Child 's whom she circumcised Surely a bloody Husband art thou to me What we translate Husband is observed to signifie Son-in-law And these words are with great probability supposed to express that her Son was now circumcised and to be referred to her Son not to Moses who is called a bloudy Son because of the Circumcision By Circumcision persons were admitted into Covenant and received into the Church and Family of the true God And he that was thus received might very fitly be called by this Name which signifies one received into a Family by Marriage He was henceforth a Son of God and obliged to obey the Laws of this Church or Family Gal. 5.3 compare Josh 5.9 See Mr. Mede's Disc on the place 30. Spake Vid. v. 16. And did i. e. Moses did see v. 17. 31. Bowed Out of Reverence and Thankfulness to God CHAP. V. The ARGUMENT Pharaoh refuseth to let the Israelites go out of Egypt instead of that does encrease their task and refuseth to hear their just Complaints They thereupon apply themselves to Moses and Aaron and Moses represents their case to God 1. AND afterwards Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh Thus saith the LORD God of Israel Let my people go that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness 2. And Pharaoh said Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice to let Israel go I know not the LORD neither will I let Israel go 3. And they said The God of the Hebrews hath met with us let us go we pray thee three days journey into the desart and sacrifice unto the LORD our God lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword 4. And the king of Egypt said unto them Wherefore do ye Moses and Aaron let the people from their works get you unto your burdens 5. And Pharaoh said Behold the people of the land now are many and you make them rest from their burdens 6. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the task-masters of the people and their officers saying 7. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick as heretofore let them go and gather straw for themselves 8. And the tale of the bricks which they did make heretofore you shall lay upon them you shall not diminish ought thereof for they be idle therefore they cry saying Let us go and sacrifice to our God 9. Let there more work be laid upon the men that they may labor therein and let them not regard vain words 10. And the task-masters of the people went out and their officers and they spake to the people saying Thus saith Pharaoh I will not give you straw 11. Go ye get you straw where you can find it yet not ought of your work shall be diminished 12. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble in stead of straw 13. And the task-masters hasted them saying Fulfill your works your daily tasks as when there was straw 14. And the officers of the children of Israel which Pharaoh's task-masters had set over them were beaten and demanded Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day as heretofore 15. Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh saying Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants 16 There is no straw given unto thy servants and they say to us Make brick and behold thy servants are beaten but the fault is in thine own people 17. But he said Ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD 18. Go therefore now and work for there shall no straw be given you yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks 19. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case after it was said Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task 20. And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh 21. And they said unto them The LORD look upon you and judge because you have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hands to slay us 22. And Moses returned unto the LORD and said Lord wherefore hast thou so evil intreated this people why is it that thou hast sent me 23. For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name he hath done evil unto this people neither hast thou delivered thy people at all 1. GO Viz. Out of Egypt See ch 4.23 That they may hold a feast unto me i. e. A Religious feast Let my Son go that he may serve me Ch. 4.23 Sacrifice was a considerable part of this Service v. 3. In the Wilderness The Wilderness was a convenient place for the Service and Worship of God which requires great attention and abstraction The Labors of Egypt and the Wars and Conquests of Canaan could not but be in great measure an hindrance to them And Philo brings in Moses and Aaron saying thus to Pharaoh viz. That they must in the Wilderness perform their sacred Rites which were different from those of other Men and that also after such a way and manner as required recess because of the different usages in this Divine Worship from what was elsewhere practised or allowed De vit Mos 2. Who is the LORD c. The Name of the Lord is not revealed unto me says the Chaldee See ch 3.19 3. The God of the Hebrews hath met with us Vid. Ch. 3.18 The God who wrought great Deliverances for the Hebrews and particularly for Abraham Isaac and Jacob who were of that Race and is therefore able to save his Servants Lest he fall upon us c. Which would prove a loss to Pharaoh 4. Wherefore do ye c. Pharaoh takes no notice of what Moses and Aaron said v. 3. which contained Motives to persuade him to let them go 6. Task-masters of the people and their officers These Task-masters were Egyptians appointed to exact Labour from the Israelites But the Officers were Israelites who were by the Egyptians set over their Brethren and to see that they did their task and were to answer for their neglect See v. 14. and v. 19. These are rendred by the Greek by a word that signifies Scribes and were probably of the Elders of the People ch 3.18 7. Straw to make Brick This Straw was either to mingle with the Earth of which the Bricks were made or perhaps to burn the Brick with which latter is a sense not at all repugnant to the words used in the Hebrew 8. Therefore c. Their desire of going out of Egypt to serve God is by Pharaoh imputed to idleness both here and v. 17. Whereas in truth though the Worship of God require Abstraction from worldly Cares see the Note on v. 1. Yet he that serves and worships God as he ought to do is so far
for For those we have of this kind some of them are too voluminous and the People have not ability to purchase or leisure to peruse them Others are not perhaps so fitted for common use But that which I insist mainly upon is this That 't is fit something of this kind should be contrived which might serve the Reader 's necessity to the greatest advantage that might be short and perspicuous cheap and easie to be purchased and after all such as bears the stamp of publick allowance For the following Notes I shall not need say much having acquainted the Reader already with the Occasion of them Some few things I think fit to add First That I have all along made the Hebrew Text my Rule nor do I see how I could do otherwise I am sure this is agreeable to the Sense of the Church of England and this was the Rule which our Translators were governed by Secondly That I have never attempted to advance any private Opinion nor in the least departed from my Rule for any Consideration whatsoever And though I have a great Opinion both of the LXXII Interpreters especially on the Pentateuch and no mean one of the Vulgar Latin and have with some labour compared them yet I have always had my Eye on the Hebrew Text as upon the Rule which was to govern me Nothing could tempt me to alter the Hebrew Text or to depart from it Thirdly I must own that as to the Sense of the Text I have received considerable assistance from the Ancient Interpreters and from the Modern especially from the LXXII the Vulgar and the Targum of Onkelos which is generally a Version rather than a Paraphrase nor hath the Syriac been forgot and the Samaritan hath upon occasion been considered For the Modern Versions I know none better than our own in English that of Diodati in Italian and the Tigurin in Latin which have been considered in the following Notes Fourthly Nor have I neglected Josephus and Philo the Jew I have considered how they have rendred the words of the Pentateuch as they have cited them on occasion and what other accounts they have given of many passages of these Books Nor have I over-looked the Rabbinical Commentators And I have received great help from Maimon especially whom I have frequently consulted and made use of upon this occasion I am fully of opinion the Writings of that Jew next to the Sacred are one of the greatest Blessings that the learned World hath And that if young Divines would read his Works with due care they would arrive at a greater degree of Scripture-knowledge than by all the other methods which are usually taken I do not wonder that the Jews when they speak of Moses Maimonides should say That from Moses to Moses there never was a Man like Moses Fifthly I have endeavoured to make things as plain as I can to the ordinary Reader I have studied to be short and not to disturb the Reader with hard Words or unnecessary Quotations For those few Quotations I have they are not taken upon Trust but I have constantly seen with my own Eyes What-ever defects there may be found in this Work this I can truly say for my self That I have diligently pursued the Truth And shall be very ready to listen to any Man that shall shew the my mistakes and shall most readily retract them I have used what care I could to minister to the Necessities of others and done what lies in me to this purpose I am fond of no singular Opinions have pursued no worldly Advantage and what-ever Censure I may meet with from abroad I am not conscious to my self of any want of diligence or integrity If this will be of any use to others I shall be well satisfied and shall be much better pleased if it should be any occasion to excite others to carry on the Work which is begun to better purpose and a far greater advantage to the well-disposed Readers THE CONTENTS Of the following Dissertation ATtempts to disparage the Holy Scriptures and particularly the Writings of Moses Of those who have endeavoured to prove that Moses did not write the Pentateuch That this is a matter of great moment The design of the following Dissertation That Moses did write the Pentateuch is shewed and hath been owned by a multitude of Witnesses The Objections of some late Writers against it with their Answers The first Objection from Deut. 1.1 answered The second Objection from Gen. 36.31 with some Reflections on a late Writer of a Commentary on Genesis Printed at Amsterdam An Answer thereunto Obj. 3. concerning Hebron and Dan. An Answer to it Obj. 4. from Deut. 2.12 answered Obj. 5. from Gen. 12.6 with its Answer Obj. 6. from Deut. 3.11 14. answered Obj. 7. from Exod. 16.35 with its Answer Obj. 8. from Gen. 22.14 answered Obj. 9. from Numb 21.14 answered Obj. 10. from Numb 12.6 and Deut. 34.10 answered Obj. 11. from Exod. 6. answered Obj. 12. answered Obj. 13. from Gen. 40.15 answered Obj. 14. from Gen. 35.21 An Answer to it Obj. 15. from Gen. 20.7 That the word Prophet was as old as Moses shewed in the Answer to it Obj. 16. from Exod. 16.36 answered Obj. 17. from Gen. 2.11 12. and chap. 10.8 answered Obj. 18. from the many Repetitions in these Books The Reader is referred to the General Argument to Deuteronomy where this Objection is answered at large Obj. 19. 'T is pretended that this Pentateuch is confused and therefore not written by Moses An Answer to that Objection Obj. 20. from the obscurity of these Books An Answer to this Objection Obj. 21. from the difference of Style in the several Books of the Pentateuch An Answer to this Objection Obj. 22. from Deut. 34. 'T is pretended that Moses cou'd not write that Chapter An Answer to that Objection The Conclusion A Dissertation CONCERNING The Author or Writer OF THE PENTATEUCH IT hath been the business and study of some Men of late years to disparage the Holy Scriptures and all revealed Religion What attempts have been made to that End is sufficiently known The Authority and Inspiration of these Sacred Oracles hath not onely been called in question but professedly opposed And those who have been so hardy and profane as to Libel the Scriptures have not onely escaped without Punishment or Censure but they have been cried up and famed for their Performances of this kind as great Wits and Men of wonderfull Sagacity Their Writings have been industriously spread And those who set up for Wit have openly avowed their disbelief of the Scriptures The Books of Moses have not escaped They have been so far from it that there have been those who have given out that the Five Books commonly believed to be his were never written by him And they pretend that they neither were nor could be written by him And there are three Writers of late that in their Works have boldly asserted this Mr. Hobs in his Leviathan the Author
and were one Flesh at first They shall be one flesh i. e. They two shall be one see Matt. 19.5 as they were at the first Creation And here is a good Argument against Polygamy and Divorces 25. Were not ashamed viz. Because they were innocent and had done nothing as yet to be ashamed of CHAP. III. The ARGUMENT The Woman is beguiled by the Serpent and eats the forbidden fruit the Man also did eat it They are thereupon charged by God and together with the Serpent subjected to misery The Messias is promised The first cloathing of Mankind and their casting out of Paradise 1. NOW the Serpent was more subtil then any beast of the field which the LORD God had made and he said unto the woman Yea hath God said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden 2. And the woman said unto the Serpent We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye die 4. And the Serpent said unto the woman Ye shall not surely die 5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat 7. And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him Where art thou 10. And he said I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid my self 11. And he said Who told thee that thou wast naked hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat 12. And the man said The woman whom thou gavest to be with me she gave me of the tree and I did eat 13. And the LORD God said unto the woman What is this that thou hast done And the woman said The Serpent beguiled me and I did eat 14. And the LORD God said unto the Serpent Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattel and above every beast of the field upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel 16. Vnto the woman he said I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee 17. And unto Adam he said Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying Thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the ground for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee and thou shalt eat the herb of the field 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground for out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living 21. Vnto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and cloathed them 22. And the LORD God said Behold the man is become as one of us to know good and evil And now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live for ever 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken 24. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life 1. THE Serpent was more subtil That is the Serpent was naturally a more subtil creature than the other beasts Gen. 49.17 Matt. 10.16 And therefore a fitter instrument for the Devil who made use of him see the Note on v. 15. and also a more perfect resemblance of his Craft and Wiliness 2 Cor. 2.11.11.14 Rev. 12.9 Yea hath God said c. The Devil in these words seems to question the kindness of God in that he did not permit unto Man the eating of every Tree in the Garden 2 3. And the Woman c. The Woman assures him of the great indulgence of God who permitted unto Man the free use of all the Trees of the Garden and had onely forbidden them to eat of the fruit of that Tree in the midst of the Garden called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil chap. 2. v. 17. and to touch it under pain of death Touch it The bare touching it was not expresly forbid nor is there any just cause to think That the importance of the word Touch here It may rather import the same with Eat which goes before or the free use which was allowed of the fruit of the other Trees v. 2. The Hebrew word is not restrained to bare touching Gen. 26.11 Jer. 12.14 4. Ye shall not surely die As before he called in question God's kindness to Man so he does here deny his Veracity or Truth and deserve the character which our Saviour gives him of a Liar Joh. 8.44 5. Your eyes shall be opened c. As the Devil tempted her before with the hope of indemnity so he doeth here with a promise of a greater degree of knowledge and an advancement to the Divine likeness For by opening the Eyes is meant the obtaining a greater degree of knowledge And 't is but a Metaphorical expression taken from the body and applied to the mind See Isai 42.7 As Gods c. Or as Angels who are God's Ministers and greatly excell in knowledge and this sence is confirmed by what follows knowing good and evil which expression comprehends all knowledge as all things knowable are in some sence good or evil Thus the Woman of Tekoah says unto David As an Angel of God so is my Lord the King to discern good and bad 2 Sam. 14.17 i. e. To discern all things For thus she expresseth her self v. 20. My Lord is wise according to the wisdom of an Angel of God to know all things that are in the
she also bare a son and called his name Ben-ammi the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day 1. TWO Angels Called Men ch 18.2 22. 2. Turn in c. Lot also shews Hospitality Heb. 13.2 Nay They refuse his invitation at first possibly to try how much he was in earnest Luk. 24.28 29. 3. Vnleavened bread For haste it is probable See ch 18.6 and Exod. 12.39 4. All the people Of every age they were generally corrupted there not being ten righteous persons among them ch 18.32 5. Know them viz. Carnally Gen. 4.1 See verse 8. Hence this Sin is called Sodomy 6. At the door Or to the gate It is another word in the Hebrew that is translated door afterward in this verse and v. 9. And that seems to signifie the immediate in let into the house 7. So wickedly Even against the course of nature Rom. 1.27 8. Two daughters Whom he ought not to have exposed to these wicked Men. Shadow of my roof And therefore he thought himself obliged to proâ—â—â—t them Jer. 48.45 â—â—g 9.15 9. Stand back Or get thee aside They speak with contempt Isa 65.5 Judge A Censor or Reprover of Manners v. 7. It is probable that Lot had formerly reproved them 2 Pet. 2.7 8. 11. Blindness i. e. With such a present darkness and obscurity of sight that they could not find the door 2 King 6.18 13. We will destroy Hebr. We are destroying 14. Which married Or were taking Hebr. i. e. They were betrothed and were shortly to marry his daughters Deut. 22.23 Matt. 1.18 20. 15. Which are here Or which thou hast as both the Greek and Vulgar render it well Iniquity Or punishment 16. Being mercifull i. e. Being minded to spare him and save him from this common destruction in a manner forces his deliverance upon him 17. He i. e. One of the persons before mentioned Look noâ— behind thee This Command was given as appears by what follows to his Wife as well as to him Luk. 17.22 and 9.62 Matt. 24.16 17 18. Philip. 3.13 14. 21. I have accepted thee Hebr. I have accepted thy face i. e. I have granted thy petition To turn away the face is to deny a request 1 Kings 2.16 20. 22. I cannot do any thing i. e. I cannot destroy this place God having ordered Lot's deliverance as well as the destruction of Sodom Zoar Hebr. Little So called from what we read v. 20. 23. The Sun was risen This is thought to be said for two Reasons 1. To shew that Zoar was near to Sodom 2. That when it is said that God rained it might not be thought to be natural there being no Clouds as in other great Rains but miraculous See Abravenel on the place And this seems probable from what follows 24. The Lord rained From the Lord out of Heaven i. e. It was God's work alone and immediately and not to be imputed to natural Causes Sodom c. and upon Admah and Zeboim Deut. 29.23 26. A pillar of salt Or a statue of salt Not such Salt as would dissolve with Rain but such as would and did continue a lasting Monument of this matter The word Pillar in the Hebrew implies its consistence Josephus affirms that this Pillar remained to his time and he lived after our Saviour's death 27. He stood See ch 18.22 In the way from the Plains of Mamre toward Sodom ch 18.2 16. 29. Abraham For whose sake Lot fared the better as he had done before ch 14.16 and for whom he had interceded chap. 18. v. 23. In the which i. e. In one of which viz. in Sodom 30. In the mountain viz. To which he was directed v. 17. Feared Being greatly terrified with the destruction of the neighbouring places and having been warned before to go to the Mountain and his Wife becoming a Pillar of Salt upon her looking back Two daughters i. e. Maiden-daughters v. 8. 31. In the Earth Or in the Land i. e. None hereabouts in this tract of Land that we are like to be given in Marriage to 33. Perceived not Being over-burthened with the Wine he drank Drunkenness deprives Men of their understanding and is an in-let to the foulest wickedness To which I may add That Lot's not perceiving may be understood thus That he did not perceive who the person was that did lie with him It was indeed his daughter he might suppose her to be a servant And this may well be allowed to be his case if it be considered how far he was overcome with Wine 37. Moab The word implies his Original viz. That he was from her Father as the Greek have it and she knowing the truth of this gives him this name 38. Called i. e. She called as in the Hebrew both here and verse 37. Ben-Ammi Or the Son of my People He was so called in memory of his Original he being of her Father not begotten by a Stranger See the Greek Both the Children carried in their Names the Memorial of their incestuous Original CHAP. XX. The ARGUMENT Abraham removes to Gerar. Abimelech takes Sarah as Abraham's Sister for which he is reprehended by God in a dream He excuseth his fact expostulates with Abraham and restores Sarah with a reproof Abraham prays to God who thereupon healed Abimelech and his Family 1. AND Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south countrey and dwelled between Caedesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar. 2. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife She is my sister and Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah 3. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him Behold thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken for she is a man's wife 4. But Abimelech had not come near her and he said LORD wilt thou slay also a righteous nation 5. Said he not unto me She is my sister and she even she her self said He is my brother in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this 6. And God said unto him in a dream Yea I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart for I also withheld thee from sinning against me therefore suffered I thee not to touch her 7. Now therefore restore the man his wife for he is a prophet and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live and if thou restore her not know thou that thou shalt surely die thou and all that are thine 8. Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their ears and the men were sore afraid 9. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said unto him What hast thou done unto us and what have I offended thee that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin Thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done 10. And Abimelech said unto Abraham What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing 11. And Abraham said Because I thought Surely
35.24 Esther 6.2 Bow the knee They were to do homage to Joseph as to the second person in the Kingdom as one who was the Father of the King and Country ch 45.8 The Chaldee renders it This is the Father of the King 44. I am Pharaoh i. e. I am King Pharaoh was the common Name of the King as Ptolomy was in after-times Gen. 12.15 And as the Ptolomies were distinguished by other additional or proper Names so were the Pharaohs also Thus we read of Pharaoh-necoh 2 Kings 23.9 compare Jer. 44.30 And thus were the Caesars among the Romans distinguished from one another Pharaoh in this place implies the Soveraign authority as is implied by what follows Without thee shall no man lift up his hand c. i. e. No man shall have power to do any thing without his leave at least not against his will 45. Zaphnath-paaneah A revealer of secrets says Josephus Priest Or Prince and Governor of On or Heliopolis say the Greek He might be both Prince and Priest ch 14.18 47. By handfulls i. e. In great abundance v. 49. CHAP. XLII The ARGUMENT Jacob sendeth his Sons into Egypt to buy Corn Joseph chargeth them as being Spies They make their Answer They are imprisoned and set at liberty upon condition that they would bring Benjamin into Egypt Their remorse for their former ill usage of Joseph Simeon is left in Egypt as a pledge The rest are sent back with Corn and their Money in their Sacks of Corn. They relate to Jacob what had befallen them who is not willing to send Benjamin 1. NOW when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt Jacob said unto his sons Why do ye look one upon another 2. And he said Behold I have heard that there is corn in Egypt get you down thither and buy for us from thence that we may live and not die 3. And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt 4. But Benjamin Joseph's brother Jacob sent not with his brethren for he said Lest peradventure mischief befall him 5. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came for the famine was in the land of Canaan 6. And Joseph was the governor over the land and he it was that sold to all the people of the land and Joseph's brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth 7. And Joseph saw his brethren and he knew them but made himself strange unto them and spake roughly unto them and he said unto them Whence come ye And they said From the land of Canaan to buy food 8. And Joseph knew his brethren but they knew not him 9. And Joseph remembred the dreams which he dreamed of them and said unto them Ye are spies to see the nakedness of the land you are come 10. And they said unto him Nay my lord but to buy food are thy servants come 11. We are all one man's sons we are true men thy servants are no spies 12. And he said unto them Nay but to see the nakedness of the land you are come 13. And they said Thy servants are twelve brethren the sons of one man in the land of Canaan and behold the youngest is this day with our father and one is not 14. And Joseph said unto them That is it that I spake unto you saying Ye are spies 15. Hereby ye shall be proved by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence except your youngest brother come hither 16. Send one of you and let him fetch your brother and ye shall be kept in prison that your words may be proved whether there be any truth in you or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies 17. And he put them all together into ward three days 18. And Joseph said unto them the third day This do and live for I fear God 19. If ye be true men let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison go ye carry corn for the famine of your houses 20. But bring your youngest brother unto me so shall your words be verified and ye shall not die And they did so 21. And they said one to another We are verily guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this distress come upon us 22. And Reuben answered them saying Spake I not unto you saying Do not sin against the child and ye would not hear therefore behold also his blood is required 23. And they knew not that Joseph understood them for he spake unto them by an interpreter 24. And he turned himself about from them and wept and returned to them again and communed with them and took from them Simeon and bound him before their eyes 25. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn and to restore every man's money into his sack and to give them provision for the way and thus did he unto them 26. And they laded their asses with the corn and departed thence 27. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn he espied his money for behold it was in his sack's mouth 28. And he said unto his brethren My money is restored and lo it is even in my sack and their heart failed them and they were afraid saying one to another What is this that God hath done unto us 29. And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan and told him all that befell unto them saying 30. The man who is the lord of the land spake roughly to us and took us for spies of the country 31. And we said unto him We are true men we are no spies 32. We be twelve brethren sons of our father one is not and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan 33. And the man the lord of the country said unto us Hereby shall I know that ye are true men leave one of your brethren here with me and take food for the famine of your housholds and be gone 34. And bring your youngest brother unto me then shall I know that you are no spies but that you are true men so will I deliver you your brother and ye shall traffick in the land 35. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks that behold every man's bundle of money was in his sack and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money they were afraid 36. And Jacob their father said unto them Me have ye bereaved of my children Joseph is not and Simeon is not and ye will take Benjamin away all these things are against me 37. And Reuben spake unto his father saying Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee deliver him into my hand and I will bring him to thee again 38. And he said My son shall not go down with you for his brother is dead and he is
LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there saying 13. Certain men the children of Belial are gone out from among you and have with-drawn the inhabitants of their city saying Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known 14. Then shalt thou enquire and make search and ask diligently and behold if it be truth and the thing certain that such abomination is wrought among you 15. Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword destroying it utterly and all that is therein and the cattel thereof with the edge of the sword 16. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof and shalt burn with fire the city and all the spoil thereof every whit for the LORD thy God and it shall be an heap for ever it shall not be built again 17. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and shew thee mercy and have compassion upon thee and multiply thee as he hath sworn unto thy fathers 18. When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God 1. GIveth thee a sign That is he foretells some wonderfull thing that shall come to pass which sense is confirmed from the following words 2. And the sign or the wonder c. The meaning is And what he foretold in confirmation of his impious Doctrine saying Let us go after other Gods shall come to pass as he foretold it 3. Proveth you He suffereth the false Prophet to give a sign and by the event to confirm his impious Doctrine to try whether you are sincere and stedfast in your love to him and your Obedience and that this your sincerity may be known to your selves and others 4. Cleave Chap. 10.4 5. Be put to death The reason of which follows in the next words which determine this death to the person seducing to Idolatry Because he hath spoken Heb. revolt against the Lord to turn you away from the LORD The evil Both the evil Thing or impious Doctrine that it spread no farther and the evil Person also See Deut. 21.21 1 Cor. 5.13 6. If thy brother c. Here is an Enumeration of the nearest and dearest Relatives to let them know that they ought to love God above all 9. But thou shalt surely kill him Ch. 17.7 i. e. Thou shalt discover him and bring him to condign punishment which is death in this case by the Sentence of the Magistrate Thine hand shall be first upon him viz. As the witness of his Crime ch 17.7 10. Bondage Heb. Bondmen 11. All Israel Ch. 17.13 13. The children of Belial Or naughty men This expression is often used in Scripture to denote profligate and vile persons who are ungovernable and without the fear of God and Men and such as will not bear the Yoke of good Order and Discipline Are gone out from among you That is are separated from you and refuse Communion with you in your Religious Services See 1 Joh. 2.19 For of a local Separation the words cannot be understood because these vile Men after their Separation are yet in the following words supposed to be in their City withdrawing the Inhabitants and saying Let us go and serve other gods 14. Inquire c. The Magistrate is to take care to examine strictly into the truth of matter of fact and especially of this high nature and importance for Men are not to be put to death without clear evidence of their being guilty of death And is a proof that the killing v. 9. is not to be meant of doing it privately but after sufficient proof and the Sentence of the Magistrate 15. All that is therein For it may well be supposed that those who dissented would withdraw from so vile a City 16. For the LORD thy God Or To the Lord thy God viz. To appease God's just Displeasure and in honour of his offended Justice 17. Cursed Or Devoted CHAP. XIV The ARGUMENT The Israelites may not disfigure themselves in Mourning for the Dead What Beasts Fish and Fowl may and may not be eaten Of their Tithes to be eaten in the place which God should choose and particularly of the Tithe of the Third Year 1. YE are the children of the LORD your God ye shall not cut your selves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead 2. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself above all the nations that are upon the earth 3. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing 4. These are the beasts which ye shall eat the ox the sheep and the goat 5. The hart and the roe-buck and the fallow-deer and the wild goat and the pygarg and the wild ox and the chamois 6. And every beast that parteth the hoof and cleaveth the cleft into two claws and cheweth the cud amongst the beasts that ye shall eat 7. Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud or of them that divide the cloven hoof as the camel and the hare and the coney for they chew the end but divide not the hoof therefore they are unclean unto you 8. And the swine because it divideth the hoof yet cheweth not the cud it is unclean unto you ye shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their dead carcase 9. These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters all that have fins and scales shall ye eat 10. And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat it is unclean unto you 11. Of all clean birds ye shall eat 12. But these are they of which ye shall not eat the eagle and the â—â—sifrage and the ospray 13. And the glede and the kite and the vulture after his kind 14. And every raven after his kind 15. And the owl and the night-hawk and the cuckow and the hawk after his kind 16. The little owl and the great owl and the swan 17. And the pelican and the gier-eagle and the cormorant 18. And the stork and the heron after her kind and the lapwing and the bat 19. And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you they shall not be eaten 20. But of all clean fowls ye may eat 21. Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of it self thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates that he may eat it or thou mayest sell it unto an alien for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk 22. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year 23. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose