was resolved by the common consent of all Christians that no Jew should live in their Territories but be driven out of them throughout all the World By which means the greatest part of them died of several kinds of death or made away themselves so that vix pauci residui fierent in orbe Romano there remained but a very few of them in the Roman World They are the words of Glauber who relates this Lib. III. Cap. VII Verse 63 Ver. 63. And it shall come to pass as the LORD rejoyced over you to do you good and to multiply you so the LORD will rejoyce over you to destroy you and to bring you to nought The state of the Jews from the time of Adrian till the expiration of the Roman Empire cannot be gathered from the Roman Writers but the Fathers of the Church often mention their Miseries and so do their own Authors Particularly the Author of Schebet Jehuda who saith It is not in the power of Man to tell all the Kingdoms and Cities where they were scattered in which they suffered things so horrid that it is fitter to pass them over in silence than to relate them But therein was verified the Divine Prediction XXVI Lev. 38. Ye shall perish among the heathen and the Land of your Enemies shall eat you up Sect. XLIX And Dr. Jackson to explain this hath more particularly observed That as God raised up Cyrus in testimony of his rejoycing to do them good who released them from their Captivity in Babylon so to give the World a proof of his rejoycing to destroy them and bring them to nought he advanced Philip Augustus to the Crown of France about An. 1179. to defeat all the hopes which some kindness shown unto them had put into their hearts For he spoiled their Synagogues of all their Donatives and Ornaments confiscated all their Lands and immoveable Goods and granted a Release of all Debts due unto them from Christians See Book I. upon the Creed Cap. XXVIII Paragr 13. And ye shall be plucked from off the Land whither thou goest to possess it This was wonderfully fulfilled by Adrian who after the strange Desolation before-mentioned prohibited by a Publick Decree ratified with the Senates consent any Jew to come within sight of Judaea This he did out of a politick respect lest the sight of their Native Soil might inspire them with some fresh desperate Resolutions to endeavour their Settlement there again but herein he was unwittingly the Angel of God as the same excellent Person speaks to keep this wicked Race out of that Paradise the good Land out of which he had driven them Verse 64 Ver. 64. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people That was the effect of Adrian's severe Decree of not coming within view of their own Country which made them disperse all the World over where they could find any admittance From the one end of the earth even unto the other Such as were carried Captive in Adrian's War were transported by his order into Spain his own native Country which was then accounted the End of the World westward And many of them it is evident by their own Books fled to Babylon and the Countries thereabout which was as far as they knew Eastward In Spain they continued many years in great abundance as it were expecting a Wind for their Passage to some place more distant from their ancient Seat And who knows whether many of them have not since the discovery of America been transported thither as I before observed Certain it is that the Jews themselves are sensible this Prophecy was not fulfilled till this their last dispersion after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans For thus R. Isaac who had occasion to mention these words in his Munimen Fidei lately brought to light by Wagenseil Perek VI. glosses upon them In the Roman Captivity the Jews were dispersed and dissipated through all the Regions of the East and of the West For every Nation of which the Roman Army consisted when they returned to their own Countries carried some of them along with them into Greece Germany Italy Spain France and all other Countries which either Christians or Mahometans now possess And there thou shalt serve other gods which neither thou nor thy fathers have known even wood and stone Here that excellent Person I have so often mentioned Dr. Jackson commends it to the Readers consideration whether this part of Moses his Prophecy may not be understood of the Convert Jews throughout the Pope's Dominions who are often urged to commit Idolatry with Stocks and Stones upon more tyrannical terms if they gain-say than their forefathers were either by the Assyrians Chaldaeans Egyptians Romans or any whatsoever that led them Captive out of their Land If it be said There is a great difference between the Heathen Idolatry and the present Image-worship in the Roman Church it is granted the Idolatry is of a divers kind and so it seems Moses meant when he threatens the Jews after their final Transportation into these Western Countries should serve such gods as their fathers had not known for their Fore-fathers before Moses his time and after had known the Heathen gods too well but were perfect Strangers to this Image-worship now in use And to strengthen this interpretation it ought to be observed that these words which neither thou nor thy fathers have known are omitted in the thirty sixth Verse of this Chapter where he speaks of their serving of other gods of wood and stone as he doth here But that part of the Prophecy belongs to what they did in the first Captivity into Babylon as Manasseh ben Israel observes Who understands these words to be a Prophecy of what they have suffered in this last Dispersion For reciting these words Lib. III. de Termino Vitae Sect. 3. p. 131. as containing the greatest Calamity that hath befaln them he saith This we see fulfilled after a singular manner in this present Captivity because of all those Evils wherewith the Hebrews have been afflicted in France and England and Spain For they had been often pressed either to renounce their Religion or to be undone and many times chose rather to comply with the Idolatrous Worship in the Roman Church then be banished and have their Goods confiscated Verse 65 Ver. 65. And among these Nations shalt thou find no rest This was wonderfully fulfilled in the Ages which followed that in which Adrian lived when they both disturbed others and could find no rest themselves For in the third Century they raised Sedition in the Reign of Severus by whom they suffered very much about the Year 202. after our Saviour's Birth And in the next Century we are informed by St. Chrysostom in his second Oration against the Jews Tom. VI. Edit Savil. p. 333. That they rebelled again in the Time of Constantine who causing their Ears to be cropt off dispersed them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as vile Fugitives and
therefore by Maimonides particularly applied to such Uncleanness yet Mr. Selden hath well observed that it signifies all manner of Filthiness and therefore is well so translated by us both here and in the next Chapter where he speaks of the Matter of Divorce And so it is used by the Prophet Nahum III. 5. to name no more where the nakedness of Niniveh which God saith he would shew to all Nations signifies all the Murders Robberies Deceit and other great Wickednesses which abounded in that City See Vxor Hebr. Lib. III. Cap. XXIII And thus Abarbinel here extends it to all the horrid Sins which were usually committed in the Camps of Idolaters And turn away from thee As Princes are wont to do when they see any thing offensive to them And the meaning is he would not deliver them from their Enemies as he promised before but give them up into their hands I conclude all this matter with the words of R. Zacharias in Pirke Eliezer Cap. XLIV The Pillar of the Cloud in which the Glory of the LORD dwelt incompassed the Camps of Israel round about and made them like a City girt about with a wall that no Enemy might assault them But this Cloud threw all Vncleanness out of the Camps of Israel for they were holy and he quotes this place for it Ver. 15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the Verse 15 servant which is escaped from his master unto thee The Hebrew Doctors understand this of a Servant of another Nation who was become a Jew Whom his Master if he went to dwell out of Judaea might not carry along with him against his will and if he fled from him when he had carried him he might not be delivered to him but suffered to dwell in the Land of Israel Which they understand also of a Servant that fled from his Master out of any of the Countries of the Gentiles into the Land of Israel which was to be a safe Refuge to him See Selden Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. Gent. juxta Discipl Hebr. Cap. VIII p. 711. Ver. 16. He shall dwell with thee even among you Verse 16 Having embraced the Jewish Religion In the place which he shall chuse in one of thy Gates where it liketh him best He was not to be abridged of his Liberty but permitted to settle himself where he pleased in any part of their Country Thou shalt not oppress him For there was an express Law against all manner of Injuries or Hardships put upon Strangers XIX Levit. 33 34. Ver. 17. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel nor a Sodomite of the Sons of Israel Or a Whremonger of the Sons of Israel as the last part Verse 17 of the Verse may be translated with the same reason that the foregoing words are translated no Whore of the Daughters of Israel So Bonsrerius truly observes and so the Vulgar Latin and the Seventy translate it and several other Versions mentioned by Mr. Selden Lib. III. Vxor Hebr. Cap. XXIII p. 487. Which sort of Persons Moses would not have to be tolerated among the Israelites as they were among the Egyptians many of which if we may believe Sextus Empiricus were so far from thinking it a Reproach for Women to prostitute themselves that they lookt upon it as honourable and gloried in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Lib. III. Pyr. Hypot Cap. XXIV p. 152. And great reason there was for this Prohibition because by Whoredom Families are confounded and destroyed as Maimonides observes and their Issue are lookt upon by all Men as Aliens so that none will own them as their kindred and their Neighbours become Strangers to them than which nothing can be worse for them and for their Parents For which cause saith he all publick Stews were disallowed among the Israelites who had this benefit by it among others that many brawls and quarrels fightings and bloodshed were prevented which frequently happened when several Men were assembled at the same time contending for the same Woman For so the Scripture saith V Jeremiah 7. They assemble by troops in the harlots houses For the preventing of these and such like Mischiefs and that the distinction of Families might be preserved both Whores and Whoremongers are here condemned and no other Conjunction permitted but with a Man 's own Wife publickly married For if a private Marriage had been sufficient many would have kept Women in their Houses as their Whores and pretended they were their Wives Therefore after a Man had privately espoused a Woman he was bound publickly to keep his Wedding Thus that great Man More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XLIX and see Selden Lib. V. de Jure Nat. Gent. juxta Disc Hebr. Cap. IV. p. 554. How much more abominable then were such Persons as prostituted their Bodies in honour of Venus and of Priapus and such like filthy Deities Of which sort there were both Males and Females consecrated to such impure Services And this was practised even in the days of Moses as appears from the History of those who committed Fornication with the Daughters of Moab who exposed themselves in honour of Baal-Peor for their lying with them was accounted Idolatry And such there were at last among the Israelites as appears from 1 Kings XIV 24. 2 Kings XXIII where we read that the Houses of the Sodomites as we translate it were by the House of the LORD Which shows they were not vulgar but consecrated Sodomites or Whoremongers I need not mention the Heathen Writers who tell us this was a piece of Religion among them See our Learned Dr. Spencer Lib. II. de Leg. Hebr. Ritual Cap. XXII and Heideggerus in his Histor Patriarch Exercit. I. Sect. XI where he observes a great many very learned Men understand this very place not meerly of Vulgar Whores but of such as I have mentioned Which were famous in ancient times among the Phaenicians Babylonians and other Nations whom Strabo calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lib. VIII Geograph where he saith pag. 378. that at Corinth there was a Temple so richly endowed that it maintained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above a thousand of these consecrated Whores whom both Men and Women had dedicated to the goddess 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Sea-faring Men who arrived in great numbers at this Port parted with their Money easily And Lib. XII speaking of Comana he saith There were a multitude of Women there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who maintained themselves by prostituting their Bodies and most of them were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sacred Persons this City being a little Corinth to which great numbers of People resorted at their Festivals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of the multitude of Harlots which were here sacred to Venus p. 559. And the like account we find in Athenaeus Lib. XIII Deipnos Cap. VI. where he saith They that went to pray there were wont for the obtaining their Petitions to
after till the Feast of Dedication which was in our November after which they were not accepted Of the manner of going up with a Bullock before them whose Horns were gilt and Head crown'd with an Olive Garland with Musick and singing in the way the first Verse of the CXXII Psalm c. See Wagenseil in the place above-mentioned and Selden Lib. III. de Synedriis Cap. XIII N. III. with Dr. Light-foot in his Temple-Service And here I cannot but think fit to note that the Heathen in all probability from hence derived the Custom of carrying their First-fruits as a Tithe every year unto the Island Delos where Apollo was supposed to have his special Residence And this not only from the Islands thereabouts and the neighbouring Countries but from all parts of the World as the Jews we find every where sent from the Countries where they dwelt a Sum of Money every year instead of First-fruits and Tithes unto Jerusalem which Priviledge the Romans allowed them after they had conquered them as Josephus tells us Lib. VII de Bello Jud. Cap. XIII That Heathen Custom now mentioned is expressed by Callimachus in his Hymn upon Delos in those remarkable words v. 278 279 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The sense of which is this That First-fruits were sent for Tithes every year from all Countries not only from the East and West and South but from the North also And they were sent with such Joy as the Jews expressed on this occasion for all Cities he saith did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And so we read in several Authors that there were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they called them Solemn Embassies sent from several People by chosen Persons unto Delos to celebrate there the Feast of Apollo with Musick and Dancing c. Particularly the Athenians Peloponesians and Messenians c. of whom see Ezek. Spanhemius in his Observations on Callimachus p. 487. And which is most strange the Hyperboreans a very northerly People sent frugum primitias to this Island as Pliny and I know not how many other Authors testifie Only what he calls the First-fruits of their Corn and such like things they call the First-fruits of their holy things as the same excellent Person observes there p. 490 492 c. Which was done to testifie their honour to this god and for the maintenance of his Priests and other Ministers who attended upon him there For Delos of it self was but a barren Isle the Soil being dry and stony and called therefore by Callimachus v. 208. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There are other footsteps of this among the Heathen the Mystica vannus Jacchi mentioned by Virgil in his Georgicks being nothing else according to Servius but vas vimineum a wicker Basket in which their First-fruits were carried See the same Spanheim p. 495. Verse 3 Ver. 3. And thou shalt go unto the Priest that shall be in those days Who was then in attendance at the Sanctuary and particularly appointed to wait for their coming When they entred the Gates of the City they sung the second Verse of Psalm CXXII Our feet shall stand in thy gates O Jerusalem And then they went to the Mountain of the Temple and sung the whole Hundred and fiftieth Psalm And as soon as they entred the Court of Israel the Levites began to sing XXX Psal 1. I will extoll thee O LORD my God c. And say unto him The following Confession in this Verse was made by them with the Baskets on their shoulders to stir them up to Humility as Maimonides interprets it His words are these While they were compelled to carry their Baskets on their shoulders and in that manner to proclaim the Divine Benefits it signified that it was a considerable part of God's Worship and Service for a Man to be mindful of his Afflictions and Tribulations when God had given him ease and rest from them This the Law takes care of in several places as when it saith Thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant c. With this intention that he who lived in Riches and Pleasure might be secured from the Vices which spring from thence such as Pride Haughtiness Apostasy and the like According to what is said in this Book VIII 12. Lest thou eat and art full and XXXII 15. Jesurun waxed fat and kicked c. To prevent which God commanded the First-fruits to be thus offered every year to his Divine Majesty More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXIX I profess this day unto the LORD thy God that I am come into the Country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us This is a thankful acknowledgment of God's faithfulness to his promise whereby they were put in mind to be faithful unto him of whom they held this good Land by his gracious and free Gift and held it by this Tenure of paying to him this yearly Rent Ver. 4. And the Priest shall take the basket out of thy Verse 4 hand and set it before the Altar of the LORD thy God After the foregoing words were said the Basket was taken down from their shoulders and every one holding his Basket by the handle or the rim of it the Priest put his hands under it and waved it about according to the Prescription in the Law while the Men recited the following words v. 5 6 c. This waving was a manifest token that it was offered to the LORD of the World as an acknowledgment that he was in a peculiar manner their LORD and Soveraign of whom they held this Land Ver. 5. And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD Verse 5 thy God Audibly pronounce in the presence of God A Syrian ready to perish was my father Their Father Jacob was not a Syrian by birth for he was born in the Land of Canaan But one and the same Person may be said to be of divers Countries as Bochartus hath observed with regard either to the Place of his Nativity or of his Education or of his Life and Conversation which occasioned three Countries to be ascribed to our blessed Saviour viz. Bethlehem Nazareth and Capernaum See his Phaleg Lib. II. Cap. V Thus Jacob who was born and bred in Canaan is notwithstanding called a Syrian because he lived Twenty years with his Uncle Laban who was a Syrian XXV Gen. 20. and consequently Jacob's Mother was so as were both his Wives and all his Children who were born there except Benjamin But he is more particularly here called a Syrian to put them in mind of his Poverty when he went first into that Country and there lived as a Servant under an hard Master which is expressed in these words ready to perish that is very poor and reduced to great straits being forced to flee from the fury of his Brother Esau and to travel on foot to Padan-Aram which was comprehended anciently under the name
shall the Plagues of Babylon the great come in one day In one hour her great riches shall come to nought XVIII Revel 8 10 17. Verse 36 Ver. 36. For the LORD shall judge his people Plead their cause as the Scripture elsewhere speaks L Jerem. 34. and deliver them from the Oppression of their Enemies as this Phrase is often used in the Book of Psalms VII 8. X. 18. And repent himself for his servants Have mercy upon them as the Vulgar truly expresses the sense and turn his Hand which punishes them upon their Enemies See L Jerem. 20. LI. 24. When he sees that their power is gone That they are not able to help themselves That 's the due time or season before-mentioned for God to interpose when the Enemies of his People think themselves irresistible there being none able to oppose them And there is none shut up or left Some refer this to Persons and others to Things and either way it signifies their Condition to be so forlorn that they could do nothing either by Men or by Money for their deliverance J. Forsterus translates these words Custoditum aut neglectum i. e. precious or vile By which wonderful deliverance and restoration when they were so totally destitute of all help all the World was given to understand that there is no God like unto the LORD Ver. 37. And he shall say Or It shall be said Where are their gods their rock in whom they trusted Verse 37 It is dubious whether these words be directed to the Jews or to the Gentiles who had oppressed them It seems most agreeable to take them as a Reproach to the Enemies of the Jews who had long bragg'd of the Power of their gods and ascribed all their Success to them v. 27. who now could not deliver them in their distress Ver. 38. Which did eat the fat of their Sacrifices and Verse 38 drank the wine of their Drink-offerings For the same Rites were used among the Gentiles as among the Jews who offered all the Fat upon the Altar and there poured out the Wine which accompanied the Meat-offering c. See XV Numb The LXX refer this to the Worshippers themselves and translate it thus agreeably enough to the Hebrew The fat of whose Sacrifices ye eat and drank the wine of their Drink-offerings And Onkelos to the same purpose Let them rise up and help you and be your protection From the Calamity which was unavoidably coming upon them XLVI Isa 1 2 7. LI Jerem. 17 18. Ver. 39. See now Open your Eyes now at last Verse 39 and be convinced by your sad Experience of your Error That I even I am he That it is I and none but I who have made these Changes in the World first making you Instruments in punishing my People and now inflicting the like Punishments upon you LI Jerem 24 25 49. The words in the Hebrew being I I am he the Author of the Old Nitzacon was sensible that we Christians might hence observe that there are two who are here called God the Father and the Son And therefore takes care to inform his Reader that there are not two first principles of things Which as no Christian is so foolish as to affirm so their own Authors have acknowledged more Persons than one here called God Thus Jonathan in his Paraphrase plainly supposes another Person in the Divinity whom he calls the WORD when he thus explains this Verse When the WORD of the LORD shall reveal himself to redeem his People he shall say to all People I am he that have been and am and shall be See I Revel 8. and by my WORD kill and make alive I smote the People of Israel and I will heal them in the end of the days Which makes these words a plain Prophecy of the Messiah and him to be God And so the Hierusalem Targum See that I now am he in my WORD and there is no God besides me I am he who kill the living in this World and raise the dead in the World to come c. And there is no god with me As I have no Superiour so neither have I any Equal I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal If I please to destroy any People for their sins none can hinder me and if any repent and implore my Mercy I restore them to perfect safety R. Isaac in his Chissuk Emuna P. I. Cap. VI. Sect. XX. alledges these words as a Prophecy of the Resurrection of the dead in the days of the Messiah And in another place Cap. X. he alledges them as an effectual Confutation of those ancient Hereticks who imagined two Supream Powers one of them the Author of all Good and the other the Author of all Evil which I observed upon XVI Levit. to have been a very ancient Opinion For there could not be they fancied the same Care which had an influence upon both To remove which false conceit God declares I kill as well as make alive c. And for the same reason he saith in XLV Isa 7. I form the light and create darkness I make peace and create evil I the LORD do all these things Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand Nor can any reverse the Judgment that I pass upon Men. Ver. 40. For I lift up my hand to Heaven Swear Verse 40 solemnly to do what follows viz. be revenged on his Enemies as well as deliver his People Thus Abraham anciently sware XIV Gen. 22. And when God promised to bring the Israelites into Canaan he is said to lift up his hand VI Exod. 8. IX Nehem. 15. From whence some think the word promittere is derived signifying to engage by stretching out the hand and that from thence sprang the Custom of stretching out and lifting up their Hand when they sware Which the Gentiles practised as those known words of Virgil inform us Aeneid XII Suspiciens Coelum tenditque ad sydera dextram When God therefore is said to lift up his Hand to Heaven the meaning is he swears by himself as it here follows And say I live for ever As sure as I live Ver. 41. If I whet my glittering Sword Make all Verse 41 things ready for the execution of my Judgments And my hand take hold of judgment I begin to punish I will render vengeance to mine Enemies None shall stop my proceedings to be fully avenged of them And will reward them that hate me For as Jeremiah speaks LI. 56. The LORD God of Recompences will surely requite For it is the vengeance of the LORD as he speaks in the foregoing Chapter concerning Babylon L. 15. take vengeance upon her as she hath done do unto her Verse 42 Ver. 42. I will make mine Arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh Make an exceeding great slaughter XXXIV Isaiah 5 6. With the blood of the slain and of the Captives This signifies none should be spared for they should be killed who
the Blessing wherewith Jacob his Father blessed them in a Land of Corn c. And so the Hierusalem Targum making more express mention of the word Fountain Israel shall dwell by himself securely from the Fountain of Benediction wherewith Jacob blessed them in a Land producing Wine and Oil and the Heavens above are commanded to send Dews and Rain upon them Ver. 29. Happy art thou O Israel He was not Verse 29 able further to express their Happiness and therefore breaks out into admiration of it exciting them thereby to be deeply sensible of it and affected with it Who is like unto thee Who had the LORD for their God as he said before v. 26 c. and IV. 7 8. A People saved by the LORD Who have been redeemed by his mighty Power So the Hierusalem Targum Whose Redemption I suppose he meant out of Egypt is from the presence of the LORD Who had preserved them ever since and would still protect them as it here follows This R. Isaac in Chissuk Emuna P. I. Cap. XVIII saith signifies the Spiritual Blessings God bestowed on them For true Felicity saith he doth not consist in Victory over Enemies and Plenty of Corn or such like things of which he had spoken before in the foregoing Verse but in the Salvation of the Soul of which no Nation in the World was secure but the Jews Which made Moses saith he break out into these words O happy People saved by the LORD As much as to say among all People is there any saved like to thee This he saith because Christians were wont to tell them that they fixed their Minds wholly on the Corporal Felicity which their Law promised them which made him look about to find out all that he could draw to an higher sense And he fixes so much upon these words that he repeats it again a little after that the Salvation here promised is everlasting And yet his Eyes could not be opened to see that this Salvation was to be brought to them by the MESSIAH and that our LORD Jesus is he whose Gospel is as full of such Promises as their Law is of the Promises of Corn and Wine and Oil. The shield of thy help To defend them from all the Assaults of their Enemies He adds this saith the same R. Isaac to show that they to whom he promises Spiritual Blessings are not thereby put out of hope of Temporal For the People that are saved by the LORD have him also for their Shield and their Sword as it here follows And who is the sword of thy excellency To cut their Enemies in pieces so that they should glory and boast in magnificent Victories over them Or as Onkelos translates it From his presence are all the Victories of thy valiant Men. And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee Find themselves deceived in all their vain hopes of saving themselves or hurting the Israelites Or should be so afraid of them that with feigned Stories they should court their Friendship as the Gibeonites did Or more simply should submit to them though not heartily yet out of fear as this Phrase is used XVIII Psal 44. LXVI 3. and other places And thou shalt tread upon their high places Upon the Necks of their Kings as both Onkelos and the Hierusalem Targum understand it taking bamoth here for great Men in high stations And thus Joshua did as we read X Josh 21. Chapter XXXIV But this word commonly signifies either strong holds or places of idolatrous worship which neither their great men nor their gods themselves should be able to preserve from ruin CHAP. XXXIV Verse 1. AND Moses went up Having thus declared Verse 1 his affectionate Concern for the Happiness of every one of them he took his leave of the Elders and all the People and went up whither God had commanded him XXXII 49 c. From the plains of Moab In which was their last station before they entred into Canaan XXXIII Numb 48 49 50. Where God delivered several Commands to them XXXV Numb 1. XXXVI 13. and where Moses spake to them what we read in this Book I Deut. 5. Vnto the Mountain of Nebo Which was the highest part of the Mountain of Abarim as appears from XXVII Numb 12. compared with XXXII Deut. 49. Near to which there was a City of the same Name XXXII Numb 38. XV Isa 2. To the top of Pisgah Which was the very top of the Mountain Nebo See III Deut. 27. XXI Numb 20. That is over against Jericho A famous City on the other side of Jordan I see no ground to believe that the People of Israel accompanied him hither as Josephus tells the story with so many tears that Moses wept also and having beseeched them not to take his Departure so heavily he dismissed them together with the Elders and remained there alone And the LORD Or as Jonathan hath it the WORD of the LORD who had accompanied him with his blessed Presence through the Wilderness Showed him all the Land of Gilead unto Dan. God had often promised him that he should see the good Land promised to their Fathers though not be permitted to enter into it XXVI Numb 12. III Deut. 27. And now fulfils his word and gives him a full prospect of it bidding him first look Northwards through the whole Land of Gilead which comprehends all that was given to the two Tribes and half on this side Jordan where they now were to the Land of Naphtali which was in the upper Galilee beyond the Sea of Genesaret as far as to the utmost Northern Border which was then called Laisch and afterwards Dan XIX Josh 47. XVIII Judg. 28. and in latter times Cesaraea Philippi The mention of Dan which was not the name of this place till after that Tribe had conquered Laish in the time of the Judges shows that this was not written at the same time with the rest of this Book no more than what we read v. 5 6 10. of his Death and Burial c. unless we suppose Moses to have given an account of his own Death and Burial by the Spirit of Prophecy which is not probable but it is most likely by Samuel who was a Prophet and wrote by Divine Authority what he found in the Records which were left by Joshua and others who succeeded him who gave an account of Moses his leaving the World and of all that was done after till the end of the time of the Judges Ver. 2. And all Naphtali and the Land of Ephraim Verse 2 and Manasseh Having seen the Northern Parts he bad him turn his Eyes towards the Midland Country where Ephraim and Manasseh were situated And all the Land of Judah Which lay Southerly Vnto the utmost Sea By which some understand the Salt Sea which lay on the South-Border of the Land of Judah XXXIV Numb 3. But then there will be no mention of the Western Part of Canaan which lay upon the Mediterranean or Midland
Sea which is hereby meant Ver. 3. And the South And after he had seen Verse 3 the South which the Tribes of Judah and Simeon inhabited he bad him take a view of the Eastern Parts of the Country as it here follows And the plain of the Valley of Jericho All the Region about Jordan especially the lovely Plain of Jericho which is very much celebrated by other Authors and lay in the Tribe of Benjamin The City of Palm-trees Which is often mentioned in Scripture sometime without and sometime with the name of Jericho I Judges 16. III. 13. 2 Chron. XXVIII 15. which was so called because a multitude of Palm-trees grew about it as Strabo as well as Josephus testifies in his Geograph Lib. XVI p. 763. where he describes this plain as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. as incompassed about with Mountains after the manner of a Theatre abounding with Palm-trees and other Garden-trees mixed with them for the space of an hundred Stadia And there was also he observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Paradise of Balsam Which is a rare Aromatick Plant like to the Turpentine-tree whose Juice is of great virtue and value c. From which odoriferous Plant growing here some think this City had the Name of Jericho signifying sweet smelling So R. Judas in the Gemara of Beracoth where he mentions this Tree as growing about Jericho and thence derives its name from the Hebrew word reach which signifies a sweet smell This is more probable than the Conjecture of D. Chytraeus who imagines Jericho to come from jerec which signifies the Moon and in their German Language he thinks might be called Luneburgh Vnto Zoar. Which lay in the entrance of the Salt Sea Verse 4 Ver. 4. And the LORD said unto him After he had showed him the Land the WORD of the LORD as the Hierusalem Targum hath it spake these words to him which follow And God having been wont to speak to Moses out of the Cloud of Glory Josephus conceives that now he was incompassed with it and from thence heard this voice Which the Jews fancy was so loud that the People heard it into the Camp Thus at our Saviour's Transfiguration upon the holy Mount a glorious Cloud over-shadowed him and his three Apostles who heard the voice say to them This is my beloved Son c. The Samaritans as Hottinger relates in his Smegma Orientale Cap. VIII p. 456. tell the story thus That Joshua Eleazar the Priest and all the Elders accompanying him to the Mount fell into such a Passion when they were to take their leave that they could not be parted from him Whereupon the Pillar of Fire came down which separated them from Moses so that they saw him no more This is the Land which I sware unto Abraham unto Isaac and unto Jacob saying I will give it unto thy seed XII Gen. 7. XIII 15. XV. 18 c. I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes Which the LORD strengthned it is likely with a greater vigour than usual that he might take a larger prospect than other wise he could have done of this Country Or as some of the Jews understand it he laid a Map of it before his eyes wherein every part of it was exactly described But that might have been done in the Plains of Moab without going up into a Mountain therefore the other is more reasonable that he strengthned his visive Faculty with a greater Power to see the whole Country in its length and breadth c. And therefore some of the Rabbins have been so wise as to put both together as J. Bened. Carpzovius observes out of several of them upon Schickard's Jus Regium Cap. V. Theorem XVI p. 285. who thus speak God shewed him the whole Land as in a Garden Plot forty Miles in breadth and as many in length and gave his Eyes such a power of Contemplating the whole Land from the beginning to the end that he saw Hills and Dales what was open and what was inclosed remote or nigh at one view But thou shalt not go over thither This he had often said to him and now mentions it that he might die in a comfortable sense that he had been as good as his word to him and consequently carry this Belief along with him into the other World that he would make good the Oath which he sware to their Fathers of bringing them into Canaan and there fulfil all that he had foretold Verse 5 Ver. 5. So Moses the servant of the LORD So God himself calls him after his death in the next Book I Josh 2 7. as the most eminent Minister of his that he had hitherto employed in Israel But the observation of R. Bechai is not well founded that he is not called the Servant of the LORD till after he was dead and then admitted unto the nearest familiarity with the Divine Majesty For though these very words are not used yet the LORD calls him My Servant Moses which is the same thing XII Numb 7. Died in the Land of Moab For this Country was so still called because it anciently belonged to the Moabites See XXI Numb 26. from whom Sihon had taken it as Israel now had taken it from him So that he really died in the Land of Israel According to the Word of the LORD The Hierusalem Targum expounds this very soberly According to the Sentence of the Decree of the LORD That is as the LORD had determined and declared he should XXXII 49 50. And so this Phrase is commonly used in this very Book XVII 6 10 11. as well as in other places of the Pentateuch IX Numb 20. XIII 3 c. which will warrant this Interpretation that Moses did not die of any Disease nor was worn out with Age but meerly because God the Supream Governour of all things so ordered it But some of the Jews not satisfied with this have far-fetch'd Conceits concerning the Death of Moses from these words For because it is said he died al pi at the mouth as the words are literally in the Hebrew of the LORD Maimonides himself saith that their wise Men think and he seems of their Opinion that it signifies the LORD drew his Soul out of his Body with a kiss And thus died Aaron and Miriam but none besides them Of Aaron indeed it is expresly said he died al pi of the LORD but it is not said of Miriam and yet they will have her to have had the same favour That is they died saith he of too much love from the pleasure they had in the thoughts of God which apprehension of God conjunct with the highest love to him he thinks is called kissing I Cant. 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth More Nevochim P. III. Cap. LI. But this is not the meaning of the Phrase though no doubt Moses departed this Life in a most delectable sense and taste of the Divine Love having no unwillingness to
themselves Ver. 19. And when we departed from Horeb. See Verse 19 X Numb 2. We went through all that great and terrible Wilderness It may well be called great because it extended a great way For after three days Journey X Numb 12. they settled at Kibroth-hattaavah which was in this Wilderness of Paran From whence they went to Hazeroth which is still said to be in this Wilderness XI Numb 35. And when they went from thence they were in the same Wilderness XII 16. where Kadesh was XIII 26. and see XXXIII 19. And this Wilderness was very terrible or dreadful because there were no Inhabitants in it but wild Beasts Which you saw by the way of the Mountain of the Amorites All the way you went towards that Mountain See v. 7. As the LORD our God commanded us According to the direction which God gave them by the motion of the Cloud that went before them And we came to Kadesh-Barnea Where they rested at the foot of that Mountain in the Wilderness of Paran XIII Numb 2 26. Verse 20 Ver. 20. And I said unto you ye are come to the Mountain of the Amorites which the LORD our God doth give unto us For this was part of the Country which God bestowed upon them for their Possession as appears from XXXIV Numb 4. Where Kadesh-Barnea is mentioned as a frontier Place in their South-border And indeed the Amorites wheresover they found them were to be expelled as they had already dispossessed them of the whole Kingdom of Sihon who was King of the Amorites XXI Numb 21 25 26. Ver. 21. Behold the LORD thy God hath set the Land before thee All the Country beyond this Mountain v. 8. Go up For there was a great ascent to it XIII Verse 21 Numb 17. And possess it Enter upon the Possession of it As the LORD God of thy Fathers hath said unto thee According to the Promise made by God long ago to Abraham Isaac and Jacob See v. 8. which he is now ready to perform Fear not neither be discouraged Do not dread either their number or their strength but trust in the LORD whose Name he repeats four times in these three Verses that he will make good his word Ver. 22. And ye came near unto me every one of you Verse 22 The Heads of every Tribe in the name of the whole Congregation whose desire this was And said we will send Men before us Some select Persons And they shall search out the Land Give us an account how it lies and what kind of Country it is And bring us word again by what way we shall go up Inform us which way to direct our march into it And into what Cities we shall come What Cities we shall first attack to make our way the clearer into the Country Moses also charges the Men that went to search the Land with many other Enquiries XIII Numb 18 19 20. that the People might receive the fullest satisfaction Ver. 23. And the saying pleased me well He thought Verse 23 this a reasonable motion proceeding only from a prudent Caution whereas in truth they were timorous and distrustful of God's promise And I took twelve Men of you one of a Tribe That every body might be satisfied when they heard the report of their Brethren XIII Numb 2 3 4. c. and God directed him so to do as we read there Verse 24 Ver. 24. And they turned From Kadesh-Barnea And went up into the Mountain XIII Numb 17 21. And came unto the Valley of Eschol It appears by the relation XIII Numb 21 22 23. that this was the last place unto which they came when they had ended their search And searched it out After they had gone through all the quarters of the Country Verse 25 Ver. 25. And they took of the fruit of the Land in their hands and brought it down unto us Both Grapes Pomegranates and Figgs XIII Numb 23. And brought us word again and said It is a good Land which the LORD our God doth give us So they all said unanimously and brought along with them a demonstration of it XIII Numb 27. only they added that they were not able to deal with the Inhabitants of it Verse 26 Ver. 26. Notwithstanding ye would not go up but rebelled against the Commandment of the LORD your God Who bad you go up and not be afraid v. 8 21. Which was the greater sin because he had not only brought them to the Borders of the Land but convinced them that he had not deluded them with fair Promises of a better Country than really it was For they all saw the goodly Fruit which it produced and ought therefore to have believed he would fulfil his word and give them the possession of it Verse 27 Ver. 27. And ye murmured in your Tents After great Lamentations for a whole Night together XIV Numb 1. And said because the LORD hated us he hath brought us forth out of the Land of Egypt Unto which therefore they desired and conspired to return XIV Numb 4. To deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us Nothing can be more pernitious as Grotius here observes than a perswasion that God doth not love us but hath a design upon us to destroy us Ver. 28. Whither shall we go up Moses I suppose Verse 28 still pressed them to go up and take possession of the Land to which they give him this snappish Answer Our Brethren have discouraged our hearts The Men that you your self sent to search the Land have dispirited us by the Report they have brought us Which would not have had that effect upon them if they had minded one part of it as much as the other and calmly considered what Caleb and Joshua said who made no doubt of Success Saying The People is greater and taller than we More numerous and of far greater stature and strength XIII Numb 28.33 The Cities are great and walled up to Heaven The Spies only told them that ther Cities were walled and very great XIII Numb 28. but their fear and confusion of Thoughts augmented the danger of attempting the Conquest of them Yet Moses himself thinks good afterwards to use the same hyperbole IX 1. which is common in the best Authors For thus Homer in Odyss E. v. 239. speaks of a Firr-tree as high as Heaven i. e. exceeding tall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many other Instances may be seen in Bochartus his Phaleg Lib. I. Cap. XIII And Moreover we have seen the Sons of the Anakims there See XIII Numb 28.33 Const L'Empereur will rather have it translated the Sons of the Giants as the LXX and Onkelos take it Yet he acknowledges that Anak seems to have been the first Parent and Propagator of the Race of Giants after the Flood and therefore it may be properly translated as we do See Annot. in Itiner Benjamini Tudelensis p. 136. Verse 29 Ver. 29. Then I said unto you Moses here at large relates what he
into the Wilderness out of which I have brought you XIV Numb 25. By the way of the Red-Sea Thus they had their desire in some part of returning into Egypt XIV Numb 4. which was not far from the Red-Sea Verse 41 Ver. 41. Then you answered and said unto me We have sinned against the LORD They repented when it was too late to do them any good See XIV Numb 40. We will go up and fight according to all that the LORD our God commanded us Now they resolve to encounter those Enemies of whom they were before so afraid as to speak of stoning those who exhorted them not to fear them XIV Numb 9 10. And when you girded on every Man his Weapons of War ye were ready to go up into the Hill They not only made a stout Resolution but actually prepared themselves for the Onset as if there were no difficulty in that which a little before they dreaded to think of So de Dieu translates the last words Ye thought it an easie matter to ascend the Hill or ye despised going up the Mountain in our Language made nothing of it Ver. 42. And the LORD said unto me say unto Verse 42 them Go not up XIV Numb 41 42. Neither fight Much less think of fighting For I am not among you By my powerful Presence to subdue your Enemies or to defend you from them so the Phrase is often used for the Ark of the Covenant the Token of God's Presence did not go with them XIV Numb 44. Lest ye be smitten before your Enemies Which would be a far greater Disgrace than marching away from them Ver. 43. So I spake unto you XIV Numb 42 43. Verse 43 And ye would not hear No more than before when he bad them go up And rebelled against the Commandment of the LORD For now it was against his will as before it was his will that they should go up And went presumptuously up into the Hill Would venture against the express command of God which was the highest presumption Ver. 44. And the Amorites which dwelt in that Mountain Verse 44 came out against you As soon as they saw the Israelites ascend to assault them they came down upon them XIV Numb 45. And chased you as Bees do Which pursue those that disturb their Hives in great swarms and with great fury CXVIII Psalm 12. For though Bees have very small Bodies yet they have great Spirits and a vast Force as Bochart observes in many instances to make out the aptness of this Comparison in his Hierozoicon P. II. Lib. IV. Cap. X. And destroyed you in Seir. It seems they fled toward that part of Idumaea where Mount Seir was which they afterwards compassed many days II. 1. when they removed from Kadesh-Barnea And there some of them fell by the Sword of the Amorites who were the fiercest of all the People of Canaan and might on that account be well compared to Bees who cease not their pursuit till they have fixt their stings Even unto Hormah See XIV Numb 45. Verse 45 Ver. 45. And ye returned After the Amorites retreated And wept before the LORD Beseeching him to go along with you and assist you to conquer the Land But the LORD would not hearken to your voice nor give ear unto you To consent that they should now go and possess the promised Land or stay near to it but remained sixt in his resolution that they should go back again and wander in the Wilderness as long as they lived Verse 46 Ver. 46. So ye dwelt in Kadesh many days God had commanded Moses to lead them into the Wilderness by the way of the Red-Sea the very next Morning after their mutiny upon the return of the Spies XIV Numb 25. But they prevented this by their early rising next Morning to Assault the Amorites in the Mountain v. 40. After which they being discomfited he permitted them to stay some time here to bemoan themselves But how long is not certain for sometime the Cloud stayed but two days sometime a month sometime a year before it stirred from the Tabernacle which was the sign of their removal X Numb 22. And in some Stations it 's likely they stayed several Years for from the time of their removal from Kadesh-Barnea till they came to Mount Hor which was thirty seven Years we find but Nineteen Stations See XXXIII Numb from v. 18. to v. 37. According to the days that ye abode there Some expound it as long as they did in all the rest of their Stations i. e. nineteen Years as the Jews compute in Seder Olam But as the learned Dr. Lightfoot thinks it signifies as long as they did at Mount Sinai and so they stayed near a whole Year as they had done at Sinai But the most simple Explication seems to be that they tarried here so long after this as they had done before it at least forty days which was the time the Spies spent in searching out the Land Though there is no necessity to confine it to that number but simply to interpret it that as they stayed there many days before this mutiny so they did as many after it Chapter II. CHAP. II. Verse 1 Verse 1. AND we turned c. From the Borders of the Land of Canaan to go Southward till they came to the very shore of the Red-Sea Which as David Chytraeus computes it was thirty German miles from Kadesh-Barnea As the LORD spake unto me According to the command formerly mentioned XIV Numb 25. And we compassed Mount Seir. The mountainous Country of Edom whereof Mount Seir was but a part For when they came to Ezion-gaber which was upon the Red-Sea they were still in the Country of Edom 1 Kings IX 26. 2 Chron. VIII 17. For it stretched a long way from the Confines of Canaan unto Elato and Ezion-geber on the Red-Sea Many days Some think that they were marching to and fro along the Borders of this Country all the time they spent from this removal till they return'd to go towards Canaan again So that by many days they understand the whole XXXVIII years which passed between their departure from Kadesh-Barnea till they came over the Brook Zered v. 14. For when they were at Ezion-gaber which was farthest from Canaan they were as I said upon the Borders of Edom and so they were when they came back again seven and thirty Years after at Mount Hor XX Numb 23. XXI 4. But this must not be understood as if all the Stations mentioned XXXIII Numb after they left Kadesh-Barnea till they came hither again were near to the Country of Edom Some of them might be remote though they all lay in that Wilderness which reached from one end of Idumaea to the other Ver. 2. And the LORD spake unto me saying This was in the end of the XXXIXth Year after their Verse 2 coming out of Egypt when they had spent XXXVII Years going to and fro since their departure
from Kadesh-Barnea In all which time he gives us no account what passed either in the foregoing Book or in this but only sets down the places of their abode as I observed in the XXXIIIth of NVMBERS Ver. 3. Ye have compassed this Mountain long enough Verse 3 i. e. The mountainous Country of Edom mentioned v. 1. Turn ye northward From Ezion-gaber which was in the South towards the North that is directly towards the Land of Canaan Ver. 4. And command thou the People saying Ye Verse 4 are to pass through the Coast of your Brethren the Children of Esau which dwell in Seir. For they went from Ezion-gaber to Kadesh XX Numb 1. and from thence to Mount Hor v. 22. which was in the edge of the Land of Edom XXXIII Numb 37. and from thence they travelled to compass the Land of Edom XXI 4. i. e. the Eastern quarter of it So that though they did not pass through the Coast of Edom as we translate it yet they passed by it and very near unto it as the Particle beth frequently signifies XXXVII Gen. 13. V Josh 13. 1 Sam. XXIX 1. Though they may be truly said to pass through their Coast if thereby we understand their Border or the Confines of their Country And they shall be afraid of you Lest wanting a Settlement the Israelites should seize upon their Country Accordingly we find they raised all the force they could make to oppose them XX Numb 20. Take ye good heed to your selves therefore Let not that encourage you to assault them Verse 5 Ver. 5. Meddle not with them Make not the least attempt upon them For I will not give you of their Land no not so much as a foot breadth i. e. Not the smallest Portion Because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession So Joshua saith expresly XXIV Josh 4. wherein he made good the Blessing of Isaac XXVII Gen. 39. Verse 6 Ver. 6. Ye shall buy meat of them for money that ye may eat c. If you have a mind to any Provision that their Country affords you shall not take it but purchase it as they did their very Water v. 29. which was a scarce thing in those dry Countries And so the Israelites offered to do when they treated with them about a passage through their Country XX Numb 19. Verse 7 Ver. 7. For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand Or though the LORD hath blessed thee c. That is though there is no need of it God having abundantly provided you with all things necessary But if we follow our translation the sense is plain You have wherewith to buy of them what you need or desire therefore do not take it away by force He knoweth thy walking through this great Wilderness Hath directed and prospered thee as the word knoweth signifies in many places I Psal 6. XXXI 7. in thy Travels through a dangerous Wilderness These forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee thou hast lacked nothing He had mercifully provided for them so constantly that he let them want nothing necessary for their support This was the Sum of the Argument why they should not molest the Edomites nor take any thing by stealth from them because they were in no need and God hath given that Country to the Children of Esau as he intended to give Canaan to the Israelites Their being in the Wilderness forty Years is mentioned also VIII 2. XXIX 5. besides other places of Scripture For from the fifteenth day of the first Month in which their Fathers came out of Egypt XXXIII Numb 5. to the tenth day of the same Month in which they went over Jordan into Canaan IV Josh 19. there were but five days wanting of compleat forty Years I cannot but here note also that this is one of those places wherein Onkelos mentions the MEMRA i. e. WORD of Jehovah which can signifie nothing but a Divine Person For thus he tranlates these words The WORD of the LORD thy God hath been thy helper thou hast not wanted any thing Ver. 8. And when we passed by from our Brethren the Verse 8 Children of Esau which dwelt in Seir through the way of the plain i. e. Through the Wilderness of Zin From Elath and from Ezion-gaber Two places upon the Red-Sea the last of which Ezion-gaber signifies as much as the Spine or Back-bone of a Man So called because there were great ragged Rocks in that Port as Bochart observes like those at Dyracchium in Macedonia which had its Name also from thence Lib. I. Canaan Cap. XLIV We turned After they were denied passage through their Country and had gone through those Stations mentioned XXXIII Numb 41 42 c. And passed by the Wilderness of Moab See XXI Numb 11. Going by the East side of their Country XI Judg. 18. Verse 9 Ver. 9. And the LORD said unto me Distress not the Moabites neither contend with them in battle He would not have them force their way through his Country because the King of Moab refused them a passage as the King of Edom had done XI Judg. 17. For their Country now was but small since Sihon King of the Amorites had taken from them all the best of it which lay between Arnon and Jabbok of which the Israelites had possessed themselves by the conquest of Sihon So that they had only that Portion remaining which lay upon the Dead-Sea which David in after times subdued For I will not give thee of their Land for a possession No more than of Edom v. 5. Because I have given Ar. It is likely the Capital City gave Name to the whole Country about it At least Ar which was the chief City of Moab XXI Numb 15 28. is put here for all the Land of Moab as Mount Seir for all the Land of Edom v. 1. Vnto the Children of Lot for a possession Though the Moabites were now a wicked People yet for their pious Ancestors sake from whom they were descended God would not have them dispossessed Verse 10 Ver. 10. And the Emims dwelt there in time past c. A terrible People as the very Name imports both for their number and for their strength being of a large size like Anakims See XIV Gen. 5. Verse 11 Ver. 11. Which also were accounted Giants as the Anakims c. Which seems to have been their name or else Rephaim but to distinguish them from others of that name in Canaan the Moabites called them Emims Ver. 12. The Horims also dwelt in Seir before-time They were the ancient Inhabitants of Mount Seir as the Emims were of the Country of Moab XIV Gen. 6. XXXVI 20. Verse 12 But the Children of Esau succeeded them Planted themselves in that Mountain When they had destroyed them from before them and dwelt in their Land When the Children of Esau expelled the Horites or the Children of Lot the Emmims is no where recorded nor who were their Leaders in
LORD our God commanded us i. e. not to meddle withal CHAP. III. Verse 1. THen we turned and went up by the way of Verse 1 Bashan and Og the King of Bashan came out against us c. See XXI Numb 33. where there are the very same words Ver. 2. And the LORD said unto me Fear him not Verse 2 for I will deliver c. The same words in XXI Numb 34. Only there he saith I have delivered him into thy hand that is resolved to do it Which may interpret what is said in the foregoing Chapter of this Book v. 31. concerning Sihon Verse 3 Ver. 3. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also the King of Bashan c. See XXI Numb 35. Verse 4 Ver. 4. And we took all his Cities at that time all the Cities c. threescore Cities See upon XXXII Numb 41. All the Region of Argob A small Province lying between Jordan and the Mountains of Gilead a little above the Sea of Tiberias which Region was afterwards called Trachonitis from the asperity of the Mountains The Kingdom of Og in Bashan Belonging to his Kingdom in Bashan v. 13. and 1 Kings IV. 13. Verse 5 Ver. 5. All these Cities were fenced with high Walls Gates and Bars c. So they are described 1 Kings IV. 13. Verse 6 Ver. 6. And we utterly destroyed them c. For they were Amorites and therefore under the Curse of God being part of the seven Nations of Canaan devoted to destruction See II. 34. Verse 7 Ver. 7. But all the Cattle and the Spoil of the Cities we took for a prey to our selves As they had done before when they destroyed Sihon and his People II. 35. Verse 8 Ver. 8. And we took at that time out of the hand of the two Kings of the Amorites the Land which was on this side Jordan Which was given to the two Tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the Tribe of Manasseh v. 12 13. If Men were not blinded with prejudice they could not but see from hence that the word beeber in the first Verse of this Book is rightly translated on this side for beyond Jordan as they would have it signifie in the Land of Canaan these two Kings had no possessions nor did Moses make any Conquest there From the River of Arnon unto Hermon This River was the Bounds of their Country on the South and Hermon which was one of the Mountains of Gilead where it joyns to Libanus was their bound on the North. Ver. 9. Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion Verse 9 And so it is called in XXIX Psal 6. and joyned with Lebanon for it was as much a part of Libanus as of Gilead these two Mountains there meeting together Whence Jeremiah calls Gilead the Head of Lebanon XXII 6. because Libanus begins where Gilead ends And the Amorites call it Shenir And so it is called XXVII Ezek. 5. and had this Name as Bochart conjectures from the multitude of wild Cats which were in this Mountain For the Arabians called that Creature Sinaur or Sinar See Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. III. Cap. XIV Ver. 10. All the Cities of the Plain All the flat Verse 10 Country which the LXX thought was called Misor for they retain here that Hebrew word And all Gilead i. e. All that part of it which belonged to him which was but half as I observed before II. 36. And all Bashan That part of his Country which was properly and peculiarly called Basan which being the most rich and fertile as the word signifies gave denomination to his whole Kingdom Vnto Shalchah and Edrei Cities of the Kingdom of Og in Bashan The former of these is mentioned XIII Josh 11. just as it is here as the Bounds of Bashan towards Mount Hermon or Lebanon So Chytraeus A Town in Basan in the Mountains of Libanus near to Machati And Edrâ—i was the place where they fought with Og and overthrew him XXI Numb 33. Verse 11 Ver. 11. For only Og King of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Giants Or of the Rephaim a very ancient People in this Country XIV Gen. 5. who were either descended from the Amorites or mingled with them and Og was the very last of them so that he and his People being destroyed none of them remained Behold his Bedstead was a Bedstead of Iron Which was no unusual thing in ancient days though far later than this For Thucydides saith that when the Thebans took Plateae they made Beds of the Brass and Iron they found there which they dedicated to Juno And Beds of Silver and Gold are mentioned by divers Authors as Huetius observes in his Demonstr Evangel Propos IV. Cap. XIV N. VII Is it not in Rabbath of the Children of Ammon This is thought by some to be a considerable Objection against Moses being the Author of this Book For how should this Bedstead say they come to the Children of Ammon in his days No doubt they imagine it would have remained in Bashan whilst Og lived though in length of time it might be carried into the Country of the Ammonites As if Og fearing the worst might not send his Bed and his best Furniture unto the Ammonites knowing they would be safe among them because the Israelites were forbid to make War upon them Or Moses having conquered the Country and kept all the Spoil v. 7. might not sell this among other Goods to the Children of Ammon who preserved it in their capital City No body can see an unreasonableness in either of these Suppositions of the same Huetius Nor do I see how the Conjecture of another learned Person Andraeas Masius upon the XIIth of Joshua can be confuted which is That when the Ammonites drove out that monstrous sort of People mentioned II. 21. Og might possibly escape and so is said here to be left of the remnant of the Giants who flying hither to the Amorites was made their King because of his goodly Presence and great Valour But the Ammonites kept his Bedstead and showed it as a Monument of that illustrious Victory which they got over the Rephaim or as they called them the Zamzummims in that Country Nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits was the breadth thereof This is mentioned to show of what a vast Stature Og was For Bedsteads being according to the common Custom made a third part longer than the Persons that lye in them he was six Cubits high as Maimonides computes that is as high again as any other Man More Nevochim P. II. Cap. XLVII Which is very sober Discourse in comparison with what other Jews say of him See Sâ—kikkard in his Bechinah Happeruschim p. 120. After the cubit of a Man According to the Cubit of ordinary Men saith the same Maimonides which is a little more than half a yard not of Og before mentioned But what need was there say the former Objectors to mention this since the Israelites saw Og lye dead before
it c. According to their own desire but on condition they should help their Brethren to conquer the Land of Canaan See XXXII Numb 20 21 22. Verse 19 Ver. 19. But your Wives and your little Ones and your Cattle for I know you have much Cattle shall abide in your Cities which I have given you See XXXII Numb 16 24 26. Verse 20 Ver. 20. Vntil the LORD have given rest unto your Brethren as well as unto you c. Brought them to a Settlement in the Land of Canaan and given them a peaceable possession of it After which we read that Joshua dismissed these Tribes and sent them to their Wives and Children XXII Josh 4. Verse 21 Ver. 21. And I commanded Joshua at that time About that time when by God's order he appointed Joshua to be his Successor and took him to be his Associate in the Government XXVII Numb 18 c. Thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto these two Kings So shall the LORD do unto all the Kingdoms whither thou passest This seems to be the Preface to the Charge which by God's Command he gave to Joshua at that time XXVII Numb 19 23. Ver. 22. Ye shall not fear them for the LORD your Verse 22 God fighteth for you This is part of the Charge it self which he had heard him give all the People eight and thirty years ago I. 21 29 30. Ver. 23. And I besought the LORD at that time Verse 23 saying Being told by God at the same time XXVII Numb 12 13. that he should shortly dye and only see the Land of Canaan but not enter into it Moses made his humble Supplication to God that he would not execute the Sentence which he had denounced against him For the word besought signifies Supplication to one that is offended Ver. 24. O LORD God thou hast begun to shew Verse 24 thy Servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand In subduing the two Kings of the Amorites For what God is there in Heaven or in Earth that can do according to thy works and according to thy might He speaks according to the Language of those times when Men worshipped many Gods of several sorts None of which he acknowledges were able to bring to pass such things as the LORD had done Ver. 25. I pray thee let me go over and see the good Verse 25 Land that is beyond Jordan To see is here to enjoy it as the rest of the Israelites were to do For God bad him go up into a Mountain and behold it but threatned he should not enter into it Which Threatning he might well think was reversible as others had been against the People of Israel upon his Prayer for them though they had more highly offended the Divine Majesty than he had done For though he doubted at the first especially when he saw no Water come out of the Rock at the first stroke yet he presently recovered himself and smote it the second time believing God would relieve them That goodly Mountain Most think that he desired to go so far into it as to see the place where God intended to settle his Divine Presence which proved to be Mount Moriah But nothing was known of this a long time after unless we suppose it was revealed unto him that where Abraham offered Isaac there the LORD would dwell It seems to me that he means that goodly Country full of noble Mountains for thus the word Mountain is often used particularly XIII Numb 29. where the Spies say the Amorites dwell in the Mountain i. e. in that mountainous part of Canaan And Lebanon He desired to go through the whole Country as far as Lebanon which was the most Northerly part of it famous for goodly Cedars as the Mountain before spoken of was in the South of Canaan Verse 26 Ver. 26. But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes See I. 37. And would not hear me Refused to grant my Petition And the LORD said unto me Let it suffice thee speak no more unto me of this matter This suggests that Moses renewed his Petition after the first denial and more earnestly begg'd this Favour of God which he could not obtain but was enjoyned silence This argues great displeasure and is mentioned by him as an Admonition to the Israelites Chapter IV. to be fearful to offend the Divine Majesty Ver. 27. Get thee up to the top of Pisgah See what I have noted upon XXVII Numb 12. Verse 27 And lift up thine eyes Westward and Northward c. Take a full view of the Country in all the Quarters of it which might be seen from the top of this Mountain which was called Nebo See XXXIV 1 2 3. Ver. 28. But charge Joshua and incourage and Verse 28 strengthen him c. Bid him not doubt that I will bring my People thither under his Conduct though I deny thee entrance into it Ver. 29. So we abode in the Valley over against Verse 29 Beth-peor It is likely that there was a Temple built to Baal-Peor which fronted this Valley for so Beth signifies an House or Temple of Peor Which gave the Name to a City wherein it stood which was part of the Inheritance of the Reubenites XIII Josh 20. In this Valley Moses was buried XXXIV 6. where he made this most excellent Exhortation to all the People CHAP. IV. Verse 1. NOW therefore hearken O Israel Having Verse 1 commemorated several Benefits which God had bestowed upon them since their coming out of Egypt and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai with several severe Punishments which he had inflicted on them for their Disobedience to it Moses proceeds now to exhort them earnestly to the observance of it Vnto the Statutes These seem to be such Laws as concerned the Worship of God And the Judgments And then these were such as concerned their Dealings one with another Which two words comprehend all that is signified by Testimonies and Precepts also in other places Which I teach you for to do them Which he was about to set before them and press upon their Practice That ye may live and go in and possess the Land which the LORD God of your Fathers giveth you Not perish as their Fore-fathers had done in their Rebellion but be happy and enjoy what God had promised and was ready now to bestow upon them Verse 2 Ver. 2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you neither shall ye diminish from it This is thought by some to signifie that they should not make the least alteration in the Laws he had given them about the Rites of Divine Worship and Abstinence from several Meats and such like things which were distinctive Marks whereby they were separated from other Nations to be a peculiar People to him Thus Chiskuni interprets these words Thou shalt not add fear upon the fear of the blessed God That is any other Worship to the Divine Worship prescribed by these
Laws nor diminish that Worship Which Interpretation seems to be warranted by what follows Thy eyes have seen what the LORD thy God did because of Baal-Peor But in the words before-going which introduce these Judgments being mentioned as well as Statutes there must be a larger sense of this Injunction which relates to all the Laws of God and the meaning seems to be Ye shall not transgress any of these Precepts either by doing any thing contrary to them which was to add or omitting any thing which they required which was to diminish Thus Grotius interprets it upon 2 Corinth XI 24. Addere ad legem est facere quod lex vetat diminuere est omittere quod lex jubet But which way soever we take it nothing is more certain than that this Prohibition preserved these Books from any alteration since the time they were written For the whole Body of the People acknowledging their Divine Authority none of them dared to change any thing either by addition or diminution Of which there is a wonderful instance in the People that came out of Assyria in the room of the Israelites who were transported thither to inhabit the Country of Samaria who receiving this Law their Posterity have kept it all along to this day as uncorrupted as the Jews themselves have done although they were their mortal Enemies and have been exposed to all the Changes and Revolutions that can befall a Nation during the long interval of Two thousand and four hundred years Thus the most learned Dr. Alix observes in his Reflections upon the four last Books of Moses p. 144. And I do not see why the perfection of the Scripture without the Oral Law of the Jews should not be thought to be established by these words as another learned Person Joh. Wagenseil understands them in his Confut. Carminis Lipmanni p. 585. Yet as the forenamed Chiskuni notes it doth not seem reasonable to conclude from hence that they were prohibited to add any Constitutions as a Hedge and Fence to the Law or as an Explication of it when the sense was doubtful See Mr. Thorndike in his Rights of the Church in a Christian State p. 180 c. That ye may keep the Commandments of the LORD your God which I command you This justifies the Explication I gave of the foregoing words as respecting all God's Laws and XII 32. makes it more plain And indeed God being their Law-giver it was the highest presumption to make any Alteration in any of his Laws Verse 3 Ver. 3. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor c. How he cut off Twenty four thousand by a Plague and by the Hand of Justice who had been guilty of Idolatry by the enticements of the Midianitish Women XXV Numb 5 9. Which seems to be a reason why they should take a special Care about the Worship of God that nothing were done contrary to the Laws he had ordained concerning it For all the men that followed Baal-peor the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you The Judges put to death all those that they knew to be guilty and the Hand of God found out all the rest so that there was not a Man of them left who was not swept away by the Pestilence Verse 4 Ver. 4. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD Did not depart from his Worship but bewailed the Apostasie of some of their Brethren XXV Numb 6. Are alive every one of you this day A singular Providence watched over them to preserve them in such good health that not one in so many Thousands was dead since that time Nor in the War with the Midianites wherein they slew all the Males did they lose so much as one Man XXXI Numb 7 49. Ver. 5. Behold I have taught you Statutes and Judgments Verse 5 v. 1. Even as the LORD my God commanded me Sincerely and uprightly without adding any thing of my self or diminishing any thing that he said That ye should do so in the Land whither ye go to possess it To be the Rule of your Life when ye come into the Land of Canaan Ver. 6. Keep therefore and do them for this is your Verse 6 wisdom and understanding in the fight of all the Nations It is your interest to observe them as you will soon find by experience which will teach you that it is not only the wisest Course in it self but will get you the reputation of being a wise People among all your Neighbours Which shall hear of all these Statutes There being mention before v. 1 5. of Judgments as well as Statutes and here only of the latter Abarbinel thence infers That even those Laws which depended wholly upon the Will and Pleasure of God and for which they could give no reason for such they understood by Chukkim would procure them very great Honour if they were carefully observed For the Nations seeing how wonderfully they prospered would be apt to impute it to these extraordinary Prescriptions which they followed Just saith he as a Physician who cures desperate Diseases by some small trifling Remedies as they seem to others is highly applauded for the profoundness of his Knowledge and Wisdom But Maimonides takes this word Statutes to comprehend all the Laws of God and undertakes to show that all the Six hundred and thirteen Precepts have a wise End in them for the Profit and Benefit of those that observe them either to beget some wholesome Opinion in their Mind or to pull out some perverse one either to institute some good Order or to take away Iniquity c. See More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXI And say Surely this Nation is a wise and understanding People Who continued in Safety Liberty and Prosperity abounding with all manner of Blessings while they continued all to go up to worship One God sincerely at one Place at certain Set-times as if the whole Nation was but one Family All the rest of their Laws also were admirably fitted to unite them unto God and one to another and consequently to make them appear a wise People in the Eyes of other Nations whose Writers have not only highly magnified Moses but their Law-Givers have transcribed several of his Laws into their own Constitutions This appears by the old Attick Laws and those of the Twelve Tables as many learned Men have observed Nay the Oracle reported by Porphyry in Eusebius his Praeparatio Evangelica Lib. IX Cap. X. thus extols this Nation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Chaldaeans and the Hebrews who came from Chaldaea are the only wise People who worship God the Eternal King in a pure manner And the Oracle of Apollo Clarius recorded by Macrobius Lib. I. Saturnal Cap. 18. is no less remarkable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acknowledge Jao so they pronounced the Name JEHOVAH to be the highest God of all For though Macrobius fancied the Sun to be here called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no Body
13. And he declared unto you his Covenant which Verse 13 he commanded you to perform even ten Commandments These were the principal Laws which they covenanted with him to observe tho' afterwards he added others after the Tenor of which he made a Covenant with them XXXIV Exod. 27. And he wrote them upon two Tables of Stone XXIV Exod. 12. XXXIV 28. Ver. 14. And the LORD commanded me at that Verse 14 time to teach you Statutes and Judgments that ye might do them in the Land whither ye go over to possess it This doth not signifie that they themselves did not hear the Ten Words from Mount Sinai but were taught them by Moses as Maimonides fancies in the forenamed place for it plainly relates to the rest of the Laws which God immediately after gave him Exod XXI XXII XXIII It being their own desire that God would speak to them no more by himself but communicate the rest of his Will by Moses XX Exod. 19. And accordingly he told the People all the Words of the LORD and all the Judgments which he delivered to him XXIV Exod. 3. All this will appear more plainly from the next Chapter of this Book v. 22 c. It is a meer Imagination of those Jews who take the Statutes and Judgments here mentioned for their Oral Law as Aben Ezra R. Solomon R. Bechai and others do upon this place Who say That when God gave Moses the written Law he expounded it to him Which Exposition he delivered to Joshua and he to the LXX Elders c. so that it came down to them in a successive Tradition Ver. 15. Take ye therefore good heed to your selves for ye saw no manner of similitude on the Day that the Verse 15 LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the Fire He gives them a special Caution about this because the Nations of the World were so prone to make Images of their Gods which he expresly forbids in the Second Commandment Upon this Text the present Jews ground the Third Article of their Faith which is that God is incorporeal Verse 16 Ver. 16. Lest ye corrupt your selves By worshipping any thing but God himself alone Unto whom they being espoused the giving Divine Worship unto any thing else was such a Corruption as Adultery is in a married Woman And make you a graven Image the similitude of any Figure See the Second Commandment XX Exod. 3 4. The likeness of Male or Female The representation of God in Humane Shape is first forbidden because it was most common among the Heathens Therefore I cannot think this relates to the Egyptian Worship who honoured Oxen as sacred to Osiris and Cows as sacred to Isis Unto which Mr. Selden thinks the LXX had respect when they translated these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Diis Syris Syntag. I. Cap. IV. Verse 17 Ver. 17. The likeness of any Beast that is on the Earth c. The word Or is to be here supplied and in all that follows in this manner Or the likeness of any Beast that is on the Earth or the likeness of any winged Fowl that flieth in the Air Where Col tzippor Canaph which we translate Any winged Fowl signifies all Birds and Insects that fly in the Air For in the shape of such Creatures also the Heathen represented their Gods or some of their Qualities For not only Oxen were sacred to Apis and Rams to Jupiter Ammon but Hawks and Eagles and even Beetles to other Deities Ver. 18. Or the likeness of any thing that creepeth on Verse 18 the Ground Nothing was more common among the Heathen than the Worship of Serpents Or the likeness of any Fish that is in the Waters The famous Dagon whom the Philistims worshipped was a Fish with an Humane Face Hands and Feet Certain it is the Syrians worshipped a Fish as Cicero tells us in his third Book of the Nature of the Gods Syri Piscem venerantur Which Mr. Selden thinks relates to the famous Goddess Atazgatis which is a word made out of the Hebrew Addir-dag i. e. magnificent or potent Fish See De Diis Syris Syntag. II. Cap. II. The Egyptians were famous in After-times for worshipping all sorts of Animals and if one could find they were so in the Days of Moses it might be assigned as the most probable Reason of his cautioning the Israelites against these things so particularly they being lately come out of Egypt Ver. 19. And lest thou lift up thine Eyes unto Heaven Verse 19 From hence I believe that common Speech among the Arabians was derived Take heed how thou gazest on the Splendor of the Stars Which is in the first Century of Arabick Proverbs set forth by Erpenius Prov. XXVIII who saith he knew not what to make of it But I take it to be a Caveat against Idolatry to which the ancient Arabians were addicted And when thou seest the Sun and the Moon and the Stars even all the Host of Heaven The most ancient Idolatry of all other seems to have been the Worship of the Sun and the rest of the heavenly Bodies which began among the Chaldaeans For there is not any God or Goddess among the ancient Gentiles but hath a respect to the Sun or the Moon as Gisbertus Cuperus hath very plainly demonstrated in his Harpocrates P. 87 c. 108 c. And a very learned Man of our own hath lately said a great deal on the same Subject See Appendix to the Antiquity of Palmyra Cap. IV. by Mr. A. Seller And Maimon More Nevoch P. III. Cap. XXX Shouldest be driven to worship them and serve them Drawn in enticed and deceived as Onkelos and the LXX translate it either by the instigation of some evil Genius or admiration of their Splendor or imitation of other Nations or a vain Opinion that some Divinity inhabits such illustrious Bodies or out of a Sense of the Benefits Mankind receive by them For the chief Philosophers themselves were led by their weak Reasonings into this Error as appears even by Plato who saith It is most just that the Heaven should be worshipped with all the Gods and Demons and that we should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. as he speaks in his Epinomis See Eusebius in his Praepar Evang. Lib. XIII Cap. XVIII where he shews how much better the Hebrews speak in this matter and quotes some Words of Plato out of a Work of his not now extant for the Explication of these Words of Moses And to make this Idolatry seem more reasonable some of the Philosophers asserted the Sun to be indued with Understanding and therefore is called by Proclus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The King of Intellectual Fire to distinguish it from other Fires which are without Understanding And from thence in one of the Coyns of Caracalla there is over the Sun surrounded with Rays the word PROVIDENTIA In short the World had been so long settled in this Worship that it was no easie matter when the
the Verse 43 plain Country of the Reubenites and Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites and Goshen in Bashan of the Manassites Thus they are set down also in the Book of Joshua XX. 8. XXI 27 36 38. Ver. 44. And this is the Law which Moses set before Verse 44 the Children of Israel Now follows the Law which after the forementioned assignation of the Cities of Refuge Moses set before all the People and pressed them to the observance of it Ver. 45. These are the Testimonies and the Statutes Verse 45 and the Judgments As the next Chapter contains the Law that is the Ten Commandments which Moses set before them So in several following Chapters after new earnest Exhortations to Obedience he represents to them the rest of God's Will comprehended under these three words Testimonies Statutes and Judgments Some of which belong to the Divine Service others to their Civil Government and the rest to Ceremonial Observations for the better security and preservation of both the former Which Moses spake unto the Children of Israel after they came forth out of Egypt Which he had formerly delivered to them after they were come out of the Egyptian Bondage in the XXI XXII XXIII Chapters of Exodus and in the following Books Verse 46 Ver. 46. On this side Jordan c. In this and the two following Verses he again mentions the place and the time when and where he set before them the Law and the Testimonies Statutes and Judgments recorded in the following part of this Book Which he repeats that all Posterity might observe these Discourses were made a little before he died In the Valley over against Beth-peor III. Vlt. In the Land of Sihon King of the Amorites who dwelt at Heshbon II. 24 31 c. Whom Moses and the Children of Israel smote after they were come forth out of Egypt In the fortieth Year after their departure thence As appears from XXI Numb 24. XXXIII 38. Verse 47 Ver. 47. And they possessed his Land and the Land of Og King of Bashan c. See XXI Numb 33 c. Verse 48 Ver. 48. From Aroer which is by the Bank of the River Arnon even unto Mount Sion which is Hermon The Mount here called Sion is not that which was so famous in After-times when David made it the Royal Seat for that was on the other side Jordan and is written with different Letters in the Hebrew But in all probability is a Contraction of Sirion which is the Name by which the Sidonians called Hermon For the Bounds of this Country are so described III. 8 9 12. to extend from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon which is called Sirion Chapter V. Ver. 49. And all the Plain on this side Jordan Eastward even unto the Sea of the Plain See III. 17. Verse 49 Vnder the Springs of Pisgah The same place there called Ashdod-Pisgah Which is exactly described after the same manner by Benjamin Tudelensis in his Itinerary set forth by L'Empereur p. 51. Where he saith that Jordan is called at Tiberias the Sea of Genesareth and coming from thence with a great force falls at the foot of this Hill into the Sea of Sodom which is called the Salt Sea CHAP. V. Verse 1. AND Moses called all Israel and said unto Verse 1 them That is summoned all the Elders and Heads of their Tribes who were to communicate what he said to the rest Thus it is commonly expounded But that which he saith XXIX 10 11. seems to direct us to another Interpretation that he himself went from Tribe to Tribe and repeated these Ten Words as they are called placing himself in several parts of their Camp that every one might hear what he said And this was sometime after he had in like manner exhorted them to Obedience in the foregoing Preface See IV. 41. Hear O Israel the Statutes and Judgments which I speak in your Ears this day Mind what I now say unto you That ye may learn them and keep and do them That ye may not be ignorant of such important Truths nor negligent in the Practice of them which is the End of Knowledge Verse 2 Ver. 2. The LORD our God made a Covenant with us in Horeb. See XXIV Exod. 3 5 6 7 8. Verse 3 Ver. 3. The LORD made not this Covenant with our Fathers Viz. Abraham Isaac and Jacob With whom he covenanted to give their Posterity the Land of Canaan but did not make to them this discovery of his Will which was the matter of the Covenant at Horeb. But with us even us who are all here alive this day A great part of those who were then at Horeb were now alive viz. all under twenty Years old And if they had been all dead Moses might have said He made it with us because they were still the same People tho' the particular Persons were dead with whom the Covenant was made not only for themselves but for their Posterity Verse 4 Ver. 4. The LORD talked with you Face to Face in the Mount c. Openly clearly and distinctly or by himself without the Mediation of Moses but in no visible shape for that is expresly denied in the foregoing Chapter IV. 12 15. Verse 5 Ver. 5. I stood between the LORD and you at that time to shew you the Word of the LORD As a Mediator whom God employed to prepare them to meet him XIX Exod. 10 11 c. and to prescribe them the Bounds at what distance they should keep v. 12. and to bring them forth to meet with him v. 17. and to charge them to keep within their Bounds v. 21. And on the other side to represent their Desires unto God after he had spoken to them XX Exod. 19. So that he was truly a Mediator between God and them and stood also in a middle place at the foot of the Mount while they stood further off For ye were afraid by reason of the Fire XX Exod 18. And went not up into the Mount XIX Exod. 17. XX. 21. Ver. 6. I am the LORD thy God which brought Verse 6 thee out of the Land of Egypt from the House of Bondage This Preface to the Ten Commandments is explained XX Exod. 2. Ver. 7. Thou shalt have none other Gods before me Verse 7 See XX Exod. 3. It is wisely observed by Grotius Lib. 2. de Jure Belli Pacis Cap. XX. Sect. XLV That true Religion was ever built upon these Four Principles First That there is a God and that he is but One. Secondly That God is nothing of those things that we see with our Eyes but something more sublime than them all Thirdly That he takes Care of Humane Affairs and judges them most justly Fourthly That he is the Maker of all things whatsoever Which Principles are explained in these first four Precepts of the Decalogue the Unity of the Godhead being delivered in the first place Ver. 8 9 10. Thou shalt not make thee any graven Verse 8 9 10. Image
Country And another Law punished this Ingratitude with Death See J. Meursius in his Themis Attica Lib. I. Cap. 2 3. where he shews That by Parents they understood not only Father and Mother but Grand-father and Grand-mother nay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Great Grand-mother and Great Grand-father if they were yet alive as Isaeus tells us Orat. VII And the Ground of all these Laws was a Sence they had as Aeschines tells us That Men ought to honour their Parents as they did the Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See Sam. Petitus in Leges Atticas Lib. III. Tit. 3. Whence Hierocles calls Parents 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Earthly Gods And Philo upon the Decalogue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Visible Gods who imitate him that is unbegotten by giving Life And accordingly next to the Precepts concerning the Worship of God Moses here places immediately the Duty owing unto Parents That thy Days may be prolonged and that it may go well with thee c. These last Words are added to what God spake XX Exod. 12. as an Explication of the foregoing Whereby they are excited to Obedience by the Promise not only of a long Life but of an happy I say Obedience for that 's included in Honour as the Apostle explains it III Coloss 20. Children obey your Parents in all things Where God that is hath not commanded the contrary and where it is not inconsistent with the Publick Good which is alway to be preferred ever before the Duty that is owing to Natural Parents Insomuch that common Reason taught the Heathen that for the Good of the Society the Son is to lay aside the Reverence he should pay to his Father and the Father to pay it unto the Son that is when he is in Publick Office Thus the famous Fabius Cunctator commended his Son for making him light off from his Horse when he met him in his Consulship as Plutarch tells us And see A. Gellius L. XI Noct. Attic. Cap. I. Lib. XIII Cap. ult Lib. XIV in the beginning Ver. 17. Thou shalt not kill If a Man killed another involuntarily he was banished by the Laws of Athens from his Country for a Year But if he kill'd Verse 17 another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Demosthenes speaks out of forethought and designedly he was put to Death See Sam. Petitus Lib. VII in Leges Atticas Tit. 1. p. 508 512. Yea so detestable was this Sin accounted that even 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Liveless Things such as Wood or Stone or Iron wherewith a Man was killed Draco ordered to be thrown out of their Coasts Ib. p. 523. Ver. 18. Thou shalt not commit Adultery This Verse 18 Crime was also punished with Death by the Laws of Draco Solon indeed left it to the Liberty of the Husband who caught another Man in Bed with his Wife either to kill him if he pleased or to let him redeem his Life with a Sum of Money But if after this he lived with his Wife he was infamous as Demosthenes tells us who saith she might not come publickly into their Temples If she did any Man might treat her as he pleased only not kill her So that she was so odious as to be thrown 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Both out of the House of her Husband and out of Holy Places of the City Nor might she go abroad with any Ornaments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Law of Solon If she did any Body might take them away from her and tear her Clothes in pieces and beat her only not maim her in any part of her Body See the same Petitus Lib. VI. Tit. 4. Ver. 19. Neither shalt thou steal The Laws of Verse 19 Draco punished all Theft with Death Which Solon thought too severe and therefore chang'd that Punishment into making Satisfaction by restoring double yet still making it Death if any Man stole above such a Value or took any thing out of the Publick Baths and such-like places tho' of never so little Value See in the same Author Lib. VII Tit. 5. Verse 20 Ver. 20. Neither shalt thou bear false Witness against thy Neighbour There was an Action at Athens lay both against false Witnesses and him that produced them Who had a Fine set upon them and were made infamous And if they were found thrice in the same Fault 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Both they themselves and all their Posterity were made infamous As Andocides speaks See Ib. page 559. Verse 21 Ver. 21. Neither shalt thou desire thy Neighbour's Wife neither shalt thou covet thy Neighbour's House c. It is observed by some that an exact Order is observed in the delivery of these Precepts For first he places such Offences as are consummate and then those that are but begun and not perfected And in the former he proceeds from those that are most heinous unto those that are less grievous For those Offences are the greatest which disturb the Publick Order and consequently do mischief unto a great many Such are those that are committed against Governors and Rulers who are comprehended under the Name of Parents by whose Authority Humane Society is preserved And then among those which are against particular Persons those are the greatest which touch a Man's Life Next those that wrong his Family the Foundation of which is Matrimony Then those that wrong him in his Goods either directly by Stealth or more craftily by bearing False-witness Then in the last place those Sins are mentioned which are not consummate being gone no further than desire which in Exodus XX. 17. are expressed by one and the same word but here by two which we translate desire and covet Between which I know no difference unless they express higher and lower degrees of the same Sin The contrary to which is contentedness with our Portion and thankfulness to God for it which will not let us covet any thing belonging to another Man with his loss and damage Ver. 22. These Words the LORD spake unto all the Verse 22 Assembly in the Mount out of the midst of the Fire of the Clouds and of the thick Darkness XIX Exod. 16. XX. 18. This confutes the foolish Fancy of the Jewish Doctors that the People heard only the first Words of God I am the LORD thy c. thou shalt have no other Gods but me i. e. They heard him declare his Existence and his Unity but all the rest were reported to them by Moses Nothing can be more contrary to what he here saith that all these Words that is the Ten Words before mentioned were spoken to their whole Assembly See More Nevochim P. II. Cap. XXXIII With a great Voice That is so loud that it might be heard by the whole Camp And he added no more All the rest of the Commandments which follow in the XXI XXII and XXIII of Exodus were delivered to Moses alone and by him to the People according to their own desire XX Exod. 19. XXI 1.
XXIV 3. And he wrote them in two Tables of Stone and delivered them unto me That is the Ten Commandments and no more XXIV Exod. 12. XXXI 18. XXXIV 1 28. Lest what they heard with their Ears should quickly slide out of their Minds he took care to have it engraven with his own Hands in these Tables Verse 23 Ver. 23. And it came to pass when ye heard the Voice out of the midst of the Darkness for the Mountain did burn with Fire that ye came near unto me even all the Heads of the Tribes and Elders After they had recovered out of the Fright wherein they were at the Conclusion of these Words When the Thunderings Lightnings and Noise of the Trumpet was so terrible that they removed and stood afar off XX Exod. 18. Verse 24 Ver. 24. And ye said Behold the LORD our God hath shewed us his Glory and his Greatness and we have heard his Voice out of the midst of the Fire Here Moses relates more largely what he said in short XX Exod. 19. We have seen this day that God doth talk with Man and he liveth This looks like a thankful Acknowledgment of the great Goodness of God in vouchsafing them such a Favour as never any Men had before and which they could not expect again And accordingly Moses makes use of it as an Argument to be very observant of God's Commands XX Exod. 22 23. Verse 25 Ver. 25. Now therefore why should we die For this great Fire will consume us For if we hear the Voice of the LORD our God any more then we shall die It is an ungrounded Conceit of Maimonides in the place above-mentioned that when they had heard the first Words they fell into a Swoon and did not recover themselves till all the rest was spoken which made them conclude that they should really die and never come to themselves again as we speak if they should hear him speak to them any more The plain meaning is that mortal Men could not endure to hear him speak in that manner For the Voice was so loud and accompanied with such Flashes of Fire and such Claps of Thunder as made them conclude if it had continued longer they should have expired Ver. 26. For who is there of all Flesh i. e. Of all Verse 26 Men who are weak and frail as the word Flesh denotes That hath heard the Voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of Fire as we have and lived There is no Instance of such a thing as this which made them afraid of hearing him speak in this manner any more For they did not mind God's End and Intention in this which Moses suggests to them in the XX Exod. 20. but in a confusion of Thoughts imagined that tho' they had escaped once the Flames out of which he spake might devour them if they came near them again Ver. 27. Go thou near and hear all that the LORD Verse 27 our God will say and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee and we will hear it and do it See XX Exod. 19. This shews their Opinion of Moses that he could be able not only to endure that without disorder which made them ready to die but go into the very midst of the Darkness out of which those Flames came Ver. 28. And the LORD heard the Voice of your Verse 28 Words when ye spake unto me and the LORD said unto me I have heard the Voice of the Words of this People c. As Moses here reports more largely what they said to him than he did in Exodus so he likewise gives a larger Account what God bad him say to them in answer to their desire They have well said all that they have spoken It very much becomes them out of a sence of their meanness and unworthiness and of the inconceivable Majesty of God to desire he would speak to them by a Mediator Verse 29 Ver. 29. O that there were such an Heart in them that they would fear me and keep my Commandments always The words are wonderful emphatical in the Hebrew Who will give that there may be such an Heart in them Which is an Expression of the most earnest desire but withal signifies that if what he had done for them would not move them to fear and obey him it was impossible to perswade them to it Not but that he could miraculously work upon them and change their Hearts saith Maimonides if he pleased as he miraculously changed the Nature of other things but if this were God's Will to deal with them after this fashion there would have been no need to send a Prophet to them or to publish Laws full of Precepts and Promises Rewards and Punishments by which saith he God wrought upon their Heart and not by his absolute Omnipotence More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXII That it might be well with them and with their Children for ever For God desired nothing more than this which they themselves promised v. 27. which moved him to vouchsafe such a special Priviledge to them as first to speak to them himself and at their desire consent to speak to them by his Prophet Verse 30 Ver. 30. Go say to them get you into your Tents again All this shews that Moses was a Mediator between God and them and between them and God Ver. 31. But as for thee stand thou here by me He invites Moses unto the nearest approaches unto his Majesty and the most familiar converse with him Verse 31 XX Exod. 21. XXIV 2 18. For this was the highest degree of Prophecy as Maimonides calls it in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. LI. And in his Preface to that Book he saith This is the greatest degree of Illumination of a Prophet concerning whom it is said Stand thou here with me And again The Skin of his Face shone Which he supposes signified that his Mind was always full of light whereas other Prophets were sometime in darkness and saw nothing And I will speak unto thee all the Commandments and the Statutes and the Judgments which thou shalt teach them According to their own desire v. 27. See VI. 1. And that they may do them in the Land which I give them to possess it According to their Promise in the same v. 27. Ver. 32. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD Verse 32 your God hath commanded you Being obliged by such singular Benefits as no other Nation ever had the like v 24 25 26. and having engaged themselves so solemnly to be obedient v. 27. Ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left This is a Phrase often used to signifie a strict observance of God's Laws neither superstitiously adding to them nor profanely laying aside any of them XVII 20. XXVIII 14. 1 Josh 7. Ver. 33. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD Verse 33 your God hath commanded you That is observe all his Laws
and make them the Rule of their Lives Chapter VI. That ye may live and that it may be well with you and that ye way prolong your Days in the Land which ye shall possess Universal Obedience he would have them sensible was the only way to make them live happy and long in that good Land which he was about to bestow upon them This he inculcates again in the next Chapter VI. 3. For all Mankind thought long Life a very great Blessing as appears by Callimachus's Hymn to Diana Ver. 132 133. when he promises to those whom she favours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. They shall not come into their Grave till they have reached a great old Age. CHAP. VI. Verse 1 Verse 1. NOW these are the Commandments the Statutes and the Judgments Which God promised to deliver to him in the foregoing Chapter v. 31. and Commandments are thought commonly to relate unto the Moral Laws Statutes to Rites and Ceremonies which have no natural Reason for them and Judgments to Civil Government Which the LORD your God commanded to teach you that ye may do them in the Land whither ye go to possess it They are the Words of God himself in the place before named v. 31. This I suppose was spoken by Moses to them a little time after he had delivered what is contained in the foregoing Chapter being a Preface to the rest of the Laws which he received from God in Mount Sinai as they desired Ver. 2. That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God Verse 2 to keep all his Statutes and his Commandments which I command thee c. The prime Intention of God's speaking to them by himself and by Moses was to implant his Fear in their Hearts as the true Principle of Obedience Which so certainly flows from it if it be preserved in its power and force that it frequently in Scripture signifies the whole Duty we owe to God But here more particularly it seems to signifie their adhering to him as the only God So it is used 1 Kings XVIII 3 12. and in the New Testament most plainly X Act. 2 35. Ver. 3. Hear therefore O Israel and observe to do Verse 3 it Mark therefore so well what I say as to do accordingly That it may be well with thee c. As the only way to be happy and to grow a mighty Nation and in short enjoy all that God had promised to their pious Ancestors Ver. 4. Hear O Israel He repeats it again because Verse 4 what he was going to say is of the highest Importance The LORD our God is one LORD Being to remind them of all the Laws which God delivered to them by him and to endeavour to beget an holy Fear of him as the Principle of Obedience he most earnestly presses upon them before he proceed further the First of the Ten Commandments Which is that there is but One God who alone is to be worshipped and that he is their God Whose Laws therefore could not be controuled by the Authority of any other pretended God Many of the ancient Fathers particularly Theodoret and Greg. Nyssen think there is a plain intimation of the Blessed Trinity in these words The LORD our God is one LORD And some of the Jews themselves have thought there was something extraordinary in it that the Name of God should be thrice mentioned as it is in this Sentence Which signifies three Midoth or Properties they confess which they sometimes call three Faces or Emanations or Sanctifications or Numerations tho' they will not call them three Persons as Joseph de Voysin observes in his Book against an Anonymus Antitrinitarian p. 58 63 71 72. And the Cabbalists say as much who asserting ten Sephiroth in God which they take to be something different from the Essence of God and yet not Creatures but Emanations from it as Manasseh Ben Israel explains their Words they make the Three First of them to be more than the other Seven and call them Primordial The First of which they call the Wonderful Intelligence and the First Intellectual Light as St. James calls God the Father of Lights and the First Glory The Second they call among other Names the Illuminating Intelligence just as St. John saith the Eternal WORD enlightens every one that cometh into the World and the Second Glory And the Third they call the Sanctified Intelligence so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in Pual must be translated not Sanctifying as Rittangelius takes it or they may mean no more than the Holy Intelligence which is the very same with the Holy Spirit All this we find in the Book Jetzira which they fancy was made by Abraham From whence we cannot but learn that they had an obscure Notion of the Blessed Trinity and that the Apostles used no other Language about it than what was among the Jews The best of which are so sensible of such things as I have mentioned that they think we Christians are not Idolaters tho' we believe Three Persons in the Godhead which they fancy inclines to Polytheism because we believe the Unity of God and therefore may be saved as well as they So J. Wagenseil shews in his Annotations upon Sota Cap. VII p. 751 c. And Arnoldus in his Spicilegia after him p. 1218. Ver. 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with Verse 5 all thine Heart c. Our blessed Saviour alledging these two Verses XII Mark 29 50. looks upon these Words as a part of the First Commandment For after he had said The first of all the Commandments is Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul c. he thus concludes This is the first Commandment For to own him to be the only God the Author of our being and of all things doth necessarily include in it a love of him above all things whatsoever which requires us to love him who hath made them so lovely This is another Principle or Spring of Obedience inseparable from the Fear of God before-mentioned Which doth not drive us away from him but draw us to him being such a Reverence towards him as Children have to their kind Parents which is ever mixed with Love to them With all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Might For there being no other God but he alone none else could have any Right to their Love and Service but he only Whose Nature is so excellent that it requires the utmost we can do to testifie our regard to him This one of the Jewish Writers hath admirably expressed in this manner Whosoever serves God out of love he gives himself to the Study of his Laws and unto Good Works c. which excite him to love God with the most flagrant Affection not for the sake of any thing in this World nor for the fear of any
Evil but he serves God truly because he is the Truth and the chiefest Good that he may be admitted to Communion with him And a Man ought to love him with the most vehement and intense Affection so that he languish with love to him just as a Man that is in love with one he desires to make his Wife Wheresoever he is at home or abroad when he eats and drinks when he lies down and rises up he thinks of her To which Solomon compares the Love of the Spouse who saith I am sick of Love 2 Cant. 5. To this purpose Baal Chasidim mentioned by Wagenseil upon Sota Cap. V. p. 611. By the Heart may be here meant the Will which is the Original of all that a Man doth as the Jews speak whether Good or Evil By the Soul the Affections to which St. Mark adds the Mind i. e. the Understanding or Rational Faculty and by Might or Strength is meant the Power of the Body for Action which four all together make up the whole Man And the word ALL added to each of these doth not exclude all other things from any share in our Thoughts and Affections but only from an equal Interest in them The Love of God ought to be superiour and direct all our other Motions to serve him as Maimonides expresses it in his Preface to Pirke Avoth Ver. 7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children In the Hebrew the words are as our Margin observes shall whet or sharpen them signifying Verse 7 as some think that they should endeavour to make them pierce their Hearts But De Dieu rather thinks it signifies Beat them into them as things are hammered on an Anvil with repeated Strokes Which the famous Bochartus doth not so well approve who observes that the word Sanan which in Arabick signifies in the first place to sharpen or whet signifies also Exquisitè docere c. to teach exquisitely so that he who is taught be made thereby more acute and perspicacious Which is the intention he thinks of the Hebrew word here L. 2. Canaan Cap. XVII However it be expounded it imports the Diligence they should use as we translate it to instil this Principle into their Children's Minds that there is but One God and to work in them a fear and love of his Divine Majesty For to that which goes before v. 4 5 6. these words have a particular respect By which it appears that Moses thought his Law was so plain that every Father might be able to instruct his Sons in it and every Mother her Daughters And shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine House and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up As much as to say they should take all occasions to inculcate this great thing at home and abroad Night and Day never ceasing their most earnest Endeavours to perswade their Children not to worship any other God nor to fail to worship the LORD their God with sincere Affection The Jews have made from hence one of their affirmative Precepts That twice a Day at least they should recite these words Hear O Israel c. which is a very dilute Sence of this Precept Wherein Moses requires not meerly their saying these words in which there might be a great deal of Superstition but taking all opportunities to imprint them upon the Minds and Hearts of their Children Verse 8 Ver. 8. And thou shalt bind them for a Sign upon thine Hand and they shall be as Frontlets between thine Eyes Just thus he commands them to preserve the Memory of their Deliverance out of the Land of Egypt almost in the same words See XIII Exod. 9 16. where this is sufficiently explained And it appears to be a Proverbial Speech from XLIX Isa 16. There are some learned Men indeed who take these words literally notwithstanding St. Hierom hath delivered his Opinion to the contrary that there is no Command for Phylacteries which are grounded upon these words particularly Jos Scaliger in his Elench Trihaeres Nic. Serarii Cap. 7. 8. Where he thinks God gave this Command to the Israelites to prevent their following the Rites of other Nations who armed themselves against Dangers with superstitious Amulets in their Foreheads which the Egyptians he thinks called Totaphot But since neither here nor in Exodus there are any such words as thou shalt make thee Frontlets but Moses only saith the things he is speaking of shall be for Frontlets between their Eyes I take it not to be meant literally Tho' it 's likely they intended well who so understood it For our blessed Saviour doth not seem to reprove the Jews for wearing Phylacteries but for their Ostentation in making them broader than ordinary Ver. 9. And thou shalt write them upon the Posts of thy House and on thy Gates This looks more like a literal Command than the former and it might Verse 9 have been very useful to them when they went in and out of their House to read these words Hear O Israel the LORD thy God is one LORD c. But the Jews are too scrupulous about the Words they should write and upon what part of the Posts and Gates they were to put them c. as Mr. Selden observes Lib. III. De Synedr Cap. XIII N. 2. Tho' after all it may be this was not intended but only that they should never let this Principle slip out of their Mind but think of it when they went out and came in as well as when they were in their Houses and by the Way when they rose up and when they lay down Yet it must be observed that other Nations used to write their Laws upon their Gates as Huetius notes in his Demonstratio Evangelica p. 58. which it 's likely they did in imitation of the Jews who to this Day have written in a Parchment these Words from v. 4. to the end of this Verse with that other passage Chap. XI from v. 13. to v. 20. which they roll up and writing on it the Name of Shaddai put it into a piece of Cane or other hollow Wood and fasten it to the Doors of their Houses and of each particular Room in them and as often as they go in and out they make it a part of their Devotion to touch this Parchment and kiss it As Leo Modena tells us in his History of the Jews P. 1. Cap. 2. Ver. 10. And it shall be when the LORD thy God Verse 10 shall have brought thee into the Land which he sware c. Of this he speaks with the greatest assurance there being no doubt to be made that God would immediately give them possession of the good Land promised to them The only danger was lest they should be thrown out of it for their Disobedience Great and goodly Cities which thou buildedst not For they did not lay all waste as they did Jericho for which there was a particular Reason but dwelt in them
after they had destroyed the Inhabitants Verse 11 Ver. 11. And Houses full of all good things which thou filledst not c. In this and what follows in the rest of the Verse he sets forth the great Bounty of God to them who intended to enrich them with all manner of Good Things without any Labour of their own to purchase them Verse 12 Ver. 12. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD which brought thee forth out of the Land of Egypt c. In Prosperity we are too prone to forget our Benefactors Verse 13 Ver. 13. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God and serve him Preserve an awful Sence of him in thy Mind and be constant in his Worship and Service which was never more necessary than when they enjoyed so many Blessings from him And shalt swear by his Name When there was any need for it As in making Covenants with their Neighbours or in bearing their Testimony before a Judge they were to swear only by the Name of God not by any Idol nor by the Heaven or the Earth or any thing therein for they can bear Witness to nothing See XXIII Joshua 7 8. Nor was it lawful as Maimonides observes in his Treatise called Shebuoth to joyn any other thing with the Name of God But it was all one whether a Man sware by the proper Name of God or by any of his Attributes as by the Name of him who is merciful or gracious or long-suffering c. for this is a perfect Oath See Selden L. 2. De Synedr Cap. XI N. 2. And see N. 7. concerning other Oaths Ver. 14. Ye shall not go after other Gods of the Gods of the People which are round about you This shews Verse 14 that his Intention in this Chapter is to press upon them the Observation of the First Commandment which our Saviour justly calls the Great Commandment Ver. 15. For the LORD thy God is a jealous God Verse 15 See XX Exod. 5. XXXIV Exod. 14. Among you In the Hebrew In the midst of you to observe all you do tho' never so secretly Lest the Anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the Earth For this was the most provoking of all other Sins And therefore we never read either in the Law or in the Prophets the word Charon i. e. Fury or Aph Anger or Caas Indignation or Kinah Jealousie ascribed unto God but when mention is made of Idolatry So Maimonides observes More Nevoch P. I. Cap. XXXVI Ver. 16. Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God as Verse 16 ye tempted him in Massah Never distrust God's good Providence nor murmur against him in any distress For that was the Temptation at Massah XVII Exod. 2 7. Ver. 17. You shall diligently keep the Commandments Verse 17 of the LORD your God and his Testimonies and his Statutes which he hath commanded thee As if he had said I cannot too oft press this upon you nor can you use too great care in this matter Ver. 18. And thou shalt do that which is right and Verse 18 good in the sight of the LORD that it may be well with thee As they loved themselves he charges them not to follow their own Desires which is called doing that which is good in their own Eyes but govern themselves by his Holy Will And that thou mayest go in and possess the good Land Or rather After thou hast gone in and possessed the good Land which the LORD sware unto thy Fathers For there was no doubt of their going in but only of their behaviour there after they were made so happy v. 10 11 12. Verse 19 Ver. 19. To cast out all thine Enemies from before thee as the LORD hath spoken He seems particularly to charge them to drive out the People of Canaan as God had commanded XXXIII Numb 32. For otherwise they would tempt them to forget this great Principle of their Religion that the God of Israel was the only God and intice them to serve their Idols v. 14. Verse 20 Ver. 20. And when thy Son asketh thee in time to come saying What mean the Testimonies and the Statutes and the Judgments which the LORD our God hath commanded you Abarbinel thinks that their Posterity in future Ages might observe three sorts of Precepts in the Law viz. Testimonies which in Hebrew are called Eduth which were such Constitutions as bare witness of some great thing God had done for them and preserved the Memory thereof such was the Passover And then Secondly There were Chukkim Statutes which are such Precepts the Reason of which is unknown And Thirdly Mischpatim Judgments which are such whose Reason is evident Now they might desire to know the Reason why such several Laws were given And he thinks Moses teaches them to give a distinct Answer to their Children about each of these Ver. 21. Then thou shalt say unto thy Son we were Pharaohs Bondmen in Egypt and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty Hand As if he had said Tell them the Reason why he gave us the first Verse 21 sort of Precepts particularly that about the Passover was because we were Slaves and God brought us into a State of Liberty which he would have always thankfully remembred by the observation of that Feast which testified what God wrought for us by his own Power alone The like may be said of the other two great Festivals which were to preserve the Memory of such-like Benefits Ver. 22. And the LORD shewed Signs and Wonders Verse 22 great and sore upon Egypt upon Pharaoh and all his Houshold c. Particularly slew all their First-born and spared those of the Israelites The Memory of which he ordered to be preserved by giving their First-born unto him XIII Exod. Ver. 23. And he brought us out from thence that he Verse 23 might bring us in to give us the Land which he sware to our Fathers This is the Reason Abarbinel fancies of giving them the Judgments before-mentioned God brought us out saith he to place us in this good Land and settle us here under a Government of our own Now Civil Society cannot be preserved without just Judgments and therefore that we might live in good Order God gave us these Political Laws Ver. 24. And the LORD commanded us to do all Verse 24 these Statutes to fear the LORD our God As for the third sort which are Statutes give your Children this Answer That tho' we do not know the Reason of them yet the benefit of them is manifest for they lead us to the Fear of God And nothing is so much for our Good as that both for the eternal Good of our Souls and for the long Life of our Bodies So he interprets the last Words of this Verse And so doth Maimonides For our Good always that he may preserve us alive as it is at this Day The first Words in the Hebrew are That it may be well
with us all our Days Or more literally For good to us all our Days That is say our Rabbins they are the Words of Maimonides P. III. More Nevochim Cap. XXVII where he repeats what I observed before upon IV. 40. That it may be well with us in that World which is wholly good and our Days may be prolonged in that World which is wholly long Or in short that thou mayest come into the World which is wholly good and long which is a perpetual Subsistence As for the last Words they belong he thinks to their Corporeal Subsistence here which endures but for a time and therefore he saith As at this Day to shew he speaks of the present World wherein they should live happily by observing his Laws Verse 25 Ver. 25. And it shall be our Righteousness if we observe to do all these Commandments Their Children might say If there be such Benefits in observing the Statutes which lead to the fear of God and to Happiness here and hereafter what need we trouble our selves about the other two Unto which Abarbinel imagines they are taught to give this Answer It is our Righteousness if we observe to do ALL these Commandments i. e. We cannot be righteous before God if we have not respect to all his Precepts whether Testimonies Statutes or Judgments which are all comprehended in this word Mitzvoth or Commandments This is something nice and curious Chapter VII but there is a great deal of Truth in it The word Righteousness also it must be acknowledged often comprehends Mercy in it And thus the LXX and the Vulgar Latin here understand it And to take in this Sence these Words may be thus expounded If we observe to do all these Commandments God will account us a righteous People and be kind to us Before the LORD our God as he hath commanded us Having a sincere Respect to God in all that we do CHAP. VII Verse 1. WHen the LORD thy God shall bring thee Verse 1 into the Land whither thou goest to possess it That is when he had put them into possession of it And hath cast out many Nations before thee the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites c. There were Ten Nations inhabited this Country in the Days of Abraham But Three of them were either worn out since that time or being but a small People were incorporated with the rest For the Kenites and the Kenezites see XV Gen. 19. are not mentioned after that time and the Rephaim possessed but a little part of Canaan the great Body of them being in Bashan on this side Jordan where Moses now was See upon XV Gen. 19. Seven Nations greater and mightier than thou The Amorites alone seem to have been mightier than the Israelites for there were no less than five Kings of them that dwelt in the Mountains X Josh 5 6. besides those in other parts and therefore all the Seven Nations were much superiour to them in strength Verse 2 Ver. 2. And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them c. He still pursues his Intention to preserve in them a due care to observe the First Commandment of which he began to treat in the foregoing Chapter For that is the Reason why they were to destroy these Seven Nations that they might not be in danger to be seduced by them to serve other Gods v. 1. But whether they were not first to offer them Terms of Peace according to the Directions in the Twentieth Chapter of this Book is a Question which I have endeavoured to resolve in another place upon XXIII Exod. 33. Certain it is that if they refused their Offers there was the greater Reason to be severe to them And without offering them any Terms God might in Justice order the Israelites to destroy them For every King hath Power in his Dominions to cut off Evil-doers and therefore much more the King of Kings Who might order whom he pleased as other Kings do to be Executioners of his Vengeance upon these Seven Nations for their abominable Idolatries beastly Lusts and horrid Cruelties and other such-like Sins of which they were guilty This was a thing of such moment that God ordered Moses to give them this Charge some time ago XXXIII Numb 52. which he now renews Thou shalt make no Covenant with them To suffer them to live with them in the same Country XXXIV Exod. 12. Nor shew Mercy to them For that had been Cruelty to themselves and their Posterity to spare such incurable Idolaters How far the Talmudists extend this see in Dionys Vossius upon Maimonides's Treatise of Idolatry p. 139. and Maimon himself in the following Paragraphs 4 5 6. Ver. 3. Neither shalt thou make Marriages with them Verse 3 thy Daughters thou shalt not give to his Sons nor his Daughters shalt thou take to thy Sons See XXXIV Exod. 15. Some of the Jews think they might marry with them if they became Proselytes of Justice as they called those who received Circumcision and undertook to observe the whole Law and they that think this was not lawful yet think that they might marry with the Children of such Proselytes See Selden Lib. V. De Jure Nat. Gent. c. Cap. XIV XV. And the Talmudists say this Law did not extend to Proselytes who might marry with any of these Nations as he shews there Cap. XVIII Ver. 4. For they will turn away thy Sons from following Verse 4 me that they may serve other Gods c. There was great danger if they loved their Wives that they might draw them to their Idolatry in which they were so rooted that there was little hope of converting them to the true Religion Therefore this is opposed to the Love of the LORD their God for the preserving of which in their Hearts they are forbidden such Marriages XXIII Josh 11.12 And indeed it was but a piece of Natural Equity that they should abstain from such familiarity with those who would certainly undo them Which made Abraham before this Law charge his Son Isaac not to take a Wife from among the Canaanites and the same care was taken of Jacob. And when this Law of Moses was abolished the Apostle warns Christians themselves against such unequal Matches 2 Corinth VI. 14. The danger of which David had noted CVI Psal 35 36. So will the Anger of the LORD be kindled against you c. See VI. 15. Verse 5 Ver. 5. But thus shall ye deal with them Or therefore thus shall ye deal with them That is to prevent the forementioned Mischief he orders them to leave no Relick of their Idolatry remaining Ye shall destroy their Altars The very same Precept XXXIV Exod. 13. And break down their Images The very same words with these are in XXIII Exod. 24. only there it is said quite breaks down and in XXXIV Exod.
and stony places have the least swelling in them Or as some translate it grow callous There are those that refer this last Clause not to their Feet but to their Shoes according to what we read XXIX 5. Ver. 5. Thou shalt also consider in thine Heart Often reflect and ponder Verse 5 That as a Man chastneth his Son so the LORD thy God chastneth thee All the Afflictions which God had sent upon them he would have them think were not for their undoing but for their amendment and correcting what was amiss in them and therefore ought to be thankfully acknowledged as well as his Benefits Ver. 6. Therefore thou shalt keep the Commandments Verse 6 of the LORD thy God to walk in his ways and to fear him Howsoever therefore he dealt with them it ought to have led them to Obedience In the repetition of this so often Moses doth but practice his own Lesson which he had taught them VI. 7. That they should teach these Words diligently to their Children c. Ver. 7. For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a Verse 7 good Land Therefore there was the greater need they should enter into it with the pious Resolution before-mentioned to fear God and walk in his ways Otherwise they would be in great danger to be corrupted by such plenty and variety of all good things as this Land afforded A Land of Brooks of Water of Fountains and Depths that spring out of Valleys and Hills The Hebrew word Tehom which we translate deep and in the plural Number Depths signifies sometimes those great Caverns of Water that are within the Ground which were made by the plentiful Rains which God sent upon this Country while they were obedient to him Which both made it fruitful tho' now barren and abounding also with Water for their Cattle LXXVIII Psal 15. XXXI Ezek. 4. But it is here commonly interpreted Lakes or Wells of Water Verse 8 Ver. 8. A Land of Wheat and Barley and Vines and Fig-trees and Pomegranates Plentifully stored with all things necessary for the support and pleasure of Life A Land of Oyl-Olive and Honey The same word Debas which signifies Honey signifies also Dates And so de Dieu thinks it most reasonable to translate it here being joyned with four other sorts of Fruits And so Kimchi saith the ancient Jews expounded it in this place and in 2 Chron. XXXI 5. where it is said That Israel brought in abundance the first Fruits of Corn Wine Oyl and Honey or Dates as we there translate it in the Margin Verse 9 Ver. 9. A Land wherein thou shalt eat Bread without scarceness Be in no want of any sort of Provision which is comprehended under the Name of Bread Thou shall not lack any thing in it No other Conveniences of Life A Land whose Stones are Iron and out of whose Hills thou mayst dig Brass Where there are useful Minerals as plentiful as Stones are in other places These are the rather mentioned because there were no such Mines in Egypt where they had long dwelt and were stored with plenty of other things XI Numb 5. Verse 10 Ver. 10. When thou hast eaten and art full After a liberal Meal Then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good Land which he hath given thee Give solemn Thanks to God not only for that present Repast but for the plentiful Provision he had made for them of all good things in the Land he had bestowed on them From this place the Jews have made it a general Rule or as they call it an affirmative Precept That every one bless God at their Meals That is as I said give him Thanks for his Benefits For he blesses us when he bestows good things upon us and we bless him when we thankfully acknowledge his Goodness therein Which is a natural Duty which we owe to the Fountain and Original of all Good Ver. 11. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy Verse 11 God in not keeping his Commandments and his Judgments and his Statutes which I command thee this day He would have their Thanksgiving for his Benefits leave such a sence of God upon their Minds as should make them careful to yield him an entire Obedience Ver. 12. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full Verse 12 and hast built goodly Houses and dwelt therein Feasted in stately Houses wherein they enjoyed their Ease Ver. 13. And when thy Herds and thy Flocks are multiplied Verse 13 and thy Silver and thy Gold is multiplied and all that thou hast is multiplied The sence of these two Verses is when they had great abundance of all good things within Doors and without Ver. 14. Then thine Heart be lifted up Which is Verse 14 an usual Effect of great Riches as Euripides observes in that known Saying of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wealth breeds Pride Scorn and Contempt of others This Moses Kotzensis thought so great a Sin that he puts it among the Negative Precepts and pretends he was warned in a Dream so to do tho' Maimonides and others had omitted it And when he awaked he was confirmed in it by reading a place in the Gemara upon Sota Cap. I. which saith Wheresoever we find these Words in Scripture Take heed lest there is a Prohibition as there is v. 11. and here to take heed of Pride For whosoever is proud he shall be brought low as the Gemara there adds which are in a manner the Words of our blessed Saviour XVIII St. Luke 14. And thou forget the LORD thy God This is another common effect of large Possessions which make the Owners of them fall into Sloth and Luxury and such Forgetfulness of the Donor of all good Things that they trust in uncertain Riches as the Apostle speaks and not in the living God imagining now they can never want not because God is so good but because they have such store of good Things laid up for many Years Which brought thee forth out of the Land of Egypt and from the House of Bondage No wonder if they forgot all his former Benefits when they were unthankful for the present Verse 15 Ver. 15. Who led thee through that great and terrible Wilderness See I. 19. Wherein were fiery Serpents See XXI Numb 6. And Scorpions These are commonly joyned with Serpents in Scripture even in the New Testament X Luke 19. XI 12 13. being found in the same places especially in this Desert of Arabia And Drought The Hebrew word Tsimmaon signifies a dry place as we translate it CVII Psal 33. XXXV Isa 7. And that best agrees with what here follows Where there was no Water Who brought thee forth Water out of a Rock of Flint From which one would have sooner expected Fire than Water XX Numb 11. Who fed thee in the Wilderness with Manna which thy Fathers knew not v. 3. The great Salmasius in a Treatise on purpose about Manna hath said a great deal to prove that the Manna which God sent
whom none can stand IV. 24. He shall destroy them and he shall bring them down before thy face See III Josh 10 11. The Hebrews have a conceit that the Fire which burnt upon the Altar appeared in the Form of a Lion to show what God would be to their Enemies if the Israelites obeyed him otherwise what he would be to them So shalt thou drive them out and destroy them utterly as the LORD hath said unto thee Not the whole seven Nations intirely whom he said God would drive out by little and little VII 22. but so many as to make a Settlement for themselves in Canaan without much difficulty Verse 4 Ver. 4. Speak not in thine heart after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out When this is done do not so much as entertain a Thought For my righteousness hath the LORD brought me in to possess this Land Nothing is more dangerous than Pride and Self-conceit And therefore as he taught them before VIII 7. to have an humble Opinion of their own Power so now not to arrogate any thing to themselves on the account of their own Righteousness But for the wickedness of these Nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee XVIII Lev. 24 25 27 28. Verse 5 Ver. 5. Not for thy righteousness or the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go to possess their Land but for the wickedness of these Nations c. and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy Fathers c. It was of great moment which makes him repeat it again that they should understand the true Causes why God expelled these Nations and gave their Land to the Israelites which were these two First The abominable wickedness of the Canaanites for which they deserved to be rooted out Secondly God's gracious Promises to the pious Ancestors of the Israelites with whom he made a Covenant and confirmed it with an Oath to plant them there in the room of the former Inhabitants Ver. 6. Vnderstand therefore that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good Land to possess it for thy Verse 6 righteousness He repeats it a third time that if it were possible he might root out of the Israelites the Opinion of their own Deserts before he rooted the Canaanites out of their Country For thou art a stiff-necked People So far from being Righteous that they were very Refractory Of which God often complained XXXII Exod. 9. XXXIII 3 5. and Moses acknowledges it in his Prayer to God for them XXXIV 9. Ver. 7. Remember and forget not how thou provokedst Verse 7 the LORD thy God to wrath in the Wilderness In order to destroy the Opinion of their own Righteousness it was necessary to call to mind some of their most notorious Provocations which he exhorts them carefully to preserve in their Mind as a Means to keep them humble From the day that thou didst depart out of the Land of Egypt until you came to this place ye have been rebellious against the LORD This appears by the many Murmurings we read of in the two first Years after they came out of Egypt and likewise in the last of which only we have a particular Account but their behavour all the rest of the time they spent in the Wilderness was no better Ver. 8. Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to Verse 8 wrath Or rather Even in Horeb for there is an Emphasis in this and he speaks it with some Indignation when they had newly received the Law and had a visible Appearance of God in great Glory upon Mount Sinai and had entred into Covenant with him they so shamefully revolted from him that he thought to have destroyed them XXXII Exod. 7 8 c. Verse 9 Ver. 9. When I was gone up into the Mount to receive the Tables of Stone even the Tables of the Covenant which the LORD made with you See XXIV Exod. 11. Then I abode in the Mount forty days and forty nights I neither did eat bread nor drink water See XXIV Exod. 18. XXXIV 28. Verse 10 Ver. 10. And the LORD delivered unto me two Tables of Stone written with the finger of God See XXXI Exod. 18. According to all the words which the LORD spake with you in the Mount See XXXIV Exod. 28. Out of the midst of the fire in the day of the Assembly When the whole Body of the People were assembled and heard God speak these Ten Words out of the midst of the Fire See IV Deut. 10 11 12 13. Verse 11 Ver. 11. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the LORD gave me the two Tables of Stone c. That is having given him the two Tables as was said before v. 10. Verse 12 Ver. 12. The LORD said unto me Immediately after he had delivered to him the Tables XXXI Exod. 18. XXXII 7. Arise get thee down quickly from hence for the People which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves c. See XXXII Exod. 7 8. Verse 13 Ver. 13. Furthermore the LORD spake unto me saying I have seen this People and behold it is a stiff-necked People Who will not bend to the Yoke of my Laws XXXII Exod. 9. Ver. 14. Let me alone Do not make any Intercession to me for them That I may destroy them and blot out their Name from under Heaven and I will make of thee a Nation Verse 14 greater and mightier than they See XXXII Exod. 10. Ver. 15. So I turned and came down from the Mount Verse 15 See XXXII Exod. 15. And the Mount burnt with fire Was all in a flame in token of God's high displeasure against them and as if he intended presently to consume them And the two Tables of the Covenant were in my hand XXXII Exod. 15. Ver. 16. And I looked and behold ye had sinned against Verse 16 the LORD your God and had made you a molten Calf About which he found them dancing XXXII Exod. 19. Ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you For a few Weeks before he had commanded them with his own Mouth not to make to themselves any graven Image c. XX Exod. 4. And immediately after commanded Moses to repeat this Precept particularly to them Not to make with him Gods of Silver or Gold v. 22 23. Ver. 17. And I took the two Tables and cast them Verse 17 out of my two hands and brake them before your eyes By God's order no doubt in token that they had broken his Covenant and were unworthy to be owned by him for his People XXXII Exod. 19. or that the Covenant was made void and God no longer engaged to them Ver. 18. And I fell down To pray God for Pardon though not presently but after he had broken the Calf in pieces reproved Aaron and made a Verse 18 slaughter among the People XXXII Exod. 20 21 c. As at the first When he
first heard of their Sin XXXII Exod. 11 12 13. and the next Morning after he had broken the Calf and done Execution upon the Offenders v. 30 31 32. Forty days and forty nights I did neither eat bread nor drink water XXXIV Exod. 2 28. Because of all your sins which ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger He spent this time very much in earnest Supplication to God to forgive not only this but all their other sins whereby they had deserved to be cast off by him For they provoked him at Marah XV Exod. 23. and in the Wilderness of Sin XVI 2 3. and at Massah XVII 2 3 4. Verse 19 Ver. 19. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you Which God had expressed both before he came down from the Mount and after XXXII Exod. XXXIII 3 5. Insomuch that the LORD removed out of the Camp and would not for the present dwell among them v. 7. But the LORD hearkned unto me at that time also See XXXIV Exod. 8 9 10. Where the LORD tells him he expected they should be more faithful hereafter in observing their Covenant with him particularly this part of worshipping no other God See there v. 10 11 12 13 14. Ver. 20. And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him c. This shows the heinousness of this Sin which had like to have cost Aaron his Life though he meerly complied with the impetuous Verse 20 Desire of the People out of Fear and want of Courage to resist them Ver. 21. And I took your sin So Idols are termed Verse 21 in XXXI Isa 7. The Object or Occasion of Sin as well as the Punishment of it being called by the Name of Sin The Calf which you had made and burnt it with fire and stamp'd it and ground it very small c. This he did before he went up the second time into the Mount XXXII Exod. 20. And I cast the dust thereof into the Brook that descended out of the Mount From the Rock which Moses smote with his Rod XVII Exod. 6. which constantly supplied them with Drink which for the present they could not have but mixed with their Sin as we read XXXII Exod. 20. Ver. 22. And at Taberah Besides this great Sin Verse 22 committed at Horeb he puts them in mind of several other that they might be the more humbled and have no Opinion of their own Righteousness remaining in them See concerning this XI Numb 1 2 3. And at Massah As the foregoing Sin was committed after the making the Golden Calf so this was before it XVII Exod. 7. And at Kibroth hattaavah ye provoked the LORD to wrath This Provocation was immediately after that at Taberah XI Numb 33 34. All which three places had their Names from the Sin of the Israelites or from their Punishment Ver. 23. Likewise And yet this was not all When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-Barnea saying Go up and possess the Land which I have given you Verse 23 XIII Numb 1 2 3. Then ye rebelled against the Commandment of the LORD your God and ye believed him not nor hearkned to his word XIV Numb 1 2 3. of which unbelief God there complains v. 11. Verse 24 Ver. 24. Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you To comprise all in a few words You have been a disobedient People ever since I was acquainted with you So he suspected they would prove IV Exod. 1. and upon the first disappointment found it to be true V Exod. 24 25. Verse 25 Ver. 25. Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights as I fell down at the first because the LORD had said he would destroy you Having interposed some other Instances of their rebellious Disposition besides their making the Golden Calf he returns to what he had begun to say concerning his Intercession with God for a Pardon which he could not obtain without long Importunity For we cannot from these words gather as some of the Jews do that Moses was three times in the Mount forty days and forty nights it being plain that he speaks here of the same time which he mentioned v. 18. And if we should think he intended any other we might conclude he was four times in the Mount so many days and nights because he mentions it over again in the next Chapter X. 10. Because the LORD had said he would destroy you XXXII Exod. 10. XXXIII 5. This wade him so earnest to obtain an Assurance from God that he would continue to be as gracious to them as he had been of which he had given him some hope before he went up into the Mount See XXIII Exod. 17. XXXIV 9 10. Ver. 26. I prayed therefore unto the LORD and said Verse 26 O LORD God destroy not thy People and thine Inheritance which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness c. He used the same Argument in his Petition for them when he went into the Mount the second time which he had urged before he came down the first time from it XXXII Exod. 12. Ver. 27. Remember thy Servants Abraham Isaac Verse 27 and Jacob. The very same he had said there v. 13. And look not unto the stubborness of this People nor to their wickedness nor to their sin He prays that the gracious Promise of God to their pious Fore-fathers would move him to over-look the high Provocations of their Posterity Which he aggravates in several words the more to humble them and to magnifie God's Mercy in granting them a Pardon The word Stubborness seems to relate to their very evil Disposition of Mind and their Wickedness to all their undutiful Murmurings and their Sin to their Idolatry which is often called in Scripture peculiarly by the Name of Sin It being the highest Provocation from whence sprang all manner of Wickedness Thus Jeroboam is said to have made Israel to sin by setting up the Calves at Dan and Bethel to be worshipped Ver. 28. Lest the Land whence thou broughtest them Verse 28 out say Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the Land which he promised them and because he hated them he hath brought them out to slay them in the Wilderness Chapter X. The sence of this also he had before urged XXXII Exod. 12. Ver. 29. Yet they are thy People and thine Inheritance Verse 29 which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power c. They were redeemed by him out of the Land of Aegypt and after a wonderful manner separated from all other People to be his peculiar XIX Exod. 4 5 6. and besides having repented of this Sin in making the Golden Calf God had again owned them to be his and promised his Presence should go with them XXXIII Exod. 14. Insomuch that Moses there saith before he went into the Mount again v. 13. Consider
no long time XXVI Numb 15 16 17 23 24 35 38 39 c. And from Gudgodah to Jotbath And so to the rest of the Places mentioned XXXIII Numb 34 35 36. till they came to Mount Hor. A Land of Rivers of Waters A place where there was plenty of Water which he mentions I suppose that they might reflect upon their foul distrust of God's Providence a little after when they murmured for want of Water at Kadesh XX Numb 3 4 c. Verse 8 Ver. 8. At that time Not long after Moses came down from the Mount the second time of which he had been speaking v. 5. The LORD separated the Tribe of Levi. To his own special Service as we read III Numb Some think that God renewed his Choice of them to the Employment here mentioned after Aaron's death when he confirm'd them in their Office But we read of no such thing and it cannot be inferred meerly from these words at that time which may well relate to the time mentioned v. 5. To bear the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD Here are three parts of their Office mentioned in these and the following words The first of which was to carry the Ark which peculiarly belonged to the Kohathites III Numb 27 31. when the Camp removed from one place to another Who were good Witnesses that the same Ark still remained at that day wherein Moses first placed the Tables of the Covenant for it never stirred but by their means To stand before the LORD This is a Phrase used of Servants that wait upon their Masters before whom they are said to stand Thus Gehazi attended the Prophet Elisha 2 Kings V. 25. And the Prophets tnemselves are thus said to stand before the LORD 1 Kings XVII 1. XVIII 15. Therefore here signifies that the Levites were separated to be God's Ministers as it follows To minister unto him As Assistants to the Priests in the Tabernacle III Numb 6. and as a guard to the Tabernacle v. 7 8. Which was the second part of their Office And to bless in his Name unto this day This was the greatest thing of all and was peculiar to the Priests who were a part of the Tribe of Levi but had the sole Priviledge among them to bless in the Name of the Lord as we read expresly VI Numb 23 24. If indeed it could be made out that by blessing in the Name of the LORD is meant only to bless the Name of the LORD that was common to all the Levites who sang Praises and gave Thanks continually to him in the Temple as I suppose they did in the Tabernacle But I find no Example of the use of this Expression in this sence And therefore it must be restrained to the Priests who were Sons of Levi as well as the rest and are so called when Moses mentions this part of their Office XXI Deut. 5. Verse 9 Ver. 9. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his Brethren Because God would have them only attend to this Service and not look after other Affairs Particularly of guarding the Sanctuary and keeping constant watch there to secure all the Holy Things especially the Ark which they took care none should meddle withal And therefore the People might be sure it remained as Moses left it when he put it into the Tabernacle with the Tables of the Covenant in it The LORD if his Inheritance according as the LORD thy God promised him He took care to provide for the Levites without having any Land to plough or sow c. See XVIII Numb 20. Verse 10 Ver. 10. And I stayed in the Mount according to the first time forty days and forty nights This doth not signifie that after the separation of the Levites he went up again into the Mount but having confirmed what he said concerning his putting the Tables of Stone in the Ark which he made after he came the second time down from the Mount v. 5. he returns to what he was speaking of in the beginning of the Chapter and had begun to say before IX 25. how he prayed to God for them when he went to carry the Tables he had hewn up unto God in the Mount that now he might relate to them the Success of his Prayers which follows in the next words And the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also and the LORD would not destroy thee As he feared he would because he had so threatned IX 15. Ver. 11. And the LORD said unto me Arise take Verse 11 thy journey before the People that they may go in and possess the Land c. This cannot refer to what he said unto him after the making the Golden Calf as I find some take it from XXXIII Exod. 1. for that was before he went up into the Mount again But to what he said at the Conclusion of their Removals from place to place some of which he mentions here v. 6 7. for then he orders them what to do when they entred into Canaan which he saith I have given you to possess it XXXIII Numb 51 52 53. Ver. 12. And now Israel what doth the LORD thy Verse 12 God require of thee Unto whom he hath given Tables wherein he himself hath wrote his Will with his own Hand v. 4 5. and hath graciously pardoned your foul Breach of his Covenant upon my Intercession v. 10. But to fear the LORD thy God The Fear of God sometimes includes in it all Religion but here seems to signifie one of the great Principles of Obedience See VI. 2. And to walk in all his ways Unto which the Fear of God inclines Men when their Hearts are possessed with it And to love him Especially if the Love of God be in them which is still a stronger Principle of Obedience VI. 1. And to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Being constant in his Worship and Service and worshipping him alone VI. 13. XIII 3. For loving him with all the Heart and Soul seems here to have particular respect to their having no inclination to serve other Gods 1 Kings VIII 23 48. Which the Jews after they had smarted for their Idolatry understood to be the great Commandment As their Father Jacob they say taught his Twelve Sons when they came about him on his Death-bed saying to them Ye perhaps worship the Idols which Terah the Father of Abraham worshipped or those which Laban my Mother's Brother worshipped or ye worship the God of Jacob. To whom they all made this Answer with a perfect Fear Hear O Israel our Father THE LORD OVR GOD IS ONE LORD Whereupon Jacob said LET HIS GREAT NAME BE BLESSED FOR EVER Thus the Hierusalem Targum upon VI. 4. of this Book Verse 13 Ver. 13. To keep the Commandments of the LORD and his Statutes which I command this day for thy good Self-love should have inclined them to obedience to God's Commands which he gave them for their good though he
them to the Sacred Feasts before spoken of This is repeated XIV 27. And in this the Jews were so careful that when there was such increase of the Levites that their Cities could not contain them they assigned them more than were given them at first For Joshua gave them only XLVIII but before the Captivity of Babylon they had XX. more added to them as appears from 1 Chron. VI. 65 66 c. where after the mention of the old Number there is an account given of XX. more added to them out of several Tribes For though they could not enlarge the Bounds prescribed to their Cities yet as the number of Levites increased they might give them new Cities And so they did that they might not be straitned in their Dwellings among them Ver. 20. When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy Verse 20 Border That is when he had brought them out of this Wilderness where they were incamped round about the Tabernacle into a spacious Country where they might live far distant from it As the LORD hath promised thee Which he promised to enlarge even as far as Euphrates if they were obedient to him XV Gen. 18. And thou shalt say I will eat flesh Have a desire to eat it Because thy Soul longeth to eat flesh There were several sorts of Flesh that were lawful to be eaten which they could not have in the Wilderness and therefore might be supposed to desire them very much when they came into Canaan which abounded with them And besides they would have more plenty of such Cattle as they now had which might incline them to keep greater Tables Thou mayest eat flesh whatsoever thy Soul lusteth after This was said before v. 15. and now repeated with all the rest that belongs to this matter to let them see God did not intend to abridge them too much of their liberty For though they might not eat the Tithe of their Corn Wine and Oil and the rest mentioned v. 17. at their own home because they were holy things and therefore to be eaten only in one certain place where God's Sanctuary was yet all sorts of Flesh used at their private Tables he now gives them leave to kill any where without bringing it to the Tabernacle and offering the Blood at the Altar as they were tied to do while they were in the Wilderness XVII Lev. 3 4 c. For then the Tabernacle was very near to every one of them but when their Border was enlarged it must needs be at so great a distance from some of them that it would have been too heavy a Burden to oblige them to kill every thing they eat at the Tabernacle and therefore he dispenses with it Verse 21 Ver. 21. If the place c. The Particle Chi may better be translated here because which makes these words a reason of the Allowance given in the foregoing Verse Because the place which the LORD thy God hath chose to put his Name there is too far from thee thou mayest kill c. Of thy Herd and of thy Flock Such Creatures as are now allowed for Sacrifice Oxen Sheep Lambs and Goats Which the LORD hath given thee For Food as well as other uses As I have commanded thee Given thee leave to eat at home without carrying them to the Tabernacle So it follows And thou shalt eat in thy Gates whatsoever thy Soul lusteth after i. e. All manner of things of which there was great variety not prohibited by this Law Verse 22 Ver. 22. Even as the Roe-buck and the Hart is eaten so mayest thou eat them Which were Creatures not allowed to be offered to God in Sacrifice See v. 15. and therefore they might less doubt to eat of them than of such as were peculiarly appointed for that use From which they might possibly have thought that out of Reverence to God they should abstain but are here satisfied they might as freely eat of them as of the other The clean and the unclean shall eat of them alike Whereas while they were in the Wilderness only such as were clean might eat Flesh because it was sanctified by being killed at the Altar now all are indulged the same liberty whether they were removed from holy things as the Hierusalem Targum expresses it or were pure to use them both might eat flesh alike Ver. 23. Only be sure that thou eat not the Blood Verse 23 Take great care as the word signifies in the Hebrew which is be strong use thy utmost diligence to prevent this For the blood is the life and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh See what I have noted upon IX Gen. 4. XVII Lev. 11 14. Ver. 24. Thou shalt not eat it thou shalt pour it out Verse 24 upon the earth as water Since they could not pour it out at the Altar where no body could meddle with it they were to pour it out on the Earth that it might sink into it Or as the Law required in Leviticus XVII 13. cover it with Dust that the Cattle might not lick it up Or the meaning may be Pour it as a common thing which Water is without any religious Rite used about it Ver. 25. Thou shalt not eat of it This is repeated Verse 25 here so often as it is also in the XVIIth of Leviticus to shew the weightiness of this Command That it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD When they neither followed the Idolatrous Customs which the Gentiles used about the Blood nor prophanely meddled with that which was peculiar to God when it was offered at the Altar Which was the great reason why they were prohibited to eat Blood Ver. 26. Only thy holy things which thou hast and thy vows thou shalt take and go unto the place which the LORD shall chuse Only he would have them Verse 26 not to forget that the things mentioned v. 17. they were not to eat at home but at the House of God though it was never so far distant from them Verse 27 Ver. 27. And thou shalt offer thy Burnt-offerings the Flesh and the Blood upon the Altar of the LORD thy God No Sacrifices were to be offered any where but at the Sanctuary as he had said before v. 6. and now reminds them of it that they might observe it and do accordingly And the Blood of thy Sacrifices shall be poured out upon the Altar of the LORD thy God All their Peace-offerings as well as others were to be there offered and their Blood poured on the Altar as a holy thing whereas the Blood of those Creatures they killed at home was poured out as a common thing like Water And thou shalt eat the Flesh After God and his Priests had their parts Verse 28 Ver. 28. Observe and hear all these words which I command thee that it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee for ever
comes that the Physician hath obtained his end he changes the Diet and permits his Patient what he formerly forbad and prohibits that which he formerly permitted Which exactly agrees to what our blessed Saviour hath done CHAP. XIII Chapter XIII Verse 1. IF there arise among you In future Verse 1 times A Prophet One that pretends to have a Message from God delivered to him in a Vision or by the Word of the LORD For there was a constant Succession of Prophets to whom God revealed his mind several ways among the Jews to preserve them in the true Worship of God and instruct them in their Law and admonish them on some occasions of things to come Which was the more necessary because there were such kind of Persons among the Gentiles Or a dreamer of Dreams Who pretended God had appeared to him in a Dream as he did unto Jacob XXVIII Gen. 11. and revealed his mind to him Such there were in Jeremiah's time XXIX Jerem. 8. And give thee a sign Foretell something Or a wonder By what follows one would think this belongs to the foregoing words which are to be understood as if he had said If he foretell some wonderful thing which shall shortly come to pass Or it may be interpreted shall work a miracle unto which the Heathen did not so much pretend as they did to Predictions which were common among them Ver. 2. And the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof Verse 2 he spake unto thee The Event confirm the Prediction so that he seem a true Prophet Saying Let us go after other gods which thou hast not known and let us serve them And consequently he perswade you to worship other gods which he pretends is demonstrated to be lawful by the fulfilling of his Sign and Wonder Verse 3 Ver. 3. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet or dreamer of Dreams Notwithstanding look upon him as a Lyar and not as a true Prophet For God cannot contradict himself nor do any thing to perswade Men to forsake him and give his Worship to another This shows that he still pursues his intention in this Chapter as well as all the foregoing to establish them in the Belief and Worship of one God according to the first Commandment From which nothing was more likely to seduce them than false Prophets who were the great Instruments of establishing the foulest Idolatry in Israel As appears from 1 Kings XVIII 19. where we read of no less then Four hundred Prophets of Baal and Four hundred and fifty Prophets of the Groves that is of other false gods particularly Astarte as Mr. Selden conjectures in his Syntagma II. de Diis Syris Cap. II. And there could not be a plainer Demonstration that a Man was a false Prophet than if he endeavoured to draw them to the Worship of other gods or if he pretended to speak in the Name of any other god XVIII Deut. 20. or if he commanded them to offer such Sacrifices as God abhorred Thus Aristander as David Chytraeus notes discovered himself to be a false Prophet though he foretold the destruction of Babylon for he required Humane Sacrifices to be offered As Tiresias also predicted Victory to the Thebans provided Creon's Daughter was offered up in Sacrifice and Chalcas the time of the Siege of Troy but together therewith commanded the Sacrifice of Iphigenia These and such like things plainly discovered they were not inspired by God who is the lover of Mankind and cannot delight in their Blood For the LORD your God proveth you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your Soul That there might be an open and publick discovery made whether they sincerely loved God or no or were stedfast in their Religion So Maimonides in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXIV God would make known to the Nations of the World the measure of your Faith in the Truth of his Law and of the Approbation wherewith you apprehend it c. For it had been a great weakness to suffer even a Miracle to shake their Faith after it had been confirmed by so many Miracles Ver. 4. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God Verse 4 Follow the Will of God as Maimonides interprets it declared by himself More Nevochim P. I. Cap. XXXVIII Which is a plainer and more genuine Interpretation than that of the Gamera of Sota Cap. I. Sect. 52. where R. Chama expounds it of imitating God in cloathing the Naked visiting the Sick burying the Dead c. For Beneficence is the beginning and the end of the Divine Law Which is a pious sense but not here intended And fear him Worship him alone VI. 2. And keep his Commandments The greatest of which is this XI 13. And obey his voice Which you heard from Mount Sinai saying Thou shalt have no other gods but me And ye shall serve him and cleave unto him Stedfastly adhere unto his Service and not be drawn from it by any perswasion Verse 5 Ver. 5. And that Prophet or dreamer of Dreams These two signifie Persons who pretended to different sorts of Revelations by Visions or by Dreams Shall be put to death This the Jews interpret to signifie Strangulation unto which upon good proof of the Fact he was to be Sentenced by the great Sanhedrim For that was a received Maxim among them That a lying Prophet was to be judged no where but by the Council of LXX See Selden Lib. III. de Synedriis Cap. VI. N. I. Because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God who brought you out of the Land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the House of Bondage Perswaded you to forsake your God and his Service to whom you owe your Liberty and all your Possessions in the Land of Canaan To thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in These words express how zealous such Impostors were in their Importunities and how restless in their Endeavours to draw Men to Idolatry pressing them so earnestly as if they would force them to it So shalt thou put the Evil away from the midst of thee i. e. The danger of Idolatry by taking away the Life of him that would have seduced others unto it Verse 6 Ver. 6. If thy Brother the Son of thy Mother Who lay in the same Womb with him Or thy Son or thy Daughter Who were dearer than a Brother Or the Wife of thy bosom Who was still dearer sleeping in the same Bed with him as the Hierusalem Targum expounds it Or thy Friend which is as thine own Soul Whom thou lovest as thou dost thy Life He puts a Friend in the chief place as the Son of Sirach also doth XXXIII Ecclus. 19. which their Wives by the ill choice they made of them had not always in their Affection Here is no mention of Father or Mother because a Child as the Hebrews fancy was to have
translate withdraw is twice before v. 5 10. translated thrust away signifying only earnest endeavours to seduce Men from their Religion But here it seems to signifie also the Effect of those Endeavours whereby they had prevailed with Men to forsake the God of Israel or to worship other gods with him Saying Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known Strange gods as they are often called in Scripture which the Nations round about them worshipped v. 7. but were always abhorred by true Israelites Ver. 14. Then shalt thou enquire and make search Verse 14 and ask diligently The great Sanhedrim who only could take Cognizance of this Crime were upon this Information to send some on whose fidelity they could rely to examine the truth of the Report which was spread abroad concerning the defection of a City to the worship of other gods Who were to use their utmost care and diligence in this inquisition and by all possible means endeavour to find whether or no the Information was true For it was a matter of great concernment that neither the Innocent should suffer nor Apostates go unpunished But the Punishment being so dreadful there was the greater exactness used to be certain of the Crime and there were likewise a great many temperaments as Mr. Selden calls them found by the Jewish Lawyers partly from the nicest Interpretation of every Syllable in these two Verses and partly from the pretended Tradition of their Elders whereby they mitigated the sharpness of this Law For they would not proceed upon it to destroy a City though they found them Idolaters unless the Seducers were two or more and those also Men not Women because the Law here speaks in the Plural Number of certain Men Children of Belial As if their forsaking God was not a Crime whether they were perswaded to it or no by others They say also it was not to be a meer Town or Village but a City because the words here are In one of thy Cities in which there were more than an hundred Houses If there were fewer it was no City in their account and so escaped They who seduced a City also were to be of the same City because it is said here These Men of Belial are gone out from among you All which are meer quirks which have no solid Reason in them They are all mentioned together in the Title Sanhedrim set forth by J. Coch. Cap. XI Sect. 4. and by Maimonides more largely in his Avoda zara and our Selden Lib. III. de Synedi Cap. V. N. 2. But there are other temperaments of this Law which have better Foundation in Reason As first that a City was not to be destroyed unless the major part of the Inhabitants were fall'n off to serve other gods And secondly that the Law speaks only of lesser Cities not of those which were so large that the greatest part of a Tribe lived in it for God would not have a whole Tribe cut off by the Senate Thirdly They might not destroy any of the six Cities of Refuge because they were none of theirs but God's and the words of the Law are in one of thy Cities which the LORD hath given thee to dwell in whereas these were given for a further purpose And fourthly some add not a frontier Town because it is said in the midst of thee so the words are in the Hebrew which we translate among you to which they subjoyn a better Reason because the whole Country might have been exposed to be over-run with the Gentiles And lastly they except Jerusalem from this Law because it was God's Seat and as Maimonides will have it it was not distributed to any particular Tribe Which how it is to be understood see Selden in the place above-named Sect. III IV. where he touches upon all these But if Jerusalem was to be excepted from the Judgment of Men God took care to have this Sentence executed upon it by his own judgment for he sent Nebuchadnezzar against it whose Souldiers burnt with fire both the House of the LORD and the House of the King and all the Houses of Jerusalem LII Jerem. 13. And behold if it be truth and the thing be certain that such abomination is wrought among you If the Inquisitors found upon due Examinations that there was a plain and evident Proof of their Guilt they were to make their Report to the great Sanhedrim who being satisfied that either the whole City or the greater part of them were fall'n to Idolatry sent to them two Men of extraordinary Wisdom who were Candidates for the Senatorial Dignity to admonish them and by Arguments and Perswasions to endeavour to reduce them to the Worship of the LORD God of Israel And if they prevailed they were pardoned and no further Proceedings against them but if they continued obstinate then the Sanhedrim commanded the People of Israel to raise an Army and besiege the place and enter it by force if they could not otherways And when the City was taken several Courts were appointed to try and condemn all that were guilty Thus Maimonides in the forenamed Treatise reports the method of proceeding out of their ancient Authors See Selden Sect. VI. Verse 15 Ver. 15. Thou shalt surely smite the Inhabitants of that City with the edge of the Sword The same Author there saith that in the hearing of their Cause every one who was found guilty of Idolatry after admonition by two Witnesses was set aside And if they proved to be the lesser part of the City they were stoned according to the Law against single Apostates the rest being freed from Punishment but if they were the greater part of it they were sent to the great Sanhedrim who adjudged them to be cut off by the Sword together with their Wives and Children And thus the whole City was to be punished if there was an Universal defection Destroying it utterly and all that is therein and the Cattle thereof with the edge of the Sword In the Hebrew the word is thou shalt make it a Cherem or an accursed thing And so the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the Vulgar translate it as we do thou shalt utterly destroy it which is consonant to the notion of the Hebrew word See Selden L. I. de Synedr Cap. VII p. 131. So that if any righteous Man had any thing therein at that time it was to be destroyed as the very words are in the Title Sanhedrim Cap. XI Sect. 5. But it is to be supposed that all who feared God would remove their Effects together with themselves from so wicked a place before Sentence was pronounced against them On the contrary they say the Goods of the Idolaters wheresoever they were found whether within the City or without were to be burnt Ver. 16. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into Verse 16 the midst of the street thereof Into the Market-place as the Jews interpret it Or if it had none they
of the release It is Verse 2 thus to be understood Every Creditor that lendeth ought unto his Neighbour shall release it It was an entire acquittance not of Debts contracted by Sale of Lands or Goods to those who were able to pay but of Money lent to a Neighbour or Friend meerly to relieve his Poverty not to carry on Trade or to make a Purchase For nothing could have been more absurd than to have extinguished such Debts whereby the borrower was inriched He shall not exact it of his Neighbour or of his Brother Here the word Brother is added to explain what is meant by a Neighbour viz. an Israelite or a Proselyte entirely of their Religion who had all the Priviledges of an Israelite Some think that by not exacting Money lent to such a Man is meant no more but only forbearing to demand it in this year because there was no sowing or reaping in it or if he did that he should not have power to recover it by Law this year though afterward he might But the plain meaning seems to be that he should be perfectly free from his Debt as a Servant after six years was from his Service Though if afterward he grew rich in good Conscience he was bound to pay it Because it is the LORD's release In the Hebrew the words Schemitta laihova signifie that this year was a Release to the LORD or for the LORD In honour that is of him who made this a year of great Charity In obedience to whom they were bound to be very kind to their poor Brethren But the Jews fancy they were not bound to be so kind as to make this Release till the very last day of the year So that if a Man had borrowed Money in the beginning of it he was not acquitted till the year expired Verse 3 Ver. 3. Of a forreigner thou mayest exact it again Of an Alien as we translate the word Nocri in the foregoing Chapter v. 21. That is of one who was neither an Israelite nor proselyted to their Religion but a meer Gentile The only question is whether they were not to remit the Debts of a Proselyte of the Gate who I think is no where called their Brother in the Law and therefore they were not obliged to discharge them from what they owed But that which is thine with thy Brother thine hand shall not touch This seems to restrain it wholly to those who were Jews or had all the Priviledges of Jews Verse 4 Ver. 4. Save when there shall be no poor among you Whether we follow this Translation or that in the Margin of our Bibles it appears that they were obliged to acquit only their poor Brethren Of whom they were not to exact their Debts least they should be tempted to flee to the Gentiles and forsake their Religion So this was a Provision still against Idolatry Or if we understand it as it is in the Margin to the end that there be no poor among you the sence is the same that they were by this Charity to keep Men from extream Necessity which might force them to go a begging or to seek for Relief in strange Countries For the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it He would not have them think that they might become poor themselves by this means for he assures them God would prevent that by sending his extraordinary Blessing upon them Cardinal Cajetan and some others understand this Verse as if it were all of it a Promise and contained no Precept in it viz. That God would take care they should not be burdened by this Law for he would so bless them that they should have no Poor among them and then they were not obliged to acquit those of their Debts who were able to pay them Ver. 5. Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice Verse 5 of the LORD thy God to observe to do all these Commandments which I command thee this day Particularly this of releasing their poor Neighbours from their Debts which would intitle them to the Blessing he promises again in the next Verse Ver. 6. For the LORD God blesseth thee as he promised Verse 6 thee God had many ways blessed them already and he promises to reward their Obedience with greater Blessings And thou shalt lend unto many Nations but thou shalt not borrow Grow so very rich that other Nations should come to borrow of them but they be beholden to none And thou shalt reign over many Nations c. I suppose he means no more than Solomon doth when he saith The borrower is servant to the lender XXII Prov. 7. But it may extend to their dominion over many Nations whom they conquered till they enlarged their Bounds as far as Euphrates Verse 7 Ver. 7. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren in any of thy gates in the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee thou shalt not harden thy heart nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother As they might be inclined to do after the passing of this Law thinking with themselves that what they lent to such a Man they should never have again but must lose it if he were not able to repay it before the Year of Release This seems to be the meaning of this Verse which the Jews interpret not of lending but of giving Alms. It is not much material which way we take it For he that lent to a poor Man was willing to give what he lent if he could not pay him before the Year of Release after which he could not demand it Thou shalt not harden thine heart nor shalt thou shut thine hand from thy poor brother Covetousness proceeds from want of Pity Tenderness and Compassion towards others in their Miseries unto which Nature it self inclines us especially towards Members of the same Society And the Jews had several particular Obligations to be tender-hearted as they were all Children of God after a peculiar manner who had been wonderful kind and merciful to them XIV 2. Verse 8 Ver. 8. But thou shalt open thine hand wide to him Bountifully supply him with what he wants And shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanted The Jews understood this not meerly of affording him Food sufficient to satisfie his hunger and Clothes to cover his nakedness and keep him warm but furnishing him with Houshold-goods if he had been forced to sell all he had that he might live comfortably Yea they proceed so far as to determine that the Neighbourhood should joyn together and make a Purse for him to put him in as good a Condition as he was before he fell into this want They determine also the quantity that every Man should give A very liberal Person the fifth part of what he had if need required a Man of moderate Bounty a tenth part If any Man gave less when the Case required
God He now begins in this Chapter to admonish them about their great Feasts which they were to keep whereby the whole Nation was preserved in the Worship of one only God which Mosesstill pursues to press upon them For in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt In memory of which the Feast of the Passover was ordained By night For then Pharaoh pressed them to be gone when he saw his First-born slain in the Night XII Exod. 29 30 31. and then they immediately prepared themselves for their Journey and borrowed of the Egyptians Jewels of Gold and Silver v. 35. Insomuch that Moses calls this a Night much to be observed unto the LORD and that Night of the LORD to be observed by all the Children of Israel in their Generations XII Exod. 42. though it was Day-light before they began their March as we read there v. 22. So that Moses bids them remember the day when they came out of Egypt XIII Exod. 3. which comprehends both that which is properly called Day and Night Verse 2 Ver. 2. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the LORD thy God The word Passover signifies here not only the Lamb which was properly called Pesach or Passover which was offered on the Fourteenth day at even but all the Paschal Sacrifices which followed after as appears by the next words of the flock and of the herd Which Sacrifices were appointed for all the seven Days of unleavened Bread XVIII Numb 17 18 19 c. See Bochartus in his Hierezoicon P. I. L. II. Cap. 50. where he shows at large that the word Passover is here a general word comprehending the Particulars after-mentioned p. 565 566. And thus translates these words which he justifies by many like instances Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the LORD thy God viz. of the Flock and of the Herd Which last words are added exegetically to explain what that Passover was which they were to offer unto the LORD Such Sacrifices as were offered in the Solemn Passover of Ezekiah 2 Chron. XXX 22. and of Josiah 2 Chron. XXXV 7 8 9. where it is apparent that the King and the Princes gave to the People and to the Priests Oxen as well as Sheep lepesachim for the Passover-offerings And thus it is used in the New Testament XVIII John 28. where it is said the Jews would not go into the Judgment-Hall lest they should be defiled but that they might eat the Passover i. e. these Passover-Offerings which were holy things of which none might eat in their defilement In the place which the LORD shall chuse to place his Name there At the Sanctuary as hath been often said XII 5 11 c. where all Sacrifices were to be offered Verse 3 Ver. 3. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it That is with the Passover before-mentioned Which is a Demonstration that all the Sacrifices of the Flock and of the Herd spoken of in the foregoing Verse are comprehended under the Name of Passover For with the Lamb they could not eat unleavened Bread seven days it being to be eaten presently in the Evening when it was offered after which followed the seven days of unleavened Bread which could not be eaten so long with the Passover unless Passover signifie all the seven days Sacrifices Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread therewith See XII Exod. 15. XIII 6 7. Even the bread of affliction So called because it was insipid and also heavy upon the Stomach and not easily digested whence it had the Name of Matzah because it was lumpish and could not rise as leavened Bread doth For thou camest forth out of the Land of Egypt in haste Wanting time to put any leaven to their Dough XII Exod. 34 39. That thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the Land of Egypt all the days of thy life That their Affliction there and their speedy Deliverance from thence might never be forgotten For their eating this Bread seven days together every year one would think could not but make great Impressions on their Mind and the more to imprint the sence of God's Mercy there the Master of every Family when he brake this Bread at the Paschal Feast and gave every one a piece of it said This is the Bread of Affliction which your Fathers did eat in the Land of Egypt So Maimonides and others tell us See XII Exod. 17. Ver. 4. And there shall no leavened bread be seen with Verse 4 thee in all thy coasts seven days See XII Exod. 18 19 20. XIII 3 7. Neither shall there any thing of the flesh which thou sacrificest the first day at even remain all night until the morning This is a plain description of the Paschal Lamb which was to be eaten in the Even wherein it was sacrificed XII Exod. 10. which he forbears here to call the Passover tho' that name properly belong to it because he had called other Sacrifices by that name v. 2. and would not have them confounded Verse 5 Ver. 5. Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee Not at home as they did when they first came out of Egypt and that because it was a Sacrifice which were now required to be all offered at the Sanctuary as was said before XII 5 11. Verse 6 Ver. 6. But at the place which the LORD thy God shall chuse to place his Name in there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover From whence Maimonides infers that even whilst High-places were allowed the Passover could not be killed any where but at the Sanctuary If any Man did offer it in a private High-place he was beaten as he saith in his Treatise concerning the Passover Cap. I. Sect. 3. At even at the going down of the Sun Between the two Evenings concerning which see XII Exod. 6. After the offering of the Evening Sacrifice they began to kill the Passover and continued this Sacrifice till Sun-set At the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt Then they were preparing themselves for their Journey and had warning to be ready and eat the Lamb with their Staves in their Hands as Men going forth to travel XII Exod. 11. though they did not actually go forth till the next Morning Verse 7 Ver. 7. And thou shalt rost and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall chuse See XII Exod. 8 9. And thou shalt turn in the morning and go unto thy Tents Unto their own Habitations which are called Tents because they had no other dwelling when these words were spoken The only doubt is whether he permits them to go home the next Morning after the Even before-mentioned or the Morning after the whole Feast of unleavened Bread was over It seems most reasonable to expound it of the former that if Mens occasions called them home they were not bound to stay any longer at the place where the Sanctuary
12. to v. 35. where he orders also the eighth day to be solemnly observed for a special reason See there Because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase and in all the works of thy hands Thankfulness to God for Blessings bestowed was the way to procure more Therefore thou shalt surely rejoyce In God the giver of all good things whom the whole Nation by the Institution of this Feast were incited to bless and praise for the Fruits of his Bounty to them And Peace-offerings were sacrificed on purpose for this end XXVII 7. From the repetition of this Command Thou shalt rejoyce the Jews infer that though all Festivals were Times of Joy yet the Feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrated with greater Joy than all the rest And accordingly Maimonides tells us the whole Festival was spent in Musick and Dancing and Singing Night and Day Ver. 16. Three times in the year shall all thy Males Verse 16 appear before the LORD thy God in the place c. This is so frequently enjoyned See v. 13. because it was of the greatest Consequence that they should meet as often as they could conveniently at one and the same place to worship the Divine Majesty whereby the Notion of the Unity of God was preserved among them And they shall not appear before the LORD empty This is also frequently repeated where the Feasts themselves are enjoyned XXIII Exod. 15. XXXIV 20. And from these and the following words That every man should give as he was able c. came the pious Custom in the beginning of our Religion that the People when they came to the LORD's Table offer'd Bread and Wine and Corn and Oil and such like things for the Support of God's Ministers and the Relief of the Poor every one according to their Ability Which was done in acknowledgment of God as the Author of Life and of all good Things for which they in this manner shewed their Gratitude to him And the Priests in the presence of all the People lifted them up and gave God thanks and beseeched him to accept them And out of these in many places they made their Agapae or Feasts of Charity for the Poor Mention is made of these Oblations in the Canons ascribed to the Apostles Cap. 3 4. which though not made by them yet contain a great many Apostolical Customs Verse 17 Ver. 17. Every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee It was but reasonable that the more bountiful God had been to them the more liberally they should offer a grateful Acknowledgment to him For all the forenamed three Feasts had relation to the Fruits of the Earth which God had blessed them withal as well as commemorated former great Benefits bestowed on their Fore-fathers The Passover being at the beginning of Barley Harvest Pentecost at the beginning of Wheat-Harvest and the Feast of Tabernacles when they had gathered in all the Fruits of the Earth At which Seasons all Mankind were ever wont to be full of Joy and to offer Sacrifices So Aristotle tells us Lib. VIII ad Nicomachum Cap. II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The ancient Sacrifices and Conventions seem to have been after the gathering in of the Fruits of the Earth as a First-fruits at which time chiefly they rested from their labours And so Strabo likewise Lib. X. Geograph p. 467. It is common both to Greeks and Barbarians to offer their Sacrifices with a Festival intermission of their Labours c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so Nature taught them to do that is to thank God with Rejoycing and Cessation from Labours For which he gives this surprising Reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For remission of Labour abstracts the Mind from Humane Affairs and turns it towards God This certainly was the ancient intention of all such Festival Times as the Heathen themselves could discern Ver. 18. Judges and Officers shalt thou make thee Verse 18 To see that these and all other Laws were duly observed Moses de Cotzi upon these words makes this difference between Schofetim and Schoterim that the former viz. Judges were the Senators in the several Courts who decided Causes and the other Officers were no more than Ministers attending the Court to keep the People in order with a Staff and a Whip and to execute the Decrees and Orders of the Judges whom they appointed not only in the Court but in the Streets looking after Weights and Measures in the Market and correcting Offenders Maimonides also makes them the same with our Apparitors or those who in the Roman Law are called Officiales as Constantine L'Empereur observes p. 362. upon Cornelius Bertram who mistook them for a sort of Judges and in the Digests Executores and in the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exactors XII Luke 58. Josephus makes them to have been Publick Criers and so we find them imployed XX. 8. I Josh 11. But then some of them at least seem to have been an honourable sort like our Heralds XXIII Josh 2. and all of them were Men of Authority though but young Men as Maimonides describes them who had not attained the Years and Knowledge of Doctors of the Law and therefore unfit to be Judges But the Jews place them next under their wise Men or Doctors and above their Scribes and Clerks as Mr. Thorndike observes in his Review of the Rights of the Church p. 94. But that they were certainly only under Officers and not Judges there is another Argument which is That Solomon upon this account commends the Ants that they carefully do their business though they have no Schoter set over them VI Prov. 7. no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to force or affright them into it In all thy gates That is in every City as Mr. Selden observes out of the Jewish Writers Lib. VII de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. V. and more largely L. II. de Synedriis Cap. V. Sect. 1. where he shows they interpret it in all the Cities of Israel both within the Land and without where Israel had any Jurisdiction Which is so true that they had Consistories wheresoever they were dispersed for the determining all Differences arising out of the Law though not as to the power of Life and Death which was seldom granted them by their Soveraigns Thus we learn from Philo that there was such a Consistory at Alexandria and the little Chronicle called Seder Olam Zuta tells us of the like in Babylonia And after the destruction of the Temple it is manifest not only by the Jewish Writings but by Epiphanius and others that there continued a Consistory at Tiberias for many Ages c. See Mr. Thorndike's Rights of the Church p. 56 57. and his Review of it p. 56. But though this be granted yet these words in all thy gates may suggest also the part of the City where they kept
their Court which was in the Gate For there as I observed XXXIV Gen. 24. all Publick Business was transacted in the time of Abraham and Jacob and continued so afterward Insomuch that the highest Court in Moses his time met at the Door of the Tabernacle XI Numb 24. the Gate among the Hebrews being the same with the Forum as I observed among the Romans As we see by 1 Kings VII 1. where Elisha foretells at what low rates Provision should be sold on the morrow in the gate of Samaria Where it is evident there was a place so spacious that Ahab assembled Four hundred Prophets there before him and King Jehoshaphat who had no doubt both of them numerous Attendants 2 Kings XXII 10. And before this time David it is said upon the news of Absolom's Death went up to the Chamber over the Gate and wept which we may well think was the Council Chamber 2 Sam. XVIII 33. And when Joab advised him to come down and show himself publickly it is said he rose and sat in the Gate and all the People came before him XIX 6. And therefore in these Gates which were so large there was some place I make no question where there were Benches for the Judges Which the LORD thy God giveth thee throughout thy Tribes In the Cities of every Tribe there was to be such a Court erected that People might have Justice easily and speedily done them And the Talmudists unanimously agree that the number of Judges was proportionable to the greatness of the City wherein they were placed and of the Causes which they judged Where there were less than an Hundred and twenty Families in any Town or City there was seated the lowest Court of all consisting of three Judges which tried only Actions of Debt or Damages done by Man or Beast or Defamation c. But in Cities where there were above an Hundred and twenty Families there was placed an higher Court consisting of Three and twenty Judges who tried Capital Causes Josephus indeed differs from the Talmudists about the number for he saith they were but Seven Both of them it is likely may say true with respect to different times and places for it cannot but be presumed that both he and they understood the state of their Country in such Publick Matters But at the place where God chose to settle his Sanctuary unto which all the Country resorted at certain times there was the Supream Court of all consisting as the Talmudists say of Seventy Persons besides their President who judged all manner of Causes and none but they could judge a false Prophet or a City fall'n to Idolatry All Appeals were made to them but from them there was none their Sentence being final See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. IV. Such a Court it is certain there was in future Ages whose number was according to that of the Seventy Elders chosen by God himself to assist Moses in the Government and indued with the Spirit of Judgment to qualifie them for that Office XI Numb 25. In Moses his time they sat at the Door of the Tabernacle as I observed before and afterward at Shiloh or wheresoever the Sanctuary was Though it may be doubted whether after Moses his death and the death of the Elders there was a Court consisting of so many Judges Nay it is highly probable that this Consistory it self was not constantly settled there according to Law till the time of Jehosaphat at least not the Inferior Consistories before-mentioned which were to be settled in every City For if they were what Reason can be given why the Judges V Judg. 10. X. 4. XII 14. and Samuel should ride Circuit up and down the Country to minister Justice according to the Law when the People might have had it every day in their several Cities And for this Reason it is likely Jehosaphat himself desiring to put this Law in force first sent some great Men who went about through all the Cities of Judah 2 Chron. XVII 8 9. and then settled Judges according to this Law throughout all the fenced Cities of Judah City by City as well as in Jerusalem 2 Chron. XIX 5 8. See Mr. Thorndike in his Rights of the Church in a Christian State Chap. IV. p. 226. where he observes that Josephus in express terms rendring a Reason of the great Leudness upon which the War against Benjamin followed attributes it to this that these Courts of Judgment were not established according to this Law Lib. V. Antiq. Cap. II. But though this I think be very evident yet it is scarce credible that David after he was set upon the Throne of God in Peace did not take care to settle these Courts as he did to regulate a great many other things And indeed we find a plain intimation of it in 1 Chron. XXVI 29. but succeeding Kings it is probable were negligent in keeping up this Constitution till the time of Jehosaphat who exercised his Authority to inforce the exact practice of this Law And they shall judge the people with just judgment According to the Rules of this Law The Judges saith R. Solomon were to judge the People and the Officers to constrain them to do as the Judges commanded Ver. 19. Thou shalt not wrest judgment See XXIII Exod. 6. Thou shalt not respect persons See XIX Levit. 15. Verse 19 and I Deut. 17. Neither take a gift for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous The very same is said XXIII Exod. 8. Verse 20 Ver. 20. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow The words in the Hebrew are far more emphatical as they are in the Margin justice justice shalt thou follow Mind nothing but the justice of the Cause and do it to all Persons equally That thou mayest live and inherit the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee Be happy and continue long in the Land of Canaan For nothing contributes more to the Establishment of a Government than the exact and impartial Administration of Justice Verse 21 Ver. 21. Thou shalt not plant thee a Grove of any Trees near unto the Altar of the LORD thy God which thou shalt make thee It is evident from this that his great aim is to keep them from Idolatry which he still pursues as he hath done from the beginning of his Exhortation in this Book And their History teaches us that it was very needful to inculcate this so often for notwithstanding all that Moses could say they fell immediately after Joshua's death into the idolatrous Customs of Canaan and could never be wholly purged from their Idolatry till the Captivity of Babylon And these words may be translated Thou shalt not plant thee a Grove nor make any Wood i. e. a wooden Image near to the Altar of the LORD thy God So the LXX for the very word we translate Grove sometimes imports the Idol in the Grove as well as the Grove it self See 2
Kings XXIII 6. and Selden de Diis Syris Syntagma II. Cap. II. Certain it is that nothing was more ancient in the East than Altars with Groves of Trees about them which made the place very shady and delightful in those hot Countries They are so often joyned in Scripture that it would be tedious to number all the places XXXI Exod. 13. XII Deut. 3. VI Judges 25 c. Cadmus is thought by some to have brought this Custom into Greece out of the East And they planted the Trees so thick and they were so large and shady as to make the place very dark and solemn whereby a kind of Horror was struck into those who went into them And they became hereby the fitter for the Devil to play his Pranks there and for the practise of those obscene and uncouth Rites whereby he was worshipped For the Gentile Custom had made these places proper to the Infernal Gods and anciently consecrated them as Sepulchres or Temples for their Heroes That the Israelites therefore might be preserved from sacrificing to the Dead and from filthy Lusts by both which they afterwards polluted themselves they are forbidden to place a Grove near to God's Altar nay so much as any Tree as the words may be translated for the Heathen thought there was a sacredness in Trees themselves which they dedicated to their gods and honoured several ways See XII 2 3. And therefore the Jews say they might not plant Trees in the Court of the Temple or in the Mountain of the House as they call it for the Ornament or Beauty of God's House And they give this reason for it because it was an idolatrous Rite to plant Trees near their Altars that the People might there meet together See Selden Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VI. p. 186. and Dr. Spencer Lib. II. Cap. XVI Sect. 1 2. And more lately Ezekiel Spanhemius in his most Learned Observations upon Callimachus hath shown that they planted odoriferous Trees in some Groves to make them more inviting Whence the Grove dedicated to Pallas is called by that Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though chat may signifie only a Grove consecrated by many Sacrifices And the vulgar Groves were planted with Pines Fir-trees Cypress Laurel Olives Vines and other lovely Trees especially Oaks which grew to a great height in which both Altars and Temples were erected See in Hymn in Dianam vers 38. p. 156. and in Palladem vers 61. p. 595. and in Cererem vers 38 39. p. 689. where he mentions the black Poplar as a Tree of which her Grove consisted under the shade of which the Nymphs delighted to Dance at Noon And thence these shady places consecrated to their gods were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of their refreshing Coolness as he observes out of Athenaeus ad v. 47. p. 695. And indeed nothing is plainer in the holy Scripture than that these Groves related to Idolatry for all pious Princes took them away and bad ones planted them See 1 Kings XVIII 4. 2 Kings XXIII 14. 2 Chron. XIV 3. XV. 16. And they are frequently joyned with Statues and Images both here and VII 5. XII 3. 1 Kings XIV 23 c. Verse 22 Ver. 22. Neither shalt thou set thee up an Image The Hebrew word Matzebah is commonly translated by the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Pillar and so we translate it in the Margin For as it was unlawful to set up the Statue of a Man or any other Creature so it was as contrary to Religion to set up a Pillar or an Altar or any such like Structure for Publick Assemblies to be held about them though they worshipped there the true God So Maimonides reports the sence of their Doctors A Statue or Pillar signifies any Work raised up that Religious Assemblies may be made there though they be for the Worship of the Divine Majesty for this is a practice among Idolaters And so Pausanias confesses in Achaicis that in the most ancient times among all the Graecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rude Stones had Divine Honours given them instead of Statues or Images See Selden Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VI. in the beginning And Maimonides of the Worship of the Planets Cap. VI. Sect. 8 9 10. and Dionys Vossius his Annotations there Which the LORD thy God hateth Hence it sufficiently appears that this was an idolatrous practice which is more odious to God than any thing else And thus the Israelites we see understood it being ready to take Arms against their Brethren on the other side Jordan when they heard they had erected an Altar there taking it to be such a Structure as is here forbidden but were appeased when they understood that it was not intended for Worship XXII Josh 18. Chapter XVII CHAP. XVII Verse 1 Verse 1. THou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any Bullock or Sheep wherein is any blemish Having warned them as he had done often against idolatrous Practises he here interposes a Caution against Prophaneness in the Worship of the true God For it was a great disrespect to him to offer him any thing that was not perfect the Heathens being ashamed of such Sacrifices Wherein is any blemish Of this see XXII Levit. 20 c. Or any evil-favouredness In the Hebrew any evil thing or matter That is if it had any disease or was sick For that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God This is more than is said in Leviticus where the words are for it shall not be acceptable for you For here he expresses the greatest disdain and abhorrence of such Sacrifices Verse 2 Ver. 2. If there be found among you within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee In any Cities or Towns within their Country Man or Woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God Now he returns to the business of Idolatry which is the wickedness here said to be wrought as appears by the next words In transgressing his Covenant For this was the principal part of the Covenant That they should have no other Gods but him XX Exod. 22 33. upon this all depended so that the whole Covenant was void if they served other gods Which was so foul a sin that he would have none spared who were guilty of it Which is the reason as Maimonides thinks More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXVII why he here saith Man or Woman because Men are naturally more tender towards the Female Sex and inclinable to be favourable to them against which he warns them in case of Idolatry and of prophaning the Sabbath in which two Cases only he uses these words He had shown in the Thirteenth Chapter what they should do with him that seduced others to Idolatry whether he were a pretended Prophet or a private Man v. 1 9 10. And then what should be done with a whole City that was seduced v. 12 13 c. And now he
makes it very probable that though there were Judges appointed according to the direction of this Law yet the exercise of their Power was often interrupted by the great Changes which were in that Nation and that there was no such Sanhedrim as the Talmudists describe till the Time of the Maccabees For the very Name of Sanhedrim plainly shews its Original to have been when the Greek Tongue was common among the Jews and that was when the Kings of Syria and Egypt who were of the Macedonian Race had the chief power in Palestine See Conringius in the forenamed Book Sect. XXXVII And enquire They were to lay the Cause before this high Court and desire their Opinion in it And they shall show the sentence of judgment They were bound to determine the Controversie and whatsoever Sentence they gave it was to stand good till it was reversed by other Judges of the same Authority For the Jews who understand all this of the great Sanhedrim and scan every Syllable with great nicety will have the words just before that shall be in those days to signifie that every Sentence must hold in the time when it is given So that if this Court determined a Matter which in after times by other Judges of the same Court should be judged otherways that second Sentence was to stand being the Opinion of those days For this Sentence was in their judgment the meaning of the Law by which they were all to be governed and if there was no Tradition in the Case they judged themselves as well as they could Verse 10 Ver. 10. And thou shalt do according to the sentence which they of that place That is the high Court which sits there or the Judge who is in those days Which the LORD shall chuse The Jews who understand this only of the Sanhedrim say it was not lawful for them to judge Causes at least not those which were Capital in any other place See Selden Lib. II. de Synedriis Cap. XV. N. VI VII X. Shall shew thee Shall pronounce And thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee Some phansie that he speaks to the inferiour Judges who brought the Cause thither to have the Opinion of this highest Court who were then to pronounce Sentence according to it But as the Persons concerned in the Controversie brought it before this Court when the Inferiour could not determine it so they gave the Sentence in which he requires the contending Parties to acquiesce and to do according to their determination Which did not concern questions of Faith as if Men were to believe whatsoever they should teach them but such Controversies as are mentioned v. 8. about Civil or Criminal Matters which they were finally to determine so that Men should not further controvert the Matter but rest in their Decisions For in all Governments there must be an end of Suits some where or other and God required all his People to submit to the Sentence of this Court. For so the words run in the Hebrew And thou shalt do according to the Sentence which they shall shew thee from the place which the LORD thy God shall chuse That is from the Supream Court of Judicature which resided where God himself did For if Men had been permitted to disagree to their Sentence the very end and use of this Court had been taken away as Maimonides speaks in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XLI Ver. 11. According to the Sentence of the Law which Verse 11 they shall teach thee In the Hebrew according to the Mouth or the Word of the Law which they shall teach thee That is according to the Interpretation which they gave of the Law And according to the judgment which they shall tell thee That is according the Order or Decree which they made thereupon Shalt thou do Pay suppose the Money which they judged to be due to another Man For he doth not speak of their doing whatsoever they bad them as if they could controll the Commands of God but of Obeying the Sentence of this Court about those Matters which were in question between one Man and another v. 8. who were not to be Judges in their own Case but rest in the Judgment of those whom God had made the Supream Interpreters of his Law Thou shalt not decline from the Sentence which they shall shew hee c. They were not to make the least alteration in their Sentence For though they might think it was wrong and the Senate perhaps did really err and be better informed afterwards which the Law supposes and in that case orders an Expiatory Sacrifice IV Levit. 13. yet it was not lawful for any Man to act contrary to their present Decree nor to teach the contrary whatsoever his private Opinion might be Verse 12 Ver. 12. And the man that will do presumptuonsly and will not hearken This they understand not barely of a private Man that would not stand to their Sentence but of an Elder or inferiour Judge who presumed to contradict it as Mr. Selden shows L. III. de Synedr Cap. III. Vnto the Priest It is commonly thought as I observed v. 8. that the Singular Number is here put for the Plural and that the meaning is If any Man would not hearken to the highest Court of Judgment which consisted commonly of a great many Priests he should die for his Contempt But they have a great deal of reason on their side who insist upon the Letter of this word Priest and of that which follows or the Judge understanding both of single Persons and take the High-Priest only to be here meant who seems to be described in the next words that stands to minister there before the LORD thy God For when God did not raise up a Judge to govern his People the High-Priest was the Supream Governour under God until the days of David and so they were after the Captivity Hence it is as Grotius observes Lib. de Imperio Summarum Potestatum circa Sacra Cap. IX Sect. 4. that COHEN is a name common to Priests and Princes For among a great many Nations anciently he shows the Priests had the highest power particularly among the Cappadocians Strabo who was of that Country saith the Sacerdotal Dignity was next to the Regal But howsoever this word be interpreted the Crime here mentioned was Contumacy in not submitting to the Sentence of the highest Authority whether it were vested in one Person or more whereby the Government was in danger to be broken and therefore God orders such a person to be put to death Or the Judge See before v. 9. Even that man shall die The Jews who interpret this as I said of a Judge in Inferiour Courts who presumed to contradict the Judgment of the Supream Court have tempered the Severity of this Law by several Explications and Exceptions Which have regard either to the manner of passing this Decree by the highest Court which an inferiour disobeyed and that
to see that no King but one thus qualified was set over the People Which when there was such a Court may be allowed to be true though all the Power which they ascribe to their Sanhedrim over their Kings is by no means to be admitted but is an apparent figment For it is manifest out of the Bible that their Kings had that very Power which they ascribe to the Sanhedrim Particularly it is notorious that Solomon by his own Power put Abiather out of the Office of High-Priest 1. Kings II. 6 26. which Judgment the Talmudists say belonged only to the great Sanhedrim In like manner other Kings judged Prophets which they appropriate to the same Court Ver. 16. But he shall not multiply Horses to himself Verse 16 There is no certain number determined but the Jews well resolve that he was not to keep them for meer pomp and state but only so many as were for use and service To draw his Chariot for instance and for the guard of his Person But he was to take care that he did not burden his People by too many under this or any other pretence And therefore not to keep up a Body of Horse for War For among the Jews their Armies consisted altogether of Footmen there being no breed of Horses in that Country and their People who were all Husbandmen and Shepherds being accustomed to labour and to run as swiftly as a Horse 2 Sam. II. 18. XVIII 19 22 c. Certain it is that in the days of David they had no Horse-men in their Army for when Absolom lost the Battle and fled it was upon a Mule that he indeavoured to make his Escape And though Solomon was so prodigiously rich that he was able to maintain Forty thousand Stalls of Horses for his Chariots and Twelve thousand Horse-men 1 Kings IV. 26. yet succeeding Kings could not keep up such an Expence but when they had occasion sent for Succours from Egypt which commonly consisted of Horse-men Now one of the Reasons the Jews give why their King was not to multiply Horses is lest he should be puffed up with pride for an Horse being a stately Creature his Rider is often swoln with an high conceit of himself as more than one of the Heathen have observed See Bochart in his Hierozoicon Lib. II. Cap. IX Nachmanides gives another good Reason Lest he should confide and trust in the power of his Horse-men more than in God See Schikard in his Mischpat Hammelech Cap. III. Theorem X. But the chief Reason is given by Moses himself in the next words Lest they should be tempted to go to Egypt with which Country it was dangerous to have familiarity Nor cause the People to return to Egypt to the end that he should multiply Horses Send his People thither to buy Horses for him it being a Country which abounded with them as Judaea did with Asses For when Sheshak King of Egypt whom the Greek Writers call Sesostris came against Jerusalem there were Threescore thousand Horse-men in his Army 2 Chron. XII 3. Which shows how they abounded with Horses in that Country in those days though in after times they did not care to breed them They might indeed have had Horses out of other Countries as well as Egypt but not so easily nor so good Which made Solomon send thither and Pharaoh set a great price upon them because he knew their value and that they could not furnish themselves so easily with them elsewhere 1 Kings X. 28 29. Forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you ye shall henceforth return no more that way Or the first words may be rendred Forasmuch as the LORD saith unto you c. as he did now by him that they should not maintain Traffick with the Egyptians at lest while they continued Idolaters We read indeed that many Jews went thither and Vrijah the Prophet fled thither XXVI Jerem. 21. of which the Jews give this account First Some say this was but a temporary Constitution which was not to last always Secondly They distinguish about the way of returning thither conceiving that they might not go thither out of the Land of Israel but they might out of another Country whither they were driven Maimonides thinks they might go thither as Merchants but not fix their dwelling there But the true meaning is that they might not voluntarily go thither upon any account at least while they remained as I said so corrupted in their Religion and Manners as they were at this present For there is an express Law XVIII Levit. 3. According to the works of the Egyptians ye shall not do See Schickardus in the forenamed place p. 78. Whence those words of the Prophet Isaiah where when he saith the Land of Israel was full of Horses he adds their Land also is full of Idols II Isaiah 7 8. For by multiplying the one they multiplied the other And therefore though David did reserve some Chariots and Horse-men which he took in his Conquests for his own use yet no great number 2 Sam. VIII 4. But still great Men rode upon Mules 2 Sam. XVIII 9. 1 Kings I. 33 38 41. as they had done in the days of the Judges V. 10. X. 4. XII 14. Verse 17 Ver. 17. Neither shall he multiply Wives to himself This is not a Prohibition to take more Wives than one but not to have an excessive number after the manner of the Eastern Kings whom Solomon seems to have imitated I see no ground for what the Jews say that he might have Eighteen See Schickard in the Book above-named Cap. III. Theor. IX Selden's Vxor Hebr. Lib. I. Cap. VIII Buxtorf de Sponsal Pars I. Sect. 40. For the proof which R. Solomon and Bechin give of it is very weak which is that David having already six Wives 2 Sam. V. 13. the Prophet tells him if he had not offended God he would moreover have given him such and such things i. e. say they twice as many Wives 2 Sam. XII 8. Much less is there any ground for what they say that if he took more than this number he was to be scourged by the Authority of the Sanhedrim as he was they pretend for the breach of any of these Precepts here mentioned See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. IX N. V. Which Grotius indeed endeavours to soften by affirming that these Lashes were no disgrace to him because he received them voluntarily in Token of his Repentance and therefore was not scourged by the common Executioner but by such a Person as he himself chose to give this Correction and he received also such a number of Stripes as he himself pleased and no more Lib. I. de Jure Belli Pacis Cap. III. Sect. XX. But this is directly against Maimonides who saith in downright words that the Sanhedrim appointed this Chastisement as Selden observes in another place Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. IX N. V. And there is no Example in the whole Book of God of
Abominations which no doubt had some relation to Idolatry and therefore were forbidden to the Israelites Ver. 13. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy Verse 13 God This shows there was something of Idolatrous Worship in all the forenamed Practices which if they followed it was in some degree to forsake the LORD on whom they were wholly to depend and seek to him alone in the ways which he had prescribed in his Laws For this was to be perfect with the LORD to have nothing to do with any other god nor with the Rites and Ceremonies that were used in their Worship And therefore the LXX translate this word sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 XXII Job 3. as well as by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for then they were perfect with God when they kept his Worship simple and pure without the mixture of any Forreign Religion Which the whole Context shows to be the sense both in the words foregoing and followng Ver. 14. For those Nations which thou shalt possess hearkned unto observers of times and to diviners The ancient Heathen as Strabo tells us Lib. VI. had these Verse 14 Diviners in such esteem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they thought them worthy of the highest Authority But God would not have his People so much as to consult such Persons for it appears by these words that not only they who were Diviners for instance but they who hearkned to them were odious to God For that even the Art of Divination depended upon some Idolatrous Opinions and Practices appears evidently even from the most refined Account we have of it in ancient Authors For Instance Ammianus Marcellinus who to acquit his Master Julian from the suspicion of Sorcery which some said he used to get the fore-knowledge of things future makes it a principal point of Wisdom not unworthy such a Prince who was a professed Lover of all Sciences to offer placatory Sacrifices to draw in the Spirit of all the Elements to endue him with a Spirit of Divination For so his words are in the beginning of his One and twentieth Book The spirit of all the Elements being alway and every way invigorated with the fore-perceiving motion of the everlasting i. e. the heavenly bodies make us partakers of the gifts of divining and the substantial Powers ritu diverso placatae being rendred favourable by respective Rites i. e. such as were proper and sutable to each of them convey Praedictions to Mortality as from so many perpetual Springs or Fountains Over which Substantial Powers the goddess Themis is said to praeside c. Which shows that Julian who called Jupiter the most high god the king of all yet courted other inferiour powers by such rites as he imagined would win their favour which was rank Idolatry But as for thee the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do But absolutely forbad it XIX Lev. 31. XX. 6. where he warns them to have nothing to do with some of the Persons here mentioned and not only instructed them in the way to live happily but established an Oracle among them to be consulted on all weighty occasions and governed them by Men whom he had endued with his Spirit XI Numb 16 17 25. Therefore if any Israelite practised any of the things here forbidden though he did not worship any Idol he was scourged by the Sentence of the Court of Judgment See Selden Lib. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VII Ver. 15. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Verse 15 Prophet Since the Jews as all other Nations were extreamly desirous to know things to come Moses reveals unto them from God a thing future of the highest importance viz. the Coming of CHRIST and the greatness of his Authority and in after times God revealed to them by degrees the time of his Birth his Death Resurrection c. The Jews indeed commonly take these words to be a promise of a constant Succession of Prophets that should be among them to preserve them from going to such Diviners as were famous among their Heathen Neighbours and thus many Christian Interpreters make out the connexion of these words with the foregoing But though this may be allowed to be intimated and this Promise be acknowledged to be partly verified in those Prophets which God raised up from Age to Age after Moses for further knowledge of his Will as the promise of a Saviour was in part verified in those Judges and Kings by whom God delivered his People from their Enemies yet it is very evident that he speaks of a single Prophet more eminent than all the rest and that these words in their most literal sense cannot belong to any other Person but the MESSIAH So that albeit the continuance of Prophets among this People was a means to prevent all occasions of consulting Sorcerers or Witches yet the chief ground upon which Moses disswades them from such practices according to the literal connexion of these words with the foregoing the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee to do so i. e. to hearken unto Observers of Times and Diviners was the consideration of their late mighty Deliverance by Moses the excellency of their present Law which God had given them for their direction and their expectation of a greater Law-giver in future times when the first Covenant should wax old and Prophecy it self for a long time fail as it did before the Coming of this great Prophet the LORD CHRIST To this purpose Dr. Jackson in his Third Book upon the Creed Chap. XXI paragr 19. From the midst of thee of thy brethren It was a great honour to them to have such a Prophet as is here spoken of arise out of their Nation but as he was after a peculiar sort raised up by JEHOVAH not meerly by the External Assistances or Impulsion of his Spirit to use the words of the same excellent Person paragr 9. but by intrinsick assumption into the Unity of his Person So likewise he was raised up in a strict and proper sense from the midst of them being as it were extracted out of a pure Virgin as the first Woman was out of the Man by the Almighty's own immediate hand Like unto me This shows he speaks of a single Prophet and not of a constant Succession of Prophets there being none of them like to Moses whom God himself distinguished from them all XII Numb 6 7 8. And accordingly that Divine Writer who added those Verses which are at the end of this Book concerning the Death of Moses testifies that there never rose in Israel a Prophet like to Moses See XXXIV Deut. 10. It is commonly thought to be done by Ezra who hath effectually confuted all the Conceits of R. Bechai Aben-Ezra Abarbinel and other Jewish Doctors who take either Joshua or Jeremiah to have been this Prophet If Joshua as some fancy added these words then he excluded himself from being the Person nor did Joshua act as a Prophet but
as a Judge or Governour And Jeremiah is acknowledged by Abarbinel himself to be inferiour to Isaiah For though in his Preface to his Commentary upon Jeremiah he mentions Fourteen things wherein he was like unto Moses and saith he prophesied just Forty years as Moses did yet in his Commentary upon the lesser Prophets he prefers Isaiah before them all and Censures the rudeness of Jeremiah's Language in many things preferring Ezekiel to him So little do these Doctors agree in their Interpretation of this Prophecy which can belong to none of their Prophets which succeeded Moses who were all much inferiour to him until He came who perfectly resembled him but was much superior to him See v. 18. And thus the ancient Jews understood this Prophecy For though Maimonides only saith the Messiah should be indued with Wisdom greater than Solomon's and should equal their Master Moses yet those before him proceeded a great deal further This being a common saying among them which Abarbinel himself remembers in his Commentary upon the small Prophets He shall be exalted above Abraham lifted up above Moses and higher than the Angels of the Ministry Nor is the Cabbalistical observation mentioned in Baal-Hatturim to be quite neglected which is that this Verse begins and ends with the Letter Nun which is the numeral Letter for Fifty importing that to the Prophet here promised should be opened the fifty Gates of Knowledge forty nine of which only were opened to Moses And that this Verse also consists of ten words to signifie that they were to obey this Prophet no less than the ten Commandments Which observation it must be confessed is weakly grounded but contains a most illustrious Truth and shows that they believed Moses here speaks of the Messiah Vnto him shall ye hearken As they had engaged themselves to do it will appear from the following words Verse 16 Ver. 16. According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the Assembly saying Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD c. So we read XX Exod. 19. where they made this request unto Moses saying Speak thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we die In which words the whole Multitude bound themselves solemnly to hear the words of the LORD being delivered not immediately from his own mouth but by Moses as is more fully expressed in this Book V Deut. 27 28 29. Where God highly commends this good Resolution in them as Moses here observes again in the next Verse Verse 17 Ver. 17. And the LORD said unto me they have well spoken that which they have spoken He approved their desire and resolved not to speak to them any more as he did from mount Sinai with a voice out of the Fire and Cloud but by Moses himself while he lived and afterward by one like to Moses as it here follows Ver. 18. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren These words seem to have been spoken to Moses by God when they desired God would not speak to them any more immediately by himself but by a Mediator Then God was pleased to promise them a great deal more than they desired which was to raise up another Prophet like to Moses who should acquaint them more fully with his Mind and Will in as familiar a manner as Moses did without striking any such terror into them as they were in at the giving of the Law though the words of this Prophet came from the mouth of God himself In which two things the Israelites excelled all other Nations i. e. in that they had such an excellent Law delivered by Moses which was to be bettered by an everlasting Covenant made by this Prince of the Prophets In respect of both as the same Dr. Jackson expresses it the name of Southsayer or Sorcerer was not to be named in Israel as they were in the Nations that knew not God much less expected such a Mediator In whom the Spirit of Life should dwell as plentifully as Splendor doth in the Body of the Sun from whose fulness e're he visibly appeared in the World all other Prophets were illuminated So that Moses himself and all the Prophets that followed him were but as Messengers sent from God to solicit his People to preserve their Allegiance free from all commerce or compact with familiar Spirits until the Prince of Glory came in Person to visit them and dwell among them Like unto thee This is well explained by Eusebius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a second Law-giver as Moses was For in saying not simply he would raise them up a Prophet but like unto thee it must signifie saith he that this Prophet should be a Law-giver as well as Moses which none of the Prophets were till our Saviour came Neither Isaiah nor Jeremiah were the Makers of Laws but only called upon them to observe the Law of Moses Whereas when the LORD Jesus came he gave Laws to all the World and those far superiour to the Laws of Moses Who only said Thou shalt not commit Adultery but our LORD saith I say unto you ye shall not lust And instead of Thou shalt not kill he saith Be not angry with thy brother c. Whence it was that they who heard him were astonished at his Doctrine and said that he spake not as the Scribes who were expounders of the Law but as one that had authority that is power to ordain and enact Laws and not only to explain those that were already written Lib. I. Demonstr Evang. Cap. VII Lib. III. Cap. II. Lib. IX p. 443 c. See also what Joh. Wagenseil hath said upon these words in his Annot. in Lipman Carm. Memoriale p. 548. And will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him Reveal the whole Mind and Will of God XII John 49 50. For he was herein like to Moses though far superiour to him that he was intimately acquainted with God's Counsels being in the bosom of the Father I John 18. And confirmed all that he said to be from God by Miracles and Wonders and Signs far more mighty than those of Moses and more in number than had been wrought by all the Prophets from the beginning of the World Particularly he fed Multitudes with a little Food which made the People cry out This is of a truth that Prophet which should come into the World VI John 14. but above all this gave them that Bread from Heaven of which the Manna which Moses gave them was but a shadow as he took occasion to show the People upon their admiration of that miraculous Feast he had made for them with five Barley Loaves and two small Fishes For he himself was that Bread of Life who nourished Mens Souls with the Word of Eternal Life which he had in himself as he showed by his Resurrection from the Dead which he himself predicted
and thereby proved himself the greatest of all the Prophets For though Moses foretold his own death yet neither he nor any other Prophet whatsoever but our Saviour spake of his being raised up again In which he may be thought to be like to Moses who was raised up by God to be a Saviour of his People out of that Ark which without the special Providence of God had been his Tomb. And unto this Resurrection of Christ doth the propriety of this phrase from the midst of thee agree for this was done as Dr. Jackson also well observes in the midst of Jerusalem the Metropolis of Judaea not without express notice given of it to the Rulers of the People And such a Confirmation it was that he was the Prophet they should all hear that there could not be a greater as all Strangers both to their Religion and ours must agree and they themselves cannot deny For Nachmanides relating in a Letter of his to the Rabbins at Marseilles how there was a Man in those days in the Southern Countries who pretended to be the forerunner of the Messiah unto whom great numbers both of Jews and Arabs resorted tells us that he being apprehended by the King of the Country and askt what Miracle he show'd to confirm his Commission he answered boldly Cut of my Head and I will come to life again To which the King of the Arabs replied There is no sign greater than this which if it come to pass both I and the whole World will believe thee Whereupon his Head was cut off and there was an end of all his pretences though some of the Jews were so mad as Maimonides there saith that they still expected his return to life Thus R. Gedaliah reports in his Schalshelet Hakkabalah Verse 19 Ver. 19. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name This is the proper Character of a Prophet to deliver in the Name of God what he received from God This did Moses but Christ most eminently as I before observed from XII John 49 50. where he saith I have not spoken of my self but the Father which sent me he gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak c. whatsoever therefore I speak even as the Father said unto me so I speak Which is a perfect Commentary upon these words of Moses Who here calls Christ a Prophet not a Priest or a King though he was to be both because he would not have the Jews mistake and expect to find in his Person the worldly Grandeur of a mighty Prince or the high honour and splendor of Aaron but have the greatest regard to the heavenly Doctrine which he taught them as he himself he told them was taught by the Father For I proceeded forth saith he and came from God neither came I of my self but he sent me and I do nothing of my self but as my Father hath taught me I speak these things VIII John 28 42. This was the highest honour of all to speak God's words v. 47. in the Name of God V. 42. I conclude this with the remarkable words of the Midrasch upon Ecclesiastes who thus expresses the sense of this Prophecy As was the first Redeemer such shall be the last Redeemer Which plainly determine the Prophet here spoken of to be one single Person and he no other but the LORD Christ See Huetius in his Demonstr Evang. Propos VII N. IX I will require it of him Severely punish him so as to destroy him from among his People as St. Peter interprets it III Acts 23. And so this Phrase is used IX Gen. 5. XLII 22. And there was great reason for such severity seeing they had so solemnly bound themselves to hearken to this Prophet when they desired God not to speak any more to them by himself but by a Mediator which God then promised as I observed v. 18. A Mediator of a better Covenant who should secure them from such dreadful Flames as they then saw if they would hearken to him as they promised to do otherwise what could they expect but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to devour the Adversaries For since he that despised Moses his Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God in the open face of all the World X Hebr. 27 28 29. Which is a full explication of these words Whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my Name I will require it of him Or as Onkelos translates it My WORD shall require it of him Where Memra WORD can signifie nothing but a Divine Person distinct from him who speaks these words even that very Person to whom the Apostle applies them Ver. 20. But the Prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name c. These words plainly suggest to us that Moses intended in the foregoing Discourse Verse 20 to admonish the Israelites to hearken diligently to all such Prophets as God should at any time raise up to them though it be most evident if we examine the propriety of every Word or Clause in the whole Context they cannot be exactly fitted unto any Prophet but Christ Unto whom the whole Discourse is as fully accommodated as a well made Garment to the Body that wears it They are the words of the same excellent Person so often mentioned Dr. Jackson Lib. III. on the Creed Cap. XXI Paragr 1 2. Speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him or that shall speak in the name of other gods It was a manifest sign a Man was a false Prophet if he spake in the name of Baal or any other god but the God of Israel Or if he said such a Star by its spiritual influence coming upon me said Worship me after this manner or thus call upon me as Maimonides who gives an account of the several sorts of false Prophets speaks in his Preface to Seder Zeraim But how should they know a Man to be a false Prophet when he spake to them in the Name of the LORD For Men might pretend as some did that God had sent them and given them a Command when he had not To which he answers in the next Verses Even that Prophet shall die He was to be strangled say the Jews by the Sentence of the great Sanhedrim For it is a Tradition of their Rabbins saith the Gemara Babylonica upon that Title that in the business of Prophecy there are three sorts of Persons who are to be punished by the judgment of Men and three by the Sentence of Heaven He that prophecied what he did not hear from God an example of which we have in Zedekiah 1 Kings XXII 11. or spake what was not said to him but to another an example of which they make Hananiah
XXVIII Jer. 11. or Prophecies in the name of an Idol suppose Baal all these were to be put to Death by the Sentence of the Court of Judgment But he that suppressed his Prophecy like Jonah or despised the words of a Prophet or did not observe his own words were to be punished by the Hand of Heaven See Selden Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. VI. N. I. Ver. 21. And if thou say in thine heart how shall we Verse 21 know the Word which the LORD hath not spoken Which was but a reasonable question there being as great care necessary not to hearken to falshood as to be attentive unto Truth And this relates unto such Prophets as came to them in the Name of the LORD For if a Man came in the name of any other god there needed no other Mark to discover him to be an Impostor Ver. 22. When a Prophet speaks in the Name of the Verse 22 LORD Predicting some wonderful thing to come to pass as a Token he is sent of God to deliver what he speaks to the People If the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken For if the LORD had sent him he would have accomplished what he gave as a sign of his Mission which not coming to pass he was proved to be a false Prophet who spake out of his own heart and not the Word of the LORD But here the Jews distinguish between a Prophet who predicts evil things as Famine or Pestilence c. and one that predicts good things as Rain when there is great need of it and fruitful years c. Though the Predictions of the former sort did not come to pass he was not to be reputed presently a false Prophet because God is very merciful and often repented him of the evil as he did in the Case of Nineveh But in the latter Case if any one of the good Things he foretold did not come to pass he was to be taken for a Deceiver which they understand also of the very time and place when and where he said the things he predicted should be fulfilled and here they bring in the example of Hananiah the Son of Azur mentioned before XXVIII Jer. 11. And see v. 8 9. of that Chapter But this doth not give us the true difference for both God's Promises and Threatnings many times depend upon a Condition as appears from that famous place in the Prophet XVIII Jerem. 7 8 9. So that the good Things a Prophet foretold might not come to pass and yet he might be a true Prophet because the People proved unworthy of them and God did not absolutely intend them Therefore the true meaning seems to be That if a Prophet foretold such a Thing as the Power of Nature cannot produce and gave it as a sign God sent him who would justifie his Mission by doing that wonder and the Thing did not come to pass he was to be lookt upon as not a Man of God For example when Moses threw his Rod on the ground and said it should become a Serpent if it had not been turned into a Serpent he had been convicted of Falsity Or a Prophet said Fire should come down from Heaven and consume the Sacrifice which lay before him which was the case of Elijah if it had not come down he would have been no more owned for a true Prophet than the Prophets of Baal And as Maimonides well observes if a Prophet's words were fulfilled in one or more Things he was not to be judged a true Prophet unless every Thing he spake in the Name of God came to pass Which he proves from those words concerning Samuel 1 Sam. III. 19 20. The LORD let none of his words fall to the ground And all Israel knew that Samuel was established to be a Prophet of the LORD The Jews also made this addition to the Rule forementioned of trying Prophets as Mr. Selden observes Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. V. N. III. That whatsoever Prophet had the Testimony of another undoubted Prophet was to be taken for a true Prophet By which Rule they might have known the great Prophet whom God promised to them in the foregoing Verses For John the Baptist whom the whole Nation took for a Prophet testified to them that JESUS was the Christ. And besides all other undoubted Marks of his being sent of God his rising from the Dead which he himself foretold was enough to satisfie all Men of the Truth of what he said For though every Prediction of what afterwards comes to pass will not necessarily prove a Man to be a true Prophet yet the fulfilling of a great number of Things not one of which fails as was said before of Samuel especially of such a Thing as this which was impossible to be brought to pass but by an Almighty Power is an uncontroulable Evidence of a Divine Mission R. Solomon upon this Verse hath a Note which is worth our Observation though it be not to the purpose of Moses his words A Prophet saith he that bids thee not observe some of the Precepts is not to be heard unless he be known to be a Man of eminent Vertue and upright Life as Elijah was who bid them build an Altar on Mount Carmel even when Sacrifices upon High-places were forbidden But there was a necessity for it that he might restore the true Worship of God in Israel Which should have made them hearken to our blessed Saviour better than they did he being so perfectly holy and pure that he challenged any of them to charge him with Sin especially when he only laid aside some of their vain Traditions but conformed to all the Rites of Moses So that if in conclusion we should grant that Moses in the 15th and 16th c. Verses speaks of all the Prophets that should succeed him which it is certain he doth not principally intend the Jews were impious in rejecting our Saviour who came as a Prophet to them and had all the Marks that a Prophet could have of his being sent from God But the Prophet hath spoken it presumptuously For it was an act of high Presumption and arrogant Pride for any Man to pretend a Commission from God when he had not sent him Which was done two ways as the Jews interpret this either when a Man spake in the Name of God that which was false or when he pretended that to have been spoken to him which was revealed by God to another See XXII Jerem. 30. Both these were impudent Impostors and accordingly to be treated Thou shalt not be afraid of him Have no reverence or regard to him though he be never so confident Nor be afraid to lay hold of him and endeavour to bring him before the Sanhedrim to have their Sentence pass upon him as the Jews understand it though he have never so powerful an Interest to support him and preserve him from punishment Thus Maimonides in the forenamed Preface
to Sever Zeraim Thou shalt not be terrified Chapter XIX or averted from endeavouring to have him put to death by his Religion Goodness or Knowledge since in his proud brags he hath spoken false things of God For to be afraid of such a Person and of his Partakers was to distrust God who is the Defender of those that defend the Cause of Religion CHAP. XIX HAving sufficiently pressed upon the People the great Commandment of Loving God with all the Heart and Soul and Strength and Him alone Moses now proceeds to remember them of other Precepts belonging to the Second Table as we now speak but not in an exact method nor without interspersing some Ceremonial Matters And he begins with what concerns that Commandment Thou shalt not kill Verse 1. WHen the LORD thy God hath cut off Verse 1 the Nations whose Land the LORD thy God giveth thee c. The very same words we had before upon another occasion XII 29. Which are now used to signifie that they were not bound to what follows till God had subdued the Land of Canaan for them and they were settled in it as the last words of the Verse import dwellest in their Cities and in their Houses Accordingly after the division of the Land God puts Joshua in mind of this business XX Josh 1 2 c. Ver. 2. Thou shalt separate three Cities for thee According to an order God had given to Moses XXXV Numb 14 15. to set aside six Cities in all for the Verse 2 use here mentioned Three on this side Jordan where they now were and three on the other side in the Land of Canaan The former part of which Command Moses himself had executed IV Deut. 42 c. and now gives them a Charge to perform the other In the midst of thy Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it In the midst of their Land signifies no more but within their Land For if they had been all three in the very heart of the Country it would have crossed the end and intention of them which was that they should be placed so conveniently in several parts of the Country that Men might easily and speedily flee to them And therefore the midst of the Land may be opposed to the skirts of the Country where they would have been too far distant from some parts of it or may denote that they should be set in an eminent place upon the top of Mountains where they might be seen afar off And so they all three were it is apparent from XX Josh 7. where they are said to be in Mount Naphtali Mount Ephraim and the Mountain of Judah Verse 3 Ver. 3. And thou shalt prepare thee a way Make a plain Rode to them and keep it in good repair that both in Winter and Summer the Man-slayer might without difficulty flee thither And for his more safe passage the Hebrews say where there were any turnings or two ways parted they were bound to set up a Post or Stone wherein was engraven in great Letters the word MIKLAT i. e. Refuge that he might not mistake his way to the place And divide the Coast of thy Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit into three parts The Jews understand it that they were to be placed at an equal distance in three several parts of the Country that all might have the same benefit by them and no Body have a longer Journey to go than his Neighbour for his safety That every Slayer may flee thither Have the convenience of preserving himself in one or other of them It is observable that there were as many of these Cities in the two Tribes and a half as there were in all the other nine Tribes and a half in which there seems to be a great inequality I have given some account of it upon XXXV Numb 14. and the Hebrews fancy there was another reason for it because of the frequent Murders which were likely to be committed by the fierce Nature of the Gileadites See the Book of Judges Chap. X. and XI and VI Hosea 8. Ver. 4. And this is the case of the slayer which shall Verse 4 flee thither that he may live Be preserved from the Avenger of Blood who otherwise might kill him Whoso killeth his Neighbour ignorantly whom he hated not in time past These Cities were not to be a protection to a wilful Murderer but to an innocent Person who against his intention was so unhappy as to kill a Man belidaath as the words are in the Hebrew without his knowledge being free that is from any design to do him the least harm But as for such as out of hatred and malice in their hearts killed another they were so far from finding safety in these Cities that they were to be pulled from the Altar if they fled thither for Sanctuary as we now speak XXI Exod. 12 14. Or if they would not stir from thence they might be killed there as appears by the case of Joab 1 Kings II. 28 30 31. Ver. 5. As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the Ax to cut down the Tree and the head slippeth Verse 5 from the helve and lighteth upon his neighbour that he die By this all other like Cases were to be judged That is when a Man was about a lawful business if any thing hapned which he intended not he was not accountable for it See Selden Lib. IV. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. II. He shall flee unto one of those Cities and live He might get to which of them he could most conveniently and there be preserved The Jews from this word live conclude without any other ground for it that a Master was bound to go along with his Scholar who fled hither because without the Doctrine of the Law Men did not live but were dead Verse 6 Ver. 6. Lest the avenger of blood pursue the slayer while his heart is hot With Anger which might boil up to such a degree as to move him to kill the Slayer before he had examined whether there was a just Cause It is evident that this Verse is to be connected with Verse the third the two next v. 4 5. coming in as a Parenthesis to show who should be preserved in these Cities and who not being a reason why the Cities of Refuge should be placed at an equal distance in several parts of the Country that the Journey might not be too long to any of them but a Man might soon flee thither before the Avenger of Blood could lay hold of him Because the way is long and slay him If he could not have gotten thither in a short time he might have been in danger to lose his Life though not worthy of death For as the Law did not punish him that kill'd a Man-slayer when he found him out of the Bounds of the City of Refuge XXXV Numb 27. so
XVII 6. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established The Accusation shall stand or fall to the ground Ver. 16. If a false witness rise up against any man to Verse 16 testifie against him that which is wrong In any Matter whether against God or against Man For tho' one Witness could not condemn another yet if it were proved he was a false Witness it was sufficient to condemn himself Ver. 17. Then both the men between whom the Controversie Verse 17 is That is the Accuser and the Person accused Shall stand before the LORD They were to come in Cases obscure to the Supream Court where the Sanctuary was settled Who sat it is likely at the Door of the Tabernacle in Moses his time See XVII 8 12. and so might properly be said to try them before the LORD Before the Priests and the Judges which shall be in those days This they all understand of the highest Court which consisted partly of Priests and partly of other great Persons whom he calls Judges under which Name the whole Court is comprehended in the next Verse See XVII 8. And Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. VIII N. 2 3. Ver. 18. And the Judges The Court before-named Verse 18 who are all whether Priests or others comprehended under the Name of Judges Shall make diligent inquisition For it was not easie to prove a Man to be a false Witness and therefore the Matter was brought before this Supream Court And behold if the witness be a false witness and hath testified falsly against his brother If upon strict Examination he was found to have given a false Evidence against his Brother in a matter which touched his Estate or his Body or his Life Verse 19 Ver. 19. Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother That is saith Maimonides if he designed to have taken away his Brother's Life he was to lose his own if to have had him scourged he was to be lashed himself if to lose a Sum of Money he was to be fined the very same Sum. More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XLI But though in most Cases a false Witness was to suffer the very same kind of Punishment which he intended to have brought upon another if his Testimony had not been disproved yet in some it was not exactly observed As if one falsly accused a Priest's Daughter of playing the Whore he was not to be burnt as she should have been but to be strangled as an Adulterer So J. Coch observes upon the Title Maccoth ad Cap. I. where the whole business of false Testimonies is handled But some foolish decisions were made by the Rabbins in opposition to the Sadducees as he observes in his Annot. 20. in Sect. 6. Among the Athenians there was an Action lay not only against a false Witness but against the Person who produced him Upon whom they set a Fine and they were made infamous And if they were found thrice guilty of this Crime not only they but their Posterity were made infamous throughout all Generations as Sam. Petitus observes out of Andocides and others Lib. IV. in Leges Atticas Tit. VII p. 359. It is something strange they were not more severe against such Offenders many of their Laws being plainly borrowed from Moses And among the ancient Romans by the Law of the Twelve Tables false Witnesses were thrown down from the Tarpeian Rock as A. Gellius tells us Lib. XX. Cap. I. which was altered indeed in latter times for such Punishments as the Judges thought they merited But he there tells Phavorinus That if the old Punishment had continued to their days they should not have had so many false Testimonies given as they then saw So shalt thou put the evil away from among you This may be understood either of the false Witness or of his Crime the guilt of which was taken away by the just punishment of it Ver. 20. And those that remain The remainder Verse 20 of Israel who see him suffer in his kind Shall hear and fear The end of punishment is to deter others from such wickedness See XIII 11. XVII 13. And shall henceforth commit no more any such avil among you Learn to beware by other Mens sufferings Ver. 21. And thine eye shall not spare He speaks to Verse 21 the Judges who were not out of Compassion to moderate the Punishment but make it equal to the Damage he intended to another Examples he gives of this in the words following Life shall go for life eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot Concerning this lex talionis see XXI Exod. 23 24 25. XXIV Levit. 19 20. And see Grotius on V Matth. 38 40. where he well observes that the Party injured might forbear to require this Punishment but the Judge if it were required could not deny to inflict it Chapter XX. CHAP. XX. Verse 1 Verse 1. WHen thou goest out to battle against thine Enemies Who either invaded them as in XI Judges or with whom they had a just quarrel because of Injuries done them without Satisfaction Such as that mentioned 2 Sam. X. 4 c. And seest Horses Which the Israelites wanted as I observed upon XVII 16. their Armies consisting of Footmen who were taken from the Plough or from the Sheepfolds And Chariots Which carried a certain number of Men in them and when they were falcati as they called them were very formidable For they made terrible Slaughters among the Enemy cutting down Men as we do Grass with a Sithe or Sickle The Canaanites had great numbers of them XI Josh 4. and IV Judges 3. Be not afraid of them The Israelites were trained up to confide in God and not in Horses which their Country as I said did not afford and consequently they had no Chariots nor in multitude of Souldiers And we find remarkable Instances of this particularly in Jehosaphat 2 Chron. XX. 6 c. 17. who followed the Example of David whose words are most memorable XX Psalm 7. Some trust in Chariots and some in Horses but we will remember the Name of the LORD our God See also XXI Prov. 21. For the LORD thy God is with thee which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt That was such an instance of his power as made it unreasonable to doubt of good Success when he was present with them as he always was while they continued faithful Worshippers of him The Translation of Onkelos is here very remarkable which is The LORD thy God his WORD is thy help which plainly denotes another Divine Person the same with JEHOVAH Ver. 2. It shall be when ye come nigh unto the battle Verse 2 Are about to give or receive the Assault That the Priest shall approach and speak unto the people The Jews say there was a Priest appointed for this very purpose whom they call MASCHUACH MILCHAMAH anointed of War he being set
speaks only of Fruit-trees From whence Grotius thinks that saying of the Pythagoraeans took its original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Trees that do not grow wild and bear fruit ought not to be hurt much less cut down And yet it seems to be more agreeable to the Hebrew words than our Marginal Translation which makes this sense That there are Trees of the Field sufficient to employ in the Siege so that they need not cut down Fruit-trees to carry it on Ver. 20. Only the Trees which thou knowest that they Verse 20 be not Trees for Meat thou shalt destroy and cut them down If it were necessary for the raising Bulwarks as it here follows or otherways to distress the Enemy they had liberty to cut down Trees that did not bear Fruit but not meerly to make Waste and Desolation And thou shalt build Bulwarks against the City that maketh war with thee From whence they battered the City and threw great Sones into it as well as begirt them round that no Provisions might be brought in to them Thus we find they did in after times 2 Chron. XXVI 15. 2 Sam. XX. 15. And they must have some such Inventions in Moses his days or else how could they take Cities fortified with such high Walls as are mentioned I Deut. 28. Or to what purpose should they build Bulwarks and cast up Banks but from thence to batter the City with some Engine or other Vntil it be subdued From these words the Jewish Doctors conclude that it was lawful to make War even upon the Sabbath because having set down before a City they were to proceed till it was subdued which these words suppose might not be in a short time Only they say that the Siege was to be begun at least three days before the Sabbath Thus these Superstitious People not thinking common reason sufficient to justifie them in so plain a case Chapter XXI make the Scripture speak what it intended not for their warrant See Schickard in his Jus Regium Cap. V. Theorem XVIII where he alledges Maimonides in his Hilkoth Melachim to this purpose And Joh. Benedictus Carpzovius produces a plainer out of Hilkoth Schabbath where he delivers their sense in these words A Siege is to be begun three days before the Sabbath and then it may be continued every day even upon the Sabbath until the City be taken and this may be done in a War that is voluntarily undertaken For thus our wise Men understand these words by ancient Tradition until it be subdued CHAP. XXI Verse 1 Verse 1. IF one shall be found slain in the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess This follows very properly after the Law he had delivered about making War because then the Bodies of dead Men were most frequently found About which the wisest Law-givers took the greatest care that Inquisition should be made how and by whom they were slain This appears by Plato who in his Ninth Book de Legibus hath a Law something like to this though far short of the Solemnity that is here required to be used as I shall observe in the Conclusion of this Statute Lying in the field and it be not known who hath slain him The Hebrew Doctors here stick too much to the letter of these words for they will not have them reach to a dead Body hanging in the Air upon a Tree or hid in the Sand or Dust or floating upon the Water which is extream absurd Ver. 2. Then thy Elders and thy Judges shall come forth The great Sanhedrim were to send forth some Verse 2 of their Members so the Jews interpret it to do what here follows And indeed it may be thought that none but they could take care of this matter the doubt being to which of the neighbouring Cities where the other Judges lived it belonged Therefore the Paraphrase ascribed to Vzielides saith Two of the wise Men or Elders and three of the Judges were sent by the great Sanhedrim about this business See Selden Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. VII N. 2. Yet he observes in another part of that most Learned Work Lib. II. Cap. VII N. 3. that there were a sort of Elders who were not ordained by laying on of Hands but only were venerable Persons for their Age and Prudence who some think might serve for this Employment And they called such Elders Zikne Hashuk Elders of the Street or Vulgar Elders But none I think hath discoursed more critically upon these words thy Elders and thy Judges than our Mr. Thorndike who observes that there had been Judges constituted to determine Causes by Jethro's advice XVIII Exod. the greater Causes being reserved for Moses alone For whose Assistance God afterward appointed Seventy Elders Numb XI who made up the great Court of Judgment in that Nation Now they of this great Consistory are called the Elders of Israel but they of other Consistories or Inferiour Courts are called barely Elders or Elders of such a City See Review of the Rights of the Church p. 70. where he alledges this very place for it and by thy Elders understands the Elders of Israel the lower Elders being mentioned in the next Verse And so those of the great Consistory are commonly called in the Gospel And in like manner the Scribes of the People and thy Scribes signifie there those of this High Court. Whereas the bare Name of Scribes is extended further to the inferiour Doctors of the Law As also the Name of Rulers and that of Rulers of the People are to be understood with the like difference And they shall measure unto the Cities that are round about him that is slain That is if it were dubious what City lay nearest to the dead Body as it sometimes hapned But commonly it is probable at the first view they easily discerned this and so did not trouble themselves to measure It is a frivolous dispute in the Mischnah from whence they were to measure whether from the Navel or the Nose or the Forehead which last seems most rational to Maimonides who calls it the Center of the Body But they did not if we believe the Jewish Doctors in their measuring take notice of any City wherein there was not a Court of XXIII Elders and Jerusalem was always excepted See Selden in the place forenamed N. III. and L'Empereur upon Bava kama p. 173. and Wagenseil upon Sota p. 899. If the dead Body lay nearest to the Country of the Gentiles then they did not measure at all but it was presumed the Man was killed by them Verse 3 Ver. 3. And it shall be that the City which is next to the slain Man From whence it might be presumed the Murderer came or was fled thither as Abarbinel discourses Even the Elders of that City Who were different from the Elders before-mentioned See the foregoing Verse for they returned to Jerusalem when they had seen the Body buried if there was no discovery of the Murderer and
then the Senators of the City next to the dead Body who were XXIII performed what is here ordered Shall take an Heifer That was not above two years old for if it were a day more they might not use it for this purpose as Maimonides and others affirm Yet the Scripture in other Cases mentions one of three years old XV Gen. 9. XV Isa 5. XLVIII Jer. 5. as Wagenseil observes upon the Mischna of Sota Cap. IX Sect. III. Annot. 2. If two Cities happened to be aequidistant from the dead Body then they joyned together to provide this Heifer Which hath not been wrought with Never used in ploughing the Ground And which hath not drawn in the yoke This may seem to be included in the foregoing Expression as Maimonides observes but it is added he thinks to signifie that if it had been imployed in any other labour it became improper for this use Such Heifers were accounted by the Heathen to be most acceptable to their gods as appears by Homer in whom Diomedes and Nestor promise such an Offering to Pallas See Bochart Lib. II. Hieroz Cap. XXXIII P. I. out of Iliad K. and Odyss T. But there was a particular reason for such an one in this Case wherein the Heifer was not to be offered that it might the better represent as many think the Person that had committed this Murder who was a Son of Belial subject to no Law and deserved to be beheaded as this Heifer was It is not required that it should be without blemish as those Heifers were to be that were offered at the Tabernacle but it sufficed if it had never been accustomed to the Yoke Yet this is not to be taken without all Limitation for if it wanted any Member or were diseased it might not be imployed in this Service as Wagenseil observes out of Maimonides in the place forenamed p. 907. Verse 4 Ver. 4. And the Elders of that City shall bring down the Heifer Their Cities it seems were commonly seated on Hills or high Ground Into a rough Valley The Hebrew word Nachal signifies both a Valley and a Torrent The LXX Josephus and the Vulgar understand it as we do and the following words favour this Interpretation But the Talmudists and the Rabbins who generally follow them take it to signifie a Torrent which is the sense of Maimonides himself and the next word Ethan which we translate rough they interpret a rapid Torrent Chaskuni thinks there is some reason for this in the sixth Verse where they are required to wash their hands over the Heifer in the Water that is of the Brook I see nothing to hinder the putting both senses together Torrents being wont to run down violently from the Mountains through the Valleys which lye beneath them which is the cause that the same word signifies both Which is neither eared Or rather ploughed Nor sown Being a stony craggy Ground representing the horridness of the Murder and the cruelty and hardness of the Man's heart who committed it They that follow the other Interpretation of Nachal understood the foregoing words Ascher lo jeabeth bo which we translate neither eared as if they signified the Torrent did not serve to water the neighbouring Ground and these words to be meant of the Soil which lay next to the Torrent in which nothing was sown And besides this variety there are those who take Ethan not to signifie either that which is hard or rapid but the most fertile Ground So R. Bechai and lately R. Jac. Abendana in his Marginal Notes upon Michlal Jophi Where he gives this reason for it That the Inhabitants of each City might be the more careful to prevent such Murders being in danger otherwise to lose the best Ground belonging to their Inheritance For the Land where the Body was found if we may believe the Mischna was never to be sown any more See Sota Cap. IX Sect. V. And shall strike off the Heifers neck there in the valley Coming behind the Heifer saith that Mischna as the Murderer was supposed to have treacherously surprised the slain Man and should have been thus used if he could have been found Ver. 5. And the Priests the sons of Levi. See Verse 5 XVII 9 18. XVIII 1. Shall come near To see all performed according to the Law and to pray to God for the Country in the words prescribed v. 8. For them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him and to bless in the Name of the LORD See XXVIII Exod. 1 c. VI Numb 23 c. And by their word shall every controversie and every stroke be tried They did not determine all Matters whatsoever but all of this nature in which the Law appointed them to take care things were done according to it As in the killing of the red Heifer the Examination of the Woman suspected of Adultery by the Water of Jealousie the Leprosy whether in Men or Houses or Garments Thus the Hebrews explain these words See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. VIII And so Bonfrerius here acknowledges that they did not come hither as Judges but as Directors and that they might purge themselves together with the Elders from all guilt of this Crime Verse 6 Ver. 6. And all the Elders of that City that are next to the slain Man If there were never so many Elders in the City they were all to clear themselves by doing what follows Shall wash their hands over the Heifer c. In the Water of the Brook which flowed through the Valley protesting their Innocence in the words prescribed in the next Verse So Chaskuni glosses As our hands are clean so are we from the guilt of this blood See Wagenseil upon Sota p. 910. who thinks Pilate had respect to this Rite when he condemned our Saviour XXVII Matth. 24. notwithstanding all that Learned Men have said to the contrary Verse 7 Ver. 7. And they shall answer and say Being askt perhaps whether they knew any thing of this Murder Our hands have not shed this blood neither have our eyes seen it That is they professed solemnly they knew not who shed it nor how the Man came to be slain And the Mischna before-mentioned adds that they said for how can any one think that Elders would be Murderers This Man did not come into our City that we know of and dismissed without necessary provisions nor was seen by us and permitted to go away without company Which Maimonides expresses more largely in his More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XL. where he represents the Wisdom of this Law in these words The Elders called God to witness that they had not neglected to secure the ways nor to set Watches to examine diligently those that travelled saying as our Rabbins express it This Man was not killed through any negligence or forgetfulness which we were guilty of in not observing our publick Constitutions nor do we know who killed him Now by this Inquisition into the Fact by this going forth of the
who had the Cognizance of Common Capital and Penal Causes in every City In the Gate Where the Court sat as I observed before upon XVI 18. And this may be added to what I noted there that by this may be explained those words in the Book of Job V. 4. concerning the Children of the wicked that they are crushed in the Gate i. e. lose their Cause and are Condemned in the Court of Judgment and those of the Wise-man XXII Prov. 22. Oppress not the afflicted in the Gate i. e. do him justice and not let him be overthrown because he wants Money to defend his Cause This appears to be the sense from the very next words v. 23. For the LORD will plead their Cause c. Ver. 16. And the damsels father shall say unto the Elders I gave my daughter unto this man to wife The Jews say the Mother had no power to espouse her Daughter but the Father only before she was of Age. Verse 16 Mischna Sotae Cap. III. Sect. VIII where Wagenseil notes that the Mother and Brethren also had some power in this matter but such that the Daughter within a time limited might make the Contract void And he hateth her Hath not the Affection which an Husband ought to have to his Wife If she had no Parents alive the Judges appointed her a Guardian and Josephus saith the next of kin were to Patronise her as if they had been her Parents Ver. 17. And lo he hath given occasion of speech against Verse 17 her See v. 14. He doth not add what there follows and brought up an evil name upon her i. e. accused her publickly before you of Adultery because it is sufficiently comprehended in this Saying I found not thy daughter a maid As such and such give Evidence And yet these are the tokens of my daughters virginity I have good Witnesses to the contrary which are here ready to be produced before the Court to disprove the former Testimony And they That is the Witnesses which the Father produces Shall spread the cloth before the Elders of the City Though such Tokens of Virginity as are commonly understood by these words might always be found in those Countries being very consonant to the Opinion of the chiefest Arabian Physicians as Mr. Selden observes out of Avicenna and of the Africans and other People at this day as many Authors testifie See Joh. Geusius de Victimis Humanis Pars I. Cap. IX and P. II. Cap. II. and Wierus L. Medicarum Observationum Sect. de Hymene especially in such Virgins as the Jews say were here meant who were under thirteen years of Age and though all that some Physicians and Lawyers in these parts of the World have said to the contrary is of no consideration yet there are weighty Reasons to incline us to think that no Man of common sense would bring such an Action against his Wife wherein he was sure to be cast whether his Cause was right or wrong if these were the Evidences whereby it was to be tried For if he accused her falsly he knew her Friends were able to produce the Sheet wherein they lay when they were married with such Tokens upon it as would disprove him and render him guilty of Defamation And if he had a just ground to accuse her because he knew they could produce no such Tokens yet this was no proof she had been vitiated since she was Espoused to him for she might have been corrupted before and then he could not attain his end which was to be rid of her not by way of Divorce for then he must have given her a Dowry which he was desirous to save but by having her put to death as an Adulteress which v. 21. shows to be the present Case Such evident Reasons as these have constrained the Jews to understand these words not according to the very Letter of them but figuratively of such Witnesses produced by her Parents as convinced the other of falsity so evidently that they made it appear as plainly as a piece of Cloth that is unfolded and laid before Mens eyes to view it And they think the Hebrew word Simlah which we translate the Cloth favours this Exposition For it never signifies a Sheet or a Linnen Cloath which is wont to be called Sadin XIV Judg. 12. XXXI Prov. 24. but such Cloth as Mens Garments are made of which commonly is Woollen not Linnen And so it is used in this Book X Deut. 18. and in this very Chapter v. 5. So that the sense is They shall produce evident proofs and lay them before the Court like a piece of Cloth which is spread for all that please to look upon it Whether this be the Truth or no I will not dispute but refer the Reader to Mr. Selden Lib. III. Vxor Hebr. Cap. 1 2. Ver. 18. And the Elders of that City shall take that Man Verse 18 If they were convinced that he had accused his Wife falsly he was to be delivered into the hands of the Officers who executed the Sentence of the Court. And chastise him Condemn him to receive forty Stripes save one as both Josephus and the Talmudists agree and it was to be done with a Scourge made of Thongs of an Oxes Hide The Woman was dismissed with a Solemn Benediction the Form of which is set down in the Jewish Rituals and as for the false Witnesses against her they were condemned to be stoned according to the Law XIX 18 19. Ver. 19. And they shall amerce him in an hundred Verse 19 shekels of silver and give them unto the father of the damsel Who was to receive this Satisfaction for the Reproach which was thrown upon his Family It is something strange that Josephus should mention only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fifty Shekels to be paid to her Father when the Scripture expresly saith an hundred Lib. IV. Archeolog Cap. VIII But it is supposed by some that he means fifty besides her Dowry which he was to have given her if he had put her away Which that he might save he designed to take away her Life and therefore was punished double to what it would have cost him if he had not been so wicked Because he hath brought up an evil report upon a virgin of Israel Laid the most infamous Crime to the Charge of an Innocent Virgin and that out of hatred to her and love to his Money For if he would have put her away according to the Law of Divorce no Man could have hindred him as Maimonides observes But then he must have paid her fifty Shekels which they take to be the Dowry of Virgins mentioned XXII Exod. 16 17. To keep which to himself and be rid of her he brought this Scandalous Action against her for which he was thus justly punished And she shall be his wife he may not put her away all his days Besides the two former Punishments in his Body and his Purse he was deprived of the common benefit which
like prevailed before the Law of Moses Which Opinion hath something to countenance it from the mention of Divorces in several places XXI Levit. 14. XXII 13. XXX Numb 9. before the Book of Deuteronomy was written wherein he orders a Bill to be given in writing to discharge them If this be true it gives a good reason why God was pleased to grant this permission because they were so settled in this practice that it was safer still to indulge it to them than quite to abolish it Which he did with this Caution that Husbands should not discharge their Wives with a Word bidding them be gone out of Doors i. e. putting them away rashly and in a sudden fit of Anger but first write them a Bill containing their pleasure herein Which being a deliberate act might possibly hinder this Divorce to which they might be prone in a passion but not after some consideration The form of this Bill is in Mr. Selden and exactly scanned Lib. III. Vxor Hebr. Cap. XXIV who observes also in another place of that Book Cap. XIX that as for five hundred years or more the Roman State flourished without the use of Divorces so for seven hundred years after the making of this Law there is no mention of any Bill of Divorce among the Jews that is till the days of Isaiah See Chap. L. 1. and but rarely afterwards And give it into her hand Saying these or some such like words Behold this is thy Bill of Divorce otherwise it was not good And there were to be at least two Witnesses unto it as the Jews say Who make ten things necessary which they think to be founded upon the Law it self to make the Bill legal See Selden in the same Book Cap. XXV And send her out of his house This Dr. Hammond in the place above-mentioned looks upon as an Obligation upon her Husband to furnish her for her Journey to endow her and make provision for her For so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to send out signifies in the New Testament to provide a viaticum 1 Corinth XVI 6 11. III Titus 13. where it is explained by letting nothing be wanting But the Jews are of opinion that the Divorce was perfect and legitimate before he sent her out of his Doors For it was sufficient to give her a Bill in such a form as plainly show'd their Matrimony was dissolved and that she was no part of his Family though he had not actually sent her away Yet if he kept her still in his House after this Bill was delivered into her hand it was presumed they cohabited together and he was to give her a new Bill of Divorce In all which I can see nothing like a Command for putting away their Wives if they were disagreeable which the Jews would fain extort out of these words And so they spake unto our blessed Lord XIX Matth. 7. though in another place they spake of it only as a permission X Mark 3. The plain intent of this Law being this That if a Man did put away his Wife as they are here suffered to do she might marry another Man but if that new Husband died she might not return to her first Husband again See Buxtorf de Sponsal Divort. p. 107 108 c. and to show that Moses rather supposed than permitted Divorces p. 113 c. Verse 2 Ver. 2. And when she is departed out of his house So that it is publickly known she is no longer his Wife She may go and be another man's wife The Bond of Marriage being wholly broken by the Bill of Divorce whereby he renounced all interest in her and expresly said in the very body of the Bill as we speak It may be free to thee to marry with whom thou wilt Much more was the Bond broken by Adultery for which our Saviour gives a Man leave to put away his Wife and take another See David Chytraeus concerning this matter p. 117 c. where he reports a very wise Resolution of Luther's Pomeranus and Melancthon in the Case of the Criminal Person Verse 3 Ver. 3. And if the latter husband hate her and write her a Bill of Divorce and give it her in her hand and send her out of his house This shows that no other way of putting away a Wife was allowed but only this For as Maimonides well observes More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XLIX if it had been lawful to do it by bare words or simply sending her out of his House any Woman might have left her Husband and said she was put away both she and he that committed Adultery with her pretending a Divorce when her Husband had given her none Therefore the Law wisely provided none should be put away but by such a Bill as is before-mentioned whereby an Authentick Testimony was given of it Or if her latter husband die which took her to wife Whereby she became free again as the Apostle hath observed VII Rom. 2. Ver. 4. Her former husband which sent her away may Verse 4 not take her again to be his wife One would have thought there could have been no danger of any Man 's desiring her again whom he had solemnly sent away with dislike But such is the levity and fickleness of Humane Nature the Jews at least were so inconstant that it seems Men sometimes sought after that which they had rejected and this was the Punishment of their Injustice in putting away a Wife without sufficient Cause as by this they acknowledged that they might not again enjoy her After that she is defiled This is the reason why the former Husband might not marry her again as the Jews take it because by her second Marriage she was defiled Which they say she was so that he could not have her again though she had been only espoused to a new Husband who had never lain with her For they make no difference between her second Marriage and second Espousals but think a Woman contracted such a Pollution by her second Espousals that she would not have been so much polluted if she had plaid the Whore after her Divorce For in that case they say he might notwithstanding have married her again but not after she had been married to another Thus Mr. Selden reports their opinion Lib. I. Vxor Hebr. Cap. XI where he observes that the Mahometans who are wont in many things to ape the Jews here quite differ from them allowing a Man liberty to take his Wife again though he had divorced her three times Now the ground upon which a divorced Woman was accounted defiled or unclean after another Man had married her I suppose was that this was lookt upon as a Solemn Renunciation of her former Husband on her part who had been renounced by him by the Bill of Divorce but he was not absolutely renounced by her till she married another whereby she was totally alienated from him This made her unclean not in her self nor with respect to her
of thy strangers that are in thy Land within thy gates No difference was to be made between a Natural Jew and a Proselyte of the Gate according to the general Law XIX Levit 34. For such oppression might tempt them to do very wicked things for instance expose or kill their Children when they were not able to maintain them after the manner of the Heathen who were frequently guilty of this and thought it no Crime when their Poverty constrained them to it See Petrus Petitus Lib. III. Miscell Observ Cap. XVII where he produces many proofs of it both out of Greek and Roman Authors Verse 15 Ver. 15. At his day thou shalt give him his hire Which was due to him either by Contract or by natural Equity and whether he had agreed to serve him for a Day or a Month or a Year At the time when his Wages was due it was to be punctually paid unless he were willing to have it remain in his hands For this was not an Act of Mercy but of Justice to pay an Hireling his Wages Neither shall the Sun go down upon it for he is poor This shows he speaks particularly of one that served for a days Wages and could not forbear the payment of it because he was so poor as not to be able to provide himself and family Necessaries without it And setteth his heart upon it Eagerly expects it as the Support of his Life So the Vulgar translates it with it he supports his Soul that is his Life Lest he cry unto the LORD Make grievous Complaints to him who made both Rich and Poor And it be sin unto thee God will hear his Cry and severely punish thee See V James 4. Ver. 16. The father shall not be put to death for the Verse 16 children neither shall the children be put to death for the father every man shall be put to death for his own sin This is a Rule of Common Reason which was anciently expressed in this vulgar saying Noxa Caput sequitur And is excellently expressed by Dion Chrysostom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let every Man be the Author of his own Misfortune Which Amaziah King of Judah thought extended to the Children of Traitors unto whom he allowed the benefit of this Law as we read in so many words 2 Kings XIV 6. 2 Chron. XXV 4. And not only Philo but Dionys Hallicarnassaeus condemns the Custom of those Nations who put to death the Children of Tyrants or Traitors See Grotius Lib. II. de Jure Belli Pacis Cap. XXI Sect. XIII XIV where he observes that God indeed threatens to visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children but in this Case Jure dominij non poenae utitur he uses the Right of Dominion not of Punishment Verse 17 Ver. 17. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless Nor of the Widow who is joyned with them v. 19. For such Persons commonly had none to stand by them and plead their Cause and therefore the Judges were to take the greater Care to see them have Justice done XXII Exod. 21. XXIII 9. Nor take the widows raiment to pledge Which is to be understood of one that is poor as appears from v. 12. See XXII Exod. 21 26 27. Verse 18 Ver. 18. But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in Egypt and the LORD redeemed thee thence therefore I command thee to do this thing The remembrance of their own miserable Condition in Egypt till God took pity upon them was to work Compassion in them towards others in the like forlorn Estate otherwise they did not remember them as they ought This is often urged as a Reason for showing Mercy to Strangers and such like helpless Persons particularly in XIX Levit. 33 34. and in this Book X. 19 20. XV. 15. Ver. 19. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field and hast forgot a sheaf in the field thou shalt not go back again to fetch it There are many merciful Laws about the Poor See XIX Levit. 9 10. XXIII 22. They are all put together by Mr. Selden Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. Gent. Cap. VI. where the Exposition the Talmudists give of this Law seems to me to be so strict that it could do little good For they say a Sheaf was not taken to be forgotten unless not only the Owner of the Field but all the Labourers forgot it and if none of them remembred it yet if any Man that passed by that way came and gave them notice of it it was not lookt upon as left by forgetfulness Yet they are so kind as to extend this Law not only to Sheaves of Corn left in the Field but to Bunches of Grapes and other Fruit which was left behind in their Vineyards or Orchards And it seems no unreasonable Interpretation of this Law that if an Owner of a Field or his Workmen called to mind before they were gone quite out of the Field that a Sheaf was left in such a place they might go back and fetch it but not if they did not remember it till they came into the City They that would see more Cases about this matter may look into Maimonides de Donis Pauperum translated by Dr. H. Prideaux Cap. V. and his very learned Annotations upon it Josephus seems to me to have interpreted this Law most charitably Lib. IV. Archaeolog Cap. VIII where he saith they were not only not to go back to fetch what they had forgot but to leave on purpose Corn and Grapes and Olives c. for the benefit of the Poor It shall be for the stranger for the fatherless and for the Widow Who are commonly put together as proper Objects of Charity and are as Mr. Selden speaks a kind of Paraphrase upon the word Poor That the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand Make their Land still very fruitful which was a reward of their Charity Ver. 20. When thou beatest thine Olive-tree As Verse 20 they were wont to do in those Countries with Sticks to bring down the Olives Thou shalt not go over the boughs again Not search the Boughs after they are beaten whether any be left It shall be for the stranger c. Who might go into the Olive-yards after the Owner had carried out his Fruit and gather what they found still remaining on the Trees Verse 21 Ver. 21. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy Vineyard thou shalt not glean it afterwards By making a new gathering after the first But if the poor themselves left any behind after the usual time allowed for the gathering such Fruits or Corn as were left for them it was lawful for the Owner to take it himself and he was not bound either to pay the Poor the price of it or to leave it for the Beasts and the Birds For the command is say the Jewish Doctors who nicely scan these things that it shall be for the Poor and
that it be left for them But not any thing given them in lieu of it See Selden in the forenamed place p. 699. It shall be for the stranger for the fatherless and for the widow The Jewish Doctors by the Stranger here mentioned in this and the foregoing Verses would have only Proselytes of Justice understood who had intirely embraced the Jewish Religion So that other Proselytes and meer Gentiles had no right to these things For by the Law say they concerning the Tythe for the Poor XIV 29. the Levite and the Stranger are put together and the Levite being a Child of the Covenant so must the Stranger be who is joyned with him But this Restriction confined this Charity within such narrow Bounds that they themselves are not satisfied with it and therefore they add that though such only as were within the Covenant had a right to these things by the Law yet if Proselytes of the Gate or meer Gentiles mixed themselves with the Jews by the decree of their Wise-men Chapter XXV they were not to be hindred from gathering their share in these Fruits of the Earth which were left for the Poor And they give this Reason for it because of the way of peace that is Offices of Humanity and Charity ought to be extended to all See Selden p. 700. Ver. 22. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a Verse 22 bondman in the Land of Egypt therefore I command thee to do this thing If they had been only Strangers there and neglected by the Natives of the Country the remembrance of God's Mercy in providing for them had been a powerful Motive to obey this Command and therefore the remembrance of the Slavery and grievous Oppressions under which they there groaned was a far greater See v. 18. CHAP. XXV Verse 1. IF there be a controversie between men and Verse 1 they come into judgment It is evident by the sequel that he speaks of Criminal Causes That the Judges may judge them Who were appointed to be constituted and settled in all their Gates See XVI 18. Then they shall justifie the righteous Acquit him who is falsly accused of doing any wrong And condemn the wicked To suffer such punishment as his Crime deserves Ver. 2. And it shall be if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten For what Crimes Men were to be beaten by the Sentence of the lower Courts as well as by that of the great Sanhedrim See Selden Lib. 2. de Synedr Cap. XIII N. VII VIII They were in all as they reckon CCVII. The Judge shall cause him to lye down By his Officers who attended the Court. Before his face In open Court but he was first to be admonished and the Witnesses were to be produced against him as in Capital Causes After which the Judge commanded him to lye down before a low Pillar to which his hands were tied and he being stript down to his waste the Executioner stood behind him upon a stone where he scourged him both on the back and breast with Thongs made of an Oxes hide before the face of the Judges For though one Judge be only mentioned the Execution was done before the whole Bench after the Sentence was pronounced by one of them According to his fault For the violation of a negative Precept he might be scourged before the Court consisting of three Judges but not for the violation of an affirmative which was to be done before the Court of XXIII as Selden observes in the place forenamed Sect. VI. By a certain number He was condemned to receive more or fewer Stripes proportionable to his Crime and all the time the Executioner was scourging him the principal Judge proclaimed those words XXVIII Deut. 58. with a loud voice If thou observest not all the words of this Law c. then the LORD shall make thy Plagues wonderful c. adding those XXIX 9. Keep therefore the words of this Covenant and do them c. Concluding at last with those of the Psalmist LXXVIII 38. But he being full of compassion forgave their iniquities Which he was to repeat if he had finished these sayings before the full number of Stripes were given See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. XIII N. VI. which I find in the Title Maccoth Cap. III. Sect. XIV And see G. Schickard Mischpa◠Hamelek Cap. II. p. 57 58. Ver. 3. Forty stripes he may give him Which Verse 3 was more merciful than the Athenian law mentioned by Aeschines which inflicted upon some Criminals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fifty stripes by the publick scourge But none among the Jews were to receive above XL. for any Crime fewer they might inflict though not more And not exceed Of this they were so careful that as one of the three Judges commanded the Executioner to strike another told the stripes while the third pronounced the Sentences out of Scripture before-mentioned to admonish him and every one else of the Justice of the Punishment So Schickard observes out of Maimonides in the place above-named For the prevention also of excess in this Punishment they were wont to give but XXXIX Stripes and no more though the Offender was ever so strong or pertinacious Thus the Jews generally affirm and it appears to be true by what S. Paul saith of himself 2 Corinth XI 24. Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes save one which is exactly the phrase of the Mischna in Maccoth Cap. III. Sect. X. Where they interpret forty stripes by the next number to forty i. e. thirty nine For which they give a foolish reason in the Gemara as Joh. Coch there observes but Maimonides gives a sober account that this was ordered lest the Executioner by carelesness might exceed the number of XL. beyond which the Law required them not to go but it was lawful to fall short of it and therefore they required him to stop at the Thirty ninth stroke Yet if any Man deserved this Punishment twice together they did sometime exceed the number of XL. and went so far as to Sentence such a Malefactor to receive LXXIX stripes as Mr. Selden observes in the same place Where he likewise notes on the other side that if a Man was so weak that he was ready to faint away before he had received XXXIX the Judges ordered the Executioner to stay his hand Lest if he should exceed and beat him above these with many stripes then thy brother should seem vile unto thee Being beaten like a Dog as we speak that is so cruelly that the marks of it remained afterward to make him contemptible Which the Law was so far from intending that the Jews say no Man was to be reproached afterward with this whipping or the Crime for which he was whipped because he was still a Brother as the word here is And therefore he was to be restored to the same respect among them that he had before nay to any Office which before he enjoyed except he was the President
of Syria XXXII Gen. 10. where he was so cruelly used by his Uncle Laban XXXI 7 39 40 41. that Onkelos takes these words which we translate ready to perish in an active sense for him that destroys another For by the Syrian here he understands Laban who is so called as I noted before XXVIII Gen. 5. as if the meaning were the Syrian that is Laban sought to destroy my father For as he used him barbarously when he was with him so he followed after him when he went away with a mind to ruin him And thus Manasseh ben Israel understands it and many others mentioned by Fesselius which is the sense also of the Vulgar Latin Syrus persequebatur patrem meum And he went down into Egypt Though he brought him from Laban with great Substance yet as he was still but a Sojourner in the Land of Canaan so he was forced by Famine to go down into Egypt for Sustenance And sojourned there with a few They were but seventy Persons and lived there as Strangers All which they now were bound to commemorate for their Humiliation before God which I observed before out of Maimonides which might move them the more to exalt and magnifie the Mercy of God to them who had made them as it follows a mighty Nation For this Confession consists of these two parts their own Unworthiness and God's great Goodness And became there a Nation great mighty and populous See I Exod. 7. Ver. 6. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted Verse 6 us and laid upon us hard bondage The goodness of God unto them in making them so numerous was the occasion of sorer Affliction than either they or their Fathers had indured See I Exod. v. 9 10 c. The remembrance of this was exceeding useful to stir up their gratitude to God not only for their deliverance from the Egyptian slavery but bringing them into a Country of their own most plentifully stored with all manner of good things Ver. 7. And when we cried unto the LORD God of Verse 7 our fathers the LORD heard our voice and looked upon our affliction c. Having acknowledged their low and poor and distressed Condition now they proceed to an acknowledgment of God's wonderful goodness which appeared the more in relieving them when they were utterly helpless See II Exod. 23 24 25. III. 7 8. Ver. 8. And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt Verse 8 with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and a great terribleness c. See IV. 34. and VII 19. This is so vehemently inculcated upon them as Maimonides speaks in the place forenamed that they should remember the day they came out of Egypt all the days of their life XVI 3. X Exod. 2. Which it became them especially to remember at this time that they might demonstrate the truth of Prophecy both concerning Punishments and Rewards Verse 9 Ver. 9. And hath brought us into this place and given us this Land even a Land flowing with milk and honey As they remember the terrible Plagues upon Egypt in the foregoing Verse so they commemorate the singular Blessings bestowed upon them in this Verse 10 Ver. 10. And now behold I have brought the First-fruits of the Land which thou O LORD hast given me Thus they concluded this Solemn Rite as they began it v. 3. with an acknowledgment that they held this Land of God as the Supream LORD and that by his free gift And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God Having said these words they left the Basket by the Altar as the Jews say where it had been placed v. 4. and then the Priest set it before the Sanctuary where God dwelt by his special Presence there And worship before the LORD thy God They made a profound Reverence towards the most Holy Place by bowing their Bodies as low as they could and so went out of the Temple So the Hebrew word imports and this outward Act of Worship no doubt was accompanied in all good Men with humble Thanks to God for his Benefits and Prayer for the continuance of them Verse 11 Ver. 11. And thou shalt rejoyce in every thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee and unto thy house thou and the Levite and the Stranger that is among you They were to make a Feast at the time of offering these First-fruits and there to entertain the Levites and the Strangers as well as their own Family These Feasts were made out of the Provision mentioned XII 6 7. XVI 10 11 12. Besides which the Bullock which went before them when they carried up the First-fruits from their several Cities was offered for a Peace-offering when they came to the Sanctuary as Mr. Selden observes in the place above-mentioned Lib. III. de Synedr Cap. XIII p. 203. Ver. 12. When thou hast made an end of tithing all Verse 12 the tithes of thine increase For there was a second Tithe to be paid after the first to the Levites as was observed above XII 6. and is plainly spoken of XIV 22 23 c. Which the Jews call the consummation or finishing of tithing as I observed there v. 29. And so these words may be translated When thou hast finished all the tithes of thine increase The third year which is the year of tithing Every third year the second Tithe before-mentioned was to be employed to a peculiar use See XIX 28 29. as it follows here in the next words So the Jews expound it whose sense our Mr. Mede expresses in a few words For two years together they paid the Levites Tithe and the Festival Tithe but in the third year they paid the Levites Tithe and the Poor-man's Tithe That is what was wont in other years to be spent in Feasting was wholly spent every third year upon the Poor B. I. Discourse XXXII p. 228. But there are some that think they were bound every third year to pay this poor Man's Tithe besides that to the Levites and the Festival Tithe about which I shall not here dispute And hast given it to the Levite the stranger the fatherless and the widow that they may eat within thy gates and be filled According to the Commandment XIV 29. See there Verse 13 Ver. 13. Then thou shalt say As they were every year to make the foregoing Profession when they brought their First-fruits so they were to make another Profession which here follows every third year when the course of all manner of tithing as Mr. Mede there expresses it was come about Before the LORD This sounds as if they were to make this Profession before the most Holy Place at the Sanctuary Which seems to confute the common Exposition of the Jewish Doctors that this Tithe of the third year was not to be spent there but at home within their own Gates But it may be supposed that every Man was privately to make this Solemn Profession as in the Presence of God who knew the truth
of what he said Or rather that the next time he went up to worship at God's House he was bound to make this declaration before the Divine Majesty Which is the most likely Interpretation because these words before the LORD are always so used in these Books And unless they had been obliged to this their covetous and cruel disposition might have inclined them to defraud the Poor which by this means was prevented For though Men might have satisfied themselves in omitting this Profession if it had been left meerly to their own private Consciences yet when they were bound to come and make it publickly at God's own House as they could not avoid it so few would be found so impudently prophane as solemnly to tell a lye to God himself I have brought away the hallowed things Things separated by the Divine Commandment from their own private use for the use of the Poor Out of my house From the rest of the Fruits of the Earth which they had gathered And also I have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow That is unto the Refreshment of the Poor So the Hierusalem Targum paraphrases v. 2. which is worth the mentioning In the third year which is the year of tithing for the Poor ye shall give the first Tithes to the Levites and then the Tithes of the Poor to the Strangers Fatherless and Widows that they may eat in their Cities and be filled According to all thy Commandments which thou hast commanded me According to the direction before-mentioned XIV 29. I have not transgressed thy Commandments neither have I forgotten them Neither done contrary to God's Precepts nor forgotten to perform them either by keeping these Tithes to themselves or by bestowing them otherwise than God appointed Ver. 14. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning Verse 14 After the general Profession mentioned in the Verse foregoing that they had brought all hallowed things out of their Houses and employed them as God directed they were to make three particular Professions which are mentioned in this Verse and it is probable they have respect to some idolatrous Customs which were in those days The first of them is that they had not eaten thereof in mourning or in lamentation For so the Hebrew word Oni signifies very bitter grief and sore mourning Such the Egyptians made in Harvest time when they offered the First-fruits of the Earth and kept the Feast of Isis with doleful Lamentations So Diodorus Siculus and other Authors tell us particularly Julius Firmicus who severely reproves their folly or madness rather saying Cur plangitis fruges terrae c. Why do you bewail the Fruits of the Earth why weep you at the growth of your Seed c. you should rather give thanks for these things to the most high God whose Bounty is not to be lamented but bewail rather your own Error c. If there was such a Custom in the World when Moses lived it may very well be thought that he taught the Israelites to disclaim such sensless and impious practices And as the Egyptians by this mourning acknowledged Isis that is the Earth to be the giver of all these good things so he required God's People to bring in their Harvest with the greatest Joy and Thanks unto the most High For there was no Joy so great as that of Harvest and Vintage directly opposite to the Heathen who kept the Feast of Bacchus also with Lamentations See our Learned Dr. Spencer Lib. II. de Ritual Hebr. Leg. Cap. XXIV Sect. I. Nor taken ought thereof for any unclean use As some of the old Idolaters were wont to do who separated some part of the First-fruits for Magical purposes and some times for carnal and filthy So Julius Firmicus informs us who immediately after the mention of their Lamentations when they gathered the Fruits of the Earth asks this question Quid addis incestum adulterium Which shows that there were unclean Rites which accompanied their Offerings and that they made them minister unto Venus See the same Learned Author in the same place Sect. III. Nor given ought thereof for the dead If this be the right Translation of the last words for the dead St. Austin hath given us a likely reason of this Clause which was to profess they had not imitated the Gentiles who were wont to set Meat and Drink upon the Graves of the Dead as he tells us Serm. XV. de Sanctis But it doth not appear that they set any part of their Tithe or First-fruits upon them nor that they did it only in Harvest time but rather common Bread and Wine which at all times they set upon their Graves when they were interred and therefore it may be translated to the dead as the same excellent Person observes Sect. III. And so it is a profession they had not offered any of the Fruits of the Earth to Heroes after the manner of the Gentiles particularly to Osiris For that they honoured them with their First-fruits appears by a passage in Porphyry Lib. IV. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sect. XXII where he mentions three Laws made by Triptolemus an ancient Lawgiver among the Athenians One of which is this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to worship the gods with the Fruits of the Earth Which Draco thus expounds as he shows in the Conclusion of that Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. To honour the Gods and the Heroes of their Country publickly according to the Laws of the Nation and privately as much as they were able with speaking well of them and with the First-fruits and the Annual Offerings See Meursius in his Themis Attica Lib. I. Cap. I. But however we take this the giving any part of the Tithe either for the dead or to the dead shows there was such a Superstitious Custom unto which this Clause having a manifest respect we have reason to think the two former have so likewise But I have hearkned to the voice of the LORD my God and done according to all that thou hast commanded me Performed all that God required and done nothing contrary to it All these words from v. 13. to this place were to be spoken with a low and humble voice because they are a sort of Commendation of themselves and of their own Integrity which is not to be proclaimed aloud But when they made the foregoing Profession at the presenting of their First-fruits v. 5 6 c. they being an acknowledgment of their own meanness and poor beginnings and of God's infinite goodness in their advancement they were to lift up their voice and say aloud My Father was a Syrian ready to perish c. Thus the Doctors resolve in the Gemara of Mischna Sota Cap. VII in the beginning of it Verse 15 Ver. 15. Look down Have a gracious regard From thy holy habitation from heaven This is an humble acknowledgment of the Infinite Majesty of God who though he was graciously
pleased to dwell among them by a glorious Symbol of his Presence in the Sanctuary yet dwelt in far more transcendent Glory in the Heavens the highest of which could not contain him as holy Men acknowledged 1 Kings VIII 27. 2 Chron. II. 6. And bless thy People Israel and the Land which thou hast given us Having performed their Duty they had the greater confidence to beg the continuance of God's Mercies to them and to their Country which it had been presumption to expect if they had not acknowledged him to be the Donor of all the good things they enjoyed in the manner before appointed For this was the end of all Oblations both of this Tithe and of the First-fruits and any other to acknowledge God to be the LORD of whom all things come as David speaks and of whose own we give unto him See 1 Chron. XXIX v. 11 12 13 c. As thou swarest unto our fathers He teacheth them to conclude as they began v. 3. with a thankful acknowledgment of God's faithfulness to his Promise A Land that floweth with milk and honey See XI 9. The Hierusalem Targum paraphraseth it thus A Land producing fruits as pure as milk and as sweet and delicious as honey Ver. 16. This day This refers to the time when Verse 16 Moses spake all these words unto them The LORD thy God hath commanded thee By me To do these statutes and judgments These two words comprehend the Precepts in the foregoing Chapters some of which concern Matters of Religion and others of Civil Government Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul Set your selves sincerely and heartily to the performance of them Ver. 17. Thou hast avouched So the Hebrew Verse 17 word signifies as Job Ludolphus observes who renders it asseverare seriò affirmare being the same with the French word avoüer and may be here translated thou hast solemnly professed or rather protested The LORD this day The word this is not in the Hebrew as it is in the foregoing Verse but he saith simply Hajom not hajom hazeh the day or that day which signifies the time when Moses delivered these Laws from God To be thy God Then they owned him to be their King and Governour For so the Name of ELOHIM properly signifies Dignity Empire and Authority as Grotius observes upon XX Exod. and Fortunatus Scacchus before him expounds these very words Which saith he have respect to God as their Emperour who had the Supream Government of the Commonwealth of Israel with a Right and Authority of constituting Laws and giving Mandates for the establishing of that Government Sacror Elaeochrism P. II. Cap. LII p. 509. See XXIV Exod. 3 4 c. and XXXIV 27. And to walk in his ways By his ways that Author understands the Moral Precepts written on Tables of Stone To keep his statutes The Ritual Precepts And his Commandments Concerning the Duties of his Worship and Service And his judgments The Political Precepts belonging to their good Government And to hearken unto his voice In all things which he should declare from his Oracle when they consulted it Verse 18 Ver. 18. And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people c. At the same time for the word this is not in the Hebrew the LORD assured the Israelites that they should be his People in a special manner provided they made good their promise of keeping his Commandment For the Covenant was mutual See XXIV Exod. 3 7. XIX 5 6. It is observable that the Hierusalem Targum paraphrases these two Verses in this manner Ye have taken the Word of the LORD to reign over you to day that he may be your God c. And the Word of the LORD reigneth over you a People dedicated to his Name as his peculiar c. Where MEMRA the WORD cannot be understood other ways than of the second Person in the Deity Ver. 19. And to make thee high above all Nations that he hath made It is a pious note of Conr. Pellicanus That there is no greater Glory to the Faithful than that they are peculiarly grateful devoted dedicated Verse 19 obedient unto God as his Children In praise and in name and in honour These words express his singular Kindness to them in that though all Nations were his being made by him and he the LORD and Governour of them all yet he promised to have such a special Favour to them that all Nations round them should take notice of it and speak with admiration of their Happiness and the Honour he had done them All this is included in those words before-mentioned XIX Exod. 5 6. where the last words of this Verse are explained That thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God as he hath spoken All this Moses called to their mind that it might prepare and dispose them to renew the same Covenant with God before he left them Which he presses upon them in the Nine and twentieth Chapter of this Book after he had given them some other Admonitions and laid before them the Blessings and Curses that would come upon them according to their Fidelity or Falsness in that Holy Covenant Which is the Subject of the two following Chapters Chapter XXVII CHAP. XXVII Verse 1 Verse 1. AND Moses with the Elders of Israel commanded the people saying I observed in the Preface to this Book and upon Chapter IV. 41. and other places that Moses did not speak all that is contained in this Book at once but at several times and that he commonly took the Elders to his assistance as is here expresly affirmed though some things he spake himself alone to all the People as I observed upon V. 1. Keep all the Commandments which I command you This is a new Exhortation to Obedience which he could not press too often considering the great proneness of this People to break God's Laws This day At this time and formerly for it doth not precisely signifie one day and the word this is not in the original Verse 2 Ver. 2. And it shall come to pass on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan Here it is evident the word day doth not signifie precisely the very same day they passed over but not long after as soon as they were come to Mount Ebal v. 4. after the taking of Jericho and Ai as appears from VIII Joshua 30. For they were to pass over Jordan unto the Land which the LORD their God gave them as it here follows before they were obliged to do what is here required That thou shalt set thee up great stones It is not said how many but some fancy there were Twelve according to the number of Pillars which Moses imployed XXIV Exod. 4. when he made the Covenant between God and his People But unless we could certainly determine how much of the Law was to be written upon these Stones we cannot give a good guess
at their number For if only the Ten Commandments fewer than Twelve would serve if the whole Book of Deuteronomy so many were not sufficient As for the Marginal Reference in our Bibles unto IV Josh 1. it can have no respect to this place for those Twelve Stones were ordered to be taken our of Jordan and left there where they lodged that Night which was at Gilgal See there v. 3 8 20. And plaister them with plaister That being plain and smooth they might write what is here commanded upon them which they could not do while they were rough and uneven Ver. 3. And thou shalt write upon them all the words Verse 3 of this Law Many think he means the whole Book of Deuteronomy which because it is long great stones are ordered to be provided for this purpose Others think only the Ten Commandments are here intended which were the principal words of the Covenant as Moses calls this Law XXIX 1. But Josephus L. IV. Archaeol Cap. ult is of opinion that he means the Cursings which here follow from v. 15. to the end of the Chapter Which is no improbable Opinion they containing several select Precepts and the last of them seems to respect the whole Law of Moses v. 26. But however we understand this it is certain that before the use of Paper was found out the Ancients particularly the Phoenicians and Egyptians were wont to write their minds upon Stones as a great many Authors testifie mentioned by Huetius Who observes that this Custom continued long after the Invention of Paper especially if they desired any thing should be vulgarly known and conveyed down to Posterity See Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. Cap. II. N. XV. where he observes that Moses ordered the Book of Deuteronomy to be inscribed upon Stones I suppose he means all the Laws contained in this Book not all the Exhortations and Historical passages which agrees very well with this Injunction that they should write on the stones all the words of this Law When thou art passed over that thou mayest go in unto the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee c. When they were gone over Jordan to take possession of the Land of Canaan and were come to the place where he directed these Stones to be set up and this Inscription made upon them Which place is particularly named in the next Verse And from these words Fortunatus Scacchus thinks he hath reason to assert that none of the things forementioned are meant by the words of this Law here commanded to be written But that upon the very top of these Stones or the Altar made of them as he would have it understood were written only the words of this Covenant whereby the People of Israel confessed themselves to have received the Land of Canaan from God and to hold it on Condition of their Obedience unto him For so he interprets the words write upon them in summa superficie And to make us know what he means by the words of this Law he thinks the following words are added That thou mayest go in unto the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee c. That is thou shalt declare who brought thee hither and gave thee possession of this Country and upon what Condition viz. that thou shouldst keep the Commands given to thee by God in Horeb. And therefore Moses doth not bid them write on the Stones the Law of the LORD nor the Law absolutely but the words of this Law Where the demonstrative Particle hazoth limits the sense to the present Matter of which he is speaking Thus he Myrothec 2. Sacror Elaeochrism Cap. LVII where he endeavours to strengthen this Interpretation by observing that after this Command for writing this Law upon the Stones Moses and the Priests and Levites spake unto all Israel saying Take heed and hearken O Israel this day thou art become the People of the LORD thy God c. v. 9 10. Ver. 4. Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Verse 4 Jordan that ye shall set up these stones This Phrase set up seems to imply that they were a kind of Pillars erected for this purpose that the Inscription might appear more fairly upon them In Mount Ebal Here the Samaritan Pentateuch hath in Mount Gerizim which is a manifest corruption to justifie their building a Temple there which they pretend God commanded in these words Ver. 5. And there shalt thou build an Altar unto the Verse 5 LORD thy God That they might offer Sacrifice to God and renew their Covenant with him An Altar of Stones Upon which Josephus himself fancies the forenamed Inscription was to be made and so the Talmudists also in Mischna Sota Cap. VII But it is plain the Stones designed for that use were to be set up before the Altar was built the intention of it being as I shall show presently that they might promise to observe the words which were there written Thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them See XX Exod. 25. Verse 6 Ver. 6. Thou shalt build the Altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones Not hewn nor polished whereby all manner of imagery was avoided Such Rustick Altars of rough Stone piled one upon another were in use among the Heathen who seem to have imitated this Pattern The Form of one of them Fortunatus Scacchus hath given us out of some ancient Monuments at Brixia related by Octavius Roscius See his forenamed Book Cap. LIX p. 585. Such Altars the Israelites were permitted to build upon some special occasion as Gideon and Manoah did VI Judg. 24 26. XIII 19. and Samuel 1 Sam. VII 17. and Saul 1 Sam. XIV 35. and David 2 Sam. XXIV 25. And such an one Moses himself built XXIV Exod. 4. And as Moses there set up Twelve Pillars according to the number of the Tribes of Israel when they entred into Covenant with God at Horeb so the forementioned Author thinks at the Confirmation of it when they came into Canaan they built not Twelve Altars but heaped up Twelve Stones which made one Altar without any Cost at all bestowed upon it And thus Elijah took Twelve Stones and on a sudden built an Altar with them when he endeavoured to bring the Israelites back again into the Covenant of God 1 Kings XVIII 31 32. And thou shalt offer Burnt-offerings thereon As they did at Horeb XXIV Exod. 5. and as Joshua did when they came into Canaan and had built the Altar here commanded VIII Josh 31. which Burnt-offerings were an acknowledgment of God's Soveraign Dominion over them and that they held this Land of him as their Supream LORD from whom they had received it They kept the Passover as soon as they came into Canaan but we read of no Altar erected nor Burnt-Sacrifices offered till they came to Ebal Ver. 7. And thou shalt offer Peace-offerings So Verse 7 Moses also did at Horeb as we read in the forenamed place XXIV Exod. 5. and so Joshua did
Josh 33. Which could not have been unless it were placed between the two Mountains whereon they stood upon both sides from the top to the bottom With a loud voice That every one that stood on the side or top of the Mountains might hear what they said the Priests being placed so in several parts of the Valley that their voice might reach them all For which end they were advanced perhaps upon a Pulpit as Ezra afterwards was VIII Nehem. 4. and a signal likewise given when they should say Amen Ver. 15. Cursed be he that maketh any graven or molten Verse 15 image The People upon the Mountains being to bless as well as curse the Mischna in the Title Sota Cap. VII Sect. V. rightly explains this that first the Priests turning their Faces towards Mount Gerizim proclaimed with a loud voice Blessed be the man that maketh not any graven c. Unto which all the People that stood there answered Amen And then turning their Faces towards Mount Ebal they said these words Cursed be the man that maketh c. to which they that stood there made the same answer See also the Hierusalem Targum which paraphrases these words in the same manner An abomination unto the LORD Which is odious and far to be removed from the Presence of the LORD as the same Targum interprets it The work of the hands of the Crafts-man A meer device of Men and therefore not to have Divine Worship given to it of any sort And putteth it in a secret place Though he was not a publick declared Worshipper of Images yet if he did it privately in some Closet of his own House or in any other secret place to conceal his wickedness though he escaped the punishment of the Law which sentenced open Idolaters to death yet he could not escape the vengeance of God And all the people The forenamed Mischna and Targum say That the People on both Mountains answered Amen both to the Blessings and to the Cursings which doth not agree with what goes before v. 12 13. Shall answer and say Amen Express their consent to it For the word Amen as the Talmudists say in Schebuoth hath sometimes the force of an Oath sometimes only declares consent and approbation and sometimes is used for the confirmation of any thing An Example of the first they think there is in V Numb 22. and they alledge this place for an Example of the second and for the third XXVIII Jerem. 6. Verse 16 Ver. 16. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father and mother It is observed by Interpreters that as the Precept of honouring Parents stands next to the Commandment concerning the Honour that is due to God XX Exod. 12. so the Curse pronounced against those who dishonoured them is here placed next to the Curse against Worshippers of Images And as Idolaters were to be put to death so were those that cursed their Parents XXI Exod. 17. XX Levit. 9. And I may add from the foregoing words that though they did it ever so secretly they lay under this Curse And all the people shall say Amen But before this Curse was pronounced they had said Amen to the Blessing opposite to it blessed is he that setteth not lightly by his Father and Mother as was observed on the foregoing Verse And the same is to be noted concerning the following Curses which were preceded with a Blessing till they were all ended Ver. 17. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's Verse 17 Land-mark c. Against which there is an express Precept in the foregoing part of this Book XIX 14. And Pellicanus well observes that by this particular Instance of God's displeasure against Injustice they were deterred from all Incroachments upon their Neighbours Possessions Ver. 18. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander Verse 18 out of the way By giving him wrong directions or misleading him See XIX Levit. 14. Some apply this to giving pernitious Advice to simple People which is certainly worse than misguiding of the blind because it leads Men into sin as well as into danger Ver. 19. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of Verse 19 the stranger fatherless and widow These three I observed before XXIV 19. are commonly put together as a paraphrase upon the word poor whose Cause God himself undertakes to plead X. 18. and see XII Exod. 21 22. And therefore all good Law-givers have taken special care of them particularly of Orphans concerning whom Plato ordains that the Conservators of the Laws should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 instead of their natural Parents and look after them so well that they should not fare the worse for wanting their Fathers See Lib. VIII de Legibus fol. 926 c. Edit Serrani Verse 20 Ver. 20. Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife See XXII 30. and XVIII Levit. 8. Verse 21 Ver. 21. Cursed be he who lieth with any manner of beast c. XXII Exod. 19. and XVIII Levit. 23. This some of the Jewish Doctors out of an unaccountable pride apply to the Vulgar sort of their own Nation whom they call the People of the Earth as if they were no better than Beasts with whom they were not to marry Verse 22 Ver. 22. Cursed be he that lyeth with his sister the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother c. This hath been explained also XVIII Levit. 9. Verse 23 Ver. 23. Cursed be he that lyeth with his mother-in-law c. See XVIII Levit. 17. and XX. 14. Verse 24 Ver. 24. Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly c. Though it be but with his Tongue whereby he wounds the same of an absent Person But the word smite is often used for killing XXI Exod. 12. XXIV Levit. 17. Of which if a Man was guilty though he committed the Murder so secretly that he could not be put to death by the Sentence of the Judges yet he lay under this heavy Sentence of God Verse 25 Ver. 25. Cursed be he that taketh a reward to slay an innocent person c. This seems to have respect to the Judges who for Money not only gave wrong Judgment in other Causes but condemned those that were not guilty to death See XXIII Exod. 7 8. and in this Book X. 17. XVI 19. Ver. 26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them The word we here translate confirm is more plainly translated perform in 1 Sam. XV. 11. And so it certainly signifies here the performing Verse 26 of what God commands being a kind of Establishment of the Law as Disobedience is a Subversion of it and as far as lyes in the Offenders power an abolishing it and taking it away Therefore the Apostle exactly translates the sense of these words III Galat. 10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things c. where the Apostle adds the word all as the LXX and the Samaritan did even in St.
Hierom's time to expound the words of this Law to signifie not meerly all that is contained in these Blessings and Curses but all things which are written in the Book of the Law So that whether this whole Book i. e. all the Laws contained in it written upon the Pillars or only these Blessings and Cursings the matter comes to the same Issue because all that is contained in this Book is comprehended in this last Curse yea all that is contained in the whole Law of Moses Therefore it is not very material neither whether only these Curses and Blessings were recited upon Mount Gerizim and Ebal or the whole Law of Moses from one end to the other about which the Jews themselves differ But they that are of the latter Opinion think it well grounded upon VIII Josh 33. where we read how Joshua carefully performed what Moses here enjoyned And that his words might not be forgotten Moses seems to have ordered the continuance of this Solemnity every seventh year in the Twenty ninth Chapter of this Book v. 10 11 c. The Misâ—hna in Sota which I have often mentioned concludes this matter with these words When the Blessings and the Cursings were ended they brought Stones and built an Altar which they plaistered over and wrote upon them all the words of this Law in Seventy Languages But I have shown before that the Stones on which the Law was written was different from the Altar and were erected before the building of the Altar The Gemara there adds Cap. VII Sect. XXIV That every one of the Israelites there present stood bound one for another that is for the whole Company that they would observe these Laws Which I know not how they extract out of Moses his words but their Doctors frequently mention it in their Books and make this pious use of it That by virtue of this Security which they gave for each other every Man was bound to reprove his Neighbour if he saw him offend unless he was content to undergo the Punishment which was threatned unto the Breach of God's Laws and come under the Curse XIX Levit. 17. And unto this they apply those words They shall fall one upon another as we truly translate XXVI Levit. 37. as if they signified every one shall fall by his Brother that is by his Brothers Crimes For we all promised say they in the Gemara Sanhedrim Cap. III. Sect. VI. and engaged one for another and so from that time were punished one for another CHAP. XXVIII Chapter XXVIII Verse 1. AND it shall come to pass In this Verse 1 Chapter he repeats with many Enlargements the Rewards and Penalties which he had promised and threatned in the Book of Leviticus unto the Observance or Breach of the Covenant they had made with God And here in this Verse he promises in general the Blessings which are more particularly enumerated in the following Verses If thou wilt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God to observe and do all his Commandments c. See VII 12. Where the same thing is said only here he adds the word diligently to make them attend with the greater seriousness to what he delivered See Chapt. XI 13 22. That the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all Nations of the earth By bestowing on them the following Blessings See VII 14. They were already endued with singular Priviledges above other Nations XIX Exod. 5 6. which by their Obedience would be confirmed continued and augmented in greater plenty of all things Ver. 2. And all these Blessings shall come upon thee Verse 2 and overtake thee Blessings that come unexpectedly and when we are not in pursuit of them are most welcome and highly delight us And such God here promises to bestow on them by his gracious Providence without their laborious and anxious seeking after them By which very thing he set them above all Nations for what they followed after eagerly and many times in vain he undertakes should come to them and prevent their desires If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God So as to observe and do all his Commandments as it is explained in the foregoing Verse Verse 3 Verse 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the City and blessed shalt thou be in the field That is in all their Affairs within doors or without Or whether they lived by Employments in the City or by Husbandry in Tilling the Ground It is not a natural Interpretation of these words which one of the Hebrew Doctors gives of them in Bava Metzia where he expounds blessed shalt thou be in the City thy House shall be so nigh unto the Synagogue that thou needest not be troubled by going a long way to it And blessed in the field thy Ground shall lye so near to the City that thou mayest quickly bring the Fruit it produces to be sold in the Market But if he could have gone on in this manner it had been something tolerable but he expounds what follows in a most undecent manner See Wagenseil upon the Gemara of Sota Cap. III. Sect. IX Annot. 5. Verse 4 Ver. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body This seems to be a Promise of preventing Miscarriages when they were with Child for a numerous Progeny is promised afterwards v. 11. And the fruit of thy ground This signifies they should have seasonable Harvests and Vintages For fruit of the ground comprehends not only all sorts of Corn but Grapes Figs Pomegranates and such like Fruit which grow on Trees And the fruit of thy Cattle By the word Behemah is sometimes meant all sorts of brute Creatures in opposition to Men sometimes tame Creatures in opposition to wild Beasts But here all sorts of Domestick Creatures except Kine Sheep and Goats viz. Asses and Camels Which Jacob brought with him as well as Oxen and Sheep when he came from Laban into Canaan XXXII Gen. 5 7. And the increase of thy kine The breed of these was very profitable being a considerable part of the Riches not only of that but of other Countries as appears by what Pausanias saith of them See Bochartus P. I. Hierozoicon Lib. II. Cap. XL. in the beginning And the flocks of thy sheep Under the name of Sheep in the Hebrew are comprehended Goats also All which God promises to increase that is to make them very wealthy And here it may be observed that the Israelites were generally Husbandmen or Shepherds and did not commonly follow any other Trades and therefore no mention is made of them here unless it be in v. 6. where he seems to speak of all sort of Business Ver. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket The Hierusalem Verse 5 Targum refers this to the Basket wherein they carried up their First-fruits XXVI 2. But the Vulgar Latin translates it thy Barns and so do the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the places where they laid up their Corn and other Fruits of the Earth Which
the Seed which was come up to maturity See XI 14. See the Learned Dr. Prideaux upon Maimonides his Treatise de donis Pauperum Cap. I. Not. 25. And to bless all the work of thine hand By these seasonable showres he blessed their ploughing and sowing and produced a plentiful Harvest which seems to be meant here by the work of their hand viz. their Husbandry which included all sorts of Plantations as well as Tillage IX Gen. 20. And thou shalt lend unto many Nations and thou shalt not borrow A token of great Riches See XV. 6. which all Nations lookt upon as a Blessing as indeed they are with piety And therefore Callimachus in his Hymn to Jove prays him to bestow both Vertue and Riches upon them v. 97. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which puts me in mind of a pertinent Observation of Maimonides in his Preface to Perck Chelek in which he treats of the Foundations of the Jewish Religion This is the meaning saith he of the Promises and Threatnings in the Law that if they were obedient to his Precepts he would further them with all good things that should furnish them therein and remove from them all that hinder them For no Man can serve God as he ought when he is sick or oppressed with Famine or vexed with Wars Therefore God Promises to remove all these things and to give them Health and Tranquillity that they might perfect their Obedience and be worthy of the Life of the World to come For this is not the end of the Law to make the Earth bring forth plentifully and to prolong Mens Life upon the Earth and give them healthful Bodies but that by all those things they may be helpt and incouraged to perform Obedience to it c. Ver. 13. And the LORD shall make thee the head and not the tail This is a proverbial Speech which is explained in the words following and thou shalt be above only and thou shalt not be beneath For the Head Verse 13 being the first and chief part of all Animals and the Tail the last and lowest those Persons are said to be the Head who command over others and those the Tail who are subject And therefore this is a Promise that they should rule over other Nations as their Lords as they did in the days of David and Solomon but other Nations should not Lord it over them If that thou hearken unto the Commandments of the LORD thy God which I command thee this day to observe and to do them This was the Condition upon which all their Happiness depended as he had told them in the beginning of this Discourse v. 1. Ver. 14. And thou shalt not go astray from any of the Verse 14 words which I command thee this day to the right hand or to the left See Chapt. V. 32. To go after other gods to serve them This was the principal Commandment of the Law to serve no other gods but the LORD alone Which while they observed he was pleased to bless them and to bear with many other sins which they committed Upon which account this Commandment is so often repeated as we find it in this very Book VI. 14. VII 4 16. VIII 19. IX 16 28. XI 3 4 30 c. Ver. 15. But it shall come to pass if thou wilt not Verse 15 hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God to observe to do all his Commandments and Statutes which I command thee this day Especially that great Commandment Not to go after other gods to serve them That all these Curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee Pursue them so that they should not possibly escape them The same phrase is used of the Blessings v. 2. Verse 16 Ver. 16. Cursed shalt thou be in the City and cursed shalt thou be in the field As miserable that is every where as he intended to have made them happy v. 3. Verse 17 Ver. 17. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store The blessing of the Barn was to have it full v. 5. and therefore the Curse upon it was to make it empty Verse 18 Ver. 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy land c. He threatens to consume their Children their Corn and other Fruits with their Herds and Flocks Verse 19 Ver. 19. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out Have no Comfort in any Undertaking either at home or abroad in Peace or in War Verse 20 Ver. 20. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing vexation and rebuke It is very hard to know what these three words particularly import the two first of them being very variously translated The first of them Meera seems to signifie in general that God would blast them in all they designed and went about for although the LXX and Vulgar here render it famine and want yet elsewhere the LXX renders it as we do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cursing And the next word Mehuma they translate hunger but in other places the LXX render it by six or seven words which import the same with our English vexation viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 trouble or disturbance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tumult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 confusion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 horror or affrightment c. Which relate to great disorder disquiet and perplexity in their Mind And the last word Mighereth the Vulgar translate as we do rebuke but the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Consumption which are the same in effect For when God rebukes a Man for his iniquity he makes his beauty to consume away like a moth XXXIX Psal 11. For God's Rebukes consist not in Words but in sore Afflictions 2 Kings XIX 3. XVIII Psal 15 c. particularly in Disappointments and Ill-success in their Undertakings and continual fear of worse for the future In all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do In all their Affairs v. 8. they should meet with trouble perplexity and defeats Vntil that thou be destroyed He threatens that this Curse Trouble and Rebuke from God should pursue them till they had compleated their Ruin And until thou perish quickly When God began to punish them after long patience with them he was quick in his Executions and many times brought upon them sudden destruction So he threatens in Zephaniah I. 18. That he would make a speedy riddance of all that dwell in the Land And though the whole Nation was not rooted out speedily but by degrees yet they enjoyed it but a short time in comparison of what God designed if they had been obedient and in that time they were seldom without some trouble or other till they were expelled out of their Country Because of the wickedness of thy doings whereby thou hast forsaken me And followed after other gods which was the great Crime that brought them to desolation Ver. 21. The LORD shall make the Pestilence cleave unto thee The Pestilence is threatned in
XXVI Levit 25. where he saith he will send it among them and here adds that it shall cleave unto them that is Verse 21 be incurable And so the Author of Schebet Judah confesses that after they had been wasted and broken in pieces by Wars they that fled into Spain in the time of Alphonsus were swept away in great numbers by a Plague and introduces one applying these very words as a Prophecy of it Which I thought fit to note though this part of the Prophecy doth not belong to what hath befaln them since the last destruction of Jerusalem as I shall show hereafter but to the times before the first destruction When he often sent a Pestilence to destroy them 2 Sam. XXIV 15. XIV Jerem. 12. XXI 6 7 9. and many other places of that Book V Ezek. 12. VI. 11 12. IV Amos 10. But it must be acknowledged also that the Greeks call such unseasonable weather as destroys the Fruits of the Earth by the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pestilence So Plato Lib. X. de Legibus saith that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Disease in Bodies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. is called Pestilence in the Seasons of the Year The Murrain also in Cattle is called by the same name which even the Pagans thought was sent by the anger of their gods for the sins of Men as we learn from Callimachus in his Hymn to Diana where he saith verse 125. That when she was angry Pestilence eat up their Cattle and Hail destroyed the Fruits of the Earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As on the contrary when she was well pleased she sent fruitful Seasons and all manner of Happiness as it follows in that Hymn Vntil it have consumed thee from off the Land whither thou goest to possess it Made a great destruction by sweeping away many People the rest being reserved for other Judgments which follow in the next words Ver. 22. And the LORD shall smite thee with a consumption Verse 22 and with a fever and with an inflammation These three words signifie sore Diseases in Mens Bodies the two first of which Sachepheth and Kaddachath we translate in XXVI Levit. 16. as we do here only the second of them we render the burning Ague which here we translate Fever Unto which is here added Dalleketh which signifies such an inflammation as is accompanied with itching according to the LXX who translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is extreamly grievous because the scratching of it increases the inflammation And with an extream burning and with the sword These two seem to relate unto the indisposition of the Air by extream heat and drought as we translate the Word Chereb in the Margin of our Bibles For it signifies both the Sword and Driness as the first word Charchur signifies scorching heat which frequently causes Diseases For it being the doubling of the word Charar it denotes the extremity or highest degree of it as all such words do of which Bochartus hath given many Examples in his Hierozoicon P. II. Lib. I. Cap. XIX And with blasting and with mildew These two relate to the destruction of their Corn and the fruits of the Earth which follows upon the Corruption of the Air as Famine follows upon the Corruption of the Fruits of the Earth The first word Schiddaphon the LXX and the other Greek Interpreters translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 blasting by biting Winds though elsewhere the LXX translate it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies such bliting as comes by heat And the second word Jerakon which comes from jerek Herb or Grass or any green things seems properly to be expressed by the LXX who translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Corn and Grass and Herbs turn pale and wan for want of moisture And they shall pursue thee until thou perish These Plagues upon their Bodies and upon the Air and the Corn and Herbs he threatens shall come upon them one year after another till they were consumed Verse 23 Ver. 23. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall he brass That is as brass having no more moisture in it than brass hath It is remarkable that he doth not say the Heaven that is the Air or Clouds but thy heaven that is the Clouds which hung over their Country should be dry though they dropt upon other Lands See XIV Jeremiah And the earth that is under thee shall be iron Hard as Iron for want of Rain to soften it See XXVI Levit. 19. The Observation of Maimonides is worth noting upon this part of the Law That the Zabij an ancient sort of Idolaters in the Eastern Countries thought the fruitfulness of the Earth depended upon the Worship of the Planets and the rest of the heavenly Bodies And therefore their Wise-men and their Prophets as he saith he found in their Books particularly in one concerning the husbandry of the Egyptians taught the People to keep Festivals in their honour because the fruitfulness of the Earth by which Men subsist depends upon their Will and Pleasure In opposition to which God ordered Moses to tell the Israelites in his Name that if they worshipped the Stars they should have no Rain the Earth should be barren the Trees yield no Fruit the Season prove unhealthful and their Lives be shortned On the contrary if they worshipped him the LORD of Heaven and Earth and him alone they should have showres from above the Earth should bring forth abundantly and they should be blessed with healthful Seasons sound Bodies and long Life For it is the very Foundation of the Law as his phrase is to root the forenamed false Opinion out of Men's minds More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXX Ver. 24. And the LORD shall make the rain of thy Verse 24 Land powder and dust That is there shall be such a long drought that instead of Rain showres of Dust blown up into the Air by the Wind shall fall down from Heaven upon them From heaven shall it come down upon thee till thou be destroyed This seems to denote something more than the falling of Clouds of Dust wherewith the Air was filled by high Winds viz. showers of Ashes which have sometimes faln in great quantities as good Historians testifie Nothing is more known than the vast Clouds of Ashes which Mount Aetna hath often vomited whereby all the Country thereabout hath been laid desolate And the like hath been thrown out by Mount Vesuvius which hath reached as far as Rome and Constantinople See Bonfrerius But if there was any such thing in Judaea it must be a miraculous judgment there being no such Mountains in those parts of the World to make such Evomitions Ver. 25. And the LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine Enemies He saith the same in effect XXVI Levit. 17. For to smite in Scripture as I Verse 25 have before observed signifies to slay or kill Thou shalt go
out one way against them and flee seven ways before them Though they marcht out in a great Body against their Enemies he threatens that they should soon be dispersed the hand of the LORD as well as of their Enemies being against them For that Expression is remarkable the LORD shall cause thee to be smitten See v. 7. And shalt be removed into all the Kingdoms of the earth This is something more than is threatned XXVI Levit. 33. signifying not only their dispersion into the remotest parts of the World but their being tossed up and down like Vagabonds from one Country to another without any certain Settlement Which hath been notoriously verified since their last dispersion by the Romans of which they themselves have given us large accounts in several Books viz. Juchasin Schalscheleth Hakkabala Schebet Jehuda and Zemuch David wherein they have abundantly confirmed what Tertullian saith of them in his time Dispersi palabundi coeli soli sui extorres vagantur per orbem that being scattered straggling up and down uncertainly banished from their own Country they wander about the World without any King c. But this belongs to the time of the first Captivity when Nehemiah I. 8. confesses these words were fulfilled See IX Jerem. 16. VI Ezek. 8. XII 14 15. Verse 26 Ver. 26. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all the fowls of the air and unto the beasts of the earth Nothing was accounted a greater Calamity among the Jews than to have their dead Bodies lye exposed to be buried only in the bowels of Birds and Beasts And therefore Jeremiah threatens this as the utmost punishment of the King of Judah XXII 19. XXXVI 30. and the Psalmist bewails it as one of the forest Judgments that was befaln them LXXIX Psal 2 3. And no man shall fray them away That is no Man took so much compassion upon them as to chase them away and to interr the remainders which the Birds and Beasts had not devoured Ver. 27. And the LORD shall smite thee Why the Verse 27 Hierusalem Targum should here in a particular manner say the WORD of the LORD shall smite thee I cannot imagine unless it was to suggest that he being their Conductor out of Egypt was the Person more especially concerned to punish them for their shameful ingratitude to their Deliverer See v. 68. With the botch of Egypt Some take this to signifie the Leprosie unto which they in that Country were subject Others that boil breaking out with blains wherewith God smote the Egyptians IX Exod. 9 c. For that is called Schechin as this is And with the Emerods The Hebrew word Apholim is no where to be met with but here and I Sam. V. 6 9 11. and in the rest of that History Which most Interpreters and not without reason think signifies those painful tumors in the Fundament which sometimes turn into Ulcers See Bochartus in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. Cap. XXXVI And with the Scab The LXX here translate the Hebrew garab as they do also XXI Levit. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fierce or malignant Scab And the Vulgar adds the word jugis to signifie that this was no small punishment And the itch The Hebrew word cheres signifies as is generally thought a dry Itch which is the most troublesome of all other Whereof thou canst not be healed This may refer both to the Scab and to the Itch before-mentioned which proceeded from such a Corruption of the Blood that they were as incurable as the Leprosie Verse 28 Ver. 28. And the LORD shall smite thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart All these three relate to the Mind The first of them importing such a distraction in their Thoughts that they should not know what course to take when they consulted for their safety The second such a stupidity that they should not discern the true way but always take the wrong The third that amazement and horror which followed thereupon when they saw themselves ruined by their own foolish Counsels and mad Contrivances A famous instance of which was in the time of Trajan when they committed such outragious Massacres both upon the Greeks and Romans as Dion a very sober Author relates in Cyrene and Cyprus where great numbers of Jews dwelt after they were driven out of their own Country that the Lord no doubt to use the words of Dr. Jackson on the Creed B. I. Chap. XXVII had smote them with the madness and blindness of heart here threatned that they might hereby provoke that puissant Emperour's indignation which otherwise would have slept but now pursued them throughout his Dominions not only as Enemies or Rebels but as noxious Creatures to Humane Society with a Revenge sutable to their former Outrages And indeed this Prediction was verified in their blind Credulity which made them follow every one that pretended to be their Messiah which always brought great Calamities upon them as R. Gedaliah himself confesses in Schalschetheth Hakkala Where he mentions no small number of these Deceivers and shows how many Jews perished who followed them Yet they are but a few in comparison of a long Catalogue that might be made of those pretended Messiahs See the Learned Wagenseil's Confutation of R. Lipman's Carmen Memoriale pag. 233 c. Unto which I shall add only one Observation more out of Solomon ben Virgae who saith in some places of Germany they were possessed with such a rabies that they cut one anothers Throats to avoid the Oppression of their Enemies and burnt themselves and their Neighbours in their Houses setting whole Cities on fire and perishing in the Flames Such was their extream Rage and furious Revenge on those Christians who pressed them to change their Religion Many Stories of the like nature that Author tells in his Book intituled Schelet Jehuda where he hath LXIV Relations of the Calamities which befel them in that and in other Countries But these words I doubt not were fulfilled before in the first Desolation of Jerusalem to which they belong For though we have not such particular Relations as those now mentioned to illustrate them yet the Prophets speak of their being mad by drinking of the Cup of the LORD's Fury XXV Jerem 16 18. and blind Zephan I. 17. Lament IV. 14. and astonished Jerem. IV. 9. Ezek. IV. 17. Ver. 29. And thou shalt grope at noon day as the blind Verse 29 gropeth in darkness This shows the blindness spoken of in the foregoing Verse relates to their Mind which was so darkned that in the plainest and clearest things they mistook the way and means of their Preservation Zephan I. 17. And thou shalt not prosper in thy ways But quite contrary whatsoever Course they took it turned to their undoing And thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore One Oppression followed upon another as the same Dr. Jackson observes and such Rapines were committed in several places upon them as only made way
II Lament 20. IV. 10. But never so exactly fulfilled as in the last siege by the Romans when a noble Woman which fully answers to this Prophecy such Persons being very delicate did the very same as Josephus relates in his Book of the Jewish War Lib. VII Cap. VIII A most unnatural fact as he observes which was never committed either by Greek or Barbarian and which he would not have related because it might seem incredible if there had not been many Witnesses of it besides himself Verse 57 Ver. 57. And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet Toward her new-born Babe which is wont to be welcomed into the World with great joy but in this siege dispatcht out of it to asswage the rage of their hunger In the Hebrew as we take notice in the Margin the word we translate young one properly signifies the after-birth And so the LXX translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which makes this passage most plain that their hunger should make them so unnatural as first to eat the After-birth which came from them and then the Child which was wrapped in it And towards her children which she shall bear The rest of their Children whose cries for Food they had no way to stop but by killing them and making them their own Food So it follows in the next words For she shall eat them for want of all things Having nothing else left to eat For they had devoured not only the leather of their Girdles and their Shoes and which covered their Shields but the very stale Dung of Oxen and such things as the most sordid of all living Creatures would not eat See Josephus Lib. III. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cap. XVI Lib. VII Cap. VII Secretly It was not done secretly for any other reason but least any body should have a share with them and so make their hunger return the sooner And yet it was a hard matter to conceal what they had done of this kind for the seditious People presently smelling there had been something boild got into the House when she had eaten one half of her Child and found the other half which she had left till another time of which she invited them to eat In the siege and straitness These two words which are used here and v. 53. and 55. may both relate to the grievous Miseries they should endure when they were besieged v. 52. and may be translated in the pressure and straits wherewith thine Enemies c. Wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in thy gates We have not such an account of their distress in other Cities as we have of what they suffered in Jerusalem where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an innumerable multitude perished by Famine as Josephus tells us L. VII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cap. VII and ineffable Calamities thereupon hapned For in every House where the least shadow of Food appeared a War immediately began and the dearest Relations fell to blows snatching away from each other the miserable Supports of Life Nor would they let those that were dying expire quietly not believing what they affirmed when they told them they had no Food in their Houses but the Cut-throats came and searcht their very Bosoms as they lay drawing their last breath whether they had not there hid some Food Verse 58 Ver. 58. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this Law which are written in this Book Among which those words are most remarkable XVIII 15 18 19. A Prophet shall the LORD thy God raise up unto thee like unto me unto him shall ye hearken c. Whosoever will not hearken unto the words which he shall speak in my Name I will require it of him That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful Name the LORD THY GOD. That is fear the great LORD of Heaven and Earth and their special Benefactor who is most glorious in himself and to be most humbly reverenced by us For the Name of God is God himself from whence it is that he is sometimes called HASCHEM the Name XXIV Lev. 11. This shows the reason why Moses repeats this Name the LORD THY GOD so often as he doth in the Preface to this Book Chapt. VI VII VIII IX c. In some of which there is scarce a Verse wherein we do not meet with these words and it is sometimes repeated no less than three times in one and the same Verse XII 18. XVI 15. that God might be in all their Thoughts and the fear of him might possess their Hearts Ver. 59. Then the LORD If they still persisted Verse 59 in their Infidelity and Disobedience after Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and such unheard of Calamities as they had suffered during the siege of that place he threatens to bring upon them more astonishing Judgments Will make thy plagues wonderful and the plagues of thy seed even great plagues and of long continuance Though their great Plagues under Vespasian by Famine Sword and Pestilence had lessened their numbers exceedingly yet by the time of Trajan and Adrian they had like Traitors taken for a while from the Rack to use Dr. Jackson's words recovered strength enough to be put to greater torture For then they were made a Spectacle to the World of the Divine Vengeance again which they brought upon themselves by their Rebellion and show'd therein their natural strength by their grievous lingring pains in dying For not only in Mesopotamia and in Cyprus but especially in Cyrene and throughout all Egypt they broke out into such outrages 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if they had been possessed with some fierce and seditious Spirit as Eusebius speaks Lib. IV. Eccles Hist Cap. II. whereupon Marcius Turbo was sent against them and setting upon them both by Sea and Land with Horse and Foot made a vast destruction of them See Dion Lib. LXVIII and Xiphilinus who describe their slaughter to have been so great that now was fulfilled as the forenamed Dr. Jackson thinks what Moses foretold in this place The LORD will make thy plagues wonderful great plagues and of long continuance And indeed Eusebius saith in the forenamed place that Turbo destroyed many thousands of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. in many battles and in no small time the War being protracted a great while to compleat their destruction And the application of this Prophecy to this Time may be confirmed by a strange Relation which we meet withal in their own Books For in the Hierusalem Talmud one of their Doctors tells us That when Trajan came upon them with his Army they were reading these very words of the Law v. 49. the LORD shall bring a Nation against thee from far from the ends of the earth c. which he understanding having askt them what they were doing he cried out Here is the man pointing to himself who am come five days sooner than I intended And immediately compassing them about with his Legions slew them
thousand of which perished in this barbarous manner Parents durst not mourn for their Children nor Children sigh for their Parents when they saw them haled to the place of Torment so that their hearts no doubt were ready to break with Grief and Sorrow In short Sic eos metus exanimaverat ut vivi non multum à mortuorum similitudine distarent Fear had so dispirited them that the living in their Aspect did not much differ from the dead Which words of Osorius in his fourth Book de Rebus Emanuelis our Dr. Jackson who relates this sad Story out of him looks upon as a Paraphrase upon these words of Moses though Osorius did not think of them I will give thee a trembling heart and failing of the eyes and sorrow of mind There are those who by a trembling heart understand the Terrors of an Evil Conscience So D. Chytraeus p. 131. And by failing of the eyes may be understood the constant disappointment of their Hopes wherewith they were sometimes fed by false Messiahs in several Ages Which disappointment bred great sorrow of Mind when after earnest expectation of some Good the quite contrary came upon them Ver. 66. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee Verse 66 That is it should be doubtful whether they should live or die the next moment As it manifestly happened in the forenamed Massacre when they durst not fetch a sigh and yet could hardly avoid it at the sight of their Parents or Childrens Tortures for fear they should suffer the same before the Breath was out of their tortured Bodies And thou shalt fear day and night and shalt have no assurance of life So it was then none of them knowing who would be next seized in those three days Butchery And so it was in some of their Banishments which they were told should be the best remedy for the evils impending over them as the Author of Schebet Juda speaks who tells us Sect. XXIII that the reason which some Princes gave for their Expulsion out of their Territories was to prevent their being torn in pieces by the People who were most furiously set against them Ver. 67. And in the morning thou shalt say would Verse 67 God it were even That they might not see those miserable Spectacles which they hoped would end in the night when Men went to rest And at even thou shalt say would God it were morning Being afraid of unseen Dangers to which the Night might give an opportunity or that they might not see their way when they fled by Sea and Land from one Country to another as they were forced to do very often For Abarbinel in his Commentary upon XL Isaiah 11. reckons up four universal Banishments out of the Countries where they lived The first out of England the next out of France the third out of Asia Germany Tuscany Lumbardy and Savoy and the last out of Spain when he himself was one of those who were constrained to leave that Country and knew not whither to go He hath given us a lively description of that Calamity like to which he saith none had ever befaln them since they were banished their own Country in his Preface to his Commentary upon the Book of the Kings which he wrote the very next Year after their Expulsion 1493. and the Author of Schebet Juda hath transcribed in his own words A Decree was made and proclaimed publickly that all the Jews should either change their Religion or quit the Country in three Months time Abarbinel had then a place in the Court where he petitioned the King and besought his Ministers and Counsellors to revoke the Edict and be content with their Estates which they offered to him but all in vain For Three hundred thousand old and young Men and Women and he among the rest went away on foot upon one day not knowing whither to go Some went into Portugal others into Navar where they conflicted with many Calamities For some became a Prey or perished by Famine and Pestilence And therefore others committed themselves to the Sea hoping to find a quiet Seat in some other Countries But on the Sea they met with new Disasters for many were sold as Slaves when they came on any Coast many were drowned many burnt in the Ships which were set on fire in short all suffered the just Punishment of God the Avenger as he speaks For after all this a Plague came and swept away the rest of these miserable Wretches who were hated by all Mankind so that all that vast number perished by one Calamity or other except a very few He that would see more of the woful Miseries of this People may look into Schebet Juda Sect. LIII where he shows what befel those who went to seek new Habitations in the Kingdom of Fess where they lived a long time upon Grass and eat its very Roots and then died and their Bodies lay exposed none being so charitable as to bury them For the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see The one of these seems to refer to their dreadful apprehensions in the Night and the other to the lamentable Spectacles they beheld in the day And the simple meaning of the former part of the Verse may be that they should be weary of Life having no Comfort either Day or Night Ver. 68. And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt Verse 68 again The Hierusalem Targum translates it The WORD of the LORD shall bring thee back again He that is who conducted them out of Egypt in a glorious Cloud would punish them for their foul Offences against him by bringing them again into Bondage there This was first fulfilled after the Desolation made by Titus when there was as I observed before v. 62. above Ninety thousand carried Captive and many of them transported into Egypt as Josephus relates in the conclusion of the sixteenth Chapter of his Seventh Book concerning the War of the Jews And here Manasseh ben Israel hath a very pertinent observation that Vespasian transported them into many and various Regions but Egypt is only here named the more to reproach the Jews as if he had said Ye shall be carried into that Land as Captives out of which you came in a triumphant manner Lib. III. de Termino vitae Sect. 3. Which may incline one to think that he was of the same mind with our Dr. Jackson who observing how cruelly they were used here in England and many other Countries concludes that this Island and every place of Europe wherein their Condition of Life hath been more hard and burdensome than their Forefathers was in Egypt may be said to be that Egypt into which God threatens here to bring them in Ships And indeed we do not read of their being carried into Egypt after Vespasian's time though it is set down here as a Punishment to come upon them after a long train of other Miseries
and must relate to their rigorous usage which I have observed in many Countries in several Ages down to these latter times The Hierusalem Talmud it must be observed mentions another bringing into Egypt literally understood in the Massechta before-named upon v. 59. where they say That as God forbad them three times to return into Egypt which they there set down so they were forced thither three times for their Transgressions against God first in the days of Senacherib King of Assyria XXXI Isa 1 3. secondly in the time of Johanan the Son of Kareah XLII Jerem. 16. and lastly in the time of the Emperour Trajan But this I look upon as a mistake for Trajan rather killed all those whom he found there than carried them thither as I noted before With Ships Which seems to put them in mind how different their Condition was now become from what it was when they came out of Egypt without any Ships for the Sea gave them a passage through it by being made dry Land Their being carried also thither by Ships made their Condition the more deplorable because there was no means of escaping out of them as there might have been if they had gone by Land By the way whereof I spake unto thee Or To the way so the Particle beth often signifies XI Gen. 4. XVI 22. that is to the place whereof I said Ye shall see it no more again For it seems to be a manifest allusion to what we read in the Seventeenth Chapter of this Book v. 16. And there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen Exposed to sale like Beasts in the open Market and that at so vile a price that thirty of them as both Prophane and Ecclesiastical Historians relate were sold for one small piece of Money Josephus giving a particular account how the Captives were disposed of by Titus saith that the most goodly young Men he reserved to attend his Triumph of the rest he ordered those above seventeen years old to be sent bound into Egypt to labour in the Works there many he distributed in the Provinces to perish in the Theatre by the Sword and wild Beasts and all under Seventeen years old he commanded to be sold But while they were making this distribution Twelve thousand of them died of Famine partly by the hatred of their Guards who gave them no Food and partly by the weakness of others whose Stomachs could not receive it L. VII Cap. XVI By which a Judgment may be made how little worth these vile Wretches were as it here follows In after times I have observed in the course of this Commentary how they were sold for Slaves in some places and in all used as no better Benjamin Tudelensis who went a Pilgrimage to visit his Country-men represents their Condition as most miserable throughout the Eastern Empire And particularly complains of their hard usage among the Greeks at Constantinople Within the Walls of which City they were not suffered to live nor to come thither but on occasion of Traffick and Business and that only by Boat for they had their Habitation in a kind of an Island not a Man being permitted on Horsback except only one Solyman the Emperour's Physician Whose advancement was their sole Comfort in that miserable Servitude under which the rest groaned without any difference of good or bad as he acknowledges who were daily beaten and abused in the open Streets Thus he confesses though his principal design was to set forth the power they retained in the world Itinerarium p. 27 28. Edit L'Empereur And no man shall buy you Though some as I said before were sold at a very vile rate next to nothing yet others hung upon the Sellers hands as we speak the Market being either so overstockt with their numbers that none would cheapen the greatest part of them or they were so contemptible that no body would give what was askt for such useless Slaves For as no Money could purchase their Peace and Security from Calamities so neither could their Calamities though continually most grievous they are the words of Dr. Jackson redeem their estimation in the world nor all the Blood of their Slain tho' their Massacres were numberless extinguish that hateful and loathsome Conceit which most Men had entertained of them For in the fifteenth Century they were become so abominable that several Doctors began to hold it unlawful for Christians to let them live among them Particularly the famous Thomas Turrecremata Inquisitor General forbad all Men to have any dealings with them or to afford them Meat or Drink or any thing else Whence proceeded the direful Proscriptions which we read of in that Age whereby they were forced out of Spain Poland Hungary and divers other Countries where they were not suffered to live though with a Note and Character upon them to distinguish them from all other Men. I conclude my Observations on this Chapter with the Remark which the same great Man Dr. Jackson makes Chapt. XXII Paragr 6. That the extraordinary Blessings and Plagues which were to overtake this People being here set down by Moses although their Blessings might have been more and more admirable than the Curses that have befaln them yet he either foreseeing or fearing what would be rather than hoping the best that might be is almost four times as long in enumerating their Plagues as he is in their Blessings And so have the Miseries of the latter Jews been four times as long as the Prosperity of their worthy Ancestors And since our Saviour's Death all the Plagues which were in part fulfilled before have been more than seven times multiplied upon them For in their former Overthrows or Captivities though they suffered the Violence of War yet after that Storm was past so they did but submit to their Conquerers they lived well enough nay usually found more than ordinary favour at their hands But since our Saviour's Death they have through all Ages been more and more miserable Chapter XXIX the memory of their foregoing Plagues having been but an invitation to the like or worse and their continual bad usage prescribing the lawfulness of their abuse CHAP. XXIX Verse 1 Verse 1. THese are the words of the Covenant The Talmudists in the Gemara of Sota Cap. VII Sect. XXIV refer these words to the Benedictions and Cursings mentioned in the foregoing Chapter which plainly belong to what God delivered unto Moses in Mount Sinai at the first which he had now repeated in this Book with the addition of several Blessings and Curses to make what he said the more effectual Which the LORD commanded Moses to make That is to renew For which end Moses repeated the principal Laws of God and explained them in this Book which is from thence called Deuteronomy being a Compendium of the Pentateuch a Breviary of the Covenant composed for the familiar and daily use of the Children of Israel With the Children of Israel in the Land
represented as Plutarch tells us in his Book de Iside Osiride But whether in such ancient times as this of Moses it may be justly doubted Wood and Stone Silver and Gold Generally they were made of Wood or Stone which sometimes were silvered or gilded over And if any of them were made of massy Silver or Gold yet being liveless things they were no more able to afford them any help than the Dung on the Earth And it was an abominable thing to look upon dead matter as a god or to think he made his habitation there which was the opinion of the better sort of Heathen or would be represented by them they having no likeness at all unto him Ver. 18. Lest there should be among you man or woman Verse 18 or family or tribe These words are to be connected with v. 15. as the principal end why he engaged every Soul of them to renew their Covenant with God that none of them might revolt from him to serve any other god And the order wherein he places these words show that Idolatry is of a very infectious nature spreading it self strangely from single Men and Women unto Families and at last into whole Tribes Whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God Who had a hankering as we now speak after other gods which might afterwards break out into Idolatry To go and serve the gods of these Nations When the heart i. e. the Mind Will and Affections are depraved Men easily find occasions to follow whither they lead them And by this it appears that the principal part of the Covenant was to keep them close to the Worship of one God and no other as I have often observed VI. 4. VII 2 25. IX 1 c. Lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood Many take a root here to signifie an evil principle which the Apostle calls an evil heart of unbelief III Hebr. 12. But the words going before in this Verse and those that follow in the next plainly lead us to take it for any Person lurking secretly among them like a root under ground that was tainted with Idolatry who might poison others therewith and in time bring forth the fruits of their Impiety which he calls gall and wormwood Where it must be observed that the Hebrew word Rosch which we translate Gall properly signifies an Herb growing among Corn as bitter as Gall. Which in X Hosea 4. we translate Hemlock and commonly in Scripture is joyned with Wormwood as it is here IX Jerem. 15. III Lament 19. VI Amos 12. Unto which Idolatry is compared because it is most ungrateful and distastful if I may so speak unto God and produces bitter effects that is most grievous Punishments unto Men. Verse 19 Ver. 19. And it come to pass when he The Man spoken of before under the name of a root of bitterness Heareth the words of this Curse Against Idolatry which Moses engaged every one of them to renounce by making a Solemn Covenant with God to Worship him alone and dreadful Imprecations upon themselves if they did not make good this Covenant v. 12 14 15 16. XXVII 15. That he bless himself in his heart Secretly fancy none of these Curses shall fall upon him but quite contrary promise himself all manner of happiness Saying I shall have peace Prosper and be happy Though I walk in the imagination of mine heart Or in the stubborness of mine heart as it is in the Margin That is resolve to worship what God I best fancy To add drunkenness to thirst In the Hebrew the words are as the Margin of our Bibles observes the drunken to the thirsty for both words are Adjectives as Grammarians speak and supposing a Substantive to support them many think none so proper to be understood as the word Earth Which makes this a Proverbial Speech to add the wet ground to the dry and thirsty or rather the thirsty to the wet For the Particle beth which in the Hebrew is the Note of the Accusative Case is put before the word dry or thirsty and therefore that 's the thing which is to be added to the wet or drunken not the drunken to the dry And the sense is draw others into the same wickedness just as if a drunken Man should draw sober Persons to play the fool with him and do as bad as himself or after one piece of Land is overflowed the Water should be let into that which is dry and spoil that also For this seems to be the meaning of the whole Verse If a Man shall be so presumptuous as not only to cry peace to himself when he runs after his own Devices in serving other gods but endeavours to draw others into the same wicked practices There are a great many other Interpretations of these words seven or eight given by the Hebrew Doctors besides others in Christian Writers which may be seen in Coccejus in his Vltima Mosis Sect. 134. But this seems to me the most easie at which the Chaldee aims and the LXX if the Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be omitted which is not in the Hebrew or the Chaldee nor the Vulgar Latin And if we take the words as we translate them only inverting them add thirst unto drunkenness the sense is as easie viz. add more sins to the foregoing XXX Isa 1. and to be still inflamed as the Scripture speaks with love to more Idols after the Service of many of them increasing their Altars as Hosea speaks like heaps in the furrows of the field X Hos 1. XII 11. Dr. Jackson in his first Book upon the Creed Chapt. XXX Paragr 4. thinks the meaning is that Posterity added to the wickedness of their Ancestors For they being cast out of their good Land for their Infidelity and Disobedience their Posterity saith he continue Exiles and Vagabonds for their stubborness in like Practices not being willing to this day to offer up the Sacrifice of a contrite heart for their disobedience past but rather adding thirst to drunkenness bless themselves when they hear the words of that Curse promising peace to themselves though they walk on according to the stubborness of their fore-fathers hearts Verse 20 Ver. 20. The LORD will not spare him That is not pardon or pass by his wickedness without punishment But then the anger of the LORD and his jealousie shall smoak against that man These words import the highest degree of Anger That is the severest Plagues which are the effects of the Anger of an incensed Majesty And all the Curses that are written in this Book Particularly in the foregoing Chapter Shall lye upon him Not only fall but remain upon him to his utter ruin as it follows in the next words And the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven By his name is meant himself so that this is a threatning of Destruction to him and his Posterity till there be no memory of him left Ver.
21. And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the Tribes of Israel Though he offended Verse 21 never so secretly for he speaks of one that blessed himself in his heart c. v. 19. God threatens to make him a publick and notorious Example of his Vengeance to all the People of Israel According to all the Curses of the Covenant that are written in the Book of the Law It was a singular condescension in the Divine Majesty to enter into Covenant with them but it contained not only Blessings to the obedient but Curses upon the disobedient the latter of which were as certain as the former Ver. 22. So that the Generations to come of your Children Verse 22 that shall rise up after you and the stranger that shall come from a far Land shall say That which follows v. 24. When they see the Plagues of that Land This shows that these Threatnings are denounced not meerly against a simple Idolater but such an one as made it his endeavour to draw others from the Worship of God not being content to be drunk himself with Heathenish Superstition but zealous to intoxicate as many as he could with it and to root true Religion out of the Nation And the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it In the Hebrew it is The sicknesses wherewith he hath made it sick i. e. the heavy Punishments which he hath inflicted upon it and thereby made it a miserable Nation Ver. 23. And that the whole Land is brimstone and salt and burning Or as it may be translated Is burnt up with brimstone and salt For these make Land Verse 23 barren and unfruitful as Pliny particularly observes of Salt Lib. XXX Cap. VII Omnis locus in quo reperitur Sal sterilis est nihilque gignit All ground in which Salt is found is barren and produceth nothing See IX Judges 45. CVII Psal 34. XVII Jerem 6. XLVII Ezek. 11. II Zephan 9. That it is not sown nor beareth nor any grass groweth therein That neither Nature nor Art will make it fruitful Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah Admah and Zeboim And the Country about them which was the most beautiful of all other in that part of the World XIII Gen. 10. but on a sudden turned into a filthy stinking Lake where no Creature neither Fish nor Fowl can live Which the LORD overthrew in his anger and in his wrath Being highly incensed by their wickedness See Gen. XVIII 20. XIX 24 25. as he was by the wickedness of the Jews which was the more provoking because they had such an example of his Vengeance continually before their eyes and yet went on in their evil ways till they brought the like Judgment upon all Judoea This was more exactly fulfilled in the last destruction of the Jews by the Romans than in their first by the Babylonians For the whole Land was laid waste and deserted by its Inhabitants and made a Den of Thieves being brought to desolation by repeated returns of Wars More especially in the time of Adrian when Julius Severus as I observed upon the foregoing Chapter made such a devastation that the whole Country was turned in a manner into a Wilderness Ver. 24. Even all Nations shall say All that were near them or came that way from far Countries as it goes before v. 22. Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this Land Verse 24 Which he formerly made so populous and plenteous And what means the heat of this great anger These exceeding dreadful Calamities which evidently proceeded from a Divine Vengeance For the Jews fought so valiantly and defended Jerusalem so resolutely as appears by Josephus that the Author of Schebet Juda had reason to say that it was not want of Arms nor the unusual terrour of new Machines but the Anger of God provoked by their Wickedness which was the true and only Cause of their destruction And indeed Titus himself said as much that God fought for the Romans and drove the Jews from their Fortifications 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for what could the hands of Men or Machines have done against such strong Towers See Chap. XXXII v. 22. Ver. 25. Then shall men say because they have forsaken Verse 25 the Covenant of the LORD God of their Fathers which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the Land of Egypt This account must be supposed to be given by the pious Jews or by those who were made sensible when it was too late how stedfast God was in his Covenant which contained Curses as well as Blessings as was before observed v. 21. And see VII 9 10. XI 26 27 28. Ver. 26. For they went and served other gods and Verse 26 worshipped them whom they knew not This aggravated their sin that they sought for acquaintance with strange gods directly contrary to the Covenant of God XII 30 31. And whom he had not given unto them Or as it is in the Margin had not given or divided to them any portion that is never bestowed any benefit upon them as the LORD their God had done who brought them out of Egypt Or more simply as Bootius thinks the words will bear to whom no worship belonged Verse 27 Ver. 27. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this Land to bring upon it all the Curses that are written in this Book So Moses foretold them VII 4. XI 16 17. Verse 28 Ver. 28. And the LORD rooted them out of their Land in anger and wrath and in great indignation Here is one word more to express his displeasure against them than was used before when he speaks of the destruction of Sodom c. v. 23. And they all denote the great Plagues threatned in XXVI Levit. and in the foregoing Chapter of this Book And cast them into another Land as it is this day This may seem to relate only to their Captivity in Babylon for after they were rooted out by the Romans they were scattered into all Lands XXVIII 63 64. But considering what goes before v. 23 24. and that they were not quite rooted out many of them remaining in the Land when Nebuchadnezzar conquered them till the desolation made by the Romans I think these words relate to them also and another Land is only the singular number as is usual for the plural And so the Author of Schebet Juda understood it who quoting these words cast them out into another land adds which experience now proves to be true Verse 29 Ver. 29. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God but those that are revealed belong unto us and to our Children for ever c. The Jews generally take these words to be meant of the punishment of secret sins particularly of Idolatry spoken of before v. 19. which belongeth unto God as the punishment of open sins belonged unto them in obedience to his Law who commanded them to put to death him that seduced any Person to Idolatry and to raze the
will deliver them but if they did repent he would shorten the days of their Banishment and immediately bring them to their own Land Thus the ancient Nitzacon set forth not long ago by Wagenseil p. 254. And R. Isaac since him and more lately often insists upon this in his Chissuk Emuna published by the same very learned Person Particularly Perck VII where he saith There can be no time prefixed for their Deliverance because it depends upon their Repentance whereby they may cut off the length of this Banishment provided they turn to God with their whole heart and a full repentance For which he alledges this place And he repeats it again Perck XXVII as the great comfort they have in this long Banishment that upon their perfect Repentance God will be merciful to them and overcome their Sins and perform this Promise Which I find still more lately mentioned in Manasseh ben Israel his Book de Termino Vitae L. III. Sect. III. where he saith Herein all the Prophets imitate Moses being wont after terrible Threatnings to conclude with some singular Consolation Which made R. Aquiba as the Talmudists report fall a laughing when all the wise Men who were with him wept and lamented at the sight of the ruins of Jerusalem and the Temple Which they wondering at he said After the Clouds the Sun will break out and after the end of the Evils which Moses threatned we may hope for good things for God is not more faithful in fulfilling the one than in performing the other But alas in all Ages hitherto there are no signs of Repentance much less of a perfect one but they have been strangely hardned in their unbelief and have bitterly reproached the LORD Jesus and his Religion Abarbinel himself though a Gentleman of a noble Family a well bred Person and of an excellent Understanding is extreamly guilty of this And since his time Solomon Virgae in the Age before us considering the astonishing Plagues that have befaln them and that never any People as he acknowledges conflicted with so many Miseries and for so many Ages as they have done enquires the Causes why the Divine Majesty should be so angry with them He reckons Seven among which he accounts the putting of Jesus of Nazareth to death as one yet not as a Crime but that which hath enraged Christians against them For he wickedly illustrates this by that Speech of Moses VIII Exod. 24. which he thus translates If we slay and sacrifice the abominable gods of the Egyptians in their sight will they not stone us Which is the highest Reproach he could vomit against our Saviour mingled with the most stupid folly in giving that as a Reason of the Divine Anger which at the most is only a Reason in their account of Mens indignation Schebet Jehuda Sect. LXIII The most cruel Usage which they have met with in all Christian Countries might thus exasperate and embitter their Spirits and I cannot excuse the violent hatred of Christians to them and their barbarous treatment of them though they therein fulfilled the Divine Threatnings as I have shewn upon the Twenty eighth Chapter which being ceased since the Reformation of Religion the Jews have not been so virulent against our blessed Saviour and it is to be hoped will be won to the Obedience of Faith by our Christian usage of them when those other stumbling Blocks which hinder their Conversion are removed out of the way Ver. 5. And the LORD thy God will bring thee into Verse 5 the Land which thy fathers possessed and thou shalt possess it Be again planted in it as they were at their return from the Captivity of Babylon especially after they had laid the foundation of the House of the LORD he blessed them exceedingly II Haggai 18 19. VIII Zachar. 7 8 9 10 11 12. And he will do thee good The Prophet Zachary hath given a full Explication of these words VIII 13 14 15. And the Prophet Jeremy before him XXXII 42 43 c. which was fulfilled in the building of the House of the LORD though great opposition was made to it and in the compassing Jerusalem with Walls and settling them in a state of liberty according to the Prophecy of Isaiah LII 1 2. And multiply thee above thy fathers The Hebrew words import that he would make them greater then their fathers Which he did by their vast increase after they returned from Babylon See VIII Zachar. 4 5. and before him I Hosea 10. Which is manifest from their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. spreading themselves in so many Colonies through all Asia both the great and the less with Egypt Greece Italy and Spain See Strabo Lib. XVI concerning Joppa By this means they were very much exalted as Zachariah prophecied after the Captivity XII 6. for as they had their liberty in their own Country God being a Wall of Fire to them while Jerusalem had no Walls so they spread themselves as I said and had their Synagogues in Babylon Arabia Syria and divers other Countries before-mentioned and a great many Proselytes also joyned themselves to them Yet one cannot well think that so magnificent a Prophecy as this is was intirely fulfilled after their return from Babylon when they were Tributaries to the Persians and afterwards fell under the power of the Graecians under whom they suffered very much especially in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes whose death did not conclude their Troubles as Hermannus Witsius hath shown at large in his Decaphylon Cap. X. N. 9 10 11 12 c. where he endeavours to prove that there was no moment of time after their return from Babylon wherein they could be said to be made greater than their fathers especially in the days of David and Solomon And therefore he concludes that this Promise is still to be compleatly fulfilled And thus R. Isaac in his Book before-named Chissuk Emuna argues Perck VI. that God did not bestow Benefits upon them equal to those which their Fathers enjoyed much less superiour while the second Temple stood but all that time was full of Straits and Calamities for which he alledges the Prophecy of Daniel IX 25. And therefore saith these words of Moses can by no means be thought to be fulfilled when the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon and left a vast number behind them who would not come back with them but stay there to this day Ver. 6. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart By such singular Benefits bestowed upon them in a miraculous manner God designed to take away the stubborn refractoriness of their Spirits called Verse 6 hardness of heart XXIX 19. and to cut off all their wicked Inclinations and Dispositions to Idolatry and Superstition which had been their ruin which is called humbling their uncircumcised heart XXVI Levit. 41. But though God circumcised them yet their hearts might remain uncircumcised as appears from XXIX 3 4. And therefore he calls upon them
to Circumcise their hearts themselves XVI 10. by laying to heart his Benefits and following the Motions of his Grace and Holy Spirit which thereby he put into their hearts And their neglect of this and resting meerly in the Circumcision of the Flesh was that which ruined them again And the heart of thy seed Accordingly we find they were freed from Idolatry after their return from Babylon though still they continued in other sins Which brought this present Captivity as they call it upon them another Banishment being necessary saith R. Isaac in the Book before mentioned Perek VII to purge them from their sins by the severe Afflictions which they now endure and have long suffered because their manifold sins as he expresses it needs much scouring by contusions and pressures After which he saith they shall sin no more but that shall be fulfilled which is written in the Law the LORD thy God shall circumcise thine heart c. quoting these very words of Moses But alas they are not sensible for what sin they suffer See p. 96 97. of Wagenseils Edition To love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou mayest live See VI. 5. This Prophecy the Jews say shall be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah according to what Ezekiel saith XXXVI 26. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put into you c. So R. Isaac in the place above-named and in p. 83. Verse 7 Ver. 7. And the LORD thy God will put all these Curses upon thine enemies and on them that hate thee which persecute thee Their very Restoration created them many Enemies whose hatred increased with their prosperity in their own Land and made them when they had power to persecute them Whom God remarkably plagued particularly Antiochus Epiphanes who died in miserable Torments Verse 8 Ver. 8. And thou shalt return This may relate as well to their return unto their own Land as to their turning unto God of both which he had spoken before And now having mentioned their Persecution whereby many of them might be driven out of their Country I suppose he here promises their Restoration to it again when he had cursed their Enemies And obey the voice of the LORD thy God and do all his Commandments which I command thee this day Continue stedfast in their love to him by a strict observance of all his Commandments Verse 9 Ver. 9. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand and in the fruit of thy body c. The effect of their constant and sincere obedience he promises should be still greater prosperity in all their undertakings and in all their enjoyments See XXVIII 4 5 c. For good To encourage them to continue faithful in the Service of God For the LORD will again rejoyce over thee for good Delight only in blessing them and not send any Curses upon them See XXVIII 63. and XXXII Jerem 41. As he rejoyced over thy fathers In whose obedience he delighted X Deut. 15. Ver. 10. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Verse 10 LORD thy God to keep his Commandments c. Persist in obedience to him And if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul With a sincere love to all his Commands v. 2. who had planted them assuredly in their Land with his whole heart and his whole soul as Jeremiah speaks XXXII 41. But herein they were defective after they came out of the Captivity of Babylon For though they never returned again to Idolatry but kept close to the Worship of God alone yet they rested meerly in the outward Rites of Religion and had not an hearty love to God and to all Goodness which made them reject the Son of God when he came among them and fall under those long Calamities which will not end till they turn to him with all their hearts and souls Ver. 11. For this Commandment which I command Verse 11 thee this day Of hearty love to God and sincere obedience to all his Commands v. 2 6.8 16. It is not hidden from thee Or it may be translated out of the Hebrew It is not too wonderful above thee That is abstruse and hard to be understood because above their reach but easie to be known and acquainted withal because plainly revealed Which is as true of the Gospel unto which St. Paul applies these words X Rom. 6 c. as it was of the Law of Moses for therein our Saviour hath declared the Mind and Will of God to us in such familiar words that the most simple People may understand their Duty Nor is it far off So that they should go to seek it and learn it in some distant Nation R. Isaac in his Chissuk Emuna Cap. XLV had his thoughts so fixed upon what is said v. 4. that he fancies these words belong to that matter and that Moses still speaks to them of Repentance which is of greater value than any other thing and yet most easily acquired Which cannot but make one wonder at their blindness for if Repentance be so very easie how comes it to pass that they remain impenitent for so many Ages and thereby as they confess prolong their Miseries And yet he repeats the same words in the Second Part of his Work Perek LXXX where he hath the confidence to say St. Paul misapplies this place Verse 12 Ver. 12. It is not in heaven that thou shouldst say Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it R. Jacob Hacsaei in his Preface to that part of the Misna called Seder Nesim as Guil. Vorstius observes upon Abarbinel about the Articles of their Faith hath very fairly expounded this which he takes to be a Proverbial Speech to show that there is no need of hard or rather impossible labour to come at the knowledge of God's Will as there is in many Humane Sciences where the Mind of Man is tired by several Propositions and Deductions c. before he arrive at what he seeks But all things are plain and easie to be understood and not hard to be performed For God had revealed his Mind clearly by Moses from Heaven and therefore none had need to go thither to desire God to acquaint them with it which he had done of his own accord out of his good will towards them And thus Grotius observes upon X Rom. 6. out of several Greek Authors that they expressed things very difficult by going up to heaven Maimonides indeed in Jesodehatorah Cap. IX and Abarbinel in Rosh Amana Cap. XIII make these words an Argument for the eternity and unchangeableness of their Law and that there should be no new Revelation from Heaven But there is no colour for this from these words the Particle hu being of the Feminine Gender and therefore doth not refer to God but to the Command
by an Oath being faithfully fulfilled he justly claimed their Fidelity to him upon that account Which is the reason it is so often mentioned VI. 10. VIII 1. IX 5. X. 11. XI 9 21. XIX 8. CHAP. XXXI Verse 1. AND Moses went and spake these words Verse 1 unto all Israel By this it seems plain to me that after Moses had renewed the Covenant with the People mentioned in the foregoing Chapter he dismissed them and retired to his own Tent. But not long after gave them a new Summons as he had done XXIX 2. and went again to take his leave of them The LXX indeed seem to take the first words as if the meaning was that he went on with his Discourse For thus they render them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He finished speaking all these words For which I see no warrant nor is it likely he could speak all that here follows at the same time Ver. 2. And he said unto them I am an hundred and Verse 2 twenty years old this day This shows these words were spoken not long before his death which was this year XXXIV 7. Manasseh ben Israel would have us from hence observe The singular care God hath of those who serve him with a perfect heart as Moses did the days of whose years saith he are exactly proportioned For so these words are expounded in Sota Cap. I. To day my years are compleated to day I was born and to day I shall die For he was born on the seventh day of the Month Adar and on the same day of the same Month he died Thus Enoch he adds lived just Three hundred sixty five years which are proportioned to the days of the Suns annual Course Lib. III. de Termino Vitae Sect. V. But as there is no great weight in this Observation if it were true so that which he saith of Moses is evidently false For he did not die this very day as appears from v. 14. where he saith The days approach that I must die therefore the time was not yet come And I can no more go out and in Discharge the Office I have long sustained of your Governor and Leader See XXVII Numb 17. not because he wanted vigor either of Body or Mind for that is contrary to XXXIV 7. of this Book but because God did not think fit to permit him to conduct them any further as the following words explain it Also the LORD hath said unto me thou shalt not go over this Jordan The Particle we translate also often signifies for and is so translated by us in divers places particularly in III Isa 7. XVII Jerem. 8. And being so taken here the sense of these words is plain and easie giving a reason why he could no longer take the charge of them as he had done because God had otherwise ordered having told him he should not bring them into Canaan which they were now ready to enter Ver. 3. The LORD thy God he shall go over before thee Conduct them by the Ark of his Presence III Josh 5 11. and see XXIII Exod. 23. and IX Deut. 3. Verse 3 And he shall destroy these Nations from before thee and thou shalt possess them XXXIV Exod. 11. And Joshua he shall go over before thee As their Captain and Leader when Moses had left them III. 28. Josh I. 2. As the LORD hath said When he was appointed the Successor of Moses XXVII Numb 18 21. Ver. 4. And the LORD shall do unto them as he did Verse 4 to Sihon and to Og Kings of the Amorites c. See XXIV Numb 24 34 35. Ver. 5. And the LORD shall give them up before thy Verse 5 face As he had promised before VII 23. where he saith The LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee In the Hebrew the words are before thy face See IX 3. That ye may do unto them according to all the Commandments which I have commanded you i. e. Utterly destroy them and their Altars and Images and Groves c. See VII 2 3 5 27. XII 1 2 c. Ver. 6. Be strong and of a good courage By Faith in Verse 6 God which their Fore-fathers wanting were discouraged and durst not go up and possess the Land when God commanded them I. 28 32. Fear not nor be afraid of them Be not affrighted much less dismayed at their Multitude their Stature and Strength when you go to fight with them The second word afraid only expresses an higher degree of the same Passion of Fear signifying being overcome with it For that is the import of the Hebrew word aratz which originally signifies to prevail over another This he had said to their Forefathers I. 21 29. and after repeated to them III. 2 22. VII 17 18 21. For the LORD thy God he it is that doth go with thee According to the assurance before given them XX. 4. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee This Promise which here is general in the next Verse but one is particularly made to Joshua and renewed to him by God himself after the death of Moses when they were about to enter into the Land of Canaan I Josh 5. And it is applied by the Apostle unto all faithful Christians to encourage their hope of being conducted through all Difficulties and Dangers unto their heavenly Inheritance XIII Hebr. 5. Verse 7 Ver. 7. And Moses called unto Joshua and said unto him in the sight of all Israel That they might have the greater reverence to his Person and Authority and follow his Conduct as a Leader appointed by God Be strong and of a good courage He exhorts him to give a good Example to all the People these being the same words he had spoken to them v. 6. For thou must go with this people Be their Leader and Commander in chief by God's special order XXVII Numb 21. Vnto the Land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them VIII 1. X. 13. XXX 20. And thou shalt cause them to inherit it Put them into the possession of it III. 28. Verse 8 Ver. 8. And the LORD he it is that doth go before thee and will be with thee I Josh 9. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee See v. 6. Fear not neither be dismayed The same which he said to the People v. 6. but was most necessary to be pressed upon him who by his undaunted Resolution was to put Courage into them The word we translate dismayed is different in the Hebrew from that v. 6. which is be not afraid but the LXX and the Vulgar use the same word to express both which denote such a Consternation as disables a Man to do his duty which is the proper import of this word Ver. 9. And Moses wrote this Law Some understand Verse 9 by this Law only the Book of Deuteronomy for which I can see no reason the Scripture calling all that is contained in the Five Books of Moses by the name of the Law St. Paul
that if they would not hearken and keep his Precepts the Heavens were forbidden to give them Rain and the Earth to bring forth Fruit. The Gloss also of the Hierusalem Targum is not amiss that Moses being shortly to die calls the Heavens and the Earth which endure through all Ages to be Witnesses against them when he was gone But the following observation is too curious That Isaiah when he prophecied i. e. being far remote from the Heavens and near to the Earth calls upon the Heavens to hear and the Earth to give ear or attend whereas Moses quite contrary approaching now very near to the Heavens calls upon them to attend or give ear and being in Spirit remote from the Earth bids it hear Ver. 2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain my speech shall distil as the dew Or Let my doctrine drop c. For this seems to be a Prayer that his words which were sent from Heaven to them might sink into their hearts and soften them as the drops of Rain and the dew do the Earth and produce such Fruits of Obedience as might make them happy As the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grass The aforesaid Targum thus paraphrases this whole Verse Let the Doctrine of my Law be as sweet upon the Children of Israel as the Rain and the word of my mouth be received by them as the delectable Dew Let it be as gentle showers refreshing the Grass and as the drops of the latter Rain descending and watering the blades of Corn in the Month of March Verse 3 Ver. 3. Because I will publish the Name of the LORD For my Song shall be concerning the LORD of Heaven and Earth whose glorious Perfections I will proclaim which make him the sole Object of your Worship Ascribe ye greatness unto our God Acknowledge therefore the Infinite Power of our God and his Soveraign Dominion over all and give Honour and Service to none besides him These three first Verses seem to be the Preface to the Song and now follows the Song it self Which Josephus calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Poem in Hexameter Verse Lib. IV. Antiq. Cap. VIII Verse 4 Ver. 4. He is the Rock Always indures and never changes so that in him we may find at all times a sure Refuge His work is perfect Whatsoever he undertakes he perfects and compleats it For all his ways are judgment He doth nothing without the greatest reason and according to the Rules of the exactest Justice A God of truth Who is faithful to his Promises And without iniquity And never deceives or wrongs any Man Just and right is he Nor will he punish any Man without a cause or more than he deserves Maimonides takes the first words of this Verse He is the Rock to signifie the first Principle and the efficient Cause of all things without himself For so the word Rock is used when God bids the Children of Israel Look to the Rock out of which they were hewn LI Isa 1. that is to Abraham their Father from whom they were descended And so he thinks it signifies v. 18. of this Chapter Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful i. e. of God the Author of their being And again v. 30. their Rock i. e. the LORD sold them See More Nevochim P.I. Chap. XVI And then by the next words His way is perfect he thinks is meant that as he is the Creator of all things so there is no defect or superfluity in his Works For he takes these words to be the same with those I Gen. 31. God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good See there P. II. Cap. XXVIII and P. III. Cap. XXV And as his Works of Creation are most perfect so are his Works of Providence for he governs the World with the greatest Judgment and Justice So he seems to understand the next words P. III. Cap. XVII all his ways are judgment We are ignorant of the Methods and Reasons of his Judgments yet no injustice or iniquity is to be ascribed to him But all the Evil and all the Good that befals any Man or the whole Church proceeds from the just and equal Judgment of God And more largely Cap. XLIX Our narrow minds cannot apprehend either the Perfection of his Works or the Equity of his Judgments for we apprehend his admirable Works only by parts whether we look upon the Bodies of Animals or the Celestial Spheres and in like manner we apprehend but a little of his Judgments For that of which we are ignorant in both is far more than that which we know of either I conclude this with the words of the Author of Sepher Cosri Part III. Sect. XI He that believes this that all God's Works are perfect and his Ways Judgment will always lead a sweet and pleasant Life All Afflictions will be made light to him nay he will rejoyce that his Iniquities are hereby alleviated and that he shall one day be rewarded for his Patience which he teaches Men by his example and thereby justifies the Judgments of God With respect to which I suppose the Jews now begin the Prayer which they make at the burial of their dead with this Verse of Moses his Song Which Prayer they call Tzidduck haddin i. e. just judgment as Leo Modena observes in his History of the present Jews Part V. Chap. VIII Verse 5 Ver. 5. They have corrupted themselves c. I know not how to justifie this Translation nor that in the Margin He hath corrupted himself Maimonides translates them better making these words a Question and the next words an Answer to them in this manner Did he i. e. God the Rock before spoken of do him any hurt For the Hebrew word Shecheth with lamed after it signifies to hurt or destroy XXXII Numb 15. 1 Sam. XXIII 10. as Joh. Cocceius observes in his Vltima Mosis Sect. 701. And so the meaning is Is God to blame for the Evils that befal him i. e. Israel Unto which the Answer follows in the next words which we thus translate Their spot is not the spot of his Children In the Hebrew the first word of this Sentence is lo i. e. not or no. Which the accent Tipcha as they call it under it shows is not to be joyned with the words that follow banau Mumam but taken by it self being a denial of the foregoing Question And these words are thus to be translated No. His Children are their blot i. e. all the Evil that befals them is the fruit of their Childrens wickedness And so these words are in effect the same with those of Solomon XIX Prov. The foolishness of man perverteth his way and his heart fretteth against the LORD He complains of God when the fault is in himself See More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XII Onkelos translates it thus They corrupted to themselves not to him Children that served Idols i. e. as Paulus Fagius
whence in the Future Tense and the Plural Number comes Jeshuru which by the addition of Nun paragogicum as they speak makes Jeshurun That is The People who had the Vision of God I know nothing more simple nor more probable than this which highly aggravated their sin who having God so nigh unto them IV. 7. and their Elders having had a sight of him XXIV Exod. 10. were so ungrateful as to rebel against him and worship other gods Some refer this kicking to their revolt from the House of David when Jeroboam to preserve his new Kingdom set up the golden Calves to prevent the return of the People to their old Master by going up to Jerusalem to worship Thou art waxen fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with fatness This variety of Expressions is used to signifie how exceeding bountifully God had provided for them and withal how very wanton and insolent they were grown as Cattle fed in a fat Pasture are wont to be The words with fatness after covered are not in the Hebrew but are well supplied out of other places particularly XVII Psal 10. Then he forsook God The Hierusalem Targum here hath it they forsook the WORD of God Which made him Advanced them from a desert where he found them v. 6 10. into a very rich and plentiful Country This was the lamentable effect of their Plethora or Fulness unto which we are all too prone as an excellent Person of our own hath long ago observed Even such as seem most upright saith he when they wax fat spurn with the heel and cast away the memory of their Misery and of God's former Mercy behind their backs And what was the reason that the Israelites waxed thus full and fat Only because they did not use that Exercise which God had appointed to keep them under and preserve their Hearts from being lifted up VIII Deut. 11 c. Take heed to thy self lest when thou hast eaten and filled thy self c. then thy heart be lifted up and thou forget the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt c. The daily and lively Representation or Recognition of their Condition there should have been as usual to them as their Meat and Drink yea as it were their Thanksgiving before and after Meats as our Dr. Jackson speaks Book XI on the Creed Chap. XXXIV And Maimonides himself mentioning those very words Lest when thou hast eaten and filled thy self c. very well observes That to prevent Pride and Apostasy which grow out of great Plenty God commanded them to offer their First-fruits before him every year with a solemn Confession how poor they were in the beginning and then raised by God to be a mighty People XXVI Deut. 5 6 c. For which end the Passover was instituted That they might remember the day when they came forth out of Egypt all the days of their Life XVI Deut. 3. See More Nevochim P. II. Cap. XXXIX .. And lightly esteemed the Rock of their Salvation As there was a progress in their insolent forgetfulness of God expressed in three Phrases which may signifie three degrees of their stupidity waxen fat grown thick and covered with fatness so some observe as many degrees of their Rebellion First They kicked against God i. e. threw off the Yoke of his Laws and refused to observe them Secondly They forsook God and fell into Idolatry And lastly They lightly esteemed the Rock of their Salvation Where the Hebrew word nibbel signifies more than a light esteem for if it come from Nebelah a dead Carcase as some think it doth it denotes the greatest abhorrence nothing being so much abominated among the Jews as a dead Carcase the touching of which was the highest pollution And thus J. Cocceius and Campeg Vitringa understand it who observe that this was never so fulfilled as in their behaviour towards our Lord Christ who was indeed the Rock of their Salvation and so vilely used by them as if he had been the most loathsome Man upon Earth So Vitringa expounds these words in his Observ Sacr. Lib. II. Cap. IX p. 173. instar flagitij tractavit rupem salutis suae For this is a word used by God himself when he would express his utter detestation of Nineveh and his dealing with her according to her abominable Wickedness III Nahum 6. I will cast abominable filth upon thee and make thee vile c. and when he speaks of the disgrace he would put upon his own Temple XIV Jerem. 21. The LXX indeed simply expound the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he departed but the last words they expound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from God his Saviour as Onkelos also his most mighty Redeemer Which in the most eminent sense is the LORD Jesus for none brought such Salvation to them and wrought such a Redemption for them as he did who is the Stone which God laid in Sion c. XXVIII Isa 16. But instead of flying to him as Men in danger do to a Rock or strong Fortress they not only rejected him but abused and put the highest Indignities upon him Verse 16 Ver. 16. They provoked him to jealousie Made him extreamly angry with them For so Jealousie is described as the Rage of a Man VI Prov. 34. With strange gods Whom they fell in love withal and worshipped This was the ground of his Jealousie their falsness to God who had espoused them to himself And the Hebrew word zar strange we sometimes translate another XIX Job 27. So that a strange god and another god are the very same LXXXI Psal 9. XX Exod. 3. Therefore God saith he will not give his glory to another XLII Isa 8. and that their Sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god XVI Psal 4. With abominations provoked they him to anger I take this to be a Repetition of the same thing their Idols being called Abominations because God exceedingly hates them VII 25. 1 Kings XI 5. Tho' R. Solomon and Abarbinel by Abominations here understand those filthy Mixtures forbidden in Levit. XVIII with Witchcrafts and such like Wickedness And Abarbinel refers the first part of this Verse to the times under the first Temple when they worshipped the Sun Moon and Stars and the latter part of it to the times under the second Temple when though they were free from Idolatry they were corrupted with other abominable filthiness Ver. 17. They sacrificed to Devils and not to God Verse 17 The Hebrew word Schedim which we translate Devils imports as much as Destroyers as the Devil is called in the Book of Revelation IX 11. Evil Spirits delighting in Mischief and leading those that worship them into Perdition Though some think they are called Schedim ironically by way of Scorn the true God being Schaddai the Omnipotent and All-sufficient and these called by way of mockery counterfeit gods who had no power to help their Worshippers nor were sufficient to preserve themselves Either of these
of Israel By which the Israelites should have learnt that as Moses left them short of the promised Land and could not bring them into the possession of it so his Law did not contain a perfect Revelation of God's Will but they were to expect something beyond it CHAP. XXXIII Verse 1 Verse 1. AND this is the blessing As Jacob blessed his Children at his departure out of the World when God had begun to fulfil the promise to Abraham of giving him a numerous Offspring so Moses having seen them vastly increased and ready to enter upon the Land promised to them XV Gen. 18 c. takes his farewel of them with a Blessing pronounced upon the People in general and upon each Tribe in particular Which is in part prophetical as the Blessing of Jacob was and delivered in the prophetick stile which hath some difficulty and obscurity in it on purpose perhaps to excite their diligent study to enquire into the meaning See XLIX Gen. 1 3. Wherewith Moses the Man of God Or the Prophet of the LORD as Onkelos translates it For Prophets are called Men of God in the holy Books 1 Sam. IX 6 7 8. 1 Kings XIII 1. 1 Tim. VI. 11. 2 Tim. III. 17. 2 Pet. I. 21. because in the exercise of their Sacred Function they did not deliver their own sense nor the sense of other Men but the Mind and Will of God who spake by them Blessed the Children of Israel before his death Before he went up into Mount Abarim to die XXXII 49. he prayed God to bless them and also foretold their future State and Condition Such had been the ancient Custom among the holy Patriarchs as we learn from the example of Jacob to admonish their Posterity upon their dying Beds of such things as they thought most imported them For then they could not but be thought to speak most sincerely and their words were apt to be entertained with greater respect and preserved in Mind with greater Care Moses therefore their Deliverer Leader and Law-giver concludes his Life in the same manner and it 's very likely deposited these dying words with them in writing Ver. 2. And he said the LORD came from Sinai And in the first place he endeavours to make them sensible of what God had done already for them and Verse 2 the chief of all his Benefits being the Revelation of his Mind and Will to them he commemorates that as a common Blessing to them all before he begins to speak in particular to each Tribe For that is meant by the LORD came from Sinai where he appeared in a most glorious manner and from thence promulgated his Law with the greatest Solemnity Exod. XX. And thus the Gentiles took an unwonted brightness in any place to be a token of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Appearance or Advent of some of their gods in that place As also a great commotion in any place they took for another token of it See the illustrious Spanhemius in his Annotations upon Callimachus his Hymn to Apollo v. 7. which they seem to have learnt from this appearance of God on Mount Sinai and the quaking of that Mountain when God appeared on it And rose up from Seir unto them and shone forth from Mount Paran There is no difficulty in the foregoing words it being evident that God came down on Mount Sinai and thence delivered his Commands to the Israelites and espoused them for his People But how he rose up from Seir unto them the Country of Edom and shone from Paran the Country of Ishmael is not so easie to understand The Jews indeed who are wont to solve all Difficulties by inventing what they please are not troubled to give an account of these words Which signifie they fancy that the Divine Glory first resided upon Mount Seir where God propounded his Law to the Children of Esau but they would not have it because they found these words in it Thou shalt not kill He went therefore to Paran and offered it to the Children of Ishmael but they refused it also because they found these words in it Thou shalt not Steal So he came to Sinai and gave it to the Israelites who said All the words which the LORD hath said will we do XXIV Exod. 3. Thus the Hierusalem Targum and Pirke Elieser and some other more ancient Authors with this addition That he offered the Law to all the Nations of the World but they rejected it because it is written Thou shalt have none other gods but me But this looks so like a Fable that some of themselves are ashamed of it and have given a better sense of the words though I cannot say the true one For thus Abraham Peritsol expounds them The true Law came out of Sinai to the Israelites by which the Edomites were so inlightned that God might be said to rise up to them also and afterward the Celestial Influence shone out of this Law to the Ishmaelites who were the better for it Thus Const L'Empereur reports his sense in his Annotations upon Bava kama Cap. IV. Sect. III. where he endeavours to make out a plainer sense of these words in this manner Though the Mountain of Paran was nigher to Sinai than Seir was and first occurred to those that went out of Egypt yet there was great reason to mention Seir before it because Moses had respect to the order of their Journeys and not to the Site of the Places And their Journeys were so directed by Divine Providence that fetching a long Circuit forward and backward they should come to Canaan In all which turnings and windings they were marvellously preserved and provided for by the same good Providence which conducted them Of this Moses here makes a thankful Commemoration how he led them from Mount Sinai to the Borders of the Land of Canaan towards Mount Seir as is expresly noted by Moses compare I Deut. 19. with II. 1. and XX Numb 14. From whence by reason of their Infidelity they were led back again towards the Red Sea and incamped in the extremity of the Wilderness XXXIII Numb 35. where Ptolemy places Paran though there was another part of it called Paran near Kadesh XIII Numb 3 27. And from thence they were led back again in a long Circuit to the East part of the Land of Canaan This may be one reason why these two places are mentioned together with Sinai that God who there appeared to them was with them all the time they wandred about in the Wilderness till he brought them to the Borders of Canaan where they now were And another may be because in Mount Seir the brazen Serpent was erected by God's order for the Cure of such as were bitten by Serpents when they looked on it which was an illustrious Type of our blessed Saviour and the Salvation wrought by him XX Numb 4 9. And in the Desert to which Paran gave the name because it overlookt the whole though very large they received the
joyful news that they should march into Canaan or as D. Chytraeus understands it in the Wilderness of Paran the LXX Elders received the Spirit to make them Assistants unto Moses in the Government X Numb 12. XI 24 c. and here I may add Moses repeated his Law to them I Deut. 1 5. who seems in this Verse to follow a Metaphor borrowed from the Sun which first illuminates the Air and then rises and then spreads abroad his Beams as God by degrees declared his Presence with his People whithersoever they went first at Mount Sinai then at Seir and last of all here in the Wilderness of Paran But it must be acknowledged that these words may be interpreted in a more simple manner they being but a further amplification of what was said in the first words the LORD came from Sinai When at the same time he rose up from Seir and shone forth from Mount Paran for these Mountains were very near one to another or rather parts of one and the same ridge of Mountains as Conr. Pellicanus here observes and is more clearly made out by a very Learned Man among our selves Dr. Hyde in his excellent Notes on Abrah Peritsol Itinera Mundi p. 73. for Teman which is the same with Paran III Habak 3. was near to Edom whose chief City was Bosra I Amos 12. as that was near to Sinai The ignorance of the Mahometans is much to be pitied who out of this place imagine they have found as good an Authority for the Alcoran as there is for the Law of Moses and for the Gospel of Christ For thus they interpret these words God gave the Law from Sinai and the Gospel from Seir which they would have to be the same with Galilee which our Saviour much frequented and the Alcoran from Mount Paran Which they fancy is a Mountain not far from Mecca See Dr. Pocock upon Greg. Abul Pharaji p. 183. and Guadagnolus Resp pro Relig. Christiana But the last words of this Verse for them are sufficient to confute these Conceits for they plainly show that the whole Verse speaks of the People of Israel And he came with ten thousand of Saints Or as our Mr. Mede thinks it should be translated with his holy ten thousands or myriads that is attended with an innumerable company of Angels who waited on him at the giving of the Law See LXVIII Psal 7. VII Dan. 10. of which Enoch perhaps prophecied in part Jude 14 15. And from hence it may be thought that Notion of the Jewish Doctors followed by St. Stephen and St. Paul that the Law was given by Angels had its beginning Mede Book II. p. 437. That is they attended upon God as his Ministers when he himself gave the Law From his right hand With which we are wont to deliver things to other Persons Went a fiery Law for them For the Law of Moses was given out of the midst of Fire and therefore called a fire of Law as the words are in the Hebrew XIX Exod. 16 18. IV Deut. 11 12. V. 22 23 24. The Cabbalists as Reuchlin observes fancy that God wrote the Law in a Globe of Fire and sent it to them But the Hierusalem Targum is more sober which thus expounds it He stretched his right hand out of the midst of flames of fire and gave the Law unto his People And Onkelos still better The Law written with his right hand he gave us out of the midst of fire Or as Campeg Vitringa would have this latter part of the Verse translated On his right hand a fire and out of the fire a Law for them The meaning being that God came to Mount Sinai with that fire for in Scripture to be on the right hand of any one is to accompany him Lib. II. Observ Sacr. Cap. IV. By the conclusion of this Verse it is apparent that the former part of it belongs intirely to God's Mercy unto the Children of Israel upon whom he bestowed his Law in most illustrious Tokens of his Presence Which makes it highly probable that his rising up from Seir upon them and shining from Mount Paran belongs to the same matter That is the Cloud wherein he descended on Sinai with a vast Host of Angels extended it self so far as to cover the neighbouring Mountains of Seir and Paran Though the meaning may be as I have shown that he continued his Presence with them after they went from Sinai through all their Journeys in the Wilderness of Seir and Paran till they came to the place where they now were Ver. 3. Yea he loved the People All this was the Verse 3 effect of his Love and Kindness to the People of Israel whom he owned for his Son and his First-born IV Exod. 22. and therefore in a tender manner brought them out of Egypt XIX Exod. 4. that he might instruct them in his Laws All his Saints are in thy hand Whereby he made them an holy Nation as it there follows in XIX Exod. 5. whom he took into his special Care and most gracious Protection as this phrase signifies in many places IV Numb 28 33. And Onkelos refers it to the mighty Power whereby he brought them out of Egypt But it may have respect to God's preservation and support of them when he gave the Law in such a terrible manner that Moses himself quaked and yet none of them received any harm As for the change of the Person from his to thy it is very frequent in this Language particularly in IX Dan. 4. And they sat down at thy feet The first word which we translate sat down being no where else found but here and I Isa 5. where it plainly hath another sense hath occasioned various Interpretations of this Sentence But most agree in this of Sol. Jarchi that as Scholars sat at the feet of their Master round about him while he taught them their Lesson so the People encompassed the Mount where God was and heard his Law which he thence delivered But it is a question whether there was such a Custom of Scholars in those days and the People did not sit but stood at the foot of the Mount XX Exod. 18. Therefore Onkelos understands this of their sitting down or pitching their Tents where the glorious Cloud that led them rested X Numb 12 33. Every one shall receive of thy word This still is commonly referred to the Peoples receiving the Law But Onkelos thinks it hath respect to their Journeys at the commandment of the LORD X Num. 13. For so he interprets it They went forward according to thy word And so the Hierusalem Targum expounds these and the foregoing words Behold they were led and came to the foot of his Cloud and went forward and rested according to the command of his word It takes in also the other sense of the word tucchu as it signifies smiting in I Isa 5. in this manner Though he inflicted many Chastisements upon them yet they did not cease nor
all the rest of the Priests and Levites in conjunction with him for they were all separated unto the LORD having signalized themselves as we speak by their early Zeal for the LORD when their Brethren apostatized to Idolatry Of which Moses takes notice in the next Verse Who said unto his Father c. I have not seen him c. regarded that is no Relation when they executed the Commands of God against the Worshippers of the Golden Calf See our Learned Dr. Spencer de Leg. Hebr. Lib. III. Cap. VII Dissert VII where he treats also of these words as they may be applied to our LORD Christ the true holy one of God who is indeed a Priest for ever holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners c. VII Hebr. 26. Whom thou didst prove at Massah Or whom thou hast thorowly proved For the words in the Hebrew are Whom in proving thou didst prove the ancient Interpreters not taking Massah for the name of a place as we do but for trying or proving And so indeed the words in the Hebrew seem to import the Particle beth before Massah being different from that before Meribah which is al though we translate them both alike by the word at And thus the Hierusalem Targum paraphrases Whom thou didst prove or try and he stood in the trial that is approved himself perfect or upright as Onkelos expresses it This procured that Tribe a Blessing from the LORD XXXII Exod. 26 29. and brought them into special grace and favour with him as the word we translate holy one signifies For it is not kadoth but chasid And with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah Though God did severely chide and reprove Moses and Aaron who were the Heads of this Tribe when they were tried at the Waters of Strife XX Numb 12 13. yet they did not forfeit their Office by the Offence they then committed and therefore Moses prays it might still continue in Aaron's Posterity Ver. 9. Who said unto his Father and to his Mother Verse 9 I have not seen him neither did he acknowledge his Brethren nor know his own Children This relates unto the impartial Execution of Judgment by the Levites upon the Worshippers of the Golden Calf without respect of Persons XXXII Exod. 26 c. And as some will have it to Phinehas his Zeal mentioned in Numb XXV But that it hath any respect to a more ancient Judgment given in the Case of Judah and Thamar as the Hierusalem Targum fancies there is no ground to believe See Selden Lib. II. de Synedr Cap. VIII N. 2. For they have observed thy Word and kept thy Covenant XXXII Exod. 28 29. Abarbinel and others make this to be the reason of what follows Verse 10 Ver. 10. They shall teach Jacob thy Judgments and Israel thy Law Because they were so upright as to take no notice of their dearest Relations in Judgment therefore they were intrusted with this Office of Teaching the People the Statutes of God That is deciding all Controversies which arose about any thing in the Law So the Jews expound it and it is agreeable to what we read in the Seventeenth Chapter of this Book v. 9 10. and many other places as Mr. Selden shows in the place forenamed p. 372 c. and our Mr. Thorndike in his Religious Assemblies Chap. II. where he observes the TEACHING here mentioned consisted in declaring the meaning and obligation of the Law in matters doubtful as is apparent from X Levit. 8 9 10 11. For though others might be Members of their Courts of Judgment yet they consisted chiefly of Priests and Levites As for teaching the People in their Religious Assemblies that was not so much the Office of the Priests and Levites as of the Prophets For though the Prophets and the Disciples of the Prophets were commonly Priests and Levites who being most free from the Care of Estates and Inheritances and by their Office in his Ceremonial Service came nearest to God of all other Men were most likely to be endued with an extraordinary degree of Knowledge and of the Fear of God yet it is certain that the charge of teaching the People in their Assemblies belonged as well to those Prophets who were not Priests and Levites as to those that were See him p. 25. And this was one reason as Maimonides observes why the Tribe of Levi might have no Inheritance in the Land that being free from the trouble of ploughing and sowing c. they might wholly attend to the Study of the Law and be able to teach Israel God's Judgments More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXXIX They shall put incense before thee and whole Burnt-offerings upon thine Altar This was the peculiar Office and Honour of the Priests alone to offer Incense on the Golden Altar and Burnt-offerings upon the Brazen The Hierusalem Targum thus paraphrases it They shall put Incense of precious Spice before thee to pacifie thine Anger and offer a most acceptable Sacrifice upon thine Altar Ver. 11. Bless LORD his Substance The word Verse 11 we here translate Substance is translated Wealth VIII 17 18. which consisted most in Cattle they having no Land to till which he prays God to increase that they might have sufficient Sustenance for themselves and their Family It is a strange fancy of some of the Jews that whosoever offered Incense grew rich and therefore no Priest was suffered to offer Incense more than once that so Riches might be derived to them all Thus they trifle while their hearts are set on getting Money and not on growing good See Sheringham on Joma p. 35 36. and Mauritius de Sortitione Hebraeorum Cap. XXIV Sect. IV. And accept the work of his hands All their Ministry at the Altar where the Priests officiated or about the Tabernacle of which the Levites had the care Smite through the loins of them that rise against him and of them that hate him that they rise not again For they who were Enemies to the Priests and Levites were Enemies to Religion and to all Civil Government which was chiefly administred by them as was before observed See XVII 8 9 10 11 12. Ver. 12. And of Benjamin he said He mentions Verse 12 him next to Levi because the Temple in which the Priests officiated was partly situated in his Lot The beloved of the LORD Or being beloved of the LORD as the LXX interpret it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shall dwell in safety by him i. e. By the LORD Which signifies the stability of his Portion which had Jerusalem the Holy City in it as we read XVIII Josh 28. For though Mount Sion was in the Tribe of Judah and so the Sanctuary was there LXXVIII Psal 68. yet the City wherein it stood was not Nay the Ancients think the Altar of Burnt-offering was in the Tribe of Benjamin as Kimchi observes upon that place before-mentioned in Joshua See upon XLIX Gen. 27. And there are reasons to make one think that Sion
in the place forenamed and in others is to be taken in a large sense comprehending Mount Moriah also on which the Temple was built 2 Chron. III. 1. which was in the Tribe of Benjamin and consequently the Temple was situated in this Tribe And the LORD shall cover him all the day long The Glory of the Majestical Presence of the LORD shall be a Shield over him to defend him continually as the Hierusalem Targum expounds it And he shall dwell upon his shoulders For the Divine Majesty saith Onkelos shall dwell in his Country It being in the Temple and the Temple in the Tribe of Benjamin where it stood upon Mount Moriah as the Head of a Man doth upon his Shoulders as Dr. Lightfoot glosses in his Temple Service p. 145. Edit 1. Or the word we translate here shoulders may signifie as it is translated in other places sides XXXIV Numb 11. or borders And nothing is more certain than that the Divine Habitation was in the Borders of Benjamin whose Lot touched Judah's at Jerusalem and was so united to it that when the rest fell off from Judah the Tribe of Benjamin always adhered to it This being the sense which the ancient Interpreters give of this Verse and very agreeable to the words I shall not trouble the Reader with any other But only mention a Conceit of Conradus Pellicanus who by the beloved of the LORD here understands David who dwelt in safety by Benjamin though the King of that Tribe persecuted him for God covered and protected him continually from violence c. It is strange that a Man otherwise judicious and well acquainted with the Jewish Learning should propound this as the best interpretation he could think of when there is nothing of a Blessing upon Benjamin in it Ver. 13. And of Joseph he said This Tribe follows Verse 13 next his Lot falling near to Benjamin who lay between Judah and Joseph Blessed of the LORD be his Land He foretels that this Tribe should be situated in a most plentiful Country and enriched by the Divine Blessing upon it For the precious things of Heaven Sending fruitful showers from Heaven For the dew Together with the Evening and Morning Dews which are no less refreshing to the Earth than Rain And for the deep that coucheth beneath He means Springs of Water which burst out of the Bowels of the Earth for the use of Man and Beast Ver. 14. For the precious fruits of the Sun Whose kindly heat brings them forth and makes them grow to maturity Verse 14 And the precious things put forth by the Moon For all Fruits are plumped by the Moons cool and fatning Moisture in the Night which is digested by the Sun in the Day Or this passage may relate to the several sorts of Fruit which are produced every Month. So Onkelos interprets it It produceth also sweet fruits at the beginning of every Month. For the word jerachim in the Hebrew being in the Plural Number signifies Moons i. e. Months And so the Hierusalem Targum translates it in every New Moon which comprehends the whole Month. Verse 15 Ver. 15. And for the chief things of the ancient Mountains and for the precious things of the lasting hills Such as Mount Ephraim and Samaria and Bashan which were exceeding fruitful in Grapes and Olives and such like excellent Fruit. And called ancient and lasting because they were made together with the Earth in the beginning and not Mounts cast up by the Art of Men. See XLIX Gen. 20. Verse 16 Ver. 16. For the precious things of the Earth This seems to relate to their Arable Land which he foretels should bring forth great store of all sorts of Corn. The word Meged which we translate precious is repeated five times in these three last Verses signifying that which in its kind is most excellent and eximious as that great Man Ezekiel Spanhemius observes upon Callimachus his Hymn to Diana V. 245. where mentioning several Instruments of Musick among the Greeks whose names came from the Hebrew he thinks one called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Athenaeus saith but he could not tell whether a wind or stringed Instrument came from this Hebrew word Meged for it was not of a Greek Original And in IV Cant. 13. this word is translated pleasant as all Musick is but that especially which was made by this Instrument 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For Plato who took it for a stringed Instrument calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Anacreon saying he had one of twenty Strings as Spanhemius notes upon the Hymn in Delum p. 472. And fulness thereof By the fulness of the Earth may be meant either the Plenty and Abundance of its Fruits or the Ripeness thereof as Bochartus observes in his Canaan And for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush That is of God whose Majesty as Onkelos paraphrases dwells in the Heavens and was revealed to Moses in the Bush III Exod. 2 4. That is the SCHECHIMAH there appeared in a most glorious manner and the LORD told Moses he was there present Whose good will which is the Fountain of all Blessings for to it they owed their Deliverance out of Egypt which God then promised to Moses out of the Bush he wishes may be the peculiar Portion of Joseph Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph The word blessing is not in the Hebrew but this being connected with the foregoing words may be thought a Prayer that the good will of God the Fountain as I said of all Blessings may rest upon Joseph Or as Onkelos translates it Let all those things before-named come upon the head of Joseph And so the Hierusalem Targum expounds it Let all these Blessings come and be made perfect upon the head of Joseph Vpon the top of him that was separated from his Brethren That is saith the same Targum Vpon him that was made Ruler over all the Land of Egypt and splendid in the honour given him by his Brethren See this explained upon XLIX Gen. 26. Ver. 17. His glory is like the firstling of his Bullock Verse 17 The Ancients thought there was so much Majesty in the Countenance of a Bull especially of a young Bullock in its prime lifting up its Head that they made it an Emblem of Kingly Power as Bochartus hath shown out of several good Authors in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. Cap. XXIX And accordingly here it signifies that the Tribe of Ephraim should have Royal Authority established in it For he doth not compare the Person of Joseph to a young Bullock though he was a goodly Man eminent for his Beauty and comely Proportions XXXIX Gen. 6. but the Tribes which sprang from him as appears from the last words of this Verse Whose glory he here comparing to that of a young Bullock and its glory consisting in its strength the power of the Tribes of Joseph is hereby denoted which was so great
out of the Earth Some think it hath respect to the rich Mines which were in this Country but of that I can find no proof Verse 20 Ver. 20. And of Gad he said blessed be he that inlargeth Gad. That is blessed be God who hath allotted to him such a large Inheritance which he afterward also further enlarged as we read 1 Chron. V. 18 19 20. He dwelleth as a Lion Lives secure and fearless though encompassed with Enemies whom the Gadites tore in pieces as it here follows if they offered to molest them For this was a very warlike Tribe as we learn from 1 Chron. XII 8. and therefore here compared to a Lioness so Labi signifies which equals a Lion if not exceeds him in strength and fierceness as Bochartus hath observed out of good Authors in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. III. Cap. L. And so Onkelos here translates it He dwelleth as a Lioness And the Hierusalem Targum puts in both after this manner He remains quiet as a Lion and a Lioness neither is there People or Kingdom that shall stand before them And teareth the arm with the Crown of the Head Kills the Princes with their Kings as Onkelos truly expounds it For by Arms are meant Men of Strength and Power and by the Crown of the Head is properly to be understood the chief Commander Ruler or King And therefore the LXX also translate Crown of the Head by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prince or Supream Governour Ver. 21. And he provided the first part for himself Verse 21 He first received his Portion in the Land which they conquered as Onkelos expounds it Which he is said here to provide for himself because this Tribe with Reuben and part of Manasseh desired to be possessed of the Country of Sihon which was accordingly given to them XXXII Numb 1 2 33. Because there in a portion of the Law-giver Which Moses who was their Lawgiver gave them by God's order whereas the other Nine Tribes and a half had theirs given them by Joshua Was he seated The word in the Hebrew signifies hid i. e. protected when going to the War in Canaan they left their Wives and Children and Cattle without any defence but God's Providence according to the Promise they made to Moses XXXII Numb 16 17 c. What the Hierusalem Targum and Onkelos and several of the Rabbins even Abarbinel himself here say of Moses being buried in this Tribe which they make the sense of these words I think is no more to the purpose than what the Cabbalists observe upon this place that in the Blessing of Gad the whole Alphabet is found because Moses our Master saith Baal Hatturim was buried in his Territory who observed the whole Law from Aleph to Tau i. e. from the beginning to the end See Theodorick Hackspan Cab. Judaica N. 10. And he came He speaks of this as a thing already done because he certainly foresaw they would perform their Engagement With the Heads of the People With the chief Commanders of the rest of the Tribes of Israel Or as the words may be translated more literally He came with the Heads of the People i. e. the Gadites marched in the Front before the Children of Israel For so was the Agreement between Moses and them as we read in XXXII Numb 17. that they should go ready armed before the Children of Israel Of which engagement Joshua put them in mind when they were entering into Canaan I Josh 14. and they stood to it v. 16 17. He executed the Justice of the LORD Upon the Seven Nations of Canaan whom God commanded them to extirpate And his Judgments with Israel Going in the foremost of the Israelites to Battle till the whole Country was subdued to them XXXII Numb 21 22 29. XXII Josh 1 2 3 c. Ver. 22. And of Dan he said Dan is a Lions whelp Courageous as a young Lion So Onkelos Which was most eminently verified in Sampson who was of this Tribe and whom the Spirit of the LORD began Verse 22 to move in the Camp of Dan XIII Judges 25. He shall leap from Bashan The Tribe of Dan had no Inheritance near Bashan but he compares them to the young Lions of that place For Lions haunted Mountains IV Canticles 8. and this Mountain in particular was famous for them and bred very fierce ones Which every one knows leap upon their Prey when they assault it and fasten their Nails and their Teeth in it So Bochart observes many ancient Authors describe them P. I. Hierozoicon L. III. Cap. II. p. 739. And thus did the Danites on a sudden leap from one end of Judaea to another and seized on the City of Laish near to the Fountain of Jordan calling it by the Name of Dan as we read XVIII Judg. 29. Ver. 23. And of Naphtali he said O Naphtali satisfied Verse 23 with favour That is with the Favour of God which is explained in the next words And full with the blessing of the LORD The word full as Maimonides observes signifies that which is most perfect and absolute in its kind More Nevoch P. I. Cap. XIX Such was the Country of Galilee wherein this Tribe had their possession which was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. as Josephus speaks L. III. de Bello Judaico Cap. IV. fat throughout in all its parts and very fertil planted with all manner of Trees insomuch that it invited him to Husbandry who was averse to Labour and by that means was intirely inhabited and had no void space in all the Country c. Possess thou the West and the South The same Josephus makes this Tribe to have possessed the East and the North in the upper Galilee Lib. V. Antiq. Cap. I. p. 142. which is directly contrary to what Moses here saith Therefore Bochartus in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. III. Cap. XVIII judiciously expounds these words of Moses not with respect to the whole Land of Canaan but to the Danites before mentioned For the portion of Naphtali extended from the South of the City called Dan or Laish to the Sea of Tiberias And so the three Chaldee Paraphrasts expound the Hebrew word jam which we translate West by the Sea of Tiberias or Genesaret which is the same For the Hebrews call great Lakes by the name of Seas and by this Sea is not meant the Mediterranean but the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias or Genesaret for by all these Names it is called as Mr. Selden observes in his Mare Clausum p. 21. Verse 24 Ver. 24. And of Asher he said Let Asher be blessed with Children With a numerous and beautiful Issue Let him be acceptable to his Brethren All the rest of the Israelites shall court them for their goodly aspect Or as some rather think he prophecies this Tribe should win the favour and affection of others by their affability and obliging behaviour For which Jacob predicts they should be famous XLIV Gen. 21. And let him dip his
die nor being surprised with death for he knew the time and the place and the manner of it And as he did not die of any Disease as was said before or of old Age or by external force but only by the will and pleasure of God who took his Soul out of his Body so he did not part with it against his will nor with any fear but with a placid Mind and composed Spirit committed himself to God In whose embraces as we may speak he expired and this it is likely the ancient Jews meant when they said His Soul departed with a kiss As to the time of his death the Scripture doth not mention the Year the Month and the Day but the Jews commonly place it in the last Month of the fortieth year after their coming out of Egypt called ADAR and the seventh day of that Month. Thus they say in Seder Olam Rabba Cap. X. and in their Kalendar which they now follow and so Patricides in Hottinger's Smegma Orientale p. 457. But our great Primate of Ireland in his Annals observes that it agrees better with the following History to place his death in the first Day of that Month and Torniellus makes the same Computation that it must be either in the latter end of the Eleventh Month or in the beginning of the Twelfth Verse 6 Ver. 6. And he buried him This refers to the words foregoing viz. the LORD who commanded his Angels to bury him So Epiphanius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Haeres IX p. 28. and see p. 600. Though in the Scripture active words are very often used passively and the meaning may be only that he was buried Yet there is this to be said for the other sense that thereupon it is thought that the Contest arose between Michael the Archangel and the Devil as St. Chrysostom Theodoret Procopius Gazaeus and others take it who would not have had him buried but opposed it that he might administer an occasion to the Jews to commit Idolatry Though we never find that the Jews were given to the Worship of Reliques as our most Learned Vsser observes in his Annals See there In a Valley in the Land of Moab over against Beth-Peor This Valley was in the Land of Sihon King of the Amorites IV. 46. who had taken it from the Moabites as I noted before and was now possessed by the Israelites And Beth-Peor was a part of the Possession of Reuben XIII Josh 20. which was a place where the Temple of Peor anciently stood from whence it had its name For this Idol is not only called Baal-Peor but simply Peor XXII Josh 17. and as Beth-Baal is the Temple of Baal so Beth-Peor is the Temple of Peor as J. Ger. Vossius abserves de Orig. Progr Idol Lib. II. Cap. VII Now by all these Circumstances of his burial it appears how frivolous that Opinion of the Jews is mentioned in Jalkut out of Siphri that Moses did not really die but was translated into Heaven where he stands and Ministers before God Which conceit Josephus himself follows Lib. IV. Aniq. Cap. VIII where he saith that the having dismissed the Elders who went with him to Mount Abarim and then conversing a while with Eleazar and Joshua while he embraced them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Cloud on a sudden coming upon him he was snacht out of their sight into a certain Valley Which is not only beside but contrary to the Scripture which saith he died and was buried in the Valley And yet some of the ancient Fathers particularly St. Ambrose and St. Hilary have followed this Opinion that when Moses is said to die it doth not signifie the separation of his Soul from his Body but his Translation to a better Life See Sixtus Senensis in his Bibliotheca Lib. V. Annot. LXI where he observes this is not only against Scripture but against the sense of almost all Ecclesiastical Writers But no man knoweth of his Sepulchre unto this day These words unto this day show that this passage was not written by Moses as Josephus and Philo imagine who say he wrote this by the Spirit of Prophecy See v. 1. The reason why his Body was concealed most think to have been lest in future times it should become an Object of their Worship So R. Levi ben Gersom Future Generations perhaps might have made a god of him because of the fame of his Miracles For do we not see how some of the Israelites erred in the brazen Serpent which Moses made And the Heresie of the Melchisedekians shows this was no vain fear as Hermannus Witzius observes Lib. I. Miscell Cap. XVII if Epiphanius may be believed who saith that in Arabia Petraea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. They thought him to be God because of his Wonders he wrought and worshipped his Image What would they have done if they had had his very Body Which he did not desire to be carried into Canaan and buried among his Ancestors as Joseph ordered concerning his Bones For he understood it is likely the mind of God to be that as he should not go over Jordan while he was alive so his Body should not be carried over when he was dead Which R. Chama thinks might have proved dangerous because in the time of their Distress especially at the Captivity of the Land the Children of Israel might have been prone to run to his Sepulchre and beg him with tears to pray for them whose Prayers had been so prevalent for them in his life time For such a piece of Superstition it seems crept in among them in latter Ages of which see Wagenseil upon the Gemara of Sota Cap. I. Sect. LII Annot II. But though no Man knew where Moses was buried when this was written yet some Maronite Shepherds we are told have pretended lately MDCLV to find out his Tomb with this Inscription in Hebrew Moses the Servant of the LORD A great stir was made about it as the same Witzius observes out of Hornius his Historia Ecclesiastica But a learned Jew he saith so confuted the Story showing it was another Moses whose Tomb they found that the Report presently vanished And the Learned Wagenseil makes some probable guesses that it was the Tomb of Moses Maimonides See Annot. VI. in Gemara Sotae Cap. I. Sect. LI. But Bartoloccius in his late Bibliotheca Rabbinica Tom. III. p. 928 c. hath made it rather probable that Hornius was imposed upon by some body in this narration there being no such Author known among the Jews as R. Jakum or Jacomus ben Gad who he saith confuted this Tale. Ver. 7. And was an hundred and twenty years old Verse 7 when he died A third part of which time wanting one Month he had been imployed in the Government of Israel as Josephus observes in the Conclusion of his Fourth Book of Antiquities His eye was not dim nor his natural force abated That is he had all the vigour of Youth remaining there being not
so much as a wrinkle in his Cheeks So some of the Ancients interpret the last Clause Others He had not lost so much as a Tooth out of his Mouth See Bocharius in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. Cap. XLV p. 506. Both Onkelos and the Hierusalem Targum refer it to the Splendor of his Countenance which continued to the last From hence it was that the Heathen who were not wholly unacquainted with this Story but had not a perfect knowledge of it imagined that Moses was troubled to die when he was so vigorous For Trebellius Pollio in the Life of Claudius saith that the most learned Mathematicians were wont to say that no Man lived beyond an Hundred and twenty years For though Moses lived an Hundred and five and twenty years so he mistakes being Dei ut Judaeorum libri loquantur familiaris a Man familiar with God as the Books of the Jews tell us yet he complaining that juvenis interiret he died when he was young they say he was told by an uncertain God that no Man should ever live longer This Mistake arose from their misinterpretation of those words VI Gen. 3. Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years For Huetius well observes that this incertus Deus was the true God the Creator of Heaven and Earth whom St. Paul saith they called also the unknown God Demonstr Evang. Propos IV. Cap. I. N. LVII And I cannot but add that this passage out of Trebellius was taken notice of above an hundred years ago by a learned Man I have often mentioned David Chytraeus to show that these Sacred Books were not unknown to the Heathen and that they had a Reverence for them Verse 8 Ver. 8. And the Children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days The time of Mourning for the Dead was longer or shorter according to the Dignity of the Person And the Jews have a Tradition which distinguishes between the days of Weeping and Mourning The former of which never exceeded a Month which was the time they wept for Moses the latter never lasted more than a year as they gather from the Example of the greatest Doctor they ever had R. Judah who composed the Mischna for whom they mourned Twelve Months See Schickard in his Jus Regium Cap. VI. Theor. XIX and upon L Gen. 3 10. XX Numb 29. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended They lamented him compleatly thirty days and no longer By which it seems that weeping and mourning whatsoever difference was between them were anciently of the same length though the Jews in the forenamed Tradition are pleased to make the one last much longer than the other Now by this and what follows in the Book of Joshua we may certainly know the truth of what I said on v. 5. concerning the day on which Moses died For if we add unto these thirty days which followed immediately upon it the three days wherein the Spies lay hid in the Mountain II Josh 22. and allow three or four days more for their going and coming back and then add the three days they lay by Jordan before they passed over III Josh 2. they make just a Month and ten days from the first day of the last Month when I supposed Moses died unto the day they got safe over Jordan which was the tenth day of the first Month. Whereas if we reckon as the Jews do that Moses died on the seventh day of the last Month it would have been the seventeenth day of the first Month before they got over Jordan I observe also that though the Talmudists generally make him to have died on the seventh day of Adar yet there have been some who placed it on the first For the Medrasch Rabbah telling the story of Haman's casting Lots to find the best time to do Execution on the Jews saith he pitched upon the Month ADAR because it had been unlucky to the Jews by the death of their Master Moses therein But he did not consider saith that Medrasch that as Moses died on the first day of this Month so he was born on the same first day Ver. 9. And Joshua the Son of Nun was full of the Spirit of Wisdom To take the Government upon Verse 9 him and manage it prudently as soon as Moses left them Which was necessary to be mentioned that it might not be thought they wanted a Head to conduct them as their Neighbours possibly might imagine when the News came of Moses his death For as the Samaritans tell the story in Hottinger's Smegma Orientale p. 462. when they heard the Lamentations which the whole Congregation made for Moses they began to rejoyce and gather their Forces together to set upon the Israelites as wanting a Leader But they soon found themselves mistaken Joshua having taken the Charge of them and being endued with his Spirit For Moses had laid his hands upon him Whereby he committed to him the Supream Authority after his departure and implored the Spirit of God to qualifie him for it For power to execute any Office among the Jews was given by laying on of hands whereby they were ordained and appointed to it And this was a Rite of Prayer also as many have observed for the obtaining the Gifts of the Spirit which were necessary for the discharge of that Office And though no words of Prayer be mentioned yet the very laying on of hands denotes it as our learned Dr. Outram observes from this very place and from I Tim. V. 22. Lib. I. de Sacrif Cap. XV. N. VIII Of Moses his laying on Hands upon Joshua we read XXVII Numbers 18 c. And he was solemnly also a little before Moses his death presented unto God by his own Command XXXI of this Book 14 c. And the Children of Israel hearkned unto him and did as the LORD commanded Moses Obeyed him as their Supream Governour according to God's Command delivered to Moses XXVII Numb 20. XXXI Deut. 23. See 1 Josh 16 17 c. Ver. 10. And there rose not a Prophet since in Verse 10 Israel like to Moses This is a plain demonstration that the promise God makes by Moses that he would raise up a Prophet like to him XVIII Deut. 15 19 c. was not fulfilled either in Joshua or in Samuel who it is likely wrote this Chapter as I said before and the best of the Jews confess shall not be fulfilled till MESSIAH come Thus the Author of Sepher Ikkarim Lib. III. Cap. XX. It cannot be but that a Prophet shall at last arise like to Moses or greater than he for the King Messiah shall be as great or greater Therefore these words are not to be expounded as if there should never be such a Prophet but that in all the time of the following Prophets till the Cessation of Prophecy none should arise like to Moses But after that there shall be one like him or rather greater than he Whom the LORD
knew face to face Or as de Dieu thinks it should be translated who knew the LORD face to face This was one Preheminence of Moses above all the Prophets that he conversed more familiarly with God than any of them did See XII Numb 8. which place explains this for to know him face to face was to speak familiarly to God and to hear God speaking in like manner unto him And so the Hierusalem Targum expounds these words only instead of the LORD he saith Who knew the WORD of the LORD talking with him and delivering to him most excellent Laws for the good government of his People In which Laws he still lives they all remaining upon Record to this day when the Laws of all the famous Lawgivers whom the Gentiles honoured as gods are obliterated But it must be observed that in this wherein Moses excelled all the Prophets our blessed Saviour far transcended him For he was in the bosom of the Father I Joh. 18. and spake what he saw and heard c. III Joh. 11 32. Verse 11 Ver. 11. In all the signs and the wonders which the LORD sent him to do The Hierusalem Targum hath it Which the WORD of the LORD sent him to do in the Land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his Servants and to all his Land See IV. 34. VI. 22. VII 19. In these signs and wonders Moses excelled all the Prophets doing more Miracles than all that succeeded him as Maimonides observes More Nevochim P. II. Cap. XXXV But our blessed Saviour excelled him in this as well as them doing more wonders than all the Prophets put together had done from the beginning of the World and far greater also than theirs XXI Joh. ult Ver. 12. And in all that mighty hand and in all that great terror which Moses showed As the former Verse relates to what he did in Egypt so this hath respect unto their passing through the Red Sea and to all that befel them in the Wilderness both at the giving of the Law and afterward till this time So the Hierusalem Targum expounds these words In all that strong hand and in all those great Visions which Moses managed And Onkelos to the same purpose In the sight of all Israel In the place forenamed Maimonides insists much upon this that Moses wrought all his Miracles publickly the whole Congregation being Witnesses of them And so our Saviour commonly wrought his till they sought to kill him in their Synagogues at their Publick Feasts when there was the greatest Concourse of the People of Israel So that in this he was a Prophet like unto Moses though infinitely superiour which some of the old Jews could not but discern as I observed upon Chap. XVIII when upon these words of Isaiah LII 13. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high they thus gloss in Tanchuma which is an ancient Book among them This is the King MESSIAS who shall be exalted above Abraham extolled above Moses and be very high above the Angels of the Ministry Upon which Conradus Pellicanus thus glosses and concludes his Commentary as I shall do mine with these words What is it to be above the Angels let the Jews explain we can understand nothing by it but the very WORD of God which was in the beginning with God and was God by whom all things were made and without him nothing was made viz. the LORD God of Hosts to whom in perfect Vnity God the Father Son and Holy Spirit be all Honour and Glory for ever Amen Thus ends the Pentateuch which as our great Primate of Ireland computes contains the History of Two thousand five hundred and fifty two years and an half from the beginning of the World to the death of Moses FINIS By reason of the Distance of the Author this Omission hapned which the Reader is desired to insert in its proper place At the end of Page 511. Line ult after three hundred years add these words But if any one think good thus to apply the words of this Verse unto Vespasian they must not take this for the literal meaning of them because it is evident that by the Stranger is to be understood those of other Nations who lived among them Particularly those Gentiles who were brought into their Country by the Assyrians instead of the Ten Tribes as some of the best of the Jewish Writers expound it What the Doctor also saith concerning their advancing Vespasian to the Imperial Dignity cannot be maintain'd ERRATA Page 21. Line 24. read their Cities Page 30. Line 14. r. Elate Page 39. Line 18. r. faith Page 43. Line 17. r. Ammonites Page 67. Line 15. r. Atargatis Page 85. antepen r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Page 86. Line 11. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Page 90. Line 24. r. even before Page 116. Line 2. r. Melech Page 145. Line 13. r. until the other Page 174. Line 5. for notion r. reason Page 183. Line 10. for Geder r. Seder Page 194. Line 18. r. Author of Sepher Ikkarim Page 220. Line 20. r. Acra-batta Page 242. Line 20. r. Arcadica * Page 264. Line 24. blot out but as the persons concerned in the Controversie brought it and read But whoever brought the Controversie before this Court when the Inferiour could not determine it they gave the sentence Page 269. Line 10. r. Cunaeus Lib. II. Page 290. Line 29. r. had her first Page 323. Line 15. r. Chillel Page 332. Line 20. r. was so setled Page 348. Line 2. r. slake Page 358. Line 24. r. both Sexes Page 365. Line 6. r. whom all that Page 372. Line 1. r. make thee Page 382. Line 31 32. r. paid to her father Page 408. Line 20. for inherent r. indigent Page 420. Line 28. r. Chasidah Page 428. Line 2. r. remember it Page 438. Line 16. r. of no consequence Page 439. Line 26. r. as a reason Page 442. Line 28. r. Dr. Pocock Page 488. Line 19. r. would furnish Page  Line 20. r. that should further Page 507. Line 9. r. strangeness Page 599. Line 16. r. retained the manner Page 612. Line 1. r. Olive Tree thrives Page 617. Line 27. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a field Page 641. Line 12. r. Mountain Page 650. Line 22. r. he speaks of himself Page 652. Line penult r. staid behind them Page 663. Line 20. r. Gazellas Page 665. Line 5. r. great numbers Page  Line 25. r. IV Gen. 10. Page 668. Line 17 18. r. He came the Heads of the People Page 685. Line 12. r. he having BOOKS Printed for Richard Chiswell BIshop Patrick's Commentary on the First Book of Moses called Genesis The Second Edition 4 to 1698. His Commentary on the Second Book of Moses called Exodus 4 to 1697. His Commentary on the Third Book of Moses called Leviticus 4 to 1698. His Commentary on the Fourth Book of Moses called Numbers 4 to 1699. His Commentary on the Fifth Book of Moses called Deuteronomy 4 to 1700. His Hearts Ease or a Remedy against all Troubles A Consolatory Discourse directed to those who have lost their Friends and dear Relations To which is added Two Papers printed in the time of the late Plague The Seventh Edition 120. 1699. The Life of Henry Chichele Archbishop of Canterbury In which there is a particular Relation of many remarkable Passages in the Reigns of Henry the Fifth and Sixth Kings of England Written in Latin by Arthur Duck LLD. Chancellor of the Dioscess of London and Advocate of the Court of Honour Now made English And a Table of Contents annexed Archbishop Tollotson of Sincerity and Constancy in the Faith and Profession of the True Religion Being the First Volume Published from the Originals by Dr. Barker Chaplain to his Grace His Second Volume Containg Sixteen Sermons on several Occasions His Third Volume Containing Sixteen Sermons on several Subjects His Fourth Volume Containing several Discourses on Natural and Instituted Religion The Nature and Necessity of Regeneration the Danger of all known Sin c. His Fifth Volume Proving Jesus to be the Messiah the Son of God The Danger of Apostacy from Christianity c. His Sixth Volume Being the First part of his Discourses on the Divine Attributes 1699. His Seventh Volume Being the Second or Remaining Part of his Discourses on the Divine Attributes 1700. A Discourse of the Government of the Thoughts By George Tullie Sub-Dean of York The Third Edition Corrected 120. 1699. Preparation for Death Being a Letter sent to a young Gentlewoman in France in a dangerous Distemper of which she died By William Wake D.D. The Sixth Edition 120. Private Devotions digested into Six Litanies with Directions and Prayers By Hen. Valentine The Bishop of Sarum's Exposition of the 39 Articles of the Church of England in Folio 1700. The Life of John Whitgift Archbishop of Canterbury in the Times of Queen Elizabeth and King James the First Written by Sir George Paul Comptroller of his Graces Houshold To which is added a Treatise intituled Conspiracy for Pretended Reformation Written in the Year 1591. By Richard Cosin LLD. Dean of the Arches and Official Principal to Archbishop Whitgift 80. 1699.
Horites and the Moabites to the Emims and the Children of Ammon to the Zamzummims and the Caphtorims to the Avims By which their Fiaith might still be more confirmed that the People of Canaan though never so mighty should not be able to stand before them Ver. 25. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee Verse 25 and the fear of thee upon the Nations that are under the whole Heaven Especially upon the Canaanites wno were struck no doubt with Terror by this Conquest as they had been by all that befell the Egyptians II Josh 10 11. Who shall hear the report of thee This explains what he means by the hyperbolical expression before going the Nations under the whole Heaven that is as many as shall hear of these things And shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee As Women in travel are Ver. 26. And I sent Messengers out of the Wilderness Verse 26 of Kedemoth There is a City of this Name mentioned by Joshua XIII 18. from whence this Wilderness had its denomination Some take it to be the same with that called Jeshimon XXI Numb 20. Vnto Sihon King of Heshbon with words of peace A friendly Message desiring there might be no quarrel between him and the Israelites who desired nothing but the common Offices of Humanity Verse 27 Ver. 27. Let me pass through thy Land Which was the direct way to the Fords of Jordan I will go along by the high way Not turning into the Fields or Vineyards as it is expressed XXI Numb 22. In the Hebrew the word is doubled bederech bederech by the way by the way which seems to be a vehement affirmation to assure them they would not stir out of the High-way I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left Not step aside out of the common Rode called the King's High-way which was free for all People Verse 28 Ver. 28. Thou shalt sell me meat for money that I may eat c. They offered to pay for whatsoever they wanted which is included in Meat and Drink Only I will pass through on my feet Barely have a passage through his Country Verse 29 Ver. 29. As the Children of Esau which dwell in Seir and the Moabites which dwell in Ar did unto me He doth not mean that they granted Israel a passage through their Country but that they did not deny to sell them Meat and Drink for their Money as they passed by their Coasts Vntil I pass over Jordan unto the Land which the LORD our God giveth us This was said to move Sihon to consent to their desire by letting him understand they intended nothing against his Country being secure of a Settlement in the Land of Canaan unto which they prayed him to let them pass quietly Ver. 30. But Sihon King of Heshbon would not let us Verse 30 pass by him Refused to agree to this reasonable demand For the LORD thy God hardned his spirit and made his heart obstinate c. Gave him over to his own inflexible Humour which was set upon violent Courses from which God did not divert him because he intended to destroy him but rather ordered things so that his Mind should be inraged and disturbed and so unable to consider things prudently and discern what belonged to his peace which is the utmost that can be meant by hardning his Spirit and making his heart obstinate Which as it is a sin cannot be ascribed unto God but as it is a punishment might justly be inflicted by him upon Sihon for his former sins Ver. 31. And the LORD said unto me behold I Verse 31 have begun to give Sihon and his Land This was said when Moses saw him coming out to battle against them as it follows in the next Verse at which time he is said to begin to give them his Country because he had absolutely resolved it and it 's probable so confounded his Forces that they were as good as already conquered Before thee Into their Power that they might go into it at their pleasure Begin to possess that thou mayest inherit his Land In the same sense he bids Moses begin to possess i. e. prepare to take possession of it See III. 2. Ver. 32. Then Sihon came out against us he and all Verse 32 his people to fight at Jahaz See XXI Numb 23. Ver. 33. And the LORD our God delivered him before us and we smote him and his Sons and all his People They won the Field and killed him his Verse 33 Sons and all that came out to fight with them And R. Solomon saith his Sons were like himself very great Men. Verse 34 Ver. 34. And we took all his Cities at that time After this Victory they took his whole Country as is related XXI Numb 24 25. and the Cities belonging to it are mentioned XXXII 34 35 c. And utterly destroyed the Men and the Women and the little Ones of every City we left none to remain They being part of those wicked People the Amorites whom God had condemned to utter destruction For the Amorites came out of Canaan and took this Country from the Moabites and the Children of Ammon Verse 35 Ver. 35. Only the Cattle we took for a prey unto our selves c. They had the Divine Warrant for this no doubt as they had for the Extirpation of the People Verse 36 Ver. 36. From Aroer which is by the brink of the River Arnon This River divided Moab from the Kingdom of Sihon XXI Numb 13 24. upon which the City of Aroer stood which was now in the possession of Sihon though belonging formerly to the Moabites And from this City that is by the River This some take to be the City Ar XXI Numb 15. But I think these words should rather be translated even the City in the River meaning Aroer still as a remarkable place being incompassed with the River XII Josh 2. For Ar I think was never in the possession of the Amorites being the capital City of Moab Even unto Gilead Chapter III. For half of Gilead belonged to the Country of Sihon XII Josh 2. and given to the Tribe of Gad XV Josh 2. And the other half belonged to the Kingdom of Og as we read in the same place XII Josh 5. and was given to the half Tribe of Manasseh XIII Josh 31. Ver. 37. Only unto the Land of the Children of Ammon Verse 37 thou camest not That is into no part of their Country which was then in their possession but all that the Amorites had taken from them was given to the Gadites XIII Josh 25. Nor unto any place in the River Jabbok To no place beyond that River which was the Border of the Children of Ammon XXI Numb 24. XII Josh 2. Nor into the Cities of the Mountains Much less into the mountainous parts of the Country of the Amorites Nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us The words in the Hebrew are And all whatsoever the