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A56633 A commentary upon the second book of Moses, called Exodus by the Right Reverend Father in God, Symon, Lord Bishop of Ely. Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707. 1697 (1697) Wing P775; ESTC R21660 441,938 734

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she bore him Nadab and Abihu These two perished in the very first Sacrifice which their Father offered because they did not take Fire from the Altar but offered with strange Fire X Lev. 1 2. Eleazar Who succeeded his Father in the Priesthood Numb XX. 25 c. and assisted Joshua in the Division of the Land of Canaan XIV Josh 1. XIX 51. XXI 1. From him sprung Zadok and the following High-Priests till the Destruction of Jerusalem 1 Chron. VI. 4 c. And Ithamar From whom came Eli and Ahimelech and Abiathar in the time of David in whom this Family was Extinct Ver. 24. And the Sons of Korah c. Though he himself perished in his Rebellion against Moses who was his Cosin-German yet his Family remained XXVI Numb 58. and were famous in the days of David being often mentioned in the Book of Psalms Ver. 25. And Eleazar took one of the Daughters of Putiel to Wife Who this Putiel was is not certain Dr. Lightfoot thinks he was an Egyptian Convert whose Daughter Eleazar married But I see no good ground for this Opinion but rather think it more likely Eleazar would marry one of the race of Abraham being Son to the High-Priest He was married indeed before his Father was promoted to that Dignity yet Aaron was so great a Man in his own Tribe See IV. 14. and married into so honourable a Family in Israel v. 23. that it is not probable he would suffer his Son to match with an Egyptian Proselyte These are the Heads of the Fathers of the Levites c. The great Persons from whom sprung the principal Families among the Levites He saith nothing of the other Tribes because his intention was only to derive his own Pedigree and his Brother Aaron's from Israel Ver. 26. These are that Moses and Aaron to whom the Lord said bring out the Children of Israel c. These are the two Persons to whom God gave Commission to be the Deliverers of their Nation out of the Egyptian Bondage He had mentioned just before their Genealogy the Charge God gave them both to the Children of Israel and unto Pharaoh v. 13. And now he goes on to show that they were the Men who were peculiarly chosen by God to discharge that Office first by going to the Children of Israel which he mentions here and then to Pharaoh which he mentions in the next Verse Bring out the Children of Israel from the Land of Egypt Assure them of their Deliverance notwithstanding the Pressures under which they groan According to their Armies Not by a disorderly Flight but every Family in such good order as an Army keeps XII Exod. 41 51. XIII 18. Ver. 27. These are they that spake to Pharaoh c. Who carried the Message from God to Pharaoh requiring him to let Israel go out of Egypt V. 1 2 c. VI. 13. These are that Moses and Aaron He repeats it again that all Generations might mark who were the Men that God imployed in this great and hazardous Work of Demanding the Liberty of the Children of Israel from Pharaoh's Servitude and effecting it in such manner as is afterward related in this Book There have been Critical Wits who made this an Argument that Moses was not the Author of these Books because it is not likely they imagine he would write thus of himself But no Body but these Criticks can see any Absurdity in it that he and his Brother being the Instruments in Gods hand of effecting such wonderful things should not let Posterity be ignorant of it but take care not only to Record it but to set a special Note upon it that none might rob them of the Honour God bestowed on them and He by whose direction this was written might have the glory of working such mighty things by such inept Instruments as Moses often acknowledges himself to have been Nor is this more than Ezra Nehemiah and Daniel say concerning themselves and St. John may as well be denied to be the Authour of the Gospel which bears his Name because he saith This is the Disciple that testifieth these things c. XXI 24. And besides this the History of succeeding Ages show us the necessity of this which Moses hath said of himself For if he had not told us what his Progeny was we see by what we read in Justin and Corn. Tacitus and such like Authours what false Accounts we should have of him for Justin from Trogus Pompeius makes him as I observed before the Son of Joseph Nay the Jewish Writers have been so fabulous that we should have learnt as little Truth from them if Moses had not told it us himself Ver. 28. And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto Moses c. Having finished the Account he thought fit to give of himself and of his Brother whom God was pleased to imploy in this great Embassy he resumes the Relation of it which he broke off at the end of v. 13. Ver. 29. That the LORD spake unto Moses saying I am the LORD c. This and the next Verse seem to be a Recapitulation of what God said in his last Appearances to him v. 2 10 c. and of his desire to be excused from the Employment on which he was sent urged by two Arguments v. 12 13. where they are related something more largely than they are here in the last Verse of this Chapter In which he mentions them again that there might be a clearer connexion with what God further added for his Encouragement when he gave him the forenamed Charge v. 13. to deliver a new Message unto Pharaoh Ver. 30. And Moses said before the LORD We read the very same v. 12. which makes me think this is not a new Objection but meerly a Recital of what he had objected there See what I have said on the foregoing Verse Behold I am of uncircumcised Lips c. See v. 12. CHAP. VII Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses He received new Orders from the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty before whom he stood VI. 12 30. See Mark what I say in answer to all thy Objections I have made thee a God to Pharaoh Therefore why shouldest thou fear to appear before him who is but a Man Moses is not called absolutely a God but only a God unto Pharaoh Which denotes that he had only the Authority and Power of God over him or rather he was God's Ambassadour to speak to him in his Name with a Power ready to Execute all that he desired for the Humbling of Pharaoh and Punishing his Disobedience to his Message And Aaron thy Brother shall be thy Prophet Let therefore the Vncircumcision of thy Lips be no longer an Objection for he shall interpret thy Mind as Prophets declare the Mind of God Some slight Wits have from this place also drawn an Argument that this Book was not written by Moses but by some other Authour long after his time Because the word
dressed up the High Priest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But the liberty and freedom also wherein they were instated I doubt not is signified by these words Kings and Priests as Onkelos translates them and as it is expressed in the New Testament I Revel 6. V. 10. and the Syriac also Kingdom and Priesthood for Kings and Priests were of all other Men freed from Oppression And thus I sind our Mr. Thorndike a most Learned man glosses upon thess words Review of the Rights of the Church p. 132. God calls them Kings because redeemed from the Servitude of Strangers to be a People Lords of themselves and Priests because redeemed to spend their time in Sacrificing and feasting upon their Sacrifices under which Figure he afterwards represents the happy estate of his Church LXI Isa 6. though they Sacrificed not in Person but by their Priests appointed in their stead by imposition of the Elders hands VIII Numb 10. An holy Nation A People separated to God from all other Nations and from their Idolatry to serve God in an acceptable manner These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the Children of Israel The sum of what he was to say to them comprehending both their Duty and their high Priviledge Ver. 7. And Moses came Down from the Mount where he had been with God v. 3. And called for the Elders of the People The principal Persons in the several Tribes See III. 16. which he seems to have done in the Evening of the second day of the Month. And laid before their faces all these words c. Plainly declared to them what God had given him in charge which they went and propounded to the People of the several Tribes whom they represented Ver. 8. And all the People answered together and said All with one consent declared as here follows All that the LORD hath spoken we will do They consented to have the LORD for their King and promised to be obedient to his Will And Moses returned the words of the People unto the LORD This seems to have been done the next day which was the third day of the third Month. Upon which Report made to God of the Peoples Consent he proceeds after a few days preparation to declare the Laws by which they should be governed Chap. XX XXI XXII XXIII and then in the XXIVth Chapter these Laws pass into a Covenant between God and them Here Moses plainly acted as a Mediator between God and the People Ver. 9. And the LORD said unto Moses lo I will come unto thee Appear upon the Mount In a thick Cloud In a darker Cloud than that which had hitherto gone before them to conduct them so that they should see nothing but Flashes of Lightning which came out of it in a very frightful manner v. 16 18. For that there was sire in it appears from IV Dent. 11. V. 22 23. though at first perhaps only a thick Cloud appeared as a token of his approach That the People may hear when I speak with thee Though they saw no Similitude yet they plainly heard a voice speaking unto Moses and declaring their Duty Maimonides indeed thinks that the words were directed only unto Moses and that the Israelites heard meerly the sound of the words but did not distinctly understand them More Nevoch P. II. c. 33. Which is directly against what Moses says IV Deut. 12. The LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the sire c. and V. 4 5. The LORD talked with you face to face in the Mount c. saying I am the LORD thy God c. which words are plainly directed to all the People And believe thee for ever They had been staggered in their Belief after they had professed it at the Red Sea XV. ult but after this it might be expected they would never question his Authority any more And Moses told the words of the People unto the LORD Or rather for Moses had told c. Upon which account God was pleased to make the foregoing Declaration Till they had owned him for the LORD their God i.e. their King and Governour he did not speak unto them at all but only unto Moses But now that they had consented to be his he resolves to speak audibly to them and henceforth to dwell among them and in order to it six his Tabernacle with them For which he gives order Chap. XXV c. immediately after they had entred into Covenant to do as they had promised Or these words which seem to be a needless repetition may relate to that which follows and be translated thus Moses having told the words of the People unto the LORD the LORD said unto Moses Go unto the People and sanctifie them c. Ver. 10. Go unto the People and sanctifie them to day and to morrow This shows that Moses was sent down early on the fourth day to prepare them for the Appearance of the Divine Majesty among them by sanctifying them that is separating them from all Uncleanness or rather from all common and ordinary Imployments that they might give themselves to Fasting and Prayer and Abstinence from otherwise lawful Pleasures For Pirke Elieser takes Abstinence from their Wives mentioned v. 15. as a part of this Sanctification cap. 41. And so doth Gregory Nyssen in his Book de Vita Mosis p. 178. And Maimonides observes that Separation from Wine and strong Drink is called Holiness in the Law of the Nazarites VI Numb 5. and therefore may be thought part of the Sanctification here required More Nevoch P. I. c. 33. And let them wash their Clothes The Hebrews understand it of washing their whole Bodies For thus Aaron and his Sons were to be consecrated to their Office XXIX 4. XL. 12. and therefore thus the People were now to be made a holy People unto the LORD and made sit for the Presence of the Divine Majesty Under whose Wings as they speak none were received in future times i.e. made Proselytes but by Baptism or washing of their whole Body which was taken from this pattern And accordingly where we read in the Law of particular Purifications by washing their Clothes in case of any Uncleanness as XI Lev. 25 28 40. XIV 8 47. where Moses speaks of cleansing a Leprous Person XXXI Numb 24. where he speaks of cleansing Soldiers and many other Cases they understand it in the very same manner In some cases indeed it is expresly prescribed XV Lev. 5 6 7. XVI 26 c. and they expound all other where Clothes only are mentioned by the same Rule as Mr. Selden shows I. I. de Synedr c. 3. where he observes that in the Pagan Language pure Garments signifie the washing of the whole Body See p. 29. Ver. 11. And be ready against the third day He doth not mean the third day of the Month but the third day after this command to Sanctifie themselves In which they were bound to spend two intire days and then the LORD promised to
to Israel under the figure of a most loving Husband who denies his Wife nothing though never so costly saith he shod her with Thacas which I since sind translated by an Anonymous Authour with purple shoes CHAP. XXXVII IN this Chapter Moses gives an Account of the making of all the Furniture of the Tabernacle with such exactness as he describes the making of the Tabernacle it self in the foregoing Chapter To show that God's directions about the making every thing was punctually observed nothing being omitted or added but all made according to the Pattern in the Mount XXV 9 40. In which Chapter most of the things here mentioned are explained and there needs little to be added here Ver. 1. And Bezaleel made the Ark of Shittim-wood c. Abarbinel fancies that though other things were made by inferiour Artificers whom Bezaleel directed yet the Ark because of its dignity and preheminence above all other things was made by him without the help of any other And so Rambam also from whence the Jews commonly called it as Buxtorf observes the Ark of Bezaleel But this hath no good foundation for he is said to have made also every thing else in the Tabernacle the Table and all its Vessels in short every thing mentioned in this Chapter and in the next also and in the foregoing v. 10 11 c. He therefore is said to have made the Ark c. because he gave directions to the under Workmen and saw them make it Ver. 10. And he made the Table of Shittim-wood c. Next to the Ark the Mercy-seat and the Cherubims which belong to it the Table and the Vessels appertaining to it were the principal things within the Tabernacle See XXV 23 c. where all the things mentioned between this Verse and the Seventeenth are explained Ver. 17. And he made the Candlestick c. The orders which Moses received for the making this the Branches and the Lamps thereof and every thing appertaining to it are set down XXV 31 32 c. which Bezaleel exactly followed Ver. 25. He made the Incense Altar c. This and all that follows in the three next Verses see explained XXX 1 c. Ver. 29. And he made the holy anointing Oyl c. See XXX 31 c. And the pure Incense c. XXX 34 c. CHAP. XXXVIII Verse 1. AND he made the Altar of Burnt-offering c. Having given an Account of the making of all the Furniture of the House he proceeds to show how all things were made without doors with the same exactness according to the Divine Prescriptions All which Bezaleel could not make with his own hands but he was chief Director in these things as well as the rest of the Work Five Cubits was the length thereof c. See XXVII 1 2 c. where this and the six following Verses are explained Ver. 8. And he made the Laver of brass c. See XXX 18. where order is given for the making of this Laver and its situation directed but neither there nor here are we told the figure or dimensions of it but have a particular remark in this place concerning the Materials out of which it was made in the following words Of the Looking glasses So we interpret the Hebrew word Maroth because now such things are commonly made of Glass but anciently of polished Brass which they lookt upon as far better than Silver for that made a weaker reflection as Vitruvius informs us L. VII c. 3. And the best of these Specula were among the ancient Romans made at Brundusium of Brass and Tin mixed together as Pliny tells us L. XXXIII 9. XXXIV 17. This shows the Laver was made of the finest and most pure Brass Of the Women assembling which assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation The Hebrew word Hattzobeoth signifies that they came by Troops to make this Present to the LORD And the LXX and Chaldee understanding it of such Women as came together to serve God by Fasting and Prayer for there is the same word used in 1 Sam. II. 22. most Interpreters think they that made this Oblation were very devout Women who were wont to spend much time at the Tabernacle where the Presence of God was For Moses his Tent served instead of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and was so called till this Tabernacle was built XXXIII 7 c. Thus Aben-Ezra also observes upon these words That these Women making a Free-will Offering of the Looking-glasses wherein they were wont to behold the Beauty of their Faces and to dress and adorn their Heads it seems to argue their very Religious Mind despising the Vanity of the World and delighting far more in the Service of God Ver. 9. And he made the Court c. All that follows from this place to v. 21. is explained in the XXVII Chapter from v. 9. to v. 20. except two or three words which I shall here take notice of Ver. 17. The Chapiters of Silver There is no mention of Rashim Chapiters in the XXVII Chapter but only of Vauim or hooks which were of Silver v. 10. 17. But this Verse shows that those hooks were in the Chapiters or Heads of the Pillars out of which those arose as an Ornament to them Ver. 18. And the heighth in the breadth c. This is an Hebrew Phrase signifying the height of the Hanging it self whose breadth when it lay along was called its height when it was hung up And that was five Cubits proportionable to the Hangings of the Court which was five Cubits high XXVII 18. Ver. 21. This is the sum of the Tabernacle even of the Tabernacle of the Testimony c. Some will have this relate to the fore-named things mentioned in this and in the fore-going Chapters But I take it rather to be a Preface to the Account which Moses ordered to be taken of all the Gold Silver and Brass that was employed in building of the Tabernacle Which being summed up amounted to so many Talents as are mentioned v. 24 c. For the Service of the Levites Rather By the Ministry of the Levites whom Moses appointed to take the Account of all the Expences By the hand of Ithamar Son to Aaron the Priest Under the Conduct of Ithamar the youngest Son of Aaron whom he appointed to preside over the Levites in taking this account Ver. 22. And Bezaleel the Son of Uri made all that the LORD commanded Moses Which Gold Silver and Brass was committed into the hands of Bezaleel though in the Presence of all the rest of the Workmen XXXVI 2 3. as the principal Person who was to see it employed in making every thing which the LORD commanded Moses Ver. 23. And with him was Aholiab c. Unto whom God joyned Aholiab as his Associate in so great an Undertaking who made use of several others whom they taught in those Arts which God by an extraordinary Inspiration had made them to understand XXXV
made him very unfit he thought to be an Ambassadour And this doth not disagree with what St. Stephen saith that he was mighty in Words as well as Deeds VII Acts 22. for the sense of what he spake was great and weighty though his pronunciation was not answerable to it Nor did his ill or weak pronunciation nor his slowness in bringing forth his words hinder him from being an excellent Judge and deciding Causes from Morning to Night as we read XVIII Exod. In the determination of which there was no need of Oratory but of a quick Apprehension exact Judgment and proper Language which he never wanted One would think also that by Use and Exercise he grew prompt in the delivery of his Mind for he made several very long Speeches to the People and especially an incomparable Discourse before his departure out of the World in the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy In the latter end of which his Song shows that he wanted no eloquent words when he pleased to use them Ver. 11. And the LORD said unto him who hath made mans mouth c. Cannot I who formed all the Organs of Speech and made the rest of mens Senses and when I please deprive them of their use take away this Impediment of which thou complainest and make thee to speak as roundly and gracefully as any Man living The Authour of the Life of Moses who makes Pharaoh to have condemned Moses for killing the Egyptian c. See II. 15. fancies that God puts him in mind of his Deliverance at that time As if he had said Who taught thee to make thy Defence when thou wast Arraigned before Pharaoh Who made the King dumb that he could not urge and press thy Execution Who made the Executioner deaf that he could not hear the Sentence when pronounced And who made them all blind that they could not see when thou madest thy escape which is very ingeniously invented but we have no assurance of the truth of this Explication Ver. 12. Now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say Excuse thy self no longer but obey the Commission I have given thee and I will both help thy Speech and suggest to thy Mind what thou shalt deliver This doth not signifie as I take it that if he had without further disputing gone about his Business God would have given him a better Elocution but that he would have made his words as powerful as if they had been pronounced with the greatest advantage Or the meaning may be that he should never want either words or thoughts to instruct his Brother Aaron whom God always intended to send along with him Ver. 13. And he said O my Lord. The same form of Speech with that v. 10. Send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send The Vulgar Latin having translated the word SCHILO XLIX Gen. 10. qui mittendus est him that is to be sent it hath inclined several great Men to think that Moses here desires God to send the MESSIAH And several of the ancient Fathers Just Mart. Tertull. and S. Cyprian c. were of this mind as many later Interpreters both of the Roman and of the Reformed Church have been Particularly Flacius Illyricus in his Clavis upon the word MITTO thus explains this Passage Manda id functionis c. commit this Office to the true Messiah or blessed Seed whom thou hast resolved to send who will discharge this Trust far better than I can do c. But there have been and are other very considerable Persons who think Moses means no more than this Send a more proper Person one sitter for this Imployment than I am And the truth is such Speeches as these in Scripture do not denote any certain Person or Thing but signifie something indesinite and in general Examples of which we have in 1 Sam. XXIII 13. 2 Sam. XV. 20. upon which Phrase Vado quo vado I go whither I may the same Flacius observes that it denotes an uncertain motion In like manner Moses here determines his desire to no particular Person but only wishes God would send any Body rather than himself And that he did not think of the Messiah there is this Argument that he had no reason to believe he was now born and yet God's Promise was to send one immediately to relieve the Israelites Upon which Errand also if he had prayed God to send him it would argue Moses to have been in the same Errour with the present Jews that the Messiah was to be a Temporal Deliverer Ver. 14. And the Anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses These words seem to import that God was highly displeased with him and consequently that he had very much offended him Yet some of the Fathers particularly St. Hierom and St. Basil impute his backwardness to serve in this Imployment unto his great Modesty Humility and a deep Sense of his own Infirmities of which the wisest and best Men are far more sensible than other Persons And then this Anger amounts to no more than such a Displeasure as a Father hath at his Child when he is too dissident notwithstanding all that he hath said and done to breed in him a just confidence And therefore no Punishment followed this Anger unless we think as R. Solomon doth that because of this backwardness God preferred Aaron's Family above his or that this was the Cause he would not Cure his Imperfection of Speech but only a Chiding which we may suppose went before the following Question Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother which carries something of sharpness in it And indeed this may be said in Moses his Excuse That the most Excellent Persons are the least forward to embrace the Offers of great Advancement According to the observation of Plato L. I. de Republ which I find Eusebius also hath noted out of him L. XII Praep. Evang. c. 9. that no Magistracy being designed for the Profit of him that Governs but of those that are Governed I must needs conclude saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that no Man who is considerate he means will voluntarily take upon him the Government of a People but he must be hired to it or he must be punished if he will not undertake it For he that will use his Power well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never doth that which is best for himself but for those whom he governs Such an one was Moses who sought not his own Profit or Glory as those that now seek for great Places by which they design a Benefit to themselves and not to their Neighbours and therefore was not easily perswaded to accept of the high Authority which was offered to him Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother One would think by this that Aaron was now a principal Person and of most eminent Quality in the Tribe of Levi as may be concluded also from his Marriage with the Sister of the
Moses as they seem to me to be And said surely a bloody Husband art thou to me If the foregoing Interpretation be true these are not the words of an angry Woman but spoken with great affection signifying that she had espoused him again having saved his Life by the Blood of her Son Our famous Mr. Mede indeed Discourse XIV carries the Sense quite another way because an Husband he saith is never called Chatan after the Marriage Solemnity was over Which if it be true makes nothing against what I have said because she lookt upon her self as a second time espoused or married to him by this act which had restored him to her when his Life was in danger It must be granted that the word Chatan doth not signifie only a Spouse but sometime a Son in Law but why Zipporah should call her own Child by this Name I do not see Yet so Mr. Mede understands it and adds that the Rabbins tell us it was the custom of the Hebrew Women to call their Children when they were Circumcised by the Name of Chatan i. e. Spouse as if they were now espoused unto God And indeed Aben-Ezra saith so but I cannot find that this was an ancient Notion among them If it were his Interpretation might be the more easily embraced which is this That these were a solemn form of words used at Circumcision signifying as much as I pronounce thee to be a Member of the Church by Circumcision Thus Val. Schindler also expounds it in his Lexic Pentaglot p. 677. a Child was called Chatan upon the Day of his Circumcision because then he was first joyned to the People of God and as it were espoused unto God And he thinks the Targum countenances this Sense when it thus expounds these words by this Blood of Circumcision a Spouse is given to us Which may as well be understood of Moses being given to her as of the Child for he was as I said restored to her and to his Family upon the Circumcision of the Child So it follows in the next Verse They that have a mind to see the Sense of an eminent Writer of our Church concerning this Passage may consult Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity Book V. in the latter end of the LXII Section where he thus far agrees with me that these words were spoken out of the flowing of abundance of Commiseration and Love with her hands laid under his feet For so he thinks these words She cast it at his feet import Ver. 26. So he let him go i. e. The Angel no longer threatned Moses with death but his Wife to her great joy saw him restored to her in safety From which in after times sprang the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were so famous among the Greeks and Egyptians in the Feasts of Bacchus and Osiris whose Stories Huetius hath lately shown were framed out of this of Moses From whence also as he probably conjectures they used Remedies for Diseases in forma fascini which they hung as Amulets about their Childrens Necks Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. Cap. IV. n. 3. Then she said or when she said a bloody Husband thou art c. i. e. As soon as Zipporah had Circumcised the Child and thrown the Foreskin at her Husband's feet and said these words Moses was delivered from his danger Or according to our Translation as soon as her Husband was safe she repeated the foregoing words saying I have redeemed thy life by circumcising thy Son They that make these words to have been spoken in a rage because she was forced to do what she did suppose her to have had little kindness for her Husband and as little regard to Circumcision I should rather Translate the words So she let him go i. e. let Moses go to Egypt and went back her self to her Father only repeating these words before she went Remember me how I have saved thy Life and made thee my Husband again when Death was at hand by the Blood of thy Son whom I have Circumcised There is only this Exception to it that the Hebrew word for let him go is of the Masculine Gender which is of no great weight because it is usual in this Language when they speak of Females as I observed on I. 21. and it is certain she returned to her Father but whether in this manner no Body can certainly determine For we are not told any where upon what occasion she went back to Jethro unless it be here insinuated as we find she did XVIII 2. together with her Children But it is very probable that she fearing some other danger into which she and her Children might fall by the way or in Egypt might desire Moses to send her home again till he had finished the work he went about unto which he consented Ver. 27. And the LORD said unto Aaron In Egypt I suppose he received this order from God but we do not know how whether by an Apparition of the Divine Majesty to him or in a Dream or otherways Go into the Wilderness to meet Moses The Wilderness was a wide place therefore he directed him no doubt into what part he should go And he went and met him in the Mount of God He went almost to Midian that he might have the more time to hear what Moses's Commission was before they came to Egypt Ver. 28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD c. Mentioned III. 6 7 8 c. and in this Chapter 14 15 16 c. And all the signs c. See v. 2 3 c. which he told him to confirm his belief that God had spoken those words to him Ver. 29. And Moses and Aaron went Came into Egypt And gathered together all the Elders of the Children of Israel The chief Persons in every Tribe who bore a great sway among them See III. 16. Ver. 30. And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses According to what God had promised v. 15 16. And did the signs The Signs are done by Moses as the Words were spoken by Aaron v. 17. In the sight of all the People Who came along with the Elders Ver. 31. And the People believed All the rest of the People also to whom the Elders reported what they had heard and seen believed that God had sent Moses to be their Deliverer And when they heard that the LORD had visited c. See III. 7 16 17. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped Most humbly acknowledged the Goodness of God and his Faithfulness to his Word CHAP. V. Verse 1. AND afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh When they had convinced the Elders of Israel of their Commission they desired Audience of Pharaoh Which having obtained they went to Court taking some of the Elders along with them to attend them Which is not a meer Conjecture from the decency of the thing that they should go alone on such a Solemn Embassy but so they were commanded
in the Autumn ut uno tenore siccescant that they might dry by an equal heat they that were made at the Solstice being suddenly crusted over by the Sun and left too moist within L. II. de Architect c. 3. Ver. 8. And the tale of the Bricks which they did make heretofore you shall lay upon them c. It appears from v. 13 14. that there was a certain quantity exacted from them every day For they be idle and therefore they cry saying Let us go and Sacrifice to our God They have not work enough to employ their Thoughts which makes their Mind wander after other things Ver. 9. Let there more work be laid upon the Men. Or make it heavy upon them as it is in the Margin That they may labour therein Have no time to think of any thing else And let them not regard vain words So he calls the Message of Moses and Aaron who he pretends were meer Deceivers and fed their Hope with Lyes for so it is in the Hebrew words of falshood or lying words or at least he resolved their words should not prove true for he would not let the People go Ver. 10. Thus saith Pharaoh I will not give you Straw The Task-masters with their Officers proclaimed the King's Order that every Body might take notice of it Ver. 11. Go get you Straw where you can find it c. A heavy Sentence importing that whether they could find any or no no abatement would be made of the number of Bricks that was expected from them This was to drive them to Desperation by demanding things impossible And added as Conradus Pellicanus observes to the Burdens on their Bodies very sore Anguish of Mind For it tempted them to doubt of the Goodness of their God who they thought had sent a deliverer to them IV. 31. by whom they were now reduced into a more miserable Condition Ver. 12. So the People were scattered abroad throughout all the Land of Egypt c. Some part of them were forced to go and pick up Straw or for want of it Stuble and sometime travel a great way for it while the rest were working in the Brick-kilns without their help which they were wont to have whereby they were disabled from making so many Bricks as formerly they had done Ver. 13. And the Task-master hasted them c. Quickned them in their work when they saw they were likely to fall short of their wonted Task Ver. 14. And the Officers of the Children of Israel c. By this it appears as I said v. 6. that these Officers were Israelites And from this place Bonavent Bertram concludes Lib. de Rep. Hebr. Cap. IV. that there was a Civil Government among the Israelites all the time they were in Egypt and that these Schoterim as they are called in Hebrew were Men of the greatest Note among the Elders who executed all their Decrees and consequently of high Authority among the People For which reason Pharaoh's Task-masters chose them to Oversee and Direct the Labours of their Brethren But Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. XV. hath made it appear that there was no such Judicature among them at this time and when there was this was the Name of those who executed the Sentence of the Judges being like to our Apparitors and such like under Officers See p. 621 c. Were beaten With Sticks or scourged with Rods. Wherefore have yet not fulfilled your Task both yesterday c. They punished the Officers as if they had been negligent in not pressing the People to their Duty Yet it seems they forbore them one day to see if they would mend their Fault the next V. 15. Then the Officers of the Children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh saying c. They had some hope this Oppression might proceed from the Task-masters and not from the King himself and therefore they represented their Case to him and petitioned for Relief It is said indeed v. 6. that Pharaoh laid this Command both upon the Task-masters and their Officers but it is not unlikely that he gave it immediately only to the Task-masters who were his own Ministers and by them to the Officers Ver. 16. Thy Servants are beaten but the fault is in thine own People This shows that they thought such Inhumane Usage was the effect of the Task-masters Cruelty Ver. 17. But he said ye are idle ye are idle c. He soon made them understand it was by his Decree and not his Servants pleasure that they were thus used And which was worse they saw he was sixed in his Resolution being void of all pity and mocking at their Complaints For nothing could be more Sarcastical than to tell them they were idle when they sunk under their Burdens Ver. 18. Go therefore now and work c. Do not spend your time in making Complaints to me but return immediately to your Labours and continue at them till my Commands be executed and expect no mitigation Ver. 19. And the Officers did see that they were in evil Case c. By this Answer they found themselves reduced to such Straits that now they despaired of all Relief the King himself being set against them Ver. 20. And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh They had placed themselves there on purpose to hear what Success the Officers had in their Petition Ver. 21. And they said the LORD look upon you and judge This seems to be an Imprecation or at least the Officers bid Moses and Aaron expect that God would take them to task as we speak for bringing his People into so bad a Case Ye have made our Savour to be abhorred in the Eyes c. Made us odious as this Phrase signifies XXXIV Gen. 30. To put a Sword into their hand to slay us Who may take an occasion from hence and make this a pretence for the destroying our whole Nation Ver. 22. And Moses returned unto the LORD this plainly intimates that the LORD had appeared to Moses since he came to Egypt as he did at Mount Horeb and that he appeared in some setled place where he might upon all Occasions resort to him And said LORD wherefore hast thou so evil intreated this People c. It was to no purpose to answer the Officers who expostulated with him for they were too much exasperated and thereby prejudiced against any thing he could say And therefore he chose rather to represent to God the Complaints they had made to him that he might be directed what Satisfaction to give them For he was not able of himself to give an account why the LORD should suffer their Condition to grow worse rather than better since he delivered his Message to Pharaoh No nor why he should send him on an Embassy which was not at all regarded Ver. 23. For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy Name he hath done Evil to this People neither hast thou
to have given to these three Patriarchs as the famous Primate Vsher observes the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance CV Psal 11. which was not fulfilled to them but to their Posterity And as the Possession of Posterity is attributed to the Fathers so upon the same ground he thinks the Peregrination of the Fathers is attributed here to the Children Chronol Sacra Cap. VIII Ver. 5. And I have also c. This Verse also begins with the same Particle vegam and must be translated although if the former Interpretation be right Or else those words by my Name Jehovah was I not known to them must come in by a Parenthesis and both these Verses be connected with what goes before appeared unto Abraham Isaac and Jacob by the Name of God Almighty to whom he so appeared as to make a Covenant with them which he perfectly remembred and having taken notice to what condition they were reduced was now come to deliver them Ver. 6. Say unto the Children of Israel I am the LORD Tell them I will now show that I am what this Name imports v. 2. And I will bring them from under the burdens of the Egyptians The heavy Oppressions under which you groan v. 5. And I will rid you of their bondage They were meer Slaves and lay also under such insupportable Loads as made it impossible for them to deliver themselves but it was to be the sole work of God And I will redeem you with a stretched out Arm. This word redeem implies their Servitude from which he rescued them by a Power superiour to Pharaoh's or any Power on Earth as appears by the following Story And with great Judgments When God first promised this Deliverance which Moses was about to effect he told Abraham I will judge that Nation which oppressed them XV Gen. 14. That is punish them which is one Office of a Judge according to their Deservings This now he intended to perform and thereby show himself to be Jehovah and that in a most terrible manner by inflicting not only very grievous but many Plagues upon them For Greg. Nyssen observes that all the Elements the Earth the Water the Fire and the Air were all moved against the Egyptians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as an Obedient Army L. de Vita Mosis p. 173. Thus Judgments and to Judge are used in many places for Punishing IX Psal 17. XIX Prov. 29. 2 Chron. XX. 12. Ver. 7. And I will take you to me for a People By the right of Redemption before mentioned And I will be to you a God He was so before but now after a peculiar manner And ye shall know that I am the LORD your God c. By seeing my Promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob fulfilled Ver. 8. And I will bring you unto the Land concerning which I did swear to give it c. Two things were promised to Abraham in that Vision mentioned XV Gen. First That he would deliver his Seed from this Nation which oppressed them v. 14. And secondly That he would bring them into the Land of Canaan v. 16. Both these he now declares should be fulfilled the former in the foregoing Verse and the latter in this and thereby they should be convinced that he was indeed Jehovah true and constant to his word I am the LORD He concludes as he began having said this twice before v. 2 6. Ver. 9. And Moses spake so unto the Children of Israel He delivered this Message as he was commanded which one would have expected should have raised their drooping Spirits But quite contrary They hearkened not unto Moses They did not believe or receive what he said So Maimon More Nev. P. I. cap. 45. or it made no Impression upon them The Reason follows For anguish of Spirit In the Hebrew because of shortness of Breath They were so extreamly oppressed that they could scarce fetch their Breath as we speak Or had no heart so much as to think of Deliverance much less hope for it but sunk under their burdens And for cruel Bondage Common Slaves though they cannot deliver themselves rejoyce to hear the good News that they are likely to be delivered by those who have power and will to do it But in this Slavery they were used so cruelly that they were quite dejected and uncapable of any Comfort So the LXX translate the foregoing words for anguish of Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of faint-heartedness they being quite dispirited Ver. 10. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying It is likely that Moses finding the Israelites so regardless of what he said went to the usual place where he was wont to have recourse to the Divine Majesty See v. 22. to receive new Directions what to do Ver. 11. Go in speak unto Pharaoh King of Egypt c. The LORD bids him go again to Pharaoh and renew the Demand he made before v. 1. Ver. 12. And Moses spake before the LORD This Phrase liphne Jehovah before the LORD plainly denotes that God appeared unto him in a visible Majesty as I observed above v. 1. and See XI 4. Behold the Children of Israel have not hearkened to me how then shall Pharaoh hear me Their faint-heartedness disheartened Moses also and made him unwilling to renew his Address unto Pharaoh And there seems to be good reason in what he says if the Children of Israel whose interest it was to give ear to him did not believe him what hope was there that Pharaoh should comply against his interest Who am of uncircumcised Lips This Reason he had alledged before and was fully answered IV. 10 11 c. and therefore ought not to have been repeated now For his being of uncircumcised Lips signifies no more than that he was an ill Speaker and wanted Eloquence It being the manner of the Hebrews to call those parts Vncircumcised which are inept to the use for which they were designed and cannot do their Office Thus Jeremy saith of the Jews that their ear was uncircumcised and adds the Explication they cannot hearken VI Jer. 10. In like manner uncircumcised Lips are Lips that cannot utter words as uncircumcised in heart IX Jer. 26. are such as cannot understand St. Stephen puts both together uncircumcised in heart and ears VII Acts 51. Perhaps Moses thought it some disparagement to him that he was not able himself to deliver his Mind in an handsome manner unto Pharaoh and therefore mentions this again to move the Divine Majesty to circumcise his Lips as they speak that is remove this impediment Ver. 13. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron Here is no express Answer made to his Objection but it seems to be included in God's speaking unto Moses and unto Aaron whereas before he had spoken only to Moses v. 1 10. And it is likely Moses was admonished that the LORD having given him Aaron to supply his defect he ought to be satisfied therewith and go with him and renew his Address both to the
Nabi they fancy was not now in use to signifie a Prophet as appears say they from 1 Sam. IX 9. where it is said He that is now called Nabi a Prophet was before time called Roch a Seer Which seems to signifie that the word Nabi which Moses here uses for a Prophet was but newly come into use in Samuel's days But this is very far from Samuel's meaning whose plain sense is this that he who foretold things to come or discovered secrets was anciently called a Seer not a Prophet Which signified heretofore only an Interpreter of the Divine Will but now they began in Samuel's days to apply the word Nabi or Prophet to those who could reveal any Secret or foresee Things future Which had not been the use of the word formerly but it signified as I said one that was familiar with God and knew his Mind and delivered it to others as I observed upon XX Gen. 7. where God himself calls Abraham a Prophet as he here calls Aaron And what holy Writer would dare to alter the word which God himself used Which is far more proper also to this purpose than either ROEH or CHOSEH which these Men sancy were the words in use in Moses his time not Nabi for they do not answer the intention of God in this Speech concerning Aaron Who was not to see and Divine or to receive Revelations from God but to be a Mouth to Moses to utter what God revealed to him not to Aaron Which is the original signification of the word Nabi there being no derivation of it so natural that I can find as that of R. Solomon's from the word Nub which signifies to utter or to bring forth X Prov. 31. Ver. 2. Thou shall speak all that I command thee c. This explains the latter end of the former Verse that Moses should deliver God's Mind to Aaron and Aaron should deliver it to Pharaoh requiring him from God to dismiss the Children of Israel out of his Country Ver. 3. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart Or but I will harden c. which Avenarius translates I will permit his heart to be hardned Though there is no need of it for God here only foretels what Pharaoh would force him to do See IV. 21. after several Signs and Wonders had been wrought to move him to Obedience For he was so stupid and hardned his heart so often VIII 15 32. that in conclusion God hardned him by withdrawing all good motions from him And therefore the first time that Jehovah is said to harden his heart there is a special remembrance of this that the LORD had foretold it IX 12. And multiply my Signs and my Wonders c. The first Plagues that were inflicted on him proving ineffectual it was necessary to send more and greater that if it had been possible his heart might have been mollified Ver. 4. But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you Or rather and Pharaoh shall not hearken to your demands For this was the effect of his hardning That I may lay my Hand upon Egypt Smite all their First-born upon which immediately followed their march out of Egypt And bring forth mine Armies c. All the Tribes of the Children of Israel which were so multiplyed that every one of them singly made an Army See VI. 26. By great Judgments That is grievous Plagues which he inflicted on them one after another And thereby made good his word that Moses should be a God to Pharaoh v. 1. that is a Judge as the word Elohim sometimes signifies See VI. 6. Ver. 5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD Be convinced or made sensible that none can withstand me When I stretch forth my hand against Egypt c. This was most especially fulfilled when he smote their First-born which made them look upon themselves as lost Men if they continued disobedient XII 33. Ver. 6. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commaded them so did they He repeats what he saith of their Obedience to God's Commands because from this time forward they no longer disputed nor made any Objection but roundly went about their business Ver. 7. And Moses was fourscore years old c. The Israelites were under an heavy Persecution when Moses was born and God exercised their Patience it appears by this a very long time that their Deliverance might be for ever remembred with the greater Thankfulness and Obedience Such grave Persons as these were fittest to be imployed as God's Commissioners in this Affair for they could not well be thought to be hot-headed Men who thrust themselves forward into this Embassy without a Warrant So some of the Jews very judiciously have observed that God made choice of aged Men to work all his Miracles before Pharaoh and to receive his Revelations because they were not apt to invent nor to be under the power of Fancy at those years See Sepher Cosri L. I. Sect. 83. where Buxtorf notes that Aben Ezra observes upon this place That none besides Moses and Aaron ever prophesyed in their old Age because they were more excellent than all the Prophets Ver. 8. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron saying When they were about to renew their Address to Pharaoh God was pleased again to appear and give them his Directions in their Proceedings Ver. 9. When Pharaoh shall speak unto you saying shew a Miracle for you It was likely that Pharaoh would when he was not in a Passion ask How shall I know that you come from God with this Message to me give me some proof of your Authority And such a proof as can be done by none but by the Power of God And therefore God directs Moses what to do in this case Say unto Aaron Take thy Rod. The same Rod is sometime called the Rod of God IV. 20. sometime Moses his Rod and sometime Aarons as we find it in many places v. 10. 19. of this Chapter and VIII 5.19 c. Because God wrought all the following Miracles by this Rod which sometimes Moses and sometimes Aaron held in their hand But commonly Moses delivered it unto Aaron as an Agent under him to stretch it out for the effecting of Wonders For he tells Pharaoh in this very Chapter that with the Rod which was in his hand he would smite the Waters c. v. 17. And immediately the LORD bad him Say unto Aaron Take thy Rod and stretch out thy hand upon the Waters of Egypt v. 19. By which it appears he had delivered the Rod unto Aaron For a Rod being the Ensign of Authority Prophets were wont to carry one in their hand in token of their Office And so did the Egyptian Magicians also who had every one their Rod ready to throw down v. 12. And Mercury whom the Egyptians counted a Prophet and thence called him Anubis was represented with a Wand in his hand And cast it before Pharaoh As God had before directed Moses IV. 3 21. Ver. 10. And
Homer to have changed Vlysses's Companions into Hoggs But there are those who take these to have been real Serpents brought hither by the power of the Devil who withdrew their Rods and put these which he suddenly transported from some other place in their room Which if it be true it makes the Power that wrought by Moses the more wonderful whose Serpent devoured them all But Aaron 's Rod swallowed up their Rods. The Serpent into which Aaron's Rod was turned moved towards them and eat them up Which was as I said the more astonishing if they were real Serpents of the same bigness as we may well suppose they would indeavour to bring with that of Moses However their Serpents whatsoever they were could not stand before his but were swallowed up while his still remained This might have convinced Pharaoh if his Magicians had not made him believe that they would in time sind a Power superious to Moses The Jews also imagine Pharaoh himself was a Magician and helpt to get out of Moses the Secret whereby he wrought these Wonders Which were the greater because Moses no doubt in conclusion took this Serpent by the Tail as God had commanded him IV. 4. and it became a Rod in his hand again Whereas the Egyptian Sorcerers had no Rods remaining to take up they being vanished with their Serpents Greg. Nyssen L. de Vita Mosis p. 173. takes the devouring of their Rods to have been a plain Argument 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. that the Rods i. e. Serpents of the Magicians had no vital power in them able to defend themselves but were meer Delusions without any real vertue And here I cannot but take notice of a remarkable Passage in Numenius a Pythagoraean Philosopher recorded by Eusebius L. IX Praepar Evang. Cap. VIII where he tells us that Numenius in this third Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresly saith that Jannes and Jambres were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inferiour to none in Magical Skill and therefore chosen by the common consent of the Egyptians to oppose Musaeus as the Heathens call Moses the Leader of the Jews of whom he gives this noble Character that he was a Man most powerful with God in Prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which is a plain Confession that he took Moses to be as he is called in these Books a Man of God and may serve to shame those who either believe not this History or think Moses to have been only a great Magician Ver. 13. And he hardned Pharaoh 's heart or rather Pharaoh's heart was hardned For so we translate this very Hebrew Phrase v. 22. and I can give no account why we translate it otherwise here Especially since the Vulgar and the Chaldee so render it and the LXX also in this Verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pharaoh 's heart grew stiff or waxed strong and stubborn And v. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his heart was hardned And it is plainly the like form of Speech with that in the next Verse 14. where God himself interprets his own meaning Pharaoh's heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is heavy and will not stir Nor is there in any of these three Verses the least mention of any Person by whom his heart was hardned That he hearkned not unto them as the Lord had said It is likely upon the first sight of the Serpent his heart was inclined to hearken but seeing the Magicians do the same it returned to its first bent and there fixed notwithstanding Moses's Rod devoured theirs This God had predicted III. 19. knowing his wicked Disposition would not yield to any means he should think sit to use for his Reformation Ver. 14. And the LORD said unto Moses c. It is likely Moses after he had been with Pharaoh and wrought this Miracle returned to the place where the Divine Majesty was wont to appear unto him VI. 12 30. and gave him an account of what had passed Whereupon the LORD told him he saw Pharaoh was resolved in his way and therefore it would be to no purpose to wait to see what would be the effect of the late Miracle but bid him go the next Morning and carry a threatning Message to him Pharaoh 's heart is hardned he refuseth to let the People go It is observable that he doth not say I have hardned Pharaoh's heart and therefore there should have been no such intimation in our translation of v. 13. but Pharaoh's heart is hardned Which can imply no other hardning than what proceeded from his own setled Resolution not to lose the Service of the Israelites Ver. 15. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the Morning Of the very next day after he had wrought the foregoing Miracle And now begins the first of the Ten Plagues which God sent upon the Egyptians for disobeying his Ambassadours Whose Treaty with Pharaoh as Jacobus Capellus ad A. M. 2502. thinks continued about Eleven Months from the end of Harvest which he makes account was in our May to the beginning of the next year which is the Opinion of the Hebrew Doctors But our excellent Primate Vsher thinks that all the following Plagues were inflicted within the space of One Month in such order of time as I shall observe in the beginning of each of them And Bochartus gives good reason for it in his Hierozoic P. 2. L. IV. Cap. VIII For we are told here v. 7. that Moses was fourscore years old when he began to treat with Pharaoh and in V Josh 6. that they walked forty years in the Wilderness Now if he had spent a year in inflicting these Plagues Moses who died just as they were entring into Canaan must have been an Hundred and one and twenty years old whereas he was but an Hundred and twenty as we read XXXIV Deut. 5. Nor was it sutable to the Divine Goodness to be so long in delivering his People who were reduced to extream Misery It was but just also that God should follow Pharaoh whose heart was so obstinately hard with one Plague upon the neck of another and give him no time to breathe after one was removed before another came upon him Lo he goeth out unto the Water God who knows all things foresaw his motion before hand and speaks as if he then saw him actually going out of his Palace to the River Either to walk there for Recreation or to Worship the River Nile For as Bochart whose words these are observes out of Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nothing was had in such honour among the Egyptians as the River Nile If it was so in Moses his days it is not unlikely that he went to pay his Morning Devotions to it Or if he were a Magician as the Hebrews fancy he might be skilled in that which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For so he observes they say in the Talmud and make this the reason of Pharaoh's going to the River Which Jonathan follows in his Paraphrase Behold he goeth out to observe
sore Plague more grievous than the former For that spoiled only their Water but not their other Liquors whereas this made them uneasie Day and Night in every place whether they sate or walkt or lay down or did eat and drink For their very Dough as we translate the word of this Verse in the Margin was infested with them as soon as they had kneaded it and so was their Drink in all likelyhood as soon as it was poured into their Cups Nay they got into their Ovens so that for the present I suppose they could not bake their bread Ver. 4. And the Frogs shall come up both upon thee and upon thy People c. They came not meerly into their Houses but crawled upon their Persons And here it is observable that this Plague is limited to the Egyptians Pharaoh his People and Servants the Israelites one would think by these words being exempted from it Ver. 5. And the LORD spake unto Moses say unto Aaron c. No doubt Moses delivered the foregoing Message unto Pharaoh but he it seems turned away and would give no Answer For here immediately follows a new Order which God perhaps gave Moses upon the spot as we speak before he returned home to inflict the Plague he had bid him threaten Ver. 6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand He as the Minister of Moses who was to him as God IV. 16. inflicted this Plague upon Egypt Over the Waters He did not go to every place where there was Water but stood by the River and stretcht his Rod over it towards every part of the Country as Eben Ezra rightly explains it and immediately God effected what Moses had denounced And the Frogs came up and covered the Land of Egypt That is there were vast numbers of them came up for they did not so cover the Land but there was room for more which the Magicians counterfeited The Jews think here was Mensura pro Mensura like for like as we speak For they say it was a piece of their Bondage that the Egyptians when they pleased sent them a fishing and now God made the River spawn nothing but Frogs Whose very croaking others of them think put the Egyptians in mind of the Cries of the poor Children whom they barbarously murdered Ver. 7. And the Magicians did so with their Inchantments c. They should rather have shown their skill in removing the Frogs or destroying those which Moses had brought Which one would think Pharaoh expected from them for they being unable to do this he betook himself to Moses whom he intreats to take them away which he would never have done if their power had not quite failed and been unable to give him any relief So Aben Ezra observes he called for Moses because he saw the Magicians had only added to the Plague but could not diminish it Ver. 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said intreat the LORD that he may take away the Frogs c. He that had proudly said not long ago Who is the LORD c. V. 2. now says Intreat the LORD c. This was an acknowledgment that the LORD sent them and that he only had power to remove them In the former Plague he did enough to make Pharaoh know he was the LORD VII 17. but this had that effect upon him for the present which made him earnestly intreat those whom he had scorned to become Intercessors to God for him and his People And I will let the People go that they may do Sacrifice unto the LORD This was not his setled Resolution but the present Danger made him consent to it For if the Frogs had continued long there had been no living in the Country As appears from what we read in Athenaeus out of Heraclides Lembus Lib. VIII Deipnos Cap. 2. who says the whole Country of Paeonia and Dardania were covered with Frogs which God rained down from Heaven in such abundance that the Houses and High-ways were full of them They spent some time in killing of them and by keeping their Doors shut they made a shift for a while to bear this Calamity but when it did no good but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. all their Vessels were full of them and they mingled themselves with their Meat whether boil'd or roast and they could tread no where but upon Frogs they left their Country being forced to it also by the stench of the Frogs when they died They that would see more of this out of several other Authours may consult Bonfrerius upon this very place and Bochartus in his Hierozoic P. 2. L. V. Cap. 2. p. 661 c. Ver. 9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh Glory over me when shall I intreat for thee Do thou appoint the time when I shall pray for thee as St. Hierom translates it and so doth the Syriack and Onkelos and the LXX who differ from the Hebrew Text in words only not in sense For by adding the word saying as we do in VII Judg. 2. where there is the same expression this Paraphrase of Bochart is very proper Hierozoic P. 2. L. V. Cap. 2. though it belongs not to thee to determine the time of thy Deliverance which depends wholly upon the Will and Pleasure of God yet I who am his Minister give thee leave to take so much upon thee as to prescribe what time thou pleasest for the removal of this Plague For thus he thinks Moses his words are to be translated Glory over me by telling me when I shall intercede for thee c. Moses saw perhaps that Pharaoh was much addicted to Astrologers who fancied all things here below to be governed by the Motion and Influence of the Stars and therefore would have him name the time that he might be satisfied there was no day nor hour under such an ill Aspect but he could prevail with God at any Moment he thought good to pitch upon to Deliver him Bonfrerius I think hath expressed in short the literal sense of the Hebrew words Tibi hunc honorem defero ut eligas quando c. I will do thee the honour that thou may'st assign the time And our Dr. Jackson still shorter Glory over me that is saith he you shall command me Ver. 10. And he said to morrow But why not on that very day all Men naturally desiring to be instantly relieved from their Sufferings Perhaps he thought as we said before to try Moses his Power believing the next day not to be so lucky as the present on which Moses had condescended to his Request Or it might now be towards night when he called for Moses who he thought would expect some time to pray to God for what he desired Be it according to thy word Thou shalt have thy desire That thou mayest know there is none like unto the LORD our God Mayest no longer depend upon thy Magicians and their Gods being convinced that our God alone whom we call JEHOVAH can wound and
heal Ver. 11. And the Frogs shall depart from thee c. This demonstrated the power of Moses with God that he could as certainly foretel the removal of the Frogs as he had done the bringing them upon the Land Ver. 12. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh To the place it is likely where Moses was wont to attend upon the Divine Majesty And Moses cried unto the LORD because of the Frogs In the Hebrew the words are Cried to him about the business or the matter of the Frogs which God had sent upon Pharaoh Or as Aben Ezra understands it concerning the Frogs which he had promised Pharaoh should be removed as if the words should be translated thus He cried unto the LORD concerning what he said about the Frogs and appointed unto Pharaoh For so the word Sham in XV. 25. signifies to appoint or propose and so the LXX here translate the words which we render had brought against Pharaoh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he had appointed to Pharaoh Ver. 13. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses So powerful was he with God in Prayer as the Heathens themselves observed from this Story See what I observed out of Numenius VII 12. And the Frogs died c. The Egyptians could not kill them but God took away their breath yet not removing them from the places where they were but leaving them dead there As appears by what follows Ver. 14. And they gathered them together on heaps That they might carry them it is likely into the River and so they might go down into the Sea God could have dissolved them into Dust if he had pleased or swept them into the River from whence they came or made them quite vanish in an instant But he would have them lye dead before their eyes as a Token they were real Frogs and no Illusion of their sight And the Land stank This was a further sensible Evidence that they were real Frogs Ver. 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite That he was freed from the great strait in which he was For the Hebrew word for respite signifies breathing or inlargement and makes the sense to be this that when the burden that pressed him was taken off so that he could take his breath he was of another mind c. He hardned his heart and hearkned not unto them c. Was not so good as his word v. 8. but returned to his former Resolution not to let Israel go Which Resolution grew so much more stubborn and obstinate than it had been before by how much the Plague of the Frogs had softned his heart and inclined it to yield to God more than the two former Miracles had done Ver. 16. And the LORD said unto Moses say unto Aaron The LORD seems to have given Pharaoh no warning of this Plague but to have inflicted it immediately upon the removal of the Frogs viz. on the Twenty seventh day of the sixth Month. For his breach of Faith was such an high Provocation that he deserved no other Treatment but a more notable Judgment Smite the Dust of the Land that it may become Lice Some would have the Hebrew word Cinnim to signifie Gnats or some such kind of Creature Thus many of the Ancients understand it and Artapanus calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a flying sort of living Creature which made such Ulcers by its biting as no Medicine could cure See Eusebius L. IX Praepar Evang. p. 425. But Bochartus hath sufficiently proved that our Translation is right and that out of the very Text. For Gnats and such like Insects are bred in Fenny places but these were brought out of the Dust of the Earth Ver. 17. Aaron stretched out his hand with his Rod. He still is the Instrument to execute all the Judgments which Moses denounced as he was his Mouth to deliver all the Messages he carried to Pharaoh And smote the Dust of the Earth and it became Lice This showed the Lice were not a Natural Production for they come out of the sweat and filth of Mens Bodies and of other Living Creatures In Man and Beast This proves they were Lice which stick fast both to Men and Beasts Whereas Gnats though they sting sorely cannot be said to be in Man and Beast for they are a most restless Creature continually buzzing about and never setling constantly in one place And there were various sorts of these Lice for Beasts do not breed the same that Men do nor have all Beasts alike but some are peculiar to Horses others to Oxen others to Sheep and others to Swine and Dogs All the Dust of the Land became Lice That is Nothing could be seen but Lice where Dust was before Or Lice were mingled every where with the Dust Throughout all the Land of Egypt Not of Goshen it is very probable which was inhabited mostly by Israelites Ver. 18. And the Magicians did so c. Attempted and endeavoured to do so by using their wonted Invocations and Rites of Incantation For the common saying among the Jews is very frivolous That Daemons have no power over Creatures so small as Lice The meaning of which Gaulmyn thinks they themselves did not understand which according to the Principles of the ancient Magick was this That all Animals had a particular Genius presiding over them by whose Assistance their Worshippers could do any thing among that sort of Creatures But this is meant only of perfect Animals not of Insects among whom they reckon'd Lice which had no such heavenly Power waiting on them But if there had been any such Notions then these Magicians sure would have understood it and not fruitlesly have attempted that which they had no hope to produce But they could not Though they had counterfeited the former Wonders yet here a stop is put to their Power so that they themselves confess their weakness So there were Lice upon Man and upon Beast This seems to suggest that since they could not produce any new Lice they attempted to remove those which Moses had brought upon the Country But they failed in that also for notwithstanding all that they could do both Men and Beasts were pestered with Lice The Hebrews say in The Life and Death of Moses that this Plague was inflicted upon the Egyptians for another piece of Oppression which they exercised on the Israelites to whom they said Go sweep our Houses and sweep our Streets c. therefore God made Lice to cover the Earth a Cubit deep But this favours too much of their fabulous invention It is more pertinent to observe that though we read of particular Persons who for great Crimes were punished with the Plague of Lice See Huctius L. II. Quaest Cap. XII n. 12. yet we do not find in any Story a whole Nation infested with them and that both Men and Beasts without Exception the Magicians themselves in all likelyhood being sorely asslicted with them which made them cry out as
the Waters were turned into Blood And that Calamity was not so universal neither being only in the River and some think only near the Court as this Murrain which was all over the Country and did them a far greater Mischief But having accustomed himself to do evil he grew still more obstinate and hardned in Pride and Covetousness For he doth not so much as pray to be delivered from this Plague which had done all the Execution he thought that was designed and he intended perhaps to repair his loss out of the Flocks and Herds of the Israelites which haply might make him less affected with this wonder than he had been with some of the former Ver. 8. And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron The former Plague having so little moved his proud and stubborn heart the Lord instantly without any further Message to him as being now in Process of Sentence says Dr. Jackson commands them to bring another Judgment upon the Egyptians more dreadful and noysom than any of the rest had been Take to you handfuls of Ashes of the Furnace In which Pharaoh had made them labour IV Deut. 20. which moved God to punish him and his People with this Plague for their cruel usage of his People there And let Moses sprinkle it The Jews think God imployed him only in Executing this Judgment being much heavier than all the foregoing But both he and Aaron being commanded to take Ashes in the words foregoing as we read they did v. 10. it is more probable they both sprinkled and so the meaning is let Moses as well as Aaron sprinkle it Towards Heaven To show that the Plague came from thence In the sight of Pharaoh That he might be convinced of it Ver. 9. And it shall become small dust in all the Land of Egypt c. Instead of these Ashes which they threw up into the Air there came down a small Sleet as we call it like that of Snow or the Hoar-frost which scalded the Flesh of Man and Beast and raised a Blister in every part upon which it fell The Poison of which penetrating into the Flesh made sore swellings like those we now call Bubo's Insomuch that as Philo understood it L. I. de Vita Mosis they were full of Blotches from Head to Foot Certain it is that the Hebrew word Schechni signifies an Inflammation that made a Tumor or Bile as we translate the word XIII Levit. 18 19. which turned into such a grievous Ulcer that Moses speaks of it afterwards as an unusual Plague which he calls the Botch of Egypt XXVIII Deut. 27. Dr. Lightfoot indeed observes that in the Book of Job II. 7 8. it signifies only a burning Itch or an inflamed Scab an intolerable dry Itch which his Nails could not scratch off but he was glad to make use of a Potsherd to scrub himself But then he confesses that this Schechni here spoken of was higher than that having Blains and Boils that broke out with it which Job's had not So that the Egyptians he thinks were vexed with a double Punishment at once aking Boils and a fiery Itch. But our Interpreters take it otherwise and say that Job also was smote with Boils which in conclusion perhaps had a Scab that itched very much Ver. 10. And they took Ashes of the Furnace c. This Plague was inflicted about the third Day of the seventh Month according to Archbishop Vsher's Computation who thinks it probable as many others do that from hence the Tale was spread among the Heathens that the Egyptians drove the Israelites out of Egypt because they were Scabby lest the Infection should spread all over the Country For they endeavoured in future Ages to make it be believed that what befel themselves was a Plague upon the Israelites Ver. 11. And the Magicians could not stand before Moses because of the Boils c. This Plague seized on them as well as the rest of the Egyptians and that in the Presence of Pharaoh as these words seem to import which perfectly confounded them For though since the Plague of Lice which they could not counterfeit we read of no attempt they ventured to make to vie Miracles with Moses and Aaron yet they still continued about Pharaoh it appears from this place and endeavoured to settle him in his Resolution not to let Israel go perswading him perhaps that though Moses for the present had found out some Secret beyond their skill they should at last be too hard for him But now being on a sudden smote with these Ulcers they were so amazed that we do not find they appeared again to look Moses in the face For now as the Apostle speaks their Folly was manifested to all Men 1 Tim. III. 8 9. In that they could not defend themselves from this terrible stroke whick publickly seizing on them before Moses in the sight of Pharaoh and all his Servants rendred them so contemptible that we never hear more of them Ver. 12. And the LORD hardned the heart of Pharaoh c. If we suppose that the Magicians who had hitherto confirmed Pharaoh in his obstinacy were forced to withdraw in great Confusion when they were smitten with the Boils one would have thought the next thing we should have heard would have been that Pharaoh relented But here is not the least token of that mentioned in this History but rather the express contrary that God was so angry with him that he himself hardned his heart which he had never done before This hardning therefore which is said to be God's doing was something sure very extraordinary Yet it was not an infusion of any bad Qualities or ungodly Resolutions into Pharaoh's heart but only that God did not vouchsafe him those Convictions that might have softned him and gave him up to his own hearts lusts and likewise ordered things so to fall out that he should hereafter be made by them more and more obdurate For he had hardned himself against five Plagues therefore God leaves him to himself and resolves he shall continue in his hardness Accordingly he doth not so much as desire to be freed from this Plague no more than he had done in the former which was nothing so grievous The effect of such Induration is well expressed by Dav. Chytraeus in these words Cor induratum est quod nec compunctione scinditur c. An hardned heart is neither cut by Compunction nor softned by any sense of Piety It is neither moved by Prayers and Intreaties nor yields to Threatnings nor feels the smart of Scourges It is ungrateful for Benefits treacherous to Counsels sullen to Judgments shameless to things most base fearless of Dangers For getful of things past negligent of things present improvident for the future In short it neither fears God nor reverences Man As the LORD had spoken unto Moses The Margin of our Bible directs the Reader to IV. 21. where God saith I will harden c. See there and III. 19. And observe
Warning of their Danger that they might avoid it Ver. 20. He that feared the Word of the LORD among the Servants of Pharaoh c. That which is opposed to this in the next Verse is He that set not his heart unto the Word of the LORD or as we translate it regarded it not i. e. did not attend to what was said and done by Moses and seriously consider it Unto which the fear of God moves all those who are possessed with it and serious consideration will not fail to work in Men the fear of God and of his Judgments Ver. 21. And he that regarded not the word of the LORD c. This was the Cause of the Ruin of all that perished they did not set themselves to consider the irresistible Power of him who inflicted such terrible Judgments upon them as Moses threatned For at last they grew so stupid that they could not consider but were perfectly infatuated Ver. 22. And the LORD said unto Moses stretch forth thy hand With his Rod in it as it is explained in the next Verse and as he had directed on other occasions VIII 16 17. where it is said Aaron stretched out his and with his Rod. Towards Heaven To show the Plague was sent from God That there may be Hail on all the Land of Egypt c. Here he more fully expresses the Damage it would do both to Men and Beasts and to the Herb of the Field which comprehends all the Trees v. 25. Ver. 23. And Moses stretched forth his Rod. Sometimes Aaron did it but it was at the Command of Moses and as his Minister who sometimes did it himself and was Commanded by God so to do v. 22. He gave warning of this Plague about the fourth Day of the VIIth Month and inflicted it upon the fifth and removed it the sixth The Author of The Life and Death of Moses fancies that God sent this Plague to punish the Egyptians for the drudgery they imposed upon the Israelites in making them till their Fields for them And the LORD sent Thunder and Hail c. It was no wonder there should be Thunder but the Claps of this were far more terrible than any that had been heard before in that Country As the Hall also was more ponderous and came down with a greater force and was mixed with Fire Which the Author of the Book of Wisdom observes Chap. XVI as a thing unusual And herein consisted the miraculousness of this Plague That whereas other Storms of Hail generally reach but a little way sometimes not a Mile this spread it self over the whole Country v. 25. And Flashes of Lightning were not only mingled with it but Fire ran upon the Ground and killed their Cattle LXXVIII Psal 48. when at the same time all the Land of Goshen though a part of that Country felt nothing of this Storm v. 26. And the LORD rained Hail upon the Land of Egypt This is repeated to show that it fell as thick as Rain and was not a meer showr but a continual Hail and that this was the principal part of this Plague being alone mentioned v. 22. and 26. where nothing is said of Thunder or Fire and put in the first place by the Psalmist both in LXXVIII 48. and CV 32. Ver. 25. And the Hail smote c. That is killed every Man and Beast that was in the Field v. 19. And smote every Herb and broke every Tree of the Field Especially their Vines and Figtrees as the Psalmist tells us LXXVIII 47. CV 33. Very great Hailstones have fall'n in several Countries some of a prodigious bigness as credible Historians relate whereby some living Creatures have here and there been killed but none ever made such a general destruction as this Storm did Yet we are not to understand it as if no green thing escaped nor a Bough of any Tree was left but the meaning is that a great many of every kind were destroyed though some as appears by the following Chapter still remained Ver. 26. Only in the Land of Goshen c. So that the Egyptians that lived among them fared the better it is thought at this time for their sake Ver. 27. And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron This is no more than he had done several times before VIII 8 25. but it may seem strange he should do it now after the LORD had hardned his heart The clearest account of it is that he acted now as a Man distracted and frighted out of his Wits which made him rave and cry out for help in very passionate words without any serious meaning I have sinned this time c. The meaning is not that he had not sinned before but I now acknowledge my Offence and the Justice of God in punishing the wickedness of me and of my People Which Confession doth not argue any tenderness of heart but was extorted by the horrible Fright he was in of being undone if he did not make some Submission Ver. 27. Intreat the LORD for it is enough Or beseech him that what I have already suffered may suffice That there be no more mighty Thundrings and Hail The words import frightful Claps of Thunder which sounded as if God was angry with them especially since the Hail fell like Thunder-bolts upon their Heads and struck those down that walkt abroad This was the reason that he begg'd their Prayers For he and his Servants could not always continue within Doors and while the Hail lasted there was no Safety abroad And I will let you go Not quite away but three days Journey into the Wilderness as they desired And ye shall stay no longer He promises to dismiss them immediately Ver. 29. And Moses said unto him as soon as I am gone out of the City By this he demonstrated the great Power of God who he knew would protect him from receiving any harm by the Thunder Lightning and Hail which killed all others that went abroad into the Fields I will spread forth my hands unto the LORD This was an ancient Posture of Supplication in all Nations as many Learned Men have shown whereby Men declared that God is the Giver of all good things and that they hoped to receive Help from him For our Hands are the Instruments whereby we receive any Gift that is bestowed upon us That thou mayest know how that the Earth is the LORD's Have a demonstration which was sufficient to make him know that the LORD governs all things as appeared by the ceasing of this dreadful storm upon Moses his Prayers to God as well as by the powring of it in such violence upon them Ver. 30. But as for thee and thy Servants I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God The generality of the Court he knew would continue as obstinate as their Prince though some of them had some sense of God and of his Judgments as we read v. 20. Ver. 31. And the Flax and the Barley were smitten
c. From hence our Learned N. Fuller gathers that this fell out in the Month of Abib as Archbishop Vsher observes in his Annals For it appears by Pliny and others that Barley began to ripen in those Countries in March but Wheat not till April Herm. Conringius differs from this account a little for he thinks in his Treatise de initio anni Sabbatici that this Hail fell in the Month of February Flax being sown here and among the Romans from the Calends of October to the VIIth of the Ides of December as he observes out of Columella Ver. 32. But the Wheat and the Rye were not smitten for they were not grown up In the Hebrew they were hidden i. e. were as yet under ground as Kimchi and from him Junius and Tremellius expound it But that cannot be the meaning for there was but a Months difference between the growth of Wheat and of Barley to maturity And therefore Bochartus hath more truly expounded the meaning Hierozoic P. II. L. IV. c. 3. that they were not yet eared and so being tender and flexil yielded to the stroke of the Hail and received less harm than the Barley which was in the ear and the Flax which was bolled Ver. 33. And Moses went out of the City c. As he had promised v. 29. And the Rain was not powred out It seems there was Rain together with the Hail and Fire which made this Plague still the more wonderful Or by Rain must be understood the showr of Hail which the Lord rained from Heaven v. 18. which sense is confuted by the next Verse Ver. 34. And when Pharaoh saw that the Rain and the Hail and the Thunder were ceased As soon as the Storm was over and the Heavens clear again He sinned yet more and hardned his heart c. That which should have made him acknowledge the Power of God which was as apparent in stopping the Hail as in powring it on his Country made him the more contumacious For seeing this danger over he fancied there would be no more Ver. 34. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardned c. Continued in hardness for God would not soften it having resolved still to harden him as he had began to do v. 12. and did now X. 1. For he neither moved his heart to remember his Confession and his Promise v. 27 28. nor continued the means which extorted that seeming Repentance from him But by granting his Desire to have this stroke removed suffered him to return to his wonted Obstinacy CHAP. X. Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses Go in unto Pharaoh Perhaps Moses might think that after seven Messages delivered to him and as many Plagues for his Refusal and God's Declaration that he had hardned his heart it was to no purpose to make any new Address unto him Which it is likely he would have forborn if he had not received this express Command from God to go to him again For I have hardned his heart c. This is rather a Reason why he should not go and therefore the Particle ki is not to be translated for but although as it many times is used in these Books and then the sense is clear Although I have hardned his heart yet let not that hinder thy going to him but still importune him because I intend to take occasion from his Refusing to obey me to work greater Signs and Wonders for your benefit as it follows in the next Verse and for his Ruin That I might shew these my Signs before him The Signs he speaks of were those already done since he hardned him and those which were to follow For he had threatned when he said he would harden Pharaoh's heart VII 3. to multiply his Signs and Wonders in the Land of Egypt Ver. 2. And that thou mayest tell The LXX translate it that ye may tell for he speaks to Moses as sustaining the Person of the whole People of Israel In the ears of thy Son and thy Sons son All future Posterity What things I have wrought in Egypt This may refer to the Ten Plagues which he inflicted on the Egyptians And my Signs which I have done among them The turning of his Rod into a Serpent and two other Miracles mentioned at his first Mission are called Signs IV. 8 9. and see VII 9 10. That ye may know how that I am the LORD That there is no other God but me Ver. 3. And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh As God had commanded Moses v. 1. Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews This is the stile wherein they began to deliver their Message to him and which they continued all along V. 1 3. VII 16 c. How long wilt thou refuse to humble thy self before me We meet not with this chiding Question in any of the former Messages which was most proper now that he had so often refused to yield or instantly revolted from his seeming Submissions Ver. 4. Behold to morrow This word behold denotes the speedy Execution of a remarkable Judgment See IX 3. And according to the Computation before mentioned it was threatned on the seventh day of the Month Abib to be executed the next day I will bring the Locusts into thy Coasts The Hebrew word Arbeh comes from rabah which signifies to be multiplied For there is no living Creature multiplies more than this Whence they are said in the next Verse to cover the face of the Earth and the Psalmist speaking of them saith they came without number CV Psal 34. Ver. 5. And they shall cover the face of the Earth c. So that nothing could be seen but Locusts See v. 15. And they shall eat How devouring they are and destructive to the Fruits of the Earth Vossius shows at large L. IV. de Orig. Pr. Idol c. 19. and Bochartus P. I. L. IV. Hieroz c. 3. whole Countries having been laid so bare by them in a few hours that it hath brought a Famine upon the Inhabitants See Pliny L. XI Hist. Nat. c. 29. The residue of that which is escaped c. By this it appears that the Wheat and the Rye escaped the stroke of the Hail IX 31. so the Trees were not to be broken but some Boughs remained And shall eat every Tree c. These Creatures spare not the very Bark of the Trees eating all things that come in their way as Pliny testifies in the forecited place Omnia morsu erodentes fores quoque tectorum Ver. 6. And they shall fill thy Houses c. The Author of the Book of Wisdom XVI 9. seems to think that they killed Men and Women But that mistake it is likely arose from v. 17. which may have another Interpretation See there Though if the Locusts died in their Houses the stench of their dead Bodies was so offensive that it often bred the Pestilence as Bochartus observes P. I. Hieroz L. IV. c. 3 5. Which neither thy Fathers c. They exceeded all
a while in the Air over the whole Country they came down and setled upon the Ground in every part of it Very grievous were they By their vast Numbers For so the word Caved I have often observed signifies and so the Vulgar Latin here translates innumerable Before them there were no such Locusts See v. 6. Neither after them shall be such i. e. Not in the Land of Egypt though in other Countries there might particularly in Judea when God brought this Plague upon it I Joel 2. Ver. 15. For they covered the Face of the whole Earth c. The word in the Hebrew which we translate Face signifying properly the Eye it induced Onkelos to translate this Passage they covered the Sun which is the Eye of the Earth That is there was such a thick Cloud of them before they fell that they darkned the Sun as when they were fall'n they darkned the Land as it here follows Or the meaning is there were such Numbers that they not only covered the Earth but the Sun also For many Authors mentions such prodigious Clouds of them as have so thickned the Sky that the Day hath been turned into Night See Bochart P. II. Hieroz L. IV. c. 5. And they did eat every Herb of the Land c. See v. 5. Ver. 16. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste This Dr. Jackson not improperly calls another raving sit or phrenetical symptom into which this new Calamity threw him I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you Whom he had lately caused to be driven out of his Presence v. 11. but now humbles himself before them more than he had done at any time before For this was such a Plague as all Men accounted a manifest Token of the Divine Displeasure According to that of Pliny L. XI c. 29. Deorum irae pestis ea intelligitur This is taken for a Plague of the Anger of the Gods or as some Copies have it Mira pestis a wonderful Plague sent from above Ver. 17. Now therefore forgive I pray you my sin only this once c. Nothing could be spoken more humbly and seemingly penitent than this Supplication which includes in it also a Promise never to offend again But there was no Sincerity in it being the effect only of a great fright which extorted this Confession and Submission from him without any serious meaning to continue in this Resolution Thus we all naturally think of Repenting as Pellicanus here piously reslects when we are in great straits nay and promise it too till we are out of danger when we perform little of what we promised as our whole Life testifies That he may take away from me this death only We cannot gather from hence that the Locusts killed Men and Women as the Hail did for the Fields and the Trees c. are said to die as well as Men XLVII Gen. 19. XIV Job 8 c. But the Locusts destroying the Supports of Life by eating up the Corn and the Grass c. might by consequence be said to kill the People In both which regards Pharaoh might call them deadly Locusts Ver. 18. And he went out from Pharaoh and intreated the LORD Both Moses and Aaron were called to Pharaoh and therefore now went both out But one only is mentioned viz. Moses because by his Prayers this Plague was removed Ver. 19. And the LORD turned This is supposed to be done the next day as I observed v. 12. according to what is said VIII 29. A mighty strong West-wind Strong Winds are the only Remedy to free a Country from this Plague as Pliny hath observed For if they die in those Fields on which they settle the Air is so corrupted by the stench that it breeds Pestilential Diseases Which took away the Locusts and cast them into the Red-sea That which we call the Red-sea the Hebrews call the Sea of Suph i. e. of Flags as we translate the word Suph in the second Chapter of this Book v. 3. because it was full of a certain Weed which the Latines call alga and the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some Travellers have affirmed to be of a red Colour and to make the Water appear as if it were red also from whence some fancy it was called the Red-sea Certain it is it had the Hebrew Name of Suph from hence there being such abundance of this Weed in that Sea that the Inhabitants of the Coast plucking it up out of the Water and laying it in heaps to be dried by the Sun it becomes so compact that they build Houses of it as Bochartus hath observed in his Phaleg L. IV. c. 29. But it is most likely to have had the Name of the Red-sea from this that what the Hebrews called the Sea of Suph the nearer Neighbours called the Sea of Edom from the Country which it washed viz. Idumaea 1 Kings IX 26. XXI Numb 4. From whence the Greeks who knew not the reason of the Name called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Red-sea because Edom in Hebrew signifies red as we find XXV Gen. 29. Now this Sea which late Writers call Sinus Arabicus lies East of Egypt and therefore a West wind was most proper to drive the Locusts thither There remained not one Locust in all the Land of Egypt The Power of God appeared no less in sweeping them all away than in bringing them upon the Country for both were done at the instance of Moses Ver. 20. But the LORD hardned Pharaoh 's heart c. See IX 12. He left him to himself and did not move him to persist in his late good Resolution Ver. 21. And the LORD said unto Moses He left off now to treat with Pharaoh and only proceeds in the Execution of the Sentence of utter Destruction which he had decreed against him Stretch out thine hand towards Heaven See IX 22. That there may be Darkness over the Land of Egypt So that they should not see any thing at Noon-day Even Darkness that may be felt In the next Verse he calls it thick Darkness which was made I suppose by such clammy Foggs that they sensibly affected the Egyptians Ver. 22. And there was thick Darkness in all the Land of Egypt three days Some think that during this three days Darkness the Israelites were Circumcised when the Egyptians by reason of the great Horrour they were in all that time could take no Advantage of them And so Dr. Lightfoot expounds CV Psal 28. They rebelled not against his word but submitted to be Circumcised For the words seem to signifie some special piece of Obedience which they then performed The Author of The Life and Death of Moses will have it that they punished and cut off several wicked People among the Israelites themselves which they did at this time that the Egyptians might not know it and rejoyce at it But that which is more certain is that if the former Plague ended on the ninth day this Judgment
was ordered upon the tenth of the Month Abib On which day they begun to prepare for the Passover by taking up the Lamb which was to be then slain four days after And God appointed this to be the first Month of the Year which hitherto had been the seventh XII 2 3 4. Ver. 23. They saw not one another We may well look upon this as an Emblem of the Blindness of their Minds which was so great that they had not the least discerning of their approaching Destruction Some of the Romans mention such Darkness for a short time as was counted prodigious by Livy and Julius Obsequens Particularly at the Death of the Emperour Carus there was such a Mist that one man could not know another See more Examples in Huetius L. II. Alnet Quaest c. 12. p. 203 c. But of such a Darkness as this which continued to obscure all things three days together there is no Record but in this Sacred Story Which no Man hath the least reason to disbelieve it being as easie for God to continue it for three days as for one hour there being also a very great reason for it both to punish the Egyptians and relieve the Israelites Neither rose any from his place None stir'd out of their Houses for they could not see one another within Doors no not by the help of a Candle or a Fire as the Author of the Book of Wisdom understood it XVII 5. where he also supposes that they were affrighted with Apparitions and their own evil Consciences were also a great Terrour to them while they remained Prisoners so long in dismal Darkness And the Psalmist justifies him in part when instead of mentioning this Plague of Darkness as he doth the rest which were inflicted on the Egyptians he saith God sent evil Angels among them LXXVIII Psal 49. But all the Children of Israel had light in their dwellings Whereby they were inabled to go about their business and get all things ready for their departure without any notice of the Egyptians much less any hindrance from them who were in a Mist and could not see what they were a doing Ver. 24. And Pharaoh called unto Moses He was so terrified by the horrible Apparitions he had seen that at the end of the three days of Darkness he sent a Messenger to call Moses for before that time none could find their way to him Or perhaps the meaning may be that in his ravening sit he called for Moses as if he had been near him And said When Moses came he made his former Confession a little larger but had not the heart to comply intirely Go ye serve the LORD only let the Flocks and the Herds be stayed c. It was a perfect infatuation to higgle as we speak with Moses and still drive his Bargain as low as he could when he was reduced to such Distress that he was upon the brink of Destruction But this was the effect of his Covetousness which was incurable and would not suffer him to part with them but still to keep a Pawn for their Return to his Servitude Let your little ones go with you His Blindness made him think this a great Condescention because he had denied it before v. 10. Ver. 25. And Moses said Thou must give us also Sacrifices and Burnt-offerings that me may Sacrifice c. The difference between Sacrifices and Burnt-offerings See XVIII 12. As they were to Sacrifice to the LORD their God which was the Service he required so they were to hold a Feast unto him at which both Sacrifices and Burnt-offerings were necessary Ver. 26. Our Cattle also shall go with us i. e. Therefore we cannot leave our Cattle here because we must use them in Sacrifices c. There shall not an Hoof he left behind i. e. The smallest thing For this was a Proverbial Speech in the Eastern Countries as appears by the like saying among the Arabians which was first used about Horses and afterwards translated to other things Present Money even to an Hoof That is they would not part with an Horse or any other Commodity till the Buyer had laid down the price of it to a Farthing as we now speak Or according to the present German Language the Hoof may be put for the whole Beast and the meaning be we will not leave so much as one behind us So Conr. Pellicanus For thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God To offer Sacrifice to him And we know not with what we must serve the LORD c. Who was to appoint his own Sacrifices as he afterwards did when they came into the Wilderness Ver. 27. But the LORD hardned Pharaoh's heart c. He did not incline Pharaoh to comply with this motion but suffered him to persist in his Obstinate Resolution not quite to part with them See v. 20. Ver. 28. And Pharaoh said unto him Get thee from me This sounds as if he intended again to have him driven from his Presence as v. 11. so soon did he forget his own humble Confessions and Supplications to him v. 16 17. and returned to his frantick Rage and Fury against him Take heed to thy self see my face no more for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die A Speech more foolish than proud as Dr. Jackson observes to come from a Man whom the LORD had so much impoverished and so often humbled and given sufficient Proofs of his Power not only to bring greater Plagues immediately upon him but to cut him off Ver. 29. And Moses said Thou hast spoken well I will see thy face again no more That is unless I be called for as one would think he was because Moses did deliver one Message more to him XI 4 8. Though we may suppose he delivered it now or that he did not deliver it himself but by some other Person But that doth not agree with the last words of v. 8. of the next Chapter And we read also XII 31. that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night who perhaps did not go but only receive his Message CHAP. XI Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses It is uncertain when the LORD spake this I suppose it was as soon as he came out from Pharaoh at the end of the three days Darkness which continued the eleventh twelfth and thirteenth of the Month Abib and on the fourteenth in the Morning Moses received this new Revelation Yet I will bring one Plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt The killing of their First-born which was the last Plague inflicted on them in Egypt Afterwards he will let you go hence c. Not only consent to dismiss you intirely but be earnest with you and urge you to depart So we find it came to pass XII 31 33. Thrust you out altogether Perfectly and compleatly with some kind of compulsion Ver. 2. Speak now in the ears of the Children of Israel Give order therefore to the Israelites as I
the Prophet David prays to be purged from his sin LI Psal 9. Whence it is that Hesychius calls this Herb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Abstersive and Purging Herb because it was appointed by the Law of Moses for this purpose otherwise there is nothing Abstersive in its Nature And dip it in the Blood that is in the Bason The Hebrew word Saph which is here translated Bason is translated Cup in XII Zach. 2. but the LXX and Vulgar take it to signifie the Door or Threshold of the House where some suppose the Lamb was killed Certain it is that some of the Vessels of the Sanctuary are called in the Plural Number Sippim and Sippoth 1 Kings VII 50. LII Jer. 19. though the Vessels which received the Blood of the Beast at the Altar of Burnt-offerings are called by another name See XXVII Exod. 3. There were no such now and therefore they received the Blood at present in a common Bason or Cup. And strike the Lintel c. Or sprinkle it as many understand it For there being as yet no Altar the Blood is ordered to be sprinkled in this manner having in it something of the Nature of a Propitiation Because by this sprinkling of the Blood God's displeasure was turned away from the Israelites when it fell upon those Houses where this Blood was not seen And the two Side-posts See v. 7. And none of you shall go out of the Door of his House The destroying Angel could have discerned an Israelite from an Egyptian though he had met him in the Street But this was required to teach them that their Safety consisted in being under the protection of the Blood of this Lamb which was shed to save their Blood from being spilt Thus in the Flood there was no Safety but in the Ark nor could Rahab have been saved when Jericho was destroyed out of the House where the scarlet thred was tied Vntil the Morning When they were importuned by the Egyptians very early not long after Midnight v. 31 c. to be gone with all they had out of their Country Ver. 32. For the LODR will pass through to smite the Egyptians As he had threatned v. 12. For he rehearses to the Elders what God had told him And he seeth the Blood c. the LORD shall pass over the Door c. So he had promised before v. 13. Maimonides being of the Opinion that the Zabij and other Idolaters abhorr'd the killing of such Creatures thinks that God ordained this killing of the Lamb c. both to purge the Minds of the Jews from such false Opinions and make profession of the contrary and to perswade Men that that Action which they accounted deadly preserved from Death according to these words The LORD shall pass over the Door c. P. III. More Nevoch c. 46. Ver. 24. And ye shall observe this thing c. Keep this Feast by Sacrificing a Lamb and eating no leavened Bread though some of the Ceremonies wherewith it was now observed in after times were not necessary Ver. 25. When you be come to the Land which the LORD shall give you c. This Deliverance is not to be forgotten when God hath given you rest in the Land he hath promised you But there you are most carefully to preserve the memory of it by keeping this Feast every year And indeed most think they were not bound to keep it till they came thither but what they did in the Wilderness the next year was by a special Direction not by virtue of the Command in this Chapter IX Numb 1 2 c. Ye shall keep this Service In all things except what was proper and peculiar to their coming out of Egypt Ver. 26. When your Children shall say unto you What mean you by this Service When Children were Twelve years old their Parents were bound to bring them to the Temple where seeing what was done at this Festival they would be apt to enquire into the meaning of it At every Feast also of the Passover the eldest Person at the Table instructed all the younger sort that were there present in the reason of this Institution rehearsing these very words as Conradus Pellicanus observes This is the Sacrifice of the Passover in remembrance that the LORD passed over the Houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our Houses Ver. 27. It is the Sacrifice of the LORD 's Passover Or the Sacrifice of the Passover to the LORD i.e. in honour of the LORD who passed over the Israclites when he smote the Egyptians It is frequently called by the Name of a Sacrifice XXIII 18. XXXIV 25. XVI Deut. 4 5 6. and it is call'd Corban which is a Name given only to those things which were brought to be offered up to God See IX Numb 13. where as it is called Corban so the same word is used for bringing it which is commonly used about other Sacrifices And it further appears to have been properly a Sacrifice by the Rites belonging to it For the Blood of it was sprinkled by the Priests 2 Chron. XXX 16. XXXV 11. Which though it could not de done here because they had no Altar in Egypt yet the Posts of their Houses as I observed before were sprinkled with it and it had an effect accordingly And the People To whom the Elders v. 21 reported these things from Moses Bowed the Head and worshipped Expressed their belief of what Moses had said and humbly acknowledge God's goodness to them Ver. 28. And the Children of Israel went away To their several Habitations And did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron v. 1. They kept the Passover So did they According to all the fore-named Rites belonging to it Ver. 29. And it came to pass that at Midnight the LORD smote c. According to the fore-going threatning XI 4 5. See there The Captive that was in the Dungeon The Pit or Hole under Ground For the Hebrew signifies the lowest part of the Prison See XI 5. Ver. 30. And Pharaoh rose up in the Night he and all his Servants and all the Egyptians I suppose the Angel made a great noise when he came to give the blow which made the Egyptians start out of their sleep and behold the Calamity which was come upon them Or perhaps the First-born gave such a lamentable Shriek when they were struck that it awakned the whole Family And there was a great cry in Egypt It is no improbable Conjecture which was made a great while ago by Fortunatus Seacchus in his Myrothec Ebaeochrism L. I. c. 6. that the Solemn Feast among the Egyptians wherein they went about with Candles in the Night seeking for Osiris with Tears and great Lamentations took its Original from Pharaoh's rising up out of his Bed at Midnight and all the Egyptians with him who lighting Candles and finding their Children dead bewailed them with loud Cries And it is not unreasonable to think as
that their cruel usage by Pharaoh especially his Decree that all the Male Children should be slain was the occasion of this name for it made their life bitter to them as the Text saith I. 14. Thus the Author of Dibre Hajamim or of the Life of Moses and our Dr. Lightfoot and others But L'Moine guesses not unhappily that it signifies as much as Mar-jam which is in English a drop of the Sea from which the Story of Venus was framed among the Greeks who feigned her to have been born of the froth of the Sea which gave her the Name of Aphrodite The Fable of Diana also as well as Venus had no other original but from that which is here said of Miriam as Huetius hath probably conjectured in his Demonstratio Evang. Prop. IV. c. 12. sect 4. The Prophetess She was called by this Name I suppose because she had a Gift of composing Hymns in praise of the Divine Majesty which it is certain is meant sometimes by prophecying in Scripture See 1 Sam. X. 5 6. And thus among the Greeks a Prophet and a Poet were the same thing and the Latine word Vates signifies both For as Quintilian saith L. I. c. 10. Musick was had in such veneration in ancient times that iidem Musici Vates Sapientes judicarentur But there are other places of Holy Scripture which would incline one to think that she also received Revelations from God for the direction of the People Particularly VI Mich. 4. where she is mentioned as one that conducted Israel out of Egypt and her own words with Aaron's XII Numb 2. hath not the LORD spoken by us also Which the LORD heard and doth not contradict but rather allow to be true though they had not such near Communication with him as Moses had v. 6. Perhaps she instructed the Women as Moses and Aaron did the Men. The Sister of Aaron And why not of Moses The common Answer is that Aaron and she lived longest together Moses having been absent from them XL. years Or perhaps Moses was not by the same Mother which Aaron and Miriam had She was married to Hur if we may believe Josephus Took a Timbrel in her hand So the manner was in after-times when they prophesied 1 Sam. X. 5 6. 2 Kings III. 15. and when they sang Hymns XXXIII Psalm 2. LVII 7 8. and upon any occasion of great rejoycing XI Judg. 34. 1 Sam. XVIII 6. From which we may learn how ancient Musick was in the Service of God there being nothing in which it can be better imployed than in his Praises Therefore it was no part of the Gentile Idolatry that they used such Instruments as these in their Divine Worship but they honoured false Gods in that manner that Moses and the Israelites had done the true And it ought to have a remark set upon it that this way of praising God was no part of the Mosaical Institution but derived from more ancient times before the Law was given And all the Women went out after her To joyn with her in the Praises of God as the Men did with Moses and Aaron with Timbrels and Dances As they played with these Instruments in their hands so their whole Bodies made a decent motion with their feet Which afterwards tended to lasciviousness but anciently was very grave and so becoming that such Dances were as devout Expressions of Joy as their solemn Musick This appears by the Example of David dancing before the Ark when it was brought up from the House of Obed-Edom in a joyful Procession both of Men and Women with Vocal and Instrumental Musick 1 Chron. XV. 27 28 29. LXVIII Psalm 26. From which Patterns all Nations from the most ancient Times made Dancing a part of the Worship of their Gods as Huetius observes in his Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. c. 6. n. 2. who ingeniously conjectures in another place of that Work c. 12. n. 4. that from this Dancing of Miriam and her Companions on the Sea-shore Callimachus in his Hymn to Diana ascribes to her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 threescore Dancers the Daughters of the Ocean Ver. 21. And Miriam answered them c. i. e. She and the Women answered Moses and the People Verse by Verse or after every Verse sung by Moses and the Men Miriam and the Women interposed and repeated this Verse which is the first of the Song saying Sing to the LORD for he hath triumphed gloriously c. And this was a way of singing in after Times as appears from the CXXXV Psalm and III Ezra 11. of which I have given some account in my Preface to the Paraphrase of the Book of Psalms Which justisies or rather commends our way of Reading or Chanting the Psalms interchangeably by Responses as we call them or Answering one to another which certainly it appears by this place is the most ancient way of all other And is represented in VI Isa 3. as practised by the Angels themselves in their Worship of the Divine Majesty Ver. 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red-sea Not without some importunity they being eagerly bent upon gathering the Spoil of the Egyptians Some such thing the Hebrew word seems to import which is jassa he made them to go up Which signifies some unwillingness or backwardness arising either from that Cause or from a desire to return to Egypt as some fancy which now perhaps they thought to be so empty that they might get it for themselves And they went out From the Station where they were at the Red-sea Into the Wilderness of Shur Mentioned XVI Gen. 7. and was a part of the Wilderness of Etham which was the general Name for this Desert XXXIII Numb 8. And they went three days in the Wilderness Viz. the XXII XXIII and XXIVth of Nisan And found no Water Which was a very great Trial of them For their Cattle as well as they suffered much by it and could not afford them Milk sufficient to quench their thirst Ver. 23. And when they came to Marah This was the fourth Station of the Israelites after they came out of Egypt and in the same Wilderness which had this Name given it after they came there from the bitterness or brackishness of the Water They could not drink of the Water c. This was the more grievous because they had wanted this refreshment three days Ver. 24. And the People murmured against Moses saying What shall we drink It is the conceit of Abarbinel that Moses brought them from the Red-sea without the direction of the Cloud which conducted them thither but then left them to his Guidance Which made the People think it was Moses his Fault that they were in this destress who did not know how to lead them to the most commodious and likely places for the finding good Water And therefore from Marah they stirred not till the Cloud again led them because it is said XVII 1. they journied from Sin by the Commandment of the LORD
to grind and bake it c. v. 23. and make ready all things that were necessary against the next day which was to be a Festival viz. the Sabbath on which they were to do nothing For the Sabbath was not to be disturbed with such kind of Work but though on other Festivals they might prepare their Meat and only abstain from labour yet on this they might not so much as dress their Meat but it was to de done the Evening before on which they were to prepare every thing for the next day From which preparation this day was called the Parascue XXIII Luke 54. the preparation for the Sabbath And it shall be twice as much as they gather daily Enough that is for two days viz. that sixth day and the next which was to be the Sabbath v. 23. Where what is here briefly said in general is more particularly and largely explained The Talmudists are generally of an opinion that the XVth day of the second Month when they came hither v. 1. was the seventh day of the week See Mr. Selden L. III. de Jure N. G. c. 11. Which if it be true they knew nothing of the rest of the Sabbath for they travelled upon this day But Mr. Mede hath observed that it is altogether uncertain whether or no it was the seventh day from the Creation It might possibly fall out so by the Providence of God that the seventh day designed by him for their Sabbath might be both the seventh in order from the Creation and also from the day of their deliverance out of Egypt But that which now determined this seventh day after six days labour to be their rest was their Redemption out of Egypt and the Overwhelming of Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea which was upon this very day The Example of the Creation was a reason for sanctifying one day in seven but the designation of this seventh day was as I said from their wonderful deliverance See Discourse XV. Book 1. Ver. 6. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the Children of Israel What God spake to Moses alone v. 4. is delivered to the People by Aaron also who was assistant to his Brother in the Government of them At Even On the Evening of this fifteenth day God sent them Quails as we translate v. 13. Then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the Land of Egypt Be convinced that it was by the LORD's Direction and Command that you were brought out of Egypt into this place And therefore you have no reason to quarrel with us who did nothing of our selves without his order but rather to trust in him who can make as good provision for you here in the Wilderness as ever you saw in Egypt Ver. 7. And in the Morning When the Manna fell down v. 13. Then ye shall see the Glory of the LORD His great power some interpret it in sending them Bread from Heaven and Flesh also with it But I take it rather to refer unto the visible appearance of the Divine Majesty which they saw presently after this v. 10. and were convinced of his real Presence in that Cloud by the descent of the Manna from thence next Morning which no Power but the Divine could produce And so I find Abarbinel himself interprets it Their seeing the Glory of the LORD is not to be understood of the Bread or the Flesh he sent them but of the Fire which appeared to all the People to reprove them for their Murmurings For that he heareth your Murmurings against the LORD He is present among you and takes notice of your ungrateful behaviour towards him For what are we that ye murmur against us Alas we are but poor Instruments of his who hath done all the Wonders you have seen and by that means brought you hither And therefore why do you complain of us as if we acted any thing by our own Authority Ver. 8. And Moses said this shall be when the LORD shall give you c. I say again therefore mark it when the LORD shall give you Flesh to eat in the Evening and in the Morning Bread to the full then you shall be convinced that he hath taken notice of your Murmurings which are really against him who imploys us only as his Ministers and will be so gracious as not to punish your Discontents but provide for your Necessities Ver. 9. And Moses spake unto Aaron Who was his Minister as Moses was more immediately God's Speak unto the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel Who were all ingaged in this undutiful Murmuring v. 2. Come near before the LORD Before the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty which was in the Cloud as I observed XIII 21. and now was about to break forth upon them in a glorious manner But because of their Murmurings the Cloud was removed it is probable to a greater distance from them than it used to be Bonfrerius will have it that they were to come near to the Tabernacle of Moses where the Glory of the LORD appeared XXXIII 7 9. But there is no proof that it was wont to be there till that occasion See upon that place For he hath heard your murmurings He will show that he is among you and observes how ungratefully you requite him It is not unlikely that Moses bad Aaron go and speak to the People because he himself retired to speak to God That is to pray for them and to acknowledge his great Goodness in passing by their Murmurings Ver. 10. And it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel According to the Command of Moses v. 9. That they looked They were suddenly surprised I conceive with an unwonted brightness which made them look about to see whence it came Or Aaron perhaps bad them look that way Towards the Wilderness Whether the Cloud had conducted them and stood at some distance from them And behold the Glory of the LORD appeared in the Cloud The Divine Majesty appeared in flaming Light such as they had never seen before See XIII 21. Thus N. Lyra truly expounds Fulgor quidam insolitus c. an unusual Splendor representing the Divine Power to reprove the Murmurings of the People Ver. 11. And the LORD spake unto Moses Who was gone as I said to pray unto God whilst Aaron was speaking unto the People Ver. 12. I have heard the murmurings of the Children of Israel c. He repeats to Moses what he had bidden him tell them v. 4 5 6. and perhaps spake it from the Cloud of Glory in the Audience of all the People In the Evening ye shall eat Flesh v. 8. And in the Morning ye shall be silled with Bread v. 4. And ye shall know that I am the LORD your God Who brought you out of Egypt and will provide for you here in the Wilderness Ver. 13. And it came to pass that at Even According to God's Promise v. 6 8. The Quails
Sabbath therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days You have no reason to seek it on the Sabbath being provided before-hand with as much as is sufficient for that day Let no man go out of his place The Jews say that a Man went out of his place if he went above Two thousand paces from his dwelling That is if he went beyond the Suburbs of his City XXXV Numb 5. Ver. 30. So the people rested on the seventh day The Reprehension which God gave them by Moses v. 28. and the solemn renewal of the Precept v. 29. wrought so much upon them that for the present they rested upon this day And they not having been used to this rest God did not immediately punish their Disobedience in going abroad to gather Manna though afterward he ordered a Man to be stoned for gathering Sticks on this day for he had often repeated this Law to them before that time Ver. 31. And the House of Israel called the name thereof Manna This is repeated again to show that the name which they gave it at first v. 15. continued to it afterward being so apt and proper to signifie God's Providence over them that they could find no better And it was like Coriander Seed Of a round sigure like that Seed v. 14. White Being like Bedolach as Moses saith XI Numb 7. which signifies Pearl as Bochartus shows in his Hierozoic P. II. p. 678. where he observes the Talmudick Doctors in the Title Joma expresly say it was like Margalith or Margarith i.e. Pearl The taste of it was like Wafers made with honey All things of a pleasant relish are compared in Scripture to Honey Whence those words of David XIX Psalm 11. CXIX 103. Onkelos saith Manna tasted like Escaritae which was a delicious Food at Rhodes as Bochart observes out of Julius Pollux between Bread and Cake like our Bisket I suppose which was so grateful that they who did eat it were never satiated but still desired more In the XI Numb 7 8. Manna is said to taste like fresh Oyl Which doth not contradict this for as Abarbinel and others observe the meaning is that when it first fell before it was prepared it tasted like Honey-wafers but when it was baked then it tasted like fresh Oyl And so the words XI Numb 8. plainly import they took it and beat it in a Mortar and baked it c. and the taste of it i. e. thus prepared was like the taste of fresh Oyl Nay the Jewish Doctors commonly say it had all manner of pleasant savours according to Mens different Palates and thence they fancy it is called v. 29. the Bread Mischne which we translate of two days because it was changed according to the diversity of those that did eat it Children young men and old Which conceit the Author of the Book of Wisdom follows XVI 20 21. Ver. 32. And Moses said This is the thing which the LORD commandeth I have this further Command to deliver from God concerning the Manna Take an Omer of it Just so much as was assigned to every one for his daily Bread v. 16. To be kept for your Generations For your Posterity in future Ages That they may see the Bread wherewith I have fed you c. For seeing with ones eyes saith Isaac Aramah mightily confirms a thing and leaves one in no doubt of it And he took care they should see both the Manna it self and the measure which he bountifully allowed to every one of them Ver. 33. And Moses said unto Aaron What God commanded Moses he now commands Aaron to do Take a Pot. He saith nothing of the matter of this Pot or Vrn which some say was an Earthen Pot others say of Lead Brass or Iron and Abarbinel thinks it was of Glass that one might see what was within But the Apostle hath setled this Controversie by calling it a Golden Pot IX Hebr. 4. and so do the LXX in this place And indeed all the Vessels of the Sanctuary being of Gold it was but reason that this which contained such a precious Monument of God's Mercy should be of the same Metal Lay it up before the LORD i.e. Before the Ark of the Testimony as it is explained in the next Verse Which shows that this Command was given after the building of the Tabernacle and is here mentioned because it belongs to the same matter which Moses relates in this Chapter Others suppose it was spoken by way of Prolepsis which seems not to me so probable Ver. 34. So Aaron laid it up When the Tabernacle was built Before the Testimony This is the same with before the LORD in the foregoing Verse For the Divine Glory dwelt between the Cherubims which were over the Ark which is commonly called the Ark of the Testimony XXX 6. XL. 3 5. But here and XXV 36. is simply called the Testimony by an Ellipsis or leaving out the first word which is very usual in other Instances For thus it is called the Ark of God's strength 2 Chron. VI. 41. but elsewhere the first word being omitted it is called only his strength LXXVIII Psalm 61. CV 4. And therefore the Ark is called the Testimony partly because there God gave them a special Token of his Dwelling among them and partly because the two Tables of Stone were in the Ark which are called the Testimony XL. 20. Where it is said Moses put the Testimony into the Ark and then immediately v. 21. he calls it the Ark of the Testimony Ver. 35. And the Children of Israel did eat Manna forty years Within a Month which wanted to make compleat forty years For it begun to fall just XXX days after they came out of Egypt on the XVth of April and ceased to fall on the XVth or XVIth of March the day after the Passover which they kept in the Fortieth year V Josh 11 12. Now in all Writers some days under or over are not wont to be considered when there is a round Number But there are those who fancy these words were put into this Book after Moses his death for which I can see no ground For it is certain he lived the greatest part of the Fortieth year after they came out of Egypt and brought them to the Borders of Canaan within sight of it I Dent. 3. XXXIV 1 2 c. And therefore may well be supposed to have added these words himself to this History as he did the foregoing v. 32. that all belonging to this matter might be put together in one place Vntil they came to a Land inhabited i. e. To Canaan or the Borders of it as it here follows For these words saith Aben-Ezra have respect to the Wilderness in which they now were which was not inhabited Vntil they came unto the Borders of the Land of Canaan That is saith he to Gilgal which was the Borders when they had passed over Jordan when they did eat of the Corn of the Land and had no
when they found any too difficult they were to refer it to be heard by Moses himself So R. Leviben Gersom explains it Every great Cause in which they know not what to judge they shall bring to thee and thou shalt show what is right or how it is to be decided There are those indeed who think there were several sorts of Causes that might not be brought before these Inferiour Courts but were to be reserved for Moses's hearing and judging These they make to be Four First All Sacred Matters or Things belonging unto God which they gather from v. 19. Secondly All Matters of Equity where the rigour of the Law was sit to be mitigated Thirdly All Capital Causes And lastly Such as the Chiliarchs i. e. Rulers of Thousands and the other Judges referred to him But this is said without ground for it is plain all sorts of Causes might be determined by the inferiour Courts if they were able to make an end of them whether Civil or Sacred Only those which were too difficult for them that is when they did not find a Law to direct them or it was obscure or they could not agree about the Punishment then they were to be brought before Moses So he himself charges not that the People should bring such Causes to him as they thought difficult but that the Judges themselves should bring them i. e. order an Appeal to him I Deut. 17. bring it unto me speaking to the Judges and I will hear it Which shows the Cause had been at the Bar of other Courts before and that it was not unlawful for them to meddle with it if they had been able to determine it And accordingly we read here below v. 26. that the Judges did so In short these words do not intimate that there were some Causes the other Judges might not try if they were able but only that such things as they found themselves not skilful enough to determine they should bring to him See Mr. Selden in the fore-named Book p. 633 c. But every small matter they shall judge Hitherto Moses but heard all Causes promiscuously great and small but Jethro well advises him to delegate the labour of judging all Causes liquidi juris as the Lawyers speak where the Right was clear and to reserve no part of the Judicature to himself but where the Law it self was either defective or obscure So shall it be casier for thy self c. Thou wilt ease thy self of a great burden by appointing others to take their share of it Ver. 23. If thou wilt do this thing and God command thee so If thou wilt follow this advice by God's approbation who was to be consulted whether he allowed it Then thou shalt be able to endure Thy days will be prolonged which otherwise will be shortned with this intolerable labour And the People go to their place in peace Go home very much satisfied with such quick dispatch and happy composure of their Differences Ver. 24. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his Father-in-law c. Followed his Counsel by God's approbation with whom no doubt he advised v. 23. Here the Samaritan Copy inserts those words of Moses I Deut. 9 c. I am not able to bear you my self alone the LORD your God hath multiplied you c. Which he spake indeed when he made this Constitution but did not set it down in this Book where he intended only a short account of these Transactions Ver. 25. And Moses chose able men c. Out of those who were presented to him by the People See v. 20. Ver. 26. And they judged the People at all Seasons Whensoever they resorted to them For some Court or other sate every day that was not appointed by God for other Business i. e. for Religion The hard Causes they brought to Moses c. It is plain by this that the Judges not the People brought the hard Causes unto Moses For the People could not know whether they might not have a Remedy nearer hand than by going to him on all occasions till they had tried Ver. 27. And Moses let his Father-in-law depart After he had staid some time with him and could not prevail with him to stay longer which he earnestly desired and go with them to see the Accomplishment of God's Promises to them as those words X Numb 29 c. are thought to signifie But perhaps that Hobab there mentioned was not Jethro himself but his Son whom Moses also perswaded not to return to his own Country for he makes no reply much less denies to stay with Moses when he pressed him the second time though he refused at first v. 32. But this I shall consider in that place And he went his way into his own Land To make his Children or the People of the Land Proselytes saith the Chaldee Paraphrase Which it's probable he indeavoured i. e. to bring them to true Religion and affected in some measure so that Piety was propagated in some Families among them to future Generations For the Rechabites came out of this Country 1 Chron. II. 55. whose vertue Jeremiah Praises in the latter end of the Jewish Church Chap. XXXV CHAP. XIX Verse 1. IN the third Month. Or in the third new Moon For the Hebrew word Chodesh signifies a new Moon as well as a Month nay that is the prime signification from whence the other is derived And so we are to understand it here that on the New Moon i. e. the first day of the third Month called Sivan after their coming out of Egypt they came into the Wilderness of Sinai Which was just XLV days after they departed out of Egypt For if we add to the XV. days of the first Month XXIX which made the second these put together with this New Moon make XLV Unto which if we add that day when Moses went up to God v. 3. and reported when he came down the Message God sent by him to the Elders of Israel and the next day after when he returned their Answer unto God v. 7 8. with the three days more which God gave them to prepare themselves for his coming down among them v. 10 11. there were just Fifty days from their Passover to the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai which laid the Foundation of the great Feast of Pentecost The same day i. e. On the fore-mentioned New Moon of the third Month. Came they into the Wilderness of Sinai So called from that famous Mountain Sinai which gave the name to the Wilderness which lay before it This Mountain was also called Horeb IV Deut. 10. they being only different tops of one and the same Mountain but this higher than Horeb so that one may see the Red Sea from them as they that have travelled into those Parts affirm Who say it is now called by the Arabians Tur and by Christians the Mountain of St. Catherine Ver. 2. For they were departed from Rephidim c. They began to move from
people go up with him But stay at the bottom of the Mount as they did before the giving the X. Commandments XIX 17. below the place where the Elders were So I think Maimonides rightly understands this place in his More Nevoch P. II. c. 32. where speaking of the several degrees of Prophecy or Familiarity with God he observes that Moses was here placed in the Supreme degree he alone being allowed to come near the LORD below him was Aaron placed and below him Nadab and Abihu and below them the LXX Elders and beneath them the rest of the People Which is the meaning of that saying of their Wise men Moses is a wall by himself and Aaron a wall by himself that is they were in separate Apartments at this glorious Appearance of God Ver. 3. And Moses came From the Mount where he had received the Precepts mentioned in the three foregoing Chapters And told the People all the words of the LORD and all the Judgments Some understand here by the words of the LORD the Ten Commandments called the Ten Words XXXVIII 18. But these words the People heard spoken by God himself and not by the report of Moses Therefore I take these words to signisie rather what he had spoken in the latter part of the foregoing Chapter from the 20th Verse to the end And then by all the Judgments he means those Laws which he had received for their good Government in the XXI XXII Chapters and the former part of the XXIII And all the people answered with one voice and said In all likelyhood Moses had told the Elders what God had said to him and they went and told it to the People who gave the following Answer to them For thus it was before XIX 6 7. All the words that the LORD hath said will we do They had consented before in general to do whatsoever God required of them having him for their King and Governour XIX 6 7 8. but now they consent in particular after God had declared what he would have them do in the XX Chapter and Moses had also reported the rest of the Judgments delivered in the XXI XXII XXIII Chapters Ver. 4. And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD Both the Ten Commandments and all the rest of the Judgments delivered in the foregoing Chapters God indeed wrote the Ten Commandments himself but for the present Moses made a Record of them that the People might not only hear but read what they had to do And rose up early in the morning The next morning it is likely after he had received those Judgments and delivered them to the People and wrote them in a Book which was upon the seventh day of Sivan as I observed XX. 21. That is on the sixth of our June as Jac. Capellus reckons Therefore on the eighth of Sivan he built the Altar c. as it here follows And builded an Altar under the hill At the foot of the Hill where the People were allowed to stand This Altar was to represent God to whom Sacrifices were offered upon it And twelve Pillars according to the twelve Tribes of Israel This was to represent all the People The Gentiles abusing such Pillars to Idolatrous uses the erecting of them is afterward forbidden in the Law But before the building of the Tabernacle Moses here erects them as Jacob had piously done in former times XXXV Gen. 14. See Selden L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 6. p. 185. Ver. 5. And he sent young men of the Children of Israel These are said by the Hebrews to be the First-born as Onkelos here expresly translates it He sent the First-born and the Paraphrase ascribed to Vzielides follows him adding this reason Because the Aaronical Priests were not yet consecrated The Arabick and Persian Versions say the same as Mr. Selden hath observed L. I. de Succession ad Pontif. c. 1. and most Interpreters have been of the same mind But I have often observed before particularly XIX 22. that I can see no proof of this that they only officiated as Priests every Man anciently in his own Family having a right to offer Sacrifice till the Law of Moses restrained it to the Family of Aaron Therefore I take these young men to have been the choicest Persons among them whether First-born or others who had been appointed to Minister unto God For Joshua who is called here v. 13. Moses his Minister is in XI Numb 28. called his young man Such were fittest for all Service especially for that of Sacrificing to God For which they anciently chose the strongest and properest Persons as we see in the Greek story of Jason which our Learned Dr. Spencer observes p. 140. whose Sacrifices were led to the Altar by the young men of his Company i. e. Men of greatest strength and beauty L. I. Argonaut And this so far remained after the Priesthood was consined to the Family of Aaron that no Man was permitted to officiate at the Altar after he was Fifty years of Age that is when he was past his best as we speak the flower and strength of his Age VIII Numb 25. Fortunatus Scacchus conjectures that there were XII of these young Men one of each Tribe who offered in the Name of their Brethren Myrothec Sacr. Elaeochrism p. 2. c. 59. Which offered Burnt-offerings and sacrificed Peace-offerings of Oxen unto the LORD Though Oxen are only mentioned yet there were other Creatures Sacrificed as appears from IX Hebr. 19 20. And in following times Peace-offerings might be either of Calves or Lambs or Goats as we sind in III Lev. and so might Burnt-offerings also see I Lev. 2 10. Our Learned Primate Vsher thinks also there were Expiatory Sacrifices offered together with these Burnt-offerings and Peace-offerings and that in the first place ad A. M. 2513. mens 3. Ver. 6. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basons It may be a question whether he spake of the Blood of all the Sacrifices or only of the Expiatory if there were any or of the Burnt-offerings or Peace-offerings But which way soever that be determined this half of the Blood it is certain was reserved to be sprinkled on the People v. 8. Concerning the word Agganot which we translate Basons the Learned Reader may consult Bochartus in his Hierozoic P. I. p. 549. And half of the Blood he sprinkled on the Altar The Altar representing God as was said before v. 4. this Blood sprinkled upon it signified that he for his part engaged to be faithful in the Covenant he now made with them and they with him by performing all the Promises he had newly made them by Moses in the latter end of the foregoing Chapter especially those four great Promises of Plenty Health numerous Off-spring and Long-life v. 25 26. together with the driving out the People of Canaan from before them v. 27 c. Ver. 7. And he took the Book Some have made it a difficulty to find what Book
this was and have been pleased to fancy that some Book which Moses wrote is lost When this plainly refers to what is said v. 4. where we read that Moses wrote all the words of the LORD that is the Commandments and Judgments mentioned in the four foregoing Chapters Which though they made no great Volume yet might be called a Book in their Language for even the Bill of Divorcement which they gave their Wives and was very short is called by this Name of Sepher a Book XXIV Deut. 1. Of the Covenant That they might remember upon what terms he would bestow upon them the fore-named Blessings he engages them in a Solemn Covenant to observe the Commandments and Judgments contained in this Book Ver. 8. And Moses took the blood That half of it which was in the Basons v. 6. And sprinkled it on the people As he had sprinkled one half on the Altar in token God was a Party in the Covenant so he sprinkled the other half on the XII Pillars which represented the Children of Israel in token that they were the other Party engaged in the same Covenant Thus our fore-named Primate and several others understand it and it carries some show of probability in it Yet I cannot think it unlikely that it was sprinkled upon the LXX Elders by whom the People consented if not upon all the People who stood next to the Altar and are here expresly mentioned The Apostle to the Hebrews IX 19. saith he sprinkled the Book as well as the People which is not here mentioned but supposed For when he went to sprinkle the Blood we must conceive he laid down the Book that he might be at more liberty for this other action And perhaps he laid it on one of the Pillars where it was sprinkled as they were together with the People whom they represented And said Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words Look upon your selves as obliged by this Blood to observe all the Commands which I have delivered to you in the words you have heard For there were two ways of making Covenants anciently both which were here used The first was after a Sacrifice had been offered to sprinkle the Blood of it upon both Parties who were to be Confederates which was done here v. 6 8. And secondly the Confederates thereupon proceeded to eat together some part of the Sacrifice which follows v. 11. where we find the Elders of Israel who represented the People did eat and drink in the Presence of God Ver. 9. Then went up Moses and Aaron Nadab and Abihu and LXX of the Elders of Israel These things being done they went up into the Mount as they were ordered v. 1. i. e. they went up to that part of the Mount where Aaron and his Sons and the Elders were appointed to come but no further Ver. 10. And they saw the God of Israel When Moses is commanded to come near unto the LORD v. 2. Maimonides acknowledges it may be understood of his local approach to the place where the Light or Glory of God then appeared More Nevoch P. I. c. 18. And therefore it is something strange that he expounds the Elders seeing God of their apprehension of him by their Understanding and not rather of their beholding some glimpse of that visible Majesty which was on the Top of the Mount For that I doubt not is the meaning as appears by what follows And so the Chaldee expounds it They saw the Glory of the God of Israel surrounded we may well suppose with an heavenly Host of Angels attending upon the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty as it was also called And there was under his feet This hath made some conceive that this visible Glory appeared in the form of a Man with his Back towards them standing upon a shining Pavement But this is contrary to IV Deut. 15. For though that be spoken of another time and place viz. the Giving of the Law which all the People heard but saw no Similitude yet if the Elders had afterward seen a Similitude it would have spoiled Moses his Argument they being the Representatives of the People This glorious Light therefore far surpassing all other had no form nor could be described by any Art and consequently by its feet is meant only the lower part of it which rested as it were upon a most glorious Pavement And thus the Divine Majesty is said to have had a Foot-stool which was the cover of the Ark though it had no Human shape As it were a paved work of Saphire stone The glorious Majesty of God was represented as having under it a Pavement sutable to it self very bright and shineing For there is a sort of Saphire called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spotted with little points or pricks of Gold which shine like Stars interspersed in the Body of it See Salmasius in Solinum p. 131 203. Such was this Pavement as we may gather from the following words And as it were the body of Heaven in its clearness As clear as the purest and serenest Sky when it is all spangled with Stars All which signifies as I take it that the Glory of the LORD appeared far above the Glory of the Sun in its greatest brightness upon a Pavement sparkling like the Stars in the Heaven when it is most clear The LXX instead of the words saw the God of Israel have saw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the place of the God of Israel As if they saw a Throne upon which there was a visible Majesty beyond all description And if this be admitted then this Throne may well be said to have feet standing upon such a glorious Pavement And so they translate it in the next Verse where this is repeated Ver. 11. And upon the Nobles of the Children of Israel i. e. The Elders before-mentioned v. 1 9. called here Atzilim to signifie that they were the prime and choicest Persons among the Israelites For Atzal signisies to separate and consequently atzilim imports Men distinguished from others either by their Birth Office or some excellent qualities He laid not his hand Did not hurt them Whereas it was the common Opinion That they who saw God though it was by one of his Angels should presently die The splendour of that glorious Light was so dazling that it was a singular favour it did not put out their Eyes as the Light wherein St. Paul saw our Saviour did his We are told v. 17. The sight of the Glory of the LORD was like devouring fire Which might put them in fear perhaps they had been scorched by it when it flasht out upon them but they found not the least hurt by it Thus Jonathan saith in his Paraphrase upon the XXXII Chapter that when Moses delayed to come down from the Mount the People fancied him to be burnt up by the fire which shone from the Presence of God which there appeared This sight of God which he vouchsafed to
Unction which is here mentioned v. 21. of this Chapter where a mixture is ordered to be made of the Blood of the Sacrifice and of the anointing Oyl which was order'd to be sprinkled both upon Aaron and his Sons and upon their Garments and was a part of their Consecration For it was done accordingly at that time as we read VIII Lev. 30. So that Aaron himself had a double Unction one proper to him alone as High Priest upon whose Head the holy Oyl was poured another common to him with his Sons as he was a Priest whose Garments were sprinkled with the Oyl and Blood mingled together Ver. 8. And thou shalt bring his sons and put coats upon them The High Priest was first habited and then his Sons in the order I have described v. 5. Ver. 9. And thou shalt gird them with girdles c. See v. 5. And the Priests office shall be theirs c. That is as long as the holy Garments were upon them the Priesthood was upon them but if they were not upon them neither was the Priesthood upon them They are the words of Maimonides in Celi Hammikdash c. 10. Or the meaning may be they shall enjoy in perpetual Succession the Office of Priests as their Father and his Successors the Office of High Priests And thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons Thus doing they shall be compleatly consecrated For in the Hebrew the phrase is Shall fill the hand of Aaron c. which was done after the manner prescribed v. 22 23 24 c. Which shows that this was the principal part of their Consecration or at least the consummation of it And there was besides this a peculiar Offering which both Aaron and his Sons are commanded to offer in the day of their anointing VI L●● 20 21. Ver. 10. And thou shalt cause a bullock The young bullock he commanded him to take v. 1. To be brought before the Tabernacle of the Congregation In order to its being offered to God for in this and in the following Verses the Sacrifices are prescribed which were to be made at the Consecration of Aaron and his Sons which were three The first is this here mentioned which was an Offering for Sin as appears from v. 14. For till their Sins were expiated they were not fit to offer any thing to God much less to offer for the Sins of others The next was an Holocaust or whole Burnt-offering as a Gift or Present whereby they were recommended to God And the third was a Peace-offering on which they made a Feast and by that were initiated into God's Family And Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock This was the form in all Sacrifices both Burnt-offerings I Lev. 4. and Peace-Offerings III Lev. 2 8. by which they devoted the Sacrifice to be the LORD's But in Sin-offerings there being a Solemn Confession of Sins made XVI Lev. 21. he that laid his hands on the Beast seemed thereby to have transferred the Guilt from himself unto the Sacrifice desiring it might be accepted for him Ver. 11. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD Though Moses was never Consecrated after the manner of Aaron yet he was made a Priest for this peculiar purpose by an extraordinary Commission from God By the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where the Altar of Burnt-offering was placed at the crection of the Tabernacle XL. 6 29. Ver. 12. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock and put it upon the horns of the Altar with thy finger Some have fancied that he means upon the horns of the Altar of Incense because when a Priest offered a Sin-offering for himself he was so to do IV Lev. 7. But it is to be considered that Aaron and his Sons for whom this Sacrifice was offered were not yet Priests but common Men who by this Sacrifice were to be made Priests Whose blood therefore was to be put upon the horns of the Altar of Burnt-offering as is expresly required in other Sin-offerings IV Lev. 25 30. And pour all the blood All the rest of the blood Beside the bottom of the Altar This shows he speaks of the Altar of Burnt-offering at the bottom of which there was a Trench into which they poured the Blood of the Sacrifice as I shall show hereafter Ver. 13. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards He means that part of the Beast which is called the Omentum in which all the Bowels are wrapped which in IX Lev. 19. is simply called that which covereth This hath a great deal of fat upon it to keep the Bowels warm and was much used in ancient Sacrifices both among the Greeks and Romans who herein followed the Jews Nay the Persians also offered to the Gods nothing but the Omentum or a part of it as Bochartus observes out of Strabo See Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 45. And from the Condition and Situation of the Omentum the Heathen Diviners made their Conjectures insomuch that some think it had the name of Omentum because they made their good or bad Omens from thence And the Caul that is above the Liver Our Interpreters take this for the Diaphragm or the Midriff upon which the Liver hangs But Bochartus hath demonstrated I think that it signifies the greatest lobe of the Liver upon which the Bladder of Gall lies L. II. Hierozoic P. I. c. 45. The only Argument against it is that this Jothereth as the Hebrews call it is said here to be above the Liver and therefore must signifie the Diophragm upon which the Liver depends But the Particle Al signifies upon as well as above and is to be here so translated upon or by the Liver And the reason why this lobe of the Liver was peculiar to the Altar was because of the fat that is upon it And the two Kidneys c. For the same reason the Kidneys were appropriated to God which had one of their names from the fat that is upon them which Homer as the same Bochartus there observes calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ver. 14. And the flesh of the bullock and his skin c. The Burnt-offering being flead the skin of it was given to the Priest VII Lev. 8. But in Sin-offerings the skin was burnt and the Flesh also in some cases and that also without the Camp not at the Altar IV Lev. 11 12. VIII 17. The Heathen sometimes burnt the skin even of their Holocausts as Bochart shews P. I. Hierozoic L. II. c. 34. Shalt thou burn with fire c. The Hebrew word here for burn is quite different from that in the foregoing Verse which is used concerning the burning of Incense which soon vanished into smoke as the fat there mentioned did But the flesh and the skin and the dung were burnt with a stronger fire and were longer before they were consumed and therefore burnt without the Camp where the Ashes were poured out
10. n. 76. And that covereth the inwards c. See v. 13. where these and the following words are explained And the right shouldor In Peace-offerings this belonged to the Priest VII Lev. 32. and so it is here ordained v. 27 28. But now it was to be burnt upon the Altar v. 25. because they were not yet Priests as the following words tell us which give the reason why this shoulder was burnt For it is a Ram of Consecration Whereby they were consecrated and made Priests but not yet compleated and therefore could not eat of that shoulder Ver. 23. And one loaf of bread and one cake of oyled bread c. Of that Bread and those Cakes mentioned v. 2. of this Chapter That is before the LORD Which had been presented unto God v. 3. for this by the Law was to accompany their other Sacrifices XV Numb 4. Ver. 24. And thou shalt put all Both Bread and Cakes and Fat and right Shoulder before-mentioned In the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his Sons Thence this Sacrifice was called Milluim that is filling of the hands which we translate Consecration And their hands were thus filled to show that Aaron and his Sons did not usurp this dignity or take it upon themselves as we speak but were called unto it by God who ordered these things to be put into their hands that they might present them to him R. Solomon will have this Ram called the Ram of sillings or impletions because by this Sacrifice they were compleated and absolutely made Priests nothing remaining to be done after this And shalt wave them When such holy things were put into the Heads of the Offerers by the Priest then the Priest put his hands under theirs and they were lifted up and then waved about on all sides For a Wave-offering The Hebrew word Tenuphah signifies agitation or shaking to and fro which Abarbinel saith was performed upward and downward and then round about to all quarters of the World to signifie that the Earth is the LORD's and the fulness thereof or rather that he is the possessor of Heaven and of Earth Others of them speak to the same purpose Before the LORD Standing with their Faces towards the Sanctuary Ver. 25. And thou shalt receive them from their hands c. After they had waved them they delivered them into the hands of Moses who as the Priest at this time laid them upon the Altar and burnt them For a Burnt-offering It is certain this was not an whole Burnt-offering but a Peace-offering as appears from v. 28 31 32. yet some of it being burnt on the Altar that part is called a Burnt-offering It is an Offering made by fire So the Burnt-offerings are called I Lev. 9 13 c. but this was so only in part as I said not in the whole and may be interpreted by III Lev. 5. where all that was to be burnt of the Peace-offerings is commanded to be burnt upon the Burnt-Sacrifice and in that regard might be called a Burnt-offering See v. 27. Ver. 26. And thou shalt take the Breast of the Ram of Aarons consecrations Of the Consecration of him and of his Sons And wave it for a Wave-offering before the LORD and it shall be thy part Being a Peace-offering the Priest who offered the Sacrifice was to have his share of it and therefore the Breast is here given to Moses after he had acknowledged it to be God's by waving it about and that he had it only as his Minister Ver. 27. And thou shalt sanctifie the breast of the Wave-offering and the shoulder of the Heave-offering Upon this occasion he makes a general Law to be always observed hereafter That though in this peculiar Case the right shoulder of this Sacrifice was burnt being for Aaron's Consecration and called a Burnt-offering v. 25. yet in all future times both the Breast and this Shoulder should belong unto the Priest Therefore the word sanctifie here signifies as much as declare them to be sanctified or set apart for the Priests use as they were again by an express Law VII Lev. 31 32 33 34. Which is waved and which is heaved up There is no difference that I can find between Terumah which we translate Heave-offering and Tenuphah which we translate Wave-offering but the former was only lifted up and so waved and the other was waved all manner of ways up and down East West North and South to signifie that he to whom it was offered was Lord of the whole World and all that therein is Ver. 28. And it shall be Aarons and his Sons by a statute for ever So it is called VII Lev. 34. and it is again repeated for greater confirmation XVIII Deut. 3. For it is an Heave-offering It is consecrated to God to whom it belongs and he bestows it upon his Ministers And it shall be an Heave-offering of the Sacrifice of their Peace-offerings c. And it shall always in future times be presented unto God as his part of the Peace-offerings who constitutes the Priests to eat it in his stead As the former Ram was a Burnt-offering so this it is plain was a Peace-offering in token that now they were in a state of perfect Friendship with God Which was procured by their Sin-offering v. 14. which was offered first whereby their Present to God v. 18. was made acceptable as now their Persons were declared by this Sacrifice of Peace-offering Ver. 29. And the holy Garments of Aaron shall be his Sons after him to be anointed therein c. Upon this occasion also God makes another general Law That all the Successors of Aaron in the High Priesthood should be set apart to that Office in such Garments and by such an Unction and such Sacrifices as he was consecrated withal And it appears by XX Numb 28. that Aaron's Son was invested with the very same Garments which Aaron wore for those which peculiarly belonged to the High Priest did not decay as the Tunick and Breeches did and therefore went from one to another Ver. 30. And that Son which is Priest in his stead shall put them on seven days This was to be done seven days one after another that a Sabbath might pass over him For no Man could be a compleat High Priest as the Jews imagine till a Sabbath had gone over his head But the principal intention of this was that he might be made a Priest with great Solemnity and Deliberation and put on his Habit so often that he may learn how to appear in them after a decent or rather magnificent manner before he undertook to Minister Yet the Jews say that if he did offer Sacrifice before the seven days end it was not accounted unlawful provided he had been anointed and had put them on once So Maimonides who adds that he was to put them on by day and not by Night See Selden de Successionibus L. II. c. 8. Where he shows cap. 9. this is to be
not read in the foregoing Chapters of any carved Work about the Tabernacle and therefore this word may better be rendred as it is in the beginning of the Verse cutting rather than carving Timber For it signifies in general doing all the Work of Carpenters and Joyners To work in all manner of Workmanship That was necessary for the making of every thing God had commanded Ver. 6. And I behold I have given with him Lest Moses should think one principal Contriver and Director not to be sufficient God joyns another with him Aholiab of the Tribe of Dan. It is observed by R. Bechai that God chose one out of the lowest Tribe for so they accounted that of Dan as well as one out of the chief which was Judah that Bezaleel saith he might not be lifted up with vain Conceit for great and small are equal before God And he truly observes that one of the same Tribe of Dan by the Mothers side was the most skilful Person that could be found for the Building of the Temple by Solomon 2 Chron. II. 14. And in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom That is God indued the Minds of all ingenious Persons among them with an extraordinary Skill which they never learnt either by their own study or any Master but had it by an inspiration from above There were several no doubt who had a natural Genius to such Arts as were necessary in this Work but they could not by their own Industry have attained such Skill as God bestowed on them at least not so soon as to go immediately about the building of the Tabernacle and all things belonging to it That they may make all that I have commanded thee Not to imitate the Egyptian Contrivances as some have fancied for which no such great Skill one would think was necessary but to make all exactly according to the Model which Moses had seen in the Mount and he described to them which could not have been done without God's extraordinary Assistance Ver. 7. The Tabernacle of the Congregation and the Ark of the Testimony c. These things are here mentioned according to the order of Nature which is first to build an House and then to provide its Furniture And it is observable that there was but one House or Tabernacle one Ark and one Altar either for Sacrifice or Incense to preserve in their Minds the belief of the Unity of God contrary to the Gentiles who had their Temples and Altars every where and each Family its domestick Gods and particular Superstitions Ver. 8. The pure Candlestick It is hard to tell why this is particularly called pure unless it be because it was intirely of pure Gold XXV 31. which the Table and Altar of Incense were not for they were only overlaid with pure Gold XXV 24. XXX 3. Some have thought that it is called pure because no Blood was ever sprinkled upon it as there was on the Altar of Incense but this is not a good reason for we do not find there was any sprinkled on the Table Ver. 9. The Altar of Burnt-offering c. Concerning this and the Laver he had received orders XXVII 1. XXX 17. Ver. 10. And the Clothes of Service Wherewith the Ark and the Table and the Candlestick and the golden Altar were covered IV Numb 6 7 9 11 c. when the Camp removed The holy Garments for Aaron c. Which are ordered Chap. XXVIII Ver. 11. And the anointing Oyl and sweet Incense c. These was ordered in the foregoing Chapter v. 23 34. Ver. 12. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying After he had delivered him all the foregoing Orders about the Tabernacle its Furniture and the Workmen to be imployed in making them he added what follows Ver. 13. Speak unto the Children of Israel saying Verily my Sabbaths shall ye keep This hath been mention'd thrice already see XVI 23. XX. 8. XXIII 12. but here seems to be repeated again upon this special occasion that they might not think this Sacred Work would warrant them to break the Sabbath On which he bids Moses tell them they must not do this Work no more than any other For the Tabernacle was built for the Service of God which was principally performed upon this day And he uses a word of the Plural Number not to signifie any other Sabbath but this which recurring so often as once in seven days he might well admonish them to keep his Sabbaths And so the Apostle plainly speaks II Coloss 16. For it is a sign between me and you This plainly shows he speaks of the weekly Sabbath the observation of which testified to all the World what God they worshipped as all Nations signified by their Rites and Ceremonies what their Gods were to whom their Services were paid Now the Israelites stood in a double relation to God as his Creatures and as those who were redeemed by him from the Egyptian Bondage In both which regards the Sabbath was a Sign or a Token between him and them For by observing one day in seven after six days labour they signified that they worshipped the Creator of the World who in six days made all things and then rested and by observing such a seventh day See XVI 5. after six days labour rather than any other they signified they owned him to be their Deliverer from Egyptian Slavery This is opened excellently by our Mr. Mede Discourse XV. p. 73 74. Throughout your Generations During this Polity which God now establishes among you That ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctifie you To be my peculiar People by observing this Solemnity For it was peculiarly enjoyned to them and to no other Nation and was looked upon as a singular Benefit conferred on them above all People as appears by the devout Acknowledgment Nehemiah makes of this among the rest of the Divine Favours to them That he made known unto them his holy Sabbath IX 14. and see XX Ezek. 11 12. Ver. 14. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore Since it is such a distinguishing Mark be the more careful to observe it For it is holy unto you This depends upon what was said in the Conclusion of the foregoing Verse that hereby they were sanctified or separated to God as a peculiar People and therefore in all reason should look upon this as an holy day Every one that desileth it shall surely be put to death If there were credible Witnesses of his Profanation For whosoever doth any work thereon This was to defile or profane it That Soul shall be cut off from amongst his People God seems to threaten that he himself would shorten his days if the Judges for want of Witnesses could not punish him So Eliah ben Moseh one of those whom the Jews call Karaites most excellently expounds this and all the rest of the Punishments threatned to the Violation of this Precept which Mr. Selden hath given us out of a MS. L. I. de
Mount XVII 6. IX Deut. 21. By which means the Calf was utterly abolished and demonstrated as Abarbinel notes to have no more Divinity in it than the dust or water hath And made the Children of Israel drink of it He did not constrain them but having no other water they could not avoid when they were thirsty to drink with this mixture Which Moses threw into it not to discover who were guilty of Idolatry as the Jews fancy who say this was like the Water of Jealousie V Numb 27. which made their Bellies swell or their Beards as some have since fabled turn yellow for it was a general Apostacy v. 1 3. but to make them sensible how vile a thing this Idol was which was gone into their Draught and mixed with their Dung and their Urine They that have a list to see the Conceits of the Jews about it may look into Selden de diis Syris Syntag. I. c. 4. and J. Wagenseil upon Sota p. 1128. Ver. 21. And Moses said unto Aaron what did this people unto thee It was not sufficient that the Idol was destroyed but he thought fit to call his Brother to an account for his mis-government in his absence Who makes a very weak defence as all Commentators observe to whom I refer the Reader And shall only note That the best Apology he could have made had been this if it had been true that he only represented God unto them as he had represented himself to him and the Elders of Israel when the Cherubims in the form of Oxen made part of the Train of the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty But he says not a word of this which I suppose therefore is a groundless opinion That thou hast brought so great a sin upon them If they had made or built an House for the Divine Worship saith Sepher Cosri in the place above-named according to their own fancies that they might have offered their Sacrifices there and directed their Devotions thither it would not have seemed to me so grievous a sin for at this day we make such Houses and have a veneration for them and promise our selves the Divine Benediction in them c. But to make an Image was directly against the Command of God and to fancy that he would be present with that which he abhorred very much aggravated the Crime Ver. 22. And Aaron said let not the anger of my Lord wax hot He beseeches him in a very humble manner to hear him calmly Thou knowest the people He had been long acquainted with their rebellious and obstinate Humour which made them fall a murmuring as soon as ever they were delivered from Pharaoh at the Red-sea XV. 24. XVI 2 c. That they are set on mischief The words in the Hebrew beráhu are more emphatical they are in wickedness or in Idolatry like that expression in St. John 1 Epist V. 19. the whole World lyeth in wickedness Or as we say in our Language they were stark naught Ver. 23. For they said unto me Make us Gods c. This Verse is but a recital of what the People said to him v. 2. see there Ver. 24. And I said unto them Whosoever hath any Gold let him break it off so they gave it me This is the sense of v. 2. 3. Then I cast it into the fire and there came out this Calf He speaks as if he did not make the Calf but the Gold being cast into the fire out it came in this form Which made Dr. Jackson think it more than probable that there was some Magical or Daemoniacal skill practised in the sudden moulting of this Idol which very much increased the Peoples Superstition to it For what else saith he could Aaron mean by these words I cast it into the fire and there came out this Calf than that there was some secret invisible operation whereby it was moulded into this form in an instant which raised as I said the Peoples Devotion to it Herein he follows some Jews who go a great deal further saying That the Devil entred into it and made it roar like a Bull to strike a greater awe into the People as R. Juda saith in Pirke Elieser c. 45. And in Tanchuma they say it not only roared but danced also Which seem to me to be Conceits invented for the Excuse of Aaron who is said plainly enough v. 4. to have made this molten Calf Which he could not have done without designing it and running the Gold into a Mould of this Figure Here is no account at all given what Judgment Moses made of this defence but it appears by IX Deut. 20. that God was so angry with him that he had been destroyed if Moses had not interceded for him and beseeched God to pardon his weakness in complying with a People set on Mischief v. 22. For no doubt in his own Mind he was against this Fact as the Levites were of whom he was the Chief Ver. 25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked Without the Divine Protection For the Glory of the LORD in the Cloud it is likely departed and went up from them which we read descended again XXXIII 9. For Aaron had made them naked c. Laid them open by this Sin to the Scorn of all their Enemies who should hear of such a shameful Revolt from their God Ver. 26. Then Moses stood in the gate of the Camp Where the Courts of Judgment were wont to sit to hear Causes and to punish Offenders So it was in their Cities in after times which it is likely was derived from the usage now as now they did but follow the practices of their Fore-fathers For in the days of Abraham the City Gate was the place where all publick and private Business was transacted XXIII Gen. 10 18. which seems to have been the manner in all the Country for at Schechem we find as well as here at Hebron when Hamor and his Son proposed to make an Alliance with the Israelites they motioned it to the People at the Gate of the City XXXIV Gen. 20. Which was the same thing with the Forum or Exchange among the Romans the Market being also held here where there were Seats for the Judges and Elders And said Who is on the LORD's side Abhors this Idolatry and cleaves to the Worship of the LORD only Let him come unto me To receive his Commands who was under God their Leader And all the Sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him If not the whole Tribe yet as many as had any Zeal for the LORD who were the most This is an Argument there was a general defection of the People to this Idolatrous Worship that none but the Sons of Levi appeared to joyn with Moses on this occasion Ver. 27. And he said unto them thus saith the LORD God of Israel put every man his sword by his side The LORD himself by his Command warrants what I bid you do And go in and out from gate to
any but those who had been always bred up in a deep sense of his Divine Majesty Which gave them such Courage that as Chytraeus expresseth it in Herodotus his Phrase which is in a manner the same with St. Peter's V Acts 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they made account the things of God were to be preferred before those of Men and therefore would not obey the King's Command by doing contrary unto God's Ver. 18. And the King called for the Midwives Sent out a Summons to appear before him And said unto them Why have you done this thing c. Their being questioned for their Disobedience made their Constancy the more remarkable Ver. 19. For they are lively and are delivered ere the Midwives come in unto them It doth not appear that these Midwives told a lye but only concealed some of the Truth which is not unlawful but commendable when it is to preserve the Innocent For many of the Hebrew Women might be such as they here describe though not every one of them The Hebrew word chajoth signifies three things either vivaces i. e. lively or obstetrices Midwives as Kimchi tells us or animantia living Creatures The LXX follow the first notion and so do we which is very proper Aquila follows the second who translates this Passage thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they can do the Office of Midwives themselves and are brought to Bed before we can get to them Thus the Vulgar also take it They have skill in Midwifry And the Author of the Life of Moses as several other Jews do take it in the third sense expounding it thus They are like other living Creatures who do not need any Midwives to help their young ones into the World And so Rasi also and Theodotion who thus translates it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth not signifie as Gaulmyn observes they bring forth living Children but ad instar animantium pariunt they bring forth like Animals Such lively Women undoubtedly there have been and are still in some Parts of the World For Varro reports L. II. de R. R. cap. 10. that the Women of Illyricum when they found their Pangs coming were wont to go a little aside from the Work they were about and presently were delivered of a Child quem non peperisse sed invenisse putes which one would think they had found not brought forth out of their Womb. Which place our Gataker mentioning in his Cinnus p. 213. saith it is credibly reported by those who had lived there a great while that the Irish Women sometime rise from Table and are delivered and return to the Company again before all be taken away Ver. 20. Therefore God dealt well with the Midwives c. He rewarded their Services whereby the Children of Israel still more multiplied and waxed very mighty Ver. 21. Because the Midwives feared God he made them Houses These words seem to declare wherein God rewarded them which was in making them Houses Some indeed particularly Mr. Calvin refer this to the Israelites because the word them is of the Masculine Gender and therefore cannot they think be meant of the Midwives but must be interpreted by this means the Children of Israel were exceedingly increased But besides that this was said just before it is not unusual in Scripture when the Speech is of Women to use the Masculine Gender Thus Ruth 1. 8. prays for her Daughters in Law in these words the LORD deal kindly with you where in the Hebrew the Masculine Gender is used and not the Feminine But we need go no further for an instance of this than the very next Chapter to this II Exod. 17. where Moses is said to water their Flock speaking of Jethro's Daughters and the word for their is of the Masculine Gender It agrees also best with the whole story to take it so here that God made the Midwives Houses so the Chaldee and the LXX understand it that is gave them a numerous Offspring out of which arose many Families which in Scripture Language are called Houses XXX Gen. 30. When shall I make my self an House the same Phrase with this i. e. take care of my own Family XXV Deut. 9. IV Ruth 5. Or else the meaning may be he increased their Estate and gave them great Riches which the Psalmist may be thought to mean when he saith Except the Lord build the House i. e. preserve and increase the Estate of a Family their labour is in vain that endeavour it See also 2 Sam. VII 11. CXIII Psal 9. Some that take these Midwives to have been Egyptian Women proselyted to the Jewish Religion think the sense may be that they married to Israelites and God made their Families eminent in Israel Ver. 22. And Pharaoh charged all his People saying every Son c. Not being able to effect his end by the Midwives he commanded every Body to inform his Officers when any Hebrew Woman fell in Labour and appointed Searchers it 's likely to examine whether they were delivered of Male or Female and to act according to what is here ordered Some that understand the foregoing words of the Israelites make this the sense of the two last Verses Because the Midwives feared God and thereby the Families of the Israelites were increased not diminished Pharaoh took a new Course and charged all his People to see that done which the Midwives refused The Jews in the Book called The Life of Moses say that many of their People upon this Decree of Pharaoh resolved not to marry or not to come near their Wives and those who did were forced to have them brought to Bed alone and throw their Children into the Fields where the Angels took care of them c. But this is confuted by what follows in the next Chapter And yet they are so fond of such Fables that in one of their Medraschim or Books of Homilies they say God made Milk to come out of one Stone and Honey out of another to Suckle them while they lay hid in the Earth See Buxtorf of the Education of their Children Synag Judaic Cap. VII CHAP. II. Ver. 1. AND there went a Man of the House of Levi c. We are told both the Man's name and the Womans whom he married VI Exod. 20. XXVI Numb 59. Where Amram Grandson of Levi is said to have been Moses his Father and Jochabed Daughter of Levi to have been his Mother So Amram married his Father's Sister as the Text expresly tells us Which Moses was so ingenuous as not to conceal though it might not be for his Credit in future Ages when such Marriages were forbidden by that Law which he gave them from God though practised before the giving of his Law See Selden L. V. de Jure N. G. c. 9. The Jews also fancying his Mother Jochabed to have been born as soon as the Israelites came into Egypt make the Birth of Moses a Miracle because she must be by that account an Hundred and
consult for his Safety rather than basely either deny or excuse what he had done or ask pardon for it unto which no fear of the wrath of the King could have moved him Ver. 15. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing Which was soon brought to his ears as Moses suspected and aggravated extreamly by the great Men of the Court as Philo represents it L. I. de Vita Mosis He thought to slay him Not so much because he had killed the Man as because he pretended to assert the Liberty of the Israelites and to be their Deliverer Demetrius bears witness to this Story just according to what is here related in Eusebius's Praepar Evang. L. IX c. 29. And Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh Wisely foreseeing the Danger he avoided it by flight into another Country where he was out of his reach For though the time of Israel's Deliverance was not yet come he was assured that God intended to work it by his hand and therefore thought it prudent to reserve himself till he received a further Commission from God But though this flight of Moses be here so plainly affirmed yet the Jews are so sond of their own Conceits and so bold in their Invention that they say he was not only condemned to have his Head cut off but brought to the Block and when the Executioner came to do his Office his Sword would not enter Moses his Neck being by a Miracle turned into a Pilaster of Marble and from thence called his Son Eliezer c. So the Tale is told by the Author of Moses his Life What Pharaoh this was is not certain but Eusebius calls him Orus who succeeded Amenophis in whose time Moses was born and he is said to have reigned Two and forty years And dwelt in the Land of Midian Where some of Abraham's Posterity were setled XXV Gen. 2. in a part of Arabia Petraea And therefore Philo only saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he withdrew into the neighbouring Arabia Into which Country he chose to flee both because his escape was easie thither and because they were descended from the same Stock with himself and continued still good People or at least had some good Governours and Families among them as appears by what follows And he sat down by a Well To refresh himself and expecting it 's likely to meet some Company there at the time when the Flocks came to water Ver. 16. Now the Priest of Midian Or Prince as it is in the Margin For the word Cohen indifferently signifies either Priest or Prince but most anciently it signifies the latter a Prince For so it is used in the Book of Job XII 19. He leadeth Cohenim Princes away spoiled And in after times it continued to have the same signification David's Sons being called by this Name of Cohenim 2 Sam. VIII 18. which in 1 Chron. XVIII 17. is expounded were chief at the hand of the King And so Ira is called 2 Sam. XX. 26. Cohen a chief Ruler about David And so I think it is to be taken here for a Ruler or Governour See XLI Gen. 50. not of the whole Country of Midian but of some Province of it And it may be most truly rendred a Prince i. e. one of the Princes or Rulers of Midian But in ancient time Princes executed the Priesthood also as Plato observes they did among the Egyptians and the Consuls and Emperours of Rome were ambitious of the same Dignity by which means the word Cohen came to signifie both Though where the Place or Territory of which any Person was Cohen is mentioned there it always signifies him to have been Prince or Civil Governour of that place So S. Jarchi observes The word COHEN always denotes some Divine Ministry or Function except where there is an addition of some particular Principality to it as COHEN of Midian and COHEN of On referring to this place and that I now mentioned in Genesis where it signifies a Prince though the Priesthood might be joyned with it And so Artapanus in Eusebius L. IX c. 27. relating Moses his Flight into Arabia saith he came to Raguel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ruler of those parts And the Jews in their German Translation of the Bible call him Heer Lord of Midian See our most Learned Selden L. I. de Synedr c. ult p. 648. I shall only add that it is most likely that this Prince or Priest was a Worshipper of the true God and not an Idolater for Moses we may be confident would not have married his Daughter if she had been bred in a false Religion Had seven Daughters and they came and drew Water c. He was but a small Prince it appears by this though it must be acknowledged it was a noble Employment in old time as I observed upon Genesis to look after Sheep and we must not imagine these young Women drew the Water themselves but had Servants to attend them and obey their Orders Ver. 17. And the Shepherds came and drove them away Some rude and idle Shepherds would have made use of the Water which they had drawn and had the benefit of their pains without any labour of their own This looks like an Argument that their Father was not a Prince for then one would think these Shepherds should not have dared to contest with them But it is as much an Argument that he was not a Priest for they were great Men also in those days And it seems probable to me that these were the Shepherds of some other greater Prince in those Countries who made thus bold with Jethro's Daughters and their Servants For one cannot think as I said that they alone looked after his Flock but were Overseers of those that did like Rebekkah and Rachel See Gen. XXIX 9. But Moses stood up and helped them c. This was an act as Maimonides suggests of the same Heroick Spirit mentioned before Ver. 12. which still rested on him and moved him here as it had done in Egypt And thus Philo also represents him as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transported by such an Enthusiasm when he spake to the Shepherds that it after frighted them from their attempt Though it is not certain that he overcame them by Perswasions but the whole Discourse seems rather to imply that he forced them to desist which he could not do alone but at the head of those Servants that belong'd to these young Women and it is not improbable he had some Servants of his own who attended him in his Flight Certain it is that the Arabian's great Imployment was feeding of Cattle as Philo there notes L. I. de Vita Moses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and that not only Men but Women young Men and Virgins looked after them and not those only of the meaner sort 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they that were of Noble Families Ver. 18. And when they came to Reuel their Father He is thought to be the same with Jethro III.
Jethro had two Names Nay they fancy he had three being called Hobab they think IV Judg. 11. where Hobab is said to be the Father in Law of Moses But the word Son is there to be supplied which in other places is sometime to be understood he seeming to be Jethro's Son Brother to Zipporah And accordingly is said X Numb 29. to be Son of Raguel the Midianite i. e. of Jethro as many understand it See there And he led the Flock to the backside of the Desert Or as St. Hierom understands it ad interiora deserti to the inner parts of the Desert where there was better Pasture than in the place where he was before to which he was conducted by the Providence of God who intended here to reveal himself more fully to him And came to the Mountain of God even to Horeb. Sheep delight to feed on Mountains as Bochart observes out of Theocritus and Virgil. Whence such mountainous Places are often called in Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sheep-walks they being wont to feed there as Eustathius and Hesychius interpret it See Hierozoic p. 1. L. II. c. 46. And this is called the Mountain of God because when Moses wrote this Book there had been a Divine appearance upon Horeb which St. Stephen calls Sinai VII Acts 30. For Horeb and Sinai seem to have been two tops of one and the same Mountain which it is plain by this was not far from the Country of Midian We understand also by St. Stephen's words when this fell out viz. after he had dwelt Forty years in Midian for so long it is certain he continued there VII Exod 7. But how he imployed all that time we are not told No doubt in something else than meer feeding Sheep For being learned in all the Egyptian Wisdom we may well think he both taught others and made also great improvements himself in studying the Records of that and all other Neighbouring Countries and besides received it is likely Divine Revelations There are those likewise who think he now wrote the Book of Job to comfort the Israelites by the example of his admirable Patience under their heavy Oppressions in Egypt and the Book of Genesis also that they might the better understand what Promises had been made to their Noble Ancestors Abraham Isaac and Jacob and that the Time drew near when they would be fulfilled It is noted by Ludovicus Capellus in his Chronolog Sacra that the Number Forty was much observed in the Administrations of Divine Providence Moses being XL years old when he fled into Midian and staying there another XL years and then leaving the World in the end of the next XL years of his Age. It was so many years before the Israelites got to Canaan after they were delivered out of Egypt Forty days Moses continued with God in the Mount both the first and second time of his going up thither So many days the Spyes were in searching out the Land and the Israelites had just so many Mansions in the Wilderness Their first Judge governed just XL. years and the next twice as many Deborah Barak Gideon Eli all judged XL years and so long David reigned Ver. 2. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him So St. Stephen also VII Acts 30. By which some understand the Eternal WORD the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity But I think he is not called simply an Angel any where but with some addition as the Angel of the Covenant for it would be a dangerous insinuation that he was but a meer Creature Yet I believe he is not here to be excluded for I take this to have been the Appearance of the SCHECHINAH which comprehended both the LORD himself and the Angels that attended him as his Ministers One of which now appeared so gloriously that he showed God to be present and accordingly we find in the following words that he himself spake to Moses And thus the LORD is said to have sent his Angel when they cried to him and brought them out of Egypt XX Numb 16. Which Angel is called Michael by Menachem and the same which they also call Goel who redeemed Jacob from all evil XLVIII Gen. 16. In a flame of sire The Glory of the LORD as the SCHECHINAH is frequently called appeared in a flaming manner like fire exceeding bright and with an amazed splendor So it appeared though not so bright when the first Promise was made of their Deliverance XV Gen. 17 18. Out of the midst of a Bush To show say the Jews in Pirke Eliezer Cap. XL. that God was present with them in their great Affliction and Tribulation which was represented by this Bush of Thorns or Briers for so the Hebrew word signifies such a Bush as pricks those that touch it or as the Prophet Isaiah speaks LXIII 9. in all their affliction he was afflicted And by his Providence ordered things so that their Affliction did not consume them but rather multiplied and increased them for as it there follows the Angel of his presence saved them And thus Eusebius tells us in the latter end of L. V. Demonstr Evang. c. 13. some Christians understood it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. This Fire also in the Bush might be intended to show that God would there meet with the Israelites and give them his Law in Fire and Lightning and yet not consume them For this is the place where God after they came out of Egypt delivered the Law to them which thence was called Sinai saith the fore-named Author in Pirke Elieser from this Bush which in Hebrew is Sene and signifies in Arabick a Thorn-bush whereas before this it was called Horeb from its driness and barrenness as that word imports And behold the Bush burnt with sire and the Bush was not consumed The Heathens had either read or heard of this wonder as appears by Artapanus who mentions it in Eusebius L. IX Praepar Evang. c. 27. but he disguises it and misreports it saying it was a Fire which suddenly broke forth out of the Earth and flamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when there was no Matter nor any kind of Wood in the place to feed it But in the next Chapter but one an ancient Tragaedian reports it exactly saying just as Moses doth here That the Bush burnt in a great fire and yet remained intire and green in the slame which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the greatest Miracle The meaning of which I have already explained in the foregoing Observation There is a Story something like this in Dion Prusaeus Orat. XXXVI where he saith the Persians relate concerning Zoroaster that the Love of Wisdom and Vertue leading him to a Solitary Life separate from Company upon a Mountain he found it one day all in a flame shining with Celestial Fire out of the midst of which he came without any harm and instituted certain Sacrifices to God who then he made account appeared to him Which Joh. Henricus Vrsinus a
with Milk and Honey By which Phrase the Poets express the greatest Plenty as Bochart shows out of Euripides Horace Ovid c. Hierozoick P. II. L. IV. c. 12. For abundance of Milk and Honey argue a Country to be well watered fruitful full of fair Pastures and Flowers from whence the Flocks may fill their Duggs with Milk and the Bees their Cells with Honey Aelian L. III. de Hist Animal c. 35. saith the Goats of Syria which includes this Country afford such plenty of Milk as is in no other Country Vnto the place of the Canaanites c. See concerning all these People here mentioned XV Gen. 19 c. Ver. 9. Now therefore behold the Cry of the Children of Israel is come up to me c. This was said before Ver. 7. but here repeated as a reason of the Commission he intended immediately to give to Moses to go and Deliver them Ver. 10. Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh c. Leave thy Flock for I have another more weighty Business wherein I will imploy thee For thou shalt go with my Authority to Pharaoh and command him not only to Release my People out of their Servitude but to let them go also out of Egypt He had called them by the Name of his People Ver. 7. and now mentions it again to incourage their hope that he would take care of his own What Pharaoh this was it being a common Name to all the Egyptian Kings is very much disputed The common opinion is that after Orus in whose time Moses sled into Midian Acenceres or Acherres reigned Twelve years and after him Achoris reigned Seven years more and then succeeded Cenchres the worst of them all to whom Moses was now sent But Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that Apion a great Enemy of the Jews and who wrote against them mentioning their going out of Egypt in his fourth Book of his History of Egypt saith it was in the the reign of Amosis For which he quotes Ptolomaeus Mendesius an Egyptian Priest who wrote three Books about their Affairs in which he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. I. Stromat p. 320. But Tacitus calls him Bocchoris or as some read it Occoris L. V. Hist c. 3. That thou mayest bring forth my People c. From this time we are to consider God as the King of this People Not in general only as he is Lord of the whole World but in a proper and peculiar manner For whatsoever Authority or Power of Jurisdiction the Kings of other Nations did exercise over their Subjects as Power of Life and Death of making Laws and Leagues c. the same Prerogative did the Lord of Heaven and Earth reserve to himself alone over the Children of Israel Upon which ground as Dr. Jackson well observes Moses was delegated to be his Ambassadour to the King of Egypt and constituted it appears by the whole Story his Deputy or Viceroy over Israel Ver. 11. And Moses said unto God who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh c. He modestly declines the Service considering how mean a Person he was in comparison with Pharaoh and how unable to do any thing for the Israelites He had felt some extraordinary motion in himself Forty years ago which he took to be an Indication that God would use him as an Instrument of their Deliverance See Chap. II. v. 11 12. but at that time he was a far greater Man than now and had more interest at Court the Princess who adopted him for her Son being then perhaps alive or having lest him what made him very considerable In short he was then the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter but now a poor Shepherd Ver. 12. And he said Certainly I will be with thee In answer to his Objection God bids him depend on this that he would preserve him by a special Providence from being hurt by Pharaoh So Maimonides shows this Phrase I will be with thee signifies in Scripture More Nev. P. III. c. 18. And the considence which God wrought in him of this gave him Courage and Resolution which is also denoted by this Phrase as he shows P. II. c. 38. For all the Prophets were endued with an extraordinary Fortitude and Magnanimity which was in Moses above all the rest he encountering a great King and all his Court and People barely with a Staff in his hand And this shall be a Token to thee that I have sent thee when thou hast brought forth the People out of Egypt ye shall serve God upon this Mountain This could not be a Token to him now but was afterward when God by his Power brought them to this very place to worship him according to this Promise upon this Mountain In the mean time there were many other Tokens God gave him as we find in this History which were all confirmed by this at last Ver. 13. And they shall say unto me What is his Name What shall I say unto them This doth not argue that they knew not what the Name of their God was for they and their Fathers had been long acquainted with him and they cried unto him and he heard them II. 23 24. But Moses being the first that ever spake to Men in the Name of God none of the Patriarchs either before the Flood or after it having said any such words as these God hath sent me to you the Lord commands me to bid you do so or so as Maimon observes in several places of his More Nevoch P. I. c. 63. P. II. c. 39. is was natural for the Israelites to ask him by what Name or peculiar Attribute God had made himself known unto him so as to authorize him to speak to them as never any Man before did He had spoken unto Noah and unto Abraham c. but it was only for their own Instruction He never bid them deliver any Message unto others and yet it is observable that upon particular occasions he still made himself known to them by different Names or Titles As he saith to Abraham XV Gen. 7. I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees But XVII 1. he saith I am Elshaddai And to Isaac he saith I am the God of thy Father Abraham XXVI 24. To Jacob he adds I am the LORD God of thy Father Abraham and the God of Isaac XXVIII 13. And after this I am the God of Bethel XXXI 13. No wonder then that Moses should think the People would expect upon so great an occasion when he came to them as an Ambassadour from Heaven that the God of their Fathers should speak to them in a New Stile beyond all that had been known in former days Ver. 14. And God said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM. That is saith Maimonides in the place above-named He that necessarily Exists He who so is that he must needs be Or as some translate it I will be what I will be i. e. the Eternal Immutable Being so Elmacinus
they shall hearken to thy voice A great incouragement to carry this Message to the Elders of Israel which God promises to incline their hearts to receive and obey The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us We have received a special Command from the Eternal God whom we and our Fore-fathers worship who hath appeared to us And now let us go we beseech thee three days journey into the Wilderness They intended to go quite away but at first are directed to demand only to go as far as Mount Sinai which was but three days Journey from Egypt if they went the nearest way to it For this they were humble Petitioners which is implyed in those words We beseech thee That we may Sacrifice to the LORD our God When they delivered this Message to Pharaoh V. 1. they call it holding a Feast to him which was to be made upon the Sacrifices that they offered For Ver. 3. of that Chapter they speak in the same Phrase which is used here Ver. 19. And I am sure the King of Egypt will not let you go God understood before hand the hardness of his heart and that he would not yield no not to let them depart for three days much less for altogether No not by a strong hand In the Margin But by a strong hand i. e. by cutting off all the First-born in the Country till which he knew Pharaoh would be obstinate Ver. 20. And I will stretch out my hand As the hand of God signifies his Power so the stretching it out seems to signifie the exciting of that Power in mighty Deeds Smite Egypt with all my wonders The Hebrew word for wonders comes from a Root which imports something singular and not common Such were all the Plagues God sent upon Egypt which made them the more wonderful After that he will let you go They grew so terrible at last that he was afraid the next stroke would be upon his own Person which made him content to dismiss them Ver. 21. And I will give this People favour in the sight of the Egyptians c. Dispose their hearts to be kind to them so that they should readily furnish them with any thing they desired Ver. 22. But every Woman shall borrow The word Shaal is of a doubtful meaning for it signifying in general to ask or to pray one may pray another either to give or to lend And if the Israelites askt their Neighbours to bestow such things upon them as are here mentioned and they out of a desire to be rid of them or hoping speedily to recover their Goods granted their Requests no wrong was done to them And if they borrowed them of the Egyptians it was by the Authority of God whose the World is and the fulness thereof and who doth no Man any wrong when he is pleased to transfer what he enjoys unto another See more XI 2. XII 35. Of her Neighbour and of her that sojourneth in her House By this it appears that the Egyptians were intermixt with the Hebrews in the Land of Goshen and so might the more easily go along with them when they left Egypt as many of them did XII 38. Jewels of Silver c. Rather Vessels of Silver c. Which were of greater use to them than Jewels unless they pretended to deck up themselves for the Feast they were to keep See more XI 2. XII 36. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians Not by Rapine or Stealth but by their own Consent CHAP. IV. Verse 1. BVT behold they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice c. This seems directly to contradict what God had said unto him III. 18. They shall hearken to thy voice Which Maimonides indeavours to reconcile by saying that Moses was satisfyed they would believe what he told them concerning the Name of God who spake to him but not believe without further proof that he was sent by him P. I. More Nevoch c. 63. But the plainest Answer is that God did not mean they would hearken to Moses immediately but that he would so convince them by undeniable signs and tokens that they should give credit to him when he said he came from God to them Such signs he now asks and God grants that they might believe the LORD appeared to him and gave him Commission to deliver them Ver. 2. And the LORD said unto him What is that in thy hand He asks this question to make way for what follows and to move his attention to it And he said a Rod. His Shepherd's Staff it is most likely For he takes occasion from what was in his Hand to confirm his Faith and he was now feeding his Father in Law 's Sheep when God appeared unto him The Jews have a world of fabulous Stuff about this Rod not worth the remembring Ver. 3. And he said Cast it on the ground c. As he was to do when he came before Pharaoh VII 10. that it might not be thought Moses his Hand contributed any thing to the Change but it might appear to be wrought by the Power of God And it became a Serpent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Philo speaks immediately it was inlivened and crawled about The word Nachash comprehends all sorts of Serpents and R. Eliezer takes it to have been a flying Serpent but our Doctor Lightfoot rather thinks it was a Crocodile for which there is some reason For that which is here called Nachash which most think signifies a common Snake or Serpent when he threw down his Staff before Pharaoh VII 10. is called Tannin which signifies a Serpent of the largest Dimensions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo here calls it and as I proved upon I Gen. 21. includes in it Crocodiles which Isaiah calls the crooked Serpent XXVII 1. Unto whose devouring Jaws Pharaoh had exposed the Hebrew Infants when he commanded them to be cast into the River Nile I. 22. which abounded with Crocodiles And Moses fled from before it It being a very frightful sight enough to dismay the most couragious Man on Earth as God himself describes the Crocodile in the Book of Job XLI 14 25. His Teeth are terrible round about When he raises up himself the Mighty are asraid Ver. 4. And the LORD said unto Moses put forth thy hand and take it by the tail c. This shows Moses his Faith to have been great which overcame his Fear Most think this to have been an apt Representation of the Condition of the Israelites in Egypt and of their Deliverance there R. Eliezer in his Pirke Cap. XL. hath hinted the best Explication of it if it have any such meaning when he saith As a Serpent bites and kills those on whom it seizes so did Pharaoh and his People bite and kill the Israelites Or rather he should have said So shall the Egyptians be afflicted and tormented by the Rod which Moses carries in his hand Ver. 5. That they may believe that the LORD God of their Fathers c. The
Prince of the Tribe of Judah VI. 23. For it is but a fancy of R. Solomon's that he is therefore called the Levite because the Levitical Order should have proceeded from him and the Priesthood been entailed on Moses his Family but because of Moses his backwardness to serve God in this present Imployment he in anger quite changed his Intention and advanced Aaron to the Priesthood I know that he can speak well Is Eloquent and can deliver his Mind in fluent words There are two things which compleat a Commander as Pericles speaks in Theucydides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wisdom and Eloquence which do not often meet in one Person but God is pleased to distribute these Gifts as he did to these two Brethren So Polydamas in Homer tells Hector God's way is not to give all Accomplishments to one Man but some to one and some to others Iliad IV. v. 730. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. which he expresses admirably again Odyss Θ v. 168. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Behold he cometh forth to meet thee c. By God's direction no doubt who suggested to him that Moses was coming by his order towards Egypt which was such comfortable News to him that when he saw him after such a long Separation it could not but be a very joyful Meeting The fulfilling of this Prediction was a new sign unto Moses that God would be with him Ver. 15. And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth Tell him from me what he is to speak And I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth Thou shalt have Directions from me what to say to him and I will enable him to speak to the People and to Pharaoh And will teach you what you shall do Instruct you in all your Proceedings Ver. 16. And he shall be thy spokesman to the People Acquaint them with what thou hast to deliver to them And he shall be even he to thee He doubles the words to denote that he should need no other Assistant but Aaron who being his Brother he might the more securely rely on his fidelity Instead of a mouth To speak what thou canst not so well deliver thy self And thou shalt be to him instead of God Deliver my Mind and Will to him The Chaldee translates the Hebrew word Elohim in this place a Prince or a Judge who hath the Power of Life and Death See Grotius in VII Acts 35. and L. de Dieu VII 1. For Moses by God's order and appointment executed all those Judgments upon Pharaoh which Aaron pronounced See Selden L. I. de Synedr cap. ult If Justin Martyr did not misapprehend Diodorus Siculus he saith the Jews called Moses a God For so he reports Diodorus his words Adhort ad Graecos p. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which now are otherways in the Books of Diodorus Edit Steph. p. 59. where mentioning several Lawgivers that pretended to receive their Laws from God or some good Angel names Moses among the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who received his from the God called Jao So they pronounced that Name which we call Jehovah Ver. 17. And thou shalt take this Rod in thy hand The Rod mentioned v. 2. which is v. 20. called The Rod of God because it was an Ensign of Divine Authority and Power by which all the wonders were wrought Wherewith thou shalt do signs By stretching out so mean a thing as this Rod at God's Command great Miracles followed which demonstrated the Power of God and not of Man Ver. 18. And Moses went and returned From Horeb where he had all his Converse with God he returned to the Place where his Father in Law lived See v. 1. To Jethro In the Hebrew his Name is written Jether And the Tradition is in Semoth Rabba that he was once a Gentile and then his Name was Jether but being proselyted to the true Religion there was a Letter added to his Name as there was to Abrahant's and he was called Jethro And Mr. Selden observes he is called a Proselyte in the Gemaru Babylon and the first we sind mentioned in Scripture L. 2. de Jure N. G. c. 2. And said unto him let me go I pray thee He did not think it honest to leave his Service without his consent especially since he entertain'd him and gave him his Daughter when he was a Stranger to him And return unto my Brethren which are in Egypt To his Kindred and Country-men who called one another Brethren whom he had not seen many years And see whether they be yet alive He concealed his main design from Jethro not thinking it safe perhaps to trust him who though a good Man was not an Hebrew with his Commission or fearing he might discourage him from that Undertaking which he had already too much declined but now was fully resolved upon and therefore loth to be again disheartned It may seem strange that Moses in so long a course of time as Forty years should not have heard of the state of his Relations and Friends But it is to be considered that as he was afraid perhaps it should be known where he was so intercourse with Nations and very far distant was not so easie then as it is now adays And Jethro said to Moses go in peace He dismist him kindly and wisht him a prosperous Journey Ver. 19. And the LORD said to Moses in Midian Some translate it the LORD had said c. to show the Reason why he now desired to have leave to visit his Friends in Egypt However that be it is plain this was a distinct Appearance of God to him from that in Horeb for this was in Midian Where God who had set him no precise time before enjoyns him to be gone presently and assures him that there were none left in Egypt who designed to be revenged of him for the slaughter of the Egyptian So it follows For all the men are dead which sought thy life This is an incouragement which God reserved as a Reward of his Obedience having said nothing of it during the time of his Hesitancy and Reluctance Ver. 20. And Moses took his Wife and his Sons We read hitherto but of one Son born to him but it is plain he had another from XVIII 4. He carried his whole Family with him to let his Brethren see he was so confident of their Deliverance that he ventured not only himself but his dearest Relations in their Society And set them upon an Ass One Ass could not carry them all with every thing necessary for their removal therefore the singular number as is very usual is put for the plural Though one Ass might perhaps carry her and two Children one of which if not the other was very small See Drusius Quaestiones per Epistol 86. and Simeon de Muis in his Varia Sacra Asses are vile Creatures here with us but they were
not so in those Countries for the noblest Persons anciently rode on them as appears by a great many places of Holy Scripture XXII Gen. 1. XXII Numb 21. 2 Sam. XIX 6. and several others which are reckoned up by Bochart P. I. L. II. Cap. XIII Hierozoic And he returned to the Land of Egypt Set out and began his Journey to that Country And Moses took the Rod of God So called because God ordered him to carry it with him v. 17. and had appointed it to be the Instrument wherewith he should work wonders In his hand As a sign of his Authority So Conr. Pellicanus hath not unfitly explained it he returned with the Rod of God signo Apostolatus ducatus a sign or token of his Embassy and Government Ver. 21. And the LORD said unto Moses when thou goest to return into Egypt When thou art come thither See that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh The Signs mentioned in the beginning of this Chapter with which he was to begin Which I have put in thy hand Given thee power to do But I will harden his heart c. The meaning is not that God would harden his heart at the first as soon as Moses began to work his Signs no more than that he would at the first slay his First-born as he threatens v. 23. But as at last he intended to slay his First-born if he would not be humbled by other Plagues so in conclusion he resolved to harden his heart after Pharaoh had often hardened it himself There are three distinct words used in this Story about this matter The first is Chazak the next is Rashah and the third is Cavad Which seem to signifie a gradual increase of his Obstinacy till at last it grew very grievous For the last word Cavad intends and increases the Sense whether it be in good or evil qualities Ver. 22. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh In this God begins to fulfil his Promise to Moses that he would teach him what he should say v. 12. and 15 16. Thus saith the LORD This shows he came to Pharaoh in the Name and by the Authority of God Israel is my Son even my First-born Most dear to me and beloved above all People as the First-born Son commonly is above the rest of the Children God having chosen and adopted them to be his peculiar People on whom he bestowed singular Priviledges and Blessings Thus God speaks of David LXXXIX Psal 28. And Eben-Ezra's interpretation of this Phrase is not improper That Their Ancestors from the beginning had been Worshippers of him the true God Ver. 23. And I say unto thee I command and require thee so the word say here signifies Let my Son go that he may serve me Not to keep my People in thy Servitude any longer but to dismiss them that they may worship me as my Servants ought to do And if thou refuse to let him go behold I will slay thy Son even thy First-born Not upon his first refusal See v. 21. but after a long course of other Judgments which would end if he were not reformed by them in this at last With which he therefore terrifies him that he might prevent it Ver. 24. And it came to pass by the way To Egypt in the Inn where they took up their Lodging at Night That the LORD met him The SCHECHINAH I suppose appeared to him from whence an Angel was dispatched to do as follows And so both the LXX and the Chaldee interpret it The Angel of the LORD because the LORD sent an Angel to Execute what is here related And sought to kill him Appeared in such a manner as if he intended to fall upon him with a drawn Sword perhaps as he did to Balaam and David which threatning Posture could not but very much affright him and put him into disorder Others imagine he inflicted a sudden Disease upon him or made as if he would strangle him They that interpret this of killing his Child as many do See Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. VI. p. 88. seem to me to have no reason on their side there being no mention of a Child in the foregoing Story but only of his Sons Therefore Chaskuni hath rightly observed that this Verse is connected with the last words of the 20th the three following coming by a Parenthesis and can refer to none but Moses All the difficulty is to find why the Angel of the Lord should put him in fear of present death when he was going upon God's Message The Resolution of which seems to be contained in the following words Ver. 25. Then Zipporah His Wife presently apprehended what was the Cause of Moses his danger viz. because her Child of which she is supposed to have been not long ago delivered was not Circumcised And therefore she immediately dispatcht that work her Husband being in such a Consternation that he could not do it himself but as Kimchi will have it called to her to do it or she of her self went about it having been the Cause that it was not done before Took a sharp Stone Or a sharp Knife made of a Flint for such they used which Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so the LXX and the Jews say that Knives were commonly used in this work And cut the foreskin of her Son But how come Moses to neglect this Duty Most say his Wife was unwilling to it not because she abhorred this Rite as cruel and unnatural for she was of a Race which came from Abraham who first received this Command of Circumcising all his Children and she understood it appears how to do it readily without indangering the Child which had scarce been possible if she had been a Stranger to it but because the Midianites perhaps did not Circumcise so soon as the Israelites but imitated their Neighbours the Ishmaelites who deferred it till their Children were Thirteen years old at which Age Ishmael was Circumcised XVII Gen. 25. or rather because they were about to take a Journey when she thought it might be omitted till they came to be setled among the Israelites And truly this seems to have been a good reason to defer Circumcision beyond the Eighth day motion being dangerous when the Child was sore But such a Man as Moses should have trusted God to take care of his Child and not have been afraid of the Consequence if he had performed his Duty And because he followed the tender Inclination of his Wife rather than a plain Precept XVII Gen. 12 13 c. he fell into this great danger Many other accounts are given of this for the truth is the whole matter is very obscure but I see none more probable than what I have mentioned And cast it at his feet It is uncertain at whose seet she cast it whether at he Husband 's or the Child's or the Angel's The first seems most probable if the next words be spoken to
to do III Exod 18. and it will appear from v. 3. of this Chapter that so they did I have observed before III. 10. that this Pharaoh is commonly thought to be him called Cenchres Thus saith the LORD God of Israel Let my People go c. These words contain only the Substance of what they said which was delivered we may well suppose in a longer Oration Wherein they declar'd they had received a Commission from their God the LORD of Heaven and Earth to make this Address to him In all Nations there were some Persons who pretending to greater Familiarity with their Gods than other Men were highly reverenced both by their own Country-men and by Strangers And therefore it is no wonder Pharaoh offer'd no Violence to them when they came to make this Demand because their Persons were held Sacred as those of Ambassadours now are who come from one Prince to another This is a better account than that which some of the Jews in Schalsch-Hakkabah give of it who say that when they came into Pharaoh's Presence they appeared in such Majesty as daunted him being like the Angels of the Ministry and raised to a taller Stature than they had before and having a splendour in their Countenances like that of the Sun c. In which they seem to imitate the Story of St. Stephen whose Face shined like that of an Angel when he appeared before their Council That they may hold a Feast unto me in the Wilderness In order to which it was necessary they should offer Sacrifice v. 3. which they could not do in Egypt and therefore desired to go into the Wilderness where they might use their own Rites and Ceremonies of Religion without offence to the Egyptians Every word hath its weight in it For a Feast denotes an extraordinary Service and to me signifies such peculiar Rites of Worship as should be prescribed and instituted by the LORD in whose Name they spake For which the Wilderness was most proper because there was no Concourse of People likely to be in that place to disturb them in their Solemnity Ver. 2. And Pharaoh said Who is the LORD c. These are not Atheistical words for he owned such Gods as the Egyptians worshipped but slighted that God whom Moses called JEHOVAH to whom he saith he owed no Obedience because he did not know who they meant by him He speaks also with too much Scorn his Pride and Passion not suffering him to ask seriously who Jehovah was I know not the LORD c. Nor did he desire to know being so transported with Anger that he would not Examine their Commission but only resolved he would not obey it Ver. 3. And they said the God of the Hebrews They give him no other account since he was so haughty and huffing but that they came in the Name of him whom they and their Ancestors had for many Generations worshipped Whom they had at first called v. 1. the LORD God of Israel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Artapanus in Eusebius expounds it the Lord and Governour of the Vniverse Hath met with us Appeared to us and given us this Commission when we thought of no such thing For they would not have him think that they sought this Embassy but were put upon it by the Divine Authority which they durst not disobey Let us go we pray thee three days Journey into the Desert These are the very words in which God commanded Moses to deliver his Message III. 18. And as their Desire was moderate to go but three days Journey so it was very modestly delivered by humble intreaty and with such a Reason as they thought might move him to grant their Request And Sacrifice unto the LORD our God That he may be propitious to us Lest he fall upon us with the Pestilence or with the Sword Send a Plague among us for our neglect of him or some Foreign Enemy to infest us and cut us off Whereby Pharaoh they secretly suggest would lose the benesit of their Labours more than by their going for a little time into the Wilderness See VIII 27. It is observable that they neither wrought any Miracle nor threatned any Punishment to Pharaoh at their first Application to him but only told him the danger they themselves were in if they did not obey their God Which was a very submissive way of treating with him Artapanus indeed in Euseb Praep. Evang. L. IX c. 27. and in Clem. Alex. L. I. Strom. tells us of several Miraculous things which Moses did at this Audience whereby Pharaoh and his Servants were astonished and frighted from doing them any hurt nay he askt Moses the Name of his God which he whispered in Pharaoh's ear But he had all this out of some such fabulous Authour as him I mentioned above v. 1. and I mention him only to show that the Heathen had the knowledge of this History and report it as a Truth though with some mixture of Humane Invention Ver. 4. Wherefore do ye Moses and Aaron let the People from their works Instead of answering their Reasons he tells them That he lookt upon them two as Disturbers of the Peace of the Kingdom and Hinderers of his Business Get you unto your Burdens This seems to be spoken unto the Elders which they had brought along with them Ver. 5. Behold the People of the Land now are many They are very numerous notwithstanding all their Labours to what will they grow if they have nothing to do Or as some expound it they will think of nothing but Sedition now they are so numerous if they be suffered to cease from their Burdens Cajetan hence gathers that the Law for throwing their Infants into the River was abolisht as infamous or he could not get it put in Execution And you make them rest from their Burdens Which was the Course he took to make them less numerous Perhaps this was the Sabbath-day on which they had been wont to rest when they had their Liberty Ver. 6. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the Task-masters of the People and their Officers The Task-masters were the chief Exactors of their Labours being Egyptians who had Officers under them to execute their Orders and to give an account how they were obeyed And it appears from v. 14 15 c. that they were Israelites Ver. 7. Ye shall no more give the People straw to make brick as heretofore c. Instead of easing them he increased their Burdens and made them intolerable What the use of Straw was in making Bricks is variously conjectured Some think it was mixed with the Clay to make the Bricks more solid Others that they only heated their Kilns with it to burn the Bricks Others who think they were not baked in a Kiln imagine it served only to cover them that they might not be crackt by the violent heat of the Sun wherein they were baked For so Vitruvius tells us that the best Bricks were made in the Spring and
delivered thy People at all He might have remembred that God told him more than once that Pharaoh would not obey him at the first III. 19. IV. 21. But the bitter Reflections which the Officers of the Children of Israel made upon his Conduct had so disturbed his Mind that he forgot himself so far as to ask the undecent Questions mentioned in the foregoing Verse and complains here that God had done Nothing to fulfil his Promise of Deliverance to his People CHAP. VI. Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses The SCHECHINAH I suppose appeared to him See v. 12. as it had done often before since he was first sent upon this Business IV. 22. and graciously condescended to satisfie his two Complaints in the latter end of the foregoing Chapter Where he complains first of all that he had sent him about a fruitless Message for secondly he had not at all delivered his People To the last of these he Answers in the first place here in this Verse where he tells him Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharaoh That is be patient and wait a while and thou shalt see Pharaoh compelled to dismiss my People For with a strong hand shall he let them go c. I will so terribly scourge him that he shall not only let them go but thrust them out of Egypt and be glad to be rid of them Ver. 2. And God spake unto Moses and said unto him I am the LORD He also answers here to his first Question Why hast thou sent me by telling him I am JEHOVAH and have sent thee to make known this great Name that is my self who am constant to my word and will faithfully perform all my Promises Ver. 3. And I appeared unto Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob by the Name of God Almighty Or God All-sufficient as the word El-shaddai may be interpreted See XVII Gen. 1. God infinite in Power and Goodness of which he gave their Fathers abundant proofs by delivering them in many and great Straits But by my Name JEHOVAH was I not known to them This Name of four Letters as the Jews speak is by the Ancients called the ineffable Name For they would never pronounce it Not because they could not as Drusius well observes L. I. Observat Cap. I. Sed quod religione 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quadam ab eo efferendo abstinerent but because out of a Religious Reverence they abstained from it And this respect to it all the ancient Interpreters observe even St. Hierom himself though in several of the ancient Fathers as Irenaeus Clem Alexandrinus Epiphanius and Theodoret and in some of the ancient Heathens as Macrobius and Diodorus Siculus it is expressed by Jaho and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Greek write it Which Name however it be pronounced some of the Jews imagine was concealed till Moses his time who was the first to whom it was revealed But this is evidently false as appears from the whole Book of Genesis and particularly from XV. 7. where before he calls himself El-shaddai he saith to Abraham I am Jehovah which brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees In short the Opinion of Reuchlinus in his Verb. Mirisicum is far more justifiable which is that it was revealed to our first Parents at the same time that God breathed into them the breath of Life For as soon as Eve brought forth her First-born she saith I have got a Man from the LORD IV Gen. 1. which Name descended in a perpetual Succession from Seth to Abraham who when he went by God's Direction out of his own Country into Canaan the LORD appeared to him there and there he built an Altar to the LORD XII Gen. 7 8. And it is to be noted that he doth not say to Moses in this place My Name Jehovah was not known to them but I was not known to them by this Name That is by that which it imports viz. the giving being as we may say to his Promises by the actual performance of them i. e. by bringing them into the Land of Canaan and in order to it delivering them out of Egypt Both which he had promised in the fore-named Chapter XV Gen. 14 18. and now intended to make good And thus R. Solomon interprets this place as P. Fagius notes I have promised but have not yet performed The like Expression we find in the Prophet Isaiah as Theodorick Hackspan hath observed Disput de Nominibus Divinis N. 15. LII Isa 5 6. where the Lord saith My Name is blasphemed every day continually therefore my People shall know my Name therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak behold it is I. Which cannot signifie that the Jews did not then know that this was one of the Names of God but that all who blasphem'd him should be confuted by sensible Proofs which he would give of his own unchangeable Resolution to fulfil his Promises in bringing them out of Babylon which fully demonstrated that he was JEHOVAH Which word some think includes in it not only his Eternal Existence and Immutable Truth but his Omnipotent Power which gave being to all things The last of which was now made known so as it had never been to Abraham Isaac and Jacob for Moses was the first that wrought Miracles and Prodigies God was known to the Fathers by Visions and Dreams but not by Signes and Wonders Moses made him known by these unto the World And therefore upon the whole Maimonides well concludes from this place that the Prophetical Spirit on Moses was more excellent than that which had been upon any before him More Nevoch P. II. c. 35. Ver. 4. And I also c. The Hebrew word vegam may be better translated although Which makes a clear connexion of this Verse with the former and explains the meaning of the Name Jehovah By which he was not known in former times although he had made a Covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob to give them the Land of Canaan and often ratified confirmed and establisht as he here speaks this Covenant XVII Gen. 7 8. XXVI 3 4 c. But now he not only declares himself mindful of that Covenant v. 5. but because he was the LORD v. 6. would deliver them from the Egyptian Bondage and that with a miraculous Power Which should make them know more of him than their Fathers did v. 7. both by his Delivering them out of Egypt and by bringing them into the Land which he swore he would give to their Fathers v. 8. This is the Sense of these five Verses The Land of their Pilgrimage c. So it is often called when he speaks to Abraham XVII Gen. 8. and so Isaac calls it XXVIII 4. and Jacob also XXXVII 1. And so it might be called not only with respect to Abraham Isaac and Jacob but also to their Posterity because of the near Union that is between Fathers and Children Thus God is said
Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh and did so as the LORD commanded them At their first Address to Pharaoh they only delivered their Message but did nothing to confirm it V. 1 c. Nor were they commanded now to work any Miracle unless Pharaoh demanded one Which it is likely he did this second Address to him moving him to ask How shall I know that you come from God And Aaron cast down his Rod before Pharaoh and before his Servants The great Men of the Court who are always supposed to be present where the King was though not mentioned in the foregoing Verse And it became a Serpent See IV. 3. where we read that Moses himself when this Change was first made fled from before it the sight of it was so terrible And therefore it is highly probable that Pharaoh and his Servants were no less startled at the first appearance of it Artapanus relates several other Miracles besides this in Eusebius his Praepan Evang. p. 434 435 441. which I mention to show that the Fame of Moses's Miracles was spread among the Heathen who were so far from disbelieving them that they gave credit to other false Reports which some ill People had mingled with them Ver. 11. Then Pharaoh also called the Wise men When he had recovered the fright in which we may well suppose him to have been he sent some of his Servants to call in those who he thought could cope with Moses and Aaron in wonderful Works Wise men This word is sometimes used in a good sense and therefore to show they were such as we now call Cunning-men he joyns another word to it which is never taken in a good sense viz. Sorcerers Which most take to be such as we call Juglers who cast mists as we speak before Mens eyes and make things appear otherwise than they really are For the Hebrew word Cischeph from whence comes Macaschephim which we translate Sorcerers signifies to delude the sight with false Appearances Sir John Marsham puts these two words together and by the figure of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translates them accersivit peritissimos artis magicae he called the most skilful Persons in the Magical Art Chron. Can. Secul IX Now the Magicians of Egypt This is a third word which seems to be of worse import than the two former Some translate it Necromancers but it being a foreign word we cannot determine its particular meaning though in general no doubt it signifies men that by evil Arts performed amazing things Such as Simon Magus and Elymas in after times See XLI Gen. 8. and Bochart in his Hierozoicon P. 2. L. IV. Cap. XVIII where he hath a large Discourse about the meaning of this word Chartumim which after all that others have said about it he thinks comes from the word Retan which in Arabick and Chaldee signifies to murmur as Magicians were wont to do in their Incantations So Hartun is properly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Inchanter And the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the same with Hecate he thinks alludes to it whom Magicians were wont frequently to invoke The Names of the principal Magicians at this time among the Egyptians were Jannes and Jambres as not only St. Paul 2 Tim. III. 8. but several both Jewish Greek and Roman Writers tell us I will mention but one the Author of Schalsch-Hakkabalah who calls them by these names and saith that in our Language we would call them Johannes and Ambrosius The Reader may find a great many more if he please in Primate Vsher's Annals ad A.M. 2513. and in Bochart's Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 53. p. 645. Artapanus in Eusebius calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Priests at Memphis whom Pharaoh sent for to oppose Moses The Original of which sort of Men seems to have been this that God being pleased to admit the holy Patriarchs to familiar Colloquies with him the Devil indeavoured to imitate him that he might keep Men in his Obedience by pretending Discoveries of Secret things to them And when God was pleased to work Miracles for the confirmation of the Truth the Devil directed these Men who were familiar with him how to invoke his help for the performance of strange things which confirmed them in their Errours They also did in like manner with their Inchantments If the Hebrew word come from lahat which signifies a flame See III Gen. 24. it seems to denote such Sorcerers as dazzled Mens eyes and then imposed on them by shows and appearances of things which had no real being But it may be derived from laat which signifies hidden and secret and then denotes those that used secret Whispers or Murmurs as Inchanters did as Bochartus in the place now mentioned interprets it or such as had secret Familiarity with Daemons as it is expounded in the Gemara Sanhedrin Cap. VII n. 10. where there are many Examples of the former sort of Inchantments by the deception of the sight For instance R. Asche relates that he saw a Magician blow his Nose and bring pieces of Cloth out of it And R. Chajah saw one cut a Camel in pieces with his Sword and then set it together again which was nothing saith he but the delusion of the Eye Several other stories are told of the same Nature Ver. 12. For they cast down every Man his Rod. They were sent for to confront Moses and therefore attempted to do the very same thing that he had done For they took him for a meer Magician like themselves and it was a common thing in ancient times for such kind of Men to contend one with another And their great study was as Gaulmy hath observed in his Notes upon The Life and Death of Moses written by a Jew p. 241 c. to find out the Genius that attended their Opposer whom they strove to gain to their side or to terrifie him by a greater and more powerful Angel And they only were insuperable who had a Deity to their genius as Porphyry saith Plotinus had Who contending with Olympius an Egyptian when his Genius was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to appear visibly there came a God and not a Daemon Which made the Egyptian cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he is happy who hath a God for his Genius as I suppose it should be interpreted And thus the Jewish Authour of The Life and Death of Moses fancies that these Magicians who resisted Moses turned over all their Books to sind out the Name of that Deity by which he did wonders so much superiour to theirs c. And they became Serpents Not real Serpents but seeming as Josephus understood it and several Christian Writers Particularly Sedulius L. IV. Carm. imagine ficta Visibus humanis Magicas tribuere figuras I omit other ancient Authours who suppose that as Spirits can assume Bodies like to Men so they can as easily out of the same Air make the appearance of a Serpent just as Circe is said in
Divinations upon the Water as a Magician Hierozoic P. 2. L. IV. Cap. XV. And thou shalt stand by the Rivers brink against he come Perhaps Pharaoh as the same Bochart observes had forbid him to come any more to the Court and so God directs him to take this occasion to meet with him And the Rod which was turned into a Serpent shalt thou take in thine hand To give him the greater Authority and to put Pharaoh in fear at the sight of that Rod which had lately swallowed up all the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Greg. Nyssen calls them Magical Staves which encountred him Ver. 16. And thou shalt say the LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying See V. 3. To which add that it is plain by this whole Story that all the Messages delivered by Moses and all the Answers which Pharaoh returned were true and formal Treaties of a Solemn Embassage as Dr. Jackson speaks upon which Moses was sent to the King of Egypt from the LORD God of the Hebrews that is their King as he was become in a peculiar manner under whom Moses acted as his Deputy or Viceroy Let my People go that they may serve me c. The merciful kindness of God to an hardned Sinner is here very remarkable in renewing his Message and giving him Warning of what would come upon him if he did not yield Whereas he might in Justice have inflicted it without any Notice of his Intentions He sets before him also his Sin and his Danger in being hitherto Disobedient and behold hitherto thou wouldst not hear i. e. thou hast provoked the Divine Majesty by disregarding several Messages I have brought to thee from him Ver. 17. Thus saith the LORD Attend to this new Message I bring to thee in his Name In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD He had askt in a contemptuous way Who is the LORD and said after a supercilious manner I know him not v. 2. nor indeed cared to know him but slighted him and his Messengers as the word know not sometime signifies being as much as not to regard Therefore now he bids Moses tell him He would make him know that he was the Omnipotent LORD of the World by the change of the Waters of the River which Pharaoh perhaps adored into Blood Behold I will smite with the Rod that is in mine hand God and Moses are represented in this History as one Person according to what he had said v. 1. of this Chapter and therefore it was the same thing to say the LORD whose words Moses had begun to recite will smite or to say I will smite See v. 16. It is to be observed also that Aaron smote the River v. 19. but it being by Moses his Direction and Order it was counted his Act so that he might say I will smite c. The Waters of the River and they shall be turned into Blood This Plague was the more remarkable because as Theodoret here observes they having drowned the Hebrew Children in this River God now punishes them for it by giving them bloody Water to drink XII Wisd 7 8. And if they had the same Notions then that the Egyptians had in future times the Plague was the more terrible because it fell on that which they thought had some Divinity in it and as the same Theodoret observes was honoured as a God because it made Plenty when it overflow'd its Banks The Hebrew Doctors add another reason for this Punishment because the Egyptians had hindred them from their wonted Baptisms as the Authour of The Life and Death of Moses speaks that is saith Gaulmyn from Purifying themselves in the River by Bathing after they had lain in of their Children which in the scarcity of Water in that Country could no where be done but in the River Ver. 18. And the Fish that is in the River shall die c. Here are three grievous Effects of this Plague It deprived them of their most delicious Food for so their Fish were XI Numb 5. And took away the Pleasure they had of washing by the Rivers side because it stank both by the death of the Fish and the corruption of the Blood through the heat of the Sun by which means the Water was made unfit for their Drink Ver. 19. And the LORD spake unto Moses After he had been with Pharaoh and delivered this Message to him Say unto Aaron take thy Rod and stretch out thy hand This Warning being despised by Pharaoh who would not relent God requires them actually to do as he had threatned And now Moses had delivered his Rod to Aaron that he might by his Authority execute this Judgment Vpon the Waters of Egypt These are general words comprehending all the particulurs following Vpon their Streams There were seven Branches into which the River Nile was divided before it fell into the Sea which seem to be here understood being called IX Isa 15. the seven Streams or Rivers of Egypt Vpon their Rivers There were several Cuts made by Art out of every Stream to draw the Water into their Grounds which seem to be here meant by Rivers And upon their Ponds These were digged to hold rain water when it fell as it did sometimes and near the River also they digged Wells it is likely which may be here intended And upon all Pools of Water There were here and there other Collections of Water particularly in their Gardens derived by Pipes from the River into Cisterns In Vessels of Wood or of Stone Wherein Water was kept in private Houses for their present use Ver. 20. And Moses and Aaron did so as the LORD commanded c. This first Plague our Primate Vsher makes account was inflicted about the XVIIIth day of the Sixth Month which in the next year and ever after became the Twelfth Month. Artapanus tells this Story otherwise but it is evident he had heard of it among the Gentiles and Ezekiel the Tragaedian relates it all right together with the following Miracle See Euseb Praepar Evang. L. IX Cap. XXIX p. 442. Nor is there any thing more frequent in the Roman Story as Huetius observes L. II. Alnet Quaestion Cap. XII n. 12. than Relations of Rivers of Blood flowing out of the Earth Pits full of Blood showres of Blood and Waters of Rivers changed into Blood c. And he lift up the Rod and smote the Waters that were in the River c. Here is mention only of Smiting the Water in the River And it is likely that only the Waters of the River were turned into Blood as it here follows at the first lifting up of his Rod and then all the rest of the Waters mentioned in the precedent Verse Ver. 21. And the Fish that was in the River died c. All the effects of this Plague which were threatned v. 18. See there immediately following The first of which was the death of the Fish which perished in such great numbers that
the River stank c. And there was Blood throughout all the Land of Egypt The Waters were in all places turned into Blood except perhaps the Land of Goshen which is not comprehended under the Land of Egypt Ver. 22. And the Magicians of Egypt did so with their Inchantments See v. 11. In some of the Pools or Lakes of Water they made an appearance of the like Change which made Pharaoh think his God was as powerful as the God of the Hebrews The Land of Goshen as I said might possibly be free from this Plague as it was certainly from several of the rest VIII 23. IX 4 c. and some fancy the Magicians had Water from thence to show their power upon But I cannot think it probable that they made Pharaoh stay so long and one may as well say they had it out of the Sea or out of the Pits that the People digged v. 24. as Aben Ezra conjectures and Justin Martyr Quaest. Resp XXVI ad Orthodox But there is no need of any of these Conjectures if it be granted as the History leads us to conclude that Moses did not in a moment change all the Waters of the Country but only those of the River as I said on v. 20. and afterwards by degrees all the rest when the Magicians had tried their Art upon some of them Which Moses also turned into real Blood so that neither they nor any body else was able to drink of them And Pharaoh 's heart was hardned The very same words in the Hebrew which we had before v. 13. where they should have been translated I there observed as they are here and also in VIII 19. Neither did he hearken unto them as the LORD had said III. 19. This was more apt to move his heart than the former Miracle because it continued longer v. 25. and the Magicians could not by all their Spells or Skill in Sorcery remove this Plague in all that time See next Verse Ver. 23. And Pharaoh turned and went unto his House It seems that upon his refusal to hearken unto Moses his Monition v. 15 16 c. God sent this Plague that very Morning before he got home to Dinner So that there was not time to fetch Water from distant places but the Magicians exercised their Inchantments upon some Ponds which were not as yet turned by Moses into Blood Neither set he his heart to this also Here is the reason why his heart was not moved by this Miracle He did not seriously consider what Moses had done and examine the Difference between the Effect of his Power and that of the Magicians Which was the cause that his heart was hardned as we read before as all Mens are who will think of nothing but only to have their own Humour satissied Ver. 24. And all the Egyptians digged round about the River for Water to drink c. The whole Country was forced to try to get Water to quench their thirst by this great labour How it succeeded we are not told but it is likely they found clear Water by percolation through the Earth For Moses smote only the Pits that were then in being when Aaron stretcht out his Rod which had no effect upon those which were digged afterwards Why they did not setch it from Goshen if there was any clear Water there as we cannot but think there was for the use of the Israelites is not easie to determine Their Pride perhaps would not suffer them till they had tried other ways to supply their wants Ver. 25. And seven days were fulfilled after that the LORD had smitten the River The Rod of Moses could effect nothing without the LORD by whose Power this Change was made in the Waters Which lasted seven days before this Plague was removed By which means they were convinced that all the Waters were really corrupted and they felt the heavy Effects of it in a grievous stench and perpetual Labour in digging Pits all about the River Whether Pharaoh at last begged to have this Plague removed or no we are not told It is likely he was so obstinate that he would not stoop to ask this favour of them which might be the reason it lasted so long to see whether he would be moved to humble himself so far To which when he would not yield God took it away to make room for another stroke or as some think it continued together with the Plague of Frogs and were both removed upon his Petition It is a weak Conjecture of the Hebrew Doctors from these Words that all the Ten Plagues lasted seven days apiece which is plainly contrary to the Story CHAP. VIII Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses Who attended upon the Divine Majesty we may reasonably suppose every day to know his Pleasure And after the seven days mentioned v. last of the foregoing Chapter were fulfilled the LORD commanded him to Address himself again to Pharaoh and to threaten him with a new Punishment which was inflicted upon the XXVth day of the sixth Month and taken away the day after v. 10. Go unto Pharaoh and say unto him Thus saith the LORD c. The very same Message in effect which he had delivered to him before V.I. VII 16 17. Ver. 2. And if thou refuse to let them go behold c. He again threatens the Plague before he inflicts it both that Pharaoh might know it came not by chance but by the determinate Counsel of God and that he might prevent it by Repentance and Submission to God's Command I will smite This word commonly signifies in the Scripture Language to kill but here only to afflect grievously See LXXVIII Psalm 45. where to destroy them signifies to annoy them All thy Borders Every part of his Country to the utmost extent of it i.e. in all places where the Egyptians dwelt For it is not likely the Israelites were infested with them See v. 4. With Frogs The Hebrew word Tsaphadéa signifies as Eben Ezra thinks an Egyptian Fish which some will have to be a Crocodile As Gaulmyn observes in his Annnotations on the Life and Death of Moses p. 256. But this is undoubtedly false for they could not infest them in that manner as is described in the next Verse Ver. 3. And the River shall bring forth Under the Name of the River is comprehended all the Streams Ponds Lakes and other Waters in Egypt as appears from v. 5. For most of them came one way or other out of the River they having little Rain in Egypt Frogs abundantly The Nile naturally produced Frogs but such great abundance of them as silled the Country was miraculous especially being produced on a sudden and their going out of the River and Fields into the Cities and Houses c. was still more miraculous Which shall go up Out of the River which lay lower than the Land And come into thine House c. This explains what he meant by smiting in the foregoing Verse viz. inflicting a
here follows Ver. 19. Then the Magicians said unto Pharaoh This is the singer of God The same with what is called in other places of Scripture the hand of God CIX Psal 27. that is his Power There are those particularly Bochartus who think these Magicians did not by these words give Glory to God but thought to save their own Credit with Pharaoh by telling him that it was not Moses or Aaron who were too hard for them but a Divine Power superiour to them all To this purpose Jonathan But they ought then to have been sensible that the Power which they dealt withal was far from being Supream being unable to assist them upon all occasions And no doubt God intended to confound them by taking that time to disable them when they least expected it For why should not their Power have extended to such a small thing as this when they had done greater But God would not let them always abuse Pharaoh with their Illusions and gave them a check when they thought themselves most sure of Success And Pharaoh 's heart was hardned One would have rather expected to have heard that his heart began to relent when he saw his Magicians not only puzzled but quite bafled so that they owned Moses acted by a Power above theirs But this it was not to stick to the good Resolutions which had lately been wrought in him v. 8. from which he not only revolted but grew more resolute not to yield to God The effect of which was this further Induration it being natural for evil Men who resist the Means of their Cure to grow worse and worse affected This Miracle also of the Lice being more loathsom to Pharaoh than terrible might haply be the reason as Dr. Jackson conjectures that he did not intreat Moses and Aaron to pray for him as he had done upon the sight of the Frogs and as he straightway did after he felt the next Plague of the Flies I cannot but add also this further reflection of his Book X. on the Creed Chap. XL. that though the singer of God was very remarkable in producing the Lice which the Magicians could not yet it was no way remarkable in hardning Pharaoh's heart For it is neither said nor intimated that the singer of God hardned it but Pharaoh's heart was hardned that is remained obstinate The Cause of which was his not hearkning to them as it had been before v. 15. Ver. 20. And the LORD said unto Moses rise up early in the Morning and stand before Pharaoh As he had ordered him to do before he sent the second Plague VII 15. Lo he cometh forth to the Water This confirms what was said there that in the Morning it was usual with him to walk out by the River either for his Refreshment or for his Devotion Perhaps that after washing he might worship the Rising Sun For Moses is commanded to rise up early in the Morning and present himself before him And say unto him Thus saith the LORD let my People go c. The same Message he had often sent him VII 16 17. VIII 1. together with an Admonition and Warning of his Danger which God had not given him before the last Plague v. 16. Ver. 21. Behold I will send swarms of flies upon thee c. The Hebrew word Arob being generally thought to come from a word which signifies to mingle Interpreters commonly think it denotes a mixture of several sorts of Creatures And some take it as we seem here to do for all manner of Flies which Aquila calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all sorts of Insects Others take it as it is in our Margin for a mixture of noisom Beasts and so the Authour of The Life and Death of Moses God sent Lions Wolves Bears and Leopards and suck like wild Beasts which killed not only their Cattle in the Field but their Children in their Houses And so Josephus expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But Bochartus hath confuted this Notion by very good Arguments in his Hierozoicon P. 2. L. IV. Cap. XV. where he shows no words have more significations than the Hebrew word Arab which signifies not only to mingle but among many other things to obscure and darken From whence the Even time is called Ereb And therefore with great reason he approves of the LXX Version who translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Flesh-sly very bold and troublesome being not easily drove away which infests Dogs very much especially about the flaps of their Ears Some take it for that large black fly which fastens upon Beasts and sucks their Blood called Arob from its black colour as Oreb from thence signifies a Crow And so Philo describes this fly called Cynomya that it is as impudent as a Dog and makes its Assaults with great Violence like a Dart fastning its Teeth so deep in the Flesh and sticking so close that it makes Cattle run mad This Plague the Jews say in the forenamed Book of The Life of Moses was sent upon the Egyptians because of the hard Service they made the Israelites undergo in feeding their Cattle Ver. 22. And I will sever in that day the Land of Goshen in which my People dwell c. Here now the distinguishing Mercy of God to the Israelites is plainly expressed which is to be understood in the foregoing Plagues And the Hebrew word as well as the Chaldee signifies I will make a wondrous difference So Jonathan in that day I will work a Miracle in the Land of Goshen For indeed it was a marvellous thing that Countries so near one another should be in such a different Condition at the same time And it was the more wonderful because there was such store of Cattle in Goshen whose Dung is apt to breed Flies That thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the Earth Who governs all things here below or that have a special care of my People For so Bochart understood by Earth the Land of Goshen In the midst of which God is said to be because he defended and delivered them from this sore Calamity which their Neighbours suffered For thus this Phrase is used in many places VII Deut. 22. XXIII 14. XLVI Psal 6 c. And thus Conr. Pellicanus seems to have understood this Passage which he interprets you shall know that I am the LORD and Prince of this Country Ver. 23. I will put a division between thy People and my People c. It is repeated again because it was a remarkable thing and denoted the Israelites to be God's peculiar People for whom he had a singular favour Which is the reason that this Mercy is called here a Redemption as the word in the Hebrew signifies which we translate division because God exempted and delivered the Israelites from those Flies which sorely infested all the rest of Pharaoh's Dominions To morrow shall this sign be The finger of God was so remarkable in the last Plague v. 19. that
apud illos quae nobis incesta Ver. 28. And Pharaoh said I will let you go that you may Sacrifice to the LORD your God in the Wilderness He doth not say expresly they should go three days Journey as was demanded which hath made some think this was but a niggardly Concession of Pharaoh's who intended to deceive them with general words But Moses understood it otherwise as appears by his acceptance of the Grant Only you shall not go very far away No further than three days Journey Intreat for me This indeed is added so quickly and as it were with the same breath that he granted their three days Journey that it may make one think it was the least part of his intention to permit that but only to get rid of this Plague Which if it had continued long the Egyptians must have left their Country to preserve themselves Several People having been forced by Flies to quit their Habitations as many ancient Authours inform us mentioned by Bonfrerius and Bochartus Ver. 29. And Moses said Behold I go out from thee and I will intreat the LORD that the swarm of Flies may depart c. He was not more ready to desire than the LORD and his Servant Moses were to grant the total removal of this Plague which was sent for his Reformation not his Destruction if he would have duly considered it To morrow Yet he would not pray that he might be released from it presently but let him lye a while under the smart of this Rod that he might be truly humbled and deal no more deceitfully with him as he feared he would But let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more c. He had promised fair before v. 8. but broken his word which made this solemn Caution the more necessary lest he should be guilty of such false dealing again Ver. 30. And Moses went out from Pharaoh and intreated the LORD He gave Pharaoh a good Example of Stedfastness by making good his Promise immediately which he gave him in the beginning of the foregoing Verse Ver. 31. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses Here was punctual performance on God's part of what was agreed between him and Pharaoh in the foregoing Treaty There remained not one This was a greater Miracle than that of removing the Frogs for they remained in heaps and stank v. 14. But these were all swept away by a mighty wind perhaps either into the Sea or into the Deserts of Libya Ver. 32. And Pharaoh hardned his heart at this time also c. This is here made an act of his own as it was no doubt in all the former Refusals to let them go v. 15 19. And he hardned his heart by not hearkning or not regarding what they had done as the word is used and translated IX 21. That which made him not to hearken or regard was his excessive Pride and Covetousness for he thought it a dishonour to submit to Moses and he was very loth to lose the Service of so many Slaves which was really more worth to him than all the Land they possessed in Egypt CHAP. IX Verse 1. Then the LORD said unto Moses See VII 1. Go in unto Pharaoh It seems now he went to the Palace And say unto him Thus saith the LORD c. He sends the same Message to him he ordered at the first v. 13. and had continued ever since VII 16 c. Ver. 2. For if thou refuse to let them go and wilt hold them still If thy covetous griping Humour make thee still resolve to detain them in their Slavery Ver. 3. Behold This word as in most other places as Dr. Jackson notes is here a special Character of the speedy Execution of the Plague threatned and of the remarkable manner of its Execution The hand of the LORD is upon thy Cattle c. That is he will smite them which is done by the hand and is just ready to do the Execution Here is no mention of Aaron's Rod no more than in the foregoing Plague and for the same reason See VIII 21. A very grievous Murrain That is a great Plague or Pestilence as we call it in Mankind of which abundance of Cattle shall die For so the word Caved which we translate grievous is used for numerous See VIII 24. But the greater the Number was that died the more grievous no doubt was the Calamity God intending to deal more severely than formerly with him because he had been guilty of a fraudulent Contempt of his former solemn Monition VIII 29. Ver. 4. And the LORD shall sever between the Cattle of Israel and the Cattle of Egypt c. See VIII 22. This was the greater wonder as the word imports because the Israelites and Egyptians were mingled together in the Land of Goshen and their Cattle breathed in the same Air and drank of the same Water c. By which it appeared this Pestilence was not natural but proceeded as was said before from the hand of God Ver. 5. And the LORD appointed a set time That they might know this stroke came from him Saying to morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the Land This Plague was threatned upon the first day of the VIIth Month which afterwards was changed into the first Month of the Year and inflicted on the second Day Ver. 6. And all the Cattle of Egypt died Some survived it is plain from v. 19. Therefore the meaning is either all that were in the Field v. 3. not those in the Cities or Houses or rather a great many of all sorts of Cattle as Drusius expounds it Omne genus all kinds as the word all must be expounded v. 26. Vide L. 2. Animadvers Cap. XVIII But of the Cattle of the Children of Israel died not one Of any sort whatsoever Ver. 7. And Pharaoh sent and behold there was not one of the Cattle of the Israelites dead We do not find that he sent to make any such Enquiry in the former Plagues It is likely he slighted what they said and would not do them the Honour to seem to believe them Moses also had said nothing of this difference God would make between the Israelites and them till the last Plague when the Flies were so busie and vexatious that it made Travel uneasie as it was likewise in the two other before that when they could tread upon nothing but Frogs or Lice And the heart of Pharaoh was hardned One would rather have expected to hear that it relented because he took the pains to satisfie himself that e-every thing foretold by Moses was come to pass which looks as if he meant upon the Truth of that Information to alter his Course This Plague likewise was much heavier than all or most of the preceding which were rather more noisom and terrible as Dr. Jackson speaks than detrimental to Pharaoh and his People For we do not read before this time of the death of any useful Creatures except Fishes when
that all along from thence to this place it is very often said in the close of the former Plagues that Pharaoh's heart was hardned as the LORD had said VII 13 22. VIII 15 19 32. But this is the first time that it is said the LORD hardned the heart of Pharaoh as he had spoken unto Moses Which different Close gives us to understand that now after the Plague of Blains the Sentence of Destruction was irreversibly denounced against him and God resolved to dispose things so that he should not repent but run headlong to his ruin Ver. 13. And the LORD said unto Moses rise up early in the Morning That he might speak with Pharaoh before he went abroad or at his going out of his Palace And stand before Pharaoh c. Present thy self unto him with the same Message that I have often sent to him See V. 3. VII 16 c. Let my People go that they may serve me But why doth he send any more Messages to him may some say after he had hardned him and knew he would not submit To which Dr. Jael s●n's Answer is very apposite That God dealt with Pharaoh just as he had done with the poor oppressed Israelites after Moses had delivered his first Message to him Pharaoh immediately forbids his Task-masters to give them any Straw and yet required the same Tale of Bricks which they made when they had Straw enough The Lord in like manner demands the same Obedience of Pharaoh after he had deprived him of Understanding and of all good Motions which he had demanded of him before or at the first Exhibition of his Signs and Wonders And this is that which gave occasion to the Question we find IX Rom. 19. Why doth he yet find fault To which there needs no further Satisfaction in this place Ver. 14. For I will at this time For now I will begin to send more terrible Plagues upon thee one after another till I have destroyed thee Send all my Plagues All that I have resolved to inflict as Menochius truly expounds it Not all that I am able but all that I design to send for thy destruction Vpon thine heart Such as shall make thy heart ake as we now speak not only afflict thy Body and Goods but fill thy Soul with terrour or grief or rage That thou mayest know there is none like me in all the Earth To teach thee by sad Experience that my Power is superiour to all other To which another reason is added in the next Verse that all the World might see the same And a third X. 2. that Israel might learn to Worship him alone and teach their Children to do so likewise Ver. 15 16. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy People with Pestilence c. I do not see how this Translation can be maintained for we do not read that God after this sent a new Pestilence upon Pharaoh and the Hebrew word deber signifies nothing else This therefore must needs refer to the Time past and the sense of these three Verses 14 15 16. must be this I will send more Plagues on thee and on thy Servants as was threatned v. 14. for the truth is I had now stretched out my hand to destroy both thee and thy People by my late Pestilence wherewith you had all been cut off had it not been that I reserve you for further Punishments for which very cause I made thee to stand when thou wast falling i. e. kept thee from dying that I might send more Plagues upon thee and make thy destruction more notorious to all the World See Paulus Fagius and Theod. Hackspan and Fr. Junius also who translate these words I had smitten thee and thy People with Pestilence i. e. when he destroyed their Cattle with a Murrain and then hadst thou been cut off from the Earth as it follows in the end of this Verse that is when the Boils broke out upon the Magicians Ver. 16. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up In the Hebrew the words are I have made thee stand that is preserved thee alive when the Pestilence would have cut thee off as the Murrain did thy Cattle if I had not kept thee from perishing then that I might destroy thee in a more remarkable manner And thus the LXX understood it when they translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou hast been preserved that is from destruction With which the Apostle agrees though he doth not here follow their Translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have raised thee i. e. from the foregoing Sickness IX Rom. 17. spared thee in the midst of malignant Ulcers For to show in thee my Power By sending more dreadful Plagues upon him and at last overwhelming him in the Sea And that my Name may be declared throughout all the World If Pharaoh and his People had all perished by the Pestilence when the Cattle did or died when smitten with Blains the terrour of God's powerful Displeasure had not been so visible to all the World as it was in overthrowing the whole Strength of Egypt in the red Sea Ver. 17. As yet exaltest thou thy self against my People c. In these words he returns to finish his Message begun v. 13. which he concludes with this Expostulation which upbraids him with his sensless Obstinacy Which in other words may be thus paraphrased Dost thou still notwithstanding all that I have done to humble thee proudly insult over my People and resolve to keep them in Bondage This Expostulation which is very sharp and cutting may seem to some unseasonable now that God himself had hardned him and taken his Understanding from him though before nothing could have been more proper while there was a possibility of penetrating his heart But God cannot lose his right to demand that Obedience which Men have made themselves unable to pay and it was but just he should be upbraided with his Obstinacy even when he could not comply because he had brought upon himself this Punishment of stupid Insensibility See v. 13. Ver. 18. Behold to morrow about this time As his Destruction was determined so it was to come speedily upon him and therefore there was but one Day between this Plague and the former I will send a very grievous Hail Great Hail-stones falling very thick as we speak Such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof Since it hath been inhabited This shows that though Rain was not frequent in Egypt yet sometimes they had both Rain and Hail also Otherwise there could not have been a Comparison made between this and former Hail if there never had been any at all Ver. 19. Send therefore now and gather thy Cattle c. It appears by the next Verse that though Pharaoh and his Grandees could not be moved by all these Judgments yet there were some Persons in the Court who were better disposed for whose sake God gives this
that had been seen and they were a frequent Plague in those Countries either in bigness or in in number or in both That is all that had been seen in Egypt For in other Countries perhaps there might have been as large if Pliny may be believed that in India there had been some seen three foot long The Jews in the Book called The Life and Death of Moses fancy these to have been of such a vast Bulk that their Jaw-teeth were like those of Lions But it 's likely Moses speaks here only of their multitude For the Prophet Joel hath such an Expression when he speaks also of their being without number I Joel 6. Whose Teeth are the Teeth of a Lion i. e. they devoured all things greedily and speedily And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh Either Moses did not stay for an Answer knowing he would give him none better than formerly or Pharaoh answered so churlishly that Moses hastily turned about as the words seem to import and went away in some indignation Ver. 7. And Pharaoh 's Servants said Some of his Counsellors or Courtiers who feared the word of the LORD IX 20. Or perhaps the whole Court began now to be sensible of their Danger How long shall this Man They seem to speak contemptibly of Moses to please Pharaoh who they were afraid would not like their Counsel unless they flattered him Be a Snare to us The LXX and the Vulgar translate it be a stumbling-block i. e. lay before us the Occasion of our falling into one Calamity after another Or involve and intangle us in so many Mischiefs Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed Dost thou not consider that so many Plagues have ruined our Country Ver. 8. And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh c. Upon this Advice he commanded them to be called back again and consented to let them go with some Limitations to which Moses could not agree But who are they that shall go In the Hebrew the words are but who and who that is Name the particulars For his Covetousness would not suffer the whole Nation to go but he would keep some fast in his hands as a Pledge for the Return of the rest Ver. 9. And Moses said we will go with our young and our old c. with our Flocks and with our Herds c. The reason of this large Demand is given in the end of this Verse They did not know what and how often they must Sacrifice to the LORD and therefore it was necessary their Flocks and Herds should go with them And they being to hold a Feast unto the LORD none of them were to be absent from the Solemnity Hold a Feast unto the LORD It appears from V. 1 3. that it was to be a Feast upon a Sacrifice of which every one was to be a partaker Ver. 10. And he said unto them Let the LORD be so with you as I will let you go c. Most take this for a form of Imprecation as if he had said I wish you may prosper no better than I will accord to your desire But some look upon it as an Irrision or Jeer as if he had said you trust in the LORD let him do all he can to deliver you as I am resolved to keep you here This justifies the truth of their Observation who say that Pharaoh at the first behaved himself like a proud Phantastick Humorist who slighted all that Moses said or did but since the Plague of Murrain on the Cattle and Blains upon the Egyptians like a fantastick distracted Bedlam who raved as if his Brains had been blasted to use Dr. Jackson's Phrase with the Fumes of his seared Conscience Look you to it for evil is before you It is uncertain whether he meant evil that they designed against him or which he designed against them The former best agrees with what follows as if he had said you intend a Rebellion therefore I will let none but the Men go Or more plainly it is visible you design some evil i. e. you have conspired to be gone and make a Revolt Or it is plain and manifest by your very Countenances that you intend some evil If we take it the other way for evil which he threatned to them the meaning must be Mark what I say I will take a course with you unless you be content to go and Sacrifice upon my terms i. e. the Men only Ver. 11. Not so You shall not have your will Go now ye that are Men and serve the LORD for that you did desire So he Interprets their Demand V. 1. pretending that Women and Children needed not to attend upon Sacrifices And they were driven out from Pharaoh 's presence It is likely he said I have no more to say to you or you know my mind and therefore get you gone and then commanded his Officers to thrust them out of Doors which they did with some violence This shows he was in a fury which made him neither regard God nor Man but reject the good Counsel his own Servants had given him v. 7. as well as the Commands which Moses from God had delivered to him Ver. 12. And the LORD said unto Moses siretch out thine hand c. Upon this the Lord immediately ordered Moses to Execute the Judgment he had denounced Which as I said before was threatned about the seventh day and inflicted upon the next and removed on the ninth day of Abib Compare v. 4 13 19. Ver. 13. And Moses stretched forth his Rod over the Land of Egypt See VIII 6. And the LORD brought an East wind c. Though the Hebrew word kadim doth properly signifie the East yet it is sometimes used for the South as Boehart hath demonstrated P. II. Hieroz L. I. c. 15. and so the LXX here understood it For though in Arabia which lay East of Egypt there were great store of Locusts yet not such Numbers as were in Ethiopia which lay South of it and abounded with them more than any Country in the World Some People there lived upon nothing else but Locusts which were brought thither in the Spring about the Vernal Aequinox in vast quantities partly by the Western and partly by the Southern Winds as the same Bochart shows out of good Authors L. IV. c. 3. And now it was about that time of the year when by a Wind blowing from those parts they were brought into Egypt See LXXVIII Psal 26. Ver. 14. And the Locusts went up over all the Land of Egypt Being lifted up by the Wind as Pliny speaks they sly in the Air in a great Cloud which now it seems spread it self over all the Land of Egypt solicitè spectantibus populis c. as the same Author speaks People looking on them in great fear lest they fall down and cover their Country as the words following tell us they did here in Egypt And rested in all the Coasts of Egypt After they had hovered
formerly promised to direct III. 21 22. And let every Man borrow of his Neighbour c. See III. 21 22. Unto which this may be added that some of the ancient Fathers lookt upon this as a piece of Justice that they should be paid their Wages for the Labour they had undergone in the Service of the Egyptians which God orders in this manner So Epiphanius in his Ancoratus Num. CXII CXIII where he gives this account of the Israelites spoiling the Egyptians that they had served them a long time for Nothing he makes account CCXV years and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. was it not just both before God and Man that their Wages should be paid them before they left the Country See Petavius on that place And Haeres LXVI LXXI LXXXIII and Irinaeus L. IV. c. 49. Tertull. adv Marcion L. II. c. 20. And so the Author of the Book of Wisdom took it X. 17. where he saith the Lord gave the Israelites the Goods of the Egyptians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Reward of their Labours See more XII 35. Ver. 3. And the LORD gave the People favour in the sight of the Egyptians According to his Promise III. 21. Moreover the man Moses was very great c. This seems to be given as a reason both why the Court durst not meddle with Moses though he had brought so many Plagues upon them and why the People were forward to grant the Israelites what they desired because they all highly esteemed him and had him in great reverence as a Person that had extraordinary power with God From whence some think it credible that their Posterity might give him Divine Honours as is reported by some ancient Writers Ver. 4. And Moses said Thus saith the LORD It is manifest from v. 8. that these words were spoken from the LORD to Pharaoh but it is a great question when they were spoken It is commonly thought that Moses said this when he last parted with Pharaoh and told him he would see his face no more X. 29. And then the first words of this Chapter must be translated in the time past the LORD had said unto Moses that he would bring one Plague more upon the Egyptians which he now denounced to Pharaoh because he said he should not have the liberty of being admitted to him again Or else Pharaoh contrary to his peremptory Resolution sent once more to speak with Moses as it is plain he did after the First-born were slain XII 31. About midnight About the midst of the following Night For they having kept the Passover in the Evening of this fourteenth day of Abib the First-born were slain in the middle of that Night Not precisely the Hebrew indicates but it might be a little before or after Midnight See Theodorick Haespan of such kind of Speeches Disput de locut Sacris N. IV. Will I go out By an Angel who was sent from the SCHECHINAH which resided in some part of the Land of Goshen and ordered to go and do this Execution Into the midst of Egypt Perhaps he means the Royal City where he began this Execution and then smote the whole Country round about Ver. 5. And all the First-born in the Land of Egypt shall die This was the sorest Plague that had been hitherto inflicted Nothing being so dear to Parents as their Children especially their First-born From the First-born of Pharaoh c. i. e. From the highest to the meanest Person in the Kingdom That sitteth upon his Throne It is uncertain whether this relate to Pharaoh or to his First-born The LXX seem to incline to the former having left out the Pronoun his and simply translated it that sitteth upon the Throne But the Chaldee determines it to the latter by translating it who is to sit upon the Throne of his Kingdom i. e. to be Pharaoh's Successor the Heir of the Kingdom of Egypt The Maid-servant that is behind the Mill. None were more miserable than those Slaves whose Work it was to turn a Mill with their Hands and grind Corn perpetually especially when they were condemned to this in a Prison nay in a Dungeon that so we are to understand this appears from XII 29. The ancient Comaedians often mention this and we find an instance of such Drudgery in the Story of Sampson XVI Judg. 21. Ver. 6. And there shall be a great Cry throughout the Land of Egypt c. The Calamity being general in every House it made a general and very loud Lamentation Men Women Children and Servants bewailing the loss of the prime Person in the Family Ver. 7. But against any of the Children of Israel shall not a Dog move his tongue c. A great wonder that when so many Thousand People were upon their March with abundance of Cattle c. not a Dog should stir who though never so gentle yet commonly Bark when they hear the least noise especially in the Night All Travellers know this That ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel This was indeed a plain Testimony of God's special Care and Providence over the Israelites that when there was such a great Cry throughout all the Land of Egypt v. 6. all was quiet still and silent among them Ver. 8. And all these thy Servants shall come down to me c. You that now forbid me to come to you for Pharaoh himself is included it appears from XII 31 c. shall be forced to come to me and submissively intreat nay press me to be gone c. Come down It was a descent from that part of Egypt where the Court was unto Goshen though it may simply signifie come to me Get thee out and all the People that follow thee In the Hebrew the words are that is at thy feet that is to the very last man For they that bring up the Rear as we speak or march last after their Commander are said in Scripture to be at their feet As Wagenseil hath observed in his Confutation of R. Lipman's Carmen Memoriale See XLIX Gen. 10. And after that I will go out When you shall think I oblige you to leave your Country And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger It moved the meekest Man on Earth to a just Indignation which it 's likely he expressed in his Countenance and Behaviour to see Pharaoh remain so stupidly insensible as not to regard this Threatning which he might well think would be as certainly Executed as all the rest had been Ver. 9. And the LORD said unto Moses Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you That is I told thee at the first how it would be and the reason of it III. 19 20. Of which it was very proper to put Moses in mind at this time when he was going to fulfil the last part of those words after that after this last Plague he will let you go That my Wonders may be multiplied in the Land of Egypt That
he might do one Wonder after another till he had finished Pharaoh's Destruction See VII 3. Ver. 10. And Moses and Aaron did all these Wonders before Pharaoh This seems to be a Summary of what hath been said hitherto concerning the wonderful Plagues of Egypt which as God designed to inflict upon that Country so he did by Moses and Aaron as his Instruments And the LORD hardned Pharaoh 's heart so that he would not let the Children of Israel go c. The Obstinacy of Pharaoh under several severe Judgments is so notorious that it need be no wonder that the LORD himself hardned his heart so that he would not suffer the People to depart till what is here threatned was Executed upon him There is nothing more agreeable to the Rules of Justice than to inflict heavy Judgments upon contumacious Offenders and no Punishment heavier than to let them undo themselves by their own Wickedness and blindly run on without any stop in their evil Courses unto utter Ruin This was the Case of Pharaoh of which the Heathen had a broken Notion when they said Quos Jupiter vult perdere prius dementat Those whom God intends to destroy he first infatuates CHAP. XII Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron c. We are not told here when the LORD spake this to them but it is very likely it was on the Tenth day of this Month before he brought the Plague of Darkness on the Land wherein he gave the Israelites opportunity to prepare for their Departure And then he changed this Month from the Seventh as it was before to the First as it here follows Ver. 2. This Month. Which in process of time was called Abib XIII 4. XXIII 15. because then the Corn was eared and grew towards ripeness for Abib signifies an Ear of Corn and was in after Ages called Nisan II Nehem. 1. III Esth 7. which is a Chaldee word denoting this to be the Month wherein they went out to War from Nissin which signifies Ensigns or Banners as Bochart probably conjectures which at that Season were usually advanced viz. in the Spring time So the Hebrews understand that place 2 Sam. XI 1. Shall be unto you the beginning of Months i.e. The principal Month of the Year It shall be the first Month of the Year to you And therefore was hereafter to begin the Year Which is a plain intimation that the Year had another beginning before this time which was in the Month they called Tisri about Autumn but was now translated unto the Spring And so we find that all the ancient Nations began their Year after their Harvest and Vintage which were the conclusion of their Year But from hence forward the Jewish Computation was from this Month of Abib at least as to their Feasts and Things Sacred though their Civil Year still began where it did before For after this we sind the old account continued as appears from the XXIII 16. where the Harvest is said to be in the end of the Year And yet the Author of Meor E Najim as Guliel Vorstius shows in his Observation upon R. D. Ganz affirms that the ancient Hebrews followed this new Account from the time of their going out of Egypt till the building of the Temple in all their Contracts and Affairs using this Aera of Exodus in memory of that illustrious Deliverance as after that time till the Captivity of Babylon they dated all their Writings from the Building of the Temple Ver. 3. In the Tenth day of this Month. This is a Law which hath respect to all future Ages as well as to this present Time that they should begin to prepare for the Passover four days before For which the Jews give such Reasons as these viz. It was necessary when they went out of Egypt to make this preparation lest a multitude of Business when they were pressed to be gone in haste should have made them neglect it And it was necessary afterwards that they might more narrowly observe if there were any Blemish in the Lamb and that they might be put in mind to dispose themselves for so great a Solemnity And it is observable that our Blessed Saviour the true Paschal Lamb came to Jerusalem on this very day viz. the Tenth of Nisan four days before he was offered XII Joh. 1 12. Yet there are those who think that this Precept was peculiar to this Time of their Departure out of Egypt For they that came in after Ages out of all parts of the Country to worship God at this Feast could not so well observe it unless we suppose them to have come some days before to Jerusalem as its certain some did XI Joh. 55. or to have sent before hand thither to have a Lamb prepared for them which is not unlikely They also who think the Egyptians now worshipped such kind of Creatures imagine withal that this day was chosen in opposition to them who because the Sun entred then into Aries began on this day the Solemn Worship of this Creature and of that Celestial Sign Thus the Author of the Chronicon Orientale in express words This was the day in which the Sun entred the first Sign of Aries and was most Solemn among the Egyptians And therefore God commanded the Israelites to Sacrifice that Creature which they worshipped But there is no certainty of this nor of what the Author of Tzeror Hamor observes that the Feast of the Egyptians being at its heighth on the fourteenth day God ordered the killing of this Lamb at that time which was the greatest contempt of their Coniger Ammon whom they worshipped then with the greatest Honours showing he could be no God whom the Israelites eat They shall take to them every Man a Lamb. The word Seh signifies a Kid as well as a Lamb XV Numb 11. XIV Deut. 4. and it is evident from the fifth Verse of this Chapter that they might take either of them for this Sacrifice But commonly they made choice of a Lamb as the fittest of the two being of a more mild and innocent Nature They that are of opinion the Egyptians now worshipped such Creatures imagine also this was ordained to preserve the Israelites from their Idolatry by commanding them to kill such Beasts as they adored So R. Levi ben Gersom God intended by this to expel out of the Minds of the Israelites the evil opinion of the Egyptians c. A Lamb for an House Some translate it for a Family But that is not true For as Tribes were divided into Families so were Families into Houses and when many Lambs were few enow for a whole Family some Houses were so small that they could not eat one and therefore were to call in the assistance of their Neighbours as it follows in the next Verse Ver. 4. And if the houshold be too little for the Lamb let him and his Neighbour c. They were not to be fewer than Ten Persons nor more than
Twenty to the eating of one Lamb. At which meal Men Women and Children Masters and Servants if Circumcised were entertained and every one did eat a piece at least as big as an Olive if we may believe the Hebrew Doctors Every Man according to his eating shall make your count for the Lamb. That is every Master of a House shall take such a number of Persons to him as will be sufficient for the eating of the Lamb. Ver. 5. The Lamb shall be without blemish In the Hebrew perfect or without defect There are ten Blemishes mentioned in XXII Levit. 22 23 24. which made a Sacrifice unfit for the Altar About which the Heathen themselves were very curious as I noted above out of Herodotus who relates how exact and scrupulous the Egyptian Priests were in their Scrutiny whether a Beast were fit to be offered See VIII 26. A Male Because the Male was counted more excellent than the Female I Malachi 14. and therefore all whole Burnt-offerings which were the most perfect sort of Sacrifices were to be Males only I Lev. 3 6. From hence this Custom as Bochart thinks was derived to the Egyptians who offered only Males as he proves out of Herodotus P. I. Hieroz L. III. c. 33 50. But whatsoever the Egyptians did the Romans did otherwise For Servius saith in VIII Aeneid In omnibus Sacris faeminini generis plus valent victimae that Sacrifices of the Female kind were of greatest value in all their Holy Offices Such different fancies there were in the World in after Ages but what Opinions they had in Moses his time none can certainly resolve Of the first year It doth not signifie that the Lamb was to be a year old for then it was uncapable to be offered but under a year old It was fit for Sacrifice at eight days old though not before XXII 30. XXII Lev. 27. which Laws Maimonides saith were observed in the Paschal Lamb as they were in the Daily Sacrifice XXIX Exod. 38. XXXVIII Numb 3. and in others XXIII Lev. 18 19. and so it continued sit from that time till it was a year old after which it was not accepted For which Bochart gives a very likely reason in the fore-named Book P. I. L. II. c. 50. p. 585. Ver. 6. And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same Month. When it was to be offered to God by all the People as our Saviour was upon the very same day Which the Jews expected as appears by a memorable passage which Andr. Masius in V Josh 10. quotes out of that Tract in the Talmud called Rosch Hashanah where they say it was a famous and old opinion among the ancient Jews that the day of the New Year which was the beginning of the Israelites deliverance out of Egypt should in future time be the beginning of their Redemption by the Messiah Which was wonderfully fulfilled in our Lord and Saviour who keeping the Passover the day before the Rulers of the Jews observed it it fell out that he the true Lamb of God was offered on that very day which Moses here appointed for the Offering this Typical Sacrifice And the whole Assembly of the Congregation of Israel shall kill it God here grants a Liberty to any Man among the Israelites to kill the Passover Which act did not make him a Priest whose work it was to offer the Blood for in other Sacrifices any Man that brought them might do the same I Lev. 3 4 5. And this is given as a reason why the People did not kill the Passover in Hezekiah's time because they were unclean and therefore the Levites had the charge of it II Chron. XXX 17. But besides this Moses seems to mean that all the Company who were to eat were to be present at the Sacrifice By which means the whole Assembly of the Congregation of Israel were engaged in this Service And this was exactly also fulfilled in our Blessed Saviour whom the Apostle calls our Passover against whom the Priests and Scribes and Pharisees and all the People conspired to take away his Life In the Evening In the Hebrew the words are as is noted in the Margin of our Bibles between the two Evenings The first of which began when the Sun began to decline from its Noon-tide point and lasted till Sun set Then began the second Evening and lasted till Night Between these two Evenings about the middle of them was the Passover offered For after the offering of Incense they began on this day to kill the daily Evening Sacrifice between two and three in the Afternoon a little sooner than on other days and having sinished that and trimmed the Lamps as Maimonides in his Treatise on this Subject Cap. 1. Sect. 4. describes the order of it they went about the Paschal Sacrifice which continued till Sun-setting That is there were about two hours and an half for the dispatch of all the Lambs For the daily Evening Sacrifice and all belonging to it being over in an hours time by half an hour after three all the rest of the day till Sun-set which was two hours and an half at this time of the Year remained for the killing of the Paschal Lambs See Bochart Hieroz P. I. L. II. c. 50. p. 558. and our Learned Dr. Lightfoot in his Gleanings on Exodus Now our three a Clock in the Afternoon being the fame with the Jews ninth hour it is evident our blessed Saviour offered up himself to God for our Redemption about the same time that this Lamb was slain for their deliverance out of Egypt XV Mark 34 37. Ver. 7. And they shall take of the Blood Which was the Means that God now appointed for their Preservation And strike it By dipping a bunch of Hysop into it v. 22. On the two Side-posts Upon which Folding-doors moved For from thence Bochart thinks they had their Name in the Hebrew And on the upper Door-posts The Hebrew word Maskuph is no where to be found but in this Chapter and its carrying in it a signification of looking-through may induce us to think they had Lattices at the top of their Doors through which they could peep to see who knockt before they opened them Both these were sprinkled with the Blood but not the Threshold lest any Body should tread upon it which had been prophane this being an holy thing This striking or sprinkling of the Blood upon the Posts seems to have been peculiar to the first Passover at their going out of Egypt and not to have been used in after Times when there was not the same occasion for it viz. to distinguish their Houses from the Egyptians for their preservation from the destroying Angel In the Houses wherein they shall eat it In which the whole Nation was gathered together and so all delivered Ver. 8. And they shall eat the Flesh in that Night For it was not lawful to let any of it remain till the Morning v. 10. And the Hebrews say they
years And from his Families coming into Egypt till their departure was just as many more Which agrees perfectly with what the Apostle saith that the Promise made by God to Abraham and his Seed could not be made void by the Law which was four hundred and thirty years after III Galat. 16 17. How the first Promise made to Abraham was when God bad him go to Canaan XII Gen. 3. See XV Gen. 13. There are some indeed that reckon their stay in Egypt to have been only two hundred and ten years and then they took in the five years Abraham stay'd at Charran after he left Vr of the Chaldees to make up these four hundred and thirty years of which Opinion is Drusius in the place above mentioned But Josephus saith expresly that they departed out of Egypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Two hundred and fifty years after Jacob came into it L. II. Antiq. c. 5. All the Difficulties that have been raised by Commentators in the Exposition of these words are avoided by this Interpretation If we admit that is only these two Synechdoche's the figure of part for the whole first that under the Name of the Children of Israel is comprehended Israel himself with his Father and Grandfather and secondly that their sojourning comprehends the whole time that this Nation dwelt in a Land that was not theirs half of which time at least was spent in Egypt See Guil. Vorstius in his Notes upon Tzemach David p. 200. 205. Ludov. Capellus Chron. Sacra p. 135. But especially our most Learned Primate Vsher Chron. Sacr. c. 8. where he largely confutes the contrary Opinion which if any one desire to see defended I know none that hath done it better than Gerhardus J. Vossius in his Isagogue Chronologica Dissert VII c. 1 c. where he fairly represents the Arguments on both sides but inclines himself to think the Children of Israel dwelt CCCCXXX years in Egypt and indeavours to answer those who assert that Interpretation which I have given Cap. 12. But acknowledges ingenuously Cap. 6. that it is the sense not only of the ancient Jews but of the ancient Christians such as Eusebius Epiphanius and St. Chrysostom among the Greeks and St. Hierom St. Austin c. among the Latines and of a vast number of later Writers Ver. 41. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years These years says St. Hierom in III Galat. are to be computed ab eo tempore quo Deus ad Abrahamum locutus est c. from the time when God said to Abraham In thy Seed shall all Nations be blessed i. e. when he went first to Canaan Even the self same day it came to pass They all went out on one day or they went out that very day four hundred and thirty years after Abraham came to Canaan So faithful was God in his Promise to his faithful Servant That all the Hosts of the LORD c. So they are called for the LORD was become their King as I observed III. 10. and now led them forth as their Captain General And this word Hosts imports that they went out not confusedly but in good order See XIII 18. which is the more wonderful there being such a vast number of them v. 37 38. that one would think they could not so soon get together especially in any order But Josephus hath well resolved this That Moses having notice of God's Intentions some days before See v. 1. had disposed them for their Departure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and distributing them into several Companies had appointed them the place of general Rendevouz as we now speak or at least directed who should march first and what order they should observe that they might not hinder one another in their March Ver. 42. It is a Night to be much observed In the Hebrew as the Margin notes a Night of Observations That is a very remarkable Night or a Night in which there were many Precepts to be observed as some will have it Or as Conradus Pellicanus a Night in which the LORD after a special manner watched over the Children of Israel For which reason the Jews expect their Messiah to come in this Night foolishly imagining he will then find them all most ready to follow him to Jerusalem For they have now corrupted an ancient Tradition which I observed before v. 6. was remarkably fulfilled in our Saviour's suffering that very Evening when the Paschal Lamb was killed and the Children of Israel redeemed from the Egyptian Bondage Vnto the LORD In honour of him who had graciously begun to fulfil his Promise made to their Fore-fathers VI. 2 3 4. This is that Night of the LORD c. Which God hath commanded to be observed because they came out at that Season XVI Dent. 6. under his Conduct from the Egyptian Bondage Or it may be called that Night of the LORD because his Power and Mercy and Faithfulness to his Promises so signally appeared that Night Ver. 43. And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron At the same time I suppose that he instituted the Passover v. 1. he added this Caution about it This is the Ordinance of the Passover A further Rule to be observed at this Feast There shall no Stranger eat thereof Several of the Jewish Doctors by the Son of a Stranger understand an Apostate from the Religion of Israel to strange Worship i. e. Idolatry as Mr. Selden observes L. I. de Synedr c. 12. p. 479. But it is not to be so restrained as appears from the next Verse which is a further Explication of this Wherein he ordains that no Man who did not embrace their Faith and Religion should eat of the Passover though he was a Proselyte so far as to be permitted to live among them For this being a Commemoration of the great Deliverance bestowed upon the Israelites none but they were to partake of it unless they would be Circumcised and thereby come into the Covenant made with Abraham Which gave them a title to all the Priviledges of his Children and obliged them as well as the Natural Israelites to give Publick Thanks for this Work of their Redemption from Egyptian Bondage to Worship and Serve their God according as he directed Ver. 44. And every Man-servant that is bought for money As many were in those Times and Countries who became their Masters proper Goods as much as their Cattle When thou hast Circumcised him then shall he eat thereof He was not to be Circumcised against his Will but if he refused after a years trial as Maimonides expounds it to receive Circumcision his Master was to sell him again For it is very unreasonable to think that he was to be compelled to be Circumcised as those Hebrew Doctors seem to understand it who say That both Master and Servant were forbid to eat of it till the Servant was Circumcised See Selden L. II. de Synedr c. 1. Where he shows at large
that according to the Hebrew Doctors no Man was to be admitted a Proselyte to partake of the Paschal Lamb unless his whole Family was Circumcised with him both Children and Servants Ver. 45. A Foreigner The Hebrew word Toschab literally signifies a Dweller or Inhabitant by which Name those pious Gentiles were called who renounced Idolatry though they did not embrace the Jewish Religion because they were permitted to settle among them and dwell in their Country which was not allowed to other Foreigners who continued Idolaters See Selden L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 3. c. 5. Where he observes Maimonides makes this Exception That no such Persons might dwell in Jerusalem because of the singular Holiness of that City but any where else they might with the Profession of Judaism And no hired Servant Some of them were Servants to the Jews and so dwelt in the same House with them and were called Hirelings when they bound themselves to serve their Masters for three years as the Jews gather from XVI Isa 14. Ver. 46. In one House shall it be eaten c. In the first Night wherein this Sacrifice was slain they were enjoyned not to stir out of Doors v. 22. and therefore not to carry forth ought of the Flesh abroad into another House Besides they were in such haste that they had no time to send Messengers from one House to another which Maimonides makes the ground of this Precept More Nev. P. III. c. 46. In after-times also that Law being in force v. 4. that lesser Housholds who had not Company enough to eat the Lamb up should joyn with some other it is here explain'd that for maintenance of Friendly Society they should not divide the Lamb and carry half of it to another House but all meet together in one and feast upon it Which the ancient Fathers looked upon as a Figure of the Unity of the Church of Christ This seems to be the most natural Interpretation that it should be eaten under one Roof But R. Simeon saith That God only bound them to eat in one Company or Society not in two but it was lawful for that Family or Society to eat it in two places if they pleased Halicoth Olam P. IV. Sect. 3. Neither shall ye break a Bone thereof The Jews fancy this Law doth not speak of the lesser Bones but only of those in which there was some Marrow So Maimonides in his Treatise on this Subject c. 10. sect 1. And indeed being eaten in haste they could not have time to break the Bones and suck out the Marrow which in the place before-named in his More Nevochim he makes the Foundation of this Precept Which was exactly fulfilled in the true Paschal Lamb of which this was a Figure when he was offered for us as St. John observes XIX 33 36. Ver. 47. All the Congregation of Israel shall keep it Women and Children as well as Men. In after times indeed only Men were bound to come up at the three Feasts XXIII 17. XXXIV 23. XVI Deut. 16. But devout People were wont to carry up their Wives and Children with them as appears by Elkanah 1 Sam. I. 3 4. and by Joseph who went up with the Blessed Virgin II Luke 41. And that place in Samuel informs us that their Sons and Daughters did eat of the Sacrifice Ver. 48. When a Stranger shall sojourn with thee and will keep the Passover c. See v. 43 44. No uncircumcised Person shall eat thereof Which is the reason some have thought why they observed no Passover as far as we can sind after that in the very next year that followed their coming out of Egypt because they were generally Uncircumcised But this seems to relate to Men of another Nation who though they were not admitted to eat of the Lamb unless they received Circumcision yet having renounced Idolatry the Jews say they might eat of the unleavened Bread and of the bitter Herbs Ver. 49. One Law shall be to him that is home-born c. Nothing could be more equal than this that no Man should enjoy this Priviledge who was not of their Religion but whosoever embraced it should partake of the same Benefits Ver. 50. Thus did all the Children of Israel They kept this Passover and afterwards another by a special direction IX Numb but afterward during their stay in the Wilderness they seem to have omitted it because they omitted Circumcision without which v. 48. they were not capable to partake of it As the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron so did they Observed it according to all the Rites here enjoyned though in future Ages several of them were omitted as peculiar to this time Ver. 51. And it came to pass the self same day c. On the day after they celebrated the Passover they began their March out of Egypt Which was a thing so notorious that the memory of it was preserved in Nations far distant from them though the Story was much corrupted for want of the Knowledge of these Sacred Records For Strabo mentions it to name no more but saith the Report was that the Jews were descended from the Egyptians which might be believed by Strangers because they dwelt so long in that Country and that Moses was an Egyptian Priest who had a certain part of that Country but being dissatissied with the present state of things forsook it and many Worshippers of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 followed him For he affirmed and taught that the Egyptians had not right Conceptions who likened God to wild Beasts and Cattle nor did the Asricans or Greeks conceive of him better who represented him like to Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For there is but this one only God that which comprehends us all and the Earth and the Sea which we call Heaven and the World c. In which words he makes Moses not so foolish as the Egyptians and other Nations but attributes a sensless Opinion to him that the World which we see is God if this be the right reading of his words But I rather think the place is corrupted and it should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. For this is Moses his true Opinion with which he begins his Books that he only is God who made the Heaven and the Earth And this perfectly agrees with what follows in Strabo That no Image can be made of this God and therefore a Temple without any Image must be erected to him c. Which is not true if we take the visible World to be God for the Image of the Heaven and the Earth may be made as well as of a Man or a Beast However it is true which he adds That Moses perswaded many good Men and brought them into that Country where Jerusalem is the chief City where they lived a long time happily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doing justly and being sincerely Religious Which is a notable Testimony from a Pagan to be noted aureis literis with Letters
of Gold as Casaubon speaks in his Annotations on this place L. XVI p. 760 761. CHAP. XIII Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying After they came to Succoth where I suppose the SCHECHINAH appeared to him as it had done in Midian and in Egypt to direct him in his Conduct Ver. 2. Sanctifie unto me the First-born Separate or set apart from common uses for I appropriate them to my self as it follows in the end of the Verse This word Sanctifie as our Mr. Mede observes signifies differently in several Conjugations Sometimes it signifies to devote and consecrate to the Service of God and sometimes to use a thing as holy being already devoted to him And thus he reconciles this place where he bids him sanctifie all the First-born i. e. look upon them as things separated to his own use and therefore not to be used by them with another place XXVII Lev. 26. where he saith concerning the First-born No Man shall sanctifie it it is the LORD's i. e. the LORD hath already set it apart to himself and therefore no Man is to Consecrate that again which God hath already Consecrated that is taken for his own See L. II. de Sanctuario Dei p. 552. First-born There were two sorts of First-born Some who were the First-born of the Father called the beginning of his Strength XXI Deut. 17. The other the First-born of the Mother which are called here whatsoever openeth the Womb. The Hebrews make a great difference between these two and say That to the former sort belong the Prerogatives both of having the Inheritance of his Father and also the Priesthood but to the latter only belongs one of these Prerogatives viz. the Priesthood And they gather it from this very place Whatsoever openeth the Womb which is the First-born of the Mother is mine i. e. shall be employed in my Service But instead of these God took the Levites to attend upon him III Numb 12. After which the First-born were to be redeemed at a certain Rate which was part of the Priests maintenance XVIII Numb 15 16. See Selden de Successionibus ad Leg. Hebr. c. 7. Among the Children of Israel Whom this Precept concerned peculiarly but no other People Therefore the Jews say that if one of them and a Gentile had any Beast in Common between them the First-born was free as their Phrase is because it is here said among the Children of Israel not the Gentiles See Buxtorf Synag Jud. c. 38. Both of Man and Beast As is further directed and explained v. 12 13. It is mine And therefore was to be offered to God if it were a Male of any Beast only an Ass was to be redeemed XXXIV 19 20. God intended by this Law to teach them saith R. Levi Barzelonita that the whole World was his and that Men had nothing in it but by his gracious Grant who challenged the First-born of every thing to himself because all was his For the First-born Male was dearer to a Man saith he than the Apple of his Eye as no doubt he was yet he was bound to Consecrate him to God But the plainest reason of this Law was to put them in mind of God's miraculous Providence in sparing their First-born when those of the Egyptians were all killed To which the Jewish Doctors add a more ancient right God had to them being the Persons who Sacrificed to God before Priests were ordained by the Law of Moses So Onkelos takes the young men XXIV 5. to have been the First-born and the Priests mentioned XIX 22. Aben Ezra also upon XVI Numb 1. saith the same the truth of which I shall examine there Ver. 3. And Moses said unto the People God seems to have commanded Moses at the same time he gave this Precept to repeat here at Succoth what he had said to them in Egypt concerning the Observation of the Passover and of the Feast of Vnleavened Bread It being of great moment to have the Benefits hereby Commemorated in perpetual remembrance Remember this day c. Which was the first day of Unleavened Bread commanded to be kept holy XII 16. For by strength of hand the LORD brought you out That is by a miraculous Power which constrained Pharaoh to let you go much against his will So God promised at his first appearance to Moses III. 19. There shall no leavened Bread be eaten Unleavened Bread was to be eaten on the Passover Night and afterwards no leavened Bread See XII 15 c. where this is represented as the Sense of the Jews but the sixth and seventh Verse following seem to say otherwise Ver. 4. This day came ye out In the Morning of this Day they began their March In the Month of Abib This word Abib signifies an Ear of Corn for then Barley began to ear The Syriack word hababa hath something of its sound which signifies a flower and so they here translate it The Month of Flowers Whence Macarius saith God brought Israel out of Egypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Month of Flowers when the pleasant Spring first appeared See XXIII 15. Ver. 5. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the Land c. From hence they conclude this Precept did not oblige them in the Wilderness but it was by a special Direction and Command that they observed it the year after this IX Numb 1 2 c. See XII 25 50. In confirmation of which the XII Deut. 1. is alledged where he begins to recapitulate all the Laws they were to observe in Canaan among which this is one XII 5 6. yet this alone would not have been sufficient to prove this for he might be thought now only to reinforce his Laws at their etrance into Canaan if he had not added v. 8. Ye shall not do after all the things you do here this day c. Which supposes that in the unsetled Condition wherein they were in the Wilderness they had not kept themselves to all those Rules which follow and had been formerly delivered Which he sware unto thy Fathers to give thee c. XV Gen. 18 19 c. Ye shall keep this Service in this Month. Both the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread XII 25. Ver. 6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened Bread This seems to confute what the Jews say that they were not bound to eat unleavened Bread but only when they ate the Passover See XII 15. And in the seventh day shall be a Feast unto the LORD As the first day was holy v. 3. so was the last XII 16. that they might not fail in their Gratitude for so great a Benefit as they now Commemorated Ver. 7. Vnleavened Bread shall be eaten seven days This seems still to make the Injunction plainer that for seven days together they should eat unleavened Bread Which is so often repeated because this made them sensible more than any thing else of the wonderful Hand of God in bringing them out of
returning to Egypt XIV Numb 1 2 c. Ver. 17. But God led the People about The Pillar of Cloud mentioned v. 21. in which the LORD was conducted them in a way further about Through the way of the Wilderness He led them to the right hand toward the Red-sea and the Desert of Arabia Of the Red-sea See X. 19. And the Children of Israel went up harnessed Or in Military order for though it is not likely the Egyptians suffered them to have any Arms yet they did not go away tumultuously like Fugitives but marcht like Soldiers in good order and as in our Margin it is translated five in a Rank Which is the interpretation of Theodotion anciently and of Montanus and others lately But Hottinger translates it in the form of an Army For the Arabick word Chamis from whence it is likely comes the word Chamuschim here used signifies exercitus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Army consisting of five parts which are the Front the main Battle the right Wing and the left and the Rear Smegma Orient p. 71. And so David Chytraeus long before him quinque agminibus in five Bodies as we now speak But the interpretation of Aben Ezra seems to be the most proper of all others who simply expounds it girt about their Loins i. e. expedite or ready as Onkelos expresses it For the Hebrew word Chomasch signifying those parts that are under the five small Ribs about which Men were wont to be girt when they went to sight or to travel this word may well be rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 well girt as the LXX trrnslate it I Josh 14. IV. 13. Here indeed they translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they went up in the fifth Generation which St. Austin follows taking Jacob for the first Levi the second Coath the third Amram the fourth and Moses the fifth But as this Exposition doth not agree with the Hebrew word which doth not signifie the fifth but in fives so it cannot be said of the Children of Israel in general for all the Tribes were not yet come to the fifth Generation Our Nic. Fuller hath a learned Discourse upon this word in his Miscellan L. V. c. 2. Ver. 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him And of the rest of the Patriarchs it is very probable See L Gen. 25. To which add that the Jews say every Tribe took care of the Body of the Founder of their Family Which is far more likely than the Story which the Author of The Life and Death of Moses tells that he carried Josephus's Coffin out of Egypt upon his own shoulders it being more probable that some of that Tribe undertook the care of it That it was buried in the bottom of Nile is not affirmed only by him but by Jonathan though others say in the Banks of Nile And they seem all to have it out of the Talmud where in the Gemara of the Title Sota c. 1. sect 47. they say the Egyptians themselves buried their Relations in the Nile to make the Waters prosperous And tell a vain Story how a Woman called Serach told Moses where the Body was when he was at a loss where to find it after he had searched for it three days as the fore-named Author tells the Tale while the Jews were borrowing Jewels of Gold and Silver of the Egyptians and that he called it up from thence throwing as he adds the ineffable Name into the River which brought it up presently though in a Leaden or as others say a Marble Coffin For he had straitly sworn the Children of Israel saying c. See L Gen. 25. From whence Gaulmyn L. II. c. 2. Annot. in Vit. Mos not improbably conjectures that the Custom was derived of carrying the Ashes of their Ancestors into their own Country first by Hercules among the Greeks and long before by the Egyptians and Chaldeans whom the Arabians as he shows imitated in following Ages Ver. 20. And they took their journey from Succoth They stayed but one day at Succoth as Jac. Capellus supposes where Moses gave the foregoing Directions to them And upon the XVI of Nisan they marched to Ethan And encamped in Ethan So called he thinks because the way here was very rugged and craggy In the Edge of the Wilderness Next to the Red-sea called the Wilderness of Shur XV. 22. Ver. 21. And the LORD went before them By the LORD we are here to understand the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty which appeared to Moses in the Bush III. 2. when he gave him Commission to bring his People out of Egypt and directed him all along in his Embassy to Pharaoh and his Treaty with him VI. 1 c. and now appeared in a glorious Cloud to conduct them and assure them that he would take care of them For this Cloud was a Symbal of his gracious Presence with them and special Providence over them It being an Emanation from him saith R. Levi ben Gersom which was a Sign as others of the Jews speak that God was Night and Day with them to keep them from all evil To which the Prophets allude LII Isa 12. II Micah 13. And though his going before them be not mentioned before this time yet it is most likely he appeared in this Cloud as their Conductor from their first coming out of Egypt and led them to Succoth and then to Ethan as he did afterward to their several Stations X Numb 11 12 c. Which doth not signifie that God himself moved from place to place for he is always every where but this Cloud was moved by him from whom it came as a Token that he was present by his special Favour Care and Providence wheresoever it went By day in the pillar of a Cloud It appeared from Heaven I suppose in the form of a great long Pillar which below spread it self abroad and covered the whole Host of Israel For it is certain it was not only their Guide to lead them the way as it here follows but also was a covering to them whereby they were assured of the Divine Protection For so we are informed X Numb 34. XIV 14. CV Psalm 39. 1 Corinth X. 1. And I can see no reason to think these were different Clouds since one and the same would serve for both purposes And by night in a pillar of Fire The same Pillar appeared in the Night like Fire which in the Day was like a Cloud The reason of which follows To give them light That they might be able as the next words tell us to travel by Night as well as by Day Which made the Psalmist say he went before them all the night with the light of fire LXXVIII 14. This flaming Light I take to have been a glorious appearance of Angels from the SCHECHINAH for they always attend upon the Divine Majesty who maketh his Angels Spirits his Ministers a flaming fire CIV Psalm 4. Some fancy there were two distinct Pillars as these words and
Here he gives the reason for this Order that Pharaoh might be enticed to pursue them imagining they were in such Difficulties that they could not avoid falling into his hands They are entangled in the Land Perplexed or dubious not knowing which way to go The Wilderness hath shut them in They were cooped up he thought by the Sea and by craggy Mountains which it was impossible for them to pass especially being incumbred with a multitude of Women Children and Cattle Ver. 4. And I will harden Pharaoh 's heart He had hardned it before IX 12. X. 1. But now ordered things so that he was more sensless than ever he had been For having lately felt such an heavy stroke upon all the First-born as mollified his heart for the present and moved him to let Israel go it was the highest degree of Infatuation not to fear as formerly they had done XII 33. that the next blow if he pursued them would be at himself and his followers And I will be honoured upon Pharaoh and upon all his Host. Show my Power and Justice in their Destruction Which would not have been so visible had they died of the Pestilence when the Cattle died of the Murrain and Pharaoh's heart was first hardned as it was by hardning him so far as to follow the Israelites into the Red-sea where he and his whole Host was overthrown which made the terrour of the LORD's Wrath manifest to all the World That the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD Have the greatest demonstration of my irresistible Power VII 5. For the more strange the Infatuation was which led Pharaoh and his Host to such an ignominious Death the more apt the hearts of the People that remain'd would be to acknowledge the Hand of God therein And they did so They marched to this place on the XVIIth day of Nisan which was their third days Journey Jacobus Capellus thinks they rested this day being the Sabbath and came not hither till the XVIIIth Ver. 5. And it was told the King of Egypt that the People fled Some of the mixt Multitude that went along with them XII 38. seeing this strange turn it is likely forsook the Israelites and returned to Pharaoh to inform him that they had lost their way and were shifting for themselves by slight into dangerous places Or as it is commonly interpreted some Spies which Pharaoh had upon them seeing them leave the way to Horeb whither they desired to go three days Journey to offer Sacrifice concluded they never intended to return to Egypt but would run quite away from them This news we may suppose was brought to Pharaoh on the XVIIIth day And the heart of Pharaoh and of his Servants was turned against the People They had quite forgot their late Fears XII 33. which made such a change in them they would not suffer the Israelites to stay any longer in their Country but those Fears being vanished their Minds altered again and they repented they had dismissed them And said what have we done that we have let Israel go from serving us What a gross Errour have we committed in losing the Labour of so many Slaves Covetousness as I have observed often had a principal hand in hardning Pharaoh's heart Ver. 6. And he made ready his Chariot Caused it immediately to be made ready which we may suppose was done on the XIXth day when he began to pursue them And took his People with him All that were wont to attend him on such accasions 7. And he took six hundred chosen Chariots The best Chariots in Egypt which were always ready prepared for such Expeditions And all the Chariots of Egypt That could be got ready on a sudden for he had not time to muster all his force but made all the haste possible lest the Israelites should get out of the straits wherein they were and go so far away that he could not overtake them For which reason he pursued them with Chariots and Horsmen who could make larger marches than the Israelites on foot The strength also of this Kingdom consisted in Chariots which carried Men in them who sought out of them And every one knows that Egypt abounded with Horses as well as Chariots and that they were accounted very strong in these XXXI Isa 1. yet Bochartus thinks all besides the six hundred Chariots Royal were only Carriages for their Baggage Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 9. And Captains over every one of them This shows there were Men in them and that to every Chariot there Belonged a Troop of Horsmen we know not of what number who were commanded by a Captain The Hebrews say there were Fifty thousand Horsmen the Arabians make them as many more Ver. 8. And the LORD hardned the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt As he said he would v. 4. And he pursued after the Children of Israel Of all the infatuated Resolutions to use the words of a famous Divine of our own Dr. Jackson Book X. chap. 11. that either King or People adventured on the pursuing of the Israelites with such a mighty Army after they had most earnestly intreated and urged them to leave their Country may well seem to every indifferent Reader the most stupid And so the Author of the Book of Wisdom justly censures it XIX 3. For whilst they were yet mourning and making Lamentations at the Graves of the Dead they added another foolish device and pursued them as Fugitives whom they had intreated to be gone Yet Josephus gives good hints that even this effect of Divine Infatuation was but such as hath seized upon worldly wise Princes and States-men in former Ages and may hereafter be inflicted upon more And the Children of Israel went out with an high hand Boldly and with assured confidence not sneakingly like Slaves or Fugitives So Onkelos understood it when he translated it bare-headed i. e. confidently fearing nothing having been delivered and conducted by the powerful hand of God as it is often repeated XIII 9 14 16. unto which some refer this Phrase and not to the Israelites See Drusius L. XVI Observat c. 2. Ver. 9. But the Egyptians pursued after them This did not discourage Pharaoh and his Servants who perhaps were of the same mind with the Syrians who fancied the God of Israel might not be alike powerful in all places but though he was stronger than their Gods in the Hills yet they might be too hard for him in the Plain 1 Kings XX. 23. So the Egyptians who had seen how much superiour Moses was to their Magicians might possibly thus reason with themselves as the same Learned Dr. expresses it Who knows whether all this Power was given unto Moses to be exercised only within the Meridian or Climes of Egypt or whether his Commission extend over Palestine and Midian They presumed at least that the LORD God of the Hebrews had not granted Moses such a Command over the Armies or Host of Men though he had done Wonders among
reasonless Creatures as the King of Egypt had because the Israelites they knew had no skill in Feats of Arms no Captains of Infantry and no Cavalry at all no Weapons or Engines of War of all which the Egyptians had great abundance Upon these or some such like Presumptions and vain Collections they became fool-hardy and desperately resolute to be revenged upon the Children of Israel for all the losses they had sustained by their Leaders Moses and Aaron All the Horses and Chariots of Pharaoh and his Horsmen and his Army By this it appears that there were both Horse and Foot who pursued them though it is likely the Foot were mounted to make the greater speed And overtook them incamping by the Sea c. On the XXth day of Nisan towards Evening they had got within sight of the Israelites who were just setling their Camp where God directed them v. 2. having had no time to rest themselves after lo long a march Ver. 10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh c. So that the Israelites could discern with how great a force the Egyptians were about to attack them They were sore afraid They who had marched hither with a high hand v. 8. full of Alacrity and Courage now on a sudden were so dismaid that their Spirits sunk within them For they had not a setled Confidence and Resolution wrought in them by all the Wonders God had done for them But though whilst they thought Pharaoh disheartned to meddle any more with them they went on boldly now their hearts began to fail them when they saw him at their backs For they were unfit for War weary also and in a very bad place And the Children of Israel cried out unto the LORD This had been the proper Remedy against their Fear if in a thankful Remembrance of what God had often done for them they had humbly beseeched him to deliver them in this great strait which was as easie for him to do as to work all the Miracles they had seen in Egypt But these cries seem by what follows to have been rather the effect of Despair than of hope in God such Shrieks as naturally proceed from Men when they are ready to perish Pellicanus indeed thinks that by the Children of Israel is meant such as were good among them who fell to their Prayers when the rest fell to Railing as it follows in the Verse But such words comprehend the generality of the People and not only the better sort Ver. 11. Because there were no Graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the Wilderness This is very sarcastical and reproachful Language arguing the heighth of Discontent or rather of Rage against their Deliverer From whence we may learn the wicked temper of those who are ungrateful and unmindful of Benefits Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us out of Egypt They seem to have been of the very same temper with the Egyptians who had no remembrance what they had lately felt nor made any reflections on what God had done in a wonderful manner among them This neglect of God bred such a hardness of heart in them and their Posterity as was in Pharaoh and his People which provoked God to harden them in the same manner to their utter destruction For as the Apostle observes God hath mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardneth IX Rom. 18. His Mercy that is was not so tied to them because they were Abraham's Seed but he could and would harden them as he had done Pharaoh if they proved as obstinate as he was Ver. 12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt saying let us alone c. Do not increase our Miseries by attempting in vain to deliver us This they seem to have said after the first Message Moses and Aaron delivered to Pharaoh which only moved him to lay greater Burdens on them V. 21. VI. 9. For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians then that we should die in the Wilderness This is the Language of base and servile Spirits who chose rather to live miserably than die gloriously in pursuit of their Liberty Ver. 13. And Moses said unto the People fear ye not These words argue a most admirable Spirit that was in Moses who was neither angry with them nor dismayed at the approach of Pharaoh But meekly and sedately Exhorts them to be of good Courage and to trust in God who he assured them would perfect what he had begun for them Stand still c. I do not desire you should do any thing else but only hope in God and wait to see what he will do for you before this day be done For the Egyptians whom you have seen to day ye shall see them again no more for ever Never see them more as they saw them now alive though they saw them lye dead v. 30. after their overthrow in the Sea For the Power of Egypt was so shattered by that loss and they were so confounded by it that we never read of the least inclination in them to attempt any thing upon the Israelites though they wandered forty years in the Wilderness Ver. 14. The LORD shall sight for you He would not have them discouraged for want of Arms because they should have no need of them God himself undertaking to defend them and to discomfit their Enemies And ye shall hold your peace Be still and do nothing not so much as strike one stroke Or as some understand it do you forbear your Cries Or he will silence all your Murmurings Ver. 15. And the LORD said unto Moses See v. 1. Wherefore criest thou unto me He doth not blame him for crying unto him for help but bids him continue his Prayer no longer for he would do as he desired Greg. Nyssen calls this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a cry without a voice a silent cry without speaking a word de Vita Mosis p. 175. Speak to the Children of Israel that they go forward Toward the Sea before which they lay encamped v. 2 9. Ver. 16. But lift thou up thy Rod and stretch out thine hand over the Sea By that Rod wherewith he had done such Wonders in Egypt he bids him believe he would work a Passage for them even through the Sea And divide it Command that it be divided and I will effect it For so it is explained v. 21. not could it be done by any Power but God's And the Children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the Sea See v. 21 22. Ver. 17. And I behold I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them The LORD would have this noted as a special Judgment of his upon them For of all the hardnings or infatuations which had possessed the hearts of the Egyptians this was the greatest and strongest that they should adventure to follow the Israelites when they saw or might have perceived
where because God is said to have divided the Red-sea into parts they sancy there were twelve Divisions every one defended with a Wall of Water But there is no foundation for this in these words nor in LXXVII Psal 19. where paths being in the Plural Number they thence also deduce the same Conceit of a several path to every Tribe See Simeon de Muis on that place Ver. 22. And the Israelites went in to the midst of the Sea About the second Watch of the Night which was at Midnight and about break of Day they were got quite through Vpon the dry ground This was not lookt upon by the ancient Heathen as incredible For Homer makes Neptune driving his Chariot upon the Waves and the Sea withdrawing its Waters And the Waters of Scamander being swell'd to destroy Achilles he makes to be dried up by Vulcan As Nonnus also makes Bacchus drying up Hydaspes and smiting Orontes with his Thyrsus to have gone over it See the Learned Huetius in his Quaestiones Alnetanae p. 206 c. And the Waters were a Wall unto them on the right hand and on the left The strong East-wind contributed no doubt to the cutting of the Waters in two though not without the help of Angelical Powers But I do not see how it could do any thing to the compacting of the Waters to such a degree that they were no longer fluid but firm as a Wall or Bank on each side of them See XV. 8. which was effected wholly by the Angelical Ministry who upheld the Waters in that solid posture till the Israelites were got quite out of the Sea It hath been an old Question Whether they went quite cross the Red-sea or only fetcht a compass and came out upon the same Shore from which they went in The Hebrew Doctors are of opinion that they did not go over to the opposite Shore but making a kind of Semi-circle found themselves when they came out in the same Country where they were before Their reasons are because they could not in so small a time have marcht so far for in the narrowest place that Gulf is XII or XV. German Miles over so that they could not all have passed through in less than three or four days as David Chytraeus makes the computation But especially because Moses expresly makes their next Station to be in the Wilderness of Etham XXXIII Numb 8. in which place they were the day before they came to the Sea XIII Exod. 20. Therefore they were still in the same Wilderness Ver. 23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the Sea c. Imagining perhaps they were still upon the Land or on the Shore where the Sea was retired the darkness of the Night not suffering them to see the Mountains of Water on each side or rather their Minds being so intent to overtake the Israelites that they regarded nothing else For when Men are ingaged in a fierce chase of any thing with eager desires and confident hopes of it it takes up all their thoughts and makes them overlook what lies before their eyes Thus by their own violent Passions and proud Imaginations God blinded their Minds and hardned their hearts as he said he would v. 17. to rush into their own destruction Ver. 24. And it came to pass that in the morning watch The Romans and the Hebrews also divided the Night into four parts containing three hours apiece At the beginning of which the Guard of Soldiers who kept watch by Night was changed and thence they were called Watches Two of them we find mentioned by St. Luke XII 38. and St. Mark mentions them all XIII 35. and particularly the fourth Watch VI Mark 48. called here the Morning Watch which was the last of them between Day-break and the Morning The LORD looked unto the Host of the Egyptians He frowned upon them as we speak now in our Language For in Scripture God is said sometimes to look upon those whom he is about to punish CIV Psalm 32. IX Amos 4. III Habakkuk 6. Through the pillar of fire and the Cloud By this it is manifest there was but one Pillar which had different Appearances and that the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty was in it It seems to me also very probable that whereas the cloudy part of the Pillar had been towards the Egyptians hitherto now it turned the other side toward them and the siery part appearing let them see the danger wherein they were and by its amazing brightness perfectly confounded them So Philo seems to have understood it when he saith L. III. de Vita Mosis that from the Cloud that was in the Rear of the Israelites there shone a fiery Appearance of the Deity Which may well be the meaning of the LORD 's looking through the Pillar of Fire And troubled the Host of the Egyptians This glorious Light I suppose flashing in their Faces put them into a Consternation But Josephus adds in the conclusion of his Second Book of Antiquities that there was a dreadful Storm or Tempest with Thunder Lightning and Hailstones from the Cloud which put them into the greatest disorder as it follows in the next Verse Hither Dr. Hammond refers those words of the Psalmist LXXVII 17 18. The Clouds poured out Water the Skies sent out a sound thine Arrows also went abroad The Voice of thy Thunder was in the Heaven the Lightnings lightned the World the Earth trembled and shook c. Ver. 25. And took off their Chariot wheels Some of their Wheels were broken by the Hail-stones or burnt with Lightning with which its likely their Horses were so affrighted that they fell into disorder and one Chariot running against another some of their Wheels were taken off That they drave heavily They could scarce move or but very slowly when their Wheels were broken or taken off And those Wheels that remained sunk deep into the Sand when the Waters returned upon it So that the Egyptians said c. They cried one to another Let us give over the pursuit For the LORD fighteth for them c. Now Moses his words were made good v. 14. and the Egyptians themselves acknowledged it v. 18. Ver. 26. And the LORD said unto Moses He spake to him out of the Cloud where the SCHECHINAH was as I have often said Stretch out thy hand over the Sea that the Waters may return again upon the Egyptians c. God was pleased to use the Ministry of Moses in the drowning of the Egyptians as he had done in the Preservation of the Israelites in the Sea v. 16 21. that all the People might honour and reverence him and be obedient to his direction Ver. 27. And the Sea returned to its strength The sense is truly expressed by the Vulgar the Sea returned to its former place The great Walls or heaps of Water which were on either side of them falling down and rushing upon them with a mighty force overwhelmed them and filled
the whole Channel as before When the Morning appeared When it was light And the Egyptians fled against it They were so frighted by the Light which shone in their Faces and by the Thunder and Hail c. that they turned back and like Men distracted run and met the Waters which came tumbling down upon them And the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the Sea The Hebrew word imports throwing down with violence and precipitation and may be translated threw them headlong Artapanus in Eusebius L. IX Praepar Evang. c. 27. tell this Story from the Heliopolitans after the same manner that Moses doth only he makes some of them to have been killed with Lightning and the rest drowned Ver. 28. And the Waters returned and covered the Chariots c. The Sea returned to its former depth so that they were swallowed up And all the Host of Pharaoh that came into the Sea after them Some have fancied that all the Host of Pharaoh did not perish but only so many of them as pursued the Israelites into the Sea which they fancy this place intimates some did not But the plain meaning is that they all came into the Sea after the Israelites and were all drowned in it It is a wilder fancy that Pharaoh alone was saved by the Angels Michael and Gabriel because he cried out as he had done heretofore IX 27. The LORD is righteous and I and my People are wicked Thus the Author of Dibre Hajamim or The Life and Death of Moses who says they transported him to Nineveh where he reigned as long as the Israelites wandred in the Wilderness The same is related by other such fabulous Writers who are soberly confuted by Aben Ezra from the following words There remained not so much as one of them and from XV. 4 19. where Moses in his Song plainly makes Pharaoh to have perished among the rest And with him an old Midrash saith that Jannes and Jambres were drown'd who had been the great Instruments of hardning Pharaoh's heart See our Learned J. Gregory Observ c. 15. Ver. 29. But the Children of Israel walked on dry Land c. Or Had walked for it seems to be a meer fancy that they were still in the Sea and had not passed quite through it when Pharaoh and his Host were drowned For which there is no ground but this word walked which may as well be translated in the time perfectly past as in the present And so I doubt not Moses meant that the Israelites were safe on Shore when the Sea returned upon the Egyptians And the Waters were a Wall unto them c. See v. 22. Ver. 30. Thus the LORD saved Israel As he had promised v. 13. That day Which was the XXI st of Nisan and the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which by God's command was to be kept holy XII 16. And now there was a very great reason for it and for that triumphant Hymn which they sung upon this Solemnity Chap. XV. Mr. Mede will have this Day to have been that which they afterward kept for their Sabbath in memory of their Redemption out of the Land of Egypt and the House of Bondage This he gathers from the Repetition of the Decalogue in the Fifth of Deuteronomy where leaving out the reason for this Commandment from the Creation of the World Moses inserts this other of their Redemption out of Egypt as the ground of observing that Seventh day rather than any other v. 15. Therefore the LORD commanded thee to keep the Sabbath namely not for the quotum of one day in seven of that there was another reason from the Example of God in the Creation but for the designation of that day after the preceding six days rather than any other Discourse XV. p. 74. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the Sea-shore It may be interpreted that as they stood upon the Sea-shore they saw their dead Bodies floating upon the Waters But it is likely also that by the working of the Sea and by the Divine Providence many of their Bodies were cast on shore that the Israelites might have the benefit of the Spoil and especially of their Arms which they wanted and were now by this overthrow furnished withal This Shore was inhabited by the Icthyophagi among whom the memory of this Recess and Return of the Sea was preserved as I observed upon v. 21. and unto whom the dead Bodies were given for food as the Psalmist saith LXXIV 14. that is to the Beasts and Birds of Prey which peopled the neighbouring Wilderness This was done by the righteous Judgment of the LORD God of the Hebrews who made this proud Prince his States-men and Army a Prey not only to the Fishes and Sea-monsters but a visible booty as Dr. Jackson speaks to the promiscuous sorts of ravenous Creatures which inhabit the Deserts Ver. 31. And Israel saw that great work c. Of making a path for them to walk on dry Ground in the middle of the Sea and then drowning the Egyptians when they followed them in the same path And the People feared the LORD They beholding and considering the powerful hand of God which appeared in this great work it begat in them for the present high and awful Thoughts of him and devout Affections to him For the fear of the LORD includes all Religion Or if we take the word fear in a restrained sense for a dread of the Divine Majesty the meaning is they were sensible how dangerous as well as vain it is to oppose his Authority to set themselves against his Will or slight his Warnings as Pharaoh and the Egyptians did And believed the LORD and his Servant Moses Believed the Promises which God had made them by Moses of bringing them into the Land of Canaan III. 17. looking upon Moses as a Servant of his who faithfully declared the Mind and Will of God unto them CHAP. XV. Verse 1. THen sang Moses and the Children of Israel c. Upon the XXIth of Nisan as I said before which was the last day of Unleavened Bread when they came safe through the Sea and saw the Egyptians drown'd they sang this Song of Praise to God for their wonderful Deliverance So the constant Tradition of the Hebrews is and there is great ground for it This Song Called the Song of Moses the servant of the LORD XV Rev. 3. because he composed it by a Divine Inspiration to be sung by all the People And it is the most ancient Song of which there is any memory Vnto the LORD In praise of the Divine Power and Goodness which remarkably appeared in this Deliverance Josephus L. II. c. ult of his Antiquities saith that this Song is composed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Hexameter Verse which Eusebius represents as the Opinion of many others L. XI de Praepar Evang. c. 3. But I do not see how this can be made out nor what St. Hierom saith concerning such Songs in many
it As in 1 Sam. XVII 34. we meet with this very Expression concerning Goliath a man of war from his youth i. e. a great Warriour And in the foregoing Chapter David is called both isch Milchamah a Man of War and isch Toar a Man of Form or Beauty i. e. a beautiful or comely Person as we translate it 1 Sam. XVI 18. And in this very Book isch de varim a Man of Words is an Eloquent Man The LORD is his Name He seems to allude unto that which God said to Moses when he first appeared to him III. 14 15 16. VI. 3 4 6. Ver. 4. Pharaoh's Chariots The Hebrew word Mercavah comprehends the Horses by which they were drawn which were commonly four to each Chariot as Maimonides probably gathers from 1 Kings X. 29. Where a Horse is said to come up out of Egypt at an hundred and fifty shekels and a Chariot at six hundred because it comprehended four Horses More Nevoch P. I. c. 70. Chosen Captains The Hebrew word Schalish imports something extraordinary either in their Stature or in their Command which they had perhaps over three Squadrons as we now speak But Hen. Valesius a very Learned Man thinks the LXX rightly translated the word by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he translates three fighting out of a Chariot For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are both words belonging to Military Discipline which they call Tacticks and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he takes to be of the same kind and rightly rendred by Rusinus ternos statores in Euseb Histor Eccles L. IX c. 9. p. 358. Ver. 5. Sank to the bottom as a stone The Waters which stood up like a Wall falling down with great violence upon them they sank under their weight to the bottom of the Sea from whence after some time they rose up again and were thrown upon the shore XIV 30. though not all of them but some seem to have been buried in the bottom of the Sea See v. 12. Ver. 6. Right hand Is frequently used for the height of Power exerted in the Preservation of good Men or the Destruction of the bad XX Psalm 6. XXI 8. Ver. 7. In the greatness of thy excellency c. All words being too low to declare the greatness of God's Power which appeared in the overthrow of the Egyptians he indeavours to rise higher and higher in his Expressions to show how much he admired it Thou sentest forth thy wrath He seems to allude unto God's looking upon them through the Pillar of Fire and of the Cloud XIV 24. and to the Thunder and Lightning which are supposed to have come from thence Ver. 8. And with the blast of thy nostrils This may relate to the strong Wind which drove the Sea back XIV 21. The waters were gathered together This word Aram or Haram signifies to heap up together From whence the Arabians call those great Banks which are raised to keep in Waters from over-flowing a Country by the name of Arem or Harem as Bochartus hath observed in his Phaleg L. II. c. 26. And so the word may be here translated the waters were heaped up as banks on each side of the Israelites Ver. 9. I will divide the spoil It belonged to Kings and chief Commanders to divide the Spoil as Moses David and Joshua did among the Soldiers My hand shall destroy them Or repossess them as it is in the Margin bring them back to their Slavery in Egypt Ver. 10. They sank like lead It signifies the suddenness of their destruction for a Talent of Lead sinks in a moment Ver. 11. Who is like unto thee among the Gods Or the mighty ones as it is in the Margin For Elim is the Plural of El which comes from Ejalah saith the Author of Sepher Cosri which denotes fortitude or strength For from him proceeds all Power and Might but is himself more Sublime and Eminent than to be likened to any other Power according to these words which he quotes for the proof of it Pars IV. Sect. 3. Fearful in Praises I see no solidity in the Gloss of R. Elieser that Moses speaks in the Plural Number because the Angels praised God above when the Israelites praised him below Pirke Elies c. 42. The plain meaning is that he ought to be praised with the greatest Reverence for to him alone as Conradus Pellicanus glosses belongs all Honour and Glory who can never enough be praised Ver. 12. The Earth swallowed them They who were drowned in the Sea are here said to be swallowed up in the Earth just as Jonah saith when he was in the Sea that he went down to the bottom of the Mountains and the Earth with her bars was about him for ever II. 6. because the Sea which swallowed both him and the Egyptians is in the Depths of the Earth R. Elieser thinks that they being thrown upon the Sea-shore XIV 30. the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up Which is possible but there is no necessity of so understanding it Rather after the Israelites had spoiled them the Sea which had cast them on shore afterwards as is usual carried them off again and buried them in the Sand or Mud. Ver. 13. Thy holy habitation The Country where God himself intended to have a dwelling place v. 17. Ver. 14. The Inhabitants of Palestina The Philistins seem to have been the most valiant People in that Country to which the Israelites were to go and therefore here mentioned Ver. 15. The Dukes of Edom. Concerning the word Alluphe see XXXVI Gen. 18. By this it appears that Idumaea was at this time under the Government of Dukes though before Moses his Death they had Kings XX Numb 14. For they often changed their Government as I observed upon XXXVI Gen. where Moses gives an account both of their Dukes and of their Kings Ver. 16. Shall be as still as a stone The LXX translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned into stones i. e. so struck with the terrour of the LORD that they remained unmoveable as stones having no heart to oppose the passage of the Israelites into Canaan Ver. 17. The Mountain of thine Inheritance Moses seems to have foreseen by the Spirit of Prophecy that God would place his Habitation upon Mount Sion Which he understood perhaps from the Sacrifice of Isaac upon Mount Moriah XXII Gen. Ver. 18. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever It may signifie that when they came thither they would always acknowledge him for their Sovereign who had done such mighty things for them Ver. 19. The Horse of Pharaoh went in with his Chariots c. In this which the Greeks call the Epiphonema of the Song Moses briefly comprehends the whole matter of it and makes it end as it began Ver. 20. And Miriam Or as the LXX the Syriac and others read it Mariam which some think comes from Marah which signifies bitterness as the Arabick word Marara doth and
came up The only Person among the Jews that adventures thus to translate the Hebrew word Selau which is used here and XI Numb 31. and CV Psal 40. is Josephus All others either keep the Hebrew Name or make it another thing than Quails For Jonathan translates it Pheasants and Abarbinel makes them a kind of Sea-fowl and the Talmudists comprehend four sorts of Birds under this Name viz. that which feeds upon Figgs which the Greeks call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Thrushes and Pheasants and Quails See Bocharlus P. II. Hierozoic L. I. c. 14. But all this is without good ground for the account which Moses gives of Selau in the Book of Numbers agrees to none of these nor any thing that we have knowledge of but a kind of Locusts which Job Ludolphus therefore pitches upon and gives very solid Reasons for it as I shall show when I come to that place XI Numb 31. Came up From the Country over against the Desert from the Sea saith Aben-Ezra and Josephus from the Arabian Gulf. Not that they were a Sea-fowl but were in great quantity upon that Coast And covered the Camp It seems they fell in the very Streets as we speak so that they needed not do more than step out of Doors and take up as many as they pleased This lasted no longer than that Evening for the Manna which fell next Morning was to be their constant food And in the Morning the dew Besides the Morning dew there was an Evening VI Hos 4. V Cant. 2. and Moses in the XI Numb 9. mentions the dew that fell in the Night From whence I suppose came the Opinion among some of the Jews that there was a double dew in which the Manna was inclosed a dew below it which fell in the Night and a dew above it which after the Manna was faln came upon it and covered it in the Morning by which means being thus inclosed it was kept very clean Lay round about the Host. Not in the Camp but round about it on the face of the Wilderness v. 14. For the Camp was not so clean a place nor so apt to congeal the Manna that fell with the dew Ver. 14. And when the dew that lay was gone up This shows the dew fell first and then the Manna fell upon it as we read expresly XI Numb 9. whereby it was kept pure and free from the dust that was upon the ground Behold upon the face of the Wilderness When the dew was exhaled by the Sun the Manna appeared which covered the Wilderness round about them There lay a small round thing This word is no where else to be found in the Holy Scripture which hath made it differently rendred But our Translation is authorized by what is said v. 31. that it was like Coriander Seed which hath respect not to its colour or taste but to its form and sigure And so the LXX here understood it when they translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As small as the hoar-frost on the ground This seems to relate to the colour which was white but expresses also that it was very small like a drop of dew frozen on the ground Ver. 15. And when the Children of Israel saw it Which was as soon as they rose in the Morning and went out of the Doors of their Tents They said one to another it is Manna The Hebrew words Man-hu are thought by some to signifie as much as Mah-hu i. e. What is it So Philo Josephus and a great number of the Ancient and Modern Expositors Who take Man to be an Egyptian word signifying as much as the Hebrew word Mah. But it doth not seem likely that they joyned an Egyptian word to an Hebrew as hu is acknowledged to be Therefore it may be better expounded it is a Gift or a Portion For Manah signifies to appoint or order ones Diet I Dan. 10. and as kav comes from kavah by casting away the last Letter so may Man in like manner from Manah And the meaning is This is the Gift of God or This is it which God hath appointed us not knowing as it here follows determinately what to call it Suidas seems to have thought of this when he defines it to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. See Drusius in his Quaest. Hebraicae L. I. c. 62. For they wist not what it was Had not a distinct conception what kind of Food it was not having yet tasted it nor knowing certainly as Abarbinel fancies whether this was the Bread that Moses bad them expect who there tells them in the next words that it was that Bread This is the Bread which the LORD hath given you to eat You rightly called it a Divine Gift as Abarbinel goes on for this indeed is the Bread which the LORD bestows upon you for your Sustenance according to his Promise which he made you by me v. 4. Ver. 16. This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded Here now Moses shows how the use of this Food was to be regulated Gather of it every Man according to his eating As much as will suffice for his and his Families Sustenance for one day An Omer for every Man That they might be sure to have enough he allows every Person among them to have an Omer which was something less than half a Peck of our Measure Here Abarbinel hath a pertinent observation That this being a Divine Food was not to be used as common things are which Men gather into heaps lay up in Barns traffick withal or lay up for their Children but it was to be spent as a Gift of God both to Poor and Rich. Some can get more of worldly Goods and some less by which means some give and others receive But here all received from the Bounty of Heaven and God ordered it so that they who were Poor should not want and they who were Rich should have nothing beyond their wants to lay up or to sell as they did other things For every one was to have only as much as he could eat and no Man could eat above an Omer Which doth not signifie that they gathered it by measure but as much as they thought would amount to that quantity with an intention that if they had more than they needed others should have it who had gathered less than they needed Take ye every Man for them which are in his Tents For the old and the young who could not go out to gather for themselves Ver. 17. And the Children of Israel did so c. Gathered what they thought would be sufficient for themselves and their Families according as they were larger or less in number And when they came home they dealt to every one the proportion which God ordered And gathered some more some less They were not all alike able it is like to gather nor alike diligent and so did not gather an equal quantity But the true reason I have given already viz. that some Families did
thing for if it had they could not have understood Moses nor known what he meant See what I have noted upon the Second of Genesis where I thought it reasonable to assert That God intended to preserve a Memory of the Creation in six days by appointing the seventh day to be kept holy And therefore the more pious any people were the greater respect they had to this day But when the World grew very wicked before the Flood as they little thought of God so it is likely they neglected all distinction between this day and others And the dispersion of People after the Flood very much blotted it out of their minds as it did many other good things But in the Family of Abraham we may well suppose it was continued though not with such strict abstinence from all Labour as for special reasons was afterward enjoyned Which is the cause why we read nothing of their resting in their Travels upon that day before their coming out of Egypt Where they were under such cruel Servitude that all observation of the seventh day it is likely was laid aside they being pressed day and night by their Task-masters to hard Labour without intermission And therefore when God brought them out of that Slavery he renewed his Command for the observation of the Sabbath with this addition in memory of their Deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage that they should rest from all manner of Labour upon that day Both these Reasons are given by Moses why God commanded it to be observed in memory of the Creation in six days XX Exod. 11. and in memory of their deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage V Deut. 15. Bake that which you will bake to day c. The words to day are not in the Hebrew but are necessary to make the sense plain because they were enjoyned on this day to prepare or make ready all things against the next v. 5. And that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept till the morning From which words some have inferred that there was no prohibition of baking and seething on the Sabbath but the contrary rather is here supposed See Dr. Heylin in his History of the Sabbath Part. I. p. 100. But I do not see how this consists with the further explication of this matter in XXXV Exod. 3. where they are forbidden to kindle a Fire upon this day Unless any one will say that for the present they might do it but shortly after were prohibited which is not at all likely For the plain meaning is that if they would make any baked Meats or boiled with the Manna they must do it upon the sixth day though what they did not then bake nor boil they might safely keep till the next day and it should not breed Worms nor stink But what they so kept was to be eaten without baking or boiling as it well might being a food prepared in Heaven for their eating without any need of further Art And therefore called Bread even when they gathered it v. 22. Ver. 24. And they laid it up until the morning c. Without any Preparation of it by baking or boiling and it kept the whole seventh day without any putrefaction Ver. 25. And Moses said Eat that to day Simple as it is without baking or boiling For to day is a Sabbath unto the LORD The frequent repetition of this in this Chapter v. 23. and again v. 29 30. hath led the Jews into this mistake that the Sabbath was not ordained by God till they came out of Egypt directly contrary to what we read in the Second of Genesis that it was instituted from the beginning And therefore Moses here only gives an account why this Precept was renewed at their coming out of Egypt when there was a new Religious observation added to it which was not necessary before viz. resting wholly from all manner of work There is an excellent Discourse on this Subject in a late Learned Author J. Wagensiel in his Confutation of R. Lipman's Carmen Memoriale p. 559 c. who well observes that this Precept having a peculiar respect to the Jews we are not bound to observe the rest of the Sabbath with such strictness as they did but only as the Patriarchs did before the giving of the Law p. 564. As for the translation of the day from the seventh to the first day of the Week it is impossible for the Jews to prove that the day they observe is the seventh from the Creation And besides that the whole World cannot be tied to the circumstance of time precisely for in some parts of it the Sabbath will fall eighteen hours later than in Palestine as he evidently shows p. 572 c. To day you shall not find it in the field This Moses said to them as Abarbinel thinks in the Evening of the Sabbath which was in effect a Prohibition to them not to go out to gather it on that day Ver. 26. Six days ye shall gather it c. The same Author thinks this is repeated to signifie that as long as they continued in the Wilderness they should gather it six days in a Week as they did now but never find any on the seventh There shall be none As you rest saith he from doing any thing about the Manna so God will cease from sending it unto you Upon which he makes this pious reflection That in this World we must work for our Souls if we would be happy in the next World which is an intire Sabbath or Rest For he that labours in the Evening of the Sabbath shall eat on the Sabbath To the same purpose Origen long before him Hom. VII in Exod. Ver. 27. There went out some of the people on the seventh day to gather c. The same wicked disposition remained in them which made them on other days keep it till next Morning v. 19 20. Ver. 28. And the LORD said unto Moses how long refuse ye to keep my Commandments c. These chiding words are full of indignation and yet signifie the long-suffering Patience of God with an untoward Generation Abarbinel expounds this passage as if upon this occasion he upbraided them with all their other Transgressions saying You kickt against me at the Red Sea and believed not my words at Marah also you murmured and uttered very discontented words at Elim Nay after I had given you Manna you violated my Precept in reserving it till the next Morning And now you break my Sabbath what hope is there that you will observe any of my Laws Refuse to keep my Commandments and my Laws He speaks thus say some of the Jews because that in which they now offended is a thing upon which the whole Law all his Commandments depend So the same Abarbinel Because the Sabbath instructed them in the Creation of the World upon which all the Law depends therefore he saith My Commandments and my Laws Ver. 29. See Consider For that the LORD hath given you the
mention them Ver. 4. And Moses cried unto the LORD Which he did not upon their first complaint v. 2. because their necessity was not so urgent but now seeing their Distress and the heigth of their Discontent he prays God to take care of them hoping he would supply them with drink as lately he had done with Bread What shall I do unto this People He said enough no doubt to quiet them by remembring them what God had already done for them and what reason they had still to trust in his good Providence But this would not satisfie them unless their thirst was presently quenched which he could not do for them and therefore knew not how to appease them They be almost ready to stone me He represents to God not only their importunity but his own great danger For having promised to bring them to Canaan he was afraid as Abarbinel fancies that if they continued to think they should die with thirst they would take him for a false Prophet who had deceived them with Lies and consequently inflict the Punishment upon him which the Law enacts against a false Prophet which was stoning But the Law being not yet given this could not be in their thoughts Ver. 5. And the LORD said unto Moses Go on before the People Be not afraid of their stoning saith the same Aharbinel but though they murmur and are in a great passion and impatient go on before them confidently through the midst of their Camps and thou shalt see they shall not touch the hem of thy Garment And take with thee of the Elders of Israel Not valiant young Men to thy Life-guard but grave Persons to be Witnesses that thou dost really bring Water out of a Rock and the People may not say there was a Spring there before Concerning the Elders of Israel See III. 16. And thy Rod wherewith thou smotest the River take in thy hand Not a Sword or a Lance saith the same Writer but that Wand wherewith thou smotest the River of Egypt and turnedst it into Blood or didst divide the Red Sea as some understand it an Arm of the Sea being by good Authors called a River And go As I bid thee When he is commanded to march before the People it is supposed they were to follow but they could not all move so soon as he and the Elders who went before to the very place Which the whole Body of the People could not do the passage to the Rock it is likely being narrow so that they could not all see him smite the Rock and behold the Water gush out but expected till it flowed from thence unto their Camp Ver. 6. Behold I will stand before thee there upon the Rock That is the Glory of the LORD which in the Cloud appeared in this place as Abarbinel truly expounds it to strengthen his Faith and to perswade the Elders that this Water was Divinely given them even as the Manna was For before that fell from above the Glory of the LORD appeared XVI 10. as it did now before this Water flowed to them from the Rock So that they were fed continually by the Divine Providence from whence they received both their Meat and their Drink There is an Emphatical He as they call it before the word for Rock and therefore it should be translated upon that Rock Where Abarbinel fancies the LORD was wont to appear to Moses but this being a rocky place it may only denote that particular part of the Rock to which God directed him to go and was the same that Author probably thinks with that mentioned XXXIII 22. In Horeb. This was not a distinct Mountain from Sinai but only a different part of the same Mountain which was long and had many risings of which this was one And thou shalt smite the Rock With the Rod wherewith he smote the River VII 17 20. And there shall come water out of it that the People may drink According to their Petition v. 2. And Moses did so i. e. Smote the Rock and brought Water out of it in such plenty that the Psalmist saith it ran down like Rivers LXXVIII 15 16. to supply the want of the whole Camp unto which it flowed as far as Rephidim so that they needed not to go to Horeb for it Which is the difference as Abarbinel thinks between this Miracle and that mentioned XX Numb where the Waters were but like a Well to which they must go and did not come to them much less follow them in their Journeys as this did For this was a continued Fountain of Water which flowed out of the Rock CXIV Psal 8. and made this part of Arabia habitable in future Ages which no Man dwelt in before Moses doth not add and the People drank and their Cattle because as Aben-Ezra observes he studied brevity and this was easily understood In the sight of the Elders of Israel That they might be able to testifie to the People the truth of this Miracle whereby they were relieved in their Distress and preserved in their Travels through the Wilderness The fame of which no doubt reached other Nations the memory of it being remaining in several of their Fables For there is a manifest allusion to it in Euripides his Bacchae v. 703. where he makes one of them smiting the Rock at Cithaeron and Waters gushing out of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This I find observed by Bochartus in his Canaan L. I. c. 16. and Huetius hath observed many more such Instances out of Nonnus Pausanias and divers other Authors in his Alnetanae Quaestiones L. II. c. 12. n. 18. And he thinks it very probable that the Fable of Janus was forged from hence for which he alledges many Arguments in his Demonstratio Evang. and this among the rest that Albricus describes his Image holding a Rod in his left hand with which he smites a Stone and out of it Water flows Ver. 7. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah c. That place which before was called Rephidim was after this called Massah and Meribah with respect to their chiding there with Moses which is the import of Meribah and their tempting God which is the signification of Massah Some think this one place was not called by two Names but that upon the second striking of the Rock almost forty years after this it was called Meribah and till then only Massah But in that Story it is not said the place was called Meribah but the water XX Numb 13. Is the LORD among us or not Doth he take care of us or not regard what becomes of us For God is said to be among or as the Phrase in the Hebrew in the midst of those whom he protects and provides for by a special Providence as we find VII Deut. 21. XXIII 14. III Josh 20. and many other places Ver. 8. Then came Amalek and fought c. The ground of their Enmity is commonly thought to
be the ancient grudge of the Seed of Esau to those of Israel For Amalek was descended from the eldest Son of Esau by a Concubine XXXVI Gen. 12. But it may very fairly also be supposed that there was some League between the Amalekites and the People of Canaan of mutual Defence which might move the Amalekites to oppose the passage of the Israelites and indeavour to hinder their Settlement in Canaan unto which perhaps they imagined their own pretences to be as good though the Israelites challenged the promise of it belong'd to them alone Then came These words import that the Amalekites were the Aggressors without any provocation If they fancied the Israelites would Invade them they might have prepared to defend themselves but it was no ground for Assaulting them Unto which perhaps they were moved as for other Reasons so out of greediness of Prey hearing the Israelites were loaded with the Spoils of the Egyptians And fought with Israel They came out of their own Country to sight with them in the Wilderness Or we may suppose that they attacked their Rear as they were upon their march from Rephidim to Horeb and cut off some Straglers or such as lagg'd behind through faintness and weariness as Moses relates XXV Deut. 18. The Author of Dibre Hajamim makes the Army of Amalek to have consisted of an incredible Number all exercising Divinations and Inchantments Ver. 9. And Moses said unto Joshua Who it seems was an eminent Person at their first coming out of Egypt Chuse us out men Whom he knew to be as valiant as himself And go out and sight with Amalek Meet them and give them Battle To morrow I will stand on the top of the Hill To pray to God who had lately appeared to him there v. 6. With the Rod of God in my hand This he said to encourage Joshua to hope God would not fail to deliver them though a Miracle was required to bring it to pass Ver. 10. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him c. Nothing but a strong confidence in God could have animated Men unexperienced in the Arts of War to encounter such mighty Enemies And Moses Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the Hill The Jews do but conjecture who this Hur was But we may be certain he was a Person of great Eminence for Wisdom and Piety otherwise he would not have been joyned with the Leaders of God's People Moses and Aaron We read indeed 1 Chron. II. 19. of one Hur who was the Son of Caleb and Grandfather of the famous Bezaleel who was of the Tribe of Judah But there is nothing to perswade us that he was the Person here spoken of nor that he was the Son of Moses his Sister as some of the Jews tell us See Pirke Elieser c. 45. where strange Stories are told of him But it is more probable that he was Miriam's Husband as Josephus affirms L. III. Antiq. c. 2. though we cannot tell whence he himself was descended Ver. 11. When Moses held up his hand Lifting up the hands was a posture of Prayer and imploring the Divine Aid as we find in many places particularly III Lament 40. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in the Heavens And it implies great Earnestness in Prayer as doth also listing up the eyes and listing up the soul XXV Psal 1. CXXI 1 c. But though this be true and no doubt Moses and his Companions prayed to God most earnestly yet this was not the occasion of his lifting up his hand which was to advance the Rod of God which he held in his hand and lifted up as their Standard or Banner to which they should look and hope for help from the mighty Power of God who had done such Wonders by that Rod. That Israel prevailed The sight of the Rod of God inspired them with such Courage that their Enemies could not stand before them And when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed Their Spirits flagged when they did not see the Rod and they began to give ground imagining perhaps that Moses despaired of Victory who the Fight being long was not able alway to keep his hand erect Ver. 12. But Moses his hands were heavy Through weariness by long holding them out upon the stretch And they took a stone and put it under him and he sate thereon It seems he had been standing before which gave them the greater advantage of seeing the Rod but made him the more weary And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands Were his Supporters which it is probable was in this manner Sometimes Moses held up the Rod in his right hand and sometimes in his left for v. 11. he speaks only of one hand which was lifted up or let down and Aaron stood on one side of him suppose his right hand and Hur stood on the other Who by that means helpt by turns to uphold his hands in that posture for if they had done it both together they might have been as weary as he And his hands were steady c. Were kept up stretched out without falling down till Sun-set Ver. 13. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his People c. Routed their whole Army One would think the name of their Kings was Amalek as the Kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh because he mentions Amalek and his People Otherwise if Amalek signifies collectively the Amalekites then his People must signifie those who were confederate with them Ver. 14. And the LORD said unto Moses He appeared it 's likely to him again in this place as he had done v. 6. and gave him this order Write this for a Memorial in a Book Make a Record of it as he did both here and XXV Deut. 17. c. And no Body was so sit to do it as he who saw all that fell out in this Fight and was the undoubted Author of what we read in this Book which was written by himself And rehearse it in the ears of Joshua That he who was to be the Leader of God's People after Moses might never enter into any League with the Amalekites For his Prosperity depended upon the Observation of the Commands given by God to Moses which therefore were carefully written in a Book and delivered to him that they might not be forgotten See I Josh 7 8. where there is a plain proof that the Laws delivered by Moses were written before Joshua entred into the Land of Canaan For I will utterly put out the Name of Amalek from under Heaven Have a perpetual quarrel with them till they be quite extinct as they were partly by Saul 1 Sam. XV. and partly by David 1 Sam. XXX 17. and partly by the Children of Simeon 1 Chron. IV. 43. Balaam also prophecied of their utter Destruction XXIV Numb 20. Which may seem a hard Sentence but it was as Maimonides observes to terrifie others from the like Malice For as particular Persons are sometimes punished very severely for an
Example to others so are Families and Nations And Amalek being the very first that drew a Sword against Israel unprovoked God passed this heavy Doom upon them whereas Ammon and Moab saith he who out of meer Covetousness committed what they did against Israel and wrought Mischief to them by Craft and Subtilty had only this Punishment inflicted upon them that Israel should not contract Affinity with them c. XXIII Deut. 3 4. XXV ult More Nevochim P. III. c. 41. Ver. 15. And Moses built an Altar Commonly Altars were built for Sacrifice which Moses perhaps here offered in thankfulness to God for his Benefits particulary this great Victory But they were also built sometimes only as Memorials XXII Josh 26 27. as this perhaps was He thinking it sit to preserve the memory of this Victory not only by writing but by this Monument also and the Inscription he lest upon it And he called the Name of it JEHOVAH-Nissi Or The LORD my Banner i. e. By him we overcame them Some will have it translated not he called it but he called him i. e. the LORD by the Name of the LORD who lifted up a Banner i. e. fought for them LX Psal 6. From which Inscription Bochartus thinks came the Name of Dionysus among the Greeks who from this word Nissi call'd him Nissaeus or Nysaeus and adding the Name of their own Jupiter to it called him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. I. Canaan c. 18. For Bacchus is said to have been a great Warrior and to have made mighty Conquests And as Huetius observes is called Arsaphes which is the very Name given to Moses by the Egyptians who called him Osarsiph Nay in Orpheus his Hymns Bacchus is called Mises which seems to be the same with Moses Out of whose Story all that the Greeks and others say of Bacchus seems to have been framed as he shows with great probability Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. c. 4. n. 3. Ver. 16. For he said Because the LORD hath sworn c. In the Hebrew the words are The hand upon the Throne of the LORD Which is commonly interpreted The LORD hath sworn by his Throne So R. Solomon and Aben-Ezra and the Chaldee whose Paraphrase is This is spoken with an Oath from the face of the terrible One whose Majesty is upon the Throne of Glory that the LORD will have War with Amalek c. That is saith Maimonides he hath sworn by himself More Nevoch P. I. c. 9. for in this and all other places the word Kisse i.e. Throne signifies his Magnificence and Power which is not any thing without his Essence but is himself But here being no mention of lifting up the hand which is the Phrase for Swearing VI Exod. 8. XXXII Deut. 40. it may more simply be expounded because the hand of the LORD sitting upon the Throne of his Majesty is stretched out and holds up his Banner to fight with Amalek throughout all Generations For Moses seems to allude in this Phrase to what he had said v. 11 12. When Moses lifted up his hand then Israel prevailed c. and bids them take notice it was his hand i. e. the Omnipotent Power of God which gave them this Victory and would perpetually prosecute Amalek till they were destroyed Joseph Scaliger would have Kes-jah to be but one word and to signifie the same with Kese which according to him is the last day of the Month on which this Battle was fought And so this to be a part of the Inscription upon the Altar as if he had said This Pillar was set up on the last day of the second Month to declare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 irreconcileable War with Amalek for ever L. III. de Emend Temp. p. 223. But this is too bold a conceit and is confuted by Hacspan and Glassius There is a more ingenious conjecture which I have some where met with if there were any thing in Scripture to warrant it that laying the hand on the Throne was a form of Swearing as touching the Altar was among some Nations which was as much as our laying the hand on the Bible a principal External Character of a Solemn Oath Whence Juvenal saith Atheists do intrepidos altaria tangere touch the Altars boldly without trembling i. e. make no Conscience of an Oath But the Marginal Translation after all is very literal and makes the sense exceeding plain and clear Because the hand of Amalek is against the Throne of the LORD i. e. against God himself therefore the LORD will have War with Amalek from Generation to Generation This is easie and natural and agrees with the whole History that because they came out and opposed the Design of God who in a visible and most glorious manner conducted the Israelites to the Land he had promised to give them he would never be reconciled to them For it was an high Affront to his Majesty who had lately done such astonishing Wonders as were famed no doubt in all the Neighbouring Nations XV. 14 15. CHAP. XVIII Verse 1. NOW Jethro the Priest of Midian c. Many ancient and later Versions have it Prince of Midian See Chap. II. v. 16. Heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel c. The Fame of which went into all the Countries thereabout XV. 14 c. Ver. 2. Took Zipporah Moses wise after he had sent her back It is uncertain when Moses sent her back to her Father but it is likely it was done at her own desire when she saw how difficult his Work was likely to prove in Egypt See IV. 26. The Hebrew word seems to some to intimate a Divorce as the Mauritanian Jews take it But all Christian Versions and that of the Jerman Jews and the Persian understand it as we do See Selden de Vxor Hebr. p. 629. Ver. 3. And her two Sons c. Whose Names carry in them a thankful Remembrance of God's great Mercy to him Gershom See II. 22. Ver. 4. Eliezer Who is thought to have been born a little before he left Midian and went out of Midian into Egypt by God's special derection See IV. 25. Ver. 5. And Jethro c. came unto Moses Took a Journey out of Midian to give him a visit Into the Wilderness Into the same Wilderness where Moses and the Israelites now were Where he incamped at the Mount of God viz. At Horeb which was not far from Midian it appears from III. 11. where we read that when Moses fed Jethro's Flock he led them hither to this Mount Which is called God's Mount because there he appeared sirst to Moses III. 2 c. and had lately appeared there again upon the Rock XVII 6. unto which place he bid Moses lead the Congregration XVII 5. who were now I suppose incamped thereabout after the sight with Amalek in Rephidim which was not far from it Ver. 6. And he said unto Moses By a Letter which he sent him from the place where he was incamped of which
these were the Contents to give him notice of his coming Which was but necessary that he might without any impediment pass the Guards which we may well think Moses had set very carefully after the Fight with Amalek who had suddenly surprized the hindmost of the People XXV Deut. 18. I thy Father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee c. Am upon the way and come near to thee Here it may be sit to take notice that there is a great dispute among Interpreters about the time when Jethro came from Midian with Moses his Wife and Children whether immediately after the Fight with Amalek as it is here set down or some time after when the Israelites were better settled One would think that he could not but take the first opportunity to visit Moses and to bring him and his nearest Relations together after he heard the News of their coming out of Egypt and their passing the Red Sea c. The news of which could not but reach him who was a Borderer upon this Wilderness Yet the Hebrews are generally of an opinion that this fell out after the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai and many Christians have been of the same mind particularly such great Men as our most Learned Primate Vsher ad A. M. 2514. and Mr. Selden L. II. de Synedris c. 2. where he saith no other account of it is to be received nec aliam sanè sententiam omninò amplexandam sentio but they are not agreed in what year he came Some say it was in this first year after their coming out of Egypt And the Hebrews have an opinion that it was in the Month of Tisri and on the eleventh day of that Month when Jethro gave the following Counsel to Moses v. 19 c. i. e. above three Months after God gave the Law from Mount Sinai or after Moses received the second Tables But others are as consident that it was in the second year and place this Story according to order of time after X Numb 28. or as Dr. Lightfoot thinks it should come in between the 10th and 11th Verses of that Tenth of Numbers And Primate Vsher in like manner judges his coming to have been about that time But though all this be uncertain yet Mr. Selden thinks he hath a strong ground to affirm it was after the giving of the Law from what we read I Deut. 6 9 10 11 c. And I confess it seems plain from thence that the Regulation which Moses made by the advice of Jethro was after God spake to them in Horeb which is the same with Mount Sinai For though he did appear at Horeb before this as I observed XVII 6. yet he said nothing then of that which Moses mentions I Deut. which was after the giving of the Law At which time he saith there v. 9. it was that he told them he was not able to bear them himself alone c. But notwithstanding this I cannot think that the coming of Jethro to Moses was deferred so long for no reason can be given why Moses here places the Story of it if it did not follow their Fight with Amalek though he did not give him the advice for the better Administration of Justice till after God had delivered the Law from Mount Sinai as I shall observe in its proper place Ver. 7. And Moses went out to meet his Father-in-law Before he came into the Camp or at least before he came to his Tent that he might show the great respect he bare to him and his joy to see him And did obeysance and kissed him Welcomed him according to the Custom of those Countries And they asked each other of their welfare Had such discourse together as Friends commonly have at their meeting till they came into the Tent. And they came into the Tent. Into the Tent of Moses or rather the Tent prepared to entertain Jethro But the Talmudists are so possessed with the opinion that this hapned some Months if not a whole Year after the Law was given that they take this Tent to have been Beth-midrash the House of Exposition or the School where Moses made the People understand the Law For so Jonathan in his Paraphrase upon this and the foregoing Verse I thy Father-in-law am come unto thee that I may be made a Proselyte And if thou wilt not receive me for my own sake yet admit me for the sake of thy Wife and Children which I bring with me And Moses went out from under the Cloud of Glory to meet him c. and when they had mutually saluted they came into the Tabernacle of the House of Learning But nothing can be more absurd than this fancy that he carried him immediately to hear a Lecture upon the Law Ver. 8. And Moses told his Father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh c. It seems to me from these words and those that follow that all we read hitherto about this matter fell out in order of time as it is here set down For if it had hapned after the giving of the Law it is most probable he would have said something of the most remarkable passage of all other Gods glorious appearance to them on Mount Sinai and the Law he had delivered to them c. Whereas at this meeting he only relates what God had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians and how the LORD delivered them and all the Travel that came upon them by the way which comprehends their passing through the Red Sea and their want of Water and Bread and their Fight with Amalek That is all that we read in the foregoing Chapters And accordingly Jethro rejoyced for their deliverance from the Egyptians v. 9. and gives thanks to God for it v. 10. taking notice of nothing else Ver. 9. And Jethro rejoyced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel c. The Gentiles as Conradus Pellicanus here observes more devoutly acknowledged God's Mercies when they understood them than the Jews themselves did With which our Saviour when he came upbraids that People sinding such Faith among the Gentiles as he could not meet withal in Israel Ver. 10. Blessed be the LORD who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians c. This may relate to the Preservation of Moses and Aaron who had brought the sorest Plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians and yet God suffered them not to hurt them Who hath delivered the People from under the hand of the Egyptians And then this relates to the Deliverance of the whole Body of the People from the Egyptian Bondage and to the overthrow of Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea whereby the Israelites were sinally delivered from under the hand i. e. the tyranny and oppression of the Egyptians Ver. 11. Now I know that the LORD He knew the true God before but was now fully convinced that he alone was the most High Is greater then all Gods Than all that the
come down in all their sight upon Mount Sinai That is when they were fit to receive him by their professing themselves an holy People of which that outward washing was a token For the third day the LORD will come down c. Not from the Mount but from Heaven upon Mount Sinai On which the SCHECHINAH descended in a Cloud which struck a great awe into them For it was darker than the Pillar of the Cloud by which they had been conducted hither thorough which some rays or glimpse of a glorious Majesty that was in it broke forth upon them Ver. 12. And thou shalt set bounds unto the People round about To keep them at a due distance out of a just reverence to the Divine Majesty Take heed unto your selves that ye go not up c. This Caution also was given them to work and preserve in their Minds a most profound Reverence of the Divine Majesty and to those Laws which were to be delivered from this Mount Ver. 13. There shall not an hand touch it but he shall surely be stoned or shot through Be stoned if he were near at hand or shot through with Darts or Arrows if at a distance So Aben-Ezra And so Jonathan likewise translates the latter Clause They shall throw Darts at him And so our old Translation Stricken through with Darts But the Talmudists and the greatest Lawyers among the Jews expound both these Clauses of stoning which was twofold as we read in the Misna Tit. Sanhedrin c. 6. either by throwing Stones at a Malefactor or throwing him down from an high place upon Stones And thus this last place imports in the Hebrew and may properly be translated projiciendo projicietur he shall be violently thrown down or thrown down headlong It is the very same word with that XV. 4. concerning the casting Pharaoh's Chariots into the Sea And this was a Punishment as Mr. Selden observes like that among the Romans from the Saxum Tarpeium which the Jews inflicted upon some captive Edomites 2 Chron. XXV 12. and Jehu inflicted upon Jezabel 2 Kings IX 32. On which story R. Leviben Gersom observes pertinently That as she caused Naboth to be stoned so she was punished her self in the same kind for stoning saith he was either by throwing Stones at Malefactors or throwing them down upon Stones To justifie which he alledges this place in Exodus And David Kimchi makes the same Observation See Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr c. 5. p. 74 c. When the Trumpet soundeth long When the sound of it is protracted or drawn out and consequently was less terrible then while it was shorter and broken See v. 16. They shall come up to the Mount To the foot of it v. 17. that they might more plainly hear the voice of God Ver. 14. And Moses came down from the Mount to the People As he had been commanded v. 10. And sanctified the People Commanded them to Sanctisie themselves as the Author of Sepher Cosri explains it P. I. Sect. 87. both with Internal Sanctification and External among which the principal was Separation from the company of Women as it here follows v. 15. And they washed their Clothes See v. 10. Unto which add that it is no wonder they used this Purification before the giving of the Law which had been anciently in use among their Ancestors upon Solemn Occasions As appears by what I observed on XXXV Gen. 2. where Jacob before the building of an Altar to God in Bethel as he had vowed cleansed his Family after this manner For so Aben-Ezra truly expounds these words be clean wash your Bodies which was the old Rite of cleansing See there Ver. 15. And said unto the People be ready against the third day Prepared to hear the words of God Come not at your Wives For this time was set apart for Solemn Fasting and Prayer that they might be fit to converse with God by having their Minds abstracted from earthly things Ver. 16. And it came to pass on the third day See v. 11. There more Thunders and Lightnings Which broke out of the thick Cloud to awaken them to attend unto his Majesty who was approaching And a thick Cloud In which a flaming Fire presently appeared v. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that the Mountain could not be seen as Greg. Nyssen explains it de Vita Mosis p. 179. And the voice of the Trumpet The heavenly Ministers who were Attendants upon the Divine Majesty made a sound like that of a Trumpet to summon the People to come and appear before God and receive his Commands Exceeding loud Beyond what the blast of any Men could make for it made the whole Camp quake as the following words tell us Ver. 17. And Moses brought forth the People out of the Camp When their trembling was abated by the remission as we may suppose of the sound of the Trumpet To meet with God That they might be espoused to him And they stood at the nether part of the Mount Below at the foot of it not presuming to touch it which they were severely forbidden v. 11 12. See IV Deut. 11. Ver. 18. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke Nothing could be seen but smoke mixed with a Flame Because the LORD descended on it in sire The SCHECHINAH came down into the thick Cloud v. 9 16. with a glittering company of Angels who appeared like flames of Fire unto which they are compared by the Psalmist CIV 4. Thus Moses himself seems to expound it XXXIII Deut. 2. He came with ten thousands or myriads of holy ones i. e. of Angels from his right hand went a fiery Law for them Which plainly relates to this appearance at Mount Sinai And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace Mixt with Fire which went up even to the midst of Heaven as Moses explains it IV Deut. 11. And the whole Mount quaked greatly See LXVIII Psal 8. CIV 32. Ver. 19. And when the voice of the Trumpet sounded long It is a different word here in the Hebrew from that v. 13. which we translate sounded long signifying that it proceeded or went on either a long time or to a greater loudness And waxed louder and louder In the Hebrew the words are exceeding strong 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the Trumpet exceeded it self the succeeding Blasts transcending those that went before as Greg. Nyssen well interprets the whole Moses spake The People trembled before at the loud sound of the Trumpet v. 16. but now it grew so very terrible that Moses himself said as the Apostle expounds this passage XII Hebr. 21. I exceedingly fear and quake For hither I think Junius rightly applies those words And God answered him by a voice Bidding him not be afraid but come up unto him as it follows in the next Verse Greg. Nyssen thinks that the voice of the Trumpet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 became articulate with the Organs of Speech by the Divine Power Ver. 20.
And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai It is said before that the LORD descended upon it v. 18. therefore the meaning here is that the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty setled there to speak unto the People On the top of the Mount On the highest part of it that there might be the greatest distance between him and the People who stood at the foot of it And the LORD called up Moses c. He stood lower before though not so low as the People but now is called up higher even to the very place where God was And consequently entred into the midst of the fire and smoke wherein the Mountain was wrapped v. 18. upon God's Appearance there From which in all probability the Persians who had heard or read what is here related framed the story of their Zoroaster Who wandring in Desert places was carried up to Heaven and saw God incompassed with Flames which he could not behold with his own eyes the splendour of them was so great but with eyes which the Angels lent him and there he received from him a Book of the Law c. See Huetius Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. c. 5. n. 2. Ver. 21. And the LORD said unto Moses go down and charge the People c. It seems that upon Moses's going up some of the People thought of approaching nearer out of Curiosity to see if they could discover more of the Divine Majesty And therefore God sends him down again immediately to bid them remember the Charge he had given them and not dare to come nearer than they were And many of them perish As many as were so presumptuous Many sometimes signifies all and here all that should adventure to go beyond their bounds Ver. 22. And let the Priests also Who these were is much disputed for Aaron and his Sons were not yet Consecrated The Jews it is commonly known readily answer they were the First-born whose Prerogative it was to Minister to God as his Priests till the Law of Moses ordered things otherwise But I have often observed this not to be true being confuted by several Examples of others who sacrificed and were not the First-born And lately there is a Learned Man who in a just Discourse hath overthrown this Opinion See Campeg Vitringa Observ Sacrae L. II. c. 23. which was called in question and briefly censured some time before by a very Learned Friend of mine Dr. Outram de Sacrificiis L. I. c. 4. Conradus Pellicanus in the beginning of the Reformation seems to have given a better account of the Priests here mentioned which were the prime and most honourable Persons in the several Tribes the Elders and such as administred the Government under Moses among which there might be some of the First-born nay it is possible many of them but not by any special right which they had to this Office Which came near unto the LORD To perform Divine Services By which one would think he speaks of those who had been already imployed in this Office for having before this built an Altar XVII 15. some think it probable Sacrifice was offered upon it But if it were only a Monument and no Sacrifices were to be offered till they came to the Mount of God who was to appoint them then Moses pickt out the most excellent Persons as I said before to perform this Service when they came there XXIV 5. Sanctifie themselves Nothing was said before of their Sanctification which is here injoyned by it self because their high Office required a peculiar Separation to prepare them for it Lest the LORD break forth upon them Lest when they come near to Sacrifice God should be offended with their Uncleanness and destroy them This supposes they might go nearer than the People Ver. 23. And Moses said unto the LORD the People cannot come up to Mount Sinai c. He thought it was needless to go down to restrain the People having given them the Charge which God commanded him v. 11 12. and set bounds about the Mount as it here follows by drawing a Line perhaps beyond which they should not pass and thereby separating the Mount from them which he calls sanctifying it Ver. 24. And the LORD Or but the LORD Said unto him away get thee down He knew the Peoples inclinations better than Moses did and therefore commanded him to make no delay for fear they should grow more bold than he imagined And thou shalt come up and Aaron with thee After he had delivered this new Charge to them Which was the more necessary because Aaron being also called up they might think likewise of sharing in this Priviledge And Aaron with thee Unto whom God did this great honour because he was to be called shortly to the dignity of the High Priest and would be the more respected by the People when they saw him admitted far nearer unto God than they were But let not the Priests and the People break through c. But let not any body else as they love their lives presume to press beyond their Line no not the Priests on whom I have bestowed the honour of coming nearer to me than other Men v. 22. Ver. 25. So Moses went down unto the People and spake unto them Delivered the Message to them and to the Priests as he was directed And then as he was also ordered returned unto the Mount and his Brother with him but not to the top of the Mount where he was before v. 20. as appears from the nineteenth Verse of the next Chapter which shows that Moses was there where the People might speak to him and therefore if he went up now to the top of the Mount he came down again when the LORD spake audibly to them and stood in a place where he might be a Mediator between them So he himself saith V Dent. 4 5. that when the LORD talked with them face to face in the Mount he stood between the LORD and them And accordingly it follows v. 23. of that Chapter that when they heard the voice out of the midst of the Darkness they came near to Moses and said c. which shows he was not far off from them though nearer to God than they But perhaps Moses and Aaron did not come up into the Mount till after the Ten words or Commandments were spoken when Moses we read XX. 21. drew near unto the thick darkness where God was though we read nothing of Aaron there Which inclines me to think the foregoing account of this matter to be the truer CHAP. XX. Verse 1. AND God spake all these words saying After the Trumpet had summoned them all to attend and sounded a long time louder and louder there came a Voice from the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty out of the midst of the Fire as we read IV Deut. 12. V. 4 22. that is of the Angelical Host which incircled him and appeared like Flames of Fire Which made the Apostle say the Law was ordained by Angels III Gal.
the Judge is whom we go about to deceive Large Commentaries on these Commandments are not to be expected which may be found in many Authors commonly known Ver. 17. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours house c. Here is forbidden so much as the designing any Mischief to others in any of the things forementioned For as all Injuries in word or deed are prohibited in the IV. preceding Commandments So in this he prohibits those which are only in the heart or counsels of Men but never come to light And in the enumeration of the things they were not to covet he begins first with that which was last mentioned and so backard to the other For he saith Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House by designing to bear false witness or to commit theft And then follows thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife by intending to abuse her if opportunity served nor his Man-servant nor his Maid-servant c. which are his principal Goods He saith nothing of thirsting after his Life which is supposed to be unlawful because less than that is forbidden Menander hath something like this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Do not so much as covet the thred of a Needle for God sees thee being intimately present with thee See more in Grotius his Prolegomena in Excerpta ex Stobaeo Ver. 18. And all the People saw the Thundrings c. Seing being the principal Sense it is frequently put for the rest and this passage may be translated they sensibly perceived c. See XLII Gen. 1. and Drusius's Quaestiones Hebr. L. I. c. 10. The Thundrings and the Lightnings XIX 16. And the noise of the Trumpet Which ceased while God spake the X. Words to them but now began again together with Thunders and Lightnings when they were ended For as they were introduced in a most Majestick manner to raise their attention and strike an awe into them so they were closed that they might be the more sensible of the dreadfulness of that Majesty who spake to them and that they might have a greater reverence to his Law They removed and stood afar off They were at the bottom of the Mount while God spake to them but now started back for fear those Flames they saw upon the Mountain V Deut. 25. and perhaps flashed from thence in a terrible manner should devour them How far they removed we know not some think to the place where they were incamped before this glorious Appearance out of which Moses brought them to meet with God XIX 2 17. Ver. 19. And they said unto Moses By the Heads of their Tribes and their Elders V Deut. 23. who came from the People to Moses while he remained still in his place For he saith there they came near unto him when they spake these words which signifies they were at some distance before Speak thou with us and we will hear c. They desire that what God had farther to command them He would be pleased to acquaint Moses with it and they would receive it as his own words but should die with fear if they heard him speak any more with his own Voice This is more largely related V Deut. 24 25 c. and accordingly God afterward communicated to Moses alone the rest of his Laws both concerning Religion and Civil Government Ver. 20. And Moses said unto the People He bad the Elders return this Answer to the People that sent them Fear not Be not afraid of your lives No hurt shall come to you For God is come to prove you God intends by this dreadful Appearance to discover unto your selves and others whether you will be such as you pretend XIX 8. And that his fear may be before your face And that you may have an awful sense of him in your Mind by having before your eyes continually the Glory of his Majesty of which you were lately sensible v. 18. That you sin not Let this be your only fear not to offend God by disobeying his Commands Ver. 21. And the People stood afar off In their Tents within their Camp For God commanded him to bid the Elders after this Discourse to go to their Tents from whence they came where I suppose the rest of the People were V Deut. 30. But he bad Moses stay with him and he would as they desired tell him all the rest of the things which he intended to enjoyn them v. 31. And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was Who called him to him again as he had done before XIX 20. There is a curious Observation in Pirke Elieser that the Hebrew word here is not Nogesh he approached or drew near as we trunslate it but Niggesh he was drawn near The Angel Gabriel or Michael as he fancies coming and taking him by the hand and leading him up to God cap. 41. But this signifies rather that he did not go up of his own accord but was called by God to draw near to his Divine Majesty Which he did the next day upon the seventh day of Sivan and received LVII Laws besides the X. which God himself delivered partly Civil and partly Religious which were Explications of the Decalogue Ver. 22. And the LORD said unto Moses When they were together in the thick Cloud before mentioned Thus thou shalt say unto the Children of Israel When thou goest down again to them Ye have seen that I have talked with you from Heaven The apprehension of one sense as Maimonides phrases it More Nevoch P. I. c. 46. is usually in Scripture put for the apprehension of another As See the word of the LORD II Jer. 31. that is hear it or mark it diligently Or the meaning here may be You saw i. e. perceived by the Thundrings and Lightnings and all the rest of the Tokens of a Majestatick Presence that it was I who spake from above Ver. 23. Ye shall not make with me The Hebrew Writers here make a pause or full stop as if it were a compleat Sentence And the meaning is explained in the Talmud to be Ye shall not make the Similitude of the Ministers that minister before me above as the Sun the Moon the Stars or the Angels Ger. Bab. upon Avoda Zura And so Maimonides upon the same Subject It is unlawful to form the Images of the Sun the Moon the Stars the Celestial Signs or Angels according to that which is written Ye shall not make with me i. e. nothing like the Ministers that minister to me above See Selden L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 6. p. 198. But if we joyn these with the following words the sense is the same that as they acknowledged no other Gods but him so they should not make any Image to represent him To inforce which the word make is repeated in the end of the Verse whereby greater efficacy is added to the Command Gods of silver or gods of gold shall ye not make unto you He gives this
it appears by the Book of Joshua and those that follow that many of the old Inhabitaints remained long after his death From the Red-sea to the sea of the Philistines These were the Bounds from East to West For though the Red-sea was towards the South yet the farthermost part of it lay East And the Sea of the Philistines is that now called the Mediterranean which was full West And from the Desert Of Arabia called Shur XV. 22. Vnto the River i. e. To Euphrates Which made the Southern and Northern Bounds of the Country God promised to them For I will deliver the inhabitants of the Land into thy hand This seems to relate to that Land which the VII Nations inhabited for as far as Euphrates they never drove out all the Inhabitants but only made them Tributaries And thou shalt drive them out before thee In such manner as is mentioned in the foregoing Verses Ver. 32. Thou shalt make no covenant with them i. e. With the People of the VII Nations But with other Gentiles they might make Covenants only not suffer them to live in their Land unless they renounced all Idolatry Nay Maimonides is of opinion that such of the VII Nations as renounced Idolatry were to be received into their Friendship For that Law in the XX Deut. which requires them to send a Summons to every City before they besieged it with an offer of Peace he extends even unto them and grounds his opinion upon XI Josh 19 20. As for that Objection which seems to lye against this about the Gibeonites who needed not by craft to have obtained a League with the Israelites if this were true Doctrine His Answer is That Joshua had sent a Summons with offers of Peace to them and all the rest which they rejected but would afterward have gladly accepted and then it was not to be admitted and therefore they contrived that cunning way to be received into Friendship with the Israelites See P. Cunaeus L. II. de Republ. Hebr. c. 20. And Selden L. VI. de Jure N. G. c. 13. where he quotes a Passage out of the Hierusalem Gemara which says That Joshua sent three Letters to the Gibeonites But he shows withal that other Jews contradict this and expresly declare the VII Nations were not to be invited to peace What the terms were on which others were invited See there cap. 14. All this considered I am inclined to think Maimonides his opinion too true which that place in Joshua very much favours and so doth the story of Rahab and the practice of Solomon who only put the Remainders of these Nations under Tribute 1 Kings IX 20 21. Nor with their gods This prohibits them to suffer any of the VII Nations to Exercise Idolatry among them as R. Levi of Barcelona interprets it Or rather he forbids them to make any Vows to their Gods or oblige themselves to perform any Act of Worship to them Ver. 32. They shall not dwell in thy land If a Gentile did renounce his Idolatry he might dwell among them and was called a Stranger Toshab dwelling or inhabiting But if he did not forsake it they might not sell him a Foot of Land nor let him Hire a House among them only he might come and sell Commodities to them as the same R. Levi expounds it But Maimonides says they might not so much as suffer them to pass through their Country when they had power to hinder it which others think too rigid an Opinion as Mr. Selden shows L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 3. p. 155 c. Lest they make thee sin against me All Society with Idolaters was forbidden lest they should infect the Israelites with their Infidelity as the same R. Levi speaks of which there was the greater danger because they were too prone to follow the Gentile Customs For if thou serve their gods This Caution being repeated three times in this Chapter ought to have been the more diligently observed by the Jews and made them more fearful of entring into Familiarity with Idolaters Who were of various sorts for not only every Nation had its proper and peculiar Gods but every City Town House n ay every Man made themselves Gods according to their fancy It will surely be a snare unto thee Bring great Calamities upon thee and at last be thy ruin as it is explained XXIII Josh 13. II Judg. 3. For instead of driving out the VII Nations they brought Israel under their yoke and grievously oppressed them as we read in the Story of the Judges particularly in the IVth Chapter CHAP. XXIV Verse 1. AND he said unto Moses When God had delivered the fore-going Laws unto Moses in the Mount where he was with him XX. 21. after he had spoken the X. Commandments he bad him go down as we read hear he did v. 3. and set them before the People XXI 1. And when he had engaged them in a Covenant to observe these Laws v. 7. of this Chapter then to come up to him again and bring Aaron and the rest that are here mentioned with him Come up To receive further Orders from the Divine Majesty together with the two Tables of Stone Vnto the LORD To the Mount where the Glory of the LORD appeared and from whence he had spoken the Ten words Thou and Aaron Nadab and Abihu c. But not all to the same nearness unto the Divine Majesty as appears by the following Verse And seventy of the Elders of Israel This seems to intimate that there were more than LXX called Elders But these were the Chief being perhaps the Heads of those Families which came into Egypt which were just Seventy See XVIII 12. For he doth not direct Moses how to chuse them as Corn. Bertram observes L. de Repub. Jud. c. 5. but speaks as if they were well known and distinguished from other Persons by the rank they held among them And therefore called v. 11. the Nobles or as the Latines speak Magnates seu Optimates the great Men of the best quality in Israel The reason of their being thus called up to God was to be Witnesses of Moses's ascending up to the place where the Divine Majesty appeared and that they also might have some sight of it v. 10. And worship ye afar off All of them before they came to the Mount were at a good distance from it to fall down prostrate before God that they might be possessed with such an holy Reverence to him as not to presume to approach nearer than they were ordered Ver. 2. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD Unto the very top of the Mount where the Glory of the LORD abode v. 16 17 18. unto which none was admitted but himself Who now came nearer than he had done before XX. 21. for he went into the midst of the Cloud v. 18. But they shall not come nigh Unto that part of the Mount whether he went but keep in a lower station Neither shall the
the Elders was in all likelyhood to convince them that he was among them and had spoken to them and sent them the Precepts before-mentioned by the hand of Moses Also they saw God and did eat and drink After they had seen God they were so far from receiving any harm that they feasted with him upon the Reliques of the Peace-offerings with great Joy and Gladness Or we may suppose that the Glory of the LORD shone upon them as they sat down to eat and drink in token of their full consent to the Covenant now made for so the custom was of making Covenants XXIV Gen. 30. XXXI 54. and that notwithstanding they continued to finish their Feast not being dispirited as good Men were sometimes afterwards with glorious Visions X Dan. 8 16 17. but rather strengthen'd and made more vigorous The word for saw in this Verse is different from that in the former importing I suppose that this Appearance of God to them lasted some time Ver. 12. And the LORD said unto Moses He called to him perhaps with an audible voice from the place where they saw his Glory that they might know how familiar he was with God and might more readily receive whatsoever Commands he brought from him Come up to me into the Mount To the top of the Mount where the Glory of the LORD was v. 17. For hitherto Moses had gone no further than the rest but was with them when they did eat and drink before the LORD And be there Stay with me there v. 18. And I will give thee Tables of stone Not only the Jews but Epiphanius also fancies these Tables were made of Saphire from what was said v. 10. But the words signifie plainly enough that they were of Stone And a Law and Commandments which I have written From this place the Jews endeavour to establish their unwritten or oral Law i. e. their Traditions which they say were now delivered together with the Tables of Stone So Maimonides in his Preface to Jad Chazeka All the Precepts which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai were given with their Explications according to what is said I will give the Tables of Stone and a Law and Commandments where by the Law is meant the written Law and the Commandments denote the Explication of it which we call the Oral Law Thus he and others of them directly against the Text it self which saith expresly both of the Law and the Commandments here mentioned that they were written See Selden L. II. de Synedr c. 16. Therefore by Law and Commandments we are to understand nothing else but the Law contained in the X. Commandments That thou mayest teach them Instruct the People to observe them as the most sacred of all other Precepts being written as well as spoken by God himself who taught Men by this Example how to preserve their Laws For Aristotle saith in his Problems that in old time Men being ignorant how to write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were wont to sing their Laws that they might not be forgotten It being the invention of the Corybantes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Theopompus speaks to set up Pillars and ingrave their Laws upon them Which Solon at last wrote on wooden Tables called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were laid up in the Temple of the Mother of the Gods v. Sam. Petitum Praefat. in Leg. Atticas Ver. 13 And Moses rose up From among the Elders with whom he was before And his Minister Joshua Who attended him further than the Elders but not into the place where he went For God intending him to be Moses his Successor seems to admit him unto a nearer Familiarity than any one else besides Moses And Moses went up into the Mount of God The place where the Divine Glory appeared But Joshua staid for him in some lower part of the Mountain expecting his return For he did not go up to the top of the Mount as appears from the XXXII Chapter where Moses his descent from thence being mentioned Joshua is not named till it be said that Moses was come down from the Mount v. 15 17. He went with him therefore till he entred into the Cloud and then he staid as it were at the door waiting for his return Ver. 14. And he said unto the Elders Before he left them he gave them this order Tarry ye here for us Not in the place where they had seen God and did eat and drink with him whether the People might not come but rather in the Camp or some place near it whether the People might upon occasion resort to them Unto which place Moses seems to have walkt with them from the Mount before he returned to go up into it or at least pointed them unto it with his singer that they might there wait for him Vntil we come again to you He could not tell how long God would detain him and therefore commands them to govern the People till his return to them And behold Aaron and Hur are with you Who seem to have been of greatest Authority next to himself and were with him in the Mount when the Israelites fought with Amalek Chap. XVII If any man have any matters to do let him come unto them In all Causes which were too hard for the Elders to determine he directs them to go to Aaron and Hur as they were wont to do to him By this it appears that these LXX Elders were some of the Judges appointed by the advice of Jethro XVIII 22. which he continued to follow and orders them to observe in his absence Ver. 15. And Moses went up into the Mount Having said this he and Joshua left them and he went into the higher part of the Mount And a Cloud covered the Mount That part of it where he was so that the People and Joshua also lost the sight of him Ver. 16. And the Glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai That visible Majesty which shone in extraordinary splendour was setled for the present upon the top of this Mount And the Cloud covered it i. e. Covered the Glory of the LORD not the Mount as Aben Ezra observes For the Cloud was not the Glory of the LORD but incompassed and covered it so that for six days nothing but the Cloud appeared to the Israelites till on the seventh day the Cloud was rent as I take it or opened and the Glory of the LORD appeared like flaming fire Six days Thus long it was hidden in a Cloud so that Moses himself could not see it but remained wrapt up in darkness which might have astonished him if he had not been supported by the Divine Power and a comfortable sense of God who had often appeared to him and conversed familiarly with him And the seventh day he called unto Moses The second time for he had called to him before to come up to him v. 12. commanding him to approach into his glorious Presence Out of the midst of
the Cloud Where the Divine Glory was and now broke out and appeared I suppose unto Moses Some think the seventh day might be the Sabbath upon which God chose to appear to him Ver. 17. And the sight of the Glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the Mount in the Eyes of the Children of Israel It broke out of the Cloud after six days so that the People saw it like flaming fire To which the Psalmist seems to allude XCVII Psal 2 3. Clouds and darkness are round about him and fire goeth before him c. Thus the Glory of the LORD is described in other places as within a Cloud and sometimes breaking out of it XL Exod. 35. where the Cloud is said to be upon the Tabernacle and the Glory of the LORD to fill it within which v. 38. is described like fire See also XVI Numb 42. And thus at its first appearing there was a Pillar of a Cloud and of Fire led them XIII 21. And it sometimes appearing in an amazing brightness beyond that of the Sun and sometimes being wrapt up in as thick a Cloud God is likewise said both to dwell in Light and in thick Darkness 1 Kings VIII 12. Ver. 18. And Moses went into the midst of the Cloud From whence the LORD had called to him v. 16. Therefore he broke through the thick Cloud into the very Prefence of God which was in a secret part of the Cloud called the midst of it And gat him up into the Mount To the top of it where the Glory of the LORD appeared to him in the midst of the Cloud the External Parts of which and the Fire only being seen by the People And Moses was in the Mount forty days and forty nights That he might receive the two Tables of Stone and the Gift of Prophecy as Elmacinus an Arabian Christian adds with Directions for the making the Tabernacle and all things belonging to it and the Service to be performed there by the Priest apparelled according to Divine Prescription c. which follow in the ensuing Chapters where Moses relates what orders God gave him about every thing relating to his Divine Service And it need not seem strange as Clemens Alexandrinus excellently speaks L. I. Stromat p. 351. that Moses received his Laws from God when the Greeks pretend the same of their Minos only they say he went into Jupiter's Cave and was nine years there in learning the Laws which he gave him when Moses was but XL. days in the Mount where God visibly appeared They believed also that Lycurgus received his Laws from Apollo and Zaleucus as Plato Aristotle and divers others whom he mentions say received his from Minerva All this was firmly believed among them who in not acknowledging the Divinity of Moses his Ministration were very ingrateful for his was the Archetype as he speaks or Pattern of what was pretended in their Stories Forty days and forty nights It may be a question whether the six days that he remained in the Cloud before the LORD called him higher be included in these XL. days or were only preparatory to his nearer access to God They may well be both for it is not said he was in the midst of the Cloud forty days and forty nights but that he was so long in the Mount Part of which time was spent in the dark Cloud and the rest in the bright Presence of God in the midst of the Cloud And in all that space he did neither eat nor drink XXXIV 28. IX Deut. 9. God could if he had pleased have revealed to him all his Mind in a less time But the method of the Divine Wisdom is to do all things gradually For instance the Substance of a Child in the Womb saith the Author of Schalsch Hakkabalah is not perfected in less time than XL. Weeks in all which time it receives no Meat nor Drink at the Mouth we must understand him and so many days did the Divine Power work in Moses to form him into a new Essence as his words are and give him a full Comprehension of all that God communicated to him And all this time he neither did eat nor drink for these actions say that Jew prejudice the Understanding which God intended to exalt by depressing the Bodily Faculties and Powers Which for want of Meat and Drink were brought down very low that the Understanding might be raised and lifted up And thus we find in after times that Daniel chastened his Body for three whole Weeks together the better to dispose him for heavenly Vision X. 2 3 12. This ascent of Moses from the Cloudy part of the Mount to the fiery top of it was upon the XIVth of Sivan and we may suppose as Jacobus Capellus doth that the Cloud accompanied him as he went up to defend him from the circumambient flame CHAP. XXV Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses Out of that glorious and flaming Light wherein he appeared to him Ver. 2. Speak unto the Children of Israel When he went down from the Mount That they bring me In the Hebrew take for me out of their Goods An Offering The Hebrew word Terumah or as some pronounce it Trumah is commonly translated an Heave-offering or Offering lifted up Which the Chaldee translates that which is separated from common use and in the separation perhaps was lifted up towards Heaven in token that they desired God to accept it Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my Offering They were only to be moved to it but not importuned much less told what quantity they should give but every Man was left to his own good Inclinations And accordingly Moses delivered the Mind of God unto them when he came down from the Mount and they made a free Oblation XXXV 5 21 29. Besides which there was also a Tribute laid upon them for the ransom of their Souls XXX 12 13 14. which amounted to a great Sum of Money as we find in the XXXVIII 24 c. Ver. 3. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them The things which ye shall accept as an Offering to me Gold and silver and brass Unto what uses these were to be imployed we are told afterwards Ver. 4. And blue and purple and scarlet Wool or Yarn or Stuff or as Abarbinel will have it Silk of these Colours About which there is much dispute but no Translation hath better described them than our English For Thecelet which we translate blue and Abarbinel will have to be a Sea-green is certainly a Sky-colour So Maimonides expresses it the Colour of the Firmament and Kimchi calls it ultramarine This hath been demonstrated by Braunius who shows how it was died L. I. de Vest Sacr. Hebr. L. I. c. 13. Argaman also he hath demonstrated c. 14. signifies purple as we translate it For both Josephus and Philo say so and he brings many proofs that they say true And there being
bid him rear it up XXVI 30. according to the Mischpat the Scheme or Draught he shewed him in the Mount which represented every thing so lively and distinctly and in their just proportions to him that he was the better able to make them For things seen and seen in all their Dimensions as Abarbinel observes are more easily retained as well as conceived than things that are only heard And Greg. Nyssen had reason when he said de Vita Mosis p. 181. that God did not represent the Sanctuary to Moses meerly in a Picture much less give him an Idea of it only in his Mind but set before him a Structure which he should imitate For so the Hebrew word Tabnit which we translate pattern signifies a Structure or Building which cannot be better expressed than by the word Model which he now saw of the House he was to erect Thus Maimonides explains this word in distinction from Temunah which signifies only the resemblance of a thing whereas Tabnit signifies the structure or disposition of it i. e. saith he its form whether it be in a Square or Circle or Triangle or any other Figure and he quotes this place for it and v. 40. More Nevoch P. I. c. 3. Which confutes the Fancy of those who will have Moses to have framed this House and all belonging to it according to the fashion of such things which he had seen in Egypt and were in use among other Nations unto whose Religion he designed to make his as conformable as might be safely allowed And particularly made this Tabernacle to be carried on the Priest's Shoulders as the Tabernacle of Moloch was c. Nothing seems to me to be further from the intention of Moses or rather from the Directions which God here gives him than this Conceit He had a more Divine Guide than the Egyptians and made things by a Heavenly Pattern and not according to their Modes The Jews were so possessed with this Opinion that when the Temple came to be built instead of this Tabernacle they say it was done by consulting the Oracle and by the Solemn Decree of the King and of the great Sanhedrim and of the Prophets For which they alledge this very place as Mr. Selden observes out of the Misna and Maimonides c. L. III. de Synedr c. 13. n. 2. Ver. 10. And they shall make an Ark. Or little Chest or rather Coffer which was to be placed in the very inmost and most secret part of God's House in his Cabinet as we now speak into which none entred but himself the better to represent his dwelling among them And therefore was called the Ark of the LORD IV Josh 5 11. and the Ark of God 1 Sam. III. 3. For herein was put his most precious Treasure those Divine Records the two Tables of Stone wrote with his own Finger called the Tables of Testimony XXXI 18. because they were the Testimony of the Covenant between God and the Israelites whereby he testified his Will and they their Obedience to it Whence the Ark it self is called the Ark of the Testimony XXX 6. from whence also the whole Tabernacle had its name IX Numb 11. and the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD X Numb 33. Of Shittim-wood See v. 5. Two Cubits and an half shall be the length thereof and a Cubit and an half the breadth thereof and a Cubit and an half the height thereof In this Shape and in these Dimensions it was set before Moses in the Mount that he might direct it to be made exactly of such an oblong Square as we speak as is here described in its length breadth and height There are great Disputes among the Jews about a Cubit which is commonly thought to be half a yard of our Measure that is XVIII Inches But one that hath taken a great deal of pains to examine such things Dr. Cumberland now Bishop of Peterburgh hath in a very Learned Discourse about the Scripture Measures given strong Reasons to incline us to think that the Egyptian and the Jewish Cubit were about XXI Inches And if they had not been so the Table which is described v. 23. would have been inconvenient being but three quarters of a yard high i. e. 27 Inches according to the common Notion of a Cubit which is too low for a Table Whereas according to his account it was about Thirty two Inches which is a very convenient height for a Table See Ch. II. Ver. 11. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold Not meerly gild it but lay it over with thin Plates of Gold for if they had been thick it would as Abarbinel notes have been too heavy to carry Thus we see Chests now sometimes plated with Iron in some parts of them Within and without So that nothing but Gold could be seen whether it were shut or open And shalt make upon it a Crown of Gold round about A Border or List of Gold went round at the top of it which was call'd a Crown because it compassed every part of it but was of another figure not round but square as the Ark was It was of great use as well as ornament for the better setling the Propitiatory upon the Ark that it might not slip off but be kept up firmly by this Border going round about the top of the Ark. And it might the better be called a Crown because it was of some height for the surer supporting of the Propitiatory It may not be improper here to observe that as the ancient Crowns were only a plain Circle of Gold or other thing so they were set upon the Heads of none but their Gods as Pliny tells us L. XVI c. 4. who says there that Bacchus was the first that put a Crown upon his Head which was made of Ivy. Certain it is that God requires those things which were peculiarly Sacred to him and his Service to be crowned as a Mark of their excellency which were four only this Crown upon the Ark and that upon the Golden Table v. 24. of this Chapter and upon the Altar of Incense XXX 3. and on the Head of the High Priest XXIX 6. Ver. 12. And thou shalt cast four rings of Gold for it Which were of massy Gold we must suppose because the Ark was carried by staves put into these rings And put them in the four corners thereof The Hebrew word Paamoth comes from Paam which never signifies a corner in the whole Scripture but always a foot or basis or step as Aben-Ezra notes Which hath made some think the Ark had Feet to stand upon such round knobs as now our Chests and Boxes many times have though the Scripture do not mention them But we are not to make Conjectures out of our own Heads which some have carried so far as to fancy there were Wheels in these Feet for the Ark to run upon which made it God's Chariot wherein he rode But who ever heard of a Chariot carried on Men's shoulders
Therefore Nachmanides more reasonably conceives that these Rings were indeed in the corners of the Ark but not in the higher as R. Solomon would have them but in the lower and therefore said here to be in the feet For the Scripture calling the top of every thing the head of it the bottom is commonly there called the feet And so the Ark by placing the Rings and Staves in the bottom was carried on high upon the Priests shoulders representing God who is highly exalted And two rings shall be on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it That is in the length of it as Josephus expresly testifies and not in the breadth Ver. 13. And thou shalt make staves of Shittim-wood Of such a length that the Ark might be at a decent distance from those that carried it And overlay them with Gold With Plates of Gold as the Ark it self was v. 14. Ver. 14. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the Ark. The Hebrews say these staves were ten Cubits long That the Ark may be born with them Upon the shoulders of the Levites particularly the Sons of Korah See Numb IV. 4 5 6 c. VII 9. For it was a Crime to carry it any other way either in their Hands or drawn in a Cart. Compare 1 Chron. XIII 7. with XV. 15. Ver. 15. And the staves shall be in the rings of the Ark. Continue and remain in the Rings whence they were once put therein They shall not be taken from it When they set down the Ark they were not to take out the staves and put them in again when it was to be carried but let them as was said continue in the rings that there might be no danger of letting them fall which had been a great irreverence and because they would be best preserved and take less harm there than any where else and if they had occasion to remove the Ark suddenly all would be ready and the Levites were hereby kept from touching the Ark or coming nearer to it than the ends of the staves Ver. 16. And thou shalt put into the Ark the testimony which I will give thee The two Tables of Stone containing the Ten Commandments which are called the Testimony and the Two Tables of Testimony XXXI 18. because they testified what the Will of God was which they had consented to observe and were therefore publick authentick Instruments attesting the Covenant between God and them Whence the Ark which contained these is called the Ark of the Testimony as I observed above v. 10. v. 22. and in a great many other places of the XL Chapter And in one place it is called the Testimony XXX 36. and the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD X Deut. 8. because then Ten words were the principal part of the Covenant to which they stood obliged And perhaps the Book of the Covenant which Moses made with them XXIV 7. is comprehended under the name of the Testimony For though we read in 1 Kings VIII 9. there was nothing in the Ark save the two Tables of Stone c. yet the Apostle mentions some other things that were not in yet by or before the Ark IX Hebr. 4. But I assert nothing in this matter And shall only further observe that this direction for putting the Testimony or Tables of Stone into the Ark is given before any order is taken for making a Covering to it which follows after And therefore he was to put in the Law before the Cover was set on For though v. 21. this be mentioned again and put after the Cover is named yet the meaning is that he should set on the Cover having put in the Law And it is repeated that he should be very careful of this because the Cherubims were to protect and defend it Ver. 17. And thou shalt make a Mercy-seat The Hebrew word Capporet litterally signifies a Covering of any thing And that is the proper signification of this Mercy-seat as we translate it which was the Covering of the Ark. For it had no Door but was open at the top so that they might put the Tables of the Covenant into it and then it was to be fastned above by this Cover which any one may discern by its dimensions was exactly fit for it Others will have it called Capporet not from Capar to cover but from Cipper to expiate and render propitious And so indeed the Apostle calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the propitiatory because God here showed himself to be propitious and appeased by the Blood of the Sacrifices which was sprinkled before this place But the reason of this Translation may be because when Sins are pardoned they are said in Scripture to be covered The LXX put both these together in their Translation which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of pure Gold Not of Wood crusted over with Gold but all as Abarbinel speaks of solid Gold because it was the Cover of the Ark in which were the Tables of the Covenant written with God's Finger than which nothing was more precious Two cubits and an half shall be the length thereof c. Which was the length of the Ark v. 10. as the breadth was a Cubit and a half both of that and this Which shows this was the Cover of the Ark being most exactly adapted to it Ver. 18. And thou shalt make two Cherubims of gold We read of Cherubims in the beginning of the World and have good reason to believe thereby is meant Angels See III Gen. 24. But in what shape they appeared we are not told nor is there the least signification of it here in this place but what we can gather from v. 20. So that I can only say this they were of such a shape as the Angelical Ministers appeared in which attended upon the Divine Majesty in the Mount or rather such as god showed Moses a pattern of whereby to represent these heavenly Ministers For both the Ark and all belonging to it were made according to the model God gave him not from any Egyptian pattern as some imagine Bochart seems to me to speak judiciously when he saith they were not Figures of Angels but rather Emblems whereby the Angelical Nature was in some sort expressed Hierozoic P. I. L. 2. c. 25. And were therefore ordered to be made as Maimonides conjectures that the Jews might be confirmed in the belief of the Existence of Angels which is the second Article of their Faith next to the belief of God And he commanded two to be made because if there had been but one it might have led them into a dangerous Errour that this was the Figure of God whereby they might have been inclined to worship it But there being two of them ordered with this Declaration the LORD our God is one God it led them into right thoughts that God had many of these Angelical Ministers Thus he More Nevoch P. III. c. 45. Of beaten
Cubits which was the breadth of this East-end of the Court as well as of the West v. 12 13. Of blue and purple and scarlet c. Concerning all this see XXV 5. and here only observe that the Hangings of the Gate were far richer than of the rest of the Court which were meerly of fine twined Linen v. 9. but these of several other beautiful Colours and adorned with that work which they called Rokem which we translate Needle-work What that was see XXXVIII 39. And their pillars shall be four and their sockets four Proportionable to those on each side of the Gate which were three for Hangings of fifteen Cubits v. 14 15. as these were four for Hangings of twenty Ver. 17. All the Pillars round about the Court shall be filletted with silver Those at the East and West-end as well as those on the South and North-sides Their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of brass As was before directed v. 10 11. Ver. 18. The length of the Court c. Here all the Dimensions of the Court are put together the length and breadth of which might be inferred from the Hangings v. 9 12 c. but here are expresly determined together with the height which was not at all intimated before and now appointed to be five Cubits l. e. two yards and an half of larger measure than ours So that the Tabernacle might be plainly seen by the People for it was as high again as the Walls if I may so call them that incompassed it Of twined Linen and their sockets of brass This seems to be a brief repetition of what was said before concerning the Hangings and the Pillars which stood on Bases of Brass Ver. 19. All the Vessels of the Tabernacle in all the service thereof This is also a repetition in general of what was said before particularly v. 3. for all the Vessels belonging to the Tabernacle it self were of Gold as we read in the XXVth Chapter And all the pins thereof The Tabernacle had nothing of Brass in the Fabrick of it but the Bases of the Pillars at the Entrance XXVI 37. and therefore these Pins I suppose belong to them whereby the Pillars were fastned in their Sockets And all the pins of the Court shall be of brass These brazen Pins were struck into the ground as Dr. Lightfoot understands it that the Hangings which were tied to them by Cords might be kept from flying up at the bottom Ver. 20. And thou shalt command the Children of Israel that they bring thee pure Oyl-olive beaten Not squeezed out by a Press or by a Mill for such was full of Sediment and Dregs but which run freely from the Olives being bruised with a Pestel For the light In the golden Candlestick XXV 37. To cause the Lamp to burn always Sufficient to keep the Lamp always burning Some imagine that it did not burn day and night but being lighted every Evening went out in the Morning And there are some places which seem to favour this Opinion particularly 1 Sam. III. 3. where mention is made of the Lamp going out viz. in the Morning See also 2 Chron. XIII 11. where we read of setting the Lamps to burn every Evening which seems to signisie that they did not burn in the Day But Josephus who was a Priest and could not but know and had no reason to tell a lie saith they burnt Day and Night And indeed it was but necessary for otherwise the Priests must have ministred in the dark at the Altar of Incense before the Divine Majesty Who kept a Table in the Sanctuary which required light for no Body feasts in darkness And therefore R. Levi of Barcelona Praecept XCVIII saith God commanded a Lamp should always burn in the Sanctuary for the Honour and Majesty of it there being no Light conveyed to it otherways But it is highly probable there were not so many of the Lamps burning in the Day as in the Night when all the seven Lamps were lighted some of which were put out in the Morning and lighted again in the Evening So Josephus saith expresly L. III. Antiq. c. 9. Three burnt all Day before the LORD and the rest were lighted in the Evening Ver. 21. In the Tabernacle of the Congregation without the Vail That is the second Vail which was before the most Holy Place Which is before the Testimony That is the Ark of the Testimony See XXV 21 22. Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD As direction is more fully given XXX 7 8. It shall be a Statute for over c. See XXXVIII 43. CHAP. XXVIII Verse 1. AND take thou Aaron thy brother and his sons with him from among the Children of Israel Here Aaron and his Sons are designed to the Priests Office and afterward XXXII 19. the whole Tribe of Levi were Consecrated to the LORD by a noble Act of Zeal which they performed And at last I Numb 51. and many other places it was made Capital for any one else to officiate at the Tabernacle but they only That he may minister unto me Attend on me as my Servant in my Court. For Cohen signifies one that serves in ministerio honorabili in an honourable Office as appears from XII Job 19. Therefore David's Sons are called by this Name 2 Sam. VIII 18. and it was given to the Priests quatenus fuerunt primarij Dei Ministri as they were the principal Ministers of God as Junius observes upon XLI Gen. 45. In the Priests Office Wheresoever there hath been any Religion there have been Priests whose Office it peculiarly was to Minister unto God in the Service belonging to him But this is the first time we read of any Constituted in Israel by a Divine appointment at least the Priesthood was not confined to the particular Family of Aaron who was made High Priest and his Sons Priests of a lower Order Some Heathens imitated this by continuing the Priesthood in a certain Family For Plato says there were in some places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both of Men and Women which in the founding of a City he would not have a Law-giver alter but where there was no such Constitution he would have annual Priests and none but grave Men of 60 years of Age put into the Office L. VI. de Leg. p. 759. Even Aaron Nadab and Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar Aarons sons These were all the Males in this Family at present whose Descendants in future Ages were all Priests Ver. 2. And thou shalt make holy Garments for Aarou thy brother If very good Authors did not affirm it we should scarce think it credible that the Priests among some of the ancient Heathens offered Sacrifices to their Gods naked Particularly the old Arabians as Hottinger observes in his Histor. Orientalis L. I. c. 7. But such filthiness was abhorred by most People whose Priests were not only Clothed but performed their Service at the Altar in a peculiar Habit.
as we may call it which tied his Coat to him and this Girdle which tied the fore-part and hinder-part of the Ephod together It is called the Girdle of the Ephod because it was annexed to those two Clothes and not to the Shoulder-pieces Shall be of the same Or Out of it to signifie that the Girdle was woven together with the Ephod and went out of it So Jarchi and Abarbinel According to the work thereof This signifies it was to be made of the same Matter and woven after the same manner with all the Ornaments of the Ephod it self having all those five Colours in it mentioned v. 4. and here repeated again Ver. 9. And thou shalt take two Onyx-stones Concerning the Onyx-stone see II Gen. 12. And grave on them the names of the Children of Israel The Princes as Abarbinel observes presented Moses with these Stones on which he himself did not engrave the names of the Children of Israel but some person skilful in that Art For it is expresly called v. 11. The work of an Engraver in Stone Ver. 10. Six of their names on one stone and the other six names of the rest on the other stone according to their birth The six eldest on that Stone which was upon the right Shoulder and the six younger on the other upon the left as several of the Hebrew Doctors expound it particularly Jarchi with whom Josephus agrees L. III. Antiq. c. 8. The Talmudists indeed dispose them otherwise but this is most sutable to the word toledoth according to their Generations or their Birth as we render the latter end of the Verse Ver. 11. With the work of an engraver in stone Done with such Art as such Workmen use Like the engravings of a signet The same words are used again v. 36. where he speaks of the Engravings upon the Plate of Gold On which Abarbinel saith the Letters were protuberant as they are upon Coins or upon Wax impressed with a Seal but here on the Ephod and the Breast-plate he thinks the names were cut deep in the Stones as Letters are in a Seal For which I can see no reason the words being the very same and therefore if the Letters were protuberant in the one they were so in the other Thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold The Hebrew word Mischbetzoth which we translate ouches signifies as much as the Latin word funda the socket as I may say wherein the Stones were set Both which made a Button not of a round figure but something like a Lozenge or as Maimonides expresses it like the figure of those holes that are in the Stomach of such Animals as chew the Cud called reticulum See Joh. Braunius de Vest Saer Heby L. I. c. 17. n. 8. By these Buttons the hinder-part of the Ephod was fastned to the fore-part upon the Shoulders and the Breast-plate also hung upon them by golden Chains Ver. 12. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the Ephod for stones of memorial unto the Children of Israel This is explained in the following words that Aaron might bear their Names before the LORD upon his shoulders for a memorial That is might remember to recommend the XII Tribes of Israel unto God when he offered Incense and made his Prayers before him Or for a Token that he appeared before God in the Name of the whole People of Israel Others will have this Memorial refer to God before whom he presented himself that he might be gracious unto his People when the High Priest came thus attired according to his own order to pray for them with assurance that he would be mindful of them all And to this the 29th Verse seems to incline where the same is said to be the intention of engraving their Names upon the XII Stones on the Breast-plate See XXXIX 7. Ver. 13. And thou shalt make ouches of gold See v. 11. where the word Misohbetzoth is explained Ver. 14. And two chains of pure gold at the ends c. These Chains did not consist of many little rings but of many threds or wires of Gold twisted together like a Rope For which reason Moses adds of wreathen work shalt thou make them This Bartenora takes to be the meaning of the word migbaloth which we translate at the ends which he expounds Cords or Cables They were not saith he like to those Iron Chains wherewith Prisoners are bound consisting of several Joynts but twisted of Golden threds till they were as thick as Cords Others think migbaloth signifies equal because they were of an equal thickness or of an equal length But our Translation also may be defended for the ends of them were annexed to the Rings of the Breast-plate v. 24. But as these Chains were annexed at one end to the Rings of the Breast-plate so at the other end they were annexed to the Golden Buttons upon the Shoulders so that the Breast-plate hung upon the Golden Buttons by the Chains And fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches Moses only briefly mentions the two Chains in this place to signifie that the Ouches in the Ephod served for the support of the Breast-plate by these two Chains which properly belonged to that and not to the Ephod as Jarchi observes And therefore after directions for the Breast-plate which here follow they are again spoken of in their proper place v. 22. As v. 27. there are two golden Rings spoken of which belong to the Ephod but not mentioned till then because by these Rings the Breast-plate and Ephod were knit together Ver. 15. And thou shalt make the Breast-plate Next after the Ephod directions is given for the Choschen which we translate Breast-plate taking it I suppose to come from the Hebrew word Chazeh which signifies the Breast For by the change of a Letter which is not unusual Choschen may well be thought to come from thence because it lay upon the Breast and covered it Of Judgment For the Priest wore it when he went to consult the Divine Majesty about the great Concerns of their Religion or Government and received such Answers as directed them what to determine in dubious Cases either in War or Peace See v. 29. With cunning work See v. 6. After the work of the Ephod thou shalt make it c. It was to be made of the same Materials with the Ephod and with the same Artifice as it here follows Ver. 16. Four-square shall it be being doubled The words are in the Hebrew four-square shall it be doubled Which are to be thus understood that the whole Piece was not square till it was doubled So Maimonides It was a Cubit long i. e. two Spans and its breadth a Span but being doubled it was a square of a Span both in length and in breadth From whence it follows that it was hollow so that it may be compared to one of our Purses only it doth not appear whether it were sewed together at the sides or on one
thereof unto the rings of the Ephod with a lace of blue that it may be above the curious girdle of the Ephod A blue Lace or Ribbon being put through the two lower Rings of the Breast-plate and then through the Rings of the Ephod they by it were tied together a little above the girdle of the Ephod And that the Breast-plate be not loosed from the Ephod And thus being joyned they were not to be separated one from another no not out of the time of Ministration but always continued so fast together that the Ephod could not be put on without the Breast-plate Thus Maimonides and the Gemara c. 7. of Joma If any one remove the Breast-plate from the Ephod or the Staves from the Ark he shall receive forty stripes Ver. 29. And Aaron shall bear the names of the Children of Israel in the Breast-plate of Judgment upon his heart Appear in the Name of the whole People of Israel to beg direction of God in all difficult Cases When he goeth in unto the holy place Where with his Face toward the Ark where the Divine Glory sate he prayed to God for them For a memorial before the LORD continually That God might remember them when he remembred him daily of the Promises made to them and to their Forefathers Which in Scripture phrase denotes God's gracious hearing his Prayers when he addressed himself unto him in the manner he required For then he is said to remember his People when he granted their Desires and they remembred him when they did as he bad them Ver. 30. And thou shalt put in the Breast-plate of Judgment It is called both here and in the fore-going Verse the Breast-plate of Judgment not only for the reason there named but because the High Priest nay the whole Body of the Priests but he especially sate as a Judge to determine several Controversies as appears from many places X Lev. 11. XVII Deut. 8 9. XIX 7. XXXIII 8. 2 Chron. XV. 3. c. The Vrim and the Thummim There is not the least intimation any where what these were nor any direction given to Moses for the making of them as there is for the rest of the Priestly Attire Which may incline one to conclude one of these two things either that they were things delivered to Moses by God himself as the two Tables of Stone were or that they are not things different from the precious Stones before-mentioned But if the former of these were true I should think it would have been as plainly mentioned that God delivered these unknown things to him as that he did the two Tables of Stone The other hath something in the Scripture to countenance it For in the XXXIX Chapter of this Book where Moses sets down the making of all those things which are here ordered he mentions only the four rows of Stones in the same manner as he doth here but saith not a word of putting the Vrim and Thummim in the Breast-plate though he spake particularly of other things even of the Rings and the Chains and the Lace whereby it was tied to the Ephod And on the other side when he speaks of habiting Aaron with all these Vestments in order to his Consecration he only saith VIII Lev. 8. that he put the Breast-plate upon him also he put in the Breast-plate the Vrim and the Thummim but saith not a word of the four rows of Stones For which it is hard to give a reason unless it be because the Vrim and the Thummim were one and the same thing with the XII precious Stones So that it was indifferent whether he said Vrim and Thummim were put into the Breast-plate or the XII precious Stones which are the only things in all this description of the holy Vestments that can be thought to be Vrim and Thummim And indeed there being such a particular direction for every thing else and also a description of their form and fashion as that the Chains should be of wreathen work one cannot but think there would have been something said of these if they had been distinct from what was mentioned before Mr. Mede indeed thinks that nothing is said concerning them because they were things well known to the Patriarchs But this is well confuted lately by another great Man Dr. Pocock in his late learned Commentary upon the Prophet Hosea pag. 149. unto which I refer the Reader because I have other things to note and would not willingly enlarge too much on this Subject As for that which some have said concerning two little Images or Representations of Angels which were put in the hollow of the Breast-plate I see no foundation for such a Conceit One may better say that these two words Vrim and Thummim were written or wrought on the Breast-plate signifying that from hence they should receive the clearest and most perfect Resolution of all their Doubts And of this opinion was R. Asaria in his Meor Enajim c. 46. But if we take the former to be the truer Account that he only repeats what he said before as he doth what he had said of the Rings belonging to the Breast-plate v. 14 22. then the meaning is that the XII Stones should be the most sparkling and most perfect in their kind that could be got for Vrim all acknowledge signifies Fires or Illuminations and Thummim the greatest Perfection and that all belonging to the Breast-plate the Square stuff the Stones engraved the Rings the Chains and Lace should be prepared and made ready before they were set in the Breast-plate And of this opinion that the precious Stones were the Vrim and the Thummim were Josephus and the Talmudick Doctors who therein I take it were in the right though they do not give a likely account how the mind of God was declared by them And they shall be upon Aaron 's heart So it is said concerning the Names of the Children of Israel v. 29. which were engraven on the XII Stones and seems to confirm the fore-going Interpretation When he goeth in before the LORD To minister unto the Divine Majesty and to enquire of him which he did in the Holy Place standing with his Face towards the Ark in the Holy of Holies Into which he went only once a year upon a particular Business to expiate the Sins of the People and had not on these glorious Robes here mentioned but was only clothed in fine Linen as we read XVI Lev. And therefore it is strange that Buxtorf should say he went into the Sanctum Sanctorum with the Vrim and Thummim to enquire of God See his History of them cap. 1. where he alledges this Verse for it and cap. 3. And Aaron shall bear the Judgment of the Children of Israel By Judgment is here meant the Breast-plate of Judgment as it is called when he begins to speak of it v. 15. and in the fore-going Verse just as the Ark of the Testimony is sometimes called the Testimony Or else the meaning is that
Evening before The dressing of them as the Hebrews describe it consisted in cleansing the Snuff-dishes and snuffing those Lamps they found burning and supplying them with new Oyl and in putting new Cotton as we now speak and Oyl into those that were gone out and lighting them at some of the Lamps which still continued burning He shall burn Incense upon it The manner of it is described by Dr. Lightfoot in his Temple Service Chap. 9. Sect. 5. Ver. 8. And when Aaron lighteth the Lamps at even See concerning this XXVII 20. He shall burn Incense upon it As he did in the Morning A perpetual Incense In the same sense that the Morning and Evening Sacrifice is called a continual Burnt-offering XXIX 38 42. this is called perpetual Incense because it was never intermitted twice a day And one reason why it was thus continually burnt was because of the vast number of Beasts that were slain and cut to pieces and washt and burnt every day at the Sanctuary which would have made it smell like a Shambles as Maimonides speaks if this sweet Odour had not perfumed it and the Garments of the Priests who there ministred Whence saith he that Speech of our Rabbins This sweet Odour might be smelt as far as Jericho Whereby the Reverence due to God's House was preserved which would have been contemptible if there had been an ill smell constantly in it as he truly observes More Nevoch P. III. c. 45. Before the LORD For this Altar stood right over against the Mercy-seat v. 6. Throughout your Generations In all future Ages Ver. 9. Ye shall offer no strange Incense thereon None but that which by God's own order is directed to be made in the latter end of this Chapter Nor Burnt-sacrifice nor Meat-offering neither shall ye pour Drink-offering thereon There was another Altar appointed without the Holy Place for all these which as they might not be offered any where else so this Altar was appropriated for an Offering more grateful than all their Burnt-sacrifices or Meat and Drink-offerings So Porphyry seems to have learnt from this place for he was acquainted with these Books It is most sit to worship the Gods with Incense both because it is more grateful and also more pure than an Hecatomb for Blood doth not at all delight the Gods Accordingly we find in XVI Numb 46 47. that the wrath of God was appeased when it broke out in a Plague upon the People meerly by offering Incense whereby he is said to make an atonement for them Ver. 10. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the Sin-offering of atonement Only once a year the Blood of that great Sin-offering which was made for the general Atonement of the People was to be put upon the Horns of this Altar though no Sacrifice might be burnt upon it Once in the year Upon the great Day of Expiation which was the tenth day of the seventh Month when the High Priest was first to go with the Blood of the Sin-offering into the most Holy Place and sprinkle it before the Mercy-seat and then come out into the Sanctuary and there put the Blood upon the Horns of this Altar and sprinkle it upon it also with his Finger seven times as we read XVI Lev. 18 19. Shall he make atonement upon it The Atonement mentioned so often in this Verse seems to relate to the Altar it self as it is explained XVI Lev. 18. which was hereby cleansed from the Impurities which it was supposed to have contracted by the Sins of those who constantly officiated there It is most holy unto the LORD This may be meant of that Solemn Expiation upon the Day of Atonement which was the most holy Rite in all their Religion for that Sacrifice is called by the peculiar Name of the Sin-offering of Atonement or Expiation XXIX Numb 11. Or it may be expounded of this Altar it self which by this was declared to be separated to the most holy Service in which none should presume to officiate but they who were thereunto consecrated Which was the reason of the heavy Punishment upon King Vzziah for attempting that which belonged to the Priests only as we read 2 Chron. XXVI 18 19 20. Ver. 11. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying This is often repeated in this Chapter v. 17 22 34. and in the next to show that God did not deliver all his Precepts to Moses in the Mount without intermission but gave him some time to rest and then spake to him again Ver. 12. When thou takest the sum of the Children of Israel after their number This was done twice by God's own order Numb I. and XXVI From whence it doth not follow that it could not be done lawfully without a special Command for there might be reasonable Causes why the Rulers of the People might think fit to order them to be numbred especially in time of War The reason why this is here mentioned seems to be because besides the Offerings made voluntarily XXV 2. every Man also paid half a Shekel towards the building of the Tabernacle and providing all the Furniture of it for which directions had been given in the foregoing Chapters This appears from XXXVIII 25 26. They shall give every man a ransom for his soul This was an homage whereby they acknowledged they were God's redeemed ones and whereby they also preserved their Lives which were in danger if they did not pay it Vnto the LORD To be imployed about his House That there be no Plague among them c. Which God might have justly inflicted if they had not made him this Acknowledgment for increasing and multiplying them according to his Promise Ver. 13. This shall they give half a shekel A Shekel wanted not much of our half Crown See XXIII Gen. 15. and Bishop Cumberland's Treatise of Scripture Weights and Measures Chap. 4. After the shekel of the sanctuary There the Standard was kept by which such money was to be examined as Justinian commanded the Weights and Measures whereby all others were to be regulated to be kept in the great Church of every City For I see no reason to think that there were two sorts of Shekels among the Jews one Sacred and the other Common but much reason against it for a Shekel of the Sanctuary which is the Rule of the rest XXVII Lev. 25. was in value but twenty gerahs which is the same with aguroth 1 Sam. II. 36. and is by the LXX translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD This was a Tax which was continued in following times for the Reparation of the Tabernacle and afterwards of the Temple XVII Matth. 24. For Cicero in his Oration pro Flacco speaks of Gold sent every year in the Name of the Jews out of Italy and all the Provinces to Jerusalem which Mr. Selden thinks was this half Shekel paid for the maintaining the Publick Sacrifices
and such like Uses Lib. II. de Jure N. G. c. 8. And he shows L. IV. c. 5. out of the Misna in the Title Siklim and other Authorities That on the first day of the Month Adar men were appointed to sit in every City of Judea to receive this Payment Which is the Tribute mentioned by Titus in his Oration to the Jews wherein he puts them in mind how kind he had been to them in permitting them to take Tribute and to gather Gifts for God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Josephus L. VI. Halos c. 34. Ver. 14. Every one that passeth among them that are numbred from twenty years old and above shall give an offering unto the LORD Every Man was bound to offer whether Priest or Levite Israelite or Stranger except Women Servants and such as were under Age. Yet if any one of these did make a voluntary offering it was accepted only from a Gentile who was an Idolater they would not accept it as Maimonides tells us See Selden L. III. de Jure N. G. c. 4. p. 291. Ver. 15. The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel They were all equally concerned in this Tax being for the support of the daily weekly monthly and annual Sacrifices and for the providing Salt and Wood and the Shew-bread c. whereby all Israel came to have an interest in whatsoever was done at the House of God all the year long The Priestly Garments also were provided out of this Money and other things belonging to the Divine Service and to the Reparations of the House of God See Mr. Selden L. III. de Synedr c. 10. n. 2 3 4. Where he shows That if any thing remained in the end of the year after all these Charges defrayed it was spent in extraordinary Burnt-offerings which were called the second Sacrifices of the Altar When they give an offering unto the LORD to make an atonement for your souls Whence this Money is called in the next Verse Keseph Hakippurim the Money of Expiations Which made every Man though never so poor endeavour to raise it though he sold his Clothes to get it And he that failed to pay this Tribute was separated from the Congregation and not comprehended in the Expiation as R. Levi of Barcelona speaks Praecept CV that is was not partaker of the benefit of the Expiatory Sacrifices Ver. 16. And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the Children of Israel and shalt appoint it for the service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation See the Verse foregoing and X Nehem. 32 33. where we read of Ordinances made to charge themselves with the third part of a shekel for the fore-mentioned uses because the Expences were then so great that half a Shekel was not sufficient to maintain them That it may be a memorial for the Children of Israel before the LORD to make an atonement for their souls A Testimony of their Gratitude to God who graciously accepted this Acknowledgment of him and spared their Lives which by their Sins they had forfeited this being a Propitiation for them because it purchased Propitiatory Sacrifices to be offered on their behalf Ver. 17. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying See v. 11. Ver. 18. Thou shalt also make a laver of brass There is nothing said either here or XXXVIII 8. concerning the form or the bigness of it But we may probably think that though Solomon made a Sea of Brass much bigger than this Vessel which was to be carried about with them in their Travels in the Wilderness yet he made it of the same form and that was Circular as we read 2 Chron. IV. 2 3 c. And after their return from the Captivity of Babylon the Laver was restored as L'Empereur observes out of Maimonides in his Annotations on Codex Midoth c. 3. sect 6. but there is nothing to be found in the Talmudists concerning its Dimensions And his foot also of brass The Basis of it was so contrived as to receive the Water which run out of the Laver at certain Spouts To wash withal At those Spouts the Priests washed their hands and their feet before they entred upon their Ministration For if they had put their hands and feet into the Laver the Water in it would have been defiled by the first Man that washed therein And the Sea of Brass made by Solomon was so high that they could not put their feet into it And thou shalt put it between the Tabernacle of the Congregation and the Altar It stood according to the Talmudists between the Porch of the Temple and the Altar and consequently in the Tabernacle at the entrance of it but a little on the South-side and not just before the Altar That is it was placed like our Fonts which stand at the lower end of our Churches towards the Door So that the Priests coming into the Court immediately went to the Laver and there washed and then ascended to the Altar And thou shalt put water therein The Heathens were so Superstitious as to think there was a greater virtue in some Waters than in others for their lustration particularly the Greeks as Fort. Scacchus observes would admit of no other Water in some of their greatest Solemnities but that from the Fountain Calliroho But the Divine Institution was more simple requiring meerly Spring-water for all manner of Purifications only this Water here mentioned was put into a Vessel sanctified by a solemn Unction XL. 11. Ver. 19. For Aaron and his Sons shall wash their hands and their feet therein Which that it might be done more conveniently the Talmudists tell us there were twelve Spouts or Cocks in the form of a Womans Breast whence they call them Paps or Dugs to let the Water out of the Laver so that the twelve Priests who attended upon the daily Sacrifice might wash there all together See L'Empereur in the place above-named where he treats at large of this and of the Conveyance of Water into the Laver which in the Tabernacle at least while they were in the Wilderness was brought thither every day in other Vessels and put into it according to the Direction in the Conclusion of the foregoing Verse Every one knows that the Gentiles took great care of washing their hands before they sacrificed as appears by many places in Homer to name no other Authors who in the first Book of his Iliads speaking of the great Sacrifice that was preparing to be offered for the appeasing of Apollo saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon which words Eustathius observes it was the ancient custom before they sacrificed to wash their hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for none but those who were clean and pure might meddle with sacred things And again in the third Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They poured Water upon the hands of the Kings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Eustathius as being about to Sacrifice But I do not find in any Author that
Solomon was 1 Kings I. 39. though we may doubt of David when he was anointed King of Judah 2 Sam. II. 4. which was I suppose by a special direction of the Prophets that the People might look upon them as sacred Persons and special Ministers of God for their good The Jews also will have it that he whom they call the anointed of War that is say the Jews the Priest mentioned XX Deut. 2. but I should rather think the General who commanded their Forces in any sudden danger was anointed also with this Oyl that he might be inspired with Courage when he fought as a sacred Person So that they interpret the first words of the foreging Verse upon mans flesh shall it not be poured in this sense None shall be anointed with it but the High Priest the anointed of War and the Kings of the House of David For the Kings of Israel were not anointed with it but with simple Balsom as they also tell us Ver. 34. And the LORD said unto Moses take unto thee sweet Spices There are the same words here in the Hebrew that we had before v. 23. save only that there he saith Take to the Besammim with the addition of Rosch principal or most excellent and here take to the Samim which we translate sweet Spices How these two differ Interpreters of all sorts extreamly vary But they both seem to be general words which contain the following Species under them and Samim to signifie Spices of less value than Besamim The latter of which denotes such Spices as were either liquid or most proper to mix with Oyl and other liquid things to give them a fragrancy as Fort. Scacchus thinks who hath discussed these two words with great diligence in his Elaeochrism Myroth P. II. c. 7. Stacte The Hebrew word signifies something that drops which some have taken for Balsom but the LXX translate it as we do and Salmasius hath shown that it is the liquid part of Myrrhe not which slows of it self which drops from it when it is pressed out by Art See Plin. Exercit. p. 520. The same Fort. Scacchus c. 8. observes out of Dioscorides who calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the most unctuous part of fresh Myrrhe pressed out with a little Water c. 74. This was used in their Perfumes which the Heathen burnt upon their Altars as appears by that of Euripides in Troad where he mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Onycha The Hebrew word Secheleth is translated by Jonathan Ceseth which the famous Bochartus proves by many Arguments to be ladanum which was one of the principal Aromaticks among the Arabians The Stream of Interpreters indeed carry it for Onycha but are not agreed what that is For some take it for the Hoof or Claw of an Animal as Maimonides others as Jarchi for the Root of a Plant which is smooth and transparent as the Nail of a Man's Hand which the Greeks call Onyx But there are others and more numerous who take it for the shell of a Fish in the Fens of India that are full of Spikenard upon which this Fish feeding it makes the very Shell odoriferous See Hierozoic P. II. Lib. V. cap. ult He observes also P. I. L. III. c. 1. that there was such a Shell-fish in Babylonia which was nearer to the Jews than the Indian The Greeks called it Onyx from the form of it and the Hebrews Secheleth from its colour which was black And Galbanum That which is sold in our Shops is of an offensive smell but there was another in Syria in the Mount Amanus which had an excellent Scent And therefore to distinguish it from ordinary Galbanum there is a word added to it as the Vulgar Latin takes it in which it is called Galbanum boni odoris For that Translation joyns the next word which we translate sweet Spices unto Galbanum as if he had said Aromatick Galbanum With pure Frankincense It was gathered twice in the year in the Spring and in the Autumn and Pliny tells us that gathered in the Autumn was the purest and whitest with which the other that was reddish was not to be compared L. XII c. 14. Every one knows that this was very much used by the Gentiles upon their Altars Of each shall there be a like weight This is the common Interpretation of the Hebrew words and I will not trouble the Reader with any other But we have no certain knowledge what weight this was for I see no Authority for what the Hebrew Doctors say that there was LXX pound of each of these four Spices And they add which makes all they say of this matter questionable that there were also several pounds of Cinamon and Cassia and Crocus in short of XIII several Spices which Josephus L. VI. Haloseos c. 6. assirms were in this Composition Of which Moses they say made in the whole CCCLXVIII pound that is one pound for every day in the year and three for the day of Expiation And accordingly R. Levi Barzelonita saith the Priests made every year as much as would suffice for every day of it and that the ordinary Priests might make it as well as the High Priest Praecept CI. Ver. 35. And thou shalt make it a perfume Some think the last words of the foregoing Verse signifie that each sort of Spices was to be pounded one by one and then they are all ordered here to be put together A Confection after the art of the Apothecary Made with great care and according to this Divine Prescription Thus Plutarch speaking of the Aromatick 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Egyptians which was burnt Morning and Evening on their Altars saith it was not put together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on any fashion or as it hapned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. but the Sacred Books were read to those who compounded it when it was mixed L. de Isid Osiride Tempered together Both the Chaldee and the LXX render this mingled just as Salt is with any thing upon which it is sprinkled Pure Without any other mixture And holy To be used only in the Divine Service For this was one of the most ancient ways of worshipping God the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Sacrifice as Porphyry saith L. II. being derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first Men making a Fume by burning parts of Trees and Shrubs and Seeds and Fruits And the sweeter their scent was the more grateful they fancied the Fume was unto their Gods So that though at first they contented themselves with simple Herbs and Plants and Moses here prescribes only some few Spices fetcht from Foreign Countries yet in after-times they increased them to a greater number for that Aromatick Mixture I mentioned before among the Egyptians called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was a Composition of sixteen things which Plutarch reckons up in the forenamed Book And Sophocles brings in Clytemnestra in his Electr. v. 637. calling for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
Fumes of all sort of Seeds to be offered to Apollo that she might be delivered from her Terrours Ver. 35. And thou shalt beat of it very small Reduce it to powder And put it before the Testimony Burn it upon the Altar of Incense which was placed before the Ark as we read v. 6. This seems to be the meaning and not that he should put it in a Dish upon the Table ready to be burnt for the Table did not stand before the Ark of the Testimony Where I will meet with thee See XXIX 42. It shall be unto you most holy Imployed only in the worship of God before the most Holy Place Ver. 36. And as for the persume which thou shalt make c. Or rather And the persume which thou shalt make you shall not make to your selves according to the composition thereof For any private use which is imported in these words to your selves It shall be unto thee holy for the LORD Intirely separated to the Divine Worship and therefore not to be touched by any but the Priests and that when they ministred in the Sanctuary before the Mercy-seat Ver. 38. Whosoever shall make like unto that to smell thereto For his own pleasure See v. 33. R. Levi of Barcelona hath well explained this No Man was to make this Composition with the same Spices and the same weight and with an intention to burn it So he interprets those words to smell thereto that is to make a Persume with it by burning it Praecept CXI yet if any Man as Maimonides observes did smell this Perfume but did not make it he was not guilty of being cut off Shall even be cut off from his People See v. 33. Their opinion is not improbable who think by this is meant not only the Excision of the Transgressor but of his whole Race none of which should remain to keep up his Name in Israel By which severe threatning the People were deterred from prophaning these holy Things CHAP. XXXI Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying After all the foregoing Directions from the XXVth Chapter unto this in which as I said before XXX 11 one may well think there was some intermission the LORD proceeded to give Moses this following Information to incourage him to go about this work Ver. 2. See I have called Be not solicitous where thou shalt find Workmen who have skill enough to make all the things which I have commanded for I have taken care of that and pitcht upon one who shall be the chief Director of the whole business By name Made a particular choice of one Man above all others whom I have designed for this Work It appears by other places that this Phrase to call him by name gives Bazaleel the pre-eminence above all other Artisicers See XXXIII 12 17. where he saith the same of Moses and XLV Isa 3. where he saith it of Cyrus Bazaleel the son of Uri See 1 Chron. II. 18 19 20. Though he was particularly chosen and sitted for this Work yet there was another joyned with him to be his Assistant v. 6. Which two did not do all the Work with their own Hands as appears from XXVIII 3. where he speaks of many Persons endowed with extraordinary Skill but they were the principal Artists and the chief Directors and Overseers of the Work And therefore after the mention of Aholiab v. 6. he speaks also of others into whose hearts he had put Wisdom to do all that he commanded The son of Hur of the Tribe of Judah This Hur is thought by some to have been the Husband of Miriam the Sister of Moses See XVII 10. And then the observation of Abarbinel is not impertinent that God did the more particularly declare his choice of Bezaleel and Moses the more punctually remember it to take away all Exceptions from the Israelites who might have been apt to think that Moses had too much regard to his own Kindred if he had appointed him to be the chief Governour of this Work without the special Call of God unto it For thus they might have cavilled as some of them did afterward in part he makes himself King and Aaron his Brother High-Priest and now delivers into the Hands of his Nephew all the Oblations and Collections that have been made for the Tabernacle For which there could be no colour after God had solemnly declared it was done by his special Order He adds also which is not so justifiable that there was a strife among the Israelites who should undertake this Work for which though Moses knew the fitness of Bezaleel yet he durst not mention him for fear they should think him partial till God commanded him saying Do not regard what the People say for thou and they all shall see that he is chosen by me and not by thee unto this Work for I will give him extraordinary Wisdom c. Ver. 3. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God i. e. With an excellent Spirit or with Divine Inspiration Which was but necessary because the Hebrews being long kept in slavery under the Egyptians cannot be supposed to have been bred up to the Learning of those ingenious Arts mentioned in the next Verses For they were acquainted only with the making of Bricks during that heavy Servitude and therefore God instructed several Men particularly Bezaleel in those Arts which they had no Master to teach them and which their natural Genius though never so great could not attain especially on a sudden without Inspiration In wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge Here Wisdom Understanding and Knowledge do not signifie as they do in other places particularly in the Proverbs and in XI Isaiah 2. where the Messiah is said to be filled with the Spirit of Wisdom and Vnderstanding and the Spirit of Knowledge but skill in the Arts of Ingraving and Setting Jewels and Weaving and Needle-work c. How Wisdom differs from Vnderstanding and from Knowledge is not much material they may be many words used only to express their Skill in all sorts of Arts that might make them accomplished Workmen as it follows in the later end of the Verse to work in all manner of Workmanship They that would see how the Hebrews distinguish them may look into Paulus Fagius upon the place or Buxtorf's Historia Arcae c. 2. n. 3. Ver. 4. To devise cunning works c. There are two things required in an excellent Artist good Invention and Ability to do what he hath contrived The first of these seem to be intended in this Verse and the other in the next together with a dexterity to teach other Artificers who were to be employed under Bezaleel and Aholiab Ver. 5. And in cutting of stone c. There were no Stones imployed about the Tabernacle and therefore this must be meant of cutting and setting the precious Stones mentioned Chap. XXVIII and in graving on them what God commanded v. 11 21. And in carving of Timber We do
Synedris c. 6. The sense is this in short He that violates a Negative Precept as they call it either doth it secretly which is most frequent or openly which happens seldom unless a Man be one of those profligate Wretches whom we call Apostates Now him that secretly brake the Sabbath the Scripture threatens with cutting off viz. by the hand of God according to what is written here in this place In like manner incestuous and unlawful Conjunctions are threatned XVIII Lev. 29. because they were wont to be committed secretly But if any Man did any Work openly on the Sabbath so that there were Witnesses of it he was to be stoned according to what is said XV Numb 35. Though if he did it out of mistake either secretly or openly he was only to bring a Sacrifice for his Errour And if he offended against any of the Decrees of the Wise-men about the Sabbath he was to be beaten Or if there was no Court of Judgment in the place as now in their present Condition then all such Transgressors were left to God to punish them of whatsoever sort they were Ver. 15. Six days may work be done but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest holy to the LORD So it is called also XXXV 2. and XXIII Lev. 3. And so the Sabbath wherein the Land rested is likewise called XXV Lev. 4. But the Hebrew words Schabbat Schabbaton Sabbath of Rest properly signifies Sabbath above all Sabbaths i. e. the greatest Sabbath on which a rest was to be most punctually observed from all manner of Work which the Jews as de Dieu notes call the weighty Sabbath as if other days of rest were but light in comparison with this According to that saying of R. Josee Great is Circumcision because the weighty Sabbath gives place to it that is admits of this Work though the Rest on this Sabbath be so very great Shall surely be put to death As an Idolater who did not acknowledge the Creator of the World See before v. 14. Ver. 16. Wherefore the Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their Generation for a perpetual Covenant The most litteral Interpretation of this Verse seems to me to be that of Lud. de Dieu The Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath by making the Sabbath a perpetual Covenant throughout their Generations That is by never suffering it to be interrupted they made it a perpetual Covenant between God and them throughout all Ages Ver. 17. It is a sign between me and the Children of Israel for ever A Badge and Livery that they were the Servants of the most High who made the Heavens and Earth A Mark of their being devoted to him and continuing in Covenant with him no less than Circumcision For in six days the LORD made Heaven and Earth In memory of which the Sabbath was first instituted to preserve perpetually and establish that most precious History and Doctrine of the Creation of the World as Maimonides speaks More Nevoch P. III. c. 43. And on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed Delighted in the Contemplation of all his Works which he saw were very good I Gen. 31. The same Maimonides observes that the word jinnaphash which we translate was refreshed comes from nephesh which among other things signifies the intention of the Mind and the Will and therefore the sense of this Phrase is All the Will of God was perfected and brought to a Conclusion his whole good Pleasure was absolutely finished on the seventh day More Nevoch P. I. c. 67. Ver. 18. And he gave unto Moses when he made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai When he dismissed him having said all that is before related during his forty days stay with him in the Mount he delivered unto him two Tables of Testimony to carry down with him to the People Two Tables of Testimony Wherein God testified to them his Mind and Will in the principal things which concerned their Duty See XVI 34. Tables of stone That what was written upon them might be more durable There is no ground to think that these Tables were made of some precious Stone as the Author of the Book Cosri and other Jews fancy for the word Eben in the Hebrew simply signifies any sort of Stone and is wont to have some other joyned to it when precious Stones are meant as in 2 Sam. XII 30. 1 Kings X. 2. 2 Chron. III. 6. Written with the finger of God i. e. By God himself Just as the Heavens saith Maimonides are said to be the work of his fingers VIII Psal 4. which he interprets in another place XXXIII 6. By the word of the LORD were the Heavens made Therefore written by the singer of God is as much saith he as by the word that is the Will and good Pleasure of God More Nevoch P. I. c. 66. In short this Phrase signifies that God employed neither Moses nor any other Instrument in this Writing but it was done by his own powerful Operation For all things that we do being wrought by our hands and our fingers these words are used to express God's power See XXXII 16. This was a thing so notorious in ancient times and so much believed by those who were not Jews that many other Nations pretended to the like Divine Writings that they might gain the greater Authority to their Laws Thus the Brachmans report in their Histories That the Book of their Law which they call Caster was delivered by God to Bremavius upon a Mount in a Cloud and that God gave also another Book of Laws to Brammon in the first Age of the World The Persians say the same of those of Zoroaster and the Getes of Xamolxis Nay the Brachmans have a Decalogue like this of Moses and accurate Interpretations of it in which they say there is this Prophecy That one day there shall be one Law alone throughout the World This evidently shows how well the World was anciently acquainted with these Books of Moses and what a high esteem they had of them See Huetius L. II. Alnetan Quaest c. 12. n. 19. CHAP. XXXII Verse 1. AND when the People Not the whole Body of the Congregation but so many of them that the rest durst not appear to oppose their desires Saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the Mount The Jews fancy that he stayed beyond the time that he had appointed for his return to them But that is not likely for he himself was not told how long God would detain him there See XXIV 14. The meaning therefore is that he stayed longer than they expected so that they did not know what to think of it And having as yet received no Directions about the Service of God for which they were called out of Egypt VII 16. and other places they thought it was time to desire Aaron to set about it in such a way as other People served their Gods The people gathered themselves
presently when I have noted that this Translation fashioned it with a graving Tool is not so agreeable to what here follows as another which the Hebrew words will as well bear After he had made it a molten Calf The words in the Hebrew are and he made it c. we translate them after c. to make this agree with what goes before according to our Translation he fashioned it with a graving Tool which may as litterally be translated he bound them up in a bag For we find the word jatzar which we here translate fashioned to have the signification also of binding or tying up and cheret in the Plural Number to signifie a bag 2 Kings V. 23. And thus the Prophet Isaiah as Bochart observes describes the making of Images XLVI 6. they lavish Gold out of the Bag and they make it a God Which agrees with what is here said of Aaron He received the Ear-rings and put them in a Bag and then having made a Mold cast them into it and made a golden Calf See v. 24. A molten Calf So he calls it because it was no bigger than a Calf though the Head was like an Ox and therefore as I observed before so called by the Psalmist What moved Aaron to represent God in this sigure is hard to resolve Most think he imitated the Egyptians among whom he had long lived which seems not to me at all likely since he had seen the Judgment that God executed against all their Gods XII 12. yet so great a Man as J. Gerh. Vossius hath taken a great deal of pains to prove that Joseph was adored by them under the Name of Apis and Serapis and that his Symbol was an Ox. This he hath laboured to support by many ingenious Conjectures But it is not likely if he were thus publickly honoured as a God that a King should arise who knew not Joseph i. e. had no regard to him I Exod. 8. and another succeed him who endeavoured to ruin all his Kindred The Worship of Serapis also was not so ancient for Herodotus saith not a word of it nor any Body else till the time of Alexander the Great and many Authors say it was brought into Egypt out of Pontus by Ptolomy See Bochartus in his Hierozoic P. I. p. 338. And though Apis was more ancient yet not of such antiquity as Moses as a very learned Person of our own Dr. Tenison now Archbishop of Canterbury hath shown in his Book of Idolatry Chap. VI. Part 4 5 c. And as for Osiris both Plutarch and Strabo say he was the same with Apis which was not then known as I have said in Egypt no more than Typhus or Typhon whom Philo thinks to be here intended but was certainly a later Invention and as Bochartus imagines represented Moses himself though very much disguised Cuperus indeed hath made it probable in his Harpocrates p. 83 c. that there was a Serapis worshipped in Egypt before that brought out of Pontus But whether it be so or no I do not take it to be at all material because it is not likely that Aaron would make such a Representation of the Divinity as was in use among them from whose Slavery God had lately deliver'd them For how could he think the LORD to whom he proclaimed a Feast would be pleased to be represented by any of those Idols on whom as I said before he had executed Judgment at their departure out of Egypt Or what reason is there to think the Israelites themselves could be inclined to think their God to be like any thing which that People worshipped who abhorred the Sacrifices which the God of Israel required Their Conjecture seems to me far more likely who think that Aaron in making this Calf took his pattern from some part of the SCHECHINAH which appeared to him and the Elders of Israel when they eat before God XXIV 10. attended with the Angels Some of which called Cherubim they think appeared with the faces of Oxen. But as there is no mention in that place of Cherubims nor of the Angels appearing in any shape whatsoever and Moses expresly saith the Israelites saw no manner of Similitude on the day when the LORD spake to them in Horeb IV Deut. 15. and therefore Aaron and the Elders in all probability saw none afterward so I think there is no evidence that the heavenly Ministers at any time appeared in this shape till the SCHECHINAH departed from the Temple in the days of Ezekiel See XXV 18 20. After all this considered Aaron seems to me to have chosen an Ox to be the Symbol of the Divine Presence in hope the People would never be so sottish as to worship it but only be put in mind by it of the Divine Power which was hereby represented For an Oxes head was anciently an Emblem of Strength and Horns a common sign of Kingly Power So they were among the Phoenicians as Pignorius observes in his Mensa Isiaca p. 15. out of Eusebius his Praepar Evang. L. I. cap. ult and among the Egyptians as Diodorus Siculus relates L. I. and among the Romans as appears by that famous story of Genucius Cipus in Val. Maximus L. V. c. 6. who when he was Praetor had Horns come out of his Head on a sudden as he was going out of the City to the Wars whereupon he was told Regem eum fore si in Vrbem revertisset That he should be a King if he returned into the City And something like it is related by Julius Capitolinus concerning Clodius Albinus at whose Birth a Cow brought forth a Calf with purple Horns which they lookt upon as signum Imperij a Token of Empire Which made the ancient Fathers perhaps when they spake of this Calf or Ox of Aarons mention only its Head For so doth Tertullian L. ad versus Judaeos c. 1. cum processisset eis bubulum caput and St. Cyprian Lactantius St. Hierom St. Ambrose and others Not because they thought Aaron made only the Head but because this was the principal part whereby God was represented And they said The People cried out aloud These be thy Gods O Israel Or as Nehemiah expresses it IX 18. This is thy God c. the Image or Symbol of the Divine Majesty or as Abulensis interprets it His Divine Vertue resideth in this golden Body The Plural Number is commonly used for the Singular especially when God is spoken of as I observed before XX Gen. 13. XXXV 7. 2 Sam. VII 23. Which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt This shows they lookt upon this Ox only as a Representation of the Almighty LORD their God for it being but newly made they could not imagine they were brought by it from the Egyptian Slavery but by his Power which perhaps they fancied now resided in it Ver. 5. And when Aaron saw it he built an Altar before it As at the Peoples request he made it so he seeing them receive it with
fell into such foul practices which were not at first committed among the Heathen Nor is there any signification of it in this story but only of their singing and dancing v. 18 19. accompanied it is likely with Musick which Philo indeed calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unseemly Dances but that was only I suppose because they were in honour of a Calf Nor did the Gentiles themselves as I said run at first into such excess of Riot as Athenaeus observes L. VIII Deipnosoph where in the Conclusion of it he describes all the City full of the noise of Pipes and Cymbals and Drums and the voice of those that sung in a great Festival and thence takes occasion to remember that the Ancients observing what a great inclination People had to Pleasure took care they might enjoy it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 orderly and decently by setting apart certain Times to entertain them with it When in the first place they Sacrificed to their Gods and then were left to take their Ease that every one believing the Gods came to their Sacrifices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 might behave themselves at such Meetings with Modesty and Reverence For we are ashamed saith he to speak or do any thing unseemly before a grave Person and therefore supposing the Gods to be nigh them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they passed their Festival days in ancient times decently and soberly And so he proceeds to show how much the World was altered in his time when nothing but mad revelling was to be seen on such occasions He observes it also as a sign of the ancient modesty at these Feasts that they did not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lye along 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they sat down to eat and drink as the Israelites here did Ver. 7. And the LORD said unto Moses go get thee down He had dismissed him before having done communing with him XXXI 18. and now sends him away from the Mount in some haste at the end of the XL days mentioned XXIV ult For thy People which thou broughtest out of Egypt These words are generally lookt upon as God's abandoning the Israelites and disowning them to be his People But then they would not have been Moses his People neither but utterly destroyed v. 10. Therefore the true meaning is explained by St. Stephen who calls Moses their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deliverer VII Acts 35. because by his hand God redeemed them and in that regard they became his People Have corrupted themselves He doth not mention Aaron though he was very angry with him also IX Deut. 20. because the People were the beginners of the Revolt and he complyed with them out of fear Ver. 8. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them It was not much above six Weeks since they heard God charge them in a terrible manner not to worship any Image XX. 4. and they solemnly promised to do whatsoever Moses commanded them from God v. 19. immediately after which this Command is in a peculiar manner repeated v. 23. Ye shall not make with me Gods of Silver neither shall ye make unto you Gods of Gold Which with all the rest of his Judgments they covenanted also to observe XXIV 3 8. And therefore such a speedy Revolt from such Obligations made their Crime exceeding heinous They have made them a golden Calf For what Aaron did was at their instigation And have worshipped it By kissing it saith R. Elieser in his Pirke cap. 45. and bowing down to it and then offering Sacrifice to it as it here follows and acknowledging it to be their Conductor out of the Land of Egypt Ver. 9. And the LORD said unto Moses He added this further before he went down from the Mount I have seen this People Long observed their disposition And behold it is a stiff-necked People This Character of them is repeated XXXIII 3 5. XXXIV 9. being a Metaphor from untamed Heifers who draw their Necks and Shoulders back when they are put under the Yoke The Prophet Isaiah alludes to this when he saith of this People XLVIII 4. Thy Neck is an iron sinew which would not bend And Jeremiah V. 5. where he saith the great Men had broken the Yoke and burst the Bonds Ver. 10. Now therefore let me alone Do not interpose in their behalf with thy Prayers and Deprecations for them That my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them That the just indignation I have conceived against them may proceed to punish them with utter destruction And I will make of thee a great Nation Or I will set thee over a great Nation make the Prince of a mightier Nation than they as the words are XIV Numb 12. for so the word Asah to make signifies 1 Sam. XII 6. where we translate it advanced Moses and Aaron Which seems to be the meaning here because Moses urges v. 13. the Promise made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob as if that would not be made good if the People were all destroyed Whereas there would have been no danger of that if God had made a great Nation to spring from Moses who was of their Seed Ver. 11. And Moses besought the LORD The Hebrew word Challah from whence comes Vaichall which we translate besought importing something of Sickness and Infirmity denotes that Moses besought the LORD with much earnestness and great agony of Mind His God He hoped he had not lost his Interest in God which the People had justly forfeited And said why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people There was great reason for this high displeasure against them which God threatned v. 10. and Moses himself was not only angry but his Anger waxed hot v. 19. yet he hoped other Reasons would move the Divine Mercy to moderate his Anger that is not to punish them so severely as they deserved Which thou hast brought out of the Land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand This is one ground of hope That God would not on a sudden destroy what he had employed so much Power to preserve Ver. 12. Wherefore should the Egyptians say for mischief did he bring them out This is another reason that the Egyptians might not be led into a misbelief or confirmed in their infidelity To slay them in the Mountains There were many Mountains besides Sinai where they now were in that Desert into which God led them and they were the most dangerous part of it Turn from thy fierce wrath c. Let these Considerations prevail for a Pardon Ver. 13. Remember Abraham Isaac and Israel to whom thou swarest by thine own self c. This is the great Argument of all the Promise made to their Forefathers fathers who were his faithful Servants and this Promise confirmed by an Oath often repeated which he hoped God would faithfully fulfil I will multiply your seed as the Stars of Heaven XV Gen. 5. XXII 17. This part of the Promise he
gate throughout the Camp They were not to go into their Tents where they who were sensible of God's Displeasure it may be presumed were bemoaning their sin but to kill every one they met in the Street And slay every man his Brother and every man his Companion c. All the Israelites were Brethren and they are commanded to spare none they met withal because they were near Relations or Friends or next Neighbours Some may imagine this too hazerdous an Undertaking the Levites being but a very small number in comparison with the People of Israel But having God's warrant they were consident none would have the Courage to oppose them for Guilt makes Men timorous and the Levites also found them as Men used to be at the conclusion of a Festival weary with their Dancing and Sports Besides there are those who by their being naked v. 25. understand they were unarmed for Aaron had disarmed them to their shame by setting up the Calf for them to dance about which made them lay aside all thoughts of their Arms and so were more easily slain by the Levites Ver. 28. And the Children of Levi did according to the word of Moses Who being under God their chief Ruler passed this extraordinary Sentence upon the Offenders without the common Process in Courts of Judgment as Mr. Selden observes L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 2. in the end of it And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men The Vulgar hath twenty three thousand contrary to the LXX as well as the Hebrew Text and all the Eastern Versions except the Arabick printed at Rome in this Age and manifestly out of the Vulgar Latin as Mr. Selden hath observed in the same place and Bochart shows largely to be against all the ancient Translations and Writers Hieroz P. I. L. II. c. 34. p. 353. Where he notes also out of Philo these three thousand to have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the principal Ring-leaders of this Impiety In memory of these Disasters the Breaking of the Tables and this Slaughter the Jews keep a Fast every year on the XVIIth of Tamuz which by Jac. Capellus computation answers to the XVIth of our July Ver. 29. For Moses had said consecrate your selves to day to the LORD Or Moses said ye have consecrated your selves c. Which way soever we take it either as spoken before the Execution to encourage them to it or afterward to commend them for it the meaning is That this Act was as acceptable to God as a Sacrifice and had procured them the honour to wait upon him as his Ministers Every man upon his Son and upon his Brother This seems to signifie that some of the Tribe of Levi had also prevaricated to whom these pious Levites had no regard but killed them indifferently with the rest though they met with one of their own Children For which they are highly commended by Moses in his Blessing XXXIII Deut. 9. But it may signifie no more but that they went out with this sincere Resolution to spare none though never so dear to them That he may bestow upon you a blessing this day This Blessing was the Preferment of the Tribe of Levi to be God's Ministers in his House and to enjoy all the Tenth of the Land for an Inheritance XVIII Numb 21 24. Ver. 30. And it came to pass on the morrow Which was the XVIIIth day of Tamuz or our XVIIth of July That Moses said unto the people Whom he assembled together that he might make them sensible of their sin Ye have sinned a great sin He set their sin before them it is likely in all its aggravating Circumstances And now I will go up unto the LORD But he would not have them despair of recovering God's Favour though he could not absolutely assure them of it Peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin That God might not inflict any further Punishment upon them Ver. 31. And Moses returned unto the LORD Not as yet to the place where he was before with the LORD for forty days but to some part of the Mount where he might put up his most fervent Prayers to God by which his Anger was turned away as well as by Sacrifices And said O this people have sinned a great sin He begins his Prayers with a Confession of their Guilt in a most pathetical manner And have made them gods of gold Contrary to the express repeated Command of God XX. 4 23. Ver. 32. Yet now Here follows his earnest and most affectionate Deprecation for them If thou wilt forgive their sin Be thou pleased or O that thou wouldest forgive them See Dr. Hammond upon XCV Psal not 6. Or if not blot me I pray thee out of thy Book which thou hast written Let me die rather than live to see the Evils that are coming on them if thou punish them as they deserve God hath no need of a Book wherein to Register and Record any of his purposes but the Scripture uses the Language of Men as the Jews speak who to this day retain this form of Speech in their Prayer wherewith they begin the New-year O our Father and our King write us in the Book of the best Life in the Book of Righteousness in the Book of Redemption They desire that is to be preserved that year in a happy condition free from sin from want and from danger See Theodorick Hackspan in his Annotations on this place Ver. 33. And the LORD said unto Moses Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my Book This was all the Answer Moses could obtain That they only should perish who had offended the Divine Majesty Which doth not deny them a Pardon if they ceased to offend him Ver. 34. Therefore now go Speak no more of this matter but return to the Camp Lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee Take the Conduct of the People upon thee to the Land which I promised to bestow on them This supposes God would not punish them as they deserved though by the words following it appears he abated something of his wonted kindness to them Behold mine Angel shall go before thee Not the Angel spoken of XXIII 20. but some lesser Minister in the Heavenly Court as appears from the next Chapter v. 2. where he saith only I will send an Angel before thee viz. in the Pillar of Cloud and Fire XIII 22. Nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them Upon the next occasion to punish other Offences I will further punish this Whence the saying of R. Isaac in the Gemara Sanhedrim c. 11. There hath no vengeance come upon the world in which there hath not been half an ounce of the first Calf To which R. Vschajah there hath respect in these words Till the days of Jeroboam the Israelites suckt but of one Calf but afterward of three That is their Punishment was
twice as great for they made two Calves though they had seen the terrible Punishment which came upon their Forefathers from making one Ver. 35. And the LORD plagued the people With the Pestilence as some imagine though it be not mentioned in Scripture Or he means all the Evils that afterward consumed them in the Wilderness But there are those who understand this of the slaughter made by the Levites which he briefly repeats as the manner sometimes is in these Writings as a Conclusion to this History of the Golden Calf Because they made the Calf which Aaron made Provoked him to make CHAP. XXXIII Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses depart and go up hence thou and thy people c. This is a renewal of the Order he had already given XXXII 34. which he further explains by expresly assuring him he would make good his Promise to their Fore-fathers of which Moses had remembred him XXXII 13. But they were not by this ordered presently to remove till Moses had been again in the Mount and the Tabernacle was set up and all the Service of it prescribed And I will send an Angel before thee and I will drive out the Canaanite the Amorite c. I will not wholly withdraw my Protection from you as he had for the present XXXII 25. but send one of my Ministers to discomsit your Enemies till you get possession of their Land Ver. 3. For I will not go up in the midst of thee For though I intended to have dwelt among you my self by my special Presence which was in the SCHECHINAH XXV 8. XXIX 43 45 46. you have justly forfeited that favour The Chaldee gives the true sense of this Speech I will not make my Majesty so the SCHECHINAH or Divine Glory was called to go up in the midst of thee And accordingly it follows v. 7 8 9. that he did remove to a distance from them Concerning that Phrase in the midst of thee See XVII 7. For thou art a stiff-necked people See XXXII 9. Lest I consume thee in the way It is not fit for me to see my self affronted to my face by stiff-necked Offenders and not punish them with utter destruction This is an Argument that the Angel he saith he would send before them was not God himself as the Eternal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is for then he would have had the same reason to consume them for their Disobedience Ver. 4. And when the people heard these evil tidings This threatning of such a grievous Punishment They mourned Fasted perhaps and wept and hung down their Heads with shame and sorrow And no man did put on him his ornaments But every one laid aside his usual Attire and appeared in the Habit of Penitents which in after times was Sackcloth Ver. 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 in a moment and consume thee This Verse gives a reason of their Mourning because Moses had by God's order said to them what God said to him That they were such a perverse People it was not safe for them that he should stay among them and be provoked by their Transgressions suddenly to destroy them Therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee These words show that he had not peremptorily resolved to forsake them as he threatned v. 3. but might be moved by their Repentance to continue with them And therefore he orders them to put themselves in a mourning Habit in token of their hearty sorrow for their sin That I may know what to do unto thee Deal with you according as I find you disposed See XXII Gen. 12. Ver. 6. And the Children of Israel stript themselves of their ornaments Not only of those wherewith they had decked themselves at their late Festival but of all other that they ordinarily wore which they who were not dressed forbore to put on v. 4. By the Mount Horeb. Or rather as the Hebrew word mehar imports from the Mount that is a great way off from the place where God appeared as unworthy to come into his Presence Ver. 7. And Moses took the Tabernacle His own Tent as the LXX interpret it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meaning I suppose not his own private Tent where he and his Family lived but a publick Tent where he gave Audience and heard Causes and enquired of God which Bonaventura C. Bertramus calls Castrorum Praetorium in his Book de Repub. Jud. c. 4. For such a place we cannot but think there was before that Tabernacle was erected whose pattern he saw in the Mount where all great Affairs were transacted and where Religious Offices in all probability were performed And pitched it without the Camp afar off from the Camp At the distance of Two thousand Cubits as R. Solomon interprets it Which was done to humble them when they saw the Displeasure of God and of his Servant against them declared by this Departure far from them For they might justly fear he would remove quite out of their sight And called it the Tabernacle of the Congregation Gave it the same name which was afterward appropriated to the Tabernacle built for Divine Service alone Because here God met with Moses and communicated his Mind to him and hither they were all to resort who had any business with Moses or would receive an Answer to their Enquiries from God And it came to pass that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation which was without the Camp This is commonly understood of those who came to desire Resolution in any Case of Dissiculty which they could not have as formerly within the Camp but were forced to go and seek it without Which as it showed God's Displeasure so withal gave them some hope of Mercy because it plainly appeared God was not quite alienated and estranged from them Ver. 8. When Moses went into the Tabernacle all the people rose up and stood every man at his Tent door In reverence to him as their Leader whom they had lately despised Or it may be thought also a posture wherein they implored his Intercession for them that God would be pleased graciously to return to them Which is expressed by what follows And looked after Moses Expecting what would be the end of this Business both God and his Minister being removed from them Vntil he was gone into the Tabernacle As long as they could see him Ver. 9. And it came to pass as Moses went into the Tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended In which the SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty was XL. 35. which was gone up before because of their Idolatry whereby the Camp was become unclean but now came down again upon the removal of the Tabernacle Where it is very probable it used to be setled as the Token of the Divine Presence among them and afterward was translated to the Tabernacle made after God's appointment where
this Cloud stood just as it did here at the Door of it XII Numb 5. And stood at the door of the Tabernacle Openly to assert the Authority of Moses with whom God showed himself present though he had forsaken them And the LORD talked with Moses Which shows the Divine Glory was within the Tabernacle where Moses now was and so the People understood it as appears by the next Verse Ver. 10. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the Tabernacle door Which they knew was an evident Token that God was there And all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his Tent door Bowed themselves unto the Divine Majesty and humbly deprecated his Displeasure acknowledging we may reasonably think his great Goodness in condescending to appear again to them though at a distance from them Ver. 11. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face In a familiar manner which did not affright or astonish him by a dreadful appearance of his Majesty which in the sight of the Children of Israel lookt like devouring fire XXIV 17. but appeared to Moses in a milder and more chearful brightness The like expression in XII Numb 8. seems to relate only to the Discourse he had with Moses which was clear and plain and by a Voice not in Visions and Dreams and obscure Resemblances and so it may be understood here as Maimonides takes it More Nevoch P. III. c. 45. But Abarbinel thinks that these Expressions signifie God treated with Moses in his own Person not by an Ambassadour just as one Friend converses with another And this is a common Notion among the Jews that God did not speak to Moses by an Angel but by himself which they take to be the meaning of this Phrase face to face Which seem to me rather to import the clearness and evidence of that Divine Light wherein God revealed himself to Moses whether it was by himself or an Angel it matters not Yet the New Testament determines this question when it tells us The Law it self was given by Angels in the hand of a Mediator And accordingly the old Tradition was That Moses saw things in a clear and bright Glass but the rest of the Prophets in a Glass that was dim and cloudy As a man speaks to his friend This is added to show how differently God treated Moses from all other Men. For he is said to have talked face to face with all the Israelites V. Deut. 4. but it was out of the midst of fire which struck a terrour into them whereas he spake to Moses out of the midst of a glorious but comfortable Light which gave him high satisfaction And he turned again into the Camp After some time spent in Conversation with the Divine Majesty he went to comfort the People it is likely with hopes of recovering his Favour of which they might have quite despaired if he had staid long from them But his servant Joshua a young man departed not out of the Tabernacle It is hard to tell for what end Joshua should stay behind his Master and it seems not decent that Moses should return alone without his Servant to attend him They that say he stayed to guard the Tabernacle have no foundation for it and they have not much who say he stayed to give Judgment in small Causes which needed not Moses his Resolution according to XVIII 26. For we never read that Joshua was a Judge but a constant Attendant upon Moses his Person And therefore the words may better be translated as they plainly run in the Hebrew He turned again to the Camp and his servant Joshua the son of Nun a young man At which there is a stop in the Hebrew over the word Naar young Man to distinguish these from the following words which are Departed not out of the Tabernacle That is the LORD departed not from thence but his Presence remained there and would not come into the Camp as Moses did And this Interpretation is the more likely because the last words in the Hebrew are out of the midst of the Tabernacle which cannot refer to Joshua because he did not go thither but only Moses who conversed alone with the Divine Majesty Why Joshua is called a young Man when he was near sixty years old is not easie to resolve Perhaps it signifies a valiant Man for so he was or he had waited on Moses from his youth or as Maimonides this is the Phrase of the Hebrew Nation who call all Men young till they begin to decay as Joseph is called when he was Thirty years old XLII Gen. 2. More Nevoch P. II. c. 32. Ver. 12. And Moses said unto the LORD When or where Moses spake what follows we are not here informed It is likely that after he was satisfied the People were very penitent he returned to the Tabernacle and there made this Address unto the Divine Majesty for a perfect Reconciliation with his People See A word imploring attention and regard to his Petition Thou sayest unto me Bring up this people Lead them to the Land of Promise XXXII 34. XXXIII 1. And thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me Thou hast only said thou wilt send an Angel before me but I hope to obtain greater favour from thee which thou hast not yet declared to me And I have no heart to proceed if thou thy self wilt not guide us in the Pillar of Cloud as thou hast done hitherto and dwell among us as thou hast promised in thy Sanctuary This seems to be the sense if this Verse be compared with the 15th and not barely that he did not know what Angel he would send with him Yet thou hast said I know thee by name The Chaldee takes it to be the same with what is said of Bezaleel whom God called by name XXXI 2. that is particularly designed to make the Tabernacle and all belonging to it But to know is more than to call signifying God's special Love and Kindness to Moses above all Men as the LXX interpret it And thou hast also found grace in my sight God had often heard his Prayers for this People as he hoped he would do now For that was the effect of his being an acceptable person unto him which is the proper signification of this Phrase Ver. 13. Now therefore I pray thee if I have found grace in thy sight If I still continue in thy favour Shew me now thy way The Interpretation of Maimonides More Nevoch P. I. c. 54. is too much strained who thinks he here desires the knowledge of God's Attributes as v. 18. he desires the sight of his Essence The plain meaning of this Prayer is That God himself would conduct him and show him the way wherein he should lead his People unto their rest in the Land of Canaan XXXII 34. That I may know thee that I may find grace in thy sight That I may be fully assured of thy gracious acceptance of me And
consider that this Nation is thy people I do not beg this meerly upon my own account but for those who have been redeemed by thee out of the Land of Egypt and have engaged themselves to be thine by a Solemn Covenant XXIV and now return unto thee by Repentance v. 6. Ver. 14. And he said My Presence shall go with thee In the Hebrew My face i. e. I my self as the LXX translate it My Majesty as the Chaldee He promises that is to continue with them as he had done hitherto and not meerly send an Angel to accompany them but to lead and guide them himself by the Pillar of the Cloud and his glorious Presence in the Tabernacle And I will give thee rest Some think these words are particularly spoken to Moses and signifie that God would give him ease in this Point and quiet his Spirit which was now very solicitous about his Departure from them by returning to them But as the foregoing words are a Promise that he would take the Conduct of the People again so is this that he would not leave them till he had brought them to their rest Ver. 15. And he said unto him If thy Presence go not with us Some translate the words for he i.e. Moses had said unto him i. e. to God if thy Presence c. So that these words and the following are the reason of God's Answer to him v. 14. And if they be not thus taken one would have expected Moses should rather have given God thanks for his gracious Promise than further pressed him to it But the 17th Verse doth not well agree with this and therefore these words are to be looked on only as part of what Moses said to God after his Promise that his Presence should go with him Which he acknowledged to be the greater favour because otherwise he had rather never stir from the place where they now were Carry us not up hence Let us go no further if thou thy self dost not lead and guide us in our way Ver. 16. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight How shall all the People round about us be convinced that we are not abandoned by thee in this Wilderness Is it not in that thou goest with us Is not this the great Demonstration of it that thou leadest us in a Pillar of Cloud and Fire Day and Night So shall we be separated I and thy people from all the people that are upon the face of the Earth This will distinguish us while it continues with us from all other People whatsoever none of which have such a Token of thy Presence with them The Manna indeed continued all this time to descend for their Sustenance which was a miraculous food but it might have been ascribed to other Causes if this glorious Token of God's Presence had not still appeared among them Ver. 17. And the LORD said unto Moses I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken Distinguish you from all other People not only by leading you in a Pillar of Cloud and Fire but dwelling among you as I designed XXV 8. For thou hast found grace in my sight and I know thee by name He owns Moses still to be most acceptable and dear to him as he had been v. 12. and therefore at his Intercession promises to be perfectly reconciled and return to his People Ver. 18. And he said I beseech thee Having obtained so much favour of God he presumes to ask something beyond all this but with all humility Shew me thy Glory In the Hebrew the word is hareni make me to see to signifie apprehend with the understanding not with the bodily eye More Nevoch P. I. c. 4. For by Glory he there understands cap. 54. the Divine Essence which he makes Moses to be desirous to apprehend which is not likely such a Man as he should think possible For thus he explains himself in his Book de Fundamentis Legis c. 1. n. 10. Moses desired to know the truth of the Divine Essence as one Man knows another whose Face he beholds and his Image is so engraven in his Mind that he Exists there distinguished from all other Men So he begs that the Divine Essence might be distinct in his Mind from all other Essences till he knew the truth of it as it is in it self But he confesses in another place of that Book cap. 64. That by the Glory of the LORD is many times understood a created Light or Splendor whereby God miraculously set forth his Majesty XXIV 26. and other places And I can see no reason why it should not so signifie here and the meaning be That he desired to see that glorious Presence or Face of God as it is called which he promised should go with them not vailed in a Cloud but in its full Splendor and Majesty For hearing him speak from the SCHECHINAH he supposed perhaps that God appeared therein in some visible shape which he desired to be acquainted withal To confirm this it is observable that God himself in his Answer to Moses calls this Glory his Face v. 20. as he had done v. 14 15. And thus R. Jehudah in the Book Cosri Pars IV. Sect. 3. towards the latter end of it seems to have understood it See upon v. 29. Ver. 19. And he said I will make all my goodness pass before thee Which Maimonides thinks signifies his making Moses to understand the Nature of all Creatures and how they are knit and united together and after what manner they are governed both in general and particular because when God had made all his Works he saw that they were very good I Gen. 31. But that Text is a very slender ground for such an Interpretation The LXX seem to come nearer to the matter who interpret this passage 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will pass before thee with my Glory That is he promises to give him a Transient view of his Glory while it passed by him v. 22. though it could not be seen in its full Majesty And then the word tobhi which we translate my goodness must rather be rendred my beauty it being the same with glory only a softer word to express such a degree of its Splendor as would not hurt him but be delightful to him And thus the word tobh is used in the second Chapter of this Book v. 2. and 1 Sam. IX 2. Or if this be not the meaning all his goodness must signifie his gracious Intentions concerning the Children of Israel to whom he assures him he would fulfil all his Promises which was sufficient for him to know And I will proclaim the Name of the LORD before thee The LXX seem to have understood this right when they translated it I will call to thee by my Name saying the LORD is before thee That is lest when I pass by thee thou shouldst not observe it I will admonish thee by a Voice calling
to thee and telling thee That now the LORD is presenting himself to thee And so we find he did XXXIV 6. And will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy This is the Substance of the words which he tells him he would proclaim after notice given of him of his coming to pass by him And their meaning is that he would dispense his Favours according to his own good pleasure as he did now to Moses unto whom he vouchsafed such a Revelation of himself as he did not make to others For thus he explains it XXXIV 6 7. where he tells him He would be very gracious patient and long-suffering unto some but punish severely the Iniquity of others Ver. 20. And he said Thou canst not see my face But as for thy request that I would make thee see my Glory in its full Splendor thou art not capable of it I know none that hath explained this whole matter better than R. Jehudah in Sepher Cosri P. IV. Sect. 3. For the Glory mentioned in Scripture there is one of such a nature that the Eyes of the Prophets could sustain it another all the Israelites saw as the Cloud and the consuming Fire but another so pure and bright to such an high degree that no Prophet is able to apprehend it but if he venture to look upon it his Composition is dissolved i. e. he dies Such was the Glory here spoken of a Splendor so great and piercing that none could behold it For there shall no man see me and live Accordingly we find when the SCHECHINAH or Divine Glory filled the Tabernacle Moses was not able to enter into it XL. 35. that is he could not with safety to his life look upon it And so it was after the Temple of Soloman was built and consecrated by Solemn Prayer to God The Glory of the LORD filled the House and the Priests could not enter into the House because the Glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's House 2 Chron. VII 1 2. From this Speech to Moses it is likely that Men in future times imagined they should die immediately when they saw only an Angel appear in such a high glittering manner that it amazed them Ver. 21. And the LORD said Behold there is a place by me It doth not plainly appear by the story from whence God now spake to Moses It is most likely from the Mount where he had long conversed with him Or if it was from the Tabernacle where his Glory appeared v. 9. and continued v. 11. that was not far from the Mount where he tells him he would make his Glory pass before him And thou shalt stand upon a Rock It is probable This was the Rock in Horeb where the LORD had formerly appeared to Moses XVII 6. Ver. 22. And it shall come to pass that while my Glory passeth by that I will put thee in a clift of the Rock Perhaps it was in one of the Clefts which was made in the Rock when God brought Water out of it LXXVIII Psal 15. into which he directed Moses For that is meant by putting him in the cleft showing him the place where he should be while the Divine Majesty passed by And I will cover thee with my hand c. That he might not be hurt by the splendour of that Glory as it passed by the Cleft This doth not certainly signifie that the Glory of the LORD appeared in an Human shape for Hands are ascribed to God in accommodation to us when nothing is meant but this invisible Power which now perhaps cast a Cloud about him that he might not be struck dead by the inconceivable brightness and force of those Rays which came from the Face of the Divine Majesty Ver. 23. And I will take away mine hand As soon as the Face as it is called v. 20. of the Divine Majesty was gone by him which it was impossible for him to behold and live he promises to remove that Cloud which covered him so that he should look upon the hinder Parts of his Glory though not upon the Face And thou shalt see my back parts In which the Glory of the Divine Majesty shone in a lower degree of Light which was not so piercing as to put out the Eyes and take away the Life of the Beholders And yet there was such a resplendent Brightness in it that Moses's Face shone when he came down from the sight of it XXXIV 29. For that lustre in his Countenance is to be ascribed in all probability to that sight which he had of the Divine Majesty at that time Some little Particles of Light remaining upon his Face and sticking to it if I may so speak from that exceeding great Splendour which shone upon him and passed before him as he lay in the hollow place of the Rock But my face shall not be seen My Glory in its full Lustre without any Vail before it cannot be seen See v. 20. There are many other Interpretations of this Verse as well as of the 18th and 19th Maimonides in his Book de Fundam Legis c. 1. n. 11. takes it thus God revealed that to Moses which no Man either before or after him ever knew he making him to apprehend something of his very Essence whereby God was separated in his Mind from all other Beings as a Man discerns another Man when he sees his back parts and by his Mind discerns his Proportions distinct from all other Men. But in his More Nevoch P. I. c. 21. he takes this Discovery to Moses to be the Knowledge God gave him of his Works and Attributes viz. those mentioned XXXIV 6. And thus Gregor Nazianzen Orat. XXXIV p. 559. expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Those things are the back Parts of God which are after him whereby he is known as the Sun is by its Image in the Water c. Upon which Elias Cretensis hath this ingenious gloss That the Face of God signifies his Essence before the beginning of the World and his hinder Parts his Creation and Providence in the Government of the World But Maimonides in the same place now mentioned acknowledges also that this may be interpreted according to the Targum That God made his Majesty that is an exceeding bright Representation of himself though not in its full Glory to pass before him Which Onkelos sometimes calls Jekara Glory sometimes Memra the Word and sometimes SCHECHINAH the Majesty Which seems to be the most litteral meaning that God himself particularly the Eternal WORD in a visible Glory or Majesty appeared unto him in so much Splendour as Human Nature was able to bear but not in his unvailed Brightness which is as the Apostle speaks inaccessible CHAP. XXXIV Verse 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses Having obtained a Promise of a Pardon for the People and of greater Favour to himself than had been hitherto shown him God directs him here to dispose things for
the performance of both How thee two Tables of stone like unto the first and I will write upon these Tables the words that were in the first Tables which thou brakest Every attentive Reader must needs observe the difference between the first Tables which Moses brake and those which he is now ordered to prepare For God did not only write his Laws with his own finger upon the first Tables but the Tables themselves also were the work of God XXXII 16. Whereas in these as Greg. Nyssen well expresses it de Vita Mosis p. 183. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The writing indeed was by the Divine Power but the matter of them framed by the hand of Moses So that at the same time God shewed he was reconciled he put them in mind that he had been offended and restored them to his favour with some abatement Ver. 2. And be ready in the morning On the XVIII day of July See XXXII 30. And come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai From whence God spake to the Israelites V Deut. 4 c. those very words which he intended to write upon the Tables He orders him to come up in the morning that all the People might see him ascend and carry the Tables with him And present thy self there to me in the top of the Mount Where the Divine Majesty appeared before in its Glory and where Moses stayed with him forty days and forty nights XIX 26. XXIV 17 18. Ver. 3. And no man shall come up with thee The same Precept is renewed which was given at his first ascent XXIV 1 2. Neither let any man be seen throughout the Mount XIX 12 21 c. Neither let the Flocks nor Herds feed before the Mount He seems to require their removal to such a distance that they should not be within view of the Divine Majesty By which means the People were naturally led to stand in greater awe of God and there was the less danger of any Beasts touching the Mount XIX 13. Ver. 4. And Moses hewed two Tables of stone c. These and the following words only declare that he did as God bad him v. 1 2. And took in his hand the two Tables of stone These he carried with him but the first Tables were given him when he came there XXIV 12. They seem to have been thin being no heavier than that he could carry them in one hand Ver. 5. And the LORD The SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty called also the Glory of the LORD Descended in the Cloud Wherein it had been wont to appear from the beginning of their deliverance out of Egypt and had lately appeared to Moses in the Tabernacle XXXIII 9. when the Cloudy Pillar descended and stood at the door of it while the LORD talked with Moses there And it seems when that was done the Glory of the LORD in the Cloud went up again towards Heaven and now came down upon this occasion And stood with him there The Cloudy Pillar wherein the Glory of the LORD was rested upon the top of the Mount where Moses now was v. 2. And proclaimed the Name of the LORD Gave him notice of his Presence as he had promised XXXIII 19. and is more fully expressed in the next Verse Ver. 6. And the LORD passed by before him Which Onkelos translates the LORD made his Majesty to pass before him Which Exposition Maimonides acknowledges to be right and confirmed by the Scripture it self when it saith XXXIII 22. While my Glory passeth by c. which he confesses signifies not the Divine Essence it self but some created Splendour which no Eye was able to behold More Nevoch P. I. c. 21. And proclaimed As the Glory of the LORD passed by he heard a Voice proclaiming this Description of the Divine Nature The LORD Some joyn the next word to this as if the Voice said the LORD the LORD the more to awaken his Attention to mind what he heard See XXXIII 19. And this Name of his signifies his Self-Existence and his absolute Dominion over all Creatures which received their being from him See VI. 3. God The Hebrew word El signifies Strong and Mighty in one word his Irresistible Power Job IX 4. Merciful The word Rachum signifies that which we call tender Mercies such as Parents have to their Children when their Bowels yern towards them And gracious We call that Chaninah Grace or Favour saith Maimonides which we bestow upon any Man to whom we owe nothing XXXIII Gen. 5 11. And therefore God is here called Chanum Gracious with respect to those whom he created preserves and governs but is not obliged by any right to these things as his words are More Nevoch P. I. cap. 54. Long-suffering So slow to Anger that he doth not presently punish those that offend him but bears long with them Abundant in goodness The Hebrew word Chesed which we translate Goodness signifies as Maimonides saith More Nevoch P. III. cap. the excess and highest degree of any thing whatsoever it be but especially the greatest Benignity And therefore with the addition of rabh abundant denotes long continued Kindness as is more fully declared in the next Verse And truth Most faithful and constant to his Promises which he stedfastly keeps throughout all Generations The word abundant refers both to this and to his Benignity CXLVI Psal 6. Ver. 7. Keeping mercy for thousands The same word Chesed which before we translated Goodness we here translate Mercy and the Hebrews observing the ●etter Nun to be greater in the word Notzer keeping than is usual fancy that it denotes the immense Treasures of the Divine Bounty But the word thousands fully explains how abundant his Mercy is Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin Here are three words to signifie all sorts of Offences which he passes by tell Men grow intollerably wicked But some distinguish them by making Iniquity signifie Offences against Men and Transgressions Offences against God himself and Sin all the Errours Childishnesses and Follies which Men are guilty of in the Conduct of themselves But they may as well signifie the Offences which were committed against the Moral Ceremonial and Political Laws And that will by no means clear the guilty These words according to Maimonides belong still to the loving kindness of God as all the foregoing do signifying that when he doth punish he will not utterly destroy and make desolate For so the Hebrew words Nakkeh lo Jenakkeh he thinks are to be litterally rendered in extirpating he will not extirpate as the word Nakah he observes is used III Isaiah 26. She shall sit desolate on the Earth And to the same sense these words are expounded by many Modern Interpreters particularly Lud. de Dieu When he empties he will not empty or make quite desolate For the Maxim of the Hebrew is as Maimonides there observes More Nevoch P. I. c. 54. that the property of Goodness far excels that of Severity For here being thirteen Properties of God mentioned I can
find but ten besides the Name of LORD there is but one of them that belongs to the latter viz. that which follows all the rest belong to the former And indeed we find that Moses urges these very words among other why God should not destroy the Israelites as one Man XIV Numb 18. which had been very improper if God would by no means clear the guilty Visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children This is meant saith the same Maimonides only of the Sin of Idolatry unto which God threatens in the second Commandment this Punishment to the third and fourth Generation upon those that hate him For no Man is called a hater of God but only an Idolater according to what we read XII Deut. 31. Every abomination which the LORD hateth c. Vnto the third and fourth Generation He mentions saith the same Author none Beyond these because the utmost that any Man can live to see of his Seed is the fourth Generation And therefore when an Idolatrous City was destroyed the old Idolater with Children Grand-children and Great-grand-children were all cut off according to the Precept XIII Deut. 15. Destroy it utterly and all that is therein The sense of the whole seems to be That this is the Glory of the Divine Majesty that he hath a Soveraign Dominion over all because he is the Fountain of Being the Original of all things most powerful to do what he pleases and so merciful that he delights to bestow his Benefits unasked and so gracious as to continue them to the unthankful bearing long with them when they provoke him multiplying Favours on those who have no Deserts and faithfully performing his Promises though never so great doing good unto a thousand Generations of those who adhere faithfully to him and do not apostatize from him for he pardons innumerable Offences of all sorts that are committed against his Laws and when the Provocations are so great that they are fit to be punished he proceeds not to the utmost Extremity till there be no Remedy then he punishes Idolaters terribly to the third and fourth Generation Ver. 8. And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the Earth and worshipped Being transported with Joy at so glorious a sight and such gracious words he immediately worshipped God with the humblest Reverence acknowledging his great Condescention to him Ver. 9. And he said Which encouraged him to renew his Request to God If now I have found grace in thy sight O Lord. He doth not doubt of it but the meaning rather is Since I have found grace c. as appears from what he granted him XXXIII 17 18 c. Let my Lord I pray thee go among us Upon the mention of the last Property of the Divine Majesty visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children c. Moses seems to have been afraid he might be provoked to proceed to such Severity with the Israelites who had lately apostatized from him And again beseeches him he would be so gracious though they should again offend him as to continue his Presence among them which he had threatned to withdraw XXXIII 3. For it is a stiff-necked people If we adhere to this Translation the meaning is they needed such a Governour by whose Authority and Presence they might be kept in awe and cured of their perversness But the Particle ki which we here translate for often signifies though and may be very fitly so rendred here and then the meaning is Though they be very Refractory XXXII 9. yet do not forsake them and leave them to themselves but still conduct them as thou hast done And pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for their inheritance Since thou art so ready to forgive v. 7. do not cut us off for our late Offences but still continue to own us for thy peculiar People This Moses had begg'd of God before and obtained a Promise of it XXXIII 16 17. and see XIX 5. and now he beseeches him out of his Goodness which he had proclaimed to confirm that Promise and not to revoke it upon every new Provocation Ver. 10. And he said behold I make a Covenant Herein God verified the truth of what he had proclaimed being so merciful and gracious as not only to confirm his Promise but to turn it into a Covenant like that at the giving of his Laws from Mount Sinai XXIV 3 7 c. which he renews with them in the next Verse Where he engages to drive out the Inhabitants of Canaan before them and then requires them to take care not to imitate their Idolatry Before all thy people will I do marvels such as have not been done in all the Earth c. This seems to relate to all the wonderful Works he intended to do in their Introduction into the Land of Canaan by making the Waters of Jordan retire and the Walls of Jericho fall down with the rest that followed till they got possession of their Inheritance For it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee Such as shall declare the Almighty Power of the Divine Majesty and strike a Terrour into all those that oppose him but demonstrate in an astonishing manner his Fidelity to his People For all this is said to confirm their belief of the Covenant he said he would make with them in the beginning of the Verse Ver. 11. Observe thou that which I command thee this day Doubt not of what I say but only mark and take care to do all that I now enjoyn thee Behold I drive out before thee the Amorite and the Canaanite c. To encourage them so to do he premises what he intended to do for them which he put at the Conclusion of his Covenant when he first declared it XXIII 23 28. but here puts it in the front of it that they might be the more sensible of the reasonableness of those Commands to which he expected Obedience Ver. 12. Take heed to thy self He now renewing that Covenant with them which they had broken by the worshipping the golden Calf repeats the principal Precepts which concerned his Worship and Service which had been delivered to them before and excites them to the observance of them by the addition of a very gracious Promise v. 24. Lest thou make a Covenant with the Inhabitants of the Land whether thou goest Nothing could be more reasonable than this that they should not enter into Friendship with those Nations whom he commanded them to expel for their abominable Wickedness unless they would renounce their Idolatry and come under their Government See XXIII 32. and Mr. Selden L. VI. de Jure N. G. in the latter end of the 13th Chapter and beginning of the next Lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee Lest they inveigle thee to imitate their manners Ver. 13. But ye shall destroy their Altars break their Images and cut down their Groves This more largely explains what was briefly and
at the Passover when they offered the first-fruits of barley harvest XVI Deut. 9. Ver. 23. Three times in the year shall all your Males appear before the LORD the God of Israel This likewise was explained XXIII 14 17. And nothing need be added but that these peculiar Laws are here repeated together with those that follow v. 25 26. upon this occasion because they were ordained to preserve the People in the Worship and Service of the true God from whom they had lately departed Who therefore puts them in mind in the last words of this Verse which was not said before that he was the God of Israel to whom they were devoted by especial Obligations Ver. 24. For I will cast out the Nations before thee Till this was done they were not bound to observe the Precept of appearing three times in the year before the LORD And will enlarge thy borders Beyond the Land of Canaan as he had promised before XXIII 31. Neither shall any man desire thy Land when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD c. To remove all fear of their Mind that their Neighbours might Invade them when all the Men were gone and none but Women and Children and Old men left at home he adds this Promise to all he had made before or rather makes it a part of his Covenant which he now renews that he would lay such Restraints upon their Enemies that they should not so much as think of Invading them at those three Feasts much less make any actual Incursions into their Country Ver. 25. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my Sacrifice c. At the Passover See this fully explained XXIII 18. Ver. 26. The first of the first-fruits of thy Land thou shalt bring unto the House of the LORD thy God At Pentecost which was the Feast of First-fruits See XXIII 19. Thou shalt not seethe a Kid in its mothers milk This concerns the other great Feast that of Tabernacles See in the same place Ver. 27. And the LORD said unto Moses Having recited the principal part of his Covenant mentioned v. 10. he gives the following order Write thou these words From v. 11. to this place just as he did those words contained in the XXI XXII XXIII Chapters of this Book See XXIV 4. out of which these words are extracted as the chief things respecting the Worship of God which he requires him to write in a Book by it self For after the tenor of these words have I made a Covenant with thee and with Israel See XXIV 7. Where the Covenant containing these words and many other was Sealed with the Blood of a Sacrifice The Jews are so blind as to found their Oral Tradition upon this place and upon one small word Pi which signifies indeed mouth but withal is an expletive Particle denoting the manner and value of any thing as appears from XLIII Gen. 7. XXVII Lev. 18. and therefore here rightly translated the tenor of these words Yet R. Johannes in the very beginning of Halicoth Olam gathers from hence That God made a Covenant now with their Fathers concerning all the unwritten Laws delivered by word of Mouth Unto which which while they adhere they can never understand their Divine Writings For what can be more plain that the Covenant here mentioned was ordered to be written Ver. 28. And he was there with the LORD This saith Maimonides was the highest degree of Prophecy which none attained but Moses whose Thoughts were wholly taken off from all other things and fixed upon God while he was with him in the holy Mount that is asked and received Answers from the LORD More Nevochim P. III. c. 51. Forty days and forty nights As he had been at the first XXIV 18. Which was partly to make a new trial how they would behave themselves in his Absence and partly to give the greater Authority to the Laws he brought them from God which he renewed as we read in the end of this Verse And did neither eat bread nor drink water But was supported by Influences from the Almighty who kept up his Spirits in their just height without the common Recruits of Meat and Drink Which when they give us Refreshment likewise make us drowsie See XXIV 18. To which add what Maimonides saith in the place now named That the Joy wherewith he was transported made him not think of eating and drinking for his intellectual Faculties were so strong that all Corporal Desires ceased It seems to me very probable That during this time he saw again the Model of the Tabernacle and all its Furniture with every thing else he was ordered to make when he went first into the Mount from the beginning of the XXVth to the end of the XXXth Chapter which are briefly summed up XXXI 7 8 9 10 11. He seems also to have spent much of this time in Prayer to God for the People That he would restore them intirely to his Favour and bring them to their Inheritance IX Deut. 18 19 25 26. X. 10. And he wrote upon the Tables the words of the Covenant c. That is the LORD wrote as he said he would v. 1. not Moses who wrote the foregoing words in a Book but not these which were written by the Finger of God in the Tables of Stone So Moses tells us expresly X Deut. 4. Jacobus Capellus and others following the Hebrew Doctors imagine that Moses was three times with God in the Mount for the space of XL. days and that this was the last time Between which and the first they place another which they fancy is mentioned XXXII 30 31. compared with IX Deut. 18 c. But I see no solid ground for this for God called him up into the Mount but twice and he durst not have adventured to go so near him as he was both these times without his invitation Ver. 29. And it came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai Which was upon the XXV of our August according to the former Computation v. 2. With the two Tables of Testimony in Moses hand when he came down from the Mount So he came down at the first XXXII 15. That Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone There was a radient Splendour in his Countenance which is the import of the Hebrew Karan which the Vulgar translates horned Not imagining that Moses had Horns but Rays of Light which imitated Horns And therefore the Hebrew word Karnaim signifies both and R. Solomon Jarchi upon this place calls these Rays on Moses's Face Horns of Magnificence as Mr. Selden observes L. II. de Jure N. G. c. 6. p. 292. It is not improbable that the Hair of his Head was inter-spersed with Light as well as that Rays came from his Face which perstringed the Eyes of Beholders And Painters had done more reasonably if instead of Horns upon Moses his Forehead they had represented him with a Glory crowning his Head as the Saints are usually
painted in the Roman Church Which perhaps came from the ancient Custom among the Heathen who thus represented their Gods as Tho. Bartholinus observes de Morbis Biblicis cap. 5. out of Lucian de Dea Syria where he saith she did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 carry Beams upon her Head Whence it was that the Roman Emperours who were raised so much above the rest of Mankind that they honoured them as a sort of Deities were thus represented as appears by many Testimonies particularly Pliny who in his Panegyrick to Trajan laughs and jeers at the radiatum Domitiani caput While he talked with him While he conversed so famaliarly with the Divine Majesty and both saw his Glory and heard him proclaim his Name v. 5 6 7. At his first being in the Mount there was no such Brightness left upon his Countenance for he did not see the Divine Majesty in so great a Splendour as he did now when the LORD upon his Petition vouchsafed him such a sight of his Glory as he could bear XXXIII 18 23. Which was so exceeding piercing that it altered the very Skin of Moses his Face and made it luminous Of which Moses doth not seem to have been sensible till some time after he came down from the Mount when Aaron as well as others were afraid to come nigh him having his Thoughts wholly possessed with the far more transcendent Glory of the Divine Majesty of which he had a Glimpse From this familiar Conference which Moses had with God it is likely the Heathen took occasion to invent the like Stories of their Zamolxis who pretended to receive his Laws from Vesta and Minos and Lycurgus who said they received theirs from Jupiter and Apollo with several others mentioned by Diodorus Siculus L. I. who then adds Moses had his from the God Jao so they pronounced the Name Jehovah But they had no such Testimony as this of their Communication with the Divine Majesty much less were their Laws confirmed by such Miracles as lasted for the space of XL. years under the Conduct of Moses in the sight of all People Ver. 30. And when Aaron and all the Children of Israel saw Moses behold the skin of his face shone This highly established his Authority and bred in them a Reverence to the Laws he brought that they were all Witnesses of the brightness or glory of his Countenance as the Apostle calls it 2 Cor. III. 7. which demonstrated he had been with God as he affirmed and had beheld the Glory of his Majesty and received from him the Tables of Testimony By all the Children of Israel in this Verse seems to be meant all the Rulers of the Congregregation mentioned in the next And they were afraid to come nigh him The Light which shone from his Countenance was so great that it dazled the Eyes of Beholders even of Aaron himself who did not know whether it would be safe to approach him This was an illustrious Testimony that he had been with God who dwells as the Apostle speaks in light inaccessible Ver. 31. And Moses called unto them Invited them to come near him and not to fear any hurt And Aaron and all the Rulers of the Congregation returned unto him Viz. After he had put a Vail upon his Face till which they could not steadfastly look upon it as the Apostle speaks 2 Cor. III. 7. the Light of it being so strong that it hurt their Eyes if they fixed them there And Moses talked with them Acquainted them with what he had seen and heard Ver. 32. And afterward all the Children of Israel came ●igh c. There was a general Assembly of all the Tribes summoned that he might deliver to them all that which he had received from God See XXXV 1. And he gave them in Commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai All the Orders he had given about the Building of the Tabernacle and the rest contained in the XXV XXVI Chapters and those that follow to the XXXII For at his first coming from the Mount finding them in an Apostacy from God he said nothing to them about these matters but in abhorrence of their foul Idolatry broke the Tables of Testimony which God had given him to deliver to them Ver. 33. And till Moses had done speaking with them he put a vail on his face This seems to belong as well to v. 31. as to the 32d and accordingly I have interpreted it Though there are those who think he perswaded Aaron and the Rulers to approach without a Vail but put it on when he spake to the People who were less able to bear it But there seems to be the same reason for both Aaron being no less afraid than any of them And the Majesty of his Countenance appeared sufficiently even when it was vailed for the brightness was not quite obscured though very much shaded by it Ver. 34. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him he took the vail off till he came out He went into the Tabernacle where he spake with him face to face as a Man speaks to his Friend XXXIII 9 10 11. And he came out and spake unto the Children of Israel that which he was commanded This seems to relate unto the frequent occasions Moses had to go and consult with God in difficult Cases whose Mind he declared to them when he had received it Ver. 35. And the Children of Israel saw the face of Moses that the skin of Moses face shone c. Some great Men have thought that the brightness continued on Moses's Face till his death so that he spake to them with a Vail on his Face from this time as long as he lived Of which we cannot be certain though thus much is evident from this and the foregoing Verse that the Splendour of his Countenance did remain for some time after he came down from God's Presence in the Mount During which as oft as he went in to speak with God he took off his Vail and when he came out to speak with them he put it on until he went in to speak with God again as this Verse concludes How long it was before it vanished none can resolve Perhaps not till he had set up the Tabernacle and consecrated Aaron and his Sons and delivered all the Laws he had received about the Service of God which are recorded in the Book of Leviticus That is all the time they stayed near Mount Sinai from whence they removed a little more than half a year after this X Numb 11 12. CHAP. XXXV Verse 1. AND Moses gathered all the Congregation of the Children of Israel together Having told them what orders he had received from the LORD and sufficiently convinced them of his Authority XXXIV 32 33. he now proceeds to put them in Execution And in order to it he gathered Col-hadath all the Congregation which sometimes signifies all the Elders and Judges c. the prime Governours of
stirred up to be the more liberal in their Offering when they saw how many things were to be done Ver. 20. And all the Congregation of the Children of Israel Whom he had summoned to meet together v. 1. Departed from the presence of Moses When he had reported to them what Orders he had received from the Divine Majesty in the Mount v. 4 5 c. Ver. 21. And they came Being dismissed to their own Tents they went thither only to fetch an Offering to the LORD which they came and brought immediately Every one whose heart stirred him up Whose Mind was raised to a free and cheerful readiness The Hebrew words are lifted him up that is had animum excelsum a noble Mind or was of a generous Spirit as the following words import Every one whom his Spirit made willing And they brought the LORDS Offering An Offering to the LORD as Moses exhorted v. 5. To the work of the Tabernacle For the building a Sanctuary wherein God might dwell among them XXV 8. And for all his Service For all that belonged to the Furniture of it both within and without which are mentioned in the Verses before-going And for the holy Garments That the Priests might Minister there in their Office v. 19. Ver. 22. And they came both Men and Women as many as were willing-hearted Who seem to have been the greatest part of the Congregation And brought Bracelets and Ear-rings and Rings They were no less forward to offer to the Service of God than they had been to the making the Golden Calf XXXII 2 3. for which offence they now make some sort of Satisfaction being more liberal in contributing to this Work than they were to that For we read there only of their Ear-rings which they break off from their Ears and brought to Aaron but here of their Bracelets also and Rings with other things For though they may be supposed to have parted with a great deal on that wicked account it did not make those who were touched with what Moses said less willing to give a fresh to an holy use Tablets The Hebrew word Comaz or Camaz is of very uncertain signification for some make it an Ornament of the Arms and others of some other part But the Chaldee takes it for something about the Breast a Fascia saith Elias wherewith Women tied up and compressed their Breasts to make them appear more beautiful by being round This Bochartus approves in his Canaan L. II. c. 5. All Jewels of Gold All the four forenamed sort of Ornaments were of Gold And every Man that offered offered an Offering of Gold unto the LORD The first Oblations that were brought either by the Women or the Men were all of Gold and then followed meaner things which the People of lower Condition brought to the LORD Ver. 23. And every Man with whom was found blue and purple and scarlet and sine linen c. The common sort of People also offered such as they had Yarn and sine Linen Goats-hair and Skins See XXV 4 5. Ver. 24. Every one that did offer an Offering of Silver and Brass c. Those of a middle Condition offered Silver and Brass and Shittim-wood All which were necessary for several uses For the Ark and the Table were to be overlaid with Gold of which the Candlesticks and several other things were to be made See Chap. XXV The inward Curtains were to be made of the Yarn and the outward of Goats-hair and the Covering of both of Skins The Foundations of the Tabernacle were of Silver and the Taches of the Curtains and Altar of Burnt-offering of Brass and Shittim-wood was used about the Boards of the Tabernacle the Ark Table c. See Chap. XXV XXVI XXVII Ver. 25. And all the Women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands and brought that which they had spun c. Not only the Men but the Women also brought Materials for the House and more then that such as were skilful among them spun both Yarn and Thred which was the proper work of Women not of Men. Unto which work alone they were bound to apply themselves if by the custom of the place no other work such as knitting and sewing with their Needle c. was usually performed by them as Mr. Selden observes L. III. de Vxor Hebr. c. 10. where he treats of all the Imployments of their Women Ver. 26. And all the Women whose heart stirred them up Whose Minds were elevated to excellent Contrivances In Wisdom spun Goats-hair With great Art spun Goats-hair which was not so easie as to spin Wool and Flax. For though their Goats were shorn in those Countries as Sheep are here their Hair being longer than ours yet there was a great deal of Skill required to work it into a Thred and to make Stuff of it See Bochart Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 51. In old time also Women were wont to weave as well as spin as appears not only out of the Sacred Books but out of Homer Plato Cicero and many other Authors mentioned by Braunius in his Book de Vestitu Sacerd. Hebr. L. I. c. 17. where he observes N. 33. out of Herodotus that he showing the Egyptian Customs to be different in many things from those of other Nations mentions this among the rest that their Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sat at home and weaved while their Women went abroad and bought and sold L. II. c. 35. Ver. 27. And the Rulers brought Onyx-stones and Stones to be set for the Ephod and for the Breast-plate The great Men also offered sutable to their quality such things as the People could not furnish viz. precious Stones for uses mentioned XXV 7. XXVIII 9 17 18 c. Ver. 28. And Spice and Oyl for the light and for the anointing Oyl c. Such principal Spices as we translate it mentioned XXX 23 34. together with Oyl for the Light XXVII 20. which was so pure that ordinary Persons had it not For there were several sorts of Olives as Fort. Scacchus shows Myrothec Sacr. Elaeochrism P. I. c. 4 5. some of which were not so common as the other and therefore of greater value Ver. 29. The Children of Israel brought a willing Offering c. To sum up all in a few words they brought whatsoever was necessary for all manner of work which the LORD had commanded to be made By the hand of Moses Whom he imployed to deliver these Commands to his People Ver. 30. And Moses said See the LORD hath called by name c. Hath principally made choice of Bezaleel to undertake and perform this work This he said that they might not be solicitous about Artists to make all that was propounded for they knew that there were none among them bred to such Employments Moses therefore informs them in the first place that God had provided himself of a Master-Workman as he told him XXXI 1 2 c. Ver. 31. And he hath filled him with the
one Thred of Wire of Gold and joyned it with six Threds of blue and twisted all seven into one And so they mingled the like Thred of Gold with six of purple and another with six of scarlet and another with six of fine linen So that there were twenty eight Threds in all Which R. Solomon Jarchi expresses thus upon XXVIII 8. These five kinds blue purple scarlet fine linen and gold were twisted into one Thred For the Gold being stretched into a thin Plate and Threds cut out of it they weaved a Thred of Gold with six Threds of Blue and so they did with the rest after which they twisted all these Threds into one See Joh. Braunius de Vestitu Sacerd. Hebr. L. I. c. 17. n. 26. Cunning-work See XXVIII 6. Ver. 4 5. See XXVIII 7 8. Ver. 6. They wrought Onyx-stones See XXVIII 9. Ver. 7. For a memorial See XXVIII 12. Ver. 8. He made the breast-plate c. See this explained and all that follows to v. 22. in XXVIII 15 16 c. only observe that there is not a word here said of his making Vrim and Thummim which confirms what I said there that they were not distinct things from the precious Stones in the Breast-plate Ver. 22. And they made the robe of the Ephod c. See this and the two following Verses explained XXVIII 31 32 33. Ver. 24. And twined Linen In the Hebrew there is only the word twined but the Masora rightly observes that Schesch is to be understood which we have therefore justly supplyed in the word Linen And so the LXX Ver. 25. Bells of pure Gold c. See XXVIII 33 34. where this and the next Verse are explained Ver. 27. And they made Coats of fine Linen Coats were ordered to be made for Aaron and his Sons XXVIII 40. but the matter of them not mentioned which is here therefore ordered to be of fine Linen For white Garments being pure bright unmixed and also splendid and stately for anciently the greatest Persons were so clothed as appears by Joseph when he was honourably arrayed by Pharaoh XLI Gen. 42. were used by all Nations in the Service of God And what was most sutable to nature God thought fit to continue in his Service though used perhaps by Idolaters before this time Only his Priests wore these Garments no where but in the Sanctuary whereas the Priests of Isis for instance went every where clothed in white Of woven work Not sowed with a Needle for such Coats may be made without any Seame and Braunius hath shown the manner of weaving them L. I. de Vestitu Sacerdot Hebr. c. 16. Ver. 28. Mitre of fine Linen XXVIII 39. and of Bonnets and Breeches See there v. 40 42. Ver. 29. And a girdle of fine twined Linen c. XXVIII 39. Ver. 30. And they made the Plate of the holy Crown See XXVIII 36. To which I shall only add That the Priests both Men and Women among the Gentiles had ordinarily the Epithete of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Crowns they wore upon their Heads which were sometimes of Gold sometimes of Lawrel See Cuperus in his Harpocrates p. 137. Ver. 31. A Lace of blue c. See XXVIII 37. Ver. 32. Thus was all the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of the Congregation finished c. Every thing belonging to the House of God which he commanded Moses to make was compleated exactly according to his directions though they were not yet set in their place which God orders in the next Chapter Tabernacle of the Tent c. See XL. 2. And all the Children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses so did they This hath a more particular respect to the Workmen yet all the Materials being brought by the Body of the People they are also comprehended in this Expression Ver. 33. And they brought the Tabernacle unto Moses the Tent and all its Furniture c. In this and the following Verses he makes a recapitulation of all the particulars mentioned in the foregoing Chapters which they brought to Moses that he might see whether they were made according to his order It is probable that the whole Congregation or the Heads of them accompanied Bezaleel and the other Artificers when they brought these things to Moses for his approbation Ver. 34. And the covering of the Rams-skins c. Of this Covering and of the next see XXVI 14. XXXVI 19. And the vail of the covering See XXVI 36. Ver. 37. The pure Candlestick Of pure Gold as we read XXV 31. XXXVII 17. Ver. 42. So the Children of Israel made all the work Here again the whole Body of the People are said to have made all the work fore-mentioned see v. 37. because they contributed to it and also helpt to prepare some Materials for the Workmen XXXV 25. XXXVI 6. Ver. 43. And Moses did look upon all the work Took a solemn view of it and examined it carefully whether it was performed according to the order they had received And behold they had done it as the LORD commanded This is the tenth time that Moses in this one Chapter saith all was done as the LORD commanded v. 1 5 7 21 26 29 31 32 42. and here in this last Verse to show how exact they were in their obedience and that nothing was done according to their own Reason and Opinion but all according to the Divince Precept without Addition or Detraction They are the words of the Authour Sepher Cosri Pars III. n. 23. who well observes that all was done and brought to perfection by two things which are the Pillars of the Law the one is That the Law is from God and the other that it be accepted by the Church with a faithful heart And thus was the Tabernacle ordered by the Divine Precept and it was made by the whole Church or Congregation XXV 2. And Moses blessed them Both the Workmen who had done their work faithfully and the Children of Israel who had contributed the Materials and also now together with Bezaleel and the rest of the Artificers presented the whole to him CHAP. XL. Verse 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying After he had taken a Survey of all the Work before-mentioned God gave him the following Command in the latter end it is probable of the twelfth Month. Ver. 2. On the first day of the first month Of the second year after their coming out of Egypt v. 17. which was a compleat year within fourteen days after that great Deliverance Shalt thou set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of the Congregation This is a full description of the place which was made for an Habitation of the Divine Majesty XXV 8. and therefore called Mischcan which we translate Tabernacle but properly signifies a dwelling But was a moveable House to be set up and taken down as there was occasion and therefore called Ohel a Tent such as Shepherds dwell in IV Gen. 24. See XXIX of
holy And therefore the seven days appointed for that purpose were ended before the Consecration of the Priests began which continued seven days more and then the next day was the Feast of unleavened Bread Which was famous on a double account first because it was the first day of unleavened Bread and then it was the Octaves of the Consecration And this appears more plainly from I Lev. 1. where we find the following Commands were given to Moses out of the Tabernacle by the Divine Majesty who therefore dwelt there when he commanded the Priests to be consecrated which he did not till the Tabernacle was solemnly consecrated to be his Habitation There the Priests also are commanded to abide during the seven days of their Consecration VIII Lev. 33. which shows that all things belonging to its Sanctification were finished before their Consecration began As to that which is alledged from VIII Lev. 10 11 c. I shall consider it there Ver. 19. And he spread abroad the Tent over the Tabernacle The Ohel which we translate Tent sometimes signifies the whole House of God See v. 19. but here only the external part of it which covered that which was properly called Mischchan the Tabernacle Which Moses having erected with all its Sockets Boards Bars and Pillars v. 18. and hung it we must suppose with the inward Hangings which were the richest he spread abroad over them the Curtains of Goats-hair called the Tent XXVI 11. to be a covering over the Tabernacle XXVI 7. XXXVI 14 19. So the Tabernacle was an House within an House inclosed with strong Walls as we call them to secure it from the injury of the Weather And put the covering of the Tent upon it Mentioned in XXVI 14. Ver. 20. And he took and put the Testimony into the Ark. The two Tables of Stone as he had been commanded XXV 16. which he mentions again in the repetition of the Law X Deut. 5. Hence the Ark is called the Ark of the Covenant or Testimony in the next Verse and v. 3. of this Chapter Ver. 21. And he brought the Ark into the Tabernacle It is probable that he had placed the Ark after it was made in his own Tent which for the present was called the Tabernacle of the Congregation and had the Glory of the LORD in it XXXIII 7 9. but now he brought it into this Tabernacle which by God's order was prepared for it And set up the Vail of the Covering c. See v. 3. Ver. 22. And he put the Table in the Tent of the Congregation Here the whole House is called the Ohel or Tent as I observed upon Verse 19. But immediately the word Mischchan which we translate Tabernacle is used as the most proper expression for the inside of the House as the other most properly denotes the outside of it All is made more clear in the 34th Verse where we read that the Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation that is the outside of the House and the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle within Though afterward v. 38. the Cloud is said to be upon the Tabernacle as v. 36. it is said to be over the Tabernacle because it was over the Tent which covered it Ver. 25. And he lighted the Lamps before the LORD c. In this and all that follows of burning sweet Incense v. 27. offering the Burnt-offering and Meat-offering v. 29. Moses acted as a Priest appointed by an extraordinary Commission from God only for this time that he might Consecrate the House of God and the Priests that were to minister therein which being done his Priesthood ceased And he did all that is mentioned in these Verses when the Tabernacle was Consecrated and the Glory of the LORD had filled it testifying the Divine Presence to be there Ver. 31. And Moses and Aaron and his Sons washed their hands c. This shows that Moses acted now as a Priest and therefore washed himself before he went to Sacrifice at the Altar as the Priest afterwards were always bound to do XXX 19 20 21. But it must be understood that neither this washing here spoken of nor his offering Sacrifice mentioned v. 29. was till some days after this See v. 17. Ver. 33. So Moses finished the work And then anointed the Tabernacle and all contained in it according to God's order v. 9 10 11. the execution of which though now not here mentioned in so many words is expresly said to be on the same day that he had compleatly set up the Tabernacle VII Numb 1. Ver. 34. Then a Cloud or then the Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation After it was anointed and sanctified for the Divine Residence and the Princes perhaps had also finished that large Offering which we read VII Numb was made on this day God was pleased to fill this place with his glorious Presence For the cloudy Pillar which descended upon Moses his Tent and stood there before the door of it XXXIII 9. removed now from thence and came hither not standing at the door of it in the form of a Pillar but spreading it self all over the outside of the Tabernacle so that it was covered with it as we read also IX Numb 15. And the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle See v. 22. What God promised XXV 8 22. he now performed notwithstanding their Revolt from him by worshipping the Golden Calf Which made him withdraw himself from them XXXIII 7 c. till upon Moses's earnest Intercession for them and their Repentance he graciously consented to return to them and abide among them v. 14 15 c. As now he did by setling his glorious Presence in this Tabernacle which was set up in the midst of them For whereas the other Tabernacle of Moses was removed a Mile or two from their Camp XXXIII 7. this Tabernacle was pitched a month after this I Numb 1. in the midst of their Camps as we read II Numb 2 17. Ver. 35. And Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of the Congregation For the Glory of the LORD shone so bright and so strong beyond all that it had ever done that no Eye could look upon it And it filled not only the most holy Place but the whole Body of the Tabernacle so that he durst not adventure to come within it tell he was called I Lev. 1. After which time he seems to have had liberty to go in unto God when he pleased VII Numb 89. IX 8 9. For after this great day the Glory of the LORD retired into the most holy Place within the Vail and resided constantly there over the Ark of the Testimony from whence he spake to Moses when he came to consult him in the holy Place See the fore-mentioned VII Numb 89. Whence he is said to dwell between the Cherubims though on some occasion this Glory appeared without upon the Tabernacle but over the Ark it is likely XVI Numb 42. And so perhaps it did XI
17 25. and sometimes at the door of the Tabernacle XXXI Deut. 14 15. Because the Cloud abode thereon and the Glory of the LORD filled the House The Cloud and the Glory of the LORD were not two different things but one and the same as the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire were For outwardly it was a Cloud and inwardly a Fire and accordingly here the External part of it covered the Tabernacle without while the Internal part shone in full Glory within the House Thus it was upon Mount Sinai where Moses is said to draw near to the thick Darkness where God was XX. 21. That is the Glory of the LORD was in that thick Darkness And so we read before that the Glory of the LORD appeared in the Cloud XVI 10. And so those words are to be interpreted XXIV 16. The Glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai and the Cloud covered it that is covered the Glory of the LORD not the Mount six days After which on the seventh day the Glory of the LORD broke through it and appeared like devouring fire in the sight of all the People v. 17. Ver. 36. And when the Cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle the Children of Israel went onward in their journeys That is the LORD whose glorious Presence was in this Cloud led and conducted them in all their Removals And therefore they are said to have journeyed at the commandment of the LORD because when the Cloud wherein the LORD was was taken up then they journeyed IX Numb 17 18 20 23. Ver. 37. But if the Cloud were not taken up then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up They were wholly governed by its motions and followed its directions Ver. 38. For the Cloud of the LORD So it is called also in X Numb 34. because the Glory of the LORD was in it Was upon the Tabernacle by day And so it was by Night but then had another appearance as it here follows And fire was on it by night The Fire and the Cloud as I said v. 35. were not different things but the same Pillar which was dark by day when there was no need of light shone like fire by night when the dark part of it could not be seen to lead and conduct them It appeared therefore like a Cloud by day and turned the light side to them which was bright as fire by night that they might march if there were occasion by its direction both day and night And thus it is described XIII 21 22. IX Numb 15 16 c. And so this Verse may be translated The Cloud of the LORD was upon the Tabernacle by day and the Fire was bo in it i.e. in the Cloud by night For so they are elsewhere described as one within the other V Deut. 22. The LORD spake unto all your Assembly out of the midst of the fire of the Cloud and of the thick Darkness In the sight of all the Children of Israel throughout all their journeys The whole Congregation had constantly this comfortable Token of God's Presence among them by the Cloud in the day time and Fire in the night which never left them all the time they were in the Wilderness but brought them to Canaan The End of the Book of EXODUS ERRATA PAge 3. line 1. read See Gen. L. 26. l. 27. dele now before more p. 5. l. 24. r. Aben-Ezra p. 12. l. 6. r. the Hebrews p. 27. l. 12. r. Schalschalah p. 31. l. 5. r. he called his Son p. 41. l. 31. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 51. ult r. his words p. 56. l. 1. for exciting r. exerting p. 62. l. 19. r. because he came with an unusual p. 68. l. 20. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 70. l. 10. r. all this converse l. 19. r. Temara p. 71. l. 9. r. though not very far p. 73. l. 11. r. kashah p. 75. l. 17. r. such knives p. 80. l. 22. r. should not go alone p. 81. l. 13. r. Schalshalah Hakkabalah p. 86. l. 17. r. Taskmasters p. 114. l. 14. r. Gaulmyn p. 136. l. 12. r. Quastiones Alnetanae p. 138. l. 23. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 139. l. 4. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 141. l. 23. for Aretius r. Huetius l. 25. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 143. l. 17. r. as the Jews did long p. 153. l. 20 31. r. Schechin p. 163. l. 22. r. as the Wheat and the Rye 23. r. Trees were not broken p. 193. l. 1. r. expresly p. 197. l. 4. r. Elaeochrisin p. 220. l. 22. r. without the profession p. 242. l. 14. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 249. l. penult r. so long p. 250. l. 28. r. the next verse p. 251. l. 12. r. to protect them p. 256. l. 29. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 262. l. 4. r. tells this story p. 268. l. 13. r. compact p. 278. l. 25. r. distress p. 285. l. 12. r. when we sat p. 294. l. 10. r. who therefore tells them p. 309. l. 24. r. some other Stations p. 324. l. 17. r. German Jews p. 345. l. 6. r. of our minds p. 351 l. 21. r. phrase imports p. 366. l. ult r. and not in any p. 370. l. 18. r. they are the words p. 376. l. 16. r. backward p. 377. l. antepenult r. Gem. Bab. p. 380. l. 25. r. therefore ought not p. 427. l. 15. r. opprobrious p. 443. l. 31. r. where he pleases p. 449. l. 14. r. eat and drink p. 460. l. 3. r. to be true p. 462. l. 9. r. here p. 464. l. 26. r. having owned him p. 466. l. 31. r. he speaks p. 487. l. 3. r. when they were p. 488. l. 13. r. the ten words p. 501. l. 24. r. so in the six p. 511. l. 15. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 513. l. 33. r. set it up p. 520 l. 19. r. make for it p. 545. l. 31. r. Jaspis p. 559. l. 2. r. letters deep p. 567. l. 1. r. and his sons his sons garments p. 572. l. 24. r. which went round p. 573. l. ult r. the Jews say p. 580. l. 18. r. in the first p. 585. l. 30. r. that he might p. 586. l. 11. r. at his entrance p. 608. l. 19. r. Periegetes p. 609. l. 15. r. unto thee p. 614. l. 9. r. take to the Rosamim l. 11. r. take to thee p. 617. l. 6. r. contented themselves p. 623. l. 13. r. were ordered p. 631. l. 8. r. rebuking them p. 640. l. 11. r. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 642. l. 30. r. make thee Prince p. 666. l. 18. r. v. 20. p. 674. l. 25. r. till men p. 677. l. 16. r. thine inheritance p. 679. l. 17. r. ad praelium ferunt p. 683. l. 20. r. fear oct of their p. 714. l. 9. r. Author of Sepher l. 26. r. in the latter end it is probable p. 721. l. 7. r. as the Priess Books Written by SYMON PATRICK D. D. now Lord Bishop of ELY and Printed for Richard Chiswell THE Parable of the Pilgrim written to a Friend The 6 Edition 4to 1681. Mensa Mystica Or a Discourse concerning the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper In which the Ends of its Institution are so manifested our Addresses to it so directed our Behaviour there and afterward so composed that we may not lose the Profits which are to be received by it With Prayers and Thanksgivings inserted To which is annexed Aqua Genitalis A Discourse concerning Baptism In which is inserted a Discourse to persuade to a confirmation of the Baptismal Vow 8vo Jewish Hypocrisie A Caveat to the present Generation Wherein is shewn both the false and the true way to a Nations or Persons compleat Happiness from the sickness and recovery of the Jewish State To which is added a discourse upon Micah 6. 8. belonging to the same matter 8vo Divine Arithmatick A Sermon at the Funeral of Mr. Samuel Jacomb Minister of St. Mary-Woolnoth-Church in Lombard-street London With an Account of his Life 8vo A Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mr. Tho. Grigg Rector of St. Andrew-Vndershaft London 4to An Exposition of the Ten Commandments 8vo Heart's Ease Or a Remedy against all Troubles With a Consolatory Discourse particularly directed to those who have lost their Friends and Rekitions To which is added Two Papers printed in the time of the late Plague The sixth Edition corrected 12mo 1695. The Pillar and Ground of Truth A Treatise shewing that the Roman Church falsly claims to be That Church and the Pillar of That Truth mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Tim. 3. 15. 4to An Examination of Bellarmin's Second Note of the Church viz. A NTIQVITY 4to An Examination of the Texts which Papists cite out of the Bible to prove the Supremacy of St. Peter and of the Pope over the whole Church In Two Parts 4to A private Prayer to be used in difficult times A Thanksgiving for our late wonderful Deliverance A Prayer for Charity Peace and Unity chiefly to be used in Lent A Sermon preached upon St. Peter's Day printed with Enlargements 4to A Sermon preached in St. James's Chappel before the Prince of Orange Jan. 20. 1688. on Isaiah 11. 6. A Second Part of the Sermon before the Prince of Orange on the same Text. Preached in Covent-Garden A Sermon preached before the Queen in March 1688 9. on Colos 3. 15. A Sermon against Murmuring preached at Covent-Garden in Lent 1688 9. on 1 Cor. 10. 10. A Sermon against Censuring preached at Covent-Garden in Advent 1688. on 1 Cor. 4. 10. Fast-Sermon before the King and Queen Apr. 16. 1690. on Prov. 14. 34. A Thanksgiving-Sermon before the Lords Nov. 26. 1691. for reducing of Ireland and the King 's safe Return On Deut. 4. 9. A Fast-Sermon before the Queen Apr. 8. 1692. On Numb 10. 9. Sermon before the Lord Mayor at St. Brides Church on Easter-Munday 1696 on 2 Tim. 2. 8. A Commentary on the First Book of Moses called Geneses 4to 1695. A Commentary on the Second Book of Moses called Exodus 4to 1697. A Sermon before the Lords Nov. 5. 1696. on Dan. 4. 35.
But all this is a meer fancy to excuse his Foresathers who should rather have prayed to God than murmured against Moses For we read expresly God did not take away the Pillar of the Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night from before the People XIII 22. That is it constantly guided them in the way wherein they should go whether they travelled by day or by night And in that very place which he builds his Opinion upon where it is said they journied according to the commandment of the LORD it is also expresly recorded that there was no water for the People to drink XVII 1. Ver. 25. And he cried unto the LORD He did what they should have done made his earnest Prayer to God to relieve them in this distress which he instantly vouchsafed to do And the LORD showed him a Tree We are not told what Tree this was whose Wood being thrown into the Waters took off their bitterness but to increase the Miracle the Jews will have this to have been a Tree of bitter taste which Jonathan calls Ardophne which naturally would have made the Waters bitter if they had been sweet Demetrius mentions this wonderful cure of the Waters in Eusebius his Praepar Evang. L. IX c. 29. Which when he had cast into the water By the order of the LORD who showed him the Tree For the Wonder did not consist as Huetius thinks in his Quaestiones Alnetanae in curing the Water by throwing the Wood into it for that may be done naturally as Pliny shows but that he found this Wood in the Wilderness by the direction of God As Elisha found by the same Divine direction that the throwing in of Meal would make Water sweet which the same Pliny saith is a natural Remedy There he made for them Propounded to them or appointed them A Statute and an Ordinance This seems to signisie that for their better Government God now gave them a few Rules to be observed for the present till he should more fully declare his Will to them from Mount Sinai And it is a most ancient constant Tradition of the Jews That now he commanded them to observe the Sabbath which they understand by Statute and to do Justice particularly honour their Parents which they understand by Ordinance or Judgment as the Hebrew word imports And they instance especially in keeping the Sabbath and honouring of Parents because those two Commandments are pressed upon them in Deuteronomy with this particular inforcement As the LORD commanded thee V Deut. 12 16. which they will have to relate unto this command at Marah See Mr. Selden L. III. de Jure Nat. Gent. c. 9. p. 314 333 c. And perhaps these two might be in the number but it is probable there were more Commands besides these which were now given them as the following Verse seems to intimate And there he proved them He began there to make a trial of their Obedience Whether they would observe these Laws or no. Ver. 26. And said if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God c. This was the main thing he required of them as Jeremiah observes VII 22 23. Where he saith God spake nothing to them in the day when he brought them out of Egypt i. e. at this time concerning Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices but only commanded them saying Obey my voice And this Maimonides himself confesses in his More Nevoch P. III. c. 32. It appears from the Scripture and the Cabala also that the first Precept which God gave us after we came out of Egypt was not concerning Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices but it was that given us at Marah If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God where he gave us a Statute and a Judgment And it is a certain Tradition that the Statute was the Sabbath and the Judgment was the taking away all iniquity i. e. doing Justice I will put none of those Diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians He incourages their Obedience by a gracious Promise to preserve them from those terrible Plagues which he inflicted upon the Egyptians for their Disobedience Which is an Indication withal that if the Israelites proved like them they should be punished in the same manner as he threatens afterwards XXVIII Deut. 59 c. I am the LORD that healeth thee There are two parts of a Physicians Office to cure Men when they are sick and to preserve them in health when they are well The latter is here chiefly intended which the Psalmist takes notice of when he saith CV 37. There was not one feeble Person among their Tribes Ver. 27. And they came to Elim They seem to have stayed but a day at Marah and on the XXVth of Nisan to have come to this place called Elim which signifies Rams from the good Pasture which was here for the feeding Sheep as Jacobus Capellus will have it But Bochartus thinks that El signifies in general a Field as El-Paran XIV Gen. 6. he interprets the Field or Plain of Paran and consequently Elim signifies a part of the Wilderness where there were large and spacious Plains Thus I find Ezekiel the Tragaedian mentioned by Eusebius understood it in his Exagoge where he brings in one talking with Moses and pointing him to this place where a great Light shone on a sudden as a Pillar of Fire to show it to them Which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a shady Meadow and saith it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an exceeding fertil Ground L. IX Praepar Evang c. 29. Where were twelve Wells of Water and threescore and ten Palm-trees Twelve Wells of Water according to the number of the XII Tribes and LXX Palm Trees according to the number of the Elders of Israel says the Hiorusalem Targum and Jonathan's Paraphrase Which Nachmanides so much believed that he saith each Tribe pitched their Tents about one of these Fountains and the LXX Elders sat down under the shadow of the Palm Trees giving thanks to God for the Benefits they now received upon dry Land as lately they had done in the Sea But there is no reason to think that the high Court consisting of so many Elders was now constituted as I have observed before of which see Mr. Selden L. I. de Synedr c. 15. p. 626 c. There is nothing in the Story neither to warrant what Ezekiel says in the place before-named that these Twelve Springs all gushed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of one Rock which was in this beautiful Plain No more than there is for what follows in him concerning a marvellous strange Bird such as no Man ever saw before as big again as an Eagle of various Colours and a most sweet Voice which appeared to them upon this occasion Which he seems to have had out of some Talmudical Fable Palm-Trees This Tree delights in watery Places and therefore no wonder so many were planted here by these Fountains