set up his Tabernacle with Men and dwell with them and they shall be his People and he will be their God XX Revel 3. which I mention because this part of the Prophecy reaches unto the last times and is not yet all fulfilled Thus this famous Song concludes which as the Jews reckon consists of Seventy Verses each of which contains two distinct and entire Sentences and as they fancy are a Compendium of the whole Law of Moses Nay some of them such are the idle Conceits of this Nation think this Hymn is so perfect a Prophecy that it contains in it the Names of all the Men in the World which they undertake to find and by that Versicle where it is to tell what Fortune he whose Name they seek shall have in the World Thus instead of observing seriously what Moses foretold would certainly befal themselves their Superstition and hardness of heart have led them to vain Conjectures concerning other Men. See Jo. Wagenseil upon Sota p. 164 c. where he saith a Jew undertook to show him his Name in this Song which fell out in a Verse that signified Prosperity to him And since him Martinus Mauritius in his Book de Sortitione Hebraeorum Cap. XVI Sect. 3 4 5. Ver. 44. And Moses came and spake all the words of Verse 44 this Song in the ears of the people The very same that is said before he spake this Song XXXI 30. and is now repeated at the Conclusion of it to express his Fidelity in his Office to the very last He and Hoshea the Son of Nun. Who was now his Assistant in this Work as he was designed to be his Successor after his death He is commonly called Joshua but Oshea was his Name at the first XIII Numb 8. Ver. 45. And Moses made an end of speaking all Verse 45 these words to all Israel When he had made an end of speaking them then he added what follows Ver. 46. And he said unto them set your hearts unto Verse 46 all the words which I testifie among you this day Apply your Minds to press upon your selves the observation of all these things For this Expression is a little more than letting them be in their heart VI. 6. or laying them up in their heart XI 18. For they were so to retain the remembrance of them as to attend unto them and consider them Which ye shall command your Children to observe to do This necessary duty of instructing their Children is often pressed IV. 10. VI. 7. XI 19. because without this care their Religion would soon be lost but by this means might be preserved and propagated to all Generations All the words of this Law Which they might be certain was delivered by God to Moses there being as many Witnesses of God's Presence with him as there were Men in their Nation But he had seen so many instances of their unbelief that he uses all the ways manners and forms as Pellicanus observes that he could think of to urge them to obedience By delivering them Tables of their Laws written by God himself by Books by Pillars by Blessings Cursings Obtestations Threatnings long Exhortations Songs Phylacteries and other Ceremonies c. which he continued to do as long as he had breath and was able to speak that they and their Posterity might be happy Verse 47 Ver. 47. For it is not a vain thing for you You shall not imploy your diligence in this matter unprofitably The Jews upon these words have founded a Maxim which Maimonides often mentions That every Precept hath its end and use which though they do not appear to us are grounded upon strong Causes and Reasons More Nevochim P. III. Cap. XXVI and L. The design for instance of many Ceremonial Laws cannot now be fully discerned because they were instituted directly contrary to the idolatrous Rites of the Zabij which are long since utterly abolished and but imperfectly recorded in those ancient Authors that speak of them Because it is your life The means to make you an happy People Here are two benefits saith R. Isaac which are promised by the observation of this Law a Spiritual and a Corporal The Spiritual in these words and the Corporal in the next ye shall prolong your days c. And he puts the Spiritual first though among all Corporal Blessings this of long Life be the chief Chissuk Emuna P. I. Cap. XVIII And through this thing By teaching your Children to observe to do all that is commanded in this Law You shall prolong your days in the Land whither you go over Jordan to possess it Have the great Blessing of a long Life in all manner of Happiness which your Posterity shall enjoy for many Generations in the Land of Canaan By which it appears that nothing else but Contempt of this Law could have ejected them out of this Country Ver. 48. And the LORD spake unto Moses that self Verse 48 same day Immediately after he had ended the foregoing Song and given them this Admonition at the Conclusion of it Vre 49. Get thee up into this Mountains Abarim Verse 49 Which he had pointed him unto before and told him what he doth now XXVII Numb 12. Vnto Mount Nebo Abarim was a ridge of Hills whereof Nebo was one See there upon XXVII Numb 2. Which is in the Land of Moab that is over against Jericho This is a more particular Description of the Site of this Mountain than he gave before in the Book of Numbers Behold the Land of Canaan which I give unto the Children of Israel for a possession Which he might easily do from the highest part of the Mountain called Pisgah III Deut. 27. Ver. 50. And die in the Mount whither thou goest up Verse 50 After he had taken a view of the Land every way And be gathered unto thy People To Abraham Isaac and Jacob. This signifies saith R. Isaac that he should be associated and joyned to the Souls of the just who are called his People For the People of Moses were not buried in Mount Abarim and therefore he doth not speak of gathering his Body to their Bodies but of his Soul to their Souls Chissuk Emuna P. I. Cap. XI Chapter XXXIII As Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered unto his People See Numb 24 28. XXXIII 38. Ver. 51. Because ye trespassed against me among the Verse 51 Children of Israel c. Rebelled against his Commandment as he speaks XXVII Numb 14. Because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the Children of Israel XX Numb 12. XXVII 14. Ver. 52. Yet thou shalt see the Land before thee He had earnestly begg'd of God that he might go over Verse 52 Jordan but he denied him that favour I Deut. 37. III. 25 27. yet he was pleased to mitigate his punishment by letting him enjoy a sight of that good Country into which he might not enter But thou shalt not go thither unto the Land which I give the Children
your God which he made with you and make you a graven Image c. For this Verse 23 was the principal thing in the Covenant that they should worship him alone Which is the reason it is so often repeated and was immediately after the delivery of the Law from Mount Sinai mentioned alone as if it was the only thing he had said unto them XX Exod. 22 23. Ye have seen that I have talked with you from Heaven Ye shall not make with me Gods of Silver neither shall ye make unto you Gods of Gold Ver. 24. For the LORD thy God is a consuming Verse 24 Fire So he appeared upon the Mount when he delivered his Laws from thence in flaming Fire XXIV Exod. 17. The learned Huetius thinks that from these Words of Moses the ancient Persians took up the Worship of Fire at first only as a Resemblance of God or a Symbol of him as Maximus Tyrius saith Dissert XVIII but afterwards as God himself Demonstr Evangel p. 94. Even a jealous God Who cannot endure any Rival in your Affection See XX Exod. 5. These were two awakening Arguments to keep them from Idolatry that God cannot endure it and will be very terrible in his punishment of it Ver. 25. When thou shalt beget Children and Childrens Verse 25 Children and shalt have remained long in the Land When they were very much multiplied and had been long settled in the possession of the Land of Canaan And shall corrupt your selves By the Worship of other Gods And make a graven Image or the likeness of any thing Which he had strictly prohibited and solemnly caution'd them to beware of v. 23. And shalt do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God to provoke him to Anger By imitating the idolatrous Customs of other Nations Verse 26 Ver. 26. I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you this Day A solemn kind of Asseveration that as surely as the Heaven and the Earth shall endure they should utterly perish That ye shall soon utterly perish from off this Land whereunto ye go c. As soon as the Measure of your Iniquity is filled up ye shall speedily be destroyed without Remedy Which the Hebrews refer to the Captivity by Salmaneser and Nebuchadnezzar after they had been almost Eight hundred Years in this Country and so might be said to have remained long in the Land Verse 27 Ver. 27. And the LORD shall scatter you among the Nations See XXVI Levit. 33. And ye shall be left few in number among the Heathen c. XXVI Levit. 22. Verse 28 Ver. 28. And there ye shall serve Gods the work of Mens Hands Wood and Stone c. The Idols of the Heathen To the Worship of which he threatens to abandon them as a punishment for their Apostasie from God And the Heathen sometime compelled them to worship their Gods as we read in the Third of Daniel Which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell This is a Description of the most stupid Idolatry to which they should be delivered if they fell from God See XXI Numb 29. Ver. 29. But if from thence than shalt seek the LORD thy God When they were scattered among the Heathen v. 27. Thou shalt find him if thou seek him with all thy Heart Verse 29 and all thy Soul If they then repented sincerely and became unfeigned Worshippers of the LORD their God alone he promises them forgiveness Ver. 30. When thou art in tribulation and all these Verse 30 things are come upon thee In great distress by the execution of the foregoing Threatnings Even in the latter Days In future Times or in their most declining State The Jews themselves apply this to the present State wherein they now are and have been many Years as appears by the ancient Nitzacon set forth lately by Wagenseil p. 254. where he saith the whole Nation must repent before God send Deliverance unto them If thou turn to the LORD thy God and shalt be obedient to his Voice The great end of punishment was to convert them and make them more observant of God's Commands Ver. 31. For the LORD thy God is a merciful God Verse 31 See XXXIV Exod. 6 7. XIV Numb 17 18. He will not forsake thee neither destroy thee c. He promises not to cast them off nor destroy them utterly tho' they were utterly thrown out of their Land v. 26. but restore them to his Favour according to the Covenant made with their Fathers and confirmed by an Oath XVII Gen. 19. XXII 16 17. See XXVI Levit. 44 45. Ver. 32. For ask now of the Days that are past which Verse 32 were before thee since the day that God created Man upon the Earth c. Turn over the Annals of the whole World from one end of it to the other ever since it was made and search whether thou canst find any thing like to that which God hath done for you Which R. Isaac thus glosses in his Munimen Fidei lately set forth by Wagenseil p. 103. From the Creation of the World till their going out of Egypt there were passed Two thousand four hundred and forty eight Years and yet in all that long Tract of Time there never were seen or heard in any part of the World such prodigious Miracles as were wrought to bring them out of Egypt and afterward in leading them through the Red Sea raining Manna on them and the appearance of the Divine Majesty at Mount Sinai c. Verse 33 Ver. 33. Did ever People hear the Voice of God speaking out of the midst of Fire as thou hast heard and live Here was a double or rather tripple Prodigy never heard of before that God should speak to them audibly and distinctly so long as to inform them in their Duty towards himself and one another and this out of the midst of devouring Flames and without the least hurt to any one of them XX Exod. 18. XX. 18. XXIV 17. Verse 34 Ver. 34. Or hath God assayed to go and take him a Nation from the midst of another Nation Another Wonder never before heard of that God by two Men alone Moses and Aaron should demand the Delivery of a Nation under the Power of another Nation far greater and stronger than themselves and effect it also by no other Means but such as here follow By Temptations This word may be thought to signifie the grievous Trials of the Israelites whose Miseries were increased after the first Attempt for their Deliverance which seemed to them a strange way of proceeding V Exod. 19 22 23. But by Temptations may in this place be in general meant Miracles as the Hebrews understand it and the Chaldee word Tenessin signifies This and the two following words being of the very same import with the three words in the New Testament which we often meet withal and seem to be taken from hence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With Miracles Wonders and Signs II Act. 22. 2 Corinth XII II Hebr.
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
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
Divination which was in use among the Eastern People in the days of the Prophet Ezekiel XXI 21. where we find the same word Kosem which that Learned Author thinks is illustrated by that Arabian Custom It is to be noted also that they used to divine by a dead man's skull as our Dr. Windet hath observed out of the Sanhedrim Cap. VII and Maimonides Which Custom the Greeks likewise followed for Palladius relates how Macarius enquired 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at a dry Skull c. See Windet in his Book de Vita functorum statu Sect. I. Several sorts of such kind of Persons there were among the Edomites Moabites and other Nations near Judaea who in the days of Jeremiah deceived the People with their Divinations Prophecies Dreams Enchantments and Sorceries as we learn from XXVII Jerem. 3 9. Or an observer of times or an enchanter Of these I have said enough upon XX Levit. 26. Or a witch This word signifies worse than any of the former viz. one that doth Mischief unto Men or Beasts by evil Arts. Concerning which see upon XXII Exod. 18. Unto which I shall here add That the Jewish Nation have been extreamly addicted to Witchcraft and some of their famous Rabbins have been suspected of it See J. Wagenseil upon Sota p. 529. Verse 11 Ver. 11. Or a charmer There are various Conjectures about the meaning of the Hebrew words chober chaber which importing something of society or conjunction some translate fortune-teller who by the Conjunction of the Planets pretends to predict future things others one that hath Society with Evil Spirits which is mentioned afterwards in another word Job Ludolphus seems to me to have given the plainest account of the words which he translates congregans congregationem gathering together a Company For it was an ancient way of Enchantment to bring various kinds of Beasts into one place which the Rabbins distinguish into the great Congregation and the little Congregation The great was when they assembled together a great Company of the larger sort of Beasts and the less when they gathered together as great a Company of the smaller such as Serpents Scorpions and the like But we cannot be certain of this though Telezius tells us it is in use at this day in the Eastern Countries For so he describes the Election of the King of Gingir that he stood compassed about with Lions Tygers Leopards and Dragons which by Magical Arts were gathered together as his Guard and Courtiers See Ludolphi Comment in Histor Aethiop Cap. XVI Numb CXVI But the common Interpretation which the Jews give of Chober chaber is that he is one who uses strange words which have no signification but he pretends are powerful to charm a Serpent for instance that it shall not sting or to preserve from any other harm So Maimonides in Avoda Zara Cap. XI And to this sort of Superstition the World was so addicted that this Precept of Moses could not bring the Jews quite off from it but when they threw away other Charms they used the words of Scripture instead of them Pretending for instance to cure Wounds by reading that Verse in the Law XV Exod. 26. I will put none of these Diseases upon thee c. So we find they themselves acknowledge in Sanhedrim Cap. II. Sect. I. and Maimonides saith in the forenamed Treatise this is forbidden by Moses in this place as much as any other kind of Charm for the words of the Law are turned hereby to another use than God intended in them which was not for healing the body but curing the soul And I see no reason why it should not be thought as great a Crime to use the Schem Hamphorash as they call the Name Jehovah to such purposes and yet the Jews are so stupid as to imagine Moses wrought all his Miracles by the virtue of it Maimonides indeed was so sober as to reject this common Conceit condemning those who think there was a power in the very Letters and pronunciation of the word Lib. I. More Nevochim Cap. LXII Or a consulter with familiar spirits or a wizzard Of these two see what I have noted XIX Levit. 31. and XX Levit. 6. A necromancer In the Hebrew one that seeks to or enquires of the dead It is not easie to tell wherein this differs from one that had a familiar Spirit as we translate it For the Woman whom Saul consulted who had a Spirit called Oboth enquired also after this manner their Spirit it seems teaching such Persons to call for the Dead to appear to them But some perhaps had not such a Spirit who notwithstanding consulted the Dead by going to their Graves in the Night and there lying down and muttering certain words with a low voice that they might have Communion with them by Dreams or by their appearing to them Unto which the Prophet Isaiah is thought to allude VIII 19. XXIX 4. Maimonides in Avoda Zara Cap. XI Sect. XV. thus describes a Necromancer He is one who having afflicted himself with Fasting goes to the burying place and there lyes down and falls asleep and then the Dead appear to him and tell him what he desires Such are they also who put on a certain kind of Garment speak fome uncouth words and make a Fume and then lye down alone that the Dead whom they desire may come to them and discourse with them in their sleep To the same purpose Aben-Ezra To this the Gentiles were very prone and it was thought so high an Attainment to come to this Knowledge that Julian the Apostate who was ambitious to be acquainted with all the Heathen Mysteries secretly practised this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the most retired part of his Palace cutting up the Bodies of Virgins and Boys to bring up the dead to him which was far more impious than what the Talmudists say in the Title Beracoth that such kind of People were wont to burn the Secundine of a black Cat when she had first Kitlens and beating it very small put some of the Powder upon their Eye whereupon Daemons appeared to them See Greg. Nazianz. in his Invectives against Julian p. 91. and St. Chrysostom in his Oration upon S. Babylas I shall only add that this was not only privately practised among the Gentiles but there were also publick places to which Men resorted to consult the Dead Particularly at Thesprotis near to the River Acheron where Herodotus Lib. V. mentions a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Plutarch to name no more mentions another at Heraclea which Pausanias in his distress went to consult as he relates in the Life of Cimon Ver. 12. For all that do these things are an abomination Verse 12 to the LORD Because they were invented by idolatrous People if not by the Suggestions of evil Spirits And because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee Expelled the Amorites and other wicked Inhabitants of the Country where they practised these
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
of the Sanhedrim who was never to be restored to his power if he had been scourged nor equally honoured with his inferiour Collegues So Schickard observes out of Maimonides in the forenamed Book p. 62. Verse 4 Ver. 4. Thou shalt not muzzle the Ox when he treadeth out the Corn. It was the Custom not only in this Country but among the Egyptians Greeks and Romans to use Oxen in treading out their Corn either with their feet barely or by drawing a Cart or other Instrument over it And while they were at work some muzzled them others dawbed their Mouths with Dung others hung a wooden Instrument about their Necks which hindred them from stooping down or put sharp pricks in their Mouths or kept them without drink or covered their Corn with Skins that they might not be able to come at it See Bochartus in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. Cap. XL. p. 401. Which inhumanity God here forbids and instructs his People by shewing Mercy to their Beasts to be kind one to another particularly to their Servants and Labourers but above all to those who laboured in the Work of the Ministry for the Salvation of Souls as S. Paul argues 1 Corinth IX 9. See Bonfrerius Ver. 5. If brethren dwell together They are said Verse 5 to dwell together not only who were in the same Family but in the same Country XIII Gen. 5 6. And one of them die and have no child If he left a Child though he were a Mamzer or an Apostate his next Brother was not bound to marry his Wife but if he left a Child by a Slave or a Gentile he was If he left his Wife with Child and she miscarried he was bound but if she brought a live Child after she had gone with it nine Months he was free And by a Child is to be understood either Son or Daughter See Selden Lib. de Successionibus ad bona Defuncti Cap. 14. The wise of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger This shows the end of this Law was to preserve Inheritances in the Family to which they belong'd Her husbands brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife The Hebrew Doctors understand this Obligation to lye upon the Eldest Brother that was surviving and only of a Brother that was by the same Father For though they had the same Mother if they had not the same Father no Obligation lay upon him For Brethren saith Maimonides by the Mother's side are not accounted Brethren either in the matter of Inheritances or of marrying a Brother's Wife but they are as if they were not Brethren for there is no fraternity which is not from the Father See Heideggerus Exercit. I. de Oeconom Patriarch X. XVI and Selden Vxor Hebr. p. 80. But the King they say was excepted from this Law as Schickard observes in his Jus Regium p. 56. And perform the duty of an husband's brothr to her This was a Law before the time of Moses among the Patriarchs as we learn from XXXVIII Gen. 7 8 c. And it was so well understood to be a bounden Duty that the Hebrew Doctors say it was not necessary there should be any solemn Marriage celebrated with such a Widow because unless her Husband's Brother renounced her she was esteemed his Wife Min Hashamajim by the Authority of God and that whether she had been only espoused by the deceased Brother or his compleat Wife Yet by the Constitution of their Elders he was to contract with her before two Witnesses and give her a piece of Money before which it was not lawful for him to lye with her There was to be also a Sacred Benediction of the Marriage and her Dowry assigned her by an Instrument But if he did lye with her before these Solemnities there was no formal Contract exacted of him afterward he was only scourged for contemning the Constitutions of the Elders and compelled to settle a Dowry upon her See Selden L. I. Vxor Hebr. Cap. XII where he observes That in case a Man left several Widows if his Brother either married or renounced one of them all the rest were free from this Law And if several Brethren died and left every one of them a Wife without Issue the surviving Brother might either take or reject them all or take one or two and let the rest alone as he pleased And if the eldest Brother that married his Brother's Relict died also without Issue then the next surviving Brother was to marry her and so forward according to the Case supposed in the Gospel And yet that Brother only was admitted to this Marriage who was born before his Brother's death which they gather from the first words of this Verse if Brethren dwell together which cannot be meant of one born after his Brother's death They might likewise have concluded from this Phrase That such of the Brethren as had Wives already were not bound to take her to Wife but only he that was unmarried who might be supposed to be meant by him that dwelt together with his Brother and was not yet gone to a House of his own But I fear I have said too much of a matter now quite antiquated unless it be among some of the Indians and Persians and among the Tartars that inhabit Iberia and Albania who still retain this Custom as Huetius observes in his Demonstratio Evangel Propos IV. Cap. XI N. I. Ver. 6. And it shall be that the first-born which she Verse 6 beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead Shall be reputed the Son and Heir of the deceased but there was no necessity to give him his Name That his name be not put out in Israel That a Family in Israel might not be lost for this was a Provision for the preservation of Families See XXVII Numb 4. And therefore if there was no Brother properly so called to perform this Duty the next of kin who is also called a Brother in a large sense was bound to marry her See of this word Name XXVII Numb 4. Ver. 7. And if a man like not to take his brother's wife Here now was a great mitigation of that ancient Law which had been before the time of Moses Verse 7 that a Man might refuse to marry his Brother's Wife if he did not like her Which was not permitted before as appears by the Story of Onan XXXVIII Gen. who married Thamar against his mind as his behaviour towards her demonstrates which he needed not to have done if this permission which here follows had been then in use Then let his brother's wife go up to the gate Where the Court of Judgment sat as I have often observed See XVI 18. Vnto the Elders A Court consisting of three Elders was sufficient to judge in this matter And it was no consequence whether these three were created Elders according to the Solemn Form among them by laying on of hands but it was
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
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
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