not eat of that shoulder Ver. 23. And one loaf of bread and one cake of oyled bread c. Of that Bread and those Cakes mentioned v. 2. of this Chapter That is before the LORD Which had been presented unto God v. 3. for this by the Law was to accompany their other Sacrifices XV Numb 4. Ver. 24. And thou shalt put all Both Bread and Cakes and Fat and right Shoulder before-mentioned In the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his Sons Thence this Sacrifice was called Milluim that is filling of the hands which we translate Consecration And their hands were thus filled to show that Aaron and his Sons did not usurp this dignity or take it upon themselves as we speak but were called unto it by God who ordered these things to be put into their hands that they might present them to him R. Solomon will have this Ram called the Ram of sillings or impletions because by this Sacrifice they were compleated and absolutely made Priests nothing remaining to be done after this And shalt wave them When such holy things were put into the Heads of the Offerers by the Priest then the Priest put his hands under theirs and they were lifted up and then waved about on all sides For a Wave-offering The Hebrew word Tenuphah signifies agitation or shaking to and fro which Abarbinel saith was performed upward and downward and then round about to all quarters of the World to signifie that the Earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof or rather that he is the possessor of Heaven and of Earth Others of them speak to the same purpose Before the LORD Standing with their Faces towards the Sanctuary Ver. 25. And thou shalt receive them from their hands c. After they had waved them they delivered them into the hands of Moses who as the Priest at this time laid them upon the Altar and burnt them For a Burnt-offering It is certain this was not an whole Burnt-offering but a Peace-offering as appears from v. 28 31 32. yet some of it being burnt on the Altar that part is called a Burnt-offering It is an Offering made by fire So the Burnt-offerings are called I Lev. 9 13 c. but this was so only in part as I said not in the whole and may be interpreted by III Lev. 5. where all that was to be burnt of the Peace-offerings is commanded to be burnt upon the Burnt-Sacrifice and in that regard might be called a Burnt-offering See v. 27. Ver. 26. And thou shalt take the Breast of the Ram of Aarons consecrations Of the Consecration of him and of his Sons And wave it for a Wave-offering before the LORD and it shall be thy part Being a Peace-offering the Priest who offered the Sacrifice was to have his share of it and therefore the Breast is here given to Moses after he had acknowledged it to be God's by waving it about and that he had it only as his Minister Ver. 27. And thou shalt sanctifie the breast of the Wave-offering and the shoulder of the Heave-offering Upon this occasion he makes a general Law to be always observed hereafter That though in this peculiar Case the right shoulder of this Sacrifice was burnt being for Aaron's Consecration and called a Burnt-offering v. 25. yet in all future times both the Breast and this Shoulder should belong unto the Priest Therefore the word sanctifie here signifies as much as declare them to be sanctified or set apart for the Priests use as they were again by an express Law VII Lev. 31 32 33 34. Which is waved and which is heaved up There is no difference that I can find between Terumah which we translate Heave-offering and Tenuphah which we translate Wave-offering but the former was only lifted up and so waved and the other was waved all manner of ways up and down East West North and South to signifie that he to whom it was offered was Lord of the whole World and all that therein is Ver. 28. And it shall be Aarons and his Sons by a statute for ever So it is called VII Lev. 34. and it is again repeated for greater confirmation XVIII Deut. 3. For it is an Heave-offering It is consecrated to God to whom it belongs and he bestows it upon his Ministers And it shall be an Heave-offering of the Sacrifice of their Peace-offerings c. And it shall always in future times be presented unto God as his part of the Peace-offerings who constitutes the Priests to eat it in his stead As the former Ram was a Burnt-offering so this it is plain was a Peace-offering in token that now they were in a state of perfect Friendship with God Which was procured by their Sin-offering v. 14. which was offered first whereby their Present to God v. 18. was made acceptable as now their Persons were declared by this Sacrifice of Peace-offering Ver. 29. And the holy Garments of Aaron shall be his Sons after him to be anointed therein c. Upon this occasion also God makes another general Law That all the Successors of Aaron in the High Priesthood should be set apart to that Office in such Garments and by such an Unction and such Sacrifices as he was consecrated withal And it appears by XX Numb 28. that Aaron's Son was invested with the very same Garments which Aaron wore for those which peculiarly belonged to the High Priest did not decay as the Tunick and Breeches did and therefore went from one to another Ver. 30. And that Son which is Priest in his stead shall put them on seven days This was to be done seven days one after another that a Sabbath might pass over him For no Man could be a compleat High Priest as the Jews imagine till a Sabbath had gone over his head But the principal intention of this was that he might be made a Priest with great Solemnity and Deliberation and put on his Habit so often that he may learn how to appear in them after a decent or rather magnificent manner before he undertook to Minister Yet the Jews say that if he did offer Sacrifice before the seven days end it was not accounted unlawful provided he had been anointed and had put them on once So Maimonides who adds that he was to put them on by day and not by Night See Selden de Successionibus L. II. c. 8. Where he shows cap. 9. this is to be
to Israel under the figure of a most loving Husband who denies his Wife nothing though never so costly saith he shod her with Thacas which I since sind translated by an Anonymous Authour with purple shoes CHAP. XXXVII IN this Chapter Moses gives an Account of the making of all the Furniture of the Tabernacle with such exactness as he describes the making of the Tabernacle it self in the foregoing Chapter To show that God's directions about the making every thing was punctually observed nothing being omitted or added but all made according to the Pattern in the Mount XXV 9 40. In which Chapter most of the things here mentioned are explained and there needs little to be added here Ver. 1. And Bezaleel made the Ark of Shittim-wood c. Abarbinel fancies that though other things were made by inferiour Artificers whom Bezaleel directed yet the Ark because of its dignity and preheminence above all other things was made by him without the help of any other And so Rambam also from whence the Jews commonly called it as Buxtorf observes the Ark of Bezaleel But this hath no good foundation for he is said to have made also every thing else in the Tabernacle the Table and all its Vessels in short every thing mentioned in this Chapter and in the next also and in the foregoing v. 10 11 c. He therefore is said to have made the Ark c. because he gave directions to the under Workmen and saw them make it Ver. 10. And he made the Table of Shittim-wood c. Next to the Ark the Mercy-seat and the Cherubims which belong to it the Table and the Vessels appertaining to it were the principal things within the Tabernacle See XXV 23 c. where all the things mentioned between this Verse and the Seventeenth are explained Ver. 17. And he made the Candlestick c. The orders which Moses received for the making this the Branches and the Lamps thereof and every thing appertaining to it are set down XXV 31 32 c. which Bezaleel exactly followed Ver. 25. He made the Incense Altar c. This and all that follows in the three next Verses see explained XXX 1 c. Ver. 29. And he made the holy anointing Oyl c. See XXX 31 c. And the pure Incense c. XXX 34 c. CHAP. XXXVIII Verse 1. AND he made the Altar of Burnt-offering c. Having given an Account of the making of all the Furniture of the House he proceeds to show how all things were made without doors with the same exactness according to the Divine Prescriptions All which Bezaleel could not make with his own hands but he was chief Director in these things as well as the rest of the Work Five Cubits was the length thereof c. See XXVII 1 2 c. where this and the six following Verses are explained Ver. 8. And he made the Laver of brass c. See XXX 18. where order is given for the making of this Laver and its situation directed but neither there nor here are we told the figure or dimensions of it but have a particular remark in this place concerning the Materials out of which it was made in the following words Of the Looking glasses So we interpret the Hebrew word Maroth because now such things are commonly made of Glass but anciently of polished Brass which they lookt upon as far better than Silver for that made a weaker reflection as Vitruvius informs us L. VII c. 3. And the best of these Specula were among the ancient Romans made at Brundusium of Brass and Tin mixed together as Pliny tells us L. XXXIII 9. XXXIV 17. This shows the Laver was made of the finest and most pure Brass Of the Women assembling which assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation The Hebrew word Hattzobeoth signifies that they came by Troops to make this Present to the LORD And the LXX and Chaldee understanding it of such Women as came together to serve God by Fasting and Prayer for there is the same word used in 1 Sam. II. 22. most Interpreters think they that made this Oblation were very devout Women who were wont to spend much time at the Tabernacle where the Presence of God was For Moses his Tent served instead of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and was so called till this Tabernacle was built XXXIII 7 c. Thus Aben-Ezra also observes upon these words That these Women making a Free-will Offering of the Looking-glasses wherein they were wont to behold the Beauty of their Faces and to dress and adorn their Heads it seems to argue their very Religious Mind despising the Vanity of the World and delighting far more in the Service of God Ver. 9. And he made the Court c. All that follows from this place to v. 21. is explained in the XXVII Chapter from v. 9. to v. 20. except two or three words which I shall here take notice of Ver. 17. The Chapiters of Silver There is no mention of Rashim Chapiters in the XXVII Chapter but only of Vauim or hooks which were of Silver v. 10. 17. But this Verse shows that those hooks were in the Chapiters or Heads of the Pillars out of which those arose as an Ornament to them Ver. 18. And the heighth in the breadth c. This is an Hebrew Phrase signifying the height of the Hanging it self whose breadth when it lay along was called its height when it was hung up And that was five Cubits proportionable to the Hangings of the Court which was five Cubits high XXVII 18. Ver. 21. This is the sum of the Tabernacle even of the Tabernacle of the Testimony c. Some will have this relate to the fore-named things mentioned in this and in the fore-going Chapters But I take it rather to be a Preface to the Account which Moses ordered to be taken of all the Gold Silver and Brass that was employed in building of the Tabernacle Which being summed up amounted to so many Talents as are mentioned v. 24 c. For the Service of the Levites Rather By the Ministry of the Levites whom Moses appointed to take the Account of all the Expences By the hand of Ithamar Son to Aaron the Priest Under the Conduct of Ithamar the youngest Son of Aaron whom he appointed to preside over the Levites in taking this account Ver. 22. And Bezaleel the Son of Uri made all that the LORD commanded Moses Which Gold Silver and Brass was committed into the hands of Bezaleel though in the Presence of all the rest of the Workmen XXXVI 2 3. as the principal Person who was to see it employed in making every thing which the LORD commanded Moses Ver. 23. And with him was Aholiab c. Unto whom God joyned Aholiab as his Associate in so great an Undertaking who made use of several others whom they taught in those Arts which God by an extraordinary Inspiration had made them to understand XXXV
holy And therefore the seven days appointed for that purpose were ended before the Consecration of the Priests began which continued seven days more and then the next day was the Feast of unleavened Bread Which was famous on a double account first because it was the first day of unleavened Bread and then it was the Octaves of the Consecration And this appears more plainly from I Lev. 1. where we find the following Commands were given to Moses out of the Tabernacle by the Divine Majesty who therefore dwelt there when he commanded the Priests to be consecrated which he did not till the Tabernacle was solemnly consecrated to be his Habitation There the Priests also are commanded to abide during the seven days of their Consecration VIII Lev. 33. which shows that all things belonging to its Sanctification were finished before their Consecration began As to that which is alledged from VIII Lev. 10 11 c. I shall consider it there Ver. 19. And he spread abroad the Tent over the Tabernacle The Ohel which we translate Tent sometimes signifies the whole House of God See v. 19. but here only the external part of it which covered that which was properly called Mischchan the Tabernacle Which Moses having erected with all its Sockets Boards Bars and Pillars v. 18. and hung it we must suppose with the inward Hangings which were the richest he spread abroad over them the Curtains of Goats-hair called the Tent XXVI 11. to be a covering over the Tabernacle XXVI 7. XXXVI 14 19. So the Tabernacle was an House within an House inclosed with strong Walls as we call them to secure it from the injury of the Weather And put the covering of the Tent upon it Mentioned in XXVI 14. Ver. 20. And he took and put the Testimony into the Ark. The two Tables of Stone as he had been commanded XXV 16. which he mentions again in the repetition of the Law X Deut. 5. Hence the Ark is called the Ark of the Covenant or Testimony in the next Verse and v. 3. of this Chapter Ver. 21. And he brought the Ark into the Tabernacle It is probable that he had placed the Ark after it was made in his own Tent which for the present was called the Tabernacle of the Congregation and had the Glory of the LORD in it XXXIII 7 9. but now he brought it into this Tabernacle which by God's order was prepared for it And set up the Vail of the Covering c. See v. 3. Ver. 22. And he put the Table in the Tent of the Congregation Here the whole House is called the Ohel or Tent as I observed upon Verse 19. But immediately the word Mischchan which we translate Tabernacle is used as the most proper expression for the inside of the House as the other most properly denotes the outside of it All is made more clear in the 34th Verse where we read that the Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation that is the outside of the House and the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle within Though afterward v. 38. the Cloud is said to be upon the Tabernacle as v. 36. it is said to be over the Tabernacle because it was over the Tent which covered it Ver. 25. And he lighted the Lamps before the LORD c. In this and all that follows of burning sweet Incense v. 27. offering the Burnt-offering and Meat-offering v. 29. Moses acted as a Priest appointed by an extraordinary Commission from God only for this time that he might Consecrate the House of God and the Priests that were to minister therein which being done his Priesthood ceased And he did all that is mentioned in these Verses when the Tabernacle was Consecrated and the Glory of the LORD had filled it testifying the Divine Presence to be there Ver. 31. And Moses and Aaron and his Sons washed their hands c. This shows that Moses acted now as a Priest and therefore washed himself before he went to Sacrifice at the Altar as the Priest afterwards were always bound to do XXX 19 20 21. But it must be understood that neither this washing here spoken of nor his offering Sacrifice mentioned v. 29. was till some days after this See v. 17. Ver. 33. So Moses finished the work And then anointed the Tabernacle and all contained in it according to God's order v. 9 10 11. the execution of which though now not here mentioned in so many words is expresly said to be on the same day that he had compleatly set up the Tabernacle VII Numb 1. Ver. 34. Then a Cloud or then the Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation After it was anointed and sanctified for the Divine Residence and the Princes perhaps had also finished that large Offering which we read VII Numb was made on this day God was pleased to fill this place with his glorious Presence For the cloudy Pillar which descended upon Moses his Tent and stood there before the door of it XXXIII 9. removed now from thence and came hither not standing at the door of it in the form of a Pillar but spreading it self all over the outside of the Tabernacle so that it was covered with it as we read also IX Numb 15. And the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle See v. 22. What God promised XXV 8 22. he now performed notwithstanding their Revolt from him by worshipping the Golden Calf Which made him withdraw himself from them XXXIII 7 c. till upon Moses's earnest Intercession for them and their Repentance he graciously consented to return to them and abide among them v. 14 15 c. As now he did by setling his glorious Presence in this Tabernacle which was set up in the midst of them For whereas the other Tabernacle of Moses was removed a Mile or two from their Camp XXXIII 7. this Tabernacle was pitched a month after this I Numb 1. in the midst of their Camps as we read II Numb 2 17. Ver. 35. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of the Congregation For the Glory of the LORD shone so bright and so strong beyond all that it had ever done that no Eye could look upon it And it filled not only the most holy Place but the whole Body of the Tabernacle so that he durst not adventure to come within it tell he was called I Lev. 1. After which time he seems to have had liberty to go in unto God when he pleased VII Numb 89. IX 8 9. For after this great day the Glory of the LORD retired into the most holy Place within the Vail and resided constantly there over the Ark of the Testimony from whence he spake to Moses when he came to consult him in the holy Place See the fore-mentioned VII Numb 89. Whence he is said to dwell between the Cherubims though on some occasion this Glory appeared without upon the Tabernacle but over the Ark it is likely XVI Numb 42. And so perhaps it did XI
thirty years old when he was born But it may as well be thought that she was born to Levi in his old Age by another Wife and so she was younger than her Nephew Amram and but his half Sister Which makes their Marriage no more strange than Abraham's Marriage with Sarah Besides it is not certain she was his Father's Sister in the strict sense of that word but might be only one of his Cosins who in Scripture are frequently called Sisters And then when it is said she was a Daughter of Levi the meaning must be his Grandaughter or the Child perhaps of one of his Grandaughters who in these Writings are commonly called Daughters And so all the Objections against this Marriage vanish and the first words of this Verse expound the last A Man of the House of Levi took to Wife a Daughter of Levi that is one of the same House or Family But see VI. 20. Verse 2. And the Woman conceived and bare a Son She had one before this viz. Aaron who it is probable was born before this Persecution began being three years elder than Moses VII 7. And when she saw him that he was a goodly Child His goodly Aspect which seems to have been an early indication of his future Greatness is taken notice of by Strangers particularly by Justin out of Trogus an ancient Heathen Historian L. XXXVI c. 2. where he saith That beside the Inheritance of his Father's knowledge whom he takes to have been Joseph etiam formae pulchritudo commendabat the gracefulness of his Person recommended him to others Insomuch that the whole Fable of Adonis among the Heathen was framed as Huetius conjectures out of this Story of Moses For Apollododorus relates L. III. how Venus admiring the great Beauty of the Infant took him away privily without the knowledge of the Gods and hiding him in an Ark delivered him to Proserpina c. See Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. Cap. III. n. 3. She hid him three Months R. Simeon in Pirke Elieser Cap. XLVIII saith she hid him in a Vault under ground But in Sota they say in the Gemara Cap. I. Sect. 38. he being hid in a secret inner Room of their House was in danger to be detected by his crying when some of the Egyptians came into the outer Room and brought a crying Child with them on purpose supposing the Israelites Infants would answer if any were in the House But there is no certainty of this Ver. 3. And when she could no longer hide him Some discovery being made of him by some means or other by their Neighbours or the search after new born Children being now more narrow and diligent she thought he could be no longer concealed and therefore resolved to expose him in the manner following She took for him an Ark of Bulrushes Or of Wicker for Kimchi observes the Hebrew word Gome signifies the lightest Wood. Patricides an Arabian Writer saith it was made of that which the Ancients call Papyrus and so the LXX and Josephus and Clemens Alexandrinus Strom. 1. p. 343. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was a frutex that grew peculiarly upon the Banks of Nile as Salmasius shows in Solin p. 1002 c. And daubed it with Slime and with Pitch Of this word Slime see XI Gen. 3. It is not improbable that this was used within and Pitch without to keep the Water from coming into the Ark. And so I find in the Gemara of that Title in the Talmud called Sota Cap. I. Sect. 29. where this is said to have been an ancient Tradition Only they say as many of the Rabbins do that Chemar signifies Plaister not Bitumen because the bad smell of that they think would have been noisom to the Child R. Solomon's opinion is that it was pitcht both within and without and plaistred within over the Pitch And she laid it in the flaggs by the Rivers brink That it might not be carried away with the Stream but she might come in the Night and suckle it Some think that the Ark notwithstanding was made below in the form of a Boat that if it should chance to be carried from among the Flaggs upon the Shore it might swim in the River For it is certain the Egyptians made Ships of the forenamed reed as we find in Pliny and Solinus who both mention Papyraceae Naves and in Theophrastus who mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speaking of Papyrus as Salmasius observes in his Plin. Exercit. p. 1003 1115 1116. Herodotus also mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his Euterpe Cap. XCVI See XVIII Isa 2. Ver. 4. And his Sister stood afar off to wit what c. By her Mothers order no doubt that she might not seem to be set there on purpose to watch him We read of no other Sister he had but Miriam XXVI Numb 59. who therefore is thought to be the Person Ver. 5. And the Daughter of Pharaoh Called Thermutis by Josephus L. II. Antiq. c. 5. but by Artapanus in Eusebius his Praepar Evang. L. IX c. 27. called Meris or Merris Which is her name as Jacobus Capellus observes in the Fasti Siculi The same Artapanus there says she was married to Cenephres King of the Country above Memphis but had no Child by him Clemens Alexandrinus says the same that she was not only a married Woman but had been long married without being with Child 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but very desirous to have one L. I. Strom. p. 343. Came down to wash her self at the River Not for Pleasure but for Purification this being an ancient Rite of Religion in all Nations to cleanse themselves by washing their Bodies after any Defilement Thus Philo seems to understand it in his Book of the Life of Moses where speaking of this matter he uses the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is proper to Sacred Cleansing And it seems far more probable than that the scorching heat of the Weather caused by an extraordinary hand of God made her betake herself to the cool Streams for her Refreshment as the Tale is told in the Hebrew Book called The Life of Moses or that the desire of Children carried her hither the Waters of Nile being thought to make Women fruitful Clemens Alexandrinus seems to have put both these together Refreshment and Religion when he saith she came hither 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. I. Strom. p. 343. It is still a further fetch of Jonathan who would perswade us that at this time God had smote the Egyptians with a burning Ulcer which made their Flesh so hot that they could not endure it but run to the River to cool their Bodies And in Pirke Elieser Cap. XLVIII this Inflamation is said to have seized on Pharaoh's Daughter whom he calls Bathia Which is indeed the name of a Daughter of one Pharaoh 1 Chron. IV. 18. but to make her the Daughter of Pharaoh King of Egypt as G. Vorstius observes they do in Schemoth Rabba and Vaijra Rab. is altogether
consult for his Safety rather than basely either deny or excuse what he had done or ask pardon for it unto which no fear of the wrath of the King could have moved him Ver. 15. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing Which was soon brought to his ears as Moses suspected and aggravated extreamly by the great Men of the Court as Philo represents it L. I. de Vita Mosis He thought to slay him Not so much because he had killed the Man as because he pretended to assert the Liberty of the Israelites and to be their Deliverer Demetrius bears witness to this Story just according to what is here related in Eusebius's Praepar Evang. L. IX c. 29. And Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh Wisely foreseeing the Danger he avoided it by flight into another Country where he was out of his reach For though the time of Israel's Deliverance was not yet come he was assured that God intended to work it by his hand and therefore thought it prudent to reserve himself till he received a further Commission from God But though this flight of Moses be here so plainly affirmed yet the Jews are so sond of their own Conceits and so bold in their Invention that they say he was not only condemned to have his Head cut off but brought to the Block and when the Executioner came to do his Office his Sword would not enter Moses his Neck being by a Miracle turned into a Pilaster of Marble and from thence called his Son Eliezer c. So the Tale is told by the Author of Moses his Life What Pharaoh this was is not certain but Eusebius calls him Orus who succeeded Amenophis in whose time Moses was born and he is said to have reigned Two and forty years And dwelt in the Land of Midian Where some of Abraham's Posterity were setled XXV Gen. 2. in a part of Arabia Petraea And therefore Philo only saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he withdrew into the neighbouring Arabia Into which Country he chose to flee both because his escape was easie thither and because they were descended from the same Stock with himself and continued still good People or at least had some good Governours and Families among them as appears by what follows And he sat down by a Well To refresh himself and expecting it 's likely to meet some Company there at the time when the Flocks came to water Ver. 16. Now the Priest of Midian Or Prince as it is in the Margin For the word Cohen indifferently signifies either Priest or Prince but most anciently it signifies the latter a Prince For so it is used in the Book of Job XII 19. He leadeth Cohenim Princes away spoiled And in after times it continued to have the same signification David's Sons being called by this Name of Cohenim 2 Sam. VIII 18. which in 1 Chron. XVIII 17. is expounded were chief at the hand of the King And so Ira is called 2 Sam. XX. 26. Cohen a chief Ruler about David And so I think it is to be taken here for a Ruler or Governour See XLI Gen. 50. not of the whole Country of Midian but of some Province of it And it may be most truly rendred a Prince i. e. one of the Princes or Rulers of Midian But in ancient time Princes executed the Priesthood also as Plato observes they did among the Egyptians and the Consuls and Emperours of Rome were ambitious of the same Dignity by which means the word Cohen came to signifie both Though where the Place or Territory of which any Person was Cohen is mentioned there it always signifies him to have been Prince or Civil Governour of that place So S. Jarchi observes The word COHEN always denotes some Divine Ministry or Function except where there is an addition of some particular Principality to it as COHEN of Midian and COHEN of On referring to this place and that I now mentioned in Genesis where it signifies a Prince though the Priesthood might be joyned with it And so Artapanus in Eusebius L. IX c. 27. relating Moses his Flight into Arabia saith he came to Raguel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ruler of those parts And the Jews in their German Translation of the Bible call him Heer Lord of Midian See our most Learned Selden L. I. de Synedr c. ult p. 648. I shall only add that it is most likely that this Prince or Priest was a Worshipper of the true God and not an Idolater for Moses we may be confident would not have married his Daughter if she had been bred in a false Religion Had seven Daughters and they came and drew Water c. He was but a small Prince it appears by this though it must be acknowledged it was a noble Employment in old time as I observed upon Genesis to look after Sheep and we must not imagine these young Women drew the Water themselves but had Servants to attend them and obey their Orders Ver. 17. And the Shepherds came and drove them away Some rude and idle Shepherds would have made use of the Water which they had drawn and had the benefit of their pains without any labour of their own This looks like an Argument that their Father was not a Prince for then one would think these Shepherds should not have dared to contest with them But it is as much an Argument that he was not a Priest for they were great Men also in those days And it seems probable to me that these were the Shepherds of some other greater Prince in those Countries who made thus bold with Jethro's Daughters and their Servants For one cannot think as I said that they alone looked after his Flock but were Overseers of those that did like Rebekkah and Rachel See Gen. XXIX 9. But Moses stood up and helped them c. This was an act as Maimonides suggests of the same Heroick Spirit mentioned before Ver. 12. which still rested on him and moved him here as it had done in Egypt And thus Philo also represents him as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transported by such an Enthusiasm when he spake to the Shepherds that it after frighted them from their attempt Though it is not certain that he overcame them by Perswasions but the whole Discourse seems rather to imply that he forced them to desist which he could not do alone but at the head of those Servants that belong'd to these young Women and it is not improbable he had some Servants of his own who attended him in his Flight Certain it is that the Arabian's great Imployment was feeding of Cattle as Philo there notes L. I. de Vita Moses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and that not only Men but Women young Men and Virgins looked after them and not those only of the meaner sort 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they that were of Noble Families Ver. 18. And when they came to Reuel their Father He is thought to be the same with Jethro III.
1. or was Jethro's Father and so the Grandfather of these young Women which Drusius thinks most probable Misaell Centur. 2. c. 69. He said How is it you are come so soon to day It seems Moses not only valiantly defended and protected them but so vigorously assisted them also in all their Business that they dispatcht it sooner than they were wont to do Ver. 19. And they said An Egyytian So they took Moses to be by his Speech and his Habit and perhaps he told them he came out of that Country Delivered us out of the hand of the Shepherds This justifies what I said Ver. 17. that these Shepherd's belong'd to some other Prince in those parts who were wont it seems to infest those that were weaker and that Moses by his extraordinary Courage drove them away And also drew water enough for us c. They had drawn Water before ver 16. which the Shepherds took from them and he now did it with greater Expedition and in great Plenty Ver. 20. And he said unto his Daughters Where is he This is a form of chiding as Philo observes or upbraiding for their Ingratitude as appears by what follows Why is it that you have left the Man Suffered him to remain in the Field Ye ought as Philo explains it to have invited him to my House and if he had declined it to have intreated and urged him to it Call him that he may eat Bread Go back as he goes on with all speed and pray him to come and refresh himself and receive my Thanks which are due to him This shows Moses had done them some considerable Service Ver. 21. And Moses was content to dwell with the Man After some Conversation with him Raguel liked Moses so well that he offered him such terms as he accepted and became one of his Domesticks And he gave Moses Zipporah his Daughter The Divine Writers do not relate all the passages of a Story as other Authors delight to do but only the most material Therefore we are to suppose a great many things to have preceded this which was not accomplished presently after he was entertained into Reuel's House but after he had had much Experience of Moses his other Vertues as well as of his Valour Though the Observation of Philo here is not to be slighted that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men of a great Genius quickly show themselves and are not made known by length of time And therefore he thinks that Reuel being struck first with admiration of his goodly Aspect and then of his wise Discourse immediately gave him the most beautiful of all his Daughters to be his Wife not staying to enquire of any body what he was for his own most excellent Qualities sufficiently recommended him to his Affection L. I. de Vita Moses p. 611. Ver. 22. And she bare him a Son and he called his Name Gershom c. This word Gershom signifies a desolate Stranger which he made the Name of this Child because he was born not only in a Foreign Country remote from his own People but in a place where he had nothing but what he earned by his Labour For it is not to be thought that in an hasty Flight he could bring any great matter with him into Midian Either this Son was born long after his Marriage or he did not marry till he had been long in this Country For when he left it after 40 years stay in it his Children were but young as appears from IV. 20. Ver. 23. And it came to pass in process of time After many days as it is in the Hebrew i. e. years for this King reigned a long time See Ver. 15. The King of Egypt died That King from whom Moses fled viz. Orus After whom Eusebius makes Acenceres to have reigned and after him Achoris both which died before Moses returned into Egypt And the Children of Israel sighed by reason of the Bondage Their cruel Servitude did not end with the Life of Orus but the new King who succeeded him was so far from giving them any ease that he laid more heavy Burdens upon them And they cried This signifies they lay under the most grievous Oppression which grew intolerable And their cry came up unto God A Cry that comes up unto God signifies in the Holy Language the loudest and sorest Cry See XIX Gen. 13. By reason of the Bondage This may be referred both to their Cry and its coming up to God who resolved speedily to free them from such unsupportable Burdens Ver. 24. And God heard their groaning and God remembred his Covenant c. There are four different words in these two last Verses viz. heard remembred looked upon them had respect unto them which every one of them signifie God's kind intentions towards them but seem also to me to denote that the Divine Providence determined to proceed gradually in the Deliverance of the Children of Israel from their cruel Servitude For when he saith God heard their groaning the meaning is he favourably condescended to grant their Petition which was the first step to their Deliverance And then He remembred his Covenant with Abraham c. This gives the Reason of it because he was mindful of his ancient Promises to their Forefathers which was a further assurance of his Favour And then he Looked upon them i. e. Took notice of their Affliction and hard Labour as Maimonides explains it More Nev. p. 1. c. 48. which was another Motive to relieve them And in the last place God had respect to them Which imports that he determined to have mercy upon them and that includes all Blessings in it For so this Phrase to respect another signifies as Bochartus hath shown from many instances particularly XXV Psal 12. LXVI Isa 2. Hierozoic p. 1. L. II. c. 49. CHAP. III. Verse 1. NOW Moses kept the Flock So Moses was taken from the Sheepfold as David was in after times to be the Ruler of God's People LXXVII Psal 70. For as hunting of wild Beasts saith Philo is proper to Men of a Martial Genius and fits Men to be Captains and Generals of Armies so the feeding of Sheep is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the best Exercise and Preparation for a Kingdom and the gentle Government of Mankind Clemens Alexandrinus hath the same Notion and the same words L. I. Strom. p. 345. God's Power also herein appeared the more wonderful that he delivered his People from the Egyptian Tyranny by one that was contemptible or rather abominable to that Nation viz. a Keeper of Sheep Of Jethro It is most likely that Reuel mentioned in the foregoing Chapter Ver. 18. was now dead to whom Jethro his Son succeeded in that Principality where he Ruled for it was now Forty years since Moses came first into Midian His Father in Law This shows that the Seven Daughters spoken of II. 16. were the Children of Jethro and Reuel their Grandfather unless we will say as a great many do that
they shall hearken to thy voice A great incouragement to carry this Message to the Elders of Israel which God promises to incline their hearts to receive and obey The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us We have received a special Command from the Eternal God whom we and our Fore-fathers worship who hath appeared to us And now let us go we beseech thee three days journey into the Wilderness They intended to go quite away but at first are directed to demand only to go as far as Mount Sinai which was but three days Journey from Egypt if they went the nearest way to it For this they were humble Petitioners which is implyed in those words We beseech thee That we may Sacrifice to the LORD our God When they delivered this Message to Pharaoh V. 1. they call it holding a Feast to him which was to be made upon the Sacrifices that they offered For Ver. 3. of that Chapter they speak in the same Phrase which is used here Ver. 19. And I am sure the King of Egypt will not let you go God understood before hand the hardness of his heart and that he would not yield no not to let them depart for three days much less for altogether No not by a strong hand In the Margin But by a strong hand i. e. by cutting off all the First-born in the Country till which he knew Pharaoh would be obstinate Ver. 20. And I will stretch out my hand As the hand of God signifies his Power so the stretching it out seems to signifie the exciting of that Power in mighty Deeds Smite Egypt with all my wonders The Hebrew word for wonders comes from a Root which imports something singular and not common Such were all the Plagues God sent upon Egypt which made them the more wonderful After that he will let you go They grew so terrible at last that he was afraid the next stroke would be upon his own Person which made him content to dismiss them Ver. 21. And I will give this People favour in the sight of the Egyptians c. Dispose their hearts to be kind to them so that they should readily furnish them with any thing they desired Ver. 22. But every Woman shall borrow The word Shaal is of a doubtful meaning for it signifying in general to ask or to pray one may pray another either to give or to lend And if the Israelites askt their Neighbours to bestow such things upon them as are here mentioned and they out of a desire to be rid of them or hoping speedily to recover their Goods granted their Requests no wrong was done to them And if they borrowed them of the Egyptians it was by the Authority of God whose the World is and the fulness thereof and who doth no Man any wrong when he is pleased to transfer what he enjoys unto another See more XI 2. XII 35. Of her Neighbour and of her that sojourneth in her House By this it appears that the Egyptians were intermixt with the Hebrews in the Land of Goshen and so might the more easily go along with them when they left Egypt as many of them did XII 38. Jewels of Silver c. Rather Vessels of Silver c. Which were of greater use to them than Jewels unless they pretended to deck up themselves for the Feast they were to keep See more XI 2. XII 36. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians Not by Rapine or Stealth but by their own Consent CHAP. IV. Verse 1. BVT behold they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice c. This seems directly to contradict what God had said unto him III. 18. They shall hearken to thy voice Which Maimonides indeavours to reconcile by saying that Moses was satisfyed they would believe what he told them concerning the Name of God who spake to him but not believe without further proof that he was sent by him P. I. More Nevoch c. 63. But the plainest Answer is that God did not mean they would hearken to Moses immediately but that he would so convince them by undeniable signs and tokens that they should give credit to him when he said he came from God to them Such signs he now asks and God grants that they might believe the LORD appeared to him and gave him Commission to deliver them Ver. 2. And the LORD said unto him What is that in thy hand He asks this question to make way for what follows and to move his attention to it And he said a Rod. His Shepherd's Staff it is most likely For he takes occasion from what was in his Hand to confirm his Faith and he was now feeding his Father in Law 's Sheep when God appeared unto him The Jews have a world of fabulous Stuff about this Rod not worth the remembring Ver. 3. And he said Cast it on the ground c. As he was to do when he came before Pharaoh VII 10. that it might not be thought Moses his Hand contributed any thing to the Change but it might appear to be wrought by the Power of God And it became a Serpent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Philo speaks immediately it was inlivened and crawled about The word Nachash comprehends all sorts of Serpents and R. Eliezer takes it to have been a flying Serpent but our Doctor Lightfoot rather thinks it was a Crocodile for which there is some reason For that which is here called Nachash which most think signifies a common Snake or Serpent when he threw down his Staff before Pharaoh VII 10. is called Tannin which signifies a Serpent of the largest Dimensions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo here calls it and as I proved upon I Gen. 21. includes in it Crocodiles which Isaiah calls the crooked Serpent XXVII 1. Unto whose devouring Jaws Pharaoh had exposed the Hebrew Infants when he commanded them to be cast into the River Nile I. 22. which abounded with Crocodiles And Moses fled from before it It being a very frightful sight enough to dismay the most couragious Man on Earth as God himself describes the Crocodile in the Book of Job XLI 14 25. His Teeth are terrible round about When he raises up himself the Mighty are asraid Ver. 4. And the LORD said unto Moses put forth thy hand and take it by the tail c. This shows Moses his Faith to have been great which overcame his Fear Most think this to have been an apt Representation of the Condition of the Israelites in Egypt and of their Deliverance there R. Eliezer in his Pirke Cap. XL. hath hinted the best Explication of it if it have any such meaning when he saith As a Serpent bites and kills those on whom it seizes so did Pharaoh and his People bite and kill the Israelites Or rather he should have said So shall the Egyptians be afflicted and tormented by the Rod which Moses carries in his hand Ver. 5. That they may believe that the LORD God of their Fathers c. The
meaning is Thou shalt do thus before them if they doubt whether I have appeared to thee as he feared they would v. 1. to convince them of it Ver. 6. And the LORD said furthermore unto him Put now thy hand into thy bosom c. He did not ask for a new sign but the LORD was graciously pleased to grant him a further Confirmation of his Faith or rather of the Faith of the Israelites And he put his hand into his bosom and when he took it out behold it was leprous as Snow It was a wonderful thing that out of the same place should come both the Disease and the Cure as we read in the next Verse that by putting his hand into his bosom again it became sound and it was the greater wonder because the Leprosie was a Disease that was very hard to be cured R. Elieser in the place fore-named doth not give so good a reason for this sign as for the former though it is not a bad one For he making a Question Why God should give them a sign by an unclean thing and not by a clean makes this Answer to it Because as a Leper is unclean and makes others so in like manner Pharaoh and the impure Egyptians had defiled the Israelites but God showed by Moses's drawing his hand out of his bosom again pure and clean that he would deliver and purge the Israelites from the silthiness of the Egyptians I should think rather that the Leprosie represented God's smiting the Egytians with his Plagues and the Cure of it God's removal of those Plagues at Moses his Prayer But there is no end of such Conceits Therefore I shall ra-rather observe that God commanding him to work all these wonders before Pharaoh ver 21. it is very probable this gave occasion to the fabulous Story which was invented in future Ages that Moses was a Leper and the Israelites infected with that and other scabby Diseases For so Josephus tells us L. I. contra Apion the Tale was told in Manetho's History and thence descended unto others that Moses was driven out of the Country 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See Justin L. XXXV c. 2. Tacitus L. V. Histor c. 3. because he had the Leprosie Which as Manetho perhaps did not maliciously devise out of his own head so those Historians from whom he borrowed his Work might have but an imperfect Tradition of the Truth derived from this Passage of Moses appearing with a leprous Hand before Pharaoh which was presently noised about the Country without the other part of his being immediately cured And thus Helladius Besantinus an Egyptian Writer in his Chresto-Mathia mentions one who said Moses was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because his Body 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was markt with white leprous spots And unto this lye he calls Philo to be a Witness The very same is affirm'd by Philemaeus Hephaestionis as J. Meursius observes in his Notes upon the fore-named Author Ver. 7. And he plucked it out of his bosom and behold it was turned again as his other flesh A manifest token as Con. Pellicanus rightly takes it that God could with as much ease restore his oppressed People to perfect liberty Ver. 8. And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee nor hearken to the voice of the first sign Here he gives the reason why he was pleased to add another sign to the former that he might overcome the incredulity which he foresaw would be in many of them That they will believe the voice of the latter sign Yield their consent to that which is plainly taught them by both these signs viz. that God had appeared to him and ordered him to say what he did And he saith they would believe because it was rational to suppose they would though he likewise supposes in the next Verse some might still remain incredulous and therefore he adds another Ver. 9. Thou shalt take of the Water of the River and pour it upon the dry Land and the Water shall become Blood This sign was not wrought now when God talked with him as the two former were for he was in the Desert far from the River here spoken of and near no River at all Therefore in case the Israelites did not believe upon the sight of the two former signs this is ordered to be wrought when he came into Egypt for their Conviction by taking the Water of Nilus and turning it into Blood Which might be well looked upon as an Indication that God was able to spoil that Water which was the great Instrument of the fertility of that Country and make their Land barren And also put them in mind that the cry of the innocent Blood of their Infants which had been drown'd in that River was come up to God There was a necessity that Moses should be instructed with all these Powers because with an unusual Commission which would not have been credited if he had not brought such extraordinary proof of it All the Prophets after him did not work Miracles which were necessary only when some great Change was to be made in the World as there was now at their bringing out of Egypt After which they were to be put into a new form and order by a body of peculiar Laws both Civil and Religious which when they were notoriously violated God was pleased by such wonders as Moses wrought to turn their hearts back again as he did in the days of Elijah 1 Kings XVIII 37. Ver. 10. And Moses said unto the LORD O my Lord. This is a Form of Speech whereby he declines this great Imployment and desires to be excused The Reason of which follows I am not Eloquent In the Hebrew Am not a man of words i. e. not a good Speaker or not accustomed to make Speeches or as some take it a Man of few words and therefore unfit to be sent to the Israelites and much more to the King of Egypt to whom none but great Orators make Addresses Clemens in his Epistle to the Corinthians makes this an Argument of Moses his Humility and saith he added these words from I know not what Authour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am a reek from a Pot. Neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy Servant This hath been always my Imperfection that I could not speak fluently nor do I find that I am altered since thou hast been pleased to appear to me and give me this Commission But I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue Cannot bring forth my words readily nor pronounce them well The Jews think he had some impediment in his Speech so that he could not pronounce some Letters or Words exactly at least not without such difficulty that it was long before he could bring them forth But the LXX understand these words slow of speech as if he had but a weak small or slender voice speaking voce gracili exili as it may be translated in Latin which
not so in those Countries for the noblest Persons anciently rode on them as appears by a great many places of Holy Scripture XXII Gen. 1. XXII Numb 21. 2 Sam. XIX 6. and several others which are reckoned up by Bochart P. I. L. II. Cap. XIII Hierozoic And he returned to the Land of Egypt Set out and began his Journey to that Country And Moses took the Rod of God So called because God ordered him to carry it with him v. 17. and had appointed it to be the Instrument wherewith he should work wonders In his hand As a sign of his Authority So Conr. Pellicanus hath not unfitly explained it he returned with the Rod of God signo Apostolatus ducatus a sign or token of his Embassy and Government Ver. 21. And the LORD said unto Moses when thou goest to return into Egypt When thou art come thither See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh The Signs mentioned in the beginning of this Chapter with which he was to begin Which I have put in thy hand Given thee power to do But I will harden his heart c. The meaning is not that God would harden his heart at the first as soon as Moses began to work his Signs no more than that he would at the first slay his First-born as he threatens v. 23. But as at last he intended to slay his First-born if he would not be humbled by other Plagues so in conclusion he resolved to harden his heart after Pharaoh had often hardened it himself There are three distinct words used in this Story about this matter The first is Chazak the next is Rashah and the third is Cavad Which seem to signifie a gradual increase of his Obstinacy till at last it grew very grievous For the last word Cavad intends and increases the Sense whether it be in good or evil qualities Ver. 22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh In this God begins to fulfil his Promise to Moses that he would teach him what he should say v. 12. and 15 16. Thus saith the LORD This shows he came to Pharaoh in the Name and by the Authority of God Israel is my Son even my First-born Most dear to me and beloved above all People as the First-born Son commonly is above the rest of the Children God having chosen and adopted them to be his peculiar People on whom he bestowed singular Priviledges and Blessings Thus God speaks of David LXXXIX Psal 28. And Eben-Ezra's interpretation of this Phrase is not improper That Their Ancestors from the beginning had been Worshippers of him the true God Ver. 23. And I say unto thee I command and require thee so the word say here signifies Let my Son go that he may serve me Not to keep my People in thy Servitude any longer but to dismiss them that they may worship me as my Servants ought to do And if thou refuse to let him go behold I will slay thy Son even thy First-born Not upon his first refusal See v. 21. but after a long course of other Judgments which would end if he were not reformed by them in this at last With which he therefore terrifies him that he might prevent it Ver. 24. And it came to pass by the way To Egypt in the Inn where they took up their Lodging at Night That the LORD met him The SCHECHINAH I suppose appeared to him from whence an Angel was dispatched to do as follows And so both the LXX and the Chaldee interpret it The Angel of the LORD because the LORD sent an Angel to Execute what is here related And sought to kill him Appeared in such a manner as if he intended to fall upon him with a drawn Sword perhaps as he did to Balaam and David which threatning Posture could not but very much affright him and put him into disorder Others imagine he inflicted a sudden Disease upon him or made as if he would strangle him They that interpret this of killing his Child as many do See Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. VI. p. 88. seem to me to have no reason on their side there being no mention of a Child in the foregoing Story but only of his Sons Therefore Chaskuni hath rightly observed that this Verse is connected with the last words of the 20th the three following coming by a Parenthesis and can refer to none but Moses All the difficulty is to find why the Angel of the Lord should put him in fear of present death when he was going upon God's Message The Resolution of which seems to be contained in the following words Ver. 25. Then Zipporah His Wife presently apprehended what was the Cause of Moses his danger viz. because her Child of which she is supposed to have been not long ago delivered was not Circumcised And therefore she immediately dispatcht that work her Husband being in such a Consternation that he could not do it himself but as Kimchi will have it called to her to do it or she of her self went about it having been the Cause that it was not done before Took a sharp Stone Or a sharp Knife made of a Flint for such they used which Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so the LXX and the Jews say that Knives were commonly used in this work And cut the foreskin of her Son But how come Moses to neglect this Duty Most say his Wife was unwilling to it not because she abhorred this Rite as cruel and unnatural for she was of a Race which came from Abraham who first received this Command of Circumcising all his Children and she understood it appears how to do it readily without indangering the Child which had scarce been possible if she had been a Stranger to it but because the Midianites perhaps did not Circumcise so soon as the Israelites but imitated their Neighbours the Ishmaelites who deferred it till their Children were Thirteen years old at which Age Ishmael was Circumcised XVII Gen. 25. or rather because they were about to take a Journey when she thought it might be omitted till they came to be setled among the Israelites And truly this seems to have been a good reason to defer Circumcision beyond the Eighth day motion being dangerous when the Child was sore But such a Man as Moses should have trusted God to take care of his Child and not have been afraid of the Consequence if he had performed his Duty And because he followed the tender Inclination of his Wife rather than a plain Precept XVII Gen. 12 13 c. he fell into this great danger Many other accounts are given of this for the truth is the whole matter is very obscure but I see none more probable than what I have mentioned And cast it at his feet It is uncertain at whose seet she cast it whether at he Husband 's or the Child's or the Angel's The first seems most probable if the next words be spoken to
Moses as they seem to me to be And said surely a bloody Husband art thou to me If the foregoing Interpretation be true these are not the words of an angry Woman but spoken with great affection signifying that she had espoused him again having saved his Life by the Blood of her Son Our famous Mr. Mede indeed Discourse XIV carries the Sense quite another way because an Husband he saith is never called Chatan after the Marriage Solemnity was over Which if it be true makes nothing against what I have said because she lookt upon her self as a second time espoused or married to him by this act which had restored him to her when his Life was in danger It must be granted that the word Chatan doth not signifie only a Spouse but sometime a Son in Law but why Zipporah should call her own Child by this Name I do not see Yet so Mr. Mede understands it and adds that the Rabbins tell us it was the custom of the Hebrew Women to call their Children when they were Circumcised by the Name of Chatan i. e. Spouse as if they were now espoused unto God And indeed Aben-Ezra saith so but I cannot find that this was an ancient Notion among them If it were his Interpretation might be the more easily embraced which is this That these were a solemn form of words used at Circumcision signifying as much as I pronounce thee to be a Member of the Church by Circumcision Thus Val. Schindler also expounds it in his Lexic Pentaglot p. 677. a Child was called Chatan upon the Day of his Circumcision because then he was first joyned to the People of God and as it were espoused unto God And he thinks the Targum countenances this Sense when it thus expounds these words by this Blood of Circumcision a Spouse is given to us Which may as well be understood of Moses being given to her as of the Child for he was as I said restored to her and to his Family upon the Circumcision of the Child So it follows in the next Verse They that have a mind to see the Sense of an eminent Writer of our Church concerning this Passage may consult Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity Book V. in the latter end of the LXII Section where he thus far agrees with me that these words were spoken out of the flowing of abundance of Commiseration and Love with her hands laid under his feet For so he thinks these words She cast it at his feet import Ver. 26. So he let him go i. e. The Angel no longer threatned Moses with death but his Wife to her great joy saw him restored to her in safety From which in after times sprang the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were so famous among the Greeks and Egyptians in the Feasts of Bacchus and Osiris whose Stories Huetius hath lately shown were framed out of this of Moses From whence also as he probably conjectures they used Remedies for Diseases in forma fascini which they hung as Amulets about their Childrens Necks Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. Cap. IV. n. 3. Then she said or when she said a bloody Husband thou art c. i. e. As soon as Zipporah had Circumcised the Child and thrown the Foreskin at her Husband's feet and said these words Moses was delivered from his danger Or according to our Translation as soon as her Husband was safe she repeated the foregoing words saying I have redeemed thy life by circumcising thy Son They that make these words to have been spoken in a rage because she was forced to do what she did suppose her to have had little kindness for her Husband and as little regard to Circumcision I should rather Translate the words So she let him go i. e. let Moses go to Egypt and went back her self to her Father only repeating these words before she went Remember me how I have saved thy Life and made thee my Husband again when Death was at hand by the Blood of thy Son whom I have Circumcised There is only this Exception to it that the Hebrew word for let him go is of the Masculine Gender which is of no great weight because it is usual in this Language when they speak of Females as I observed on I. 21. and it is certain she returned to her Father but whether in this manner no Body can certainly determine For we are not told any where upon what occasion she went back to Jethro unless it be here insinuated as we find she did XVIII 2. together with her Children But it is very probable that she fearing some other danger into which she and her Children might fall by the way or in Egypt might desire Moses to send her home again till he had finished the work he went about unto which he consented Ver. 27. And the LORD said unto Aaron In Egypt I suppose he received this order from God but we do not know how whether by an Apparition of the Divine Majesty to him or in a Dream or otherways Go into the Wilderness to meet Moses The Wilderness was a wide place therefore he directed him no doubt into what part he should go And he went and met him in the Mount of God He went almost to Midian that he might have the more time to hear what Moses's Commission was before they came to Egypt Ver. 28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD c. Mentioned III. 6 7 8 c. and in this Chapter 14 15 16 c. And all the signs c. See v. 2 3 c. which he told him to confirm his belief that God had spoken those words to him Ver. 29. And Moses and Aaron went Came into Egypt And gathered together all the Elders of the Children of Israel The chief Persons in every Tribe who bore a great sway among them See III. 16. Ver. 30. And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses According to what God had promised v. 15 16. And did the signs The Signs are done by Moses as the Words were spoken by Aaron v. 17. In the sight of all the People Who came along with the Elders Ver. 31. And the People believed All the rest of the People also to whom the Elders reported what they had heard and seen believed that God had sent Moses to be their Deliverer And when they heard that the LORD had visited c. See III. 7 16 17. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped Most humbly acknowledged the Goodness of God and his Faithfulness to his Word CHAP. V. Verse 1. AND afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh When they had convinced the Elders of Israel of their Commission they desired Audience of Pharaoh Which having obtained they went to Court taking some of the Elders along with them to attend them Which is not a meer Conjecture from the decency of the thing that they should go alone on such a Solemn Embassy but so they were commanded
in the Autumn ut uno tenore siccescant that they might dry by an equal heat they that were made at the Solstice being suddenly crusted over by the Sun and left too moist within L. II. de Architect c. 3. Ver. 8. And the tale of the Bricks which they did make heretofore you shall lay upon them c. It appears from v. 13 14. that there was a certain quantity exacted from them every day For they be idle and therefore they cry saying Let us go and Sacrifice to our God They have not work enough to employ their Thoughts which makes their Mind wander after other things Ver. 9. Let there more work be laid upon the Men. Or make it heavy upon them as it is in the Margin That they may labour therein Have no time to think of any thing else And let them not regard vain words So he calls the Message of Moses and Aaron who he pretends were meer Deceivers and fed their Hope with Lyes for so it is in the Hebrew words of falshood or lying words or at least he resolved their words should not prove true for he would not let the People go Ver. 10. Thus saith Pharaoh I will not give you Straw The Task-masters with their Officers proclaimed the King's Order that every Body might take notice of it Ver. 11. Go get you Straw where you can find it c. A heavy Sentence importing that whether they could find any or no no abatement would be made of the number of Bricks that was expected from them This was to drive them to Desperation by demanding things impossible And added as Conradus Pellicanus observes to the Burdens on their Bodies very sore Anguish of Mind For it tempted them to doubt of the Goodness of their God who they thought had sent a deliverer to them IV. 31. by whom they were now reduced into a more miserable Condition Ver. 12. So the People were scattered abroad throughout all the Land of Egypt c. Some part of them were forced to go and pick up Straw or for want of it Stuble and sometime travel a great way for it while the rest were working in the Brick-kilns without their help which they were wont to have whereby they were disabled from making so many Bricks as formerly they had done Ver. 13. And the Task-master hasted them c. Quickned them in their work when they saw they were likely to fall short of their wonted Task Ver. 14. And the Officers of the Children of Israel c. By this it appears as I said v. 6. that these Officers were Israelites And from this place Bonavent Bertram concludes Lib. de Rep. Hebr. Cap. IV. that there was a Civil Government among the Israelites all the time they were in Egypt and that these Schoterim as they are called in Hebrew were Men of the greatest Note among the Elders who executed all their Decrees and consequently of high Authority among the People For which reason Pharaoh's Task-masters chose them to Oversee and Direct the Labours of their Brethren But Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. XV. hath made it appear that there was no such Judicature among them at this time and when there was this was the Name of those who executed the Sentence of the Judges being like to our Apparitors and such like under Officers See p. 621 c. Were beaten With Sticks or scourged with Rods. Wherefore have yet not fulfilled your Task both yesterday c. They punished the Officers as if they had been negligent in not pressing the People to their Duty Yet it seems they forbore them one day to see if they would mend their Fault the next V. 15. Then the Officers of the Children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh saying c. They had some hope this Oppression might proceed from the Task-masters and not from the King himself and therefore they represented their Case to him and petitioned for Relief It is said indeed v. 6. that Pharaoh laid this Command both upon the Task-masters and their Officers but it is not unlikely that he gave it immediately only to the Task-masters who were his own Ministers and by them to the Officers Ver. 16. Thy Servants are beaten but the fault is in thine own People This shows that they thought such Inhumane Usage was the effect of the Task-masters Cruelty Ver. 17. But he said ye are idle ye are idle c. He soon made them understand it was by his Decree and not his Servants pleasure that they were thus used And which was worse they saw he was sixed in his Resolution being void of all pity and mocking at their Complaints For nothing could be more Sarcastical than to tell them they were idle when they sunk under their Burdens Ver. 18. Go therefore now and work c. Do not spend your time in making Complaints to me but return immediately to your Labours and continue at them till my Commands be executed and expect no mitigation Ver. 19. And the Officers did see that they were in evil Case c. By this Answer they found themselves reduced to such Straits that now they despaired of all Relief the King himself being set against them Ver. 20. And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh They had placed themselves there on purpose to hear what Success the Officers had in their Petition Ver. 21. And they said the LORD look upon you and judge This seems to be an Imprecation or at least the Officers bid Moses and Aaron expect that God would take them to task as we speak for bringing his People into so bad a Case Ye have made our Savour to be abhorred in the Eyes c. Made us odious as this Phrase signifies XXXIV Gen. 30. To put a Sword into their hand to slay us Who may take an occasion from hence and make this a pretence for the destroying our whole Nation Ver. 22. And Moses returned unto the LORD this plainly intimates that the LORD had appeared to Moses since he came to Egypt as he did at Mount Horeb and that he appeared in some setled place where he might upon all Occasions resort to him And said LORD wherefore hast thou so evil intreated this People c. It was to no purpose to answer the Officers who expostulated with him for they were too much exasperated and thereby prejudiced against any thing he could say And therefore he chose rather to represent to God the Complaints they had made to him that he might be directed what Satisfaction to give them For he was not able of himself to give an account why the LORD should suffer their Condition to grow worse rather than better since he delivered his Message to Pharaoh No nor why he should send him on an Embassy which was not at all regarded Ver. 23. For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy Name he hath done Evil to this People neither hast thou
delivered thy People at all He might have remembred that God told him more than once that Pharaoh would not obey him at the first III. 19. IV. 21. But the bitter Reflections which the Officers of the Children of Israel made upon his Conduct had so disturbed his Mind that he forgot himself so far as to ask the undecent Questions mentioned in the foregoing Verse and complains here that God had done Nothing to fulfil his Promise of Deliverance to his People CHAP. VI. Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses The SCHECHINAH I suppose appeared to him See v. 12. as it had done often before since he was first sent upon this Business IV. 22. and graciously condescended to satisfie his two Complaints in the latter end of the foregoing Chapter Where he complains first of all that he had sent him about a fruitless Message for secondly he had not at all delivered his People To the last of these he Answers in the first place here in this Verse where he tells him Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh That is be patient and wait a while and thou shalt see Pharaoh compelled to dismiss my People For with a strong hand shall he let them go c. I will so terribly scourge him that he shall not only let them go but thrust them out of Egypt and be glad to be rid of them Ver. 2. And God spake unto Moses and said unto him I am the LORD He also answers here to his first Question Why hast thou sent me by telling him I am JEHOVAH and have sent thee to make known this great Name that is my self who am constant to my word and will faithfully perform all my Promises Ver. 3. And I appeared unto Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the Name of God Almighty Or God All-sufficient as the word El-shaddai may be interpreted See XVII Gen. 1. God infinite in Power and Goodness of which he gave their Fathers abundant proofs by delivering them in many and great Straits But by my Name JEHOVAH was I not known to them This Name of four Letters as the Jews speak is by the Ancients called the ineffable Name For they would never pronounce it Not because they could not as Drusius well observes L. I. Observat Cap. I. Sed quod religione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quadam ab eo efferendo abstinerent but because out of a Religious Reverence they abstained from it And this respect to it all the ancient Interpreters observe even St. Hierom himself though in several of the ancient Fathers as Irenaeus Clem Alexandrinus Epiphanius and Theodoret and in some of the ancient Heathens as Macrobius and Diodorus Siculus it is expressed by Jaho and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Greek write it Which Name however it be pronounced some of the Jews imagine was concealed till Moses his time who was the first to whom it was revealed But this is evidently false as appears from the whole Book of Genesis and particularly from XV. 7. where before he calls himself El-shaddai he saith to Abraham I am Jehovah which brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees In short the Opinion of Reuchlinus in his Verb. Mirisicum is far more justifiable which is that it was revealed to our first Parents at the same time that God breathed into them the breath of Life For as soon as Eve brought forth her First-born she saith I have got a Man from the LORD IV Gen. 1. which Name descended in a perpetual Succession from Seth to Abraham who when he went by God's Direction out of his own Country into Canaan the LORD appeared to him there and there he built an Altar to the LORD XII Gen. 7 8. And it is to be noted that he doth not say to Moses in this place My Name Jehovah was not known to them but I was not known to them by this Name That is by that which it imports viz. the giving being as we may say to his Promises by the actual performance of them i. e. by bringing them into the Land of Canaan and in order to it delivering them out of Egypt Both which he had promised in the fore-named Chapter XV Gen. 14 18. and now intended to make good And thus R. Solomon interprets this place as P. Fagius notes I have promised but have not yet performed The like Expression we find in the Prophet Isaiah as Theodorick Hackspan hath observed Disput de Nominibus Divinis N. 15. LII Isa 5 6. where the Lord saith My Name is blasphemed every day continually therefore my People shall know my Name therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak behold it is I. Which cannot signifie that the Jews did not then know that this was one of the Names of God but that all who blasphem'd him should be confuted by sensible Proofs which he would give of his own unchangeable Resolution to fulfil his Promises in bringing them out of Babylon which fully demonstrated that he was JEHOVAH Which word some think includes in it not only his Eternal Existence and Immutable Truth but his Omnipotent Power which gave being to all things The last of which was now made known so as it had never been to Abraham Isaac and Jacob for Moses was the first that wrought Miracles and Prodigies God was known to the Fathers by Visions and Dreams but not by Signes and Wonders Moses made him known by these unto the World And therefore upon the whole Maimonides well concludes from this place that the Prophetical Spirit on Moses was more excellent than that which had been upon any before him More Nevoch P. II. c. 35. Ver. 4. And I also c. The Hebrew word vegam may be better translated although Which makes a clear connexion of this Verse with the former and explains the meaning of the Name Jehovah By which he was not known in former times although he had made a Covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob to give them the Land of Canaan and often ratified confirmed and establisht as he here speaks this Covenant XVII Gen. 7 8. XXVI 3 4 c. But now he not only declares himself mindful of that Covenant v. 5. but because he was the LORD v. 6. would deliver them from the Egyptian Bondage and that with a miraculous Power Which should make them know more of him than their Fathers did v. 7. both by his Delivering them out of Egypt and by bringing them into the Land which he swore he would give to their Fathers v. 8. This is the Sense of these five Verses The Land of their Pilgrimage c. So it is often called when he speaks to Abraham XVII Gen. 8. and so Isaac calls it XXVIII 4. and Jacob also XXXVII 1. And so it might be called not only with respect to Abraham Isaac and Jacob but also to their Posterity because of the near Union that is between Fathers and Children Thus God is said
heal Ver. 11. And the Frogs shall depart from thee c. This demonstrated the power of Moses with God that he could as certainly foretel the removal of the Frogs as he had done the bringing them upon the Land Ver. 12. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh To the place it is likely where Moses was wont to attend upon the Divine Majesty And Moses cried unto the LORD because of the Frogs In the Hebrew the words are Cried to him about the business or the matter of the Frogs which God had sent upon Pharaoh Or as Aben Ezra understands it concerning the Frogs which he had promised Pharaoh should be removed as if the words should be translated thus He cried unto the LORD concerning what he said about the Frogs and appointed unto Pharaoh For so the word Sham in XV. 25. signifies to appoint or propose and so the LXX here translate the words which we render had brought against Pharaoh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he had appointed to Pharaoh Ver. 13. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses So powerful was he with God in Prayer as the Heathens themselves observed from this Story See what I observed out of Numenius VII 12. And the Frogs died c. The Egyptians could not kill them but God took away their breath yet not removing them from the places where they were but leaving them dead there As appears by what follows Ver. 14. And they gathered them together on heaps That they might carry them it is likely into the River and so they might go down into the Sea God could have dissolved them into Dust if he had pleased or swept them into the River from whence they came or made them quite vanish in an instant But he would have them lye dead before their eyes as a Token they were real Frogs and no Illusion of their sight And the Land stank This was a further sensible Evidence that they were real Frogs Ver. 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite That he was freed from the great strait in which he was For the Hebrew word for respite signifies breathing or inlargement and makes the sense to be this that when the burden that pressed him was taken off so that he could take his breath he was of another mind c. He hardned his heart and hearkned not unto them c. Was not so good as his word v. 8. but returned to his former Resolution not to let Israel go Which Resolution grew so much more stubborn and obstinate than it had been before by how much the Plague of the Frogs had softned his heart and inclined it to yield to God more than the two former Miracles had done Ver. 16. And the LORD said unto Moses say unto Aaron The LORD seems to have given Pharaoh no warning of this Plague but to have inflicted it immediately upon the removal of the Frogs viz. on the Twenty seventh day of the sixth Month. For his breach of Faith was such an high Provocation that he deserved no other Treatment but a more notable Judgment Smite the Dust of the Land that it may become Lice Some would have the Hebrew word Cinnim to signifie Gnats or some such kind of Creature Thus many of the Ancients understand it and Artapanus calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a flying sort of living Creature which made such Ulcers by its biting as no Medicine could cure See Eusebius L. IX Praepar Evang. p. 425. But Bochartus hath sufficiently proved that our Translation is right and that out of the very Text. For Gnats and such like Insects are bred in Fenny places but these were brought out of the Dust of the Earth Ver. 17. Aaron stretched out his hand with his Rod. He still is the Instrument to execute all the Judgments which Moses denounced as he was his Mouth to deliver all the Messages he carried to Pharaoh And smote the Dust of the Earth and it became Lice This showed the Lice were not a Natural Production for they come out of the sweat and filth of Mens Bodies and of other Living Creatures In Man and Beast This proves they were Lice which stick fast both to Men and Beasts Whereas Gnats though they sting sorely cannot be said to be in Man and Beast for they are a most restless Creature continually buzzing about and never setling constantly in one place And there were various sorts of these Lice for Beasts do not breed the same that Men do nor have all Beasts alike but some are peculiar to Horses others to Oxen others to Sheep and others to Swine and Dogs All the Dust of the Land became Lice That is Nothing could be seen but Lice where Dust was before Or Lice were mingled every where with the Dust Throughout all the Land of Egypt Not of Goshen it is very probable which was inhabited mostly by Israelites Ver. 18. And the Magicians did so c. Attempted and endeavoured to do so by using their wonted Invocations and Rites of Incantation For the common saying among the Jews is very frivolous That Daemons have no power over Creatures so small as Lice The meaning of which Gaulmyn thinks they themselves did not understand which according to the Principles of the ancient Magick was this That all Animals had a particular Genius presiding over them by whose Assistance their Worshippers could do any thing among that sort of Creatures But this is meant only of perfect Animals not of Insects among whom they reckon'd Lice which had no such heavenly Power waiting on them But if there had been any such Notions then these Magicians sure would have understood it and not fruitlesly have attempted that which they had no hope to produce But they could not Though they had counterfeited the former Wonders yet here a stop is put to their Power so that they themselves confess their weakness So there were Lice upon Man and upon Beast This seems to suggest that since they could not produce any new Lice they attempted to remove those which Moses had brought upon the Country But they failed in that also for notwithstanding all that they could do both Men and Beasts were pestered with Lice The Hebrews say in The Life and Death of Moses that this Plague was inflicted upon the Egyptians for another piece of Oppression which they exercised on the Israelites to whom they said Go sweep our Houses and sweep our Streets c. therefore God made Lice to cover the Earth a Cubit deep But this favours too much of their fabulous invention It is more pertinent to observe that though we read of particular Persons who for great Crimes were punished with the Plague of Lice See Huctius L. II. Quaest Cap. XII n. 12. yet we do not find in any Story a whole Nation infested with them and that both Men and Beasts without Exception the Magicians themselves in all likelyhood being sorely asslicted with them which made them cry out as
here follows Ver. 19. Then the Magicians said unto Pharaoh This is the singer of God The same with what is called in other places of Scripture the hand of God CIX Psal 27. that is his Power There are those particularly Bochartus who think these Magicians did not by these words give Glory to God but thought to save their own Credit with Pharaoh by telling him that it was not Moses or Aaron who were too hard for them but a Divine Power superiour to them all To this purpose Jonathan But they ought then to have been sensible that the Power which they dealt withal was far from being Supream being unable to assist them upon all occasions And no doubt God intended to confound them by taking that time to disable them when they least expected it For why should not their Power have extended to such a small thing as this when they had done greater But God would not let them always abuse Pharaoh with their Illusions and gave them a check when they thought themselves most sure of Success And Pharaoh 's heart was hardned One would have rather expected to have heard that his heart began to relent when he saw his Magicians not only puzzled but quite bafled so that they owned Moses acted by a Power above theirs But this it was not to stick to the good Resolutions which had lately been wrought in him v. 8. from which he not only revolted but grew more resolute not to yield to God The effect of which was this further Induration it being natural for evil Men who resist the Means of their Cure to grow worse and worse affected This Miracle also of the Lice being more loathsom to Pharaoh than terrible might haply be the reason as Dr. Jackson conjectures that he did not intreat Moses and Aaron to pray for him as he had done upon the sight of the Frogs and as he straightway did after he felt the next Plague of the Flies I cannot but add also this further reflection of his Book X. on the Creed Chap. XL. that though the singer of God was very remarkable in producing the Lice which the Magicians could not yet it was no way remarkable in hardning Pharaoh's heart For it is neither said nor intimated that the singer of God hardned it but Pharaoh's heart was hardned that is remained obstinate The Cause of which was his not hearkning to them as it had been before v. 15. Ver. 20. And the LORD said unto Moses rise up early in the Morning and stand before Pharaoh As he had ordered him to do before he sent the second Plague VII 15. Lo he cometh forth to the Water This confirms what was said there that in the Morning it was usual with him to walk out by the River either for his Refreshment or for his Devotion Perhaps that after washing he might worship the Rising Sun For Moses is commanded to rise up early in the Morning and present himself before him And say unto him Thus saith the LORD let my People go c. The same Message he had often sent him VII 16 17. VIII 1. together with an Admonition and Warning of his Danger which God had not given him before the last Plague v. 16. Ver. 21. Behold I will send swarms of flies upon thee c. The Hebrew word Arob being generally thought to come from a word which signifies to mingle Interpreters commonly think it denotes a mixture of several sorts of Creatures And some take it as we seem here to do for all manner of Flies which Aquila calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all sorts of Insects Others take it as it is in our Margin for a mixture of noisom Beasts and so the Authour of The Life and Death of Moses God sent Lions Wolves Bears and Leopards and suck like wild Beasts which killed not only their Cattle in the Field but their Children in their Houses And so Josephus expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But Bochartus hath confuted this Notion by very good Arguments in his Hierozoicon P. 2. L. IV. Cap. XV. where he shows no words have more significations than the Hebrew word Arab which signifies not only to mingle but among many other things to obscure and darken From whence the Even time is called Ereb And therefore with great reason he approves of the LXX Version who translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Flesh-sly very bold and troublesome being not easily drove away which infests Dogs very much especially about the flaps of their Ears Some take it for that large black fly which fastens upon Beasts and sucks their Blood called Arob from its black colour as Oreb from thence signifies a Crow And so Philo describes this fly called Cynomya that it is as impudent as a Dog and makes its Assaults with great Violence like a Dart fastning its Teeth so deep in the Flesh and sticking so close that it makes Cattle run mad This Plague the Jews say in the forenamed Book of The Life of Moses was sent upon the Egyptians because of the hard Service they made the Israelites undergo in feeding their Cattle Ver. 22. And I will sever in that day the Land of Goshen in which my People dwell c. Here now the distinguishing Mercy of God to the Israelites is plainly expressed which is to be understood in the foregoing Plagues And the Hebrew word as well as the Chaldee signifies I will make a wondrous difference So Jonathan in that day I will work a Miracle in the Land of Goshen For indeed it was a marvellous thing that Countries so near one another should be in such a different Condition at the same time And it was the more wonderful because there was such store of Cattle in Goshen whose Dung is apt to breed Flies That thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the Earth Who governs all things here below or that have a special care of my People For so Bochart understood by Earth the Land of Goshen In the midst of which God is said to be because he defended and delivered them from this sore Calamity which their Neighbours suffered For thus this Phrase is used in many places VII Deut. 22. XXIII 14. XLVI Psal 6 c. And thus Conr. Pellicanus seems to have understood this Passage which he interprets you shall know that I am the LORD and Prince of this Country Ver. 23. I will put a division between thy People and my People c. It is repeated again because it was a remarkable thing and denoted the Israelites to be God's peculiar People for whom he had a singular favour Which is the reason that this Mercy is called here a Redemption as the word in the Hebrew signifies which we translate division because God exempted and delivered the Israelites from those Flies which sorely infested all the rest of Pharaoh's Dominions To morrow shall this sign be The finger of God was so remarkable in the last Plague v. 19. that
Warning of their Danger that they might avoid it Ver. 20. He that feared the Word of the LORD among the Servants of Pharaoh c. That which is opposed to this in the next Verse is He that set not his heart unto the Word of the LORD or as we translate it regarded it not i. e. did not attend to what was said and done by Moses and seriously consider it Unto which the fear of God moves all those who are possessed with it and serious consideration will not fail to work in Men the fear of God and of his Judgments Ver. 21. And he that regarded not the word of the LORD c. This was the Cause of the Ruin of all that perished they did not set themselves to consider the irresistible Power of him who inflicted such terrible Judgments upon them as Moses threatned For at last they grew so stupid that they could not consider but were perfectly infatuated Ver. 22. And the LORD said unto Moses stretch forth thy hand With his Rod in it as it is explained in the next Verse and as he had directed on other occasions VIII 16 17. where it is said Aaron stretched out his and with his Rod. Towards Heaven To show the Plague was sent from God That there may be Hail on all the Land of Egypt c. Here he more fully expresses the Damage it would do both to Men and Beasts and to the Herb of the Field which comprehends all the Trees v. 25. Ver. 23. And Moses stretched forth his Rod. Sometimes Aaron did it but it was at the Command of Moses and as his Minister who sometimes did it himself and was Commanded by God so to do v. 22. He gave warning of this Plague about the fourth Day of the VIIth Month and inflicted it upon the fifth and removed it the sixth The Author of The Life and Death of Moses fancies that God sent this Plague to punish the Egyptians for the drudgery they imposed upon the Israelites in making them till their Fields for them And the LORD sent Thunder and Hail c. It was no wonder there should be Thunder but the Claps of this were far more terrible than any that had been heard before in that Country As the Hall also was more ponderous and came down with a greater force and was mixed with Fire Which the Author of the Book of Wisdom observes Chap. XVI as a thing unusual And herein consisted the miraculousness of this Plague That whereas other Storms of Hail generally reach but a little way sometimes not a Mile this spread it self over the whole Country v. 25. And Flashes of Lightning were not only mingled with it but Fire ran upon the Ground and killed their Cattle LXXVIII Psal 48. when at the same time all the Land of Goshen though a part of that Country felt nothing of this Storm v. 26. And the LORD rained Hail upon the Land of Egypt This is repeated to show that it fell as thick as Rain and was not a meer showr but a continual Hail and that this was the principal part of this Plague being alone mentioned v. 22. and 26. where nothing is said of Thunder or Fire and put in the first place by the Psalmist both in LXXVIII 48. and CV 32. Ver. 25. And the Hail smote c. That is killed every Man and Beast that was in the Field v. 19. And smote every Herb and broke every Tree of the Field Especially their Vines and Figtrees as the Psalmist tells us LXXVIII 47. CV 33. Very great Hailstones have fall'n in several Countries some of a prodigious bigness as credible Historians relate whereby some living Creatures have here and there been killed but none ever made such a general destruction as this Storm did Yet we are not to understand it as if no green thing escaped nor a Bough of any Tree was left but the meaning is that a great many of every kind were destroyed though some as appears by the following Chapter still remained Ver. 26. Only in the Land of Goshen c. So that the Egyptians that lived among them fared the better it is thought at this time for their sake Ver. 27. And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron This is no more than he had done several times before VIII 8 25. but it may seem strange he should do it now after the LORD had hardned his heart The clearest account of it is that he acted now as a Man distracted and frighted out of his Wits which made him rave and cry out for help in very passionate words without any serious meaning I have sinned this time c. The meaning is not that he had not sinned before but I now acknowledge my Offence and the Justice of God in punishing the wickedness of me and of my People Which Confession doth not argue any tenderness of heart but was extorted by the horrible Fright he was in of being undone if he did not make some Submission Ver. 27. Intreat the LORD for it is enough Or beseech him that what I have already suffered may suffice That there be no more mighty Thundrings and Hail The words import frightful Claps of Thunder which sounded as if God was angry with them especially since the Hail fell like Thunder-bolts upon their Heads and struck those down that walkt abroad This was the reason that he begg'd their Prayers For he and his Servants could not always continue within Doors and while the Hail lasted there was no Safety abroad And I will let you go Not quite away but three days Journey into the Wilderness as they desired And ye shall stay no longer He promises to dismiss them immediately Ver. 29. And Moses said unto him as soon as I am gone out of the City By this he demonstrated the great Power of God who he knew would protect him from receiving any harm by the Thunder Lightning and Hail which killed all others that went abroad into the Fields I will spread forth my hands unto the LORD This was an ancient Posture of Supplication in all Nations as many Learned Men have shown whereby Men declared that God is the Giver of all good things and that they hoped to receive Help from him For our Hands are the Instruments whereby we receive any Gift that is bestowed upon us That thou mayest know how that the Earth is the LORD's Have a demonstration which was sufficient to make him know that the LORD governs all things as appeared by the ceasing of this dreadful storm upon Moses his Prayers to God as well as by the powring of it in such violence upon them Ver. 30. But as for thee and thy Servants I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God The generality of the Court he knew would continue as obstinate as their Prince though some of them had some sense of God and of his Judgments as we read v. 20. Ver. 31. And the Flax and the Barley were smitten
that had been seen and they were a frequent Plague in those Countries either in bigness or in in number or in both That is all that had been seen in Egypt For in other Countries perhaps there might have been as large if Pliny may be believed that in India there had been some seen three foot long The Jews in the Book called The Life and Death of Moses fancy these to have been of such a vast Bulk that their Jaw-teeth were like those of Lions But it 's likely Moses speaks here only of their multitude For the Prophet Joel hath such an Expression when he speaks also of their being without number I Joel 6. Whose Teeth are the Teeth of a Lion i. e. they devoured all things greedily and speedily And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh Either Moses did not stay for an Answer knowing he would give him none better than formerly or Pharaoh answered so churlishly that Moses hastily turned about as the words seem to import and went away in some indignation Ver. 7. And Pharaoh 's Servants said Some of his Counsellors or Courtiers who feared the word of the LORD IX 20. Or perhaps the whole Court began now to be sensible of their Danger How long shall this Man They seem to speak contemptibly of Moses to please Pharaoh who they were afraid would not like their Counsel unless they flattered him Be a Snare to us The LXX and the Vulgar translate it be a stumbling-block i. e. lay before us the Occasion of our falling into one Calamity after another Or involve and intangle us in so many Mischiefs Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed Dost thou not consider that so many Plagues have ruined our Country Ver. 8. And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh c. Upon this Advice he commanded them to be called back again and consented to let them go with some Limitations to which Moses could not agree But who are they that shall go In the Hebrew the words are but who and who that is Name the particulars For his Covetousness would not suffer the whole Nation to go but he would keep some fast in his hands as a Pledge for the Return of the rest Ver. 9. And Moses said we will go with our young and our old c. with our Flocks and with our Herds c. The reason of this large Demand is given in the end of this Verse They did not know what and how often they must Sacrifice to the LORD and therefore it was necessary their Flocks and Herds should go with them And they being to hold a Feast unto the LORD none of them were to be absent from the Solemnity Hold a Feast unto the LORD It appears from V. 1 3. that it was to be a Feast upon a Sacrifice of which every one was to be a partaker Ver. 10. And he said unto them Let the LORD be so with you as I will let you go c. Most take this for a form of Imprecation as if he had said I wish you may prosper no better than I will accord to your desire But some look upon it as an Irrision or Jeer as if he had said you trust in the LORD let him do all he can to deliver you as I am resolved to keep you here This justifies the truth of their Observation who say that Pharaoh at the first behaved himself like a proud Phantastick Humorist who slighted all that Moses said or did but since the Plague of Murrain on the Cattle and Blains upon the Egyptians like a fantastick distracted Bedlam who raved as if his Brains had been blasted to use Dr. Jackson's Phrase with the Fumes of his seared Conscience Look you to it for evil is before you It is uncertain whether he meant evil that they designed against him or which he designed against them The former best agrees with what follows as if he had said you intend a Rebellion therefore I will let none but the Men go Or more plainly it is visible you design some evil i. e. you have conspired to be gone and make a Revolt Or it is plain and manifest by your very Countenances that you intend some evil If we take it the other way for evil which he threatned to them the meaning must be Mark what I say I will take a course with you unless you be content to go and Sacrifice upon my terms i. e. the Men only Ver. 11. Not so You shall not have your will Go now ye that are Men and serve the LORD for that you did desire So he Interprets their Demand V. 1. pretending that Women and Children needed not to attend upon Sacrifices And they were driven out from Pharaoh 's presence It is likely he said I have no more to say to you or you know my mind and therefore get you gone and then commanded his Officers to thrust them out of Doors which they did with some violence This shows he was in a fury which made him neither regard God nor Man but reject the good Counsel his own Servants had given him v. 7. as well as the Commands which Moses from God had delivered to him Ver. 12. And the LORD said unto Moses siretch out thine hand c. Upon this the Lord immediately ordered Moses to Execute the Judgment he had denounced Which as I said before was threatned about the seventh day and inflicted upon the next and removed on the ninth day of Abib Compare v. 4 13 19. Ver. 13. And Moses stretched forth his Rod over the Land of Egypt See VIII 6. And the LORD brought an East wind c. Though the Hebrew word kadim doth properly signifie the East yet it is sometimes used for the South as Boehart hath demonstrated P. II. Hieroz L. I. c. 15. and so the LXX here understood it For though in Arabia which lay East of Egypt there were great store of Locusts yet not such Numbers as were in Ethiopia which lay South of it and abounded with them more than any Country in the World Some People there lived upon nothing else but Locusts which were brought thither in the Spring about the Vernal Aequinox in vast quantities partly by the Western and partly by the Southern Winds as the same Bochart shows out of good Authors L. IV. c. 3. And now it was about that time of the year when by a Wind blowing from those parts they were brought into Egypt See LXXVIII Psal 26. Ver. 14. And the Locusts went up over all the Land of Egypt Being lifted up by the Wind as Pliny speaks they sly in the Air in a great Cloud which now it seems spread it self over all the Land of Egypt solicitè spectantibus populis c. as the same Author speaks People looking on them in great fear lest they fall down and cover their Country as the words following tell us they did here in Egypt And rested in all the Coasts of Egypt After they had hovered
of Gold as Casaubon speaks in his Annotations on this place L. XVI p. 760 761. CHAP. XIII Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying After they came to Succoth where I suppose the SCHECHINAH appeared to him as it had done in Midian and in Egypt to direct him in his Conduct Ver. 2. Sanctifie unto me the First-born Separate or set apart from common uses for I appropriate them to my self as it follows in the end of the Verse This word Sanctifie as our Mr. Mede observes signifies differently in several Conjugations Sometimes it signifies to devote and consecrate to the Service of God and sometimes to use a thing as holy being already devoted to him And thus he reconciles this place where he bids him sanctifie all the First-born i. e. look upon them as things separated to his own use and therefore not to be used by them with another place XXVII Lev. 26. where he saith concerning the First-born No Man shall sanctifie it it is the LORD's i. e. the LORD hath already set it apart to himself and therefore no Man is to Consecrate that again which God hath already Consecrated that is taken for his own See L. II. de Sanctuario Dei p. 552. First-born There were two sorts of First-born Some who were the First-born of the Father called the beginning of his Strength XXI Deut. 17. The other the First-born of the Mother which are called here whatsoever openeth the Womb. The Hebrews make a great difference between these two and say That to the former sort belong the Prerogatives both of having the Inheritance of his Father and also the Priesthood but to the latter only belongs one of these Prerogatives viz. the Priesthood And they gather it from this very place Whatsoever openeth the Womb which is the First-born of the Mother is mine i. e. shall be employed in my Service But instead of these God took the Levites to attend upon him III Numb 12. After which the First-born were to be redeemed at a certain Rate which was part of the Priests maintenance XVIII Numb 15 16. See Selden de Successionibus ad Leg. Hebr. c. 7. Among the Children of Israel Whom this Precept concerned peculiarly but no other People Therefore the Jews say that if one of them and a Gentile had any Beast in Common between them the First-born was free as their Phrase is because it is here said among the Children of Israel not the Gentiles See Buxtorf Synag Jud. c. 38. Both of Man and Beast As is further directed and explained v. 12 13. It is mine And therefore was to be offered to God if it were a Male of any Beast only an Ass was to be redeemed XXXIV 19 20. God intended by this Law to teach them saith R. Levi Barzelonita that the whole World was his and that Men had nothing in it but by his gracious Grant who challenged the First-born of every thing to himself because all was his For the First-born Male was dearer to a Man saith he than the Apple of his Eye as no doubt he was yet he was bound to Consecrate him to God But the plainest reason of this Law was to put them in mind of God's miraculous Providence in sparing their First-born when those of the Egyptians were all killed To which the Jewish Doctors add a more ancient right God had to them being the Persons who Sacrificed to God before Priests were ordained by the Law of Moses So Onkelos takes the young men XXIV 5. to have been the First-born and the Priests mentioned XIX 22. Aben Ezra also upon XVI Numb 1. saith the same the truth of which I shall examine there Ver. 3. And Moses said unto the People God seems to have commanded Moses at the same time he gave this Precept to repeat here at Succoth what he had said to them in Egypt concerning the Observation of the Passover and of the Feast of Vnleavened Bread It being of great moment to have the Benefits hereby Commemorated in perpetual remembrance Remember this day c. Which was the first day of Unleavened Bread commanded to be kept holy XII 16. For by strength of hand the LORD brought you out That is by a miraculous Power which constrained Pharaoh to let you go much against his will So God promised at his first appearance to Moses III. 19. There shall no leavened Bread be eaten Unleavened Bread was to be eaten on the Passover Night and afterwards no leavened Bread See XII 15 c. where this is represented as the Sense of the Jews but the sixth and seventh Verse following seem to say otherwise Ver. 4. This day came ye out In the Morning of this Day they began their March In the Month of Abib This word Abib signifies an Ear of Corn for then Barley began to ear The Syriack word hababa hath something of its sound which signifies a flower and so they here translate it The Month of Flowers Whence Macarius saith God brought Israel out of Egypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Month of Flowers when the pleasant Spring first appeared See XXIII 15. Ver. 5. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the Land c. From hence they conclude this Precept did not oblige them in the Wilderness but it was by a special Direction and Command that they observed it the year after this IX Numb 1 2 c. See XII 25 50. In confirmation of which the XII Deut. 1. is alledged where he begins to recapitulate all the Laws they were to observe in Canaan among which this is one XII 5 6. yet this alone would not have been sufficient to prove this for he might be thought now only to reinforce his Laws at their etrance into Canaan if he had not added v. 8. Ye shall not do after all the things you do here this day c. Which supposes that in the unsetled Condition wherein they were in the Wilderness they had not kept themselves to all those Rules which follow and had been formerly delivered Which he sware unto thy Fathers to give thee c. XV Gen. 18 19 c. Ye shall keep this Service in this Month. Both the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread XII 25. Ver. 6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened Bread This seems to confute what the Jews say that they were not bound to eat unleavened Bread but only when they ate the Passover See XII 15. And in the seventh day shall be a Feast unto the LORD As the first day was holy v. 3. so was the last XII 16. that they might not fail in their Gratitude for so great a Benefit as they now Commemorated Ver. 7. Vnleavened Bread shall be eaten seven days This seems still to make the Injunction plainer that for seven days together they should eat unleavened Bread Which is so often repeated because this made them sensible more than any thing else of the wonderful Hand of God in bringing them out of
where because God is said to have divided the Red-sea into parts they sancy there were twelve Divisions every one defended with a Wall of Water But there is no foundation for this in these words nor in LXXVII Psal 19. where paths being in the Plural Number they thence also deduce the same Conceit of a several path to every Tribe See Simeon de Muis on that place Ver. 22. And the Israelites went in to the midst of the Sea About the second Watch of the Night which was at Midnight and about break of Day they were got quite through Vpon the dry ground This was not lookt upon by the ancient Heathen as incredible For Homer makes Neptune driving his Chariot upon the Waves and the Sea withdrawing its Waters And the Waters of Scamander being swell'd to destroy Achilles he makes to be dried up by Vulcan As Nonnus also makes Bacchus drying up Hydaspes and smiting Orontes with his Thyrsus to have gone over it See the Learned Huetius in his Quaestiones Alnetanae p. 206 c. And the Waters were a Wall unto them on the right hand and on the left The strong East-wind contributed no doubt to the cutting of the Waters in two though not without the help of Angelical Powers But I do not see how it could do any thing to the compacting of the Waters to such a degree that they were no longer fluid but firm as a Wall or Bank on each side of them See XV. 8. which was effected wholly by the Angelical Ministry who upheld the Waters in that solid posture till the Israelites were got quite out of the Sea It hath been an old Question Whether they went quite cross the Red-sea or only fetcht a compass and came out upon the same Shore from which they went in The Hebrew Doctors are of opinion that they did not go over to the opposite Shore but making a kind of Semi-circle found themselves when they came out in the same Country where they were before Their reasons are because they could not in so small a time have marcht so far for in the narrowest place that Gulf is XII or XV. German Miles over so that they could not all have passed through in less than three or four days as David Chytraeus makes the computation But especially because Moses expresly makes their next Station to be in the Wilderness of Etham XXXIII Numb 8. in which place they were the day before they came to the Sea XIII Exod. 20. Therefore they were still in the same Wilderness Ver. 23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the Sea c. Imagining perhaps they were still upon the Land or on the Shore where the Sea was retired the darkness of the Night not suffering them to see the Mountains of Water on each side or rather their Minds being so intent to overtake the Israelites that they regarded nothing else For when Men are ingaged in a fierce chase of any thing with eager desires and confident hopes of it it takes up all their thoughts and makes them overlook what lies before their eyes Thus by their own violent Passions and proud Imaginations God blinded their Minds and hardned their hearts as he said he would v. 17. to rush into their own destruction Ver. 24. And it came to pass that in the morning watch The Romans and the Hebrews also divided the Night into four parts containing three hours apiece At the beginning of which the Guard of Soldiers who kept watch by Night was changed and thence they were called Watches Two of them we find mentioned by St. Luke XII 38. and St. Mark mentions them all XIII 35. and particularly the fourth Watch VI Mark 48. called here the Morning Watch which was the last of them between Day-break and the Morning The LORD looked unto the Host of the Egyptians He frowned upon them as we speak now in our Language For in Scripture God is said sometimes to look upon those whom he is about to punish CIV Psalm 32. IX Amos 4. III Habakkuk 6. Through the pillar of fire and the Cloud By this it is manifest there was but one Pillar which had different Appearances and that the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty was in it It seems to me also very probable that whereas the cloudy part of the Pillar had been towards the Egyptians hitherto now it turned the other side toward them and the siery part appearing let them see the danger wherein they were and by its amazing brightness perfectly confounded them So Philo seems to have understood it when he saith L. III. de Vita Mosis that from the Cloud that was in the Rear of the Israelites there shone a fiery Appearance of the Deity Which may well be the meaning of the LORD 's looking through the Pillar of Fire And troubled the Host of the Egyptians This glorious Light I suppose flashing in their Faces put them into a Consternation But Josephus adds in the conclusion of his Second Book of Antiquities that there was a dreadful Storm or Tempest with Thunder Lightning and Hailstones from the Cloud which put them into the greatest disorder as it follows in the next Verse Hither Dr. Hammond refers those words of the Psalmist LXXVII 17 18. The Clouds poured out Water the Skies sent out a sound thine Arrows also went abroad The Voice of thy Thunder was in the Heaven the Lightnings lightned the World the Earth trembled and shook c. Ver. 25. And took off their Chariot wheels Some of their Wheels were broken by the Hail-stones or burnt with Lightning with which its likely their Horses were so affrighted that they fell into disorder and one Chariot running against another some of their Wheels were taken off That they drave heavily They could scarce move or but very slowly when their Wheels were broken or taken off And those Wheels that remained sunk deep into the Sand when the Waters returned upon it So that the Egyptians said c. They cried one to another Let us give over the pursuit For the LORD fighteth for them c. Now Moses his words were made good v. 14. and the Egyptians themselves acknowledged it v. 18. Ver. 26. And the LORD said unto Moses He spake to him out of the Cloud where the SCHECHINAH was as I have often said Stretch out thy hand over the Sea that the Waters may return again upon the Egyptians c. God was pleased to use the Ministry of Moses in the drowning of the Egyptians as he had done in the Preservation of the Israelites in the Sea v. 16 21. that all the People might honour and reverence him and be obedient to his direction Ver. 27. And the Sea returned to its strength The sense is truly expressed by the Vulgar the Sea returned to its former place The great Walls or heaps of Water which were on either side of them falling down and rushing upon them with a mighty force overwhelmed them and filled
that their cruel usage by Pharaoh especially his Decree that all the Male Children should be slain was the occasion of this name for it made their life bitter to them as the Text saith I. 14. Thus the Author of Dibre Hajamim or of the Life of Moses and our Dr. Lightfoot and others But L'Moine guesses not unhappily that it signifies as much as Mar-jam which is in English a drop of the Sea from which the Story of Venus was framed among the Greeks who feigned her to have been born of the froth of the Sea which gave her the Name of Aphrodite The Fable of Diana also as well as Venus had no other original but from that which is here said of Miriam as Huetius hath probably conjectured in his Demonstratio Evang. Prop. IV. c. 12. sect 4. The Prophetess She was called by this Name I suppose because she had a Gift of composing Hymns in praise of the Divine Majesty which it is certain is meant sometimes by prophecying in Scripture See 1 Sam. X. 5 6. And thus among the Greeks a Prophet and a Poet were the same thing and the Latine word Vates signifies both For as Quintilian saith L. I. c. 10. Musick was had in such veneration in ancient times that iidem Musici Vates Sapientes judicarentur But there are other places of Holy Scripture which would incline one to think that she also received Revelations from God for the direction of the People Particularly VI Mich. 4. where she is mentioned as one that conducted Israel out of Egypt and her own words with Aaron's XII Numb 2. hath not the LORD spoken by us also Which the LORD heard and doth not contradict but rather allow to be true though they had not such near Communication with him as Moses had v. 6. Perhaps she instructed the Women as Moses and Aaron did the Men. The Sister of Aaron And why not of Moses The common Answer is that Aaron and she lived longest together Moses having been absent from them XL. years Or perhaps Moses was not by the same Mother which Aaron and Miriam had She was married to Hur if we may believe Josephus Took a Timbrel in her hand So the manner was in after-times when they prophesied 1 Sam. X. 5 6. 2 Kings III. 15. and when they sang Hymns XXXIII Psalm 2. LVII 7 8. and upon any occasion of great rejoycing XI Judg. 34. 1 Sam. XVIII 6. From which we may learn how ancient Musick was in the Service of God there being nothing in which it can be better imployed than in his Praises Therefore it was no part of the Gentile Idolatry that they used such Instruments as these in their Divine Worship but they honoured false Gods in that manner that Moses and the Israelites had done the true And it ought to have a remark set upon it that this way of praising God was no part of the Mosaical Institution but derived from more ancient times before the Law was given And all the Women went out after her To joyn with her in the Praises of God as the Men did with Moses and Aaron with Timbrels and Dances As they played with these Instruments in their hands so their whole Bodies made a decent motion with their feet Which afterwards tended to lasciviousness but anciently was very grave and so becoming that such Dances were as devout Expressions of Joy as their solemn Musick This appears by the Example of David dancing before the Ark when it was brought up from the House of Obed-Edom in a joyful Procession both of Men and Women with Vocal and Instrumental Musick 1 Chron. XV. 27 28 29. LXVIII Psalm 26. From which Patterns all Nations from the most ancient Times made Dancing a part of the Worship of their Gods as Huetius observes in his Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. c. 6. n. 2. who ingeniously conjectures in another place of that Work c. 12. n. 4. that from this Dancing of Miriam and her Companions on the Sea-shore Callimachus in his Hymn to Diana ascribes to her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 threescore Dancers the Daughters of the Ocean Ver. 21. And Miriam answered them c. i. e. She and the Women answered Moses and the People Verse by Verse or after every Verse sung by Moses and the Men Miriam and the Women interposed and repeated this Verse which is the first of the Song saying Sing to the LORD for he hath triumphed gloriously c. And this was a way of singing in after Times as appears from the CXXXV Psalm and III Ezra 11. of which I have given some account in my Preface to the Paraphrase of the Book of Psalms Which justisies or rather commends our way of Reading or Chanting the Psalms interchangeably by Responses as we call them or Answering one to another which certainly it appears by this place is the most ancient way of all other And is represented in VI Isa 3. as practised by the Angels themselves in their Worship of the Divine Majesty Ver. 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red-sea Not without some importunity they being eagerly bent upon gathering the Spoil of the Egyptians Some such thing the Hebrew word seems to import which is jassa he made them to go up Which signifies some unwillingness or backwardness arising either from that Cause or from a desire to return to Egypt as some fancy which now perhaps they thought to be so empty that they might get it for themselves And they went out From the Station where they were at the Red-sea Into the Wilderness of Shur Mentioned XVI Gen. 7. and was a part of the Wilderness of Etham which was the general Name for this Desert XXXIII Numb 8. And they went three days in the Wilderness Viz. the XXII XXIII and XXIVth of Nisan And found no Water Which was a very great Trial of them For their Cattle as well as they suffered much by it and could not afford them Milk sufficient to quench their thirst Ver. 23. And when they came to Marah This was the fourth Station of the Israelites after they came out of Egypt and in the same Wilderness which had this Name given it after they came there from the bitterness or brackishness of the Water They could not drink of the Water c. This was the more grievous because they had wanted this refreshment three days Ver. 24. And the People murmured against Moses saying What shall we drink It is the conceit of Abarbinel that Moses brought them from the Red-sea without the direction of the Cloud which conducted them thither but then left them to his Guidance Which made the People think it was Moses his Fault that they were in this destress who did not know how to lead them to the most commodious and likely places for the finding good Water And therefore from Marah they stirred not till the Cloud again led them because it is said XVII 1. they journied from Sin by the Commandment of the LORD
Example to others so are Families and Nations And Amalek being the very first that drew a Sword against Israel unprovoked God passed this heavy Doom upon them whereas Ammon and Moab saith he who out of meer Covetousness committed what they did against Israel and wrought Mischief to them by Craft and Subtilty had only this Punishment inflicted upon them that Israel should not contract Affinity with them c. XXIII Deut. 3 4. XXV ult More Nevochim P. III. c. 41. Ver. 15. And Moses built an Altar Commonly Altars were built for Sacrifice which Moses perhaps here offered in thankfulness to God for his Benefits particulary this great Victory But they were also built sometimes only as Memorials XXII Josh 26 27. as this perhaps was He thinking it sit to preserve the memory of this Victory not only by writing but by this Monument also and the Inscription he lest upon it And he called the Name of it JEHOVAH-Nissi Or The LORD my Banner i. e. By him we overcame them Some will have it translated not he called it but he called him i. e. the LORD by the Name of the LORD who lifted up a Banner i. e. fought for them LX Psal 6. From which Inscription Bochartus thinks came the Name of Dionysus among the Greeks who from this word Nissi call'd him Nissaeus or Nysaeus and adding the Name of their own Jupiter to it called him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. I. Canaan c. 18. For Bacchus is said to have been a great Warrior and to have made mighty Conquests And as Huetius observes is called Arsaphes which is the very Name given to Moses by the Egyptians who called him Osarsiph Nay in Orpheus his Hymns Bacchus is called Mises which seems to be the same with Moses Out of whose Story all that the Greeks and others say of Bacchus seems to have been framed as he shows with great probability Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. c. 4. n. 3. Ver. 16. For he said Because the LORD hath sworn c. In the Hebrew the words are The hand upon the Throne of the LORD Which is commonly interpreted The LORD hath sworn by his Throne So R. Solomon and Aben-Ezra and the Chaldee whose Paraphrase is This is spoken with an Oath from the face of the terrible One whose Majesty is upon the Throne of Glory that the LORD will have War with Amalek c. That is saith Maimonides he hath sworn by himself More Nevoch P. I. c. 9. for in this and all other places the word Kisse i.e. Throne signifies his Magnificence and Power which is not any thing without his Essence but is himself But here being no mention of lifting up the hand which is the Phrase for Swearing VI Exod. 8. XXXII Deut. 40. it may more simply be expounded because the hand of the LORD sitting upon the Throne of his Majesty is stretched out and holds up his Banner to fight with Amalek throughout all Generations For Moses seems to allude in this Phrase to what he had said v. 11 12. When Moses lifted up his hand then Israel prevailed c. and bids them take notice it was his hand i. e. the Omnipotent Power of God which gave them this Victory and would perpetually prosecute Amalek till they were destroyed Joseph Scaliger would have Kes-jah to be but one word and to signifie the same with Kese which according to him is the last day of the Month on which this Battle was fought And so this to be a part of the Inscription upon the Altar as if he had said This Pillar was set up on the last day of the second Month to declare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 irreconcileable War with Amalek for ever L. III. de Emend Temp. p. 223. But this is too bold a conceit and is confuted by Hacspan and Glassius There is a more ingenious conjecture which I have some where met with if there were any thing in Scripture to warrant it that laying the hand on the Throne was a form of Swearing as touching the Altar was among some Nations which was as much as our laying the hand on the Bible a principal External Character of a Solemn Oath Whence Juvenal saith Atheists do intrepidos altaria tangere touch the Altars boldly without trembling i. e. make no Conscience of an Oath But the Marginal Translation after all is very literal and makes the sense exceeding plain and clear Because the hand of Amalek is against the Throne of the LORD i. e. against God himself therefore the LORD will have War with Amalek from Generation to Generation This is easie and natural and agrees with the whole History that because they came out and opposed the Design of God who in a visible and most glorious manner conducted the Israelites to the Land he had promised to give them he would never be reconciled to them For it was an high Affront to his Majesty who had lately done such astonishing Wonders as were famed no doubt in all the Neighbouring Nations XV. 14 15. CHAP. XVIII Verse 1. NOW Jethro the Priest of Midian c. Many ancient and later Versions have it Prince of Midian See Chap. II. v. 16. Heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel c. The Fame of which went into all the Countries thereabout XV. 14 c. Ver. 2. Took Zipporah Moses wise after he had sent her back It is uncertain when Moses sent her back to her Father but it is likely it was done at her own desire when she saw how difficult his Work was likely to prove in Egypt See IV. 26. The Hebrew word seems to some to intimate a Divorce as the Mauritanian Jews take it But all Christian Versions and that of the Jerman Jews and the Persian understand it as we do See Selden de Vxor Hebr. p. 629. Ver. 3. And her two Sons c. Whose Names carry in them a thankful Remembrance of God's great Mercy to him Gershom See II. 22. Ver. 4. Eliezer Who is thought to have been born a little before he left Midian and went out of Midian into Egypt by God's special derection See IV. 25. Ver. 5. And Jethro c. came unto Moses Took a Journey out of Midian to give him a visit Into the Wilderness Into the same Wilderness where Moses and the Israelites now were Where he incamped at the Mount of God viz. At Horeb which was not far from Midian it appears from III. 11. where we read that when Moses fed Jethro's Flock he led them hither to this Mount Which is called God's Mount because there he appeared sirst to Moses III. 2 c. and had lately appeared there again upon the Rock XVII 6. unto which place he bid Moses lead the Congregration XVII 5. who were now I suppose incamped thereabout after the sight with Amalek in Rephidim which was not far from it Ver. 6. And he said unto Moses By a Letter which he sent him from the place where he was incamped of which
when they found any too difficult they were to refer it to be heard by Moses himself So R. Leviben Gersom explains it Every great Cause in which they know not what to judge they shall bring to thee and thou shalt show what is right or how it is to be decided There are those indeed who think there were several sorts of Causes that might not be brought before these Inferiour Courts but were to be reserved for Moses's hearing and judging These they make to be Four First All Sacred Matters or Things belonging unto God which they gather from v. 19. Secondly All Matters of Equity where the rigour of the Law was sit to be mitigated Thirdly All Capital Causes And lastly Such as the Chiliarchs i. e. Rulers of Thousands and the other Judges referred to him But this is said without ground for it is plain all sorts of Causes might be determined by the inferiour Courts if they were able to make an end of them whether Civil or Sacred Only those which were too difficult for them that is when they did not find a Law to direct them or it was obscure or they could not agree about the Punishment then they were to be brought before Moses So he himself charges not that the People should bring such Causes to him as they thought difficult but that the Judges themselves should bring them i. e. order an Appeal to him I Deut. 17. bring it unto me speaking to the Judges and I will hear it Which shows the Cause had been at the Bar of other Courts before and that it was not unlawful for them to meddle with it if they had been able to determine it And accordingly we read here below v. 26. that the Judges did so In short these words do not intimate that there were some Causes the other Judges might not try if they were able but only that such things as they found themselves not skilful enough to determine they should bring to him See Mr. Selden in the fore-named Book p. 633 c. But every small matter they shall judge Hitherto Moses but heard all Causes promiscuously great and small but Jethro well advises him to delegate the labour of judging all Causes liquidi juris as the Lawyers speak where the Right was clear and to reserve no part of the Judicature to himself but where the Law it self was either defective or obscure So shall it be casier for thy self c. Thou wilt ease thy self of a great burden by appointing others to take their share of it Ver. 23. If thou wilt do this thing and God command thee so If thou wilt follow this advice by God's approbation who was to be consulted whether he allowed it Then thou shalt be able to endure Thy days will be prolonged which otherwise will be shortned with this intolerable labour And the People go to their place in peace Go home very much satisfied with such quick dispatch and happy composure of their Differences Ver. 24. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his Father-in-law c. Followed his Counsel by God's approbation with whom no doubt he advised v. 23. Here the Samaritan Copy inserts those words of Moses I Deut. 9 c. I am not able to bear you my self alone the LORD your God hath multiplied you c. Which he spake indeed when he made this Constitution but did not set it down in this Book where he intended only a short account of these Transactions Ver. 25. And Moses chose able men c. Out of those who were presented to him by the People See v. 20. Ver. 26. And they judged the People at all Seasons Whensoever they resorted to them For some Court or other sate every day that was not appointed by God for other Business i. e. for Religion The hard Causes they brought to Moses c. It is plain by this that the Judges not the People brought the hard Causes unto Moses For the People could not know whether they might not have a Remedy nearer hand than by going to him on all occasions till they had tried Ver. 27. And Moses let his Father-in-law depart After he had staid some time with him and could not prevail with him to stay longer which he earnestly desired and go with them to see the Accomplishment of God's Promises to them as those words X Numb 29 c. are thought to signifie But perhaps that Hobab there mentioned was not Jethro himself but his Son whom Moses also perswaded not to return to his own Country for he makes no reply much less denies to stay with Moses when he pressed him the second time though he refused at first v. 32. But this I shall consider in that place And he went his way into his own Land To make his Children or the People of the Land Proselytes saith the Chaldee Paraphrase Which it's probable he indeavoured i. e. to bring them to true Religion and affected in some measure so that Piety was propagated in some Families among them to future Generations For the Rechabites came out of this Country 1 Chron. II. 55. whose vertue Jeremiah Praises in the latter end of the Jewish Church Chap. XXXV CHAP. XIX Verse 1. IN the third Month. Or in the third new Moon For the Hebrew word Chodesh signifies a new Moon as well as a Month nay that is the prime signification from whence the other is derived And so we are to understand it here that on the New Moon i. e. the first day of the third Month called Sivan after their coming out of Egypt they came into the Wilderness of Sinai Which was just XLV days after they departed out of Egypt For if we add to the XV. days of the first Month XXIX which made the second these put together with this New Moon make XLV Unto which if we add that day when Moses went up to God v. 3. and reported when he came down the Message God sent by him to the Elders of Israel and the next day after when he returned their Answer unto God v. 7 8. with the three days more which God gave them to prepare themselves for his coming down among them v. 10 11. there were just Fifty days from their Passover to the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai which laid the Foundation of the great Feast of Pentecost The same day i. e. On the fore-mentioned New Moon of the third Month. Came they into the Wilderness of Sinai So called from that famous Mountain Sinai which gave the name to the Wilderness which lay before it This Mountain was also called Horeb IV Deut. 10. they being only different tops of one and the same Mountain but this higher than Horeb so that one may see the Red Sea from them as they that have travelled into those Parts affirm Who say it is now called by the Arabians Tur and by Christians the Mountain of St. Catherine Ver. 2. For they were departed from Rephidim c. They began to move from
come down in all their sight upon Mount Sinai That is when they were fit to receive him by their professing themselves an holy People of which that outward washing was a token For the third day the LORD will come down c. Not from the Mount but from Heaven upon Mount Sinai On which the SCHECHINAH descended in a Cloud which struck a great awe into them For it was darker than the Pillar of the Cloud by which they had been conducted hither thorough which some rays or glimpse of a glorious Majesty that was in it broke forth upon them Ver. 12. And thou shalt set bounds unto the People round about To keep them at a due distance out of a just reverence to the Divine Majesty Take heed unto your selves that ye go not up c. This Caution also was given them to work and preserve in their Minds a most profound Reverence of the Divine Majesty and to those Laws which were to be delivered from this Mount Ver. 13. There shall not an hand touch it but he shall surely be stoned or shot through Be stoned if he were near at hand or shot through with Darts or Arrows if at a distance So Aben-Ezra And so Jonathan likewise translates the latter Clause They shall throw Darts at him And so our old Translation Stricken through with Darts But the Talmudists and the greatest Lawyers among the Jews expound both these Clauses of stoning which was twofold as we read in the Misna Tit. Sanhedrin c. 6. either by throwing Stones at a Malefactor or throwing him down from an high place upon Stones And thus this last place imports in the Hebrew and may properly be translated projiciendo projicietur he shall be violently thrown down or thrown down headlong It is the very same word with that XV. 4. concerning the casting Pharaoh's Chariots into the Sea And this was a Punishment as Mr. Selden observes like that among the Romans from the Saxum Tarpeium which the Jews inflicted upon some captive Edomites 2 Chron. XXV 12. and Jehu inflicted upon Jezabel 2 Kings IX 32. On which story R. Leviben Gersom observes pertinently That as she caused Naboth to be stoned so she was punished her self in the same kind for stoning saith he was either by throwing Stones at Malefactors or throwing them down upon Stones To justifie which he alledges this place in Exodus And David Kimchi makes the same Observation See Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr c. 5. p. 74 c. When the Trumpet soundeth long When the sound of it is protracted or drawn out and consequently was less terrible then while it was shorter and broken See v. 16. They shall come up to the Mount To the foot of it v. 17. that they might more plainly hear the voice of God Ver. 14. And Moses came down from the Mount to the People As he had been commanded v. 10. And sanctified the People Commanded them to Sanctisie themselves as the Author of Sepher Cosri explains it P. I. Sect. 87. both with Internal Sanctification and External among which the principal was Separation from the company of Women as it here follows v. 15. And they washed their Clothes See v. 10. Unto which add that it is no wonder they used this Purification before the giving of the Law which had been anciently in use among their Ancestors upon Solemn Occasions As appears by what I observed on XXXV Gen. 2. where Jacob before the building of an Altar to God in Bethel as he had vowed cleansed his Family after this manner For so Aben-Ezra truly expounds these words be clean wash your Bodies which was the old Rite of cleansing See there Ver. 15. And said unto the People be ready against the third day Prepared to hear the words of God Come not at your Wives For this time was set apart for Solemn Fasting and Prayer that they might be fit to converse with God by having their Minds abstracted from earthly things Ver. 16. And it came to pass on the third day See v. 11. There more Thunders and Lightnings Which broke out of the thick Cloud to awaken them to attend unto his Majesty who was approaching And a thick Cloud In which a flaming Fire presently appeared v. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that the Mountain could not be seen as Greg. Nyssen explains it de Vita Mosis p. 179. And the voice of the Trumpet The heavenly Ministers who were Attendants upon the Divine Majesty made a sound like that of a Trumpet to summon the People to come and appear before God and receive his Commands Exceeding loud Beyond what the blast of any Men could make for it made the whole Camp quake as the following words tell us Ver. 17. And Moses brought forth the People out of the Camp When their trembling was abated by the remission as we may suppose of the sound of the Trumpet To meet with God That they might be espoused to him And they stood at the nether part of the Mount Below at the foot of it not presuming to touch it which they were severely forbidden v. 11 12. See IV Deut. 11. Ver. 18. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke Nothing could be seen but smoke mixed with a Flame Because the LORD descended on it in sire The SCHECHINAH came down into the thick Cloud v. 9 16. with a glittering company of Angels who appeared like flames of Fire unto which they are compared by the Psalmist CIV 4. Thus Moses himself seems to expound it XXXIII Deut. 2. He came with ten thousands or myriads of holy ones i. e. of Angels from his right hand went a fiery Law for them Which plainly relates to this appearance at Mount Sinai And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace Mixt with Fire which went up even to the midst of Heaven as Moses explains it IV Deut. 11. And the whole Mount quaked greatly See LXVIII Psal 8. CIV 32. Ver. 19. And when the voice of the Trumpet sounded long It is a different word here in the Hebrew from that v. 13. which we translate sounded long signifying that it proceeded or went on either a long time or to a greater loudness And waxed louder and louder In the Hebrew the words are exceeding strong 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Trumpet exceeded it self the succeeding Blasts transcending those that went before as Greg. Nyssen well interprets the whole Moses spake The People trembled before at the loud sound of the Trumpet v. 16. but now it grew so very terrible that Moses himself said as the Apostle expounds this passage XII Hebr. 21. I exceedingly fear and quake For hither I think Junius rightly applies those words And God answered him by a voice Bidding him not be afraid but come up unto him as it follows in the next Verse Greg. Nyssen thinks that the voice of the Trumpet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 became articulate with the Organs of Speech by the Divine Power Ver. 20.
his opinion so he doth not explain the manner of it Our most Learned Dr. Cudworth was the first Person who happily found this in a Karaite writer who saith All the Trees and Fields and Gardens were sprinkled with this broth of a Kid seethed in its Mother's Milk after a magical manner to make them more fruitful in the following year This Bochart also takes to be the truest Interpretation and quotes the fore-named Doctor for it not having seen the Author himself P. I. Hierozoic L. II. c. 52. See Right Notion of the Lord's Supper p. 25. To which may be added that a Goat was anciently used in Magical Rites and that Daemons were wont to appear in that form But it must be noted withal that in every one of the three places where this Precept is mentioned the LXX translate the word we render Kid by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Lamb though every where else they translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And I make no question but we are to understand here either a Lamb or Kid boil'd in its Mother's Milk and the Hebrews say any other clean Creature Concerning which I shall add no more but that nothing could be more contrary to Nature and therefore agreeable to the Institutions of the Devil than to boil any young Creature in the Milk of its Mother from whom it came Which they first offered to their Gods and then eat some of it themselves and the rest they sprinkled as before-said Some Reliques of which Custom we find even among the Romans themselves who propitiated Sylvanus with offering him Milk and Faunus with a Kid and every one knows both these were used in the Worship of Bacchus Ver. 20. Behold I send an Angel before thee In the 23th Verse he calls him mine Angel by which the Jews commonly understand Michael there being but a very little difference between Malachi which signifies my Angel and Michael But a great many Christians think this was not a created Angel but an increated viz. the Eternal Son of God who they supposed appeared to Moses in the Bush and conducted them all along to Mount Sinai Which I am affraid to assert because it seems dangerous to me as I observed upon XLVIII Gen. 16. to call him simply an Angel i. e. a Minister or Messenger without any such addition as that in III Malach. 3. The Angel of the Covenant For so he was at his Incarnation of which he there speaks before which I dare not ascribe to him such Ministerial Works as these of bringing the Children of Israel out of Egypt and going before them to lead them the way to Canaan This was properly the Work of an Angel to whom Moses attributes it when he orders his Ambassadors to say to the King of Edom XX Numb 16. When we cried unto the LORD he heard our voice and sent an Angel and hath brought us forth out of Egypt c. But this Angel was a prime Minister in the heavenly Host by whom he was accompanied So he saith to Joshua V. 14. I am come as Captain of the Host of the LORD which is the Title of Michael in X Daniel 13 21. But though we thus understand it here this doth not exclude the Presence of God himself but rather proves it For this Angel and his Host was sent from the SCHECHINAH who was in the Pillar of Cloud which was moved by this Angel and conducted them through the Wilderness See III. 2. To keep thee in the way c. To preserve and protect them as well as to direct and guide them till they came to Canaan which was the place God had prepared for them Ver. 21. Beware of him Or observe him Obey his voice Because he did but report what God himself commanded who was there present with them as long as they obeyed him Provoke him not By any disobedience For he will not pardon your transgressions But punish you when you contumaciously offend me For my Name is in him He acts by my Authority and Power and sustains my Person who am present where he is For the Name of God is said to be there where he is present after a singular and extraordinary manner 1 Kings VIII 16. 1 Chron. VI. 5 6. Maimonides expounds it My word is in him i. e. saith he God's will and pleasure was declared by the Angel P. I. More Nevoch c. 64. In which he seems to follow the Chaldee who translates it for his Word is in my Name i. e. what he speaks is by my Authority Ver. 22. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak By this it appears that the words of the Angel were the words of God who spake by him and both are to be understood to be present See XXII Gen. 11 15. Then I will be an enemy unto thine Enemies c. God and the Angel seem to me to be so distinguished in this Verse that we should not look upon the Angel as God but as his Minister Ver. 23. For my Angel shall go before thee The word Malachi my Angel consisting of the very same Letters with Michael the Author of Baal Hatturim takes it as if he had said Michael my proper or peculiar Angel c. And bring thee unto the Amorites Who were the principal People in the Land of Canaan and had made themselves Masters of the first Country which Joshua conquered See X Gen. 16. And the Hittites and the Perizzites c. Concerning these and the other People here mentioned see X Gen. 16 17. XV. 19 c. The Reader cannot but observe that here are only VI. Nations mentioned whereas there were VII in all whom God delivered up into their hands III Josh 10. yet in another place where he commands them all to be utterly destroyed Moses mentions but VI. as he doth here XX Dent. 17. For as some have conjectured the Gergasites who are here omitted had been subdued by the Amorites and were mixed with them who were the most powerful of all the VII Nations and had spread themselves into many parts of the Country as appears from XIV Gen. 13. XIII Numb 29. 1 Deut. 7 19 44. Ver. 24. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods nor serve them This is a Caution against the Idolatry of the People of Canaan into whose Country when he had brought them he charges them to be so far from doing any honour to their Gods either outwardly by bowing down to them or inwardly by serving them i. e. as some of the Hebrews interpret it praying to them or giving them thanks c. Selden L. III. de Jure N. G. c. 3. that he commands them to break them down and utterly destroy them Nor do after their works These words are so large that they may comprehend all the abominable things which were done by the VII Nations mentioned in XVIII Lev. and other places but here the matter seems to restrain them to their Worship which he would
the Elders was in all likelyhood to convince them that he was among them and had spoken to them and sent them the Precepts before-mentioned by the hand of Moses Also they saw God and did eat and drink After they had seen God they were so far from receiving any harm that they feasted with him upon the Reliques of the Peace-offerings with great Joy and Gladness Or we may suppose that the Glory of the LORD shone upon them as they sat down to eat and drink in token of their full consent to the Covenant now made for so the custom was of making Covenants XXIV Gen. 30. XXXI 54. and that notwithstanding they continued to finish their Feast not being dispirited as good Men were sometimes afterwards with glorious Visions X Dan. 8 16 17. but rather strengthen'd and made more vigorous The word for saw in this Verse is different from that in the former importing I suppose that this Appearance of God to them lasted some time Ver. 12. And the LORD said unto Moses He called to him perhaps with an audible voice from the place where they saw his Glory that they might know how familiar he was with God and might more readily receive whatsoever Commands he brought from him Come up to me into the Mount To the top of the Mount where the Glory of the LORD was v. 17. For hitherto Moses had gone no further than the rest but was with them when they did eat and drink before the LORD And be there Stay with me there v. 18. And I will give thee Tables of stone Not only the Jews but Epiphanius also fancies these Tables were made of Saphire from what was said v. 10. But the words signifie plainly enough that they were of Stone And a Law and Commandments which I have written From this place the Jews endeavour to establish their unwritten or oral Law i. e. their Traditions which they say were now delivered together with the Tables of Stone So Maimonides in his Preface to Jad Chazeka All the Precepts which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai were given with their Explications according to what is said I will give the Tables of Stone and a Law and Commandments where by the Law is meant the written Law and the Commandments denote the Explication of it which we call the Oral Law Thus he and others of them directly against the Text it self which saith expresly both of the Law and the Commandments here mentioned that they were written See Selden L. II. de Synedr c. 16. Therefore by Law and Commandments we are to understand nothing else but the Law contained in the X. Commandments That thou mayest teach them Instruct the People to observe them as the most sacred of all other Precepts being written as well as spoken by God himself who taught Men by this Example how to preserve their Laws For Aristotle saith in his Problems that in old time Men being ignorant how to write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were wont to sing their Laws that they might not be forgotten It being the invention of the Corybantes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Theopompus speaks to set up Pillars and ingrave their Laws upon them Which Solon at last wrote on wooden Tables called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were laid up in the Temple of the Mother of the Gods v. Sam. Petitum Praefat. in Leg. Atticas Ver. 13 And Moses rose up From among the Elders with whom he was before And his Minister Joshua Who attended him further than the Elders but not into the place where he went For God intending him to be Moses his Successor seems to admit him unto a nearer Familiarity than any one else besides Moses And Moses went up into the Mount of God The place where the Divine Glory appeared But Joshua staid for him in some lower part of the Mountain expecting his return For he did not go up to the top of the Mount as appears from the XXXII Chapter where Moses his descent from thence being mentioned Joshua is not named till it be said that Moses was come down from the Mount v. 15 17. He went with him therefore till he entred into the Cloud and then he staid as it were at the door waiting for his return Ver. 14. And he said unto the Elders Before he left them he gave them this order Tarry ye here for us Not in the place where they had seen God and did eat and drink with him whether the People might not come but rather in the Camp or some place near it whether the People might upon occasion resort to them Unto which place Moses seems to have walkt with them from the Mount before he returned to go up into it or at least pointed them unto it with his singer that they might there wait for him Vntil we come again to you He could not tell how long God would detain him and therefore commands them to govern the People till his return to them And behold Aaron and Hur are with you Who seem to have been of greatest Authority next to himself and were with him in the Mount when the Israelites fought with Amalek Chap. XVII If any man have any matters to do let him come unto them In all Causes which were too hard for the Elders to determine he directs them to go to Aaron and Hur as they were wont to do to him By this it appears that these LXX Elders were some of the Judges appointed by the advice of Jethro XVIII 22. which he continued to follow and orders them to observe in his absence Ver. 15. And Moses went up into the Mount Having said this he and Joshua left them and he went into the higher part of the Mount And a Cloud covered the Mount That part of it where he was so that the People and Joshua also lost the sight of him Ver. 16. And the Glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai That visible Majesty which shone in extraordinary splendour was setled for the present upon the top of this Mount And the Cloud covered it i. e. Covered the Glory of the LORD not the Mount as Aben Ezra observes For the Cloud was not the Glory of the LORD but incompassed and covered it so that for six days nothing but the Cloud appeared to the Israelites till on the seventh day the Cloud was rent as I take it or opened and the Glory of the LORD appeared like flaming fire Six days Thus long it was hidden in a Cloud so that Moses himself could not see it but remained wrapt up in darkness which might have astonished him if he had not been supported by the Divine Power and a comfortable sense of God who had often appeared to him and conversed familiarly with him And the seventh day he called unto Moses The second time for he had called to him before to come up to him v. 12. commanding him to approach into his glorious Presence Out of the midst of
and such like Uses Lib. II. de Jure N. G. c. 8. And he shows L. IV. c. 5. out of the Misna in the Title Siklim and other Authorities That on the first day of the Month Adar men were appointed to sit in every City of Judea to receive this Payment Which is the Tribute mentioned by Titus in his Oration to the Jews wherein he puts them in mind how kind he had been to them in permitting them to take Tribute and to gather Gifts for God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Josephus L. VI. Halos c. 34. Ver. 14. Every one that passeth among them that are numbred from twenty years old and above shall give an offering unto the LORD Every Man was bound to offer whether Priest or Levite Israelite or Stranger except Women Servants and such as were under Age. Yet if any one of these did make a voluntary offering it was accepted only from a Gentile who was an Idolater they would not accept it as Maimonides tells us See Selden L. III. de Jure N. G. c. 4. p. 291. Ver. 15. The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel They were all equally concerned in this Tax being for the support of the daily weekly monthly and annual Sacrifices and for the providing Salt and Wood and the Shew-bread c. whereby all Israel came to have an interest in whatsoever was done at the House of God all the year long The Priestly Garments also were provided out of this Money and other things belonging to the Divine Service and to the Reparations of the House of God See Mr. Selden L. III. de Synedr c. 10. n. 2 3 4. Where he shows That if any thing remained in the end of the year after all these Charges defrayed it was spent in extraordinary Burnt-offerings which were called the second Sacrifices of the Altar When they give an offering unto the LORD to make an atonement for your souls Whence this Money is called in the next Verse Keseph Hakippurim the Money of Expiations Which made every Man though never so poor endeavour to raise it though he sold his Clothes to get it And he that failed to pay this Tribute was separated from the Congregation and not comprehended in the Expiation as R. Levi of Barcelona speaks Praecept CV that is was not partaker of the benefit of the Expiatory Sacrifices Ver. 16. And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the Children of Israel and shalt appoint it for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation See the Verse foregoing and X Nehem. 32 33. where we read of Ordinances made to charge themselves with the third part of a shekel for the fore-mentioned uses because the Expences were then so great that half a Shekel was not sufficient to maintain them That it may be a memorial for the Children of Israel before the LORD to make an atonement for their souls A Testimony of their Gratitude to God who graciously accepted this Acknowledgment of him and spared their Lives which by their Sins they had forfeited this being a Propitiation for them because it purchased Propitiatory Sacrifices to be offered on their behalf Ver. 17. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying See v. 11. Ver. 18. Thou shalt also make a laver of brass There is nothing said either here or XXXVIII 8. concerning the form or the bigness of it But we may probably think that though Solomon made a Sea of Brass much bigger than this Vessel which was to be carried about with them in their Travels in the Wilderness yet he made it of the same form and that was Circular as we read 2 Chron. IV. 2 3 c. And after their return from the Captivity of Babylon the Laver was restored as L'Empereur observes out of Maimonides in his Annotations on Codex Midoth c. 3. sect 6. but there is nothing to be found in the Talmudists concerning its Dimensions And his foot also of brass The Basis of it was so contrived as to receive the Water which run out of the Laver at certain Spouts To wash withal At those Spouts the Priests washed their hands and their feet before they entred upon their Ministration For if they had put their hands and feet into the Laver the Water in it would have been defiled by the first Man that washed therein And the Sea of Brass made by Solomon was so high that they could not put their feet into it And thou shalt put it between the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the Altar It stood according to the Talmudists between the Porch of the Temple and the Altar and consequently in the Tabernacle at the entrance of it but a little on the South-side and not just before the Altar That is it was placed like our Fonts which stand at the lower end of our Churches towards the Door So that the Priests coming into the Court immediately went to the Laver and there washed and then ascended to the Altar And thou shalt put water therein The Heathens were so Superstitious as to think there was a greater virtue in some Waters than in others for their lustration particularly the Greeks as Fort. Scacchus observes would admit of no other Water in some of their greatest Solemnities but that from the Fountain Calliroho But the Divine Institution was more simple requiring meerly Spring-water for all manner of Purifications only this Water here mentioned was put into a Vessel sanctified by a solemn Unction XL. 11. Ver. 19. For Aaron and his Sons shall wash their hands and their feet therein Which that it might be done more conveniently the Talmudists tell us there were twelve Spouts or Cocks in the form of a Womans Breast whence they call them Paps or Dugs to let the Water out of the Laver so that the twelve Priests who attended upon the daily Sacrifice might wash there all together See L'Empereur in the place above-named where he treats at large of this and of the Conveyance of Water into the Laver which in the Tabernacle at least while they were in the Wilderness was brought thither every day in other Vessels and put into it according to the Direction in the Conclusion of the foregoing Verse Every one knows that the Gentiles took great care of washing their hands before they sacrificed as appears by many places in Homer to name no other Authors who in the first Book of his Iliads speaking of the great Sacrifice that was preparing to be offered for the appeasing of Apollo saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon which words Eustathius observes it was the ancient custom before they sacrificed to wash their hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for none but those who were clean and pure might meddle with sacred things And again in the third Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They poured Water upon the hands of the Kings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Eustathius as being about to Sacrifice But I do not find in any Author that
together unto Aaron They applyed themselves to him as being left by Moses to be the chief Director and Governour of Affairs together with Hur during his absence XXIV 14. And according to the Computation made concerning the time of his going up into the Mount See XXIV 18. this hapned upon the fifteenth of our July which Month the Hebrews call Tamuz And said unto him Vp One cannot think that they spake thus to him at the very first word but other Discourse passed before this unto which Aaron in all probability making some difficulty to consent and perswading them not to persist in their Demand they would not be denied any longer but said in a seditious manner Vp make no further delay for we will have what we desire Make us Gods Or rather make us a God for so Nehemiah expresses it in the Singular Number IX 18. and so Elohim is often translated XX Gen. 13. XXXV 7 c. For their meaning was Make us a sacred Symbol or Sign as other Nations have that may represent God in a visible manner to us So the Jews expound it in Pirke Elieser c. 45. They said to Aaron the Egyptians extol their Gods they sing and chant before them for they behold them with their eyes Make us such Gods as theirs are that we may see them before us And so R. Jehudah in the Book Cosri P. I. Sect. 97. They desired a sensible Object of Divine Worship to be set before them not with an intention to deny God who brought them out of Egypt but that something in the place of God might stand before them when they declared his wonderful Works Such no doubt was their meaning for they could not be so sensless as to imagine the true God could be made by a Man or that an Image could go before them as it here follows which may have feet but cannot walk as the Psalmist speaks And therefore Eben-Ezra judiciously interprets it Some Corporeal Image in which God may reside Which shall go before us Conduct us through the Wilderness God himself in a Pillar of Cloud and Fire hitherto went before them but that Cloud now covering the Mount where Moses was and not stirring at all from thence they imagined perhaps that Moses being lost it would no longer lead them as it had done For as for this Moses c. This doth not seem to be the Language of those who had any regard to him We wot not what is become of him They thought perhaps that he was consumed in the Mount by the Fire which shone from the Face of God as Jonathan paraphrases it Greg. Nyssens Reflexion upon this Demand of the People is very natural That they were like School-boys who in the absence of their Master were carried 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with sensless impetuous Motions into Rudeness and Disorder p. 183. de Vita Mosis For there were many among them who were infected with the Egyptian Idolatry as we learn from XXIV Josh 14. XX Ezek. 7 8. XXIII 3 8. And therefore hankering after that way of Worship by Images which they had learnt there they took this opportunity to desire a visible Representation of God among them as the Egyptians had And so St. Stephen looks upon this as a turning back in their hearts unto Egypt VII Acts 39 c. Ver. 2. And Aaron said unto them break off the golden ear-rings c. This confirms what I said that there was some debate about this matter before they spake those words to him v. 1. Vp make us Gods c. For it is not credible that Aaron would immediately consent to so foul a Fact as this without the least Argument against it Which is so unlikely that the Jews have devised this Tale That Hur rebuked them in his Presence the People fell upon him and killed him which affrighted Aaron into a speedy Compliance The golden ear-rings These it is probable were some of the Jewels which they borrowed of the Egyptians XII 35. and possibly might have worn superstitiously as I observed XXXV Gen. 5. they did very anciently There are those who think Aaron hoped they would not have easily parted with these and so their Design might have been broken From the ears of your Wives of your Sons and your Daughters Men wore these Ornaments in the Eastern Countries as well as Women as we find in the story of the Ishmaelite and Midianite Souldiers VIII Judg. 24. and Pliny L. XI c. 31. In Oriente quidem viris aurum eo loci c. In the East it is esteemed an Ornament for Men to wear Gold in that place speaking of their Ears See Bochart Hierozoic P. I. L. I. c. 34. Ver. 3. And all the People All that were engaged in this Design who were so many as I said v. 1. that the rest it 's likely durst not oppose it Broke off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron So zealous is Superstition which prevails over Pride and Covetousness Ver. 4. And he received them at their hands They seem to have presented them as an Offering towards the making of a Representation of God wherein every one of them might have an Interest and accordingly Aaron accepted them And fashioned it with a graving tool The Hebrew word cheret which we translate graving Tool is used for a writing Pen VIII Isa 1. and for a crisping Pin which Women used about their Hair III Isa 22. And therefore Interpreters take it here for an Instrument of Engraving And some think that Aaron made such marks with it in this Calf as there were in the Egyptian Apis which was a Cow that had a Spot on her right side like a Crescent as some Writers say though Herodotus say otherwise and the marks are variously reported See Pignorius in his Mensa Isiaca p. 18 c. and a square white spot in the forehead But others think it more likely that the Calf coming rough out of the Mould Aaron only polished it with a proper Tool For though Apis was in great honour among the Egyptians yet it was a living Cow and not the Image of one which they had in such Veneration Therefore Mr. Selden in his Syntagma I. de Diis Syris c. 4. takes it to be more probable that this golden Calf or Ox or Bullock for so the Psalmist differently calls it CVI. 19 20. was made in imitation of that golden Ox that represented Osiris which was very famous among the Egyptians Who had a mighty Veneration for the River Nile called in Hebrew Sichor from whence came Siris and for the Dog-star called Siris likewise at whose rising that River began to swell and for the Sun which was principally meant by this Name to whom both the Bull at Heliopolis and the Ox at Memphis were Consecrated as Macrobius tells us L. I. Saturnal c. 21. But though all this be very ingenious yet the truth of it may be well questioned as I shall show
this Cloud stood just as it did here at the Door of it XII Numb 5. And stood at the door of the Tabernacle Openly to assert the Authority of Moses with whom God showed himself present though he had forsaken them And the LORD talked with Moses Which shows the Divine Glory was within the Tabernacle where Moses now was and so the People understood it as appears by the next Verse Ver. 10. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the Tabernacle door Which they knew was an evident Token that God was there And all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his Tent door Bowed themselves unto the Divine Majesty and humbly deprecated his Displeasure acknowledging we may reasonably think his great Goodness in condescending to appear again to them though at a distance from them Ver. 11. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face In a familiar manner which did not affright or astonish him by a dreadful appearance of his Majesty which in the sight of the Children of Israel lookt like devouring fire XXIV 17. but appeared to Moses in a milder and more chearful brightness The like expression in XII Numb 8. seems to relate only to the Discourse he had with Moses which was clear and plain and by a Voice not in Visions and Dreams and obscure Resemblances and so it may be understood here as Maimonides takes it More Nevoch P. III. c. 45. But Abarbinel thinks that these Expressions signifie God treated with Moses in his own Person not by an Ambassadour just as one Friend converses with another And this is a common Notion among the Jews that God did not speak to Moses by an Angel but by himself which they take to be the meaning of this Phrase face to face Which seem to me rather to import the clearness and evidence of that Divine Light wherein God revealed himself to Moses whether it was by himself or an Angel it matters not Yet the New Testament determines this question when it tells us The Law it self was given by Angels in the hand of a Mediator And accordingly the old Tradition was That Moses saw things in a clear and bright Glass but the rest of the Prophets in a Glass that was dim and cloudy As a man speaks to his friend This is added to show how differently God treated Moses from all other Men. For he is said to have talked face to face with all the Israelites V. Deut. 4. but it was out of the midst of fire which struck a terrour into them whereas he spake to Moses out of the midst of a glorious but comfortable Light which gave him high satisfaction And he turned again into the Camp After some time spent in Conversation with the Divine Majesty he went to comfort the People it is likely with hopes of recovering his Favour of which they might have quite despaired if he had staid long from them But his servant Joshua a young man departed not out of the Tabernacle It is hard to tell for what end Joshua should stay behind his Master and it seems not decent that Moses should return alone without his Servant to attend him They that say he stayed to guard the Tabernacle have no foundation for it and they have not much who say he stayed to give Judgment in small Causes which needed not Moses his Resolution according to XVIII 26. For we never read that Joshua was a Judge but a constant Attendant upon Moses his Person And therefore the words may better be translated as they plainly run in the Hebrew He turned again to the Camp and his servant Joshua the son of Nun a young man At which there is a stop in the Hebrew over the word Naar young Man to distinguish these from the following words which are Departed not out of the Tabernacle That is the LORD departed not from thence but his Presence remained there and would not come into the Camp as Moses did And this Interpretation is the more likely because the last words in the Hebrew are out of the midst of the Tabernacle which cannot refer to Joshua because he did not go thither but only Moses who conversed alone with the Divine Majesty Why Joshua is called a young Man when he was near sixty years old is not easie to resolve Perhaps it signifies a valiant Man for so he was or he had waited on Moses from his youth or as Maimonides this is the Phrase of the Hebrew Nation who call all Men young till they begin to decay as Joseph is called when he was Thirty years old XLII Gen. 2. More Nevoch P. II. c. 32. Ver. 12. And Moses said unto the LORD When or where Moses spake what follows we are not here informed It is likely that after he was satisfied the People were very penitent he returned to the Tabernacle and there made this Address unto the Divine Majesty for a perfect Reconciliation with his People See A word imploring attention and regard to his Petition Thou sayest unto me Bring up this people Lead them to the Land of Promise XXXII 34. XXXIII 1. And thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me Thou hast only said thou wilt send an Angel before me but I hope to obtain greater favour from thee which thou hast not yet declared to me And I have no heart to proceed if thou thy self wilt not guide us in the Pillar of Cloud as thou hast done hitherto and dwell among us as thou hast promised in thy Sanctuary This seems to be the sense if this Verse be compared with the 15th and not barely that he did not know what Angel he would send with him Yet thou hast said I know thee by name The Chaldee takes it to be the same with what is said of Bezaleel whom God called by name XXXI 2. that is particularly designed to make the Tabernacle and all belonging to it But to know is more than to call signifying God's special Love and Kindness to Moses above all Men as the LXX interpret it And thou hast also found grace in my sight God had often heard his Prayers for this People as he hoped he would do now For that was the effect of his being an acceptable person unto him which is the proper signification of this Phrase Ver. 13. Now therefore I pray thee if I have found grace in thy sight If I still continue in thy favour Shew me now thy way The Interpretation of Maimonides More Nevoch P. I. c. 54. is too much strained who thinks he here desires the knowledge of God's Attributes as v. 18. he desires the sight of his Essence The plain meaning of this Prayer is That God himself would conduct him and show him the way wherein he should lead his People unto their rest in the Land of Canaan XXXII 34. That I may know thee that I may find grace in thy sight That I may be fully assured of thy gracious acceptance of me And
the performance of both How thee two Tables of stone like unto the first and I will write upon these Tables the words that were in the first Tables which thou brakest Every attentive Reader must needs observe the difference between the first Tables which Moses brake and those which he is now ordered to prepare For God did not only write his Laws with his own finger upon the first Tables but the Tables themselves also were the work of God XXXII 16. Whereas in these as Greg. Nyssen well expresses it de Vita Mosis p. 183. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The writing indeed was by the Divine Power but the matter of them framed by the hand of Moses So that at the same time God shewed he was reconciled he put them in mind that he had been offended and restored them to his favour with some abatement Ver. 2. And be ready in the morning On the XVIII day of July See XXXII 30. And come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai From whence God spake to the Israelites V Deut. 4 c. those very words which he intended to write upon the Tables He orders him to come up in the morning that all the People might see him ascend and carry the Tables with him And present thy self there to me in the top of the Mount Where the Divine Majesty appeared before in its Glory and where Moses stayed with him forty days and forty nights XIX 26. XXIV 17 18. Ver. 3. And no man shall come up with thee The same Precept is renewed which was given at his first ascent XXIV 1 2. Neither let any man be seen throughout the Mount XIX 12 21 c. Neither let the Flocks nor Herds feed before the Mount He seems to require their removal to such a distance that they should not be within view of the Divine Majesty By which means the People were naturally led to stand in greater awe of God and there was the less danger of any Beasts touching the Mount XIX 13. Ver. 4. And Moses hewed two Tables of stone c. These and the following words only declare that he did as God bad him v. 1 2. And took in his hand the two Tables of stone These he carried with him but the first Tables were given him when he came there XXIV 12. They seem to have been thin being no heavier than that he could carry them in one hand Ver. 5. And the LORD The SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty called also the Glory of the LORD Descended in the Cloud Wherein it had been wont to appear from the beginning of their deliverance out of Egypt and had lately appeared to Moses in the Tabernacle XXXIII 9. when the Cloudy Pillar descended and stood at the door of it while the LORD talked with Moses there And it seems when that was done the Glory of the LORD in the Cloud went up again towards Heaven and now came down upon this occasion And stood with him there The Cloudy Pillar wherein the Glory of the LORD was rested upon the top of the Mount where Moses now was v. 2. And proclaimed the Name of the LORD Gave him notice of his Presence as he had promised XXXIII 19. and is more fully expressed in the next Verse Ver. 6. And the LORD passed by before him Which Onkelos translates the LORD made his Majesty to pass before him Which Exposition Maimonides acknowledges to be right and confirmed by the Scripture it self when it saith XXXIII 22. While my Glory passeth by c. which he confesses signifies not the Divine Essence it self but some created Splendour which no Eye was able to behold More Nevoch P. I. c. 21. And proclaimed As the Glory of the LORD passed by he heard a Voice proclaiming this Description of the Divine Nature The LORD Some joyn the next word to this as if the Voice said the LORD the LORD the more to awaken his Attention to mind what he heard See XXXIII 19. And this Name of his signifies his Self-Existence and his absolute Dominion over all Creatures which received their being from him See VI. 3. God The Hebrew word El signifies Strong and Mighty in one word his Irresistible Power Job IX 4. Merciful The word Rachum signifies that which we call tender Mercies such as Parents have to their Children when their Bowels yern towards them And gracious We call that Chaninah Grace or Favour saith Maimonides which we bestow upon any Man to whom we owe nothing XXXIII Gen. 5 11. And therefore God is here called Chanum Gracious with respect to those whom he created preserves and governs but is not obliged by any right to these things as his words are More Nevoch P. I. cap. 54. Long-suffering So slow to Anger that he doth not presently punish those that offend him but bears long with them Abundant in goodness The Hebrew word Chesed which we translate Goodness signifies as Maimonides saith More Nevoch P. III. cap. the excess and highest degree of any thing whatsoever it be but especially the greatest Benignity And therefore with the addition of rabh abundant denotes long continued Kindness as is more fully declared in the next Verse And truth Most faithful and constant to his Promises which he stedfastly keeps throughout all Generations The word abundant refers both to this and to his Benignity CXLVI Psal 6. Ver. 7. Keeping mercy for thousands The same word Chesed which before we translated Goodness we here translate Mercy and the Hebrews observing the â—etter Nun to be greater in the word Notzer keeping than is usual fancy that it denotes the immense Treasures of the Divine Bounty But the word thousands fully explains how abundant his Mercy is Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin Here are three words to signifie all sorts of Offences which he passes by tell Men grow intollerably wicked But some distinguish them by making Iniquity signifie Offences against Men and Transgressions Offences against God himself and Sin all the Errours Childishnesses and Follies which Men are guilty of in the Conduct of themselves But they may as well signifie the Offences which were committed against the Moral Ceremonial and Political Laws And that will by no means clear the guilty These words according to Maimonides belong still to the loving kindness of God as all the foregoing do signifying that when he doth punish he will not utterly destroy and make desolate For so the Hebrew words Nakkeh lo Jenakkeh he thinks are to be litterally rendered in extirpating he will not extirpate as the word Nakah he observes is used III Isaiah 26. She shall sit desolate on the Earth And to the same sense these words are expounded by many Modern Interpreters particularly Lud. de Dieu When he empties he will not empty or make quite desolate For the Maxim of the Hebrew is as Maimonides there observes More Nevoch P. I. c. 54. that the property of Goodness far excels that of Severity For here being thirteen Properties of God mentioned I can
at the Passover when they offered the first-fruits of barley harvest XVI Deut. 9. Ver. 23. Three times in the year shall all your Males appear before the LORD the God of Israel This likewise was explained XXIII 14 17. And nothing need be added but that these peculiar Laws are here repeated together with those that follow v. 25 26. upon this occasion because they were ordained to preserve the People in the Worship and Service of the true God from whom they had lately departed Who therefore puts them in mind in the last words of this Verse which was not said before that he was the God of Israel to whom they were devoted by especial Obligations Ver. 24. For I will cast out the Nations before thee Till this was done they were not bound to observe the Precept of appearing three times in the year before the LORD And will enlarge thy borders Beyond the Land of Canaan as he had promised before XXIII 31. Neither shall any man desire thy Land when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD c. To remove all fear of their Mind that their Neighbours might Invade them when all the Men were gone and none but Women and Children and Old men left at home he adds this Promise to all he had made before or rather makes it a part of his Covenant which he now renews that he would lay such Restraints upon their Enemies that they should not so much as think of Invading them at those three Feasts much less make any actual Incursions into their Country Ver. 25. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my Sacrifice c. At the Passover See this fully explained XXIII 18. Ver. 26. The first of the first-fruits of thy Land thou shalt bring unto the House of the LORD thy God At Pentecost which was the Feast of First-fruits See XXIII 19. Thou shalt not seethe a Kid in its mothers milk This concerns the other great Feast that of Tabernacles See in the same place Ver. 27. And the LORD said unto Moses Having recited the principal part of his Covenant mentioned v. 10. he gives the following order Write thou these words From v. 11. to this place just as he did those words contained in the XXI XXII XXIII Chapters of this Book See XXIV 4. out of which these words are extracted as the chief things respecting the Worship of God which he requires him to write in a Book by it self For after the tenor of these words have I made a Covenant with thee and with Israel See XXIV 7. Where the Covenant containing these words and many other was Sealed with the Blood of a Sacrifice The Jews are so blind as to found their Oral Tradition upon this place and upon one small word Pi which signifies indeed mouth but withal is an expletive Particle denoting the manner and value of any thing as appears from XLIII Gen. 7. XXVII Lev. 18. and therefore here rightly translated the tenor of these words Yet R. Johannes in the very beginning of Halicoth Olam gathers from hence That God made a Covenant now with their Fathers concerning all the unwritten Laws delivered by word of Mouth Unto which which while they adhere they can never understand their Divine Writings For what can be more plain that the Covenant here mentioned was ordered to be written Ver. 28. And he was there with the LORD This saith Maimonides was the highest degree of Prophecy which none attained but Moses whose Thoughts were wholly taken off from all other things and fixed upon God while he was with him in the holy Mount that is asked and received Answers from the LORD More Nevochim P. III. c. 51. Forty days and forty nights As he had been at the first XXIV 18. Which was partly to make a new trial how they would behave themselves in his Absence and partly to give the greater Authority to the Laws he brought them from God which he renewed as we read in the end of this Verse And did neither eat bread nor drink water But was supported by Influences from the Almighty who kept up his Spirits in their just height without the common Recruits of Meat and Drink Which when they give us Refreshment likewise make us drowsie See XXIV 18. To which add what Maimonides saith in the place now named That the Joy wherewith he was transported made him not think of eating and drinking for his intellectual Faculties were so strong that all Corporal Desires ceased It seems to me very probable That during this time he saw again the Model of the Tabernacle and all its Furniture with every thing else he was ordered to make when he went first into the Mount from the beginning of the XXVth to the end of the XXXth Chapter which are briefly summed up XXXI 7 8 9 10 11. He seems also to have spent much of this time in Prayer to God for the People That he would restore them intirely to his Favour and bring them to their Inheritance IX Deut. 18 19 25 26. X. 10. And he wrote upon the Tables the words of the Covenant c. That is the LORD wrote as he said he would v. 1. not Moses who wrote the foregoing words in a Book but not these which were written by the Finger of God in the Tables of Stone So Moses tells us expresly X Deut. 4. Jacobus Capellus and others following the Hebrew Doctors imagine that Moses was three times with God in the Mount for the space of XL. days and that this was the last time Between which and the first they place another which they fancy is mentioned XXXII 30 31. compared with IX Deut. 18 c. But I see no solid ground for this for God called him up into the Mount but twice and he durst not have adventured to go so near him as he was both these times without his invitation Ver. 29. And it came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai Which was upon the XXV of our August according to the former Computation v. 2. With the two Tables of Testimony in Moses hand when he came down from the Mount So he came down at the first XXXII 15. That Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone There was a radient Splendour in his Countenance which is the import of the Hebrew Karan which the Vulgar translates horned Not imagining that Moses had Horns but Rays of Light which imitated Horns And therefore the Hebrew word Karnaim signifies both and R. Solomon Jarchi upon this place calls these Rays on Moses's Face Horns of Magnificence as Mr. Selden observes L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 6. p. 292. It is not improbable that the Hair of his Head was inter-spersed with Light as well as that Rays came from his Face which perstringed the Eyes of Beholders And Painters had done more reasonably if instead of Horns upon Moses his Forehead they had represented him with a Glory crowning his Head as the Saints are usually
stirred up to be the more liberal in their Offering when they saw how many things were to be done Ver. 20. And all the Congregation of the Children of Israel Whom he had summoned to meet together v. 1. Departed from the presence of Moses When he had reported to them what Orders he had received from the Divine Majesty in the Mount v. 4 5 c. Ver. 21. And they came Being dismissed to their own Tents they went thither only to fetch an Offering to the LORD which they came and brought immediately Every one whose heart stirred him up Whose Mind was raised to a free and cheerful readiness The Hebrew words are lifted him up that is had animum excelsum a noble Mind or was of a generous Spirit as the following words import Every one whom his Spirit made willing And they brought the LORDS Offering An Offering to the LORD as Moses exhorted v. 5. To the work of the Tabernacle For the building a Sanctuary wherein God might dwell among them XXV 8. And for all his Service For all that belonged to the Furniture of it both within and without which are mentioned in the Verses before-going And for the holy Garments That the Priests might Minister there in their Office v. 19. Ver. 22. And they came both Men and Women as many as were willing-hearted Who seem to have been the greatest part of the Congregation And brought Bracelets and Ear-rings and Rings They were no less forward to offer to the Service of God than they had been to the making the Golden Calf XXXII 2 3. for which offence they now make some sort of Satisfaction being more liberal in contributing to this Work than they were to that For we read there only of their Ear-rings which they break off from their Ears and brought to Aaron but here of their Bracelets also and Rings with other things For though they may be supposed to have parted with a great deal on that wicked account it did not make those who were touched with what Moses said less willing to give a fresh to an holy use Tablets The Hebrew word Comaz or Camaz is of very uncertain signification for some make it an Ornament of the Arms and others of some other part But the Chaldee takes it for something about the Breast a Fascia saith Elias wherewith Women tied up and compressed their Breasts to make them appear more beautiful by being round This Bochartus approves in his Canaan L. II. c. 5. All Jewels of Gold All the four forenamed sort of Ornaments were of Gold And every Man that offered offered an Offering of Gold unto the LORD The first Oblations that were brought either by the Women or the Men were all of Gold and then followed meaner things which the People of lower Condition brought to the LORD Ver. 23. And every Man with whom was found blue and purple and scarlet and sine linen c. The common sort of People also offered such as they had Yarn and sine Linen Goats-hair and Skins See XXV 4 5. Ver. 24. Every one that did offer an Offering of Silver and Brass c. Those of a middle Condition offered Silver and Brass and Shittim-wood All which were necessary for several uses For the Ark and the Table were to be overlaid with Gold of which the Candlesticks and several other things were to be made See Chap. XXV The inward Curtains were to be made of the Yarn and the outward of Goats-hair and the Covering of both of Skins The Foundations of the Tabernacle were of Silver and the Taches of the Curtains and Altar of Burnt-offering of Brass and Shittim-wood was used about the Boards of the Tabernacle the Ark Table c. See Chap. XXV XXVI XXVII Ver. 25. And all the Women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands and brought that which they had spun c. Not only the Men but the Women also brought Materials for the House and more then that such as were skilful among them spun both Yarn and Thred which was the proper work of Women not of Men. Unto which work alone they were bound to apply themselves if by the custom of the place no other work such as knitting and sewing with their Needle c. was usually performed by them as Mr. Selden observes L. III. de Vxor Hebr. c. 10. where he treats of all the Imployments of their Women Ver. 26. And all the Women whose heart stirred them up Whose Minds were elevated to excellent Contrivances In Wisdom spun Goats-hair With great Art spun Goats-hair which was not so easie as to spin Wool and Flax. For though their Goats were shorn in those Countries as Sheep are here their Hair being longer than ours yet there was a great deal of Skill required to work it into a Thred and to make Stuff of it See Bochart Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 51. In old time also Women were wont to weave as well as spin as appears not only out of the Sacred Books but out of Homer Plato Cicero and many other Authors mentioned by Braunius in his Book de Vestitu Sacerd. Hebr. L. I. c. 17. where he observes N. 33. out of Herodotus that he showing the Egyptian Customs to be different in many things from those of other Nations mentions this among the rest that their Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sat at home and weaved while their Women went abroad and bought and sold L. II. c. 35. Ver. 27. And the Rulers brought Onyx-stones and Stones to be set for the Ephod and for the Breast-plate The great Men also offered sutable to their quality such things as the People could not furnish viz. precious Stones for uses mentioned XXV 7. XXVIII 9 17 18 c. Ver. 28. And Spice and Oyl for the light and for the anointing Oyl c. Such principal Spices as we translate it mentioned XXX 23 34. together with Oyl for the Light XXVII 20. which was so pure that ordinary Persons had it not For there were several sorts of Olives as Fort. Scacchus shows Myrothec Sacr. Elaeochrism P. I. c. 4 5. some of which were not so common as the other and therefore of greater value Ver. 29. The Children of Israel brought a willing Offering c. To sum up all in a few words they brought whatsoever was necessary for all manner of work which the LORD had commanded to be made By the hand of Moses Whom he imployed to deliver these Commands to his People Ver. 30. And Moses said See the LORD hath called by name c. Hath principally made choice of Bezaleel to undertake and perform this work This he said that they might not be solicitous about Artists to make all that was propounded for they knew that there were none among them bred to such Employments Moses therefore informs them in the first place that God had provided himself of a Master-Workman as he told him XXXI 1 2 c. Ver. 31. And he hath filled him with the
Spirit of God in wisdom c. This Verse is explained before XXXI 3 6. only I shall add That the extraordinary Skill which any Man had without teaching in common Arts was by the Heathens ascribed to their Gods There are several Instances of it observed by Maximus Tyrius Dissert XXII Where he argues that it should not be thought strange if a Man be made vertuous by a Divine Inspiration when some have no otherways become admirable Artists Among which he mentions Demodocus a Musician whom Homer introduces speaking thus of himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was never taught by any body but the Gods bestowed on me the gift of singing The latter end of which Verse is a little otherways in Homer as we now have him Odyss X. but to the same sense and it is Phemius not Demodocus who there speaks as Petrus Petitus hath observed in his Miscell Observ L. 1. c. 19. Ver. 32. And to devise curious works The Hebrew word Chaschab signifies to devise and excogitate whence Macheschaboth which we translate curious works and in the end of the next Verse cunning works is as much as ingenious Inventions devised with much Art Such were the Engines made by King Vzziah which are said to be invented by cunning men or excellent Engeniers as we now speak 2 Chron. XXVI 15. See XXXI 4. where this Verse hath been explained Ver. 33. And in the cutting of Stones c. See XXXI 5. Ver. 34. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach Instruct others in his Arts. For this was a gift of God as much as any of the rest to be able to inform others dextrously in those things which he knew himself As it was to be able to comprehend what Moses told him God had ordered and put it in execution For God gave Moses the pattern according to which all things were to be wrought and as it was a peculiar gift of God which enabled him to represent to Bezaleel what had been set before him so it was by an extraordinary operation on his Mind that he conceived presently what was represented and had Skill to perform it according to direction Ver. 35. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work c. This is repeated so often and such particular mention is here made again of their Skill in every thing though of never so difficult Contrivance to assure the Israelites that they were so well qualified for the work that they might be intrusted with the Offerings they had made And accordingly they were XXXVI 3. CHAP. XXXVI Verse 1. THen wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab and every wise-hearted man c. This Verse is only a general Account of what follows more particularly concerning the Execution of that which God had commanded and for the effecting of which the People had liberally contributed It is not said where they wrought but some think it was in that very space of ground where the Tabernacle was set up when perfected Ver. 2. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab and every wise-hearted man in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom It appears by this that all the lower Artificers who were taught by the Master-workmen Bezaleel and Aholiab were also disposed by God to learn he giving them a quickness of apprehension and sagacity beyond what was natural to them Even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it Yet this signifies they had also a natural Genius which inclined and prompted them to such Imployments Ver. 3. And they received of Moses all the Offerings which the Children of Israel had brought for the work of the Sanctuary c. Into the hands of all these Artists Moses delivered the Offerings that had been made and directed them what to do with them And they brought yet unto him Free-offerings every morning The hearts of the People were so enlarged that every day they brought new Contributions unto Moses who sent them as appears by the next Verse to the Workmen as soon as he received them Ver. 4. And all the wise men which wrought all the work of the Sanctuary came every man from his work which he made After they had continued some time at their work they all agreed to desist a while and go to Moses to let him know that there needed no further Offerings for they had sufficient already nay more than enough as it follows v. 5. Ver. 5. And they spake unto Moses saying the People bring much more than enough for the service of the work c. A wonderful instance of Integrity that there should not be one Man found among them for the words in the Hebrew are very emphatical isch isch man man that is none excepted who was inclined to purloin any thing for his own proper use but by common consent they left their work to put a stop to all further Contributions A sign they were Men indued with extraordinary Vertue as well as Skill in their Employments Ver. 6. And Moses gave Commandment To those that attended on him or perhaps to Bezaleel and Aholiab and the rest And they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the Camp By some under-Officers who it 's likely were wont to execute such Commands Saying let neither man nor woman make any more work for the Offering of the Sanctuary It seems some Men prepared and made ready some of the things which they offered as the Women spun Yarn and Hair and brought them to Moses For it was not hard to plain Boards for instance though the joyning them together as God appointed was beyond the Skill of common People Ver. 7. For the stuff they had were sufficient c. There were Materials of all sorts for every thing that was to be made beyond what was necessary Ver. 8. And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the Tabernacle c. They began first as was but fit with the House of God before they made the Furniture For that was first ordered in general words XXV 8. though the Structure of it be not directed till the XXVIth Chapter Where every thing mentioned in this is explained and therefore there will need no more to be done here but to point to a few things which are explained elsewhere particularly in the foregoing Chapter Ver. 14. He made Curtains of Goats-hair for the Tent over the Tabernacle What is here meant by Tent see XXXV 11. Ver. 19. He made a covering for the Tent. This Curtain covered the Tent as the Curtain of which the Tent was made covered the Tabernacle See XXVI 14. XXXV 11. Of Rams-skins died red The Particle Mem here is cut off before Skins as it is in several Verses of this Chapter 8 34 35. and others Covering of Badgers-skins I observed on XXVI 14. that THACAS doth not signifie a Badger but a certain Colour and alledged that place in XVI Ezek. 10. for the proof of it where God setting forth his kindness