over Egypt Some by a New King understand a King of another Family or Race as Josephus interprets it nay a Stranger of another Nation just as New Gods are strange Gods in Scripture Language Thus Sir John Marsham and then it is no wonder that he knew not Joseph as it here follows But this is not certain and the Conceit whereby Eben Ezra justifies it which is that the word rose up implies as much is justly censured by Abarbinel as frivolous it being the common word which is used every where when a new King succeeds his Predecessor It is most likely therefore that Moses means no more but that the King in whose time Joseph died being dead likewise whom many take to have been Mephramuthosis and another after him whom they call Thutmosis the next Successor in the Throne Amenophis either had heard nothing of Joseph or did not mind what was said of him Our great Primate of Ireland gives a different account of the Succession of the Egyptian Kings and takes this King to have been Ramasses Miamum but still supposes him to have been of the old Line and not a Stranger Who knew not Joseph There is no doubt that Joseph died as he lived in high Esteem and great Reputation in that Country and that his Memory continued precious as long as any of that Generation lasted For Diodorus Siculus saith L. I. that the Egyptians above all other People 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were disposed to be grateful to all those who had any way merited of them looking upon the requital of the kindness of Benefactors to be one of the greatest Supports of Humane Life And something to the same purpose is noted by Clemens Alexandrinus L. 1. Strom. p. 303. where having said that Barbarous Nations highly honoured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their Lawgivers and Instructers whom they called Gods he presently adds that the Egyptians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were very careful to Deifie such Persons But if this was their inclination in times so ancient as these of Moses we must not think them all to have been so disposed or that Time did not obliterate the Memory of Benefits For this Prince whom Artapanus in Eusebius L. IX Praep. Evang. c. 27. calls Palamanothes so uncertain is his Name not having seen Joseph himself nor having any knowledge perhaps of the Benefits his Country had received by his means did not treat his Kindred so kindly as they had been used in former times But this Phrase he knew not is commonly interpreted he regarded not the Services which Joseph had done of which he is supposed not to have been ignorant For words of Knowledge in Scripture include the Affections also As God is said to know those whom he loves and not to know those whom he doth not love I Psal 6. VII Matth. 23. Whence the Jews have raised this Observation That he who forgets the Benefits he hath received from other Men at last forgets those he hath received from God For he of whom it is said here That he knew not Joseph said not long after I know not the Lord Ver. 2. But this is grounded upon a mistake for it was another Pharaoh long after this King who spake those words Ver. 9. And he said unto his People He called a Council of the great Men of the Nation to whom he represented how necessary it was to lessen the Number and weaken the Power of the Israelites Behold the People of the Children of Israel are mo and mightier than we This was not true unless he meant that no part of Egypt of that bigness had so many People and so strong as the Israelites in Goshen but he said it to awaken his People to consider how to Suppress them And perhaps he was afraid of their Power or out of Popularity would in the beginning of his Reign give a proof of his Care of his People by Suppressing Forreigners Ver. 10. Come on The Hebrew word habah is sometime used in Petitions LX Psal ult but most commonly in Exhortations when Men excite and stir up one another not to be slack in any business See XI Gen. 3. Let us deal wisely with them He would not go about to destroy them by Force being loth to lose so many Subjects but was desirous to diminish them by subtil Devices Lest they multiply Grow still more numerous and mighty Lest when there falls out any War With the Arabians Ethiopians or other neighbouring Nations For I see no reason to believe that he means the ancient Egyptians with whom the Israelites had lived in great Friendship but now were expell'd by the Shepherd Kings and the People of Thebais who at length made War with those Kings who reigned in the lower Egypt This is Sir J. Marsham's Conjecture in his Canon Chron. Sec. VIII which I thought good to mention though I do not follow it They joyn also to our Enemies and sight against us As it was natural for Men to do who were under grievous Oppressions and hoped thereby for Relief And so get them out of the Land They had heard the Israelites discourse it is likely that they never meant always to stay there their Fathers coming only to Sojourn in Egypt and the nearer the time approached when God promised to bring them from thence the more we may well think they spake of it Which raised this Jealousie that in case of any War they would joyn with their Enemies that by their Assistance they might be delivered Ver. 11. Therefore they did set over them Taskmasters c. This was the Result of the Council that they should be brought low by laying heavy Taxes upon them to squeeze them of their Money and by making them labour very hard whereby they thought to weaken their Bodies For the Hebrew word Missim coming from Mas which signifies Tribute it may be reasonably thought that these Taskmasters as we call them exacted great Sums of Money of them as well as afflicted them with their burdens i. e. hard Labours of all sorts as the Eastern Writers expound it And they built for Pharaoh They did not labour for themselves but for the King who it is likely gave them no Wages but used them as meer Slaves Treasure Cities Fortified Cities wherein he had his Magazeens as we now speak of all sort of Ammunition and Stores of Corn and publick Provisions as well as Treasures of Money For so we translate this word Miskenoth 2 Chron. 16.4 XVII 12. Storehouses and XXXVI 28. Storehouses for Corn and Wine and Oyl There was great Labour no doubt imployed in building such Cities surrounded with Walls and Towers and deep Ditches c. Pithom This is thought by Bochart to be the City which Herodotus calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. 2. c. 158. but Herodotus there saith it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a City of Arabia And therefore Sir J. Marsham's Conjecture seems more reasonable who takes it for Pelusium which was the most ancient fortified
1. or was Jethro's Father and so the Grandfather of these young Women which Drusius thinks most probable Misaell Centur. 2. c. 69. He said How is it you are come so soon to day It seems Moses not only valiantly defended and protected them but so vigorously assisted them also in all their Business that they dispatcht it sooner than they were wont to do Ver. 19. And they said An Egyytian So they took Moses to be by his Speech and his Habit and perhaps he told them he came out of that Country Delivered us out of the hand of the Shepherds This justifies what I said Ver. 17. that these Shepherd's belong'd to some other Prince in those parts who were wont it seems to infest those that were weaker and that Moses by his extraordinary Courage drove them away And also drew water enough for us c. They had drawn Water before ver 16. which the Shepherds took from them and he now did it with greater Expedition and in great Plenty Ver. 20. And he said unto his Daughters Where is he This is a form of chiding as Philo observes or upbraiding for their Ingratitude as appears by what follows Why is it that you have left the Man Suffered him to remain in the Field Ye ought as Philo explains it to have invited him to my House and if he had declined it to have intreated and urged him to it Call him that he may eat Bread Go back as he goes on with all speed and pray him to come and refresh himself and receive my Thanks which are due to him This shows Moses had done them some considerable Service Ver. 21. And Moses was content to dwell with the Man After some Conversation with him Raguel liked Moses so well that he offered him such terms as he accepted and became one of his Domesticks And he gave Moses Zipporah his Daughter The Divine Writers do not relate all the passages of a Story as other Authors delight to do but only the most material Therefore we are to suppose a great many things to have preceded this which was not accomplished presently after he was entertained into Reuel's House but after he had had much Experience of Moses his other Vertues as well as of his Valour Though the Observation of Philo here is not to be slighted that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Men of a great Genius quickly show themselves and are not made known by length of time And therefore he thinks that Reuel being struck first with admiration of his goodly Aspect and then of his wise Discourse immediately gave him the most beautiful of all his Daughters to be his Wife not staying to enquire of any body what he was for his own most excellent Qualities sufficiently recommended him to his Affection L. I. de Vita Moses p. 611. Ver. 22. And she bare him a Son and he called his Name Gershom c. This word Gershom signifies a desolate Stranger which he made the Name of this Child because he was born not only in a Foreign Country remote from his own People but in a place where he had nothing but what he earned by his Labour For it is not to be thought that in an hasty Flight he could bring any great matter with him into Midian Either this Son was born long after his Marriage or he did not marry till he had been long in this Country For when he left it after 40 years stay in it his Children were but young as appears from IV. 20. Ver. 23. And it came to pass in process of time After many days as it is in the Hebrew i. e. years for this King reigned a long time See Ver. 15. The King of Egypt died That King from whom Moses fled viz. Orus After whom Eusebius makes Acenceres to have reigned and after him Achoris both which died before Moses returned into Egypt And the Children of Israel sighed by reason of the Bondage Their cruel Servitude did not end with the Life of Orus but the new King who succeeded him was so far from giving them any ease that he laid more heavy Burdens upon them And they cried This signifies they lay under the most grievous Oppression which grew intolerable And their cry came up unto God A Cry that comes up unto God signifies in the Holy Language the loudest and sorest Cry See XIX Gen. 13. By reason of the Bondage This may be referred both to their Cry and its coming up to God who resolved speedily to free them from such unsupportable Burdens Ver. 24. And God heard their groaning and God remembred his Covenant c. There are four different words in these two last Verses viz. heard remembred looked upon them had respect unto them which every one of them signifie God's kind intentions towards them but seem also to me to denote that the Divine Providence determined to proceed gradually in the Deliverance of the Children of Israel from their cruel Servitude For when he saith God heard their groaning the meaning is he favourably condescended to grant their Petition which was the first step to their Deliverance And then He remembred his Covenant with Abraham c. This gives the Reason of it because he was mindful of his ancient Promises to their Forefathers which was a further assurance of his Favour And then he Looked upon them i. e. Took notice of their Affliction and hard Labour as Maimonides explains it More Nev. p. 1. c. 48. which was another Motive to relieve them And in the last place God had respect to them Which imports that he determined to have mercy upon them and that includes all Blessings in it For so this Phrase to respect another signifies as Bochartus hath shown from many instances particularly XXV Psal 12. LXVI Isa 2. Hierozoic p. 1. L. II. c. 49. CHAP. III. Verse 1. NOW Moses kept the Flock So Moses was taken from the Sheepfold as David was in after times to be the Ruler of God's People LXXVII Psal 70. For as hunting of wild Beasts saith Philo is proper to Men of a Martial Genius and fits Men to be Captains and Generals of Armies so the feeding of Sheep is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. the best Exercise and Preparation for a Kingdom and the gentle Government of Mankind Clemens Alexandrinus hath the same Notion and the same words L. I. Strom. p. 345. God's Power also herein appeared the more wonderful that he delivered his People from the Egyptian Tyranny by one that was contemptible or rather abominable to that Nation viz. a Keeper of Sheep Of Jethro It is most likely that Reuel mentioned in the foregoing Chapter Ver. 18. was now dead to whom Jethro his Son succeeded in that Principality where he Ruled for it was now Forty years since Moses came first into Midian His Father in Law This shows that the Seven Daughters spoken of II. 16. were the Children of Jethro and Reuel their Grandfather unless we will say as a great many do that
with Milk and Honey By which Phrase the Poets express the greatest Plenty as Bochart shows out of Euripides Horace Ovid c. Hierozoick P. II. L. IV. c. 12. For abundance of Milk and Honey argue a Country to be well watered fruitful full of fair Pastures and Flowers from whence the Flocks may fill their Duggs with Milk and the Bees their Cells with Honey Aelian L. III. de Hist Animal c. 35. saith the Goats of Syria which includes this Country afford such plenty of Milk as is in no other Country Vnto the place of the Canaanites c. See concerning all these People here mentioned XV Gen. 19 c. Ver. 9. Now therefore behold the Cry of the Children of Israel is come up to me c. This was said before Ver. 7. but here repeated as a reason of the Commission he intended immediately to give to Moses to go and Deliver them Ver. 10. Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh c. Leave thy Flock for I have another more weighty Business wherein I will imploy thee For thou shalt go with my Authority to Pharaoh and command him not only to Release my People out of their Servitude but to let them go also out of Egypt He had called them by the Name of his People Ver. 7. and now mentions it again to incourage their hope that he would take care of his own What Pharaoh this was it being a common Name to all the Egyptian Kings is very much disputed The common opinion is that after Orus in whose time Moses sled into Midian Acenceres or Acherres reigned Twelve years and after him Achoris reigned Seven years more and then succeeded Cenchres the worst of them all to whom Moses was now sent But Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that Apion a great Enemy of the Jews and who wrote against them mentioning their going out of Egypt in his fourth Book of his History of Egypt saith it was in the the reign of Amosis For which he quotes Ptolomaeus Mendesius an Egyptian Priest who wrote three Books about their Affairs in which he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. I. Stromat p. 320. But Tacitus calls him Bocchoris or as some read it Occoris L. V. Hist c. 3. That thou mayest bring forth my People c. From this time we are to consider God as the King of this People Not in general only as he is Lord of the whole World but in a proper and peculiar manner For whatsoever Authority or Power of Jurisdiction the Kings of other Nations did exercise over their Subjects as Power of Life and Death of making Laws and Leagues c. the same Prerogative did the Lord of Heaven and Earth reserve to himself alone over the Children of Israel Upon which ground as Dr. Jackson well observes Moses was delegated to be his Ambassadour to the King of Egypt and constituted it appears by the whole Story his Deputy or Viceroy over Israel Ver. 11. And Moses said unto God who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh c. He modestly declines the Service considering how mean a Person he was in comparison with Pharaoh and how unable to do any thing for the Israelites He had felt some extraordinary motion in himself Forty years ago which he took to be an Indication that God would use him as an Instrument of their Deliverance See Chap. II. v. 11 12. but at that time he was a far greater Man than now and had more interest at Court the Princess who adopted him for her Son being then perhaps alive or having lest him what made him very considerable In short he was then the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter but now a poor Shepherd Ver. 12. And he said Certainly I will be with thee In answer to his Objection God bids him depend on this that he would preserve him by a special Providence from being hurt by Pharaoh So Maimonides shows this Phrase I will be with thee signifies in Scripture More Nev. P. III. c. 18. And the considence which God wrought in him of this gave him Courage and Resolution which is also denoted by this Phrase as he shows P. II. c. 38. For all the Prophets were endued with an extraordinary Fortitude and Magnanimity which was in Moses above all the rest he encountering a great King and all his Court and People barely with a Staff in his hand And this shall be a Token to thee that I have sent thee when thou hast brought forth the People out of Egypt ye shall serve God upon this Mountain This could not be a Token to him now but was afterward when God by his Power brought them to this very place to worship him according to this Promise upon this Mountain In the mean time there were many other Tokens God gave him as we find in this History which were all confirmed by this at last Ver. 13. And they shall say unto me What is his Name What shall I say unto them This doth not argue that they knew not what the Name of their God was for they and their Fathers had been long acquainted with him and they cried unto him and he heard them II. 23 24. But Moses being the first that ever spake to Men in the Name of God none of the Patriarchs either before the Flood or after it having said any such words as these God hath sent me to you the Lord commands me to bid you do so or so as Maimon observes in several places of his More Nevoch P. I. c. 63. P. II. c. 39. is was natural for the Israelites to ask him by what Name or peculiar Attribute God had made himself known unto him so as to authorize him to speak to them as never any Man before did He had spoken unto Noah and unto Abraham c. but it was only for their own Instruction He never bid them deliver any Message unto others and yet it is observable that upon particular occasions he still made himself known to them by different Names or Titles As he saith to Abraham XV Gen. 7. I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees But XVII 1. he saith I am Elshaddai And to Isaac he saith I am the God of thy Father Abraham XXVI 24. To Jacob he adds I am the LORD God of thy Father Abraham and the God of Isaac XXVIII 13. And after this I am the God of Bethel XXXI 13. No wonder then that Moses should think the People would expect upon so great an occasion when he came to them as an Ambassadour from Heaven that the God of their Fathers should speak to them in a New Stile beyond all that had been known in former days Ver. 14. And God said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM. That is saith Maimonides in the place above-named He that necessarily Exists He who so is that he must needs be Or as some translate it I will be what I will be i. e. the Eternal Immutable Being so Elmacinus
Here he gives the reason for this Order that Pharaoh might be enticed to pursue them imagining they were in such Difficulties that they could not avoid falling into his hands They are entangled in the Land Perplexed or dubious not knowing which way to go The Wilderness hath shut them in They were cooped up he thought by the Sea and by craggy Mountains which it was impossible for them to pass especially being incumbred with a multitude of Women Children and Cattle Ver. 4. And I will harden Pharaoh 's heart He had hardned it before IX 12. X. 1. But now ordered things so that he was more sensless than ever he had been For having lately felt such an heavy stroke upon all the First-born as mollified his heart for the present and moved him to let Israel go it was the highest degree of Infatuation not to fear as formerly they had done XII 33. that the next blow if he pursued them would be at himself and his followers And I will be honoured upon Pharaoh and upon all his Host. Show my Power and Justice in their Destruction Which would not have been so visible had they died of the Pestilence when the Cattle died of the Murrain and Pharaoh's heart was first hardned as it was by hardning him so far as to follow the Israelites into the Red-sea where he and his whole Host was overthrown which made the terrour of the LORD's Wrath manifest to all the World That the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD Have the greatest demonstration of my irresistible Power VII 5. For the more strange the Infatuation was which led Pharaoh and his Host to such an ignominious Death the more apt the hearts of the People that remain'd would be to acknowledge the Hand of God therein And they did so They marched to this place on the XVIIth day of Nisan which was their third days Journey Jacobus Capellus thinks they rested this day being the Sabbath and came not hither till the XVIIIth Ver. 5. And it was told the King of Egypt that the People fled Some of the mixt Multitude that went along with them XII 38. seeing this strange turn it is likely forsook the Israelites and returned to Pharaoh to inform him that they had lost their way and were shifting for themselves by slight into dangerous places Or as it is commonly interpreted some Spies which Pharaoh had upon them seeing them leave the way to Horeb whither they desired to go three days Journey to offer Sacrifice concluded they never intended to return to Egypt but would run quite away from them This news we may suppose was brought to Pharaoh on the XVIIIth day And the heart of Pharaoh and of his Servants was turned against the People They had quite forgot their late Fears XII 33. which made such a change in them they would not suffer the Israelites to stay any longer in their Country but those Fears being vanished their Minds altered again and they repented they had dismissed them And said what have we done that we have let Israel go from serving us What a gross Errour have we committed in losing the Labour of so many Slaves Covetousness as I have observed often had a principal hand in hardning Pharaoh's heart Ver. 6. And he made ready his Chariot Caused it immediately to be made ready which we may suppose was done on the XIXth day when he began to pursue them And took his People with him All that were wont to attend him on such accasions 7. And he took six hundred chosen Chariots The best Chariots in Egypt which were always ready prepared for such Expeditions And all the Chariots of Egypt That could be got ready on a sudden for he had not time to muster all his force but made all the haste possible lest the Israelites should get out of the straits wherein they were and go so far away that he could not overtake them For which reason he pursued them with Chariots and Horsmen who could make larger marches than the Israelites on foot The strength also of this Kingdom consisted in Chariots which carried Men in them who sought out of them And every one knows that Egypt abounded with Horses as well as Chariots and that they were accounted very strong in these XXXI Isa 1. yet Bochartus thinks all besides the six hundred Chariots Royal were only Carriages for their Baggage Hierozoic P. I. L. II. c. 9. And Captains over every one of them This shows there were Men in them and that to every Chariot there Belonged a Troop of Horsmen we know not of what number who were commanded by a Captain The Hebrews say there were Fifty thousand Horsmen the Arabians make them as many more Ver. 8. And the LORD hardned the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt As he said he would v. 4. And he pursued after the Children of Israel Of all the infatuated Resolutions to use the words of a famous Divine of our own Dr. Jackson Book X. chap. 11. that either King or People adventured on the pursuing of the Israelites with such a mighty Army after they had most earnestly intreated and urged them to leave their Country may well seem to every indifferent Reader the most stupid And so the Author of the Book of Wisdom justly censures it XIX 3. For whilst they were yet mourning and making Lamentations at the Graves of the Dead they added another foolish device and pursued them as Fugitives whom they had intreated to be gone Yet Josephus gives good hints that even this effect of Divine Infatuation was but such as hath seized upon worldly wise Princes and States-men in former Ages and may hereafter be inflicted upon more And the Children of Israel went out with an high hand Boldly and with assured confidence not sneakingly like Slaves or Fugitives So Onkelos understood it when he translated it bare-headed i. e. confidently fearing nothing having been delivered and conducted by the powerful hand of God as it is often repeated XIII 9 14 16. unto which some refer this Phrase and not to the Israelites See Drusius L. XVI Observat c. 2. Ver. 9. But the Egyptians pursued after them This did not discourage Pharaoh and his Servants who perhaps were of the same mind with the Syrians who fancied the God of Israel might not be alike powerful in all places but though he was stronger than their Gods in the Hills yet they might be too hard for him in the Plain 1 Kings XX. 23. So the Egyptians who had seen how much superiour Moses was to their Magicians might possibly thus reason with themselves as the same Learned Dr. expresses it Who knows whether all this Power was given unto Moses to be exercised only within the Meridian or Climes of Egypt or whether his Commission extend over Palestine and Midian They presumed at least that the LORD God of the Hebrews had not granted Moses such a Command over the Armies or Host of Men though he had done Wonders among