worship but for their use and service So he speaks here of the Sun and Moon and Stars which were the principal Gods worshipped by the neighbouring Nations Or to whom none hath given this i. e. that they should be worshipped or to whom no worship belongs So this is an argument against Idolatry Or who had not given unto them to wit any thing It is an Ellipsis of the Accusative which is very frequent gods known to them by no benefits received from them as they had from their God whom therefore it was the greater folly and ingratitude to forsake 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book 28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath and in great indignation and cast them into another land as it is this day 29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God k Having now mentioned the dreadful and amazing judgments of God upon the whole land and people of Israel and foreseeing by the spirit of prophecy the utter extirpation and destruction which would come upon them for their wickedness he breaks out into this pathetical exclamation either to bridle their curiosity who hearing this would be apt to enquire into the time and manner of so great an event or to quiet his own mind and satisfie the scruples of others who perceiving God to deal so severely with his own people when in the mean time he suffered those Nations which were guilty of grosser Atheisme and Idolatry and Impiety than the generality of the Jewish people were to live and prosper in the world might thence take occasion to deny or reproach his providence or question the equity of his proceedings To this he answers that the ways and judgments of God though never unjust are oft-times secret and hidden from us and unsearchable by our shallow capacities and are matter for our admiration not for our enquiry but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children l But the things which are revealed by God and his word these are the proper object of our enquiries and studies that thereby we may come to the knowledge of our duty by the practise whereof we may be kept from such terrible punishments and calamities as these now mentioned for ever that we may do all the words of this law CHAP. XXX 1 * Lev. 26. 40. AND it shall come to pass when all these things are come upon thee the blessing a When thou art obedient and the curse b When thou becomest rebellious and Apostatical which I have set before thee c Heb. placed before thy face i. e. propounded to thy consideration and choice and thou shalt call them to mind d Or bring them back to thy heart i. e. deeply affect thy heart with the sence of these things to wit of the blessings offered and given to them by Gods mercy and the curses brought upon themselves by their sins among the nations whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day thou and thy children with all thine heart and with all thy soul 3 * Psal. 126. 1. That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity e i. e. Bring back thy captives as captivity is taken Psal. 14. 7. Eph. 4. 8. and have compassion upon thee and will return and * Psal. 147. 2. gather thee f i. e. Thy children either spiritually such as it is explained Ioh. 11. 51 52. or literally such as is promised Rom. 11. from all the nations whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee 4 * Neh. 1. 9. If any of thine be driven out unto the * Jer. 32. 37. outmost parts of heaven from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed and thou shalt possess it and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers 6 And * the LORD thy God will circumcise Ezek. 11. 19. 36. 26. thine heart f Or For the Lord will circumâ—…ise thine heart i. e. will by his Word and Spirit change and purge thy heart from all thine Idolatry and Superstition and Wickedness and encline thy heart to love him as it here follows See Deut. 10. 16. And so this is produced to shew why and how those great things should be accomplished God would first convert and sanctifie them the fruit whereof should be this that they should return and obey Gods commandements and v. 8. and then should prosper in all things v. 9. The Hebrew Vau is oft rendred sor and notes the reason of a thing as 1 King 1. 21. and 18. 3 4 Psal. 1. 3. and 5. 12. Isa. 16. 2. and 64. 5. And this promise principally respects the times of the Gospel and the Grace which was to be then imparted to all Gods Israel by Christ by whom alone this circumcision is obtained Col. 2. 11. And so having fully described to them the Law of God the Rule of their obedience here and in the foregoing chapters and considering their great instability in the performance of their obedience to it he now seasonably adds a glorious Gospel promise and directs their faith to the Messias by whom alone they could expect or receive the establishment of their hearts in the ways of God against Apostacy and the heart of thy seed to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou mayest live 7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies and on them that hate thee which persecuted thee 8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD and do all his commandments which I command thee this day 9 * chap. 28. 11. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand in the fruit of thy body and in the fruit of thy cattel and in the fruit of thy land for good g Whereas thou didst formerly receive and enjoy these mercies for thy hurt through thy own wicked and foolish heart when thou wast full and fat forgetting God and kicking against him Deut. 31 20. and 32. 15. now thou shalt have them for thy good thy heart shall be so changed by the grace of the Gospel that thou shalt not now abuse them but imploy them to the more chearful and faithful service of God the giver of them for the LORD will again rejoyce over thee for good h i. e. To do thee good as he did rejoyce to destroy thee Deut. 28. 63. as he rejoyced over thy fathers 10 If thou shalt hearken i This caution and condition is added to warn them that they
Dish that hath been used first wholly empty it of all that is in it then throughly cleanse and wipe it and lastly turn it upside down that nothing may remain in it so will I deal with Ierusalem thoroughly empty and purge it from all its wicked Inhabitants and that so as to cut off all hopes of restitution 14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance r i. e. The Kingdom of Iudah the onely remainder of all the Tribes of Israel which I did once chuse for my Inheritance but now notwithstanding that priviledge will utterly reject and forsake them and deliver them into the hand of their enemies and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies 15 Because they have done that which was evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt even unto this day s This sore Judgment though it was chiefly inflicted for the sins of Manasseh and his Generation yet had a respect unto all their former sins the guilt whereof was upon this occasion revived See Exod. 32. 34. 16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood t The Blood of those Prophets and Righteous Men who either reproved his sinful practises or refused to comply with his wicked commands and worship very much till he had filled Jerusalem ‡ Heb. from mouth to mouth from one end to another beside his sin u i. e. His Idolatry which is elsewhere called evil and corruption and here sin by way of emmency which is the more considerable because it is here compared with horrid cruelty and implied to be worse than that and more abominable in Gods sight because it doth more directly and immediately strike at the Glory and Purity of the Divine Majesty by respect unto which all sins are to be measured And this expression God here useth in opposition to the gross error of most men who look upon Idolatry as a small sin as a meer mistake of the mind as the fruit of a good intention and as an excess proceeding from Zeal in Religion wherewith he made Judah to sin in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD 17 â—… Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin that he sinned are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah 18 And â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house x Not in the Sepulchre of the Kings either by the peoples designation who judged him unworthy of that honour or rather by his own choice and command as a lasting Testimony of his sincere Repentance and Abhorrency of himself for his former Crimes in the garden of Uzza y Or of King Uzziah who possibly planted or enlarged it and Amon his son reigned in his stead 19 〈◊〉 was twenty and two years old when he began to reign and he reigned two years in Jerusalem and his mothers name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah 20 And he did thâ—… which was evil in the sight of the LORD as his father Manasseh did 21 And he walked in the way that his father walked in and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them 22 And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers and walked not in the way of the LORD 23 ¶ And the servants of Amon conspired against him and slew the king in his own house 24 And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah 26 And he was buried in the sepulchre in the garden of Uzza and * Matth. 1. 10. Called â—…osias Josiah his son reigned in his stead CHAP. XXII JOsiah * 2 Chr. 34. 1. was eight years old when he began to reign and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem and his mothers name was Jedidah the daughter of Adajah of Boscath 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left 3 ¶ And it came to pass in the eighteenth year a Not of his Life but of his reign as it is expressed 2 Chron. 34. 3 8. What he did before this time see 2 Chr. 34. 3 c. of king Josiah that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe b The Kings Secretary to the house of the LORD saying 4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may sum the silver c i. e. Take an exact account how much it is and then dispose it in manner following which is * Chap. 12. 4. brought into the house of the LORD which the keepers of the ‡ Heb. threshold door d Who were Priests or Levites as appears from chap. 12. 9. 2 Chron. 8. 14. and 23. 4. and 34. 9. have gathered of the people 5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work that have the oversight of the house of the LORD e i. e. The care and oversight of the workmen which also were Levites 2 Chron. 34. 12. and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD to repair the breaches of the house 6 Unto carpenters and builders and masons and to buy timber and hewen stone f Either hewed or cut out of the Quarries or to be hewed and fitted to the Building to repair the house 7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand because they dealt faithfully g i. e. Because it was found by experience that they dealt faithfully Verbs signifying the being of a thing are oft put for the manifestation of it 8 ¶ And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe I have found the book of the law h That Original book of the law of the Lord given or written by the hand of Moses as it is expressed 2 Chr. 34. 14. which by Gods Command was put beside the Ark Deut. 31. 26. and probably taken from thence and hid by the care of some godly Priest when some of the Idolatrous Kings of Iudah persecuted the True Religion and defaced the Temple and which the Iewish Writers affirm burnt all the Copies of Gods Law which they could find and now found among the Rubbish or in some secret place in the house of the LORD and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it 9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought the king word again and said Thy servants have
be so fair when she was above 60 years old Ans. She was so both comparatively to the Egyptians and simply in her self and that might be from diverse causes 1. From the greater vigour of Nature in that Age of the World 2. Because her beauty was not diminished by Child-bearing 3. From God's singular providence ordering it thus for Abrams tryal and for the manifestation of his special providence watching over him and his 12. Therefore it shall come to pass when the Egyptians ‖ Who were a very lustful people which made Abram more cautious shall see thee that they shall say This is his Wife and they will kill me but they will save thee alive 13. Say I pray thee thou art my Sister c So she was either 1. More generally as his Niece for Nephews and Nieces are in Scripture called Brethren and 〈◊〉 as Gen. 13. 8 11. Or rather 2. Properly i. e. by the fathers side Gen. 20. 21. So this expression was true but ambiguous and intended to decieve the Egyptians and therefore unwarrantable And here Abram the Father of the faithful elsewhere celebrated for the strength of his faith betrays his infirmity and distrust of God's providence and promise and this fact was not without great danger both to himself and Sara that it may be well with me for thy sake and my soul shall live because of thee 14. And it came to pass that when Abram was come into Egypt the Egyptians beheld the Woman that she was very fair 15. The Princes d i. e. The Officers and Courtiers whose great design was to gain their Princes favour by gratifying his lusts also of Pharaoh e A name common to all the Kings of Egypt now and for many Ages after saw her and commended her before Pharaoh and the woman was taken f i. e. Taken and brought one word for two So the word take is used Gen. 15. 6 10. Exod. 18. 2. and 27. 20 c. into Pharaohs house g Not to his bed but the house of his women where they were purified and prepared for the King's presence and society as Est. 2. 8 9. that in due time she might be his concubine or wife Thus even the Ceremonies of Courts serve the providence of God and give opportunity for working her deliverance 16. And he entreated Abram well for her sake and he had * To wit by Pharaoh's gift over and above his own Else it had been impertinent to mention it in this place sheep and oxen and he-asses and men-servants and maid-servants and she-asses and camels 17. And the LORD * Chap. 20. 18. plagued Pharaoh h Most probably with some notable Distemper of his Body which did both chastise him for and hinder him in the Execution of his Lust. and his house i i. e. His servants who being some one way some another partners of his sin are justly made partners in his plagues And if any were innocent in this matter they were obnoxious to God for other sins Besides as they were punished upon the occasion of Pharaoh's sin so Pharaoh was punished in their punishments with great plagues because of Sarai Abrams wife k i. e. For the act of violence towards her for the word taken v. 15. implyes that it was by constraint and not with Abraham's and with her consent which it is not probable that either of them would give in that case 2. For an intention of uncleanness For God who is the searcher and judge of mens hearts may justly and doth often punish men for their evil purposes Compare Gen. 20. 3 4. 18. And Pharaoh called Abram and said What is this that thou hast done unto me Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife l How great an injury hast thou done to me in concealing this from me that she was thy Wife How knew Pharaoh this Ans. 1. He guessed it from the quality of his plague which also awakened his Conscience 2. Upon a serious enquiry into the cause of this plague he understood it either by divine instinct as Gen. 20. 3. or by Sarai's confession whom doubtless he severely examined about it And she being awakened by this warning durst no longer conceal her self and thought she might securely make her self known 19. Why saidest thou she is my sister so I might have taken her to me to wife m Though he had another before Polygamy being then commonly practised now therefore behold thy wife take her and go thy way 20. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him n i. e. Gave them a charge concerning him for his safe conduct whither he pleased and they sent him away and his wife and all that he had CHAP. XIII 1. AND Abram went up out of Egypt he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the South a i. e. Into the Southern part of Canaan from whence he came Gen. 12. 9. and which in Scripture is called simply the South Ios. 10. 40. and 11. 16. Otherwise he went rather into the North but the Scripture being written for the Iews doth frequently accommodate the names of the quarters of the world to them 2. And Abram was very rich in cattle in silver and in gold 3. And he went on his journeys b Or rather according to his journeys which he took as he came going in the same road and resting in the same place of which he had experience from the South even to Beth-el unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Beth-el and Hai. 4. Unto the * Chap. 12. 7. place of the altar c i. e. Where the Altar was for the Altar it self was either fallen down as being probably built of Earth as afterwards Exod. 20. 24. or overthrown by the wicked Canaanites which he had made there at the first and there Abram called on the name of the LORD d i. e. Worshipped God by Prayer and Preaching to his Family Gen. 18. 19. and offering sacrifices See Gen. 4. 26. and 12. 8. 5. And Lot also which went with Abram had flocks and herds and tents 6. And the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together for their substance was great so that they could not dwell together 7. And there was a strife between the herds-men of Abrams cattel and the herds-men of Lots cattle and the Canaanite e i. e. The Canaanites as Gen. 12. 6. the singular number for the plural as Psal. 78. 45. and 105. 33 40. and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land f i. e. Were the Lords and Owners of it and therefore Abram and Lot could not take what pastures they pleased but such as the others left them which was not sufficient for their conveniency It may also be added as a reason of Abram's following motion because that idolatrous people were present and diligently observed all their
this day Or it is a figure called Hendyadis for true mercy q. d. he hath not onely been kind to him in shew and in words but in real and considerable effects I being in the way the LORD led me to the house of my masters brethren c i. e. Near Kinsmen as that word is commonly used as ver 48. and Gen. 13. 8. Mark 3. 31 32. 28 And the damsel ran and told them of her mothers house d Not of her Fathers house either because her Father was now dead and Bethuel who is hereafter mentioned was not Lâ—…bans Father but his Brother so called Or because the Women had distinct appartiments in the houses and she went first thither according to her custom these things 29 And Rebekah had a brother and his name was Laban and Laban ran out unto the man unto the well 30 And it came to pass when he saw the ear-ring and bracelets upon his sisters hands and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister saying Thus spake the man unto me that he came unto the man and behold he stood by the camels at the well 31 And he said Come in thou blessed of the LORD e i. e. Whom God hath so eminently favoured and blessed wherefore standest thou without for I have prepared the house and room for the camels 32 And the man came into the house and he ungirded his camels and gave straw and provender for the camels and water to wash his feet and the mens feet that were with him f Of which custom see Gen. 18. 4. 33 And there was set meat before him to eat but he said I will not eat untill I have told mine errand And he said speak on 34 And he said I am Abrahams servant 35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly and he is become great and he hath given him flocks and herds and silver and gold and men-servants and maid-servants and camels and asses 36 And Sarah my masters wife bare a son to my master when she was old and * Chap. 25. 5. unto him hath he given all that he hath g i. e. Hath purposed and promised and doth by me engage that he will give Things are oft said to be done in Scripture language when they will certainly and shortly be done 37 And my master made me swear saying thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites in whole land I dwell 38 But thou shalt go unto my Fathers house and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son 39 And I said unto my master Peradventure the woman will not follow me 40 And he said unto me The LORD * Chap. 17. 1. before whom I walk h In Obedience to all his commands and in hearty trust in his promises and gracious providence towards me and mine will send his angel with thee and prosper thy way and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred and of my fathers house 41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath i Heb. from my curse denounced against thee if thou shouldst violate thine oath The words oath and curse are oft-times indifferently used because they commonly go together and sometimes they are both expressed as Numb 5. 21. when thou comest to my kindred and if they give not thee one thou shalt be clear from my oath 42 And I came this day unto the well and said O LORD God of my master Abraham if now thou do prosper my way which I go k i. e. The design or course in which I am ingaged as the word way is frequently used 43 * Vers. 13. Behold I stand by the well of water and it shall come to pass that when the Virgin cometh forth to draw water and I say to her Give me I pray thee a little water of thy pitcher to drink 44 And she say to me Both drink thou and I will also draw for thy camels let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my masters son 45 And before I had done speaking in my heart behold Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder and she went down unto the well and drew water and I said unto her Let me drink I pray thee 46 And she made haste and let down her pitcher from her shoulder and said drink and I will give thy camels drink also so I drank and she made the camels drink also 47 And I asked her l First he asks who she was then he gives the gifts to her Which is the right order and is here observed in the repetition which was inverted in the first relation ver 22 23. and said whose daughter art thou and she said the daughter of Bethuel Nahors son whom Milcah bare unto him and I put the ear-ring upon her face and the bracelets upon her hands 48 And I bowed down my head and worshipped the LORD and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham which had led me in †Heb. the way of 〈◊〉 the right way to take my masters brothers daughter unto his son 49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly m If you will shew true kindness and real friendship to him in giving your daughter to his son with my master tell me and if not tell me that I may turn to the right hand or to the left n i. e. That I may look out a wife for him elsewhere It is a proverbial expression Numb 20. 17. and 22. 26. Deut. 2. 27. 50 Then Laban and Bethuel o Laban is put first either because this Bethuel was not his Father but his younger Brother as Iosephus thinks or because Laban was the chief manager of this business to whom his Father seems to have committed the care of his Family being himself unfit for it through age or infirmity answered and said The thing proceedeth from the LORD p From Gods counsel and special providence Hereby it appears they had the Knowledge and Worship of the true God among them though they added Idols to him we cannot speak unto thee bad or good q We cannot without opposing God speak or act any thing which may hinder thy design or thwart thy desires Compare Gen. 31. 24 29. 2 Sam. 13. 22. 51 Behold Rebekah is before thee ‖ i. e. In thy power and disposal as this phrase is taken Gen. 20. 15. and elsewhere take her and go and let her be thy masters sons wife as the LORD hath spoken 52 And it came to pass that when Abrahams servant heard their words he worshipped the LORD bowing himself to the Earth 53 And the servant brought forth †Heb. vessels jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment and gave them to Rebekah he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things r The precious fruits of the Land from which he came See Deut. 33. 13
is put for Emim either by an Apocope of the first letter or by the change of the Hebrew letter Iâ—…d into Aleph both which are frequent among the Hebrews And the sense is that Anah the Horite found out the Emims that is he met with them or came upon them suddenly and smotâ—… them In this sense the word finding is oft used as Iudg. 1. 5. 1 Sam. 31. 3. Psal. 21. 8. Iâ—…a 10. 10. in the wilderness as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father 25 And the children q Heb. Sons though but one Son be mentioned Either then he had other Sons not here expressed Or the plural number is put for the singular as Gen. 21. 7. of Anah were these Dishon and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah 26 And these are the children of Dishon ‖ Or Amram 1 Chron. 1. 41. Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran 27 The children of Ezer are these Bilhan and Zaavan and ‖ Or Jakan â—… Chron. 1. 42. Akan 28 The children of Dishan are these Uz and Aran. 29 These are the Dukes that came of the Horites Duke Lotan Duke Shobal Duke Zibeon Duke Anah 30 Duke Dishon Duke Ezer Duke Dishan these are the Dukes that came of Hori among their Dukes r Among other Dukes which were in that Countrey Or according to their Dukedomes or Principalities The word Duke being here put for Dukedom as the word King is put for Kingdom Isa. 23. 15. Dan. 7. 17. in the land of Seir. 31 And * 1 Chro. 1. 43. these are the Kings that reigned in the land of Edom s He speaks of the posterity of Esau who after they had subdued the Horites erected a Kingdom there before there reigned any King over the children of Israel t Here prophane wiâ—…s triumph How say they could Moses write this when as yet there was no King in Israel Answ. 1. The word may be taken for any chief Governour in which sense the Title of King is given to Moses Deut. 33. 5. and to the Judges Iudg. 17. 6. and to others who were not Kings properly so called Psal. 119. 46. Luke 22. 25. Acts 9. 15. c. Answ. 2. Moses might well say thus because he did by the spirit of Prophesieforesee and therefore could foretell that the Israelites would have a King as appears from Deut. 17. 14 15. Answ. 3. This with other clauses of the same nature might be inserted afterwards by some holy and inspired man of God as it is confessed that part of the last chapter of Deuteronomy was 32 And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom and the name of his City u Where he was born or dwelt and so in the rest The diversity of their Cities makes it probable that these Kings had not their power by succession but either by election or by usurpation according to Isaacs prophesie of them Gen. 27. 40. By thy Sword thou shalt live was Dinhabah 33 And Bela died and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead 34 And Jobab died and Husham of the land of Temani x Of which land see Ier. 49. 7 20. so called either from the City Teman or from Teman the son of Eliphaz ver 11. Or of the South Countrey as the antient Translations render it reigned in his stead 35 And Husham died and Hadad the son of Bedad who smote Midian in the field of Moab reigned in his stead and the name of his City was Avith 36 And Hadad died and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead 37 And Samlah died and Saul of Rehoboth by the river y Either Euphrates or a branch of it called Chabras by which there is even at this day a City called Rahabath-Melic i. e. Kings Rahabath as the learned observe Or some other River of note in those times and parts reigned in his stead 38 And Saul died and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead 39 And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died and ‖ Or Hadad Hadar reigned in his stead and the name of his City was ‖ Or Pai 1 Chro. 1. 50. Pau and his wives name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mezahab z Either Matred was the Father and Mezahab the Mother Or Matred was the Mother and Mezahab the Grand-mother 40 And these are the names of * 1 Chro. 1. 51. the Dukes †Of their Persons and Generations and Families The state of Edom between the times of Esaâ—… and Moses seems to have been this There were first Dukes then Kings and after them Dukes again But if it be objected that the time was too short for a succession of so many persons it may be replied that what is confessed concerning the Dukes preceding the Kings might be true also of these succeeding Dukâ—… and that the Edomites either having taken some distaste at 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Government or differing about the choice of a new 〈◊〉 â—…vided themselves again into several petty Principalities oâ—… Dukedoms and so several of those were Dukes at the same time in divers parts that came of Esau according to their families after their places by their names Duke Timnah Duke ‖ Or Aliah Alvah Duke Jetheth 41 Duke Aholibamah Duke Elah Duke Pinon 42 Duke Kenaz Duke Teman Duke Mibzar 43 Duke Magdiel Duke Iram These be the Dukes of Edom according to their habitations in the land of their possession he is Esau the father of †Heb. Edom. the Edomites CHAP. XXXVII 1 AND Jacob dwelt in the land †Heb. of his fathers sojournings wherein his father was a stranger in the land of Canaan 2 These are the generations a i. e. The events or occurrences which happened to Iacob in his Family and issue So that word is used Gen. 6. 9. and Numb 3. 1. Or the word These may relate to what is said Gen. 35. 22. c. The Genealogy of Esau being brought in by way of parenthesis and that being finished Moses returns to the Generations of Iacob as his principal business and proceeds in the History of their concerns of Jacob Joseph being seventeen years old was feeding the flock with his brethren and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah b Iacob placed Ioseph with them rather then with the sons of Leah either to keep Ioseph humble Or for Iosephs security because the other sons retained the old grudge of their Mother and were more like to envy contemn hate and abuse him Or as an observer of their actions whom he most suspected as the following words may seem to imply his fathers wives and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report c Acquainted him with their lewd and wicked courses to the dishonour of God and of their Family that so his Father might apply such remedies as he thought meet 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more then all his children because he was
fire f Whereby was fitly represented Gods Majesty and purity and power but of the midst of a bush and he looked and behold the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed g Which doubtless represented the condition of the Church and people of Israel who were now in the fire of affliction yet so as that God was present with them and that they should not be consumed in it whereof this vision was a pledge 3 And Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burnt 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see God called unto him * Deut. 33. 16. out of the midst of the bush and said Moses Moses h He doubles the name partly to shew kindness and familiarity and principally to make Moses more attentive to the business before him and he said Here am I. 5 And he said Draw not nigh hither i Keep thy distance whereby he checks his curiosity and forwardness and works him to the greater reverence and humility Compare Exod. 19. 12 21. Ios. 5. 15. * Act. 7. 33. put off thy shoes from off thy feet k This he requires as an act and token 1. of his reverence to the divine Majesty then and there eminently present 2. of his humiliation for his sins whereby he was unfit and unworthy to appear before God for this was a posture of humiliation 2 Sam. 15. 30. Isa. 20. 2 4. Ezek. 24. 17 23. 3. of purification from the filth of his feet or ways or conversation that he might be more fit to approach to God See Ioh. 13. 10. Heb. 10. 22. 4. of his submission and readiness to obâ—… Gods will for which reason slaves used to be barefooted for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground l With a relative holiness at this time because of my special presence in it 6 Moreover he said * Mat. 22. 32. Act. 7. 32. I am the God of thy father the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob m The God ingaged to them by covenant or promise which I am now come to perform And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God n As other excellent servants of God have been through the sence of their own meanness and sinfulness and of Gods Majesty and holiness See Gen. 16. 13. and 17. 3. 1 King 19. 13. Isa. 6. 2 5. c. 7 And the LORD said I have surely seen o Heb. In seeing I have seen i. e I have seen and observed it diligently accurately and certainly for so much the doubling of the verb signifies the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and * chap. 2. 23. have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters for I know their sorrows 8 And I am come down p This word notes Gods manifestation of himself and his favour and giving help from heaven See Gen. 18. 21. to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large q So it was not onely comparatively to Goshen where they now dwelt and to the number of the Israelites at that time but absolutely if you take the land of promise according to its true and first and antient bounds of it as you have them described Gen. 15. 18. Deut. 1. 7. and 11. 24. and not according to those narrow limits to which they were afterwards confined for their unbelief floth cowardize and impiety unto a land flowing with milk and honey r i. e Abounding with the choicest fruits both for necessity and for delight The excellency and singular fruitfulness of this land howsoever denied or disputed by some ill minded persons is sufficiently evident 1. from express testimony not onely of Moses Deut. 8. 7 8 9. but also of the spies who were sent to view it and though prejudic'd against it yet acknowledged it Numb 13. 27. and of the holy Prophets that lived long in it as David Psal. 106. 24. Ioel chap. 2. 3. and Ezekiel who calls it the glory of all lands Ezek. 20. 15. Which if it had not been true it is ridiculous to think that they durst have said and writ so when the people with whom they contested and thousands of other persons there and then living were able to confute them After them Iosephus and St. Hierom and others since who lived long in that land have highly commended it And whereas Strabo speaks of the barrenness of the soâ—…l about Ierusalem that is true but by himself it is limited to the compass of 60 furlongs from Ierusalem And if at this day the land be now grown barren in a great measure it is not strange considering both the great neglect and sloth of the people as to the improvement of it and the great wickedness of its inhabitants for which God hath threatned to turn a fruitful land into barrenâ—… Psal. 107. 34. unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites s These people are diversâ—…y numbred there are ten sorts reckoned Gen. 15. 19 20 21. and seven Deut. 7. 1. and here but six because some of them were either destroyed or driven out of their land by others or dâ—…d by choice and design remove to some other place as many in those times did though it be not mentioned in Scripture or by cohabitation and marriages with some of the other people did make a coalition and were incorporated with them and so their name was swallowed up in the other or because the names of some of these people as particularly the Câ—…ites and the Amorites were used sometimes more strictly and sometimes more largely so as to comprehend under them the other people as the Girgashites c. whence it comes to pass that all the rest go under the names of the Caâ—…ites Gen. 13. 7. and of the Amorites in some places of Scripture as hath been shewed 9 Now therefore behold the cry * Either in prayer or rather forced by their oppressions as the next clause explains it of the children of Israel is come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them 10 Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt 11 And Moses said unto God * See Isa. 6. 5. Ier. 1. 6. Who am I t What a mean inconsiderable person am I how unworthy and unfit for that employment He was more forward in the work 40 years ago by reason of the servours of his youth his inexperience in affairs the advantage of his power and interest in the Court by which he thought he could and should procure their deliverance But now age had made him cool and considerate the
did eat Manna fourty years * Josh. 5. 12. Neh. 9. 15. untill they came to a land inhabited they did eat Manna untill they came to the borders of the land of Canaan y This Moses might well write for though he did not go in to Canaan yet he came to the borders of Canaan And though he did not see the cessation of the Manna yet he sufficiently knew both from the nature of the thing and by revelation from God that it would forthwith cease upon their entrance into Canaan 〈◊〉 36 Now an Omer is the tenth part of an Ephah CHAP. XVII 1 AND all the Congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin after their journeys a By divers stations recorded Numb 33. 12 13. c. but here omitted because there was nothing extraordinary hapned in them according to the Commandment of the LORD b Expressed either by word of mouth or by the motion or rest of the cloudy pillar Exod. 13. 21. and pitched in Rephidim and there was no water for the people to drink 2 Wherefore the * Numb 20. 4. people did chide with Moses and said Give us water that we may drink And Moses said unto them Why chide you with me Wherefore do ye * Psal. 78. 41. 1 Cor. 10. 9. tempt the LORD c By distrusting Gods power and providence and faithfulness and goodness upon such a small occasion by refusing to submit to Gods will and to wait upon him by humble and servent prayers for relief and in stead thereof quarrelling with me as if it were my fault and murmuring against God under my name 3 And the people thirsted there for water and the people murmured against Moses and said Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst 4 And Moses cryed unto the LORD saying What shall I do unto this people they be almost ready to stone me 5 And the LORD said unto Moses Go on before the people and take with thee of the Elders of Israel d That they may be eye-witnesses of this glorious work and may report it to the people and thy rod wherewith * chap. 7. 20. thou smotest the river e Either the Red-sea for an arm of the Sea is sometimes called a river or the river Nilas take in thine hand and go 6 * Numb 20. â—… Psal. 78. 1â—… 105. 41. Wisd. 11. â—… Behold I will stand before thee there f In my cloudy pillar which shall stand over that place upon the rock in Horeb g Horeb and Sinai are sometimes spoken of as the same place and sometimes as two differing places as here compared with Exod. 19. 2. The learned write that this was one long mountain whereof there were two eminent parts or tops the one at a considerable distance from the other and Horeb was the first part of it and near Rephidim and Sinai the more remote to which they came afterwards and thou shalt smite the rock and there shall water come out of it And Moses did so h i. e. Smote the rock and the waters flowed out plentifully and continually making a river which God caused to follow them to their several Stations See 1 Cor. 10. 4. in the sight of the Elders of Israel 7 And he called the name of the place ‖ That is tentation Massah and ‖ That is chiding or strife Meribah because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the LORD saying Is the LORD amongst us i Viz. To protect and provide for us according to his word given to us Will God be as good as his word or will he not for it is to us very doubtful or not 8 * Deut. 25. 17. 1 Sam. 15. 2. Wisd. 11. 4. Then k When they were upon their march from Rephidim to Horeb Deut. 25. 17 18. came Amalek and fought with Israel l The ground of the quarrel was the prosecution of the old hatred of Esau against Iacob and the revenging of themselves and their father upon the posterity of Iacob for which they thought this the fittest season they being now a great and potent people Numb 24. 20. and Israel now weak and unarmed and dispirited with long servitude in Rephidim 9 And Moses said unto * Called Iesus Act. 7. 45. Joshua Chuse us out men and go m Out of the camp to meet the enemy out fight with Amalek to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill n Both to observe thy carriage and success or defeat that I may govern my self accordingly and that I may in that retirement pour out my soul â—…to the Lord of hosts that he may give thee victory with * chap. 4. 20. the rod of God o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having done so great exploits formerly doubt noâ—… of the same divine assistance to accompany it and make thee victorious in mine hand 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek and Moses Aaron and Hur p A person of eminency both for wisdom and experience and for place and authority supposed to be the husband of Miriam See Exod. 24. 14. went up to the top of the hill 11 And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand q With the rod of God in it This gesture though fervent prayer was doubtless joyned with it seems not to have been the gesture of one praying which is the lifting up of both hands but of an Ensign-bearer or of one ready to smite his enemies Howsoever this was onely a sign whereby Moses strengthned his faith and quickned his prayers and heightned the courage of the Souldiers below and protested that he expected victory not from the skill and prowess of his Army but from the assistance of God that Israel prevailed and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed r God so dispensing his favour that the honour of the day and victory might be wholly ascribed to the rod and power of God not to Israel 12 But Moses hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him and he sat thereon and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands s Not that both hands were erected and joyned together which was not a fit posture for one holding a rod in his hand but that Moses shifted the rod out of one hand into the other when the former was weary and that Aaron and Hur did each of them with both hands hold up that hand which was next to them successively that they also might relieve one the other the one on the one side and the other on the other side and his hands were steady untill the going down of the Sun 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people t Either 1. The King of the Amalekites and his people or 2. the people
example in the worship of Idols * chap. 34. 13. Num. 33. 52. Deut. 7. 5 35. 12. 3. but thou shalt utterly overthrow them s i. e. The people lest thou be ensnared by their counsel or example and quite break down their images t Or statues or pillars or any thing else erected in honour to their false Gods See Gen. 28. 18. and 35. 20. 25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God and * Deut. 28. 5 8. he shall bless thy bread and thy water u i. e. Thy meat and thy drink that they shall be able to nourish thee and giâ—…e thee comfort which without my blessing they will never be able to do and * chap. 15. 26. Deut. 7. 15. I will take sickness away from the midst of thee 26 * Deut. 7. 14. There shall nothing cast their young nor be barren x Here was a double mercy God gave them strength both to conceive and to retain the conception till the natural and proper time of bringing forth came in thy land the number of thy dayes I will fulfill y I will preserve thee so as thou shalt live as long as the course of nature and temper of thy body will permit when evil men shall not live out half their days Psal. 55. 23. 27 I will send my fear z i. e. A great terrour or a terrour wrought by me See Exod. 33. 2. Iosh. 24. 12. before thee and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come and I will make all thine enemies turn their †Heb. necks backs unto thee 28 And I will send Hornets a Properly so called as may be gathered from Ios. 24. 12. Deut. 7. 20. Hornets are of themselves very troublesome and mischievous but these it is very probable were like those Egyptian flies Exod. 8. 21. of an extraordinary higness and perniciousness Nor is it strange that such creatures did drive many of these people from their habitations for many heathen writers give us instances of some people driven from their seats by frogs others by mice others by bees and wasps of which see Herodotus Diodorus Plin. Aelian Iustin c. before thee which shall drive out the Hivite the Canaanite and the Hittite b He names these three people either for all the rest because they were the most potent about the time of Israels first entrance into Canaan and gave them most trouble or because these three were more infested with Hornets than the other Nations as being more numerous and dangerous from before thee 29 * Deut. 7. 22. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year lest the land become desolate c Void of inhabitants in a great measure because thy present number is not sufficient to occupy and manage their whole land and the beast of the field multiply against thee 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee until thou be increased and inherit the land 31 And * Josh. 1. 4. I will set thy bounds d Compare this place with Gen. 15. 18. Numb 34. 3. from the Red-sea even unto the sea of the Philistines e i. e. The Mediterranean or Mid-land sea upon whose coast the land of the Philistines lay and from the desert f Of Egypt or Arabia whereof see Gen. 16. 7. Exod. 15. 22. unto the river g To wit Euphrates as it is expressed Deut. 1. 7. and 11. 24. which is oft called the river by way of eminency All within these bounds were given them by God but upon conditions which they manifestly broke and therefore were for the most part confined to a much narrower compass for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand and thou shalt drive them out before thee 32 * chap. 34. 15. Deut. 7. 2. Thou shalt make no covenant with them nor with their gods h To worship them as they made a covenant with Iehovah to worship him The sence is Thou shalt not engage thy self either to the people or to their Gods but shalt root out both 33 They shall not dwell in thy land lest they make thee sin against me for if thou serve i Or for thou wilt serve this will be the fruit of thy cohabitation with them thou wilst thereby be drawn to Idolatry their gods * chap. 34. 12. Deut. 7. 16. Josh. 23. 13. Judg. 2. 3. 1 Sam. 18. 21. Psal. 106. 36. it will surely k Or and assuredly this will be a snare l An occasion of further sin and utter ruine unto thee CHAP. XXIV 1 AND he said unto Moses Come up a After thou hast gone down and acquainted the people with my will and received their answer then come up again This sence is gathered from the repetition of this command after that was done ver 12. unto the LORD thou and Aaron Nadab and Abihu b Aaron and his two eldest sons whom by this special honour and favour he prepared for that office to which they were to be called chap. 28. and seventy of the Elders of Israel c Not the seventy governours which were chosen after this time as appears from Num. 11. 24. compared with Numb 33. 16. but seventy persons selected by Moses out of those rulers chosen and mentioned Exod. 18. 25. and possibly these were the chief heads of those several families which went with Iacob into Egypt which were about 70. See Gen. 46. 26 27. and worship ye afar off d Though they may come up into the mount further than the people yet do thou and let them especially keep their distance and what worship either thou or they shall offer to me shall be performed afar off from the top of the mountain whither thou onely shalt be admitted and that not to pray to me but onely to receive laws and oracles from me See ver 2. 2 And Moses alone e i. e. Without the persons now mentioned though not without Ioshua his minister as some conceive from ver 13. though even there Moses seems to ascend into the mount without Ioshua shall come near the LORD but they shall not come nigh neither shall the people go up with him f To any part of the mount as Aaron and Nadab c. did but they shall tarry at the bottom See Exod. 19. 12. 3 And Moses came g Down from the mount to the people after he had received the laws from God and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments and all the people answered with one voice and said * chap. 19. 8. Ver. 7. Deut. 5. 27. All the words which the LORD hath said will we do h This they so readily and rashly promise because they were not sensible of their own weakness and because they did not understand the comprehensiveness and spirituality and strictness of Gods law but
20. 12. or out of the Catalogue or number of those that shall be saved I suppose Moses doth not in this case wish his eternal damnation because that slate implies both wickedness in himself and the dishonour of God but his annihilation or the utter loss of this life and of that to come and of all the happiness of both of them Nor doth Moses simply desire this but onely comparatively expresseth his singular zeal for Gods glory and charity to his people signifying that the very thoughts of the destruction of Gods people and of the reproach and blasphemy which would be cast upon God by means thereof were so grievous and intolerable to him that he rather wisheth if it were possible that God would accept of him as a sacrifice in their stead and by his utter destruction prevent so great a mischief And it is to be considered that Moses speaks this as also many other things as the Mediatour between God and Israel and as the type of the true Mediatour Jesus Christ who was in effect to suffer this which Moses was content to suffer which thou hast wrttien 33 And the LORD said unto Moses * Ezek. 18. 4. Whosoever hath sinned ‖ Or doth sin to wit presumptuously obstinately and impenitently against me him will I blot out of my book g Him will I cut off out of the land of the living and eternally deprive of my favour and glory and not thee who art innocent and righteous 34 Therefore now go lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee * chap. 33. â—… Behold mine angel h Noâ—… Christ the Angel of the covenant who had hitherto gone before them but a created Angel as appears by comparing this with Exod. 33. 2 3 12. Though Moses obtained the revocation of this threatning Exod. 33. 14 17. shall go before thee Nevertheless * Deut. 32. 35. in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them i When I shall punish them for their other sins which I foresee they will commit I will remember and punish this also 35 And the LORD plagued the people k This relates either to the destruction of 3000 of them by the Levites or rather to the future plagues in which God also reckoned with them for this sin because they made the calf which Aaron made l They made it because they urged Aaron to make it as Iudâ—…s is said to purchasethe field Act. 1. 18. which was purchased by his mony and Aaron made it by giving command to make it The Chaldee Syriack Arabick and Samaritan render the words thus they worshipped or sacrificed to the calf which Aaron made And the word which signifies to make is oft used for worshipping or sacrificing as Exod. 10. 25. Iudg. 13. 15 1 King 18. 26. CHAP. XXXIII 1 AND the LORD said unto Moses Depart and go up hence thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt unto the land which I sware unto Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob saying * Gen. 12. â—… Unto thy seed will I give it 2 * chap. 32. 3 Deut. 7. 22. Josh. 24. 11 And I will send an Angel before thee and I will drive out the Canaanite the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite the Hivite and the Jebusite 3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey for I will not go up in the midst of thee a By my own special and gracious presence as hitherto I have done but I will depart from thee In pursuance hereof God removes his tabernacle without the camp ver 7. I will onely make good my promise to thy fathers and send an Angel to accomplish it but I will shew no peculiar and further kindness to thee for thou art a * chap. 32. Deut. 9. 13. stiff-necked people lest I consume thee in the way b Lest thy sins should be aggravated by my presence and favour and thereby I should be provoked utterly to destroy thee So he shews that their perverseness makes this severity necessary for them and that God even in his judgement remembers mercy to them 4 And when the people heard these evil tidings they mourned and no man did put on him his ornaments c Their precious garments or jewels which the women reserved as we saw ver 3. This was a visible sign and profession of their inward humiliation and repentance for their sin and of their deep sence of Gods displeasure 5 For the LORD had said unto Moses Say unto the children of Israel Ye are a stiff-necked people I will come up into the midst of thee d To wit in anger not in favour ver 3. where the words are the same but the sence differing in a moment and consume thee e Obj. But God had promised he would not do so ver 14. Ans. That was signifyed to Moses not to the people to whom the threatning was most proper and profitable and this threatning hath a condition implied to wit except they repent as the next words plainly shew therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee f That I may either inflict my judgments or suspend them as thou art penitent or impenitent 6 And the children of Israel stript themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. 7 And Moses took the tabernacle g A tent set up by Moses for the people to meet in for sacrifice and seeking of God and other parts of Gods Worship untill the great Tabernacle should be finished for such a place was necessary or highly expedient for that use and therefore it is not probable they would be without it for a years space and pitched it without the camp afar off from the camp h In testimony of Gods alienation from them and displeasure against them this being a kind of eâ—…communication and all was too little to bring them to a thorough repentance and called it the tabernacle of the congregation i It was so before but he called it so now to shew that God had not wholly forsaken them and that if they truly repented he still permitted them to come into his presence and to seek the Lord. and it came to pass that every one which sought the LORD k Either for his favour or for counsel and direction See Exod. 18. 1â—… 19 20. went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation which was without the camp 8 And it came to pass when Moses went out unto the tabernacle that all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent door and looked after Moses l Testifying their grief for Gods departure their respect to Moses whom they had lately despised their earnest desire of his intercession for them their longing for Gods favour and their humble expectation of a gracious return from God by the hands of Moses until he
with the cities thereof in the coasts even the cities of the countrey round about 34 And the children of Gad built z i. e. Repaired and fortified as that word is oft used as 1 King 12. 25. 2 King 14. 22. 2 Chron. 8. 1. and 11. 5 c. and 26. 2. Dan. 4. 30. For they neither had need nor leasure as yet to do more the old cities not being burnt and ruined as divers in Canaan were Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer 35 And Atroth Shophan and * Verse 1 3. Iazâ—…r Jaazer and Jogbehah 36 And * Verse 3. Nimrah Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran fenced cities and folds for sheep 37 And the children of Reuben * chap. 21. 27. built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim 38 And Nebo a Of which city see Deut. 34. 1. Ier. 48. 1. and Baal-meon * See Verse 3. Josh. 23. 7. their names being changed b Either because conquerors of places use to do so or because the names of other Gods which Nebo and Baal-meon unquestionably were were not to be mentioned Exod. 23. 13. especially at the first settling of the Israelites there that the very remembrance of the Idols might be blotted out and so the temptation to Idolatry removed though afterwards when that danger was over they were called by their old names again Ios. 13. 17 20 and Shibmah and †Heb. they called by names the names of the cities gave other names unto the cities which they builded 39 And the children of * Gen. 50. 23. Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it c i. e. Part of it or Gilead is here taken more strictly See above on ver 29. and Gen. 31. 21. Deut. 3. 12 13. and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it 40 And Moses * Deut. 3. 12 13 15. gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh d i. e. Not to Machir himself who doubtless was long since dead see Gen. 50. 23. the family or posterity of Machir which are called by their fathers name as the names of Abraham Act. 7. 16. of Isaac Amos 7. 9. of Iacob or Israel frequently of Iudah and Simeon Iudg. 1. 3. of David 1 King 12. 6. are manifestly put for their posterity and he dwelt therein 41 And * Deut. 3. 14. Josh. 13. 30. Jair the son of Manasseh e Called here the son of Manasseh partly because he was so by his mother 1 Chron. 2. 21 22. and partly because he joyned himself with the Manassites in this expedition and settled himself among them went and took the small towns thereof and called them Havoth-jair 42 And Nobah f Who though not elsewhere named was doubtless an eminent person of the Tribe of Manasseh went and took Kenath and the villages †Heb. daughters thereof and called it Nobah after his own name CHAP. XXXIII 1 THese are the journeys of the children of Israel which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies a i. e. In great number and exact order as armies march and they did Exod. 12. 37 38 and 13. 18. under the hand of Moses and Aaron 2 And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD b Who would have this done partly to evince the truth of the history partly to preserve the remembrance of Gods glorious and miraculous works both of judgment and mercy towards his people and thereby to confirm their faith in their present difficult undertaking and these are their journeys according to their goings out 3 And they * Exod. 12. 37. departed from Rameses c Whither they all repaired by Moses his order from all parts of the land in the first month on the fifteenth day of the first month on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out * Exod. 14. 8. with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians d See Exod. 14. 8. Numb 15. 30. 4 For the Egyptians buried all their first-born * Exod. 12. 〈◊〉 which the LORD had smitten among them * Exod. 12. 〈◊〉 18. 11. Isa. 21. 9. 19. 1. upon their gods e Either 1. their princes and rulers who are sometimes called gods in Scripture and so this is added by way of amplification God flew their first-born not onely of the meaner sort but even of their King and princes Or 2. their falsegods to wit those beasts which the brutish Egyptians worshipped as Gods which were killed with the rest for the first-born both of men and beasts were then killed Exod. 13. 15. See more on Exod. 12. 12. and 18. 11. also the LORD executed judgment 5 And the children of Israel removed from Rameses and pitched in Succoth 6 And they departed from * Exod. 13. â—… Succoth and pitched in Etham which is in the edge of the wilderness 7 And they * Exod. 1â—…â—… removed from Etham and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth which is before Baal-zephon and they pitched before Migdol 8 And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth and * Exod. 1â—…â—… 15. 22 23. passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness and went three dayes journey in the wilderness of Etham and pitched in Marah 9 And they removed from Marah and * Exod. 1â—…â—… came unto Elim and in Elim were twelve fountains of water and threescore and ten palm-trees and they pitched there 10 And they removed from Elim and encamped by the Red-sea f i. e. By another part of that Sea which they passed over 11 And they removed from the Red-sea and encamped in the * Exod. 1â—… â—… wilderness of Sin 12 And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and encamped in Dophkah 13 And they departed from Dophkah and encamped in Alush 14 And they removed from Alush and encamped at * Exod. 1â—… â—… Rephidim where was no water for the people to drink 15 And they departed from Rephidim and pitched in the * Exod. 16. â—… wilderness of Sinai 16 And they removed from the desert of Sinai and pitched * chap. 11. 〈◊〉 at ‖ That is 〈◊〉 of lust Kibroth-hattaavah 17 And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah and * chap. 11. 〈◊〉 encamped at Hazeroth 18 And they departed from Hazeroth and pitched in Rithmah g A place in the wilderness of Paran near Kadesh-barnea 19 And they departed from Rithmah and pitched at Rimmon-parez 20 And they departed from Rimmon-parez and pitched in Libnah 21 And they removed from Libnah and pitched at Rissah 22 And they journeyed from Rissah and pitched in Kehelathah 23 And they went from Kehelathah and pitched in mount Shapher 24 And they removed from mount Shapher and encamped in Haradah 25 And they removed from Haradah and pitched in Makheloth 26 And they removed from Makheloth and encamped at Tahath 27 And they departed from Tahath and pitched at Tarah 28
and his land before thee begin to possess that thou mayest inherit his land 32 * Num. 21. 23. Then Sihon came out against us he and all his people to fight at Jahaz 33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us and we smote him and his sons and all his people 34 And we took all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed g By Gods command these being a part of those people who were devoted by the Lord of Life and Death to utter destruction for their abominable wickedness See Deut. 7. 2. and 20. 16. the †〈…〉 men and the women and the little ones of every city we left none to remain 35 Onely the cattel we took for a prey unto our selves and the spoyl of the cities which we took 36 From Aroer h Which was in the border of Moab but now in the hands of the Amorites which is by the brink of the river of Arnon and from the city that is by the river i Heb. In the river wherewith it was encompassed Numb 21 15 28. Ios. 12. 2. and 13. 9. He speaks exclusively for this was Ar which now was in the Moabites Jurisdiction above v. 9. even unto Gilead there was not one city too strong for us the LORD our God delivered all unto us 37 Onely unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not nor unto any place of the river * â—…en 32. 22. Jabbok k i. e. Beyond Iaâ—…ok for that was the border of the Ammonites Ios. 12. 2. Obj. Half the land of the Ammonites is said to be given to the tribe of Gad Ios. 13. 27. Answ. This is true of that half of it which the Amorites had taken from them but not of the other half which yet was in the possession of the Ammonites nor unto the cities in the mountains l The mountainous Country of the Ammonites nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us m Heb. commanded us commanding is put for forbidding here as Gen. 2. 16. and 3. 11. Levit. 4. 2. Deut. 4. 23. The words may be thus rendred Concerning which the Lord gave us command or charge to wit that we should not meddle with them as was said before So it is only an ellipsis of the preposition which is very frequent CHAP. III. 1 THen we turned and went up the way to Bashan and * Num. 21. 33. c. chap. 29. 7. Og the King of Bashan came out against us he and all his people to battel at Edrei 2 And the LORD said unto me Fear him not a Though he be of so frightful a look and stature ver 11. for I will deliver him and all his people and his land into thy hand and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto * Num. 21. 24. Sihon King of the Amorite which dwelt at Heshbon 3 So the LORD our God delivered into our hands * Num. 21. 33. Og also the King of Bashan and all his people and we smote him until none was left to him remaining 4 And we took all his cities at that time there was not a city which we took not from them threescore cities all the region of Argob b A Province within Bashan or at least subject and belonging to Bashan as appears from ver 13. and 1 King 4. 13. called Argob possibly from the name of a man its former Lord and owner the kingdom of Og in Bashan 5 All these cities were fenced with high walls gates and bars c Which may encourage you in your attempt upon Canaan notwithstanding the fenced cities which the spies told you of and you must expect to find besides unwalled towns a great many 6 And we utterly destroyed them as we did unto Sihon King of Heshbon utterly destroying the men women and children of every city 7 But all the cattel and the spoil of the cities we took for a prey to our selves 8 And we took at that time out of the hand of the two Kings of the Amorite the land that was on this side Jordan d So it was when Moses wrote this book but afterward when Israel passed over Iordan it was called the land beyond Iordan from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon e 9 Which Hermon the Zidonians call Sirion and the Amorite call it Shenir f Elsewhere called mount Gilead and Libanus or Libanon and here Shenir and Sirion and by abbreviation Sion Deut. 4. 48. Which several names are given to this one mountain partly by several people and partly in regard of several tops and parts of it whence Scâ—…nir and Hermon are mentioned as distinct places Cant. 4. 8. 10 All the cities of the plain and all Gilead f Gilead is sometimes taken largely for all the Israeâ—…ites possessions beyond Iordan and so it comprehends Bashan but here more strictly for that part of it which lies in and near mount Gilead and so it is distinguished from Bashan and Argob and * â—…osh 12. 5. â—…d 13. 11. all Bashan unto Salchah and Edrei cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan 11 For only Og King of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants g The other giants of Bashan were destroyed before and therefore when Og was killed the Israelites work was done behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron is it not in * 2 Sâ—…m 12. 26. Jer. 49. 2. Rabbath of the children of Ammon i Where it might now be either because the Ammonites in some former battel with Og had taken it as a spoil or because after Ogs death the Ammonites desired to have this monument of his greatness and the Israelites permitted them to carry it away to their chief city nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits the breadth of it after the cubit of a man k To wit of ordinary stature So his bed was four yards and an half long and two yards broad 12 And this land which we possessed at that time from Aroer which is by the river Arnon and half mount Gilead and * Num. 32. 33 Josh. 13. 8. c. the cities thereof gave I unto the Reubenite and to the Gadite 13 And the rest of Gilead and all Bashen being the kingdom of Og gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh all the region of Argob with all Bashan which was called the land of giants 14 * 1 Chro. 2. 2â—… Jair the son of Manasseh took all the countrey of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri l Or Geshurites a people towards the North of Canaan 2 Sam. 3. 3. and 15. 8. See also Ios. 13. 13. and Maachathi m Of whom see 2 Sam. 3. 3. and 10. 6. and called them after his own name Bashan * Num. 32. 41. Havoth-Jair unto this day n This must be put among those other passages which were not written by Moses but added by those holy men who
idols p What sorry tools they are what senceless and ridiculous deities so that you have great reason to value your God and to cleave to him in covenant and to take heed of such abominable Idolatries wood and stone silver and gold which were among them 18 Lest there should be q Or take heed or beware lest there be For it seems to be an Ellipsis or defect of a verb which is usual in Scripture and which we have in a case parallel to this Gen. 3. 22. And now we must take care lest he put forth c. Or this particle lest may be joyned with v. 14 15. to this purpose I now renew the covenant with you and with your posterity lest any of you or yours should be tempted to depart from God c. among you man or woman or family or tribe whose heart turneth away r i. e. Who turneth away from God to Idols not by constraint but by choice and the inclination of his own heart By this phrase he leads them to the spring of their sin and ruine even their own hearts which he admonisheth them hereby to look to above all things this day from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of these nations * Heb. 12. 〈◊〉 lest there should be among you a root s Either 1. An evil heart enclining you to such cursed Idolatry and bringing forth bitter fruits Or rather 2. Some secret and subtil Apostate who lurks and works like a root under ground and sliely conveighs his poison to the infection of others for both the foregoing and following words speak of some particular person that beareth ‖ Or a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 〈◊〉 gall and wormwood t i. e. Which though for the present it may please your fancy yet in the end assure your selves will produce bitter fruits not onely distateful to God but also poisonful and destructive to your selves 19 And it come to pass when he u i. e. That root or that man mentioned v. 18. heareth the words of this curse x i. e. of that oath mentioned v. 12. wherein he swore that he would keep covenant with God and that with a curse pronounced against himself if he did not perform it Now if when he reads this again or hears of it from others that he bless himself in his heart y i. e. Flatter himself in his own eyes as Psal. 36. 2. with vain conceits and hopes as if God did not mind such things and either could not or would not punish them Compare Psal. 49. 18. Ier. 2. 20. Zech. 11. 5. saying I shall have peace z i. e. Safety and prosperity though I walk in the ‖ Heb. stubbornâ—… imagination of mine heart a Though in my practices and worship I do not follow Gods command but my own devices and whatsoever my fancy best liketh minding nothing but the gratifying of mine own fancy and humour to add †Heb. The drunken to the thirsty drunkenness to thirst b i. e. Not onely to satisfie his thirst i. e. his concupiscence and inclination to wickedness but even to exceed it as Drunkards oft times take more than their appetite desires and drink out of meer wantonness or from a desire to be drunk and as filthy persons commit lewdness with others more than their natural inclinations desire or their strength can well bear meerly from a wicked mind and from contempt of God and because they will do so The words may be rendred to add thirst to drunkenness the particle eth which is a note of the Accusative Case being joyned with thirst and not with drunkenness and so the sence may be this that when he hath multiplyed his sins and made himself as it were drunk with them yet he is not satisfyed therewith but still whets his Appetite and provokes his thirst after more as Drunkards commonly will use means and temptations to make themselves thirst after more drink that they may drink more abundantly Or thus to add the moist or moistening to the thirsty i. e. in stead of restraining and mortifying as he ought to do fully and greedily to satisfy his idolatrous or wicked inclinations and resolvedly to give up himself to all the desires of his own heart Compare Iob 34. 7. Prov. 23. 35. Isa. 30. 1. and 56. 12. Eph. 4. 19. 20 * Ezek. 14. 7 8. The LORD will not spare him but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke c i. e. Shall burn and break forth with flame and smoak as it were from a furnace Compare Psal. 18. 8. against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven d i. e. destroy his person and memory from amongst men 21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil e i. e. Unto some peculiar and exemplary plague he will make him a monument of his displeasure to the whole land out of all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant f He intimates that the covenant of grace which God made with them hath not onely blessings belonging to it as this foolish person imagined but curses also to the transgressours of it that †Heb. that is written are written in this book of the law 22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you and the stranger that shall come from a far land shall say g The words following v. 24 25 c. when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses †Heb. wherewith the LORD â—…ath made it sick which the LORD hath laid upon it 23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt and burning h i. e. Is burnt up and made barren as with brimstone and salt See Iudg. 9. 45. Psal. 107. 34. Ier. 17. 6. Ezek. 47. 11. that it is not sowen nor beareth nor any grass groweth therein * Gen. 19. 24 25. like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah Admah and Zebojim which the LORD overthrew in his anger and in his wrath 24 Even all nations shall say * 1 King 9. 8. 〈◊〉 22. 8. Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land what meaneth the heat of this great anger 25 Then men shall say Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt 26 For they went and served other gods and worshipped them gods whom they knew not and ‖ Or who had not given unto them any portion whom he had not †Heb. divided given unto them i i. e. Whom God had not given or divided to them as their portion or for their worship but hath divided them unto all Nations as it is said Deut. 4. 19. not for their
should not receive the Grace of God in vain and to teach them that the Grace of God doth not discharge mans obligation to his duty nor excuse him for the neglect of it and that Conversion and Sanctification though it be Gods work yet it is mans duty unto the voice of the LORD thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul. 11 For this commandment which I command thee this day k He seems to speak of the law or of that great command of loving and obeying God mentioned here v. 2 6 10 16. which is the sum of the Law of which yet he doth not here speak simply or as it is in it self but as it is mollified and accompanied with the Grace of the Gospel whereby God circumciseth mens hearts to do this as is expressed v. 6. The meaning is that although the practise of Gods Law strictly and severely be now far from us and above our strength yet considering the advantage of Gospel Grace whereby God enables us in some measure to our duty and accepts of our sincere endeavours in stead of perfection and imputes Christs perfect righteousness unto us that believe now it is near and easie to us And so this place well agrees with Rom. 10. 6 c. where St. Paul expounds or applies this place to the righteousness of faith by which alone the Law is such as it is here described it * chap. 27. 8. Isa. 45. 19. is not hidden from thee l Heb. Is not too wonderful for thee as Deut. 17. 8. Prov. 30. 18. Ier. 32. 17. i. e. not too hard for thee to know and do the Will of God which is but darkly manifested to other nations Act. 17. 27. is clearly and fully revealed unto thee thou canst not pretend ignorance or invincible difficulty neither is it far off m i. e. Out of thy reach 12 * Rom. 10. 6. c. It is not in heaven n i e Shut up there but it hath been thence delivered and published by thy hearing that thou shouldest say Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it 13 Neither is it beyond the sea o The knowledge of this commandement is not to be fetched from far distant places to which divers of the wise Heathens travelled for their wisdome but it was brought to thy very doors and ears and declared to thee in this Wilderness that thou shouldest say Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it 14 But the word is very nigh unto thee in thy mouth p Thou knowest it so well that it is the matter of thy common discourse thou professest thy knowledge and belief of it or in the mouths of thy Priests and Levites who are dayly preaching of it and instructing thee in it and in thy heart q i. e. In thy mind as the heart is very commonly taken to understand and believe it that thou mayest do it 15 * Chap. 11. 〈◊〉 ver 19. See I have set before thee this day life and good r i. e. A good or an happy life A figure called Hendiaduo Or life and all the blessings of life as good is oft used as Iob 7. 7. Psal. 4. 6. and 128. 5. Eccles. 2. 24. and 4. 8. and 6. 3. and death and evil 16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God to walk in his wayes and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments that thou mayest live and multiply and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it 17 But if thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not hear but shalt be drawn away s Either by thy own evil mind or by the examples or perswasions of others and worship other gods and serve them 18 I denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it 19 * Chap. â—… 〈◊〉 Ver. 15. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you t Compare Deut. 4. 26. Ios. 24. 27. Psal. 50. 4. Isa. 1. 2. that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore chuse life that both thou and thy seed may live 20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God and that thou mayest obey his voice and that thou mayest cleave unto him for he is thy life u i. e. The cause or author of thy life as life is used Ioh. 14 6. and 17. 3. and the length of thy dayes that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob to give them CHAP. XXXI 1 AND Moses went and spake a i. e. Proceeded or continued to speak An usual Hebrew phrase Or went to the place where he had assembled the people that he might speak to them these words unto all Israel 2 And he said unto them * chap. 34 I am an hundred and twenty years old this day I can no more go out and come in b i. e. Perform the Office of a Leader or Governour either because I now find a decay of my mind and body which seems not well to agree with Deut. 34. 7. or because I foresee the time of my death approaches also the LORD hath said unto me * Num. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chap. 3. 2 Thou shalt not go over this Jordan 3 The LORD thy God he will go over before thee and he will destroy these nations from before thee and thou shalt possess them and Joshua he shall go over before thee * Num. 2â—… 2â—… as the LORD hath said 4 And the LORD shall do unto them * Numb 21. 24 33. as he did to Sihon and to Og kings of the Amorite and unto the land of them c Which he gave to you to possess whom he destroyed 5 And * Chap. 7. â—… the LORD shall give them up before your face d i. e. Into your power See on Deut. 1. 8. that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you 6 Be strong and of a good courage fear not nor be afraid of them for the LORD thy God he it is that doth go with thee * Josh. 1. 5. Heb. 13. 5. he will not fail thee nor forsake thee 7 And Moses called unto Joshua and said unto him in the sight of all Israel Be strong and of a good courage for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them and thou shalt cause them to inherit it 8 And the
for I know their imagination which they †Heb. do go about even now c Either their inward inclinations to Idolatry which they do not check as they ought but rather entertain with delight and some of them do not onely cherish it in their hearts but as far as they can and dare secretly practise it as may be gathered from Amos 5. 25. Act. 7. 43. or their secret purposes to allow themselves therein when they are settled in their land which were clearly known to God though it may be not fully evident to themselves before I have brought them into the land which I sware 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day and taught it the children of Israel 23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge and said * Josh. 1. 6. Be strong and of a good courage for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them d This wickedness of theirs which I now foresee and foretell shall not hinder me from bringing them into Canaan and I will be with thee 24 And it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished 25 That Moses commanded the Levites e i. e. The Priests ver 9. who also were Levites which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD saying 26 Take this book of the law and put it in the side f i. e. In the outside in a little chest fixed to it for nothing but the Tables of stone were contained in the Ark 1 King 8. 9. Here it was kept for greater security and reverence of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God that it may be there for a witness against thee g i. e. Against thy people to whom he here turns his speech that they might be more affected with it 27 For I know thy rebellion and thy stiff-neck behold while I am yet alive with you this day ye have been rebellious against the LORD and how much more after my death 28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes and your officers that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to record against them 29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt your selves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you and evil will befall you in the later dayes because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands 30 And Mosesspake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song until they were ended CHAP. XXXII 1 GIve * chap. 4. 36. 30. 19. Psal. 50. 4. Isa. 1. 2. Jer 2. 12. 6. 19. ear O ye heavens a Either 1. Angels and men Or 2. You lifeless and senceless creatures heaven and earth which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel that were more dull of hearing than these and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings and the justice of Gods proceedings against them and I will speak and hear O earth a Either 1. Angels and men Or 2. You lifeless and senceless creatures heaven and earth which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel that were more dull of hearing than these and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings and the justice of Gods proceedings against them the words of my mouth 2 * Isa. 55. 10 11. 1 Cor. 3. 6 7 8. My doctrine shall drop as the rain b Look what effect rain and dew have upon herbs and grass which they make fresh and fragrant and growing the same effect I may justly expect and hope that my discourse wil have upon your hearts i. e. to make them soft and pliable and fruitful Or this may be a prayer Let my doctrine drop c. O that it might do so that my discourse might not be lost upon you but be profitable to you the future tense of the indicative mood being put for the imperative mood as is usual my speech shall distill as the dew as the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grass 3 Because I will publish the Name of the LORD c i. e. His glorious excellencies and righteous and worthy actions by which he hath made himself known as a man is known by his name and by which it will appear both that there is no blame to be laid upon him whatsoever befals you and that it is gross madness to forsake such a God for dumb Idols and meer vanities ascribe ye greatness unto our God d As I am about to publish the great power and Majesty and glory of God so do you also own and acknowledge it as you have reason to do or do you attend to the words which God hath commanded me to speak to you in his Name with that diligence reverence and godly fear which the presence of so great and glorious a Majesty calls for 4 He is the rock e Or a rock as for the stability and everlastingness of his nature and invincibleness of his power so also for his fixedness and immutability in his counsels and promises and wayes so that if there shall be a sad change in your affairs from an high and prosperous to a calamitous and deplorable condition as there will be remember this proceeds from your selves and from the change of your ways and carriages towards God and not from God in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of change Iam. 1. 17. his work is perfect f All his works and actions are unblameable as being perfectly wise and righteous as it follows for all his wayes are judgment g All his administrations in the world and particularly all his dealings with you are managed with judgment and justice a God of truth h Constant to his promises you cannot accuse him of any levity or unfaithfulness towards you to this day and without iniquity just and right is he 5 †Heb. he hath corrupted to himself They i i. e. The Israelites as the following words manifest have corrupted themselves k This phrase sometimes in Scripture notes sin and sometimes destruction And so the sense may be either 1. Their wickedness is not from God but from themselves and their own choice they have wilfully and industriously depraved themselves and sold themselves to sin Or rather 2. Their destruction is not from God who is just and true c. as was now said but wholly and solely from themselves and from their own wickedness as it here follows ‖ Or that they are not his children that is their blot their spot is not the spot of his children l i. e. Their blemishes or sins are not committed through ignorance or frailty or surprizal as good men sometimes sin but they
that with good Success ‡ Heb. was heavy prevailed so that they became tributaries 36 And the coast of the Amorites was from ‖ Or Maaleakrabbim the going up to Akrabbim s Which was in the Southern part of Canaan Ios. 15. 2 3. from whence it went up towards the North. This is added to shew the great power and large extent of this people from the rock and upward CHAP. II. AND an ‖ Or Messengeâ—… angel of the LORD a Either First a Created Angel Or Secondly a Prophet or man of God for such are sometimes called Angels which signifies onely Messengers of God and then the following words are spoken by him in the Name of God as may easily be understood Or Thirdly Christ the Angel of the Covenant who is oft called the Angel of the Lord as we have formerly seen to whom the conduct of Israel out of Egypt and thorough the Wilderness and into Canaan here spoken of is frequently ascribed as Exod. 14. 19. and 23. 20. and 33. 14. Ios. 5. 13 14. Iudg. 6. 12. and 13. 3. Who alone of all the Angels could speak the following words in his own Name and Person whereas created Angels and Prophets do universally usher in their Divine Messages with Thus saith the Lord or some equivalent Expression And this Angel having assumed the outward shape of a Man it is not strange that he imitates the local motion of a Man and comes as it were from Gilgal to the place where now they were by which motion he signified that he was the person that brought them to Gilgal the first place where they rested in Canaan and there renewed Covenant with them and protected them there so long and from thence went out with them to Battel and gave them success came up from Gilgal to Bochim b A place so called here by Anticipation for the reason expressed here v. 5. And it seems to be no other than Shilo where it seems probable that the people were met together upon some solemn Festival And this was the proper and usual place of Sacrificing v. 5. and said I made you to go up out of Egypt and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers and I said c i. e. I promised upon condition of your keeping Covenant with me I will never break my covenant with you 2 And * Deut. 〈◊〉 ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land * Deut. 1â—… â—… you shall throw â—…wn their altars but ye have not obeyed my voice Why have ye done this d i. e. Disobeyed these express Commands of mine 3 Wherefore I also said e With my self I have now taken up this peremptory resolution I will not drive them out from before you but they shall be as thorns in your sides f See on Numb 33. 55. Ios. 23. 13. and their gods shall be a * Exod. 2â—… 〈◊〉 and 34 1â—… sâ—…are unto you 4 And it came to pass when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel that the people liâ—…t up their voice and wept g Some of them from a true sense of their sins but most of them from a just apprehension of their danger and approaching misery from the Canaanites growing Power and Gods forsaking of them as the following History makes most probable 5 And they called the name of that place ‖ That is â—…pers Bochim and they sacrificed h For the expiation of their sins by which they had provoked God to this resolution and for the regaining of Gods favour there unto the LORD 6 ¶ And when * Josh. 〈◊〉 Joshua had let the people go i When he had distributed their Inheritances and dismissed them severally to take Possession of them This was done before this time whilst Ioshua lived but is now repeated in order to the discovery of the time and cause or occasion of the Peoples defection from God and of Gods desertion of them the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 longed 〈◊〉 after 〈◊〉 out-lived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the LORD that he did for Israel 8 And * Josh. 〈◊〉 Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the LORD died being an hundred and ten years old 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres k Called Timnath-Sera Ios. 19. 50. and 24. 30. in the mount of Ephraim on the north-side of the hill Gaash 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers and there arose another generation after them which knew not l Which had no experimental nor serious and affectionate knowledge of God nor of his works the LORD nor yet the works which he had done for Israel 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD m Which notes the hainousness and the impudence of their sins above other peoples sins because Gods presence was with them and his eye upon them in a peculiar manner and he did narrowly observe all their actions which also they were not ignorant of and therefore were guilty of more contempt of God than other People and served Baalim n i. e. False gods He 〈◊〉 the Plural Number because the gods of the Canaanites and adjoyning Nations which Israel Worshipped were divers 〈◊〉 most of them called by the name of Baal 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers which brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods of the gods of 〈◊〉 people that 〈◊〉 round about them and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the LORD to anger 13 And they forsook the LORD and served â—…aal and Ashtaroth n â—… e. The 〈◊〉 and the Moon whom many Heathens 〈◊〉 thâ—…gh under divers names and so they ran into that Error which God had so expresly warned them aâ—…st Deut. 4. 19. 14 ¶ And the anger of the LORD was hot against 〈◊〉 and he delivered them into the hand of 〈◊〉 that spoiled them and 〈◊〉 â—…4 1â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… sold them o i. e. Delivered them up as the seller doth his Commodities unto the buyer Thus the same Phrase is used Iudg. 3. â—… and 4. 9. comp with v. 14. Psal. 44. 13. into the hand of their enemies round about so that they could not any longer stand before their Enemies 15 Whithersoever they went out p i. e. Whatsoever expedition or business they undertook which is usually signified by going out and coming in the hand of the LORD was against them for evil as the LORD had said and 〈◊〉 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the LORD had sworn unto them and they were greatly distressed 16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up q By inward
Jer. 〈◊〉 2. fear not f i. e. Do not serve or worship them the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell but ye have not obeyed my voice 11 ¶ And there came an angel of the LORD and fate under an oak which was in Ophrah g To wit in Manasseh for there was another Ophrah in Benjamin Ios. 18. 23. that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite h Of the Posterity of Abiezer of whom see Ios. 17. 2. 1 Chron. 7. 18. See Iudg. 8. 27 32. and his son Heb. 11. 32. called Gideon Gideon threshed wheat i Not with Oxen as the manner was Deut. 25. 4. but with a staff to prevent discovery by the winepress k In the place where the Winepress stood not in the common floor ‡ Heb. to cause it to flee to hide it from the Midianites 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him and said unto him The LORD is with thee l i. e. Will assist thee against thine and mine Enemies thou mighty man of valour m To whom I have given strength and courage for this end 13 And Gideon said unto him Oh my lord if the LORD be with us why then is all this befaln us and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of saying Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt but now the LORD hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites 14 And the LORD looked upon him n With a setled and pleasant countenance as a testimony of his favour to him and of his readiness to help him and said Sam. 12. 11. Heb. 11. 32. Go in this thy might o Or go now or at this time in thy might the strength which thou hast already received and dost now further receive from me is sufficient with my help and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites have not I sent thee p I do hereby give thee command and commission for this Work and therefore am obliged in Honour to Assist thee in it 15 And he said unto him Oh my lord wherewith shall I save Israel behold ‡ Heb. my thousand iâ—… the meanest my family q Heb. my thousand for the Tribes were distributed into several thousands whereof each thousand had his peculiar Governour is poor r i. e. Weak and contemptible in Manasseh and I am the least s Either for Age or for Wisdome and fitness for so great a Work in my fathers house 16 And the LORD said unto him Surely I will be with thee and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man t As easily as if they were all but one man or thou shalt destroy them to a man as he did Iudges 8. 17 And he said unto him If now I have found grace in thy sight then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me u That it is thou to wit an Angel or Messenger sent from God that appears to me and discourseth with me and not a Phancy or Delusion that thou art in truth what thou seemest and prerendest to be v. 12. Or a sign of that which thou talkest with me i. e. That thou wilt'st by me smite the Midianites 18 Depart not hence I pray thee until I come unto thee and bring forth my ‖ Or meat-offering present x Not a Sacrifice because neither was Gideon a Priest not was this the place of Sacrifice nor was any Altar here nor was there any such Sacrifice as here follows appointed by God but a repast or some food for the Angel which he thought to be a man as appears by v. 22. Compare Iudg. 13. 15. and Gen. 18. 5. and set it before thee y That thou maist eat and refresh thy self And he said I will tarry until thou come again 19 ¶ And Gideon went in and made ready ‡ Heb. a kid of the goats a kid and unleavened cakes of an Ephah of flour z To wit out of the choicest part of a whole Ephah as also he brought to him the best part of a Kid dressed for a whole Ephah and a whole Kid had been very superfluous and improper to provide for and set before one man the flesh he put in a basket and he put the broth in a pot and brought it out unto him under the oak and presented it 20 And the angel of God said unto him Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth And he did so ¶ 21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes and * Levit. 9. 24 there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes a By which he shewed himself to be no man that needed such Provisions but a true Angel of God or the Son of God and by this instance of his Omnipotency gave him assurance that he both could and would consume the Midianites then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight 22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD Gideon said Alas b I am an undone man I must dye and that speedily for that he feared v. 23. according to the common opinion in that case of which see Gen. 16. 13. and 32. 30. Exod. 33. 20. Deut. 5. 25 26. O LORD God * Exod. 33. 2. Chap. 13. 22. for because c Or for therefore c. i. e. Therefore God hath shewed me this sight as a presage of my death I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face 23 And the LORD said unto him d By inward suggestion rather than in a visible Apparition Peace be unto thee e Thou shalt receive no hurt by this Vision as thou fearest but only peace i. e. all the blessings needful for thy own happiness and for the present work for this is a very comprehensive Phrase among the Hebrews fear not thou shalt not dye 24 Then Gideon built an altar there f To wit on the top of the Rock as is evident from v. 20. and especially from v. 26. where that which is here expressed onely in general and by anticipation is more particularly described according to the usage of the Scripture unto the LORD and called it ‖ That is the Lord send peace â—…ehovah-shalom g i. e. The Lords peace the sign or witness of Gods speaking Peace to me and to his People or the place where he spake Peace to me when I expected nothing but Destruction unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites 25 ¶ And it came to pass the same night that the LORD said unto him Take thy fathers young bullock ‖ Or and even the second bullock h Thus there was but one Bullock which was young
Word implies Whereby he also intimates That he would not be so rigid and severe towards them as to mark every thing that was amiss but would bear with much as he did in David c. onely that â—…e would not endure a total defection from him ye or your children and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you but go and serve other gods and worship them 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them and this house which I have hallowed * â—…er 7. 15. for my name will I cast out of my sight l I will not regard it I will take away my Protection and gracious Presence from it and Israel shall be a proverb m Their Miseries shall be named Proverbially to express extreme Calamities See Deut. 28. 37. and a by-word among all people 8 And at this house which is high n i. e. Exalted in its Priviledges Glorious and Renowned The Particle which is oft understood and is here fitly supplied out of 2 Chron. 7. 21. where it is expressed every one that passeth by it shall be astonished o At its unexpected and wonderful Ruine and shall hiss p By way of Contempt and Derision See Ier. 19. 8. and 49. 17. and 50. 13. and they shall say * Deut. 29. 24. â—…er 22. 8. Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land and to this house 9 And they shall answer Because they forsook the LORD their God who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshipped them and served them therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil 10 ¶ And * 2 Chro. 8. 1. it came to pass at the end of twenty years * Chap. 6. 37 38. 7. 1. when Solomon had built the two houses the house of the LORD and the kings house 11 Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees and with gold according to all his desire that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee p Or near as Beth oft signifies as hath been proved before the Land of Galilee bordering upon it in those parts which were near and adjoyning to Hiram's Dominions with the Cities understand the Lands and Territories belonging to them Quest. How could Solomon give away any part of that Land wherein the People had a Right by a Divine Lot and God had a Right as being the onely Proprietary of it upon which ground the total Alienation of it or any part of it was forbidden Levit. 25. 23 Answ. 1. It is not said that he gave them away wholly and for ever but he might Assign them to him onely for a time until he was fully satisfied for his Debt 2. If these Cities were possessed by Israelites Solomon did not give him their particular Possessions but onely his own Royalties over them and all the Profits he received from them which were very considerable as may be gathered from that passage Chap. 12. 4. 3. These Cities though they were within those large bounds which God fixed to the Land of Promise Gen. 15. 18. Ios. 1. 4. yet were not within those parts which were distributed by Lot in Ioshua's time nor belonging to the Tribe of Asher as some suppose as may be gathered both from Iosh. 19. ver 27. where their border is said to go out onely to the Land of Cabul to wit exclusively and ver 30. where all their Cities are said to be but twenty and two and from 2 Chron. 8. 2. where it is said of those Cities when Hiram restored them That Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there Which makes it more than probable that these Cities were not Inhabited by Israelites but by Canaanites or other Heathens who being Subdued and Extirpated by David or Solomon those Cities became a part of their Dominion and at their Disposal and afterwards were reckon'd a part of Galilee as Iosephus notes And may be one reason why he gave these rather than other Cities because they were in his power to give when others were not 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him and they ‡ Heb. were not right in his eyes pleased him not q He did not accept them for satisfaction because the Cities were out of repair as appears from ver 13. and the Soyl not good in his Eyes and therefore he refused them 2 Chron. 8. 2. and expected and doubtless had satisfaction some other way as may be gathered from the following Story 13 And he said What cities are these which thou hast given me my brother And he called them the land of ‖ That is displeasing or dirty Cabul r i. e. Of dirt as most interpret it Not that it was a barren Soyl as some imagine for they who describe those parts commend them as Fruitful nor would Solomon have made him so unworthy a return but because it was not pleasant nor agreeable to his nor to his Peoples humour because though the Land was very good yet being a thick and stiff Clay and therefore requiring great pains to Manure and Improve it it was very unsuitable to the disposition of the Tyrians who were Delicate and Lazy and Luxurious and wholly given to Merchandise unto this day 14 And Hiram sent s Or rather for Hiram had sent And this seems to be here added both to declare the quantity of the Gold sent which had been onely named before ver 11. and as the reason why he resented Solomon's Action so ill because so great a Sum required a better Recompence to the king sixscore talents of gold 15 ¶ And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised t Both the Levy of Men of which Chap. 5. 13. and the Levy of Money upon his People and Subjects which is sufficiently evident from many Scriptures And this Sentence may look both backward and forward He raised this Levy both to pay what he owed to Hiram which is mentioned before and to Build the Works here following for to build the house of the LORD and his own house and Millo u It seems to have been an eminent and large and strong Fort or Castle in Ierusalem as may be gathered from 1 King 11. 27. 2 Chron. 32. 5. and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor x In Napthali See Iosh. 11. 10. and 19. 36. and Megiddo y In that part of the Tribe of Manasseh within Iordan of which see Iosh. 17. 15. and Gezer z In Ephraim Iosh. 21. 21. It now was and long had been in the possession of the Canaanites Iosh. 16. 10. Iudg. 1. 29. and permitted so to be by David and Solomon either by neglect or because they were busied in greater and more necessary Employments 16
very young when his Father was slain and the people were not agreed to restore him to his right till his 16th Year chap. 14. 21. 2 Chr. 26. 1. And yet these 11 or 12 Years of inter-Reign in which he was excluded from the exercise of his Regal office some think to be included in those 52 Years which are here ascribed to Azariah's Reign ver 2. which may well be doubted ‡ Heb. reigned began Azariah b Called also Uzziah here and v. 13 30. son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign c Solely and fully to exercise his Regal power 2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign and he reigned two and fifty years d Besides the sixteen Years of his minority last mentioned in Jerusalem and his mothers name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done e i. e. In the same manner unsincerely and but for a time 4 Save that f Understand this as howbeit chap. 14. 4. the high places were not removed the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places 5 ¶ And the LORD * 2 Chr. 26. 19. smote the king so that he was a leper g The cause whereof see 2 Chron. 26. 16. unto the day of his death and dwelt in a several house h Separated from conversation with others by vertue of that Law Lev. 13. 46. which being the Law of the King of kings bound kings no less than subjects and Jotham the kings son was over the house judging the people of the land i i. e. He governed the Kings Court and whole Kingdom in his name and as his Vicegerent 6 And the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah 7 So Azariah slept with his fathers and * 2 Chr. â—…6 〈◊〉 they buried him with his fathers in the city of David and Jotham his son reigned in his stead 8 ¶ In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah k Of which see the Note on ver 2. did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD as his fathers had done he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh l One of his chief Captains conspired against him and * Job 34. â—…6 Amos 7. 9. smote him before the people m Openly and impudently which he presumed to do either because he remembred that the promise of the Kingdom made to Iehu was confined to the fourth Generation chap. 10. 30. which he observed to be now expired or because he perceived that the people were generally disaffected to their King and favourable to his attempt and slew him and reigned in his stead 11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel 12 This was * Chap 〈◊〉 the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu saying Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation And so it came to pass 13 ¶ Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calâ—…ed 〈◊〉 Uzziah king of Judah and he reigned ‡ Heb. 〈◊〉 of days a full month in Samaria 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and slew him and reigned in his stead 15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he made behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel 16 ¶ Then Menahem smote Tiphsah n Either that Tiphsah mentioned 1 King 4. 24. or another City of that name and all that were therein and the coasts thereof from Tirzah o i. e. All the people dwelling between Tirzah and Tiphsah because they opened not to him p Because they refused to open the Gates of their City to him and to submit to him as Conqueror therefore he smote it and all * Chap. 〈◊〉 the women therein that were with child he ript up q That by this example of severity he might affright all the rest of the people into obedience 17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria 18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin 19 And * 1 Chr. 〈◊〉 Isa. 9. 1. Pul the king of Assyria r Called by Heathen Anâ—…hors Pul-Belochus who by the help of Arbaces the Mede vanquished Sardanapalus the last Monarch of Assyria and translated the Kingdom to Chaldaea and was the first King of Babylon and Assyria Arbaces being made King of the Medes and Persians came against the land s To wit of Israel as the context shews and Menahem gave t i. e. Agreed or promised to give as the next Verse explains it Pul a thousand talents of silver that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand u That he might assist him against all that did or should oppose him By which it appears that his cruelty to Tiphsah was so far from establishing him as he expected that it weakned and endangered him so far that he was forced to call in a Foreign Prince to his aid 20 And Menahem ‡ Heb. caused to come forth exacted the money of Israel even of all the mighty men of wealth of each man x i. e. Of each of those wealthy Israelites But as each of these were not equally Wealthy so it is not probable that he taxed them equally Others therefore render it to or for each man i. e. for every Assyrian Soldier which Interpretation is favoured by the placing of the words in the Hebrew Text which differs from that in our Translation fifty shekels of silver to give to the king of Assyria so the king of Assyria turned back and stayed not there in the land 21 ¶ And the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel 22 And Menahem slept with his fathers and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead 23 ¶ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria and reigned two years 24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam
had said by all his servants the prophets So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day 24 ¶ And the king of Assyria l Either Shalmanezer or rather his Son and Successor Esarhaddon Ezra 4. 2. because this was a work oâ—… some time and as his Father had projected and possibly began this so he executed or finished it whence it is ascribed to him rather than to his Father brought men from Babylon m Which then was subject to the Assyrian Monarch but a few years after revolted from him and set up another King as appears both from sacred and profane Histories and from Cuthah and from Ana and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim n Several places then in his Dominion and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel and they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof 25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the LORD ‖ They did not acknowledg nor worship God in any sort therefore o For this gross neglect and contempt of God which was contrary to the Principles and Practises of the Heathens who used to worship the Gods of the Nations where they lived and gave that honour to their false gods which here they denied to the true Hereby also God asserted his own right and soveraignty over that land and made them to understand that neither the Israelites were cast out nor they brought into that land by their valour or strength but by God's Providence who as he had cast the Israelites out for their neglect of God's service so both could and would in his due time turn them out also if they were guilty of the same sins the LORD sent lions among them which slew some of them 26 Wherefore they spake p i. e. They wrote or sent messengers to him for relief to the king of Assyria saying The nations which thou hast removed and placed in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of the God of the land q They supposed the true God to be like one of their Topical Deities who had their particular Countries and Provinces allotted to them therefore he hath sent lions among them and behold they slay them because they know not the manner of the God of the land 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded saying Carry thither one of the priests r i. e. One of the chief of the Priests with others to be under his inspection and direction as may be gathered from the following words where it is said of the same person or persons let them go c. and then let him teach c. Nor is it probable that one Priest could suffice for the instruction of the Inhabitants of so many and distant parts whom ye brought from thence and let them go and dwell there and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD s i. e. The manner of God's Worship as it was practised in Israel as may be gathered both from the quality of this person who was an Israelitish Priest and from the place of his residence Bethel a place infamous for the worship of the Calves and from the manner of their making Priests by this man's direction ver 32. 29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own t Or worshipped as that Verb is sometimes used of which see Exod. 32. 35. i. e. those whom they worshipped in the places from whence they came whose names here follow and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans u i. e. The former People or Inhabitants not of the City but of the Kingdom of Samaria had made every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt 30 And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth and the men of Cuth made Nergal and the men of Hamath made Ashima 31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim 32 So they feared the LORD and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places x See the Notes on 1 Kings 12. 31. which sacrificed for them y To wit unto the true God For as to the worship of their own gods they needed no instruction and would not permit a person of another Religion to minister therein in the houses of the high places 33 * 〈◊〉 1â—… They feared the LORD z They worshipped God externally in that way which the Israelites used and served their own gods after the manner of the nations ‖ 〈◊〉 â—…ho carâ—… 〈◊〉 away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whom they carried away from thence a These words belong either 1. to both the foregoing branches and to the Israelites and then the sense is They trod in the steps of their predecessors the Israelites who in regard of their several Tribes are both here and elswhere called Nations who did many of them worship both God in their Calves and Baal too Or 2. to the last branch onely but then the words must be otherwise rendred they served their own gods after the manner of the Nations from which they brought or carried them or from whence they these new Inhabitants were brought i. e. each of them served the god of the country or place whence he was brought as is related above ver 30 31. But these Nations could not so properly be said to be carried away or to be carried away captive as this Hebrew word signifies as the Israelites and therefore the former interpretation seems more proper 34 Unto this day they b Either 1. the Samaritans whose Religion he hath hitherto been describing and to the description whereof he reâ—… ver 41. So the following Verses are a digression wherein he designs onely to take an occasion to compare them with the Israelites and to aggravate the sins of the Israelites above theirs which he doth ver 35 c. and then returns to the former description ver 31. Or rather 2. The Israelites who are the principal Subjects of this whole Discourse and of whom he unquestionably speaks ver 35. and thence to ver 41. of whom also the last words of ver 33. are to be understood and from thence he takes an occasion to return to his main business to relate and aggravate the sins of Israel and thereby to justifie his severe proceedings against them to all the World So the sense of the place is this As the Israelites before their captivity gave these Nations an ill Example in serving the Lord and Baal together so or after their former manner they do unto this day in the land of their captivity do after the former manners they fear not the LORD c Though they
pretended to fear and serve both the Lord and Idols yet in truth they did not and do not fear or worship the Lord but their own Calves or other vain inventions And God will not accept that mongrel and false Worship which they pretend to give to the true God Or this may intimate that the Israelites were worse than their Successors because these feared the Lord and Idols too but they did quite cast off the fear and worship of God in their captivity and wholly degenerated into Heathenish Idolatry neither do they after their statutes d i. e. God's Law delivered to their Fathers and to them as their Inheritance Psal. 119. 111. This is alledged as an Evidence that they did not fear the Lord whatsoever they pretended because they lived in the constant breach of his statutes or after their ordinances or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob e i. e. Themselves the Noun put for the Pronoun which is usual among the Hebrews * Gen. 32. 28. and 35. 10. whom he named Israel f A Name signifying his special interest in God and power with him which was given to him not onely for himself but for his Posterity also whom God frequently honours with that Name And by this great favour he aggravates their sin 35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant g Containing many precious promises upon the condition here following see Gen 17. 7. Exod. 19. 5. and 24. 7. and charged them saying * Judg. 6. 10. Ye shall not fear other gods nor bow your selves to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them 36 But the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm him shall ye fear him shall ye worship and to him shall ye do sacrifice 37 And the statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment which he wrote for you ye shall observe to do for evermore and ye shall not fear other gods 38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget neither shall ye fear other gods 39 But the Lord your God h i. e. God above as the whole context shews ye shall fear and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies i And therefore you have no pretence of need to go to other gods for relief 40 Howbeit they did not hearken but they did after their former manner 41 So k i. e. In like manner and after their example these nations l Who came in their stead feared the LORD and served their graven images both their children and their childrens children as did their fathers so do they unto this day CHAP. XVIII NOw it came to pass in the third year a In the third of those nine years mentioned chap. 17. 1. of which see there See below ver 10. of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel that * 2 Chron. 28 2â—… and 29. 1. He is called Ezekias Mat. 1. 9. Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign 2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign b How is this credible For then Ahaz who lived but Six and Thirty years chap. 16. 2. must beget Hezekiah at the Eleventh year of his Age. Ans. 1. There are some like instances mentioned by credible Authors which these very men will not deny who are so ready to quarrel with the holy Scriptures for such matters 2. This being the confessed custom of sacred and other Writers in the numbring of years sometimes to omit and sometimes to add those which are imperfect or unfinished And so Ahaz might be near One and twenty years old when he began to reign and near Seventeen years older when he died And on the other side Hezekiah when he began to reign might be onely Four and Twenty years old compleat and but entred into his Five and Twentieth year And thus Ahaz might be between Thirteen and Fourteen years old when he got Hezechiah which is not at all strange especially in that Nation to which God had promised a singular degree of Fruitfulness and in that House of David to which God had made so many and such great Promises 3. It is not certain that Ahaz lived onely Thirty six years for those Sixteen Years which he Reigned Chap. 16. 2. may be computed not from the first beginning of his Reign when he Reigned with his Father of which see the notes on Chap. 15. 30. which was at the Twentieth Year of his Age but from the beginning of his Reign alone 4. Some affirm That Hezekiah was not the Natural but onely the Legal Son and Successor of Ahaz for the name of Son is given in Scripture to such Persons as 1 Chron. 3. 16. comp with 2 King 24. 17. Matt. 1. 12. compared with Ier. 22. 30. and to Adopted Sons Act. 7. 21. Heb. 11. 24. And to Sons in Law 1 Sam. 24. 16. and 26. 17. Luk. 3. 23. Any of these Solutions are far more credible to any man of common prudence than that these Sacred Books whose Divine Original hath been so fully Evidenced both by God and Men are but the Fictions and Contrivances of a base Impostor And if none of these Solutions were sufficient it is absurd to conclude That a true Resolution 〈◊〉 be found because it is not yet found because it is 〈◊〉 That many difficulties both in Scripture and in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were formerly judged Insoluble have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore we may justly expect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Difficulties which may be thought 〈◊〉 Explained and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem his mothers name also was Abi the daughter of Zachariah c Or Abiah 2 Chron. 29. 1. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD according to all that which David his father did 4 * 2 Chro. 31. â—… ¶ He removed the high places d i. e. The most of them or such as the people most frequented for all were not taken away Chap. 23. 13 14. And this he attempted to do notwithstanding the peoples great and constant Affection to them partly because he had more Zeal and Courage than his Predecessors and partly because the Dreadful Judgments of God upon the Kingdom of Israel for their Superstition and Idolatry had made the People of Iudah more pliable to the Commands of God and of their good King and brake the †images and cut down the groves and brake ‡ Heb. Staâ—…es in pieces the * Numb 21. 9. brazen serpent that Moses had made e By God's Command to be an Ordinance or mean for the conveyance of God's Blessing to the People which therefore had been hitherto kept as a Memorial of God's Mercy but being now commonly abused to Superstition was destroyed for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it f Not
this Relation ver 9. That when he heard of Tirhakah he sent messengers to Hezekiah pretending as if he would forthwith come against him but it is not said that he did so nor is it set down what he did with Tirhakah because the Design of the Sacred Writer was onely to write the History of the Iewish Nation not of others but onely with respect to them Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves and in the second year that which springeth of the same and in the third year z This was an excellent Sign for it was miraculous especially considering the waste and havock which the Assyrians had made in the Land and that the Iews had been forced to retire into their strong Hold and consequently to neglect their Tilling and Sowing and Reaping and yet this Year they should have sufficient Provision from those Fruits of the Earth which the Assyrian left and the Second Year which probably was the Year of Release in which they might neither Sow nor Reap from such Fruits as the Earth brought forth of its own accord and so in the Third Year sow ye and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruits thereof a You shall not Sow and another Reap as lately you did but you shall Enjoy the Fruit of your own Labours 30 And ‡ Heb. the escaping of the House of judah that remaineth the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward and bear fruit upward b i. e. Shall increase and multiply greatly A Metaphor from Planâ—… Comp. Iob 29. 19. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant c That handful of Iews who now were gathered together and shut up in Ierusalem shall go out to their several Habitations and by my singular Blessing increase exceedingly and ‡ Heb. the escaping they that escape out of mount Sion d The same thing expressed in other words which is usual in the Hebrew Language * 〈◊〉 9. 7. the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this Although when you reflect upon your selves and consider either your present fewness and weakness or your great unworthiness this may seem too great a Blessing for you to expect or believe yet God will do it from the zeal which he hath both for his own Name to Vindicate it from the Blasphemous Reproaches of the Assyrians and for the good of his undeserving People 32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria He shall not come into this city nor shoot an arrow there nor come before it with shield nor cast a bank against it e Which was true though he sent Rabshakeh and others with a great Host against Ierusalem Chap. 18. 17. Either because that Host went away with Rabshakeh to Libnah above ver 8. Or rather because that Army did not form a close Siege against it but onely Marched towards it and disposed themselves so as to block it up at some distance possibly waiting till the King of Assyria had taken Libnah and Lachish which they presumed he would speedily do and should come up with the rest of his Forces when they intended to fall more vigorously to their work 33 By the way that he came by the same shall he return f Whereas he expected to devour the Kingdom of Iudah at one Morsel and then to proceed further and to Conquer Egypt or other Neighbouring Countries and as it is said of him and concerning this very time and design Isa. 10. 7. To cut off nations not a few he shall meet with so sad a disappointment and rebuke here that he shall make haste to return with shame to his own Country and shall not come into the city saith the LORD 34 For * Chap. 20. 6. I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake and * 1 King 11. 1â—… 13. for my servant David's sake g For my Promise and Covenants-sake made with David concerning the Stability and Eternity of his Kingdom See 1 King 11. 12 13. 35 ¶ And * 〈◊〉 37. 36. it came to pass that night h Either 1. In the Night following this Message of the Prophet to Hezekiah Or 2. In that famous Night when God Destroyed the Assyrians it was done in this manner For such Expressions are oft used of an indefinite and uncertain time as that day is frequently taken as Isa. 4. 1. and 26. 1. and 27. 1 c. that the angel of the LORD went out and smote i With Pestilence or some other sudden and Mortal stroke in the camp of the Assyrians k Either before Libnah or in some other place near Ierusalem where they were Encamped an hundred fourscore and five thousand and when they arose early in the morning behold they were all dead corpses 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed l Whom God spared not in Mercy but in Wrath reserving him to a more dreadful and shameful Death by the hands of his own Children and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh 37 And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword and they escaped into the land of ‡ Heb. Ararat Armenia m Which was a place most fit for their purpose because it was near to that part of Assyria and was very Mountainous and inaccessible by Armies and the people more stout and warlike and constant Enemies to the Assyrians and * Ezra 4. 2. Esarhaddon n Who sent great supplies to his new Colony in Samaria Ezra 4. 2. fearing it seems lest Hezekiah should improve the last great advantage to disturb his new Conquests there his son reigned in his stead CHAP. XX. IN * 2 Ch 32. 24. Isa. 3â—… 1. those days a i. e. In that Year of the Assyrian Invasion as is manifest from hence that that was in Hezekiah's 14th Year chap. 18. 13. and God now added 15 Years more to him chap. 20. 6. and yet Hezekiah Reigned onely 29 Years in all chap. 18. 2. And this happened Either First After the destruction of Sennacherib's Army Or Secondly Before it as may be thought from v. 6. where he speaks of his deliverance from the King of Assyria as a future thing It is true that when Hezekiah received that insolent Message from the Assyrian he was in health and went into the Temple to pray ch 19. 14. but there might be time more than enough for this sickness and recovery between that threatning and this destruction of the Assyrian was Hezekiah sick unto death and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him Thus saith the LORD ‡ Heb. Give charge concerning thine house Set thine house in order b Take care to make thy Will and to settle the Affairs of thy Family and Kingdom which
the same power seems to have been continued and some kind of League made between the King of Babylon and Manasseh who thereupon was restored to his Kingdom 2 Chron 33. 13. and after him Iosiah who therefore was so zealous in his quarrel against the King oâ—… Egypt 2 Chron. 35. 20 c. Or Fourthly He did it in purseance of God's prediction concerning this action 1 King 13. 2. which in a matter so good and so agreeable to God's wiâ—… and word as the extirpation of Idolatry unquestionably was had the force of a warrant or command upon him to do it as God's prediction of the Conversion of the Gentiles by the Messias was a command to his Apostles to Preach to them Act. 13. 47. and the high place * 1 〈◊〉 which Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin had made both that altar and the high place z Which seems to have been some little Temple or House erected for that Worship or for the Priests attending upon it he brake down and burnt the high place and stampt it small to powder and burnt the grove 16 And as Josiah turned himself a Iosiah's care and zeal was so great that he would not trust his Officers with these things but would see them done with his own Eyes he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount and sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres and burnt them upon the altar and polluted it according to the * 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed who proclaimed these words b 300 years before it was done 17 Then he said What title is that that I see c It was the manner then as now it is to set up little Pillars or Stones by or upon the Graves of the higher sort of Men upon which the name of the Person and some Remarkable passages relating to him were Engraven And the men of the city told him It is the sepulchre of * 〈◊〉 13. the man of God which came from Judah and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el 18 And he said Let him alone let no man move his bones so they let his bones ‡ 〈◊〉 escape alone with the bones of * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 13. the prophet that came d Which were now mixed together out of Saâ—…aria e The place of his Birth or former abode though now he were in Bethel 1 Sam. 13. 11. 19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria f By what Authority he did this see on ver 15. which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger Josiah took away and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el 20 And he ‖ 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 11. 18. slew all the priests of the high places g Either 1. The Priests which Ieroboam had made of the meanest of the People whom he â—…ew both for their Preâ—… Usurpation of that Sacred Office which of it self â—…as Punishable with Death by God's Law 〈◊〉 3. 10. and for their Idolatry Or rather 2. The Priests of Baalim by comparing this Verse with the former where speaking of these same High Places he â—…oth not say which Ieroboam made as is usual when he speaks of the High Places of the Calves but which the other kings of Israel made who were divers of them Worshippers of Baal and by considering the Parallel place 2 Chron. 34. 4. where it is said they brake down the altars of Baalim c. By this Relation it appears and from the nature of the thing and common practise in like cases it is more than probable that after the departure of the King of Assyria divers of the Israelites who had retired to other parts and kept themselves out of the Conquerors hands returned together with their Priests to their own Land and to their old trade of Worshipping Idols to whom peradventure they ascribed this their Deliverance from that Judgment which Iehovah had brought upon them that were there upon the altars h According to that Famous Prophecy 1 King 13. 1 2. and burnt mens bones upon them and returned to Jerusalem 21 ¶ And the king commanded all the people saying * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Keep the passover i Having abolished False Worship he now endeavours to set up the True Worship of the True God unto the LORD your God * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it is written in this book of the covenant k In this Book which I have found wherein is contained the Covenant made between God and Israel and the terms of it 22 Surely there was not holden such a passover l i. e. Celebrated with such Solemn care and great Preparation and numerous Sacrifices 2 Chron. 35. 7 8 9. and universal Joy of all good men which was much the greater because of their remembrance of the former wicked and miserable times under Manasseh and Amon and the good hopes they now had of the happy Establishment of their Nation and the True Religion and of the prevention of God's Judgments denounced against them from the days of the judges m Or from the days of Samuel the last of the Judges as it is expressed 2 Chron. 35. 18. None of the Kings had taken such care to prepare themselves the Priests and People and accurately to observe all the Rites and diligently to purge out all uncleanness and to renew their Covenant with God so solemnly as Iosiah now did that judged Israel nor in all the days of the kings of Israel nor of the kings of Judah 23 But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem 24 ¶ Moreover the workers with familiar spirits and the wizards n Of which see on Levit. 19. 31. and 20. 27. Numb 22. 5. Deut. 18. 11. and the ‖ 〈◊〉 images and the idols and all the abominations o Three words noting the same thing to shew That all the Instruments and Monuments of Idolatry were Destroyed as God had Commanded that were spied p i. e. All that were discovered not onely such as were in the place and state of Worship but such as their Priests or Zealotâ—… had removed and indeavoured to hide and secure in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem did Josiah put away that he might perform the words of * 〈◊〉 â—…0 27. 〈◊〉 18. 11. the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD 25 And * Chap. 18. â—… like unto him was there no king before him q To wit for his diligent Study in God's Law and 〈◊〉 exact Care and unwearied Industry and fervent Zeal in rooting out of Idolaters and all kinds and appearances of Idolatry not onely
in reference to unreasonable Creatures as 1 King 17. 4. Amos 9. 3. who are not properly capable of a Command or of Obedience to devour the land or if I send pestilence among my people 14 If my people †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my 〈◊〉 is tâ—…sted which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I heat from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land 15 Now * Ch. 6. 42 mine eyes shall be open and mine ears attent †Heb. 〈◊〉 prayer of this plaâ—…e unto the prayer that is made in this place i Or that shall be made in or towards this Place for he speaks of the Answers which he will give to the Prayers which shall be made here Heb. Of this Place 16 For now have * Ch. 6. 5. I chosen and sanctified this house k Of this Verse and the rest of this Chapter see the Notes on 1 King 9. 3 c. that my name may be there for ever and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually 17 And as for thee if thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked and do according to all that I have commanded thee and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments 18 Then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom according as I have covenanted with David thy father saying * 〈…〉 †〈…〉 There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel 19 * Lev. 26. â—…4 33. Deut. 28 â—…5 36 37. But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you and shall go and serve other gods and worship them 20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them and this house which I have sanctified for my name will I cast out of my sight and will make it to be a proverb and a by-word among all nations 21 And this house which is high shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it so that he shall say * Deut. 29 â—… Jeâ—… 22. 〈◊〉 Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land and unto this house 22 And it shall be answered Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them and served them therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them CHAP. VIII 1 AND * Kin 9. 10 it came to pass at the end of twenty years wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house 2 That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon a Which Solomon gave to Hiram who not being pleased with them 1 Kin. 9. 12 13. here returns them to him again Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there 3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and prevailed against it 4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness b Of this and the following Verses see on 1 King 9. 18 c. and all the store-cities which he built in Hamath 5 Also he built Beth-horon the upper and Beth-horon the nether fenced cities with walls gates and bars 6 And Baalath and all the store-cities that Solomon had and all the chariot cities and the cities of the horsemen and †〈…〉 all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and throughout all the land of his dominion 7 As for all the people that were left of the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites which were not of Israel 8 But of their children who were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel consumed not them did Solomon make to pay tribute unto this day 9 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work but they were men of war and chief of his captains and captains of his chariots and horsemen 10 And these were the chief of king Solomons officers even two hundred and fifty that bare rule over the people 11 And Solomon * 〈…〉 brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her for he said My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel because the places are †〈…〉 holy whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come c Not because every place where once the Ark came was thereby consecrated to God and might not after the Ark was gone be put to any common use for then both the House of Obed-edom and all other places where the Ark either rested or passed were made Holy thereby and unlawful for Men to dwell in but either 1. Because she was a Woman and attended by many other Women who besides the common Pollutions of all are subject to many and frequent Ceremonial Pollutions peculiar to their Sex and either she or at least many of her followers might be Heathens at this time and therefore he thought it indecent that such persons should come as it were in Gods stead and succeed him in the place where he had dwelt Or 2. He speaks not of the Time when the Ark was gone but whilest it was there and these words contain a Reason not of the more remote words why he now brought her up thither but of the words immediately preceding why he built this House for her because the Ark was now in the House of David which therefore ought to be kept pure and free from the very Danger and Appearance of Pollution 12 Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD which he had built before the porch 13 Even after a certain rate every * 〈◊〉 29. 38. day-offering according to the commandment of Moses on the sabbaths and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts * 〈◊〉 23. 14. 〈◊〉 16. 16. three times in a year even in the feast of unleavened bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of tabernacles 14 And he appointed according to the order of David his father the * â—… Chr. 24. 1. courses of the priests to their service and * â—… Chr. 25. 1. the Levites to their charges to praise and minister before the priests as the duty of every day required the * 1 Chr. 9. 17. 26. 1. porters also by their courses at every gate for †Heb. so was the commandment of David the man of God so had David the man of God d i. e. A Prophet inspired by God in these Matters whose Commands therefore are the Commands of God commanded 15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasures 16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared e All the Materials were procured
and in all points squared and fitted and compleated before hand unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD and until it was finished so the house of God was perfected 17 Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber f Of this and the next Verse see the Notes on 1 King 9. 26 c. and to ‖ Or Elath Deut. 2. 8 Eloth at the sea-side in the land of Edom. 18 And Huram sent him by the hand of his servants ships and servants that had knowledge of the sea and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought them to king Solomon CHAP. IX 1 ANd * 1 Kin. 10. 1 c. Mat. 12. 42. Luke 11. 31. when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon she came to prove Solomon a Almost all this Chapter is contained in 1 King 10. where it is explained with hard questions at Jerusalem with a very great company and camels that bare spices and gold in abundance and precious stones and when she was come to Solomon she communed with him of all that was in her heart 2 And Solomon told her all her questions and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built 4 And the meat of his table and the fitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel his ‖ Or butlers cup-bearers also and their apparel and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD there was no spirit in her 5 And she said to the king It was a true †Heb. word report which I heard in mine own land of ‖ Or sayings thine acts and of thy wisdom 6 Howbeit I believed not their words until I came and mine eyes had seen it and behold the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me for thou exceedest the same that I heard 7 Happy are thy men and happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom 8 Blessed be the LORD thy God which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne to be king for the LORD b i. e. In the Lords Name and Stead both in general because all Kings have and hold their Kingdoms from God and act as his Vicegerents and Deputies and in a special manner because he sat in Gods own Throne and ruled over Gods Peculiar People and diâ—… in a singular and eminent manner maintain the Honour and Worship of God in his Land and in the Eyes of all the World besides thy God because thy God loved Israel to establish them for ever therefore made he thee king over them to do judgment and justice 9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold and of spices great abundance and precious stones neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon 10 And the servants also of Huram and the servants of Solomon which brought gold from Ophir brought algum-trees and precious stones 11 And the king made of the algum-trees ‖ Or stayes †Heb. highâ—… Gr. 〈◊〉 terrises to the house of the LORD and to the kings palace and harps and psalteries for singers and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah 12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire whatsoever she asked besides that which she had brought c Besides what he gave her of his Royal Bounty as it is expressed 1 King 10. 13. which was in compensation for her Presents as is here noted unto the king So she turned and went away to her own land she and her servants 13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold 14 Besides that which chapmen and merchants brought and all the kings of Arabia and ‖ Or captains governours of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon 15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target 16 And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield and the king put them in the house of the forrest of Lebanon 17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold 18 And there were six steps to the throne with a foot-stool of gold which were fastened to the throne and †Heb. bands stayes on each side of the sitting-place and two lions standing by the stayes 19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps There was not the like made in any kingdom 20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of †Heb. shut up pure gold ‖ Or there was no silver in them none were of silver it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon 21 For the kings ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold and silver ‖ Or elephants teeth ivory and apes and peacocks 22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the †Heb. saâ—…e presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God put in his heart 24 And they brought every man his present vessels of silver and vessels of gold and rayment harness and spices horses and mules a rate year by year 25 And Solomon * 1 Kin. 4. 26. 10. 26. Ch 1. 14. had four thousand stalls d To wit greater Stalls in each of which were ten Stalls in all 40000 Stalls as it is 1 King 4. 26. where see the Notes for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen whom he bestowed in the chariot-cities and with the king at Jerusalem 26 * 1 Kin. 4. 21. And he reigned over all the kings * Gen. 15. 18. from the ‖ That is Euphrates river even unto the land of the Philistins and to the border of Egypt 27 And the king †Heb. gave made silver in Jerusalem as stones and cedar-trees made he as the sycamore-trees that are in the low plains in abundance 28 * 1 Kin. 10. 28. Chap. 1. 16. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt and out of all lands 29 Now the rest of the * 1 Kin. 11. 41. acts of Solomon first and last are they not written in the †Heb. words book of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of * Ch. 12. 15. 13. 22. Iddo the seer
as it follows but by vehement perswasions and denunciations of Gods further Judgments upon him if he did not depart Some suppose that the Earthquake mentioned Amos 1. 1. Zech. 14. 5. happened upon this occasion as another token of Gods displeasure against this unparallel'd arrogancy yea himself * 〈◊〉 6. 12 hasted also to go out because the LORD had smitten him 21 * 〈◊〉 15. 5. 〈◊〉 13. 26 〈◊〉 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death r God would have this Leprosy to be incurable as a lasting monument of his Anger against such presumptuous Invaders of the Priests office and dwelt in a * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 †several house being a leper s As he was obliged to do by Law Levit. 13. 46. which he durst not now resist being under the hand and stroke of God and under the fear of further and worse plagues if he did so for t So the following words are a reason of the former he dwelt in a several house because he might not come into the Temple or Courts nor consequently into any publick Assembly or the society of others Or and therefore as the Hebrew Chi oft signifies and the Particle and is oft understood So it is an inference from the next foregoing words He was a Leper and therefore he was cut off c. He who could not content himself with Gods allowance but usurped the Priests place and office is now deprived of the priviledge of the meanest of his People A just and most suitable Judgment he was cut off from the house of the LORD and Jotham his son was over the kings house judging the people of the land 22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah first and last did Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz write 23 So Uzziah slept with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings for they said He is a leper and Jotham his son reigned in his stead CHAP. XXVII 1 JOtham * 2 Kin 15 32 c. was twenty and five years old when he began to reign and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem his mothers name also was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah did howbeit he entred not into the temple of the LORD a To wit to offer Incense But seeing this was commendable how is this mentioned as an exception from the foregoing Character that he did as his Father did in that which was right c. Answ. It is an exception onely from the last clause where also one word may be supplied out of the foregoing words as is most usual in Scripture thus He did according to all that his father Uzziah did then it fitly follows howbeit c. i. e. except in his miscarriages And the people did yet corruptly 3 He built b i. e. Repaired it for it was built before ch 11. 5. the high-gate c 〈◊〉 wise called the New gate Jer. 36. 10. of the house of the LORD and on the wall of ‖ Or the 〈◊〉 â—…r Ophel d A Tower upon 〈◊〉 the wall of Jerusalem which probably he fortified as his Father 〈◊〉 done other Towers ch 2. 6. 9. he built much 5 He fought also with the king of the Ammonites e Who it seems endeavoured to shake off the yoke which from Davids time had been put upon them and prevailed against them And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver and ten thousand measures of wheat and ten thousand of barley †Heb. this So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him both the second year and the third 6 So Jotham became mighty because he ‖ Or established prepared his ways d Or directed his ways i. e. his counsels and actions by the rule of Gods Law before the LORD his God 7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways lo they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah 8 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem 9 And Jotham slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead CHAP. XXVIII 1 AHaz * 2 Kin. 16. 〈◊〉 was twenty years old when he began to reign and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD like David his father 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made also molten images for Baalim a To worship his Baalim or false gods in and by them 3 Moreover he ‖ Or offered sacrifice burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom and burnt * Lâ—…v 18. 21. his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel 4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree 5 Wherefore the LORD his God b God was his God though not by Covenant and Grace and special Relation which Ahaz had renounced yet by his Soveraign Dominion over him For God did not forfeit his Right by Ahaz his denying it delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria and they smote him and carried away a great multitude of them captives and brought them to †Heb. Darmesek Damascus and he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel who smote him with a great slaughter 6 For * 2 Kin. 15. 2â—… Isa. â—… â—… Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day which were all †Heb. sons of valour valiant men because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers 7 And Zichri a mighty man of Ephraim slew Maasejah the kings son and Azrikam the governour of the house and Elkanah that was †Heb. the second to the king next to the king 8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women sons and daughters and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria 9 But a prophet of the LORD was there whose name was Oded and he went out before the host that came to Samaria and said unto them Behold * Psal. 69. 26. Isa. 10. 5. 47. 6. Ezek. 2. 12 15. 26. 2. Obad. 10. c. Zech. 1. 15. because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah he hath delivered them into your hand and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven c i. e. In a most high and fierce manner An usual Hyperbole withal signifying that their Rage did cry aloud and
to distribute x To the Priests and Levites to whom they were appropriated by God the oblations of the LORD and the most holy things y To wit the remainders of the Free-will-offering Levit. 2. 3 10. The Sin-offering and Trespass-offering Levit. 6. 18 22. 7. 1. and the Shew-bread Levit. 24. 9. 15 And †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hand next him were Eden and Minjamin and Jeshua and Shemajah Amariah and Shecaniah in * Josh. 21. the cities of the priests z Who were intrusted with the Receiving and Distributing of the several Portions belonging to the Priests who abode in their several Cities whilest their â—…rethren came up to Jerusalem in their ‖ Or 〈◊〉 set office to give to their brethren by courses as well to the great as to the small 16 Beside their genealogy of males from three years old and upward a To whom a Portion of these things was allotted as is here implied even unto every one that entreth into the house of the LORD b That were capable of entring thither and doing Service there which they were at twenty years old as is expressed here v. 17. 1 Chron. 23. 24. Through the whole Company of the Priests and Levites his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses 17 Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers and the Levites ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 from twenty years old and upward in their charges by their courses 18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones their wives and their sons and their daughters through all the congregation c This is alledged as a Reason why their Wives and Children were provided for out of the Holy things because they sequestred themselves from worldly Affairs by which they might otherwise have provided for their Families and intirely devoted themselves to Holy Administrations for in their ‖ 〈◊〉 set office they sanctified themselves in holiness 19 Also the sons of Aaron the priests which were in * 〈◊〉 25. 34. 〈◊〉 35. 2. the fields d Who are opposed to those that lived in or resorted to the great City Jerusalem of the suburbs of their cities in every several city the men that were expressed by name to give portion to all the males among the priests and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites 20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God and in the law and in the commandments to seek his God he did it with all his heart and prospered CHAP. XXXII 1 AFter * 〈◊〉 18. 13 〈◊〉 these things and †〈◊〉 36. â—… c. â—… Heb. tâ—…is the establishment thereof a An Emphatical Preface signifying that notwithstanding all his Pious Care and Zeal for God yet God saw fit to Exercise him with a fore Trial and Calamity which yet he turned to his great Honour and Advantage Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entred into Judah and encamped against the senced cities and thought †〈◊〉 Gr. 〈◊〉 31. 20. â—… Heb. 〈◊〉 break 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to win them for himself b He designed and bragged that he would win them all and did actually win many of them 2 King 18. 13. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come and that †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 face 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was purposed to sight against Jerusalem 3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains c With Earth or other things cast into them and withal to derive the Waters by secret Paths and Pipes under ground to Jerusalem which were without the city and they did help him 4 So there was gathered much people together who stopt all the fountains and the brook that †Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ran through the midst of the land saying Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water d Which was a scarse Commodity in this Country and the want of it might much annoy the Assyrian Army 5 Also * 〈◊〉 22. 9. he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that was broken e By Joash ch 25. 23. and not since repaired 2 Chron 25. 23. and raised it up to the towers f Either 1. As high as the Towers or the tops of the Wall Or 2. As far as the two Towers or Gates which were made in the Form of Towers and had the use of Towers to wit that of Ephraim and the Corner-Gate both mentioned above ch 25. 23. Or brought up Engines or Instruments of Defence upon the Towers and another wall without and repaired * 2 Sam. 5. 9. Millo g Of which see 1 King 9. 24. 11. 27. in the city of David and made ‖ Or swords or weapons darts and shields in abundance 6 And he set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and †Heb. spake to their heart spake comfortably to them saying 7 Be strong and couragious be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria nor for all the multitude that is with him for * 2 Kin. 6. 16. there be mo with us than with him 8 With him is an * Jer. 17. 5. arm of flesh but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battels And the people †Heb. leaned rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah 9 After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem h Of this and the following Verses see the Notes on 2 King 18. 17. c. and 19. 10 c. but he himself laid siege against Lachish and all his †Heb. â—… mâ—…n power with him unto Hezekiah king of Judah and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem saying 10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria Whereon do ye trust that ye abide ‖ Or in the strong hold in the siege in Jerusalem 11 Doth not Hezekiah perswade you to give over your selves to die by famine and by thirst saying The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria 12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem saying Ye shall worship before one altar and burn incense upon it 13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand 14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of mine hand that your God should be able to deliver you out of
Judgments in the execution of which thou mayst live and be happy for ever This God did presently after he brought them from Meribah even at Sinai O Israel if thou wilt hearken unto me 9 There shall no strange God be in thee neither shalt thou worship any strange God u Thou shalt renounce all false Gods and worships and worship me onely 10 I am the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt open thy mouth wide x Either 1. To pray for mercies Ask freely and abundantly and boldly as this Phrase oft signifies whatsoever you need or in reason can desire Or 2. To receive the mercies which I am ready to give you and I will fill it y I will give or grant them all upon condition of your obedience 11 But my people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me z Or did not assent to me or acquiesce in me or obey me or my commands 12 * Act. 7. 42. and 14. 16. So I gave them up ‖ Or to the hardness of their hearts or imaginations unto their own hearts lust a Upon their obstinate and oft-repeated Rebellions and Rejections of my Grace and Mercy offered to them I withdrew all the restraints of my providence and my Holy Spirit and Grace from them and wholly left them to follow their own vain and foolish imaginations and wicked lusts and they walked in their own counsels b They practised those things both in common conversation and in religious Worship which were most agreeable not to my commands or counsels but to their own fancies and inclinations as appeared in the Golden Calf and many other things 13 * Deut. 32. 29. Isa. 48. 18. O that my people had hearkened unto me and Israel had walked in my ways 14 I would soon have subdued their Enemies c Those Remainders of the Canaanites whom now for their unbelief and apostacy I have left in the Land to be snares and plagues to them and turned my hand against their adversaries 15 The haters of the LORD d All the haters and enemies of God's people as the neighbouring Nations were whom he calls haters of God partly because they hated the Israelites for God's sake and for the singularity of their Religious Worship as the Heathen oft declared and partly to shew the strict League and Union which was betwixt God and them by virtue whereof God had declared all their Friends and Enemies to be his own which was a great aggravation of their wickedness should ‖ Or yielded seigned obedience †Heb. lied have submitted themselves unto him e Should have professed and owned their subjection to them For the Phrase see on Psal. 18. 44. but their time f i. e. Israel's time the Relative belonging to the remoter Antecedent as it is in many other places of Scripture whereof I have formerly given Instances By their time he means either 1. Their happy time as life is oft put for an happy life or state as Psal. 34. 12. and 49. 18. Deut. 4. 1. and 5. 33 c. Or 2. The duration of their Common-wealth should have endured for ever g i. e. Lasted for a very long time whereas now their latter and dolesul end is hastening towards them 6 He should have fed them also †Heb. with the fat of wheat with the finest of the wheat and with honey h Either 1. Metaphorically with all pleasant and precious fruits and with all delights as all necessaries may be expressed under the name of wheat Or rather 2. Properly this Land of Canaan being commended for its excellent and plentiful honey and the Bees there did oft-times harbour and make their honey in the holes of Rocks and such like places from which it flowed down upon the ground See Deut. 32. 13. 1 Sam. 14. 25 26. out of the rock should I have satisfied thee PSAL. LXXXII The ARGUMENT This Psalm contains an Admonition either 1. To the chief Rulers of Israel whether Iudges or Kings or their great Council called the Sanhedrim Or rather 2. To all the Rulers of the several Nations of the World to whom this word might come as may be gathered partly from the expressions here used which are general and not peculiar to the Governors of Israel and therefore not rashly and unnecessarily to be restrained and partly from the last Verse where he mentions the whole earth and all nations as concerned in the Contents of this Psalm A Psalm ‖ Or for Asaph of Asaph 1 GOd standeth a As a Judge diligently to observe all that is said or one there and to give sentence accordingly The Judge sits when he heareth Causes but standeth up when he giveth sentence Or standing doth not note the posture but onely the being or presence of a person as Isa. 11. 10. Dan. 11. 10. Ioh. 3. 29. Whence this Hebrew Word is by some Learned Interpreters rendred is present and by others presideth as this word is used 1 Sam. 19. 20. and 22. 9. in the congregation of †Heb. God Psal. 89. 7. and 95. 3. the mighty b Or of the gods as it is explained and expressed in the next Clause the singular number being here as it is frequently elsewhere put for the plural By Gods or the mighty he understands Kings or other chief Rulers who are so called because they have their power and commission from God and act as his Deputies in his name and stead and must give an account to him of all their Actions And by their congregation he understands not a convention or assembly of such persons which seldom meet together but either 1. All Congregations or Assemblies of People in which Magistrates sit to execute Justice Or 2. All persons whatsoever of this high and sacred Order or Number for the Hebrew Word here rendred congregation doth not always signifie an Assembly of persons met together in one place but sometimes notes all the particular persons of or belonging to such a sort and body of men though dispersed in divers places as Psal. 26. 5. I have hated the congregtion of evil doers i. e. all evil doers Prov. 21. 16. he shall remain in the congregation of the dead i. e. shall be one of that number and state See also Ios. 22. 20. Psal. 74. 19. Some render it as it is in the Hebrew in the congregation of God in his own Congregation the Noun being put for the Pronoun as is usual in the Hebrew Text i. e. in the Conventions or Tribunals of Princes or Rulers which he rightly calls his because their authority is wholly derived from him But the former Exposition seems more agreeable both to the following words and to the scope and whole Body of the Psalm he judgeth c Accurately observeth all their carriages and passeth sentence upon them accordingly among the gods d i. e. Judges and
a Or Therefore as the Seventy Interpreters render it all this b All that I have said concerning the Methods of Divine Providence towards good and bad men †Heb. I gaâ—… or set to my Heart I considered in my heart even to declare all this e that the righteous and the wiâ—…e d Whom he mentions not exclusively as if wicked men were not in God's hand for the next clause relates both to good and bad men but eminently because by the course of God's Providence towards them they might seem to be quite neglected and forsaken by God and their works e Either efficiently all their actions and employments or objectively all things done to them all events which befal them are in the hand of God f Are subject to his power and governed by his Providence as this Phrase is used Prov. 21. 1. Ioâ—… 3. 35. compared with Mat. 28. 18. And therefore although we cannot fully understand the reasons of all God's works as he now said Ch. 8. 17. yet because they are done by his unerring hand we may be assured that they are done both righteously and justly and that no Man hath cause to murmur at the Prosperity of the wicked or at the calamities of good men no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them g No Man can judge by their present and outward conditions or dispensations of God's Providence whether God loves or hates them for whom he loves he chastens and permitteth those whom he hates to prosper in the World And this Translation and Interpretation agreeth well with the following Verse But I must confess it differs from almost all other both ancient and modern Translations And these words with the foregoing clause are translated otherwise and that word for word according to the Hebrew The righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God also love and hatred understand out of the foregoing clause are in God's hand And this may be meant either 1. of God's love and hatred which he disposeth when and to whom and in what manner he pleaseth Or 2. of mens love and hatred also their love and their hatred the Pronoun their being repeated out of the former clause as is frequent in Scripture And so the sense is That not onely mens works as he now said but even their inward passions or affections which seem to be most in their own power are as much in God's disposal as their outward actions Then follows the last clause in the same order in which the words lie in the Hebrew Text. No Man knoweth all or any thing which is before him Which I thus understand Whereas all men and all their affections and actions and the events of them are perfectly known to God and disposed by him men know nothing no not such things as are most plain and easie and familiar to them and can neither foresee the plainest things nor dispose of the smallest things as they please but all things are wholly order ed and over-ruled by God's Providence not as men imagine or desire but as he sees fit c To make this evident first to my self and then others as occasion required 2 * Ps. 73. 3 12 13. Mal. 3. 15. All things come alike to all h The good and evil things of this World do equally happen to good and bad men there is one eveâ—…t to the righteous and the wicked to the good and 〈◊〉 the clean i Either 1. morally clean or holy men Or 2. legally who made Conscience of keeping himself pure from all legal defilements according to the Law then in force and consequently from all other sins upon the same ground and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth k That worshippeth God sincerely though it be to his cost and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner l As to all outward things to wit customarily and unnecessarily rashly without due consideration and reverence or falsly and wickedly For otherwise that some swearing was then allowed and in some cases required none do or can deny and he that sweareth m as he that feareth an oath n Who is afraid of offending God or abusing his Name by vain or rash or false Oaths 3 This is an evil o A great trouble and temptation to a considerate and good Man among all things that are done under the sun that there is * Ch. 2. 14 15 16. one event unto all yea also the heart of the sons of men p Of wicked men such as the generality of Mankind are is full of evil q Either 1. of grief upon this occasion Or rather 2. of wickedness as appears from the next clause and by comparing this place with Eccles. 8. 11. and madness is in their heart r Upon this account they go on madly and desperately in evil courses without any fear of an after-reckoning while they live and after that they go to the dead s After all their mad and wicked pranks in the whole course of their life they die in the same manner as the best men do So hitherto there is no difference For Solomon here forbears the consideration of the future life Onely he seems to intimate that as the madness so the happiness of the wicked is ended by Death which is more fully expressed in the following words 4 For to him that is joyned to all the living t That continueth in the Land and Society of Living men Or according to the reading of the Hebrew Text That is chosen or allotted to Life whom God hath appointed yet to live in the World when he hath appointed that many others shall die or who are written among the Living as the Phrase is Isa. 4. 3. which is borrowed from the custom of Cities where men are first chosen and then inrolled Citizens there is hope u He hath not onely some comfort for the present but also hopes of further and greater happiness in this World which men are very prone to entertain and cherish in themselves Yea they may have the hopes of a better life if they improve their opportunities But he seems to confine himself here to the present life for a living dog is better x i. e. Much happier as to the comforts and priviledges of this World though in other respects Death be better than Life as was said Eccles. 7. 1. than a dead lion 5 For the living know that they shall die y Whereby they are taught to improve Life whilest they have it to their greatest comfort and advantage but the dead know not any thing z To wit of the actions and events in this World as this is limited in the end of the next Verse Compare Ioâ—… 14. 21. Isa. 63. 16. neither have they any more a reward a The reward or fruit of their labours in this World which is
Sea 13 Behold the land of the Caldeans a You Tyrians who think your City impregnable cast your Eyes upon the Land and Empire of the Chaldeans or Babylonians which though now it be a flourishing Kingdom and shall shortly grow far more glorious and potent even the glory of kingdoms as it is called Isa. 13. 19. yet shall certainly be brought to utter ruine and therefore your Presumption is most vain and unreasonable this people was not b The Chaldeans at first were not a People not formed into any Commonwealth or Kingdom till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness c Till Nimrod the Head and Founder of the Assyrian Monarchy built Babel Gen. 10 9. now the Head of the Chaldean Monarchy which he built for those People who then lived in Tents and were dispersed here and there in wild and waste Places that he might bring them into Order and under Government and thereby establish and promote his own Empire they set up the towers thereof they raised up the palaces thereof d The Chaldeans being by this means brought together into a Body fell to the Work of Building their City and its Towers and Palaces and thereby got Power and Dominion over their Neighbours till at last they grew the greatest of all the Monarchies that then were upon Earth and he e The Lord who is expressed before and is frequently designed in Scripture by this indefinite Pronoun he as hath been many times observed Whereby he insinuates the true Reason why neither the Chaldeans nor the Tyrians should be able to stand because the Almighty God was engaged against them brought it to ruine f Will infallibly bring that great Empire to ruine He speaks of a future thing as if it were already past as the Prophets use to do The Chaldeans shall now return to their first Nothing and become no People again 14 Howl ye ships of Tarshish for your strength g The City of Tyre where you found Safety and Wealth is laid waste 15 And it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre shall be forgotten h Neglected and forsaken by those who used to resort thither seventy years i During the whole time of the Jewish Captivity in Babylon For Tyrus was taken by Nebuchadnezzar Ier. 27. 3 8. Ezek. 26. 7. a little after the taking of Ierusalem and was restored by the favour of the Persian Monarchs after the Return of the Jews from the Captivity of Babylon according to the days of one king k Either 1. of the Kingdom of Babylon which lasted so long after this time the Word king being put for kingdom as it is Dan. 7. 17. 8. 21. or 2. of one Royal Race of Nebuchadnezzar including his Son and his Son's Son in whom his Family and Kingdom were to expire as we read Ezek. 28. 7. after the end of seventy years †Heb. it shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot shall Tyre sing as an harlot l She shall by degrees return to her former State of Prosperity and Traffick whereby she shall easily entice the Merchants of the World to converse and trade with her as Harlots use to entice their Customers by Lascivious Songs 16 Take an harp go about ‖ Or O city the city m As Harlots use to do to allure Customers thou harlot n So he calleth Tyre partly because she enticed Merchants to deal with her by various Artifices and even by dishonest Practices as Harlots use and partly because of the great and general Uncleanness which was both committed and tolerated in it that hast been forgotten make sweet melody sing many songs that thou mayst be remembred o By those who had forgotten thee v. 15. 17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that the LORD will visit Tyre p To wit in mercy as this Phrase is used Ruth 1. 6. Psal. 65. 9. and elsewhere and she shall turn to her hire q The Hebrew Word properly signifies the hire of an harlot which agrees well with the fornication in the next Clause although these Phrases are not to be understood properly but metaphorically of Trading or Commerce with others and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world r Shall trade promiscuously with People of all sorts and Nations as Harlots entertain all Comers upon the face of the earth 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD s He speaks not here of what the Tyrians would do immediately after their Restitution but some time after it even in the days of the Messiah of which even some of the Jewish Rabbies understand it and to which the Prophets have a special respect in their several Prophecies and Isaiah among and above the rest of them So this is a Prophecy concerning the Conversion of the Tyrians to the True Religion of the Accomplishment whereof something is said Acts 21. 3 4 5. and more in other Authors it shall not be treasured nor laid up t Either out of Covetousness or for the service of their Pride and Luxury as they formerly did but now they shall freely lay it out upon Pious and Charitable Uses for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD u For the Support and Encouragement of the Ministers of Holy Things who shall teach the good Knowledge of the Lord who dwell in God's House and minister in his Presence the Support of such Persons being not onely an Act of Justice and Charity but also of Piety and of great use and necessity to maintain and propagate Religion in the World Although this doth not exclude but rather imply their Liberality in contributing to the Necessities of all Christians to eat sufficiently and for †Heb. 〈◊〉 durable clothing CHAP. XXIV BEhold the LORD maketh the earth a Or the land to wit of Canaan or Israel or Iudaea It is usual with all Writers when they write of their own Country to call it the land by way of eminency There are many things in this Prophecy which manifestly concern this Land and People and nothing at least before v. 21. which may be taken as a new and additional Prophecy which is necessarily to be understood of other Nations But this I speak with submission and due respect to those Learned and Judicious Interpreters who take this to be a Prophecy against Iudaea and all the neighbouring Nations empty and maketh it waste b He will shortly make it waste first by the Assyrians and then by the Chaldeans and †Heb. perverteth the face thereof turneth it upside down c Bringeth it into great disorder and confusion and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof 2 And it shall be as with the people so with the ‖ Or prince * Hos. â—… 9. priest d The approaching
way that he came by the same shall he return and shall not come into this city saith the LORD 35. For I will * 2 Kin. 20. 6. defend this city to save it for mine own sake and for my servant Davids sake 36. Then the * 2 Kin. 19. 35 angel of the LORD went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand and when they arose early in the morning behold they were all dead corpses 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh 38. And it came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword and they escaped into the land of †Heb. Ararat Armenia and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead For the understanding of this and the foregoing Chapter the Reader is desired to consult my Notes upon 2 Kings 18. 19. part of 20. CHAP. XXXVIII 1. IN * 2 Kin. 20. â—… 2 Chr. 32. 24. those days was Hezekiah sick unto death and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him and said unto him Thus saith the LORD †Heb. give charge concernning thy house Set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live 2. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the LORD 3. And said Remember now O LORD I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight and Hezekiah wept †Heb. with great weeping sore 4. Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah saying 5. Go and say to Hezekiah Thus saith the LORD the God of David thy father I have heard thy prayers I have seen thy tears Behold I will add unto thy days fifteen years 6. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria and I will defend this city 7. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken 8. Behold I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the †Heb. degrees by or with the sun sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees backward so the sun returned ten degrees by which degrees it was gone down 9. The writing of Hezekiah a Who was a good Man and full of the Holy Ghost and inspired by him to Write this both as a Testimony of his own Gratitude to God and for the Instruction of after Ages king of Iudah when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness 10. I said b To and within my self I Concluded it in the cutting off of my days c When my days were cut off by the Sentence of God related here ver 1. I shall go to the gates of the †Heb. hell Mat. 16. 18. grave d I perceive That I must die without any hopes of prevention The Grave is called a Man's long home Eccles. 12. 5. and The house appointed for all living Men Job 30. 23. and Death opens the gates of this House We read also of the gates of death Psal. 9. 13. 107. 18. I am deprived of the residue of my years e Which I might have lived according to the common course of Nature and of God's dispensations and which I expected and hoped to live for the Service of God and of my Generation 11. I said I shall not see the LORD f I shall not enjoy him for seeing is put for enjoying as hath been frequently noted even the LORD in the land of the living g In this World which is so called Psal. 27. 13. 116. 〈◊〉 â—…sa 53. 8. in his Sanctuary Which Limitation is prudently added to intimate That he expected to see God in another place and manner even in Heaven Face to Face I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world h I shall have no more Society with Men upon Earth 12. Mine age is departed i The time of my Life is expired and is removed from me as a shepherds tent k Which is easily and speedily removed I have cut off l To wit by my Sins provoking God to do it Or I do declare and have concluded That my Life is or will be suddenly cut off For Men are oft said in Scripture to do those Things which they onely declare and pronounce to be done as Men are said to pollute and to remit and retain sins and the like when they onely declare Men and Things to be polluted and Sins to be remitted or retained by God like a weaver m Who cutteth off the Web from the Loom either when it is finished or before according to his pleasure my life he n The Lord who pronounced this Sentence against him will cut me off ‖ Or from the â—…rum with pining sickness o With a consuming Disease wasting my Spirits and Life Some render this Word from the thrum from those Threds at the end of the Web which are fastned to the Beam So the similitude of a Weaver is continued from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me p The Sence is Either 1. this Sickness will kill me in the space of one day Or rather 2. thou dost pursue me night and day with continual Pains and wilt not desist till thou hast made a full End of me so that I expect that every day will be my Last day 13. I reckoned till morning q When I was filled with Pain and could not Rest all the Night long even till Morning my Thoughts were working and presaging That God would instantly break me to peices and that every moment would be my last and the like restless and dismal Thoughts followed me from Morning till Evening But he mentions onely the time before Morning to aggravate his Misery that he was so grievously Tormented when others had sweet Rest and Repose that as a lion so will he break all my bones from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me 14. Like a crane or a swallow r Or a crane and â—…llow the conjunction and being here as it is Hab. 3. 11. and elsewhere understood as is manifest from Ier. 8. 7. where it is expressed with these very words so did I chatter s My complaint and cry was like to the noise of a Swallow quick and frequent and like that of a Crane loud and frightful And this very Comparison is used of Mourners not onely in Scripture but in other Authors concerning which the Learned Reader may consult my Latine Synopsis I did mourn as a dove t Whose mournful Tone is observed Isa. 59. 11. Ezek 9. 16. and elsewhere mine eyes fail with looking upward u Whilst I lift up mine Eyes and Heart to God
4. which shall go before us e To guide us through this vast wilderness to the land of promise where they longed to be For as the cloud which hitherto had guided them that seemed now to be fixed upon the mount and they thought both that and Moses had deserted them The Iewish Doctors note that he doth not say Make us Gods whom we may worship but which shall go before us which as they truly say shews that they wanted not a God whom they knew by infallible evidences they had but a visible guide who might supply the want of Moses as the next words shew for as for this Moses f An expression of contempt towards their great deliverer the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt we wot not what is become of him g Whether he be not consumed by the fire in the cloud or taken up to heaven or conveyed away by God to some other place 2 And Aaron said unto them Break off the golden ear-rings h Which were of good value and common use among the Eastern people who seem to have used them superstitiously Gen. 35. 4. Iudg. 8. 24. and therefore Aaron demands these partly that he might take away one vice or occasion of vice whilest the people were intent upon another and partly that the proposed loss of their precious ear-rings might cool their idolatrous desires which are in the ears of your wives i Whom he thought most fond of their jewels and most unlikely to part with them of your sons and of your daughters and bring them unto me 3 And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings k Whereby they shew both their madness upon their Idols and their base ingratitude to their God who had transferred these jewels from the Egyptians to them Exod. 12. 35 36. which therefore God upbraids them with Ezek. 16. 11 c. which were in their ears l i. e. The mens ears for the affix is of the masculine gender whereby it seems the men were more set upon Idolatry than the women parting with their ear-rings for it which the women would not do and brought them unto Aaron 4 * 1 King 12. 28. Ps. 1â—…6 19. And he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf m The meaning of this Translation is That Aaron to wit by Artificers did first melt the gold into one mass and then by the graving tool form it into the shape of a calf and polish it or as others render the words he formed it in a type or mould made in the shape of a calf into which he cast the molten gold and so made it a molten calf But the words may be translated thus he put it or them into a purse for so the Hebrew verb and noun both are used 2 King 5. 23. and in like manner Gideon disposed the ear-rings given him for like use Iudg. 8. 24. and afterwards he made of them a molten calf Now the people desired and Aaron in compliance with them made this in the form of a calf or an ox for the word signifies both in imitation of the Egyptians as Philo the Iew expressely affirms and the learned generally agree and it may thus appear 1. the great idols of the Egyptians Apis Serapis and Isis were oxen and cows as is confessed 2. the Egyptians besides those creatures which they adored as Gods did also make and keep and worship their images as even the heathen writers Mela and Strabo affirm 3. the Israelites whilest they were in Egypt were many of them infected with the Egyptian Idolatry as it appears from Ios. 24. 14. Ezik. 20. 7 8. and 23. 3. Act. 7. 39. And it is not unlikely divers of them hanker'd no less after the Idols than after the garlick and onions of Egypt And being now as they thought forsaken by Moses they might think of returning to Egypt as afterwards they did and therefore chose a God of the Egyptian mode that they might more willingly receive them again and they said These be thy gods n i. e. This is thy God the plural number being put for the singular as it is usual in this case The meaning is this is the sign or symbol or image of thy God for such expressions are very frequent thus this image of a calf is called a calf frequently and the images of the temple of Diana are called shrines or little temples Act. 19. So they intended to worship the true God by this image as afterwards Ieroboam did by the same image as we shall plainly see when we come to that place of Scripture And it is absolutely incredible that the generality of the Israelites should be so void of all sence and reason as to think that this new-made calf did bring them out of Egypt before its own creation and that this was the same Jehovah who had even now spoken to them from heaven with an audible voice saying I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt 5 And when Aaron saw o i. e. Observed with what applause they received it and with what fury and resolution they prosecuted their former desire he was born down with the stream and as it is probable by the peoples instigation built an altar to it it he built an altar before it and Aaron made proclamation and said To morrow is a feast to the LORD p Heb. to Iehovah Which title being peculiar to the true God and being here given by Aaron to the calf with the approbation of the people makes it more than probable that the people designed to worship the true God in this calf which they made onely as a visible token of Gods presence with them and an image by which they might convey their worship to God 6 And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt-offerings and brought peace-offerings q But no sin-offerings which they most needed and the * 1 Cor. 10. â—… people sat down to eat and to drink r For the sacrifices were accompanied with feasting both among the worshippers of the true God and among Idolaters See Exod. 18. 12. and 24. 11. and rose up to play s By shouting and singing and dancing as it appears from ver 17 18. 19. 7 And the LORD said unto Moses * Deut. 9. 1â—… Go get thee down for thy people t No longer my people as God had called them hitherto Exod. 3. 7. and 5. 1 c. they have forsaken me and I do hereby renounce them which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them they have made them a molten calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed thereunto and said * 1 Kin. 12. 2â—…
These be thy gods O Israel which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt 9 And the LORD said unto Moses * chap. 33. 3 Deut. 9. 13. Isa. 48. 4. I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked people u Untractable wilful and stubborn incorrigible by my judgements ungovernable by mine or by any laws A metaphor from those beasts that will not bend their necks to receive the yoke or bridle 10 Now therefore let me alone x Do not hinder me by thy prayers which I see thou art now about to make on their behalf that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them and * Num. 14. 1â—… I will make of thee y To come out of thy loins a great nation 11 * Deut. 9. 18. Ps. 106. 23. And Moses besought †Heb. thâ—… 〈◊〉 of the Lord. the LORD his God z Emphatically so called q. d. Moses had not lost his interest in God though Israel had and said LORD why doth thy wrath wax hot a So hot as to consume them utterly For though he saw reason enough why God should be angry with them yet he humbly expostulates with God whether it would be for his honour utterly to destroy them Or this is a petition delivered in form of an interrogation or expostulation as Mat. 8. 29. compare with Luk. 8. 28. against thy people b An ingenious retortion q. d. They are not my people as thou calledst them ver 7. but thy people which he proves in the following words which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand 12 * Num. 14. 13. Deut. 9. 28. and 32. 27. Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say For mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the mountains c i. e. In or at mount Sinai the plural number for the singular or in this mountainous desert and to consume them from the face of the earth Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people 13 Remember Abraham Isaac and Israel thy servants to whom thou swarest by thy own self and saidst unto them * Gen. 12. 7. 13. 15. 15. 18. 26. 4. 28. 13 48. 16. I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed and they shall inherit it for ever 14 And the LORD repented d i. e. Changed his sentence See on Gen. 6. 6. of the evil which he thought to do unto his people 15 And Moses turned and went down from the mount and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand the tables were written on both their sides e Not in the inside and outside which is unusual and unnecessary but in the inside onely some of the ten Commands being written on the right hand and others on the left not for any mystery but onely for conveniency of writing on the one side and on the other side were they written 16 And the * chap. 31. 18. tables were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables 17 And when Joshua f Who had waited all this while upon the middle of the hill for Moses his return and so neither knew what the people had done nor heard what God had said to Moses heard the noise of the people as they shouted he said unto Moses There is a noise of war in the camp 18 And he said It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery g Heb. of a cry of strength i. e. of strong men or of the stronger and victorious party who use to express themselves with triumphant shouts neither is it the voice of them that cry for †Heb. weaknesâ—… being overcome h Heb. of a cry of weakness i. e. of weak and wounded and vanquished men who use to break forth into doleful cries but the noise of them that sing do I hear 19 And it came to pass assoon as he came nigh unto the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing and Moses anger waxed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and brake them i Not through rash anger but by Divine instinct partly to punish their Idolatry with so great a loss and partly to shew that the covenant made between God and them so much to their advantage which was contained in those tables was by their sin broken and now of none effect and not to be renewed but by bitter repentance beneath the mount 20 * Deut. 9. 21. And he took the calf which they had made and burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder k Melted it either into one great mass or rather into divers little fragments which afterwards by a file or other instruments he by the help of many others might soon ground to powder or dust of gold and strawed it upon the water l Upon the brook which came out of the rock Horeb Exod. 17. 6. and made the children of Israel m Not all which would require long time but some in the name of the rest and most probably either the chief promoters of this idolatrous design or the chief rulers of the people who should by their power and authority have restrained the people from this wickedness to drink of it n Of the water into which that dust was cast partly to make them ashamed of their madness in worshipping a God which now must be drunk and cast out into the draught and partly to fill them with terrour and dreadful expectation of some ill effect or curse of God to come upon them either by this draught or by other means 21 And Moses said unto Aaron What did this people unto thee o What injury or mischief had they done to thee which thou didst so severely revenge that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them p The sin of the people is charged upon Aaron both because he did not resist and suppress their wicked suggestion ver 1. by his counsel and by the authority which Moses had left in his hand which he should have done even with the hazard of his life as the Rabbins say that Hur did whom they report to have been slain by the people whilest he disswaded them from their attempt and because he did not promote and direct and manage their enterprize ver 4 5. 22 And Aaron said Let not the anger of my lord wax hot thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief q Heb. are in evil i. e. are altogether wicked addicted to or bent upon wickedness so that it was impossible for me to stop or divert their course 23 For they said unto me Make us gods which shall go before us for as for this Moses the
seventy joyn these words with the following and for Shenath the year read Shenith the second and take Vau for redundant as sometimes it is and read the place thus The second tithe thou sâ—…it give to the Levite c. and hast given it unto the Levite the stranger the fatherless and the widow that they may eat within thy gates and be filled 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God k i. e. Either before the Tabernacle or Temple or rather in thy private and domestick addresses to God for this is to be said presently upon the distribution of these tithes which was not done at Ierusalem but in their own private gates or dwellings except we will suppose that after he had given away these tithes at home he should go up to Ierusalem meerly to make this acknowledgment which seems improbable And this is to be spoken before the Lord i. e. solemnly seriously and in a religious manner with due respect to Gods presence and will and glory which is a sufficient ground for that phrase I have brought away l Or separated or removed to wit from my own proper and private fruits the hallowed things m i. e. The tithes which hath been sanctified and set apart for these uses out of mine house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me I have not transgressed thy commandments neither have I forgotten them 14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning n i. e. Either 1. in my funeral solemnities for the dead But this falls in with the last branch Or 2. in my distress or poverty or upon pretence of my own want in which case men are tempted and inclined to fall upon sacred or forbidden things Or 3. in sorrow or grieving that I was to give away so much of my profits to the poor but I have chearfully eaten and feasted with them as I was obliged to do For though it be taken for granted by some learned Expositours from Deut. 14. 28 29. that the owner was not to eat any part of the third years tithe but to give it all away to the stranger and fatherless c. the contrary seems to me more probable from that very place where it is said thou shalt lay it up within thy gates and then it follows that the Levite stranger c. shall come to wit to thy gates and shall eat to wit there as is expressed Deut. 26. 12. that they may not eat within thy gates and be filled Which implies that these tithes or some part of them were eaten in the owners gates or dwelling with holy rejoycing and feasting wherein it is most probable the owner had his share though it be not there expressed because it was evident in it self from the foregoing passage Deut. 14. 23 c. where the owner is allowed and commanded to eat those tithes together with the Levites And howsoever somethink the third years tithes ver 28. were not the same with those ver 23. yet it cannot with any colour of reason be thought that those tithes which were to be eaten not onely by the Levites but also by the strangers ver 29. were more sacred than those that were to be eaten by none but the Levites and the owners veâ—… 23 27. or that the owner might eat of the one and not of the other neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use o i. e. For any common use the words common and unclean being oft indifferently used one for the other or for any other use than that which thou hast appointed which would have been a pollution of them nor given ought thereof for the dead p i. e. For any funeral pomp or service or feast for the Iews used to send in provisions to feast with the nearest relations of the party deceased of which see Ier. 16. 7. Ezek. 24. 17 Hos. 9. 4. and in that case both the guests and food were legally polluted Numb 19. 11 14. and therefore the use of these tithes in such cases had been a double fault both the defiling of sacred food and the imploying of those provisions upon sorrowful occasions which by Gods express command were to be eaten with rejoycing Deut. 14. 26. and 26. 11. but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me 15 * Isa. 63. 15. Zech. 2. 13. Look down q After that solemn profession of their obedience to Gods commands they are taught to pray for Gods blessing upon their land whereby they are instructed how vain and ineffectual the prayers of unrighteous oâ—… disobedient persons are from thy holy habitation from heaven and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us as thou swarest unto our fathers a land that floweth with milk and honey 16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast avouched r Or declared or professed or owned the LORD this day s i. e. At this time in this wilderness where thou hast accepted and ratified Gods covenant to be thy God and to walk in his wayes and to keep his statutes and his commandments and his judgments and to hearken unto his voice 18 And * chap. 7. 6. and 14. 2. the LORD hath avouched thee t Hath owned thee for such before all the world by eminent and glorious communications and manifestations of his power and grace and favour in thee and for thee by a solemn entring into covenant with thee and giving peculiar laws promises and priviledges to thee above all mankind this day to be his peculiar people as he hath promised thee and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments e. u Which is here mentioned as an act of Gods because though this be mans duty yet it is the work of Gods grace that he will vouchsafe to give us such commands that he doth require and will accept of our obedience to them and that we have any power or will to obey them Ezek. 36. 26 27. 19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made in praise and in name and in honour and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God as he hath spoken CHAP. XXVII 1 AND Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people saying Keep all the commandments which I command you this day 2 And it shall be on that day a i. e. About that time for it was not done till some days after their passing over Day is oft put for time as hath been noted before * Josh. 4. 1. when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee
that * Josh. 8. 32. thou shalt set thee up great stones and plaister them with plaister b For conveniency of writing upon them 3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law c Either 1. all the words of this book of Deuteronomy But that seems too large for this place Or 2. the blessings and curses here following But they are mentioned as a different thing Or 3. the law properly so called i. e. the sum and substance of the precepts or laws of Moses especially such as were moral and general as may be guessed from the following part of the chapter where the curses pronounced against all that confirm not all the words of this law to do them are particularly applied unto the transgressours of moral laws onely ver 15 16 c. And especially the Decalogue which oft goes under that name Compare Ios. 8. 32. c. when thou art passed over that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee a land that floweth with milk and hony as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee 4 Therefore it shall be when ye are gone over Jordan that ye shall set up these stones which I command you this day in mount Ebal ‖ The mount of cursing Here the law is written to signify that a curse was due to the violatours of it and that no man could expect justification or blessing from the works of the law by the sentence whereof all men are justly accursed as being all guilty of the transgression of it in one kind and degree or other Here the sacrifices are to be offered to shew that there is no way to be delivered from this curse but by the blood of Christ which all these sacrifices did typifie and by Christs being made a curse for us Gal. 3. 13. and thou shalt plaister them with plaister 5 And there thou shalt build an altar unto the LORD thy God an altar of stones * Exod. 20. 25 Josh. 8. 31. thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them 6 Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones d i. e Rough not hewed nor polished and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God 7 And thou shalt offer peace-offerings and shalt eat there and rejoyce before the LORD thy God 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly e So as to be easily read by all 9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel saying Take heed and hearken O Israel this day thou art become the people of the LORD f By thy solemn renewing of thy covenant with me thy God 10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God and do his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day 11 And Moses charged the people the same day saying 12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizzim g Obj. In Ios. 8. 33. they stood over against mount Gerizim Ans. 1. Both are true they who stood upon the one mount stood over against the other 2. These words may be rendered beside or near to as the Hebrew al oft signifies mount Gerizim which might be over against it to â—…less the people h Whence it appears that the blessings also were pronounced as well as the curses though they be not here mentioned See Ios. 8. 33. when ye are come over Jordan Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin i All these were the children of the free-women Leah and Rachel to shew both the dignity of the blessings above the curses and that the blessings belong onely to those that are Evangelically such as this is expounded and applied Gal. 4. 22 c. even to those that receive the Spirit of adoption and liberty Ioseph is here put for both his sons and tribes Manasseh and Ephraim which are here reckoned as one tribe because Levi is here numbred but when Levi is omitted as it is where the division of the land is made there Manasseh and Ephraim pass for two tribes 13 And * chap. 11. â—… these shall stand upon mount Ebal †Heb. â—…r â—… cursing to curse k He saith to bless the people ver 12. but here onely to curse not expressing whom either because he was loath to mention the people as objects of the curse or because he presumed and hoped that though some particular persons might deserve the curse yet the generality of the people would keep out of the reach of it or to intimate that though the blessing was peculiar to the people of Israel yet the curse was indefinite and common to all nations as may appear from the particular sins here numbred which are such as made the Gentiles guilty and abominable to God as is elsewhere affirmed See Lev. 18. 28. Reuben Gad and Asher and Zebulun Dan and Naphtali l Four of these are the children of the bondwomen to shew that the curse belongs to those of servile and disingenuous spirits and carriages to God With these are joyned Reuben who by his shameful sin fell from his dignity Gen. 49. 4. and Zabulon as the youngest of Leahs children who was necessarily to be joyned with those that the numbers might be equal 14 And * Dan. 9. 11. the Levites m i. e. Some of the Levites to wit the Priests which bare the Ark as it is expressed Ios. 8. 33. for the body of the Levites stood upon mount Gerizim v. 12. But these stood in the valley between Gerizim and Ebal looking towards the one or the other mountain as they pronounced either the blessings or the curses as may be gathered from Ios. 8. 33. shall speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice n So as they might be heard by a great number of the people by whom the rest were informed and directed by some signal when they should answer 15 * Exod. 20. â—… 23. and 34. 1â—… Lev. 19. 4. Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image o Under this particular he understands all the gross violations of the first Table as under the following branches he comprehends all other sins against the second Table as is manifest from hence that there are other sins not here mentioned which are as sinful as these and will as certainly expose a man to the curse as any of the rest an abomination unto the LORD the work of the hands of the craftsmen and p Or although as that particle sometimes signifies putteth it in a secret place q He takes special notice of such partly to shew the folly of those men who think to hide their sins by this means and partly to deter men from such practises which men could not see nor punish by making them their own condemners and executioners and all the people shall